couenaunt in stead whereof wee haue baptisme the whiche whosoeuer shall refuse wee accompt him as cut off from Gods Church Christ Iesus gaue inuisicle grace by visible laying hys handes vppon children and other sicke people So hee gaue the gift of his holy spirite vnto his Disciples when hauing breathed vppon them he sayd receiue you the holy ghost The Sscramentes were ordayned in the church of God for 3. vses first that we should acknowledge al those to be our fellows seruants whom we see to haue put on the same liuerie with our selues and in this sense said the Apostle Paule all those that are baptized into Christe haue put on Christ Secondly the Sacramentes do put a manifest difference betwixt the true church and the false as Peter hath taught vs in saying repent and be baptized euerie one of you in the name of Iesus Christ for to vse the promise made vnto your children all that are yet farre off euen so many as God shall call and our Sauiour saith to such belongeth the kingdomof God that is to such as lead an innocent life The third vse of the Sacraments is to seale vp in the hearts of the elect all those promises which GOD hath made vnto them in Iesus Christ his Son and their Sauiour in the which sense Paule spake when hee said that Abraham receiued the sign of circumcision as a seale of that righteousnes which he had by faith and in the verie same sense our Sauiour saith hee that beleeueth and is baptized shall be saued But it is to bee considered that the Institutor setteth downe the form of administring the sacraments when he saith baptizing them in the name of the father of the sonne and of the holie Ghost Hee commaundeth to baptize in the name of the father and of the son because the holie Ghost proceedeth from the father the sonne and in the name of the holie Ghost for except a man be borne of water and the spirite he cannot see the kingdom of God When our sauior offered to wash Peters feet he imagined it to be a nedles work for thou shalt neuer wash my feet said he but when Christ aunswered that such as are not washed by him haue no part with him that is neither part of his spirite nor of his kingdom Peter bethinking himselfe better would not haue his feet onlie but also his hands aud head washed howbeit it is not necessarie to washe any more then is vncleane as Peters feet defiled vvith dirt and mire so our soules spotted with sins must be cleansed by Christ his bloud onely And after this manner it is necessarie that euerie one of vs should be washed wherof the outward putting of water vpon the partie baptized is a liuelie figure Iohn Baptist was sanctified in his mothers wombe as the Angell had foreshewed But when our Sauiour Christ came to him to be baptized Iohn put him backe and said I haue neede to bee baptized of thee and commest thou to me That kingly prophet Dauid was a man after gods own heart yet he saith of himselfe I was borne in iniquitie and in sin hath my mother conceiued mee Iob was called by God himselfe a iust and vpright man fearing God and eschewing euill whose peere was not found vppon the face of the earth notwithstanding all this he saith of himselfe who can bring a cleane thing out of filthines the which question is all one with Paules affirmation who saieth such as the roote is such are the braunches as if hee had said with Adam the father of vs all was vndefiled then are wee his sons cleane also But if he were once dead in sinne beeing our roote then howe could wee his imps haue life of our selues All this was spoken of originall sinne as for actuall sins namely those sins which we continuallie commit they are as palpable as the darknes of Aegipt the which as Moses saith was so grosse that it might be felt in so much that Dauid saith when God looked down from heauen vppon the children of men that is when hee considered mans conuersation they were all so farre gone out of the way that there was none that did good in so much that the prophet repeateth it with an Emphasis and saith no not one And the man of God Moses saith when God beheld the boldnes of the olde world in sinning it repēted him that he had made man that is he was sorie that man whome he had made to liue well should liue so ill The continuall sinne of Sodome brought fire and brimstone from heauen to consume them in the same Dauid feeling the burthen of his sinnes began to sincke vnder them for saith he my sins are gone ouer my head and are like a sore burthen too heauy for me to beare Paule hauing by the vertue of the law learned his sinnes for he had not knowen sin except the lawe had said thou shalt not sinne fell to lamenting of them thus O wretched man that I am who shall deliuer me from this bodie of death where it is to be noted that he calleth his bodie a bodie of death in respect of sinne which giueth power to death ouer our bodies And to conclude of such force is sinne in vs that if the goodnes of God had not so praeordained that the vnbeleeuing husband is sanctified by the beleeuing wife and the vnbeleeuing wife by the beleeuing husband our children should be verie vncleane Againe beeing washed or baptized in the name of the father sonne and holie Ghost wee are aduertised that wee must giue godlie christian and holy names vnto our children in in token of their sacred profession for