concealeth the time and expresseth onely the manner of his coming And therefore for any man to thinke himselfe sufficiently instructed of the time of Christ his coming by reason of those prognosticke signes which our Sauiour hath set downe it is a grosse and a foolish impiety Yea saith Saint Austin Epist 7 8. to take a computation of times that therby we may know when the end of the world and Christ his coming shall be Nihil videtur aliud quà m scire velle quod Christus ait scire neminem posse It is nothing else but to be desirous to know that which our Sauiour Christ hath said no man can know For of that day and houre knoweth no man saith Christ Mat. 24.36 no not the Angels of heauen but my Father onely Nay in the 13. of Saint Marke and 32. verse he excepteth against himself to leue the high knowledge therof to his Father Of that day and houre knoweth no man no not the Angels which are in heauen neither the Sonne himselfe as he is man only saue the Father And therfore that the world might be the better resolued in this point in the vncertainty of his coming vnto iudgment besides those many watchwords of his to the world It is not for you to know the times and seasons which the father hath put in his owne power Math. 24.42 Math. 25.13 Mark 13.33 You know not what houre your maister will come You know not the day nor the houre when the Sonne of man will come Yee know not when the time is and the like He hath in the Gospell compared his coming vnto three things which come most sodainly and before we are aware and these are a snare a thiefe and the floud of Noah In the 21. of Luke and 34. verse he resembleth the day of his coming vnto iudgement to a snare Take heed vnto your selues least at any time your hearts be ouercome with surfetting and drunkennesse and the cares of this life and least that day come on you at vnawares for as a snare shall it come on all theÌ„ that dwell on the face of the whole earth A snare you know entaÌ„gleth on the sodaine and the birds and wilde beasts whilst fâ—arelesse of danger they are intentiue to their foode they sodainly fall into it And so it is with man saith Solomon he considereth not his end Eccles 9.12 But as the fishes which are taken in a net and as the birds which are caught in a snare so are the children of men snared in the euill when it falleth sodainly vpon them Men may feast it merrily with Iobs children Iob. 1.19 Dan. 5.3 and be frolick with their companions amidst their cups with Balthassar and as it is in the 21. of Iob they may call for the Tabret and the Harpe and reioyce in the sound of Organs but on the sodaine euen before they be aware August Epist 80. they go downe into the graue saith Iob that is they fal into the snare of death and so consequently into the snare of iudgement For Qualis in die isto quisque moritur talis in die illo iudicabitur as the day of mans death leaues him so the day of Gods last iudgement shall finde him And as Christ for the sodainesse vncertainty of his coming compareth it to a snare so he compareth it likewise to the coming of a theefe Math. 24.43 If the good man of the house did know at what houre the theefe would come he would surely watch and not suffer his house to be digged through And therefore be ye also ready for in the houre ye think not wil the son of man come The Apostle Peter in his second Epistle 3.10 makes the same resemblance The day of the Lord will come euen as a theefe in the night in the which the heauens shall passe away with a noyse and the elements shall melt with heat and the earth with the works that are therein shall be burnt vp And Saint Paule 1. Thess 5.2 handling the same argument hath the very same The day of the Lord shall come as a theefe in the night and when men shall say peace and safety then shall come vpon them sodaine destruction as the trauell vpon a woman with child and they shall not escape And as the day of Christ his comming is compared for the vncertaintie thereof vnto a snare and a theefe so for the same cause it is compared by him to the floud of Noah Math. 24.36 As the dayes of Noah were so likewise saith Christ shal the comming of the Sonne of man be For as in the dayes before the floud they did eate drink mary 〈◊〉 giue in mariage vnto the day that Noah entred into the Ark and knew nothing til the floud came and tooke them all away so shall also the comming of the sonne of man be And therefore â—hat answer which our Sauiour gaue to the Pharises question Luk. 17. and 20. vâ—â— may well be the conclusion of this point The kingdome of God cometh not with obseruation that is saith the Glosse it cometh not with the obseruation of the time as if he had said haply some Astronomer or other is so cunning as to tell you when the cloudes will drop but at what time the Sonne of man shall come to iudgement in the cloudes no Astronomer is so cunning as to tell you that for of that day houre knoweth no man no not the Angels in heauen nor the Sonne himselfe but the Father onely Well then beloued these three points being thus cleared First that their will be a comming of the Sonne of man to iudgement Secondly that this his comming vnto