shall be saved and no other Ye see brethren what a large field I haue to expatiate in but the time forceth me to be briefe In other Churches vpon whom the Crosse now lieth heauily this theam perhaps requires a larger handling yet is it not vnseasonable in this our peace to touch it in a few words in regard of the hopes of our enimies and our owne feares if need be to prepare vs for the Crosse. And thus much of the second counsell The third and last is let him follow me This many happily would thinke and many indeed doe thinke to be all one with comming after Christ for what is it to follow but to come after Were it so then were I here to make an end But I suppose there is a farther matter intended in it and therefore let me intreatâ— your patience to adde a word or twaine concerning it Wee are to follow Christ non pedibus sed affectibus not with our feet but with our hearts and affections and we are to follow him Docentem Ducentem both teaching leading vs. For it might be demanded if we must deny our owne selues that is our reason and wills with all their ability and power who then shall direct vs who shall guide vs For our minds being blind we cannot of our selues see the way and our wills being in bondage vnto sin we cannot walke in the way Wherevnto Christ readily returneth this plaine answere Follow me I will be your Teacher I will be your Leader First then Christ is our Teacher even hee who is every way most sufficient to teach He is the eternall word of his eternall Father the very Truth it selfe and the substantiall Wisdome of God He is made of God the grand Counseller of the Church the Angell of the covenant the Apostle of our profession the only Prophet and Doctor of the Church He came out of the bosome of the Father and knoweth all his counsells in him are hid all the treasures of wisdome and knowledge and he hath received the Spirit without measure Being therefore such a Teacher him are we to follow and we are to follow his teaching Audiendo credendo by hearing and beleeuing whatsoever he saith The divine oracle from heaven expressely commandeth vs to heare him This is my beloved sonne in whom I am well pleased heare yee him And our Saviour affirmeth that whosoever are his sheepe heare his voice and will not heare the voice of any other implying that whatsoever heareth him not is none of his sheepe But it is not sufficient to heare vnlesse we also Beleeue that is assent to all that he saies assuring our selues that whatsoever hee affirmes is true and whatsoever he commands is iust To beleeue is the first ground of Christianity He that beleeueth not cannot vnderstand the mysteries thereof O portet discentem credere he that will be a scholler must beleeve his Master if hee will not hee deserues to bee turned out of schoole Christ will not be argued with be it aboue reason or seeme it against reason yet will he be absolutely beleeued And reason for being God who neither can deceiue nor be deceived his bare word is more certaine then a thousand demonstrations Certainely they are none of Christs sheepe that doe not Beleeue and without Faith it is impossible to please God to be iustified in his sight or to obtaine life everlasting Therefore whosoever will come after Christ must thus follow him docentem teaching So must he also Ducentem follow him Leading Hee leadeth and guideth vs two waies Spiritu Exemplo inwardly by his Spirit outwardly by his example By his Spirit first For as Saint Paul saith As many as are lead by the spirit of God are the sonnes of God but if any haue not the spirit of Christ he is none of his Now as the word of Christ sounds outwardly to the eare so doth the Spirit of Christ speake inwardly to the heart He helpeth our infirmities and after a secret and vnconceivable manner suggesteth and putteth good motions into our minds exhorting and persuading vs to the practice of all holy and good duties Which direction of the spirit we are to follow Obediendo by obedience Not to obey the good motions of the Spirit is to resist him to greeue him and to quench him but to cherish the sparke that he hath kindled in vs and to yeeld obedience vnto his holy inspirations and perswasions this is indeed to follow him Which if we doe not wee are yet in the flesh and if wee bee in the flesh we are not in Christ Iesus for they only are in Christ who walke not after the flesh but after the Spirit As Christ leadeth by his Spirit so doth hee also goe before vs by his Example Longum iter per praecepta breve efficax per exempla the way of precept is long and tedious but of example short and effectuall But whose example are we to follow Mans It is not safe for be he neuer so good yet may he erre himselfe and mislead vs. Gods That indeed is safe because he cannot erre nor misguide vs but he is invisible cannot be seene Therefore he became man that being visible in the flesh he might giue vs example Which we are to follow imitando by imitation For as Augustine saith Summa religionis est imitari quem colis It is a chiefe point of religion to imitate him whom wee worship But wherein are we to imitate him In creation of the world in redeeming mankind in meriting for others In working miracles and the like as it is reported of that mad Salmoneus Qui nimbos non imitabile fulmen Aere cornipedum cursu simularat equorum who would needs counterfeit Iupiters thundring and lightning by driuing his chariot over a copper bridge darting torches at the faces of men No if wee would burst our selues with pride we cannot imitate God in these things Potestas subiectionem maiestas exigit admirationem neutra imitationem saith Bernard the power of God requireth subiection his maiesty admiration neither imitation How then Appareat Domine bonitas tua cui possit homo quia ad imaginem tuam creatus est conformari let thy goodnes o Lord appeare wherevnto man being created after thine owne image may be conformed To be breefe wee are to imitate Christ in all those holy duties which hee commandeth and whereof he hath made himselfe an example They are all summed vp in one word Obedience this hee commanded this he practised And he practised it both actiuely and passiuely and in both is he to be imitated He obeyed the law of his father the Morall law as being the sonne of Adam the Ceremoniall as being the sonne of Abraham And this actiuely exampling vs to walke even as he walked in all duties by God enioyned vs. It would bee too long to particularize in all those
