registred the same to all posterities in that he saith thou tookest Dauid when he followed the Ewes great with yong and annointedst him to be Psa 78. 70. Prince ouer thy people of a sheepheard crowning him a King And though he were a King of the earth yet hee knew hee was but a King of earth a man of the same mowld that others are of and subiect to the same corruption nay him Psal 22. 6 selfe in another place calles himsâ—lfe a worm and no man And as he could teach himselfe a lesson of mortalitie so could he teach it others also speaking to magistrates he saith thus I haue said ye are Gods but ye shal al die like men and that Princes should not scape vncontrolled Psalme 82 he a Prince telleth Princes that they should also die like others And therefore since Princes and magistrates and people and all must die he prayeth God for himself and others saying Teach vs O Lord to number our daies Wee finde 1. Chro. 21 this prophet numbering but not his daies as in this place but there he numbered his subiects he would needs know his strength and power and the number of his people but himself all Israel smarted for that folly and himselfe being brought to the knowledge of his sin confessed he had done very foolishly And therefore now hee workes more wisely he prayeth God to teach him to number his daies here he takes in hand another kinde of numeration The prophet sheweth that except the Lord Psa 127 buyld the house they that buyld it labor but in vaine and except the Lord keepe the citie the keeper waketh but in vaine There hee prooueth that in buylding it is God alone who is the * Architectus both to lay the foundation and the roofe too In keeping of the cittie hee is the onely watchman of Israel that neuer slumbereth And here he proueth another propertie to be in God which is that he in teaching is the only schoolemaster or doctour verifying that in the 15. of Iohn his Gospel without me ye can do nothing he is al in al a schoolemaster of all both learned and vnlearned euen to teach princes knowledge and the Senators wisedome This lesson must needes be well learned that proceeds from such a teacher in the 86 and 119. Psalmes he prayeth the Lorde to teach him the way of his statutes and here he prayeth God to teach him another thing to to number his daies Dauid shewes he was no truaunt in the schoole of Christ but hauing learned one lesson he couets to learne another and still calles vpon God like a good scholler vpon his master O teach me thy testimonies teach Psal 119. 33. me thy statutes teach me thy waies teach me to number my daies All that will be schollers in the schoole of Christ imitate Dauid couet to learne more Iohn 15. more that you may bring forth much fruite If you haue alreadie learned your rudiments your Alphabet of religion labour yet further to come to the depth of diuinitie like the Prophet Ezech who when hee had waded in the waters about the sanctuarie he waded deeper and deeper first to the ankles Ezech. 47. then to the knees then to the loynes till hee could passe no further We are first children and then we suck the 1. Pet. 2. 2. milke of the woord afterwards we become men and then wee must disgest stronger meate We must be so wel schooled that we may be able to answere euery man that shall aske vs a reason of the hope that is in vs. So well schooled that we may be able to teach others as Peter being strengthned did Luk. 22. 32. strengthen the brethren and as Priscilla who thogh she were a woman was notwithstanding able to instruct Apollos an eloquent man and mightie in the Scriptures This short lesson of Dauid ministreth this instruction to vs it teacheth vs whom we shuld pray vnto whoÌ„ we should intreate for a supplie in our wants he teacheth vs to flie vnto God onely for in him dwelleth all fulnesse This he taught vs once before in the 64. Psalme where disclayming froÌ„ all other Psal 64. gods or Angells or Saints he saith whom haue I in heauen but thee Dauid did know there were many holy men in heauen Abraham Noah Moses all the Patriarches and Prophets Martyrs and Confessors before him yet he had learned to inuocate none to pray to none but God only there he taught and here againe he teacheth that God alone must be sought vnto none but he implored None can teach vs but God therefore we must submit our selues to be taught onely by him Teach vs O Lord to number c. Eue our progenetrix had learned one lesson from God at the deliuering of the commaundement Gene. 2. 16 wherein it was charged that they shoulde not eate of the forbidden tree But shee was not contented with one but would faine haue choice of teachers like a truanting scholler that still changeth his master Genes 3. 4. and therfore she learned a second lesson from the diuel He taught hir that they shuld not die but should liue like Gods knowing good and euil but Eue found him a lying teacher for they became diuells and death was sentenced against them and their posteritie because they forsooke their first teacher Many now a daies specially the conceated wise wil not offer themselues to be taught of God but they will teach themselues and learne of themselues they will flie to their owne wisdome and their own strength and their own policie and their own knowledge but their owne strength becommeth weakenesse like the strength of Sampson when hee Iudg. 16 gaue it to an harlot their pollicie becomes Ester 7 simplicitie like the pollicie of Haman when he thought to slay al the Iewes and their wisdome foolishnes like the wisedome of Achitophel 2. Sam. 17 which turned to follie because he had not learned it from God