enter If thy foot offend thee saith Christ out it off Heereupon when the penitent confessed to S. Anthony that he had kicked his mother he vrged him with that Text the man went and cut off his foot but S. Anthony honestly to make him amends set it on againe Were these not goodly constructions So the new elected Pope in his solemne Lateran Procession must take copper money out of his Chamberlaines lap and scatter it among the people saying Siluer and gold haue I none but such as I haue I giue vnto you And is not this a probable truth a praise-able bounty Seuen yeares penance is enioyned to a deadly sinne because Miriam was separated seuen dayes for her leprosie and God saith to Ezekiel chap. 4. I haue giuen thee a day for a yeare Oh genuine and most neighbourly concording of Scriptures When Gods word subiects Priests to Kings their Glosse subiects Kings to Priests at least to Popes But as when they determined to kill the Emperor Henry the seuenth that they might be sure to poyson him they stucke not to poyson their owne God in the Sacrament So purposing to teare the honour and deface the maiesty of Kings they first offer violence to the sacred word of God In these damnable Glosses it is hard to decide whether Pharise is beyond Papist or Papist beyond Pharise But Dum haec malè construunt seipsos malè destruunt Their euill construction of the Scriptures brings a worse destruction to themselues They make that serue the turne of their policie which God meant to serue the turne of his glory The Pharises cleaued to the letter but despised the Spirit so do Papists Hoc est corpus must bee materially there for this they wrangle fight burne the contradicters yet few of them care to finde it spiritually there Dabo claues I will giue thee the keyes therefore none can enter heauen except the Pope open the dores Whereas Peters two keyes one of knowledge the other of power are fitted to two lockes Ignorance and Induration But wee know who keepes the keyes and lets in many thousands to heauen without the Popes leaue These things saith hee that is holy and true hee that hath the key of Dauid he that openeth and no man shutteth that shutteth and no man openeth Some of the Rabbins affirmed that God requires two things concerning his law Custodie and Worke custody in heart worke in execution The Pharises thought it enough to haue it in their frontlets not in their hearts So the Romist hath his opus operatum prayers numbred on beades fastings pilgrimages c. and then cryes like Saul Blessed bee thou of the Lord I haue performed the commandement of the Lord. The Pharises iustified themselues by their workes and would not sticke to say of the Law All this haue I kept from my youth Doe not the Papists so doe they not climbe to saluation by their owne works iustify themselues Those thought it not only easie to fulfill the Law but possible to doe more then they were bound to They thought it not worth thanks to performe what they were bidden Gods Law was too little for their holinesse They plyed God with vnbidden oblations gaue more then they needed then was commanded I pay tithes of all said that Pharise of all it was more then he needed If God would haue a Sabbath kept they ouer-keepe it let a house be on fire that day they would not quench it And what other is the boasting opinion of the Romanists it is nothing with them to content God they can earne him supererogate of him Yea these Iewish Papists haue done more then enough for themselues many good vvorks to spare for others this they call the Churches Treasure they sell them for ready money But Christ taught vs all to say We are vnprofitable seruants intimating that doe what we can yet God is a loser by the best of vs. To omit the miserable penances of the Pharises pricking themselues with thornes and wounding their flesh with whips wherein it is not possible for a Papist to goe beyond them If the misvsing macerating lacerating their owne bodies be a meanes to come into heauen surely the Pharises should enter farre sooner then the Papists Yet were those kept out and shall these enter Except your righteousnesse shall exceed the righteousnes of the Scribes and Pharises ye shall not enter into the kingdome of Heauen The people were so besotted on them that they thought if but two men should goe to heauen the one must bee a Scribe the other a Pharise But here was strange newes neyther of them both shall come there So the Papists thinke that if but two men be saued one must be a Fryer the other a Iesuite Hee that should say neyther of them both was likely to speed so well should haue the whole multitude stare vpon him for such a Paradoxe The Pharises brag'd much of Moses Chaire iust so doe our Papists of Peters Chaire The Pharises iustified it that there was no error in theirs the Papists affirme that there 's no possibility of error in theirs The Pharises thundred against the poore people This people who knoweth not the Law are cursed So the Pope thunders his curses and excommunications against vs but we blesse God his thunder cannot reach vs. I would other places had no more cause to feare his thunder Then would they answere him as Gregory the fourth was answered when he purposed peremptorily to proceed against Lewys le Debonayre the French Bishops answered in flat termes Si excommunicaturus veniret excommunicatus discederet If he came to excommunicate hee should be sent back excommunicated The Pharises compassed Sea and Land to make Proselytes and when they had made one they make him twofold more the child of hell then themselues Doe not our Seminaries so Yes they are Compassers too like their grand Master Iob. 2. much like those Circulatores and Circumcelliones a limbe of the Donatists They creepe into Ladies houses I had almost said into their Chambers the Pursuiuant in modesty hath forborne the Gentlewomans bed and missed him Confession and Penance are the principall wheeles whereupon the Engine of their policie runnes By the first they find out mens secret inclinations by the other they heape riches to their Tribe They will not lead a Nouice into the maine at first to make him belieue the Popes infallibility of Iudgement authoritie to decrowne Kings to make Scripture no Scripture and no Scripture Scripture c. This meat is too tough it will not downe therefore they court his affections with pleasing delights smooth semblances and moderate constructions as neare to the religion from which they would peruert him as possibly may be afforded So by degrees they gaine him God and the Truth loseth him In their owne Countreys places of freedome they vizour their hearts in England they vizour their faces too The Pharises made difference of oathes
and acceptable to God by addition of our prauity becomes euill Thus the best actions of an vniustified person are so leuened with his owne corruption that God abhorres them Your new Moones and your appointed Feasts my soule hateth they are a trouble to me I am weary to beare them when ye make many prayers I will not heare you What is the reason Your hands are full of bloud Euen sacrifices and supplications good seruices in their owne nature are made displeasing by the leuen of sinne He that killeth an Oxe is as if he slue a man he that sacrificeth a Lambe as if hee cut off a dogs neck Sacrifices God commanded and often commended yet victimae impiorum the oblations of the wicked are abominated Non speciosalaus in ore peccatorum Praise becommeth not the mouth of a sinner Euery vnregenerate man Claudicat in rectis halts in the straitest path Omnia naturalia bona polluta omnia supernaturalia amissa His portion of naturall good is defiled but of supernaturall good all share is vanished Peccaui was Dauids voice after his sinfull Arithmeticke the same was Iudas his voice after his damned treason Similis sonus non sinus there was the same sound but not the same heart Esau wept as much after the losse of the blessing as Peter after the denyall of his Master Similes lacrimae non animae like teares but vnlike soules The Pharise went to Church so well as the Publican but the Publican came home rather iustified then the Pharise The Pharises threw