created Hee that hauing a soule liueth as though hee had none and hee that giueth his vnderstanding and mind to the getting of worldly riches and honour doth greatly hurt and endamag his soule for vnto these endes he was not created Happinesse is the finall end of man whereunto all thinges bee ordained Place not thy felicity in earthly thinges for rest shalt thou finde neither in honour neither in riches not in learning nor in any other thing that is created Call home thine heart from all earthly thinges loue God onely of whome and for whom thou art created Despise this present worlde and so shalt thou come vnto thy desired ende This very reason were there no more besides were sufficient to perswade thee to contemne the vanity of the world if thou didest beare in mind that created thou wert for heauen and not for this world Abase not thy selfe so much as to delight in these base and contemptible thinges of this worlde and thou shalt bee quiet heere in this world for the time and happy and gloryous for euer afterwarde in the heauens CHAP. 38. Terrible and horrible shal bee the day of iudgemente vnto the wicked ENter not into iudgement with thy seruant saide the kingly prophet Dauid was the seruant of God and yet loe he had in remembrance the day of iudgement So rigorus shal the iudgement of death bee that euen the holy propheâ— so beloued of God doth quake againe at the consideration of the same Seeing therefore hee that faithfully did serue God so feared Gods iudgement howe much should hee stande in dread of the same which serueth not God but the world Enter not saith hee in iudgemente with thy seruant If the righteous scarsly be saued where shall the vngodly and the sinner appeare It is a thing much to bee lamented that any man should bee addicted to these vanities which wee haue so spoken-of especially beeing so neere vnto the ende wherein God will lighten thinges that are hid in darknesse and make the counselles of the heartes manifest Belshazzar king of Babylon liuing in all manner of voluptuousnesse and satisfying his lustes in all kinde of sinne had suddenly the sentence of Gods displeasure pronounced against him heards Mene God hath numbred thy kingdome and hath finished it Tekel Thou art waied in the balance art found to light Peres Thy kingdome is deuided and giuen to the Medes and Persians The houre is very â—igh at hande when a straight reckoning shal be taken of all thy deedes wordes and thoughtes Al the secretes of thine heart shal be disclosed and with al rigor of iustice punished Thou shalt not haue the face to deny any thing for thine owne conscience shall be thine accuser neither shalt thou haue power and courage to reason the matter before the glorious maiesty of Iesus Christ the King of Kinges Thy sinnes shal be put into the balance and all the circumstances of them shal be waied and all the benefites which God bestowed vpon thee thou most cursedly didest contâ—ne shal be rehearsed Then shal thy kingdome be diuided when thy body shal be committed to the earth to bee deuoured-vp of wormes and thy soule shal bee sent vnto hell there to bee tormented in hel fire To cal then vppon God for helpe and mercy it will not auaile thee Then shalt thou see about thee a seuere iâ—dge with a most angry countenance vnder thee hell wide open gaping to deuour thee on thy right hande thy manifold and outragious sinnes accusing thee on thy lefte a most horrible spectacle of infernall and damned spirites ready to torment thee within thy conscience without the worlde all on a hot fire If our first parentes for eating but a litle of the forbidden fruite contrary to the commandement of God did hide themselues from the presence of the Lord God where wilt thou hide thy selfe when God shall appeare with thousands of his holy Angells to call thee to an account and finde thee euen fully fraughted with sinnes and wickednesse As waxe melteth before the fire so shal the wicked perish at the presence of God It is written Let al the earth feare the Lord let al them that dwel in the world feare him At that day it shal be as great a paine to stand before the glorious maiesty of the Lord of hostes as afterwarde to lie boyling in the pitte of hell for hee shall not appeare vnto them to their ioy but to their shame and confusion The friends of this world they will not be brought to the knowledge of the vanitie wherein they liue till by the punishment in that burning lake their vnderstanding bee inlightened and they bee enforced to bewaile their extreame wretched and cursed estate Despise therefore from thine heart the vanitie and false goods of of this present world least afterward thou repent when it will bee too late CHAP. 39. The remembrance of the paines of hell should reclame vs from sinne IN asmuch as shee glorified her selfe and liued in pleasure so much giue yee to her torment and sorrow saith the Lord If thou didest consider how these pleasures and vanities in which thou liuest shall take an ende thou wouldest liue in sorrow and bitternesse of soule and of such thinges as thou now delightest in thou wouldest take small ioy Iob hee said Such things as my soule refused to touch as were sorowes are my meate In this life men cannot away with any thing that may annoy them and in the next all things will they nill they shal vexe and torment them Gather hence that the more pleasantly men passe their daies heere the more wretchedly in tormentes shall they consume the time in the other world For looke by how much any thing doth resist his contrary so much is the working of that thing perceaued to bee more forceable which ouercommeth and mastereth that which resisted it Fire doth more resist iron than woode but when the fire ouercommeth them both the heate is greater in the iron than in the woode So they which in this life doe feele no sorrow shall be the more tormented in the worlde to come as on the otherside the righteous which in this life haue had no rest shall finde the greater comforte and ioy hereafter The mightie shal mightely be tormented In those daies shall men seeke death and shall not find it and shall desire to die and death shall flie from them Like sheepe they lie in graâ—e death deuoureth them The grasse feedeth the beastes of the fielde and afterwarde it groweth againe so the damned soules in dying they shall neuer die aud though their members bee quarâ—eâ—ed into peeces yet shall they not perish Note by the hard handling of his friendes in this world how greeuosly God will afflict his foes in the life to come The Apostle saith If I should yet please men I were not the seruant of Christ. The holy Martyrs which
as meates to inflame thy desire As it were folly to heape woode more and more for the quenching of a fire so as great folly should it bee to goe about with the dry wood of worldly things to quench the fire of our desires The reason is Nothing in this worlde hath any resemblance with the soule of man God hath made vs for himselfe therefore our heart abideth vnquiet vntill it rest in him that made it All thinges be ordained of God according to the proportion of the nature it hath The horse is not satiate with flesh nor the Lyon with grasse because it agreeth not with their nature Our soule therefore beeing a spiâ—it how can it be satisfied with corporall thinges What fellowshipe hath gold with the spirite Nothing of this world is any whit conformable to the soule of man Before the Chameleon the worlde setteth winde wherewith the proud person delighteth yet is the soule no Chameleon Vnto some it giueth iron to liue with all as vnto the Oyteriges and also vnto couetous men vnto others clay as vnto carnall beastes vnto others venime as vnto the enuious but because all these bee earthly and haue none agreement with the soule it cannot bee sustained with earthly thinges only grace and the giftes of the holy Ghost as spirituall thinges doe minister sustenance vnto the soule And although pride enuy and the like are thinges spirituall yet they yeelde not food to our spirite as neither doe many corporal thinges satiate the body For God alone is the nourishment of our soule and nothing beesides because it hath no proportion at all with our soule If thou shouldest demaunde why bread doth nourish our bodies and not poysâ—n what reason else may bee giuen but that bread agreeth wel with the nature of man and poyson doth not Euen so because God alone agreeth with the nature of our soule hee alone can satisfie our desire And his filling neither quencheth nor hindreth our desire This spiritual foode hath also this aduantage which our bodely nourishment hath not for that our bodely sustenance engendreth still a satiety and loathing in them that doe take of it which the meate of the soule doeth not but the more it is eaten the more it is desired Couet thou in the world neither to bee great for that is a vexation of the spirit nor to bee rich and renowned for that is a burden and an intolerable care Turne therefore vnto the Lord thy God who is thy foode and the sustenance of thy soule to thine exceeding comfort CHAP 4. Ther is no tranquility of mind but in God alone REturne vnto they rest O my soule saith the Psalmist The sicke maÌ„ though hee change his beddes neuer so often yet shall hee neuer finde ease vntill his paine bee taken away wherewith hee was so troubled Thou doest carry about with thee the sicknesse of worldly loue but vntill thou cast the same cleane away from thee looke neuer to find any case in the delicate beds of honors riches or delightes Loue God onely and aboue all and thou shalt haue rest turne thee vnto him and hee will giue thee quietnesse Ionas seuering himselfe from God could neuer bee quiet and when hee fled into the shippe hee fel vppon a storme For where God is not ther be the stormes and tempsts But when Ionas gaue himselfe in the belly of the whale to pray he was deliuered from the deuouring fish and danger of the sea Seeke not for any rest in the things of this life There is no perfect ioy in this world for battell there is without on euery side and within thee fears and terrour Thou bearest about with thee a continuaâ—l affliction In vaine is it therefore to change thy place except thou alter thy minde from vice vnto vertue For thou must turne thee vnto God if euer thou wouldest enioy any quietnesse of minde or bodie This is a short and readie way for thee to come vnto that safetie and peace of minde which thy soule desireth Onely thinges spirituall and not temporall doe bring the quietnes that is of continuance So longe as Iaakob liued with Laban hee was in continuall trouble and affliction but hee was no sooner gone from him but hee was comforted euen by the Angels