which I reason unto you In his hands saith he be we and our Words Wisd â—â— and all our Wisdom and all our Sciences and Works of Knowledge For it is he that gave me the true instruction of his Creatures both to know the disposition of the World and the virtues of the Elements the beginning and end of Times the change and diversities of them the course of the Year the order of the Stars the natures of Beasts and the powers of them the powers of the Wind and the thoughts of Men the differences of Planets the virtue of Roots and what soever is hid and secret in Nature I learnt it The Artificer of all these taught me this wisdom and further he saith Wisd 9. Who can search out the things that be in Heaven For it is hard for us to search such things as be on Earth and in daily sight before us For our Wits and Thoughts saith he be imperfect and our Policies uncertain No Man can therefore search out the meaning in these things except thou givest Wisdom and sendest thy Spirit from above If the Wise Man thus confesseth all things to be of God why should not we acknowledge it and by the knowledge of it consider our Duty to God-ward and give him thanks for his goodness I perceive that I am far here overcharged with the Plenty and Copy of Matter that might be brought in for the proof of this cause If I should enter to shew how the goodness of Almighty God appeared every where in the Creatures of the World how marvellous they be in their Creation how beautiful in their Order how necessary they be to our use all with one Voice must needs grant their Author to be none other but Almighty God his goodness must they needs extol and magnifie every where To whom be all honor and glory for evermore The Second Part of the Homily for Rogation Week IN the former Part of this Homily good Christian People I have declared to your Contemplation the great goodness of Almighty God in the Creation of this World with all the Furniture thereof for the use and comfort of Man whereby we might rather be moved to acknowledge our Duty again to his Majesty and I trust it hath wrought not only belief in you but also it hath moved you to render your thanks secretly in your hearts to Almighty God for his loving kindness But yet peradventure some will say that they can agree to this That all that is good pertaining to the Soul or whatsoever is created with us in Body should come from God as from the Author of all goodness and from none other But of such things as be without them both I mean such good things which we call Goods of Fortune as Riches Authority Promotion and Honor some Men may think that they should come of our industry and diligence of our labor and travel rather than supernaturally Now then consider good People if any Author there be of such things concurrent of Mans labor and endeavor were it meet to ascribe them to any other than to God As the Paynims Philosophers and Poets did Err which took Fortune and made her a Goddess to be honored for such things God forbid good Christian People that this Imagination should earnestly be received of us that be Worshippers of the true God whose Works and Proceedings be expressed manifestly in his Word These be the opinions and sayings of Infidels not of true Christians Job 22. for they indeed as Job maketh mention believe and say That God hath his residence and resting place in the Clouds and considereth nothing of our matters Epicures they be that imagine that he walketh about the Coasts of the Heavens and hath no respect of these inferior things but that all these things should proceed either by chance or at adventure or else by disposition of Fortune and God to have no stroke in them What other thing is this to say than as the Fool supposeth in his heart there is no God whom we shall none otherwise reprove than with Gods own Words by the mouth of David Hear my People saith he for I am thy God Psal 14. thy very God All the Beasts of the Wood are mine Sheep and Oxen that wander in the Mountains Psal 50. I have the knowledge of all the Fowls of the Air the beauty of the Field is my handy work mine is the whole circuit of the World and all the plenty that is in it And again the Prophet Jeremy Jer. 23. Thinkest thou that I am a God of the place nigh me saith the Lord and not a God far off Can a Man hide himself in so secret a corner that I shall not see him Do not I fulfill and replenish both Heaven and Earth saith the Lord Which of these two should be most believed Fortune whom they paint to be blind of both eyes ever unstable and unconstant in her Wheel in whose hands they say these things be Or God in whose hand and power these things be indeed who for his truth and constancy was yet never reproved for his sight looketh through Heaven and Earth and seeth all things prâ—sently with his eyes Nothing is too dark or hidden from his knowledge not the privy thoughts of Mens minds Truth it is that God is all Riches all Power all Authority all Health Wealth and Prosperity of the which we should have no part without his liberal distribution and except it came from him above David first testifieth of Riches and Possessions Psal 104. If thou givest good luck they shall gather and if thou openest thy hand they shall be full of goodness but if thou turnest thy face they shall be troubled Prov. 10. 1 King 2. And Solomon saith It is the blessing of the Lord that maketh rich Men. To this agreeth the Holy Woman Ann where she saith in her Song It is the Lord that maketh the poor and maketh the rich it is he that promoteth and pulleth down he can raise a needy Man from his Misery and from the Dunghil he can lift up a poor Personage to sit with Princes and have the seat of Glory for all the Coasts of the Earth be his Now if any Man will ask What shall it avail us to know that every good gift as of Nature and Fortune so called and every perfect Gift as of Grace concerning the Soul to be of God and that it is his gift only Forsooth for many causes it is convenient for us to know it for so shall we know if we confess the truth who ought justly to be thanked for them Our Pride shall be thereby abated perceiving nought to come of our selves but Sin and Vice if any goodness be in us to refer all laud and praise for the same to Almighty God It shall make us not advance our selves before our Neighbor not despise him for that he hath fewer gifts seeing God giveth his gifts where he will
provoking him to slay King Saul when opportunity served him thereunto Neither is it to be omitted and left out how when an Amalechite had slain King Saul even at Sauls own bidding and commandment for he would live no longer now for that he had lost the Field against his Enemies the Philistines the said Amalechite making great hast to bring first word and news thereof unto David as joyous unto him for the death of his mortal Enemy bringing withal the Crown that was upon King Sauls head and the Bracelet that was about his arm both as a proof of the truth of his news and also as fit and pleasant Presents unto David being by God appointed to be King Saul his Successor in the Kingdom 2 Reg. 1. c. 12. yet was that faithful and godly David so far from rejoycing at these news that he rent his Cloaths Wept and Mourned and Fasted and so far off from thanksgiving to the Messenger either for his deed in killing the King though his deadly Enemy or for his Message and News or for his Presents that he brought that he said unto him How hapned it that thou wast not afraid to lay thy hands upon the Lords Anointed to slay him Whereupon 2 Reg. 1. c. 4. c. 15. immediately he commanded one of his Servants to kill the Messenger and said Thy Blood be upon thine own head for thine own mouth hath witnessed against thy self in confessing that thou hast slain the Lords Anointed This Example dearly beloved is notable and the Circumstances thereof are well to be considered for the better instruction of all Subjects in their bounden Duty of Obedience and perpetual fearing of them from attempting of any Rebellion or hurt against their Prince On the one part David was not only a good and true Subject but also such a Subject as both in Peace and War had served and saved his Princes honor and life and delivered his Countrey and Countrey-men from great danger of Infidels Foreign and most cruel Enemies horribly invading the King and his Country 1 Reg. 8. d. 18. g. 30. for which David was in a singular favor with all the People so that he might have had great numbers of them at his Command if he would have attempted any thing 1 Reg. 16. c 12. c. c. 1 Reg. 18. c. 11. 2 Reg. 15. c. 11. 1 Reg. 18. 10. 12. Besides this David was no common nor absolute Subject but Heir apparent to the Crown and Kingdom by God appointed to Reign after Saul which as it increased the favor of the People that knew it towards David so did it make Davids cause and case much differing from the case of common and absolute Subjects And which is most of all David was highly and singularly in the favor of God On the contrary part King Saul was out of Gods favor for that cause which is before rehearsed and he as it were Gods Enemy and therefore like in War and Peace to be hurtful and pernicious unto the Commonwealth and that was known to many of his Subjects for that he was openly rebuked of Samuel for his disobedience unto God which might make the People the less to esteem him 1 Reg. 15. 22. 26. King Saul was also unto David a mortal and deadly Enemy though without Davids deserving who by his faithful painful profitable yea most necessary Service had well deserved as of his Country so of his Prince but King Saul far otherwise the more was his unkindness hatred and cruelty towards such a good Subject both odious and detestable Yet would David neither himself slay nor hurt such an Enemy for that he was his Prince and Lord nor would suffer any other to kill hurt or lay hand upon him when he might have been slain without any stir tumult or danger of any Mans life Now let David answer to such demands as Men desirous of Rebellion do use to make Shall not we specially being so good Men as we are The Demand Rise and Rebel against a Prince hated of God and Gods Enemy and therefore likely not to prosper either in War or Peace but to be hurtful and pernicious to the Commonwealth The Answer No saith good and godly David Gods and such a Kings faithful Subject and so Convicting such Subjects as attempt any Rebellion against such a King to be neither good Subjects nor good Men. But say they The Demand shall we not rise and rebel against so unkind a Prince nothing considering or regarding our true faithful and painful Service or the safeguard of our Posterity No saith good David The Answer The Demand The Answer whom no such unkindness could cause to forsake his due obedience to his Sovereign Shall we not say they rise and rebel against our known mortal and deadly Enemy that seeketh our lives No saith godly David who had learned the Lesson that our Saviour afterward plainly taught that we should do no hurt to our Fellow-Subjects though they hate us and be our Enemies much less unto our Prince though he were our Enemy Shall we not Assemble an Army of such good Fellows as we are and by hazarding of our lives The Demand and the lives of such as shall withstand us and withal hazarding the whole Estate of our Country remove so naughty a Prince No saith godly David for I The Answer when I might without Assembling force or number of Men without tumult or hazard of any Mans life or shedding of any drop of Blood The Demand have delivered my self and my Country of an evil Prince yet would I not do it Are not they say some lusty and couragious Captains valiant Men of stomach and good Mens Bodies that do venture by force to kill and depose their King The Answer being a naughty Prince and their mortal Enemy They may be as lusty and couragious as they list yet saith godly David They can be no good nor godly Men that so do for I not only have rebuked but also commanded him to be slain as a wicked Man which slew King Saul mine enemy though he being weary of his life for the loss of the Victory against his Enemies desired that Man to slay him The Demand The Answer What shall we then do to an evil to an unkind Prince an Enemy to us hated of God hurtful to the Common-wealth c Lay no violent hand upon him saith David but let him live until God appoint and work his end either by natural Death or in War by lawful Enemies not by traiterous Subjects Thus would godly David make answer and St. Paul as ye heard before willeth us also to pray for such a Prince If King David would make these Answers as by his deeds and words recorded in the Holy Scriptures indeed he doth make unto all such Demands concerning rebelling against evil Princes unkind Princes cruel Princes Princes that be to their good Subjects mortal Enemies Princes
Wilt thou be without fear of the Power Do well then and so shalt thou be praised of the same for he is the Minister of God for thy wealth But and if thou do that which is evil then fear for he beareth not the Sword for nought for he is the Minister of God to take vengeance on him that doth evil Wherefore ye must needs obey not only for fear of vengeance but also because of conscience and even for this cause pay ye tribute for they are God's Ministers serving for the same purpose Here let us learn of St. Paul the chosen Vessel of God that all Persons having Souls he excepteth none nor exempteth none neither Priest Apostle nor Prophet saith St. Chrysostom do owe of bounden Duty and even in Conscience Obedience Submission and Subjection to the higher Powers which be set in autho ty by God forasmuch as they be God's Lieutenants God's Presidents God's Officers God's Commissioners God's Judges ordained of God himself of whom only they have all their Power and all their Authority And the same St. Paul threatneth no less pain than everlasting damnation to all disobedient persons to all resisters against this general and common Authority forasmuch as they resist not Man but God not Man's device and invention but God's Wisdom God's Order Power and Authority The Second Part of the Sermon of Obedience FOrasmuch as God hath created and disposed all things in a comly order we have been taught in the First Part of the Sermon concerning good Order and Obedience that we ought also in all Commonweals to observe and keep a due order and to be obedient to the Powers their Ordinances and Laws and that all Rulers are appointed of God for a goodly Order to be kept in the World And also how the Magistrates ought to learn how to Rule and Govern according to God's Laws And that all Subjects are bound to obey them as God's Ministers yea although they be evil not only for fear but also for Conscience sake And here good People let us all mark diligently that it is not lawful for Inferiors and Subjects in any case to resist and stand against the Superior Powers For S. Paul's words be plain that whosoever withstandeth shall get to themselves damnation for whosoever withstandeth withstandeth the Ordinance of God Our Saviour Christ himself and his Apostles received many and divers injuries of the unfaithful and wicked Men in Authority yet we never read that they or any of them caused any Sedition or Rebellion against Authority We read oft that they patiently suffered all troubles vexations slanders pangs and pains and death itself obediently without tumult or resistance They committed their Cause to him that judgeth righteously and prayed for their Enemies heartily and earnestly They knew that the Authority of the Powers was God's Ordinance and therefore both in their Words and Deeds they taught ever Obedience to it and never taught nor did the contrary The wicked Judge Pilate said to Christ Knowest thou not that I have power to crucifie thee and have power also to loose thee Jesus answered Thou couldst have no power at all against me except it were given thee from above Whereby Christ taught us plainly that even the wicked Rulers have their Power and Authority from God and therefore it is not lawful for their Subjects to withstand them although they abuse their Power Much less then is it lawful for Subjects to withstand their Godly and Christian Princes which do not abuse their Authority but use the same to God's Glory and to the Profit and Commodity of God's People 1. Pet. 2. The Holy Apostle Peter commandeth Servants to be obedient to their Masters not only if they be good and gentle but also if they be evil and froward Affirming that the Vocation and Calling of God's People is to be Patient and of the suffering side And there he bringeth in the Patience of our Saviour Christ to persuade Obedience to Governors yea although they be wicked and wrong-doers But let us now hear St. Peter himself speak for his words certifie best our Conscience thus he uttereth them in his first Epistle Servants 1 Pet. 2. obey your Masters with fear not only if they be good and gentle but also if they be froward For it is thank-worthy if a man for Conscience toward God endureth grief and suffer wrong undeserved For what praise is it when ye be beaten for your faults if ye take it patiently But when ye do well if you then suffer wrong and take it patiently then is there cause to have thank of God for hereunto verily were ye called For so did Christ suffer for us leaving us an example that we should follow his steps All these be the very words of St. Peter 1 Kings 1â— 19 20. Holy David also teacheth us a good Lesson in this behalf who was many times most cruelly and wrongfully persecuted of King Saul and many times also put in jeopardy and danger of his Life by King Saul and his People yet he neither withstood neither used any force or violence against King Saul his mortal and deadly enemy but did ever to his Liege Lord and Master King Saul most true most diligent and most faithful Service Insomuch that when the Lord God had given King Saul into David's hands in his own Cave he would not hurt him when he might without all Bodily peril easily have slain him no he would not suffer one of his Servants once to lay their hand upon King Saul but prayed to God on this wise Lord keep me from doing that thing upon my Master the Lord 's Anointed keep me that I lay not my hand upon him seeing he is the Anointed of the Lord For as truly as the Lord liveth except the Lord smite him or except his day come or that he go down to War and perish in Battel the Lord be merciful unto me that I lay not my hands upon the Lords Anointed And that David might have killed his Enemy King Saul it is evidently proved in the first Book of the Kings both by the cutting off the lap of Saul's Garment and also by plain Confession of King Saul Also another time as is mentioned in the same Book when the most unmerciful and most unkind King Saul did persecute poor David God did again give Saul into David's hands by casting of King Saul and his whole Army into a dead sleep so that David and one Abisai with him came in the night into Saul's Host where Saul lay sleeping and his Spear stuck in the ground at his Head Then said Abisai unto David God hath delivered thine Enemy into thine hands at this time now therefore let me smite him once with my spear to the earth and I will not smite him again the second time meaning thereby to have killed him with one stroke and to have made him sure for ever And David answered and said to Abisai Destroy him not for who
can lay his hands on the Lords anointed and be guiltless And David said furthermore As sure as the Lord liveth the Lord shall smite him or his day shall come to die or he shall descend or go down into Battel and there perish the Lord keep me from laying my hands upon the Lord 's anointed But take thou now the spear that is at his head and the cruse of Water and let us go And so he did Here is evidently proved that we may not withstand nor in any ways hurt an anointed King which is God's Lieutenant Vicegerent and highest Minister in that Country where he is King But peradventure some here would say that David in his own defence might have killed King Saul lawfully An Objection and with a safe Conscience But holy David did know than he might in no wise withstand An Answer hurt or kill his Sovereign Lord and King He did know that he was but King Saul's Subject though he were in great favour with God and his Enemy King Saul out of God's favour Therefore though he were never so much provoked yet he refused utterly to hurt the Lord 's anointed He durst not for offending God and his own Conscience although he had occasion and opportunity once lay his hands upon God's high Officer the King whom he did know to be a Person reserved and kept for his Office sake only to God's Punishment and Judgment therefore he prayeth so oft and so earnestly that he lay not his hands upon the Lord 's anointed And by these two Examples Holy David being named in Scripture a Man after God's own Heart Psal 88. giveth a general Rule and Lesson to all Subjects in the World not to withstand their Liege Lord and King not to take a Sword by their private Authority against their King God's anointed who only beareth the Sword by God's Authority for the Maintenance of the good and for the Punishment of the evil who only by God's Law hath the use of the Sword at his command and also hath all Power Jurisdiction Regiment Correction and Punishment as Supreme Governor of all his Realms and Dominions and that even by the Authority of God and by God's Ordinances Yet another notable Story and Doctrine is in the second Book of the Kings that maketh also for this purpose When an Amalekite 2 Kings 1. by King Saul's own consent and Commandment had killed King Saul he went to David supposing to have had great Thanks for his Message that he had killed David's deadly Enemy and therefore he made great haste to tell to David the chance bringing with him King Saul's Crown that was upon his Head and his Bracelet that was upon his Arm to persuade his tidings to be true But Godly David was so far from rejoycing at this news that immediately and forthwith he rent his Cloaths off his Back he Mourned and wept and said to the Messenger How is it that thou wast not afraid to lay thy hands on the Lords anointed to destroy him And by and by David made one of his Servants to kill the Messenger saying Thy blood be on thine own head for thine own mouth hath testified and witnessed against thee granting that thou hast slain the Lords anointed These examples being so manifest and evident it is an intolerable ignorance madness and wickedness for Subjects to make any Murmuring Rebellion Resistance or withstanding Commotion or Insurrection against their most dear and most dread Sovereign Lord and King ordained and appointed of God's Goodness for their Commodity Peace and Quietness Yet let us believe undoubtedly good Christian People that we may not obey Kings Magistrates or any other though they be our own Fathers if they would command us to do any thing contrary to God's Commanments In such a case we ought to say with the Apostle Acts 7. We must rather obey God than man But nevertheless in that case we may not in any wise withstand violently or rebel against Rulers or make any Insurrection Sedition or Tumults either by force of Arms or otherwise against the Anointed of the Lord or any of his Officers But we must in such case patiently suffer all wrongs and injuries referring the Judgment of our Cause only to God Let us fear the terrible Punishment of Almighty God against Traytors and rebellious Persons by the Example of Korah Dathan and Abiram who repined and grudged against God's Magistrates and Officers and therefore the Earth opened and swallowed them up alive Others for their wicked Murmuring and Rebellion were by a sudden Fire sent down from God utterly consumed Others for their froward behaviour to their Rulers and Governors God's Ministers were suddenly striken with a foul Leprosie Others were stinged to death with wonderful strange fiery Serpents Others were sore plagued so that there were killed in one day 2 Kings 18. the Number of Fourteen thousand and seven hundred for Rebellion against them whom God had appointed to be in Authority Absalom also rebelling against his Father King David was punished with a strange and notable Death The Third Part of the Sermon of Obedience YE have heard before in this Sermon of good Order and Obedience manifestly proved both by the Scriptures and Examples that all Subjects are bound to obey their Magistrates and for no cause to resist or withstand or rebel or make any Sedition against them yea although they be wicked Men. And let no Man think that he can escape unpunished that committeth Treason Conspiracy or Rebellion against his Sovereign Lord the King though he commit the same never so secretly either in Thought Word or Deed never so privily in his privy Chamber by himself or openly communicating and consulting with others For Treason will not be hid Treason will out at length God will have that most detestable Vice both opened and punished for that it is so directly against his Ordinance and against his high Principal Judge and Anointed on Earth The Violence and Injury that is committed against Authority is committed against God the Commonweal and the whole Realm which God will have known and condignly or worthily punished one way or the other For it is notably written of the wise Man in Scripture Eccl. 10. in the Book called Ecclesiastes Wish the King no evil in thy Thought nor speak no hurt of him in thy privy chamber For the bird of the air shall betray thy voice and with her feathers shall bewray thy words These Lessons and Examples are written for our Learning Therefore let us all fear the most detestable vice of Rebellion ever knowing and remembring that he that resisteth or withstandeth common Authority resisteth or withstandeth God and his Ordinance as it may be proved by many other places of Holy Scripture And here let us take heed that we understand not these or such other like places which so straitly command Obedience to Superiours and so straitly punished Rebellion and Disobedience to the same to be
She is the Mother of all these things for she is an infinite treasure unto Men which whoso use become partakers of the love of God I might with many words move some of this audience to search for this Wisdom to sequester their Reason to follow Gods Commandment to cast from them the Wits of their Brains to favor this Wisdom to renounce the Wisdom and Policy of this fond World to taste and Savor of that whereunto the Favor and Will of God hath called them and willeth us finally to enjoy by his Favor if we would give ear But I will haste to the Third Part of my Text wherein is expressed further in Sapience how God giveth his Elect understanding of the motions of the Heavens of the alteration and circumstances of Time Which as it followeth in words more plentiful in the Text which I have last cited unto you so it must needs follow in them that be endued with this Spiritual Wisdom For as they can search where to find this Wisdom and know of whom to ask it So know they again that in time it is found and can therefore temper themselves to the occasion of the time to suffer no time to pass away wherein they may labor for this Wisdom And to encrease therein they know how God of his infinite Mercy and lenity giveth all Men here time and place of Repentance And they see how the Wicked as Job writeth abuse the same to their Pride Job 14. and therefore do the Godly take the better hold of the time to redeem it out of such use as it is spoiled in by the Wicked They which have this Wisdom of God can gather by the diligent and earnest study of the Worldlings of this present life how they wait their times and apply themselves to every occasion of time and to get Riches to encrease their Lands and Patrimony They see the time pass away and therefore take hold on it in such wise that otherwhiles they will with loss of their sleep and ease with suffering many pains catch the offer of their time knowing that that which is past cannot be returned again Repentance may follow but remedy is none Why should not they then that be Spiritually Wise in their Generation wait their time to encrease as fast in their state to win and gain Everlastingly They reason what a brute forgetfulness it were in Man endued with Reason to be ignorant of their Times and Tides when they see the Turtle Dove the Stork and the Swallow to wait their times Jer. 8. as Jeremy saith The Stork in the Air knoweth her appointed times the Turtle the Grane and the Swallow observe the time of their coming but my People knoweth not the judgment of the Lord. Ephes 2. St. Paul willeth us to redeem the time because the days are evil It is not the Counsel of St. Paul only but of all other that ever gave precepts of Wisdom There is no Precept more seriously given and commanded than to know the time Yea Christian Men for that they hear how grievously God complaineth and threatneth in the Scriptures them which will not know the time of his Visitations are learned thereby the rather earnestly to apply themselves thereunto After our Saviour Christ had Prophesied with weeping Tears of the destruction of Jerusalem at the last he putteth the cause Luke 19. For that thou hast not known the time of thy Visitation O England ponder the time of Gods merciful Visitation which is shewed thee from day to day and yet will not regard it neither wilt thou with his Punishment be driven to thy Duty nor with his benefits be provoked to Thanks If thou knewest what may fall upon thee for thy unthankfulness thou wouldst provide for thy Peace Brethren howsoever the World in generality is forgetful of God let us Particularly attend to our time and win the time with diligence and apply our selves to the Light and Grace that is afforded us let us if Gods Favor and Judgments which he worketh in our time cannot stir us to call home to our selves to do that belonging to our Salvation at the least way let the malice of the Devil the naughtiness of the World which we see exercised in these perilous and last times wherein we see our days so dangerously set provoke us to watch diligently to our vocation to walk and go forward therein Let the misery and short transitory joys spied in the casualty of our days move us while we have them in our hands and seriously stir us to be wise and to expend the gracious good Will of God to us ward which all the day long stretched out his Hands as the Prophet saith unto us Isaiah 65. for the most part his merciful Hands sometime his heavy Hands that we being learned thereby may escape the danger that must needs fall on the unjust who lead their days in felicity and pleasure without the knowing of Gods Will toward them but suddenly they go down into Hell Let us be found Watchers found in the Peace of the Lord that at the last Day we may be found without spot and blameless yea let us endeavor our selves good Christian People diligently to keep the presence of his holy Spirit Job 2. Let us renounce all uncleanness for he is the Spirit of Purity Sap. 1. Let us avoid all hypocrisie for this holy Spirit will flee from that which is feigned Heb. 11. Cast we off all malice and all evil will for this Spirit will never enter into an evil willing Soul Let us cast away all the whole lump of sin that standeth about us for he will never dwell in that Body that is subdued to sin We cannot be seen Thankful to Almighty God and work such despight to the Spirit of Grace by whom we be Sanctified Heb. 10. If we do our endeavor we shall not need to fear We shall be able to overcome all our Enemies that fight against us Only let us apply our selves to accept the Grace that is offered us Of Almighty God we have comfort by his Goodness of our Saviour Christs Mediation we may be sure And this holy Spirit will suggest unto us that shall be wholsome and comfort us in all things Therefore it cannot be but true that St. Paul affirmeth Of him by him and in him be all things and in him after this transitory life well passed shall we have all things For St. Paul saith 1 Cor. 15. When the Son of God shall subdue all things unto him then shall God be all in all If ye will know how God shall be all in all verily after this sense may we understand it In this World ye see that we be fain to borrow many things to our necessity of many Creatures there is no one thing that sufficeth all our necessities If we be an Hungred we lust for Bread If we be Athirst we seek to be refreshed with Ale or Wine If we be
to them that they study not either to Write fair to keep a Book of Account to study the Tongues and so to get wisdom and knowledge in such Books and Works as be now plentifully set out in Print of all manner of Languages Let young Men consider the precious value of their time and waste it not in Idleness in Jollity in Gaming in Bant queting in Ruffians company Youth is but Vanity and must be accounted for before God How merry and glad soever thou be in thy Youth O young Man saith the Preacher how glad soever thy Heart be in thy young days Eccles 11. how fast and freely soever thou follow the ways of thine own Heart and the lust of thine own Eye yet be thou sure that God shall bring thee into Judgment for all these things God of his mercy put it into the Hearts and Minds of all them that have the Sword of Punishment in their Hands or have Families under their Governance to Labor to redress this great enormity of all such as live Idly and unprofitably in the Common-weal to the great dishonor of God and the grievous Plague of his silly People To leave sin unpunished and to neglect the good bringing up of Youth is nothing else but to kindle the Lords wrath against us and to heap Plagues upon our own Heads As long as the Adulterous people were suffered to live Licentiously without Reformation so long did the Plague continue and increase in Israel Numb 25. as you may see in the Book of Numbers But when due correction was done upon them the Lords anger was strait way pacified and the Plauge ceased Let all Officers therefore look straitly to their charge Let all Masters of Housholds reform this abuse in their Families let them use the Authority that God hath given them let them not maintain Vagabonds and Idle persons but deliver the Realm and their Housholds from such noysom Loyterers that Idleness the Mother of all Mischief being clean taken away Almighty God may turn his dreaful Anger away from us and confirm the Covenant of Peace upon us for ever through the Merits of Jesus Christ our only Lord and Saviour to whom with the Father and the Holy Ghost be all Honor and Glory World without end Amen AN HOMILY OF Repentance and of true Reconciliation unto God THere is noting that the Holy Ghost doth so much Labor in all the Scriptures to beat into Mens Heads as Repentance amendment of Life and speedy returning unto the Lord God of Hosts And no marvel why for we do Daily and Hourly by our wickedness and stubborn Disobedience horribly fall away from God thereby purchasing unto our selves if he should deal with us according to his Justice Eternal Damnation The Doctrin of Repentance is most necessary So that no Doctrin is so necessary in the Church of God as is the Doctrin of Repentance and amendment of Life And verily the true Preachers of the Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven and of the glad and joyful tidings of Salvation have always in their Godly Sermons and Preachings unto the People joyned these two together I mean Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins even as our Saviour Jesus Christ did appoint himself saying So it behoved Christ to Suffer and to Rise again the Third Day and that Repentance and Forgiveness of sins should be preached in his Name among all Nations And therefore the holy Apostle doth in the Acts speak after this manner I have witnessed both to the Jews and to the Gentiles the Repentance towards God and Faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ Did not John Baptist Zacharias Son begin his Ministry with the Doctrin of Repentance saying Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand The like Doctrin did our Saviour Jesus Christ preach himself and commanded his Apostles to preach the same I might here alledge very many places out of the Prophets in the which this most wholsom Doctrin of Repentance is very earnestly urged as most needful for all degrees and orders of Men but one shall be sufficient at this present time These are the words of Joel the Prophet therefore also now the Lord saith Joel 2. Return unto me with all your heart with Fasting Weeping and Mourning rent your hearts and not your cloaths and return unto the Lord your God for he is gracious and merciful slow to anger and of great compassion and ready to pardon wickedness Whereby it is given us to understand A perpetual Rule which all must follow that we have here a perpetual Rule appointed unto us which ought to be observed and kept at all times and that there is none other way whereby the wrath of God may be pacified and his anger asswaged that the fierceness of his fury and the plagues of destruction which by his righteous Judgment he had determined to bring upon us may depart be removed and taken away Where he saith But now therefore saith the Lord return unto me It is not without great importance that the Prophet speaketh so for he had before set forth at large unto them the horrible Vengeance of God which no Man was able to abide and therefore he doth move them to Repentance to obtain Mercy as if he should say I will not have these things to be so taken as though there were no hope of grace left For although ye do by your sins deserve to be utterly destroyed and God by his righteous Judgments hath determined to bring no small destruction upon you yet know that ye are in a manner on the very edge of the Sword if ye will speedily return unto him he will most gently and most mercifully receive you into favor again Whereby we are admonished that Repentance is never too late so that it be true and earnest For sith that God in the Scriptures will be called our Father doubtless he doth follow the nature and property of gentle and merciful Fathers which seek nothing so much as the returning again and amendment of their Children as Christ doth abundantly teach in the Parable of the Prodigal Son Luke 15. Ezek. 18. Esay 1. 1 John 2. Doth not the Lord himself say by the Prophet I will not the death of the wicked but that he turn from his wicked ways and live And in another place If we confess our sins God is faithful righteous to forgive us our sins and to make us clean from all wickedness Which most comfortable Promises are confirmed by many Examples of the Scriptures when the Jews did willingly receive and imbrace the wholesom counsel of the Prophet Esay Esay 33. God by and by did reach his helping hand unto them and by his Angel did in one night slay the most worthy and valiant Soldiers of Sennacheribs Camp 2 Par. 53. Whereunto may King Manasses be added who after all manner of damnable wickedness returned unto the Lord and therefore was heard of him and restored again into his Kingdom