the Pope himselfe is not exempted from this generality saith Bernard And. God hath made Kings rulers not only over Souldiers but over Priests also saith Pope Gregory In the old Testament Aaron was subiect vnto Moses and Priests and Levites to the Prince in the new Testament Christ himselfe submitted himselfe vnto the secular power and St Paul appealed vnto Caesar at whose iudgement seat hee saith hee ought to be iudged In a word the law of nature requireth Subiection of all the law of Moses requireth the same so doth the Gospell too and therefore let every soule be subiect vnto the higher powers And so much also of the Subiect As touching the Relation or Duty that from the higher Powers to the inferior is Rule Government of which neither was it my purpose neither doth my Text occasion me now to speake but from the inferiour to the superiour it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Subiection Yee must bee subiect This Subiection is not a point but hath latitude and includeth within it sundry duties all which notwithstanding as I conceaue may be reduced vnto three answerable vnto those three eminencies and excellencies that are in the Magisâ—rate For there is in the Magistrate first the eminencie of person and degree then the excellency of power and authority and lastly the dignity of his worke and operation and every one of these deserueth accordingly to be requited with a seuerall dutie First then there is in the superior powers an eminencie aboue others in regard of their persons as being the vicegerent and lieutenants of the King of heauen and earth not as other men but after a peculiar manner in maiestie and dominion bearing the image of God the God of heaven as Daniel saith hauing giuen vnto them a Kingdome power strength and glory In which respect they are stiled in Scripture Principalities and Powers Dominations and Dignities the Lords annointed yea Gods Dixi Dij estis I haue said yee are Gods This eminency and excellency in the Magistrate is to be answered with Honour and Reverence from vs. My sonne feare the Lord and the King saith Solomon Feare God honour the King saith Peter Honour thy Father and thy Mother saith the fift commandement not those naturall parents onely which haue begotten vs but Patres patriae the fathers of the country also This Honour and Reverence as I vnderstand includeth within it a triple act first of the minde in a due estimation and valuing of their place and dignity secondly of the will in an humble inclination thereof vnto them because of their excellency thirdly of the body in outward behaviour carriage towards them as rising vp in their presence baring the head bowing the knee reverent speaking vnto them and such like according to the manner of the country where wee liue Neverthelesse of these three the second is the principall and most proper act of Honour for a man may know the worth of a thing and yet bee no whit affected towards it as the Gentiles knew God yet glorified him not as God and outward demeanure comporement what shew of reverence soever it haue yet may proceede of scorne and derision as was that of the Iewes towards Christ. But if vpon apprehension of the Magistrates worth and excellency the heart be inclined and duly affected therewith all externall acts of reverence will surely follow of themselues Such a one will ever set the best construction on all their actions interpreting nothing sinisterly he will conceale their errours and infirmities and with Sem and Iaphet going backward cover them hee will not suffer them either in their persons or actions to bee traduced or dishonoured but will carefully defend or excuse them In a word hee will not somuch as entertaine an evill thought against them so farre is he from saying or doing ought that may detract from them And so much of the first duty Honour and Reverence The second eminencie in the magistrate is the excellency of Power and Authority whereby he enacteth and ordaineth lawes for the well government of the common-wealth commanding that which is good forbidding that which is evill advanceing the well deseruing and punishing those that either transgresse or neglect his commandements briefly hauing the greatest power that can be on earth ius vitae atque necis power of life death Now vnto authority who seeth not that Obedience is due Put them in minde saith Saint Paul to obey Magistrates and indeede to what end is authority and power to command if every man notwithstanding might refuse to obey and doe what he list But here wee are to be advertized that as the Magistrates authority is not infinite so there are bounds set vnto our Obedience Princes though they be soveraignes in regard of their subiects yet are they viceroyes in regard of God Regum timendorum in proprios greges Reges in ipsos imperium est Iovis Kings command their people and God them Omne sub Regno graviore Regnum est every Kingdome is vnder a greater Kingdome If then they command vnder God wee must obey if against God wee must say with the Apostle it is better to obey God then man Hand over head to yeeld a Monkish and blind obedience vnto them is to advance man into the throne of God and to giue