owne imaginations and all the curses of the law and so we shall lye downe in our owne confusion and bee couered with our shame because wee loathed instruction and hated to bee reformed For surely the ouerthrow of the wicked sleepeth not though yet they liue in al prosperitie and florish as a greene Bay tree Let not vs then folowe their â—â—usion of ryote but in time receiue the Lordes warning with Noe to huÌ„ble our selues to walke before our god The Storcke in the ayre as sayth the Prophete knoweth her appointed times the Turtle the Crane and the Swallowe obserue their opportunitie of comming and shall not we knowe the iudgements of our God Or can the Oxe know his masters stall or the Asse his masters cribbe and shall not Israel know his God Let vs be warned by the voyce of God let vs receiue instruction and be wise betime For blessed is the man that heareth wisdome watching dayly at hir gates and giuing attendance at the postes of hir doores For hee that findeth hir findeth life and shall obtaine the fauour of the Lord and onely this is our wisdome and perfect vnderstanding to receiue and obserue the admonitions of our God. When Noe were thus admonished by the Lorde he did not by and by forget his worde or choke it with the cares of life and voluptuousnesse of liuing then preuailing but as his fayth was wrought thereby so was he now emboldned and his fayth encreased and preserued by these admonitions concerning thinges to come For as by meats drinks the bodie is increased and by the wholsome counsell of physitions the sicknes to be feared is preueÌ„ted so by the woorde of God the fayth of Noe was increased and by the admonitions thereof the daungers to bee feared were auoyded whilest he willingly gaue credit to that which was spoken By this his readinesse to beleeue the worde appeareth plainly beloued the faythfull heart which the godly ought to haue towards the same that in beleeuing the worde of trueth the Lord may be their God and they his people This readinesse was in the Kenites when they left their owne couÌ„try to go with the Israelites into the land of Canaan that they might be further instructed in the law of God. This readines was in the good king Iosias wheÌ„ his heart melted within him for feare of the plagues of God towardes the land neither ceassed he vntill he had enquired of the Lord what was to be done This readinesse was in all those which wente through the valley of teares from strength to strength to seeke the Lorde in Sion This readinesse was in the Prophetes and Apostles whilest they left all thinges to obey the will of God. This readines was in the Iewes when they were fired with the wordes of Peter and with penitent hearts required what to do And this ought to be our readines towards the word of our saluation and towards the admonitions of the most highest that whilest he speaketh we giue eare whilest he crieth that wee make answere and whilest it is said to day that we beleue and heare his voyce These should be the daies wherein men shoulde follow no more the stubbornnesse of theyr wicked hearts but rather should goe vp to the mountaine of the lord to be instructed in his lawes with reuerence and feare These should be the dayes wherein the idoles shoulde de destroyed and men shoulde forsake their molten gods These should be the sweete and ioyfull dayes of Ierusalem wherein the people shoulde offer willing offrings of obedience and thankfulnesse These shoulde be the Halcionios dies of the Church when righteousnesse and peace when mercie and trueth shoulde meete and kisse eche other But in steade of readines to the worlde the eares of many are vncircumcised that they neither can nor will heare the lawe of god In stead of casting away the vanities of Idoles they are marked with the beastes marke whome they worship In stead of quietnes loue the heartes of many are set on mischiefe whilest discorde enuie and debate preuaile so much I feare therefore these dayes are more like the daies of Noe wherin the coÌ„tempt of trueth bare rule amongst so many They are the dayes of the prouocation in the wildernes wherein the delights of Egyptiacal seruitude is preferred before the sweete Manna of euerlasting happines I wonder what euill spirite hath bewitched men that they should not beleeue the truth Why haue they put vpon them an whorish face and a shameles looke and made their hearts like an adamant whilest they walke in the errour of theyr hearts and in the vanitie of their own imaginations Euery man flattereth himselfe in his owne wayes thinketh him selfe more holy then his fellowe but yet hee pluckes not the beame of pride out of his eie Wee say with filthie Iuda that we be not polluted nor haue folowed after Baalim and yet we are vncleane by meanes of popishe superstition Wee bragge and boast with the proud Pharisie of our righteousnes yet feele we not the burthen of our sinnes and faith in Christ and therfore remaine vniustified We say with the angell of Laodicea that we be rich and much encreased with goodes and haue neede of nothing yet we know not that we are wretched miserable poore and blind naked What remayneth then for vs but to bye of the