Manna wherewith God fed Israel in the wildernesse called Angels food surely not because the Angels did eyther make or eate it but were onely the stewards of God to conuay it to his people Thus are we taught that it is a more blessed thing to giue then to receiue if eyther we will follow the Lord or his most excellent creatures in heauen and earth But strange it is to see how many wretched worldlings there are like vnto Nabal monsters of the earth liuing so in it as if their mouthes were wide enough for all Gods creatures and whatsoeuer were giuen them were giuen them for themselues onely Or like that cursed gulfe in the salt and dead sea which swalloweth vp the whole riuer of Iordan into her bosome and is neither her selfe bettered thereby neyther yet sends out any part thereof againe to the good of others such cursed creatures are they who receiue good things from God in great abundance and are neyther changed by them in themselues neyther yet will suffer any of those goods to flow from them to the benefit of others their barraine hearts hauing caused to them withered hands which are able to giue nothing Or if at any time they giue it is as if their right hand should giue vnto their left that is they giue to their owne onely Or as if the Cloudes being full of raine and standing ouer some thirstie ground should be carryed away by the winde to disburthen her treasures of water in the Sea so doe they while all they giue is bestowed on such as haue more then themselues and that vnder hope of a greater benefit to returne to themselues againe To moue vs therefore to the performance of this christian dutie wee will shortly consider the losse that comes by neglect thereof and the great vantage by the faithfull discharge of it The losse is euident if wee will keepe that which God bids vs giue be sure wee shall lose it As Manna gathered more then God commanded turned into wormes so riches kept more then God allowes becommeth vnprofitable to the possessor Yea where men will not pay to God that dutie for their goods which hee requires it is a righteous thing with him to send his officers to punish them such as the Caterpiller the Canker-worme and the Grashopper Many haue cast their wares vnprofitably into the Sea with the marriners of Ionas ship which they would not profitably bestow vpon the land and by pestilence many haue beene compelled to cast out the prouision which they had gathered for their owne mouthes to the vse of others for whom it neuer came into their mindes to prouide it The gaine againe wee get by giuing is euident out of that place Psal. 112. Hee that distributeth and giueth to the poore his righteousnesse remaineth for euer if wee compare that which wee giue vnto others with that which remaineth to our selues that which wee giue is a perishing thing but that which remaineth is induring And this shall yet appeare more clearely if we consider the example of Elijah and the widdow of Sarepta the Lord â—…ed his Prophet sometime by Angels sometime by Rauens and so hee might haue done still all the time of the famine but it pleased him to change his steward and to send him to the widdow of Sarepta not so much that Elijah should be nourished by the widdow whom before without her hee had nourished as that the widdowes portion might be blessed by Elijah Thus is it true that the giuer of almes if hee giue it rightly gets more then he giues as Abraham and Lot gaue perishing meate but receiued immortall Angels Plus pauper tibi confert quam à te accipit the poor giues thee more then hee gets from thee said Ambrose Si nudum vestias teipsum induis iustitia if thou clothe the poore thou dost clothe thy selfe with righteousnesse Si peregrinum sub tectum inducis ille acquiret tibi sanctorum amicitias aeterna tabernacula if thou bringest the stranger vnder thy roofe hee shall purchase to thee the friendship of the Saints and eternall tabernacles Therefore S. Paul when he was going to Ierusalem to relieue the necessitie of the Saints there with a contribution from the Churches of Grecia besought them to pray for him that his seruice at Ierusalem might be accepted What is this he commeth to giue almes and yet prayeth that his gift may be accepted Surely because the seruice by which we minister to Gods Saints brings more good to vs then any thing wee giue is able to doe vnto them vtilior est eleemosyna danti quà m illi cui datur The Censure But now the hands of many which are eyther stained with idlenesse or blotted with bribery bloud tricks of deceit and all sorts of vncleannesse proues that all are not Christians indeed who now vsurpe the Christian name CHAPTER VII Of his Feete The Lords Command GOD pondereth all the pathes of men Prou. 5. 