of God So if thou serue the world looke for nothing but labour and troubles If we would bee deliuered from euil then must we goe out by the way we came in againe if we would attaine vnto any good and perfect thing we are to enter the way we came out Euery thing by nature desireth to returne vnto that from whence it had his beginning for that is the perfection of the same The Bul when he is wel baited returneth out the same way that hee came into the baiting place and that by the â—ustinct of nature So thou when thou art well baited vppe and downe here in the world endeauour thou to goe out againe the same way thou cammest in For it is the onely remedie to atchieue perfection thether to returne from whence thou camest And because God is the onely fountaine from which all good thinges doe proceede for euerie good giuing and euerie perfect gift is from aboue if thou desirest quietnesse and ioy indeede it is needefull that thou turne the vnto the Lorde thy God Nothing commeth vnto his perfection vntill it bee reduced vnto the generall originall of the same Seeing therefore God is our author and fountaine of all the good whatsoeuer wee haue no maruaile though the soule so vehemenâ—ly doe desire God to the end that of him she may attaine al maner of good things For whatsoeuer good there is either it is God himselfe or it commeth from God The comming of a King into a barren countrey causeth a plenty to be in that lande so long as hee is there but when hee departeth it becommeth barren againe So when God is in our soule by grace there is no want of any good thing but if God bee absent from the same the soule it must needes be without fruite barren and withered Through God his presence thou shalt haue abundance of all good thinges with all manner of quietnesse but if thou haue not God with thee what peace or comfort canst thou haue As God sent amonge the Egyptians busie and vnquiet flies to annoy them so he sendeth superfluous cares to disquiet the men of this world whereas Israel which is the true people of God shâ—ll haue the sweete Sabbath of the blessed â—est It is a great torment of minde to burne with the desire of earthly thinges but the greatest comfort that wee can haue is to fixe the minde vppon God and not vpon the worlde He which hath God hath a merrie heart but they which hunt after worldly things liue in a perpetuall affliction of the spirite CHAP. 5 No trust is to be reposed in any thing of this world TRust thou in the Lorde and doe good saith
conuenient you should haue it or no. and marke the ende After a good thing followeth a euill and after ioy sorrow and after pleasurs bitter lothsomnes It is a rule in the world to giue a dainty dinner and after-warde an homely supper Al men at the beginning set forth good wine and when men haue wel drunke theÌ„ that which is worse said the gouernour of the feast So is it the facion of the world to begin with mirth and to end with mourning But it is otherwise at the banqueit of Christ where the beginning is somwhat troublesome but the end is al ioyfull The beginnings conceale but the ends they reueale the wickednes of the world When they shall say Peace and safety then shall come vpon them suden destruction The end giueth being to al things As the end is such are the thinges wherein thou delightest The end of pleasure is paine the ende of much eating is sicknes the end of this life which thou so louest is wormes meat and ashes the end and conclusion of all sinne is extreame and euerlasting torment CHAP. VI. The end of worldly thinges is diligently to be considered MAN shall not continue in honour he is like the beastes that die saith the Psalmist When God had warned man to consider what should ensue and to marke the end of worldlie vanities he would not but considered onely the present honour not how bitter the ende thereof might be he dwelt vpon the pleasure before his eyes and regarded not the paine which was to follow yea he thought not thereof at all vntill hee felt the smart of the same The preacher saith I considered in mine hart the state of the children of men that God had purged them yet to see to they are in themselues as beastes After that Adam had sinned GOD made him coates of skinnes to shew that through sinne he was fallen into the misery of beastes When the sinner had once offended he crieth presently O that had not sinned But foolish man seeing miserable experience now telleth thee how nought the world is and that repentance commeth after vnlawful pleasure why diddest thou not foresee it before thou diddest offend But what the wise man dooth in the beginning the foole doth in the end It is the property of a prudent man to forethinke but of a foole to say I did thinke thereof Consider aforehand of the lamentable ende of these worldly things so afterward thou shalt not bee deceiued The Psalmist doth say I haue considered my waies and turned my feet into thy testimonies By considering the end of sinne men leaue the way of wickednes and treade the pathes of Gods commaundements If one should say vnto thee as thou art in thy iourney goe not that way for thou canst not escape the handes of theeues robbers wouldest thou persist in thy iourney and not leaue the same or at least take another way In the way of voluptuousnes wherin thou walkest there be theeues which murther steale thy grace spiritual good thinges if therfore thou art wise and wouldest escape the danger of eternal death thou wilt shun so dangerous a way And let no sooner a tentation come into thy minde but thinke whether the way of pleasure which thou art entering into leadeth leaue the same The Apostle saith The wages of sinne is death Iaacob Esau being in the same wombe striued who should first come into the world and in the birth Iaacob his hand held Esau by the heele The head is the hiest the heele is the lowest and extremest parte of man This is the difference betwene the euil the good good men take sinne by the heele euil men take it by the head the wicked embrace all kinde of honors and pleasures not respecting what is the ende of them but the good take the world by the feete considering the bitter endes of the same The pleasure prosperity of this world do shine like a candle that is set on fire whose flame is faire so long as substance is ministred but that being consumed all commeth in the ende to smoke and stinche So though now the pompe and vanitie do delight thee much yet in conclusion it will bring great affliction and remorse if in time thou take not heede It is written in a Psalme As the smoake vanisheth so shalt thou driue theÌ„ away and as the waxe melteth before the fire so shall the wicked perish at the presence of God If thou be wise thou wilt prouide for thy selfe against the time to come The Kingly prophet sayeth The meate was yet in their mouthes when the wrath of God came euen vpon them The men of this world do scarse begin to tast of vanity when the iustice of God commeth suddenly vpon theÌ„ for the punishment of their sinne To ende seeing affliction is such an inseparable companion of worldly thinges if at the beginning thou wouldest aduisedly perpend what shal be the end it would cause thee to reframe from al vanity thereof CHAP. 7 The iudgements and words of men are vaine CAst thy burden vppon the Lord and hee shall nourish thee saith the prophet Let all thy study be to â— please God neither be thou puffed vp when men do praise thee nor troubled in minde when they murmure against thee The cause why thou art ill spoken of is for that thou seekest to please them to the end they may praise thee But wouldest thou onely seeke to please God and to get his fauour then should not mans words be they neuer so bitter offend thee at all Therefore endeuour thou to please none but God onelie so shalt thou liue in quiet with a merry heart Let nothing so afflict thee as the wrath of God let nothing so delight thee as a good conscience It is a vaine thing to regard the wicked censures of men when thou art at peace with God Many haue beene commended of men which now are condemned in hell and many haue beene counted fooles which enioy the true happines of heauen with Christ. This being so thou shouldest neither reioyce when thou art commended nor lament when thou art ill thought of If thou art iustly praised for some good within thee bee not proude thereof But consider the secret imperfections wherewith thou doest abound which if men did know assure thy selfe they doe not so much coÌ„mend thee for that which is good as they would dispraise thee for thy faults if thou art praâ—sed for some vertue which thou hast not labour to attaine the same that the worlde bee not deceiued in thee if they haue cause to murmure labour to reforme thy selfe if vniustly thou art condemned confesse them to be meÌ„ who cannot hurt but profite thee if thou haue patience If God were to consult with men whether hee should receiue thee into his glorie or send thee vnto hell or do some other thing with thee
some of thy carriage and yet wilt go for al that with an heauy loade He goeth best that is vnburdened and doth wrastle best which is naked If thou striue with Sathan naked thou shalt easily ouercome him but if thou be clad with vaine attire he wil quickly subdue thee Christ vp naked came I out of my mothers wombe naked shal I return thither againg The wheele though it turne al the day long about and stay not yet at night it is to be found where it was in the morning it changeth not his place So howsoeuer thou runne a-about the world for wealth yet at thy death thou shalt be found as poore as thou wert at the comming into this worlde Naked thou wast receiued out of thy mothers wombe and naked shalt thou be deliuered vnto the graâ— So in that state which thou begannest in the verie same thou must ende thy daies Euen as thou camest so shalt depart Labour what thou canst to becom a great rich man thy carke and care wil be to no purpose It is a vaine thing thou seest in this short life to heape riches vpon riches despise them therefore and so with Christ thou shalt triumph worldes without end CHAP. 23. The ioy of this world is but a vaine thing WOe be to you that now laugh for ye shall waile and weepe saith the Lord Woe be to you that haue your comfort in this world for in the life to come yee shall bee tormented Woe to theÌ„ which liue in delighte for they shall suffer paine and tribulatioâ—s But blessed is he that in this world being mortified for Christ doeth allwaies beare in mind the grieuous pain of his holy passion Blessed is he which feedeth himselfe with the breade of teares in this vale of mourning Much ought man surely to weepe while he thinketh vpon heauenly Zion his quiet