subiect to sinne Christ is a man frée from sinne Moses was but a seruant Christ is the Lorde and Maister But Christe and Moses are herein like bicause they were both Prophets and interpreters of God his will to his people because Moses was a liuely figure of Christ as may appear by a briefe comparison made betwéene Christ and Moses Moses being in credite in king Pharaho his house chose rather to suffer afflictions with his brethren the Israelites then to liue in ease and estimation in the Courte of Pharaho Our sauiour Christ being in the glorious heauens the second person in Trinitie had suche compassion on our most miserable estate that he descended and came downe into this vale of myserie for the accomplishment of our redemption Moses was vnkindly entreated of his brethren the Iewes Christ comming among his owne was not receiued Moses deliuered Israell from Egypt and drowned Pharaho his hoste in the red sea Christe raunsomed vs from spiritual Egypt which is hel and from spiritual Pharaho which is the diuell Moses fedde the Israelites with Manna from heauen Christ nourisheth vs with his body and bloud Moses tolde the people so muche of the Lords will as was néedeful for them to know Christ hath left writtē in the sacred volume of the holy canonical scriptures whatsoeuer is necessary to oure saluatiō I might cōtinue this comparisō but thus much is sufficient to shewe the reason of Moses speach and thus we percieue how these words ◠Prophet of your brethren like to me may well be vnderstanded both of all the ministerie in generall and of our sauiour Christe especially and of each and of both to our verie greate comforte and encouragement to become carefull and effectuall hearers of Christ and his ministers The third part Ye shall heare him in all thinges what soeuer he shall say vnto you THe former scripture before handled hath certified vs that God shall stir vp this prophet and that he is therfore authour of the ministerie and also that by this Prophet Iesus Christe and in him all his true ministers are vnderstanded Nowe these words conteining the third parte doe vs to vnderstand of the eare which must be giuen and the obedience which must be yelded to this Prophet Ye shall heare him in al things c. that is to say ye shal with al obedience conforme your selues to his doctrine Here Peter proueth that Moses attemted not to tie the Iewes vnto the lawe for euer but that the office of Moses and the Lawe was to bring them vnto Christe So Paule writing vnto the Galathians saith The lawe was our Scholemaister to bring vs vnto Christe that wee mighte bee made righteous by faith but after this faith is come we ar no longer vnder a Scholemaister Whereby it is plaine that the lawe canne claime no longer righte in vs or rule ouer vs after it hath once brought vs vnto our sauiour Iesus Christe The scholler is in subiection to his scholemaister till he become learned and then he is set at libertie In like manner the law hath perfourmed the office therunto appointed whē by it we haue learned to sée and knowe and acknowledge our infirmities corruptiō sinfulnes vnrighteousnes to fly vnto Christ to be iustified by faith in him Sith this Christ which is the marke whereat the law shooteth and the iustifier of the vnrighteous sith he is come Peter out of the law exhorteth the Iewes vs al to heare him with heartie obedience Yea the glorious voyce of almightie God sounding from heauen appointeth this the only Messias to be our onely scholemaster and vs to be his onely schollers saying This is that my beloued sonne in whome I am well pleased heare him Here we must make a distinction of hearing Christ and his worde There is one kinde of hearing which is onely externall and outward when as the alone sounde and voice of the gospell occupieth the eares of man but entreth not into the heart there to take good comfortable effect Of this hearing Esai speaketh in the 6. chapter which our sauiour citeth in the 13. of Matthew By hearing ye shall heare and not vnderstand Wher the Prophet in the person and name of the Lord God manaceth the wicked that through their own malice their hearts shal be so hardened as they shall onely heare the outward sounde of the worde to their condemnation but it shall not swéetely touche their heartes for their conuersion saluation Such hearers were traiterous Iudas the obstinate Pharises the malitious wicked ones to whom the preaching of the gospell is the sauour of death vnto death But an other kind of hearing there is which hath alwayes accompanying it and inseparably ioyned to it faith in beléeuing that which is heard and obediēce in following that which is heard and beléeued This hearing Moses vnderstandeth by saying Yee shall heare him in all things c. This hearing the voyce from heauen signifieth giuing to heare him This hearing our Sauiour meaneth He that is of God heareth Gods words and in an other place My sheepe heare my voyce and I know them and they followe mee Thus Abraham with faith and obedience heard the Lordes calling