will is Gods will so of the other petitions Wherby it appeareth that they would haue prayers made vnto Saincts properly euē as vnto God Arg. 2. Exod. 32.13 Moses thus praieth Remember Abraham Isaac and Iacob thy seruants Moses hopeth here to haue his praiers heard by the merites of these holy men Ans Moses rehearseth here onely the couenant which the Lord made with these holy men and their séed as the words following do shew To whom thou swarest by thine owne selfe and saidst vnto them I will multiply your seede Moses therefore pleadeth not the merites of Abraham Isaac and Iacob but vrgeth and presseth the promises of God and couenant made with them That prayer is onely to be made vnto God and to no creature at all as beyng an especiall part of the worship of GOD which wée ought not to giue to any other thus it is proued by the word of God Arg. 1. Rom. 10.14 How shall they call vpon him in whom they haue not beleeued But wée must beléeue onely in God and therefore wée ought onely to pray to him Auns Rhe. It is true no more can we pray to our Lady nor any Sainct in heauen vnlesse wée beléeue they can help vs. Auns The sacred Scriptures euery where teach vs that we must beléeue in God that they are cursed that put any cōfidence in mā Ier. 17.5 Againe they can haue none assurance to settle their cōsciences but out of the Scriptures They haue a vaine persuasiō of the ability of Saints to help thē but they haue no ground of any such belief out of the Scriptures We sée then that we ought to pray to God only in the name of our Lord Iesus Christ We must not only in aduersity but in prosperity do it we must do it ordinarily seing that we cannot liue one minute of an howre without the gracious help merciful assistāce of our good gracious God And the fauour which we looke for at his hands cōsisteth not onely in deliuering vs from death when we are at the pits brim as the ignorant imagine but also in daily preseruing vs in turning away all euil frō vs. For we sée that we are in this life cōtinually besieged with an hundred daungers the miseries whereunto we are subiect are without number You sée thē that we ought to cal vpon God not only whē he toucheth vs smiteth as though he laid hard stroakes vpon vs but euen when we be at peace rest perceyue euer do expect dangers towards vs euen then it behooueth vs to consider to how many miseries our life is subiect vnto that being persuaded that we cannot escape except God help vs we may fly vnto him say Alas Lord cōsider our miseries kéep vs vnder the shadow of thy wings euē vnder the protection by thy prouidēce make vs able to passe thorow al dāgers which enuiron hem vs in round about This must be done both morning noone and night abroad and at home but especially morning and euening Moreouer let vs consider that Sathan with sundry manifold tēptations doth daily assault vs Therfore let vs pray vnto God daily howrely to deliuer vs by his power The 2. part of the first Sermon Psalm 25.2 My God I trust in thee let me not be confounded let not mine enemies reioice ouer mee AS if the prophet had said O my God my hope is onely fixed on thée let me not be confounded and put to shame and so be derided of mine enemies Doct. 1 1. Doctrine Our hope ought to be fixed onely in the Lord. The Reason is for that of him commeth our saluation 2. Reason Our helpe standeth in the name of the Lord who hath made heauen and earth our fathers hoped in thée they trusted in thée were not confounded Iob 14.14 If a man die shall he liue againe all the dayes of mine appointed time or warfare will I waite vntill my chaunging come Our hope must perseuere Which saying is worthy to be wel marked For if we be tossed with neuer so many troubles it is not enough vpon some good motion affection to say Now must we trust in God for that is nothing except wée hold out euen in the middest of all our encoūters First therfore let vs marke that Hope is not a daies bird or a moneths birde but must continue to the end And doubtles when we be fully setled on Gods promises he holdeth vs still in the same to the end we may not quaile euery day but that whē we haue ouerpassed some time we may alwaies be established more and more vntill God hath performed the thinges which as yet he hath delaied vntill another time You sée then that it booteth not to haue had some good affection or to haue trusted in God except we continue so throughout And Iob hath expressed it plainly vnder the name of trauaile or battell Why so He meaneth not that we goe to our God at our ease As long as we suffer nothing we can find in our hearts to liue still in this world and to prolong our life double if it were possible Our desire is then that God should handle vs without gréeuing vs please vs in all respects and obay vs in all our desires Sée how easily we would passe the time if we might go but our owne pase if we might haue no temptation that there might