nature Be not a common swearer for a man giuen to swearing shall be filled with wickednesse You ought not to call God to witnesse vnlesse there be great neede and none other meanes to make the truth knowne O how grieuous it is to heare people old and yong sweare by God without feare of his displeasure Some swear not by God but by their faith and troth by the masse by some Saint by golde and siluer and many others waies But doe not you so 〈◊〉 7. for it is displeasing to God to sweare by that which is not God It is called swearing when any say Gods woundes Gods blood Gods heart Gods nailes Gods foote c. but you shall heare what Christ will call it when he cōmeth to iudgement In the meane time vse no such raging speaches for they grieuously take the name of God in vaine Blesse your selfe from cursing and banning for cursing is the vengeance of God Luk. 9.51 52 53 54. He that wisheth vengeance to fall vpon his verie enemie had neede to be well aduised what spirit is within him Take heede how you heare the word of God that you be not negligent nor contentious nor daintie nor vaineglorious but diligently hunger and thirst for the pure and plaine word of God which if you receiue it in meekenesse is able to saue your soule Some make iestes of Gods word but doe not you so For it is ill iesting with edge tooles Doe not alleadge any part of Gods word but to a good and godly ende and in the feare of God Take heede how you make any vowe to God or how you promise any thing with an oth for whē you haue vowed or sworne your soule is bound Therefore before you vowe consider whether it be pleasing to God and in your power to performe and when you haue made such a vowe rather loose your life then breake it Iesus Christ keepe you from beeing a vow-breaker as I am Mocke no bodie with their pouertie lamenes blindenesse or with any thing which they cannot helpe least you take the name of God in vaine For Salomon saith he that mocketh the poore reprocheth his maker It is a most horrible thing to blaspheme almightie God that is to thinke or vtter any thing dishonourable vnto him It is dangerous in some things to speake that of God which is true Because our blinde vnderstanding is not able to see the depth of his wisdome and righteousnesse Therefore it is your safest waie to be thoroughly perswaded that God in whatsoeuer he doth or suffereth to be done is most perfitly wise and righteous and to refraine your minde from prying into the high questions of Gods fore-knowledge and predestination for the more you look vpon the sunne the worse you shall see and the more you seeke into the secrets of God the weaker will your vnderstanding be Whatsoeuer calamitie or miserie falleth vpon you acknowledge your selfe to haue deserued it yea and much more Submit your heart wholly to God and praise him as well for aduersitie as for prosperitie for that is meete and right So you shall best please him and most ease your selfe They that wickedly blame God for any thing which commeth to passe do both wrong his blessed maiestie and hurt themselues Although all things goe crosse and contrarie vnto you yet praise and blesse the name of God continually yea to the death and in dying Neuer despaire of Gods goodnesse but confesse his righteousnesse and your owne vnrighteousnes and so yeild your selfe to his good pleasure I Neuer kept holy the Sabbath day and therefore am full of all vnholinesse I forsooke the Church to followe euerie vaine pleasure or worldly profit I traueiled vpon sondaies in seruice time And when I went to Church the Deuill perswaded me to come late that I might tarrie the lesse while there Comming into Church I tooke no heede that I came into the house of God to pray vnto him and to learne my dutie out of his word and first I leaned vpon a seate or kneeled charily vpō one knee hiding my face or moouing my lippes that others might thinke I praied when indeede I either saide nothing or with no deuotion I little regarded what the minister praied or what he read in the word of God and if there were any sermon I minded not to heare it but wished for an ende of seruice and sermon that I might goe to my dinner and then to my vaine delights As for eueing praier I either lost it or came short vnto it or howsoeuer I made no reckoning of it being wholly giuen to foolish pastime Thus I made sonday the worst day of the weeke and my selfe the worst sinner of all the world But doe you make it the best daie of the weeke that you may be euery Sabbath daie by the grace of God made better and better till at the length you be fit to enter into the euerlasting Sabbath and rest of God in heauen Therefore leauing your