when as hee departed out of his countrie Gene. the xii circumcised himselfe Genesis the xvii and offered vp his onely sonne Isaac as is recorded in the xxii of Genesis Thus the Prophets Apostles Martyres and all the faithfull heard Christ and his word when as neither pennury and lacke of necessaries neither hatred and malice of men neither pollicies and fetches of Sathan neither tormentes and cruelties of Tyrantes neither losse of life and death it selfe coulde make them fal away from Iesus Christ their Generall and captaine It is written that Zeusis so artificially painted a cluster of grapes that the birds flew to it and picked at it supposing it had ben a true naturall cluster These silie poore byrdes were much deceiued for they founde but painted grapes Verilie whosoeuer shall heare the worde of God in this last sense of hearing and after the example of these hearers thus liuely discribed by the holy Ghost they shall finde that those were and themselues are no peinted and counterfeit hearers but verie true and effectuall hearers of this prophete Christe and his holy gospell They shal neuer deceiue their own selues as did the birdes and the vaine hearers do but shall be blessed in their deed These hearers heare not Christe and his word after their owne fancie liking but in whatsoeuer he saith vnto thē as Peter here teacheth out of Moses From the premisses matters before spoken concerning true hearers of the worde there groweth this conclusion If none be true fruitfull and profitable hearers of the worde either to their owne comforte and commoditie or to God his honour glory but such
as heare with faith to beléeue in Christ and his worde and with obedience to followe Christe and his worde then both idolatrous Papistes and carnall protestantes I will not once name Atheistes are quit clean excluded out of the number of true right Christian hearers That Papists hear not Christ his ministers in this sense of hearing that is that they do not conforme their religion according to the doctrine conteined in and deliuered vnto them out of the worde of God this is a matter so manifest as all the faithfull do lamentablie and with griefe of hearte beholde the same And to giue themselues if any be present some taste thereof I will here ioyne battell and incounter with them vsing that onely sentence vtterred by our sauiour in the sourth of Iohn for the weapon whereby I am sure I truste the greatest number present will confesse that their whole religion or rather superstition is wounded at the hearte and stricken quite dead For Christ in that place talking with the woman of Samaria telleth her the God is a spirit and they that worshippe him must worshippe him in spirit and truth If we either looke on the whole body of their religion in grosse or dismember and rippe the same into péeces and beholde euerie member euerie ioynt euerie sinewe euerie veine euerie arterie euerie muscle thereof we shall be enforced to confesse that among them there is no worshipping of God in spirite and trueth but that all their worshippe and religion is corporall externall and ceremoniall Whosoeuer shall with iudgement indifferētly view their Religion shall in déede perceiue it to be nothing else but an apishe and counterfeite imitation of the ceremoniall law Hence they fetch their alters candlestickes Sensours Perfumes garmentes Oblations festiuall dayes solemne feasts difference of times obseruation of meates purifications sacrifices and a number of the like nature But as in all these and the residue they haue no sauour of spirite and trueth agréeable either to gods nature discribed or to the doctrin of the Gospell deliuered by Christ so in their following of the lawe they doe shamfully halte To giue yee an instance they celebrate their masse at the Altar but Christ ministred his laste supper at a table I cannot denye but the lawe Ceremoniall doeth commaunde Altars howbeit such Altars as shall be neither of hewed stone nor haue any steppes ther vnto belonging But the Romish Altars are of hewen stowne and haue steppes as is apparant in their Sinagogues and as appereth by steppes yet remayning in many of our Temples whereby either longing for that heathenish superstition or at the least colde affection to aduance true religion is vndoubtedly signified But admitte their whole religion were fully in euery pointe correspondent and answerable to the law ceremoniall what else shoulde that bée but a full and flatte deniall of Christes death and passion and of all the merits of the same This is most substancially proued by our sauiour Christ and by his seruaunt Paule Christ in that former scripture before cited saith that God is a spirit and therefore they that worshippe him must worship him in spirit and trueth In that place Spirit truth are opposed and set against the ceremonies of the law and the words of Christ so vttered to the woman of Samaria importe thus much Before the incarnation of me the then promised and nowe perfourmed sauiour ye worshipped God in shadowes in