That which they most glorie in soonest deceiues them like Absolomes haire that seeming to be his bodies 2. Sam. 18. best ornament became an halter as hee would haue betrayed his father so his owne haire became his own traitour and discouered him to the enemie like Ziba that betrayed 2. Sam. 16. Mephibosheth All such that refuse to draw their knowledge from the fountain they are reproued in that general checke this people take counsel of their stock and their staffe teacheth them Saul was neuer forsaken so long as hee counsailed with God but when hee chose a 1. Sam. 28. witch for his schoolemistris God reiected him and he became his own executioner he that shuld haue slain his aduersaries slew him selfe and ministreth greater cause of triumph to his ennimies Teach me c. Dauid comming to be taught first acknowledgeth his ignorance therfore praieth god the author of all knowlege to giue him knowlege In the first Chapter of
the performance of my duty to God-wards consist in louing God why it is a matter of no great difficulty I can do so much euer from my youth haue I loued God Indeede it may seeme to be a lesson soon learned but if thou discusse it aright if thou examine what this loue is and where in it consists and how many circumstances depend on it being exposed I say to the vttermost herein as Christ exposed the rich yong man in the Gospel thou wilt go away forrowfull finding thine insufficiency as he did and cry out vppon thy selfe clapping thy Luk. 18. 13 brest like the publicane God be merciful to me a sinner wilt thou know then what this loue is that God requireth that thou maist see how farre thou wadest into the same or how farre short thou comest of it hearken a while and I will make a scrutiflie in to thy conscience by sounding the very bottome thereof if possibly I may find that loue there which thou wouldst seeme to bragge of First then and principally to proceede The first commandement from the first to the last I wil appose thee in the first table and first commaundement thereof If thou loue God as thou shouldst thou wilt haue no other gods but him Thou wilt worship none but him Thou wilt call on none but him Thou wilt pray to none but him The worshippe of God stands in foure points In fearing God aboue all In honouring him aboue all In praying to him alone In acknowledging him to be the giuer of all things and therefore to put our trust only in him A son honoreth his father and a seruant his master if then I be a father where is my Malac. 1. ◠honour if I be a master where is my feare saith the Lord of hostes there goeth honor and feare When ye pray saith our Sauiour Christ to his Disciples say on this manner Our Mat. 6. 9 Father with art in heauen hallowed be thy name Thy kingdome come Thy wil be done in earth as it is in heauen Giue vs this day our daily bread And forgiue vs our trespasses as we forgiue them that trespasse against vs. And leade vs not into temptation But deliuer vs from euill Amen Acts 17. 25 26. Paul and Silas being in prison trusted in God that he would deliuer them and therefore at midnight they made their praiers vnto him there goeth confidence and prayer God is a iealous God and will not haue his glory communicated to any other thou must inuocate no other neither saint Angel nor any other creature Thou neuer louest God as thou oughtest thou hast learned to say with Dauid whom haue I in heauen but thee Dauid knew that Abraham Noah and the Patriarches were in heauen yet he knew that they in heauen did not know him being on earth according to that in Esay 63. 16 Abraham hath forgotten vs and Israel knowes vs not It is a point Ilc not say of ridiculous folly but of extreme madnesse to pray to them that cannot heare vs. The Saints themselues haue no accesse to God but by Christ the virgin Mary her selfe calles Christ her Sauior what warrant haue they then that pray to the virgin Mary since she her selfe sends them vnto Christ looke the first of Iohn 2. Christ is our onely Ephe. 4. ◠aduocate there is one only mediator Why should we flie vnto a Saint rather than vnto Christ vnlesse we thinke that either Christ is not sufficient or else that he is too seuere and in thus thinking we robbe him of his most glorious title of Mediator that most singular prerogatiue giuen him of the father we obseure the glory of his birth we make his crosse frustrate in a word what soeuer he hath either done or wrought for vs all is made vaine and voyd by this derogatory kind of false worship And lastly we robbe God of his bountifulnesse who exhibites himself a Father vnto vs how can God be our Father when we will not haue Christ for our brother To be short and to vse the words of S. Austin Christ is our only mouth through whom we speake vnto the father he is our eie by whom we see the father he is our right hand by whome we offer vnto the father who if he should leaue to pleade for vs neither should we nor the saints haue ought to do with God Notwithstanding this sunneshine of Gods truth yet al are not lightned al open not their hearts like Lydia to receiue this doctrine especially the elder sort who haue suckt this superstition as it were from the dugge and they cannot leaue it because they haue bin nuzled in it Thus many that haue eies will not see but do wander out of the truth like the blind Aramites groping at noone day If when we should flie to Christ we run to a Saint we are not like the man in the gospel who threw away his cloake to runne to Christ but we are like Samuel that ranne to Eli when God called him ◠kin 2. 