to the truth as thou shalt finde it and perswade thy selfe that this is written howsoeuer it may crosse thy humours in taking thy fleshly pleasures yet for thy learning and to doe thee good and to set thee in the way to Heauen in the which way God speed thee with faithfulnesse and constancie to the end and then thou shalt be sure of thy wished desire a crowne of incorruptible glory Which God of his infinite goodnesse and mercy grant mee and thee and the whole Church quickly Amen THE STEVVARDS LAST ACCOVNT The first Sermon LVK. 16.1 2. 1. There was a certaine rich man which had a Steward and he was accused vnto him that he wasted his goods 2. And he called him and said vnto him How is it that I beare this of thee Giue an accounts of thy stewardship for thou maist be no longer Steward THese two verses and the other following vnto the ninth verse according to the plaine literall and verball sense and meaning containe a parable spoken by our Sauiour Christ vnto his Disciples concerning a certaine rich man which had a Steward that dealt falsely with him iniuriously scraped and raked together great store of worldly riches and all that he could get from his Master by hooke and by crooke by any meanes were they neuer so vngodly vniust and wrongfull that hee ill imployed and wastfully spent in pleasures and sinfull courses of life Of which fraudulent dealing and wasting his goods as soone as his Master had intelligence hee called him and reprehended him saying How commeth it to passe that I heare this of thee And presently calleth him to account and putteth him out of his Office Which thing when the Steward perceiued he knowing hee could not frame himselfe to painefull labours as to digge and delue because in former times he had liued idly and pleasantly but yet in reputation and therefore he was ashamed to begge for that as hee was perswaded would much abase him and make him contemptible then he resolueth himselfe of a third way which was priuily to call his Masters debters together and to abate the debts which they owed him and to one that owed his Master an hundred measures of Oyle he parteth at halfe and abates fifty And another that owed his Master an hundred measures of Wheate hee bids take his writing and write fourescore cutting large thongs of another mans leather thinking by these meanes to procure friends that afterward when he was put out of his Office might receiue him into their houses and maintaine him thus carefully prouiding for the time to come And the Lord not allowing falsehood and wrongfull dealing for he loueth righteousnesse but to shewe that worldly men are more carefull to obtaine earthly things and prouide for this world then the children of God are desirous of heauenly treasures that inrich them in the world to come for the children of this world are wiser in their generation then the children of light is said to commend the vniust Steward for dealing so wisely and so carefully prouiding for this world wishing a farre greater care to the children of light to prouide for the world to come Which thing we may see to be true by the fit application of the parable made by our Sauiour in the ninth verse saying thus And I say vnto you Make you friends with the riches of iniquitie that when yee shall want they may receiue you into euerlasting habitations To bee yet somewhat more plaine The true sense scope and purpose of the holy Ghost as it were by way of comparison and resoluing vpon the best is this The Steward of a certaine rich man is carefull what shall become of himselfe when hee is put from his Office much more therefore Christians who are Stewards vnto God in sundry gifts should be carefull what shall befall them when they shall depart out of this life and make their accounts vnto God for the same But as the worldly Steward purchaseth him friends with the Mammon of vnrighteousnes that may receiue and maintaine him when hee is remoued from his Office So should Christian folke with their goods gifts and talents concredited vnto them make the poore so beholding vnto them that they by their prayers made to God for them Verse 9. may receiue them into euerlasting habitations as in the ninth verse This briefely is the sum of this present Gospell Howbeit to the intent that it may minister more plentifull instruction to all Gods people I will by the assistance of Gods holy spirit intreate of these two points First the persons mentioned in the parable which are three First the rich man in these words There was a certaine rich man Secondly the Steward in these words which had a Steward Thirdly the accusers of the Steward in these words and he was accused c. The second point What the rich man did to his Steward when hee found him false and vniust in the second verse in these words And hee called him and said vnto him How is it that I heare this of thee Giue accounts of thy Stewardship for thou maiest bee no longer Steward In the first part I will shew vnto you who the rich man is who is the Steward and who are the accusers when I come to handle that point In the second part to wit what the Lord did to his Steward when he proued him vntrue is declared in foure points First hee called him in these words And hee called him Secondly he reprehended him saying How is it that I heare this of thee Thirdly he calleth him to account saying Come render account of thy Stewardship c. Fourthly he putteth him out of his Office For thou maiest be no longer Steward Of these in order and first of the rich man The rich man is God who is chiefe Emperour Lord King true owner and possessor of all good things temporall and spirituall earthly and heauenly For of earthly things Dauid Psalme 24. Psal 24.1 truly speaketh saying The earth is the Lords and all that therein is the world and they that dwell therein Againe Psal 50.10 11 12 verses he saith All the beasts of the forrest are mine and the beasts on a thousand mountaines I know all the fowles of the mountaines and the wilde beasts of the field are mine If I be hungry I will not tell thee for the world is mine and all that therein is This is most plainely proued in the 115. Psal verse 16. where the Psalmist saith The Heauens are the Lords and the earth which hee hath giuen to the sonnes of men Hee is rich also in spirituall and heauenly things and so euery way rich as Bernard 57. Sermon noteth Deus vndique diues diues misericordia magnifious in iustitia munificus in gratia that is to say God is rich euery way rich in mercy Ephes 2.4 Ephes 3.16 Iam. 2.5 1. Pet. 5.10 magnificent in iustice liberall in Grace Hee is rich in mercy rich in glory rich in wisedome
accused in these words and the same was accused Secondly called and he called him Thirdly reprehended in these words How commeth it to passe that I heare this of thee Fourthly he yeeldeth an account Come render an account of thy Stewardsh Fiftly he is put out of his Office in these words For thou mayest be no longer Steward Of these in order and first of his accusation Wherein we are to note first his Accusers Secondly the capitall and hainous crimes whereof he is accused The Accusers or complainants are these 1. Satan 2. Angels 3. Saints 4. His owne Conscience 5. Sinnes 6. Creatures of God The hainous crimes wherof the euill Steward is accused of are these fiue 1. Vnfaithfulnesse 2. Cruelty 3. Slothfulnesse 4. Ill company-keeping 5. Wastfulnesse First the euill vnfaithfull and vngracious Steward is accused of the Diuell For which cause hee is called Reu. 12. The accuser of the Brethren which accuseth them before God day and night Hee accuseth our workes words and thoughts as Gregory noteth saying thus Lib. 2. moral Diabolus prima opera nostra deinde verba tandem cogitationes accusat He defameth man accuseth him of wickednesses reporteth them before God calleth for vengeance and speedy death lest the thred of mans life should be drawne out along and he should repent and obtaine eternall life Iob 1. If Satan was so impudent that he blushed not to defame and accuse before God holy Iob a man to whom there was none comparable in his time on the earth a perfect and iust man one that feared God and eschewed euill What is it that he will not alledge against a sinfull Nation a people laden with iniquitie a seed of the wicked corrupt children in whom from the sole of the foote vnto the head there is nothing sound in them but they draw wickednesse with cords of vanity and sinne as it were with a cart-rope Secondly an vniust Steward is defamed and accused of Angels Iob 20.27 Reuelant coeli iniquitatem improbi Esay 1. The Heauens reueale the iniquitie of a wicked man Per coelos Angelos qui in coelis sunt accipe saith the ancient Father In Math. 18. The fellow-seruant told to the Lord the cruelty of his seruant Now the Angels are our fellow-seruants as we may probably gather out of Iohn Reu. 22. where he fell downe to worship the Angell who said vnto him See thou doe it