vnto another the glory only due to him withall to incurâ—e the fearfull curse threatned vnto Israel for obseruing the wicked statutes of Ahab and Omri True it is wee must giue vnto Cesar the things that are Cesars and so must wee giue vnto God the things that are Gods If any aske quis prohibet who forbids in such cases to obey Say maior potestas a greater power If they threaten answere with Saint Augustine Da veniam tu carcerem ille gehennam minatur thou threatnest the body with imprisonment hee both body and soule with hell fire Only take heede first that thou be not lead by fancies and imaginations but be sure that they command against God secondly that denying obedience thou doe it in all humility without scandall or contempt lastly that yet thou be content to obey passiuely and whatsoever they shall command within the sphere of their activity and not against God that thou bee ready also to obey actiuely And so much of the second duty Obedience The third and last eminency in the magistrate is the dignity and excellency of his worke which is exceeding great For he is the Minister of God for our wealth saith Saiâ—t Paul and thereunto he applyeth himselfe Hee is custos vtrivsque tabulae the guardian and keeper of both the tables of the law that vnder him wee may lead a godly and a peaceable life in all godlinesse and honesty Were it not for him every one would doe what seemed good in his owne eyes and men like wolues would pray one vpon another but now by him every man enioyes his own violence is repressed
say ordinarily beget Faith work Repentance and breed sanctity and newnesse of life not so Reading May it please you then to tell vs for our better satisfaction what such coherence there is betwixt Sermons and Faith which is not betwixt it and Reading And what that intrinsicall and proper quality of Sermons is whereby Faith is begotten which is not also to be found in Reading Is it in the doctrine and matter of Sermons It is the very same which wee read Is it in the arguments and motiues whereby they perswade We read either the same or as forcible in the Scripture What then Is it in the vtterance voice gesture behauiour or credit of the Preacher Much lesse for then should we be beholding for our Faith to accidents more then substance to the plausible inticements of humane wisdome rather then the evidence demonstration of the spirit Wherein then lies the vertue Forsooth in Gods blessing for Preaching is the ordinance of God and he hath promised to blesse it But stay my bretheren is not Reading Gods ordinance also And doth God having imprinted in it such an aptnesse and fitnesse ordinarily to beget Faith either curse his owne ordinance or suspend the operation of it so as it shall never worke but only extraordinarily What shall I say When they haue answered what they can vnto the question the summe of all as Hooker obserueth will be this Sermons are and must be the only ordinary meanes but why and wherefore we cannot tell And so I passe from the first argument drawne from the aptnesse and fitnesse of Reading to produce all these kindes of Faith Now in the second place I dispute ex concessis from that which is yeelded and granted by the adversarie First it is granted by Hieron and we haue proued it by the testimonie of M. Fox to be true that many of our forefathers in the blinde time of Popery were converted to the true Faith by reading only This say they was extraordinary but I infer that therfore it was ordinary For if reading be excluded sermōs be the only ordinary means it will follow that the Church at that time was without the ordinary meanes for wholsome Sermons then were not to bee had But it is a strange point in Divinity that the Ordinary meanes should at any time fayle in the Church and I presume when that fayleth the Church of God will fayle also If so then is there some other ordinary meanes besides Sermons and what can that bee but the written word and the Reading thereof It is further granted and that rightly that whosoever readeth the Scriptures or heareth them read is therevpon bound to beleeue And this is so cleare a truth that Whitaker could not forbare to charge his adversary Stapleton with much folly for holding the contrary Sic tu planè desipis saith he Art thou so very a foole as to thinke that the word of God hath no authority or bindeth no man to beleeue but then when it is preached Certainely if the doctrine of Christ and his Apostles was to be beleeued when it was deliuered by them in their Sermons it is as much now to be beleeued when it is convayed vnto vs by way of writing and reading Wherevpon saith Caluin Although the Apostles be dead yet their doctrine liueth flourisheth and it is our dutie to profit by their writing as much as if themselues were now publikely speaking before our eyes Vnlesse therefore Gods word cease to bee his word when it is read an obligation in reading is laid vpon vs to yeeld all credence and obedience vnto it Now God bindeth not but by a commandement He commandeth therefore to beleeue by Reading What Doth he command vs to beleeue by a meanes that is vtterly vnable and vnfit to worke beleefe And doth hee daily and hourely tye our Faith vnto that which hee meanes not to blesse vnto that end but once as it were in an age and extraordinarily Questionlesse seeing God hath ordained that his holy Scriptures be ordinarily read both in publike and private and hath bound vs all to beleeue whensoeuer we either read them or heare them read it cannot be but that Reading is an ordinary meanes to beget faith and that God will alwaies vouchsafe to blesse his owne ordinance to the same end In the third place I vrge the testimonie and authoritie of holy writ But happily so doing I may be counted in the number of those vile men who like venomous spiders suck poyson