21. therefore ponder thou also all the pathes of thine owne feet and let all thy wayes be ordered aright turne not to the right hand nor to the left but remoue thy foot from euill Prou. 4. 26. Make straight steps to your feet least that which is halting be turned out of the way Heb. 12. 13. Refrâ—…ne thy feete from the path of the wicked Prou. 1. 15. and keepe the way of the righteous Prou. 2. 20. The path of the righteous is to decline from euill and hee keepeth his soule that keepeth his way Prou. 16. 17. But aboue all take heed to thy soote when thou entrest into the house of God Eccles. 4. 17. The Christians Prayer for Grace to obay this Command O Lord thou who keepest the feete of thy Saints and hast prepared an holy way by which they who are polluted cannot passe I beseech thee to make thy way plaine before my face that my feet slide not from thy pathes Direct my wayes to keepe thy statutes and guide my feet in the way of peace to the glory of thy name through Iesus Christ Amen Another I Know O Lord that the way of man is not in himselfe neyther is it in man to walke and direct his steps Therefore I pray thee send out thy light and thy truth let them lead mee and bring me to thine holy mountaine and to thy tabernable that so my goings being ordered by thee my steps may be directed in thy word and iniquitie haue neuer dominion ouer mee for Iesus Christs sake Amen The Christians Practise of this Command MY feet haue followed thy steps I haue kept thy way and haue not declined Iob. 23. 11. my feete haue not made haste to deceit Iob. 31. 5. and I will still refraine them from euery euill way that I may keepe thy word Psal. 119. 101. for thy word is a lantherne to to my feet and a
Sathan the Christian as he will not speake filthie language so he will not heare it As he will not murther with his hands so stops his eares from hearing of bloud Esa. 33. and as hee will not slander with his tongue so will hee not receiue in his eares a false report when another hath made it Psal. 15. For I pray you what difference is there betweene the willing reporter and receiuer of a false tale but that where the one carryeth Sathan in his tongue the other carryes Sathan in his eare The forger of falshood is the striker of Sathans coine the willing hearer is Sathans resetter and hee that after hearing reports it for a truth which he knowes not to be true is Sathans ventor this man turnes his eares into his eyes while as that which he hath heard hee giueth out for as vndoubted a truth as if he had seene it Therefore is it that as the mouth tastes the meat and lets none goe downe to the stomack vnlesse it be approued so the eare of the godly tastes words and lets none goe downe to the soule which is not from God And herein the Christian takes not so much heed to the speaker as to that which is spoken were the person neuer so honourable yea like an angell of God the heart that feares God receiues not his speech without examination so Mary discussed in her minde the words of the Angell and thought with herselfe What manner of salutation may this be And if otherwise for outward estate the person were neuer so contemptible yet if he speake the words of God he is reuerenced of the Christian for euen the feet of him that brings the glad tidings of peace are beautifull to him No man despiseth good corne because he finds it in a contemptible sack nor reiects precious pearles because they are in earthen vessels far lesse will the Christian refuse the message of grace because it is brought by a base messenger As the eare was the first port by which the Seducer entring in brought death to the soule so is it the first by which our Sauiour enters and restoreth life vnto it Hearing must goe before seeing wee must sit downe and reuerently heare the Lord on earth that wee may ascend and ioyfully see the Lord in heauen then shall wee sing that song As we haue heard so haue we seene in the citie of our God but if wee will not heare the Lord speaking in his word on earth we shall neuer see the Lord shewing his ioyfull face in heauen The Lord Iesus accounts our voyce sweet to him delights to heare it My Doue let me heare thy voyce for it is sweet Cant. 2. 