not for I am thy fellow-seruant and the fellow-seruant of thy Brethren the Prophets which keepe the sayings of this Booke Worship thou God Loe the Angell said to Iohn that he was his fellow-seruant and not onely his but of his Brethren the Prophets which kept the sayings of Gods Booke The Angels then tell God our faults as here Our prayers holinesse and righteousnesse as in Tobie 12. Let vs therefore that liue in the presence of God and his Angels carry our selues godly and honestly knowing that most pure eyes doe looke vpon vs. Thirdly a bad Steward is blamed and accused of Saints both triumphant which are in Heauen and militant which liue on earth Of Saints triumphant whose bloud was shed on earth by cruell Tyrants and persecutors for the Word of God and testimonie which they had For these being in the blessed port of Heauen cry out against them that imbrued their hands in their bloud Reu. 6. saying How long tarriest thou O Lord which art holy and true to iudge and auenge our bloud on them that dwell on earth And that an vngracious Steward is accused before God of Saints that are liuing in this mortall life it is also most manifest Ieremy blamed and accused the Iewes vnto God yea and craued reuengement against them in these words O Lord of hosts thou righteous iudge Ier. 11. thou that tryest the reines and the hearts let me be auenged of them For vnto thee haue I committed my cause When Antiochus oppressed the Church of God with great tyrannie Dauid accused him vnto God in these words Psal 74.10 18. Remember this O Lord how the enemy hath rebuked and the foolish people hath blasphemed thy Name Ieremy in like manner accused and blamed his persecutors vnto GOD and craued him to reuenge him saying Ier. 15.15 O Lord thou knowest remember me and visit me and reuenge mee of my persecuters If the poore is oppressed of the rich and make his mone vnto the Lord accusing him and crying for reuengement The Lord respecting the deepe sighing of the poore will awake as one out of sleepe and as a Gyant refreshed with Wine Psal 12. and will smite their enemies in the hinder parts and put them to a perpetuall shame True it is and memorable which Siracides hath chapter 35. where he saith God hath no respect of persons against the poore but doth heare the prayer of him that is wronged hee will not neglect the prayer of the fatherlesse nor the widdow if she complaine Doe not the widdowes teares goe downe her cheekes and they cry out to God on high in Heauen against him that hath caused the same Now beloued brethren and sisters if wee should wrong an innocent and harmelesse man in a righteous cause vpon earth we would be vnwilling yea we would tremble and quake to haue a complaint we knowing our selues guilty to bee made vnto a mighty Iudge or Potentate that can punish vs seuerely How much more then should it grieue vs and astonish vs and cause vs to make recompence and satisfaction to the parties whom we haue wronged when wee know that the complaints and cryes of them that are iniured doe sound in the eares of the Lord that an accusation is made against vs that an account must be giuen to the high Iudge and iustice without partialitie ministred Fourthly Rom. 2. the bad Steward is accused of his owne thoughts and testified against of his owne conscience and this is as forcible to conuict a man as a thousand witnesses and hereupon grew the prouerbe Socrates Conscientia mille testes When a mans Conscience is wronged hee liueth as merry as a Bird in a pitfall Lib. de moribus For Conscientia laesa est nunquā secura as Seneca writeth Chrysostome writing vpon the 50. Psalme saith Conscientia peccati formidinis mater that is to say The Conscience or knowledge of sin is the mother of feare If a man feare any creature Man Beast or Worme he may auoid them but hee can neuer flee from his Conscience she is a bird which hee alwayes carrieth in his bosome pleasant as the Nightingale if shee bee not violated but being wronged shee is like a Waspe or Snake vnder a mans cloathes or rather like the Bots in a Horse belly which neuer suffereth him to be quiet but are still eating and gnawing Sat. 12. And therefore Inuenal said that this is the greatest punishment and we must needs all yeeld vnto it Nocte dieque suum gestare in pectore testem This
his power when he shall come to be glorified in his Saints and to be made marueilous in all them that beleeue Abraham in his conference which hee had with the rich Glutton tormented in hell speaketh to this purpose when he said Remember that thou in thy life time receiuedst thy pleasures and likewise Lazarus paines Luke 16 25. now therefore is he comforted and thou art tormented The fourth reason standing for a proofe may be drawne from Christs glory that as he was dishonoured at his first comming in the flesh wonderfully abased disgraced and humbled so at his second comming hee shall appeare in glorie Matth. 25.31 The fift reason which the ancient Father setteth down in stead of a proofe is probable and it is taken from the Rainbow in which are two colours ceruleus seu aqueus color purpureus seu igneus color The gray and watrie colour and the purple or fiery colour Ceruleus seu aqueus color indicat mundum aquis diluvij perijsse eo modo nunquam deinceps deleturum iri That is the gray or watry colour doth shew that the world perished with the waters of the Flood and neuer after shall be destroyed after that manner That is proued Gen. 9. where it is said That God set the Rainbow in the skie as a true externall signe that the earth shall neuer be ouerflowne againe with the waters of a Floud Now the other colour purpureus seu igneus color significat mundum deinceps in extremo iudicio igne transiturum That is to say The purple or fierie colour doth shew vnto vs that the world hereafter in the last Iudgement shall passe away and be purged with fire And this is proued and will fall out true 2. Pet. 3.7 The sixt is the horrible promulgation of the Law in mount Sinai in thundring lightning and flames of fire threatning most horrible punishment to the offendours and inforce withall the maledictions and tortures denounced in the same against all impenitent persons and infidels which doth proue that there is a day of Iudgement and account For whereas these wicked ones rather flourish here then receiue punishment there must needes bee a iudgement and account taken of these delinquents and another life that those things that God hath spoken may take true effect that the fulfillers of the Law which are the faithfull in Christ may haue life and the impenitent transgressours death eternall For the Lord knoweth how to deliuer the godly out of temptation 2. Pet. 2.9 and to reserue the vniust vnto the day of iudgement for to bee punished And according to this a mans conscience doth minister many times feare or hope vnto him according as his deedes haue beene Ouid. Fast pri Conscia mens vt cuiquè sua est ita concipit intra Pectora pro meritis spemque metumque suis Lastly diuers signes and tokens of the last Iudgement which were foretold of the Prophets of Christ and the Apostles that should goe before this Day and time of account are accomplished And therefore there is a day of Iudgement and an account 1. Pet. 4.7 Mat. 24.33 and it is at hand These predictions and foresignes are most set downe Math. 24. where it is shewed that there shall be many false Christs and false prophets many heresies errours and sects Which we see to be true not onely among the Romanists and Rhemists but euen the more is the pitie many sectaries and factious persons arise among our selues Againe we haue had warres and rumours of warres Moreouer there haue beene famines pestilences and earthquakes and that within our times that are now liuing wee need not seeke for further proofes nor examples for if wee would we might haue many To speake of signes in the Sunne Moone or Starres coldnesse of charitie and the rest would make me too tedious therefore I will leaue them and many other foretellings as apparent truthes already fulfilled and yeelded vnto of all them that are true and settled Christians Onely let me begge of you that are Readers of this Treatise to hearken to the vse of my doctrine wherein I will be so briefe that my beginning and end shall almost be knit together First this doctrine auaileth to confute Epicures and Atheists and mockers of this doctrine of Christes comming to Iudgement to take this accompt who say as the Apostle hath 2. Pet. 3. Where is the promise of his comming For since the Fathers died all things continue alike from the beginning of the Creation 2. Epist 3. These the Apostle ouerthroweth by two reasons First in that the false mockers say that all things continue alike since the Creation hee proueth it to be false by the Floud in the daies of Noah Verse 5. For this they know not saith he and that wilfully how that the heauens were of old and the earth consisting of