read it to comfort their Hearts and to encourage them to perform that which of God is commanded 1 Reg. 14. 2 Per. 20. 1 Cor. 15. 1 John 5. It teacheth Patience in all Adversity in Prosperity Humbleness What Honour is due unto GOD What Mercy and Charity to our Neighbour It giveth good Counsel in all doubtful things It sheweth of whom we shall look for Aid and help in all Perils and that God is the only giver of Victory in all Battels and Temptations of our Enemies Who profit most in reading Gods Word Bodily and Ghostly And in reading of God's Word he not always most profiteth that is most ready in turning of the Book or in saying of it without the Book but he that is most turned into it that is most inspired with the Holy Ghost most in his Heart and Life altered and changed into that thing which he readeth He that is daily less and less Proud less Wrathful less Covetous and less desirous of worldly and vain Pleasures He that daily forsaking his old vicious Life increaseth in Virtue more and more And to be short there is nothing that more maintaineth Godliness of the Mind and driveth away Ungodliness than doth the continual Reading or Hearing of God's Word Esa 5. Matth. 22. 1 Cor. 14. What discommodities the ignorance of God's Word bringeth if it be joyned with a Godly Mind and a good Affection to know and follow God's Will For without a single Eye pure Intent and good Mind nothing is allowed for good before God And on the other side nothing more darkeneth Christ and the Glory of God nor bringeth in more Blindness and all kinds of Vices than doth the ignorance of God's Word The Second part of the Sermon of the Knowledge of Holy Scripture IN the first part of this Sermon which exhorteth to the Knowledge of Holy Scripture was declared wherefore the knowledge of the same is necessary and profitable to all Men and that by the true Knowledge and Understanding of Scripture the most necessary points of our Duty towards God and our Neighbors are also known Now as concerning the same Matter you shall hear what followeth If we profess Christ Why be we not ashamed to be ignorant in his Doctrine Seeing that every Man is ashamed to be ignorant in that Learning which he professeth That Man is ashamed to be called a Philosopher which readeth not the Books of Philosophy and to be called a Lawyer an Astronomer God's Word excelleth all Sciences or Physisian that is ignorant in the Books of Law Astronomy and Physick How can any Man then say that he professeth Christ and his Religion if he will not apply himself as far forth as he can or may conveniently to read and hear and so to know the Books of Christ's Gospel and Doctrine Although other Sciences be good and to be learned yet no Man can deny but this is the chief and passeth all other incomparably What excuse shall we therefore make at the last day before Christ that delight to read or hear Mens Phantasies and Inventions more than his most Holy Gospel And will find no time to do that which chiefly above all things we should do and will rather read other things than that for the which we ought rather to leave reading of all other things Let us therefore apply ourselves as far forth as we can have time and leisure Vain excuses diswading from the knowledge of God's Word The First The Second Matth. 22. to know God's Word by diligent hearing and reading thereof as many as profess God and have Faith and Trust in Him But they that have no good affection to God's Word to colour this their fault alledge commonly two vain and feigned excuses Some go about to excuse them by their own frailness and fearfulness saying that they dare not read Holy Scripture lest through their ignorance they should fall into any error Others pretend that the difficulty to understand it and the hardness thereof is so great that it is meet to be read only of Clerks and learned Men. As touching the first Ignorance of God's Word is the cause of all Error as Christ himself affirmed to the Sadducees saying that they erred because they knew not the Scripture How should they then eschew Error that will be still ignorant And how should they come out of ignorance that will not read nor hear that thing which should give them knowledge He that now hath most Knowledge was at the first Ignorant yet he forbare not to read for fear he should fall into Error But he diligently read lest he should remain in Ignorance and through Ignorance in Error And if you will not know the Truth of God a thing most necessary for you lest you fall into Error by the same reason you may then lye still and never go lest if you go you fall into the Mire Nor eat any good Meat lest you take a Surfeit nor sow your Corn nor labour in your Occupation nor use your Merchandise for fear you lose your Seed your Labour your Stock and so by that reason it should be best for you to live idly and never to take in hand to do any manner of good thing lest peradventure some evil thing may chance thereof And if you be afraid to fall into Error by reading of Holy Scripture I shall shew you how you may read without danger of Error Read it humbly with a meek and lowly Heart How most commodiously and without all peril the Holy Scripture is to be read to the intent you may glorify God and not yourself with the knowledge of it And read it not without daily praying to God that he would direct your Reading to good effect And take upon you to expound it no further than you can plainly understand it For as St. Augustin saith the knowledge of Holy Scripture is a great large and a high place but the Door is very low so that the high and arrogant Man cannot run in but he must stoop low and humble himself that shall enter into it Presumption and Arrogancy are the Mother of all Error and Humility needeth to fear no Error For Humility will only search to know the Truth it will search and will bring together one place with another and where it cannot find out the meaning it will pray it will ask of others that know and will not presumptuously and rashly define any thing which it knoweth not Therefore the humble Man may search any Truth boldly in the Scripture without any danger of Error And if he be ignorant he ought the more to read and to search Holy Scripture to bring him out of Ignorance I say not nay but a Man may profit with only hearing but he may much more profit with both hearing and reading This have I said as touching the fear to read through ignorance of the Person Scripture in some places is easie and in some places hard to be
all from sin He is the Physician which healeth all our Diseases He is that Saviour which saveth People from all their sins To be short Matth. 1. he is that flowing and most plentious Fountain of whose fulness all we have received For in him alone are all the treasures of the wisdom and knowledge of God hidden And in him and by him have we from God the Father all good things pertaining either to the Body or to the Soul O how much are we bound to this our Heavenly Father for his great Mercies which he hath so plenteously declared unto us in Christ Jesu our Lord and Saviour What Thanks worthy and sufficient can we give to him Let us all with one accord burst out with joyful voice ever Praising and Magnifying this Lord of Mercy for his tender Kindness shewed unto us in his dearly beloved Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Hitherto we have heard what we are of ourselves very sinful wretched and damnable Again we have heard how that of ourselves and by ourselves we are not able either to think a good Thought or work a good Deed so that we can find in ourselves no hope of Salvation but rather whatsoever maketh unto our Destruction Again we have heard the tender Kindness and great Mercy of God the Father towards us and how beneficial he is to us for Christ's sake without our Merits or Deserts even of his own mere Mercy and tender Goodness Now how these exceeding great Mercies of God set abroad in Christ Jesu for us be obtained and how we be delivered from the captivity of Sin Death and Hell shall more at large with God's help be declared in the next Sermon In the mean season yea and at all times let us learn to know ourselves our frailty and weakness without any boasting or cracking of our own good Deeds and Merits Let us also acknowledge the exceeding Mercy of God towards us and confess that as of ourselves cometh all Evil and Damnation so likewise of him cometh all Goodness and Salvation Osee 13. as God himself saith by the Prophet Osee O Israel thy destruction cometh of thyself but in me only is thy help and comfort If we thus Humbly submit ourselves in the sight of God we may be sure that in the time of his Visitation he will lift us up unto the Kingdom of his dearly beloved Son Christ Jesu our Lord to whom with the Father and the Holy Ghost be all Honour and Glory for ever Amen A SERMON OF THE Salvation of Mankind by only Christ our Saviour from Sin and Death everlasting BEcause all Men be Sinners and Offenders against God and Breakers of his Law and Commandments therefore can no Man by his own Acts Works and Deeds seem they never so good be justified and made righteous before God But every Man of necessity is constrained to seek for another Righteousness of Justification to be received at God's own hands that is to say the forgiveness of his Sins and Trespasses in such things as he hath offended And this Justification or Righteousness which we so receive of God's Mercy and Christ's Merits embraced by Faith is taken accepted and allowed of God for our perfect and full Justification For the more full understanding hereof it is our Parts and Duties ever to remember the great Mercy of God how that all the World being wrapped in Sin by breaking of the Law God sent his only Son our Saviour Christ into this World to fulfil the Law for us and by shedding of his most precious Blood to make a sacrifice and satisfaction or as it may be called amends to his Father for our sins to asswage his Wrath and Indignation conceived against us for the same The efficacy of Christ's Passion and Oblation Insomuch that Infants being Baptized and dying in their Infancy are by this Sacrifice washed from their Sins brought to God's Favour and made his Children and Inheritors of his Kingdom of Heaven And they which in Act or Deed do sin after their Baptism when they turn again to God unfeignedly they are likewise washed by this Sacrifice from their sins in such sort that there remaineth not any spot of Sin that shall be imputed to their Damnation This is that justification of Righteousness which St. Paul speaketh of when he saith No man is Justified by the works of the Law Gal. 2. but freely by faith in Jesus Christ And again he saith We believe in Jesus Christ that we be justified freely by the faith of Christ and not by the works of the Law because that no Man shall be justified by the works of the Law And although this justification be free unto us yet it cometh not so freely unto us that there is no ransom paid therefore at all But here may Man's Reason be astonished reasoning after this fashion Objection If a Ransom be paid for our Redemption then is it not given us freely For a Prisoner that payd his Ransom is not let go freely For if he go freely then he goeth without Ransom For what is it else to go freely than to be set at liberty without paying of Ransom Answer This Reason is satisfied by the great Wisdom of God in this mystery of our Redemption who hath so tempered his Justice and Mercy together that he would neither by his Justice condemn us unto the everlasting Captivity of the Devil and his Prison of Hell remediless for ever without Mercy nor by his Mercy deliver us clearly without Justice or Payment of a just Ransom but with his endless Mercy he joyned his most upright and equal Justice His great Mercy he shewed unto us in delivering us from our former Captivity without requiring of any Ransom to be paid or amends to be made upon our parts which thing by us had been impossible to be done And whereas it lay not in us to do that he provided a Ransom for us that was the most precious Body and Blood of his own most dear and best beloved Son Jesu Christ who besides this Ransom fulfilled the Law for us perfectly And so the Justice of God and his Mercy did embrace together and fulfilled the Mystery of our Redemption And of this Justice and Mercy of God knit together speaketh St. Paul in the third Chap. to the Romans Rom. 3. All have offended and have need of the Glory of God but are justified freely by Grace by Redemption which is in Jesu Christ whom God hath sent forth to us for a Reconciler and Peace-maker through Faith in his Blood to shew his righteousness And in the 10th Chapter Rom. 10. Rom. 8. Christ is the end of the Law unto righteousness to every man that believeth And in the 8th Chapter That which was impossible by the Law inasmuch as it was weak by the flesh God sending his own Son in the similitude of sinful flesh by sin condemned sin in the flesh that the righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us
Three things must go together in our justification which walk not after the flesh but after the spirit In these foresaid places the Apostle toucheth specially three things which must go together in our justification Upon God's part his great Mercy and Grace upon Christ's part Justice that is the satisfaction of God's Justice or the price of our Redemption by the offering of his Body and shedding of his Blood with fulfilling of the Law perfectly and throughly and upon our part true and lively Faith in the Merits of Jesus Christ which yet is not ours but by God's working in us So that in our Justification there is not only God's Mercy and Grace but also his Justice which the Apostle calleth the Justice of God and it consisteth in paying our Ransom and fulfilling of the Law And so the Grace of God doth not shut out the Justice of God in our Justification but only shutteth out the Justice of Man that is to say the Justice of our Works as to be Merits of deserving our Justification And therefore St. Paul declareth here nothing upon the behalf of Man concerning his Justification but only a true and lively Faith which nevertheless is the Gift of God and not Man's only Work without God And yet that Faith doth not shut out Repentance Hope Love Dread and the Fear of God to be joyned with Faith in every Man that is justified but it shutteth them out from the office of Justifying How it is to be understood that Faith justifieth without Works So that although they be all present together in him that is Justified yet they justifie not altogether Neither doth Faith shut out the Justice of our good Works necessarily to be done afterwards of Duty towards God for we are most bounden to serve God in doing good Deeds commanded by him in his Holy Scripture all the days of our Life But it excludeth them so that we may not do them to this intent to be made Just by doing of them For all the good Works that we can do be imperfect and therefore not able to deserve our Justification but our Justification doth come freely by the mere Mercy of God and of so great and free Mercy that whereas all the World was not able of themselves to pay any part towards their Ransom it pleased our Heavenly Father of his infinite Mercy without any our desert or deserving to prepare for us the most precious Jewels of Christ's Body and Blood whereby our Ransom might be fully paid the Law fulfilled and his Justice fully satisfied So that Christ is now the Righteousness of all them that truly do believe in him He for them paid their Ransom by his Death He for them fulfilled the Law in his Life So that now in him and by him every true Christian Man may be called A fulfiller of the Law Forasmuch as that which their Infirmity lacked Christ's Justice hath supplied The Second Part of the Sermon of Salvation YE have heard of whom all Men ought to seek their Justification and Righteousness and how also this Righteousness cometh unto Men by Christ's Death and Merits Ye heard also how that three things are required to the obtaining of our Righteousness that is God's Mercy Christ's Justice and a true and lively Faith out of the which Faith spring good Works Also before was declared at large That no Man can be justified by his own good Works that no Man fulfilleth the Law according to the strict rigor of the Law And St. Paul in his Epistle to the Galatians proveth the same saying thus Gal. 2. If there had been any Law given which could have justified verily Righteousness should have been by the Law And again he saith If righteousness be by the Law then Christ died in vain And again he saith Ephes 2. You that are justified by the Law are fallen away from Grace And furthermore he writeth to the Ephesians on this wise By Grace are ye saved through Faith and that not of yourselves for it is the gift of God and not of Works lest any Man should Glory And to be short the sum of all Paul's Disputation is this That if Justice come of Works then it cometh not of Grace and if it come of Grace then it cometh not of Works And to this end tend all the Prophets as St. Peter saith in the 10th of the Acts. Of Christ all the Prophets saith St. Peter Acts 10. do witness that through his Name all they that believe in him shall receive the remission of sins Faith only justifieth is the Doctrine of old Doctors And after this wise to be justified only by this true and lively Faith in Christ speak all the old and antient Authors both Greeks and Latins Of whom I will specially rehearse three Hilary Basil and Ambrose St. Hilary saith these Words plainly in the ninth Canon upon Matthew Faith only justifieth And St. Basil a Greek Author writeth thus This is a perfect and whole reioycing in God when a Man advanceth not himself for his own Righteousness but acknowledgeth himself to lack true Justice and Righteousness and to be justified by the only Faith in Christ And Paul saith he Philip. 3. doth glory in the contempt of his own Righteousness and that he looketh for the Righteousness of God by Faith These be the very words of St. Basil and St. Ambrose a Latin Author saith these words This is the Ordinance of God that they which believe in Christ should be saved without Works by Faith only freely receiving remission of their sins Consider diligently these words Without works by Faith only freely we receive remission of our sins What can be spoken more plainly than to say That freely without Works by Faith only we obtain remission of our sins These and other like Sentences that we be justified by Faith only freely and without Works we do read oft-times in the best and most antient Writers As beside Hilary Basil and St. Ambrose before rehearsed we read the same in Origen St. Chrysostom St. Cyprian St. Augustin Prosper Oecumenius Proclus Bernardus Anselm and many other Authors Greek and Latin Nevertheless this Sentence that we be justified by Faith only is not so meant of them that the said justifying Faith is alone in Man without true Repentance Hope Charity Dread and the Fear of God at any time and season Faith alone how it is to be understood Nor when they say that we should be justified freely do they mean that we should or might afterward be idle and that nothing should be required on our parts afterward Neither do they mean so to be justified without good Works that we should do no good Works at all like as shall be more expressed at large hereafter But this saying That we be justified by Faith only freely and without Works is spoken for to take away clearly all Merit of our Works as being unable to deserve our Justification at God's hands
to be ever ready to give ourselves to our Neighbours and as much as lieth in us to study with all our endeavour to do good to every Man These be the fruits of true Faith to do good asmuch as lieth in us to every Man and above all things and in all things to advance the Glory of God of whom only we have our Sanctification Justification Salvation and Redemption To whom be ever Glory Praise and Honour VVorld without end Amen A Short DECLARATION OF THE True Lively and Christian Faith Faith THE First coming unto God good Christian People is through Faith whereby as it is declared in the last Sermon we be Justified before God And lest any Man should be deceived for lack of right Understanding thereof it is diligently to be noted that Faith is taken in the Scripture two manner of ways A dead Faith There is one Faith which in Scripture is called a Dead Faith which bringeth forth no good Works but is idle barren and unfruitful And this Faith by the Holy Apostle St. James is compared to the Faith of Devils James 2. which believe God to be True and Just and tremble for fear yet they do nothing well but all evil And such a manner of Faith have the wicked and naughty Christian People which confess God as St. Paul saith in their mouths Titus 6. but deny him in their deeds being abominable and without the right Faith and to all good works reproveable And this Faith is a Persuasion and Belief in Man's Heart whereby he knoweth that there is a God and agreeth unto all Truths of God's most Holy Word contained in the Holy Scripture So that it consisteth only in Believing in the Word of God that it is true And this is not properly called Faith But as he that readeth Caesar's Commentary believing the same to be true hath thereby a knowledge of Caesar's Life and notable Acts because he believeth the History of Caesar Yet it is not properly said that he believeth in Caesar of whom he looketh for no help nor benefit Even so he that Believeth that all that is spoken of God in the Bible is true and yet liveth so ungodly that he cannot look to enjoy the Promises and Benefits of God Although it may be said that such a Man hath a Faith and Belief to the Words of God yet it is not properly said that he believeth in God or hath such a Faith and Trust in God whereby he may surely look for Grace Mercy and everlasting Life at God's hand but rather for Indignation and Punishment according to the Merits of his wicked Life For as it is written in a Book Entituled to be of Didymus Alexandrinus Forasmuch as Faith without Works is dead it is not now Faith as a dead Man is not a Man This dead Faith therefore is not that sure and substantial Faith which saveth Sinners Another Faith there is in Scripture which is not as the aforesaid Faith idle unfruitful and dead A lively Faith but worketh by charity as St. Paul declareth Gal. 5. Which as the other vain Faith is called a dead Faith so may this be called a quick or lively Faith And this is not only the common belief of the Articles of our Faith but it is also a true Trust and Confidence of the Mercy of God through our Lord Jesus Christ and a stedfast hope of all good things to be received at God's hand And that although we through Infirmity or Temptation of our Ghostly enemy do fall from him by Sin yet if we return again unto him by true Repentance that he will forgive and forget our Offences for his Sons sake our Saviour Jesus Christ and will make us Inheritors with him of his everlasting Kingdom and that in the mean time untill that Kingdom come he will be our Protector and Defender in all perils and dangers whatsoever do chance And that though somtime he doth send us sharp adversity yet that evermore he will be a loving Father unto us correcting us for our Sin but not withdrawing his Mercy finally from us if we trust in him and commit our selves wholly unto him hang only upon him and call upon him ready to obey and serve him This is the true lively and unfeigned Christian Faith and is not in the Mouth and outward Profession only but it liveth and stirreth inwardly in the Heart And this Faith is not without Hope and Trust in God nor without the Love of God and of our Neighbors nor without the Fear of God nor without the Desire to hear God's Word and to follow the same in eschewing Evil and doing gladly all good Works Heb. 12. Thus Faith as St. Paul describeth it is the sure ground and foundation of the benefits which we ought to look for and trust to receive of God a Certificate and sure looking for them although they yet sensibly appear not unto us And after he saith He that cometh to God must believe both that he is and that he is a merciful rewarder of Well-doers And nothing commendeth good Men unto God so much as this assured Faith and Trust in him Of this Faith three things are specially to be noted Three things are to be noted of Faith First that this Faith doth not lye dead in the Heart but is lively and fruitful in bringing forth good Works Secondly that without it can no good Works be done that shall be acceptable and pleasant to God Thirdly what manner of good Works they be that this Faith doth bring forth Faith is full of good Works For the First That as the Light cannot be hid but will shew forth itself at one place or other So a true Faith cannot be kept secret but when occasion is offered it will break out and shew itself by good Works And as the living Body of a Man ever exerciseth such things as belong to a natural and living Body for nourishment and preservation of the same as it hath need opportunity and occasion Even so the Soul that hath a lively Faith in it will be doing alway some good Work which shall declare that it is living and will not be unoccupied Therefore when Men hear in the Scripture so high commendations of Faith that it maketh us to please God to live with God and to be the Children of God If then they fancy that they be set at liberty from doing all good Works and may live as they list they trifle with God and deceive themselves And it is a manifest token that they be far from having the true and lively Faith and also far from Knowledge what true Faith meaneth For the very sure and lively Christian Faith is not only to believe all things of God which are contained in Holy Scripture but also is an earnest Trust and Confidence in God that he doth regard us and that he is careful over us as the Father is over the Child whom he doth love and that
that Heb. 12. saith St. Paul whom the Father loveth and doth not chastise If ye be without God's correction which all his welbeloved and true Children have then be you but Bastards smally regarded of God and not his true Children Therefore seeing that when we have on Earth our carnal Fathers to be our correctors we do fear them and reverently take their correction shall we not much more be in Subjection to God our Spiritual Father by whom we shall have everlasting Life and our Carnal Fathers somtimes correct us even as it pleaseth them without cause But this Father justly correcteth us either for our Sin to the intent we should amend or for our Commodity and Wealth to make us thereby partakers of his Holiness Furthermore all Correction which God sendeth us in this present time seemeth to have no Joy and Comfort but Sorrow and Pain yet it bringeth with it a tast of God's Mercy and Goodness towards them that be so corrected and a sure hope of God's everlasting Consolation in Heaven If then these Sorrows Diseases and Sicknesses and also Death itself be nothing else but our Heavenly Father's Rod whereby he certifieth us of his Love and gracious Favour whereby he tryeth and purifieth us whereby he giveth unto us Holiness and certifieth us that we be his Children and he our merciful Father Shall not we then with all humility as obedient and loving Children joyfully kiss our Heavenly Father's Rod and ever say in our Heart with our Saviour Jesus Christ Father if this Anguish and Sorrow which I feel and Death which I see approach may not pass but that thy will is that I must suffer them Thy Will be done The Third Part of the Sermon against the Fear of Death IN this Sermon against the fear of Death Two Causes were declared which commonly move worldly Men to be in much fear to die and yet the same do nothing trouble the faithful and good Livers when Death cometh but rather give them occasion greatly to rejoice considering that they shall be delivered from the sorrow and misery of this World and be brought to the great Joy and Felicity of the Life to come The Third Cause why Death is to be feared Now the Third and special Cause why Death indeed is to be feared is the miserable State of the worldly and ungodly People after their Death But this is no Cause at all why the godly and faithful People should fear Death but rather contrariwise their godly Conversation in this Life and Belief in Christ cleaving continually to his Mercies should make them to long sore after that Life that remaineth for them undoubtedly after this bodily Death Of this immortal State after this transitory Life where we shall live evermore in the Presence of God in Joy and Rest after Victory over all Sickness Sorrows Sin and Death There be many plain places of Holy Scripture which confirm the weak Conscience against the fear of all such Dolours Sicknesses Sin and bodily Death to asswage such trembling and ungodly fear and to encourage us with Comfort and hope of a blessed State after this Life Saint Paul wisheth unto the Ephesians Ephes 1. That God the Father of Glory would give unto them the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation that the Eyes of their Hearts might give Light to know him and to perceive how great things he had called them unto and how rich an Inheritance he hath prepared after this Life for them that pertain unto him Phil. 1. And St. Paul himself declareth the desire of his Heart which was to be dissolved and loosed from his Body and to be with Christ which as he said was much better for him although to them it was more necessary that he should live which he refused not for their sakes Even like as St. Martin said Good Lord if I be necessary for thy People to do good unto them I will refuse no Labour But else for mine own self I beseech thee to take my Soul Now the Holy Fathers of the Old Law and all faithful and righteous Men which departed before our Saviour Christ's Ascension into Heaven did by Death depart from Troubles unto Rest from the hands of their Enemies into the hands of God from Sorrows and Sicknesses unto joyful refreshing in Abraham's bosom a place of all Comfort and Consolation as the Scriptures do plainly by manifest words testifie Wisdom 3. The Book of Wisdom saith That the Righteous Mens Souls be in the hand of God and no torment shall touch them They seemed to the eyes of foolish Men to die and their death was counted miserable and their departing out of this World wretched but they be in Rest And another place saith Wisd 4. That the Righteous shall live for ever and their Reward is with the Lord and their Minds be with God who is above all Therefore they shall receive a Glorious Kingdom and a Beautiful Crown at the Lord's hand And in another place the same Book saith The Righteous though he be prevented with suddain Death nevertheless he shall be there where he shall be refreshed Of Abraham's Bosom Christ's words be so plain that a Christian Man needeth no more proof of it Now then if this were the state of the Holy Fathers and Righteous Men before the coming of our Saviour and before he was Glorified How much more then ought all we to have a stedfast Faith and a sure Hope of this blessed state and condition after our death Seeing that our Saviour now hath performed the whole Work of our Redemption and is Gloriously ascended into Heaven to prepare our dwelling places with him and said unto his Father Father John 17. I will that where I am my servants shall be with me And we know that whatsoever Christ Will his Father Wills the same wherefore it cannot be but if we be his Faithful Servants our Souls shall be with him after our departure out of this present life St. Stephen when he was stoned to death even in the midst of his torments what was his Mind most upon Acts 7. When he was full of the Holy Ghost saith Holy Scripture having his eyes lifted up into Heaven he saw the Glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of God The which Truth after he had confessed boldly before the enemies of Christ they drew him out of the City and there they stoned him who cryed unto God saying Lord Jesu Christ take my Spirit And doth not our Saviour say plainly in St. John's Gospel Verily John 5. verily I say unto you He that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting life and cometh not into judgment but shall pass from death to life Shall we not then think that death to be precious by the which we pass unto life Therefore it is a true saying of the Prophet Psal 116. The death of the Holy and Righteous Men is precious in the