worldly affaires and weaning your hearts from all pleasures of sinne you must desirously intend to keepe holy the Sabbath daie Arise early in the morning fall downe vpon your knees and humbly praie vnto God that he will giue you grace to keepe holy his sabbath daie according to his will Prepare your selfe so carefully to goe vnto the Church as if you were to goe out of this world into heauen Be not deckt in your apparell as if you were to plaie a part in a stage plaie or a may-game but come into Gods house as an humble suiter in such Christian plainenesse of raiment as decently may shewe the lowlinesse of your heart least you displease God and his Angels and giue much offence to Gods people yea and hinder your owne deuotion as I haue done Alas I haue beene exceeding vaine and tooke great pride in comming gaily to Church and so I quenched all desire of seruing God desiring chiefly to see and to be seene Come to Church with the first and not with the last least you come too late to speed Be more desirous and more delighted to serue God then to doe any thing els For it is hee to whome you must trust all other things will deceiue you and forsake you If you be diligent to serue God hee will be carefull to saue you he wil loue you he will come vnto you and dwell with you When you enter into the Church humble your hearts kneele downe vpon your knees lift vp your minde to God crie him mercie for your sinnes craue his grace in Christ Iesus that you may truly please him in all that you shall thinke say or doe When the minister readeth the praiers appointed ioyne you with him thinke that which he readeth word by word and at the ende of euery praier say heartily Amen When any part of Gods word is read giue diligent eare as though God himselfe spake vnto you from heauen When the Minister or any other is about to preach pray
folk that if I offer to say grace among them they wil thinke scornfully of me and reckon me a precise foolish bodie I answer first if you be the disciple of Christ you serue a good master be not ashamed of him and his seruice least he be ashamed of you at the day of iudgement Secondly if you for seruing God be ill thought of a blessed soule are you â—tth 9.10 â—â— It is a great fauour of God if hee vouchsafe to giue you the grace to suffer any wrong for his sake For great is their reward in heauen that are any waie persecuted for righteousnesse sake Grace before meate O blessed Lord God I humblie beseech thee to pardon my sinnes and to blesse the foode which it pleaseth thee to giue me that I may be thereby nourished made able to doe thee true seruice in my calling through Iesus Christ thine onely sonne our Lord and Sauiour Amen Grace after you haue eaten and drunken O most mercifull Lord God I am bound to giue thee humble and heartie thankes for thy manifold blessings giuen vnto me and to all mankinde Therefore I beseech the to giue me grace that I may be continually thankfull vnto thee thorough Iesus Christ thine onely sonne our Lord Amen Vse often to say the Lords praier so called because our Lord Iesus Christ made it and taught it his disciples It is a most heauenly praier short and sweete containing all that we neede in fewe wordes Therefore you must say it very leisurely and also vnderstandingly According to my weake vnderstanding I will by the grace of God briefly open vnto you the meaning of the Lords praier O father of Iesus Christ The Lâ— prayâ—ned and thorough him the father of all true Christians of which number I trust that by thy grace I am one Thy glorious maiestie and powerfull greatnesse filleth heauen and earth but in heauen thy ioyfull countenance is to be seene Thy name is holy O let the holinesse thereof be euery day more and more set forth that al the world may honor thee in heart word and deede Thou art the onely rightfull King of heauen and earth but the Deuill by temptation hath made vs rebell against thee O let the kingdome of thy grace come into our hearts and put out Satan for euermore Thine Angels and Saints in heauen doe altogether obey thy will O graunt that we children of men here vpon earth may likewise be obedient vnto thee in all things Our bodies doe daily neede the comfortable supplie of foode raiment lodging and such like O giue vs therefore such continuall comfort as thou knowest we cannot be without and because it is dangerous to our foules to haue too much or too little of worldly goods we beseech thee to giue vs neither more nor lesse but iust so much as by thy grace may best fit vs to serue and please thee Our sinnes doe deserue thy wrathfull vengeance and euerlasting torment in hell fire yet of thy wonderfull