the water and by the water by the Word of God by the which thing the world that then was perished being then ouerrunne with water Secondly he sheweth the manner of the purging of the world in the day of Iudgement by fire saying But the heauens and the earth which are now be kept by his Word in store and reserued vnto fire against the day of iudgement and perdition of vngodly men Therefore all things haue not neither will continue alwaies alike and yet these wicked Atheists as heretofore so still perseuere in their wicked course of life and incourage one another to securitie and pleasures Esa 56.12 they say Come let vs take wine and we will fill our selues with strong drinke and to morrow shal be as this day Wisdom 2. and much more abundant They say Come and let vs enioy the pleasures that are present and let vs cheerfully vse the creatures as in youth let vs fill our selues with costly wine and oyntments and let not the flower of life passe by vs. Let vs crowne our selues with Rose-buds before they be withered Let vs be partakers of our wantonnesse let vs leaue some tokens of our pleasures in euery place for that is our portion and this is our lot These men liue rocked and lulled in the cradle of securitie as though there were no death certaine no account to bee made no hell at all Which thing the Poet lamented when he said euen mournfully Eheu sic viuunt homines tanquam mors nulla sequatur Et veluti infernus fabula vana foret Heb. 9.27.28 But let these men consider that as it is in holy Writ it is appointed to all men to die once and after death commeth iudgement and that the carelesse and bad Steward must come to reckoning And as the Wise man hath God will call man to account for all these things for all these fooleries and sinnes Secondly this doctrine auaileth to comfort the godly afflicted Erit olim viciscitudo there wil once be a change Their sorrow will once bee turned into ioy eternall All teares once shall be
them For it shall be at midnight when men commonly are asleepe 1. Thes 4.16 The Trumpet the Word of the Lord compared to a Trumpet because of the fearefull shrill and lowd sound thereof shall sound out a most dreadfull taratantara Surgite mortui venite ad Iudicium that is Rise ye dead and come to Iudgement At which voice these dreadfull and terrible effects shall follow Mat. 24.29 The Sea and the Waters shall roare the Hils shall moue out of their places the Earth shake the Sunne shall be darke the Moone shall not giue her light the Starres shall fall from Heauen the whole Element shiuer in pieces the world shall bee in a consuming fire the Graues shall open and yeeld forth the bodies lying in them yea and the Sea and all other places also Reu. 20.13 they that then shall be aliue shall with a sudden mutation be renued and all corruption wiped from their bodies 1. Cor. 15. 1. Thes 4. and all mortalitie remoued they shall be made incorruptible and immortall which changing shall be instead of death vnto them and all shal come to meete the Lord in the Aire as thick as swarmes of Bees The Angels shall separate the good from the bad Math. 13.41 the Tares from the Wheat the Sheepe from the Goates and euery one shal receiue according to that he hath done in this life 2. Cor. 5. whether good or bad The World 2. Pet. 3. Heauen and Earth shall bee dissolued by fire there shall bee a change of this present state and a purging of the Creatures and not an vtter consumption Thirdly the Iudge himselfe euen Christ Iesus the Sonne of God to whom the Father hath giuen all iudgement shall bee seene comming in the Clouds of Heauen Ioh. 5.22 Math. 24. in his very humane Nature not in poore and base state and sort as at his first comming in the flesh which was to good purpose to giue vs an example of true humilitie of true lowlinesse but in glory and great power waited on not with mortall and sinfull men but with the immortall and holy Angels And then hee beeing most Regall maiesticall and powerfull Math. 25.31 The settling of him in his Throne and being also vpright and pure will ascend into his great white Throne most beseeming his Imperiall and immaculate person And this Iohn saw plainly in a vision reuealed vnto him by Christ Iesus Re. 20.11 Reu. 20.11 where he thus reporteth And I saw a great white Throne c. The greatnesse of this Throne sheweth his might Maiestie For he is a King hauing on his head a golden crown The whitenes of it his purity and holines Reu. 14.14 Heb. 7.26 For he is a Priest and a Iudge holy innocent vndefiled separate from sinners and made higher then the Heauens When this Regall mighty and vncorrupt Iudge hath setled himselfe in his Tribunall Seat then at the shrill sound of the Trumpet The Resurrection of the dead to come to Iudgement Iob. 19. all that are dead shall rise euen in the same state and forme as they were when they dyed couered againe with the same skinne and hauing the same flesh shall also behold God not with other but with the same eyes as they had when they departed out of this life and all this shall come to passe although a man is burnt to ashes For God who is Omnipotent and made man of nothing is much more able of ashes to reedifie and make man againe then a simple man of ashes can make a beautifull glasse And if a Goldsmith or a Pewterer of a melted vessell can make another againe then much more God of a man returned to dust can make a man againe He made man I say at the first of nothing therefore much more is able to make him againe of something and to bring together all parts and pieces of him wheresoeuer they bee scattered and dispersed An excellent example and demonstration whereof we haue in Ezechiel 37. where the Prophet foreshewing the bringing againe of the people being in captiuitie telleth how the Lord set him downe in the middest of a field which was full of dry bones and led him round about by them Ezec. 37. and said vnto him Sonne of Man can these bones liue And the Prophet answered O Lord God thou knowest Then the Lord proceeded further and said vnto the bones Behold I will cause breath to enter into you and you shall liue and I will lay sinnewes vpon you and make flesh grow vpon you and couer you with skinne and put breath in you that ye may liue And as soone as the Lord spake the word all this was done shewing plainely vnto vs our restauration to life at the Resurrection in the last Day All that are dead shall liue shall rise againe and come to be iudged for the dead shall liue they shall rise againe with their body Esay 26.19 Awake and sing ye that sleepe in the dust for thy dew is as the dew of Hearbs and the earth shall cast out the dead Let vs therefore resolue our selues that the houre shall come in the which all that are in their graues shall heare Christs voice Ioh. 5.28 29. and they shall come forth that haue done good vnto the Resurrection of life but they that haue done euill vnto the resurrection of condemnation Ioh. 11.24 Martha therefore truely said to Christ of Lazarus I know that hee shall rise againe at the last Day Martha knew this to bee true and so did Iob and in this point let vs all be resolued Iob 19. 2. King 4. Luke 7. Math. 9. Iohn 11. for as truely as Elizeus called to life a dead Boy Christ the Widdowes sonne in Naim and Iairus Daughter and Lazarus so wee shall be raised againe to life and stand before this high Iudge sitting in his Imperiall Throne of Maiestie I pray God that wee may appeare before him cloathed with his holinesse and righteousnesse Now although some shall be aliue at the last Day 1. Thes 4.17 yet they shall not preuent them that sleepe for they shall bee caught vp with them also in the Clouds to meet the Lord in the Aire and shall come to Iudgement that both the dead 2. Cor. 5.10 and they that then shall bee liuing may receiue the things that are done in their bodies according to that which they haue done whether it be good or bad For God by his Sonne Christ Iesus Acts 17.31 will Iudge the world in righteousnesse It shall therefore goe well with the righteous the godly but ill with the wicked It shall be with the godly and the wicked at the Resurrection in the last Day Gen. 40. as it was with Pharaoh his seruants his chiefe Butler and his chiefe Baker Both of them were taken out of Prison the one to be restored to his Office to minister before the King but the other