obtain that thing now of me which hereafter Time shall obtain of me If a Man be called an Adulterer Usurer Drunkard or by any other shameful Name let him consider earnestly whether he be so called truly or falsly if truly let him amend his fault that his Adversary may not after worthily charge him with such Offences If these things be laid against him falsly yet let him consider whether he hath given any occasion to be suspected of such things and so he may both cut off that suspicion whereof this slander did arise and in other things shall live more warily And thus using ourselves we may take no hurt but rather much good by the rebukes and slanders of our Enemy For the reproach of an Enemy may be to many men a quicker spur to the amendment of their life than the gentle monition of a Friend Philippus the King of Macedonia when he was evil spoken of by the chief Rulers of the City of Athens he did thank them heartily because by them he was made better both in his Words and Deeds For I study saith he both by my Sayings and Doings to prove them Lyars The Third Part of the Sermon against Contention YE heard in the last Lesson of the Sermon against Strife and Brawling how we may answer them which maintain their froward sayings in Contention and that will revenge with words such evil as other Men do them and finally how we may according to God's Will order ourselves and what to consider towards them when wâ— are provoked to Contention and Strife with railing Words Now to proceed in the same matter you shall know the right way how to disprove and overcome your Adversary and Enemy This is the best way to disprove a Man's Adversary so to live that all which shall know his Honesty may bear witness that he is slandered unworthily If the fault whereof he is slandered be such that for the defence of his Honesty he must needs make answer let him answer quietly and softly on this fashion That those faults be laid against him falsly For it is truth that the Wise Man saith A soft answer asswageth anger Prov. 15. and a hard and sharp answer dâ—th stir up rage and fury The sharp answer of Nabal provoked David to cruel Vengeance 1 King 25. but the gentle words of Abigail quenched the fire again that was all in a flame And a special remedy against malicious Tongues is to arm ourselves with patience meekness and silence lest with multiplying words with the Enemy we be made as evil as he But they An Objection Prov. 26. that cannot bear one evil word peradventure for their own excuse will alledge that which is written He that despiseth his gâ—od Name is cruel Also we read Answer a Fool according to his foolishness And our Lord Jesus Christ did hold his peace at certain evil sayings but to some he answered diligently He heard Men call him a Samaritan a Carpenters Son a Wine-Drinker and he held his peace But when he heard them say Thou hast the Devil within thee he answered to that earnestly Answer Truth it is indeed that there is a time when it is convenient to answer a Fool according to his foolishness lest he should seem in his own conceit to be wise And somtime it is not profitable to answer a Fool according to his foolishness lest the Wise Man be made like to the Fool. When our Infamy or the Reproach that is done unto us is joyned with the peril of many then it is necessary in answering to be quick and ready For we read that many holy Men of good Zeal have sharply and fiercely both spoken and answered Tyrants and evil Men which sharp words came not of Anger Rancor or Malice or desire of Vengeance but of a fervent desire to bring them to the true knowledge of God and from ungodly living by an earnest and sharp rebuke and chiding In this Zeal Saint John Baptist called the Pharisees Adders brood Matth. 3. Gal. 3. Titus 1. And Saint Paul called the Galatians Fools And the Men of Crete he called Lyars evil Beasts and sluggish Bellies And the false Apostles he called Dogs and crafty Workmen Phil. 3. And his Zeal is godly and to be allowed as it is plainly proved by the example of Christ who although he were the Fountain and Spring of all Meekness Gentleness and Softness Matth. 23. yet he called the obstinate Scribes and Pharisees Blind Guides Fools painted Graves Hypocrites Serpents Adders brood a corrupt and wicked Generation Also he rebuketh Peter eagerly saying Go behind me Satan Matth. 16. Likewise Saint Paul reproveth Elymas saying Acts 13. O thou full of all Craft and Guile Enemy to all Justice thou ceasest not to destroy the right ways of God And now lo the Hand of the Lord is upon thee and thou shalt be blind and not see for a time And Saint Peter reprehendeth Ananias very sharply saying Ananias Acts 5. how is it that Satan hath filled thy Heart that thou shouldst lye unto the Holy Ghost This Zeal hath been so servent in many good Men that it hath stirred them not only to speak bitter and eager words but also to do things which might seem to some to be cruel but indeed they be very just charitable and godly because they were not done of Ire Malice or contentious Mind but of a fervent Mind to the Glory of God and the correction of Sin executed by Men called to that Office For in this Zeal our Lord Jesus Christ did drive with a Whip the Buyers and Sellers out of the Temple John 2. In this Zeal Moses brake the two Tables which he had received at Gods Hand Exod. 32. when he saw the Israelites dancing about the Calf and caused to be killed twenty four thousand of his own People Numb 25. But these Examples are not to be followed of every body but as Men be called to Office and set in Authority Prov. 20. In this Zeal Phineas the Son of Eleazer did thrust through with his Sword Zimri and Cosby whom he found together joyned in the act of Uncleanness Wherefore now to return again to contentious Words and specially in Matters of Religion and Gods Word which would be used with all Modesty Soberness and Chastity the words of Saint James ought to be well marked and born in memory where he saith That of Contention riseth all Evil. And the wise King Solomon saith Honour is due to a Man that keepeth himself from Contention and all that mingle themselves therewith be Fools And because this Vice is so much hurtful to the Society of a Commonwealth in all well-ordered Cities these common Brawlers and Scolders be punished with a notable kind of pain as to be set on the Cucking-stool Pillory or such like And they be unworthy to live in a Commonwealth the which do as much as lieth in them with Brawling and Scolding to disturb
the Quietness and Peace of the same And whereof cometh this Contention Strife and Variance but of Pride and Vain-glory Let us therefore humble ourselves under the mighty Hand of God 1 Pet. 5. Luk. 1. which hath promised to rest upon them that be humble and low in Spirit If we be good and quiet Christian Men let it appear in our Speech and Tongues If we have forsaken the Devil let us use no more Devilish Tongues He that hath been a railing Scolder now let him be a sober Counsellor He that hath been a malicious Slanderer now let him be a loving Comforter He that hath been a vain Railer now let him be a ghostly Teacher He that hath abused his Tongue in Cursing now let him use it in Blessing He that hath abused his Tongue in evil-speaking now let him use it in speaking well All Bitterness Anger Railing and Blasphemy let it be avoided from you If you may and if it be possible in no wise be angry But if you may not be clean void of this passion yet then so temper and bridle it that it stir you not to Contention and Brawling If you be provoked with evil-speaking arm yourself with Patience Lenity and Silence either speaking nothing or else being very soft meek and gentle in answering Overcome thine Adversary with Benefits and Gentleness And above all things keep Peace and Unity Be no Peace-breakers but Peace-makers And then there is no doubt but that God the Author of Comfort and Peace will grant us Peace of Conscience and such Concord and Agreement that with one Mouth and Mind we may glorifie God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ to whom be all Glory now and for ever AMEN HEreafter shall follow Sermons of Fasting Prayer Alms-Deeds of the Nativity Passion Resurrection and Ascension of our Saviour Christ Of the due Receiving of his Blessed Body and Blood under the form of Bread and Wine Against Idleness against Gluttony and Drunkenness against Covetousness against Envy Ire and Malice with many other matters as well fruitful as necessary to the edifying of Christian People and the increase of Godly Living GOD Save the KING THE Second PART OF THE HOMILIES LONDON Printed for George Wells at the Sun Abel Swall at the Unicorn in St. Paul's Church-yard and George Pawlett at the Bible in Chancery-Lane 1687. AN ADMONITION TO ALL Ministers Ecclesiastical FOR that the Lord doth require of his Servant whom he hath set over his Houshold to shew both Faithfulness and Prudence in his Office It shall be necessary that ye above all other do behave yourselves most faithfully and diligently in your so high a Function That is aptly plainly and distinctly to Read the Sacred Scriptures diligently to instruct the Youth in their Catechism gravely and reverently to Minister his most Holy Sacraments prudently also to choose out such Homilies as be most meet for the time and for the more agreeable Instruction of the People committed to your charge with such discretion that where the Homily may appear too long for one Reading to divide the same to be Read part in the Forenoon and part in the Afternoon And where it may so chance some one or other Chapter of the Old Testament to fall in order to be Read upon the Sundays or Holy-days which were better to be changed with some other of the New Testament of more Edification it shall be well done to spend your time to consider well of such Chapters before-hand whereby your Prudence and diligence in your Office may appear so that your People may have cause to glorifie God for you and be the readier to embrace your Labours to your better Commendation to the discharge of your Consciences and their own THE TABLE OF Homilies ensuing I. OF the Right Use of the Church Page 93 II. Against Peril of Idolatry Page 102 III. For Repairing and keeping Clean the Church Page 282 IV. Of Good Works And first of Fasting Page 289 V. Against Gluttony and Drunkenness Page 309 VI. Against excess of Apparel Page 322 VII An Homily of Prayer Page 334 VIII Of the Place and Time of Prayer Page 356 IX Of Common-Prayer and Sacraments Page 370 X. An Information of them which take Offence at certain places of Holy Scripture Page 385 XI Of Alms-Deeds Page 402 XII Of the Nativity Page 421 XIII Of the Passion for Good Friday Page 434 443 XIV Of the Resurrection for Easter Day Page 455 XV. Of the Worthy Receiving of the Sacrament Page 467 XVI An Homily concerning the coming down of the Holy Ghost for Whitsunday Page 480 XVII An Homily for Rogation-Week Page 497 XVIII Of the State of Matrimony Page 539 XIX Against Idleness Page 540 XX. Of Repentance and true Reconciliation unto God Page 556 XXI An Homily against Disobedience and wilful Rebellion Page 583 AN HOMILY OF THE Right Use of the Church or Temple of GOD and of the Reverence due unto the same The First Chapter WHereas there appeareth in these days great slackness and negligence of a great sort of People in resorting to the Church there to serve God their Heavenly Father according to their most bounden duty as also much Uncomely and Unreverent behaviour of many Persons in the same when they be there assembled and thereby may just fear arise of the Wrath of God and his dreadful Plagues hanging over Head for our grievous Offences in this behalf amongst other many and great Sins which we daily and hourly commit before the Lord. Therefore for the discharge of all our Consciences and for the avoiding of the common Peril and Plague hanging over us let us consider what may be said out of Gods Holy Book concerning this matter whereunto I pray you give good Audience for that it is of great weight and concerneth you all Although the Eternal and Incomprehensible Majesty of God the Lord of Heaven and Earth whose seat is Heaven and the Earth his Footstool cannot be inclosed in Temples or Houses made with Mans Hand as in dwelling places able to receive or contain his Majesty according as is evidently declared by the Prophet Isaiah Isaiah 66. Act. 7.17 3 Reg. 8. 2 Par. 2. and 6. and by the Doctrine of St. Stephen and St. Paul in the Acts of the Apostles And where King Solomon who builded unto the Lord the most glorious Temple that ever was made saith Who shall be able to build a meet or worthy House for him If Heaven and the Heaven above all Heavens cannot contain him how much less can that which I have builded And further confesseth What am I that I should be able to build thee an House O Lord But yet for this purpose only it is made that thou mayest regard the Prayer of thy Servant and his Humble Supplication Much less then be our Churches meet dwelling places to receive the Incomprehensible Majesty of God And indeed the chief and special Temples of God wherein he hath greatest pleasure and most delighteth to dwell
convenient that the Scriptures of God and specially the Gospel of our Saviour Christ should be Read and Expounded unto us that be Christians in our Churches specially our Saviour Christ and his Apostles allowing this most godly and necessary usage and by their Examples confirming the same It is written in the Stories of the Gospel in divers places that Jesus went round about all Galilee Matth. 4. Mark 1. Luke 4. Matth. 13.20 Mark 6. Luke 13. Luke 4. teaching in their Synagogues and preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom In which places is his great diligence in continual Preaching and Teaching of the People most evidently set forth In Luke ye read how Jesus according to his accustomed use came into the Temple and how the Book of Isaiah the Prophet was delivered him how he read a Text therein and made a Sermon upon the same Luke 19. And in the Nineteenth is expressed how he Taught daily in the Temple And it is thus written in the Eighth of John John 8. John 18. Jesus came again early in the Morning into the Temple and all the People came unto him and he sate down and Taught them And in the Eighteenth of John our Saviour testifieth before Pilate that he spake openly unto the World and that he always Taught in the Synagogue and in the Temple whither all the Jews resorted and that secretly he spake nothing Luke 21. And in Saint Luke Jesus Taught in the Temple and all the People came early in the Morning unto him that they might hear him in the Temple Here ye see as well the diligence of our Saviour in teaching the Word of God in the Temple daily and specially on the Sabbath-days as also the readiness of the People resorting all together and that early in the Morning into the Temple to hear him The same Example of diligence in preaching the Word of God in the Temple shall ye find in the Apostles and the People resorting unto them Acts the Fifth Where the Apostles although they had been whipped and scourged the day before and by the High Priest commanded that they should preach no more in the Name of Jesus yet the day following they entred early in the Morning into the Temple and did not cease to teach and declare Jesus Christ And in sundry other places of the Story of the Acts Acts 13.15.17 ye shall find like diligence both in the Apostles in Teaching and in the People in coming to the Temple to hear Gods Word And it is testified in the First of Luke that when Zachary the Holy Priest Luke 1. and Father to John Baptist did Sacrifice within the Temple all the People stood without a long time praying such was their zeal and fervency at that time And in the Second of Luke appeareth what great Journeys Men Luke 2. Women yea and Children took to come to the Temple on the Feast-day there to serve the Lord and specially the Example of Joseph the Blessed Virgin Mary Mother to our Saviour Jesus Christ and of our Saviour Christ himself being yet but a Child whose Examples are worthy for us to follow So that if we would compare our negligence in resorting to the House of the Lord there to serve him with the diligence of the Jews in coming daily very early somtimes by great Journeys to their Temple and when the multitude could not be received within the Temple the fervent zeal that they had was declared in standing long without and Praying We may justly in this Comparison condemn our slothfulness and negligence yea plain contempt in coming to the Lord's House standing so near unto us so seldom and scarcely at any time So far is it from a great many of us to come early in the Morning or give attendance without who disdain to come into the Temple And yet we abhor the very Name of the Jews when we hear it as of a most wicked and ungodly People But it is to be feared that in this point we be far worse than the Jews and that they shall rise at the day of Judgment to our Condemnation who in Comparison to them shew such slackness and contempt in resorting to the House of the Lord there to serve him according as we are of duty most bound And besides this most horrible dread of God's just Judgment in the great day we shall not in this Life escape his heavy Hand and Vengeance for this contempt of the House of the Lord and his due service in the same according as the Lord himself threatneth in the First Chapter of the Prophet Aggeus after this sort Agge 1. Because you have left my House desert and without Company saith the Lord and ye have made haste every Man to his own House for this cause are the Heavens stayed over you that they should give no Dew and the Earth is forbidden that it should bring forth her Fruit and I have called Drought upon the Earth and upon the Mountains and upon corn and upon wine and upon oil and upon all things that the earth bringeth forth and upon men and upon beasts and upon all things that mens hands labour for Behold if we be such worldlings that we care not for the Eternal Judgments of God which yet of all other are most dreadful and horrible we shall not escape the punishment of God in this World by drought and famine and the taking away of all worldly commodities which we as worldlings seem only to regard and care for Whereas on the contrary part if we would amend this fault or neglignce slothfulness and contempt of the House of the Lord and his due service there and with diligence resort thither together to serve the Lord with one accord and consent in all Holiness and Righteousness before him we have promises of benefits Matth. 18. both Heavenly and Worldly Wheresoever two or three be gathered in my Name saith our Saviour Christ there am I in the midst of them And what can be more blessed than to have our Saviour Christ among us Or what again can be more unhappy or mischievous than to drive our Saviour Christ from amongst us to leave a place for his and our most ancient and mortal Enemy the old Dragon and Serpent Satan the Devil in the midst of us In the Second of Luke it is written how that the mother of Christ and Joseph when they had long sought Christ whom they had lost and could find him no where Luke 2. that at the last they found him in the Temple sitting in the midst of the Doctors So if we lack Jesus Christ that is to say the Saviour of our Souls and Bodies we shall not find him in the Market-place or in the Guild-Hall much less in the Ale-house or Tavern amongst good Fellows as they call them so soon as we shall find him in the Temple the Lords House amongst the Teachers and Preachers of his Word where indeed he is to be
unreasonable Beasts without dread of Punishment or respect of Reward have diminished and dishonored the high Majesty of the Living God by the baseness and vileness of sundry and divers Images of dead Stocks Stones and Metals And as the Majesty of God whom we have left forsaken and dishonoured and therefore the greatness of our Sin and Offence against his Majesty cannot be expressed So is the weakness vileness and foolishness in device of the Images whereby we have dishonoured him expressed at large in the Scriptures namely the Psalms the Book of Wisdom the Prophet Isaiah Places of the Scripture against Idols or Images Ezekiel and Baruch especially in these places and Chapters of them Psalm 115. and 134. Isaiah 40. and 44. Ezekiel the 6th Wisdom 13 14.15 Baruch 6. The which places as I exhort you often and diligently to read so are they too long at this present to be rehearsed in an Homily Notwithstanding I will make you certain brief or short Notes out of them what they say of these Idols or Images First that they be made but of small pieces of Wood Stone or Metal and therefore they cannot be any similitudes of the great Majesty of God whose Seat is Heaven and the Earth his Footstool Secondly that they be dead have Eyes and see not Hands and feel not Feet and cannot go c. and therefore they cannot be fit Similitudes of the living God Thirdly that they have no power to do good nor harm to others though some of them have an Ax some a Sword some a Spear in their hands yet do Thieves come into their Temples and rob them and they cannot once stir to defend themselves from the Thieves Nay if the Temple or Church be set a fire that their Priests can run away and save themselves but they cannot once move but tarry still like blocks as they are and be burned and therefore they can be no meet Figures of the Puissant and Mighty God who alone is able both to save his Servants and to destroy his Enemies everlastingly They be trimly deckt in Gold Silver and Stone as well the Images of Men as of Women like wanton wenches saith the Prophet Baruch that love Paramours Baruch 6. and therefore can they not teach us nor our Wives and Daughters any Soberness Modesty and Chastity And therefore although it is now commonly said that they be the Lay-mens Books yet we see they teach no good Lesson neither of God nor Godliness but all Error and Wickedness Therefore God by his Word as he fordiddeth any Idols or Images to be made or set up so doth he command such as we find made and set up to be pulled down broken and destroyed Numb 23. And it is written in the Book of Numbers the 23 Chapter that there was no Idol in Jacob nor there was no Image seen in Israel and that the Lord God was with the People Where note that the true Israelites that is the People of God have no Images among them but that God was with them and that therefore their Enemies cannot hurt them as appeareth in the Process of that Chapter And as concerning Images already set up thus saith the Lord in Deuteronomy Deut. 7. and 12. Overturn their Altars and break them to pieces cut down their Groves burn their Images for thou art an holy People unto the Lord. And the same is repeated more vehemently again in the twelfth Chapter of the same Book Here note what the People of God ought to do to Images where they find them But lest any private persons upon colour of destroying Images should make any stir or disturbance in the Commonwealth it must always be remembred that the redress of such publick Enormities pertaineth to the Magistrates and such as be in Authority only and not to private Persons and therefore the good Kings of Juda Asa Ezechias Josaphat and Josias are highly commended for the breaking down and destroying of the Altars Idols and Images And the Scriptures declare that they specially in that point did that which was right before the Lord. And contrariwise 1 Kings 16. 2 Chron. 14.15.31 Jeroboam Achab Joas and other Princes which either set up or suffered such Altars or Images undestroyed are by the word of God reported to have done evil before the Lord. And if any contrary to the Commandment of the Lord will needs set up such Altars or Images or suffer them undestroyed amongst them The Lord himself threatneth in the first Chapter of the Book of Numbers and by his Holy Prophets Ezekiel Micheas and Abakuk that he will come himself and pull them down And how he will handle punish and destroy the People that so set up or suffer such Altars Images or Idols undestroyed he denounceth by his Prophet Ezekiel on this manner I my self saith the Lord will bring a sword over you Numb 1. Ezekiel 6. to destroy your high places I will cast down your Altars and break down your Images your slain Men will I lay before your gods and the dead Carkasses of the Children of Israel will I cast before their Idols your bones will I strew round about your Altars and dwelling places your Cities shall be desolate the hill Chappels laid waste your Altars destroyed and broken your gods cast down and taken away your Temples laid even with the ground your own works clean rooted out your slain shall lye amongst you that ye may learn to know how that I am the Lord and so forth to the Chapters end worthy with diligence to be read That they that be near shall perish with the Sword they that be far off with the pestilence they that flee into holds or wilderness with hunger And if any be yet left that they shall be carried away prisoners to servitude and bondage So that if either the multitude or plainness of the places might make us to understand or the earnest charge that God giveth in the said places move us to regard or the horrible plagues punishments and dreadful destruction threatned to such worshippers of Images or Idols setters up or maintainers of them might engender any fear in our Hearts we would once leave and forsake this wickedness being in the Lord's sight so great an offence and abomination Infinite places almost might be brought out of the Scriptures of the Old Testaments concerning this matter but these few at this time shall serve for all You will say peradventure these things pertain to the Jews what have we to do with them Indeed they pertain no less to us Christians than to them For if we be the people of God how can the Word and Law of God not appertain to us St. Paul alledging one Text out of the old Testament concludeth generally for other Scriptures of the old Testament as well as that Rom. 15. saying Whatsoever is written before meaning in the Old Testament is written for our instruction Which Sentence is most specially true of such writings
Congregation of his faithful People by his grace by his favour and godly assistance according to his most assured and comfortable promises Why then ought not Christian People to build them Temples and Churches having as great promises of the presence of God as ever had Solomon for the material Temple which he did build As touching the other point that Solomon's Temple was a figure of Christ we know that now in the time of the clear light Christ Jesus the Son of God all shadows figures and significations are utterly gone all vain and unprofitable Ceremonies both Jewish and Heathenish fully abolished And therefore our Churches are not set up for figures and significations of Messias and Christ to come but for other godly and necessary purposes that is to say That like as every man hath his own House to abide in to refresh himself in to rest in with such like commodities So Almighty God will have his House and Place whither the whole Parish and Congregation shall resort which is called the Church and Temple of God for that the Church which is the company of Gods People doth there assemble and come together to serve him Not meaning hereby that the Lord whom the Heaven of heavens is not able to hold or comprise doth dwell in the Church of Lime and Stone made with mans hands as wholly and only contained there within and no where else for so he never dwelt in Solomon's Temple Moreover the Church or Temple is counted and called Holy yet not of it self but because Gods People resorting thereunto are Holy and exercise themselves in Holy and Heavenly things And to the intent ye may understand further why Churches were built among Christian People this was the greatest consideration that God might have his place and that God might have his time duly to be honoured and served of the whole multitude in the Parish First there to hear and learn the blessed Word and Will of the everlasting God Secondly that there the blessed Sacraments which our Lord and Saviour Christ Jesus hath ordained and appointed should be duly reverently and decently ministred Thirdly that there the whole multitude of Gods People in the Parish should with one voice and heart call upon the Name of God magnifie and praise the Name of God render earnest and hearty thanks to our Heavenly Father for his heap of benefits daily and plentifully poured upon us not forgetting to bestow our Alms upon Gods Poor to the intent God may bless us the more richly Thus ye may well perceive and understand wherefore Churches were built and set up amongst Christian People and dedicated and appointed to these godly uses and wholly exempted from all filthy profane and worldly uses Wherefore all they that have little mind or devotion to repair and build Gods Temple are to be counted People of much ungodliness spurning against good Order in Christs Church despising the true honour of God with evil examples offending and hindring their Neighbours otherwise well and godlily disposed The World thinketh it but a trifle to see their Church in ruine and decay But whoso doth not lay to their helping hands they sin against God and his Holy Congregation For if it had not been sin to neglect and slightly regard the re-edifying and building up again of his Temple God would not have been so much grieved and so soon have plagued his People because they builded and decked their own Houses so gorgeously and despised the House of God their Lord. It is sin and shame to see so many Churches so ruinous and so foully decayed almost in every corner If a mans private House wherein he dwelleth be decayed he will never cease till it be restored up again Yea if his Barn where he keepeth his Corn be out of reparations what diligence useth he to make it in perfect state again If his Stable for his Horse yea the Stie for his Swine be not able to hold out Water and Wind how careful is he to do cost thereon And shall we be so mindful of our common base Houses deputed to so vile employment and be forgetful towards the House of God wherein be treated the words of our eternal Salvation wherein be ministred the Sacraments and Mysteries of our Redemption The Fountain of our Regeneration is there presented unto us the partaking of the Body and Blood of our Saviour Christ is there offered unto us And shall we not esteem the place where so Heavenly things are handled Wherefore if ye have any reverence to the service of God if ye have any common honesty if ye have any conscience in keeping of necessary and godly ordinances keep your Churches in good repair whereby ye shall not only please God and deserve his manifold Blessings but also deserve the good report of all godly People The second point which appertaineth to the maintenance of Gods House is to have it well adorned and comely and clean kept Which things may be the more easily reformed when the Church is well repaired For like as men are well refreshed and comforted when they find their Houses having all things in good Order and all corners clean and sweet so when Gods House the Church is well adorned with places convenient to sit in with the Pulpit for the Preacher with the Lords Table for the Ministration of his Holy Supper with the Font to Christen in and also is kept clean comely and sweetly the People are more desirous and the more comforted to resort thither and to tarry there the whole time appointed them With what earnestness with what vehement zeal did our Saviour Christ drive the buyers and sellers out of the Temple of God Mat. 21. and hurled down the Tables of the changers of Mony and the Seats of the Dove-sellers and could not abide any man to carry a Vessel through the Temple He told them that they had made his Fathers House a Den of Thieves partly through their Superstition Hypocrisie false Worship false Doctrine and insatiable Covetousness and partly through Contempt abusing that place with walking and talking with worldly matters without all fear of God and due reverence to that place What dens of Thieves the Churches of England have been made by the blasphemous buying and selling the most precious Body and Blood of Christ in the Mass as the World was made to believe as Diriges at Months minds at Trentals in Abbeys and Chantries besides other horrible abuses Gods Holy Name be blessed for ever which we now see and understand All these abominations they that supply the room of Christ have cleansed and purged the Churches of England of taking away all such fulsomness and filthiness as through blind Devotion and Ignorance hath crept into the Church these many hundred years Wherefore O ye good Christian People ye dearly beloved in Christ Jesus ye that glory not in worldly and vain Religion in phantastical adorning and decking but rejoyce in heart to see the glory of God truly
that we might keep our selves undefiled and serve him in Holiness and Righteousness according to his word hath charged in his Scriptures so many as look for the glorious appearing of our Saviour Christ to lead their lives in all Sobriety Modesty Titâ—s â— and Temperance Whereby we may learn how necessary it is for every Christian that will not be found unready at the coming of our Saviour Christ to live sober-minded in this present World forasmuch as otherwise being unready he cannot enter with Christ into Glory and being unarmed in this behalf he must needs be in continual danger of that cruel Adversary the roaring Lion against whom the Apostle Peter warneth us to prepare our selves in continual sobriety 1 Pet. 5. that we may resist being stedfast in Faith To the intent therefore that this soberness may be used in all our behaviour it shall be expedient for us to declare unto you how much all kind of excess offendeth the Majesty of Almighty God and how grievously he punisheth the immoderate abuse of those his creatures which he ordaineth to the maintenance of this our needy life as Meats Drinks and Apparel And again to shew the noysom Diseases and great mischiefs that commonly do follow them that inordinately give up themselves to be carried headlong with such pleasures as are joyned either with dainty and over-large fare or else with costly and sumptuous Apparel And first that ye may perceive how detestable and hateful all excess in eating and drinking is before the face of Almighty God ye shall call to mind what is written by St. Paul to the Galatians Galat. 5. where he numbreth Gluttony and Drunkenness among those horrible Crimes with the which as he saith no man should inherit the Kingdom of Heaven He reckoneth them among the deeds of the flesh and coupleth them with Idolatry Whoredom and Murder which are the greatest offences that can be named among men For the first spoileth God of his Honour the second defileth his Holy Temple that is to wit our own Bodies the third maketh us companions of Cain in the slaughter of our brethren and whoso committeth them as St. Paul saith cannot inherit the Kingdom of God Certainly that sin is very odious and lothsom before the face of God which causeth him to turn his favourable countenance so far from us that he should clean bar us out of the doors and disinherit us of his Heavenly Kingdom But he so much abhorreth all beastly Banqueting that by his Son our Saviour Christ in the Gospel he declareth his terrible indignation against all belly-gods in that he pronounceth them accursed saying Luke 6. Wo be to you that are full for ye shall hunger And by the Prophet Isaiah he cryeth out Esai 5. Wo be to you that rise up early to give your selves to drunkenness and set all your mind so on drinking that you sit swilling thereat until it be night The Harp the Lute the Shalm and plenty of Wine are at your Feasts but the works of the Lord ye do not behold neither consider the works of his hands Wo be unto you that are strong to drink wine and are mighty to advance drunkenness Here the Prophet plainly teacheth that Feasting and Banqueting make men forgetful of their Duty towards God when they give themselves to all kinds of pleasures not considering nor regarding the works of the Lord who hath created meats and drinks as St. Paul saith 1 Tim. 4. to be received thankfully of them that believe and know the truth So that the very beholding of these Creatures being the handy work of Almighty God might teach us to use them thankfully as God hath ordained Therefore they are without excuse before God which either filthily feed themselves not respecting the sanctification which is by the Word of God and Prayer or else unthankfully abuse the good Creatures of God by surfeiting and drunkenness forasmuch as Gods Ordinances in his Creatures plainly forbids it They that give themselves therefore to bibbing and banqueting being without all consideration of Gods Judgments are suddenly oppressed in the day of vengeance Therefore Christ saith to his Disciples Luke 21. Take heed to your selves lest at any time your hearts be overcome with surfeiting and drunkenness and cares of his world and so that day come on you unawares Whosoever then will take warning at Christ let him take heed to himself lest his heart being overwhelmed by surfeiting and drowned in drunkenness he be taken unawares with that unthrifty Servant which thinking not on his Masters coming began to smite his fellow-servants and to eat and to drink and to be drunken and being suddenly taken hath his just Reward with unbelieving Hypocrites they that use to drink deeply and to feed at full wallowing themselves in all kind of wickedness are brought asleep in that slumbring forgetfulness of Gods Holy Will and Commandments Therefore Almighty God cryeth by the Prophet Joel Joel 1. Awake ye drunkards weep and howl all ye drinkers of wine because the new wine shall be pulled from your mouth Here the Lord terribly threatneth to withdraw his benefits from such as abuse them and to pull the Cup from the mouth of Drunkards Here we may learn not to sleep in Drunkenness and Surfeiting lest God deprive us of the use of his Creatures when we unkindly abuse them For certainly the Lord our God will not only take away his benefits when they are unthankfully abused but also in his wrath and heavy displeasure take vengeance on such as immoderately abuse them Gen. 3. If our first Parents Adam and Eve had not obeyed their greedy Appetite in eating the forbidden Fruit neither had they lost the fruition of Gods benefits which they then enjoyed in Paradise neither had they brought so many mischiefs both to themselves and to all their Posterity But when they passed the bounds that God appointed them as unworthy of Gods benefits they are expelled and driven out of Paradise they may no longer eat the Fruits of that Garden which by excess they had so much abused As transgressors of Gods Commandment they and their Posterity are brought to a perpetual shame and confusion and as accursed of God they must now sweat for their living which before had abundance at their pleasure Even so if we in eating and drinking exceed when God of his large liberality sendeth plenty he will soon change plenty into scarceness And whereas we gloried in fulness he will make us empty and confound us with penury yea we shall be compelled to labour and travel with pains in seeking for that which we sometime enjoyed at ease Thus the Lord will not leave them unpunished who not regarding his works follow the lusts and appetites of their own hearts The Patriarch Noah 2 Pet. 2. Noah whom the Apostle calleth the Preacher of Righteousness a man exceedingly in Gods favour is in Holy Scripture made an Example whereby we may learn to