holie is he that hath called vs and that we may be the more forward so to doe It will be worth our labour to consider of a few examples tending to the same purpose as of Zachary the father of Iohn the Baptist who being dum when that his son was born his friends made signes vnto him howe he would haue him called and askeing for writing tables writte saying his name is Iohn the which vvorde Iohn is as much as to say Grace and thus was Zacharie commaunded by the Angell to name him The scripture accordeth plentifull examples of those that haue giuen names to their children affoordeth to suche occasions as haue been offered in the time of their trauell As when Raell went with her husband Iacob toward Bethell to builde an aultar vnto God She trauailed in child-birth and in trauelling dyed but before shee departed shee called his name Benony that is the sonne of her sorrowe but his father Iacob called him Benony that is the sonne of his right hand So Leah hauing born to Iacob foure sons she said now will I prayse God c. And that shee might the better beare in minde her promise she named her last son Iudah
want of saluation proceedeth eyther of the lack of teaching or of the want of faith to beleeue rightly that which is taught The first of these is approued by the wordes which the holy Ghost spake by the mouth of this prophet last named thus my people are destroyed with lacke of knowledge c. The other by the testimonie of our sauiour Christ himselfe who sending hys Eleuen to preach and baptise sayth he that beleueth and is baptised shall be saued he that beleeueth not shall be damned why went the rich man to hell but either for one of these causes afore named or for thē both that is to say because he neuer frequented the word of God whereby faith is begotten in the heartes of the hearers or if hee heard the same worde yet it was heard so carelesly that it tooke no roote at all and indeede that answere which Abraham made to his request seemeth to auer the trueth of that whiche I say for when request was made by that helhound that a messenger might go from the dead to his fiue brethren which were yet at his fathers house c. Abraham replied thus they haue Moses and the Prophetes Let them heare them for as Abraham sayth if that whiche Moses hath set downe in Gods iustice cannot better our brasen faces and heartes of Adament nor they vnualuable and moste assured promises made by Christ to his elect and recorded by his prophetes cannot driue vs from sinne and draw vs to himselfe Then there is no more hope of vs in hearing the worde of God then was of Symon and Iudas Though they heard the worde and receiued the Sacramentes for our life is no other waie reformed by a carelesse kinde of hearing then Ieroboam redressed the religion in Israel when hee set vp two golden Calues the one in Dann and the other in Bethel that the Israelites might worship them them or Nabuchadneezer in his kingdome when he destroyed Idols that he might be worshipped as God It is a matter so true that no man can so muche as imagine much lesse speake the contrarie without great offence that God hath done so much for his vine as by anie meanes might be in somuch that Dauid the king of Israel neuer hadde greater cause then the prince and people of England haue to say of the goodnesse of God hee hath not dealt so louingly with anie nation as with vs in giuing to vs so long vse of his lawes and yet he that compareth the pastors painfull preaching with the peoples little profiting in most places of this land shall finde iust occasion to thinke that the sonne of God hath pronounced that same curse vppon this Englishe vine which hee vttered against that fruitlesse figtree mentioned by Marke in these wordes Neuer fruite growe on thee henceforth God grant that there be not some men who measure the meate by the man like those proud Citizens whiche saide wee will not haue this man to reigne ouer vs and loathe the message because they like not the messenger like those skornfull Iewes that tolde Ieremie to his face the worde which thou speakest to vs in the name of the Lord vve will not heare it of thee but whatsoeuer we thinke good that will wee do but that they may knowe those men which labour among them and haue the ouersight of them in the land and not barely knowe them but also loue them for their good workes sake Thus hauing finished the former circumstances as compendiously as I promised I proceed to the next wordes the whiche containe in them the second part of a christian ministers dutie which is to minister the sacramentes rightly whereof one is set downe in his due order by the institutor Christ hymselfe when he saith baptising them in the name of the father and the sonne and the holy ghost Nowe because the worde Baptisme hathe diuers significations in the scripture I will heere set downe as manie of them as my memorie can recorde First the worde Baptisme according to the true meaning of the Greeke text Baptisma doth not signifie onely addicting but suche a dipping in the water as doth cleanse the partie dipped and for that the Primitiue Churche did vse to put the partie baptised quite vnder the water Therfore Paule writing both to the Romaines and Collossians vseth these wordes wee are buried then with him in baptisme into hys death that