and true countrey while he seeth himselfe banished amids the confused and bitter streames of this Babylonish worlde Blessed are ye that weepe now for yee shal laugh saith the Lord God shal wipe away all teares from their eies Blessed are those teares which the godly hande of thy creator shall wipe away selfe but he is in good earnest with thee O that thou wouldest let this sinke into thy minde surely surely thou couldest not chose but leade a more sparing life and shunne vaine pleasure more than thou doest if stil in fresh remembrance were the paines of hell where if thou repent not in this life thou shalt be made `wil thou nil thou to paie full dearely for all thy cosâ—ly cates And as Iob in the person of good men saide My sighing commeth before I eate which is the manner of the Saintes of God So of worldly men writeth the same Iob They spende theire daies in wealth and sodenly they goe downe to the graue Euen as Abraham said to the rich glutt on Son remember that thou in thy life time receiuest thy pleasures likewise Lazarus paines now therefore is he comforted and thou art tormented This is that which worldly delightes do bring vnto and this is the ende of the glory of this world We neuer read that Christ laughed at any time but that he wept we often reade For at his natiuitie hee wept at the raising of Lazarus from death he wept ouer Ierusalem he wept on the 〈◊〉 rosâ—e hanging hee wept what doe â— mention particulars his whole life was a daily lamentation and continual sorrow for the sinnes of man Verily I say vnto you saith the Lord except ye be conuerted become as little children ye shal not enter into the kingdome of heauen A little child wee see hath none other weapons for his defence but teares doe thou likewise defende thy selfe against the rage of Sathan by those weapons It is a vaine thing to giue thy selfe to pleasure in this world with so great dangers The wise man saith I said of laughter Thou art mad and of ioy what is that thou doest Moses he chose rather to suffer aduersitie with the people of God than to enioy the pleasure of sinne for a season would not be called the sonne of Pharaos daughter The teares of the righteous shal be turned into ioy so saith our Sauiour Christ your sorrow shal be turned into ioy And the Psalmist In the multitude of the thoughts of mine hart thy comfortes haue reioyced my soule It is better to be troubled with the righteous then to eate the bread of pleasure at the table of sinners it is better to lameÌ„t solitarie then to laugh in the pleasant pallaces of vngodlie Princes Despise therefore the ioy of this worlde which is but moment any that afterward thou maiest tâ—ste the ioies of heauen which are euerlasting CHAP. 24. The pleasures of this world are meerely vaine WHat ioy can I haue that fit here in darkenes said â—obit vnto the Angell As if he should say It is a vaine thing to affect pleasure amids the darkenes of this worlde For we walke in the dâ—rke and see not what is expedient for vs and what is not insomuch that we know not one the other The wise man saith No man knoweth ether loue or hatred Little pleasure can hee take in his iourney which doubteth of the waie whâ—ther it bee good or ill And when thou walkest in the night and doubtest of the way it is a maâ—uel how thou canst be merrie at the heart Little ioy can hee haue that seeth his neighboures house on fire And sure a vaine man thou art if in pleasure thou passe thy time especially beholding thy friendes euen euery houre to leaue this world before thy face That die thou shalt thou art sure but howe thou must leaue this world thou wottest not therefore vaine thou art if casting the face of God from thy minde thou giuest thy selfe to immoderate pastimes and delightes More sorrowe then ioy hath that paâ—ent which in one and the same day seeth his sonne both to be borne and to leaue this world Short and of small continuance is the loue of this world Salomon saith Foolishnes is ioy to him that is destitute of vnderstanding It is a vaine thing to bewitch the heart with delightes who take an end oftentimes before they are well begun The prophet Isaie hath these words Al that were merry of heart doe morun The mirth of taâ—ret resteth the noise of them that reioyce endeth the ioy of the hart ceaseth Small is the pleasure which either birdes in the snares of the foulers or fishes haue by the deadly baite of the fishers Euen as vaine and surely like the vnreasonable creatures art thou if thou ioy and glorie in the prosperitie of the worlde seeing death continually is at thine elbowe The time that remaineth is but verie short therefore let them that reioyce bee as though they reioyced not Wisdome leadeth righteous men the right way The way
good because they neuer tasted the thinges of God But such as feele the sweetnes of the spirit they vtterly abhorre the pleasures of the flesh Diddest thou once but taste what God is thou wouldest forthwith abhoâ—re all the pleasures and vanities of the world but because thou relisheâ— not the thinges of the Spirit thou likest better of worldly biâ—ternes Therefore that thou maiest enioy those eternall and true riches of heauen repel farre from thine heart the desire of all worldly vanities and deceipt The end of the first Booke The seconde Booke which setteth downe the peruerse and erooked customes of the world CHAP. 1. The conditions of the world are naught and dangerous LOVE not the worlde neither the thinges that are in the world saith S. Iohn Hee that knoweth not the malice of anything liueth by so much the more securely by how much hee feareth not the hurt which may proceede from the same Therefore it is expedient that thou know the conditions of the world that to the better thou maiest take heed of them The deceipts thereof be manifest and the euill customes of the same shew how small accompt we should make thereof It is the propertie of the world to poison all those which come neere vnto it It deceiueth many and maketh many blinde When it flyeth it is nothing when it is seene it is but a shadow when it is aduanced it is fire and burneth It is to fooles sweet but vnto wise men sowre and vnsauorie They know not what the worlde is which loue it but they onelie which hate the same If thou wouldest know the world thou must behold it a farre off for they which come nigh it they neyther know the worlde nor themselues It bringeth forth much euill and is the occasion of infinite miseries Those which loue it it hateth those which trust it it deceiueth and those which obey it it beateth such as fauour it it afflicteth such as honour it it dishonoureth such as are mindfull thereof it forgetteth Wee haue more cause to flie the world when it helpeth than when it openly persecuteth vs The more familiar the more dangerous is the worlde and worser is it when it fawneth vppon vs than when it frowneth He that seeth not the world shal be seene of the world Woe to them which repose confidence therein but happy are they which despise the same The world is both to bee feared and fled from The life thereof is deceitfull the labour fruitlesse the feare continuall the honour dangerous the beginning without wisedome the end without repentance liberall is it in promising sparing in performing It is impossible thou shouldest liue in the world securely without feare merily without griefe easily without labour happily without great danger It intrappeth men with snares neuer ceaseth till they are brought vnto their graues To loue the worlde and not to run headlong into manie miâ—eries it is impossible Thinkest thou euer to see the world cleane and pure in euery respect Why man it changeth euerie moment and by the often turning thereof about it tendeth vtterly vnto corruption It promiseth ample commodities which notwithstanding it neuer performeth it reacheth goodly fruite in shew to the friendes thereof but with in it is full of wormes and intollerable stinch The glory of the same is so fickle that it both forsaketh many while they be aliue and will not follow any after they be dead Of the worlde in the promises there is falshood in the mirth griefe in the pleasures paine in the comforts vexation in the prosperity continuall doubting that the state will change There is nothing stable nothing of continuance in the world onely it hath a shew of good things whereby it deceiueth simple folkes that cannot discerne the same who beeing once entered into the gulfe of those bitter thinges which erst they thought full sweete they are plunged and drowned in the bottomlesse gulfe of euerlasting perdition through the mighty stormes which it hath raysed It is like a crafty marchant which will shew a cloth which is faire and fine at the first vnfolding and sell that for good which after it be laide abroad to the eye is but very course and not worth any thing Such slippery parts doth the world play vnder the shew of pleasure it thrusteth vpon vs euerlasting paines But stoppe thine eares when it beginneth to speake vnto thee thinke that her voice is like the Mermaides musicke which with her sweetsonges doth allure vnto her selfe that in the ende she may drowne thee for euer in the bottomlesse pit of hell CHAP. 2. The snares and deceipts of the world are to bee taken head of BEware least there bee any man that spoilâ— you through Philosophie vaine deceipt saith the Apostle The world it blindeth many by the outwarde shewe thereof concealing the inward euils which it doth coÌ„prehend Hee that liueth in the world so deceitful he had need to be wary lest he be deceiued It presenteth pleasure to voluptuous persons but vnder that vanitie there lurketh filthines and sorrowe It offereth the glorious golde to the couetous eye but not the cares troubles which riches do bring It entiseth vnto honour and preferment but it telleth not the weightie burdens annexed vnto prelacy The Deuill hee led our Sauiour not vnto the sanctuary or inner part but vnto the pinacle of the temple which serued more for an ornament than for necessity So the deuill and the world they allure not a man vnto the fight and searching of the inward conscience of their sinnes but vnto bewtifull showes of vaine terrour and superfluous things God he gaue in commaundement that the beastes which should bee sacrificed vnto him shold first be flead and haue their skinnes taken from them but contrariwise the world will that all the seruice which thou offerest vnto it should bee couered with the skinne of pleasure honour and commoditie to the entent that the entrals of wickednes may not be seene at all Therefore thou shalt do wel as God commandeth to take off the outwarde skinne of voluptuousnesse and so shalt thou perceiue the deceites the scruples and the filthines which lieth hid and couered vnder those exterior thinges Thou must take away the barke of wickednesse flea and deuide the entrals of sinnes which are full of deceipt so shalt thou behold and that sensiblie the vaniry and naughtines of that which thou hast loued Behold the fraud of the worlde Great thingâ— they seeme to thee small things and vile God himselfe which is incomprehensiblie greate hee seemeth but small in thine eyes because thou art farre estranged from him and the small thinges of this world they appeare great vnto thee for thou louest them which the Apostle iudged no better then dung The friendes of God replenished with the light of heauen they haue knowne and made knowne the deceiptfulnes of the world Wouldest thou somwhat consider both of what small continuance the thinges are of