alledgeth the words of Esay the Prophet where it is said Abraham is ignorant of us and Israel knoweth us not His mind therefore is this not that we should put any Religion in worshipping of them or praying unto them but that we should honour them by following their vertuous and godly Life For as he witnesseth in another place the Martyrs and Holy Men in times past were wont after their death to be remembred and named of the Priest at Divine Service but never to be invocated or called upon And why so because the Priest saith he is Gods Priest and not theirs whereby he is bound to call upon God and not upon them John 5. Thus you see that the Authority both of the Scripture and also of Augustin doth not permit that we should pray unto them O that all men would studiously read and search the Scriptures then should they not be drowned in Ignorance but should easily perceive the Truth as well of this Point of Doctrine as of all the rest For there doth the Holy Ghost plainly teach us that Christ is our only Mediator and Intercessor with God and that we must not seek and run to another 1 John 2. If any man sinneth saith St. John we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous and he is the Propitiation for our sins 1 Tim. 2. St. Paul also saith There is one God and one Mediator between God and man even the man Jesus Christ Whereunto agreeth the Testimony of our Saviour himself John 14. witnessing that no man cometh to the Father but only by him who is the Way John 10. the Truth the Life yea and the only Door whereby we must enter into the Kingdom of Heaven because God is pleased in no other but in him For which cause also he crieth and calleth unto us that we should come unto him Matt. 11. saying Come unto me all ye that labour and be heavy laden and I shall refresh you Would Christ have us so necessarily come unto him and shall we most unthankfully leave him and run unto other This is even that which God so greatly complaineth of by his Prophet Jeremy saying My People have committed two great offences they have forsaken me the Fountain of the Waters of Life and have digged to themselves broken Pits that can hold no Water Is not that man think you unwise that will run for Water to a little Brook when he may as well go to the head-spring Even so may his Wisdom be justly suspected that will flee unto Saints in time of necessity when he may boldly and without fear declare his grief and direct his Prayer unto the Lord himself If God were strange or dangerous to be talked withal then might we justly draw back and seek to some other Psal 145. Judith 9. But the Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him in Faith and Truth And the Prayer of the humble and meek hath always pleased him What if we be sinners shall we not therefore pray unto God or shall we despair to obtain any thing at his hands Why did Christ then teach us to ask forgiveness of our sins saying And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us Shall we think that the Saints are more merciful in hearing sinners than God David saith Psal 103. Ephes 2. that the Lord is full of compassion and mercy slow to anger and of great kindness St. Paul saith that he is rich in mercy toward all them that call upon him And he himself by the mouth of his Prophet Esay saith Esay 51. For a little while have I forsaken thee but with great compassion will I gather thee For a moment in mine anger I have hid my face from thee but with everlasting mercy I have had compassion upon thee Therefore the sins of any man ought not to withhold him from Praying unto the Lord his God But if he be truly penitent and stedfast in Faith let him assure himself that the Lord will be merciful unto him and hear his Prayers O but I dare not will some man say trouble God at all times with my Prayers We see that in Kings Houses and Courts of Princes men cannot be admitted unless they first use the help and means of some special Noble-man to come to the speech of the King and to obtain the thing that they would have To this reason doth St. Ambrose answer very well Ambros supper cap. 1 Rom. writing upon the first Chapter to the Romans Therefore saith he we use to go unto the King by Officers and Noble-men because the King is a Mortal man and knoweth not to whom he may commit the Government of the Common-wealth But to have God our Friend from whom nothing is hid we need not any helper that should further us with his good word but only a devout and godly mind And if it be so that we need one to intreat for us why may we not content our selves with that one Mediator Heb. 7. which is at the right hand of God the Father and there liveth for ever to make Intercession for us As the Blood of Christ did Redeem us on the Cross and cleanse us from our sins even so it is now able to save all them that come unto God by it For Christ sitting in Heaven hath an everlasting Priesthood and always prayeth to his Father for them that be Penitent obtaining by vertue of his Wounds which are evermore in the sight of God not only perfect remission of our sins but also all other necessaries that we lack in this World so that this only Mediator is sufficient in Heaven and needeth no others to help him Matt. 6. James 5. Coloss 4. 1 Tim. 2. Why then do we Pray one for another in this Life some man perchance will here demand Forsooth we are willed so to do by the express Commandment both of Christ and his Disciples to declare therein as well the Faith that we have in Christ towards God as also the mutual Charity that we bear one towards another in that we pity our Brothers case and make our Humble Petition to God for him But that we should Pray unto Saints neither have we any Commandment in all the Scripture nor yet Example which we may safely follow So that being done without Authority of Gods Word it lacketh the ground of Faith and therefore cannot be acceptable before God Hebr. 11. Rom. 14. Rom. 10. For whatsoever is not of Faith is sin And the Apostle saith that Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God Yet thou wilt object further that the Saints in Heaven do pray for us and that their Prayer proceedeth of an earnest Charity that they have towards their Brethren on Earth Whereto it may be well answered First that no man knoweth whether they do Pray for us or no. And if any will go about to prove it by
be so answered at the King's hand but still urging him more and more said It becometh a King to perform the least word he hath spoken yea if he should only beck with his Head No more saith the King than it behoveth one that cometh to a King to speak and ask those things which are rightful and honest Thus the King cast off this unreasonable and importunate suiter Now if so great consideration be to be had when we kneel before an Earthly King how much more ought to be had when we kneel before the Heavenly King who is only delighted with Justice and Equity neither will admit any vain foolish or unjust Petition Therefore it shall be good and profitable throughly to consider and determine with our selves what things we may lawfully ask of God without fear of repulse and also what kind of Persons we are bound to commend unto God in our daily Prayers Two things are chiefly to be respected in every good and godly mans Prayer His own necessity and the glory of Almighty God Necessity belongeth either outwardly to the Body or else inwardly to the Soul Which part of man because it is much more precious and excellent than the other therefore we ought first of all to crave such things as properly belong to the salvation thereof as the gift of Repentance the gift of Faith the gift of Charity and Good Works Remission and Forgiveness of Sins Patience in Adversity Lowliness in Prosperity Gal. 5. and such other like fruits of the Spirit as Hope Love Joy Peace Long-suffering Gentleness Goodness Meekness and Temperance which things God requireth of all them that profess themselves to be his Children saying unto them in this wise Matt. 5. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorifie your Father which is in Heaven And in another place also he saith Matt. 6. Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness and then all other things shall be given unto you Wherein he putteth us in mind that our chief and greatest care ought to be for those things which pertain to the health and safeguard of the Soul Hebr. 13. because we have here as the Apostle saith no continuing City but we seek after another in the World to come Now when we have sufficiently prayed for things belonging to the Soul then may we lawfully and with safe Conscience Pray also for our bodily Necessities as Meat Drink Clothing Health of Body deliverance out of Prison good luck in our daily Affairs and so forth according as we shall have need Whereof Matt. 6. Luke 11. what better Example can we desire to have than of Christ himself who taught his Disciples and all other Christian men first to pray for Heavenly things and afterward for Earthly things as is to be seen in that Prayer which he left unto his Church commonly called the Lords Prayer In the third Book of Kings and third Chapter it is written That God appeared by night in a dream unto Solomon the King saying Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt and I will give it thee Solomon made his Humble Prayer and asked a wise and prudent Heart that might judge and understand what were good and what were ill what were godly and what were ungodly what were righteous and what were unrighteous in the sight of the Lord. It pleased God wondrously that he had asked this thing And God said unto him Because thou hast requested this word and hast not desired many days and long years upon the Earth neither abundance of Riches and Goods nor yet the life of thine Enemies which hate thee but hast desired Wisdom to sit in Judgment behold I have done unto thee according to thy words I have given thee a wise heart full of knowledge and understanding so that there was never any like thee before time neither shall be in time to come Moreover I have besides this given thee that which thou hast not required namely worldly wealth and riches Princely honour and glory so that thou shalt therein also pass all Kings that ever were Note this Example how Solomon being put to his choice to ask of God whatsoever he would requested not vain and transitory things but the high and Heavenly Treasures of Wisdom and that in so doing he obtaineth as it were in recompence both Riches and Honour Wherein is given us to understand that in our daily Prayers we should chiefly and principally ask those things which concern the Kingdom of God and the Salvation of our own Souls nothing doubting but all other things shall according to the promise of Christ be given unto us But here we must take heed that we forget not that other end whereof mention was made before namely the Glory of God Which unless we mind and set before our Eyes in making our Prayers we may not look to be heard or to receive any thing of the Lord. In the xx Chapter of Matthew the Mother of the two Sons of Zebedee came unto Jesus worshipping him and saying Grant that my two Sons may sit in thy Kingdom the one on thy right hand and the other at thy left hand In this Petition she did not respect the Glory of God but plainly declared the ambition and vain-glory of her own mind for which cause she was also most worthily repelled and rebuked at the Lords hand In like manner we read in the Acts of one Simon Magus Acts 8. a Sorcerer how that he perceiving that through laying on of the Apostles hands the Holy Ghost was given offered them money saying Give me also this power that on whomsoever I lay my hands he may receive the Holy Ghost In making this Request he sought not the Honour and Glory of God but his own private Gain and Lucre thinking to get great store of Money by this feat and therefore it was justly said unto him Thy money perish with thee because thou thinkest that the gift of God may be obtained with money By these and such other Examples we are taught whensoever we make our Prayers unto God chiefly to respect the Honour and Glory of his Name Whereof we have this general Precept in the Apostle Paul 1 Cor. 10. Coloss 3. Mat. 26. Luke 22. Whether ye eat or drink or whatsoever ye do look that ye do it to the glory of God Which thing we shall best of all do if we follow the example of our Saviour Christ who praying that the bitter Cup of Death might pass from him would not therein have his own will fulfilled but referred the whole matter to the good will and pleasure of his Father And hitherto concerning those things that we may lawfully and boldly ask of God Now it followeth that we declare what kind of Persons we are bound in Conscience to pray for St. Paul writing to Timothy 1 Tim. â— exhorteth him to make Prayers and Supplications for all men exempting none of what
hand such good things as in the Common-Prayer of the Church are craved let us joyn our selves together in the Place of Common-Prayer and with one voice and one heart beg at our Heavenly Father all those things which he knoweth to be necessary for us I forbid you not private Prayer but I exhort you to esteem Common-Prayer as it is worthy And before all things be sure that in all these three sorts of Prayer your minds be devoutly lifted up to God else are your Prayers to no purpose and this saying shall be verified in you This people honoureth me with their lips Esay 29. Matt. 15. but their heart is far from me Thus much for the three sorts of Prayer whereof we read in the Scriptures Now with like or rather more brevity you shall hear how many Sacraments there be that were instituted by our Saviour Christ and are to be continued and received of every Christian in due time and order and for such purpose as our Saviour Christ willed them to be received And as for the number of them if they should be considered according to the exact signification of a Sacrament namely for the visible signs expresly commanded in the New Testament whereunto is annexed the promise of free forgiveness of our sins and of our holiness and joyning in Christ there be but two namely Baptism and the Supper of the Lord. For although Absolution hath the promise of forgiveness of sin yet by the express word of the New Testament it hath not this promise annexed and tied to the visible sign which is imposition of hands For this visible sign I mean laying on of hands is not expresly commanded in the New Testament to be used in Absolution as the visible signs in Baptism and the Lords Supper are and therefore Absolution is no such Sacrament as Baptism and the Communion are And though the ordering of Ministers hath this visible sign and promise yet it lacks the promise of remission of sin as all other Sacraments besides the two above-named do Therefore neither it nor any other Sacrament else be such Sacraments as Baptism and the Communion are But in a general acception the name of a Sacrament may be attributed to any thing whereby an holy thing is signified In which understanding of the Word the ancient Writers have given this name not only to the other five commonly of late years taken and used for supplying the number of the seven Sacraments but also to divers and sundry other Ceremonies as to Oyl washing of Feet and such like not meaning thereby to repute them as Sacraments in the same signification that the two fore-named Sacraments are And therefore St. Augustine weighing the true signification Dionysius Bernard de caena Domini ablut pedum and the exact meaning of the word writing to Januarius and also in the third Book of Christian Doctrine affirmeth that the Sacraments of the Christians as they are most excellent in signification so are they most few in number and in both places maketh mention expresly of two the Sacrament of Baptism and the Supper of the Lord. And although there are retained by the Order of the Church of England besides these two certain other Rites and Ceremonies about the institutions of Ministers in the Church Matrimony Confirmation of the Children by examining them of their knowledge in the Articles of the Faith and joyning thereto the Prayers of the Church for them and likewise for the Visitation of the Sick yet no man ought to take these for Sacraments in such signification and meaning as the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lords Supper are but either for godly states of life necessary in Christs Church and therefore worthy to be set forth by publick action and solemnity by the Ministry of the Church or else judged to be such Ordinances as may make for the Instruction Comfort and Edification of Christs Church Now understanding sufficiently what Prayer is and what a Sacrament is also and how many sorts of Prayers there be and how many Sacraments of our Saviour Christs institution let us see whether the Scriptures and examples of the Primitive Church will allow any vocal Prayer that is when the mouth uttereth the Petitions with voice or any manner of Sacrament or other publick or common Rite or Action pertaining to the profit and edifying of the unlearned to be ministred in a Tongue unknown or not understood of the Minister or People yea and whether any Person may privately use any Vocal Prayer in a Language that he himself understandeth not To this question we must answer No. And first of Common-Prayer and Administration of Sacraments Although Reason if it might Rule would soon perswade us to have our Common-Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments in a known Tongue both for that to pray commonly is for a multitude to ask one and the self-same thing with one voice and one consent of mind and to administer a Sacrament is by the outward Word and Element to preach to the receiver the inward and invisible grace of God and also for that both these Exercises were first instituted and are still continued to the end that the Congregation of Christ might from time to time be put in remembrance of their Unity in Christ and that as Members all of one Body they ought both in Prayers and otherwise to seek and desire one anothers commodity and not their own without others Yet shall we not need to flee to Reasons and Proofs in this matter sith we have both the plain and manifest words of the Scripture and also the consent of the most learned and ancient Writers to commend the Prayers of the Congregation in a known Tongue First Paul to the Corinthians saith 1 Cor. 14. Let all things be done to edifying Which cannot be unless Common Prayers and Administration of Sacraments be in a Tongue known to the People For where the Prayers spoken by the Minister and the words in the Administration of the Sacraments be not understood of them that be present they cannot thereby be edified For as when the Trumpet that is blown in the Field giveth an uncertain sound no man is thereby stirred up to prepare himself to the Fight And as when an Instrument of Musick maketh no distinct sound no man can tell what is piped Even so when Prayers or Administration of Sacraments shall be in a Tongue unknown to the hearers which of them shall be thereby stirred up to lift up his mind to God and to beg with the Minister at Gods hand those things which in the words of his Prayers the Minister asketh Or who shall in the ministration of the Sacraments understand what invisible grace is to be craved of the Hearer to be wrought in the inward man Truly no man at all For saith St. Paul He that speaketh in a Tongue unknown shall be to the Hearer an Aliant which in a Christian Congregation is a great absurdity For we are not
Hearers through the testimony of the truth And after many weighty words to the same end he saith The conclusion is this that nothing should be done in the Church in vain and that this thing ought chiefly to be laboured for that the unlearned also might take profit lest any part of the Body should be dark through Ignorance And lest any man should think all this to be meant of Preaching and not of Prayer he taketh occasion of these words of St. Paul If there be not an Interpreter let him keep silence in the Church to say as followeth Let him Pray secretly or speak to God who heareth all things that be dumb For in the Church must he speak that may profit all Persons St. Hierom writing upon these words of St. Paul 1 Cor. 14. How shall he that supplieth the place of the unlearned c. saith It is the Lay-man whom Paul understandeth here to be in the place of the ignorant man which hath no Ecclesiastical Office How shall he answer Amen to the prayer that he understandeth not And a little after upon the words of St Paul For if I should pray in a Tongue c. he saith thus This is Paul's meaning If any man speak in strange and unknown Tongues his mind is made unfruitful not to himself but to the Hearer For whatsoever is spoken he knoweth it not Psal 18. St. Augustine writing upon the xviii Psalm saith What this should be we ought to understand that we may sing with reason of Man and not with chattering of Birds For Owls Popinjays Ravens Pies and other such like Birds are taught by men to prate they know not what but to sing with understanding is given by Gods Holy Will to the Nature of Man Again the same Augustine saith De Magist There needeth no speech when we Pray saving perhaps as the Priests do for to declare their meaning not that God but that Men may hear them And so being put in remembrance by consenting with the Priest they may â—ang upon God Thus are we taught both by the Scripture and Ancient Doctors that in the Administration of Common-Prayer and Sacraments no Tongue unknown to the Hearers ought to be used So that for the satisfying of a Christian mans Conscience we need to spend no more time in this matter But yet to stop the mouths of the Adversaries which stay themselves much upon General Decrees it shall be good to add to these Testimonies of Scriptures and Doctors one Constitution made by Justinian the Emperor who lived five hundred twenty and seven years after Christ and was Emperor of Rome The Constitution is this Noâ—el constit 23. We command that all Bishops and Priests do celebrate the Holy Oblation and the Prayers used in Holy Baptism not speaking low but with a clear or loud voice which may be heard of the people that thereby the mind of the Hearers may be stirred up with great Devotion in uttering the Prayers of the Lord God for so the Holy Apostle teacheth in his first Epistle to the Corinthians saying Truly if thou only bless or give thanks in spirit how doth he that occupieth the place of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving thanks unto God for he understandeth not what thou sayest Thou verily givest thanks well but the other is not edified And again in the Epistle to the Romans he saith With the heart a man believeth unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation Therefore for these causes it is convenient that among other Prayers those things also which are spoken in the Holy Oblation be uttered and spoken of the most Religious Bishops and Priests unto our Lord Jesus Christ our God with the Father and the Holy Ghost with a loud voice And let the most Religious Priests know this that if they neglect any of these things that they shall give an account for them in the dreadful judgment of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. Neither will we when we know it rest and leave it unrevenged This Emperor as Sabellicus writeth favoured the Bishop of Rome and yet we see how plain a Decree he maketh for Praying and Administring of Sacraments in a known Tongue that the Devotion of the Hearers might be stirred up by knowledge contrary to the judgment of them that would have Ignorance to make Devotion He maketh it also a matter of Damnation to do these things in a Tongue that the Hearers understand not Let us therefore conclude with God and all good mens assent that no Common-Prayer or Sacraments ought to be ministred in a Tongue that is not understood of the Hearers Now a word or two of private Prayer in an unknown Tongue We took in hand where we began to speak of this matter not only to prove that no Common-Prayer or Administration of Sacraments ought to be in a Tongue unknown to the Hearers but also that no Person ought to Pray privately in that Tongue that he himself understandeth not Which thing shall not be hard to prove if we forget not what Prayer is For if Prayer be that Devotion of the Mind which enforceth the Heart to lift up it self to God how should it be said that that Person prayeth that understandeth not the words that his Tongue speaketh in Prayer Yea how can it be said that he speaketh For to speak is by voice to utter the thought of the mind And the voice that a man uttereth in speaking is nothing else but the Messenger of the mind to bring abroad the knowledge of that which otherwise lieth secret in the heart and cannot be known according to that which St. Paul writeth 1 Cor. 2. What man saith he knoweth the things that appertain to man saving only the spirit of man which is in man He therefore that doth not understand the voices that his Tongue doth utter cannot properly be said to speak but rather to counterfeit as Parats and such other Birds use to counterfeit mens voices No man therefore that feareth to provoke the wrath of God against himself will be so bold to speak of God unadvisedly without regard of reverent understanding in his presence but he will prepare his Heart before he presume to speak unto God And therefore in our Common-Prayer the Minister doth often-times say Let us pray meaning thereby to admonish the People that they should prepare their Ears to hear what he should crave at Gods hand and their Hearts to consent to the same and their Tongues to say Amen at the end thereof On this sort did the Prophet David prepare his Heart when he said Psal 57. My heart is ready O my God my heart is ready I will sing and declare a Psalm The Jews also when in the time of Judith they did with all their heart pray God to visit his People of Israel had so prepared their hearts before they began to pray 2 Par. 3. After this sort had Manasses prepared
wretches which have no feeling of God within us at all continually to fear not only that we may fall as they did but also be overcome and drowned in sin which they were not And so by considering their fall take the better occasion to acknowledge our own Infirmity and weakness and therefore more earnestly to call unto Almighty God with hearty Prayer incessantly for his grace to strengthen us and to defend us from all evil And though through Infirmity we chance at any time to fall yet we may by hearty Repentance and true Faith speedily rise again and not sleep and continue in sin as the wicked doth Thus good People should we understand such matters expressed in the Divine Scriptures that this Holy Table of Gods Word be not turned to us to be a snare a trap and a stumbling stone to take hurt by the abuse of our Understanding But let us esteem them in a reverent Humility that we may find our necessary Food therein to strengthen us to comfort us to instruct us as God of his great Mercy hath appointed them in all necessary works so that we may be perfect before him in the whole course of our life Which he grant who hath Redeemed us our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to whom with the Father and the Holy Ghost be all Honour and Glory for evermore Amen The Second Part of the Information for them which take Offence at certain places of the Holy Scripture YE have heard good People in the Homily last read unto you the great Commodity of Holy Scriptures ye have heard how ignorant men void of godly Understanding seek Quarrels to discredit them Some of their Reasons have ye heard answered Now we will proceed and speak of such politick wise men which be offended for that Christs Precepts should seem to destroy all Order in Governance as they do alledge for example such as these be If any man strike thee on the right cheek Mat. 5â— turn the other unto him also If any man will contend to take thy coat from thee let him have cloak and all Let not thy lest hand know what thy right hand doth If thine eye thine hand Mat. 18. or thy foot offend thee pull out thine eye cut off thine hand or thy foot and cast it from thee Rom. 12. If thine enemy saith St. Paul be an hungred give him meat if he be thirsty give him drink so doing thou shalt heap hot burning coals upon his head These sentences good People unto a natural man seem meer absurdities contrary to all Reason 1 Cor. 2. For a natural man as St. Paul saith understandeth not the things that belong to God neither can he so long as old Adam dwelleth in him Christ therefore meaneth that he would have his faithful servants so far from vengeance and resisting wrong that he would rather have him ready to suffer another wrong than by resisting to break Charity and to be out of Patience He would have our good deeds so far from all carnal respects that he would not have our nighest Friends know of our well-doing to win vain-glory And though our Friends and Kinsfolks be as dear as our right Eyes and our right Hands yet if they would pâ—â—â— us from God we ought to renounce them and forsake them Thus if ye will be profitable Hearers and Readers of the Holy Scriptures ye must first deny your selves and keep under your Carnal Senses taken by the outward words and search the inward meaning Reason must give place to Gods Holy Spirit you must submit your Worldly Wisdom and Judgment unto his Divine Wisdom and Judgment Consider that the Scripture in what strange form soever it be pronounced is the Word of the living God Let that always come to your remembrance which is so oft repeated of the Prophet Esaias The mouth of the Lord saith he hath spoken it and Almighty and everlasting God who with his only word created Heaven and Earth hath decreed it the Lord of Hosts whose ways are in the Seas whose paths are in the deep Waters that Lord and God by whose word all things in Heaven and in Earth are created governed and preserved hath so provided it The God of gods and Lord of all lords yea God that is God alone incomprehensible almighty and everlasting he hath spoken it it is his Word It cannot therefore be but truth which proceedeth from the God of all Truth it cannot be but wisely and prudently commanded what Almighty God hath devised how vainly soever through want of grace we miserable wretches do imagine and judge of his most Holy Word The Prophet David describing an happy man Psal 1. saith Blessed is the man that hath not walked after the counsel of the ungodly nor stand in the way of sinners nor sit in the seat of the scornful There are three sorts of People whose Company the Prophet would have him to flee and avoid which shall be an happy man and partaker of Gods Blessing First he may not walk after the counsel of the ungodly Secondly he may not stand in the way of sinners Thirdly he must not sit in the seat of the scornful By these three sorts of People ungodly mâ—n sinners and scorners all Impiety is signified and fully expressed By the ungodly he understandeth those which have no regard of Almighty God being void of all Faith whose hearts and minds are so set upon the World that they study only how to accomplish their worldly practices their carnal imaginations their filthy lust and desire without any fear of God The second sort he calleth sinners not such as do fall through Ignorance or of frailness for then who should be found free What man ever lived upon Earth Christ only excepted but he hath sinned Prov. 24. The just man falleth seven times and riseth again Though the godly do fall yet they walk not on purposely in sin they stand not still to continue and tarry in sin they sit not down like careless men without all fear of Gods just punishment for sin but defying sin through Gods great grace and infinite mercy they rise again and fight against sin The Prophet then calleth them sinners whose hearts are clean turned from God and whose whole conversation of life is nothing but sin they delight so much in the same that they choose continually to abide and dwell in sin The third sort he calleth scorners that is a sort of men whose hearts are so stuffed with Malice that they are not contented to dwell in sin and to lead their lives in all kind of wickedness but also they do contemn and scorn in other all Godliness true Religion all Honesty and Vertue Of the two first sorts of men I will not say but they may take Repentance and be converted unto God Of the third sort I think I may without danger of Gods judgment pronounce that never any yet converted unto God by Repentance but continued still in their