bounteously into the Treasury the poore widow two Mites yet Christ commends the poorer gift for the richer charity That worke which seemes the same In identitate operis yet differs much Ratione agentis in respect of the workers Many Heathen excelled vs in morall vertues yet the ignorance of Christ did shut heauen against them Vae tibi Aristoteles laudaris vbi non es damnaris vbi es Woe to thee O Aristotle who art commended where thou art not and condemned where thou art yea euen in a iustified mans workes though pure from the Spirit yet passing through his hands there is some tang of this leuen enough to keepe them from being meritorious Looke then well both to the iustification of thy person and the sanctification of thy workes Thou indeed confessest sinne to be damnable but it would grieue thee to go to hell for thy good deeds Though a man should giue all his goods to the poore yet wanting Faith and Loue he may for his charity go to the deuill Pray then that thy defects may bee supplyed by Christ Who gaue himselfe a sacrifice for vs to God of a sweet smelling sauour perfuming vs with the pleasant odour of his merits 3. By Leuen sowred we make rellishable bread for the vse of man so by the vngodly's most cursed sinnes God will aduance his glory Will Pharaoh harden his heart I will get me honour vpon him saith God That Leuen of malice which so wred the soules of those Brethren against poore Ioseph the Lord made vse of to his glory From that vngracious practice hee raised a pedegree of blessings Otherwise there had beene no prouision in Aegypt no bread to spare for Israel no wonders wrought by Moses no Manna from heauen no Law from Sinai no possession of Canaan So from the vnnaturallest murther that euer the Sunne beheld yea which the Sunne durst not looke vpon God glorified himselfe in sauing vs. The Oppressor impouerisheth the righteous God sees and suffers and from his villany effectuates their good by taking away those snares to saue their soules The Lord will glorifie himselfe in the vessels of destruction and the grones in hell shall honour his Iustice so well as the songs in heauen honour his mercy How much better is it to glorifie God in faithfulnesse that will preserue thee then in wickednesse which will destroy thee 4. A man cannot Liue by bread only much worse by Leuen No man can liue for euer by his righteousnesse and good works much lesse by his sinnes Sinne is no nourishment to the soule vnles as some Mithridates-like haue so inured their bodies to poison that Venenum nutrit euen venime doth batten them so others their soules to sinne that they cannot keepe life without it And indeed we say of some things that they nourish sicknesse and feed death Omne simile nutrit simile inward corruption is fed maintained by outward action Couetice in Iudas is nourished by filching his masters money Murder in Ioab is hartned and hardned with bloud Theft is fatted with booties pride with gay rags vsury battens by extortion Sacriledge by Church-robbing Pascitur Libido conuiuijs nutritur delicijs vino accenditur ebrietate flammatur Banketting is the diet of lust Wantonnesse her Nurse Wine kindles a heate in her bloud and Drunkennesse is the powder that sets her on fire Thus sinne feeds vpon this leuen but with the same successe that Israel vpon quailes they fatted their carkasses but made them leane soules Though this leuen passe the swallow yet stickes in the stomach sinne may be deuoured but lies heauy on the conscience Bread of deceit is sweet to a man but his mouth shall be filled with grauell It may be sweet in his mouth but it is the gall of Aspes in his bowels Putrid meate is apt to breed and feed wormes so this Leuen the worme of conscience when they once come to feele it worke then ready to cry This is my death vnlesse God giue them a good vomite of repentance to put it off their soules and the sober dyet of sanctification to amend and rectifie their liues 5. Lastly Sinne and leuen are fitly compared for their sowrenesse There is a Leuen sharpe and sowre but sanatiue The Kingdome of heauen is like vnto leuen But this leuen here is farre sowrer yet hath nothing but death in it It is sowre to God sowre to Angels sowre to Saints sowre to the sinner Sinne is sowrer then any Leuen 1. Sowre to God who hates nothing but sinne He made man and man made sinne Hee loues his owne creature but he hates mans creature Sinne is sowrer to him then the deuill For Non odit peccatum Diaboli cansa sed Diabolum peccati causa He hates not sinne for the deuils sake but the deuill for sinnes sake It is so sowre to him that for one sinne hâ—…e plagued a world of men how will he plague one man for a world of sinne So sowre that he could rellish no man for it till hee had killed it in the sides of Iesus Christ. We are all so sowre that but for this sweetning and perfume we could neuer haue beene endured The Scripture for our vnderstanding ascribes senses to God and we finde euery sense displeased with sinne 1. It is offensiue to his smelling He tels the Iewes that their sinnes did stinke in his nosthrils So did the old World offend him that he washed
Others will haue something demonstrated to the vnderstanding nothing to the senses Some will haue a demonstration to the senses nothing to the vnderstanding some partly to both others expound it This body then it is thus This body is my body others say it is indiuiduum vagum But Quod multipliciter exponitur communiter ignoratur That which is so variously expounded is generally vnknowne The most iudicious among them cannot explicate it Corpore de Christi lis est de sanguine lis est Deque modo lis est non habitura modum What damnable cruelty then was it in them to burne silly women for not vnderstanding this their inexplicable mysterie Those gunpowder diuines condemned others to the fire for not knowing that which they neuer knew themselues Wee teach such erring soules bee corrected that they may bee conuerted not bee confounded Excommunicated for the destruction of the flesh that the spirit may be saued in the day of the Lord Iesus 2. Whether a separation may bee iustly made from our Church for some errors or corruptions of life I know that diuers who were once among vs neuer of vs haue put out their owne lights indeed excommunicated themselues What 's their plea that our assemblies are full of enormities I answer that the defects and corruptions of a Church must be distinguished they are eyther in doctrine or in manners For doctrine some errors are Citra fundamentum some Circa fundamentum others Contra fundamentum Errors beside the foundation trouble errors about the foundation shake errors against the foundation ouerturne all So long then as no foundation is harmed it is not lawfull depart vntill the Church separates from Christ we must not separate from it In two cases there is warrant of separation First when the substance of Gods worship is quite corrupted What agreement hath the Temple of God with Idols when this is ver 17. Come out from among them and be ye separate saith the Lord when Ieroboam had set vp Idols in Israel the Priests and the Leuites left their suburbs and possession and came to Iudah and Ierusalem Secondly when the substance of doctrine is quite corrupted If any man consent not to the words of our Lord Iesus Christ and to the doctrine which is according to godlinesse c. From such vers 5. withdraw thy selfe Paul in the Synagogue at Ephesus preached for the space of three moneths together But when diuers were hardned and beleeued not but spake euill of that way he departed from them and separated the Disciples In these two cases lawfull not else For corruption in manners they make not Nullam Ecclesiam sed malam ecclesiam not no Church but a bad Church Wicked Scribes sitting in Moses chaire and teaching the things he wrote must be heard Whatsoeuer they bid you obserue that obserue and doe but doe not after their workes Separate from their priuate society not from the publike assembly But they charge vs that we deny Christ. I answere Deniall of Christ is double eyther in iudgement or in fact Deniall of Christ in iudgement makes a Christian no Christian