be no heauines nor feare But it is said that we must giue attendance all our life long yea euen with wrestling In these words al the daies we are taught that if the time linger and séeme long to vs we must not take it for an excuse to do euill and to be gréeued and to giue ouer all in the middest of our iourney but we must continue to the ende Vnder this word battell or fighting is expressed vnto vs the state of this present life which is that being but warfarre in this world wee must be faine to fight to be besieged on all sides to be in continuall perill to be tempted sometimes with cares sometimes with aduersities and sometimes with some daungers Therefore let vs thinke vpō it Iob 13.15 Loe though he slay me yet will I put my trust in him and I will reproue my waies in his sight Psalm 17.8 Keepe mee as the apple of the eye hide me vnder the shadow of thy wings Psalm 57.1 2. Haue mercy vpon mee O God haue mercy vpon me for my soule trusteth in thee and in the shadow of thy winges will I trust till these afflictions ouerpasse verse 2. I will call vnto the most high God euen to the God that performeth his promise towards me Simil. Augustini We fasten now our hope in the holy land of heauen as an anchor lest in the sea of this world we being troubled should make a shipwracke Euen as therefore of a ship that is at anchor we say Well now it is at the land
honors and reputations among men which all are vaine We sée after what sort men comfort themselues namely by forgetting God For it séemeth to them to be a melancholy matter to think vpon him And in sooth how many are there that wil say stoutly enough We are good Christians and yet notwithstanding when they entend to be merrie they driue away all thought of God and eternal life and not onely so but also offend God of set purpose After what maner They cannot be merry dut in doing euil Seing then that the nature of men is such that wée be attainted with that disease let vs looke well to our selues and be sure that our mirth shall not be blessed from aboue except we be assured of the remissiō of our sins Therfore if we haue Gods fauour and pray to him therein consisteth true gladnes which is approued of God is eternal will bring vs to euerlasting saluation But so long as we know not in what case we are in with our God nor seeke to be reconciled to him but lie rowting still in our owne filthines the more we desire to be merry the more we kindle Gods vēgeance against vs the more we encrease still the fire of his wrath we plunge our selues the déeper into his bottomles pittes We see then that it is more thē néedfull that it should be shewed vs how much it standeth vs in hand to be well assured of Gods mercifulnesse towards vs. And that also is the cause why the holy Scripture when it treateth of giuing ioy and comfort to vs doth alwaies set before vs the fauour of God Isa 49.13 Reioyce O heauens and be ioyful O earth brast forth into praise O moūtaines for God hath comforted his people and will haue mercy vpon his afflicted Isa 44.23 Reioyce ye heauens for the Lord hath done it showte yee lower parts of the earth brast forth into praises ye mountaines O forest euery tree therein for the Lord hath redeemed Iaakob and wil be glorified in Israel Isa 52.1 Arise arise put on thy strength O Sion put on the garments of thy beauty O Ierusalem the holy one for hēceforth there shall no more come into thee the vncircūcised the vncleane Isa 60.1.2 3. c. thoroughout Luc. 2.10 11. to the end of the Chapt. Zach. 9.9 Reioice greatly O daughter Siō showt for ioy O daughter Ierusalem behold thy King cōmeth to thee he is iust and saueth himselfe poore and riding on an Asse and vpon a colt the foale of an Asse Hereby we are taught that we must néeds be in trouble vnquietnes so long as we know not whether we be in Gods fauour True it is that the wicked will séeke meanes enough to make thēselues merry they ruffle it out you sée in despising God but howsoeuer the world goe with them yet he sendeth them such prickings and torments of mindes so as they be grieuously distressed and if they daūce it is as Moses saith namely that yet neuertheles sinne lieth at the doore that is tormenteth their consciences there waiteth for them like a dogge that waiteth for his master Yée sée then that the wicked may ruffle it out but yet can they not goe out of their doores without gnawing of their consciences and GOD must still hold them at that bay Therefore so much the more ought wee to thinke vpon this doctrine that we turne not our backe vnto God nor burie our sinnes when wée would haue peace but that wée alwaies haue some promise of GOD to comfort vs. And when wée sée that GOD allureth vs to saluation let vs be glad thereof for then shall our gladnesse be blessed And if wée haue the taste that GOD is our louing Father it will swéeten yea it will sanctifie all our ioyes but without it wée must néeds quayle