out of the sweetest flowres 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the die is cast and angry speeches may not hinder me from maintaining truth by the word of truth When all Israell saith Moses is come to appeare before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall chuse thou shalt read this law before all Israell in their hearing Gather the people together men and women and children and thy stranger that is within thy gates that they may heare and that they may learne and feare the Lord your God and obserue to doe all the words of his Law Here in expresse tearmes the Reading of the law is commanded and it is particularly commanded to this end that men may learne thereby What the feare of God and obedience to the Law God therefore hath appointed Reading to be an Ordinary meanes of conversion It is answered that such Reading is meant as was accompanied with interpretation So they dreame indeed but in the text there is no mention of interpretation Neither is it likely seeing now the whole law was to be read at once as is aboue said and the scantling of time would hardly beare any exposition Howsoeuer sure I am the holy Ghost ascribeth the effect vnto Reading and I thinke hee both knewe and meant what hee said In the Prophecie of Ieremie God commandeth the Prophet to write all his Prophecies in a booke that all the house of Iudah might heare them read for it may bee saith God that hearing they may returne every man from his evill way that I may forgiue their iniquity and their sinne According to this commandement Ieremie dictates all the Prophecies vnto Baruch Baruch writes them and being written reads them in the house of the Lord. Here againe Reading is commanded by God and to the same end that the people thereby might bee moued to repentance To this they answer first that God speaketh after the manner of men True when he saith it may be as if he knewe no more then man what the effect would bee Yet is it plainely intimated that Reading is an ordinary meanes of repentance Secondly say they Ieremie had preached the same before and so they are Sermons that are commanded to be read Be it so Yet then the very Reading of Sermons may worke Repentance which the Preaching of them could not To say nothing that these Sermons written were Gods word both for matter and manner so that if the Reading of them might be
Now the power here meant not being that Essential must needs be this Oeconomicall For other power hee hath none and this he hath receiued thereby to giue eternall life But let vs enquire a little farther into the nature of this power There is a double created Power the one Secular and Mundane the other Heavenly and Spirituall Is this Power of Christ Secular and Mundane Surely such a Power the Iewes expected in their Messias and the Apostles themselues were for a while swaied with the like hope concerning Christ. And now also some Papists there are who for the easier advancement of the Pope therevnto would faine haue it so because as here hee saith Power so else where our Saviour saith All power is given vnto me But for these Bellarmine himselfe may suffice to confute them For saith hee every kingdome is acquired by one of these waies either by Inheritance or Election or Conquest or Donation But Hereditary kingdome Christ had none For although he were descended from David and so was of the blood royall yet that he was next of blood vnto the crowne doth not appeare And besides as touching the kingdome the seed of Iecon David had long before determined in Ieconiah neither was any of his race ever after King King also by Election he was none as appeares by that of Iohn that when he perceiued they would come and take him by force to make him a King he departed from them into a mountaine himselfe alone And when he was requested to divide the inheritance betweene two brothers he refused for said he Man who made me a iudge or a divider over you Neither was he so by conquest for he neuer made warre vpon any mortall Prince but only on the prince of darkenesse Nor finally by Donation from God for my kingdome saith he is not of this world and againe my kingdome is not from hence as if he should say a King I am but no secular King Neither did he at any time exercise any kingly power but â—ame rather to minister and to be iudged then to iudge to be ministred vnto Furthermore Kingly authority was neither necessary nor profitable vnto him but superfluous and vnprofitable For the end of his comming was the redemption of mankind wherevnto temporall power was not necessary but only spirituall And whereas it was his office to perswade from the loue of worldly glory wealth and pleasures vnto the contempt thereof temporall power would haue beene not only vnprofitable but also a great let and hinderance therevnto Lastly all the Prophets foretell only of a spirituall and eternall kingdome which should be restored to Israell But temporall is not eternall and how can such a kingdome bee said to be restored seeing it continued still in the hands of the Romans vntill by them they were rooted out from being a nation vpon earth Secular and worldly power therefore our Saviour had none What then Heavenly and Spirituall And this appeareth first by the end of Christs comming and the authority bestowed vpon him For this was Spirituall namely to deliver mankind from spirituall Egypt and Babylon the bondage of Sinne and Satan and to bring them vnto the eternall fruition of God wherein standeth everlasting life Secondly by the meanes appointed for the atchieving of this end For the weapons of his warfare are not carnall but spirituall Outwardly hee worketh through the eare by the preaching of the Gospell inwardly vpon the spirit conscience by the power of his divine spirit wherevpoÌ„ saith the Apostle St Paul The kingdome