Lords fine gold that we may be rich white rayment that we may be clothed that our filthie nakednes do not appeare that our eies may be anointed with the eie salue that we may see with al readines to obey the truth to be warned with Noe to make preparation against the flouds of euil to come But especially welbeloued the faith of Noe appeared in this that he saw the things to come which presently could not by outwarde senses be discerned For seeing that the floud was not come before an hundreth and twentie yeeres were ended the tract of time might haue remoued and banished away the remembrance thereof It might also haue seemed incredible to flesh and bloud that such a water should come so quickly besides all these the wicked folowed their delights without respect and to be short these threatnings of such floods might haue bene iudged vaine but Noe his faith did mouÌ„t aloft and reached aboue the capacitie of outwarde senses and looked vp to things more excellent by much theÌ„ could by outward meanes be vnderstood which things yet hid and not apparant the holy ghost sealeth in our harts for our more assurance According whereunto the Apostle calleth fayth the substance of things hoped for the sure demonstration of thinges which are not seene thereby not onely lifting vp our fayth to things to come but also fully assuring vs of the performaÌ„ce therof for God is faithful
not fruitles as our aduersaries make report but like a good tree it must bring forth the fruites of integritie and righteousnes of life For euen as fyre burneth cannot be without heate no more then the sunne without his light euen so is it impossible for a true faith to be without good workes which although they do not iustifie vs before God yet are they to bee done that our obedience of faith may thereby be discerned which may bee seene whilest wee walke in the lawe of God. When Moses was ready to take his leaue of the Israelites howe earnestly he required of them obedience to the law of god it is most manyfest throughout the whole booke of Deutero When Samuel had appointed that Iewes a king how sweetely doth hee moue them to the obedience of the law Whē Dauid would publish and sing the praises of God how vehementlye doth he coūsel the Iewes to heare the voyce of God and not to harden their hearts as in the deserte When the Prophets would haue the people to turne to the Lorde that his wrath might bee turned from them their chief persuasion resteth herin that they would testify their faith not by the multitude of sacrifices but by obeying the worde of god This obedience our Sauiour Christ requireth of his disciples if they loue him to keepe his cōmandements this is the same which the Apostle Paul calleth the obedience of faith to the end after we bee iustified wee might expresse the same by our obedience to the law of God and therefore in al his epistles after the treatise of iustification he cōmandeth the fruits of newnes of life whereby dearly beloued wee are to learne how fruitfull our obedience ought to be in good workes for so much as our faith is made manifest therby god is glorified and our brethren profited hee hath made vs a peculiar people vnto him self that we shuld be folowers of good workes wee must therefore liue holily soberly righteously in this presēt world he hath redeemed vs frō the hands of our enemies that we should serue him in holines righteousnes for euer He hath giuen vs heauenlye graces many and endued vs with his holye spirit therefore must the bodie dye to sinne the spirite liue for righteousnes sake He is holye who hath called vs therfore must we be holy in al our conuersation Let vs therefore deare brethren shew forth our obedience in newnes of life and make strong our election and calling by our good workes and our labour shal not be in vaine in the Lord. Wee make great boastes and crakes that wee be Christians let the same be proued true or false by our liues for not euery one that sayth Lord Lorde shall enter into the kingdom of heauen but he that doth the will of God neither is euery one brother or sister to Christ but onely those which heare and keepe his word this is the fruite of our obedience and righteousnes towardes God. If we couet to be blessed and haue good successe we must needs beginne at this obedience of our faith Yf we will haue the Lord to be our God and wee our selues to be his people then must we humble our selues to obey his word yf we wil be counted the friendes of Christ then must we do whatsoeuer he hath commāded vs Yf we will bee purified by faith in heart we must begin to obey the trueth Yf we wil be safely armed against spiritual wickednes we must hold fast the word of god finally if we couet to be saued we may not bee ashamed of the Gospell but in all meeknes receiue the same for it is able to saue our soules We say with the Israelites to Moses that wee will obserue the law But oh that there were such an heart in vs to feare the Lorde and to keepe his commandementes alway that it might go well with vs and with our children for euer Wherefore as obediēce is better then sacrifice so let this be our wisdome with Noe to declare and shew forth our faith