and there is no other meanes for vs truely and in deed to reioice Marke this Also let vs consider that the onely grace of God ought to suffice vs although we haue neuer so many sorrowes mixt with it according as God will exercise vs. For he in this our fraile life will not send vs full ioy so as we may laugh with open mouth as they say yet not withstanding it behoueth vs to reioyce in this certainty that we haue him to our good and louing father and that we shal find mercy with him Then if we haue this grace to call vpon God and can assure our selues that the gate is open to vs and that we in the name of our Lord Iesus Christ shall haue accesse vnto him I say if wée can haue that boldnesse not through our owne rashnesse but that he hath vouchsafed to open his holy mouth to witnesse his loue to vs which thing he doth when to vs his holy Gospell is preached then notwithstanding that many and infinite were our temptations and afflictions yet he will comfort vs and she we himselfe as a kind comfortable and louing father vnto vs. Psal 25.10 All the pathes of the Lord are mercy and truth vnto such as keepe his couenaunt and his testimonies The 2. part of the 4. Sermon The sence is THe faithfull the children of GOD which onely kéepe his couenaunt and testimonies shall surely taste and féele in this life and in that to come both his eternall and swéete mercy and his perpetuall and constant truth of his promises Doct. 1 1. Doct. They onely which remaine in and obserue the couenants and testimonies of God shal taste and féele that all the pathes of the Lord are mercy and truth to them The Reason is God hath so promised Psal 50.23 To him that disposeth his way will I shew the saluation of God Vse The Vse is That we neuer can assure our selues of Gods mercie and his promises of fauour except we endeuour to kéepe his couenant and testimonies which his law containeth consisting of two tables The first concerning our dutie towards GOD immediately which I haue oftentimes heretofore handled and the second concerning our neighbours And that I may the better comfort you with assuraunce of Gods mercy and truth which GOD graunteth to none but to them that leade a godly and charitable life and that except you doe good workes you cannot assure your selues of Gods mercy I purpose the rather to insist vpon this necessarie vse of the doctrine that I might thereby exhort you to good workes that you may féele the fauour and goodnesse of GOD thereby towards you Our Sauiour Christ in the 25. of S. Math setteth down a Catalogue of good workes among which hee accompteth To féede the hungrie To giue drinke to the thirstie To cloth the naked To visite the sicke and prisoners To lodge the barbourlesse Gen. 18.1 2 3. To entertaine straungers and waifaring men not the least This did good Abraham wel vnderstand and practise who sate in his tent doore in the heate of the day of purpose to inuite and call in straungers and wayfaring
yet he will not heare them Solutiō The Solution is very easie if wee waigh wel what is said in the Psal 145.18 The Lord is neere to all that call vpon him yea to al that call vpō him in truth There the Prophet sheweth that many seeke God howbeit fainedly By reason whereof wee be conuinced that there is none other meanes to rid vs of our miseries but onely that God should take vs to his mercy and be pitiful vnto vs. The very infidels call vpon him without regard of him notwithstāding that they scorne at religion and at all things that are spoken to vs in the sacred Scriptures concerning Gods prouidēce his mercy and grace which wee must looke for at his hands Therefore if they be pinched with aduersity they cry Alas my God And what compelleth them thereunto Euen their mother wit So the hypocrites and despisers of God may haue some forme or likenes of praying not onely to speake but to speake properly they cānot pray in déed for they are destitute of the Spirite therof frō their teeth outward whiles their minds are otherwise busied but oftentimes as men may perceyue euen with some harty affection for they are forced thereunto but yet is it not in truth For they haue not the knowledge to say My God calleth and allureth mée vnto him I shall not therefore lose my labour in comming to him Seing it is his good pleasure to reckon and accompt mee in the number of his deerly beloued children I will go to him not on a foolish rashnes and presumption but with obedience vnto the voice of my GOD trusting to his promise The hypocrites cannot speake this language therefore they haue no truth in them For they must haue faith and faith dependeth on the promises of God which the wicked haue not yea neuer tasted of Againe wee must haue a féeling of our miseries so that when we approch vnto God we must be abashed of our selues we must be sory for our sinnes we must hate our selues and wee must acknowledge our selues to be excéeding miserable But