way the blow will come nor where it will light Therefore Put on the whole armour of God that yee may bee able to stand against all the wyles of the diuell The loins the brest the head the feete all parts must bee armed The fruite of the Spirit those happy fruits which the Spirit of God worketh in vs and bringeth out of vs is manifold Galat. 5. Loue ioy peace long-suffering gentlenesse goodnesse faith meeknesse c. The Apostle chargeth vs to bee rich in good workes 1. Tim. 6. And for this cause bowes his knees vnto the Father of our Lord Iesus Christ that according to the riches of his glorie wee might be filled with all the fulnesse of God The reason is giuen by Christ. To whom much is giuen of them shall much be required And it was his commendation of Mary Magdâ—lâ—n that because shee had much forgiuen her therefore she loued much Happie then is that ground which abounds with good herbes the fruits of faith patience content charitie Not our riches but our worâ—s shall follow vs. Goodnesse shall only giue Pulchrum sepulchrum and as we vse to sticke dead bodies with herbes so these herbes our fruitfull good workes shall adorne and beautifie our memorialls when the name of the wicked shall â—ot I know England inueigh the Papists till their galls burst is full of pious and charitable workes It is a Garden full of good herbes Not to vs but to God bee the prayse who hath moued such instruments to workes of his glory Yet Queâ—on fecimus ipsi vix ca nostra voce let â—uery man quiet his owne conscience with the good herbes his owne garden produceth The rich man growes easily richer so the good man easily better It is the custom of most men to be pleased with a very little religion For the world wee are enraged and transported with such a hunger that the graue is sooner satisfied but a very little godlinesse contents vs. But if we would not bee barren nor vnfruitfull in the knowledge of our Lord Iesus Christ we must sayth the Apostle abound with these herbes And then for a proportionate reward An entrance shall be ministred vnto vs abundantly into the euerlasting kingdome of our Sauiour Christ. Blessed is he that brings forth herbes many herbes and lastly such as are 4. Meet for them by whom he is dressed THe word By whom may as well be translated For whom 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Two instructions are here necessarily offered vs. 1. By whom this goodnesse comes 2. For whom it must be intended 1. By whom it is dressed GOD is the Husbandman that dresseth this ground and causeth in it Fertillitie It was the Pelagian errour A Deo habemus quâ—d homines sumus a nobis ipsis autem quod iusti sumus We are beholding to God that we are men to our selues that we are good men But the contrary is here euident God doth not onely make the ground but hee makes the ground fruitfull he raines vpon it hee dresseth it hee blesseth it Christ sayd not Sine me parum potestis facere sed sine me nihil Without me ye can doe nothing sayth our Sauiour and to the best men euen the Apostles not a little but nothing If God had onely made thee a man and thou made thy selfe a good man then is thy worke greater then Gods worke For Mel us est iustum esse quam te homâ—nâ—m esse Our meere being is not so happie as our better being No this Text conuinceth that lye For according to that distinction of grace 1. Here is Gratia operans God begins the worke he makes the ground good sanctifies the person 2. Here is Gratia cooperans God that begins performes the worke he raineth vpon he dresseth the heart and so causeth it to produce herbes 3. Here is Gratia saluans whereby hee crowneth our will and worke in the day of our Lord IESVS It receiueth blessing from God So Qui viret in foliis venit a radicibus humor The sappe of grace which appeares greene and flourishing in the branches and fruit comes from the root Now in all this Deus non necessitat sed factlâ—tat God induceth the good to good by alacritie not enforceth against their wills Quoniam probitate coacta Gloria nulla venit For God doth not worke vpon vs as vpon blockes and stones in all and euery respect passiue but conuerts our wils to will our owne conuersion Qui fecit te sine te non iustificabit te sine te Fecit nescâ—entem Iustificat volentem Hee that made thee without thy selfe will not iustifie thee without thy selfe without thy merite indeed not without thine act He created thee when thou knewest it not he doth iustifie thee with the consent of thy owne will Let this consideration lay vs all prostrate before the foot-stoole of God kissing the feete of his mercy who is the Beginner and finisher of our faith Who hath made the ground good and encreased the number of herbes with his holy dewes from heauen dressed it with his graces and promised to reward it with his blessings Thus By whom now For whom Meete for them who dressed it AND is it possible that man should produce herbes meete for the acceptation of God Hath he not pure eyes which see vncleannesse and imperfection in all our workes Is there any man so happy as to bee iustified in his sight No but it pleaseth him to looke vpon our workes in the Crystall glasse Christ and because they are the effects of a true faith in him to esteeme them meete S. Peter sayth This is thanke-worthy if a man for conscience toward God endure griefe suffering wrongfully Doe euen our sufferings then merite 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 euen this is grace To you it is giuen not only to beleeue in him but euen to suffer for his sake This was none of yours but giuen you And when you haue suffered yet you must truely with Paul reckon that the afflictions of this present world are not worthy of that high inestimable waight of glory There are no workes acceptable Quae praecedunt instificandum sed quae sequuntur iustificatum which goe before Iustification but these that follow it All of vs as Luther was wont to say haue naturally a Pope bred in our bellies a Mountebanke-opinion of our owne worth Narcissus-like wee dote vpon our owne shadowes and thinke our workes acceptable enough to God If wee haue prayed releeued beleeued the history of the Gospell or attentiuely heard the word these are works meete for God The Monke had but one hole in his Cell and though it was in the toppe vpward to heauen yet the Diuell made a shift to creepe in there The Serpent thrusts in his head often in some cracke of our good workes Luther paradoxically 〈◊〉 â—niustitiarum â—ere sola causa 〈◊〉 Almost the only cause of all vnrighteousnesse is a too-well conceited