mercie thou doest offer vnto vs thy gracious pardon thorough Iesus Christ with condiâ—â—on that we shall heartily forgiue all that â—ffend vs O good Lord we doe forgiue â—hem from the bottome of our hearts and â—s we doe forgiue them and not seeke reâ—enge against them so wee praie thee to forgiue vs and not to late thy heauie vengeance vpon vs. The deuill by meanes of this world and our owne naughtie inclination can easily ouercome vs and tempt vs to his pleasure Therefore we beseech thee that thou wilt not giue vs ouer into his handes but by thine almightie goodnesse preserue vs from Satan and all his partakers For the kingdome of all blessednesse is thine thou art the right owner of all goodnesse all power commeth from thee and therfore all glorie and praise is due onely to thee O father almighty with thy sonne and thy holy Ghost for euermore Be it euen so Amen Pray often and with great deuotion vnto God that all Christian people may be knit together by the holy Ghost in one faith and one charitie and shew forth the mightie power of God in their liues and conuersations that the Iewes Turkes and all misbeleeuing people may thereby take knowledge that Christian religion is the onely true worshipping and seruice of God and thereupon turne to be true Christians For it is not warre nor worldly conquest that turneth people vnto God but the holy praiers and heauenly liues of them that serue God IF God will not hold him guiltlesse that taketh his name in vaine what shall become of me who haue all my life time most grieuously taken his name in vaine euery kind of way For first I professed my selfe a Christian that is a child of God thorough Iesus Christ but indeed I haue been heretofore the child of the deuill because I haue done his will and not Gods will Secondly I tooke vpon me to be a minister of Christ that is a messenger sent of God to ioyne with the holy Ghost in trayning people to be children of God but indeede I ioyned in worke with the deuill to make people his children The verie name and word of God I vsed vainely rashly vnreuerently and vndiscreetly to glorifie and please my selfe not to glorifie and please him All Christians take heede to your selues if you weare the Kings liuerie serue not the Kings enemie You were christened in the name of the father and of the sonne and of the holy Ghost therefore serue God and not the Deuill least it be prooued against you at the day of iudgement that ye tooke Gods name in vaine and so ye be found guilty At that daie neither shall the onely preaching nor the onely hearing of Gods word be allowed for both take the name of God in vaine because the one preacheth and practiseth not the other heareth and doth not the will of God therefore both shall be cast away with this grieuous sentence I knowe you not Matth. 23. Luk. 13 27. awaie from me ye workers of vnrighteousnesse Therefore frame your selues to be obedient vnto your Lord God and doe not think speake write heare or professe his name or his word without due discretion and groat reuerence Doe not make so light reckoning of your God as to vse his name or his word in idlenesse It is idle to call vpon the name of God without good cause and reuerent manner as some will say O God what a iest is this O Iesu who euer hard the like In any such speaking you are too bold with your God It is also a vaine taking of Gods name to praise him in scorning or blaming oothers as some will not be content to say of an idle bodie he liueth idlelie but they will say God be thanked he liueth idlelie O doe not thank God for any sinne because you should so doe him great wrong and of all things he cannot abide it to be noted as the cause of sinne which is farre from his most holy
is the gift of God and bringeth forth good workes whereby true Christians are iustified at the day of iudgement The capacitie of people is like vnto a small bottle with a narrow mouth if you powre in wine hastily you shall spill much beside and if you doe exceede their measure they will runne ouer no worke or imploiment in all the world doth require more carefull diligence then the office of a minister Although you teach and preach verie much and in plaine words yet your sheepe will specially regard your practise of life because their nature is to be lead rather then to be driuen I would I had preached lesse in words more in works Your conuersation must be euery waie square to your profession for you cannot so much as speake a word in iest but it shall be heeded and considered Yea if there be any ill word spoken in your hearing people will marke how you take it Beleeue me vpon mine experience if there be gappes in your