the wicked and hypocrites haue none of all these Although then their mouths are open to call vpon God yet do they but blaspheme and vnhallow his holy name because their mindes are not sound and vpright Herba solaris A similitude Heliotropium the herbe of the Sunne so called because it windeth it self about with the Sunne in the morning very early it doth as it were behold the rising therof and all the day it followeth the course of the Sunne euer turning the leaues towards the same but the roote it neuer chaungeth stirreth nor mooueth but hath that stil fast fixed in the earth Euen so many will turne vp their eyes and handes to the sonne of righteousnes but it is onely in ceremonie and outward gestures for their rootes their hearts are farre and fast within the earth how can they then bée lifted vp to heauen where in déede their treasure is according to the words of our sauiour Christ Math. 6. Where your treasure is there will your hearts be also Such men will lift vp their handes eyes and voices towardes heauen to GOD and with such goodly gréene leaues will make a faire florish and beautifull shewe but their hearts and affections are surely sette vpon earthly vaine vile and transitorie thinges and are as farre from GOD as heauen and earth are distant the one from the other How then can they possibly in faith cal vpon the Lord that theyr prayers should bee heard And therefore they fulfill the saying of the Prophet Esay chap. 29.13 This people draweth neere to mee with their lippes but their heartes are farre from mee So then lette vs marke well that when God saith that hee will heare the prayers of all them that call vpon him hee meaneth that their prayers must procéede from faith and wée must bethinke our selues well beforehand of his promises thereby to bée encouraged to come vnto him yet wée must also acknowledge our selues to be as we surely are of our selues forlorne damnable and destitute of all goodnes and this we must be throughly perswaded of to the end that wée may resort to the fountaine of his goodnes and grace Now we sée there is no cause why we should thinke it strāge that God putteth hypocrits wicked men back whē they come to him For they come not with a willing mind nor a pure affection but they would willingly shunne and auoid his hand if it were possible Howbeit seing that they by no means possible that they can deuise can shift themselues from him they come to him by compulsion A similitude For euen as a theefe a murtherer or any other great malefactor being shut vp in prison would not willingly appeare before the Iudge but would wish in his heart that rather there were none at all but seing they are and must bee full sore against their willes that sinne might be punished and vertue rewarded they then humbly entreat him to shew mercie to them Euen so the wicked and hypocrites wish in their heart there were no God but seing he is and wil be they repayre to him not as being perswaded of him as of a louing and mercifull father but as a seuere Iudge but what profiteth that Therefore when we pray vnto God let vs offer vnto him free harted sacrifices let vs haue accesse to him with willing mindes assuring our selues that without him we are destitute of al things we want of all that appertaine to our good Moreouer let vs not doubt of his fauour towards vs seing hée hath promised it vnto vs but let vs alwaies beleeue that he is ready to receiue vs and wil not be deafe to our desires when we come to craue them at his hands True it is that God euery minute sheweth his goodnes towards vs and although wée presently perceiue it not yet doth he preserue vs from the miseries that hang ouer our head and putteth his louing hand betwéene vs and them So then wée cannot but be experienced of his grace in the time of prosperity know that wée are maintayned by the same but yet haue wée not so certaine and manifest experience of his fauour and helpe in prosperity as in aduersity For whensoeuer misery pincheth vs and death threateneth vs wée can discerne that we are wretched forlorne creatures if God should not step before vs to rescue vs. And to speake the truth more largely How great and grieuous were the sorrowes troubles anguish and griefe of our soules if wée had not this swéete consideration Yée sée then an euident Demonstration that God hath had and now hath mercy and compassion vpon vs. We sée therefore that affliction is that wherein God chiefly sheweth himself to be our sauiour Here we sée wherefore God saith in the Psalm 50.15 Call vpon mee in the day of thy trouble and I will heare thee and thou shalt glorifie mee But shall we therefore inferre