figures in ceremonies in sacrifices but I béeing nowe come who am the body of those shaddowes the trueth of those figures the substāce of those sacrifices the matter of those ceremonies nowe that externall worship ceaseth and ye muste now worship God onely in spirite and trueth Here Paule saith in his Epistle to the Ephesians the second chapter He that is Christ is our peace which hath made of both one and hath broken the stop of the partition wall in abrogating through his flesh the hatred that is the law of cōmandementes which standeth in ordinaunces c. Again writing vnto the Collossians he hath the same in effect and meaning By both these places we are taught that Christ by his death and passion hath abrogated taken away the whole law of ceremonies that place also in the last to the Hebrues is verie notable to this end and purpose We haue an Altar wherof they haue no authoritie to eat which serue in the Tabernacle Whereby it is concluded that such as yet dwell in ceremonies of the law much more of mens deuising are strangers frō Iesus Christ who by his one sacrifice of his own body once offered for al hath cancelled the obligation and handwriting of the ceremoniall lawe which was against vs By these the like testimonies of holy scripture we sée that such as worship God either after the ceremoniall law of God or after the ceremoniall deuises of men do therby deny the force of Christs death yea they deny that Iesus Christ is come in the flesh Of such mē S. Ioh. speaketh in his first epistle Euery spirit that cōfesseth not Iesus Christ to be come in the flesh is not of god but this is the spirit of Antichrist c. I referre the néerer application of this sentence to their own consciences praying the lord to giue them grace effectually to sée cōfortably to fele faith fully to acknowledge the Lord Iesus togither with the mightie force of his most effectuall death passion Plinie in the eight booke of his naturall historie reporteth the Swallowes vse to make the blind soare eyes of their yong ones to sée by rubbing the same w an herbe called Celandine so named some say of the swallowes first finders and such vsers therof some say quia confert caelestia dona bicause it hath heauenly vertues The papists eyes are very sore blind they cannot abide to looke vppon Iesus Christ the glorious sonne of God thus brightly shining amōgest vs The Lord in his mercie giue thē his heauenly Celandine I mean his holy spirit that therewith their blind eyes may bee opened their darke vnderstanding lightened their hard harts mollified softened If as in grosse we haue viewed the whole bodie of their religiō so nowe we looke vppon the same by piece meale shal we therein finde any spirite and truth shal we not finde it altogether deuoid of spirite and trueth and wholy corporall carnall and earthly Spirite and truth will haue the Lord God alone worshipped and serued they worship and serue Saintes creatures Reliques bootes buskins nailes c. Spirit trueth will haue God alone to be prayed vnto they pray to Saintes to creatures to Images to stockes and stones Spirite and trueth will haue our praiers procéede from an vnderstanding hart they teach charge the people to pray in a strange and vnknowen language Spirite and trueth will haue
comforters he vsed them most villanously he shaued off the halfe of their beardes cut of their garments in the middle euen to their buttockes and sent them away These carnall hearers both these sortes and all other the like they offer more villanie to themselues then Hanun did to Dauids seruauntes For that done to Dauids men was but temporall this they do to them selues is eternal the halfe of their berds were shauen of these doe what they canne to raze their whole names out of the booke of life they had but part of their bodily garmentes defaced these séeke to make themselues vtterly naked and destitute of Christes righteousnesse that spirituall garment whiche couereth the sinns of the faithful they were sent out of the presence but of an vniust and earthly prince these shall wofullie depart from the sight of Christe that righteous and heauenly King. For as it is sayde in the last parte concerning the punishment whiche shall be executed vppon all disobedient hearers 33. Euery person which shall not heare that Prophet shall bee destroyed out of the people O miserable men which thus vnkindly and vnthankfully refuse to heare and come vnto this Iesus Christe whiche calleth them bountifully by benefites louingly by promises sharpely by threatninges generally together particularly a sunder by signes from Heauen by monsters vppon earth by punishing iustly by pardoning mercifully by his worde continually And yet these wicked men make greater reckoning of buying farmes of trying Oxen of marying wiues of their very hogges and vilest thinges yea of their carnall affections and vainest delectations then of saluation offered vnto them by Iesus Christe Wherefore beholde the price of their disobedience they shall be destroyed or rooted out of the people