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blood_n	eat_v	flesh_n	receive_v	6,935	5	5.8336	4	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A12466	A map of Virginia VVith a description of the countrey, the commodities, people, government and religion. VVritten by Captaine Smith, sometimes governour of the countrey. Whereunto is annexed the proceedings of those colonies, since their first departure from England, with the discourses, orations, and relations of the salvages, and the accidents that befell them in all their iournies and discoveries. Taken faithfully as they were written out of the writings of Doctor Russell. Tho. Studley. Anas Todkill. Ieffra Abot. Richard Wiefin. Will. Phettiplace. Nathaniel Povvell. Richard Pots. And the relations of divers other diligent observers there present then, and now many of them in England. By VV.S.	Smith, John, 1580-1631.; Symonds, William, 1556-1616?; Abbay, Thomas.; Hole, William, d. 1624, engraver.	1612 (1612)	STC 22791; ESTC S121887	314,791	163

them nothing more vnconstant then their mindes and hearts you cannot tell when you haue them nothing more vngratefull or a worse esteemer of mens deserts you cannot make account of any recompence ftom them humorous clamorous vnrespectiue these haue beene their proper adiuncts Looke but vpon two or three examples Regium est cùm bene feceris malè audire It was the complaint of a great King that is It is the Fate of Kings to be rewarded with euill speeches for their good deseruings 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 It was said of another King Agamemnon deserued wel of the Graecians but hee was rewarded with bands or cruell death for his labour Neither haue Gods people beene free from these faults None e uer more faithful in Gods house then Moses none deeper in Gods Booke none more graced with miracles none more carefull of the peoples good c. Yet if any feare of hunger or thirst or enemies c. doe assaile them presently they are ready to returne into Egypt and to that end to elect another Captaine in place of Moses as you may see in Exodus and the Booke of Numbers so great interest had he in them I skip ouer Samuel Dauid Ieremy and other Kings and Prophets and righteous men Come we to Saint Paul and his Galatians his I call them because he had begotten them in the Gospell and as a Nurse cherisheth her children so was he tender among them but when he came to reape fruit from them hee found that he reckoned without his Hoast and so was disappointed of his hope At the first I grant they receiued him as an Angell of God euen as Christ Ie●us they were ready to pull out their owne eyes and to giue them to him if they would doe him good but after they had harkened once to seducers which turned them away from the simplicity of the Gospell then was Saint Paul no longer a Father vnto them but an enemy and in stead of plucking out their owne eyes they seemed forward enough to pull out Saint Pauls to doe their false apostles pleasure so great hold had he of them Neither did they better intreat the Lord of the house Christ Iesus himselfe for these were but his seruants It is true the Father said They will reuerence my Sonne and indeed so he well deserued for hee went about doing good and healing all that were possessed of Deuils or visited with any other sicknesse for God was with him He spake so diuinely as never man spake his enemies being witnesses yea the people wondred at the gracious words that proceeded out of his mouth and flocked betimes to heare him and hung as it were vpon his shoulders Thus Christ might seeme to say of them My beloued is mine and I am hers I haue married her to my selfe in righteousnesse iudgement and mercy But all this was but Hony-moone or as the hasty Summer fruits within a while they became rotten and corrupt and forgate their first loue Nay for a word spoken which that they did not vnderstand was their owne fault onely they gaue him the back and became Apostates Looke a little higher vpon the 51. verse and so downeward Because Christ said that he was the Liuing Bread that came downe from Heauen And Except yee eate of the flesh of the Sonne of man and drinke of his blood you haue no life in you Hereupon groweth a quarrell and such a quarrell as will not be taken vp by any Apologie or mediation but they must needs part yet all Lawes and common reason also will allow a man to interpret his owne meaning and when he professeth that he speaketh figuratiuely and spiritually he ought not to be taken properly and carnally When Christ affirmeth and auerreth that the words that he speaketh are Spirit and life that is are spiritually to be taken and then they will giue life as Augustine full well expoundeth Spiritualiter intelligenda sunt Intellexisti spiritualiter Spiritus vita sunt