although being in the Sea the waues beate against it yet after a certain maner it is brought to land against windes and tempestes euen so against the temptations of this our pilgrimage our hope being fownded in that celestiall Ierusalem maketh vs as it were to be turned into stones Laur. Iustinianus Patriarcha Sim. Hope is as it were a piller which holdeth vp the spiritual building which fayling the building ruineth and into the pit of despaire falleth Heb. 6.19 Which hope we haue as an anchor of the soule both sure and it entreth into that which is within the vayle Psalm 52.2 My God I trust in thee let me not be confounded Doct. 1 1. Doct. Whosoeuer haue a strong coÌ„fidence in God will also ioyne prayer to God onely with their trust in him that their enemies may not preuaile against them to their confusion 1. Reason is Prayer is a strengthning of our hope in God and a meanes whereby we are deliuered from coÌ„fusion Psal 50.15 Call vpon me saith God in the day of thy trouble and I will heare thee and thou shalt glorifie me Whoso praieth not to God to be deliuered from confusion which his enemies would bring him vnto doth not onely oftentimes fall into it as many exaÌ„ples in the holy word are shewed but is destitute of the hope of a Christian and so by consequence is voide from all comfort in his affliction seing in trouble nothing comforteth the afflicted but his hope and confidence in God â—â—w for his deliuery Let not mine enemies reioyce ouer me Doct. 1 1. Doct. The property of the wicked is to reioyce at the confusion of the godly Reason Because they hate nothing neither any persons somuch as the truth and the professors thereof Vse The vse is first to teach vs that the greatest part of men shall alwaies be against the godly Secondly not to trust the friendship of the wicked Lam. 2.16 All thine enemies do open their mouth against thee they hisse and gnash their teeth saying Wee haue deuoured it certainly this is the day wee looked for we haue found and seene it Hee saith not enemy but enemies Doct. 2 2. Doct. The wicked will ioyne together to vexe the godly although otherwise they agrée not among themselues Psal 2.2 The kings of the earth band themselues and the Princes are assembled together against the Lord and against his Christ Example Luk 23.12 And the same day Pilate and Herode were made friends together for before they were enemies one to another Vse The Vse is that we beware lest we be spotted with that fault Doct. 3 3. Doct. The wicked be often so enflamed with malice against the godly that nothing will satisfie them but their life Prou. 1.11 If they say Come we will lay waite for bloud and lie priuily for the innocent without a cause 12. wee will swallow them vp aliue like a graue euen whole as those that go downe into the pittes 13. wee shall find all precious riches and fill our houses with spoile 14. Cast in thy lot among vs we wil haue but one purse Ps 79.2 The dead bodies of thy Sainctes haue they giuen to the fowles of the heauen and the flesh of thy Sainctes vnto the beasts of the earth vers 3. Their bloud haue they shed like water round about Ierusalem there is none to bury them vers 4. Wee are a reproch to our neighbors eueÌ„ a scorne and derision to them that are round about vs. The Reason is They thinke to florish without controlment and to be reuerenced and to haue rest when they are dead which during their life they thinke and know that they shal not haue as they expected Esth 3.5 And when Haman sawe that Mordecai bowed not the knee vnto him nor did reuerence vnto him then he was full of wrath Vse 1 The Vse is First that bloudy cruelty being the property of the wicked that we labour with our selues that it be farre from vs. Vse 2 2. Vse To looke for all mischiefe from the wicked that they can accomplish against vs. Psalm 25.2 Let not mine enemies reioice Doct. 4 4. Doct. Though the wicked do alwaies hate the godly yet they wil ofteÌ„ dissemble friendship shew forth their malice only wheÌ„ they haue oportunity thereunto Psalm 5.9 For there is no constancy in their mouthes within they are vaine corruption their throte is an open sepulchre and they flatter with their tongue Amos 1.9 Thus saith the Lord For three transgressions of Tyrus and for foure I will not turne to it because they haue shut vp the whole captiuitie in Edom and haue not remembred the brotherly couenant The Reason is Because they are wise in their owne generation Luk. 16. and can waite their best aduantage Vse The vse is To teach vs First neuer to trust the faire wordes of a prophane man but so to behaue our selues that we shall beware of him Text. Let not mine enemies reioyce ouer mee Doct. 5 5. Doct. If we fall and our enemies reioyce ouer vs it is the Lords doing The 1. Reason He is almighty and doth all thinges although euill bée of Sathan and man The 2. Reason He hath the dominion of all creatures Vse The Vse is to teach vs First to learne to feare him and obay him especially in whose fauour nothing can hurt vs. Secondly that in all afflictions we looke vp and lift our soules to him that striketh and examine our selues what cause we haue giuen him Thirdly to séeke reconciliation