euerlasting destruction remaineth as a moste bitter cuppe for them to drinke off Marke this ye obstinate Papistes which like the deafe adder stoppe your eares against the charmer charme he neuer so wisely Marke this ye carnall hearers and talkers of the worde which make the gospell a cloake for your iniquities and outwardly professe it without any inwarde féeling of it or outward coÌ„forming of your selues vnto it Oh repent repent and betimes repeÌ„t least Iesus Christ which now offereth himselfe to be your louing Sauiour least he I say coÌ„e as a terrible but yet a most righteous iudge allot vtter darknesse for your inheritance and commaund ye to depart into euerlasting fire prepared for the diuell and his angelles whiche is here signified by these wordes shall be destroyed out of the people The ordinarie allowaunce of time I perceiue is spent and therefore I must contrarie to my purpose omitte many thinges whereof I determined to speak in this laste parte Onely I will in briefe manner call vnto your good remembrance the summe effect of that which hath bene now spoken and so coÌ„clude this my plaine discourse Ye haue heard good Christians in the first part that the Lorde God shall raise vp this Prophet and therefore that the Lorde is authour of the ministers of his holy word and sacraments In this place ye had deliuered to your good considerations these thrée thinges concerninge ecclesiasticall ministers The care to be vsed in the election and appointing ministers The conscience and abilitie of ministers The dignitie and worthinesse of such ministers In the seconde parte it was declared what manner of Prophete was vnderdanded by this Prophete To this end thrée sortes of Prophetes were mentioned and it was concluded that this prophete representeth all such as haue béene are and shall be blessed with abilitie and giftes faithfully and diligently to interprete and fruitefully and effectually to apply his holy worde Here yee were certified as also in the first part that this prophet doth signifie both Christ and all the true ministers of his worde and also that God of his mercie and goodnesse will neuer leaue his Church millitant here vpon the earth altogither destitute of sincere preachers of his word by which word the Church must be directed and gouerned Thirdly I shewed what obedient eare must be giuen to this prophete Ye shall heare him in all thinges c. Vpon occasion directly offered by these words I spake of two kindes of hearing the word of God the one outward and vnprofitable the other inwarde and effectuall To this latter kind of hearing ye were doen to vnderstande that faith and obedience are requisit and necessarie and that for want of this faith and obedience neither Papistes nor car-carnall Protestantes can be iustly reckened in the number of true hearers And therefore as was noted in the last member all these vaine hearers of what sort soeuer they be shal be seuerely punished and that with an euerlasting punishment they shall be destroyed out of the people Now dearly beloued in the Lord sith all hearers of the holy word of God are eyther vaine and fruitlesse hearers to their condemnation or true and fruitefull hearers to their saluation it therefore behoueth vs when we haue heard the worde to enter into our owne consciences and streightly examine our selues how we haue heard the same If we heare it onely outwardly for feare for fauour for fashion if wee in this glasse doe beholde the deformities of our bodies and soules and be carelesse to reforme them if we heare vsurie oppression insatiable gréedinesse of worldly thinges Pride Epicurisme wicked company blasphemie contempt of gods worde disobedience to his lawes adulterie fornication Idolatrie superstition papestry witcheraft charming idlenesse in our seuerall vocations malice towardes our brethren deceitfull dealing if we heare these other vices condemned to hel fire by the word of God and yet vse them delight in them and let them be still familiarly acquainted with vs verily verily then this wofull lamentable case must of necessity followe we deceiue our own selues we are disobedient hearers our faith 〈◊〉 deade faith our house builded vppon the sands the fal thereof shall be great the left hand is alloted eternall torments appointed But if we heare with faith to beléeue and obedience to followe then beholde our most ioyful estate our faith is liuelie and iustifieth our house is stedfast and standeth the right hand shall be our place ioy shal be out portion we shal be blessed we shal be the spiritual kinsfolk of our sauiour the kingdom of heauen the fulnesse of glorie shall be giuen vnto vs through our Lorde Iesus Christe the king of glory to whome with his father and the holy ghost thrée persons one immortall inuisible and almightie God let vs yelde all honour power glorie and dominion both nowe and for euer Amen Ephe. 5. 17. Be not vnwise but vnderstand what the will of the Lord is Mar. 6. 33. Rom. 11. â—6 Exo. 32. 32. Rom. 9. 3. Esay 30. 10. 1. Cor 4. 7. Iames. 1. 17 Psal. 155. 1. Galat. 6. 14. Psal. 65. 4. Psal. 69. 9.