of God is not meat drinke but righteousnesse and peace and ioy in the Holy Ghost In a word what more frequent in Scripture then to call this power of Christ the kingdome of Heaven Which what other doth it import then that it is no way earthly but altogether heavenly and spirituall But you will say wherein standeth this Spirituall authority of Christ I answere in two things whereof the first is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the enacting of wisdome and good lawes For without lawes no kingdome or state can stand And to him alone it belongs to command lawes who is the soveraigne The soveraigne in this kingdome is Christ. He therefore is Legislator the law maker yea as St Iames saith Vnus legislator the only law maker And by vertue of this power hee prescribeth vnto the subiects of his kingdome both credenda what articles we are by Faith to beleeue facienda what duties we are in life to performe All which least any should pleade ignorance he hath caused publikely to be proclaimed both by word and writing And to perswade the readier obedience to them after the manner of all law-makers he annexeth both promises and threatnings promises of rich and plentifull reward to them that shall be obedient threatnings of rigorous and severe punishment to all that shall be rebellious and disobedient To descend to farther particularity would bee infinite I forbeare therefore and passe to the other part of his power which is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 righteous iudgement For lawes without due execution are vaine and to no purpose duly executed they will not be vnlesse there be a superior to looke vnto it As therefore Christ is the Lawmaker so is he also Iudge ordained by God according as we beleeue in the Articles of the Creed to be the Iudge both of quick and dead A soveraigne Iudge from whom lies no appeale A righteous Iudge who accepteth the person or none but pronounceth sentence precisely according to the worke According I say to the worke For herein standeth his power of judicature namely in dispencing rewards and punishments according to the observation of his lawes or the transgression of them which ever he doth vpon due cognizance of the cause and conviction of the party A power farre aboue the reach of any other creature and incident only to him who subsisteth in the person of the sonne and that by vertue of such personall vnion So that as the Priesthood of Christ is a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that which cannot passe from him vnto another by the same proportion his kingly power is so proper vnto him as it is vncommunicable to any other whatsoever And thus much of the first poynt Quid what is given Whence wee may obserue first seeing the Power of Christ as he is man be farre aboue all created Powers yet is not infinite it makes against all those who either swallow vp the humane nature into the divine and so turne it into God such as were some of the ancient Heretikes and among them the Eutychians or who shed and poure out all the divine attributes and so the omnipotence and infinite power of God into the humanity such as are if yet now adayes such there be some of the rigider divines in Germanie If there be such I say For perhaps all the late quarrell risen betwixt them and vs grew
judgement vpon the Conscience and to be the executioner of his lawes or finally hee bindes the Conscience in vaine and to no purpose To say that man is in such sort Lord of the Conscience is vnreasonable because his knowledge and power reach no farther then the outward man To say that man may command God is sacrilegious aduancing man aboue God Lastly to say that he bindeth in vaine and to no purpose is withall to say that their opinion is vaine and that man hath no such power at all To shut vp all in a word vnlesse a man may with as much security obey man as God man who is subject to error and injustice as God who is free from both vnlesse we be all as deeply bound to study the laws of men and to knowe them as we are Gods and to subject our selues as absolutely vnto them it is altogether vnconceauable how humane lawes can bind the Conscience equally with diuine This point being thus cleared it is euident that by conscience in this place wee are with St Peter to vnderstand Conscientiam Dei conscience towards God and to interpret this of St Paul yee must bee subiect for conscience by that of the same St Peter Submit your selues vnto every ordinance of man for the Lords sake as if he should say because God hath bound you to be subiect For God hath laid this obligation vpon man appeares by the very institution of Magistracie For although St Peter call it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a humane creature yet his meaning is not that it is not from man but for man and his benefit otherwise S. Paul expresly affirmeth that it is the ordinance of God and Solomon that by him kings raigne The reason mouing God to institute the same was partly his soueraigne Lordship ouer man by right of creation by which he may order and dispose of him at pleasure partly the great loue he beareth vnto humane society which his infinite wisdome saw could not so well be maintained if euery man should be left to himselfe and orderly gouernment were not setled among them Herevpon hee ordained some to be in authority some to liue in subiection commanding the one to rule according to justice and equitie the other to submit themselues with all lowlinesse and humility as I meane touching subiection hath in the first part which is the Dutie beene sufficiently declared Now man being thus by the commandement and ordinance of God bound Conscience cannot bee free but as man shall either subject or not subject himselfe so is Conscience bound to testifie for or against him and to