eijcio I cast not away The words are plaine and therfore let vs but consider the vse of them and so hast to an ende 1 First then they contayne a singular comfort against the wringing thought of our vnworthynesse being in sence as if the Lord Jesus should saye feare not though base though sinnefull poore and of no accompt in the eye either of thy selfe or others For if thou commest to me thou art welcome notwithstanding these and I neuer cast away him that commeth True beloued true and most true blessed be his maiestie for such goodnesse Publicans and sinners poore fishermen and despised Gentils he hath entertayned withall mercie fafour as we know Come vnto me all ye y t trauell and are heauy laden carieth with it no exception of pouertie or basenesse but reacheth out comfort to all commers be they neuer so many in the eyes of men ego reficiam vos I will refresh you At what time soeuer a sinner repenteth himselfe from the botome of his hart I will put all his wickednesse out of my remembrance saith the Lord. Hath it any exception of vnworthinesse against any true repenter If thy sinnes were as redd as skarlet I will make them as white as snow noteth it any casting away of any y t is truely sorowfull No no. And therefore this speach is true he that commeth to me I cast not away Dauid so dead by adultery and murder he cast not away when repentance cryed hartely Lord forgiue Paul a most fierce Saul persecuting the saints of God was not cast away when he came Peter with his periury sinful denyall was yet receiued when he came Mary with her seuen diuells was not cast away He that sorowfully sayd Lord I beleeue to witt as I am able help my vnbeleefe found his swéet comfort notwithstanding imperfection In a word he that commeth vnto me I cast not away haue all true commers to Christ foūd since y ◠world was and shall doe till it ende againe Heauen and earth passing but not a iote of this word of God fayling in truth swéetnesse promised 2 An other swéete vse of these words is this Comfort against contempt in the world and disdaine of proud ones Thou commest to their houses tables and companies being poore simple but a true fearer of God his lawes and what entertainment hast thou Surelie this thou art cast out and contemned For either they cannot be mery whilst thou art in place or y e pride of their places séeme nothing sutable to so sely a guest Farewell they behould thy comfort héere Jesus Christ casteth thée not awaie if thou come to him and therefore blesse him loue him and still more more in all thy occasions resort to him leauing those proud pecocks to the will of him that hateth them and theire sinnefull contempt of their brethren and his most déere seruants 3 A third vse is this to Magistrates rulers iudges gouernours vnto whome come thousands with sorow in their harts and litle money peraduenture in their purses O cast them not away as néere as you can without your comfort Their spirits are troubled their iniuries be great their skill but small to moue your affections by any orderly tale But this scripture is written and let it moue you and moue you greatly that your Lord master casteth none away that come to him He in nature and you in office be gods of comfort to poore commers the fewer you cast away the liker to him and if you cast none away then lykest of all And what better paterne of liked life then Christ our Lord. O happie man that foloweth him riding on horsebacke casteth a comfortable eye downe to him that walketh afoote by his side telling his case as panting and breathing feare of some greater man to come and cary you from him will giue him leaue Yea O happy man I say againe For in earth such an one shalbe blessed praysed and prayed for and in heauen no more cast away then he hath cast others but receyued and comforted as he hath done others 4 Fourthly it most notably implieth the certayntie and assurance of our saluation For if the constancy of Christs loue to all that come vnto him be such that he neuer casteth any of them away iudge in your owne selfe if once you finde the assurance of your cōming whether your safetie be not sealed in the word of Gods truth that you can no more perish then he be vntrue Laye this text then to many scriptures mo that most comfortably deliuer this doctrine to vs. To the first Psalme which saith the man that is once come to Christ by a true beléefe in his name and a life as God inableth according to such faith is like a tree planted by the water side whose leafe shall neuer fade nor fall away for want of moysture neuer neuer To the two and thirtie of Ieremy where promise is made that the couenant with such as are come vnto him shalbe euerlasting that he will neuer turne away from them to doe them good but will put his feare in