the giving than with the gift and that he as much esteemeth the doing of the thing as the fruit and commodity that cometh of it Whoso therefore hath hitherto neglected to give Alms let him know that God now requireth it of him and he that hath been liberal to the Poor let him know that his godly doings are accepted and thankfully taken at Gods hands which he will requite with double and treble For so saith the Wise man He which sheweth mercy to the poor doth lay his money in bank to the Lord for a large interest and gain the gain being chiefly the possession of the life everlasting through the merits of our Saviour Jesus Christ To whom with the Father and the Holy Ghost be all Honour and Glory for ever Amen The Second Part of the Sermon of Alms-deeds YE have heard before Dearly Beloved that to give Alms unto the Poor and to help them in time of necessity is so acceptable unto our Saviour Christ that he counteth that to be done to himself that we do for his sake unto them Ye have heard also how earnestly both the Apostles Prophets Holy Fathers and Doctors do exhort us unto the same And ye see how wel-beloved and dear unto God they were whom the Scriptures report unto us to have been good Alms-men Wherefore if either their good examples or the wholsom counsel of godly Fathers or the love of Christ whose especial favour we may be assured by this means to obtain may move us or do any thing at all with us let us provide us that from henceforth we shew unto God-ward this thankful service to be mindful and ready to help them that be poor and in misery Now will I this second time that I entreat of Alms-deeds shew unto you how profitable it is for us to exercise them and what fruit thereby shall arise unto us if we do them faithfully Our Saviour Christ in the Gospel teacheth us that it profiteth a man nothing to have in possession all the riches of the whole World and the wealth or glory thereof if in the mean season he lose his Soul or do that thing whereby it should become captive unto death sin and hell-fire By the which saying he not only instructeth us how much the souls health is to be preferred before worldly commodities but it also serveth to stir up our minds and to prick us forwards to seek diligently and learn by what means we may preserve and keep our souls ever in safety that is how we may recover our health if it be lost or impaired and how it may be defended and maintained if once we have it Yea he teacheth us also thereby to esteem that as a precious Medicine and an inestimable Jewel that hath such strength and vertue in it that can either procure or preserve so incomparable a treasure For if we greatly regard that Medicine or Salve that is able to heal sundry and grievous Diseases of the Body much more will we esteem that which hath like power over the Soul And because we might be better assured both to know and to have in readiness that so profitable a Remedy he as a most faithful and loving Teacher sheweth himself both what it is and where we may find it and how we may use and apply it For when both he and his Disciples were grievously accused of the Pharisees to have defiled their souls in breaking the constitutions of the Elders because they went to meat and washed not their hands before according to the custom of the Jews Christ answering their superstitious complaint teacheth them an especial remedy how to keep clean their souls notwithstanding the breach of such superstitious Orders Luke 11. Give Alms saith he and behold all things are clean unto you He teacheth them that to be merciful and charitable in helping the Poor is the means to keep the Soul pure and clean in the sight of God We are taught therefore by this that merciful Alms-dealing is profitable to purge the Soul from the infection and filthy spots of sin The same Lesson doth the Holy Ghost also teach in sundry places of the Scripture Tobit 4. saying Mercifulness and Alms-giving purgeth from all sins and delivereth from death and suffereth not the soul to come into darkness A great confidence may they have before the high God that shew mercy and compassion to them that are afflicted The wise Preacher the Son of Syrach confimeth the same Ecclus 5. when he saith That as water quencheth burning fire even so mercy and alms resisteth and reconcileth sins And sure it is that mercifulness quaileth the heat of sin so much that they shall not take hold upon man to hurt him or if ye have by any infirmity or weakness been touched and annoyed with them straightways shall mercifulness wipe and wash away as salves and remedies to heal their sores and grievous diseases And thereupon that Holy Father Cyprian taketh good occasion to exhort earnestly to the merciful works of giving Alms and helping the Poor and there he admonisheth to consider how wholsom and profitable it is to relieve the needy and help the afflicted by the which we may purge our sins and heal our wounded souls But yet some will say unto me If Alms-giving and our charitable works towards the Poor be able to wash away sins to reconcile us to God to deliver us from the peril of damnation and makes us the Sons and Heirs of Gods Kingdom then are Christs merits defaced and his blood shed in vain then are we justified by Works and by our Deeds may we merit Heaven then do we in vain believe that Christ died for to put away our sins and that he rose for our justification as St. Paul teacheth But ye shall understand Dearly Beloved that neither those places of the Scripture before alledged neither the Doctrine of the blessed Martyr Cyprian neither any other godly and learned man when they in extolling the dignity profit fruit and effect of vertuous and liberal Alms do say that it washeth away sins and bringeth us to the favour of God do mean that our work and charitable deed is the original cause of our acception before God or that for the digninity or worthiness thereof our sins may be washed away and we purged and cleansed of all the spots of our iniquity for that were indeed to deface Christ and to defraud him of his glory But they mean this and this is the understanding of those and such like sayings that God of his mercy and special favour towards them whom he hath appointed to everlasting salvation hath so offered his grace especially and they have so received it fruitfully that although by reason of their sinful living outwardly they seemed before to have been the Children of Wrath and Perdition yet now the Spirit of God mightily working in them unto obedience to Gods Will and Commandments they declare by their outward deeds and life in the shewing of
who became poor to make us rich vile to make us precious subject to death to make us live for ever What greater love could we silly Creatures desire or wish to have at Gods hands Therefore Dearly Beloved let us not forget this exceeding love of our Lord and Saviour let us not shew our selves unmindful or unthankful toward him but let us love him fear him obey him and serve him Let us confess him with our Mouths praise him with our Tongues believe on him with our Hearts and glorifie him with our good Works Christ is the light let us receive the light Christ is the truth let us believe the truth Christ is the way let us follow the way And because he is our only Master our only Teacher our only Shepherd and chief Captain therefore let us become his Servants his Scholars his Sheep and his Souldiers As for Sin the Flesh the World and the Devil whose Servants and Bond-slaves we were before Christs coming let us utterly cast them off and defie them as the chief and only Enemies of our Soul And seeing we are once delivered from their cruel Tyranny by Christ let us never fall into their hands again lest we chance to be in a worse case than ever we were before Happy are they saith the Scripture that continue to the end Be faithful saith God until death and I will give thee a crown of life Again he saith in another place He that putteth his hand unto the Plough and looketh back is not meet for the Kingdom of God Therefore let us be strong stedfast and unmoveable abounding always in the works of the Lord. Let us receive Christ not for a time but for ever let us believe his Word not for a time but for ever let us become his Servants not for a time but for ever in consideration that he hath redeemed and saved us not for a time but for ever and will receive us into his Heavenly Kingdom there to reign with him not for a time but for ever To him therefore with the Father and the Holy Ghost be all Honour Praise and Glory for ever and ever Amen AN HOMILY FOR Good-Friday concerning the Death and Passion of our Saviour Jesus Christ IT should not become us well-beloved in Christ being that People which he redeemed from the Devil from Sin and Death and from everlasting Damnation by Christ to suffer this time to pass forth without any meditation and remembrance of that excellent Work of our Redemption wrought as about this time through the great mercy and charity of our Saviour Jesus Christ for us wretched Sinners and his mortal Enemies For if a mortal mans deed done to the behoof of the Common-wealth be had in remembrance of us with thanks for the benefit and profit which we receive thereby how much more readily should we have in memory this excellent act and benefit of Christs death whereby he hath purchased for us the undoubted pardon and forgiveness of our sins whereby he made at one the Father of Heaven with us in such wise that he taketh us now for his loving Children and for the true inheritors with Christ his Natural Son of the Kingdom of Heaven And verily so much more doth Christs kindness appear unto us in that it pleased him to deliver himself of all his goodly Honour which he was equally in with his Father in Heaven and to come down into this vale of misery to be made mortal man and to be in the state of a most low Servant serving us for our wealth and profit us I say which were his sworn Enemies which had renounced his holy Law and Commandments and followed the lusts and sinful pleasures of our corrupt Nature And yet I say Coloss 2. did Christ put himself between Gods deserved wrath and our sin and rent that Obligation wherein we were in danger to God and paid our debt Our debt was a great deal too great for us to have paid And without payment God the Father could never be at one with us Neither was it possible to be loosed from this debt by our own ability It pleased him therefore to be the payer thereof and to discharge us quite Who can now consider the grievous debt of sin which could none otherwise be paid but by the death of an Innocent and will not hate sin in his heart If God hateth sin so much that he would allow neither man nor Angel for the Redemption thereof but only the death of his only and well-beloved Son who will not stand in fear thereof If we my Friends consider this that for our sins this most innocent Lamb was driven to death we shall have much more cause to bewail our selves that we were the cause of his death than to cry out of the malice and cruelty of the Jews which pursued him to his death We did the deeds wherefore he was thus stricken and wounded they were only the ministers of our wickedness It is meet then that we should step low down into our hearts and bewail our own wretchedness and sinful living Let us know for a certainty that if the most dearly beloved Son of God was thus punished and stricken for the sin which he had not done himself how much more ought we sore to be stricken for our daily and manifold sins which we commit against God if we earnestly repent us not and be not sorry for them No man can love sin which God hateth so much and be in his favour No man can say that he loveth Christ truly and have his great Enemy sin I mean the author of his death familiar and in friendship with him So much do we love God and Christ as we hate sin We ought therefore to take great heed that we be not favourers thereof lest we be found Enemies to God and Traytors to Christ For not only they which nailed Christ upon the Cross are his tormentors and crucifiers Heb. 6. But all they saith St. Paul crucifie again the Son of God as much as is in them who do commit vice and sin which brought him to his death Rom. 6. If the wages of sin be death and death everlasting surely it is no small danger to be in service thereof Rom. 8. Rom. 8. If we live after the flesh and after the sinful lusts thereof St Paul threatneth yea Almighty God in St. Paul threatneth that we shall surely die We can none otherwise live to God but by dying to sin If Christ be in us then is sin dead in us and if the Spirit of God be in us which raised Christ from death to life so shall the same Spirit raise us to the resurrection of everlasting life Rom. 1. But if sin rule and reign in us then is God which is the fountain of all Grace and Vertue departed from us then hath the Devil and his ungracious spirit rule and dominion in us And surely if in such miserable state we die we shall
not rise to life but fall down to death and damnation and that without end Chrisâ— haâ—h not redeemed from us sin that we should live an sin For Christ hath not so redeemed us from sin that we may safely return thereto again but he hath redeemed us that we should forsake the motions thereof and live to righteousness Yea we be therefore washed in our Baptism from the filthiness of sin that we should live afterward in the pureness of life In Baptism we promised to renounce the Devil and his suggestions we promised to be as obedient Children always following Gods will and pleasure Then if he be our Father indeed let us give him his due Honour If we be his Children let us shew him our Obedience like as Christ openly declared his obedience to his Father which as St. Paul writeth was obedient even to the very death Phil. 2. the death of the Cross And this he did for us all that believe in him For himself he was not punished for he was pure and undefiled of all manner of sin He was wounded saith Esay for our wickedness Esay 53. and stripped for our sins he suffered the penalty of them himself to deliver us from danger He bare saith Esay all our sores and infirmities upon his own back No pain did he refuse to suffer in his own body that he might deliver us from pain everlasting His pleasure it was thus to do for us we deserved it not Wherefore the more we see our selves bound unto him the more he ought to be thanked of us yea and the more hope may we take that we shall receive all other good things of his hand in that we have received the gift of his only Son through his liberality R m. 8. For if God saith St. Paul hath not spared his own Son from pain and punishment but delivered him for us all unto the death how should he not give us all other things with him If we want any thing John 1. either for body or soul we may lawfully and boldly approach to God as to our merciful Father to ask that we desire and we shall obtain it For such power is given to us to be the Children of God so many as believe in Christs Name Mat. 11. In his Name whatsoever we ask we shall have it granted us For so well pleased is the Father Almighty God with Christ his Son that for his sake he favoureth us and will deny us nothing So pleasant was this Sacrifice and Oblation of his Sons death which he so obediently and innocently suffered that we should take it for the only and full amends for all the sins of the World And such favour did he purchase by his death of his Heavenly Father for us that for the merit thereof if we be true Christians in deed and not in word only we be now fully in Gods grace again and clearly discharged from our sin No â—ongue surely is able to express the worthiness of this so precious a death For in this standeth the continual pardon of our daily offences in this resteth our justification in this we be allowed in this is purchased the everlasting health of all our souls Acts 4. Yea there is none other thing that can be named under Heaven to save our souls but this only work of Christs precious offering of his Body upon the Altar of the Cross Certes there can be no work of any mortal man be he never so holy that shall be coupled in merits with Christs most holy act For no doubt all our thoughts and deeds were of no value if they were nor allowed in the merits of Christs death All our righteousness is far unperfect if it be be compared with Christs righteousness For in his acts and deeds there was no spot of sin or of any unperfectness Our deeds be full of imperfection And for this cause they were the more able to be the true amends of our righteousness where our acts and deeds be full of imperfection and infirmities and therefore nothing worthy of themselves to stir God to any favour much less to challenge that glory that is due to Christs act and merit Psal 115. For not to us saith David not to us but to thy Name give the glory O Lord. Let us therefore good Friends with all reverence glorifie his Name let us magnifie and praise him for ever For he hath dealt with us according to his great mercy by himself hath he purchased our Redemption Heb. 1. He thought it not enough to spare himself and to send his Angel to do this deed but he would do it himself that he might do it the better and make it the more perfect Redemption He was nothing moved with the intolerable pains that he suffered in the whole course of his long Passion to repent him thus to do good to his Enemies but he opened his heart for us and bestowed himself wholly for the ransoming of us Let us therefore now open our hearts again to him and study in our lives to be thankful to such a Lord and evermore to be mindful of so great a benefit Acts 17. yea let us take up our Cross with Christ and follow him His Passion is not only the ransom and whole amends for our sin but it is also a most perfect example of all patience and sufferance For if it behoved Christ thus to suffer and to enter into the glory of his Father why should it not become us to bear patiently our small crosses of adversity and the troubles of this World For surely as saith St. Peter Christ therefore suffered 1 Pet. 2. 1 Tim. 2. Rom. 8. Mat. 5. Heb. 11. to leave us an example to follow his steps And if we suffer with him we shall be sure also to reign with him in Heaven Not that the sufferance of this transitory life should be worthy of that glory to come but gladly should we be contented to suffer to be like Christ in our life that so by our works we may glorifie our Father which is in Heaven And as it is painful and grievous to bear the Cross of Christ in the griefs and displeasures of this life so it bringeth forth the joyful fruit of Hope James 5. in all them that be exercised therewith Let us not so much behold the pain as the reward that shall follow that labour Nay let us rather endeavour our selves in our sufferance to endure innocently and guiltless as our Saviour Christ did For if we suffer for our deservings 1 Pet. 2. then hath not patience his perfect work in us but if undeservedly we suffer loss of goods and life if we suffer to be evil spoken of for the love of Christ this is thankful afore God for so did Christ suffer The patience of Christ He never did sin neither was any guile found in his mouth Yea when he was reviled with taunts he reviled not again
Hell to the intent to put us in good hope that by his strength we shall do the same He paid the Ransom of sin that it should not be laid to our charge He destroyed the Devil and all his Tyranny and openly triumphed over him and took away from him all his Captives and hath raised and set them with himself among the Heavenly Citizens above Ephes 2. He died to destroy the rule of the Devil in us and he rose again to send down his Holy Spirit to rule in our hearts to endow us with perfect Righteousness Thus it is true that David sung Psal 84. Ephes 4. Captivam duxit captivitatem Luke 2. Veritas de terra orta est justitia de coelo prospexit The truth of Gods promise is in Earth to man declared or from the Earth is the everlasting Verity Gods Son risen to life and the true righteousness of the Holy Ghost looking out of Heaven and in most liberal largess dealt upon all the World Thus is glory and praise rebounded upwards to God above for his mercy and truth And thus is Peace come down from Heaven to men of good and faithful hearts Psal 48. Misericordia veritas obviaverunt sibi Thus is mercy and truth as David writeth together met thus is peace and righteousness embracing and kissing each other If thou doubtest of so great wealth and felicity that is wrought for thee O man call to thy mind that therefore hast thou received into thine own possession the everlasting Verity our Saviour Jesus Christ to confirm to thy Conscience the truth of all this matter Thou hast received him if in true faith and repentance of Heart thou hast received him If in purpose of amendment thou hast received him for an everlasting gage or pledge of thy Salvation Thou hast received his Body which was once broken and his Blood which was shed for the remission of thy sin Thou hast received his Body to have within thee the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost for to dwell with thee to endow thee with grace to strengthen thee against thine Enemies and to comfort thee with their presence Thou hast received his Body to endow thee with everlasting righteousness to assure thee of everlasting bliss Ephes 5. and life of thy Soul For with Christ by true Faith art thou quickned again saith St. Paul from death of sin to life of grace and in hope translated from corporal and everlasting death to the everlasting life and glory in Heaven where now thy conversation should be and thy heart and desire set Doubt not of the truth of this matter how great and high soever these things be It becometh God to do no small deeds how impossible soever they seem to thee Pray to God that thou mayest have Faith to perceive this great Mystery of Christs Resurrection that by Faith thou mayest certainly believe nothing to be impossible with God Luke 18. Only bring thou Faith to Christs Holy Word and Sacrament Let thy Repentance shew thy Faith let thy purpose of amendment and obedience of thy heart to Gods Law hereafter declare thy true belief Endeavour thy self to say with St. Paul Phil. 4. From henceforth our conversation is in Heaven from whence we look for a Saviour even the Lord Jesus Christ which shall change our vile bodies that they may be fashioned like his glorious body which he shall do by the same power whereby he rose from death and whereby he shall be able to subdue all things unto himself Thus good Christian People forasmuch as ye have heard these so great and excellent benefits of Christs mighty and glorious Resurrection as how that he hath ransomed Sin overcome the Devil Death and Hell and hath victoriously gotten the better hand of them all to make us free and safe from them and knowing that we be by this benefit of his Resurrection risen with him by our Faith unto life everlasting being in full surety of our hope that we shall have our bodies likewise raised again from death to have them glorified in immortality and joyned to his glorious body having in the mean while his holy Spirit within our hearts as a Seal and Pledge of our everlasting Inheritance By whose assistance we be replenished with all righteousness by whose power we shall be able to subdue all our evil affections rising against the pleasure of God These things I say well considered let us now in the rest of our life declare our Faith that we have in this most fruitful Article by framing our selves thereunto in rising daily from sin to righteousness and holiness of life For what shall it avail us saith St. Peter to be 2 Pet. 2. escaped and delivered from the filthiness of the World through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ if we be entangled again therewith and be overcome again Certainly it had been better saith he never to have known the way of righteousness then after it is known and received to turn back again from the holy Commandment of God given unto us For so shall the Proverb have place in us where it is said The Dog is returned to his vomit again and the Sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire again What a shame were it for us being thus so clearly and freely washed from our sin to return to the filthiness thereof again What a folly were it thus endowed with righteousness to lose it again What madness were it to lose the Inheritance that we be now set in for the vile and transitory pleasure of sin And what an unkindness should it be where our Saviour Christ of his mercy is come to us to dwell with us as our Guest to drive him from us and to banish him violently out of our souls and instead of him in whom is all grace and vertue to receive the ungracious spirit of the Devil the founder of all naughtiness and mischief How can we find in our hearts to shew such extream unkindness to Christ which hath now so gently called us to mercy and offered himself unto us and he now entred within us Yea how dare we be so bold to renounce the presence of the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost For where one is there is God all whole in Majesty together with all his power wisdom and goodness and fear not I say the danger and peril of so traiterous a defiance and departure Good Christian Brethren and Sisters advise your selves consider the dignity that ye be now set in let no Folly lose the thing that Grace hath so preciously offered and purchased let not wilfulness and blindness put out so great light that is now shewed unto you Ephes 6. Only take good hearts unto you and put upon you all the Armour of God that ye may stand against your Enemies which would again subdue you and bring you into their thraldom Remember ye be bought from your vain conversation
for chattering Jays but for Eagles who flie thither where the dead body lieth And if this advertisement of man cannot perswade us to resort to the Lords Table with understanding see the counsel of God in the like matter who charged his People to teach their Posterity not only the Rites and Ceremonies of the Passover but the cause and end thereof Whence we may learn that both more perfect knowledge is required at this time at our hands and that the ignorant cannot with fruit and profit exercise himself in the Lords Sacraments But to come nigher to the matter St. Paul blaming the Corinthians for the profaning of the Lords Supper concludeth that ignorance both of the thing it self and the signification thereof was the cause of their abuse for they came thither unreverently not discerning the Lords Body Ought not we then by the motion of the Wise man by the wisdom of God by the fearful example of the Corinthians to take advised heed that we thrust not our selves to this Table with rude and unreverent ignorance the smart whereof Christs Church hath rued and lamented these many days and years For what hath been the cause of the ruin of Gods Religion but the ignorance hereof What hath been the cause of this gross Idolatry but the ignorance hereof What hath been the cause of this mummish Massing but the ignorance hereof Yea what hath been and what is at this day the cause of this want of love and charity but the ignorance hereof Let us therefore so travel to understand the Lords Supper that we be no cause of the decay of Gods Worship of no Idolatry of no dumb Massing of no hate and malice so may we the boldier have access thither to our comfort Acts 1. Neither need we to think that such exact knowledge is required of every man Matth. 26. that he be able to discuss all high points in the Doctrine thereof But thus much we must be sure to hold that in the Supper of the Lord there is no vain Ceremony no bare sign no untrue figure of a thing absent 1 Cor. 11. But as the Scripture saith the Table of the Lord the Bread and Cup of the Lord the memory of Christ the Annunciation of his death yea the Communion of the Body and Blood of the Lord in a marvellous incorporation which by the operation of the Holy Ghost the very bond of our conjunction with Christ is through faith wrought in the souls of the faithful whereby not only their souls live to eternal life but they surely trust to win their bodies a resurrection to immortality The true understanding of this fruition and union which is betwixt the Body and the Head betwixt the true Believers and Christ Iren. lib. 4. cap. 34. Igna. Epist ad Ephes Dionysius Origen Optat. Cyp. de caena Domini Atha de pec inspir sanct the ancient Catholick Fathers both perceiving themselves and commending to their People were not afraid to call this Supper some of them the Salve of Immortality and Sovereign Preservative against Death other a Deifical Communion other the sweet dainties of our Saviour the pledge of eternal health the defence of Faith the hope of the Resurrection other the food of Immortality the healthful Grace and the Conservatory to everlasting life All which sayings both of the Holy Scripture and godly men truly attributed to this celestial Banquet and Feast if we would often call to mind O how would they inflame our hearts to desire the participation of these Mysteries and oftentimes to covet after this bread continually to thirst for this food Not as especially regarding the terrene and earthly Creatures which remain but always holding fast and cleaving by Faith to the Rock whence we may suck the sweetness of everlasting Salvation And to be brief thus much more the Faithful see hear and know the favourable mercies of God sealed the satisfaction by Christ towards us confirmed and the remission of sin established Here they may feel wrought the tranquillity of Conscience the increase of Faith the strengthening of Hope the large spreading abroad of brotherly kindness with many other sundry graces of God The taste whereof they cannot attain unto who be drowned in the deep dirty lake of blindness and ignorance From the which O beloved wash your selves with the living Waters of Gods Word whence you may perceive and know both the spiritual food of this costly Supper and the happy trustings and effects that the same doth bring with it Now it followeth to have with this knowledge a sure and constant Faith not only that the death of Christ is available for the redemption of all the World for the remission of sins and reconciliation with God the Father but also that he hath made upon his Cross a full and sufficient Sacrifice for thee a perfect cleansing of thy sins so that thou acknowledgest no other Saviour Redeemer Mediator Advocate Intercessor but Christ only and that thou mayest say with the Apostle that he loved thee and gave himself for thee For this is to stick fast to Christs promise made in his Institution to make Christ thine own and to apply his merits unto thy self Herein thou needest no other mans help no other Sacrifice or Oblation no sacrificing Priest no Mass no means established by mans invention That Faith is a necessary instrument in all these holy Ceremonies we may thus assure our selves for that as St. Paul saith without Faith it is unpossible to please God Heb. 11. In Johan Hom. 6. When a great number of the Israelites were overthrown in the Wilderness Moses Aaron and Phineas did eat Manna and pleased God for that they understood saith St. Augustine the visible meat spiritually Spiritually they hungred it spiritually they tasted it that they might be spiritually satisfied And truly as the bodily meat cannot feed the outward man unless it be let into the stomach to be digested which is healthful and sound no more can the inward man be fed except his meat be received into his soul and heart De Caena Domini sound and whole in Faith Therefore saith Cyprian when we do these things we need not to whet our teeth but with sincere Faith we break and divide that whole bread It is well known that the meat we seek for in this Supper is spiritual food the nourishment of our soul a heavenly refection and not earthly and invisible meat and not bodily a ghostly substance and not carnal so that to think that without Faith we may enjoy the eating and drinking thereof or that that is the fruition of it is but to dream a gross carnal feeding basely objecting and binding our selves to the Elements and Creatures Whereas by the advice of the Council of Nicene Concilium Nicen. we ought to lift up our minds by Faith and leaving these inferiour and earthly things there seek it where the Sun of Righteousness ever shineth Take then this Lesson
fall without any kind of thought or compassion toward them whom we might easily relieve without any Conscience of Slander Disdain Misreport Division Rancor or inward bitterness Yea being accumbred with the cloaked Hatred of Cain Gen. 4. Gen. 27. 2 Sam. 3. with the long coloured Malice of Esau with the dissembled Falshood of Joab dare ye presume to come up to these sacred and fearful Mysteries O Man whither rushest thou unadvisedly It is a Table of Peace and thou art ready to fight It is a Table of singleness and thou art imagining mischief It is a Table of quietness and thou art given to debate It is a Table of pity and thou art unmerciful Dost thou neither fear God the maker of this Feast nor reverence his Christ the refection and meat nor regardest his Spouse his well-beloved Guest nor weighest thine own Conscience which is sometime thine inward accuser Wherefore O Man tender thine own Salvation examine and try thy good will and love towards the Children of God the Members of Christ the Heirs of the Heavenly Heritage yea towards the Image of God the excellent Creature thine own Soul If thou have offended now be reconciled If thou have caused any to stumble in the way of God now set them up again If thou have disquieted thy Brother now pacifie him If thou have wronged him now relieve him If thou have defrauded him now restore to him If thou have nourished spite now embrace friendship If thou have fostered hatred and malice now openly shew thy love and charity yea be prest and ready to procure thy Neighbours health of soul wealth commodity and pleasures as thine own Deserve not the heavy and dreadful burthen of Gods displeasure for thine evil will towards thy Neighbour so unreverently to approach to this Table of the Lord. Last of all as there is here the mystery of Peace and the Sacrament of Christian Society Chrysost ad popu Ant. Homil. 6. whereby we understand what sincere love ought to be betwixt the true Communicants So here be the tokens of pureness and innocency of life whereby we may perceive that we ought to purge our own Soul from all uncleanness iniquity and wickedness lest when we receive the Mystical Bread as Origen saith we eat it in an unclean place that is In Levit. Cap. 23. 1 Cor. 11. Luke 17. Homil. 14. in a Soul defiled and polluted with sin In Moses Law the man that did eat of the Sacrifice of Thanksgiving with his uncleanness upon him should be destroyed from his People And shall we think that the wicked and sinful Person shall be excusable at the Table of the Lord 1 Cor. 11. Luke 17. Homil. 114 We both read in St. Paul that the Church of Corinth was scourged of the Lord for misusing the Lords Supper and we may plainly see Christs Church these many years miserably vexed and oppressed for the horrible profanation of the same Wherefore let us all universal and singular behold our own manners and lives to amend them Yea now at least let us call our selves to an accompt that it may grieve us of our former evil conversation that we may hate sin that we may sorrow and mourn for our offences that we may with tears pour them out before God that we may with sure trust desire and crave the Salve of his Mercy bought and purchased with the Blood of his dearly Beloved Son Jesus Christ to heal our deadly Wounds withal For surely Chrysost ad popul Ant. Homil. 6. if we do not with earnest Repentance cleanse the filthy stomach of our Soul it must needs come to pass that as wholsom meat received into a raw stomach corrupteth and marreth all and is the cause of further sickness so shall we eat this wholsom Bread and drink this Cup to our eternal destruction Thus we and no other must thorowly examine and not lightly look over our selves not other men our own Conscience not other mens lives which we ought to do uprightly truly and with just correction O saith Chrysostom let no Judas resort to this Table Ad popul Ant. Hom. 6 Mat. 26. let no covetous Person approach If any be a Disciple let him be present For Christ saith With my Disciples I make my Passover Why cried the Deacon in the Primitive Church if any be holy let him draw near Why did they celebrate these Mysteries the Quire-door being shut Why were the publick Penitents and Learners in Religion commanded at this time to avoid Was it not because this Table received no unholy unclean or sinful Guests Wherefore if Servants dare not to presume to an earthly Masters Table whom they have offended let us take heed we come not with our sins unexamined into this presence of our Lord and Judge If they be worthy blame which kiss the Princes hand with a filthy and unclean mouth shalt thou be blameless which with a stinking Soul full of Covetousness Fornication Drunkenness Pride full of wretched Cogitations and Thoughts dost breath out iniquity and uncleanness on the Bread and Cup of the Lord. Thus have you heard Epilog how you should come reverently and decently to the Table of the Lord having the knowledge out of his Word of the thing it self and the fruits thereof bringing a true and constant Faith the Root and Well-spring of all newness of life as well in praising God and loving our Neighbour as purging our own Conscience from filthiness So that neither the ignorance of the thing shall cause us to contemn it nor unfaithfulness make us void of fruit nor sin and iniquity procure us Gods Plagues but shall by Faith in knowledge and amendment of life in Faith be here so united to Christ our Head in his Mysteries to our comfort that after we shall have full fruition of him indeed to our everlasting joy and eternal life To the which He bring us that died for us and redeemed us Jesus Christ the righteous to whom with the Father and the Holy Ghost one true and eternal God be all Praise Honour and Dominion for ever Amen AN HOMILY CONCERNING The Coming down of the HOLY GHOST and the manifold Gifts of the same For Whitsunday BEfore we come to the declaration of the great and manifold gifts of the Holy Ghost wherewith the Church of God hath been evermore replenished it shall first be needful briefly to expound unto you whereof this Feast of Pentecost or Whitsuntide had his first beginning You shall therefore understand that the Feast of Pentecost was always kept the fiftieth day after Easter a great and solemn Feast among the Jews wherein they did celebrate the memorial of their deliverance out of Egypt and also the memorial of the publishing of the Law which was given unto them in the Mount Sinai upon that day It was first ordained and commanded to be kept Holy not by any mortal man but by the mouth of the Lord himself as we read in Levit. 23. and Deut.