and working cause next vnder the grace of God in our Lord Iesus Christ that the soules of Christians should bring forth the fruits of faith and obedience I know God can saue without it we dispute not of his power but of his worke of ordinary not extraordinary operations God vsually worketh this in our hearts by his word Thus for the matter the manner is 1. It commeth 2. Often 3. Vpon it It commeth IT is not forc'd nor fetch'd but comes of his owne meere mercy whose it is Iam. 1. So sayth the Apostle Euery good gift and euery perfect gift is from aboue and commeth downe from the Father of lights They that want it haue no merit of congruity to draw it to them they that haue it haue no merite of condignitie to keepe it with them It is the mercy and gratuitall fauour of God that this Gospell commeth to vs. For if ipsum minus be munus how highly is this great gift to be praysed What deserue we more then other Nations They haue as pregnant wittes as proportionable bodies as strong sinewes as we and perhaps would bring forth better fruits Yet they want it with vs it is Wee need not trauell from Coast to coast nor iourney to it it is come to vs. Venit ad limina virtus will you steppe ouer your thresholds and gather Manna When the Gospell was farre off from our Fathers yet in them Studium audiendi superabat taedium accedendi the desire of hearing it beguiled the length of the way But we will scarce put forth our hand to take this bread and as in some ignorant countrey townes be more eager to catch the raine that falls from the out-side of the Church in their buckets then this raine of grace preached in it in their hearts Oh you wrong vs wee are fond of it we call for preaching yes as your forefathers of the blind times would call apace for holy water yet when the Sexton cast it on theÌ„ they would turn away their faces and let it fall on their backes Let God sow as thicke as he will you wil come vp thinne You will admit frequencie of preaching but you haue taken an order with your selues of rare practising You are content this Raine should come as the next circumstance giues it Often GOD hath respect to our infirmities and sends vs a plentiful raine One showre will not make vs fruitful it must come oft vpon us Gutta cauat lapidem non vi sed saepe cadendo The raine dints the hard stone not by violence but by oft-falling droppes Line must be added to line here a little and there a little God could powre a whole floud on vs at once but mans vnderstanding Is like a viall narrow at the toppe Not capable of more then drop by droppe Sayes the Poet. If much were powred at once a great deale would fall besides and be spilt Like children wee must bee fed by spoonfulls according to the capacity of our weake natures It is not an abundant raine falling at once that makes the plants grow but kindly and frequent showers One sermon in a yeare contents some throughly and God is highly beholding to theÌ„ if they wil sit out that waking You desire your fields your gardens your plants to be often watred your soules will grow well enough with one raining How happy would man be if hee were as wise for his soule as he is for his body Some there are that would heare often may be too often til edification turne to tedification and get themselues a multitude of Teachers but they wil doe nothing You shall haue them run ten miles to a Sermon but not steppe to their owne dores with a morsell of bread to a poore brother They wish wel to the cause of Christ but they will doe nothing for it worth God-a-mercie The world is full of good wishes but heauen only full of good workes Others would haue this Raine fall often so it be such as they desire it Such a cloud must giue it and it must be begotten in thunder faction and innouation Till Euangelium Christi fit euangelium hominis aut quod peius est Diaboli Till the Gospell of Christ be made mans Gospell or which is worse the deuills If the raine as it falls doe not smell of Nouelty it shal fall besides them They regard not so much heauen whence it comes as who brings it I haue read of two that meeting at a Tauem fel a tossing their religion about as mâ—rily as their cuppes and much drunken discourse was of their profession One protested himself of Doctor Martins Religion the other swore hee was of Doctor Luthers Religion whereas Martin and Luther was one man No raine shall water them but such a mans otherwise be it neuer so wholesome they spew it vp againe As if their conscieÌ„ce were so nice delicate as that ground at Coleine where some of St. Vrsula's eleuen thousand Virgins were buried which will cast vp againe in the night any that haue bene interred there in the day except of that company though it were a child newly baptised For our selues the limits of sobriety being kept desire wee to heare the Gospell often and let our due succeding obedience iustifie the goodnesse of our thirst When Christ spake of the bread of life the transported Disciples beseech him Lord euermore giue us this bread So pray wee Lord euermore showre down vpon vs this raine Vpon it GOd so directs this deaw of his Word that it shall fall on our hearts not besides The Raine of the Gospell like the raine of the clouds hath sometimes gone by coasts Amos 4. I haue with-holden the raine from you and I haue caused it to raine vpon one Citie and caused it not to raine vpon another Citie one piece was rained vpon and the piece whereupon it rayned not withered But I haue wetted your fields moysten'd your hearts with the deawes of heauen giuen you my statutes and ordinances sayth the Lord I haue not dealt so with euery people there be some that haue not the knowledge of my lawes The Sunne shines on many nations where this spirituall raine falls not This is not all but as at the last day two in one bed shall be diuorced so euen now one seat in the Church may holde two vpon one whereof this sauing raine may fall not on the other The Spirit blowes where hee pleaseth and though the sound of the raine be to all open eares alike yet the spirituall deaw drops only into the open hart Many come to Iacobs well but bring no pitchers with them wherewith to drawe the water A good showre may come on the earth yet if a man house himselfe or bee shrouded vnder a thicke bush or borough'd in the ground hee will be drie still God sends downe his raine one houseth himselfe in the darkenesse of securitie hee is too drowsie to be told in with the bells