their harts that they shall not depart from him Which place Austen often vrgeth and setteth it as a wall of brasse against doubt héerein by any man To the testimony in Mathew againe wher it is sayd they should deceiue the verie elect if it were possible if it were possible againe I say and euer remember it To the tenth of Ihon where our Sauiour saith I will giue my sheepe that is such as our text to day calleth cōmers to him eternal life and they shall neuer perish neither shal any pluck them out of my hands With a number such places mo all proouing and preaching this truth of God vnto vs that once finde in our selues a true comming to Jesus Christ by faith and obedience the two heads of all religion and conclude a comfort more swéete then tounge can tell our saluation is sure when this life is ended for this text is plaine with all else now named He that commeth to me I neuer cast away Shaken we may be dangerously tempted as God shall thinke good but perish we cannot if these scriptures be true Peter is a paterne what may befal vs and Peter is a proofe of Gods goodnesse toward vs. Of whom Tertullian saith thus Fidei robur concussum fuit sed non excussum mota fuit fides sed non amota caepit arescere sed nō exaruit ore deū negauit sed corde tenuit The strēgth of his fayth was shaken but not shiuered in peeces moued it was but not remoued it began to dry but it withered not quite with his mouth he denyed God but his hart did not fully and finallie let him go Thus farre may we fall which yet God forlnd and by the mercy that raysed him rise againe 〈…〉 tentatoris viuit tamen radix Wel may
it is so Apparell sayth the wise man showeth what manner of person one is as doth also gesture and laughter Then vaine apparell saith we are vaine proud apparell proud wanton apparell wanton c. So that where we might happely séeme at least to be good vertuous honest if our apparell were modest though in déede we were starke naught by this meanes it commeth to passe that we cannot so much as séeme to be good or be once but imagined to be vertuous For thy apparell sayth the wise man which is subiect to all mens eyes publisheth as with a trūpet that thou art as it is prodigall as it is prowd as it is wāton garish as it is vaine as it is in a word starke nought as it is And what a trumpet is this to beare about one if we considered it Surely if it be a shame to weare a paper on my hat at westminster hal to declare what I haue done it is as reprocheful to weare a vain garment on my back to pull all mens eyes vpō me to read in capitall letters what a persō I am O that the God of heauen would so change the harts of men and women by his holy spirit that these back papers I meane apparell in excesse might be as odious in our eyes and harts as those hat papers be at Westminster without doubt beloued they doe tell vs foule tales of vs in their kinde as those do I could finde in my hart to spend all the time against this sinne if I knew I should profit but other things also being to be considered I will end this matter with that pretie spéech of Philip of Macedon who hauing apointed one to be a Judge hearing after that he vsed to dye or couler his beard and haire streight way displaced him with this speach y ◠he which was not faithful in his haire but vsed forgerie and falsehood in it to change it frō his truth was no way to be iudged as a man that would be trustie in greater matters A most notable hatred in a heathen man of that which Christians dote in and will not be perswaded of If this argument should be vrged in our dayes howsoeuer men escape many women would be concluded worthy litle trust God worke with vs and so I leaue it May that inward roote from whence this outward fruit most commonly floweth to wit an high stomack proud minde proue vnto any mans conscience that he is come to Christ so consequently an elect No beloued and therefore the Prophet Dauid being desirous to approue himselfe vnto the Lord as one of his before all things purgeth himselfe from this and saith Lord I am not high minded I haue no proude lookes I doe not exercise my selfe in matters that are to high for me c. Making it as we all sée a filthy blot in any man that will belong to God to be thus Oh pride of minde what hurt hast thou done and dayly yet doest to mem women ouercaried with thée What downefals breaknecks hast thou brought to many Adam and Eue with all the world in them ouerthrowen most fearefully by pride of minde Absolon a kings sonne by birth and for personage so goodly a man that y ◠scripture saith there was not a blemish in him from the top of his head to the sole of his foote yet so ouercaried with inward conceipt of himselfe that the earth refused any longer to beare him y ◠heauens abhorred vtterly to receiue