excuse or to accuse him If then yee breake the commandement of God and refuse to be subject there is one who will surely accuse you and will not spare a witnesse whose testimony is omni exceptio ne majus better then a thousand witnesses that will testifie against you even your Conscience But to whom will it accuse Vnto that great and dreadfull Iudge of the whole world whose wisdome can not be deceaued whose justice cannot be corrupted and the execution of whose sentence cannot be avoided And what will the sentence be Perpetuall imprisonment in the bottomelesse dungeon of hell therein eternall torments both of body and soule which although it be not presently executed vpon you yet the worme of conscience instantly will begin to gnaw vpon your soules fill you so full of vnspeakable horror and anguish that your life shall be but a death and this world a hell vnto you But if on the contrary side yee shall for the Lords sake and in obedience to his ordinance yeeld subjectiō vnto the higher powers and vnder them liue dutifully in all godlinesse and honestie then shall your consciences testifie nothing but good of you and excuse you vnto God he shall justifie and acquit you your soule shall bee replenished with vnspeakable peace and comfort so as yee shal haue a heaven vpon earth and in heauen it selfe in due time such ioyes as nor eye hath seene nor eare heard nor ever entred into the thought of man To conclude and summe vp all if either we will keepe a good conscience that we may both here and ever be blessed or will avoid the sting of an euill conscience and the miseries that attend vpon it wee must of necessity be subject Yee must needs be subject not only for wrath but also for conscience And thus haue I finished the second part also which is the Necesstie of the dutie It only remaineth now to adde a word or two by way of vse and application There is a generation of whom both St Peter and St Iude speake that despiseth all gouernment and speaketh evill of Dignities cleane contrary vnto the doctrine of my Text which commandeth all to be subject and to honour and obey the Magistrate But these are not all of the same kinde for some despise it out of an erronious judgment others out of an euill habit and custome They that despise it vpon errour are either Anabaptists or Papists The Anabaptists a fanatical fantastical sect vtterly mislike all gouernment and subjection among Christians It is not without cause that S. Iude calleth such kind of people Dreamers for so indeed they are and their dreame is this that Sin is the cause of Subjection and although it were ordained and allowed to the Iewes because they were but infants yet fits it not vs Christians that are in the state of perfection Shall I dispute against this dotage and shew that even among those blessed spirits that are free frō sinne still persist in the truth there are Thrones Dominations Powers Principalities Angels and Arch-angels That if man had continued in his integritie yet government should haue beene inasmuch as man naturally is sociable and disciplinable the morall law commands to honour father and mother the end of gouernment is Peace with Pietie and Honestie and one man euen then should haue stood in need of another That finally there is now as great a necessity thereof as was among the Iews and that the new Testament would neuer haue commanded Subjection or to pray for Magistrates if it were a sin for a Christian to be a Magistrate But I will not vouchsafe them the honour to dispute with them let it suffice in this honourable auditory barely to affirme first that a Christian safely may be a Magistrate secondly that none is fitter then he because no man better knowes the dutie of a Magistrate then he Lastly that no man can so compleatly and perfectly performe the office of a Magistrate but hee because no man vnderstands the true religion which he is to maintaine and by which he is to gouerne but he As for Papists although they doe not thus reject all government yet doe they many waies both in doctrine and practise avile and abase it For first they giue vnto the Pope a supremacie ouer Princes euen vnto Deposition and depresse
evills that befall them vnto the godly as in old time the gentiles did to the Christians and nowadaies Papists doe to Protestants ingratitude in requiting the much good they enioy by them with nothing else but hatred and persecution Well doth Solomon confound Fooles and Wicked for were not wicked men meere fooles they would neuer thus malice their best friends nor seeke to destroy them by whom themselues are preserved from destruction For certainly will they nill they sapiens est stulti redemptio the wise man is the fooles ransome as saith Philo and iust men are the pillers of the house the brazen walls of a country the charets and horsemen of a nation without whom the world is but a stage of vanity a cage of vncleane birds cannot long subsist Wherefore although to our griefe we see wicked men too thicke sowne among vs yet because so many good men are mingled with them let vs reioyce and be glad giue God hearty thankes for them hoping that while they continue with vs Gods blessing shall continue vpon vs also And when it shall please him to translate any of them from hence let vs solicite him with our devoutest prayers vt vno avulso suppullulet alter Aureus simili frondescat virga metallo the one branch being pluckt off another golden one may grow vp in the place thereof for the perpetuation of his favours towards vs. Secondly doth God in executing iudgement distinguish betweene good and bad sparing the one and punishing the other here is a right precedent for you my Lords and other iudges and rulers of the land to imitate Yee are in scripture stiled Gods and in this principally are yee to resemble God Ye are carefully to