father that euery one of vs may with a good conscience and truly say with holy Dauid Not vnto vs ô Lorde not vnto vs but vnto thy name giue the glorie c. And with Saint Paul God forbid that I should glory or reioice but in the crosse of our Lord Iesus Christ whereby the world is crucified vnto me and I vnto the worlde Thinke not right Christian Ladie that these words are vttered so much to instruct you as to enforme the reader of this letter vnto you For by good experience I haue comfortably found both in the right honorable my very good Lord your wise and louing hous bande and in your good Ladiship his Godly and obedient espouse such care of Gods glorie in aduauncing true religion in demeaning your selues in the educatioÌ„ of your children in gouerning your family in countenauncing of vertue and learning in cherishing the poore and needie as I might deseruedly be deemed vnwise if I had not obserued it carelesse if I did not remember it vnthankefull if vpon offred occasion I would not testifie it But thanked be the king of eternal glorie this your care of GOD his glory is so vniuersally knowne to the whole realme so ioyfully acknowledge of the Godly therein that I neede not produce my self for an experienced witnes of the same Wherfore to conclude this branch I will heartily offer vppe mine incessant prayers to the Lorde God in the name of his sonne our sauiour CHRISTE that both you and all Christians may daily and continually growe not onely into such contempt of vaine glory and al vaine thinges but also into such loue and longing of his true glorie and all heauenly things as in these euill dayes ye may haue the sure testimony of your owne consciences that you haue zealously sought GOD his glory and in the end through Christ be made partakers of his eternall glorie As this care of Gods glorie hath drawen others to desire and me to publish this sermon which I trust will preuent the vncharitable suspicioÌ„s of some and stay the rash tongues of others so me thinketh I am to be blamed neither by you nor of any other for dedicating the same to your Ladishippe For notwithstanding nothing be therin taught which you haue not long ago learned and nothing in such manner deliuered by me but hath ben and may be much bettered by others yet your Ladiship by perusing thinges alreadie learned shall not be altogether vnprofitably occupied and at the least this my fact shall make some outwarde shewe of mine inwarde heartie thanksgiuing for the benefits bestowed vpon and the trust reposed in me your humble and faithfull seruaunt And when I considered that by my Lorde and your La. I was first called from the vniuersitie to teach your two sonnes and those such children as for the true feare of God zealous affection to his word obedience to their parents reuerence to their superiours humility to their inferiours loue to their instructour I neuer knewe any excell them also that by the same meanes I was likewise first called from teaching of children to enstruct men verely I coulde not but dedicate the first fruites of these my so generall labours to some of that house whence I was first sent out to be a poore labourer in the Lords great haruest You shall here find no profounde learning no exquisite art no curious eloqueÌ„ce to delight your learned eares but finde you shal the simple truth now imprinted as it was then vttered to comfort your Christian hearte And I am throughly perswaded that as I haue the sure warrant of Gods expresse worde for confirmation of the trueth herein conteined so the holy spirite of God will in such wise affect you with a like and loue thereof that he will compel your heart to think and your toung to say Amen Yea and to confesse that albeit a sinnefull man was the homely vtterer yet the holy Ghost is the vndoubted authour of the same Nowe least the portall shoulde be as great as the house and the preface as long as the treatise I will conclude and cease from further troubling you But I trust not to surcease from hearty praying the Lord God so to deuor the harts of your good La. of your children and whole family with the holy fire of his heauenly spirite that ye may dwell in his court and be satisfied with the pleasure of his house euen of his holy temple that the zeale of the Lordes house may eate ye vp that with good consciences and ioyfull spirites ye may truely say ô Lord I haue loued the habitacion of thy house and the place wher thine honour dwelleth Finally that ye may be of that bright heauenly wheate whiche shall bee gathered into the celestiall garner by the Lorde Iesus who for euer mightily protect and mercifully preserue you At Easeling by Feuersham in the Countie of Kent Your Lad. heartie Orator and humble seruant Iohn walsall ⧠A SERMON preached at Pauls Crosse by John Walsall one of the preachers of Christs Church in CANTERBVRIE the fifte of October 1578. Actes 3. 