14. And shall not we esteeme his voyce sweet vnto vs and delight to heare it Certainely if wee delight not in his word whereby hee speakes to vs hee shall take no pleasure in our prayers whereby wee speake vnto him For hee that turnes away his eare from hearing of the Law his Prayer shall be abhominable Yet it is not inough to heare Our Sauiour also warnes vs to take heede how wee heare Some heare malitiously such as come to trap the Preacher as the Pharisees often heard Christ that they might snare him This now is a common sinne that men resorts to preaching as if they come to amend the Preacher and not to amend themselues Others heare for curiositie seeking rather tidings of occurrents among men then the glad tidings of peace sent from God these are like vnto Herod who hauing our Sauiour Christ present before him sought a miracle to feede his curiositie but sought not grace whereby hee might be saued Some againe are not so euill disposed as any of the former two yet they heare vnpofitably for the present they are somwhat moued but carry nothing away whereby they may be mended these goe out of the Church as the vncleane beasts went out of the Arke that is they go out vncleane as they came in vncleane The Apostle compares them to vessels that runne out or to the sieue â—…ribrum which as long as it is in the water is full but if you take it vp no water remaines in it something they haue while they heare but so soone as they goe out it goes from them the remedie of this euill were to lay vp the word in our heart as Mary did The last sort of euill hearers are they who heare the word remember it and can report much of it to others but not as of a thing that concerneth their life and therefore while they speake of it to others they forget to doe it God hath placed in the body the eare the tongue and the hand not far asunder to teach vs that what wee heare with our eare and professe with our mouth we should practise with our hand The Censure And of this also it is euident that all are not Christians indeed who now vsurpe the Christian name CHAPTER III. Of his Eyes The Lords Command THe eyes of a foole are in the corners of the world Prou. 17. 24. but the wise mans eyes are in his head Eccles. 2. 14. Cast not thine eyes vpon that which is nothing Pro. 23. 5. For all that is in the world as the lust of the slesh the lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the father but of the world Ioh. 2. 16. As the graue and destruction can neuer be satisfied Pro. 27. 20. so the eyes of man are not satisfied with seeing Eccles. 1. 18. Let not therefore thine eyes and heart be for couetousnesse Ierem. 22. 17. neither full of adulterie Iude. 7. Haughtie eyes the Lord abhorreth Pro. 6. 17. and the high looke of the proud shall be humbled Esa. 2. 11. The eye that mocketh his father and despiseth the instruction of his mother let the Rauens of the valley pick it out and the young Eagles eate it Pro. 30. 17. Cast away therefore the abhomination of thine eyes Ezech. 20. 7. Let not my word depart from thine eyes but obserue wisedome and counsell Prou. 3. 21. that thine eyes may behold the right and thine eye-lids direct thy way before thee Prou. 4. 25. The Christians Prayer for Grace to obay this Command BE mercifull to mee O Lord and blesse mee cause thy face to shine vpon mee that I may know thy way vpon earth Let mee not be like the wicked who haue not the feare of God before their eyes But as thou hast made both the eares to heare and the eyes to see so I pray thee good Lord to teach me thy feare Turne away mine eyes from regarding vanitie and let not mine heart walk after mine eye except when I looke to my Maister and when mine eyes are toward the holy One of Israel that so I may be deliuered from euery euill worke and preserued to
beleeues in me should not abide in darkenesse vers 46. While therefore ye haue the light walke in the light that ye may be the children of light Ioh. 12. 36. The Christians Prayer for Grace to obey this command LOrd remoue from me that curse that in seeing I should not see and in hearing I should not vnderstand quicken me according to thy louing kindnesse so shall I keep the testimonies of thy mouth Specially worke faith in my heart for it is thy gift I beleeue O Lord but help thou my vnbeleefe Increase my faith that mine eyes may be opened to see the wonders of thy law Speake to the heart of thy seruant that I may get cares to heare what thy Spirit saith that I may tast how gracious thou art that I may smell the sauour of life in thy Gospel and may so touch thee that in beleeuing I may get life through thy holy name and may so bee ioyned with thee that I may become one spirit with thee through Iesus Christ to whom be glory for euer The Christians Practise of this command I Was borne of my naturall mother deafe dumbe and blind but now the Lord hath opened mine eares Esa. 50. 5. so that I discerne the voyce of my shepheard and will not heare the voyce of a stranger Ioh. 10. 5. for the Lord hath giuen vnto me eares to heare what the spirit saith Reuel 2. he hath also annoynted mine eyes with eye-salue Reu. 3. 18. I looke not on things which are seene but on things which are not seene 2. Cor. 4. 18. And haue attained to some in-sight of that glorious inheritance prepared for the Saints Eph. 1. Yea with open face I behold as in a mirrour the glory of the Lord 2. Cor. 3. 