simple Man of small wit and less knowledge one that was reputed among the Learned as an Ideot and he on Gods name would needs take in hand to dispute with this proud Philosopher The Bishops and other learned Men standing by were marvellously abashed at the matter thinking that by his doings they should be all confounded and put to open shame He notwithstanding goeth on and beginning in the Name of the Lord Jesus brought the Philosopher to such Point in the end contrary to all Mens expectation that he could not chuse but acknowledge the power of God in his Words and to give place to the Truth Was not this a miraculous Work that one silly Soul of no Learning should do that which many Bishops of great knowledge and understanding were never able to bring to pass So true is the saying of Bede Where the Holy Ghost doth instruct and teach there is no delay at all in learning Much more might here be spoken of the manifold gifts and graces of the Holy Ghost most excellent and wonderful in our eyes but to make a long Discourse through all the shortness of time will not serve And seeing ye have heard the chiefest ye may easily conceive and judge of the rest Now were it expedient to discuss this Question Whether all they which boast and brag that they have the Holy Ghost do truly challenge this unto themselves or no Which doubt because it is necessary and profitable shall God willing be dissolved in the next Part of this Homily In the mean season let us as we are most bound give hearty thanks to God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ for sending down his Comforter into the World humbly beseeching him so to work in our Hearts by the power of this Holy Spirit that we being Regenerate and newly Born again in all Goodness Righteousness Sobriety and Truth may in the end be made partakers of everlasting Life in his Heavenly Kingdom through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour Amen The Second Part of the Homily concerning the HOLY GHOST dissoâ—â—â—â—◠〈◊〉 doubt Whether all Men riâ—htly 〈…〉 themselves the HOLY GHOST or no â—ohn 14. â—5 OUr Saviour Christ departing out of the World unto his Father promised his Disciples to send down another Comforter that should continue with them for ever and direct them into all truth Which thing to be faithfully and truly performed the Scriptures do sufficiently bear witness Neither must we think that this Comforter was either promised or else given only to the Apostles but also to the Universal Church of Christ dispersed through the whole World For unless the Holy Ghost had been always present governing and preserving the Church from the beginning it could never have sustained so many and great brunts of Affliction and Persecution with so little damage and harm as it hath And the words of Christ are most plain in this behalf saying John 24. Mat. 21. That the Spirit of truth should abide with them for ever that he would be with them always he meaneth by Grace Vertue and Power even to the Worlds end Also in the Prayer that he made to his Father a little before his death he maketh intercession not only for himself and his Apostles but indifferently for all them that should believe in him through their words John 17. Rom. 8 that is to wit for his whole Church Again St. Paul saith If any Man have not the Spirit of Christ the same is not his Also in the words following Ibidem We have received the Spirit of Adoption whereby we cry Abba Father Hereby then it is evident and plain to all Men that the Holy Ghost was given not only to the Apostles but also to the whole Body of Christs Congregation although not in like form and majesty as he came down at the Feast of Pentecost But now herein standeth the Controversie Whether all Men do justly arrogate to themselves the Holy Ghost or no The Bishops of Rome have for along time made a sore Challenge thereunto reasoning with themselves after this sort The Holy Ghost say they was promised to the Church and never forsaketh the Church But we are the chief Heads and the principal part of the Church therefore we have the Holy Ghost for ever and whatsoever things we decree are undoubted Verities and Oracles of the Holy Ghost That ye may perceive the weakness of this Argument it is needful to teach you First What the true Church of Christ is and then to confer the Church of Rome therewith to discern how well they agree together The true Church is an Universal Congregation or Fellowship of Gods faithful and elect People built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets Ephes 2. Jesus Christ himself being the head Corner-stone And it hath always three Notes or Marks whereby it is known Pure and Sound Doctrin the Sacraments Ministred according to Christs holy Institution and the right use of Ecclesiastical Discipline This description of the Church is agreeable both to the Scriptures of God and also to the Doctrin of the Ancient Fathers so that none may Justly find fault therewith Now if you will compare this with the Church of Rome not as it was in the beginning but as it is at present and hath been for the space of Nine hundred Years and odd you shall well perceive the state thereof to be so far wide from the nature of the true Church that nothing can be more For neither are they built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets retaining the sound and pure Doctrin of Christ Jesu neither yet do they order the Sacraments or else the Ecclesiastical Keys in such sort as he did first Institute and Ordain them But have so intermingled their own Traditions and Inventions by chopping and changing by adding and plucking away that now they may seem to be converted into a new Guise Christ commended to his Church a Sacrament of his Body and Blood they have changed it into a Sacrifice for the Quick and the Dead Christ did Minister to his Apostles and the Apostles to other Men indifferently under both kinds They have robbed the Lay people of the Cup saying that for them one kind is sufficient Christ Ordained no other Element to be used in Baptism but only Water whereunto when the Word is joyned it is made as St. Augustine saith a full and perfect Sacrament Augustine They being wiser in their own conceit than Christ think it is not well nor orderly done unless they use Conjuration unless they Hallow the Water unless there be Oyl Salt Spittle Tapers and such other dumb Ceremonies serving to no use contrary to the plain Rule of St. Paul 1 Cor. 14. who willeth all things to be done in the Church to Edification Christ Ordained the Authority of the Keys to Excommunicate notorious sinners and to Absolve them which are truly Penitent They abuse this Power at their own pleasure as well in
that are strayed from thee This Experience was perceived to be true of that holy Prophet Jeremy Jer. 15. O Lord saith he whatsoever they be that forsake thee shall be confounded they that depart from thee shall be written in the Earth and soon forgotten It profiteth not good People to hear the goodness of God declared unto us if our hearts be not enflamed thereby to honor and thank him It profited not the Jews which were Gods elect People to hear much of God seeing that he was not received in their hearts by Faith nor thanked for his benefits bestowed upon them their unthankfulness was the cause of their destruction Let us eschew the manner of these before rehearsed and follow rather the Example of that holy Apostle St. Paul who when in a deep Meditation he did behold the marvellous Proceedings of Almighty God and considered his infinite goodness in the ordering of his Creatures he burst out into this conclusion Surely saith he of him Rom. 11. by him and in him be all things And this once pronounced he stuck not still at this Point but forthwith thereupon joyned to these words To him be glory and praise for ever Amen Upon the ground of which words of St. Paul good Audience I purpose to build my Exhortation of this day unto you Wherein I shall do my endeavour First To prove unto you that all good things come down unto us from above from the Father of Light Secondly That Jesus Christ his Son and our Saviour is the mean by whom we receive his liberal goodness Thirdly That in the power and vertue of the Holy Ghost we be made meet and able to receive his gifts and graces Which things distinctly and advisedly considered in our minds must needs compel us in most low reverence after our bounden Duty always to render him thanks again in some testification of our good hearts for his deserts unto us And that the entreating of this matter in hand may be to the glory of Almighty God Let us in one Faith and Charity call upon the Father of Mercy from whom cometh every good gift and every perfect gift by the mediation of his well-beloved Son our Saviour that we may be assisted with the presence of his Holy Spirit and profitably on both parts to demean our selves in speaking and hearkning to the Salvation of our Souls In the beginning of my speaking unto you good Christian People suppose not that I do take upon me to declare unto you the excellent Power or the incomparable Wisdom of Almighty God as though I would have you believe that it might be expressed unto you by words Nay it may not be thought that that thing may be comprehended by Mans words that is incomprehensible And too much arrogancy it were for Dust and Ashes to think that he can worthily decâ—are his Maker It passeth far the dark understanding and wisdom of a Mortal Man to speak sufficiently of that divine Majesty which the Angels cannot understand We shall therefore lay apart to speak of the profound and unsearchable Nature of Almighty God rather acknowledging our weakness than rashly to attempt what is above all Mans capacity to compass It shall better suffice us in low Humility to reverence and dread his Majesty which we cannot comprize than by over-much curious searching to be over-charged with the Glory We shall rather turn our whole Contemplation to answer a while his goodness towards us wherein we shall be much more profitably occupied and more may we be bold to search To consider the great Power he is of can but make us dread and fear To consider his high Wisdom might utterly discomfort our Frailty to have any thing to do with him but in consideration of his inestimable goodness we take good heart again to trust well unto him By his goodness we be assured to take him for our refuge our hope and comfort our merciful Father in all the course of our Lives His Power and Wisdom compelleth us to take him for God Omnipotent Invisible having Rule in Heaven and Earth having all things in his subjection and will have none in Council with him nor any to ask the reason of his doing Dan. 11. For he may do what liketh him and none can resist him For he worketh all things in his secret Judgment to his own pleasure Prov. 16. yea even the wicked to damnation saith Solomon By the reason of his Nature he is called in Scripture consuming Fire he is called a terrible and fearful God Heb. 11. of this behalf therefore we have no familiarity no access unto him but his goodness again tempereth the rigor of his High Power and maketh us bold and putteth us in hope that he will be conversant with us and easie unto us It is his goodness that moveth him to say in Scripture It is my delight to be with the Children of Men. It is his goodness that moveth him to call us unto him to offer us his Friendship and Presence It is his goodness that patiently suffereth our straying from him and suffereth us long to win us to Repentance It is of his goodness that we be created reasonable Creatures where else he might have made us brute Beasts Prov. 8. It was his Mercy to have us born among the number of Christian People and thereby in a much more nighness to Salvation where we might have been born if his goodness had not been among the Paynims clean void from God and the hope of Everlasting Life And what other thing doth his loving and gentle Voice spoken in his word where he calleth us to his Presence and Friendship but declare his goodness only without regard of our worthiness And what other thing doth stir him to call us to him when we be strayed from him to suffer us patiently to win us to Repentance but only his singular goodness no whit of our deserving Let them all come together that be now glorified in Heaven and let us hear what answer they will make in these Points before rehearsed whether their first Creation was in Gods goodness or of themselves Forsooth David would make answer for them all and say Know ye for surety even the Lord is God he hath made us and not we our selves If they were asked again who should be thanked for their Regeneration for their Justification and for their Salvation Whether their deserts or Gods goodness only Although in this Point every one confess sufficiently the truth of this matter in his own Person yet let David answer by the mouth of them all at this time who cannot chuse but say Not to us O Lord not to us but to thy Name give all the thanks for thy loving mercy and for thy truths sake If we should ask again from whence came their glorious Works and Deeds which they wrought in their lives wherewith God was so highly pleased and worshipped by them Let some other witness be brought in to testifie
this matter that in the mouth of two or three may the truth be known Verily that holy Prophet Esay beareth record and saith Esay 26. O Lord it is thou of thy goodness that hast wrought all our works in us not we our selves And to uphold the truth of this matter against all Justiciaries and Hypocrites which rob Almighty God of his Honor and ascribe it to themselves St. Paul bringeth in his Belief 1 Cor. 3. Acts 17. We be not saith he sufficient of our selves as of our selves once to think any thing but all our ableness is of Gods goodness For he it is in whom we have all our Being our Living and Moving If ye will know furthermore where they had their Gifts and Sacrifices which they offered continually in their Lives to Almighty God they cannot but agree with David where he saith Of thy liberal hand O Lord we have received that we gave unto thee If this holy Company therefore confess so constantly that all the Goods and Graces wherewith they were indued in Soul came of the goodness of God only What more can be said to prove that all that is good cometh from Almighty God Is it meet to think that all spiritual goodness cometh from God above only and that other good things either of Nature or of Fortune as we call them cometh of any other cause Doth God of his goodness adorn the Soul with all the Powers thereof as it is and come the gifts of the Body wherewith it is endued from any other If he doth the more cannot he do the less To justifie a sinner to new create him from a wicked Person to a righteous Man is a greater Act saith St. Augustin than to make such a new Heaven and Earth as is already made We must needs agree that whatsoever good thing is in us of Grace of Nature or of Fortune is of God only as the only Author and Worker And yet it is not to be thought that God hath created all this whole Universal World as it is and thus once made hath given it up to be ruled and used after our own wits and device and so taketh no more charge thereof As we see the Shipwright after he hath brought his Ship to a perfect end then delivereth it to the Mariners and taketh no more care thereof nay God hath not so created the World that he is careless of it but he still preserveth it by his goodness he still stayeth it in his Creation for else without his special goodness it could not stand long in this condition And therefore St. Paul saith That he preserveth all things Heb. 2. Heb. 3. and beareth them up still in his Word lest they should fall without him to their nothing again whereof they were made If his especial goodness were not every where present every Creature should be out of order and no Creature should have his property wherein he was first created He is therefore invisible every where and in every Creature and filleth both Heaven and Earth with his Presence In the Fire to give Heat in the Water to give Moisture in the Earth to give Fruit in the Heart to give his Strength yea in our Bread and Drink is he to give us nourishment where without him the Bread and Drink cannot give sustenance nor the Herb health as the Wise Man plainly confesseth it saying Wisd 16. It is not the increase of Fruits that feedeth Men but it is thy word O Lord which preserveth them that trust in thee And Moses agreeth to the same when he saith Deut. 8. Mans life resteth not in Bread only but in every Word which proceedeth out of Gods mouth Wisd 17. It is neither the Herb nor the Plaister that giveth Health of themselves but thy Word O Lord saith the Wise Man which healeth all things It is not therefore the power of the Croatures which worketh their effects but the goodness of God which worketh in them In his Word truly do all things consist By that same Word that Heaven and Earth were made by the same are they upholden maintained 2 Pet. 3. and kept in order saith St. Peter and shall be till Almighty God shall withdraw his Power from them and speak their dissolution If it were not thus that the goodness of God were effectually in his Creatures to rule them how could it be that the Main Sea so raging and laboring to over-flow the Earth could be kept within its bounds and banks as it is That Holy Man Job evidently spied the goodness of God in this Point and confessed that if he had not a special goodness to the preservation of the Earth it could not but shortly be over-flowed of the Sea How could it be that the Elements so divers and contrary as they be among themselves should yet agree and abide together in a concord without destruction one of another to serve our use if it came not only of Gods goodness so to temper them How could the Fire not burn and consume all things if it were let loose to go whither it would and not staid in its sphere by the goodness of God measurably to heat these inferior Creaturs to their riping Consider the huge Substance of the Earth so heavy and great as it is How could it so stand stably in the space as it doth if Gods goodness reserved it not so for us to travel on It is thou Psal 10.3 O Lord saith David which hast founded the Earth in its stability and during thy Word it shall never reel or fall down Consider the great strong Beasts and Fishes far passing the strength of Man how fierce soever they be and strong yet by the goodness of God they prevail not against us but are under our subjection and serve our use Of whom came the invention thus to subdue them and make them fit for our Commodities Was it by Mans Brain nay rather this invention came by the goodness of God which inspired Mans understanding to have his purpose of every Creature Job 38. Who was it saith Job that put Will and Wisdom in Mans head but God only his goodness And as the same saith again I perceive that every Man hath a mind but it is the inspiration of the Almighty that giveth understanding It could not be verily good Christian People that Man of his own wit upholden should invent so many and divers devices in all Crafts and Sciences except the goodness of Almighty God had been present with Men and had stirred their wits and studies of purpose to know the natures and dispositions of all his Creatures to serve us sufficiently in our needs and necessities Yea not only to serve our necessities but to serve our pleasures and delight more than necessity requireth So liberal is Gods goodness to us to provoke us to thank him if any hearts we have The Wise Man in his Contemplation by himself could not but grant this thing to be true
ye see how all is of God by his Son Christ our Lord and Saviour Remember I say once again your Duty of Thanks let them be never to want still injoyn your self to continue in Thanksgiving ye can offer to God no better Sacrifice For he saith himself Psal 50. It is the Sacrifice of Praise and Thanks that shall honor me Which thing was well perceived of that holy Prophet David when he so earnestly spake to himself thus Psal 103. O my Soul bless thou the Lord and all that is within me bless his holy Name I say once again O my Soul bless thou the Lord and never forget his manifold rewards God give us Grace good People to know these things and to feel them in our Hearts This knowledge and feeling is not in our selves by our selves it is not possible to come by it a great pity it were that we should lose so profitable knowledge Let us therefore meekly call upon that bountiful Spirit the Holy Ghost which proceedeth from our Father of Mercy and from our Mediator Christ that he would assist us and inspire us with his presence that in him we may be able to hear the goodness of God declared unto us to our Salvation For without his lively and secret inspiration can we not once so much as speak the Name of our Mediator as St. Paul plainly testifieth 1 Cor. 12 No Man can once Name our Lord Jesus Christ but in the Holy Ghost Much less should we be able to believe and know these great Mysteries that be opened to us by Christ St. Paul saith That no Man can know what is of God 1 Cor. 2. but the Spirit of God As for us saith he we have received not the Spirit of the World but the Spirit which is of God for this purpose That in that holy Spirit we might know the things that be given us by Christ The Wise man saith that in the Power and Vertue of the Holy Ghost resteth all Wisdom and all Ability to know God and to please him For he waiteth thus We know that it is not in Mans power to guide his goings Wisd 9. No Man can know thy Pleasure except thou givest Wisdom and sendest thy holy Spirit from above Send him down therefore prayeth he to God from the holy Heavens and from the Throne of thy Majesty that he may be with me and labor with me that so I may know what is acceptable before thee Let us with so good Heart Pray as he did and we shall not fail but to have his assistance For he is soon seen of them that love him he will be found of them that seek him for very liberal and gentle is the Spirit of Wisdom In his power shall we have sufficient Abilty to know our Duty to God in him shall we be comforted and encouraged to walk in our Duty in him shall we be meet vessels to receive the Grace of Almighty God for it is he that purgeth and purifieth the mind by his secret working And he only is present every where by his invisible Power and containeth all things in his Dominion He lightneth the Heart to conceive worthy thoughts to Almighty God he sitteth in the Tongue of Man to stir him to speak his Honor no Language is hid from him for he hath the knowledge of all Speech he only Ministreth Spiritual strength to the powers of our Soul and Body To hold the way which God had prepared for us to walk rightly in our Journey we must acknowledge that it is in the power of his Spirit which helpeth our infirmity That we may boldly come in Prayer and call upon Almighty God as our Father it is by this holy Spirit which maketh intercession for us with continual Sighs Galat. 4. Rom. 8. If any Gift we have wherewith we may work to the Glory of God and profit of our Neighbor all is wrought by this own and self same Spirit which maketh his distributions peculiarly to every Man as he will 1 Cor. 12. If any Wisdom we have it is not of our selves we cannot glory therein as begun of our selves but we ought to glory in God from whom it came to us as the Prophet Jeremy writeth Jerem. 9. Let him that rejoyceth rejoyce in this that he understandeth and knoweth me for I am the Lord which sheweth Mercy Judgment and Righteousness in the Earth for in these things I delight saith the Lord. This Wisdom cannot be attained but by the direction of the Spirit of God and therefore it is called Spiritual Wisdom And no where can we more certainly search for the knowledge of this Will of God by the which we must direct all our Works and Deeds but in the holy Scriptures for they be they that testifie of him John 5. saith our Saviour Christ It may be called Knowledg and Learning that is other where gotten without the Word but the Wise Man plainly testifieth Wisd 13. that they all be but Vain which have not in them the Wisdom of God We see to what Vanity the Old Philosophers came who were destitute of this Science gotten and searched for in his Word We see what Vanity the School Doctrin is mixed with for that in this Word they sought not the Will of God but rather the Will of Reason the Trade of Custom the Path of the Fathers the Practice of the Church Let us therefore Read and Revolve the holy Scripture both Day and Night Psal 1. Psal 119. For blessed is he that hath his whole meditation therein It is that which giveth light to our Feet to walk by It is that which giveth Wisdom to the simple and ignorant In it may we find Eternal Life In the holy Scriptures find we Christ in Christ find we God for he it is that is the express Image of the Father He that seeth Christ seeth the Father And contrariwise as St. Jerome saith the ignorance of the Scripture is the ignorance of Christ Not to know Christ Psal 19. Heb. 1. John 14. is to be in darkness in the midst of our Worldly and Carnal light of Reason and Philosophy To be without Christ is to be in foolishness For he is the only Wisdom of the Father in whom it pleased him that all fulness and perfection should dwell Coloss 2. With whom whosoever is endued in Heart by Faith and rooted fast in Charity hath laid a sure Foundation to build on whereby he may be able to comprehend with all Saints what is the breadth length and depth and to know the love of Christ This universal and absolute knowledge is that Wisdom which St. Paul wisheth these Ephesians to have as under Heaven the greatest treasure that can be obtained Ephes 3. For of this Wisdom the Wise Man writeth thus of his experience All good things came to me together with her and innumerable Riches through her hands And addeth more in that same place Sap. 7.