him and so he was hanged betwixt heauen and earth by the haire of his head for a spectacle of Gods wrath towards a loftie stomack while the world endureth Corah and his company ouercaried w t pride of minde against those whome God had exalted ouer them dreadfully perished out of the bowells of the earth into which they sanke preach to all men this day to beware of pride of high stomacks disliking their owne places coueting greater enuying of them y ◠haue thē so in spite as malecontents opposing our selues against them Miriam other wise a good woman had a litle spice of this inward pride and it made her prattle against her owne brother Which litle busie braine against a superior euen in so good a woman God could not nor would not suffer but by no lesse buffet then a loathsome leprosie bett it chastised it in her The great king Nabuehad nezzar swelled in his minde when he sayde Is not this great Babell that I haue built by the might of my power for the honor of my maiestie and how did God indure it Surely saith the text while the word was in his mouth a voyce came from heauen said his kingdome was departed from him he should liue with the beastes of the fielde and eate grasse with oxen till this pride were abated in him c. Reade the place at large Remember Haman how the pride of his minde brake his neck Reade the pride of Tyrus in the prophet Ezekiel and O London take héede betimes This is an arrow that flyeth by day which who so escapeth is graciously blessed Why but are all proud y ◠meddle with high matters God forbid For some mens callings guifts warrāt what other mens vtterly deny thē And it is not medling but busie medling aboue a calling that noteth pride Otherwise I haue euer liked well of Ammonius speach a scholler of Origens which he made to Euagrius shunning to be a Bishop when he was called to it At tu multó grauius inquit peccasti quia linguam tibi ipsi excidisti nec conferre eam ad dei gloriam pia predicatione euangelij illustrandam audes But thou hast sinned much more greuously in cutting out thine owne tongue not daring to vse it to the setting out of gods glory by holy preaching Et ne tibi arrogare videaris gratia Dei non vteris And least thou shouldest seeme to think well of thy selfe y u wilt not vse the guifts giuen thee of God A golden speach beloued for many in these dayes to thinke of noting a golden meane betwixt arrogancie and negligence Yea rubbing their consciences that whilst they would séeme to thinke reuerently of the Ministery defraud y ◠church of their guifts for the earth is cursed that rendreth not crop according to séede receaued May an holow hart to the present state saying as Esau did The dayes of mourning will shortly come for my father Isaac thē will I kill my brother Iacob declare this comming Nay will hastning this day of mourning which the Lord knoweth is like to be a day of blacknesse darknesse to this land in déede I warrant them to themselues which wish it as heauie as to any though now they dreame of a dry sommer through the false and subtill persuasions of hissing serpents in holes and corners by a iudgement
making euen then and at the same houre the fingers of a mans hand write vpon the wall of the palace where the king sat that God had numbred his kingdom and finished it wayed him in the balance and found him to light diuided the kingdome and giuen it to the Medes and Persians euen then I say and at the same houre when he was drinking with his Princes wiues and concubines in the vessels of gold siluer which were taken from the house of God Hath God no mo hands in heauen nor earth at his commaundement to write wrath against such in our daies as itche to haue not onely the vessels of gold and siluer if any poore ones be but land and liuing stone tymber lead and iron and whatsoeuer remaineth at this day a comfort to poore students that haue spent their friends many a pound and an incouragemeÌ„t to learning that was euer yet accompted a blessing in a kingdome Beloued he hath hands thousands and ten thousands thousands if once he beginne And if lack of liuing make lacke of learning as all wise men know it will in time and lacke of learning cause Gods people to wander vpon the mountaines as sheepe without an able shepherd by a due consequence surely he y â— had an aking hart to sée such a sight in the gospell will as verely as he is God make their harts ake one day that are or shalbe sinnefull causers of the same If he smote with so dreadfull a iudgement Ananias and Saphyra his wife for withhoulding part of that church maintainance which by themselues was giuen will he indure for euer them y â— take what they neuer gaue No No and that shall they know when peraduenture it will be too late to be sory for it Did these men sée what my