18. I haue smelled the sweet sauour of his garments Psal. 45. 8. and of his oyntments for which I loue him Cant. 1. 2. I haue tasted how gracious the Lord is Psal. 34. 8. his word is sweeter to my mouth then the hony or the hony combe Psal. 119. And I haue touched my Lord and his vertue hath staied the filthy issue of my sinne Luk. 8. 44. THE OBSERVATIONS THe Naturall man liues not till fourtie and fiue daies after his conception be expired but the Christian begins to liue as soone as he is conceiued The principall effects of life are Sense and Motion and the more excellent the life is the Sense and Motion is In the Naturall man Motion goes before Sense at least before the vse of the Senses but in the Christian Sense goes before Motion For it is the new Sense which causes the heart to moue and stirre in a new manner Therefore is it that first wee will speake of the Christians Senses and then of his motion or disposition Naturall parents often times bring out their children either dead or wanting some Sense or mutilate of some member but in the new generation it is not so for the Lord begets no dead no senselesse no imperfect children but liuing indued with all their Senses and perfect in regard of the number of their parts The first Sense by regeneration restored to the Children of God is the Sense of Hearing As the eare was the first port by which death was conuayed to the soule so is it the first by which life enters into it Euah by hearing what the Serpent said was brought to a delectation in sinne and the Christian by hearing what the Spirit saith is brought to a contrary hatred of sinne The Spirit of God opens our eares before he open our eyes if we refuse to heare the Lord wee shall neuer see him Auditus est gradus ad visum Hearing is a step to Seeing As Adam after his Apostacie heard the Lord when he cried to him but saw him not so is it with all his children we may liue in the body and heare him but no man can liue and see him It is the order appointed by God that wee should heare him before we come to see him Auditus aspectum restituet we lost our sight by transgression of Gods word we get it againe by obedient hearing thereof Sanet itaqúe auditus oculum qui turbatus est vt serenus vi leat quem turbatus non potuit Let vs therefore by hearing learne how to cure our eye that the eye being made cleare may see the Lord whom it cannot see so long as it is troubled then shall wee sing As we haue heard so haue wee seene in the citie of the Lord of Hoasts Oh what a fearefull sentence they seale against themselues who delight not to heare the word of the Lord Hee that turneth away his eare from hearing of the Law euen his prayer shall be abhominable for if on earth they get not accesse to God when they pray to him how shall they in heauen get accesse to see him A iust punishment of mans rebellion if hee will not heare when God speakes God shall not heare when he prayes and shall neuer admit him to see his face in heauen But the eares required in the Christian are internall by which he may heare what the spirit saith Of these speakes our Sauiour He that hath eares let him heare All that heard him saith Augustine had eares and yet few of them had eares Omnes habebant aures audiendi paâ—…ci aures obediendi Eares to heare but not eares to obey like those of Samuel Speake Lord for thy seruant heareth and of Dauid I will hearken what the Lord God will say for he will speake peace to his people and Saints that they turne not againe to follie And they who haue receiued these eares doe heare in such sort that they are sanctified by hearing according to that of our blessed Sauiour Now are ye cleane through the word which I haue spoken to you But alas how great is the number of them who after so long a hearing of the Gospel doe still retaine the filthinesse of their old sinnes they are hearers onely and not doers of the word deceiuing themselues for either else when they heare the word they vnderstand it not or if they vnderstand it they are not moued with it or if they be mooued they are not mended by it their motion beeing but like that of Foelix and their repentance like vnto the morning dew but few they are whose ears God hath opened by the grace of Regeneration The second Sense we receiue in the Regeneration is the Sense of Seeing Sathan promised to our parents that if they would eat of the forbidden tree they should become like God in knowledge but like a false deceiuer as he is hee made them like vnto himselfe for the knowledge of good which they had by creation instantly they lost it by their transgression and