Intellexisti carnaliter E●iam sic illa Spiritus vitae sunt sed tibi non sunt Hast thou vnderstood them spiritually Then they be Spirit life Hast thou vnderstood them carnally Euen so also they be Spirit and life but to thee they be not Should not this content indifferent men though neither himselfe nor others had spoken so before But now it hath beene an vsuall thing with Christ by a kind of Anagoge to deduce matters from the currant carnall ●ense to an heauenly vnderstanding and therefore with more equity may he be allowed here You know Math. 12. when one said to him Behold thy mother and thy brethren stand withou● desiring to speake with thee He answered and said Who is my mother and who are my brethren And stretching out his hand vpon his Disciples he said Behold my mother and my brethren for he that shall doe the will of my Father which is in heauen he is my brother sister and mother Thus Christ. Now I aske Was Christ ashamed of his kindred By no meanes for he taught others to honour father and mother and not to turne away their eyes from their owne flesh therefore himselfe would not be found defectiue in that duty But this is that that Tertullian saith Hoc dicto vsus est ad excutiendam importunitatem ab opere reuocantium That is By this saying he would meete with and shake off their importunity or vnseasonablenesse that withdrew him from his worke and therefore I say that he denieth that simply in shew which hee denieth not but in comparison indeed namely that if any hinder him in his heauenly vocation hee would not take him for his kinsman So Iohn 4. My meate is to doe the will of him that sent me and to finish his worke Had he no other meat at any time Yes hee did hunger and thirst and eate and drinke as other men doe but in comparison of this he cared not for the other this was meat and drinke to him So the Prophet Esay Is not this the fasting that I haue chosen to loose the bands of wickednesse to take off the heauy burdens and to let the oppressed goe free c. To deale thy bread to the hungry c. There was another bodily fasting or pinching of the belly but that was nothing to this spirituall One. So another Prophet Rent your hearts and not your garments And another Circumcise the fore-skin of your hearts c. Neither doe the Scriptures only vse to speake thus but ordinary wise men also whether they were in the Church or out of the Church What dost thou meane to angle for Trowtes and Gudgeons or the like Thy angling is Castles and Towres and Forts c. said Cleopatra to Marcus Antonius Doe you aske me where be my Iewels My Iewels are my husband his triumphs said Phocions wife Doe you aske me where be mine ornaments My ornaments be my two sonnes whom I haue brought vp in vertue and

learning said the mother of the Gracchi Do you aske me where be my treasures My treasures be my friends said Constantius the father of Constantine Briefly doe you aske me where be my hands My hands are the poore the blind and the lame whom I keepe of almes said Amadeus Lastly doe you aske what is the Romanes their science or occupation I confesse saith the Prince of Latine Poets Others can paint and carue and play the Orators and play the Astronomers artificially but Tu regere Imperio populos Romane memento c. Hae tibi erunt Artes c. Thine Astronomy and thine Oratory and thy caruing and painting c. must be to keepe in obedience Nations and to be good to them that liue in obedience and as for the proud and refractary to keepe them downe this must be thy Art Euen thus you heare that our Sauiour is not singular in his phrase in this 6. of Iohn touching Eating his Flesh and drinking his Blood but that the same in Analogie is vsed else-where by himselfe and euery where by others And to say the truth why should our Sauiour be thought to speake more properly and naturally when hee saith to vs You must eate the Flesh of the Sonne of man and drinke his Blood then when he saith of himselfe My meate is to doe the will of Him that sent me c Yet of the former speech our Aduersaries the Romanists take hold of as did also the Capernaites before them to the later they take no exception It is certaine that it was Scandalum acceptum non datum our Sauiour spake none otherwise then he might doe but these men tooke it otherwise then they ought to doe And who tooke it in ill fashion The Text saith Many of his Disciples when they heard this said This is an heardsaying who may abide it Yea further that Many went backe walked no more with him ver 66. If the vulgar Gnain Haarets had cauilled with a few of the better sort only or if they had kept their dislike to themselues or if they had contained themselues within words it had bin another matter Mortui non mordent so words be but wind Verba dum sunt and so Muti non mordent But now for his owne Disciples to