like as Christ was raised vp from the dead by the glorie of the father So we also should walke in newnesse of life in the whiche wordes the Apostle sheweth what resemblance their baptisme hath with Christ hys death and resurrection Secondlie baptisme is vsed for a bare washing in whiche sense our Sauiour spake when hee saide to the Pharisies you lay apart the commaundementes of God and obserue the traditions of men as the washing of pottes and cuppes and manie suche thinges yee doe and in the same sense wee read in the Epistle to the Hebrewes when the authour saith that the olde Tabernacle consisted of manie washinges and ceremoniall rightes vntill the daie of reformation came Thirdly by baptisme wee may vnderstand affliction as our Sauiour Christ did in saying to Iames and Iohn the sonnes of Sebedeus can you be baptised with that baptisme wherwith I must bee baptised and to hys Disciples I must bee baptised with a baptisme but howe am I payned vntill I bee ended Fourthly baptisme is a liberall distribution of the graces of GOD as appeareth in these wordes Iohn baptised with water but you shall be baptised with the holy Ghost within these fewe dayes Fifthly the worde baptisme is taken for doctrine onely as in that place wherein the holie Ghost hauing occasion to speake of Apollo a Iewe of Alexandria sayth that hee was mightie in the Scriptures and did knowe but the baptisme of Iohn only And last of al Baptisme is taken for a reuerent order of ministring that Sacrament in the Churche and the whole sanctification of the parties baptised as in the wordes of this present part of Scripture baptising them c. But to speake of the Sacrament it selfe It hath beene vsuall with almightie God from time to time to confirme hys couenauntes with seales set to the same for example wee see that there is a Rainbowe in the cloudes the reason whereof is that GOD hauing in his iustice destroyed the olde worlde for sinne onely Noah and his famelie being excepted the same GOD in hys mercie made a couenant with Noah that hee would neuer destroy it so againe for confirmation thereof hee set the Raynbow in the Clowdes as a seale to that couenant betwixt himselfe and Noah So was circumcision giuen to Abraham as a seale of confirmation in that promise that in his seede all the nations of the earth should be blessed So that as manie as were circumcised were within the compasse of that
When the man of Beniamin came frō the Israelites with his clothes rent and dust vpon his head in token of heauinesse and certified father Ely that Gods Arke was taken by the Philistines and that his two sonnes were slaine the old father fel backeward out of his seate and broke hys necke and his daughter in lawe Phynies wife being flighted with feare fell in trauell and dyed in child bed but before her death she called her sonne Icabod that is the glorie of God meaning thereby that she accōpted the glorie of God to be taken from Israel when Gods Arke which was a figure of his Churche wherein wee glorifie his name was taken awaie by the enemie And secondly to admonishe all parentes so to nuiture vp their children that they may seeke to maintaine the glorie of God better then Ely did for the wickednesse of whose children As also for the fathers default in not correcting them God had threatned before that if he once began with him he would make an end with him so that as the Prophet saith children being the fruite of the wombe as they are come from God are a good blessing and an heritage that commeth of the Lord because hee it is from whom euerie good and perfect gift doth proceede yet in respect of men so may the matter be handled that they shall finde no such crosse or curse as gracelesse or vnruled children such as Esau and his two wiues who were a griefe of minde and a heart breaking to Isaak their father and Rebekah their mother It is true that the verie godliest men and women haue rather desisired sonnes then daughters at the handes of God but they did it for good and godly purposes As when Abraham desired a sonne to the end that Eliezer the steward of his house being a stranger Namely a man of Damascus should not be the heyre of his goods So did Anna pray to God for a sonne when she said O Lord of hostes if thou wilt looke on the trouble of thine handmaid remember me c. And giue vnto thine handmayd a manchilde then will I giue him vnto the Lord al the daies of his life c. And as the verie name of a sonne is in price and preferred at this day so hath it beene heeretofore as when Phineas wife being neere her deathe in trauell the midwife with the rest thinking to comfort her said feare not for thou hast borne a sonne when the angell sayd to Abraham this time twelue monethes Sarah thy wife shall beare a sonne Sarah laughed as partly doubting and partly ioying that so sage a woman as shee should conceiue a sonne by so aged a man as Abraham was That same Angell that certified Zachario that Elizabeth his wife shoulde beare Iohn the Baptist said not onely that it should be a sonne but such a sonne as should bring ioy to him and many more And that Angel Gabriell that was sent of God Mary the mother of our sauiour according to his humanitie saith that in stead of feare shee had found fauour with God and his reason is this for thou shalt beare a son and shalt call his name Iesus As if he had said it is a great blessing of God to beare a childe and a greater to beare a man childe but to be so farre in Gods fauour as to beare such a sonne as shal be the sauiour of the worlde it is the greatest grace which hath beene heard of in the which God make his Church ioyfull and for the which in speciall and for all the rest of his blessinges in generall God make vs thankefull Amen Iohn 10. 