denyall in fact the iudgement being sound makes him not no Christian but an euill Christian. When the Iewes had crucified the Lord of life they remained still a Church if there were any on the face of the earth and Ierusalem was still called the Holy City To them belonged the promise and to their children To them pertaineth the adoption and the glory and the couenants I would to God this bloudy issue were stanched but what age hath not complained it This mischiefe is intestine Amara persecutio in cruore martyrum amarior in pugna haereticorum amarissima in malis moribus domesticorum The persecution of Tyrants was bitter the poyson of heretikes more bitter but the euill liues of Christians most bitter of all Many walke of whom I haue told you often and now tell you weeping that they are enemies of the crosse of Christ. Whereupon saith Augustine How comes that great Champion to fall a weeping Could he endure stripes aboue measure prisons frequent shipwrackes perils by sea and land among enemies among false brethren hunger thirst cold wearinesse painfulnesse Did he fight with beasts after the manner of men was he rap'd vp among the Angels Did hee beare all these miseries was hee honoured with all these mercies and now does he weepe Yes sinne and sensuality was crept into the Church and this made that vndanted spirit fall a weeping Pax a Paganis Pax ab Hâ—…reticis nulla pax a falsis filijs We haue quiet from the Pagans quiet from heretikes but no quiet from wicked and exorbitant professors Our greatest enemies are they of our owne house Lord Iesus heale this plague Now wee haue proued and approued the truth of our owne Church at home let vs examine whether the Church of Rome be also a true member of this Catholike Assembly Errors that annihilate a Church are of two sorts some weakening others destroying the foundation Weakening error is the building of hay and stubble on the foundation the stubble burnt their soules may be saued A man breakes downe the windowes of his house the house stands though defaced he puls downe the lead or tiles the house stands though vncouered he beats downe the wals the house stands though deformed he plucks vp the foundation the house falls and ceaseth to be an house Those which destroy the foundation are the ouerthrowing errors by them a Church ceaseth to bee a Church Yet if an error be against the foundation we are to consider the persons whether they erre of malice or of weaknesse If of malice like Iannes and Iambres that withstood Moses resisting the truth it is no longer a Church But if of weakenesse wee must not so peremptorily conclude for Paul writes to the Galatians as a Church of God though they were peruerted to another doctrine embracing a fundamentall error of Iustification by works The Church of Rome doth wilfully obstinately destroy the foundation therfore may be concluded for no Church If they wil be iustified by the works of the law they are faln from Grace Let vs heare how they quit themselues First they would doe it by retorting all this backe vpon vs they tell vs flatly that we are no Church and thus they prooue it They say we haue no Bishops so no Ministers so no Sacraments therefore no Church Here they clappe their wings and crow Victory Victory As Manasseh against Ephraim and Ephraim against Manasseh and both against Iudah So they haue set our brothers against vs vs against our brothers Papists against vs all Behold the exigent we are in the Papists say we haue no Ministers because they are not made by Bishops the Puritans say we haue no Ministers because they are made by Bishops Which of these speake true Neither First to answer the Puritan Bishops may make
I haue belieued when the life shall witnesse the contrary thy lips affirme but thy works deny As our Sauiour said Opera testantur de me my workes beare witnesse of me that I am Christ so thou must say Opera testantur de me my works beare witnesse of me that I am a Christian. Thou shalt be saued for thy faith not for thy works but for such a faith as is without works thou shalt neuer be saued Works are disioyned A iustificando non a iustificato from the act of iustifying not from the person iustified If this Iudge for his owne merits giue vs saluation wee must shew him the faire copy of our conuersation Quicquid Christus operatur pro nobis operatur in nobis Whatsoeuer Christ vvorkes for vs he also workes in vs. If he hath freed vs from the damnation of sinne he hath also freed vs from the dominion of sinne Albeit in our iustification Fiet nobis secundum fidem nostram Be it vnto vs according to our Faith yet in saluation Reddetur vnicuique secundum operasua Euery man shall bee rewarded according to his workes Let not that which is a word of comfort to vs be a bill of inditement against vs. 4. The Sentence As there be two sorts of men to be sentenced so there is a double sentence one of Absolution the other of Damnation With Absolution our Sauiour begins in action with that let vs begin in meditation He begins with fauour O he is ready to shew mercy and comes slowly to wrath and iudgement In the Absolution are considerable foure circumstances A Calling a Commending a Reply and an Answere First the calling is set downe Math. 25. 34. Come ye blessed of my Father inherit the kingdome prepared for you from the foundation of the world In which gracious speech wee may perceiue sixe gradations 1. Amabilis vocatio Come This was the voyce of Christ generally to all in the day of Grace is particularly to the Elect in the day of Glory Now he calls more then vvill come then he will not call all that would come Now he giues many Venite's Come to me all that labour If any man thirst let him come to me and drinke The Spirit and Bride say Come and let him that heareth say Come and let him that is athirst come Send not others but come your selues Come to no others eyther Saints or Angels but come to me Let vs take heed of that Discedite quia nolâ—…stis venire Depart from me good reason for you would not come vnto mee You declined my call when I was humbled Is not this the Carpenters Sonne I vvill decline you now I am exalted None of those men that were called shall tast of my supper But such as haue obediently heard his Come in holines shall also graciously heare his second Come in happinesse 2. Suâ—…is Benedictio Ye Blessed Neuer man was is or shall be but desires secundum sensum suum after his own sense to be blessed saith Aristotle though the most haue sought it out of the right vbi vvhere it vvas not to bee found In Christ onely it is found vvho is indeed the Father of blessednesse Mat. 3. 3. Blessed are the poore in spirit The first vvord of the first lesson of Christs first Sermon is Blessed So he beginnes so there he continues so here he concludes Come ye blessed a vvord able to make a man blessed 3. Patris dilectio Of my Father to be blessed of God is to be surely blessed Parents doe vvell in blessing their children Princes in blessing their people here 's the difference Benedicunt but not Beatificant they may wish them blessed but not make them blessed But saith God to Abraham In blessing I will blesse thee I haue blessed him and he shall be blessed All blessednes springs from that fountaine the Lord hath blessed vs and requires vs to blesse him who is ouer all God blessed for euer Amen This the vniuersall song of all creatures giues him Blessing honour c. 4. Foelicitatis Possessio Inherite Inheritance is of Birth not industry the younger brother is often of more desert then the elder yet cannot this make him his Fathers Heyre This is of Inheritance therefore not of merit It differs from an earthly Inheritance in three things 1. In that the Testator must be dead and the successor liuing in this God the Testator is euer liuing and his heyres before they can fully possesse it must bee dead Ambr. A temporall inheritance diuided is diminished one is of so much land shortned as is to another shared The heires heere are without number of all nations kinred and languages yet though the inheritance be imparted it is not empaired Tanta singulis quanta omnibus Euery one hath as â—…ch as any one Ardens 3. The partition