commeth from God as being infinitely rich in goodnesse and mercy towards all Rom. 10.12 and yet hath neuer the lesse himselfe for his riches and treasures are inexhaustable All we therefore are Baylifes Stewards and Disposers vnder God and should Minister the gifts which we receiue spirituall or temporall 2. Pet. 4.10 as good Stewards and disposers of the manifold graces of God And then a man proueth himselfe to bee a faithfull Disposer 1. Cor. 4.2 vvhich whosoeuer doth is blessed of God a most happy man and if he doth not discharge his office of Stewardship and seruice well of all men most vnhappy The Lord saith Who is a faithfull Luke 12.42 43 44 45 46. and wise whom the Master shall make Ruler ouer his houshold to giue them their portion of meat in due season Blessed is that Seruant whom his Master when hee commeth shall finde so doing Of a truth I say vnto you that hee will make him Ruler ouer all that he hath But if that Seruant say in his heart My Master doth defer his cōming and shall begin to smite his Seruants and Maidens and to eat and drinke to be drunke the Master of that Seruant will come in a day when he thinketh not and at an houre when he is not ware of and will cut him off and giue him his portion with the vnbeleeuers Euery Christian man and woman bee they neuer so high or neuer so low neuer so rich or so poore haue a threefold Farme committed vnto them the fruits of which they ought to dispose wisely and faithfully and therefore good Stewards are called faithfull and wise of our Sauiour before Luke 12 42. It behooueth vs therefore to take heed what we doe that we may make a good reckoning of our Stewardship bee found true and not false in gouerning these Farme-places Mannors and Mannor-houses which are these three as the Learned haue set them downe Ludolphus de Saxonia Iodocus Rad. Prima villa est mundus iste secunda proprium Corpus tertia anima The first Farme-House is the world the second a mans owne body the third his soule Now in being a Steward in the first Farme the world man must take heed that hee become not so great a friend vnto it and be not so much in loue with it that he become an enemy vnto God an vntrue false Steward vnto his Master for he that will be a friend of this world Iam 8. Mat. 6.27 is made an enemy to God For no man can serue two Masters He may not looke to flowe in the treaasures and pleasures of the world and raigne with Christ Augustine said August Nemo potest gaudere cum mundo regnare cum Christo that is no man can reioyce with the world and raigne with Christ And againe he saith Difficile imo impossibile est vt praesentibus futuris quis fruatur bonis vt hic ventrem illic mentem impleat vt à delicijs ad delicias transeat vt in vtroque faeculo primus sit vt in terra in coelo appareat gloriosus that is it is an hard thing yea impossible that any man should enioy the goods of this present world and also of the world to come that heere hee should fill his belly and there his soule that hee should bee chiefe in both worlds that he should be glorious in the earth and in heauen And this made Iohn so earnestly to disswade vs from the one the world 1. Ioh. 2.15 16 17. and so louingly perswade and exhort vnto the loue of the other the world to come Loue not the world neither the things that are in the world If any man loue the world the loue of the Father is not in him For all that is in the world as the lust of the Flesh the lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the Father but of the world and the world passeth away and the lust thereof but he that fulfilleth the will of God abideth for euer The riches treasures and stocke of this Farme are all goods Temporall which being concredited to vs of this rich person God the true owner of them we must take heed that we play not the bad Stewards with them and that is done foure wayes First in getting them wrongfully Secondly in setting our hearts on them idolatrously Thirdly in keeping them to our selues basely Fourthly in spending them vnlawfully and sinfully Of these foure in order First wee placed of our great and good Lord and Master Stewards in this Farme the world may not gaine goods through other mens hurts building our houses as the moth in other mens cloth feeding our selues fat by hurting biting and spoiling others as the moth is fatted by spoiling the cloth where she liueth Such men are very like to the filthy worme in a sheepe which is made fat by eating and consuming the poore seely sheepe and like Lice and Fleas which fatte themselues by sucking mens bloud Iam. 2.6 Such bad Stewards are the wicked couetous bad rich men who are made full by deuouring the poore and oppressing them by tyrannie Good Christians are compared to Trees which doe bring forth good fruit in due season Psal 1.3 and help euery way For a good Tree will bring forth fruit to quench hunger and thirst and it will put off the iniury and violence of the stormy weather but a bad tree a Bryer when the poore Sheepe flye vnto it for succour scrapeth and scratcheth all the wooll from their backs and pilleth them bare Such trees are the mercilesse Stewards the Tyrants of the world which when the poore fly vnto them for succour they tye them and wrap them in Bonds like as the Bryer doth the sheepe and then vnmercifully spoile them 1. King 21. The rich Steward Ahab could not rest vnlesse he had poore Naboth his Vineyard and he and his cursed wife Iezabel cared not how wrongfully and cruelly they came by it Greg. decret l. 5. tit 19. Gregory reporteth that such cruell and bad Stewards were denyed Christianorum Sepulturam Christian mans buriall And Glanuill Glanuil l. 7.16 writing of the Lawes and Customes of England saith that by the most ancient Lawes of England the goods of an iniurious and defamed oppressour dying without restitution were escheated to the King and all his Lands to the Lord of the Towne And what becomes of himselfe His flesh is giuen to the wormes a right Cadauer Looke to the sillables of that word and let ca stand for caro da for datur and ver for vermibus It sheweth That mans flesh is giuen to wormes and his soule to the Diuels to bee tormented world without end And therefore the ancient Father saith Si haberes sapientiam Salomonis si pulchritudinem Absalonis si fortitudinem Samsonis Aug. super Mat. 25. si longaeuitatem Enoch si diuitias Croesi si foelicitatem Octauiani quid prosunt haec
commaunded the cruell seruant himselfe his wife and children and all that hee had to be sold Math. 18. inflicting the punishment not onely vpon himselfe but also vpon his wife and children Therefore let men be not vniust and cruell but true and mercifull for as the holy father hath August Sola misericordia est comes defunctorum Onely mercy accompanieth the dead That a man shall carry away with him and God in his mercy will reward mercy Fourthly men play the bad Stewards when they receiue the Lords goods and lay them not out according to his will but spend them vnlawfully wilfully and wastfully for which they are culpable and accusable as this bad Steward was The idolatrous person layeth out his riches vpon superstitious workes as Ahab and Iezabel The quarrelsome man layeth out his goods vpon vnnecessary suites of law hindering himselfe and his neighbours as the Corinthians did The vncleane person in chambering and wantonnesse as Sardanapalus and Absalon liuing altogether in carnalitie The Epicure and belly God in faring deliciously euery day as the rich Glutton Gamâ—ters in gaming as Octauius Augustus To conclude euery one which layeth out his goods in idle superfluous and vngodly courses of life playeth the parts of an vnthrifty and vnfaithfull seruant as the prodigall sonne And if a Preacher Magistrate or other Officer rebuke any of these for their vnfaithfull dealing and prodigall swaggering they will say What haue they to doe with vs we wast and spend but our owne money and goods building vpon a base ground for no man is Lord and proper owner of his wealth but onely a Steward for a time to the high Lord of all And as a great mans Bayliffe and Steward on earth ought to lay out the goods of his Master as he commandeth and must render an account how he doth it euen so must euery man being made a Steward in this farme the world employ the talents and gifts which he receiueth as the Lord of Lords the high Master of all commandeth and shall render an account as hereafter followeth The second Farme or Mannor-house wherein man a Steward vnder this rich man God is to be employed and which he ought carefully to looke vnto is his owne body the goods whereof as health power and strength are to be employed to the honour of God to supply our owne necessary occasions 1. Cor. 6. and to helpe our neighbour in all godly and honest affaires This Farme ought to be well and cleanly kept that it may be a fit dwelling Place and Temple of the holy Ghost for if wee will adorne our houses decke them sweepe them and euery way as much as in vs lyeth make them hansome and commodious for a great earthly person much more should wee haue a care to preserue from pollution and keepe cleane our owne bodies because they are the houses of the holy Ghost and further to giue our members instruments of righteousnesse vnto God Rom. 6.13 and to offer vp our bodies a quicke sacrifice holy acceptable vnto God Rom. 12.1 This Farme a good Steward should carefully looke vnto lest death should enter through the ports and gates thereof to the soule and worke the destruction thereof which ports and gates I