iudgement will be fearfull and terrible And thirdly that the time of this his comming is vncertaine we know not when what remaineth now but the vse which we are to make of all these and that is a vigilant and carefull preparation of our selues against his comming prescribed in the first words Vigilate igitur Watch therefore In the first of Ieremy the Prophet at the first saw nothing but a rod but after saith the text he beheld seething pot And so the wicked and vngodly people haply they may see and feele in this world nothing but rods light and slight punishments but the time will come when Salomons rods shall be turned into Rehoboams Scorpions and the Prophet Ieremies rod will proue a seething pot For as flesh is pâ—â— into a seething pot so the bodies and soules of men in regard of their sinnes committed in the flesh shall be cast into the seething and boyling lake of hell At which time they shall haue nothing to comfort them either aboue them or beneath them on the right hand or on the left within them or without them Aboue them shall be the angry Iudge for their wickednesse condemning them beneath them shal be hel open and the fornace boyling to receiue them on their right hand shal be their sinnes accusing them on
heretofore bene and it is at this day the foundatiō root of rebellions treasons murthers thefts of such damnable machiauelliā policies as are hardly to be found euen among the Gentiles as it was the speech of Agrippina the Emperour Neros mother when she heard that her sonne Nero should be Emperor Sueton. in Nerone but yet should kill his mother in his Empire Occidat modò imperet Let him kill me so he may be Emperour so I pray God that by the perswasion of the diuell it be not a setled resolution in the hearts of many Let me perish not temporally with Agrippina but eternally both in soule and body if so be in this life I may haue places of preferment either in church or common-wealth Riches Now for the wealth and riches of the world that they likewise as well as worldly honours are a meanes to draw vs from the wayes of life it is a case clearely decided by our Sauiour Christ in the 19. of Saint Mathew Mat. 19.20.21 for when the yong man had made this question vnto Christ Maister what shall I do to attaine eternall life and Christ his answer was Keepe the commandements and his reply to that was I haue kept them from my youth vp and Christ his replication to him againe was Yet thou wantest one thing Sell all that thou hast and giue it to the poore at that saying saith the text he departed sorowfull and the cause of his sorow is there noted to be this He had great possessions and was rich and therefore our Sauiour is bold in the 23. verse to set downe this as a conclusion that a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdome of heauen But were it not a case thus cleared by our Sauiour Christ yet if we will but looke into the qualities and conditions of rich men we shall find their wealth to haue bene and to be vnto them an occasion of many grieuous and grosse sinnes by meanes whereof they are kept from the wayes of life For to begin first with the sinne of pride a sinne so hatefull in Gods eyes that it cast our first parents out of Paradise and Lucifer from heauen to hel to begin I say with the sinne of pride mark it when you wil you shall see that where store of wealth is there commonly is store of pride and therefore among other charges which Saint Paul giues to Timothy this is not left out 1. Tim. 6.17 namely that he should charge rich men that they be not high minded And the heathen man Tully describing the qualities of the rich In Orat. de lege Agrar ad Quirit which for the most part are very intollerable among others he setteth downe pride for one and his instance is in the men of Campania Campani semper superbi bonitate agrorum fructuum The men of Campania are euer high minded and proud in regard of the store of fruites and of corne which their country yeeldeth and it is not only true in them 2. Lib. Rhet. but as Aristotle saith it holdeth in all rich men in al countries whatsoeuer But if this sinne of pride did onely accompanie our earthly riches it were well sed ecce venit Gad behold there are a great companie of sinnes more for as they do breed in vs pride of heart to the contempt of our poore neighbours so do they corrupt our memories to the forgetfulnesse of God This Moses knew to be true and therefore he giueth this caueat to the children of Israel Deut. 6.10 When the Lord thy God hath brought thee into the land which he sware vnto thy fathers to giue thee with goodly cities which thou buildedst not with houses full of all manner of goods which thou filledst not with vineyards and Oliue trees which thou plantedst not when thou hast eaten and art full then take heed and beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God Yea so common a thing it is for worldly riches to make men forget God that Salomon himselfe though he were wiser then other men and so consequently better able to resist sinne yet he maketh it his earnest sute vnto God O Lord giue me neither pouertie nor riches Prou. 30.8 not pouerty lest I steale