of an earthly inheritance breeds among the coheyres enuy grudging but in this the ioy of one is the ioy of all Dispar gloria singulorum tamen communis laetitia omnium Aug. One starre may excell another starre in glory but none shall enuy another in glory There shall be no repining at anothers more glorious clearenesse where remaines in all one gracious dearenesse Inherite 5. Haereditatis Perfectio a kingdom The top of mans desires is a kingdom nil nisi Regna placent Yet if they be earthly kingdoms they will not satisfie Alexander is not content with his vniuersall Monarchy But here is a kingdom will satisfie you will say there are many Kings but one kingdome therfore not roome enough yes for the bounds of the least are not narrower then heauen it selfe 6. Regni Paratio Prepared for you Not merited in your times but prepared before all times It had no beginning in respect of Gods intention it shall haue no end in respect of your possession Gods decree to giue it vs had no beginning but shall haue an end our fruition of it shal haue a beginning but no end Gods mercy in both hath neither beginning nor end but is from euerlasting to euerlasting Had the Lord such care to prouide a kingdom for his children before they were then sure hee will giue it them at the appointed time So certaine are they of blessednesse that it is prepared for them from the foundation of the world For you not for all there is no vniuersall election God decrees not all to bee saued Then Christ should haue said thus Inherit the kingdome Paratum omnibus Datum vobis prepared for all and giuen to you but he saith Prepared for you therefore not purposed to all Seeing there is so good cheare prepared for vs let vs prepared for vs let vs prepare our selues for that like some dainty guest who knowing there is such delicate fare behinde keepes his stomacke for it Let vs disdaine the course diet of this world that dangers vs to the dropsie of couetice or the surfets of ryot We vse to fast on
the Eeues that vve may feast on the Holy-dayes let vs here abstaine from the table of sinne that wee may heereafter banket in the Kingdome of Heauen This is matter of comfort to vs heere the world condemns the godly therefore they shall haue a time of absoluing When that Generall Session comes then looke vp and lift vp your heads for your redemption draweth nye There is no mercy to be had in this vvorld for the wicked themselues are accusers witnesses iudges but at that day a poore mans case will be heard Therefore the poore committeth himselfe vnto thee for thou art the helper of the fatherlesse Christ vvill take the cause into his own hand The soules vnder the Altar cry with a loud voyce How long O Lord holy and true dost thou not iudge and auenge our bloud on them that dwell on the earth Yes it is fit euery one should haue a day of hearing This is theirs that shall be ours The righteous shall reioyce when hee seeth the vengeance Reioyce yes they haue no charity to vs on earth vve must haue no charity to them in hell 2. The Commendation followes the calling Mat. 25. 35. For I was hungry and ye gaue me meate I was thirsty and ye gaue mee drinke c. Christ witnesseth their faith from the effects they brought foorth fruits of mercy Thus it is euident that not according to the internall habite of faith and charity but according to the externall acts proceeding from them is the reward bestowed Christ before iustified them by their faith apprehending his merits now hee iustifies them by testimony of that faith arising from their vvorkes The point Christ insists in is their workes of mercy which are sixe visito poto cibo redimo tego colligo fratres Giuing them meat drinke harbour clothing visitation in sicknesse redemption from bondage Where obserue that the maine point Christ will scanne at the last is the point of mercy Not how wise nor how learned nor how iust but how mercifull Ambr. Now if a Scholler standing for preferment knew directly that one question vvherein hee should be opposed he would study a full and ready answer to it We all know that one and maine question wherein Christ vvill examine vs vvhat vvorkes of mercy haue we done if we haue gotten no demonstration of mercy vve are vvorthily condemned Now their mercy is commended partly in respect of the obiect and partly in respect of the act For the obiect it is done to Christ happy mercy that is done to the Lord Iesus it shall neuer passe vnrewarded Ioash forgot the kindnesse of Iehoiada but the King of heauen will remember all the good done vnto him Sayes that good malefactor Lord remember me when thou commest into thy kingdome I will not forget thee answeres Iesus To day thou shalt be with me in Paradise I was hungry and ye fedme I and me saith Christ. In regard of the act the thing they distribute and contribute is not bare vvords but actuall mercies food clothing c. This is the effect of a true faith not a verball but a reall working faith A faith not like that the Psalmist seemes to mention though in another sense I belieued ideo locutus sum and therefore I spake but such as the Apostle speakes of I belieued ideo operatus sum and therefore I wrought a faith working by loue It is easie to mistake Saint Paul Rom. 14. 22. Hast thou faith haue it to thy selfe before God vnlesse vve expound him by S. Iames Iam. 2. 18. Hast thou faith shew thy faith by thy workes If vve vvill be the children of Abraham who is the Father of them that belieue wee must bee so by Sara vvho is the mother of them that obey They that vvill be trees of righteousnesse in Gods garden must not bee like the fig-tree in the Gospell that had onely leaues no fruit but like the tree that brings forth her fruit in due season Or like Aarons rod that of a dead sticke hauing life and sappe put into it presently bare Almonds fruit no leaues spoken of Some giue words enow contrary to Moses who was a man of few vvords The Papists vvill rather loose a penny then a Paternoster these vvill giue ten Paternosters before one penny They giue the words of Nepthali pleasant words but no meate As if the poore were like Ephraim fed with the wind Or as if their word were verbum Domini the word of God that men might liue by it Salomon sayes Wisedome is good with an inheritance so good counsell is good vvith an almes If a famished man begge bread of thee and thou onely fallest to instruct his soule but deniest food to his body hee may reply as Hushai said to Absolon of Achitophels counsell The counsell that Achitophel hath giuen is good but not at this time Martial demands of Caius a small piece of siluer Quod vel donanti non graue Caius blamed him for his idle profession of Poetry counselled him to study the Lavv that vvould enrich him To him Martial Quod peto da mihi tu non peto consilium Giue me that I aske thee I doe not aske thee counsell Many are like S. Peters fish it had money in the mouth but not a hand to giue it Or like Diues his dogs they can licke a poore man vvith their tongues else giue him no reliefe Diogenes a witty begger would vsually walke in a place where earthen Statues were erected in honour of some that died for their country To them he would pray to them reach out his hand bow and beg being asked the reason he answered Nihil aliud quà m repulsam meditor I thinke of nothing but a repulse and deniall Wee haue many such liuing Statues meere Idols that haue mouthes and speake not eyes and pity not hands and giue not the poore are sure of nothing but a repulse 3. The reply or question vpon this commendation made by the Saints Math. 25. 37. Then shall the righteous answere him Lord when saw we thee an hungred and fedde thee or thirstie and gaue thee drinke c. This is no deniall of that truth Christ hath auouched But 1. to magnifie Christs mercy who takes these workes as done to himselfe which are done for his sake Let no couetous Churle plead he wants subiects vpon whom to exercise his mercy Pauper vbique iacet which way can he walke and not behold one hungry another thirsty c 2. To testifie their humilitie that albeit these things are true yet they acknowledge no merite in them they haue not done so much of these as they ought Besides they might haue an after-consideration of their sinnes past which valued with their good works they find one to out-weigh a thousand The Papists ostent their merits on earth the Saints dare not doe so euen ready for heauen but cast downe their crownes before the Throne saying