will set open vnto you making as much haste as the Porter doth when his Master waiteth for him at the gate The ports and gates of the body are these fiue Hearing Seeing Talking Tasting and Touching Which gates should be heedfully watched that nothing goe in or out but that which pleaseth the Lord for as a great earthly man hath a Porter to keepe his gates that no lewd filthy nor contagious person should enter in to pollute his house or infect his people and so procure danger or death vnto theÌ„ or otherwise disorder himselfe Euen so euery Christian man should looke to the gates and doores of his body lest sinne enter in by them and death follow to the subuersion of body and soule The first port and gate of the body is the care the proper organ and instrument of hearing it is the mouth of the soule which giues it nourishment and sendeth downe foode into it and which makes it liuely and fructifie in all the rest of mans members Mans eares should be open to heare good things Reuel 2. Math. 13. as the Word as our Sauiour would haue vs and the Prophet Esay verse 3. exhorteth vs so to doe shewing the vtilitie thereof saying Incline your cares and draw neere Heare and your soule shall liue This word is the sincere milke whereby our soules are nourished and receiue their spirituall growths it is a lanterne to carry light 1. Pet. 2.2 and to direct it is a medicine to heale a guide to conduct a bit to restraine a sword to defend water to wash fire to inflame salt to season wine to reioyce raine to refresh a treasure to inrich a key to vnlocke heauen gates vnto vs and by the merits of Christ Iesus to let vs into an inheritance immortall and vndefiled and that fadeth not away Now beloued seeing that mans eares are the instruments vessels to receiue this Word let vs study to keepe them cleane and open to receiue the Word 1. Cor. 15. Moenan but shut this gate against al blasphemous speeches slanderous and filthy talking for euill words corrupt good manners The second port of the body is the eye which must not let in bad sights it must not couetously looke on his neighbours goods lands or liuings 1. King 21. as Ahab did on poore Naboths vineyard nor wantonly looke on his neighbours wife as Dauid did vpon the wife of Vrie 2. Sam. 11. This caused Iesus the sonne of Sirach in his ninth chapter verse eight to say Turne away thy eyes from a beautifull woman looke not vpon others beauty for many haue perished by the beauty of women for through it loue is kindled as a fire What harmes enter in by this gate it may appeare by the example of Putiphar his Lady and wife Gen. 39. who steadily beholding the beauty of Ioseph after many dayes at the last said Come lye with mee Let vs therefore take heed of wanton looking sinfull lusting and vngodly committing of sinne and wickednesse The third port and gate which letteth in sinne and death to the soule is talking out of the mouth executed by the tongue This should not be filthy nor foolish Ephes 5.4 Col. 3 8. Ephes 4.29 but good to edifie withall that it may minister grace to the hearers The tongue is the best member that a man hath if it be in tune in good order but the worst member if it is out of order And therefore Anacharsis being demanded what was the best member of a man and what the worst The people looking for a double answere vnto a double question He spake in one word and said The tongue for the former reasons Therefore the Poet said Est vitae pariter
Notwithstanding this office of the Ministery truely administred bringeth honour yea it is worthy double honour For the Elders that rule well are worthy double honour specially they that labour in the Word and Doctrine Many loue to rule but they rule not well neither labour in the Word and Doctrine and therefore are not worthy double honour for there is none due but to the painefull Steward the labouring Minister as Father Latimer well said in his fourth Sermon before King Edward the 6. Noblemen Knights and Gentlemen of great valour and worth are Stewards and ought to employ some houres in the seruice of God to please him as Iehosophat Asa Iosias and Ezechias did They ought also to do good to the Commonwealth not neglecting a reasonable and necessary care of their owne followers and Families Ancient Chronicles testifie that Alphred King of England and Founder of the Vniuersitie of Oxon diuided the day and night into three parts eight houres he spent in the seruice of God eight houres vpon his Country and eight houres vpon his body and the maintenance of his Family letting no time to passe away vnprofitably alwayes remembring that whilest he had time he should doe good Ernestus Luneburgensis spent himselfe in doing good and therefore was represented by a golden Candlesticke bearing a Torch in it wherein were ingrauen these Letters in gold shewing his good and charitable minde deeds of charitie proceeding from him A. S. m. i. c. A stood for Alijs S. for seruiens m. for me i. for ipsum and c. for consumo Set all together the sentence will be Alijs seruiens meipsum consumo I consume my selfe by seruing other mens turnes It is a common speech among worldly men when they are exhorted to help the poore beeing in distresse to say We will doe what we can for our neighbour not hurting our selues but wee will looke to our selues first O beloued these men are louers of themselues more then louers of God or of their neighbours The old commandement giuen of God was and is Ioh. 13.34 15.12 Thou shalt loue thy neighbour as thy selfe and who doth so now And yet our Sauiour in the New Testament presseth vs more nearely teaching vs to loue one another as hee loued vs now Christ loued vs better then himself for if he had not hee would haue harkened to Peter disswading him from his suffrings for vs and perswading him to pity fauour himselfe but hee would not follow his wicked counsell but knowing it not to bee of God said to him Chrysost Get thee behinde Satan for thou art an offence vnto me c. Christians take their names of Christ and should be of Christs minde and reckon euery one an enemie vnto them that disswadeth them from doing good to their neighbour when they may although it be to their owne losse hurt and hazzard not onely of goods but also of life There is a great hatred betweene the Dragon and the Pellican the Dragon when hee knoweth that the Pellican hath yong Birds watcheth her when she goeth from her nest and then commeth and poisoneth the yong ones The Pellican returning and finding her younglings dead bewaileth the losse of their liues sending our most dolefull and lamentable cryes and squeakings and at the last forgetting al care of her selfe and burning with a feruent loue towards them she pecketh her owne brest letteth out her owne bloud which streaming out on them reuiueth them In like manner there was a great hostility betweene the great Red Dragon the old Serpent I meane Satan and all mankinde He in Adam poysoned and killed vs all with sinne Rom. 5.12 Math 26.28 Our Sauiour Christ pittying our miserable case and willing to help vs shed his owne bloud for vs and made vs aliue againe Ioh. 11.25 Such a loue should be in vs when we see our Christian brethren in extremitie 1. Ioh. 3.16 and can help We ought to lay downe our liues for them much more we should impart our goods and bestow any labour and paine to doe them good I write these things to you you Honourable Worshipfull and rich men of the world to moue you if it please God that I may to be liberall and rich in good workes 1. Tim. 6.18 and to lay vp treasures in heauen for your selues by shewing workes of mercy Which thing most of you are able to doe and may doe without danger of life O then be willing to make performance and God will heere on earth increase your basket and your store as he did the Loaues and Fishes in the Disciples hands Math. 14. distributing them and hee will lengthen that which you haue as hee did the Meale and the Oyle of the poore Widdow of Sarephath 1. King 17. you shall receiue mercy at the Lords hands in earth and in Heauen at the last Day an euerlasting blessing Math. 25. Therefore flatter not your selues because of your high Places of Honour and Worship For God priuiledgeth not you more then the poore to be idle Stewards There must bee no ciphers in Gods Arithmetike no mutes in his Grammar no blankes in his Kalender no Drones in his Bee-hiue no loyterers in his Market-place and Vineyard no idle Stewards in his Farmes And so my good Lords and you Worshipfull Gentlemen with all respectiue duties I humbly take my leaue of you Lawiers are Stewards and diligently and faithfully should examine their Clients causes deale plainely and iustly with them and not for gaine sake tell them a lye and confirme them in errours and make them pay for all sowing the seeds of Sedition which come vp euery Terme when as louely compositions and agreements at home might better serue and whereas their Clients are poore already they in the end make them poorer Lib. 5. de guber Siluianus saith Hac lege tueri pauperes videntur vt spolient hac lege defendunt miseros vt miseriores faciant defendendo that is to say With this Law they seeme to defend the poore that they may spoile them With this same Law they defend poore wretches to make them more miserable by their defending And yet for all this who better rewarded then the Lawyer A Preacher that speaketh the truth from God and vseth the meanes to win mens soules to God hath many times for his paines reproaches but Lawiers sometimes for pleading vniust causes haue large fees and when their Client is ouerthrowne his cause lost and his money spent they blame the Client say He told me the best but not the worst we lacked good information But now what becomes of this poore man ouerthrowne He perhaps hath maintained the suite with borrowed mony and is become indebted vnto many and new suites by his Creditors come vpon him Baylifes who liue reioyce at poore mens fals swarm about him like Caterpillers and the Flies of Egypt they take him and prey vpon him Thus the vnmercifull feed vpon him when hee