that blind man by degrees And this light as it increaseth in the minde hath alwaies following it holinesse and humilitie not that euery knowledge doth sanctifie and humble him that hath it for albeit the Lord illuminateth euery one that comes into the world yet doth hee not sanctifie euery one yea there is knowledge in many which doth not humble but puffe vp not conuert but conuince The Gentiles were endued with great knowledge of God the Creator by the light of Nature but they with-held it in vnrighteousnesse to their iuster condemnation the bastard Christians of our time are endued also with the knowledge of God the Redeemer by the light of the word but it is likewise shut vp in the prison of their inordinate affections For either in their actions they neuer seeke counsell at the light which God hath put in their mindes or else if at any time the light that is in them warne them of the good which they should do and reproue them for the euill that they haue done it is oppressed and borne downe by the tyranny of their sinfull affections But this liuely knowledge created in our mindes by God in the regeneration doth work in vs both humilitie and holinesse For first it banisheth out of our mind that threefold naturall pride which is in it to wit Blinde pride Foolish pride and Vaine pride Blinde pride is when decepta deceptrix cogitatio the deceiuing and deceiued cogitation of mans minde makes him to thinke hee is far better then indeed hee is and this may be seene in many who are proud without any cause at all Foolish pride is when a man is puft vp with that which he hath as if it were his owne this is as if the Axe should take to it selfe the praise of hewing or the Pen should vsurpe the praise of writing or the Wall should waxe proud because the Sunne shines vpon it so is it with the man who waxeth proud because God hath looked vpon him and doth any notable worke by him Vaine Pride is when a man is puft vp with that which hee hath indeed but it is without him like Nebuchadnezzer glorying in his golden Image and worldlings proud of their gorgious apparrell surely it is the pittifull folly of a base minde for a man to thinke that any thing can make him great which is lesse then himselfe but it is the recompence of mans error that because he lost the glory which God gaue him he vainely seekes his glory in things which cannot profit him Pride is a dangerous euill and most deceitfull Noâ—…erca virtutum mater vittorum the mother of all vices the stepmother of vertues it can neuer attaine to that whereat it would be Quid aliud superbia quam propriae excellentiae appetitus but a proud man can neuer be high nor excellent for seeing the Angels by pride fell from heauen to hell is it not folly to think that man by pride can rise from the doung-hil to glory But our Sauiour by his example hath taught vs that an humble minde is the way to an high and glorious estate therefore it is recommended to vs in that pretext Let the same minde be in you that was in Christ who being equall with God made himselfe of no reputation and was found in shape like a seruant As Rebecca leaped downe from her Camell when she saw her husband Isaac walking on his feet so the Christian casts from him the proud conceits of an high minde when hee considereth the humilitie of his Lord Iesus Christ. Neither peace nor grace can be in that soule in which is not Humilitie Peace cannot be to him because hee seeketh his owne glory and not the glory of God therefore doth the Lord alwayes resist him yea at peace with himselfe can he not be but as a tree on the toppe of a mountaine which is tossed with euery winde so is a proud man perturbed with euery accident that fals out contrary to his humour but humilitie is the resting bed of the soule Learne of me saith Christ that I am lowly and meeke and yee shall finde rest to your foules And as for grace it can no more bide to lodge in a proud heart then raine can abide on the tops of mountains The Church of Christ is called Lilium conuallium a Lillie of the vallies for with the humble and low in spirit his grace remaines but the curse of the mountaines of Gilboe whereon Israels glory was obscured belongs properly to the proud and high heart wherein the glory of God is defaced let neuer the raine nor dew of Gods grace fall vpon it Humilitie is not onely a Grace but a conseruer of all the rest of the Graces of the Spirit therefore haue the Saints of God specially regarded it to practise it I am but Dust and ashes said Abraham I am not worthy of the least of thy mercies said Iacob who am I said Dauid I am not worthy to loose the shooes of my Lord said the Baptist I am not worthy to be called thy sonne said the Prodigall Childe I am not worthy thâ—…u shouldest come vnder my roofe said the Centurion Goe from me for I am a sinfull man said Saint Peter I am not worthy to be called an Apostle