doe it and not a few of them but many and not within themselues but to vtter it openly and to proceed from words to deeds and de facto to fall from him as it made their sinne the more sinfull so it might make Christs Passion the more passionate though all his passions were sanctified and alwayes without sin Well after much preparation ridding of the way all necessary for the clearing of the occasion we are come at the length to the Text it selfe Wherein note with me three things A question An answere A reply The Question and Reply are moued by our Sauiour the Answere by Peter The Question is tentatory Will ●ou also goe away I haue deserued better of you The Answere is partly indignatory Lord to whom shall we goe thou hast the words of eternall life He seemed to take it ill that their fidelity was questioned pa rtly Protestatory Wee beleeue and know that thou art the Christ the Sonne of the liuing God Lastly the Reply is Expostulatory Haue I not chosen you twelue and one of you is a Deuill As if he said Ye are not all sound at the heart yee are not all the men that you would be taken for For the first namely the Question As all haue not faith 2. Thess. 3. So all haue not continuance in the faith You ranne well who did let you that you did not obey the truth Gal. 5. and chapter 3. Are you so foolish that after you haue begun in the spirit you will end in the flesh So it is No man is crowned except he striue lawfully that is except he hold out a conquerour to the end And No man putting his hand to the plough and looking backe is meete for the Kingdome of God Therefore the Grecians significantly call end and perfection by one and the same word And Cyprian speaketh sensibly Quicquid ante finem fuerit gradus est quo ad fastigium salutis ascenditur non terminus quo iam culminis summa teneatur That is Whatsoeuer is before the end it is a step whereby we clime to the top of saluation but it is not the vppermost griece whereby the highest point of the top maybe taken hold of A man may be tumbled downe from the ladder as well when hee is within a round or two of the top as when he is in the midst or below the midst and a man may make shipwracke when he is within a ken of land as well as when he is a thousand miles off What had it profited Peter to haue escaped the first and second watch if they had stucke at the Iron-gate and had not passed thorow that also And what did it benefit Samson to haue withstood and eluded Delilahs temptation three seuerall times when in the fourth he gaue ground and was ouer-come Who maketh account of land Oates that shead before the Haruest or of fruit be it Apple or Peare that falls from the tree before it be ripe If you heare these things happy are ye if ye doe them saith Christ and if you receiue the Word once with gladnesse happy are ye say I if you continue in liking of it It is not an ordinary or light sinne to fall from the Grace of Christ neither was it a small fault of these Disciples hauing beene once enlightned and tasted of the good gift of God to forsake Christ in the open field and to turne to him the backe and not the face No maruell therefore if Christ seeme so to wonder as he doth at their back-sliding if he be so carefull to admonish the twelue that they follow not their steps but be warned by their falls Will yee also g●e away As if he said Though Israel sinne yet let not Iudah transgresse You are they that I haue framed and fashioned for my se●fe the graffe of mine owne setting the shaft of mine owne Quiuer that I may bee glorified therefore though all should be offended because of mee yet be not you offended though all should goe backe yet be not you as they that withdraw themselues vnto perdition for surely your punishment should be so much the heauier by how much Gods mercies in so calling and trusting you haue been the greater To this effect our Sauiour Now here a couple of questions may be demanded the one touching our Sauiour himself the other touching his Elect. Christ demandeth of them what their minde was doth not this somewhat question his omniscience Againe he asketh them whether they would forsake him doth not this call in question the stablenes of Gods counsell touching the Elect These be the two questions which I will answere in a word or two Touching