this life and with what toile they be gotten and with what care preserued it cannot be but thou wouldest take another trade of life than thou doest Looke not so earnestly vpon these worldlie pleasures and vanities least thou be taken by the snares of them and least theire goodlie she wes so dazell thine eies that thou rush headlong into the pit of hell There is nothing in the vnderstanding but first it was in the senses After that the vnderstanding hath once drunke out of the chanels of the senses the world playing Iacobs part sticketh there downe white rods of greene poplar and hasell and of the chesnut of faire delightes to beguile thee withall and to infect by thy senses thy vnderstanding The honors and pleasures of the worlde they are but as flowres that soone fall and fade awaie The world offereth to thy senses floures and vanities and albeit thine vnderstanding be pure yet the senses labor by these outwarde thinges to dull and darken the same And as a menstruous woman dooth pollute the glasse which she looketh in so a naughty imagination infecteth the vnderstanding with error And when the vnderstanding hath once tasted the water which sensuall imaginations haue offered thereunto it conceaueth like Iakobs sheepe lambes of party color and with small great spots euen worldly desires and bringeth forth afterward sin and ill works Fixe not therefore thine eyes vpon the greene roddes which the worlde presenteth to thy consideration for it is but a bare shewe without substance It deceiueth worldly men as the burning candle doth children Children many times when they see the candle they cannot bee content but they must needes touch it with their finger also and they haue no sooner so done but they plucke it backe againe and crie So the children of this world euen like infants without discretion deceiued with the apparent shewe of worldly bewty they cast themselues into the flames of wickednes but after they finde that both their handes be emptie without substance and their conscience feared by the fire of sinne CHAP. 3 The world is false and seeketh to deceiue THere be some that being about wicked purposes d◠bowe downe themselues are sad whose inward partes burne altogether with deceipt sayth the wise man Giue no credite to the worlde neither enter into any league of friendship with the same for if thou doe it will play with thee as Ioab did with Amasa who took Amasa by the hearde with the right hand to kisse him and with the left stabde him with a sword Whatsoeuer it saith and counsaileth it is but falsehood and flattery whatsoeuer thine appetite shall entice thee vnto it is but deceit to abuse thee withall for though it promise life yet leadeth it vnto death so that if thou beleeue the same thou shalt perish with Ahab which beleeued the foure hundred false Prophetes that flattered and promised him both life and victorie But Michaiah euen the remorse of conscience it is which telleth truth and discouereth the manifolde deceites of thy flattering affections Yet for al this thou pursuest it with hatred as Ahab did Michaiah for telling him the truth thy conscience it seeketh thy profit yet thou canst not abide the counsell of the same but choosest rather to goe out of the waie with lying spirites to the losse of thy life than to doe well with the Prophet of God and so liue without daunger The worldlie man following his affections doth euen hasten vnto the battell of death where hee doth loose his life These be like the false witnesses of lezebel which being once heard do euen quench the spirite and kill the soule Giue none heed vnto their lying wordes vnlesse thou wouldest be taken captiue by the nets of their false deceiptes All the louing countenance of the world it is but fained to entrap thee before thou art aware Therefore CHAP. 4. The promises of the worlde are false and deceitfull RAsh promises saieth Ecclesiasticus in effect hath destroyed many a man Who in this worlde hath found either ioy without sorrow or peace without troubles or health without weakenes or mirth without griefe The world it promiseth all good thinges but it giueth nothing but euill it promiseth ioy it bringeth paine it promiseth to continue but it stayeth not it promiseth rest and bringeth troubles it promiseth estimation but it causeth shame it promiseth long life but by experience wee find that our life is both shore and subiect to manifold perils and miseries And the life which it sheweth it may not be called the true life The life of some it prolongeth to deceaue of some it shorteneth that they may haue no space to repent of some it prolongeth to make them proude of some it shorteneth that they maie doe no good at all but liue as them list All these it deceiueth depriuing them of the true knowledge both of God of the worlde and of themselues Seauen yeeres did Iacob serue Laban for his daughter Rahel wherby hee deserued to haue her for his wife but his father in lawe gaue him Leah in stead of Rahel by deceite Such partes playeth the world it promiseth one thinge and intendeth another The men of the world they perceaue not the◠anitie of the world vntil the daie appeare and the darkenesse of this present life bee departed awaie by death when the eies of their vnderstanding be opened then like Iaacob they perceaue the subteltie of craftie Laban the world Manie although they see welenough the deceitfulnesse of the worlde yet are they content to be deceaued thereby and to fall at noone daie when their eies be open The three friends of Iob agreed together to come to lament with him and to comfort him but afterward the worlde as they did And experience doth did nothing else teach vs that by desiring to get we loose honour and while wee couet to be great wee become smal that which we thinke shal be the meanes to vpholde vs shal throwe vs downe and then wee loose when wee thinke to gaine O foolish wee and blinde in deede that would be deemed great when God wil haue none to be great but such as first were smal we hunt after fame and yet shal neuer be remembred No man is more honorable than he which shunneth honor None richer than he which is content with a little none shal sooner be forgotten than he which most ambitiously hunteth after glory Mattathias vnto his sonnes saide on this wise Now therefore my sons be ye zealous of the law giue your liues for the couenāt of our fathers Cal to remembrance what acts our fathers did in their time so shal ye receau great honor and an euerlasting name The prouidēce of God hath so appointed that there should be a perpetual memory of the enemies of the world and that the friendes of the same should quickely be forgotten God vtterly put out the
knew him not meaning Iesus Christ. And no maruell hauing their eyes so full of earth They haue wandred as blinde men in the streâ—tes sayeth the prophet Ieremiah of worldly minded men which are so blinde that they suffer themselues to bee led about euen of the blinde vnto the example of wickednes They which are bodily blinde in deed they know yet that they are blinde but none are so wretchedly blind as the men of this world while they haue them in derision which vse the sight of their eyes The Lord said vnto the sinnefull Pharisies Now ye say we sâ—e therefore your sinne remaineth and being so blind that they thinke all others blind sauing themselues and such as they be therefore their impietie is the greater as was that of the seuenty Ancients of whom Ezechiel speaketh from the mouth of the Lord Beware therefore of such a blindenesse that thou fall into absurde and intollerable errors to the dishonour of God CHAP. 18 Great is the sorrow which worldlings doe feele when they must eyther leaue this world or go vnto hell torments THE labour of the foolish doth wearie him sayeth Salomon When death once approacheth then will it grieue a worldling to leaue this world for no man can leaue that hee loueth without much griefe That which the world loueth it getteth with great labour it keepeth with great feare it leaueth with great sorrow In the Reuelation it is written that They shall haue no rest day nor night which worship the beast and his image no more shall they that worship their beastly appetites and affections Terrible will that houre be when the body of a worldly man brought vp deliciously shal be separated from the soule to bee deuoured speedilie afterwarde of wormes It will be a greiuous thing for the riche man to depart from his riches and estimation in the worlde which so inordinately he loued The horses of great men goe trapped richly all the daie with manie seruing men attending vpon them but when they come vnto the stable at night or to the ende of their iourney all their glorious furniture is taken from them and nothing there continueth with them but spurgals bruzes and wearinesse In like sort the rich and great men of the world they are woondered at so longe as they are iourneying in this life but when they come vnto their graue euen the end of their iourney their glorie leaueth them and nothing els do they beare awaie but woundes vices and wickednesse Kinges and Princes also are not like to carrie awaie their goâ—de or their siluer from hence but onely the faultes which they haue committed while they were of auctoritie Consider therefore how irksome it will be for a worldly minded man to leaue this life which he loueth world which is so forgetful and vnthankeful Vnlesse thou iudge of the worlde as it is thou art not meet for to meete Christ. Therfore our Sauiour he calleth such vnto him not as thinke the yoake of this world to bee sweet but which deeme it greeuous and burdensome The world vseth to giue after a short pleasure euerlasting torments but God for a little paines for his sake giueth ioyes that shall haue no end Marie Magdalene that holy woman she in her troubles resorted vnto Christ in the house