yea I am the least of all Saints and the chiefe of all sinners said Saint Paul These were little in their owne eyes and yet none of the children of men greater in Gods eyes then they for hee accounted Abraham the father of the faithfull Iacob his seruant Dauid a man after his owne heart the Baptist the greatest Prophet the Centurion a man of greater faith then any in Israel the Prodigall is clothed with the best robe Peter a blessed of the Lord and Paul a chosen vessell Where on the contrary the proud are an abhomination to the Lord great in their owne eyes contemptible in his eyes their greatnesse is but swelling and not soliditie Superbia non magnitudo est sed tumor or like vessels puft and blowne vp with winde which seeme large without but are empty within so are the mindes of the wicked good for nothing but to be the nests and habitations of Sathan I haue spoken the more of this euill because Pride is the first-borne childe of Infidelitie the first poyson that Sathan poured into our nature As the Egyptians would not let Israel goe till their first borne were slaine so will not our sinfull affections giue subiection to God till the first borne among them naturall Pride be slaine in vs. And with humilitie there is alway wrought holinesse for these three light humblenesse and holinesse are the speciall ornaments of the minde of the new man As a new sight of God made Esay lament his sinfull corruption and made Iob to abhor himselfe so new light arising in the Christians minde workes in him a new
thee hearken to the prayer of thy seruant who desireth to feare thee Giue me good Lord that holy feare of thy Name which thou hast commanded that I may not erre from thy wayes nor harden my heart from thy feare for I know that great is thy goodnesse which thou hast laid vp for them that feare thee Lord therefore knit mine heart vnto thee that I may feare thy Name and may receiue grace to serue thee so that I may please thee with reuerence and feare through Iesus Christ. The Christians Practise of this Command VVHo would not feare thee O King of the nations for to thee appertaines dominion Iere. 10. 7. Surely I tremble for feare of thee and am afraid of thy iudgements Psal. 119. 120. My whole conuersation hath beene in weakenesse feare and much trembling 1. Cor. 2. 3. I haue had fightings without and terrours within 2. Cor. 7. 5. Yea from my youth I haue suffered thy terrours doubting of my life Psal. 61. yet will I not feare what Flesh can doe vnto mee Psal. 56. 4. nor be afraid of ten thousand of the people that should beset me round about Psal. 3. 6. Neyther will I be afraid of euill tidings because mine heart is fixed and beleeues in the Lord Psal. 112. 7. hee is mine hope and strength in trouble ready to be found therefore I will not feare though the earth be moued and the mountaines cast into the sea Psal. 46. 1. Yea though I should walk through the valley of the shadow of death yet will I feare none euill for the Lord is with me his staffe and his rod they comfort me Psal. 23. THE OBSERVATIONS FEare among the rest of our Affections is also disordered by Nature so farre that now wee feare where there is no cause and do not feare where we haue cause to feare Naturally men are more afraid of Sathans shadow then of Sathan himselfe his apparition without terrifieth men but the power of his kingdome commanding their affections within is not feared It is now the matter of mans feare which should be the matter of his ioy Adam in his innocencie placed not his ioy in the creatures which were vnder him and gaue him obedience but in the Lord who was aboue him and with whom hee had his familiar conuersation but now after his apostacie it is become far otherwise the Lord is become a feare and terror vnto man who before his fall was his principall ioy And where it shall be our ioy in heauen to see that glory of Christ which hee had with his Father from the beginning wonderfull it is that those three Disciples who were pillars of the Church should haue beene confounded and afraid at the onely representation of that glory which was made to them on mount Tabor so vnmeet are wee now to haue fellowship with God by reason of our sinnes that as I said the matter of our ioy is become the matter of our feare Yea so farre are wee now fallen away from a similitude with our God that wee are afraid at the sight of one of those holy Angels that minister vnto him Nay if a man like our selues in regard of our bodies should come from him illuminate with his brightnesse we might not abide him no more then Israel could abide the shining face of Moses when he came down from the Lord but ranne away from him therefore doth Basile call our corrupted feare a certaine ebrietie which makes vs be strange with our friends and start at shadowes that is to say feare where no cause of feare is We are therefore to consider how in the regeneration this affection is renewed and rightly ordered and how in holy Scripture there is a feare commanded and commended which we must embrace another forbidden and condemned which wee must eschew Feare renewed in our regeneration is the daughter of Faith the sister of Loue the mother of Humilitie and Obedience Therefore Moses Deut. 10. 