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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A17412	Sermons upon the ten first verses of the third chapter of the first Epistle of S. Peter Being the last that were preached by the late faithfull and painfull minister of Gods word, Nicolas Byfield. Wherein method, sense, doctrine, and vse, is, with great varietie of matter, profitably handled; and sundry heads of divinitie largely discussed. Published since the authors death by William Gouge.	Byfield, Nicholas, 1579-1622.; Gouge, William, 1578-1653.	1626 (1626)	STC 4235; ESTC S107153	186,240	252

be loved when their husbands are not loved Thus of the fourth point the fift point is the effect and that is they adorned themselves Adorned themselves In all ages the comelinesse and ornament of a wife as a wife was to obey her husband with meeknesse and feare and those were the comeliest and best apparelled women in the sight of God their husbands and good men that were most quiet and easie to be governed and willingest to please their husbands And so on the contrary a wife were a very unhandsome woman and not fit to please any wise man that were of a froward and unquiet disposition eyther through anger or crying or the like yea though shee had otherwise never so great an estate or never so excellent gifts of nature of minde or bodie yea if she could be imagined to have true holinesse and grace yet she were but a loathsome creature And this doctrine as it should move all wives so especially such as have not other things to commend them but want eyther portion or beautie or skill or have but weake gifts in Religion these should be the more carefull to recompence their husbands and strive to please them in this way of adorning themselves The matter of the example is Subjection to their husbands and of that I have entreated in the exhortation it selfe The speciall argument is taken from the particular example of Sarah vers 6. Where we are to observe 1 What shee did viz. shee obeyed Abraham calling him Lord. 2 What fruit will follow to Christian wives if they follow her example viz. they shall become her daughters 3 Vpon what condition they shall obtaine that honour viz. if they doe well and be not affraid of any amazement Sarah The names here mentioned are Sarah and Abraham and both their names are kept in the Christian Church not as they were at first but as they were changed of God out of his love and respect to their faith and obedience The woman was first called Sarai which signified My Lady or My Mistris but after was changed into Sarah to signifie that she should be a Mistris to many or a Mistris indefinitely meaning that she should have a great posteritie as the mans name was changed into Abraham and signified a father of many nations From the giving of the names we may gather 1 Such as glorifie God by beleeving and keeping his covenant and patient bearing of adversitie shall be blessed of God and in particular shall have this blessing of a happy posteritie A godly life brings God to us and our families and an ungodly life drives him away 2 That God is no accepter of persons but godly wives shall have their part in the blessing of godly husbands This christian wives may looke for if they be as Sarah holy women and such as obey their husbands and are a comfort and helpe to them in all the travailes of their lives and no way hinder godlinesse in them Obeyed Abraham Diverse things may be noted hence 1 That obedience is the chiefe thing required in the subjection of wives shewing how Sarah was subject he saith she obeyed him The maine thing required of wives is to be ruled by their husbands Those wives transgresse that are not carefull to see that done which their husbands require with reason require and those that crosse their husbands and vexe them by opposing or censuring especially those that will not be quiet unlesse they may doe what they list and rule their husbands 2 That as much is due to everie husband as was due from Sarah to Abraham else this argument of the Apostle had not beene good They might have said that Abraham was a great man and holy and wise and loving c. but the Apostle requires that what women would doe for the substance of obedience if they had Abraham to their husband that must they doe to him that is now their husband And the reason is cleare Because Gods commandement in the morall Law prescribes the same honour to be given to all husbands and in the new Testament obedience is required of all wives to all husbands And this was the more observeable in Sarah because in obeying Abraham shee was faine to leave her owne countrey and be exposed to a world of paines and danger and wants 3 That the discharge of domesticall dueties is a good worke and shall be had in everlasting remembrance Though all good wives have not the honour to be written in Gods booke of Scripture and praised therein yet they have the honour to be written in Gods booke of Remembrance which shall be opened at the last day and so contrariwise Calling him Lord. That shee did so call him the Apostle found written Gen. 18.12 Hence we may observe 1 That godly wives ought to acknowledge their husbands to have power over them as if they had been servants bought with their mony not that their subjection is no better than the subjection of servants but that the husbands have aswell power over them as they have over their servants Sarah doth not in judgement only acknowledge it as due but with wonderfull affection doth easily and with great love give that title to Abraham 2 That it is one part of the subjection of wives to carry themselves reverently towards their husbands and to give them such titles as may shew that they doe heartily honour them 3 We may here observe the wonderfull goodnesse of God towards his servants that in a great heape of sinne can see accept of a little spark of true grace The whole sentence of Sarah was vile and prophane only that word was good God praiseth her for that was good and passeth by the great fault she committed Yea we may note that God is so well pleased with her loving subjection to her husband that hee is content to forgive her great sinne of unbeliefe against him Yea it is probable that her great respect of her husband made her the more willingly to beleeve Gods promise afterwards for Heb. 11.11 she is commended iudging God to be faithfull who had promised her a child though at first she laughed at it Whose daughters ye are Godly women may be said to bee the daughters of Sarah three waies 1 If Sarah be taken mystically for the new Ierusalem as Gal. 4. 2 In respect of inheriting the love and blessing of God which Sarah had they shall be her daughters that is they shall have the same portion from God as if they had come in Sarahs roome as in the case of Abraham is said Rom. 4.11 16. 3 In respect of spirituall kindred and alliance Christian women are as neere a kinne to Sarah as if they were her owne daughters So that the maine doctrine from hence is That there is a spirituall kindred and consanguinitie betweene the godly About which from this place wee may observe diverse positions 1 That all the godly are a kinne and the reason is Because they are all