of a beast was entered in the roome But this is a friuolous conceit indeed God had bereft him of coÌ„mon reason yet he had still the soule of a man Doe not many among vs that haue the soules of men liue like debauched beasts The lustfull like a goate the couetous like a vvolfe the drunkard like a hogge the Politician like a foxe the rayler like a barking curre Others think that the soule neither dieth nor sleepeth nor passeth out of one body into another but wandreth vp and downe here on earth among men and often appeareth to this man ofteÌ„ to that whence came that fabulous opinion that dead men walke For this purpose they alleage the Witch of Endor who made Samuel appeare to Saul and answere him But the truth is that was not Samuel indeed but an apparition the meere counterset of him For not all the Witches in the world nor all the Diuels in hell can disquiet the soules of the faithfull for they are in Gods keeping Dying their soules are immediatly translated to blessednesse there are the spirits of iust men made perfect and there to abide vntill the generall Resurrection shall restore them to their owne bodies For the soules of the Reprobates departing in their sinnes they goe directly to hell and are kept there as in a sure prison Let this instruct all such as haue a Christian hope to let their soules depart with comfort Emittuntur non amittuntur death doth not lose them but loosen them set them free from the bondage of corruption Howle and lament if thou thinke thy soule perisheth There are some that feare not so much to die as to be dead they know the pang is bitter but it is short it is the comfortlesse estate of the dead that is their dread They could well resolue for the act of their passage if they were sure to liue afterwards Animula vagula blandula Whither goest thou said that Heathen Emperour on his death-bed lamenting the doubtful condition of his soule after the parture Very not beeing is abhorred of nature if death had nothing else to make it feareful It is vvofull to lie rotting in the silent graue neither seeing nor seene Heere the Christian lifts vp his head of comfort Lord into thy hands I commend my spirit I lose it not because thou hast it thou wilt keepe it in peace and gâ—…ue it mee backe againe in eternall ioy Of iust men Iustice is ascribed to a Christian tvvo waies There is 1. Passiua iustitia a passiue iustice Christs righteousnesse imputed to him and heereby hee stands perfectly iust before God This the Apostle calls The righteousnesse of GOD which is by faith of Iesus Christ vnto all Christ is made vnto vs righteousnesse This iustice is attained by faith Noah became heire of the righteousnesse which is by faith Abraham belieued GOD and it was counted vnto him for righteousnesse Without this no spirit shall appeare iust before God in heauen Our owne righteousnesse is a couering too short to hide our nakednesse Christs garment is a long robe that couers all 2. Actiua iustitia actiue righteousnesse an effect of the former which is indeed a testimonie that wee are iustified by Christ. Let no man deceiue you hee that doth righteousnesse is righteous Therefore saith Iames A man is iustified by his works if his meaning had beene that our owne works simply acquit vs before GOD it could neuer be reconciled to that of his master when vvee haue done all we can we must call our selues vnprofitable seruants Nor to that of his fellow I see a law in my members warring against the law of my minde nor to that of himselfe In many things wee sinne all Now this iustice effectiue from God actiue in vs is taken two waies Latè and Strictè In a larger sense it is taken for all Pietie and so iustice and holinesse are all one Properly taken Iustification is imputed Sanctification inherent but vnderstanding our iustnesse an effect of Christs iustice imputed to vs so Iustus and Sanctus are conuertible termes They are Iust spirits that is they are Saints Now if we desire to come ad Sanctos to the Saints wee must liue sanctè a holy life God by telling vs who are in heauen teacheth vs who shall come to heauen none but Saints They are set before vs as examples Vt eorum sequamur gratiam et consequamur gloriam that steering their course wee might come to their Hauen The Scripture teacheth vs Quid agendum what is to be done the Saints Quo modo how it is to be done Uita sanctorum interpretatio scripturarum The liues of holy men is a kind of Commentary or interpretation of the holy writ Let vs as we doe by good copies not onely lay them before vs and looke on them but write after them For it is not sufficient Legere sed degere vitam sanctorum not to read but to lead the liues of Saints Papists in this goe too farre as euil men come too short Good men imitate the Saints but doe not worship them Papists worship the Saints but doe not imitate them lewd men doe neither Perhaps they will imitate their infirmities as if onely for that they liked them for which onely God misliked them The Saints are to bee held as Patternes not as Patrones of our life But the Papists praise not God in his Saints nor the Saints for God but as God Onely let vs reuerently walke in their grace that we may ioyfully come to their place In a stricter sense it is taken for that morall vertue which giues to euery man his owne This vertue hath beene highly commended in the heathen but one saith truly Iustitia ethnic orum miranda potius quà m laudanda their Iustice deserued more admiration then commendation they wanted him that should make them iust They so affected this iustice that they tooke Sirnames from it Aristides was called Iustus Scipio Iustus Fabius Iustus Their iustice was no vertue but a shadow of vertue They neyther knew the Lord Deum virtutis nec Christum virtutem Dei the God of vertue nor Christ the vertue of God Onely Iesus is Iustus Christ suffered for sinnes the iust for the vniust Ye denyed the Holy one and the Iust. There was another Iesus called Iustus a helper of the Apostles but Christ is Dominus Iustitia nostra The Lord our Righteousnesse By him we are onely made iust In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be iustified and glory Being thus iustified let vs be iust not doing that to others which we would not haue others do to vs and doing that to others which wee desire to bee done to our selues Some are iust in small matters so the Pharises pay tithe of mint annise and cummine but omit waightier things This is Pharisaica Iustitia a Puritane righteousnesse not to endure an houres recreation on the Sunday yet to robbe
the Church by vsurpations to exact interests and forfets these be nothing So the mony might not be put into the Treasury that might hire Iudas to betray his master The tenne brethren were so iust as to returne the mony in their sackes yet stucke not to sell their brother Ioseph Some are iust in great things not in small As the other straine at a gnat and swallow a camell so these are like the nette that takes the great fishes and le ts goe thâ—… little frie. Wantonnesse is no fault with them if it extend not to adultery They sticke not to sweare so long as they sweare not to a lie Maliciously to hate or peeuishly to quarrell is triuiall if they proceede not to blowes and bloud So long as they are not drunke swallow downe wine and spare not De minimis non curat Lex the Law takes no notice of small faults But indeed Eadem ratio rotunditatis there is the same respect of roundnesse in a penny that is in a platter though not of largenes To steal the bridle as to steale the horse is Tam though not Tantum such a sin though not so great a sinne Thou sayest minimum est minimum est it is little it is little Sed in minimo fidelem esse magnum est to bee faithfull in a little is a great vertue Whosoeuer shall breake one of these least commandements hee shall be called least in the kingdome of heauen Erit minimus that is