by our obedience vnto the word of God. Besides al this the obedience of righteous Noe more plainely did appeare in that he did not folowe his owne purpose and deuise but the appointment of God in this making of the arke for he made it in length in breadth and height in all other partes accordinglye as he was commanded This is the wisedome of God who will not haue his Church builded accordīg to mannes deuise but by the direction of his worde When Moses was commanded to build the tabernacle he was straightly charged to do it according to the paterne shewed vnto him in the mounte When the Israelites were instructed how to serue God when they came into the land of promise they were forbidden to serue him after the maner of the Canaanites and onely to worship him according to his lawe without either turning to the right hand or to the left When the Iewes returned out of captiuitie and repaired the ruines of the temple at Ierusalem they reedified it according to the former building made by Salomō Whē our sauiour Christ builded the spirituall arke temple of his church he layed no other foundation but him selfe who was the rocke against the which the gates of hel should not preuaile For finishing wherof in the gathering together of the saintes he charged the Apostles straitly but to speake what he had taught them This ought to be our speciall care in building and reformation of religion not to do what we thinke good but as the Israelites before they tooke any thing in hand asked counsell of God so must we in all our wayes be ruled by his word which is the way for vs to walke in which the holy ghost hath written that wee might beleue in beleeuing might haue life Wherefore whosoeuer bringeth any other Gospel though it were an angell from heauen let him be accursed neither let vs receiue him into our houses neither bid him God speed Now then if this be the wisedom of God which Noe folowed when he would not build but as he was appointed which Moses the Iewes our sauiour Christ and the apostles haue obserued what kinde of building may that be which standeth onely vpon mens deuises vaine imaginations such as is the whole religion of Antichrist Surelye it is like the religion of the false prophets which sewed pillowes vnder the elbowes of the Iewes in flattring them in their sinnes whilest they dawbed walled their building with vntempered morter Or it is like the house builded vpō the sand which because of the weake fūdation can not well endure Or it is like the straw and stubble which is laid vpon the good fundation which at the fierie triall of
in whom are all the treasures of wisedome vnderstanding to whom wee can not come but being fully perswaded that our saluation resteth in his free grace and mercy the obiecte of our faith which shee doth chiefly behold must of necessitie be the promises of the Gospel laying forth to vs Christe crucified for our sinnes by whose obedience our saluatiō is wrought in whom alone the Father is well pleased for in him our faith beholdeth the law of God fulfilled for vs who tooke the curse thereof vpon him self that he might make vs blessed In his blood our faith beholdeth perfect redemption and remission of our sinnes we which were farre of are now made neere reconciled to the father By his stripes we feele by faith that we are made whole clothed with his righteousnes by his onely sacrifice done once for euer our faith beholdeth eternall redemption purchased and them consecrat for euer that are sanctified so that where forgiuenesse of sinnes is there is no more oblatiō for sinne In him through him and for his sake faith boldly approcheth to the throne of grace to find mercy to helpe in time of need for he is our peace our aduocate and the propitiation for our sinnes Finally by faith in him wee are assured of Gods fauour and of eternal lyfe so that there is nowe no damnation to such as bee graffed in Christe Iesu which walke according to the spirit not according to that fleshe For it is Christ that doth iustifie vs and therefore none can cōdemne vs none cā lay any thing to our charge neyther separate vs from the loue of god And thus is Christ with his death and passion the onely obiect of our faith Also these two Christ crucified and our faith alwayes must goe together For as the sunne shining in the firmamēt auaileth him not that hath none eyes to see the same neyther him that wincketh with his eyes will not see but only him that doth behold the light thereof So doeth the death of Christe profit him nothing which lacketh true faith to lay holde vpon the same but onely such as by a liuely fruitfull faith applie the same vnto them selues Besides that Noe his faith was specially directed to the promise of the couenant yet was he made more watchful a great deale and kept in obedience by the terrours of the flood and so with feare and trembling wrought his saluation not that he wauered in the faith but that he feared in transgressing to be punished with the wicked For this effect the plagues powred vpon the wicked bring forth in the liues and conuersation of the godly that these are made more circūspect by much to stande in feare least they should