22 For Moses sayde vnto the Fathers the Lorde your God shall rayse vp vnto you a Prophet of your brethren like vnto me yee shall heare him in all things whatsoeuer he shall say vnto you 23 For it shall be that euery person which shall not heare that Prophet shall be destroyed out of the people IF right honourable worshipful and welbeloued in our sauiour Iesus Christ either the principall cause author of this scripture or the instrumentes and seconde causes vttering the same or the matters therein comprehended if all or any of these be duely considered of vs we shall finde this present texte to bee of verie great authoritie and fully replenished with heauenly profite and comfort Our custome and manner is carefully to respect the authour both of wordes spoken and déedes done and as he is learned or ignoraunt wise or foolishe well affected or euill disposed so wée commonly receiue or reiect what soeuer procéedeth from him for the most part still measuring in temporall thinges the matter by the man I say in teÌ„poral things bicause in matters spirituall not so much the men that speake as the matters spoken are to be regarded according to that of our Sauiour The Scribes and Pharises sit in Moses châ—â—â— Al therefore whatsoeuer they bid you obserue that obserue and doe but after their workes doe not for they say and do not But the authour of this scripture is of such learning wisedome holines as we may safely and are commaunded streightly not alone to credite and beleeue his wordes but also to conforme and fashion our selues after his workes For as of all the sacred Canonicall Scriptures so of this nowe in hand the holy Ghost that spirite of truth that comforter of the elect that director of the faithfull iâ— the cause and authour To this â—nd Paul in the laste
scriptures of three sortes and kindes of Prophetes The first are such as were extraordinarilie stirred vp by the LORDE and vsed to aske counsell of the Lorde for the comfort of the Churche in her great extremities These Prophets were called Séers of whom it is spoken in the firste booke of the Cronicles as of God Dauids Séer and of Samuell the Seer The seconde sorte were also extraordinarily sente by the Lorde too interprete the lawe of God when the priestes ceased such were Isay Ieremie c. The thirde kinde of Prophetes are such as the Lorde hath blessed with abilitie and giftes to enterprete and applie the holie scriptures so that to prophecie or to bee a Prophete in this last sence is to open the worde of GOD by a sounde diligent playne and faithfull interpretation and to applie the same both for the ingendring encrease and confirmation of faith and also for the reformation and amendement of life such as some thinke were the Prophetes at Antiochia spoken of in the thirtéenth of the Actes In this sence all true preachers are prophets Thus likwise I take Salomons saying Where Prophesie fayleth the people perishe that is where there is not a faithfull ministery a true diligent interpretation a through application of the word there the people by heapes runne headlong into vtter destruction To this ende and in this meaninge doeth Moses vtter these wordes The Lord your God shall rayse vp vnto you a Prophete signifying a continuall ministerie of the worde for inlarginge the kingdome building vp the church of Christ Howbeit both Stephan in the seauenth and Peter in the thirde of the Actes doe so vse the testimonie of Moses that they doe more particularly restreigne the same vnto our Sauiour Christe For their purpose is to persuade the Iewes that to hearken vnto and beleeue in Christ is not repugnante and contrarie to the Lawe of Moses because Moses him selfe speaking of Christ sayth A Prophete shall the Lorde c. There is no contrarietie betwéene my first interpretation of this prophet for all the ministerie and my thus vnderstandinge of Christe by this Prophete For as this Prophete doeth generally importe the whole number of true ministers prophetes and preachers so it hath also an especiall relation vnto Iesus Christ the head and prince the butte marke the scope end of all the true ministery which euer was is presently or shall be hereafter vpon the whole face of the earth Beholde here then the comfortable signification and importaunte nature of this prophete euen that Iesus Christ by his might and mercie shall euer bee with his Church and that from time to time the Lorde will rayse vp and sende out true ministers for his Church This alone consideration and knowledge is fully fraught with singular comforte If we call to our remembrāce that an houshold with out a stewarde waxeth disordered that schollers wanting an instructour cannot be learned that a shippe destitute of a guide is vnlikely to be preserued we shall then easily perceiue and clearely sée the moste lamentable estate of the Church when it is depriued of true ministers which are the Lords stewards to dispose his secretes the Lords scholmasters to teach his people the Lords vnderguides to direct his flock of Shéep in to the sheepefold of Iesus Christe The faithfull among all other griefes reckon this for one of the greatest