be resolute Peter answered and said The next note is like to it namely That we be forward yea and formost too in a good cause As Peter doth not straine courtesie nor pause to see whether any other would speake and ease him of his labour but as though the waight of it lay vpon his shoulders hee dischargeth himselfe of it valiantly and hardily The Lord loueth a cheerefull giuer saith Saint Paul and so The Lord loueth a forward Confessor say I. Thou commest to see me the last of all my friends saith Octauius to Tully in Appium And 2. Sam. 19. Dauid reproueth the Elders of Iudah for that they were behind to bring the King againe to his house he meaneth that they were hindmost and lag On the other side Shimei that had abused Dauid so villanously for words that no man was euer abused worse by any for hee called him man of blood and man of Belial yet because he was the first of the house of Ioseph that came downe to meete him after his restitution to his Kingly Estate Dauid thought himselfe bound to pardon him and so assured him of his life by an oath So much it importeth a man what he doth well to doe quickly and to doe it betimes then there is thanke with God th●n it is accepted of man Euen as Dauid setteth forth his forwardnesse saying I made haste and prolonged not the time to keepe thy righteous iudgements and Saint Paul his When it pleased God to reueale his Sonne in me immediatly I communicated not with flesh and blood but went about that worke And Iames and Iohn being called Math. 4. forsooke their ship and their father forthwith and followed Christ And Luke 19. Zacheus being bid to come downe from a tree came downe in haste and receiued him Now as this haste and forwardnesse is necessary and to be vsed by all so especially by them that are Ring-leaders and Captaines of the flock In their countenance there is hope and despaire in their courage there is life and death If L. Martius had not bestirred himselfe and shewed an vncontrolable quicke resolution and an vndauntable fiery courageousnesse after the ouerthrow giuen to the two Scipio's all had beene lost in Spaine the name of a Romane had beene no more in remembrance This one example for hundreds for matters of warre So if Nasica had not presently vpon the hurly-burly stirred by the Gracchi obiected himselfe as a Bulwarke against their seditious complotments the Common-weale had beene drencht in the gulph of sedition out of which it would hardly haue popped vp for the hearts of the valourous would haue failed them for feare and the hearts of the turbulent would haue been strengthened Thus one example out of hundreds for matters of peace So if Saint Peter vpon the reuolt of so many Disciples and staggering peraduenture of some of the Apostles had hanged the wing as they speake or let fall his Crest who doth know but that many by his example would haue beene drawne away to obiect cowardize or amazed distraction Therefore blessed be God that gaue such strength vnto him for by his strength many were confirmed Let vs thinke of this Beloued specially we that are or should be men in Christ let vs reproue them that cannot abide wholesome Doctrine and let vs confute such vpon occasion and modestie and in order as are contrary-minded and teach contrary to the truth that is the Scriptures For the Scriptures are true and whatsouer is repugnant to the same is false-hood Let vs not draw backe and say Why doth not such a one speake and why doth not such a one but rather as in a common fire let euery man bring his bucket of water to quench it let euery one presently put his hand to the worke and helpe to beare anothers burden and then he shall be blessed in his worke This is my second note That not onely we professe boldly but also that we doe it presently The third note shall be shorter then the second namely that we be charitable What in Gods name might one say what meanes Saint Peter to be so liberall to vndertake for others He knew what himselfe would doe but he did not know what others meant Cato refused to vndertake for Catulus his honesty and none of better note for vertue then Catulus Cato therefore was a wise man So Ieremy saith The heart is deceitfull and wicked aboue all things who can know it So Saint Paul What man knoweth the things of man but the spirit of man that is in him Paul was an Apostle as well as hee How then could Saint Peter say boldly To whom shall we goe but vnto thee Hee should rather haue said To whom shall I goe To make the matter short I answere in a word that Saint Peter sheweth hereby his great charity which thinketh none euill and his brotherly loue which conceiteth another as himselfe The better a man is the lesse euill he suspecteth to be in another the worse a man is himselfe the more naught he suspecteth to be in another It is written of Nero by Suetonius that persuasissimum habuit He was verily perswaded that there was no continent man vpon the earth What maruell he was most vicious and most abominable himselfe On the other side Solon that carryed a naturall heart to his Parents could not be induced to thinke that there was any vse of a Law to be made against murderers of Fathers Mothers 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Nazianzen speakes that which is free from naughtinesse is slower to suspect naughtines As it is written