selfe haue seene and diuers yet liuing with me that can witnesse the same as well as I what twitching torments of a wounded conscience what hellish gripes of dispayring feare neuer to sée the face of God but to perish for euer with reprobates and castawaies some haue had for detayning or retayning but a small portion of such maintainance as now is thought the best cheat that can be caught happely it would nay assuredly it would except hell and death had already taken possession abate the lust and aswage the longing that they haue to deuoure the incouragemeÌ„ts of learning that yet remayne vnspoyled in this land But what they haue not séene in others they may féele in theÌ„ selues too soone and sharpe if nothing will perswade them Thou art dead O Shunamit that intreatedst thy husbaÌ„d to build for the prophet a chamber and to furnish it but thy memorie is blessed with God and man a witnesse shalt thou be in the day of iudgement against pullers downe of the houses built by men and women of deuotion and pietie for the prophets and children of the prophets to attayne to learning in till they wer able to serue abroad But I haue else where at large layd downe this fearefull sinne and therefore I will referre any thither that pleaseth to consider further of it Since then none of these fruits amongst vs this day do prooue vnto our consciences that we are come to Christ I trust you thinke adultery and whoredom swearing and forswearing drunkennes ryot oppression and crueltie fraud deceit in buying selling with such like can much lesse do it And these are the workes that most we show foorth How then doe we stand coÌ„cerning our election which is knowen by comming to Christ and our comming to Christ by faith faith by fruits Certainly as yet such men as these haue but colde comfort What then Shall we saye all such as are spotted with these vices are by and by reprobates God forbid For my text doth not say all that y t father giueth me is come vnto me but shall come vnto me to wit in time â—herfore what I haue 〈◊〉 without 〈…〉 vnto vs 〈◊〉 comfort 〈…〉 of the same as yet 〈◊〉 such 〈…〉 Which is cause inough to make vs looke about vs and beware For what true comfort may all the world yelde me if I finde no steps of my election to life in me Yet since y e text is as it is that they shall come not that they are come sée the swéetnesse of it and tast it and take it with you It showeth thus much to vs that there is yet mercie with God and tyme to amend Though hither to vpon such fruits as these neither you nor I nor any flesh liuing can ground any good estate like to insew vs in the world to come but euen the flat contrary yet we may come to day all in tyme by true repentance and showing foorth hereafter fruits of a true and liuing faith that faith shall show our comming to Christ and that comming the fathers giuing and so hereafter we haue comfort of that which as yet by y t true sequele of this text we haue not had A fit oportunitie were here theÌ„ to persuade amendment to all estates if the time were not too farre spent As yet turne and liue As yet turne and show that you were the Lords from euerlasting though straying starting aside for a time and not throughly called As yet brethren giue diligence to make your calling election sure by good fruits Euen such as the Apostle there nameth For if you doe these things saith he you shall neuer fall There being by this meanes an entrance ministred vnto you abundantly vnto the euerlasting kingdome of our Lord and Sauiour Iesus Christ This is comfort that we may yet come let vs not neglect it So cease I further to mooue you in this matter hoping no man to day hearing Gods voyce will harden his hart and persuading himselfe either that he is come when in déede he is not or presuming that he may come when he will though he doe deferre it which in déede he cannot before euer he doe come perish be damned Lastly by this manner of spech shall come certainty of comming is noted first or last though no time limited A great coÌ„fort againe to fathers for their vnreformed children to Pastors for their vnreformed shéepe to all men for their vnruly friends whome they wish well vnto and yet cannot preuaile by perswasion withall Feare not if they be Gods first or last good couÌ„sel shall be folowed and they shall come as this scripture saith Til which time indure their delay with hope And though they offend greatly by prouoking God so long yet yéeld you God honor by beléeuing his word and expecting their calling according to the promise of the same in comfortable patience And let thus much suffice of this second part To wit the comming of such as are giuen The 3. part The intertainment that such as come to Christ shall finde w t him is layd downe in these words Non