and Riots in the challenge of their Lands yea sometimes Murders and Bloodshed whereof thou art guilty whosoever thou be that givest the occasion thereof This covetous practising therefore with thy Neighbors Lands and Goods is hateful to Almighty God Let no Man subtilly compass or defraud his Neighbor biddeth St. Paul in any manner of cause 1 Thes 4. For God saith he is a revenger of all such God is the God of all equity and righteousness and therefore forbiddeth all such deceit and subtilty in his Law Deut. 9. by these words Ye shall not deal unjustly in Judgment in Line in Weight or Measure Prov. 20. Ye shall have just Ballances true Weights and true Measures False Ballances saith Solomon are an abomination unto the Lord. Remember what St. Paul saith God is the revenger of all Wrong and Injustice as we see by daily experience however it thriveth ungraciously which is begotten by falshood and craft We be taught by experience how Almighty God never suffereth the third Heir to enjoy his Fathers wrong Possessions yea many a time they are taken from himself in his own life time God is not bound to defend such Possessions as are gotten by the Devil and his Counsel God will defend all such Mens Goods and Possessions which by him are obtained and possessed and will defend them against the violent Oppressor Prov. 25. So witnesseth Solomon The Lord will destroy the House of the proud Man but he will establish the borders of the Widow Psal 36. No doubt of it saith David better is a little truly gotten to the righteous Man than the innumerable Riches of the wrongful Man Let us flee therefore good People all wrong Practices in getting maintaining and defending our Possessions Lands and Livelihoods our Bounds and Liberties remembring that such Possessions be all under Gods revengeance But what do we speak of House and Land Nay it is said in the Scripture that God in his ire doth root up whole Kingdoms for wrongs and oppressions and doth translate Kingdoms from one Nation to another for unrighteous dealing for Wrongs and Riches gotten by deceit This is the practice of of the Holy One saith Daniel Dan. 4. to the intent that living Men may know that the most High hath power over the Kingdoms of Men and giveth them to whomsoever he will Furthermore What is the cause of Penury and Scarceness of Dearth and Famine Is it any other thing but a token of Gods ire revenging our Wrongs and Injuries done one to another Ye have sown much upbraideth God by his Prophet Haggai and yet bring in little ye eat Hagg. 1. but ye be not satisfied ye drink but ye be not filled ye cloath your selves but ye be not warm and he that earneth his Wages putteth it into a bottomless Purse Ye looked for much increase but loe it came to little and when ye brought it home into your Barns I did blow it away saith the Lord. O consider therefore the Ire of God against Gleaners Gatherers and Incroachers upon other Mens Lands and Possessions It is lamentable to see in some places how greedy Men use to Plough and grate upon their Neighbors Land that lieth next them how covetous Men now a days Plough up so nigh the common Balks and Walks which good Men before time made the greater and broader partly for the commodious Walk of his Neighbor partly for the better shack in Harvest time to the more comfort of his poor Neighbors Cattle It is a shame to behold the insatiableness of some covetous Persons in their doings that where their Ancestors left of their Land a broad and sufficient Bier-balk to carry the Corps to the Christian Sepulture how Men pinch at such Bier-balks which by long use and custom ought to be inviolably kept for that purpose and now they either quite eare them up and turn the dead Body to be born farther about in the High Streets or else if they leave any such Meer it is too straight for two to walk on These strange encroachments good Neighbors should be looked upon these should be considered in these days of our Perambulations And afterward the Parties admonished and charitably reformed who be the doers of such private gaining to the slander of the Township and the hindrance of the Poor Your High-ways should be considered in your Walks to understand where to bestow your days works according to the good Statutes provided for the same It is a good deed of Mercy to amend the dangerous and noisom Ways whereby thy poor Neighbor sitting on his silly weak Beast founder not in the deep thereof and so the Market the worse served for discouraging of the poor Victuallers to resort thither for the same cause If now therefore ye will have your Prayers heard before Almighty God for the increase of your Corn and Cattle and for the defence thereof from unseasonable Mists and Blasts from Hail and other such Tempests love Equity and Righteousness ensue Mercy and Charity which God most requireth at our hands Which Almighty God respecteth chiefly in making his Civil Laws for his People the Israelites Levit. 24. Deut. 29. in charging the owners not to gather up their Corn too nigh at Harvest Season nor the Grapes and Olives in gathering time but to leave behind some Ears of Corn for the poor Gleaners By this he meant to induce them to pity the Poor to relieve the Needy to shew mercy and kindness 1 Cor. 9.10 It cannot be lost which for his sake is distributed to the Poor for he which ministreth Seed to the Sower and Bread to the Hungry Joel 8. which sendeth down the early and the latter Rain upon your Fields so to fill up the Barns with Corn and the Winepresses with Wine and Oyl He I say who recompenseth all kind of Benefits in the Resurrection of the Just he will assuredly recompence all merciful deeds shewed to the Needy howsoever unable the Poor is upon whom it is bestowed O saith Solomon let not mercy and truth forsake thee Bind them about thy neck saith he and write them on the Table of thy Heart so shalt thou find favor at Gods hand Thus honor thou the Lord with thy Riches and with the first Fruits of thine increase so shall thy Barns be filled with abundance and thy Presses shall burst with new Wine nay God hath promised to open the Windows of Heaven upon the liberal righteous Man that he shall want nothing He will repress the devouring Caterpiller which would devour your Fruits He will give you peace and quiet to gather in your Provision that ye may sit every Man under his own Vine quietly without fear of the Foreign Enemy to invade you He will give you not only Food to feed on but Stomachs and good Appetites to take comfort of your Fruits whereby in all things ye may have sufficiency Finally he will bless you with all manner of Abundance in this
for that is not his part or duty But as I have said let either Party be ready and willing to perform that which belongeth especially to themselves For if we be bound to hold out our left cheek to strangers which will smite us on the right cheek how much more ought we to suffer an extream and unkind Husband but yet I mean not that a Man should beat his Wife God forbid that for that is the greatest shame that can be not so much to her that is beaten as to him that doth the deed But if by such Fortune thou chancest upon such an Husband take it not too heavily but suppose thou that thereby is laid up no small Reward hereafter and in this life time no small Commendation to thee if thou canst be quiet But yet to you that be Men thus I speak Let there be none so grievous Fault to compel you to beat your Wives But what say I your Wives No it is not to be born with that an honest Man should lay hands on his Maid-Servant to beat her Wherefore if it be a great shame for a Man to beat his Bond-Servant much more rebuke it is to lay violent hands upon his Free-Woman And this thing may be well understood by the Laws which the Paynims have made which do discharge her any longer to dwell with such an Husband as unworthy to have any further company with her that doth smite her For it is an extreme Point thus so vilely to entreat her like a Slave that is fellow to thee of thy Life and so joyned unto thee before-time in the necessary matters of thy living And therefore a Man may well liken such a Man if he may be called a Man rather than a wild Beast to a killer of his Father or Mother And whereas we be commanded to forsake our Father and Mother for our Wives sake and yet thereby do work them none injury but do fulfil the Law of God how can it not appear then to be a Point of extreme madness to entreat her despitefully for whose sake God hath commanded thee to leave Parents Yea who can suffer such despite Who can worthily express the inconveniency that is to see what weepings and wailings be made in the open Streets when Neighbors run together to the House of so unruly an Husband as to a Bedlam-man who goeth about to overturn all that he hath at home Who would not think that it were better for such a Man to wish the Ground to open and swallow him in than once ever after to be seen in the Market But peradventure thou wilt Object that the Woman provoketh thee to this Point But consider thou again that the Woman is a frail Vessel and thou art therefore made the Ruler and Head oâ—er her to bear the weakness of her in this her subjection And therefore study thou to declare the honest commendation of thy Authority which thou canst no way better do than to forbear to urge her in her weakness and subjection For even as the King appeareth so much the more Noble the more Excellent and Noble he maketh his Officers and Lieutenants whom if he should dishonor and despise the Authority of their Dignity he should deprive himself of a great part of his own Honor Even so if thou dost despise her that is set in the next room beside thee thou dost much derogate and decay the Excellency and Vertue of thine own Authority Recount all these things in thy mind and be gentle and quiet Understand that God hath given thee Children with her and art made a Father and by such reason appease thy self Dost thou not see the Husbandmen what diligence they use to Till that Ground which once they have taken to Farm though it be never so full of faults As for an Example though it be Dry though it bringeth forth Weeds though the Soil cannot bear too much Wet yet he Tilleth it and so winneth Fruit thereof Even in like manner if thou wouldst use like diligence to instruct and order the mind of thy Spouse if thou wouldst diligently apply thy self to weed out by little and little the noysom Weeds of uncomely Manners out of her mind with wholsome precepts it could not be but in time thou shouldst feel the pleasant Fruit thereof to both your comforts Therefore that this thing chance not so perform this thing that I do here Counsel thee Whensoever any displeasant matter riseth at home if thy Wife hath done ought amiss comfort her and encrease not the Heaviness For though thou shouldst be grieved with never so many things yet shalt thou find nothing more grievous than to want the benevolence of thy Wife at home What offence soever thou canst name yet shalt thou find none more intolerable than to be at debate with thy Wife And for this cause most of all oughtest thou to have this love in Reverence And if reason moveth thee to bear any burden at any other Mans hands much more at thy Wives For if she be poor upbraid her not if she be simple taunt her not but be the more courteous for she is thy Body and made one Flesh with thee But thou peradventure wilt say that she is a wrathful Woman a Drunkard and Beastly without Wit or Reason For this cause bewail her the more Chafe not in Anger but Pray unto Almighty God Let her be admonished and helped with good Counsel and do thou thy best endeavor that she may be delivered of all these affections But if thou shouldst beat her thou shalt increase her evil affections for frowardness and sharpness is not amended with frowardness but with softness and gentleness Furthermore consider what reward thou shalt have at Gods hand for where thou mightest beat her and yet for the respect of the fear of God thou wilt abstain and bear patiently her great offences the rather in respect of that Law which forbiddeth that a Man should cast out his Wife what fault soever she be cumbred with thou shalt have a very great reward and before the receit of that reward thou shalt feel many commodities For by this means she shall be made the more Obedient and thou for her sake shalt be made the more meek It is written in a Story of a certain strange Philosopher which had a cursed Wife a froward and a Drunkard When he was asked for what consideration he did so bear her evil manners He made Answer By this means said he I have at home a School-Master and an Example how I should behave my self abroad For I shall saith he be the more quiet with others being thus daily exercised and taught in the forbearing her Surely it is a shame that Paynims should be wiser than we we I say that be commanded to resemble Angels or rather God himself through meekness And for the love of Vertue this said Philosopher Socrates would not expel his Wife out of his House Yea some say that he did therefore marry his
but walketh continually seeking to devour us Let us resist him with our diligent Watching in Labor and in Well-doing For he that diligently exerciseth himself in honest Business is not easily catched in the Devils snare When Man through Idleness or for defalt of some honest Occupation or Trade to live upon is brought to Poverty and want of things necessary we see how easily such a Man is induced for his gain to Lie to Practice how he may deceive his Neighbor to forswear himself to bear false Witness and oftentimes to Steal and Murder or to use some other ungodly mean to live withal whereby not only his good Name honest Reputation and a good Conscience yea his Lise is utterly lost but also the great displeasure and wrath of God with divers and sundry grievous Plagues are procured Lo here the end of the Idle and Sluggish Bodies whose hands cannot away with honest Labor loss of Name Fame Reputation and Life here in this World and without the great Mercy of God the purchasing of Everlasting Destruction in the World to come Have not all Men then good cause to beware and take heed of Idleness seeing they that embrace and follow it have commonly of their pleasant Idleness sharp and soure displeasures Doubtless good and godly Men weighing the great and manifold harms that come by Idleness to a Common-weal have from time to time provided with all deligence that sharp and severe Laws might be made for the Correction and Amendment of this Evil. The Egyptians had a Law Herodotus that every Man should Weekly bring his Name to the chief Rulers of the Province and therewithal declare what trade of Life he used to the intent that Idleness might be worthily punished and diligent Labor duly rewarded The Athenians did chastise Sluggish and Sloathful People no less than they did Hainous and Grievous Offenders considering as the truth is that Idleness causeth much mischief The Areopagites called every Man to a strait accompt how he lived and if they found any Loyterers that did not profit the Common-weal by one means or other they were driven out and banished as unprofitable Members that did only hurt and corrupt the Body And in this Realm of England good and godly Laws have been divers times made that no Idle Vagabonds and Loytering Runnagates should be suffered to go from Town to Town from Place to Place without Punishment which neither serve God nor their Prince but devour the sweet Fruits of other Mens Labor being common Liars Drunkards Swearers Thieves Whoremasters and Murderers refusing all honest Labor and give themselves to nothing else but to invent and do mischief whereof they are more desirous and greedy than is any Lion of his prey To remember this inconvenience let all Parents and others which have the care and governance of Youth so bring them up either in good Learning Labor or some honest Occupation or Trade whereby they may be able in time to come not only to sustain themselves competently but also to relâ—eve and supply the necessity and want of others And St. Paul saith Let him that hath stolen Ephes 4. steal no more and he that hath deceived others or used unlawful ways to get his living leave off the same and Labor rather working with his Hands that thing which is good that he may have that which is necessary for himself and also be able to give unto others that stand in need of his help The Prophet David thinketh him happy that liveth upon his Labor saying Psal 128. When thou eatest the Labors of thine Hands hapyy art thou and well is thee This happyness or blessing consisteth in these and such like Points First Eccles 3. It is the gift of God as Solomon saith when one eateth and drinketh and receiveth good of his Labor Secondly When one liveth of his own Labor so it be honest and good he liveth of it with a good Conscience and an upright Conscience is a treasure inestimable Thirdly he Eateth his Bread not with brawling and chiding but with peace and quietness when he quietly Laboreth for the same according to St. Pauls admonition Fourthly He is no Mans Bondman for his meat sake nor needeth not for that to hang upon the good Will of other Men but so liveth of his own that he is able to give part to others And to conclude the Laboring Man and his Family whiles they are busily Occupied in their Labor be free from many Temptations and occasions of Sin which they that live in Idleness are subject unto And here ought Artificers and Laboring Men who be at Wages for their Work and Labor to consider their Conscience to God and their Duty to their Neighbor lest they abuse their time in Idleness so defrauding them which be at Charge both with great Wages and dear Commons They be worse than Idle Men indeed for that they seek to have Wages for their Loytering It is less danger to God to be Idle for no gain than by Idleness to win out of their Neighbors Purse Wages for that which is not deserved It is true that Almighty God is angry with such as do defraud the Hired Man of his Wages the cry of that injury ascendeth up to Gods ear for vengeance And as true it is that the hired Man who useth deceit in his Labor is a thief before God 1 Thess 4. Let no Man saith St. Paul to the Thessalonians subtilly beguile his Brother let him not defraud him of his business For the Lord is the revenger of such deceits Whereupon he that will have a good Conscience to God that Laboring Man I say which dependeth wholly upon Gods benediction ministring all things sufficient for his living let him use his time in a faithful Labor and when his Labor by Sickness or other misfortune doth cease yet let him think for that in his health he served God and his Neighbor truly he shall not want in time of necessity God upon respect of his fidelity in health will recompence his indigence to move the Hearts of good Men to relieve such decayed Men in Sickness Where otherwise whatsoever is gotten by idleness shall have no means to help in time of need Let the Laboring Man therefore eschew for his part this vice of Idleness and Deceit Eph. 4. remembring that St Paul exhorteth every Man to lay away all Deceit Dissimulation and Lying and to use truth and plainness to his Neighbour because saith he we be Members together in one Body under one head Christ our Saviour And here might be charged the Serving-men of this Realm who spend their time in much Idleness of life nothing regarding the opportunity of their time forgetting how Service is no Heritage how Age will creep upon them where Wisdom were they should expend their Idle time in some good Business whereby they might increase in knowledge and so the more worthy to be ready for every Mans service It is a great rebuke
this manner Peter was sorry and wept De poenitentia distin I. cap. Petrus because he erred as a Man I do not find what he said I know that he wept I read of his Tears but not of his satisfaction But how chance that the one was received into favor again with God and the other cast away but because that the one did by a lively Faith in him whom he had denied take hold upon the mercy of God and the other wanted Faith whereby he did despair of the Goodness and Mercy of God It is evident and plain then that although we be never so earnestly sorry for our sins acknowledge and confess them yet all these things shall be but means to bring us to utter desparation except we do stedfastly believe that God our Heavenly Father will for his Son Jesus Christs sake Pardon and Forgive us our Offences and Trespasses and utterly put them out of remembrance in his sight Therefore as we said before they that teach Repentance without Christ and a lively Faith in the Mercy of God do only teach Cains or Judas Repentance The Fourth is an Amendment of Life or a new Life in bringing forth Fruits worthy of Repentance For they that do truly Repent must be clean altered and changed they must become new Creatures they must be no more the same that that they were before And therefore thus said John Baptist unto the Pharisees and Sadducees that came unto his Baptism O generation of Vipers Matt. 3. who hath forewarned you to flee from the anger to come bring forth therefore Fruits worthy of Repentance Whereby we do learn that if we will have the wrath of God to be pacified we must in no wise dissemble but turn unto him again with a true and found Repentance which may be known and declared by good Fruits as by most sure and infallible signs thereof They that do from the bottom of their Hearts acknowledge their Sins and are unfeignedly sorry for their Offences will cast off all Hypocrisie and put on true Humility and lowliness of Heart They will not only receive the Physician of the Soul but also with a most fervent desire long for him They will not only abstain from the Sins of their former Life and from all other filthy Vices but also flee eschew and abhor all the occasions of them And as they did before give themselves to uncleanness of Life so will they from henceforwards with all diligence give themselves to Innocency pureness of Life and true Godliness Ionas 3. We have the Ninevites for an example which at the Preaching of Jonas did not only proclaim a general Fast and that they should every one put on Sackcloth but they all did turn from their Evil Ways and from the Wickedness that was in their Hands But above all other the History of Zaccheus is most notable For being come unto our Saviour Jesus Christ Luke 19. he did say Behold Lord the half of my Goods I give to the Poor and if I have defrauded any Man or taken ought away by Extortion or Fraud I do restore him fourfold Here we see that after his Repentance he was no more the Man that he was before but was clean changed and altered It was so far off that he would continue and abide still in his unsatiable covetousness or take ought away fraudulently from any Man that rather he was most willing and ready to give away his own and to make satisfaction unto all them that he had done injury and wrong unto Here may we right well add the sinful Woman which when she came to our Saviour Jesus Christ Luke 7. did pour down such abundance of Tears out of those wanton Eyes of hers wherewith she had allured many unto folly that she did with them wash his Feet wiping them with the Hairs of her Head which she was wont most gloriously to set out making of them a Net for the Devil Hereby we do learn what is the satisfaction that God doth require of us which is that we cease from Evil Iohn 5. and do Good and if we have done any Man wrong to endeavor our selves to make him true amends to the utmost of our power following in this the example of Zaccheus and of this sinfull Woman and also that goodly Lesson that John Baptist Zacharias Son bid give unto them that came to ask Counsel of him This was commonly the Penance that Christ enjoyned sinners Go thy way and sin no more John 15. Which Penance we shall never be able to fulfil without the special grace of him that doth say Without me ye can do nothing It is therefore our parts if at least we be desirous of the health and salvation of our own selves most earnestly to pray unto our heavenly Father to assist us with his holy Spirit that we may be able to hearken unto the Voice of the true Shepherd and with due obedience to follow the same Let us hearken to the Voice of Almighty God when he calleth us to Repentance let us not harden our hearts as such Infidels do who abuse the time given them of God to repent and turn it to continue their pride and contempt against God and Man which know not how much they heap Gods wrath upon themselves for the hardness of their hearts which cannot repent at the day of Vengeance Where we have offended the Law of God let us repent us of our straying from so good a Lord. Let us confess our unworthiness before him but yet let us trust in Gods free mercy for Christs sake for the pardon of the same And from henceforth let us endeavor our selves to walk in a new Life as new born Babes whereby we may glorifie our Father which is in Heaven and thereby to bear in our Consciences a good testimony of our Faith so that at the last to obtain the fruition of everlasting life through the merits of our Saviour To whom be all praise and honor for ever Amen The Third Part of the Homily of Repentance IN the Homily last spoken unto you right well-beloved People in our Saviour Christ ye heard of the true parts and tokens of Repentance that is hearty contrition and sorrowfulness of our Hearts unfeigned confession in word of mouth for our unworthy living before God a stedfast Faith to the merits of our Saviour Christ for pardon and a purpose of our selves by Gods grace to renounce our former wicked life and a full Conversion to God in a new life to glorifie his Name and to live orderly and charitably to the comfort of our Neighbor in all righteousness and to live soberly and modestly to our selves by using abstinence and temperance in word and in deed in mortifying our earthly Members here upon Earth Now for a further perswasion to move you to those parts of Repentance I will declare unto you some causes which should the rather move you to Repentance The causes that should
move us to Repent Esay 31. Ezek. 33. Hos 14. First The Commandment of God who in so many places of the holy and sacred Scriptures doth bid us return unto him O ye Children of Israel saith he turn again from your infidelity wherein ye drowned your selves Again Turn you turn you from your evil ways For why will ye die O ye House of Israel And in another place thus doth he speak by his Prophet Hosea O Israel return unto the Lord thy God For thou hast taken a great fall by thine iniquity Take unto you these words with you when you turn unto the Lord and say unto him Take away all iniquity and receive us graciously so will we offer the Calves of our Lips unto thee In all these places we have an express commandment given unto us of God for to return unto him Therefore we must take good heed unto our selves lest whereas we have already by our manifold sins and transgressions provoked and kindled the wrath of God against us we do by breaking this his Commandment double our offences and so heap still damnation upon our own heads by our daily offences and trespasses whereby we provoke the eyes of his Majesty we do well deserve if he should deal with us according to his justice to be put away for ever from the fruition of his Glory How much more then are we worthy of the endless torments of Hell if when we be so gently called again after our Rebellion and commanded to return we will in no wise hearken unto the voice of our heavenly Father but walk still after the stubbornness of our own hearts Secondly The most comfortable and sweet promise that the Lord our God did of his meer mercy and goodness joyn unto his Commandment for he doth not only say Return unto me O Israel Jer. 4. but also if thou wilt return and put away all thine abominations out of my sight thou shalt never be moved These words also have we in the Prophet Ezekiel Ezek. 18. At what time soever a sinner doth repent him of his sin from the bottom of his heart I will put all his wickedness out of my remembrance saith the Lord so that they shall be no more thought upon Thus are we sufficiently instructed that God will according to his promise freely pardon forgive and forget all our sins so that we shall never be cast in the teeth with them if obeying his Commadment and allured by his sweet Promises we will unfeignedly return unto him Thirdly The filthiness of sin which is such that as long as we do abide in it God cannot but detest and abhor us neither can there be any hope that we shall enter into the Heavenly Jerusalem except we be first made clean and purged from it But this will never be unless forsaking our former life we do with our whole heart return unto the Lord our God and with a full purpose of amendment of life flee unto his mercy taking sure hold thereupon through Faith in the Blood of his Son Jesus Christ If we should suspect any uncleanness to be in us Similitude wherefore the earthly Prince should loath and abhor the sight of us what pains would we take to remove and put it away How much more ought we with all diligence and speed that may be to put away that unclean filthiness that doth separate and make a division betwixt us and our God Esay 59. and that hideth his Face from us that he will not hear us And verily herein doth appear how filthy a thing sin is sith than it can by no other means be washed away but by the Blood of the only begotten Son of God And shall we not from the bottom of our hearts detest and abhor and with all earnestness flee from it sith that it did cost the dear Heart-Blood of the only begotten Son of God our Saviour and Redeemer to purge us from it Plato doth in a certain place write that if Vertue could be seen with bodily Eyes all Men would wonderfully be inflamed and kindled with the love of it even so on the contrary if we might with our bodily Eyes behold the filthiness of sin and the uncleanness thereof we could in no wise abide it but as most present and deadly Poison hate and eschew it We have a common Experience of the same in them which when they have committed any heinous offence or some filthy and abominable sin if it once come to light or if they chance to have a through feeling of it they be so ashamed their own Conscience putting before their Eyes the filthiness of their Act that they dare look no Man in the Face much less that they should be able to stand in the sight of God Fourthly The uncertainty and brittleness of our own lives which is such that we cannot assure our selves that we shall live one hour or one half quarter of it Which by experience we do find daily to be true in them that being now merry and lusty and sometimes Feasting and Banqueting with their Friends do fall suddenly dead in the Streets and otherwhiles under the Board when they are at meat These daily Examples as they are most terrible and dreadful so ought they to move us to seek for to be at one with our heavenly Judge that we may with a good Conscience appear before him whensoever it shall please him for to call us whether it be suddenly or otherwise for we have no more Charter of our life than they have But as we are most certain that we shall die so are we most uncertain when we shall die For our life doth lie in the hand of God who will take it away when it pleaseth him And verily when the highest Summer of all Death the Lords Sumner Eccles 11. Contra Demetrianum Eccles 5. which is death shall come he will not be said nay but we must be forthwith be packing to be present before the Judgment seat of God as he doth find us according as it is written Whereas the Tree falleth whether it be toward the South or toward the North there it shall lie Whereunto agreeth the saying of the holy Martyr of God St. Cyprian saying As God doth find thee when he doth call so doth he judge thee Let us therefore follow the Counsel of the Wise Man where he saith Make no tarrying to turn unto the Lord and put not off from day to day For suddenly shall the wrath of the Lord break forth and in thy security shalt thou be destroyed and shalt perish in the time of Vengeance Which words I desire you to mark diligently because they do most lively put before our Eyes the fondness of many Men who abusing the long-suffering and goodness of God do never think on Repentance or amendment of Life Follow not saith he thine own mind and thy strength to walk in the ways of thy heart neither say thou Who will bring me under for
my works For God the Revenger will revenge the wrong done by thee And say not I have sinned and what evil hath come unto me For the Almighty is a patient Rewarder but he will not leave thee unpunished Because thy sins are forgiven thee be not without fear to heap sin upon sin Say not neither The mercy of God is great he will forgive my manifold sins For mercy and wrath come from him and his indignation cometh upon unrepentant sinners As if ye should say Art thou strong and mighty Art thou lusty and young Hast thou the Wealth and Riches of the World Or when thou hast sinned hast thou received no punishment for it Let none of all these things make thee to be the slower to repent and to return with speed unto the Lord. For in the day of punishment and of his sudden vengeance they shall not be able to help thee And specially when thou art either by the Preaching of Gods Word or by some inward motion of his holy Spirit or else by some other means called unto Repentance neglect not the good occasion that is ministred unto thee lest when thou wouldst repent thou hast not the grace for to do it For to repent is a good gift of God which he will never grant unto them who living in carnal security do make a mock of his Threatnings or seek to rule his Spirit as they list as though his working and gifts were tied unto their will Fifthly The avoiding of the plagues of God and the utter destruction that by his righteous Judgment doth hang over the heads of them all that will in no wise return unto the Lord Jer. 24. I will saith the Lord give them for a terrible plague to all the Kingdoms of the Earth and for a Reproach and for a Proverb and for a Curse in all places where I shall cast them and will send the Sword of Famine and the Pestilence among them till they be consumed out of the Land And wherefore is this Because they hardned their hearts and would in no wise return from their evil ways nor yet forsake the wickedness that was in their own hands that the fierceness of the Lords fury might depart from them Rom. 8. But yet this is nothing in comparison of the intolerable and endless torments of Hell fire which they shall be fain to suffer who after their hardness of heart that cannot repent do heap unto themselves Wrath against the day of anger and of the declaration of the just Judgment of God Whereas if we will repent and be earnestly sorry for our sin and with a full purpose and amendment of Life flee unto the mercy of our God and taking sure hold thereupon through Faith in our Saviour Jesus Christ do bring forth Fruits worthy of Repentance he will not only pour his manifold Blessings upon us here in this World but also at the last after the painful Travels of this Life reward us with the inheritance of his Children which is the Kingdom of Heaven purchased unto us with the death of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord To whom with the Father and the Holy Ghost be all praise glory and honor World without end Amen AN HOMILY AGAINST Disobedience and Wilful Rebellion The First Part. AS God the Creator Lord of all things appointed his Angels and heavenly Creatures in all obedience to serve and to honor his Majesty so was it his will that Man his chief Creature upon the Earth should live under the obedience of his Creator and Lord and for that cause God as soon as he had created Man gave unto him a certain Precept and Law which he being yet in the State of innocency and remaining in Paradise should observe as a pledge and token of his due and bounden Obedience with denunciation of Death if he did transgress and break the said Law and Commandment And as God would have Man to be his obedient Subject so did he make all earthly Creatures subject unto Man who kept their due obedience unto Man so long as Man remained in his obedience unto God In the which obedience if Man had continued still there had been no Poverty no Diseases no Sickness no Death nor other miseries wherewith Mankind is now infinitely and most miserably afflicted and oppressed So here appeareth the Original Kingdom of God over Angels and Man and universally over all things and of Man over earthly Creatures which God hath made subject unto him and withal the felicity and blessed State which Angels Man and all Creatures had remained in had they continued in due obedience unto God their King For as long as in this first Kingdom the Subjects continued in due obedience to God their King so long did God embrace all his Subjects with his love favor and grace which to enjoy is perfectly Felicity whereby it is evident that Obedience is the principal Vertue of all Vertues and indeed the very root of all Vertues Mat. 4. b. 9. Mat. 25. d. 41. John 8. f. 44. 2 Pet. 2. a 4. Epist Jude a. 6. Apoc. 12. b. 7. Gen. 3. a. 1 Wisd 2. d. 24. Gen. 3. b. 8.9 c. c. 17. d. 23.24 and the cause of all Felicity But as all Felicity and Blessedness should have continued with the continuance of Obedience so with the breach of Obedience and breaking in of Rebellion all Vices and Miseries did withal break in and overwhelm the World The first Author of which Rebellion the Root of all Vices and Mother of all Mischiefs was Lucifer first Gods most excellent Creature and most bounden Subject who by Rebelling against the Majesty of God of the brightest and most glorious Angel is become the blackest and most foul Fiend and Devil and from the height of Heaven is fallen into the Pit and bottom of Hell Here you may see the first Author and Founder of Rebellion and the reward thereof here you may see the grand Captain and Father of Rebels who perswading the following of his Rebellion against God their Creator and Lord unto our first Parents Adam and Eve brought them in high displeasure with God wrought their exile and banishment out of Paradise a place of pleasure and goodness into this wretched earth and vale of misery procured unto them sorrows of their Minds Mischiefs Sickness Diseases death of their Bodies and which is far more horrible than all worldly and bodily Mischiefs Rom. 5. c. 12. c. d. 19. c. he had wrought thereby their eternal and everlasting death and damnation had not God by the obedience of his Son Jesus Christ repaired that which Man by Disobedience and Rebellion had destroyed and so of his mercy had pardoned and forgiven him of which all and singular the Premises the holy Scriptures do bear record in sundry places Thus do you sâ—e that neither Heaven nor Paradise could suffer any Rebellion in them neither be places for any Rebels to remain in Thus became