righteousnesse We are easily induced to thinke our selues euery one as Simon Magas some great man There must bee a deiection of this thought an annihilation of our owne worth that we can doe nothing meete for God or worthy his iust acceptance For Serdet in distinctiâ—â—e Iudicis quod fulget in opinione operantis That is often foule in the sentence of the Iudge which shines in the imagination of him that doth it But as Physitians say no man dyes of an ague or without it so seldome any soule dyes of pride or without pride not meerly of pride for though that sicknesse were enough to kill it yet it is euer accompanied with som other disease and vicious wickednes nor without it for it is so inherent vnto mans nature that pride if it doth not prouoke yet at lest holds the dore whiles any iniquitie is doing Hence flow so many errors and factions and singularities For as in the body a raw stomach makes a rhumatick head a rhumatick head a raw stomach So in the soule an indigested conceit of some good thing in vs makes the head rume of some rheumaticke opinion or madde factious singularitie and this petulant rheume in the braine keeps the conscience raw stil that the physicke of repentance or good diet of peaceable obedience cannot helpe it Let vs correct these exorbitant and superfluous conceits which are like proude flesh vpon vs and knowe wee are able to doe nothing of our selues but God is faine to put euen good thoughts in vs. And if wee doe good from him how good soeuer it be as from him yet running through vs it gets some pollution Neither let vs run into the contrary errour as if in a stupid willfullnesse what good soeuer wee did we could not hope that God in Iesus Christ would accept it There is a thresholde of despaire below to stumble at as wel as a post of high presumption to breake our heads at There is a base deiection a sordid humility Barâ—ena the Iesuite told another of his order that when the deuill appeared to him one night out of his profound humility hee rose vp to meete him and prayed him to sitte downe in his chaire for hee was more worthy to sitte there then he This did appeare a strange kind of deiectednes Surely I thinke a man should by Gods word and warrant take comfort in his wel doing and be cheared in the testimonie which a good conscience on good cause beareth to him So Dauid hartned himselfe against all the malicious slanders of his his enemies O Lord thou knowest mine innocence Good workes are the necessary and inseparable effects of a true faith We are by nature all dead in sinne and by sinne concluded vnder death Our Sauiour bore for vs this death and by his passion freed vs from eternal damnation It was not enough to scape hell how shall wee get to heauen Loe we are cloathed with the garment of his righteousnesse hung with the Iewels of his merits So not onely hell is escaped by his sufferings but heauen got by his doings Why should wee then worke what need our gardens stand so full of herbes Good reason Shall God do so much for vs and shall we do nothing for him for our selues If the Lord of a Forrest giues me a Tree it is fit I should be at the cost to cut it downe and bring it home if I will haue it I cannot say that I deserued the tree it was anothers gift but my labours must lead me to enioy that which was freely giuen me Neither can the conscience haue assurance of eternal life so frankly bestowed in Christ without a good conuersation Faith doth iustifie and workes do testifie that we are iustified In a clocke the finger of the dyall makes not the clocke to goe but the clocke it yet the finger without shewes how the clocke goes within Our external obedience is caused by our inward faith but that doth manifest how truly the clocke of our faith goes As a mans corporall actions of sleeping eating digesting walking declare his recouery from sicknesse and present health So his life witnesseth by infallible Symptomes that the disease and death of sinne is mortified in him and that he hath taken certaine hold of eternall life It is meet then that we should doe good workes but all our works are made meete and worthy in him that bought vs. I will conclude then with that Antheme made by a sweet singer in our Israel Pendemus ate credimus in te tendimus ad te non nisi per te Optime Christe AMEN THE GARDEN Or A Contemplation of the HERBES The THIRD SERMON The Song of Salomon Chap. 6. Ver. 2. My Beloued is gone downe into his Garden to the beds of spices to feede in the gardens and to gather Lillies AMB. super LVC. Non Virtus est non posse peccare sed nolle LONDON Printed by George Purslowe for Iohn Budge and are to be solde at his shop at the great South-dore of Pauls and at Brittaines Burse 1616. THE GARDEN OR A Contemplation of the Herbes THE THIRD SERMON HEB. Chap. 6. Vers. 7. For the earth which drinketh in the raine that commeth oft vpon it and bringeth forth Herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed receiueth blessing from God THat the Herbes of our graces may be meete for the dresser contentful to GOD who hath planted watred husbanded the Garden of our hearts wee will require in them foure vertues Odour Taste Ornament Medicinall Vertue 1. That they haue a good odour God is delighted with the smell of our graces My Beloued is gone downe into his Garden to the beds of spices to feed in the gardens and to gather Lillies The vertues of Christ are thus principally pleasant and all our herbes onely smell sweetly in his Garden Because of the sauour of thy good ointment thy name is as ointment powred forth therefore doe the Virgins loue thee This sauour is sweetly acceptable in the nostrils of God All thy garments smel of Myrrhe Aloes and Cassia It is his righteousnesse that giues all our herbes a good odour and in him it pleaseth God to iudge our works sweet When Noah had built an Altar and sacrificed burnt offerings on it the Lord smelled a sweet sauour and sayd I will not againe curse the ground any more for mans sake Myrrhe and Prankincense were two of the oblations which the Wise-men offered to CHRIST being an Infant Tres Reges regum Regitria dona tulerunt Myrrham homini vncto auruÌ„ thura dedere Deo Tutriafac itidem dones pia munera Christo Muneribus gratus si cupis esse tuis Pro myrrha lacrymas pro auro cor porrige purum Pro thure ex humili pectore funde preces Three kings to the great King three offerings bring Incense for God Myrrhe for man gold for king Thy Incense be the hands a white soule reares For gold giue a pure hart for