for example of Francis the fi●st that carrying a generous minde himselfe he thought he should be intreated with like generousnesse by his enemy As on the contrary side the brethren of Ioseph that had vsed cruelty themselues were no sooner brought within their brothers danger specially their father being dead but they said It may be that Ioseph will hate vs and will pay vs againe all the euill which we did vnto him Now St. Peter was not like to these later bad ones but to those former good ones or rather better then they He knew whom he beleeued and he knew that his owne heart was established and his faith built vpon the Rocke Christ and therefore thought that others would be as forward as he and as firme as he Hee neuer thought that any of the Apostles would play the Traytor or that Iudas would be other then Iudas that is a Confessor He knew peraduenture that he was a Theefe and bare the bagge c. but yet who would not looke for reformation vnder such a Censor and Master This made Peter to say not in the singular number To whom shall I goe but in the plurall To whom shall we Let vs be slow to anger slowe to iudge swift to pity swift to hope Saint Paul hoped of the whole Nation of the Iewes that in time they should be saued Rom. 11. And

is but as a sounding brasse or as a tinkling Cymball Therefore if we will not haue Christ to come against vs quickly for receiuing so many blessings in vaine wee are to approue both our good acceptance by thankefulnesse and our thankefulnesse by Loue and our Loue by obedience and our obedience by auoyding that which he forbiddeth and ensuing that which he commandeth And then hee will say O good seruants nay O good friends for we are his friends if wee doe that which he commandeth as Saint Iohn speaketh nay behold my brethren and my sisters for whosoeuer shall doe the will of the heauenly Father the same shall be Christs brother and sister and mother Thus much briefely concerning some part of our duty which we owe to our Immanuel for vouchsafing so to debase himselfe for vs and to take our nature Now as the consideration of the benefit should prouoke our dutifulnesse so may it also confirme our hope in all dangers that shall beset vs whether bodily or spirituall Many are the dangers whereto Gods children are subiect from professed enemies from secret from the ayre aboue from the company about vs from euill humours within vs c. When we lye downe wee know not whether we shall arise when we ride forth we cannot tell whether we shall come home When we send our children abroade wee cannot tell whether wee shall euer see them againe when our cause is neuer so good wee cannot tell whether it will not be carryed away by false oathes and indirect practices Now what is our comfort herein God is with vs we will not care what man can doe vnto vs God is on our side who then can be against vs Who or what can hu●t them that Iesus Christ vou●hsafed to be borne for and hath receiued into prot●ction Doth not his very name teach vs that he is with vs Then to them that loue God and are beloued of God all things must worke for the best whether it be tribulation or anguish famine or pouerty or imprisonment or losse of friends or losse of children or losse of liuing or whatsoeuer In all these bodily assaults we shall be more then Conquerours so shall we be also in the spirituall Our sinnes doe threaten Gods vengeance vpon vs our consciences doe accuse vs the Law containeth matter of inditement against vs the Deuill followeth the suite all the creatures of God which we haue abused all the calling of God which we haue neglected all the threatnings of God which we haue despised c. doe witnesse against vs In a word the Lord sitteth in his Throne as an angry Iudge Hell openeth her mouth wide being ready to swallow vs vp The world forsaketh vs our friends haue no power to helpe vs what is to be done in this case what shift shall we make what place of refuge shall we fly vnto Only this is our comfort that the Sonne of God became the Son of man to make vs the Sons of God vile he became to exalt vs poore to enrich vs a slaue to enfranchise vs dead to quicken vs miserable to blesse vs lost in the eyes of the world to ●aue vs. Lastly partaker of our nature of our infirmity of our habitation to aduance vs to his Kingdome and glory that is to be vnto vs according to his name Immanuel God with vs. God to enlighten vs God to helpe vs God to deliuer vs God to saue vs. To him with the Father and the holy Ghost be all glory and honour for euer and euer Amen A SERMON VPON THE FIRST TO THE ROMANES THE FOVRTH SERMON ROMANES 1. verse 16. For I am not ashamed of the Gospell of Christ for it is the power of God to saluation to euery one that beleeueth both to the Iewe first and to the Greeke I AM a debtor saith Saint Paul both