and take the name of my God in vaine not riches least I be too full and deny thee and say Who is the Lord For albeit I perswade my selfe that there be many both in this citie and in other places of the land who in a thankfull remembrance of Gods goodnesse and bountie to them do confesse with Iacob Gen. 32.10 I came ouer this Iordan with my staffe and lo I haue now gotten two bands I came poore and without prouision to this place and lo I haue not onely gotten great wealth but such honour also that I sit with Princes yet looke we generally vpon the courses of the rich and we shall find it to be true that as the Moone when she is at the ful she is then farthest from the Sun of whom she doth receiue her light so men when they are fullest of earthly riches and blessings they are then commonly farthest from God from whose fulnesse they haue receiued them And as pride and forgetfulnesse of God do accompany our earthly riches so a third euil of them is that they make men to offend and sin in luxury In the twelfth of Luke and 19. verse the great rich man whose grounds brought foorth fruite plentifully he thinkes on nothing but his belly Soule now thou hast much goods for many yeares liue at ease eate drinke follow thy pleasure And in the fifteenth of Luke the yonger of the two brethren hauing receiued that portion of goods which belonged to him he spends it all in few dayes in gluttonie and venery Fourthly whereas the word of God is a speciall meanes to bring vs to saluation these worldly riches choke the word and make it vnfruitfull You may see it in the thirteenth of Saint Mathew Mat. 13.22 where our Sauiour expounding the parable of the sower saith thus He that receiues the seed among the thornes is he that heares the word but the care of the world the deceitfulnesse of riches choke the word in him and he is made vnfruitful Fiftly whereas it is a true note of the true child of God euermore to be weary of this sinful world Philip. 1.23 and to desire with Saint Paul to be dissolued and to be with Christ these earthly riches do make those which haue them loth to die yea with a good will a rich man would not so much as thinke of death saith the wise man O death Eccles 41.1 how bitter is the remembrance of thee to a man that liues at rest and ease in his possessions And as worldly riches are an occasion of these euils so lastly are they the cause of Idolatry yea the couetous affectation of them saith Saint Paul Ephes 5.5 is Idolatry And
mortuus sum non sentio non attendo non curo siqua verò sunt Christi haec viuuÌ„ inueniuÌ„t paratuÌ„ Concerning these earthly and worldly matters I haue no sense or feeling of them by my reason I condemne them and from my heart I abandon them but if there be mention made of Christ and of finding the waies of life then my decaied spirits gather strength then all the powers and faculties of my soule will me to cry with the Prophet Dauid Paratum est cor meum Psal 57.7 Domine My heart is ready ô Lord my heart is ready For otherwise if cleauing by an inordinate affection and loue to this world and the things of it we neglect and reiect the waies of life Deut. 3.27 as Moses from the top of Pisgah might behold with his eyes the land of Canaan but might not enter into it as the Syrians did heare Elisha speake whom they desired to take 2. King 6.29 but could not take him so with the outward eares of our bodies we may heare of the ioyes of another life and with the intellectuall eyes of our minds we may see that great glory which the iust shall haue heareafter but our selues shall neuer come into heauen our selues shall neuer be partakers of it And as Lysimachus king of Lydia hauing yeelded himself into the hands of his enemies for a cup of cold water to quench his thirst cryed out Plutarch O me hominem infoelicem qui tantillae voluptatis gratia tantum amiserim regnum ô miserable and wretched man that I am who for so short a pleasure haue parted with so glorious a kingdome as the kingdome of Lydia so when we shall see in the last day that by yeelding too much vnto this world and the things of it we haue parted with the wayes of life and so consequently haue yeelded vp our selues into the hands of our spirituall enemies we shal mourne and lament we shall sigh and wring our hands and all the dreadfull torments which we shall then suffer shall not wound and vexe vs so sore as this one consideration namely when we shall call to mind that for the momentary and traÌ„sitorie pleasures of this word we haue parted with that same exceeding 2. Cor. 4.17 eternall surpassing weight of glory in the kingdome of heauen And thus much shall serue to haue spoken of the world and of the things of the world which is the first enemie that opposeth himself against man to keepe him from the way of life I com to the second enemy and this is Caro. The carnall lusts and desires of the flesh â—th lib. 10. c. 5 Aristotle disputing of the nature and efficacie of pleasure saith this that a man which taketh greater delight in instrumentall then in vocal musick if he heare the same musitian both to play vpon his instrument and to sing the pleasure and delight which he