we see not our sagnes there is not one Prophet more But although for our sinnes ingratitude contempt and disobedience the Lorde in his displeasure doth often take away his worde and ministers in such sort as the worlde many times iudgeth the worde vtterly abandoned and the ministers thereof altogether destroyed yet euen in those times of hott afflictions the Lord hath continually raised vp true prophetes and preachers to his true hearted Israelites whereof this Citie hath often had most comfortable triall experience Therefore let vs faithfully holde in our harts as a sure ground and infallible principle for euer that if wee wil be diligent hearers faithfull beleeuers and obedient practizers of his worde The Lorde our God shall raise vp a Prophet vnto vs that is will still mercifully blesse vs with the presence of Iesus Christe and with sincere learned painfull discréete and godly interpreters ministers of his worde Moses procéedeth in the description of this Prophet and sayth of your brethren like to me Ye haue alreadie heard that Moses speaketh these words in generall manner respecting both Christe and his ministers but that Peter doth more particularly applie them vnto Christe and therfore it behoueth me to speake of the same wordes First as they generally concerne the whole ministerie Thē as they especially touch Christ To preserue and keepe the Israelites in them all Christians from béeing defiled with the impious maners of the gentiles to make them for euer wholy cleaue to the word of God Moses hath promised a cōtinual opening of the word wil of god therin comprised The people might haue said to Moses peraduenture thy meaning is that the Lord himself will teach vs in his owne person But this wee canne in no wise brooke For we founde his maiestie so glorious his voice so terrible his words so pearcing at the giuing out of the lawe vppon moūt Sinai that we looked for present death and therefore prayed that wee might no more heare the Lorde speake vnto vs in his owne person Moses to take away this feare telleth them that this prophet shall be of their owne brethren that is of their owne stocke bloude and kinred and like to him that is a man as he is in companie with thē as he is teaching them as familiarly as plainely as mildely as louingly as he doth Hence we are taught that as it is a great benifit to be rightly instructed in the will and way of the Lorde so the Lorde hath dealt gratiously with vs in that he teachech vs not in his glorious maiestie to confounde vs but in his great mercie to saue vs not fearefully by thundring lightening tempests to afraie vs but by men of our own countrie of our own nature of our own acquaintaunce to encourage aad allure vs. Now to vnderstād this speach of Christ as Stephan and Peter doe it must be thus construed that Christ touching his humane nature shoulde descende from the stocke of Abraham and bee borne among the Iewes And therefore ther was no cause at al why the Iewes shoulde either feare or dispise Christe sith by byrth he shoulde bee their owne countrieman and in familiar and louing instruction like to Moses But this Christes likenesse to Moses must not be so taken as if in Christe there coulde bee founde nothing more excellent then was in Moses For Moses was but a man Christ God and man Moses was a man
the day then to daunce vpon the Saboth daye If we had grace that one exāple of the murdering of innocent Iohn Baptist by occasion of wanton dauncing might set before our eyes how daungerous a matter it is to frequent the cōmon dancing places And how streightly the holy ghost doth commaund mortification subduing of our wanton affections holinesse in thought wordes workes eyes tongues generally and particularly this ye haue learned by the often hearinge and readinge of the scriptures and therefore ye cannot be ignorant but must néedes knowe and confesse howe vnséemely how vnchristianlike how displeasant to God and offensiue to good men the accustomed dauncing of men women vppon the dayes before named is yea and that their maner of dancing may verie well truely be called as Augustin calleth it a flattering Diuell a sweete poyson a sinfull pleasure or a pleasaunt sinne And so far are thoy from hope to reformo this deformed dancing as we lamentably see many placed in authoritie to like well thereof and rather maintaine irreligious dancers then estéeme and hearken vnto the iust complaint of godlie preachers which openly in sermons priuatly by supplications euery waye haue laboured for the suppressing of this notable cause of many mischeuous inconueniences It is déepely layed to our charge that we speake against al manner of recreations And yet it is well knowen that we like and vse recreations In déed we say this that both wée and all that feare the Lorde muste not alone in earnest and weightie affaires but also in our verie sportes and mirth and pastimes séeke the glorie of god by endeuouring to put of the olde man of sinne and to shewe foorth liuely fruites of true regeneration that whatsoeuer