to Greekes and Barbarians Doe you aske What 's that to the Romanes who are neither Greekes nor Barbarians Then I tell you further saith he I am a debtor to the wise and to the vnwise 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is to say to all then I hope to you and in respect of this my debt I was as forward as a man might be yea and yet I am to preach vnto you among the rest the Gospell of Christ. For howsoeuer it be to the Iewe a stumbling-blocke to the Greeke ●oolishnesse how soeuer the Iewes call 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Gospell ●uen-gelion that is a Reuelation of vanity and the Greekes traduce it for a Doctrine of nouelty May we not know what this new Doctrine meaneth yea for a Doctrine of Deuils He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange Deuils 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Act. 17. Briefely howsoeuer it be spoken against euery where nay proceeded against by the censure of the Church and the sword of the Ciuill Magistrate yet for all that I am not ashamed of the Gospell of Christ it hath beene the ioy of my heart and it shall be I haue professed and published it with my mouth and will euer Come famine come sword come nakednesse come most exquisite torment nothing shall make me to plucke my hand from the Plowe or repent me of my calling What if it doth not profit some that heare it because they doe not mingle it with faith yet to other some it is the good sauour of life vnto life what if some despise it as they doe the whole Counsell of God to their destruction yet other some receiue it with much striuing and it is dearer to them then gold yea then much fine gold It is indeed mighty in operation and effectuall toward them that beleeue yea and to worke faith in them who formerly did not beleeue to incorporate them into the body of Christ and to saue their soules in the D●y of the Lord Iesus This may suffice for the opening of the Coherence and the plaine and naturall meaning of the verse wherein note with me two things First a constant resolution in the Apostle to hold on his course i am not ashamed c. Secondly a ground or reason of that his resolution For it is the power of God c. The resolution is most godly and the reason most sound therefore the one to be laid vp in our vnderstanding the other in our heart both to be so learned and practised that we become new men and be changed into the same Image as the Apostle speaketh Seneca hath a good speech and a sensible Ali●●enta quae accepimu● quamdiu in sua qualitate perdurant solida innatant stomacho onera sunt c. The food or nutriment that wee haue taken as long as it abideth in its owne quality and floteth whole and indigested vpon the stomack is a burden but when it is altered and changed from that which it was then it strengthneth turneth into blood In like sort sayes he let vs deale with those lessons and instructions that we receiue for the

of Sentence against the faulty but this is their comfort and exceeding great content if they can say with Pericles that they neuer caused any to weare a mourning gowne or rather if they can say with Saint Paul This is our reioycing euen the testimony of our consciences that in godly purenesse wee haue had our conuersation in the world And with Saint Paul againe That they are pure from the blood of all men I meane that they shed no innocent blood And lastly with Samuel whose Oxe haue I taken c Whom haue I hurt or of whose hand haue I receiued any bribe to blind mine eyes withall c This is a Robe that will better grace and adorne them then any Scarlet and be more cordiall to their inwards then any B●zar-stone and more comfortable and warme to their stomackes then any stomacher of Swans skinne or whatsoeuer is most warme and comfortable But I haue beene too tedious The Lord make that which hath beene spoken profitable vnto vs for his Sonne Christs sake To whom with the Father and the holy Ghost be all honor and glory for euer and euer Amen A SERMON VPON THE SIXTH OF IEREMY THE EIGHTH SERMON IEREMY 6. verse 16. Thus saith the Lord Stand yee in the wayes and see and aske for the old pathes where is the good way and walke therein and yee shall find rest for your soules WERE they confounded saith Ieremy in the Verse immediatly going before when they committed abomination No they were not abashed at all 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 neither knew they shame or to be ashamed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Hiphil taken passiuely as many times it is therefore shall they fall among them that fall in the time that I visit them they shall be made to fall 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 cast downe saith the Lord. In which words the Prophet sheweth both the hidiousnesse and transcendent