fall When Moses counselled the Israelites to the obseruance of the law hee warned them to feare by the plagues powred vpon the Egyptians and vpon the Canaanites thereby to keepe them in obediēce When Ieremie threatned captiuitie vnto the land of Iuda hee vsed the captiuitie of the ten tribes then being in Assyria to make them trēble afrayed When the Apostle vnderstood the hautines of the Romaines he vsed the punishment of the Iewes in whose place they were graffed to bridle them and keepe them in obediēce When the Corinthians waxed proude of the graces of God the Apostle layed forth the plagues of God agaynst the Iewes in the wildernes that who so stood might take heede hee did not fal And this is the cause why the holy Ghost calleth vs to feare that we should not by our dissolute life shake of and lose our faith and make the last end worse thē the beginning The sonne honoureth his father and a seruāt his master If thē God be a father to vs we must honour him if he be a Lorde wee must feare his stripes O that we had the reuerent dread and feare which Noe had it would make vs readie to know and doo the will of God it would bring forth an vnfained loathing and hatred of sinne in vs it would budde forth the studie of true godlines it would set vs forwarde to the loue of God profyt of our brethrē But though we feel the scourge of God so sore that there is no whole part alreadie in the body yet are we not humbled nor afraid though we be strikē we do not sorowe though we be consumed we refuse to receyue correction For why we haue made our faces harder then a stone and will not returne though we be warned of the future woes In steade of keeping the commandementes of GOD we obserue the precepts of men wherewith we worship God in vaine In steade of feare true obedience we loose the bridle to the effusion of al ryot In steade of true religion nothing is to be found but either meere Atheisme or flat dissimulation In steade of holines of life we deck our selues with pride and in steade of iudgement righteousnes we bring forth oppression and crying of the poore and bloud toucheth bloud Where is now the reuerence and feare wherein wee liue or howe are we restrained frō offending by the remembrance of the sea of euils to come No no beloued we feare men more thē god And if in some things we submitte our obedience to the hearing of the scriptures and ordinarie administratiō of the Sacraments in Ecclesiasticall assemblies yet is such duetie in many of vs but constrayned and not of a good and zealous heart delighting in the Gospell But if we do neglect we feare the magistrates sword Wel let vs not play to long with our fleeing shadowe but sanctifie the Lorde that he may be our feare and betime beginne with Noe to feare the worst for if the wrath of God be kindled but a litle blessed are all they that put their trust in him And thus ye see that our faith is specially directed at the promises of God and yet must we not be careles and voyde of feare and so do what we list but alwayes we must stand in awe be afrayde to offende lest with the wicked we haue reward He prepared the Arke Whē Noe was in sundrie wise thus mooued he addressed himself without delay to the making of the Arke thereby to witnes his obedience of fayth For euen as water floweth frō the fountaine so doth this his obediēce spring from faith whereby he had apprehended the promise of saluation His obedience appeareth the more for that the making of this work was tedious and often hindred with the furiousnes of the wicked which vnneth hee could patiently haue abiden if that hee had not safely rested in the promise of the couenant But faith the mistres of obediēce brought forth such fruits as might expresse his willing mind to obey the Lords commandemēt This is that excellēt brāche of our religion that our faith be
hire Sir Iohn Lackelatine to sing or say the seruice howe shall the Gospell haue good successe whilest Church to Church is ioyned and non residencies borne withall and well liked what can go forewarde in the building of the Lorde where preaching is but once a quarter I say not where it is seldome or neuer which I might or once a moneth which some thinke more thē needes if it be eche Saboth it is counted a worke of supererogation how can the people be reclaimed from their vanities or kept within the fold in dew obedience Go to what springes of such contempt in these estates euen effusion of all ryot and running into sinne of the inferiour sort For as the wall within and eke without is made of squared stones betweene the which the lesse stones are contained to make the building vp euē so the minister within the Churche the Magistrate in the common weale should support and vpholde the meaner sort in dewe obedience If then the squared stones within or els with out fall downe the lesse can neuer long endure because they lacke their stay And of cōtempt in these degrees it comes to passe that lacke of discipline good liuing is the cause of many sinnes both in the Church and commō weale Neither woulde I haue this forgotten that whilest ecclesiasticall officers may for money dispense with offendours and also vayne pitie in