earthly Prince doth come in his Regiment the greater Blessing of Gods mercy is he unto that Country and People over whom he Reigneth and the further and further that an earthly Prince doth swerve from the example of the heavenly Government the greater plague is he of Gods wrath and punishment by Gods justice unto that Country and People over whom God for their sins hath placed such a Prince and Governor For it is indeed evident both by the Scriptures and daily by experience that the maintainance of all Vertue and Godliness and consequently of the Wealth and Prosperity of a Kingdom and People doth stand and rest more in a wise and good Prince on the one part than in great multitudes of other Men being Subjects and on the contrary part the overthrow of all Vertue and Godliness and consequently the decay and utter ruin of a Realm and People doth grow and come more by an undiscreet and evil Governor than by many thousands of other Men being Subjects Eccles 10. d. 16. Prov. 16. 29. Eccles 10. Esa 32. a. Thus say the Scriptures Well is thee O thou Land saith the Preacher whose King is come of Nobles and whose Princes eat in due season for necessity and not for lust Again A Wise and Righteous King maketh his Realm and People wealthy And a Good Merciful and Gracious Prince is a shadow in Heat as a defence in Storms as Dew as sweet showers as fresh Water-springs in great droughts Again the Scriptures of undiscreet and evil Princes speak thus Eccles 10.16 Pro. 28. 29. Wo be to thee O thou band whose King is but a Child and whose Princes are early at their Banquets Again When the wicked do Reign then Men go to Ruin And again A foolish Prince destroyeth the People and a covetous King undoeth his Subjects Thus speak the Scriptures thus experince testifieth of good and evil Princes What shall Subjects do then shall they obey Valiant Stout Wise and Good Princes and Contemn Disobey and Rebel against Children being their Princes or against undiscreet and evil Governors God forbid For First What a perilous thing were it to commit unto the Subjects the Judgment which Prince is Wise and Godly and his Government good and which is otherwise as though the Foot must judge of the Head an enterprise very heinous and must needs breed Rebellion For who else be they that are most enclined to Rebellion but such haughty Spirits From whom springeth such foul ruin of Realms Is not Rebellion the greatest of all Mischiefs And who are most ready to the greatest of Mischiefs but the worst Men Rebels therefore the worst of all Subjects are most ready to Rebellion as being the worst of all Vices and farthest from the duty of a good Subject as on the contrary part the best Subjects are most firm and constant in obedience as in the special and peculiar vertue of good Subjects What an unworthy matter were it then to make the naughtiest Subjects and most inclined to Rebellion and all evil Judges over their Princes over their Government and over their Counsellors to determin which of them be good or tolerable and which be evil and so intolerable that they must needs be removed by Rebels being ever ready as the naughtiest Subjects soonest to Rebel against the best Princes specially if they be young in Age Women in Sex or gentle and courteous in Government as trusting by their wicked boldness easily to overthrow their weakness and gentleness or at the least so to fear the minds of such Princes that they may have impunity of their mischievous doings But whereas indeed a Rebel is worse than the worst Prince and Rebellion worse than the worst Government of the worst Prince that hitherto hath been both Rebels are unmeet Ministers and Rebellion an unfit and unwholsom Medicine to reform any small lacks in a Prince or to cure any little griefs in Government such lewd Remedies being far worse than any other maladies and disorders that can be in the Body of a Common-wealth But whatsoever the Prince be or his Government it is evident that for the most part those Princes whom some Subjects do think to be very godly and under whose Government they rejoyce to live some other Subjects do take the same to be evil and ungodly and do wish for a change If therefore all Subjects that mislike of their Prince should Rebel no Realm should ever be without Rebellion It were more meet that Rebels should hear the advice of wise Men and give place unto their Judgment and follow the example of obedient Subjects as reason is that they whose understanding is blinded with so evil an affection should give place to them that be of sound judgment and that the worst should give place to the better and so might Realms continue in long Obedience Peace and Quietness But what if the Prince be undiscreet and evil indeed and is also evident to all Mens eyes that he so is I ask again What if it be long of the wickedness of the Subjects that the Prince is undiscreet and evil Shall the Subjects both by their wickedness provoke God for their deserved punishment to give them an undiscreet or evil Prince and also rebel against him and withal against God who for the punishment of their sins did give them such a Prince Will you hear the Scriptures concerning this Point Job 34.10 Hos 13.6 God say the Holy Scriptures maketh a wicked Man to Reign for the sins of the People Again God giveth a Prince in his anger meaning an evil one and taketh away a Prince in his displeasure meaning especially when he taketh away a good Prince for the sins of the People as in our Memory he took away our good Josias King Edward in his young and good years for our wickedness And contrarily the Scriptures do teach 2 Par. 2.9 Prov. 16. That God giveth wisdom unto Princes and maketh a wise and good King to Reign over that People whom he loveth and who loveth him Again If the People obey God 1 Reg. 12. both they and their King shall prosper and be safe else both shall perish saith God by the mouth of Samuel Here you see that God placeth as well evil Princes as good and for what cause he doth both If we therefore will have a good Prince either to be given us or to continue now we have such a one let us by our obedience to God and to our Prince move God thereunto If we will have an evil Prince when God shall send such a one taken away and a good in his place let us take away our wickedness which provoketh God to place such a one over us and God will either displace him or of an evil Prince make him a good Prince so that we first will change our evil into good For will you hear the Scriptures Prov. 21. The heart of the Prince is in Gods hand which way soever it
continual Prayers unto Almighty God even from the bottom of our hearts that he will give his grace power and strength unto our gracious King to vanquish and subdue all as well Rebels at home as Foreign Enemies that all Domestical Rebellions being suppressed and pacified and all outward Invasions repulsed and abandoned we may not only be sure and long continue in all obedience un o our gracious Sovereign and in that peaceable and quiet life which hitherto we have led under his Majesty with all security but also that both our gracious King and we his Subjects may all together in all obedience unto God the King of Kings and unto his holy Laws lead our lives so in this World in all Vertue and Godliness that in the World to come we may enjoy his everlasting Kingdom which I beseech God to grant as well to our gracious Sovereign as unto us all for his Son our Saviour Jesus Christs sake To whom with the Father and the Holy Ghost one God and King immortal be all glory praise and thanksgiving World without end Amen Thus have you heard the First Part of this Homily Now good People Let us pray The PRAYER as in that time it was Published O Most mighty God the Lord of Hosts the Governor of all Creatures the only giver of all Victories who alone art able to strengthen the Weak against the Mighty and to vanquish infinite multitudes of thine Enemies with the Countenance of a few of thy Servants calling upon thy Name and trusting in thee Defend O Lord thy Servant and our Governor under thee our Sovereign Lord the KING and all thy People committed to his charge O Lord withstand the cruelty of all those which be Common Enemies as well to the Truth of thy Eternal Word as to their own natural Prince and Country and manifestly to this Crown and Realm of England which thou hast of thy Divine Providence assigned in these our days to the Government of thy Servant our Sovereign and gracious KING O most merciful Father if it be thy holy Will make soft and tender the stony Hearts of all those that exalt themselves against thy Truth and seek either to trouble the quiet of this Realm of England or to oppress the Crown of the same and convert them to the knowledge of thy Son the only Saviour of the World Jesus Christ that we and they may joyntly glorifie thy Mercies Lighten we beseech the their ignorant Hearts to embrace the Truth of thy Word or else so abate their cruelty O most mighty Lord that this our Christian Realm with others that confess thy holy GOSPEL may obtain by thy aid and strength surety from all Enemies without shedding of Christian Blood whereby all they which be oppressed with their Tyranny may by relieved and they which be in fear of their cruelty may be comforted and finally that all Christian Realms and especially this Realm of England may by thy Defence and Protection continue in the Truth of the Gospel and enjoy perfect Peace Quietness and Security And that we for these thy Mercies joyntly all together with one consonant Heart and Voice may thankfully render to thee all Laud and Praise that we knit in one Godly concord and unity amongst our selves may continually magnifie thy glorious Name who with thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ and the holy Ghost art one Eternal Almighty and most merciful God To whom be all Laud and Praise World without end Amen The Second Part of the Homily against Disobedience and Wilful Rebellion AS in the First Part of this Treaty of Obedience of Subjects to their Princes and against Disobedience and Rebellion I have alledged divers sentences out of the holy Scriptures for proof so shall it be good for the better declaration and confirmation of the said wholsom Doctrin to alledge one example or two out of the holy Scriptures of the Obedience of Subjects not only unto their good and gracious Governors but also unto their evil and unkind Princes As King Saul was not of the best but rather of the worst sort of Princes as being out of Gods favor for his disobedience against God in sparing in a wrong pity the King Agag whom Almighty God commanded to be slain according to the Justice of God against his sworn Enemy and although Saul of a Devotion meant to Sacrifice such things as he spared of the Amalechites to the Honor and Service of God yet Saul was reproved for his wrong Mercy and Devotion and was told that Obedience would have more pleased him than such lenity which sinful humanity saith holy Chrysostom is more cruel before God than any Murther or shedding of Blood when it is commanded of God But yet how evil soever Saul the King was and out of Gods favor yet was he obeyed of his Subject David the very best of all Subjects and most valiant in the service of his Prince and Country in the Wars the most obedient and loving in Peace and always most true and faithful to his Sovereign and Lord and farthest off from all manner of Rebellion For the which his most painful true and faithful Service King Saul yet rewarded him not only with great unkindness but also sought his destruction and death by all means possible so that David was fain to save his life not by Rebellion or any Resistance but by flight and hiding himself from the Kings sight Which notwithstanding when King Saul upon a time came alone into the Cave where David was so that David might easily have slain him yet would he neither hurt him himself neither suffer any of his Men to lay hands upon him Another time also David entring by night with one Abisai a valiant and fierce Man into the Tent where King Saul did lie asleep where also he might yet more easily have slain him yet would he neither hurt him himself nor suffer Abisai who was willing and ready to slay King Saul once to touch him Thus did David deal with Saul his Prince notwithstanding that King Saul continually saught his death and destruction It shall not be amiss unto these Deeds of David to add his words and to shew you what he spake unto such as encouraged him to take his opportunity and advantage to slay King Saul as his mortal Enemy when he might 1 Reg. 24. b. 7 c. 1 Reg. 26. b. 9. b. 10 c. The Lord keep me saith David from doing that thing and from laying hands upon my Lord Gods Anointed For who can lay his hand upon the Lords Anointed and be guiltless As truly as the Lord liveth except that the Lord do smite him or his days shall come to die or that he go down to War and be slain in Battel the Lord be merciful unto me that I lay not my hand upon the Lords Anointed These be Davids words 1 Reg. 24. a. 1 Reg. 1 b. 7. b. 9. 2 Reg. 1. b. spoken at sundry times to divers his Servants
take all their Commandments for Gods For as they would not suffer the Holy Scriptures or Church Service to be used or had in any other Language than the Latin so were very few even of the most simple People taught the Lords Prayer the Articles of the Faith and the Ten Commandments otherwise than in Latin which they understood not by which universal ignorance all Men were ready to believe whatsoever they said and to do whatsoever they commanded For to imitate the Apostles phrase if the Emperors Subjects had known out of Gods word their Duty to their Prince they would not have suffered the Bishop of Rome to persuade them to forsake their Sovereign Lord the Emperor against their Oath and Fidelity and to Rebel against him only for that he cast Images unto the which Idolatry was committed out of the Churches which the Bishop of Rome bare them in hand to be Heresie If they had known of Gods Word but as much as the Ten Commandments they should have found that the Bishop of Rome was not only a Traitor to the Emperor his Liege Lord but to God also and an horrible Blasphemer of his Majesty in calling his holy Word and Commandment Heresie and that which the Bishop of Rome took for a just cause to rebel against his lawful Prince they might have known to be a doubling and trebling of his most heinous wickedness heaped with horrible Impiety and Blasphemy But lest the poor People should know too much he would not let them have as much of Gods Word as the Ten Commandments wholly and perfectly Henry 4. Gregor 7. Anno Dom 167. Paschal 2. Anno 19â— withdrawing from them the second Commandment that bewrayeth his Impiety by a subtil Sacriledge Had the Emperors Subjects likewise known and been of any understanding in Gods Word would they at other times have rebelled against their Sovereign Lord and by their Rebellion have holpen to depose him only for that the Bishop of Rome did bear them in hand that it was Symony and Heresie too for the Emperor to give any Ecclesiastical Dignities or promotion to his learned Chaplains or other of his learned Clergy which all Christian Emperors before him had done without controlement would they I say for that the Bishop of Rome bare them so in hand have rebelled by the space of more than forty Years together against him with so much shedding of Christian Blood and murder of so many thousands of Christians and finally have deposed their Sovereign Lord had they known and had in Gods Word any understanding at all specially had they known that they did all this to pluck from their Sovereign Lord and his Successors for ever that ancient Right of the Empire to give it unto the Romish Clergy and to the Bishop of Rome that he might for the Confirmation of one Arch-Bishop and for the Romish Rag which he calleth a Pall scarce worth Twelve pence receive many thousand Crowns of Gold and of other Bishops likewise great Sums of Mony for their Bulls which is Symony indeed Would I say Christian Men and Subjects by Rebellion have spent so much Christian Blood and have deposed their natural most noble and most valiant Prince to bring the matter finally to this pass had they known what they did or had any understanding in Gods Word at all And as these ambitious Usurpers the Bishops of Rome have over-flowed all Italy and Germany with streams of Christian Blood shed by the Rebellions of ignorant Subjects against their natural Lords and Emperors whom they have stirred thereunto by such false pretences so is there no Country in Christendom which by their like means and false pretences hath not been over-sprinkled with the Blood of Subjects by Rebellion against their natural Sovereigns stirred up by the same Bishops of Rome And to use one Example of our own Country the Bishop of Rome did pick a Quarrel to King John of England â—ing John about the Election of Stephen Langton to the Bishoprick of Canterbury wherein the King had ancient Right being used by his Progenitors all Christian Kings of England before him the Bishops of Rome having no Right but had begun then to usurp upon the Kings of England and all other Christian Kings as they had before done against their Sovereign Lords the Emperors proceeding even by the same ways and means and likewise cursing King John and discharging his Subjects of their Oath of Fidelity unto their Sovereign Lord. Now had English-men at that time known their Duty to their Prince set forth in Gods Word would a great many of Nobles and other English-men natural Subjects for this Foreign and unnatural Usurper Innocent III. his vain curse of the King and for his feigned discharging of them of their Oath and Fidelity to their natural Lord upon so slender or no ground at all have rebelled against their Sovereign Lord the King Would English Subjects have taken part against the King of England and against English-men Philip French King with the French King and French-men being incensed against this Realm by the Bishop of Rome Would they have sent for and received the Dolphin of France with a great Army of French-men into the Realm of England Lewis Dolphin of France Would they have sworn Fidelity to the Dolphin of France breaking their Oath of Fidelity to their natural Lord the King of England and have stood under the Dolphins Banner displayed against the King of England Would they have expelled their Sovereign Lord the King of England out of London the chief City of England and out of the greatest part of England upon the South-side of the Trent even unto Lincoln and out of Lincoln it self also and have delivered the possession thereof unto the Dolphin of France whereof he kept the possession a great while Would they being English men have procured so great shedding of English-blood and other infinite mischiefs and miseries unto England their natural Country as did follow those cruel Wars and traiterous Rebellion the fruits of the Bishop of Romes blessings Would they have driven their natural Sovereign Lord the King of England to such extremity that he was inforced to submit himself unto that Foreign false Usurper the Bishop of Rome who compelled him to surrender up the Crown of England into the hands of his Legat who in token of possession kept it in his hands divers days and then delivered it again to King John upon that condition that the King and his Successors Kings of England should hold the Crown and Kingdom of England of the Bishop of Rome and his Successors as the Vassals of the said Bishop of Rome for ever in token whereof the Kings of England should also pay a yearly Tribute to the said Bishop of Rome as his Vassals and Liege-men Would English-men have brought their Sovereign Lord and Natural Country into this thraldom and subjection to a false Foreign Usurper had they known and had any understanding in Gods
that such moderation should not become a Man for they say that it is a token of Womanish cowardness and therefore they think that it is a Mans part to fume in anger to fight with Fist and Staff Howbeit Howsoever they imagine undoubtedly St. Peter doth better judge what should be seeming to a Man and what he should most reasonably perform for he saith Reasoning should be used and not Fighting Yea he saith more That the Woman ought to have a certain honor attributed to her that is to say she must be spared and born with the rather for that she is the weaker Vessel of a frail heart inconstant and with a word soon stirred to wrath And therefore considering these her Frailties she is to be the rather spared By this means thou shalt not only nourish Concord but shalt have her Heart in thy power and will for honest Natures will sooner be retained to do their Duties rather by gentle Words than by Stripes But he which will do all things with extremity and severity and doth use always rigor in Words and Stripes what will that avail in the conclusion Verily nothing but that he thereby setteth forward the Devils work he banisheth away Concord Charity and sweet Amity and bringeth in Dissention Hatred and Irksomness the greatest griefs that can be in the mutual love and fellowship of Mans Life Beyond all this it bringeth another evil therewith for it is the destruction and interruption of Prayer for in the time that the Mind is occupied with Dissention and Discord there can be no true Prayer used For the Lords Prayer hath not only a respect to particular Persons but to the whole Universal in the which we openly pronounce that we will forgive them which have offended against us even as we ask forgiveness of our sins of God which thing how can it be done rightly when their hearts be at dissention how can they pray each for other when they be at hate betwixt themselves Now if the aid of Prayer be taken away by what means can they sustain themselves in any comfort For they cannot otherwise either resist the Devil or yet have their hearts staid in stable comfort in all perils and necessities but by Prayer Thus all discommodities as well Worldly as Ghostly follow this froward testiness and cumbrous fierceness in manners which be more meet for brute Beasts than for reasonable Creatures St. Peter doth not allow these things but the Devil desireth them gladly wherefore take the more heed And yet a Man may be a Man although he doth not use such extremity yea although he should dissemble some things in his Wives manners And this is the part of a Christian Man which both pleaseth God and serveth also in good use to the comfort of their Marriage State Now as concerning the Wives Duty What shall become her Shall she abuse the gentleness and humanity of her Husband and at her pleasure turn all things upside down No surely for that is far repugnant against Gods Commandment For thus doth St. Peter preach to them Ye Wives 1 Pet. 2â— be ye in subjection to obey your own Husbands To obey is another thing than to controle or command which yet they may do to their Children and to their Family But as for their Husbands them must they obey and cease from commanding and perform subjection For this surely doth nourish Concord very much when the Wife is ready at hand at her Husbands commandment when she will apply her self to his Will when she endeavoreth her self to seek his contentation and to do him pleasure when she will eschew all things that might offend him For thus will most truly be verified the saying of the Poet A good Wife by obeying her Husband shall bear the Ruleâ— so that he shall have a delight and a gladness the sooner at all times to return home to her but on the contrary part When the Wives be stubborn froward and malepart their Husbands are compelled thereby to abhor and flee from their own Houses even as they should have Battle with their Enemies Howbeit It can scantly be but that some offences shall sometime chance betwixt them for no Man doth live without fault specially for that the Woman is the more frail Party Therefore let them beware that they stand not in their faults and wilfulness but rather let them acknowledge their Follies and say My Husband so it is that by my anger I was compelled to do this or that forgive it me and hereafter I will take better heed Thus ought the Woman more readily to do the more they be ready to offend And they shall not do this only to avoid Strife and debate but rather in the respect of the Commandment of God as St. Paul expresseth it in this form of words Let Women be subject to their Husbands as to the Lord Ephes 5. For the Husband is the Head of the Woman as Christ is the Head of the Church Here you understand that God hath commanded that ye should acknowledge the Authority of the Husband and refer to him the honor of Obedience And St. Peter saith in that place before rehearsed that holy Matrons did in former time deck themselves not with Gold and Silver but in putting their whole hope in God and in obeying their Husbands as Sarah obeyed Abraham calling him Lord Whose Daughters ye be saith he if ye follow her Example This Sentence is very meet for Women to print in their remembrance Truth it is that they must specially feel the grief and pains of their Matrimony in that they relinquish the Liberty of their own Rule in the pain of their Travelling in the bringing up of their Children In which Offices they be in great Perils and be grieved with great Afflictions which they might be without if they lived out of Matrimony But St. Peter saith That this is the chief Ornament of holy Matrons in that they set their hope and trust in God that is to say in that they refused not from Marriage for the business thereof for the gifts and perils thereof but committed all such Adventures to God in most sure trust of help after that they have called upon his aid O Woman do thou the like and so shalt thou be most excellently beautified before God and all his Angels and Saints and thou needest not to seek further for doing any better works for obey thy Husband take regard of his Requests and give heed unto him to perceive what he requireth of thee and so shalt thou honor God and live peaceably in thy House And beyond all this God shall follow thee with his Benediction that all things shall well prosper both to thee and to thy Husband as the Psalm saith Blessed is the Man which feareth God and walketh in his ways thou shalt have the Fruit of thine own hands happy shalt thou be and well it shall go with thee Thy Wife shall be as a Vine plentifully spreading about
thy House Thy Children shall be as the young Springs of the Olives about thy Table Lo thus shall that Man be blessed saith David that feareth the Lord. This let the Wife have ever in mind the rather admonished thereto by the Apparel of her Head whereby is signified that she is under covert or obedience of her Husband And as that Apparel is of Nature so appointed to declare her subjection so biddeth St. Paul that all other of her Raiment should express both Shamefacedness and Sobriety For if it be not lawful for the Woman to have her Head bare but to bear thereon the Sign of her Power wheresoever she goeth more is it required that she declare the thing that is meant thereby And therefore those Ancient Women of the old World called their Husbands Lords and shewed them reverence in obeying them But peradventure she will say That those Men loved their Wives indeed I know that well enough and bear it well in mind but when I do admonish you of your Duties then call not to consideration what their Duties be For when we our selves do teach our Children to obey us as their Parents or when we reform our Servants and tell them that they should obey their Masters not only at the Eye but as the Lord if they should tell us again our Duties we should not think it well done for when we be admonished of our Duties and Faults we ought not then to seek what other Mens Duties be For though a Man had a Companion in his fault yet should he not thereby be without his fault But this must be only looked on by what means thou mayest make thy self without blame for Adam did lay the blame upon the Woman and she turned it unto the Serpent but yet neither of them was thus excused and therefore bring not such excuses to me at this time but apply all thy diligence to hear thine obedience to thine Husband For when I take in hand to admonish thy Husband to love thee and to cherish thee yet will I not cease to set out the Law that is appointed for the Woman as well as I would require of the Man what is written for his Law Go thou therefore about such things as becometh thee only and shew thy self tractable to thy Husband or rather if thou wilt obey thy Husband for Gods precept then alledge such things as be in his duty to do but perform thou diligently those things which the Law-maker hath charged thee to do for thus is it most reasonable to obey God if thou wilt not suffer thy self to transgress his Law He that loveth his Friend seemeth to do no great thing but he that honoreth that is hurtful and hateful to him this Man is worthy most commendation even so think you if thou canst suffer an extream Husband thou shalt have a great reward therefore but if thou lovest him only because he is courteous what reward will God give thee therefore Yet I speak not these things that I would wish the Husbands to be sharp towards their Wives but I exhort the Women that they would patiently bear the sharpness of their Husbands For when either Parties do their best to perform their Duties the one to the other then followeth thereon great profit to their Neighbors for their Examples sake For when the Woman is ready to suffer a sharp Husband and the Man will not extreamly entreat his stubborn and troublesome Wife then be all things in quiet as in a most sure Haven Even thus was it done in old time that every one did their own Duty and Office and was not busie to require the Duty of their Neighbors Consider I pray thee that Abraham took to him his Brothers Son his Wife did not blame him therefore He commanded him to go with him a long Journey she did not gainsay it but obeyed his precept Again after all those great miseries labors and pains of that Journey when Abraham was made as Lord over all yet did he give place to Lot of his Superiority which matter Sarah took so little to grief that she never once suffered her Tongue to speak such words as the common manner of Women is wont to do in these days when they see their Husbands in such Rooms to be made Underlings and to be put under their Youngers then they upbraid them with cumbrous Talk and call them Fools Dastards and Cowards for so doing But Sarah was so far from speaking any such thing that it came never into her mind thought so to say but allowed the Wisdom and Will of her Husband Yea besides all this after the said Lot had thus his Will and left to his Uncle the less portion of Land he chanced to fall into extream Peril which chance when it came to the knowledge of this said Patriarch he incontinently put all his Men in harness and prepared himself with all his Family and Friends against the Host of the Persians In which case Sarah did not counsel him to the contrary nor did say as then might have been said My Husband whither goest thou so unadvisedly Why runnest thou thus on head Why dost thou offer thy self to so great Perils and art thus ready to jeopard thine own Life and to peril the Lives of all thine for such a Man as hath done thee such wrong At the least way if thou regardest not thy self yet have compassion on me which for thy love have forsaken my Kindred and my Countrey and have the want both of my Friends and Kinsfolk and am thus come into so far Countries with thee have pity on me and make me not here a Widow to cast me into such cares and troubles Thus might she have said but Sarah neither said nor thought such words but she kept her self in silence in aâ—l things Furthermore all that time when she was Barren and took no Pains as other Women did by bringing forth Fruit in his House What did he he complained not to his Wife but to Almighty God And consider how either of them did their Duties as became them for neither did he despise Sarah because she was Barren nor never did cast it in her teeth Consider again how Abraham expelled the Handmaid out of the House when she required it so that by this I may truly prove that the one was pleased and contented with the other in all things but yet set not your eyes only on this matter but look further what was done before this that Hagar used her Mistress despitefully and that Abraham himself was somewhat provoked against her which must needs be an intolerable matter and a painful to a free-hearted Woman and a chast Let not therefore the Woman be too busie to call for the Duty of her Husband where she should be ready to perform her own for that is not worthy any great commendations And even so again let not the Man only consider what belongeth to the Woman and to stand too earnestly gazing thereon
shall please him he turneth it Thus say the Scriptures Wherefore let us turn from our sins unto the Lord with all our Hearts and he will turn the Heart of the Prince unto our quiet and wealth Else for Subjects to deserve through their sins to have an evil Prince and then to Rebel against him were double and treble evil by provoking God more to plague them Nay let us either deserve to have a good Prince or let us patiently suffer and obey such as we deserve And whether the Prince be good or evil let us according to the Counsel of the holy Scriptures Pray for the Prince for his continuance and increase in goodness if he be good and for his amendment if he be evil Will you hear the Scriptures concerning this most necessary Point 1 Tim. 2. I exhort therefore saith St. Paul that above all things Prayers Supplications Intercessions and giving of Thanks be had for all Men for Kings and all that are in Authority that we may live a quiet and peaceable life with all godliness for that is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour c. This is St. Pauls Counsel and who I pray you was Prince over the most part of the Christians when Gods holy Spirit by St. Pauls Pen gave them this Lesson Forsooth Caligula Claudius or Nero who were not only no Christians but Pagans and also either foolish Rulers or most cruel Tyrants Will you yet hear the Word of God to the Jews when they were Prisoners under Nabuchodonosor King of Babylon after he had slain their Kings Nobles Parents Children and Kinsfolks burned their Country Cities yea Jerusalem it self and the holy Temple and had carried the residue remaining a live Captives with him into Babylon Will you hear yet what the Prophet Baruch saith unto Gods People being in this Captivity Baruc. 1.11 Pray you saith the Prophet for the life of Nabuchodonosor King of Babylon and for the life of Balthasar his Son that their days may be as the days of Heaven upon the Earth that God also may give us strength and lighten our Eyes that we may live under the defence of Nabuchodonosor King of Babylon and under the Protection of Balthasar his Son that we may long do them service and find favor in their sight Pray for us also unto the Lord our God for we have sinned against the Lord our God Thus far the Prophet Baruch his words which are spoken by him unto the People of God of that King who was an Heathen a Tyrant and cruel Oppressor of them and had been a Murtherer of many Thousands of their Nations and a Destroyer of their Country with a Confession that their sins had deserved such a Prince to Reign over them And shall the old Christians by St. Pauls exhortation Pray for Caligula Claudius or Nero Shall the Jews Pray for Nabuchodonosor These Emperors and Kings being strangers unto them being Pagans and Infidels being Murtherers Tyrants and cruel Oppressors of them and Destroyers of their Country Countrymen and Kinsmen the Burners of their Villages Towns Cities and Temples And shall not we Pray for the long prosperous and godly Reign of our natural Prince No stranger which is observed as a great blessing in the Scriptures of our Christian our most gracious Sovereign no Heathen nor Pagan Prince Shall we not Pray for the health of our most merciful most loving Sovereign the Preserver of us and our Country in so long peace quietness and security no cruel Person no Tyrant no Spoyler of our Goods no Shedder of Blood no Burner and Destroyer of our Towns Cities and Countries as were those for whom yet as ye have heard Christians being their Subjects ought to Pray Let us not commit so great Ingratitude against God and our Sovereign as not continually to thank God for his Government and for his great and continual benefits and blessings poured upon us by such Government Let us not commit so great a sin aginst God against our selves and our Country as not to pray continually unto God for the long continuance of so gracious a Ruler unto us and our Countrey Else shall we be unworthy any longer to enjoy those benefits and blessings of God which hitherto we have had by her shall be most worthy to fall into all those mischiefs and miseries which we and our Country have by Gods grace through her Government hitherto escaped What shall we say of those Subjects May we call them by the name of Subjects Who neither be thankful nor make any Prayer to God for so gracious a Sovereign but also themselves take Armor wickedly assemble Companies and Bands of Rebels to break the publick Peace so long continued and to make not War but Rebellion to endanger the Person of such a gracious Sovereign to hazard the Estate of their Countrey for whose defence they should be ready to spend their Lives and being English Men to rob spoil destroy and burn in England English Men to kill and murder their own Neighbors and Kinsfolk their own Countrey-men to do all evil and mischief yea and more too than Foreign Enemies would or could do What shall we say of these Men who use themselves thus rebelliously against their gracious Sovereign Who if God for their wickedness had given them an Heathen Tyrant to Reign over them were by Gods Word bound to obey him and to pray for him What may be spoken of them So far doth their unkindness unnaturalness wickedness mischievousness in their doings pass and excel any thing and all things that can be expressed and uttered by words Only let us wish unto all such most speedy Repentance and with so grievous sorrow of heart as such so horrible sins against the Majesty of God do require who in most extream unthankfulness do rise not only against their gracious Prince against their natural Countrey but against all their Countrey-men Women and Children against themselves their Wives Children and Kinsfolks and by so wicked an example against all Christendom and against whole Mankind of all manner of People throughout the wide World such Repentance I say such sorrow of Heart God grant unto all such whosoever rise of private and malicious purpose as is meet for such mischiefs attempted and wrought by them And unto us and all other Subjects God of his mercy grant that we may be most unlike to all such and most like to good natural loving and obedient Subjects Nay that we may be such indeed not only shewing all obedience our selves but as many of us as be able to the uttermost of our power ability understanding to stay and repress all Rebels and Rebellions against God our gracious Prince and natural Country at every occasion that is offered unto us And that which we are all able to do unless we do it we shall be most wicked and most worthy to feel in the end such extreme Plagues as God hath ever poured upon Rebels Let us make