Nullus he shall be least in heauen that is he shall not be there at all But well done good seruant Because thou hast beene faithfull in a very little haue thou authority ouer tenne Cities Benè vtere paruo fruere magno the iust dispensation of a little shall bring thee to be intrusted with much Whether great or small wee must be iust if we looke euer to raigne with these iust spirits Ad societatem iustorum non admittuntur nisi iusti I wonder what place the defrauder expects that wraps vp his conscience in a bundle of stuffes and sweares it away The buyer thinkes he is iust and hee is iust cousoned no more The Vsurer would storme and stare as if had seene a spirit if hee were taxed for vniust Presently he consults his Scriptures his bonds and his Priest his Scriuener and there the one sweares the other shewes in blacke and white that he takes but ten in the hundred Is he then vniust Yes Thou hast taken vsury and increase and hast greedily gained of thy neighbours by extortion Hee takes hire for that should be freely lent is not this vniust Besides the people curse it and they curse not but for iniustice I haue neyther lent on vsurie nor men haue lent me on vsury yet euery one doth curse me Insinuating that if a man lend vpon vsury it is no wonder if the people curse him Where must the Lay-Parson sit that fattes himselfe with the Tyth-graine will not giue the poore Minister the straw Is this iust He takes the tenth of his neighbours profits and neuer so much as reades him an Homelie for it is this iust Hee layes sactilegious hands on Gods sanctified things and neuer askes him leaue is this iust Where shall the Engrosser appeare that hoords vp commodities bought with ready mony and when he vents them makes the poore pay treble vsury for it is this iust What shall become of that vnspeakeably rich Transporter who carries out men and money to the impouerishing of the Land and brings home gawdes and puppets fitte for no bodies vse but prides Surely as heauen is for Iust spirits so there is some other place for the vniust Know ye not that the vniust shall not inherite the kingdome of God If not Gods kingdome then the kingdome of darkenes downewards hell I do not say that euery vniust deed throwes a soule thither Iniustum esse damnat non iniustè semel agere to be vniust is damnable not one thing vniustly done the habite not the act But for others Qui iniustè dominantur iâ—…stè damnantur They haue vniustly liued but they shall bee iustly condemned Made perfect This is a passiue quality non qui se perficiunt sed qui perficiuntur not such as haue made themselues perfect but are made perfect The other property is actiuely expressed Iust it is not said Iustified not that they made themselues iust but that Christs righteousnesse hath iustified them so both they are and are reputed iust But here passiuely Perfected which plainely shewes that all is from God for omne maius includit minus If onely Christ make them perfect then only Christ doth make them â—…ust For it is nothing so difficult for a iust man to become perfect as for an euill man to become iust As it is easier for a man healed and directed the way to come to the goale then for him that lies lame in darknesse Qui dedit ingressum must also dare progressum conficere perficere to make and to make vp to doe and to perfect are both the workes of God Wee could neuer be iust vnlesse Christ iustifie vs neuer come to perfection vnlesse he perfect vs. He that begun this good work must also finish it Made perfect In heauen are none but the perfect Talis sedes expectat talem sessorem such a house requires such an inhabitant On earth there is a kind of Perfection all the faithfull are perfectly iustified but not perfectly sanctified The reprobates are perfectè imperfecti the godly imperfectè perfecti those perfectly imperfect these imperfectly perfect They are so perfect that they are acquitted in Christ and there remaines no iudgement for them but onely a declaration of their pardon Iustification admits no latitude in it nec magis nec minus for none can be more then iust But the perfection of sanctity is wrought by degrees non plenam induimus perfectionem donec totam exuimus infectionem all the staines of our infection must first be cleansed and quite washed away before this full perfection be giuen vs. Christs bloud doth now wholly take from vs the guiltinesse of sin not wholly the pollution of sinne that blessednesse is reserued only for heauen Let vs therefore be perficientes going and growing vp that at last we may be Perfecti made perfecti This is not wrought on a sodain a child doth not presently become a man Euen the Lord Iesus had his time of growing and can any member grow faster then the Head Indeed the malefactor on the crosse shot vp in an houre but this was miraculous and God seldome workes by such miracles God neyther sends Angels from heauen nor the dead from hell to giue warning to men vpon earth If they heare not Moses and the Prophets neyther will they bee perswaded though one rose from the dead But repentance hath the promise of a Qandocunque whensoeuer a sinner repents c. I will not limit Gods infinite mercy but onely
this same Ite maledictâ—… Goe yee cursed is a fearefull and vnanswerable argument Thus flesh and bloud speedes when it will deale with God on termes of disputation If Gods owne reason Thou shalt not do this be not stronger then all ours now it shal be one day Let no man deceiue you with vaine wordes for for these things the wrath of God shall come vpon the children of disobedience Be not deceiued As euery particular Sinne hath the particular colour so there are generall pretexts for generall sinnes whereby many soules are deceiued I find this doctrine though plaine so necessary that I must be bold to pursue it You may easily forgiue all good faults There are seuen generall pleas for sinne 1. Predestination is pleaded If I be written to life I may doe this for many are saued that haue done vvorse If not were my life neuer so strict hell appointed is not to be auoided These men looke to the toppe of the Ladder but not to the foote God ordaines not men to iump to Heauen but to climbe thither by prescribed degrees Non per saltum sed scansum Qui ordinauit finem ordinauit media ad finem He that decreed the end decreed also the meanes that conduce to it If thou take liberty to sin this is none of the way Peter describes the rounds of this ladder faith vertue knowledge teÌ„perance patience godlines charity Thou ruÌ„nest a coÌ„trary course in the wild paths of vnbeleefe profanenes ignorance riot impatience impietie malice this is none of the way These are the rounds of a Ladder that goes downeward to hell Gods predestination est multis causa standi nemini labendi helps many to stand pusheth none downe Looke thou to the vvay let God alone with the end Belieue repent amend and thou hast Gods promise to be saued Be not deceiued God is not mocked 2. It is Gods will I should doe this vvickednesse hee saw it and might haue preuented it It is vniust to damne a man for that he willâ—… him to doe Answ. This is a blasphemous and most sacrilegious â—…uill Where did God euer will thee to lie to sweare to oppresse to adulterize His will is his word and where findest thou his word commanding sin And shall Gods prescience make him guilty of thy euill Then must thy memory make thee guilty of other mens euill As thou by thy memory dost not cause those things to haue been done that are past So God by his foreknowledge doth not cause those things to be done which are to come 3. Ignorance is pleaded I knew not the deed to bee euill or if euil not so dangerous Indeed Ignorance may make a sinne Minus not Nullum a lesse sinne but not no sinne I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in vnbeleefe saith our Apostle And Peccata scientium peccatis ignorantium praepoâ—…ntur The sinnes of them that know are more haynous then the sins of them that know not But if thou hadst no other sin thy ignorance is enough to condemne thee for thou art bound to know 〈◊〉 ea que sunt Domini nesciunt a Domino nesciuâ—… They that will not know the Lord the Lord will not know