12. ioynes these three together that to feare the Lord to loue him and to serue him is all that God requires of Israell The obiects of godly feare in the man regenerate are either in God in our selues or in the creature without vs. The obiects of our feare in God are first his iudgements secondly his mercies For first we are taught to feare him as our iudge then to feare him as our Father For the holy Spirit in the work of our regeneration keeps this order first he rebukes vs for sin terrifies vs with the iudgements of God due to them and then comforts vs with the sense of his mercie in Christ. This feare of Gods iudgements primus est incipientium gradus it is the first steppe of them who are beginning to learne godlinesse If thou hast not yet learned to loue God deerely yet it is a good beginning if thou feare him If thou loue not the pleasures of Paradice yet be afraide of the torments of Gehenna Sicut enim aqua extinguit ignem c. For as water quencheth the fire so this feare queneth the heat of sinne And this feare of iudgement in the Christian begets at length a feare of God for his mercies therefore Basile called it a Paedagogue that instructs the man to godlinesse Timor transit in Charitatem said Gregorie Vincat itaque in te pius timor erit amor let therefore godly feare ouercome in thee and at length there shall be loue feare shall not abide in thee but as a Master shall lead thee vnto loue Therefore said I that the second obiect of our feare in God is his mercy according to that in the Psalmist Mercy is with thee that thou maist be feared And this reconciles that apparant discord between the Psalmist and the Apostle The feare of the Lord is cleane and endures for euer saith Dauid Perfect loue casts out feare saith Saint Iohn If feare be cast out how doth it endure but the answere is that feare whereby we feare the iudgements of God and is as I said in the godly an introduction to the loue of God shall be cast out when our loue is perfected but that feare whereby wee feare him for his mercies and reuerence him as our Father shall endure for euer In heauen wee shall haue no feare of Gehenna wee shall be so filled with his Loue yea euen on earth the more wee grow in the loue of God the lesse feare of his iudgements is in vs Maior est peregrinantium timor minor propinquantium nullus peruenientium The obiects of Feare in our selues are our sinnes which wee haue done and our infirmities by which wee are ready and prone to sinne againe This feare ariseth in the godly from the feare of God for his mercies for the sweeter and more desired his mercies are vnto vs the more fearefull vnto vs are
the increase which God giueth me I will stretch out mine hands to the poore and needy Prou. 31. that so in my need I may stretch out my hands to the Lord. Psal. 143. THE OBSERVATIONS AS God hath giuen to man a tongue to speake an eye to see and an eare to heare so hath hee also giuen him an hand to worke it were a monstrous thing to see the mouth of a man bigger then his whole body and to see the most part of mans life spent in eating and idle talking with his mouth rather then in doing any good with his hands is certainely no lesse vnseemely Idlenesse was neuer tollerated by God euen when Adam was in his innocencie hee would not haue him to liue without labour and therefore appointed him to dresse the garden of Eden and laid it as a law on him and on all men In the sweat of thy brow shalt thou liue Caine and Abel were borne Lords and heyres of all the world yet were they not brought vp without a calling the one was a keeper of sheep the other a tiller of the ground Iacob being demanded by Pharaoh what his vocation was gaue him a very good answere but if it were demanded of many now a dayes they would not know what to answere on whom it were good for the common-wealth the Apostles Canon were practised he that laboreth not with his hands should not eate To no Country hath God giuen all things not to Canaan in her best estate therfore when Salomon built the Temple hee sent to Tirus for Timber to Ophir for Gold yea to no man in the world hath God giuen all things but hath so dispensed his gifts among men that euery man should worke one for the help of another The actions of the hands of a Christian are three first hee