wiped from their eyes When we are in extremity let vs consider yea and comfort our selues with that consolation which the Lord gaue to the Church of Philadelphia Reuel 3.11 12. saying Behold I come shortly and so hee comforted the other Churches And the like ioy and consolation may we all conceiue in all our tribulations and miseries Let vs euer consider that the Lord will come quickly and that he that endureth temptation is blessed and shall at the last receiue the crowne of glorie Iames 1.12 which the Lord hath promised to them that loue him The third vse We should by the knowledge and remembrance of this day keepe vs in the feare of God and care to doe our duties 1. Epist 4.7 8. And this Saint Peter teacheth vs to doe saying The end of all things is at hand be ye therefore sober and watching in prayer But aboue all things haue feruent loue among you for loue couereth the multitude of sinnes The same Apostle declaring the fearefulnelsse of this day 2. Pet. 3. to wit how it shall come as a theefe in the night and that the heauens shall passe away with a noyse and the Elements shall melt with heate and the earth with the works that are therein shall be burnt vp maketh this vse thus concluding of his former doctrines Seeing therefore Verse 11. that all these things must be dissolued what manner persons ought ye to be in holy conuersation and godlines c As though he should say You ought to be most religious most godly of a most pure life and conuersation Verse 14. And me thinkes we should haue a care to be most holy without spot and vndefiled euen blamelesse because wee shall at that day stand before the righteous and vncorrupt Iudge and shall stand openly in the sight of the holy Angels S. Augustine writing vpon these words Reu. 20.12 And I saw the dead both small and great stand before God c. hath these words Rogo vos fratres vt quotidiè cogitemus quales esse debemus in die iudicij purissimis Angelorum conspectibus offerendi aeterno Iudici rationem de libris conscientiae reddituri that is O brethren I beseech you let vs consider what maner of persons we ought to be in the last day of iudgement that shall be presented to the most pure sight of Angels and that shall render an account to the most high Iudge of the bookes of our conscience It seemed that the good Father kept himselfe in good order in the feare of God and in his Christian dutie with the daily cogitation of this Day and serious meditation how to make a good reckoning at the last day and that hee exhorted others to the like vigilance and carefulnesse Hierom reporteth Tract 5. cap. 3. that whatsoeuer he did he alwaies bore in mind this Day and thought that he was going to Iudgement Siue comedam siue hibam siue aliquid aliud agam semper videtur vox illa sonare in auribus Surgite mortui venite ad iudicium that is to say Whether I eate or drinke or doe any thing else me thinkes I alwaies heare this speech ring in my eares Rise ye dead and come to Iudgement and so by this meanes he kept himselfe in awe and refreinad to commit sinne and wickednesse As the Lord would haue vs to know that there is a day of iudgement for his owne glory our owne comfort the confutation of Epicures and Atheists and to keepe vs in our duties so he hath concealed from vs the certaine time when it shall be as it may be proued out of the sacred Scriptures these two wayes 1. By plaine sayings and sentences 2. By Parables or similitudes Mat. 24.42 First by plaine speeches such as these Watch for yee know neither the day nor the houre when the Sonne of man will come Mat. 25.13 Againe Watch ye therefore for ye know not when the Master of the house will come at euen or at midnight at the cocke crowing or in the dawning lest if he come suddenly hee should find you sleeping And those things that I say vnto you I say vnto all men Mar. 13.35 Watch. Note the words Watch ye therefore for ye know not the day nor the houre c. And to this purpose speaketh Saint Augustine Epist 78. writing to Hesychius Tempora computare hoc est CHRONOS vt sciamus quando sit huius saeculi finis vel aduentus Domini nihil mihi aliud videtur quà m scire velle quod Christus ait Scire neminem That is to say To count times that is to know the seasons when shall be the end of this world or the comming of the Lord this seemeth to me that a man is willing to know no other thing but that which Christ saith No man shall know And why should a man diue into the Lords secrets which hee is not willing to reueale vnto vs Act. 1.7 and which it is not expedient for vs to know Our Sauiour said vnto the Apostles Mark 13. It is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father hath put in his owne power Hee hath not reuealed this secret to Man nor Angell Math. 24.36 Secondly this is proued by Parables as of the ten Virgins that went to meet the Bridegroome these slept Mat. 25. and suddenly at midnight when they looked not for him there was a cry that the Bridegroome came and these words were vttered Goe out to meet him Note the words I beseech you and sodainly at midnight when they looked not for him This proueth that the Lords comming to Iudgement shall be sudden and that hee shall finde the vvicked ones secure and carelesse Againe the Parable of the Talents doth admonish vs to be watchfull because the day and time of the Lords comming to take an account is vncertaine and vnknowne For as the deliuerer of the Talents going into a strange Countrey gaue the receiuers of them a charge to occupy them till he came and did not tell when he would come but yet after a long season came to reckon with them and to call them to account and to reward them in his mercy according to their seuerall imployments Euen so our Sauiour beeing gone as it were into a strange countrey into Heauen where he neuer was in body before hath deliuered vnto sundry and seuerall persons excellent gifts which he would haue them vse to his glory and the good of his Church and hee will come after a season he telleth not when and therefore no man knoweth the time to take a strict account of all the receiuers of them The sodainenesse and vncertaintie of his comming 1. Thes 5.2 Reu. 16.15 Luk. 17.24 is compared to the comming of a Thiefe which giues no warning to lightening that giues a sodaine flash and lighteneth out of the one part vnder Heauen and shineth vnto the other part vnder
to be put to torments and cruell death In like maner shall it bee with the Elect and Reprobate faithfull and vnfaithfull the godly and the wicked at this generall and great Assize both shall arise out of their close prison I meane their Graues but the one sort to be euer with the Lord and to be euer in a continuall ioyfull practice ministring praises and Songs of Thanksgiuing saying Saluation and glory and honour bee to the Lord our God c. Math. 25. The other to bee banished from the presence of the Lord and to bee finally adiudged to euerlasting fire and torments Therefore O godly man hold on and goe forward in a godly course of life Thou shalt haue comfort and ioy at the last euen a solace sempiterne and perpetuall For eye hath not seene eare hath not heard neither hath it entred into the heart of man 1. Pet. 1.4 what good things the Lord hath prepared for them that loue him and the inheritance of Gods Children is incorruptible vndefiled and neuer fadeth away But if thou art a wicked man and hast walked in the broad way that leadeth to destruction and continuest in thy wicked life without repentance then thou shalt rise in the last Day but to iudgement to torment to bee cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where are paines endlesse Luke 16. caselesse and remedilesse Looke to the example of the rich Glutton At this day and time of account Kings Queenes Princes Earles Barons and Baronets