9. I am the doore by me if any man enter in he shal be saued and shall go in and go out and shall find pasture FINIS A MEMENTO FOR MAGISTRATES By Henrie Smith LONDON Printed by Iohn Wolfe are to be sold by William Wright 1592. A Memento for Magistrates THe Apostle Paul writing to Timotheus amongst manie other things assureth him that those Elders which rule well are worthie of double honour And the Authour of the 45. Psame speaking of the gouernement of Salomon saith The Scepter of thy kingdoome is a right Scepter for thou louest righteousnes and hatest iniquitie in which words the Author aduoucheth that he cannot rule rightlie that loueth not to iudge iustlie and that he vsurpeth aucthoritie that dealeth partiallie for wee must remember that hee measurerh Salomons worthinesse to raign by his wel swaying of the scepter the which Salomō could not haue handled so commendablie as he did if he had not bene carried away with an earnest desire to deale indifferentlie amongst men in causes of controuersie but most plainly appeareth his great desire of godly gouernment in that heartie praier which hee vttered vnto almightie God when he said giue vnto thy seruant O Lord an vnderstanding and a wise hart to iudge thy people that I may discerne betwixt good and euill In this praier it is plaine that although hee was a King yet he calleth himselfe the seruaunt of God for promotion commeth neither from the East nor from the West nor yet from the south but from God who plucketh down one and setteth vppe another And Salomon hauing praied for wisdome and vnderstanding hee sheweth wherevnto he wold applie those good gifts of God euen vnto the glorie of him that gaue them to iudge thy people that I may discerne betwixt good euill saith hee for by him Kinges raigne and by him Princes decree Iustice When Iethro the father in law of Moses came out of the land of Madian to see Moses being at the mount of God which was mount Sinai and beheld how the people flocked vnto Moses their magistrate for iudgement iustice by due consideration therof Iethro found these three in conueniences First that Moses wearied himselfe with sitting in iudgement from the morning vntill night Secondly that he was too tedious vnto the people which attended vppon him in all that time And thirdly that notwithstanding his carefulnesse in iudgement and their earnest expectation of iustice hee was not able to dispatche so manye matters as vvas brought before him but with a light hearing and a little regarding of manie mens causes Wherefore Iethro beeing a man verie desirous that iustice might proceede that no mans matter should sleightlie be slipt ouer counsaileth Moses to make more Magistrates in Israel and to the end that this might be perfourmed the better Iethro dooth point at the disposition of those men which should bear rule for saith he thou shalt choose out amongest all the people men of courage dealing trulie fearing God and hating couetousnes and them shalt thou make gouernours ouer the people By this you may perceiue how Iethro in counsailing and Moses in practising did both aime at iustice and true iudgement For it is not a meane matter or light labour for men of yeeres to sit
shrowded frō the sharp showers is oftē forced to leaue hir fleece behinde whose vnworthy comming to their places Ioatham hath well described in the person of Abimilech when he saide the trees of the woode went to annoint a king ouer them and saide vnto the Oliue tree Reigne thou ouer vs but the Oliue tree answered shall I leaue my satnesse which both Gods and men praise in me and go to be promoted ouer the trees Then they came to the fig-tree and saide come thou and reigne ouer vs the fig-tree aunswered shall I leaue my sweetnesse and good fruit and go to be promoted ouer the trees They said vnto the vine Reigne thou ouer vs but the vine aunswered shoulde I leaue my wine wherewith I cheere God and men to be promoted ouer the trees then they said vnto the bramble wilt thou raigne ouer vs. Then saide the bramble if it be true indeed that you will submit your selues to my authoritie and put your trust vnder my shadow or else fire proceed from the bramble and consume you By this parable we are taught generally that euerie man is to be content with that estate wherin God hath placed him and that for the moste part the verie best worthie do refuse profered promotion and on their part well deserued whereas on the contrarie the moste vnfitly furnished with iustice and true iudgement and the least deseruing in a commonwealth are of al other most ambitious Such an one was Absalon who stole awaie the heartes of Israel with this flattering speech Oh that I were made Iudge in the land that euerie man whiche hath any plea or matter in the lawe might come to me that I might do him iustice but this is the iust reward of such as before conuenient