them But I speake to you that may know your ignorance is affected Some of you haue not the knowledge of God I speake this to your shame Mulâ—… vt liberiùs peccarent libenter ignorant Many that they may sinne the more securely are ignorant wilfully Thus you may goe blindfold to hell Be not deceiued God is not mocked 4. A fourth saith I haue many good deeds to weigh with my euils Indeed I am an Vsurer an Adulterer a Swearer but I keepe a good house I giue almes and I will doe more when I am dead Indeed these are good workes Bona accipientibus non facientibus Good to the receiuers not to the Giuers So a man may be borne for the good of many not for his owne They write that the Pyramides of Egypt was built for that great Pharaohs Tombe but the Red Sea disappointed him Many thinke by good workes to build vp a heauen for themselues but leading vnsanctified liues hell preuents their purpose And such a man as robbes many hundreds to relieue some may at last for his charity goe to the Deuill The Papists indeed stand extremely for building Abbies Colledges for Iesuites and augmenting the reuenues of Monasteries that Masses and Dirige's may bee sung for their soules they giue full absolution to such a man and seale him a generall acquittance of all his sinnes They make the besotted Laity especially some rich Burger belieue that without any more adoe it is impossible for a man to bee damned that liues in such a Profession and which is strange here they equiuocate truely so long as a man liues in it but if he dyes in it there is the danger But wee know the poison must be iustified or else the worke is not sanctified Be not deceiued GOD is not mocked 5. But say some God is mercifull Comfortable truth else woe woe to miserable man But shall God shew mercy to those that abuse his mercy Hee will not be so mercifull to thee as to be vniust to himselfe God will be iust goe thou on and perish God shewed mercy to the relenting not to the railing theefe Wouldst thou haue him mercifull to thee that art vnmercifull to him to thy selfe Misericordia amplectenti non tergiuer santidatur They that will lead a wicked life sub spe misericordiae in hope of mercy shall meet with a fearefull death sub terrore Iustitiae in the horror of Iustice. Kisse the mercy of God abuse it not Where is Praesumptio veniae will follow Consumptio poenâ—… a presuming of fauour shall bee punished with a consuming wrath Be not deceiued c. 6. Others alledge Christ died for our sinnes and his satisfaction is of infinite price This is the dore of hope from which the profanest wretch is angry to be driuen The most presumptuous sinner flatters his soule with this comfort as if the gates of Heauen were now set open and hee might enter with all his iniquities on his backe Indeed there is no want in Christ but is there none in thee In him is plenteous redemption but how if in thee there bee scarce fayth whatsoeuer Christ is what arâ—… thou God so loued the world that hee gaue his onely beâ—…otten Sonne Hee did not let or lend or sell but giue not an Angell nor a seruant but a Sonne not anothers but his owne not his adoptiue but naturall his begotten Sonne not one of many but his onely begotten Sonne Many degrees of loue but what of all this That whosoeuer beleeueth on him should not perish but haue euerlasting life But thou hast no faith therefore no priuiledge by this gift I am the good shepheard saith Christ. Why I giue my life but for whom for my sheepe Not for lustfull goates or
Pluck thy selfe vp by the rootes and plant thy selfe in the sea and it shall obey them yet reprobates also had it for euen they that are cast out with a Discedite à me plead this In thy name haue we cast out deuils and done many wonderfull workes But it was not this faith 5. There is a faith that beleeues to go to heauen though it bend the course directly to hell that thinks to arriue at the Ierusalem of blessednesse through the Samaria of prophanenesse a presumption but it was not this faith 6. There is a faith that beleeues a mans owne mercy in Iesus Christ and liues a life worthy of this hope and becomming such a prosession and it was this faith that our Sauiour commendeth When Samuel came to anoint one of the sonnes of Iesse Eliab was presented to him and he said Surely the Lords Anointed is before him He was deceiued hee might haue a goodly countenance and a high stature but it was not he Then passed by Abinadab nor is this he then Shammah nor is this hee Then seuen of his sonnes were presented The Lord hath chosen none of thâ—…se Be here all saith Samuel Iesse answered No the yongest is behind and he keepeth the sheepe Then said Samuel Send and fetch him for we will not sit downe till he come When he was come he was ruddy and withall of a beautifull countenance and goodly to looke on And the Lord said Arise and anoint him for this is he If wee should make such a quest for the principall Grace Temperance is a sober and matronly vertue but not shee Humility in the lowest is respected of the Highest but not she Wisedome is a heauenly grace similisque creanti like the Maker but not shee Patience a sweet and comfortable vertue that lookes cheerefully on troubles when her brest is red with the bloud of sufferance her cheekes are white with the purenesse of innocence yet not shee Iustice hath a hand spotlesse as the brow of heauen a heart transparant as Christall a countenance able to daunt temptation it selfe yet not she Charity is a louely vertue little innocents hang at her brests Angels kisse her cheekes Her lips are like a threed of scarlet and her speech is comely her Temples are like a Pomegranate within her lookes all the ends of the earth call her blessed yet not shee Lastly Faith appeares beautified with the robe of her Sauiours righteousnesse adorned with the iewels of his graces and shining in that fairenesse which hee gaue her Iam Regina venit now comes the Queene of Graces This is she Now as Faith excells all other graces so there is a speciall degree of faith that excells all other degrees For euery faith is not a sauing faith The King of Syria commanded his Captaines y Fight neither with small nor great saue onely with the King of Israel How should they know him By his Princely attire and royall deportment Perhaps they met with many glorious personages slew heere and there one none of them was the King of Israel Setting vpon Iehoshaphat they said Surely this is the King of Israel no it was not One drew a bow at a venture smote a man in his Charet and that was the King of Israel The faith that belieues Gods Word to be true is a good faith but not Illa fides that sauing Faith The faith that beleeues Christ to be the worlds Sauiour is a true faith but not that faith The faith that belieues many men shall be saued is vera fides non illa fides a true faith but not that faith The faith that beleeues a mans owne soule redeemed iustified saued by the merits of Iesus Christ not without vvorks answerable to this beliefe this is that faith That was the King of Israel and this is the Queene of Israâ—… all the other be but her attendants There is Fides Sentiends Assentiendi and Appropriandi a man may haue the first and not the second he may haue the first and second and yet not the third but if he haue the third degree he hath all the former Some know the truth but doe not consent to it some know it and assent to it yet beleeue not their owne part they that belieue their own mercy haue all the rest As meat digested turnes to iuyce in the stomake to bloud in the liuer to spirits in the heart so faith is in the braine knowledge in the reason assent in the heart application As the child in the wombe hath first a vegetatiue life then a sensitiue last a rationall So faith as meere knowledge hath but a vegetation as allowance but sense onely the applying and apportioning the merites of Christ to the owne soule by it this is the rationall the very life of it But thus we may better exemplifie this Similitude The vegetatiue soule is the soule of plants and it is a true soule in the kind though it haue neither sense nor reason The sensitiue soule is the soule of beasts a true soule