conceiueth in hearing of the instrument doth so leade away his affections that he hath no care at all of the voice and as this is true in musick so is it true saith he in all other things when we intend two things at once that which breedeth the greater pleasure and delight for the most part doth euermore exclude the lesse There being then in man two kinds of affections carnall and spirituall and all men for the most part taking greater delight in their carnall then in their spirituall affections of necessitie it must come to passe that their carnall affections do swallow vp their spirituall and so consequently they are so farre from finding the waies of life that there is in them no desire no lust at all vnto it The sect and companie of the Epicures who maintained carnal pleasure to be the onely summum bonum of this life did swarme in greater abundance then any other sect did non quòd veri aliquid afferat Lactan. de falsa sap cap. 17. sed quia multos populare nomen voluptatis inuitat not because saith Lactantius there was any truth at all in their doctrine but because the popular name of carnal pleasure is able to draw a world of men to it Saint Paul confesseth of himselfe Rom. 7.18 that in his flesh there dwelt no good thing and that he saw a law in his members rebelling against the law of his mind and not that only vers 23. but that it led him away captiue to the law of sinne insomuch that for very griefe of heart he breaketh out into these words Miser homo vers 24. O wretched man that I am who shall deliuer me from the bodie of this death Saint Hierome writeth of himselfe In Epist ad Eustoch that albeit he led a most strict and austere life in the wildernesse exercising himselfe continually in prayer and bringing his body vnder by long and often abstinence yet notwithstanding that he was vehemently assaulted by the lusts and desires of the flesh euen as Saint Paul was And surely if the mortified flesh of these Saints of God mortified no doubt by prayer and by long and often fasting did notwithstanding as themselues confessed leade away their soules captiue to the law of sinne then may we well conclude that the vntamed flesh of vs vnbridled men will forcibly and with violence misleade our soules from the way of life Our Sauiour Christ speaking of his owne passion is so farre from the feare of death in himselfe that he armeth his disciples against it saying that he would go to prepare a place for them Iohn 14. â— but afterwards when he was to die vnto the world and to go to his father then he seemes to be of another mind then transeat à me Calix Luke 22.42 Father if it be thy will let this cup passe from me And what was the reason of this surely that in the 26. of Mathew and 41. verse The spirit is ready but the flesh is weake The spirit indeed of many men is prone vnto that which is good they desire so to runne the race of a godly life here that hereafter they may receiue a crowne of glory but so it is that mans life is as Iob speaketh Iob 7.1 Gal. 5.17 Militia super terraÌ„ a warfare vpon earth the flesh still lusting against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh and that which is most to be lamented in most of vs the flesh extinguisheth the spirit Sampson was a strong and valiant man Iudg. 14.6 he encountred a Lion and ouercame him but encountring with the fury of his owne lustful passions he could not master them Messes incendit alienas Iudg. 16.17 Ambros in Apol Dauid vnius ipse mulieris accensus igniculo messem suae virtutis amisit He set fire indeed on the haruests of other men but himself being inflamed with the fire of lust lost the haruest of all his vertues Salomon built a goodly Temple vnto God but in the meane time his
to draw vs vnto brotherly loue and vnity O how good and pleasant a thing it is for brethrē to dwel together in vnity And so the diuel he maketh choise of both these to draw vs to the committing of iniquity sometimes vsing but one of these and sometimes ioyning them both for the strengthning of his temptation In the 22. of Numbers one of these was sufficient to draw Balaam vnto sinne for though he had receiued a commandement from God that he should not go with the princes of Moab to curse the people of Israel yet when he cōsidered that Balacks offers would proue cōmodious to him he resolueth vpon the iourney with them and his Asses thrise reuolt could not stay him But in the third of Genesis there the diuell vseth both and with them both he preuailed against our mother Eue for albeit she knew well that she should dye the death in eating of the forbidden tree yet because she saw that it was good for meat and pleasant to the eyes she tooke thereof and did eate That then these deceitful temptations of the diuel may be reiected first that no commodity do draw thee from the wayes of life to sinne let that saying of our Sauiour Christ be alwaies in thy mind what shal a man get if he win the whole world Math. 16.26 and loose his owne soule what shall a man get if by vsury oppression of the poore extortiō false weights false measures and the like he shall be able to purchase much land Luk. 16.19 and with the rich