the common weale maye shadowe iniquities the Churche can not go well Surely Surely it is with Englande as the Prophet Osee saide it was with Israel The Lord hath a controuersie with the people of the land because there is no mercy no truth no knowledge of God in the land But by swearing lying killing stealing and whoring men break out and blood toucheth blood therfore shal the land mourne c. How ripe the sinnes of England be for the sickle of Gods vēgeance euerye Christian eye can testifie And yet for all this we are fast a sleepe with the carelesse world in the time of Noe. We eat drinke we marie giue to mariage most like vntill the flood shall take vs hence wee lye vpon our soft couches and put away the euill day farre frō vs we blesse our selues when wee heare the threatnings of the Lord and curses of his law and say We shall feele none euill we are drunken with foolish Nabal vntill Abigail bring vs word that we must dye We spoyle and make our selues merie with the goods of other men as the Amalekites did in Ziklag vntill Dauid Gods scourge come vpon vs to wounde vs to death and make a reskewe We drinke with Balthasar in bowles vntill the Medes take away our kingdome we enriche our selues also enlarge our barnes and laye vp treasure in store for many yeres and yet this present night our soule must be taken away and then who shal possesse our substance we waste and spoyle our masters goodes liue vnmindfull of our duetie vntill we be called to render an accompt of our stewardshippe we sleepe full harde with the foolish virgins and our lampes quite put out till that the bridegrome be gone in and the doore fast locked that we can not enter We sit like the proud strumpet Babylon feede our selues with folly that we shall feele no sorowe nor widowhead yet al sorows shal sodainly come vpon vs Finally we say Peace peace all things quiet euen when the end is at hand Nay rather let vs watche pray and haue our lampes of righteousnes burning that we may enter into rest with the bridegrome at his comming leaue betimes our great securitie least we perish with the wicked It is reported of Tamberlane the king of the Parthians who tearmed himselfe Iram dei orbis vastitatem to haue set vp three seueral dais three seueral kinds of tents wherof the first was white betokening mercie if his enemies would that day yeeld the secōd day the tēts were red betokenīg the bloodshed of the rulers the thirde was black signifying the burning and destruction of the citie neyther was there hope of mercie when the white tents were takē down although they humbled themselues with lawrell Let vs goe foorth with lawrell braunches in this our time and day of grace for it is a fearefull thing to fall into the hands of the liuing God who is a consuming fire let vs be admonished by the woorde of trueth or els the same will condemne vs with the wicked But the time is past I haue wearied you to much I wil therfore note one worde or two of the last wordes and so make an ende He was made the heire of righteousnes which is according to fayth This is nowe the acceptation reward of Noe his faith who first was receiued into fauour by beleeuing the promise of God and thereby had God a mercifull father Of whō this his obedience was accepted not for anye the worthines of flesh blood which was none but by the free grace of God accepting in good worth what he did For when faith beleueth the promises of God concerning saluation apprehendeth the adoption of the children then foloweth the inheritaunce of our righteousnesse for that we being by fayth the children of God are heires euen felowe heires with Christ of his kingdome For after we beleeue we are sealed with the spirit of promise which is the earnest of our inheritance vntill the redemption of the possession purchased vnto the praise of his glorie This is that which the Apostle saith that wee being iustified by the grace of God should be made heires according to the hope of euerlasting life And for this cause is Christ the mediatour of the newe Testament that through death which was for the redemption of the transgressions which were in the former Testamēt they which were called might receiue the promise of the eternal inheritāce Blessed be God therefore let vs all say euen the father of our Lord Iesus Christ which according to his aboundant mercie hath begotten vs againe vnto a liuely hope by the resurrection of Iesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance immortal and vndefiled reserued in heauen for vs. This inheritance of righteousnes Abraham behelde with the eyes of fayth whē he forsooke his owne countrey looking for a better and euerlasting in heauen reioycing in spirite to see the day of Christ the Messias This inheritance Dauid longed after when like as the Harte desired the water brookes euen so his soule longed after the Lorde hoping to see the goodnesse of the Lorde in the lande of the liuing This inheritance the Apostles beleeued to haue when they confessed Christ to bee the Sonne of God and to haue the woordes of Eternall life This inheritance the Saints in the reuelatiō cast their eyes vpon when with patience they endured the tormentes