time and apt occasion to be offered do ambitiously seek the seat of iudgment euen vntimely and vnnaturall death for Absolon was hanged by the hayre of his head a woman with a peece of a milstone dashed out Abymelechs brains though Absalon be absent Abimilech brained long since yet it is to be suspected that many mē get preferment by their practises cōming in such sheep skins as are fayre wordes and flattering speeches but God graunt that they proue not like vnto those iudges whome Zophonie feared not to liken vnto Lyons who finding their praie in the euening chop vp all not leauing so muche as the bones vntill the morning Salomon said wel that many would be accompted good doers but where shal we finde a faithfull man some men haue said well with Absolon before they came to preferment but they can nowe bee contented to see many men to sue seuen yeares for their right and yet suffer them to sustaine wrong because necessitie hathe no law forsooth Go to go to some body will answere for that one day A man woulde thinke that necessitie should haue the moste lawe because he hath least money fewest frends Magistrates might learne such a lesson of God himself as it being rightly practised they could not chuse but do iustice this is it when almigtie God intended to destroy Sodome and Gomora before he would do so thogh their sins were monstrous great he considered thus of the matter the crie of Sodome and Gomorrha is great and their sinne is exceeding greeuous I will go downe nowe and see whether they haue done altogether according to that crie which is come vnto me or not that I may know Lo let all magistrates learne by the example of God himslfe to go down and see that is to apply their eares to heare dilligentlie and their mindes to meditate iustlie of each mans matter if you aske me why I answere as God himselfe doth that they may know vidz that they may discerne betwixt truth and falshood right and wrong this is that question which Dauid demanded of Saules counsellors that egged him on to hurt him that neuer harmed them are your mindes set vpon righteousnes O ye congregation and do you iudge the thing that is right O yee sonnes of men saith he the same prophet in all his troubles desiring God to stand on his side against his oppressors thought it as conuenient to craue of God the consideration of his cause as to aske his aid against his aduersaries and therefore prayeth thus Ponder my words O Lord consider my meditation c. So Magistrates haue not onelie authoritie to make and establise good lawes but also to determine betwixt men according to the same vnto whose sensor the subiect must submit himselfe as the Apostle prooueth to the Romaines when hee saith let euerie soule submit it selfe vnto the authoritie of the higher powers for all power is of God wherefore whosoeuer resisteth that power resisteth the ordinance of God and purchaseth vnto himselfe damnation For Magistrates are not to bee feared of them that doe well but of them that doe nill wilt thou not feare do wel then so shalt thou haue praise for he is the minister of God for thy wealth but if thou doest euill then feare for hee beareth not the sworde for naught but is the minister of GOD to take vengeance vpon them that doe euill where it is to be remembred that the ciuill magistrate who beareth the sword is called the minister of God as well as that spirituall magistrat that preacheth the woorde and that no doubt to the intent hee might take care as well to maintaine true religion as to minister deserued discipline for it standeth with all diuine and humaine reason that if all maisters fathers ought to haue a more thē ordinarie care to instruct and helpe forward their families in Christian religion so much as in them lyeth much more ought the magistrate to meditate by all meanes possible to performe his dutie therein who is a father ouer all families I cannot set this forth in any playner speach then Dauid hath done in this short saying kisse the sonne least hee be angrie and so you perishe in the right way by which speache the prophet teacheth that God cannot be honored by any other means then by that which Christ his sonne hath taught who saith himselfe in the fift of Iohn hee that honoureth the sonne honoreth the father hee that dishonoureth the sonne dishonoureth the father so that hee meaneth in this place that if you worshippe not the sonne as he hath commanded then you dishonor him if you dishonour him then you anger him if you anger him he casteth you off if he casteth you off then you are from the right waye and if you are from the right way then you perish For the auoyding whereof all godly Magistrates haue had a speciall care to meditate in the lawe of the Lord such were Moses Iosua Dauid Salomon Asa Iosophat Isachias c. Of whose good example God grant all godly magistrates to make good vse Amen Psalm 98. 10. With righteousnesse shall hee iudge the world and the