of the Pharisei obtained remission of her sinnes but desperate Iudas in troubles flying vnto the comfort of the worlde did hang himselfe and so â—el hee head-long into hel insomuch that she truly repenting shewed her selfe wise but he despairing of Gods mercy proued extreemely foolish Is it not better then to serue God and so to enioy eternall blisse than to serue this corruptible worlde and after to be tormented for euer with the Deuil and his Angels Surely it is better in this life to want a little short pleasure than with the same to be tumbled hedlong into hel better is it to liue obediently according to the lawe of God than wickedly to serue the worlde which by certaine coloured things which it calleth good snarleth and seeketh thine vtter ouerthrowe At that same rigorous passage of thine out of this world by death wheÌ„ al thinges wherein thou puttest thy trust shal see â—e in thine â—ies to bee but dirt and dung how then wil thy former folly thinkest thou grieue thee at thine heart Marke I pray you what a notable reward the world the Diuel and the flesh do promise vnto you euen such a reward as if thou haue it thou canst not haue the reward of heauen What shalt thou reape of the flesh but corruptiâ—â— as S. Paul doth say What shalt thou receiue of the deuil but intolerable tormâ—Ì„tes What of the world but speedy forgetfulnesse They promise largely these tyrantes but they performe slowly No man did euer yet serue the worlde but he was sorry for so doing at one time or other It would continually be serued and yet for all the seruice done it maketh his seruants either for hunger to starue or else with strips to be thrust naked out of doors In a word looke for no recompence of the world besides griefe and anguish of heart No man that wise is will enter into seruice with an other man except first he doe knowe what wages hee shall haue for his paines but with these tyrantes whom I haue named no couenant is to bee entered into because they will promise much and performe nothing that good is But if thou wilt serue Christ though thou suffer troubles yet in the midst of them thou shalt bee sure to finde consolation both inwarde and aeternall Man that is borne of a woman is but of short continuance The paines of good men are quickly gon but the sorrowes of the wicked shall euermore endure Better were it for thee by obedience to go into the fire of affliction than after thy pleasures of the worlde to bee damned for euer Let not thy laboures dismay thee which haue an ende with thy life but feare those troubles which when thy life hath an ende do begâ—nâ—e and shall neuer come to an ende From those paines neither friendes shal deliuer neither riches nor any friendship of man shal saue thee The world it shal haue an ende but God and his seruantes shall endure for euer Trust not in the world for it plaieth the hangman with thee which first conducteth thee by the faire greene way of his false consolations and after with all possible speede thrusteth thee downe to hel Doe you not see what a good recompeÌ„ce you receaue for al your seruice CHAP. 6 Soone are they forgotten and ouerthrowe which giue themselues to serue the world I Haue seene the wicked strong and spreding himselfe like a baie tree yet he passed away and loe he was gone and I sought him but he could not be found The worlde doth highly now and theÌ„ aduaunce them which serue it but they haue no sooner
himselfe a slaue vnto them The least thing that is sufficeth a poore man but nothing can satisfie the greedy minde of a couetous churle Other sinners though they haue no portion of ioy in the other world yet they enioy the present state but the couetous man hath no ioy in neither and therefore the most miserable Hee that putteth his confidence in riches is a foole The couetous man is neuer without some excuse when hee should giue to him that needeth It is greater honour than to win a kingdome to conquer a mans inordinate desires The Diuel being asked of God from whence hee came answered from compassing the earth to and fro and from walking in it So doe the couetous men they compasse the earth about as the Diuel did and doth but toward heauen they neuer looke The couetous rich man is a pray for his Prince a marke for theeues to shoote at and a cause of quarrell among his kinsfolke and friends The couetous man is vnworthy to haue a place either with the Angels aboue in heauen or with men below in earth and â—herefore he would be buried with â—udas the traitor that for the loue of mâ—nieâ—old his master euen the Sâ—uiour of the world The couetous man before he wiâ—neth any thing is first wonne hiâ—selfe and before hee taketh ought is taken himselfe â—ee burneth here in this worlde with the fire of inordinate desire and afterward shall burne in the fire of hell Diues beeing in hell desired that with the tâ—p of Lazarus finger his thirst might be quenched Woulde so little water thinkest thou aswage the heate of the fire of hell No doutlesse For if that had beenne granted he would haue desired more still without ceasing Such as the state of this man was in hell such is the state of all couetous persons in this worlde they desire a drop of riches when all the waters and seas of worldly substance will not quench their thirst Euery thing that is heauy doeth naturally incline towards his â—entre But nothing doth so peâ—se downe the heart of man as couetousnesse They sanke downe to the bottome as a stone saith the Scripture of Pharao and all his hoast Couetousnesse of all other sinnes reuiueth and waxeth young againe when a man is olde If thou dost lie vpon the earth with thy breast and drinke of the running waters of these worldly riches thou shalt bee discharged from the seruice of God as Gedeon discharged the like men that went out to fight against the Medianites Was not Achan stoned Gehazi plagued with a leprosie Iudas hanged Ananias and Sapphira punished with sudden death and all for couetousnesse Beware therefore of it Hee that ouercommeth this vice of auarice is a stronger man than he that vanquished his bodely enemie If thou heapest vp riches together thou makest a heape of wood wherwith thou shalt bee burned in hel as the Phenix is in this world As the Physicion forbiddeth a sick man that which hee knoweth to bee hurtfull for him to the end hee may recouer his health so God as a good physicion forbiddeth man couetousnesse as hurtfull to the soule whom if hee harken not vnto hee is like Adam who not obeying God which did prohibite him to eate of the tree in the middest of the garden fell into infinite troubles and afflictionâ— Obey therefore the commaundement of God whose will it is that thou shouldest flye from couetousnesse if thou wouldest haue any part in the kingdome of heauen CHAP. 37. God he blesseth the liberal man GIue and it shal bee giuen you saith the Lord Christ compareth riches vnto thornes which laide vppon a mans bare hande they will not hurt him but if hee close his hande together they wil draw blod and the faster the hande is shute so much the more is the harme that hee shall take thereby Riches doe not hurte the open but the hand that is shut Blessed is that man of whom it may bee said as it was of that good woman She stretcheth out her hand to the poore and putteth forth her hand to the needie If thou giue to a poore man thou shalt receiue good mony for Copder If thou impartest of thine aboundance thou shalt encrease in virtue like vnto the tree whose superfluous bowes be cropped of He shall neuer want any thing that for Christ his sake giueth his goods liberally no more than meale and oile was wanting in the widdowes house though shee were very poore which ministred sustenance to the Prophet Heliah Many doe say if I sawe such a poore man as Helyah was I would doe him good but they are deceiued for in not giuing to the Lord of Heliah how would they giue to Heliah himselfe He that giueth to the poore giueth to Christ. Inasmuch at ye haue done it vnto one of the least of these my brethren yee haue don it vnto me saith Christ himselfe Therefore if you helpe not the Lord of Heliah how should you releue Heliah himselfe Blessed is he that iudgeth wisely of the poore the Lord shal deliuer him in the time of trouble In the day of iudgment thou shalt be examined touching the workes of mercy Many doe spend their goods and their wealth vppon their houses vppon tapestry horses thinking there by to get a name and fame among men When more commendation they should purchase if they bestowed their wealth vppon the poore that can giue them good words than vppon any other creatures which haue no reason at all Neither the beds nor the wals of thine house haue any â—ong at all to praise thee as the poore haue that will blaze abroade thy goodnesse Be thou liberall and so both God will like and man will loue thee The liberal man hath many frindes though many of them be very vngratful Neuer can he want friends which is liberal toward other men and neuer can he haue any friendes which is a couetous man The poore doe him curse and his kinred doe wish him dead If the couetous man doe fall thorough some vice which he hath euery one doth blowe abroad his defamation but if the liberall man doe sinne al doe excuse and purge him the best they can Many benefites doth he receiue which knoweth well how to giue and he may take himselfe for an happy man on the earth Better is it to giue than to take as better is it to loue than to hee loued For to loue is an action of the mind but to bee loued is not so many somtime are loued which deserue it not God for his part he giueth vnto all but receiueth of none the more therfore a man giueth the more he resembleth God his maker The Sunne excelleth the other planets because it ministreth light vnto the starres The more vile and odious that a couetous man is the more noble and renowned is the liberal man Riches to wise men are as fetters