with him by praier and repentance so shall the meanes that are against vs be employed for vs as Hamans galowes for Mordecai which God chaunged that hée himselfe was hanged thereon and his 10. Sonnes Esth 10. Goliahs sword cut off his owne head 1. Sam. 17. Text vers 3. So all that hope in thee shall not be ashamed but let them be confounded that transgresse without cause Paraphr And surely thou wilt not suffer them that depend vpoÌ„ thée to be put to shame but rather must these faithlesse persons that persecute the innocent be brought thereunto Doct. 1 1. Doct. An assured hope of deliuerance grounded vpon Gods promise is the onely cause of the patience and humility of Gods childreÌ„ in their troubles The Reason is First because the corruptioÌ„ of mans nature being of it self wayward cannot take afflictions patiently without supernaturall helpe therefore we say Without Hope the heart would breake Secondly where there is no hope there is no faith where there is no faith there is no patience Thirdly else the damned might haue patience which they haue not as appeareth by their gnashing of téeth Vse The Vse is To teach vs to be careful to vse the meanes of obtaining hope and growing in it praising God for such meanes we haue and mourning for that we want Psal 25.3 So all that hope in thee shall not be ashamed but let them be part of confounded that transgresse without a cause The 3.
excéeding sicke dealeth more roughly and seuerely with his Sonne then with his seruant not because hée loueth his seruant more then his Sonne but because hee would restore his sicke seruaunt to his former health but his Sonne whom hee loueth most déerely hée reprooueth checketh taunteth and correcteth Euen so our good gracious GOD and louing father sometimes afflicteth his deere children whom he tenderly loueth and suffereth thē to be exercised with wéepings wailings and want with sighes and sorowfull sobbes with hunger and cold with nakednes and want of harbor with heauinesse of heart and vexation of spirite with sicknes of body and restraint of liberty and with a thousand other calamities and cares and in the meane time suffereth the wicked and vngodly ones of the world to want nothing he giueth them health wealth and libertie worldly honour and dignitie and what not meaning and purposing by these means if the fault bee not in themselues to bring them to know feare honor and serue him by whose prouidence and appointment they haue and do enioy all those good blessings and so be cured and healed of the sores and sicknesse of their soules A similitude As the skilfull Gemmarie and cunning Lapidarie doth willingly suffer the Indian Diamond or Adamant to be smitten with great and waighty blowes because he knoweth well that the hammer and Anuile will sooner be brused then the Diamond or Adamant will be broken so our most wise God yea wisedome it selfe suffereth men of excellent vertues of vnquenchable charity and inuincible constancy as Dauid to fall into diuers temptations to be plunged deepe into manifold miseries because he will haue their inward graces to shewe foorth and so shine before men that they seing the constancy of his Saincts may glorifie God which is in heauen For he is sure that they are cōstant that nothing can separate them from the loue of God Ioseph was imprisoned in Egypt Ieremy in Iudea Ezechiel in Chaldea and Iohn Baptist in Israel by wicked Herode and yet all these infinite others did neuer shrinke from God but as they liued in him so they died in him and are exalted vp on high and shall dwell in his tabernacle rest in the hill of his holines for euer And euen so if wee wil be as they were we shall be as they are True it is that God being iust doth neuer afflict vs vniustly which thing we ought alwaies to thinke confesse to humble our selues and glorifie God Neuerthelesse God doth not alwaies take occasion of our sinnes to punish vs but oftentimes he sheweth this fauour to his children to dispose it for their benefite Text. Mine eies are euer towards the Lord for hee will bring my feete out of the nette Doct. 2 2. Doct. The continuall lifting vp of Dauids eies to the Lord teacheth this Doctrine whosoeuer will pray aright that the Lord might accept them must lift vp continually their affections to the Lord for by the eye which of the sences is the sharpest and draweth the whole man to himselfe he meaneth all the affections of man The Prophet no doubt also by the eyes meaneth his corporall eies which as by an instrument did draw vp his affections to the Lord. The reason is All good things whatsoeuer wée haue GOD is the author thereof of whom in lifting vp our harts we desire the same Example of lifting vp of the eies in prayer is our Lord and sauiour Iesus Christ both whē he prayed with thanksgiuing to his Father when hée raised vp Lazarus from death who foure daies lay buried in his graue as also when he prayed to his