loe the thankfull earth returnes fruites and that in abundance The Christian soule hauing receiued such holy operations inspirations and sanctifying motions from aboue is neuer found without a gratefull fertility Yea as the Earth to man so man to God returnes a blessed vsurie tenne for one nay sometimes 30. sometimes 60. sometimes an hundred fold But the succeeding doctrine will challenge this demonstration I haue been somewhat copious in the first word the breuity of the rest shall recompence it The operatiue cause that worketh the good earth to this fruitfulnesse is a heauenly Raine that falls oft vpon it and the earth doth drinke it vp Wherein is obseruable that the raine doth come that it is welcome God sends it plenteously and man entertaines it louingly It comes oft and he drinkes it vp Gods loue to man is declared in the comming in the welcomming mans loue to God In the former we will consider 1. The matter 2. The manner The matter that commeth is Raine The manner consists in 3 respects 1. There is mercy It commeth It is not constrained deserued pulled downe from heauen It commeth 2. Frequencie it commeth often there is no scanting of this mercy it flowes abundantly as if the windowes of heauen were opened Often 3. Direction of it right vpon this earth It falls not neere it nor besides it but vpon it To begin with the Raine GOds Word is often compared to Raine or Deaw Moses beginnes his Song with My doctrine shall drop as the raine my speech shal distill as the deaw as the small raine vpon the tender herbe and as the showers vpon the grasse Therfore in the first verse he calls to the earth to heare his voice Man is the Earth and his Doctrine the Raine Mica 2. Prophecie yee not the originall word is Drop ye not c. Amos 7. 16. Thou sayest Prophecy not against Israel drop not thy word against the house of Isaac Ezek. 21. Sonne of man set thy face toward Ierusalem and drop thy word toward the holy places The Metaphore is vsuall wherein stands the comparison In 6. concurrences 1. It is the property of Raine to coole heate Experience tels vs that a sweltring feruour of the ayre which almost fryes vs is allayed by a moderate shower sent from the clouds The burning heate of sinne in vs and of Gods anger for sinne against vs is quenched by the Gospell It cooles our intemperate heate of malice anger ambition auarice lust which are burning sins 2. Another effect of Raine is Thirst quenched The drie earth parched with heate opens it selfe in refts and cranies as if it would deuoure the cloudes for moisture The Christian soule thirsts after righteousnesse is drie at heart till he can haue the Gospell a showre of this mercy from heauen quencheth his thirst he is satisfied Whosoeuer drinketh of the water that I shal giue him shal neuer thirst but it shall bee in him a well of water springing vp into euerlasting life 3. Raine doth allay the windes When the ayre is in an vprore and the stoutest Cedars crouch to the ground before a violent blast euen Towers and Cities tremble a showre of raine sent from the cloudes mitigates this fury When the Potentates of the world Tyrants little better then Diuels Gog and Magog Moab and Ammon Turkey Rome Hell storme against vs God quiets all our feares secures vs from al their terrours by a gracious raine droppes of mercie in the neuer-fayling promises of the Gospell 4. Raine hath a powerfull efficacy to cleanse the ayre When infectious fogges and contagious vapours haue filled it full of corruption the distilling showres wash away the noysome putrifaction We know that too often filthy fumes of errors and heresies surge vp in a land that the soule of faith is almost stifled and the vncleannesse of corrupt doctrine gets a predominant place the Lord then droppes his word from heauen the pure Raine of his holy Gospell cleanseth away this putrifaction and giues new life to the almost smothered truth Wo to them then that would depriue mens soules of the Gospell and with-hold the Truth in vnrighteousnesse When they locke vp the gates of grace as Christ reproued the Lawyers and labour to make the heauens brasse they must needes also make the Earth iron How should the earth of mans heart bring forth fruits when the raine is with-held from it No maruell if their ayre be poyson'd 5. Raine hath yet another working to mollifie a hard matter The parched and heat-hardned earth is made soft by the deawes of heauen O how hard and obdurate is the heart of man till this raineâ—falls on it Is the heart couetous no teares from distressed eyes can melt a peny out of it Is it malicious no supplications can begge forbearance of the least wrong Is it giuen to drunkennesse you may melt his body into a dropsie before his heart into sobrietie Is it ambitious you may as well treat with Lucifer about humiliation Is it factious a Quire of Angels cannot sing him into peace No means on earth can soften the heart whether you annoint it with the supple balmes of entreaties or thunder against it the bolts of menaces or beate it with the hammer of mortall blowes Behold GOD showres this raine of the Gospell from heauen and it is sodainely softned One Sermon may pricke him at the heart one droppe of a Sauiours bloud distilled on it by the Spirit in the preaching of the Word melts him like waxe The Drunkard is made sober the Adulterer chaste Zaccheus mercifull and raging Paul as tame as a Lambe They that haue erst serued the Diuell with an eager appetite and were hurried by him with a voluntary precipitation haue all their chaines eaten off by this Aqua fortis one droppe of this raine hath broken their fetters and now all the powers of hell cannot preuaile against them There is a Legend I had as good say a tale of an Hermite that heard as he imagin'd all the Diuels of hell on the other side of the wall lifting and blowing and groning as if they were a remouing the world The Hermite desires to see them admitted behold they were all lifting at a feather and could not stirre it The application may serue yeeld the fable idle Satan and his Armies Spirits Lusts Vanities Sinnes that erst could tosse and blow a man vp and downe like a feather and did not sooner present a wickednesse to his sight but he was more ready for action then they for instigation now they cannot stirre him they may sooner remoue the world from the pillars then him from the grace and mercy of God The deaw of heauen hath watred him and made him grow and the power of hell shall not supplant him The raine of mercie hath softned his heart and the heat of sinne shall neuer harden it 6 Lastly Raine is one principall subordinate cause that all things fructifie This holy deaw is the operatiue meanes