to fooles as papers of infamy Though prodigality bee a vice yet couetousnesse is worse because a prodigal man doth good to many but the couetous person doeth profite none CHAP. 38. Vnlawfull lust is lothsome in God his sight KNowe ye not that ye are the Temple of God and that the spirit of God dwelleth in you If any man destroy the Temple of God him shall God destroy â—saith the Apostle Now commeth the thirde band of enemies to bee spoken of comprised in the lust of the flesh Other vices doe defile but on part of man onely namely the soule but this vice polluteth the whole man Looke not to escape the terible iudgement of God if thou handle the Temple of the holy spirit dishonestly For vnlawfull lust the Lord destroyed the old world with water Sodom Gomora with the fiue citties next adioyning Hamor and the Sichimites Onan and the whole tribe of Beniamin in a maner with the sword For this vice was Amon murthered Salomon bereaued of the Spirit of God Samson blinded Dauid manie waies afflicted the two Elders that accused Susanna vnrustly stoned three and twenty thousand in one day put vnto the sword and most greeuous plagues for this vice hath the Lord sent among his people Fly from this infection and God his spirit will comfort thee haue death in minde and lust will soone bee quenched Auoid idlenesse and repell the tentation of the flesh from thee Remember the fire of hel where fleshly men shal burne for euer and the lust of the flesh will not so inflame thee It seemeth to thee harde to resist tentations but much harder will it bee to suffer the paines of hell Hee that is not deliuered from the first shall not escape the second fire One heate euercommeth another The remembrance of the infernall fire will extinguish the flame of the internall fiâ—e If thou art held with the loue of God al other vanities wil vanish from thine heart Hee is the seruant of Satan which serueth the lust and wicked affections of the mind Of this sinne did the Apostle speake when he said They that doe such things shalt not inherite the kingdome God The sinne of the flesh is a fire of hell and the maintainer thereof is riotousnesse and gluttonie The flame thereof is filthinesse the ashes vncleannesse the smoake infamie the ende vexation of the minde destruction of the bodie shipwrack of a good conscience and an horrible contempt of the holy commaundements of God Many of them bee vtterly cast away through the wrath of GOD which giue themselues to this vice If thou wouldest ouercome thou must flye from this sinne according to the commandement of the Apostle from God himselfe This victorie is gotten by flying and not by violence Daintie fare prouoketh lust but a sober diet with godly exercise keepeth chaste A wonder it is that euer thou canst auoide this persecution of the flesh faring deliciously and liuing in idlenesse The water of teares quencheth the flame of concupiscence and vnlesse thou auoid occasions hereunto it is almost impossible but at one time or other thou wilt yeeld vnto his sinne Few there be but either in youth or in age do humble themselues before this idole and giue themselues to the flesh Many there bee which commende the unspotted life but few retaine the chastitie of the body much lesse of the mind they would seeme honest and praise honesty but yet they auoide not as they ought the occasions which cause them either to bee or to be thought dishonest Their meaning is good but their knowledge is but smal and not sufficient Happy is that soule which in a pure body serueth her spouse Iesus Christ and happy is that man which prepareth in his heart an habitation for the holy spirite Remember still the death the corruption and the filthynesse whereinto our bodies shall bee resolued and doing so much wilt thou bee moued to serue God in all holinesse of conuersasion whereby thou shalt enioy him blessedly in the heauens being deliuered from the fire of hell where they continue boyling in torments which like beastes in this worlde did giue themselues to al inordinate desires of the flesh CHAP. 39. The chaste Christian God delighteth in WIsedome cannot enter into a wicked heart nor dwel in the bodie that is subiect vnto sinne saith the wise man Gather thy senses together and refreine thine appetites Death is come vp into our windowes and is entered into our palaces sayeth Ieremie Vnlesse thou settest a watch ouer thy senses thy soule is in danger to die of an euill death Because Ishbosheth looked not well vnto his doores hee lost his life euen in his owne house lying vpon his bed Consider in thy minde what mischiefe came into the worlde through Euahs casting her eie vpon the forbidden fruite It is not lawfull for thee inordinately to beholde that which is not lawfull for thee in heart to desire Had not Dauid cast an vnchaste eie vpon â—athsheba he had neither lost so many good things neither fallen into so many euils as he did Looke warely vnto thy senses the want hereof brought destruction vnto Olofernes No vice so troubleth th'understanding nor ouerthroweth the reason of man as doeth the sinne of the flesh God who is all simple and pure He fedeth among the lillies as the Spouse doth say signifying thereby how hee is delighted altogether in cleannesse and chastitie The puritie of the creature is most gratefull before God and therein doth he most gladly rest himselfe It is written that There shal not enter into it the heauenly citie any vncleane thing The principall bewtie of the soule is principally ascribed vnto chastitie through bringing the flesh in subiection to the spirite The memorie of the chast persons is afore God immortall and renowmed of men Chastitie is compared vnto the roase not onely for the beautie and sweetnesse thereof but also for that it springeth encreaseth and continueth as the rose doth among thornes For chastitie neuer groweth nor continueth but where there is sharpenesse and austeritie of life and mortification of the flesh it is alwaies in danger where pleasure is Chastitie cannot liue where no fasting is vsed nor temperance appeareth And a wonder it were that such as are not sober should be chaste If thou wilt continue chaste bee still doing of some good worke or other flye the companie of dissolute persons and prepare a place in a pure bodie for the holy Ghost The Doue which Noah sent out of the Arke could haue no footing at all but vpon carion which she liked not and therefore returned vnto the Arke againe The holy Ghost which sometime was resembled to a Doue it cannot abide in bodies that bee vncleane but in the pure and holy Flye the vices of the flesh as thou wouldest the plague or pestilence that thy soule may remaine pure
the â—salmist All creatures when thou hast most neede will faile thee and therefore it is a vaine thing to repose any confidence in the things of this world If thou trust in men looke often to be deceaued for their wont is after a long and great seruice to make but a simple recompence Cursed be the man that trusteth in man and maketh flesh his arme and withdraweth his heart from the Lord Put not your trust in Princes nor in the sonne of man for there is none helpe in them saith the Psalmist Haman trusted much in the fauour of King Ahashuerosh of which he was soone depriued and brought to a most infamous and miserable end To be in fauour with great men of this world it doth vs little good and surely it vanisheth as nothing if not afore yet at the point of death What stabilitie canst thou promise thy selfe I pray you in a broken staffe of reede Euen such is man O Lord of hostes blessed is the man that trusteth in thee saith the Psalmist Happie is hee which loueth God with his whole heart and putteth his trust in him the Lord will deliuer that man from all trouble But forasmuch as true hope is founded vpon a good conscience the Psalmist doth say that is not enough in God to trust but besides a man must worke that which good is according to that Blessed is he that iudgeth wisely of the poore againe sayeth the wise man The hope of the wicked shall perish because it is not grounded 〈◊〉 on a good foundation To trust in the Lorde as some say they doe and yet dayly to sinne what is it but rash and vndiscreete presumption â—ut thy confidence in God for if thou for thy part doe that which thou oughtest doubt thou not but God of his infinite goodnesse will giue thee glorie for hee neuer for saketh them which trust in him It is a vaine thing liuing ill to presume vpon hoâ—e to repent thee heereafter whereas thou art ignorant whether thou shalt liue any longer than to day or no. Thou oughtest by and by to reforme thy life and to haue good hope that God will giue thee of his glorie since it is most sure that he neuer denied it to any which fulfill that which he commaundeth Hope still in thy God saith the Scripture so wiâ—l he deliuer thee from al thy troubles For hee is a shield to them which put their trust in him Dauid put his trust in the Lord and he was holpen Blessed is the man which feareth the Lord he will not be afraide of euil tydinges Happy is the man which falleth not from his hope happy is the man whose force and strength and refuge God is such an hope shall neuer be in vaine in the daies of trouble Consider the old generations of men ye children saith Ecclesiasticus and marke them well was there euer any confounded that put his trust in the Lord or who hath continued in his feare and was forsaken or whom did he euer despise that called vpon him Is it not good reason that the sicke man should put his trust in the Physition that healeth all diseases It is the Lord saith the Prophet which healeth all thine infirmities The Lorde is neere to all that call vpon him yea to al that cal vpon him in truth CHAP. 6. God is to bee loued aboue all THou shalt loue the Lorde thy God with all thine heart with all thy soule and with all thy minde saith the Lord. If so thou wouldest doe then is it not sufficient for thee to leaue the euill way vnlesse thou walke by the good way through the detestation of worldly vanities Loue God aboue all Thou canst not liue without loue seeing therefore of force thou must loue then louâ— that which of all is most sweete and pleasant Thou maiest not so loue the world that thou offend God For what proportion is there of God his excellencie vnto the profite of the world For as God infinitely surpasteth his creatures so the holy loue of God without all comparison is more excellent than all other loue Who should reape the fruite but he which planted the tree The Apostle saith Wâ—o planteth a vineyard and eateth not of the fruit therof WhoÌ„ shouldest thou loue but him that hath giuen thee power to loue He onely is to be loued of whome thou receiuest abilitie to loue Flie therefore the corruption of the world and embrace the loue of GOD with al thine heart Runne vnto the loue of God as vnto a refuge and defence Nothing so soone will make thee to despise the vanitie of earthly things as the loue of God but because thine heart was neuer touched throughly with the fire of his loue thereof it groweth that thou art so in loue with the corruptible goods of this wretched world Hence is it that thou art so troubled with cares and griefe of minde and hence thou settest not thine hart vpon the loue of God O that thou hadst but some small taste of Gods spirit to begin withall It is the nature and propertie of loue to make his account of that which it loueth That is well verified here in this worldly loue where we see many times that for the attaining of that which they loue they make no reckoning either of goods honor or name they forget themselues through musing vpon the thing beloued After their example therefore thou which sayest thou louest God giue thy selfe wholy to loue him and casting aside all other matters of the world occupy thy selfe wholy and altogether in his seruice So did the holy Fathers in times passed showe themselues they were transformed into a heauenly nature they thought not of themselues nor of the world for which cause they were iudged of the world to be very fooles not to haue so much as common sense Let it be thy chiefest exercise that God and thy soule may agree well together as though there were nothing besides vnder heauen to bee done and as though thy selfe besides wert nothing so that thou mightest truely say as the Apostle did I liue yet not I now but Christ liâ—eth in me Be not so taken with the thinges of this worlde as to make them the end of thy loue since all that thou canst loue in this world is more perfectly a great deale in God than in the world If thou loue any thing because it is beautifull why louest thou not God the fountaine of all beautie If goodnesse bee the thing wherevpon thine heart is fixed what is better than God None is good saue one euen God God is purely good in his essence and substance The goodnesse of a creature is so farre good as it receiueth some little drop from that infinite sea I meane from the incomprehensible goodnesse of God the creator thereof If thou dost so much loue any creature for some showe of goodnesse that thou