lifts them vp to God by prayer secondly he puts them downe to labour in his vocation and thirdly hee extendeth them to do the works of mercy and compassion toward the needy The first action of his hands is the lifting vp of them to God by prayer and that is a testimonie of the lifting vp of his heart this he doth because hee knoweth that all labour is vaine vnlesse the Lord blesse it It is in vaine to rise earely and to lie downe late and to eate the bread of sorrow the Lord will surely giue rest to his beloued Adam without the Lords command made a garment to himselfe but it couered not his nakednesse Ionas made a booth but it defended him not from the heat Rahel sought children by artificial meanes as the eating of Mandrakes by naturall meanes as copulation with her husband but shee got none till shee sought them from God by prayer Peter fished all night and tooke nothing but when Christ commanded him to cast in the net then he prospered On the other hand Prayer drawes downe a blessing vpon the workes of our hands The marriage of Isaac could not but prosper for Abraham in the beginning of it sought Gods blessing by prayer Eliazer in procuring it he vseth prayer Rebecca her parents and brethren sent her away by prayer and Isaac receiued her with Prayer Thus our workes sanctified by prayer shall prosper and if wee call the Lord to the beginning of our actions wee shall not faile to see his blessing vpon the end of them The second action of the hand is to worke in the lawfull trade and vocation whereunto God hath called vs. A lawfull trade I call that manner of life which is allowed in the word of God and these are of diuers sorts for God in his wisdome hath so distributed his gifts among men that vnto none hath he giuen all but hath made euery one to stand in neede of the help of another Religion then takes not away lawfull Trades and vocations but rather establisheth them When those men of war asked Iohn the Baptist what they should do they receiued this answer doe violence to no man neither accuse any falsly and be content with your wages he commanded them not to forsake their calling but the corruptions of their calling Thus Cornelius after his conuersion to be a Christian remained a Captaine and if Religion take not away the calling of a Souldier farre lesse are we to thinke it takes away other callings Onely it correcteth the abuses of the calling whereby men adde to the good ordinance of God the deceit of Sathan vsing a lawfull calling in an vnlawfull manner as when the merchant in making of his merchandise vseth deceitfull ballances or weights of a double measure As indeed there is no calling in the world so good which hath not the owne worme to corrupt it The third action of the hand is to stretch out and giue to the poore It is true of all the godly which Salomon saith of the godly woman She stretcheth out her hand to the wheele and then shee stretcheth out her hand to the poore for after that God hath increased them in their lawfull calling then of their aboundance they giue to the needie The Lord hath made some of his children rich in worldly things and others hee hath made poore that the one should be examples of mercy the other patternes of patience in his Church Vnder the Law God fore-warned Israel that the poore should euer be with them and our Sauiour hath sore-warned vs of the same vnder the Gospell and therewith the commadement is giuen With-draw not therefore thine hand from thy needie brother For this cause was it inioyned to the Israelite in the time of haruest that hee should leaue a part of his cornes standing in the fields that the poore might take it teaching vs that as wee haue a hand willingly to take from the Lord so we are bound to open it and liberally giue to the poore For this liberalitie to the indigent and needie is recommended to vs both by the example of God himselfe and of his most excellent creatures The goodnesse of God is extended to all hee makes his Sunne to shine and his raine to fall euen vpon those which are vniust teaching vs not to neglect farre lesse to contemne other men who are Gods creatures euen then when for their euill qualities wee may make iust exception against them that so wee may be the children of our heauenly father And as for the creatures of God we see that as they excel in goodnes so they communicate their good vnto others Omne enim bonum est communicatiuum sui The Sunne keepeth not his light to himselfe but sends out his beames to giue light and heat to the world the Cloudes when they are full drop downe their raine to the earth the Trees of theiâ—… owne accord le ts fall their fruit to the vse of man albeit no man doth require it yea the Angels doe delight to Minister vnto our necessities for why is