father not onely for his Disciples but for all that shall beleeue in him Iohn 11.41 and Iohn 17.1 Therefore they tooke away the stone where he was laid that was dead and Iesus lifted vp his eies and said Father I thanke thee that thou hast heard mee This is a token of a mind well framed to praier for to the end a mā may rightly call vpon GOD he must be ioyned with him which cannot bée vnlesse being lifted vp aboue the earth he ascend vp aboue the heauens This is not done with the eye onely seeing that hypocrites who are drowned in the déepe filth and dregges of their flesh séeme with their sterne countenance to draw heauen vnto them but the children of GOD must sincerely perfourme that which hypocrites do but faine Neyther yet must hee that lifteth vp his eyes towardes Heauen there include GOD in his cogitation who is euery where and filleth heauen and earth But because mens mindes can neither escape from nor acquit themselues of grosse inuentions but when they be lifted vp aboue the world the sacred Scripture called vs thither and testifieth that heauen is Gods seat As touching the lifting vp of eies it is no continuall ceremonie which lawfull Praier cannot want For the Publican that praieth with his countenance towardes the earth doth neuerthelesse pearce the heauens with his faith Yet that is a profitable exercise whereby men awake and stirre vp themselues to séeke the Lord yea the feruentnesse of prayer doth so affect and moue the body sometimes that besides meditation it doth willingly folow the mind Certainly it is without all doubt that when Christ and Dauid lifted vp their eyes towards heauen they were caried thither with singular vehemency Vse The vse is that in our prayer we lifting vp our eies to the Lord should not doe it as the hypocrites without the affections of our minds but that both the eyes and the affections of our minds being lifted vp to him together we may be assured that he will heare vs. If we bée in daungers he will deliuer vs if in pouerty he will relieue vs if in sicknes he will cure vs if in sorow he will solace vs. Iohn 17.1 These things spake Iesus and he lifted vp his eies towardes heauen In that Iohn said that Christ lifted vp his eyes towards heauen it was no small signe of zeale and feruentnes For Christ testified in déed by this gesture that he was rather in heauen by the affection of his mind then in earth that he might talke familiarly with God He looked vp towards heauen not that God is shut vp there who doth also fill the earth Ierem. 23. but because his maiestie appeareth there chiefly and secondly because the beholding of heauen doth admonish vs that the power of GOD farre passeth all creatures To the same purpose serued the lifting vp of his hāds when he praied for seing that men are slacke and slow by nature and their earthly nature doth bend them downeward they haue néed to bee stirred vp thus yea they haue néed of chariots to carrie them vp to God But if wee desire to imitate Christ and Dauid truly we must take diligent héed that our ceremonies expresse no more then is in the mind but let the inward affection mooue both handes eies tongue féet and whatsoeuer we haue
is affirmed in the secōd place are like a yong Lion which is couragious For he goeth on his way boldly and swiftly without returning backe for feare of any The reason is For that being at peace with God hauing a good cause and a sound conscience he dreadeth no obiection nor daunger This same Integritie therefore is like Noahs Arke wherein he was preserued whē others that were without perished It is like the red thred which the spies of Ioshua gaue to Rahab which was as a charter whereby shée claimed her life when the rest were destroyed which had not the like So is this vprightnes of smal reckoning I cōfesse with men of this world which thinke that there is none other heauē but earth But as Rahabs thred was better to her then all her goods substance when the sword came so vprightnes is better to Gods children then all the world when death commeth If they haue this within they care not nay they néed not care what can come without If Sathans buffetting come this is an helmet of proofe if Sathans dartes flie this is a shield to quench them if floods of troubles come to carrie vs away this is a shippe to beare vs vp if all the world cast myre and filth in our faces wée are not a whitte the more deformed but still beautifull For the Kings daughter is all beautifull within Psalm 45.13 Let vs haue regard to a good conscience and because it is so precious a iewell I wish all persons that as yet neuer laboured to get a good conscience now to begin Reasons to induce men thereunto are sound and good First you séeke day and night from yéere to yéere for honors riches pleasures which you must leaue behind you much more ought you to séeke for this vprightnes cōsidering that conscience will be with you in this life in