are Gods giftes Iames 1. 17. Bee thankfull then and after the raine of mercy bring forth the herbes of obedience You see what this Fertillitie concludes Thankfulnesse Heare now what it excludes 2. Idlenesse This good ground lyes not dead and barren nor returnes all heauens raine with a naked and neutrall acceptation it brings forth You read Luke 19. of a Seruant to whom when his Lord had intrusted a Talent he hidde it in the ground as an Vsurer his money to keepe it safe And at his Lords returne Domine ecce tuum hee answered his account with Lord behold thine own I knew that thou wert seuerus Magister a hard Master therfore I thought it my securest course to make good thine owne againe But the Lord replyed Ex ore tuo Oh euill seruant out of thy owne mouth I condemne thee Thou shouldst then haue answered my austeritie with thy laborious care of my aduantage Therefore heare his doome Cast ye the vnprofitable seruant into outer darknesse there shall bee weeping and gnashing of teeth Hee did not euill with his talent no it was enough to condemne him he did nothing There is abundance of this dead ground in the world which brings forth nothing Idle wretches that sleepe out time and admonition but their damnation sleepeth not It was neuer sayd Samson hath lost his strength till hee slept in the lappe of Dalila Idlenesse doth neither get nor saue there is nothing more emptie of good fruits nor more abundantly pregnant with euill That man doth ill that doth nothing and he looseth whiles hee gaines not Many beholding with cowardly and carnall eyes what a long and tâ—oublesome iourney it is to heauen sit them downe and fall fast asleepe O barren grounds will ye bring forth nothing Is difficulty made your hindrance that should bee a spurre to your more eager contention Know you not that the violent shall get the kingdome of heauen Some can follow their dogges all day in the fielde others hunt Mammon dry-foote in their shoppes yeare after yeare and neuer complaine of wearinesse Only an houre or two in the Church puts an ach into our bones as if nothing wearyed vs so soone as well-doing Is it feare of too much labour that keepes you from God why doth not the same reason deterre you from seruing the diuell His lawes are true burdens and his seruice drudgerie But Christs yoke is easie and his burden light I'may boldly affirme it your couetous man takes more paines to goe to hell then the godly ordinarily to get to heauen He riseth early and resteth late and eates the course bread of sorrow and after tedious and odious miserie goes to the Diuell for his labour Shall we refuse easier pains for a farre better recompence It is but Satans subtiltie that makes men beleeue the passage to life so extremely difficult that it is impossible Herein the Diuell doth like the inhospitable Sauages of some countries that make strange fires and a shew of dismall terrors vpon the shores to keepe passengers from landing The Sluggard sayes Salomon doth but faine Beares and Lyons as the superstitious doth bugges in the way as apologies of idlenesse that he may sit still and be at ease The slothfull person is the Diuels shop wherein he worketh engines of destruction He is most busie in the lazie But whatsoeuer thy hand findeth to doe doe it with thy might for there is no worke nor knowledge nor deuice nor wisedome in the graue whither thou goest If thy soule be watred with the deaw of heauen thou must needes bring forth What 2. Herbes There is Fertilitie in Goodnes THe eldest daughter of Idlenesse is to doe nothing the next borne to doe something to no purpose But the good man is not onely doing but well doing Math. 24. Blessed is that seruant whom his Lord when he commeth shall finde so doing This so consists in doing Bonum and Bene. As the former verse may seeme to intimate He giues them meate there he doth good in due season there he doth it well The forbearance of wickednesse is not enough to acquit the soule but the performance of righteousnesse The rich Glutton is tormented in hell not because he did hurt but because he did not helpe Lazarus Non quod abstulerit aliena sed quod non donarit sua sayth S. Chrysost. Not for taking away another mans but for not giuing his owne He would not giue the poore the crummes that fell from his boord and so facere damna lucrum make a gaine of his losses for they were lost that fell from his libertine table and yet would haue refreshed the hungry and famished soule But Diues would not giue a crumme to get a crowne He wore fine linnen but it was his owne Hee was cloathed in rich purple but it was his owne Hee fared sumptuously euery day but hee did eate his owne meate he tooke none of all this from Lazarus Yet hee went to hell God condemned him because hee did not giue some of this to Lazarus Thus it is not only the commission of lewdnesse that sinkes men to hell but euen also the omission of goodnesse Dost thou heare O Earth vnlesse thou bring forth herbes thou shalt be condemned The Fig-tree had no bad fruit on it yet was it cursed because it had none at all The axe that is layd to the roote shall hew downe euen that tree which brings not forth good fruite though it bring forth no euill Fire shall take the barren as well as the vveedie ground Except your righteousnesse shall exceede the righâ—â—ousnesse of the Scribes and Pharises ye shall not enter into the kingdome of heauen Wherein me thinks our Sauiour implyeth a three-fold gradation to heauen First there must be Iustitia Righteousnesse an habituall practise of godlinesse an vncorrupt life which shall only be entertain'd to Gods Hill But the ground must be made good before it can produce good herbes for the person must bee accepted before the worke And this worke must be good both quoad fontem and quoad finem wee must deriue it from an honest heart and driue it to a right ende In the next place this Righteousnesse must bee a mans owne Nisi iustitia vestra Heere that ground which brings forth herbes receiueth blessing not that borrowes them of another For so as stony and barren an heart as Cheapside may be a far richer garden then some of those where those herbes brought thither naturally grew The Pope hath a huge harden of these herbes wherewith hee can store as many as will pay for them Iohn Baptist fasted more then hee was commanded and Mary liued more strictly then God required Now the Church of Rome keepes an Herball of these superabundant workes and money may haue store of them But heauen and Rome stand a great way asunder And as God neuer gaue the Pope authority to make such bargains so he neuer means to stand to