conuersation your sheepe will thereby runne out from Christ yea they will boldly make gappes themselues presuming that they may with as little danger sinne in one kinde as you in an other When I as a Curate entred into a charge of soules the people at the first had such a reuerent opinion of me by reason of mine earnest plainnes in preaching that they were very carefull least I should see any fault in their behauiour but afterward when they perceiued that the practise of my life was not according to my preaching they grew in a manner carelesse what they said or what they did whereas if I had not lost that first reputation I thinke in my conscience that many yea most of them would haue ameÌ„ded their waies A minister ought to be graue and mild Grauitie without mildnesse is surlinesse and mildenesse without grauitie is lightnesse Iocond iesting and scoffing behauiour doth not becom a minister for he is the messenger of God and weightie is his message It is a true saying that too much familiaritie breeds contempt and so I haue alwaies found it Therefore vse to retire your selfe and be no common companie keeper for howsoeuer you may preserue your personall reputation yet the power of your office which is much grounded vpon a reuerent estimation will be by companie keeping many waies diminished The appearance of any vice in a minister doth disable his ministerie specially pride and couetousnes It were to be wished that ministers would in their apparel and gesture vse decencie shunning all vanitie and brauerie whereby the humblenes and meekenes of Iesus Christ might be seene in them You that teach others to be content with that which they haue ought to shew your selues free from filthie couetousnes Keepe alwaies within compasse of your maintenance that you may be before hand els you shall runne into many inconueniences for first you shall by want be forced to loose your libertie for as Salomon saith the borrower is a seruant to the lender Then much more is the receiuer seruant to the giuer An heathen man saide truly He that taketh a gift looseth his libertie Who hath more cause to keepe himselfe free then a minister for if he be ingaged to any the deuill will tempt him to sooth them in their sinnes or at least to be tongue-tied and not to reprooue them for their faults Alas in what wretched state are many Curates for they are driuen to seeke their coÌ„modities where they can finde them An other inconuenience in a hinderly minister is that he cannot be beneficiall to the poore which is a very speciall point in a minister for how can it appeare that he is zealous to feede mens soules that hath no care to comfort their bodies Therefore Christ and his Apostles were very diligent to prouide for the poore â— Mar An auncient writer testified to an heathen Romane Emperour that among Christians the minister is a prouider for all needie people Although any other minister seeme faultie and haue an ill report yet doe not endure to speake or heare any euill of him for so you should verie much offend and incourage to be distasted with the ministrie Doe not enuie nor despise any minister whomsoeuer not meddle with any mans charge but your owne Suffer much wrong rather then enter into strife Be no partie nor partaker in any contention If you be assured that any one doth amisse in your parish I tooke vpon 〈◊〉 to finde fault rigâ—â—rously with many yea with great men out of my charge 〈◊〉 my great shame tell him his fault secretly and verie kindly beseeching him in Christs behalfe to turne vnto God Whosoeuer fall out doe not you appeare to be aduersarie to any one nor to vphold the partie against him It wil hinder your ministerie peraduenture put you into more trouble then you can imagine Contention and partaking hath tormented me verie grieuously for I met with those that ouermatched me and laid heauie accusations vpon me God forgiue me and them and God giue you the heauenly blessing of quietnesse Hate all iarring and snarling for they are dogged properties as also fawning and flatterie He is a right dogge that will one while snarle and an other while fawne as I haue foolishly done Be a man of wisdome and few words Be slow to speake and short and sweet in speaking A man full of words is full of many offences Last of all I commend vnto you a notable sentence which the holy Ghost sent to a minister No man that is a warriour entangleth himself with worldly businesse â— Tim. â— that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a 〈…〉 beseech the blessed God 〈…〉 kneâ—â— that he will for Iesus 〈…〉 giue vnâ—o all ministers the grace 〈…〉 and peâ—â—â—â—e the true meaning 〈…〉 â—â—â—â—nce Amen Amen