death at the last iudgement and for euer 2. Reason He which wanteth a conscience purged in the bloud of Christ can neuer haue any true lasting comfort in this life Suppose a mā were arraied in cloth of tissue set in a chaire of estate before him a table furnished with all daintie prouision his seruants monarches and Princes his riches the chiefest treasures kingdomes of the world but withall suppose one standing by with a naked sword to cut his throate or a wild beast ready immediatly to pull him in péeces now what can wee say of this mans estate but that all his happines is nothing but woe and misery And such is the estate of all men that abounding with riches honours and pleasures carrie about them an euill conscience which is as a sword to slay the soule or as a rauinous beast ready to sucke the blood of the soule and to rend it in péeces 3. Reason He which wanteth a good conscience can do nothing but sinne his very eating and drinking his sléeping waking and all that he doth turneth to sinne the consciēce must first be good before the action can be good if the roote be corrupt the fruites are answerable 4. Reason An euill conscience is the greatest enemy that a man can haue because it doth execute all the partes of iudgement against him It is the Lords Sergeant God néedeth not to send out proces by any of his creatures for man the conscience within a man wil arrest him and bring him before God It is the Gaoler to kéepe man in pryson in boltes and irons that he may be forth comming at the day of iudgement It is the witnes to accuse him the iudge to condemne him the hangman to execute him and the flashings of the fire of hell to torment him Againe it maketh a man to be an enemy to God because it accuseth him to God and maketh him flie from God as Adam did when he sinned Also it maketh a man to be his own enemy in that it doth cause him to lay violent hands vpon himselfe become his owne hangman or his owne cut-throate And on the contrary a good conscience is a mans best friend when all mē entreate him hardly it will speake faire and comfort him it is a continual feast and a Paradise vpon the earth 5. Reason The sacred scripture sheweth that they which neuer séeke for good consciences haue terrible endes For either they die blockes as Nabal did or desperate as Cain Saul Achithophel and Iudas 6. Reason Wée must consider often the terrible day of iudgement in which euery man must receyue according to his workes and that we may be then the better absolued the best way is to séeke for a good conscience for if our conscience be euill and condemne vs in this life God will much more condemne vs. And whereas we must passe through thrée iudgemēts the iudgemēt of men the iudgement of our consciences and the last iudgement of God we shall neuer be strengthened against them and cleared in them all but by the séeking of integrity and a good conscience Psalm 25.22 Deliuer Israel O God out of all his troubles The 2. part of the tēth Sermon THe Prophet by this clause sheweth what manner of aduersaries they were against whome he complained to God Domesticall enemies it is probable they were which as a disease inclosed in the bowels of a mā tormented vexed the people of God For by the word Deliuer or Redeeme we gather that the Church of God was with great seruitude gréeuously oppressed Therefore I doubt not but the Prophet in praying to bée deliuered both himselfe particularly the Church generally from their troubles prayeth to be deliuered from the hands of Saul other tyrants that were for this purpose to torment and persecute not onely the Prophet but the whole Church vnder his tyrannicall gouernment The sence is O Lord our God I hūbly beséech thée for Christes sake to redéeme not only me thine vnworthy seruant but also thy whole Church which is greatly vexed and miserably kept in seruitude by Saul and other tyrants O Lord we are thy seruants and the shéep of thy pasture and thou art our Shepherd thou art our father and wée thy children therefore wée beséech thée extend thy fatherly compassion to deliuer vs thy deare children out of our miseries so shall wee both in this lyfe and that to come glorifie thy holy name world without end Doctr. The Doctrine is Wée must in all our troubles pray to GOD not onely for our selues but for all the whole Church to bée deliuered from our miseries The Reason is If one member suffer other must needs suffer 1. Corinth 12. Vse The Vse Let vs therfore performe this dutie towards the whole Church that shée may also do the like for vs then shall wée bee assured that the Lord will deliuer vs when hée séeth it méete for his glory and our good seing he hath promised to graunt the requests of his spouse the Church This grace the Lord graunt vs all for his mercies sake to whome with the Sonne and the holy Ghost be all glory wisedome thankes honour power and might both now and for euer Amen Soli Deo gloria