glutton go in purple and fine linnen and fare deliciously euery day when as these commodious sinnes as he accounteth them shall bring no lesse discommoditie vpon him then hel fire And secondly that no pleasure preuail with thee remēber that sin though it be sweet in the mouth yet it wil be bitter in the belly that though it be pleasāt in the beginning yet it will be painfull in the end that the diuell dealeth herein with vs as vnconscionable Mercers and Drapers deale with their chapmen For as they neuer shew vnto their chapmen the middle part fag end of their wares which perhaps are stark naught but onely the vpper part thereof which commonly is very good so this maister Mercer the diuel he sheweth alwaies to his sinfull chapmen the vpper part of his wares namely the present pleasure delectation and delight of sin but as for the middle part of his wares which is remorse of conscience and the fag end of his wares which is Gods vengeance these he neuer sheweth For beloued if men should see before hand with the spirituall eyes of their soules either the middle part of sinne which is remorse of conscience or the end of sinne which is Gods vengeance either in this life or in the other then out of doubt whē the diuel shal offer his wares vnto the sale as to the couetous man his neighbors vineyard to the adulterer his neighbors wife to the taylour long bils to the retailer false weights and so in the rest they will all answer if there be any sparke of grace or goodnesse in them as the Athenian Orator did vpon the like proffer Non emam tanti poenitere I wil not buy repentance so deare And thus at last haue you seene those impediments and lets why so few do finde the way of life The impediments ex parte quaerentis in our selues that seeke the way are three blindnesse of reason peruersnesse of will and want of perseuerance and the lets ex parte retrahentium are three likewise the world with his inticements the flesh with her allurements and the diuell with his suggestions vnto sinne And now to conclude Hom. 1. ad pop Antioch Saint Chrysostome in his first homily to the people of Antioch doth require a reward for a sermon which he made against the blasphemers of Gods name The onely reward beloued which I wil craue for my sermon is this that it would please Almighty God so to worke in the hearts of all you that haue now bene partakers of it that you may say and say truly of my sermon as Tully in his Academicks saith of Varros bookes Nos in nostra vrbe peregrinantes tanquam hospites tui libri quasi domum deduxerunt We who heretofore in this our city of London by the blindnesse of our reason the peruersnesse of our wils and want of perseuerance haue erred from the wayes of life and by the inticements of the world the allurements of the flesh and the suggestions of the diuell haue wandered vp and downe in the plaines of sinne and in the vallies of iniquitie are thereby now brought home againe vnto the wayes of life and reduced into the number of that little flocke whereof that great Shepheard and Bishop of our soules Christ Iesus is the head The which God the Father grant for his Iesus Christ his sake to whom with the blessed spirit three in Trinitie but one in Vnitie be ascribed all honour and glorie for euermore FINIS THE LAST IVDGEMENT TO THE RIGHT WORSHIPFVLL IOHN BREVVSTER ESQVIRE SIR among many patrons of vertue and Theologicall endeuours I presume to rank your name who as I know you not inferiour to the best for a Fautor of learning and a louer of Pietie so I present you here with such a worke best fitting your addiction and most worthie your patronage And howsoeuer I may seeme officiously bold to publish these things without free consent of the Author as I confesse I do yet out of earnest desire to raise him from obscuritie to a deserued eminence in the worlds account and throughly moued with pitie that so heauenly things should perish with the breath they were deliuered as if eternitie should fade with a moment I haue aduentured to giue them longer life seconding my boldnesse with a strong presumption that I shall frustrate needlesse doubts and herein deserue your good opinion And on this hope I rest committing the sequele to your serious view and my attempt in this to your fauourable construction Yours in all affection and dutie C. B. MATTH 25.15 Watch therefore for you know neither the day nor the houre when the Sonne of man will come AS when children hauing ouer-slept themselues and begin to cry as fearing the correction of their seuere maisters their indulgent mothers do commonly comfort them with one of these two things as first that there is no time yet past and secondly that their maister is a gentle man and will forgiue them In the very same manner do the carnall and carelesse worldlings of this age deale with those their acquaintance and friends who haue fetched a long and a deepe sleepe in sinne and securitie For whereas their counsell to them should be that which Saint Paul hath Ephes 5.14 Awake thou that sleepest and stand vp frō the dead and Christ shall giue thee light these men cleane contrary to take away all feare of iudgement to come in