myrrhe drop tears The way to make our herbes smell sweetly is first to purge our garden of weedes For if sinne be fostered in our hearts all our workes will bee abominated God heareth not the prayers of the wicked If yee will walke contrary to mee saith the Lord I will bring your sanctuaries vnto desolation and I will not smell the sauour of your sweete odours But being adopted by grace in Christ and sanctified to holinesse our good works smell sweetly Phil. 4. I haue receiued of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you an odour of a sweet smell a sacrifice acceptable well pleasing to God It seemes GOD highly esteemes the herbe Charitie in our gardens Hee that serueth the Lord shall smell as Lebanon hee shall growe as the Vine and his sent shall bee as the wine of Lebanon Man is naturally delighted with pleasant sauours and abhorres noysome and stinking smels But our God hath purer nosthrils and cannot abide the polluted heapes of iniquities The Idle man is a standing pitte and hath an ill-sauour'd smell an ill-fauour'd sight The drunkard is like a bogge a fogge a fenne of euill vapours God cannot abide him Your couetous wretch is like a dunghill there is nothing but rottennesse and infection in him Omnis malitia eructat fumum All wickednesse belcheth forth an euill sauour Wonder you if God refuse to dwell with the Vsurer Swearer Idolater Adulterer There is a poyson of lust a leprosie of putrefaction in them no carryon is so odious to man as mans impieties are to God Yea the very oblations of defiled hands stinke in his presence Hee that sacrificeth a Lambe is as if hee cut off a dogges necke c. As if Ass a foetida was the only supply of their gardens But good herbes giue a double sauour one outward to man another inward to God The sweete smoke of a holy sacrifice like a subtil ayre riseth vp to heauen and is with God before man sees or smels it It also cheares the hearts of Christians to behold Christian workes Reuerence to the Word hallowing the Sabaoths releeuing the poore deeds of mercie pittie piety giue a delightful sent solacing the soules of the Saints and pleasing him that made them both men and Saints Therefore Hearken vnto me ye holy children and budde forth as a Rose growing by the brook of the fielde Giue ye a sweet sauour as frankincense and flourish as a Lilly send forth a smell sing a song of prayse and blesse the Lord in all his workes 2. That they taste well Many a flower hath a sweet smell but not so wholsome a taste Your Pharisaicall prayers and almes smelt sweetly in the vulgar nosthrils taste them and they were but rue or rather worme-wood When the Pharise sawe the Publican in the lower part of the Temple standing as it were in the Belfrey he could cry Foh this Publican but when they were both tasted by his palate that could iudge the Publican hath an herbe in his bosome and the Pharise but a gay gorgeous stinking weede The herbes that the Passeouer were eaten with were sowre yet they were enioined with sweet bread Sowre they might be but they were wholsome Herbes haue not onely their sauour but their nutriment He causeth the grasse to growe for the cattell and herbe for the seruice of man that he may bring food out of the earth Herbs thē are food and haue an alimentall vertue So we may both with the herbes of charitie feed mens bodies and with the herbes of piety feede their soules A good life is a good sallet and in the second place to precepts are vsefully necessary good exāples The bloud of Martyrs is sayd to haue nourished the Church The patience of the Saints in the hottest extremity of their afflictions euen when the flames of death hath clipped them in their armes hath been no lesse then a kindly nourishment to many mens faith It is expounded by an vniuersall consent of Diuines that one of those 3. feedings which Christ imposed on Peter is Pasce exemplo let thy life feed them Blessed Gardens that yeeld herbes like Iothams vine that cheare the heart of both God and man The Poets fain'd that Nectar Ambrosia were the food of their Gods Iupiter Ambrosia satur est est Nectare plenus But the true Gods dyet is the vertues of his Saints wherwith he promiseth to suppe when he comes into their hearts Faith loue patience meeknes honestie these dishes are his dainties If thou wouldest make Christ good cheare in the parlour of thy conscience bring him the herbes of obedience Doe not say I would haue beene as kinde and liberall to my Sauiour as the best had I liued in those dayes when he blessed the world with his bodily presence But now I may say with Mary Magdalen They haue taken away the Lord and I know not where to finde him Damne not thy selfe with excuses Wheresoeuer his Church is there is he exercise thy piety Wheresoeuer his members are there is he exercise thy charity Thou art very niggardly if thou wilt not afford him a sallet a dinner of herbes Yet sayth Salomon A dinner of greene herbes with loue is better then a fatte Oxe with hatred 3. That they be fitte to adorne Herbes and flowers haue not only their vse in pleasing the nostrills and the palate but the eye also They giue delight to all those three senses Good workes are the beauty of a house and a better sight then fresh herbes strew'd in the windores The Chamber where Christ would eate his Passouer was trimmed and the Palace of our Princely Salomon is paued With Loue of the daughters of Ierusalem There is no ornature in the World like good deeds no hanging of Tapestry or Arrase comes neere it A stately building where an Idolater dwells is but a gawdy coate to a Sodome-apple When you see an Oppressour raising a great house from the ruines of many lesse depopulating a Countrey to make vp one Family building his Parlours with extortion and cimenting his walls with the morter of bloud you say there is a foule Minotaure in a faire Labyrinth Be a man dead it is a foolish hope to reare immortalitie with a few senselesse stones Perhaps the Passenger wil be hereby occasioned to comment vpon his bad life and to discourse to his company the long enumeration of such a mans vices So a perpetuall succession of infamie answeres his gay sepulchre and it had bin better for him to haue been vtterly inglorious then inexcusably infamous The best report that can be drawne from him is but this Here lyes a faire Tombe and a foule carcase in it These things doe neither honest a man liuing nor honour him dead Good works are the best ornaments the most lasting monuments They become the house wherein thy soule dwelleth whiles it dwels there and blesse thy memorie when those two are parted A good life is mans