we say or doe it may thereby appeare we haue béene baptised as with water so likwise with the holy ghost and fire that is inwardly and effectually wherof they can neuer truely and comfortably assure themselues which let loose the bridle of their affections and as it were sell their bodies and soules to riotous vnchaste and vngodly dauncing and such other carnall delightes so horribly frequented by the common sort of people in many places of this Realme to the frustrating of oure labours the hinderance of the gospell the increase of wickednesse therfore to the greate ioy of Sathan and all his adherents The Lord in mercie giue suche strength and courage to all magistrats that setting a side frendship respect of gaine care to be popular and all earthly considerations they may throughly friendly ioyne their temporall sworde with the woorde of God whiche is the sworde of the spirite for the cutting downe of what soeuer thinges shall be founde any manner of impediment and let to the inlarging of Christes kingdome And the same Lord turne the froward harts of many people that wheras now they bende themselues to nothing so much as to erect and set vp vanities and to vexe molest and grieue the heartes and discredite slaunder and stain the names euen of their learned godly teachers they may spéedily shew harty repentāce become obediēt hearers followers of God his word And as in the countrie minstrels thus seduce bewitch the people so it hath bene sayd I trust it be reformed that vaine plaiers haue had about this citie of London farre greater audience then true preachers This vniuersal lothing of Christes holy gospell doth prognosticate a famine not of bread and water that is not of corporall foode but as the Prophet sayth a famine of hearing the worde of the Lorde It woulde pearce through our heartes with intollerable griefe to féele our selues and sée our children perish with wāt of bodily sustenance This was the miserable condition and estate of the wicked Iewes at the finall destruction of that moste famous Ierusalem Then the Parentes sawe the pitifull famine and staruing of their children the children of their Parentes one of an other Almost all things they layd hands vppon though most vnnatural thei vsed as meat The tender hearted mother spared not with her own hands to slea her own innocent and natural child and with his vnpleasāt flesh to nourish her famishing body to stay her vnreasonable hungrie appetite Verilie this is a sorrowful narratiō But another maner of griefe shal the famine of God his word bring with it when as by means therof manie fathers and mothers with their children manie maisters with their seruaunts many gouernours with their people shall pine away and perish euerlastingly with the eternal death of body soul This will be a dolefull daunce and to this ende without heartie and present amendement the vsuall contemptuous dauncing the despising of the Gospell the sinnefull delightes the disordred life of the vngodly the profanatiō of holy dayes the loue of playing the lothing and hatred of preaching will bring our happie and golden dayes if God bee not verie mercifull to vs Thus haue ye heard that in these first sort of carnall Protestantes there can be found no obedience and therfore no liuely faith and so consequently they are no fruitfull hearers of the worde Another sort of lippe prefessours are zealous in religion feruentlie bente against poperie great talkers of the scripture pretenders of much honestie but yet among them ye shall finde vnmercifull vsurers couetous oppressours extreame dealers in worldly thinges insatiable cormorantes filthie Epicures these men wil vse faire words but haue foule hearts they will sweare and yet lie they make a shew of simplicitie and for all that are full of deceipt they can talke of mortification yet vse meanes as it were with bellowes to blowe vp and kindle the fire of carnall conuersation The case of these men are most miserable Better they had neuer knowen the worde of god Better they had neuer bene borne Better a milstone had ben hāged about thier neckes then so to haue offended Christs litle ones Their owne knowledge of the word and yet disobedience to the worde pronounceth sentence of iust condemnation against them These are such as Christ speaketh of Not euerie one that saieth vnto mee Lord Lorde shall enter into the kingdome c. These are foolish lookers into the glasse of God his worde hearers only deceiuing their owne selues These are cloudes without water carried about of windes corrupt trées and without fruite These are chaffe whiche the winde driueth away Yea that chaffe which Christ will burne with vnquenchable fire These are figge trées which beare leaues only no fruite and therfore vnable to endure the presēce of christ In the seconde booke of Samuell it is written that King Dauid sent some of his seruants to comfort Hanun king of the Ammonites lamenting for his fathers deth But Hanun perswaded by his noble men that Dauids seruantes came rather as espialles then as