put on patience put on loue all which before hee called the newe man so that to put on Christ is to put on the new man with all his vertues vntil wee be renued to the Image of Christ which is like a new man amongst men They which labor to be righteous and yet beleue that Christs righteousnesse shall saue them haue put on Christ as Paule would haue them We are not taught to put on Angels nor saintes nor the Virgin Mary nor Paul himself to couer our sins with their righteousnes as the Papists do but we are coÌ„manded to put on Christ and couer our sins with his righteousnesse The body hath many GarmeÌ„ts but the soule hath one garment Euerie clout will couer our sores but the finest silke will not couer our sinnes Therefore when we seeme braue to others wee seeme foule to God because his eie is vpon our sinnes which lie naked when all the rest is couered vntil we put on Christ then wee heare that voice Thy sinnes are couered And then wee haue that blessing Blessed is the man whose sinne is couered So wee are cloathed and blessed togither Yet this garment is out of request too rough for some too graue for others too base for others And therefore in steade of putting on Christ they put him off in stead of welcomming him they discharge him like the Gadâ—rens that they may keepe their Swine that is their beastly pleasures whiche hee would cast into the Sea These are like the foolish souldiours which should haue made christ their garment and they cast lots vpon hys garments and deuided them and so spoiled them So do the papists deale with this garment they say it is not fit for them therefore they breake it and mangle it and peece it with rags of their owne inuentions they say it is too light notable to beare off the stormes of death and heate of hell and therefore chose rather to make themselues garmentes of their merites and their Masses and their penance and their pardons and their pilgrimages like Adam Eue which made themselues coates of figleaues which God destroyed again to shew that when men haue patched al their leaues of masses of pardoÌ„s of pilgrimages and satisfactions together yet they will not couer their nakednesse nor keep of the heate of gods wrath but are like the curtall skirts of Dauids Ambassadours which hid not their shame Therfore when we may goe in our maisters attire shall wee scrubbe like beggars patched in our rags Mine owne garmentes defile me saith Iob Our owne Garments our owne righteousnesse defileth vs for what garmeÌ„t what righteousnes haue we of our owne but that which like a menstruous cloath which had more need to be washed it selfe then to wipe that which is foule Therefore Christ must make vs Garments or else when our backes flaunt it like courtiers our soules shall strippe like beggers And the Deuils will spore themselues like Cham to see our nakednesse First the Father made vs GarmeÌ„ts in Paradise now the sonne makes vs Garmentes in the wildernesse naie the Sonne is made our Garment as Paule saith Christ vs made vnto vs righteousnesse that is Christes righteousnesse must bee our Garment or els wee shall bee ashamed when our righteousnesse doth not reache to couer our nakednesse but still some part will peepe bare vntill hee cast his righteousnesse vppon it and then all is couered As Dauid needed no other armor against the Gyant then a Sling so we neede no other garment against sin then Christ There wanteth nothing but this to put it on Nowe let vs see howe to put this Garment on Many fumble about it like children which had need of one to put on their clothes Some put on Christ as a cloake whiche hangeth vpon their shoulders and couereth them when they go abroad to bee seene of men they can cast on the cloake of holinesse and seeme for a while as holy as the best but so soon as they come home the cloke goeth of and the man is as he was whose vizard was better then his face Thus Hypocrites put on christ as manie retaine vnto noble men not to doe them anie seruice but to haue their countenaunce Many put on christ like a hat which goeth off to euerie one whiche meetes them so euerie temptatioÌ„ which meets them makes them forget what they heard what they promised what they resolued and change their waie as though they had not repented at all So the common people like your selues put on Christ they are zealous so long as they are in the Church and beare their brestes and cast vp their eyes like the Publican when they heare a sentence whiche mooues them as though they woulde doe no more against that saying while they liue But the next businesse putteth all out of mind till they come to the church again Some put on christ as a gloue which couereth but the hand so they put on the face of Christ or the tong of Christ but their hands worke and their feete walke as they did before So manie professors of Religion put on Christ whiche call but for discipline reformation that they might get a name of zeale and sinceritie to couer some fault which they would not be suspected of Thus euerie man woulde couer himselfe with Christ but they haue not the skill or they haue not the will to put him on What will you doe then Though the garment be neuer so good yet it is not good to them that doe not weare it For what profite haue we of the garmeÌ„ts which we do not weare they neither keepe vs from heate nor colde Therefore Paule doth not bring you a garment to laie by you for the mothes but hee biddes you put it on Heere is the cunning nowe in putting it on If Paule had taught vs this then you would hearken vnto him Well you shall heare what Paule saith to the putting of it on First saith Paule you must cast away the workes of darkenesse and then put