Knights Esquires Gentlemen Yeomen rich and poore young and old all one as well as another shall bee demanded how they haue occupied their Talents as wee may gather by the Parable Mat. 25. The Virgins that expect the Bridegroome with Oyle and Lampes prepared shall be blessed The wicked shall be sifted with straight examination and shall giue an account of a thousand matters whereof they would haue scorned to haue been told of in this life by Minister or Magistrate as how they haue spent their time whether they haue fought against the world the Flesh and the Diuell Of which and many other things they must giue an account of The sinners Tryall yea of euery idle word And heere wee are to note that as when persons are tryed at our Assizes vpon matters of life and death there are vsually accusers and witnesses written and printed Lawes and Bookes by which men are tryed for no man is condemned vpon a bare accusation without testimonie some apparant proofe or at leastwise some great probabilitie that cannot bee spoken against and the breach of the some branch of the Lawes So the Scriptures speaking after the manner of men proue that there shal be both accusers and witnesses against a false Steward a wicked man at this great Assize The accusers are a mans owne thoughts after which sort the thoughts of the Gentiles are said to accuse them or excuse them Rom. 2.15 16. at the day when God shall iudge the secrets of men by Iesus Christ A mans wicked thoughts then are sinnes and vnlesse a man repent him of them deserue death And therefore Peter bad Simon Magus pray to God if perhaps the thoughts of his heart may bee forgiuen him And for this cause our Sauiour speaking of an euill heart saith that out of it proceede euill thoughts Mat. 15.19 from these wicked thoughts come many euill and wicked words whereof the sinner must giue an account yea Mat. 12.36 many sinnes and wickednesses that shall correct a man and many turnings backe that shall reprooue him Ier. 2.19 Our thoughts therefore may well bee said to accuse vs at this day of reckoning And here it is strange to see how wonderfully worldly men are deceiued in this point they will say Thought is free as though it were lawfull for them to thinke at pleasure without sinning or punishment It is true that man may thinke what he will freed from mans knowledge and punishment For as it is true that no man knoweth the thoughts of man so it is as true that no man can iustly inflict punishment vpon man for his thoughts for he knoweth not them Onely God the searcher of the hearts and reynes knoweth mans thoughts and punisheth them if they are wicked and that deseruedly For euill thoughts defile man Mat. 15.19 20. and therefore worthily are condemned Zech. 8.17 The witnesses against man are foure 1. God 2. Heauen and Earth 3. Rust of the Gold and Siluer of wicked rich men 4. A mans Conscience First God is a witnesse who knoweth all things yea the very secrets of the heart therefore the truest and best witnesse This is proued Malachy 3.5 Mal. 3.5 I will said he come neere to you in iudgement and I will be a swift witnesse against the Southsayers and against the Adulterers and against false swearers and against those that wrongfully keepe backe the hirelings wages and vex the widdow and the fatherlesse and oppresse the stranger and feare not mee saith the Lord. This righteous Lord and true witnesse will set before mans face the things that hee hath done Hee vvill bring to light the hidden things of darknes make manifest the counsels of the heart that euery one that thinketh well and doth well may haue praise of God and he that thinketh not well Math. 25. nor doth well may bee cast into euerlasting fire prepared for the Diuell and his Angels Deut. 4.26 The second witnesse Heauen and earth The Lord saith to Israel when thou shalt beget children and childrens children and shalt haue remained long in the land if yee corrupt your selues and make any grauen image or likenesse of any thing and worke euill in the sight of the Lord thy God to prouoke him to anger I call Heauen and Earth to record against you this day that yee shall shortly perish from the land whereunto ye goe ouer Iordan to possesse it yee shall not prolong your dayes therein but shall vtterly bee destroyed The like place we haue Deut. 30.19 Deut. 30.19 Where the Lord calleth Heauen and Earth to witnesse against them saying that he had set before them life and death a blessing and a curse and bids them chuse life that they may liue with their seed Beloued Christians let vs take heed what we doe heere on the earth For our sayings doings are knowne and seene from aboue and the earth vpon which our sinnes are committed can beare witnesse of the same against vs if our words and deeds are euill Thirdly the rust of the gold and siluer of couetous worldlings shall be a witnesse against them which hath beene layd vp till it rusted for want of vsing and well employing to the vse of the poore And as their gold and siluer is eaten vp and fretted with rust so they for not vsing their treasure well shall be eaten vp and deuoured with the fire of hell that is they shall be tormented with euerlasting flames
of fire This doth Iames teach vs saying Iam. 5.1 2 3. Goe to now ye rich men weepe and howle for your miseries that shall come vpon you your riches are corrupt and your garments are moth-eaten your gold and siluer is cankred and the rust of them shall be a witnesse against you and shall eate your flesh as it were fire Ye haue heaped vp treasures for the last dayes How foolish then are greedie couetous men Rom. 1. which heape vp wrath against the day of wrath and of the declaration of the iust iudgement of God Mat. 5. How much better were it for them to lay vp treasures not vpon earth where the rust and moth doth corrupt and where theeues breake thorow and steale but rather to lay vp treasures in heauen where neither rust nor moth doth corrupt and where theeues doe not breake thorow nor steale Fourthly a mans conscience shall witnesse with him or against him as the Apostle doth testifie Rom. 2. speaking thus of the Gentiles When the Gentiles saith he which haue not the Law doe of nature the things conteined in the Law they hauing not the Law are a law vnto themselues which shew the effect of the Law written in their hearts their conscience also bearing witnesse and their thoughts accusing one another or excusing at the day when God shall iudge the secrets of men by Iesus Christ according to my Gospel Note I beseech you the Apostles words He saith That the conscience of the Gentiles shall beare witnesse and he telleth when she shall doe this to wit when God shall iudge the secrets of men by Iesus Christ meaning the day of Iudgement But that I may speake more plainely note I beseech you beloued Christians that as mens doings are two-fold good or bad They are good which proceed from faith and are agreeable to the Law of God and they are euill which proceed from infidelitie and are repugnant to the Lawes of God So the motions of mens hearts are two-fold either ioyfull which concomitate good deedes or sorrowfull which alwayes accompany euill deedes Hereupon it commeth to passe that one Conscience may bee called good another bad Omnis Conscientia cum scientia Now a good conscience is a ioyfull motion of the heart arising from a certaine knowledge of wel-doing or it is the iudgement of the mind grounded vpon knowledge concerning a mans good deeds ministring ioy vnto him Hereupon Paul said Our reioycing is this the testimonie of a good conscience 2. Cor. 1.12 Paul bended his wit and will and laboured earnestly to haue a good conscience towards God and man and he had such an one and with it could truly say I am pure from the blood of all men And further at his end his conscience so comforted strengthened and emboldened him that he without any scruple or hesitation 2. Tim. 4.7.8 said I haue fought a good fight I haue finished my course I haue kept the faith c. A good conscience makes a merrie heart whiles wee liue makes vs to sleepe more quietly then if we layd our heades on a Doune-pillow and when death approcheth she causeth man not to feare to die and then will not forsake him when all worldly vanities and shadowes vanish fade away and yet she wil doe him the best seruice that she can shee will plead for him and witnesse with him O what a treasure is a good conscience She is as it were mount Tabor a glimpse of glory vpon earth a comfortresse of thy heart at the houre of death and a faithfull friend and witnesse to stand by thee at the day of Iudgement when thou shalt haue most need But an euill conscience is in this world as it were an hellish Hagge an infernall Furie euer tormenteth man followeth him she alwayes keepeth a true record of all mans euill thoughts words and workes troubleth man with direfull suggestions and temptations she is neuer at peace and quietnesse she bringeth