must be Lapathum Patience This Rue is affliction which hath a profitable effect in those that qnietly digest it Of all the herbes in the garden onely Rue is the herbe of grace How much vertue is wrought in the soule by this bitter plant It is held by some a sicknes it is rather Physick a sharpe and short medicine that bringeth with it much and long health This if they wil needs haue it a sicknesse may be compared to the Ague The Ague shakes a man worse then another disease that is mortall At last it giues 〈◊〉 a kinde farewell and sayes I haue purged thy choler and made thee healthfull by consuming and spending out that humor which would haue endangered thy life Affliction in the taste is often more bitter then a iudgement that kills outright but at last it tells the soule I haue purged away thy foulenesse wrought out thy Iustes and left there a sound man So the good Physician procureth to his Patient a gentle Ague that hee may cure him of a more dangerous disease Vt curet spasmum procurat febrim Christ our best Physician deales a little roughly with vs that hee may set vs straight And howsoeuer the Feuer of affliction disquiet vs a while we shall sing in the conclusion with the Psalmist It is good for me that I haue been afflicted that I might learne thy statutes Saepe facit Deus opus quod non est summ vt faciat opus quod est suum GOD by a worke that is none of his effecteth a work in vs that is his He molests vs with some vexations as hee did Iob which is Satans worke immediately not his that thereby hee might bring vs to patience and obedience which is his work immediatly and wholly not Satans So wee are chastned of the Lord that wee might not bee condemned with the world Bees are drown'd in honey but liue in vineger and good men grow the better affected the more they are afflicted The poore man for his ague goes to his garden and plucks vp thyme The remedy for this spirituall seuer is true but sensible pâtience Men should feele Gods strokes and so beare them It is dispraiseable either to be senselesse or fenselesse Not to know wee are stricken or not to take the blowes on the target of Patience Many can lament the effectes but not the cause and sorrow that God grieues them not that they grieue God They are angry with heauen for being angry with them They with heauen for iustice that is angry with them for iniustice But Maereamus quod mereamur paenam Let not the punishment but the cause of it make thy soule sorrowfull Know thou art whipp'd for thy faults and apply to the prints the herbe Patience Hearts-case and spirituall ioy DOth sorrow and anguish cast downe a mans hart and may he complain that his soule is disquieted within him Let him fetch an herbe out of this Garden called Hearts-ease an inward ioy which the holy Ghost worketh in him Though all the dayes of the afflicted be euill yet a merry heart is a continuall feast This is Heauen vpon earth Rom. 14. Peace of conscience and ioy of the holy Ghost His conscience is assured of peace with God of reconciliation in the bloud of IESVS and that his soule is wrapp'd vp in the bundle of life This may be well called Hearts-ease it is a holy a happy herbe to comfort the spirits When worldly ioyes either like Rahels children are not or like Eli's are rebellious there is Hearts-ease in this Garden that shall cheare him against all sorrowes certainty of Gods fauoâ—r Let the world frowne and all things in it runne crosse to the graine of our mindes yet with thee O Lord is mereie and plentifull redemption And if no body els yet God will be stil good to Israel euen to those that are of a pure heart Those which we call penal euils are either past present or to come and they cause in the soule sorrow paine feare Euils past sorrow present paine future feare Here is Hearts-ease for all these Miseries past are solaced because God hath turned them to our good and we are made the better by once being worse Miseries present finde mitigation and the infinite comfort that is with vs within vs sweetens the finite bitternesse that is without vs. Miseries future are to vs contingent they are vncertaine but our strength is certaine God Noui in quem credidi I know whom I haue trusted Heere is aabundant ease to the heart Balsamum or Faith HAth the heart got a greene wound by comitting some offense against God for actuall iniquity makes a gash in the soule The good man runnes for Balsamum and stancheth the bloud Faith in the promises of Iesus Christ. He knowes there is Balme at Gilead and there are Physicians there and therefore the health of his soule may easily be recouered He is sure that if the bloud of Christ bee applyed it will soone stanch the bloud of his conscience and keepe him from bleeding to death and that the wounds of his Sauiour will cure the wounds of his soule And though this virtuall healing herbe be in Gods owne Garden yet he hath a key to open it prayer and a hand to take it out and to lay it on his sores faith This is a soueraigne herbe and indeed so soueraigne that there is no herbe good to vs without it It may bee called Panaces which Physicians say is an herbe for all manner of diseases and is indeede the principall herbe of grace for it adornes the soule with all the merits and righteousnes of IESVS CHRIST Saint Iohns-wort or Charitie DOth the world through sweetnesse of gaine that comes a little too fast vpon a man begin to carry away his heart to couetousnesse Let him look in this Garden for the herbe called Saint-Iohns-wort Charity and brotherly loue It is called S. Iohns herbe not vnproperly for hee spent a whole Epistle in commending to vs this grace and often inculcated Little children loue one another And he further teacheth that this loue must be actuall For he that hath this worlds goods and seeth his brother hath need and shutteth vp his cowels of compassion from him how dwelleth the loue of God in him He hath no such herbe as Saint-Iohns-wort in his garden The good Christian considers that he hath the goods of this world to doe good in this world And that his riches are called Bona Goods Non quod faciant bonum sed vnde faciat bonum not that they make him a good man but giue him meanes to doe good to others He learns a Maxime of Christ from the world which the world teacheth but followeth not that is to make sure as much wealth as he can as if it were madnes to leaue those goodes behind him which he may cary with him This policie we all confesse good but faile in the consecution The world