on the armour of light First you must put off and then put on As the Eagles feathers will not lie with anie other feathers but consume them which lie with them So the Wedding Garment will not weare with filthy garmentes but scornes like the Arke that Dagon should stand by it If any man may not weare womens apparell for lightnesse may he weare the deuils apparell and cloth himselfe with pride with couetousnesse with enuy with hypocrisie with vncleannesse and when hee is like the deuil sit at Gods table No man saith christ patcheth a newe peece to an old Garment and wilt thou patch an old peece to a new Garment God forbad the people to weare linsey wolsey because it was a signe of inconstancie but this is inconstancie it selfe He doth not put on christ but putteth off christ and putteth on Beliall
whiche fashions himselfe to God and the world too As Christs coate was without seame so they must be without staine that weare it For when a man putteth on faire clothes hee maketh himselfe fayre too and auoideth euery foule thing least it shoulde foule his clothes So must he which putteth on Christ for the finest garment is soonest stained Therefore when thou hast put on this Garment thou must washe thy selfe and picke thy way and choose thy workes and handle nothing that is foule for marring thy clothes that is thou must not thinke as thou diddest nor speake as thou diddest nor liue as thou diddest but remember that thou hast changed thy Maister and serue him with whom thou art bound For if God and the diuell could not agree vpon Moses body for one to haue one part and the other another part but God would haue all Much lesse wil God agree that the deuill shoulde haue part of the soule which woulde not yeelde him part of the bodie Thus haue you heard what you must put off now heare how Christ must be put on As the Angel taught Iohn to read the booke when he bad hym eate it so we must put on Christ as if we did eate him not as the papists do in their Masse but as the meate is turned into the substance of the bodie and goeth through euerie part of man So Christ and his word should goe from part to part from eare to heart from hart to mouth frō mouth to hand till we be of one nature with thē that they be the verie substance of our thoughtes and speeches and actions as the meate is of our bodie This is to eat Christ and his worde or els we do not eate them but chew them and when our taste is satisfied spue them out againe Thus we must put on Christ for the word signifieth so to put him on as if thou wouldest put him in that he may be one with thee and thou with him as it were in a bodie together As he hath put on all our infirmities so we must put on all his graces not halfe on but al on and claspe him to vs and girde hym about vs and weare him euen as we weare our skinne which is alway about vs. Then there shall be no need of wyers nor curls nor perriwigges the husbandes shall not be forced to racke their rents nor inhaunce their fines nor sell their landes to decke their wiues But as the poore mantle of Eliah seemed better to Elisha then all the robes of Salomon so the wedding garment shall seeme better then all the flantes of vanitie and put euerie fashion out of fashion whiche is not modest and comely like it self If you will know farther how to put on Christ you shall see hovve your text vvil catechise you in his three names Lord Iesus Christ The Apostle seemeth to spell out the way vnto vs hovv vve should weare this garment First vvee must put him on as Lord then vvee must put him on as Iesus Lastly we must put him on as christ Thou must put him on as Lord that is thy ruler to commaund thee and thy Tutor to gouerne thee thy maister to direct thee thou must bee no mans seruant but his take no mans part against him but say with the Apostle VVhether is it meete to obey God or you Thou must put him on as Iesus that is thy sauiour in whome thou trustest thy protector on whom thou depēdest thy redeemer in whō thou beleeuest Thou must not looke for thy saluation from Angell nor Saint nor any thing beside him For the name of Iesus signifieth a Sauiour and is giuen to none but him and he is not onely called the Sauiour but the saluation in the song of Simeon to shew that he is the onely Sauiour for there bee manie Sauiours but there can be but one saluation as there may be many tortures yet but one death Therfore when he is called the saluation it implieth that there is no Sauiour beside hym Thou must put him on as Christ that is a king to rule a Prophet to teach a Priest to pray and sacrifice and pacifie the wrath of GOD for thee For this name Christ doth signifie that hee was annointed a king a Priest and a Prophet for man a king to rule him a Priest to offer sacrifice for him a Prophet to teache him so that he putteth on Christ as Lord whiche worshippeth none but him so that hee putteth on Christ as Lord which worshippeth none but him Hee putteth on Christ as Iesus whiche beleeueth in none but him and hee putteth on Christ as Christ which worshippeth none but him beleeueth in none but him and heareth none but him You put on Christ first when you are baptised then you were sealed and consecrated to his seruice so soone as you came into the worlde you vowed to renounce the worlde and followe God how many