includes vegetation but is voide of reason The rationall soule is the soule of man a distinct soule by it selfe comprehends both vegetation and sense hauing added to them the perfection of reason So there are three kindes or degrees of Faith 1. To belieue there is a God this is the faith of Pagans and it is a true faith though it neither belieue the Word of God nor mercy from God 2. To belieue that what God sayes is true this is the faith of deuils and reprobates and a true faith including the faith of Pagans and going beyond it yet it apprehends no mercy 3. To belieue on God to rely vpon his mercy in Christ and to affie their owne reconciliation this is the faith of the Elect comprehends both the former yet is a distinct faith by it selfe This faith onely saues and it hath two properties 1. It is a repenting faith for Repentance is Faiths Vsher deawes all her way with teares Repentance reades the Law and weepes Faith reads the Gospell and comforts Both haue seueral bookes in their hands Poenitentia intuetur Mosem Fides Christum Repentance lookes on the rigorous brow of Moses Faith beholds the sweet countenance of Christ Iesus 2. It is a working faith if it worke not it is dead and a dead faith no more saues then a painted fire warmes Faith is a great Queene her cloathing is of wrought gold the virgins her companions that follow her are good deeds Omnis fidelis tantum credit quantum sperat amat quantum credit sperat amat tantum operatur A Christian so farre beleeues as he hopes and loues and so farre as he belieues hopes and loues he workes Now as Moses is said to see him that is invisible because he saw his back-parts and as when we see the members of the body mouing to their seuerall functions we know there is a soule within albeit vnseene so faith cannot
pardon they for merits we for mercies they for iustifying workes of their own we only for our sweet Sauiour Iesus Christ. 3. They that will neither trust others with their soule not keepe it theÌ„selues but either do sell it for ready money as Esau sold his Birthright Iudas 〈◊〉 Iesus Or pawne it for a good bribe some large teÌ„ptation of profit pleasure or honor they will not sell it out-right but morgage it for a while with a purpose that seâ—…dome speeds to redeeme it Or loose it walking negligently through the streets of this great Citie the world their soule is gone they are not aware of it Or giue away their soule as do the enuious and desperate haue nothing in lieu of it but terrors without horrors within they serue the deuills turne for nothing 4. They that will trust God with their soule but haue no warraÌ„t that God will keep it They lay al the burtheÌ„ vpon the shoulders of Christ meddle no more with the matter As if God would bring them to heaueÌ„ euen whilst they pursue the way to hel or keep that soule for the body when the body had quite giuen away the soule He neuer promised to saue a man against his will As he doth saue vs by his Son so he comands vs. to worke vp our saluation with feare trembling He that lies still in the myrie pitt of his sin trusts to heauen for helpe out without his owne concurring endeuour may hap to lie there still 2. Dying there is no comfort but to trust the soule with God So Dauid Lord into thy hands I commit my spirit So Steuen Lord Iesus receiue my spirit with these words our Lord Iesus himselfe gaue vp the Ghost It is iustice to restore whence we receiue It is not presumption but faith to trust God with thy spirit The soule of the king the soule of the beggar all one to him Dauid a king Lazarus a beggar God receiues both their soules From giuing vp the Ghost the highest is not exempted from giuing it into the hands of God the poorest is not excepted There is no comfort like this when riches bring aut nequam aut nequicquam either no comfort or discomfort when the wardrobe furniture iunkets wine offend thee when thy money cannot defend thee when thy doctors feed themselues at thy cost cannot feed thee when wife childreÌ„ friends stand weeping about thee where is thy helpe thy hope all the world hath not a dramme of comfort for thee this sweetens all Lord into thy hands I commend my soule Thou hast redeemed me O thou God of truth Our Spirit is our dearest iewell howle and lament if thou thinke thy soule is lost But let thy faith know that is neuer lost which is committed to Gods keeping Spiritum emittis non amittis Duriùs seponitur sed melius reponitur That soule must needs passe quietly through the gates of death which is in the keeping of God Woe were vs if the Lord did not keepe it for vs whiles we haue it much more when we restore it While our soule dwels in our breast it is subiect to manifold miseries to manifest sinnes temptations passions misdeedes distemper vs in heauen it is free from all these Let the soule be once in the hands of God nec dolore pro peccato nec peccato prae dolore torquetur it is neither disquieted with sorrow for sinne nor with sinne which is beyond all sorrow There may be trouble in the wildernesse in the land of promise there is all peace Then may we sing Our soule is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the foulers the snare is broken and wee are escaped Inuadit Satanas euadit Christianus It is there aboue the reach of the deuill There is no euill admitted into the citie of heauen to wrastle with the citizens thereof Death is ready at hand about vs we carry deaths enow within vs we know we shall die we know not how soone it can neuer preuent vs or come too early if our soules bee in the keeping of God Man was not so happy when God gaue his soule to him as he is when he returnes it to God Giue it cheerefully and then like a faythfull Creator that thou giuest to him in short paine hee will giue thee backe with endlese ioy And so we come fittly from the Comfort of our Integritie The Boldnesse of this Comfort As vnto a faithfull Creator Wherein our confidence is heartned by a double argument the one drawne ex maiestate the other ex Misericordia from Maiestie from mercie His greatnes a Creator his goodnes a Faithfull Creator 1. Creator not a stranger to thee but he that made the. It is naturall to man to loue the worke of his owne hands Pigmalion dotes vpon the stone which himselfe had carued But much more naturall to loue his owne Images his children the walking Pictures of himselfe the diuided pieces of his owne body God loues vs as our Creator because his owne hands haue fashioned vs. But creauit vermiculos hee also made the wormes yeeld it and therefore non odit vermiculos hee hates not the very wormes Creauit Diabolum hee made the deuill no God made him an Angell hee made himselfe a deuill God loues him vt naturam as he is a nature hates him vt Diabolum as he is a corrupted nature an euill a deuil But we are not onely his creatures the workmanship of his hands but his children so Adam is called The sonne of God His owne Image fecit hominem in similitudinem suam he made man after his likenes in his Image We are more then opus Dei the meere worke of God for Imago Dei the very Image and similitude of God We may therefore be bold to commend our soules to God as a faithfull Creator Diuerse men haue that for their God which neuer was their Creator The proud man makes his Honour his god the couetous makes his gold his God the voluptuous makes his belly his God now whereas God not onely charged in the first Precept Thou shalt haue no other Gods before me but added further in the next Thou shalt not make to thee any Image or Similitude of any thing whether in heauen aboue or earth beneath or water vnder the earth c. These three sinnes seeme to crosse God in these three interdicted places For the proud man hath his Idol as it were in the aire the couetous man hath his Idol in the earth the drunken Epicure hath his Idol in the water Let them take their Gods to themselues let no Rachel that hath married Iacob steale away Labans Idols Our Creator is in heauen boldly giue thy soule to him who should better haue it then he that made it 2. The other argument of our comfort is that he is Fidelis a Faithfull Creator He is faithfull to thee how vnfaithfull soeuer thou hast beene