this blessing Let vs not be hunting after sports as Esau for venison and loose our blessing lest wee cry howle rore when it is too late to recouer it Thinke oh thinke there is a heauen a GOD a IESVS a kingdome of glory society of Angels communion of Saints ioy peace happinesse and eternity of all these which it will bee a fearefull thing to loose for the base pleasures and short delights of this world O great God of all and sweete Father of thy chosen poure vpon vs thy holy deawes of grace make our soules to stand thicke with sanctified herbes that we may receiue thy blessing That honouring thee in the day of Grace we may bee hononoured by thee in the day of Glory Grant this for thy loued Sonne and our louing Sauiour euen IESVS CHRIST his sake Amen THE FORREST Of Thornes THE FOVRTH SERMON EZEK 28. 24. There shal be no more a pricking Bryar vnto the house of Israel nor any grieuing Thorne of all that are round about them Terra salutifferas herbas eadem que nocentes Nutrit vrticae proxima saepe rosa est LONDON Printed by George Purslowe for Iohn Budge and are to be solde at his shop at the great South-dore of Pauls and at Brittaines Burse 1616. THE FORREST Of THORNES THE FOVRTH SERMON HEB. Chap. 6. Vers. 8. But that which beareth thornes and bryers is reiected and is nigh vnto cursing whose end is to be burned THis verse begins with a word of Dsiunction But. The Raine of grace falls vpon the good ground it returneth berbes it receiueth blessing But that which beareth thorns and bryers is reiected and is nigh vnto cursing c. It is vndeniably true that S. Paul knew no Purgatory otherwise he that shunned not to declare to men all the counsell of God would not in a voluntary silence haue omitted this mysterie He deliuers two sorts of Grounds the good and the bad the one blessed the other neere vnto cursing Hee knew no meane either betwixt good and euill men or betwixt reward and punishment blessing and cursing It seemes that Christ himâ—elfe was ignorant of that point which the Papists know so soundly and beleeue so roundly For he sayes In Gods Field whatsoeuer growes is either corne or cockle for the one whereof a Barne is prouided for the other vnquenchable Fire A third sort betweene herbes and weedes had either the Master or the Seruant knowne they would haue acknowledged This first word of the Text But is a strong engine set to the wals of Purgatory to ouer-turne them and ouer-burne them with the fire of hell For they are imaginary pales that diuide hell and Purgatorie take away your conceit and they are both one all is hell For surely hell was raked when Purgatory was found and it is nothing els but a larder to the Popes Kitchin What fancie soeuer founded it their wittes are foundred that labour to maintaine it For they cannot tell vs vel quid sit vel vbi what it is nor where it is They cauill with vs for want of vnity and consent in iudgement Yet Bellarmine recites eight seuerall opinions amongst them about the place And concludes at last that it must remaine among those secrets Quae suo tempore aperientur nobis which shall bee vnfolded to vs in their times Some thinke the torments of it to consist in fire others in water some that the afflicters are Angels other that they are Deuils So they teach omni modo that which is nullo modo and because it is vbique is therefore nullibi Howsoeuer it being the Popes peculiar and in his power to command the Angels to fetch out whom hee list mee thinks the Popes are strangely vnmercifull that in all this time none of them hath made a generall Gaole-deliuerie But our Purgatorie is the blood of Iesus Christ which clenseth vs from sinne And they that haue no portion in this blood shall be reiected are nigh vnto cursing and their end is to be burned The barren or rather euil-fruited ground is the ground of my discourse and according to the common distinction of Euill here is a double euill in the Text. Vnum quod malus facit alterum quod malus patitur An euill which the wicked man doth and an euill which he suffers an euill that is sinne and an euill that is punishment for sinne In the former the wicked are agents in the latter patients The one euill is done by them the other vpon them They offend Gods iustice and GOD in his iustice offends them They haue loued cursing and cursing shall be vnto them they desired not blessing and it is farre from them They produce Thornes and the end of thornes is to bee burned The first and worst euill for the other though euill to them is good in Gods good Iustice is sinne Herein 1. the wicked are compared to bad ground 2. their iniquities to thornes and bryers 3. and the manner how so ill weeds arise from this ground is said to be bearing The earth that beareth thornes c. Here first obserue 1 The different word the Apostle vseth For the good earth hee sayes it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 bringing forth herbes For the euill it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 bearing not bringing forth As if good workes were brought forth like children not without paine and trauell euill workes but cast out like froth or skimme as easily vented as inuented Therefore the earth is said ebullire to bubble or boile out such things as meere excretions Our prouerbe sayes An ill weed growes apace Herbes grow not without preparing the ground planting and watring them by seasonable deawes and diligence Weeds are common it is hard to set the foote besides them The basest things are euer most plentifull Plurima pessima I haue read of a kind of mouse that breeds sixe score young ones in one nest Whereas the off-spring of the Lyonesse or Elephant is but single You shall find your furrowes full of Cockle and daâ—â—ell though you neuer sew them The earth sayth the Philosopher is now an own mother to weeds and naturally breeds and feeds them but a stepmother to good herbes Man by a procliuitie of his own naturall inclination is apt to produce thornes and bryers but ere hee can bring forth herbes Graces God must take paines with him No husbandman so labours his ground as God our hearts Happy earth that yeelds him an expected haruest But that which beareth Thornes is neere to be cursed and burned 2 Obserue that a wicked man is compared to bad earth and that fitly in 5. respects 1 For basenesse The earth is the heauiest of all Elements and doth naturally sinke downewards as if it had no rest but in the center which it selfe is A wicked man is base-minded and sinkes with a dull and ponderous declination not regarding the things aboue but these below He hath commune with men sursum os but with beasts deorsum