separate betwixt the pretious and the vile not so as to iustifie the wicked and to condemne the innocent for both are an abomination to the Lord saith Solomon but to punish the evill doers and to praise them that doe well for to this end are ye sent as St Peter saith There is no greater cause either of apostasie in the Church or of sedition in the commonwealth then when they that deserue well of both are vilipended or neglected and lewd vnworthy men are honoured with the reward due vnto vertue Oh therefore let vertuous worthy men find grace in your eyes let them in the name of God be cherished and countenanced by you ever remēbring that they are the meanes of much good vnto the place where they liue As for wicked men bend your browes vpon them and as they deserue it let them feele the edge of your sword Pinguior victima mactari Deo non potest quam homo sceleratus a fatter sacrifice can yee not kill vnto God then a wicked man If yee spare him yee spare not your owne selues judex ipse damnatur cum nocens absolvitur the iudge himselfe is condemned when the guilty person is absolved And seeing so many Amorites yet remaining in the land they now begin to pricke sorer in our sides then heretofore hoping for a linsey wolsey Church at least ere long it is high time for you to looke carefully herevnto Tranquillitas est vbi solus Petrus navigat tempestas vbi Iudas adiungitur saith Ambrose if Peter saile alone all is calme if Iudas saile with him nought but storme and tempest If we cannot vtterly be rid of them let them be hewers of wood drawers of water with the Gibeonits God forbid they should steere at the helme and be proud commanders Thirdly and lastly doth God sometimes enwrap both good and bad in the same punishment This my Lords is a mysterie vnimitable and farre aboue your reach and to follow God in such actions were to make your selues as ridiculous as little children who will needs put vpon them their fathers coats though they be no way proportionable vnto them Theodosius the Emperour for the fault of one man at Thessalonica involved many innocents into the same punishment but hee was faine to doe penance for it before he could be receiued into the Church by Saint Ambrose If Polititians thinke they see reason of state in it yet policy must yeeld to religion the rule whereof is Fiat iustitia ruant coeli evill may not bee done that good may come of it For the least evill of fault is greater then the greatest evill of punishment that being evill in nature this only to sence otherwise an act of iustice it selfe Neverthelesse albeit this act of God be not to be imitated by vs yet seeing the wicked by reason of their mixture with the Godly draw downe common plagues vpon them both it ought to be our wisdome first to labour for their conversion and if it may be to worke them into Gods favour then if this cannot bee effected either to separate them from vs by the hand of iustice or to separate our selues from them at least wise in dislike affection For as Solomon saith He that walketh with the wise shall be wise but a companion of fooles shall be afflicted And thus much of the first part which is Gods action now of the second which is Abrahams affection How Abraham stands affected in this particular case of Sodom is cleare and evident by his words Be it farre saith he from thee to doe this thing to stay the righteous with the wicked and that the righteous should be even as the wicked be it farre from thee He vtterly mislikes that the righteous should perish together with the wicked and desires rather that God would be pleased either to spare the wicked Sodomites for those righteous ones which happily were among them or else to deliver the righteous from the destruction of the wicked In a word he seemes to be solicitous for them all both for the Sodomites whether good or evill in generall and in particular for his brother Lot who dwelt among them But here it will happily be said what doth Abraham prescribe vnto God impose a law vpon him Is God to be ruled by man and divine actions to be directed by humane affections Farre be such temerity farre be such presumption from the Father of the faithfull No he knowes and confesses himselfe to be but dust and ashes and that God is not only Liberrimus agens one that freely doth whatsoever hee will both in heauen and earth but also Sapientissimus needing no counsellor to advise him but knowing best himselfe what is to be done He doth not therefore presume to order the actions of God but only proposeth his humble sute vnto God neither doth he take vpon him to direct him but to deprecate for others It will peradventure yet farther be said that God had already signified his purpose vnto Abraham and what he meant to doe Which being so it had beene his dutie to laid his hand vpon his mouth and to haue rested in his will without farther contradiction or opposition And here caeca
obedientia blinde and absolute obedience is as necessary commendable as in Friars to their superiours it is foolish and vnreasonable To this I answere that God indeed had intimated his purpose vnto Abraham but yet in this forme of words Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great and because their sinne is exceeding grievous I will goe downe now and see whether they haue done altogether according to that crie which is come vnto me and if not that I may know In these words you see he doth not say that he would destroy the godly with the wicked and by the deliverance of Lot it plainely appeares he never intended so to doe and therefore it could be no arrogance in Abraham to make such a charitable deprecation for them Neither doth that appeare by the words that God had past an absolute and peremptory sentence against the wicked Sodomites for if ten righteous men had beene found amongst them