were Gods friendes they suffered many a cruell torment aud dost thou giue thy selfe vnto voluptuousnesse and thinke for all that to haue ease and comfort in the other world Behold saith the Lord they whose iudgement was not to drinke of the cup haue assuredly drunken art thou he that shall escape free Thou shalt not go free but thou shalt surely drinke of it Thinke not that pouertie miserie and affliction were appointed for good meÌ„ for although God suffereth them to taste of them for a time yet are they not purposely prouided for them For God hath ordained them for his owne glorie But these afflictions properly belong vnto thee if thou art vngodly although they seeme nothing at all to appertaine vnto thee and therefore dost shunne them as thou dost If all the tormentes which the Martyrs haue endured were ioyned together they should bee nothing in comparison of the torments which the reprobate shall and must sustaine in the pit of hell If thou bee affraide in the darke night to bee among the ougly carcases of dead men howe wilt thou abide to be in the loathsome darkenesse among the dead in hell where thou shalt be forced to continue and neuer see the Sunne Moone nor stars A miserable land is that where night is continually and no day at all If now thou canst not endure the sight of one Diuell how wilt thou abide the horrible shapes monstrous and terrible sightes of many ougly and cursed feends If now thou art not able to abide to hould euen thy smalest finger and that a little while in the fire how wilt thou continue burning body and soule in that lake of fire and brimstone in comparison whereof the hottest fire in this world is but as fire painted on a wall If some little greefe seeme so painfull vnto thee now how wilt thou abide all manner of infirmities that may bee vpon thy body at once and together The damned person in hell shall bee made to beare in his body all infirmities whatsoeuer the body of man is subiect vnto yea euery part of him shall haue more paine than the wit of man is able to reach vnto or comprehend If thou shunne so a filthy sauor nowe howe wilt thou abide the most lothsome sente of that hellish pit If thou shouldest bee laid on a most softe and delicate bedde and haue all things ministred vnto thee there that might mooue thee to take pleasure therein yet if thou shouldest haue all this vnder condition neuer to come off from it in fortie yeeres space but be bound to bee there such a long time thou wouldst take it for an intollerable paine torment Then how wilt thou suffer thy selfe and that perforce to be bound with firie chaines in some narrow holâ— of hell where thou shalt not stir at all and from which thou shalt neuer escape To liue continually without all hope and to bee well assured that no remedie shall come what can bee more miserable Thou therefore which without all measure louest the vanities of this world more than God thy creator turne vnto thy selfe and thinke vppon thâ—se so bitter and so wofull tormentes that mooued with godly repentance contemning these vanities thou maiest by the most holy and mightie God bee deliuered from these perpetuall tormentes and punishmentes in the pit of hell CHAP. 40. The glorious conditions of the Saincts of God cannot so much as be conceaued in the heart much lesse vttered by the mouth or described by the pen of man AND these to witte which haue loued the world shall goe into euerlasting paine and the righteous into life eternall saith Christ Euen as the iust iudge will lay euerlasting tormentes vpon such as leauing the seruice of God haue preferred the goods of this transitorie world before the God of heauen so to him that will contemne the base things of this world our Sauiour will say It is well done good seruant faithfull thou hast beene faithfull in little I wil make thee ruler ouer much enter into thy maisters ioy â—oseph bringing his two sonnes to be blessed of his father Iaakob placed Ephraim on Israeles left hand and Manasseh on his right after the manner of the worlde which giueth honour to the eldest and despiseth the youngest and poorest But Israell stretched cut his right hande contrary to Iosephs minde and laid it on Ephraims head which was the younger and his left hande vppon Manassehs head directing his handes of purpose for Manasseh was thâ— elder So will God doe when hee commeth to iudgement hee will put the right hande of his glory vpon them which in this world were at the left hand of aduersitie and his left hand of displeasure vpon them which liued in their life time on the right hande of ease and prosperitie and so condemne them vnto the euerlasting hell fire Great is the goodnes of God that giueth vnto men so great honour for so little labour or rather none at all At the sight of God his glorious maiestie whatsoeuer the heart of a godly man can desire the eye shal see yea The things which eye hath not seene neither eare hath heard neither came into mans heart are which God hath prepared for theÌ„ that loue him It is much easier to tell what life eternall is not than to vtter what the happinesse thereof shall bee God shall wipe away all teares from their eies there shall be no more death neither sorrow neither crying neither shall there be any more paine for there shal be perfect ioy and all things that may prouoke vnto ioy and gladnesse shall concur together in that place When Ioseph had made himselfe knowen vnto his brethren the ioy was so great that it pleased euen Pharao wel and al his house-hold How great thinkest thou shall be the ioy when all the Sainctes that euer haue bin are or shall be shall meete together in the court of the celestiall king If the ioy of the wise men at the sight of a starre was exceeding great what shall our ioy bee when wee shall see the glorie of all Gods childdren in the heauens If the birdes doe ioy at the rising of the corporall Sunne how shall our soules reioyce to see the Sunne of righteousnesse most comfortably to shew himselfe in his glorious brightnes and incomprehensible glory If â—Iohn Baptist not seeing Christ with corporall eies in his mortall estate did euen spring in his mothers belly for ioy how shall wee leape and triumph for ioy beholding Iesus face to face and that in his glorie If they of Beth-shemesh lifting vp their eies and spying the Arke reioyced when they saw it and if Zacheus ioyfully receiued Christ into his house what heart is able to comprehend the ioy that then we shall haue when we shall not receiue but be receaued into the euerlasting Tabernacles of heauen nor entertaine Christ but bee entertained of Iesus himselfe the
and rose-vp to play Because they did not auoide bibbing pleasure they fel to adore idols in steede of the liuing God To bee short therefore shunne all whatsoeuer it bee that may drawe thee on vnto the euill way I meane of perdition and remember that he which regardeth not his enimie maie quickly bee destroyed CHAP. 27. Euill company must be taken heede of HE that tucheth pitch shal be defiled with it and hee that is familiar with the proude shal be like vnto him saith a wise man Of il companie il behauiour is gotten If thou wilt be the good seruant of Iesus Christ fly the societie of wicked men Many are the ministers of Sathan sent by him into the worlde for the destruction of the good More hurt do men by naughtie examples of life than do theeeues and murtherers by their cursed actions For theeues do spoile men of theire earthly riche and murtherers do but kil the body which is mortall but il examples take away the spirituall treasure and slay the soule the most pretious part of man By howe much the soule is more noble than the bodie by so much the more pestilent are they which are ill mannered than they which are infected with the plague The companie of naughtie packs is to be shunned euen as the pestilence for easilie will one imitate that euill which he seeth donne immediatlie before his face God he gaue the Israelites a straight commaundement that they should make no marriages with the Gentiles whome they had cast out leaâ—t they learned and followed theire wicked trades of life The sonnes of Seth which represented the children of God because they tooke vnto them the daughters of me they proued so il that God by a huge water drowned al the worlde sauing but a very few The holy Prophet whom GOD sent into Samaria was slaine of a Lion by the way as he rode because he did eate and drinke with a lying Prophet contrary to the commandement of God Iohoshaphat that good king of Israel beeing in company with wicked Ahab was wel neere slaine for his labor was greatly rebuked for the same by the prophet of God Vices be sooner learned than vertues and therfore take heede of wicked company for it is infectious The Iewes which were the chosen people of God because they companied with the Gentiles they were reproued by Isaiah the prophet when he saide The siluer is become drosse their wine is mixt with water Now as wine mingled with water doeth leese much of the force so a good man through vsing wicked company doth leese much of his goodnesse and waxeth cold in