haue put on christ thus and since haue put him off againe whiche haue broken the first promise that euer they made and were neuer faithfull to God since You put on Christ againe when you are called and sanctifieed that is when you cast off the olde man whiche is corrupt with the lustes of the fleshe the pride of life and the cares of this worlde and put on the new man which is regenerat in righteousnesse and holinesse to the image of Christ or likenesse of Adam in his innocencie for to put on the new man is to become a newe man as if thou were borne againe and conceiued of the holy Ghost Of this Iob speaketh when he saith I put on Iustice and it couered me you put on Christ againe when you receiue this holie Sacrament and are partakers of hys body and bloud that is the merites of his obedience passion by faith which heareth him as if she did see him and seeth him as if she did feele him and feeleth him as if she did tast him and tasteth him as if she did digest him then christ is become yours and dwelleth in you feedeth you with his grace to eternall life as the bread and wine sustaineth the lyfe present Lastly whē you haue put on Christ in these three sortes whiche is your Garment for this worlde after you shall put on Christ in heauen and be clothed with his glorie and that shal be your last vesture whiche shall neuer weare out Thus haue you heard what is meant by putting on Christ first to cloathe our selues with righteousnes and holinesse like Christ and then because our owne righteousnesse is too short to couer our armes and legges and thighes of sinne but still some bare place will peere out and shame vs in the sight of God therefore we must borrow Christes Garments as Iacob did his brothers couer our selues with his righteousnesse that is beleeue that his righteousnesse shall
supply our vnrighteousnesse and hys sufferinges shall stand for our sufferings because he came to fulfill the lawe and beare the curse and satisfie his father for vs that all which beleeue in him might not die but haue life euerlasting Nowe I haue shewed you this goodly Garment you must goe to another to help you to put it on and none can put this Garment vppon you but he which is the Garment the Lord Iesus Christ Therefore to him let vs praie FINIS 1. Iohn 3. Luke 16. Math. 25. Esay 58 Prou. 12. Eccle. 34. 1. Cor. 4. Eccle. 7. Luke 16. Mark 10. 1. Tim. 2. 4. Iohn 17. 17. Rom. 1. 16. Colos 3. 16. Psal 119. 33. Apoc. 10. 10 Mat. 4. Esay 65. 1. Esay 53. 1. Ier. 44 14. 15 Iere. 51. 63. Rom. 2. 4. 5. Acts 7. c. Esay 58. Malac. 2. 7. Hoseah 4. Hoseah 4. 6 Mark 16. 16 Acts 8. 13. Acts 1. 18. 1. Kings 12. Iudith 3. 8. Esay 5. 4. Psal 147. 20 Mark 11. 14. Luke 19. 14. Iere. 44. 14. 15. 1. Thes 5. 12 Rom. 6. 4. Colos 2. 12. Marke 7. 8. Heb. 9. 10. Marke 9. 38. Luke 12 50 Actes 1. 5. Actes 18. 42 Genes 9. 13. 14. Gen. 17. 10. 11. Marke 10. Iohn 20. 22. Galat. 27. 3. Actes 2. 39. Mark 10. 14. Rom 4. 11. Marke 16. 16. Iohn 3. 5. Iohn 13. c. Luke 1. 15. Math. 3. 13 Psalme 51. 5 Iob 1. 8. c. Iob. 14 4. Rom. 11. 16. Exo. 10. 21 22. Psal 14. 2. 3. Gen. 6. 5. 6. Gen. 19. 24. Psalm 38. 4. Rom. 7. 7. 1. Cor. 15. 56. 1. Cor. 7. 14. Luke 1. 62. 63. Luke 1. 13. Gen. 35. 18. Gen. 29. 35. 1. Sam. 4. 12. 1. Sam. 3. 11. 12. 13. 14. c. Psalm 12. 7. Gen. 26. 35 Genes 15 2. 1. Sam. 1 11. c. 1. Sam. 4. 20 Gen. 18 10. 12. Luke 1. 13. 14. Luke 1. 26 verse 30 1. Tim. 5. 17. Psal 45. 7. 3. king 3. Psal 75. 7. 8. Prou. 8. 15. Exod. 18. Psal 31. 12. Deut. 12. Psal 25. Psal 82. 2. Abac. 1. Psal 94. Psal 122. 3. Iudg. 5. 8. Psal 89. Psal 26. 1. 3. king 2. 3. Prou. 20. 3. King 3. Psal 72. 1. Verse 9. Psal 94. 15 3. king 3. Iohn 19. Act. 24 Psal 2. 10. Bel and Dragon Iere. 18. 3. king 18. Acts 24. 3. king 21. Luke 23. Exod. 4. 4. king 12. Psal 2. 3. Exod. 18. Psal 82. 6. Iosua 1. Ierm 5. Acts 25 2. Iere. 22. 24. Iudges 9. 2 king â— 2. king 18. Iudges 9. Cap. 3. 2. 3. Prou. 20. â— Gen. 18. Psal. 11. 1. Rom. 13. Psalm 2. 12. Iohn 5. 23. Gen. 43. 11. Reuel 8. Iohn 1. 29 Verse 12. Verse 13. Verse 14. Psal 109. 88 1. Cor. 1. 30. Mat. 11. 29. Marke 10. 21 Iohn 3. 4. Luke 1. 9. Gal 3. 27. Rom. 4. 7. Gen. 27. Math. 3. 17. 1. Cor. 11. 3. Ephes 5. 23. Reuel 3. 4. Mat. 22. 11. Mat. 7. 23. Luke 13. 26. Luke 13. 27. 2. Sam. 10. 4. 1. Sa. 17. 29. 2. king 14. 2. Iohn 9. 45. Iud. 17. 10. Math. 11. 8. Luke 16. 19. Exod. 28. 21. Mal. 3. 16. 2. king 2. 8. Deut. 26. 5. Math. 17. 2. Hest 6. 11. Psal 136. 1 Math. 5. 14. Mat. 6. 29. 1. Sam. 1. 14. Math. 12. 12 Ephes 9. 1. Rom. 1. Matth. 6. Iud 16. 6. Rom. 5. 1. Rom. 14. 17 Math. 9. 20. Math. 25. 43 Math. 21. 8 Gen. 9. 23. Luke 10. 34. This Samaritan doth not signifie Christ but yet may be resembled to Christ Gen. 3. 1. Col 3. 12. verse 20. Math. 9. 2. Psal 32. 1. Luke 1. 37. Math. 8. 34. Matth. 27. 135. Gen. 3. 7. and 31. 2. Sam. 10 4 Iob. 9. 31. Esay 64. 6. Gen. 9. 20. Gen. 3. 21. 1. Cor. 1. 30. 1. Sam. 17. 40. Luke 18. 11. Verse 12. 1 Sam. 5. 8 Deut. 22. 5. Math. 2. 21. Leui. 19. 19. Iob. 19. 23. Reu. 3. 15. Iude 9. Reue. 10. 9. Ephes 3. 30. 2. King 2. Act. 4. 19. Iosua hath the like name but not from God nor to that end Luke 1. 69. Iud. 3. 9. Luke 3. 33. Act. 3. 22. Heb. 8. 3. Mat. 1. 16. Heb. 1. 8. Gal. 3. 17. Rom. 6. 3. Ephes 4. 22. Rom. 12. 2. Iob. 29. 14. 1. Cor. 10. 16 Phil. 3. 21. 1. Cor. 15 49. Gen. 27. 15. Ioh. 3. 16.