man to destruction as it may appeare by the examples of Cain Iudas Arrius and many others and yet she hath not done but continuing an enemy at the last Day will witnesse against a man all his sinnes his swearing forswearing lying stealing iniuries oppressions and all other his workes of the flesh and darknesse She will not nor cannot forget them For all mens faults are so perfectly knowne vnto her and so firmely impressed in her that shee is compared to a booke a booke of remembrance wherein all things are so perfectly recorded that they cannot be forgotten Reu. 20 12. Iob saith Thou hast sealed vp our sinnes in a bagge to shew the exact and strict kind of keeping of them against that Day of account So that not an euill thought not an euil word not an euill deed can be forgotten they are all so surely recorded and the time of opening this booke and reading them ouer to the hearing of the world is the day of Iudgement For then all mens faults shall be knowne and in them that haue offended they shall be punished Foolish men and women think that all their wicked thoughts all their idle and euill words passe away with the wind but it is not so for in this booke they are written and recorded and once the booke shall be opened and thy secret sinnes discouered Now if we come to the liues of men and women alasse they are most wicked they are nothing else but a continuall practice of sinne Well let vs labour to keepe a good conscience an vnblotted and vnblurred booke and then we shall preuent and escape the danger The booke and touchstone of the triall The Booke and touchstone whereby all our thoughts words and workes shall be examined and tried is the Word of God it is I say the Rule and Line by which they ought to be leuelled squared and wrought by The Apostle Paul saith Rom. 1.16 That at the day of Iudgement God shall iudge the secrets of men by Iesus Christ according to his Gospel he meaneth that Gospel whereof he was a preacher not an authour Our thoughts words and workes must be tryed by the Word of God If therefore our thoughts words and workes are not agreeable to the Word of God to Gods rules and commandements they are as odious distastefull and vnpleasing vnto the Lord as the offering vp of brused things were in the time of the Law Therefore let the Word of God O man be a lanterne to thy feet and a light vnto thy pathes that thou mayest not wander out of the old ancient wayes of the Lord but goe the straight wayes to Heauen alwayes directing thy steps by this Word of God When the poore wretched sinner accused by his own thoughts is found culpable in his words and workes and is conuicted by euident and plaine testimonies as before because he made no conscience of his wayes and neuer directed his goings according to the Word of God behold in what lamentable
case he shall stand in The lamentable case of the sinner condemned For aboue him he shall haue the Iudge offended for his wickednesse beneath him the burning pit of Hell open and boyling ready to swallow him vp on his right hand his sinnes accusing on his left hand the Diuels as it were Iaylors and Executioners ready to execute Gods Sentence vpon him within him his conscience shall gnaw him paine him grieue him and testifie against him before him iudgement without mercy behinde him his euill life on euery side all damned soules bewailing and which way soeuer you cast your eyes you shall behold a burning fire O consider this ye that forget God lest hee teare you in pieces and there be none to deliuer you Sentence giuen of godly and vngodly and first of the godly The iust Iudge will pronounce sentence righteously both of the Sheepe on his right hand and Goates on his left hand of both godly and vngodly iust and vniust faithfull and vnfaithfull Sentence shall bee giuen of the godly according to the Gospel not onely offering but now giuing saluation to Gods faithfull children by the merits of Iesus Christ And the sentence will bee a kinde inuitation or rather receiuing to ioy in these words Come ye blessed of my Father inherite the Kingdome prepared for you from the beginning of the world c. On the contrary sentence shall be giuen of the Goates of the wicked and vngodly on the Iudges left hand according to the rigour of the Law with all it maledictions tortures and torments then presently to be put in execution against a lewd liuer these shall then indure their deserued endlesse punishments The Sentence against these is Depart ye cursed into euerlasting fire Sentence giuen against the wicked prepared for the Diuell and his Angels c. All this is ratified with a clause of an irreuocable sentence to wit These shall goe into euerlasting paine c. Of these paines of Hell as also of the ioyes of Heauen I had thought to haue written that by the consideration of the one the wicked may bee deterred from sinning and so auoid the punishment and by the consideration of the other they may be allured to well doing to seeke those things that are aboue and tread the straight way that leadeth to euerlasting life But hauing spent so much time already as I could well spare I will end for this present promising if my labours are accepted and God granteth time of life to performe it that I will write of the same at some other conuenient time I will therefore now end praying all Christians to listen to the exhortation following Beloued let vs prepare our selues for this iudgement dayly and euery moment Let the commandement of the Lord stirre vs vp to watch prouide and be in a readinesse Luk. 12.35 Let your loynes bee girded about and your lights burning and yee your selues like vnto men that wait for their Master when he will returne from the wedding that when he commeth and knocketh they may open vnto him immediately Blessed are those seruants whom the Lord when he commeth shall finde waking c. Let the example of the sudden floud proposed by Peter 2. Pet. 3. strike a care into vs and make vs afraid to be secure Let the consideration of the High Iudge which iudgeth with iustice and equitie all men of euery order age and kinde make vs prepare our selues against this day Let the signes now accomplished and fulfilled make vs fully resolued that the Day is at hand and strike a care into vs to bee prepared against the Lords comming Let the vncertaine houre to vs when it shall come and yet certain that once it will come and sooner then we thinke make vs obseruant and watchfull To conclude let the execution it selfe to wit euerlasting rewards and euerlasting punishments wanting all ease and mitigation of torments strike a feare in vs not to offend and make vs carefull to please God For God as the Apostle hath 2. Thes 1. will render vengeance in flaming fire to them which know him not and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Iesus Christ Which shall bee punished with euerlasting damnation from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power when he shall come to be glorified in his Saints and to be made maruellous in all them that beleeue Let vs prepare our selues against that Day Aug. ad Demet. Epist 142. wherein Mundi gloria finienda est that is the glory of the world must take his end I say against that day and time which shall take tardy in deceitfull securitie many and therefore compared to the comming in of the Floud 2. Pet. 3. 1. Thes 5. in the dayes of Noah and to the comming of a Thiefe If a band of men should enter into a Citie and begin to destroy with fire and sword would not euery man tremble and quake If we thus feare our mortall enemies and the hand of man what shall wee doe when as the fearefull Trumpet shall sound from Heauen and at that voice of the Archangell more cleere and shrill then any Trumpet all the whole world shall rumble when we shall see not weapons made with hands but the whole powers of Heauen to be mooued and to threaten vengeance vnto vs. If a man-slayer or any other wicked person of whom punishment were to be taken by the iudgement of an earthly Iudge will tremble and quake at the sight of the Iudge and others standing about in iudgement and at the bloudy hand of the Hangman or Tormenter although he know that his end will bee but short then beloued consider what shame feare dolour and griefe will bee at the Day of Iudgement when all the euils and sorrowes that can bee imagined and deuised shall bee broached and ready to be inflicted vpon the wicked men of this world These and many other euils shall befall them which are holden with many cares of this world and thinke not of this last end of all things But we which repent beleeue and thinke of Christs comming conceiue ioy and wish for his comming as the certaine time of our Redemption and reward saying Come Lord Iesu Come To this Lord Iesus together with the Father and the Holy Ghost three Persons in one Essence be rendered all honour and glory power and seruice in Heauen and in Earth henceforth and for euer Amen FINIS