they had beene spared and the threatnings of God ordinarily are to be vnderstood with a condition annexed vnto them if men repent not yea although it be not in plaine tearmes expressed as in that against Niniveh yet forty daies Niniveh shall be destroyed for this notwithstanding vpon their repentance they were not destroyed So that this condition being here also vnderstood what presumption could it be in Abraham to desire favour for the Sodomites at least vpon their repentance Finally had God absolutely threatned without condition yet ought not man so much to attend what God intendeth to doe agreeable vnto his owne will and iustice as what he himselfe is to doe agreeable to the law of God and nature and then shall he find that God in denouncing and executing iudgement wills two things both that they perish and that he greeue God had laid Iudea wast and sent away the inhabitants thereof into captivity yet Ieremy lamented for it Christ knew well that God had absolutely determined to destroy Ierusalem yet hee wept over it a sonne may know by evident symptomes that his Father cannot liue and yet desire the prolonging of his life and all without sinne In like manner might Abraham without offence wish all good vnto the Sodomites notwithstanding Gods will vnto the contrary Now this affection of this holy Patriarch is iustifiable both by the law of God and nature hauing a three fold foundation to support it Humanitie Consanguinitie Piety First Humanity for what heart of flint or adamant would not melt to behold so many thousands so fearfully to perish It is reported of Xerxes a king of Persia that leading into Greece a huge hoast of about a leauen hundred thousand men and being desirous on a time to take a view of them from the top of a hill while he beheld thē he burst forth into weeping and shed many teares and being demanded the reason because quoth hee within one age not one of all these will be left If Xerxes were so affected at the consideration of the naturall death of so many should not Abraham be much more moved at the destruction of the Sodomites so sudden so violent so terrible for the manner of death is far more fearfull then death it selfe Nay if God himselfe pittied the great City of Niniveh in which were sixscore thousand persons that could not discerne betweene the right and the left hand why should not Abraham also commiserate these fiue citties in which without question were many thousands of young tender babes and infants who never partaked in their parents transgressions Aboue all If yee consider that this temporall plague of fire and brimstone from heaven was praeludium aeterni a fore runner of eternall miserie in hell what man is he that hath but a sparke of humanity in him but would wish it to be otherwise and prevent it if he could For one man not to sympathize and compassionate with another in his miseries is meere inhumanity Another ground of this affectio◠in Abraham was Bloud and Consanguinity for there liued among the Sodomites Lot his children and family Now Abraham was vnkle vnto Lot Lot being Harans sonne which Haran was brother vnto Abraham and this is so great a neerenesse in bloud that by the very law of nature marriage betweene vnkle and neece aunt and nephew is interdicted and vnkles are accounted as fathers to their nephewes Betweene these therefore there must needs passe a naturall 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and affection more then betweene them and others inasmuch as there is a neerer vnion and coniunction betweene them Others may be glewed together by friendship or alliance but these are of the same peece naturally one bone of bone and flesh of flesh Here there ought to be no difference at all let there bee no strife betweene me and thee saith Abraham to Lot for wee are brethren yea extraordinary loue and amity I behaued my selfe saith David as to my friend or to my brother and the more the loue is the more earnest and vehement will the desire be for the prevention of such evills as doe threaten them The third and last ground of Abrahams affection was Religion and Piety For where there is a profession of the same true religion there is a straiter bond then that of bloud being members of the same mysticall body in Christ Iesus hauing one Lord one Faith one Baptisme one body one spirit one hope one God and Father of all which is aboue all through all and in all And out of this Vnion issueth that holy communion of Saints mentioned in the articles of our Creed in regard whereof we are bound to loue the Saints farre aboue other men according to that of St Paul while we haue time let vs doe good vnto all specially vnto those that are of the houshold of faith Of this family was Lot and his houshold and many others for ought Abraham knew and therefore vnlesse hee would be not only without naturall affection but also without religious sympathie and compassion he must needs stand thus affected towards this mixt company in Sodom and beseech God either to spare the wicked for the godlies sake or to preserue the Godly in the destruction of the wicked that it may not every way be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as to the one so to the other And thus you see the affection of Abraham both what it is and by what grounds it is justified warranted Let vs apply this before we proceede farther As we all professe our selues to be the children of Abraham according to the faith so is it our duty also to be his children in affection And first even towards the wicked ought wee to be tenderly affected and to pittie them more then they pitty themselues Thus doth Abraham in this place thus did David a true son of Abraham when they were sicke saith he I clothed my selfe with sacke cloath and humbled my soule with fasting Thus did Christ a true sonne both of