matters of God And as wine delayed though it leese not all it strength yet looseth his colour so if thou delight in wicked company thou shalt loose the good opinion that men conceiued of thee For such as a mans companion is such is himselfe taken to be If thou wouldest know thi'nclination of a man marke the men with whom he is familiar For like will to like as the saying is This made Elihu to reprehend Iob euen for that he went in the company of them that wrought iniquitie and walked with wicked men It is a great signe that he is nought which keepeth companie continually with such as bee nought To bee good among wicked persons is as easie a matter as to swimme against the streame Yea it is verie hard among sinners to liue without committing sinne There bee fewe that liued as Lot did in the middest of Sodome whom God by his Angel plucked-out of that citie that hee might not perish with the wicked S. Paul magnified the Philippians because in the middest of a naughty and crooked nation they shined as lights in the world The Church is commended which flourisheth as the lillie among thornes It is a very hard matter for the tender and delicate lillie to saue her selfe whole amonge the sharpe and piercing thornes God saith to his Prophet Ezekiel And thou sonne of man feare them not neither be afraid of their words althogh rebels and thornes be with thee thou remainest with Scorpions If it be so hard a thing to leade a good life among euill men it followeth that to enter into friendship with them it is very dangerous CHAP. 28. The company of good men is to be frequented WIth the godly thou wilt shewe thy selfe godlie and with the vpright man thou wilt shew thy selfe vpright saith the Prophet If thou vse the company of good men though thou wot not either how or how much thou profitest in vertue yet thou shalt well perceiue in the ende that thou hast gonne forwarde Saul being among the Prophetes became himself a Prophet and did Prophesie S. Peter when he was among the rest of the Godly Disciples confessed Christ to be the sonne of God but hauing left them and being ioyned to the wicked in the house of Caiphas he denied him whom he confessed before If thou puttest dead coales among the coales that burne they will soone bee on fire If thou resortest to men that bee godly zealous thy zeale will bee inflamed though otherwise thou be cold It was well for Laban that Iaakob â—oiorned in his house for hee coulde say The litle that thou haddest beeâ—fore I came is increased into a multitude and the Lord hath blessed thee by my comming The Lord blessed the AEgyptians house for Iosephs sake the blessing of the Lord was vpon al that he had in the house and in the field For Iehoshâ—phats sake the Lorde by Elisha his prophet sent raine vpon the hoste of wicked men Moe examples there bee in the Scriptures which teach howe that wicked men are blessed many times for the sake of good men which liue amonge them Thomas the Apostle beeing absent from the rest of his sellow Apostles beheld not Christ with them being new â—sen from the dead But afterward in company of the faithfull himselfe come vnto faith On the day of Penticost where the Disciples were all with one accâ—râ—e in one place the holy Ghost deâ—cended vppon them al to their exceeding comfort If thou abid with good men thou shalt with them haue a part of the spirituall blessinges of the holy Ghost which with wholesome admonitions will with-drawe thee from euill workes and adhort vnto a godly conuersation Forsomuch as ill wordes corrupt good maÌ„ners haue a regard vnto what company thou dost resort As necessary and as profitable as a good ayre and wholsome scituation is for the bodie so necessary for the health of the soule is the company of the seruants of Christ. If then for the health of the body thou shunnest contagious places why for the good of thy soule doest thou not flye the fellowship of the wicked and ioyne thy selfe to the godly Flie therefore all wicked company as from the fire of hell and vse the familiaritie of good
people of whom more profite shall you receiue at the length than at the first you would imagine CHAP. 29. The world must be despised in no worldly respects WHosoeuer shall forsake houses or brethren or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands for my Names sake hee shall receiue an hundred folde more and shal inherite euerlasting life saith the Lord Many do forsake great possessions which yet receiue no reward because they forsake not these thinges for Christ his sake but seeke themselues loue their owne glorie and couet the praise of men The more thou louest God the more acceptable is that whatsoeuer thou doest Though I feede the poore with all my goods and though I giue my bodie that I be burned and haue not loue it profiteth me nothing saith the Apostle Study thou onely to please God and let his loue onely mooue thee to serue him contemne this world not hoping for any temporall commoditie God he praised Iob and the Diuel replied againe Doth Iob feare God for nought The Diuel he denied not the workes of Iob but he argued vp In euery worke therefore let God be the cause and ende of the same if thou haue no purpose to worke in vaine CHAP. 30. Death is to be had in continunual remembrance WHatsoeuer thou takest in hand remember the ende and thou shalt neuer doe amisse saieth a wise man The remembrance of death it auaileth much to make vs to contemne this world Hee will easily despise all which hath in minde that he shall die Vnto Adam and his wife did the Lord God make coates of skinnes and clothed them that thereby they might haue in remembrance the sentence of death whereinto they were fallen through sinne Seeing thou with all mortall creatures art condemned to die the death and art still going the right way vnto the graue thou oughtest to giue thy selfe vnto continuall mortifying of thy selfe It is a soueraigne medicine for to refraine thy sensual and wicked appetites to haue death in remembrance whereby the bodie shal be turned into duste and ashes and eaten vp of wormes The cogitation of death it throweth water as it were into the fornace of our burning desires to quench them Death is the clocke by which wee set our life in order and the memory thereof doth choake vp much of that loue that wee doe beare vnto the world As Daniel by strawing of ashes in the flore discouered by the print of the feete the deceipt of the false Priestes of Babylon so doe thou cast in thy memorie the ashes whereinto thou shalt one day bee conuerted and thou shalt perceiue the deceiptes of the worlde the subtilty of the Diuel and the secrete tentations whereby the wicked spirits doe impugne thy soule O that these thinges were in thy minde howe purely should the life beleeue the things which dayly thou seest to happen before thy face Thinke that euery moment thou hearest that terrible trumpet resounding in thine eares Arise ye dead and come vnto iudgement The memorie of death in a good man it clenseth and purifieth all that passeth through it as a strainer clenseth all that liquor that is powred into it Driue not from thy mind the remembrance of death for it will detaine thee greatly from reuenging iniuries and from following the vanities of this world which as yet abide in thy minde and study to get the Christian virtues which highly doe please God and are profitable to man CHAP. 31. The houre of death is vncertaine WAtch for yee knowe neither the day nor the houre when the sonne of man will come saith our Sauiour Seeing death is so certaine and the time thereof so vncertaine we are continually to watch and to thinke that euerie day shall bee the last Many doe builde houses yet wot they not whether they shall inhabite them or no Many doe make prouision against the yeere to come which it may bee they shall neuer see They giue themselues to this life which is vncertaine and ouerpasse the caâ—e of death which is most certaine Seeing then with such an earnest studie thou prouidest for vncertaine thinges why prouidest thou not against death which is of all most certaine It is not good to leaue the certaine for the vncertaine Man knâ—weth noâ— his time sayeth the preacher but as the fishes which are taken in an euill net and as the birdes that are caught in the snare so are the children of men snared in the euil time when it falleth vpon them suddenly Why tariest thou longer vpon present things If a King of speciall fauour should giue thee one of the cities of his stingdome and should assigne thee a certaine houre to confirme his graunt wouldest thou not with all studie and diligence endeauour that that houre should not bee ouerslipt But now a farre more excellent and glorious city than any is in this world euen the celestial Ierusalem is promised vnto thee by the vnspeakeable magnificence of the King of Kinges The time of this life is giuen thee to attaine therein this blessed citie Leese not thy time therefore omit not a good opportunitie least thou leese that happinesse which thou so longest for The night commeth when no man can worke No man hath an houre sure of his life Therefore the time being so short and the promises so ample what a woonder is it that many can so idlely passe the time away in vanities and pastimes as though they had yet an hundred yeeres moe assured them to liue and looked for none other world after this life If for the getting of some temporal good thing thou art willing to breake thy sleepe to refraine from meate to absent thy selfe from many meetinges of pleasure and that onely to finish which is in thine handes least the occasion doe slip and thou wottest not when to haue the like againe why doest thou not take the like occasion now giuen thee of God for the attaining of that life which shall endure for euer Those fiue foolish virgins that sufâ—ered the time praeâ—ent unprofitably to passe-away and presumed of the time to come were deceiued of their vaine expectation Disire not a long but a good life nor many but good yeares Endeuor rather to liue well than long and seeke not onely to haue a good-will but adde thereunto good workes Many contenting themselues with a good intentes haue descended into the tormentes of hell Vncertaine is the houre of death which is a thing that should stirre vs vp vnto more watchfulnesse in our calling It were extreme foolishnesse for thee to liue in that state in which thou wouldest not that death should finde thee And seeâ—ing this may fall out euery houre euen in reason it standeth thee vppon to liue well for little doe you knowe the houre when death wil summon you to answere for your life before the iudgement seate of God CHAP. 32. The houre of death is vnknow en because we