greatnesse of the sinnes of the Iewes as also the fountaine and well-spring thereof It is a bitter thing and wicked to depart from the Lord by any kind of transgression either against the first Table or against the second But now when a man hath done euill to blesse himselfe as it were and to say in his heart that no euill shall happen vnto him for the same to harden his face like the Adamant and to be touched with no remorse or shame no remorse inwardly no shame outwardly not to blush for the matter nor to seeke as much as Figge-leaues to couer his nakednesse This argueth both the height of presumption and the depth of iniquity and villany and this is that which maketh sinne to be aboue measure sinfull and hatefull Well this was their desperate malady and the fearefull 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Paroxysm thereof What was the cause for me thinks the Prophet proceedeth after the manner of Physicians from the disease to the Symptomes from the Syptomes to the causes from the causes to the remedies They knew not shame The light of Nature that was in them they had for the greatest part extinguished by their custome of sinning And as for others that should reforme and reclaime them by setting before them the things that they had done and by thundring forth Gods Iudgements and plagues against them for holding the truth in vnrighteousnesse such I say as should doe this great worke of the Lord seriously and sincerely they wanted Thus the people perished for want of knowledge for want of knowledge of their sinne and shame and in this forlorne estate the Iewes are described to be in the verse before my Text. In my Text is set downe the last thing that Physicians doe and is most acceptable to the Patients namely 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the manner and medicine for cure that should remoue the disease and bring health to the Patient in the words which I haue read vnto you Stand vpon or neere the wayes and aske for the old pathes or euerlasting pathes where is the goodway and goe therein and find rest for your soules As if he said One of the greatest causes of your shamefull and shamelesse carriage both towards God and towards man at the leastwise one of the greatest matters that you can pretend for your excuse is ignorance or want of knowledge of the will of God that you doe not know the Royall Lawe that your Leuites teach you not Gods Iudgements and Lawes that the Priests rebuke not in the gate that the Prophets sooth you in your sinnes healing the wound of the daughter of Gods people with soft words c. But how The Lord hath spoken nothing in secret neither is his Word darkenesse neither are you so blind that you need alwayes to be led by the hand Why then doe you not take Gods Booke into your hand and there search for the right way for the good will of God and acceptable and perfect Why doe you not learne at the length to be your owne caruers or if that place be so difficult that you cannot vnderstand it why doe you not consult the more learned them that haue their wits exercised and acquainted with the Word of God that so you may finde satisfaction and rest for your soules This know for a surety that the old way that which was at the first chalked out by God himselfe in Mount Sinai and after laid open by Moses the man of God and the Prophets sithence which spake and wrote as they were moued by the holy Ghost that is the Good way and the straight way neither is there straightnesse or goodnesse in any other This I take to be the true coherence of the words of my Text with the former verse and also the naturall meaning of them wherein note with me three things 1. A perswasion consisting of diuers branches Stand vpon the wayes this is one See this is another Aske for the old way this is the third 2. A correction or limitation Aske not simply for the old way for that is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and that may be called old in comparison which in comparison of old truth is but new but for the good old way and be bold to walke therein 3. And lastly a motiue or reason drawne ab vtili You shall find rest for your soules that is you shall be sure to find it Touching the first When the Prophet saith Stand neere the wayes or vpon the wayes he meeteth with and striketh at two vices too frequent and vsuall in all ages Epicurisme and Superstition Many there be that make no reckoning of Religion which end goeth forward nay whether they know any thing of it or no. Who is the Lord say they that we should serue him and what profit in learning his wayes doe wee not see that all things fall out alike to the ignorant and to the learned to him that sacrificeth and to him that sacrificeth n t c wherefore then should we weary our selues in vaine to search and sift what is