the Church of God in generall to prosper Psal. 128.5 6. when God keeps his Church as his Vineyard and waters it every moment and watcheth it night and day and destroyeth every thing that might annoy it Esay 27.2 3. In particular a Christian finds divers sorts of good daies as first the Sabbath daies well sanctified are good daies above all other daies of the week when his body enjoyes rest his soule is blessed according to Gods promise with spiritual rest and grace in Iesus Christ. Secondly the dayes in which the soule of a Christian after sinne and the judgment of God for it is humbled soundly and anew admitted into Gods presence and reconciled to God those daies when God entertaines the repenting sinner that praies unto him especially at the first reconciliation are wonderfull good daies Iob 33.25 26. with the coherence 36.11 Psal. 90.14 Luk. 4.21 with Esay 61.1.2.10 Thirdly all the daies in which a Christian thrives and prospers in the knowledge of Gods word and growes in the spirituall understanding in the mysteries of Gods kingdome are all good daies for this knowledge is that wisedom Salomon speakes of wh●ch makes a man so happy Pro. 3.18.2.16 Thus of the good daies that are so in the judgement of the inward man God is pleased also to grant such good daies as are or ought to be so accounted in the judgement of the outward man and so First the daies of youth in which a man hath strength of body and vigour of minde to fit him not onely for the comforts of life but for the service of his creator are good daies Eccles. 12.1 it being a blessed thing to beare Gods yoake in a mans youth Secondly the daies of speciall prosperity in the world which sometime God grants unto his people are also good daies when God gives his people abundance of blessings in their families and estates and withall publike honour and respect withall sorts even the great ones of the world as was in the case of Iob which hee describes in the whole 29 Chapter of his booke but then it must have this indeed that in this prosperity the godly man be imployed in all well doing and get himselfe honour by the flourishing of his gifts and good workes as is shewed in that Chapter by Iob. Thirdly such daies in which a man enjoyes a quiet estate free from all trouble or vexation or contumely at home or abroad being free from Gods aflicting hand or mans injurious dealing are good daies and such as perhaps are specially meant in this place Thus of the sense of the words Divers doctrines may bee observed from hence 1 That the daies of men usually are evill which is true not onely of the wicked but of the godly also This Iacob said long agoe his daies were few and evill Gen. 47.9 but of this point before Only this may serve for great reproofe of those that so little minde a better life and so wilfully love this life that though they live in much misery are loath to thinke of dying take no course to provide for a better life 2 It is evident from hence that the life of man is but short whether hee live happily or miserably yet his life is reckoned by daies not by longer measures of purpose to signifie the shortnesse of our lives This is expresly affirmed in other Scriptures Iob 10.20 Iob saith his daies were few and of all men that are borne of women that they have but a short time to live Iob 7.1 And this is resembled by divers similitudes so our life is compared to a Weavers shuttle Iob 7.6 to a Post for swift running out Iob 9.25 to the grasse of the field Iob. 7.12 Esay 40.6 to an hand breadth so as he saith his age is as nothing Ps. 39.5 to a watch in the night Psal. 90.4 to a sleepe vers 5. to a tale that is told vers 9. Thus the life of man is said to bee short either as he is in Gods sight with whom a thousand years are but as yesterday when it is past Psal. 90 4. or in his owne account if he measure time to come as hee measures time past and in plaine reckoning let the life of man be improved according to mans utmost strength ordinarily a mans yeares are threescore and ten and if hee live to fourescore it is but labour and sorrow to him Psal. 90. Quest. But what should bee the cause that mens lives are so short Ans. If there were no other cause but the will of him that hath the disposing of the times seasons in his owne power yet that might satisfie us but we may ghesse at other causes as both the mercy and justice of God This world is so bad to the godly that it is Gods mercie to take them quickly out of it and contrariwise it is so good to the wicked considering their deserts that it is justice in God to take them hence and send them to their owne place which is hell Besides many men bring speedy death upon themselves by their own il courses or by sinning against their own bodies by lewd courses by eating up their owne hearts with worldly cares and sorrowes or by living in any grosse sinne to provoke God to cut them off or by falling into such disorder as the Magistrate cuts them off or by laying of violent hands upon themselves or by getting their goods unlawfully to bring upon themselves that curse Ier. 17.11 Finally in this last age of the world there may bee this reason assigned that the Lord makes hast to have the number of his elect fulfilled and therefore he dispatcheth away the generations one after another and so shortneth the daies of man for his elect sake Now for the uses Are our lives so short then it should teach us divers lessons 1 To pray God to make us able to thinke so and so to number our daies that we may not make any reckoning of any long continuance here Psal. 39.3 90.12 2 To make hast and dispatch our repentance and all the businesses that concerne our sound reconciliation and so to walke while wee have the light and to use all good meanes while we enjoy them 3 To redeeme the time and save as much of it as wee can for the uses of a better life Ephs. 5. and to worke the harder to fulfil thy measure and dispatch that taske God hath set thee to doe 4 To lay fast hold upon eternall life 1. Tim. 6. and to make that sure 5 Every day to provide for our departure even all the daies of our appointed time to waite when our changing shall come Iob 14.14 FINIS An Alphabeticall Index of the most Principall things handled throughout the whole Booke A ADoption the glory of it 133 How it is attained 136 Markes thereof 136 Amazement in wives 109 Causes thereof 109 Antiquity when ill pleaded 91 Apparell See Attire Attire reasons against the vanity