17 When Eliah was taken vp into heauen yet some sought for his body vpon the earth but they found him not No more shal they find Christ that seeke him in the Saints where he is not to be found as the father mother of Christ could not find him thogh they sought him three whole dayes till they came to the temple Iohn 1. 29. and 36 Looke vnto Iohn Baptist and we shall see him pointing not to a Saint or an Angel but vnto Christ the Lamb of God Let this be the conclusion of this one subiect or principal mater of substance cōteined in this first and greatest commaundement which concerneth the true worshippe of God None may be prayed vnto but such as can both heare and grant the thing we aske none can do so but God only most notable is that saying in Psal 65. because thou hearest the praier therfore vnto thee shal al flesh come Neither Saints nor Angells ought to be worshipped Ergo not to be prayed vnto Reue. 19 Since the Scripture therefore in the true worship of God doth especially commend vnto vs that we inuocate God onely we may not without manifest sacrilege direct our prayers to any other If we lift vp our hands to any other will not God require it concerning the office of intercession we see it peculiar to Christ only and that no praier is acceptable vnto God but that which our mediator doth sanctifie for him hath God the father sealed I will shut vp all with that in the seuenth to the Hebrewes 25. God is able perfectly to saue them that come vnto him by his Son Christ because he euer liueth to intreat for You haue heard this error conuinced by the word therfore as our Sauiour said to the woman taken in adultery Go thy way and sinne no more so I say vnto you that haue bene supersutiously affected Now you know it to be a sinne do
pray bids vs pray thus giue vs this day our daily bread Mat. 6. 11. As if we should reckon the continuance of our life no longer than a daie And againe God calling vpoÌ„ sinners sayth To day if you 〈…〉 his voice a day consisteth but o◠〈…〉 an euening and a noone som◠〈…〉 way in the morning of their life 〈…〉 â—ot the heate of the day and h◠〈…〉 â—t the line of his life vntil th◠〈…〉 but al the day 〈…〉 â—es the life of man to th◠〈…〉 â—asse whose glory enduret◠〈…〉 â—t is greene in the morning an◠〈…〉 night 〈…〉 â—t is within and without vs are s◠〈…〉 remembrances of death all things cry 〈…〉 to vs that we must hence as Christ cried 〈…〉 â—am not of this world The Sunne rising in the East and falling in the west and al in one day shewes our rising and falling our comming in and going forth of this world The apparell wearing vpon our backes the meate disgested and egested and returning to putrefaction the graues shrowding so many corpses vnder our feete to be short Time the mother of al things and the changeable state of times euen winter and summer colde and heate seede time and haruest all doe crie vnto vs that we shall weare and diâ— and corrupt as they who were liuing are now dead and lie in the dust First we waxe drie then olde then colde then sicke then dead so is earth turned into earth We are not skilful numberers of our daies like Dauid til we haue learned to recount the dangers and casualties and vncertainties of our corruptible condition A spider being able to choake vs and a As it did Pirrus haire to stifle vs and a tile falling vpon our heads to extinguish vs and that in a moment of time when we least expect so sodaine calamities we reade of Anacreon that he died in eating of an egge Fabian a senator was choaked with an haire Pope Hadrian with a flie if Iacob counted his time but short hauing alreadie liued an hundred and thirtie yeares what reckoning may wee make of our time which is farre shorter In the time afore the floud the age of man was great Adam liued 930. yeares Noah Gen. 5. Gen. 5. 26. 950. Methusaleh 969 almost a 1000 yeares But after the floud in Terah his daies who was father to Abraham the age of man was a great deale shortned from 900. it was brought down to two hundred and vnder Terah liued 209. Abraham his sonne not Gen. 11. 32 so long 175. Moses 120. Iosua an hundred and ten In the Prophet Dauid his time it was scanted yet shorter by much halfe in halfe Psal 90. he counted the yeres of men to be threescore and ten All hath this vse it teacheth vs to looke backe into our liues and to learne to redeeme the time by a timely repentance To draw to a conclusion life it selfe is but an harbenger of death and we liue to die God that numbered the haires of our head hath numbred our yeares also and we can not passe them whether in middle age or in olde age or in infancie when and where and how we know not for the issues of death are in the hands of God When our end and finall dissolution shall come is therfore concealed from vs because we should be alwaies prepared and thinke euery moment vpon death the end of all flesh As a bird guideth her flight with her traine so the life of man is best directed by a continuall recourse vnto his end Now the Lord of life and death in whose hands is the breath of euery liuing thing so direct vs by his holy spirit of grace that we may learne to number our daies that we may run out this shorte race of our sinful pilgrimage in godlinesse and much pacience looking to Iesus the author and finisher of our faith that when we shal haue finished these daies of sinne we may be translated to a better life in the kingdome of glorie which God hath purchased to vs in the bloudshedding of his beloued sonne to whome with the father and the holyghost bee rendred al glorie maiestie power and dominion now and euer Peters repentance So hee went out and wept bitterly Mat. 26. 75. IN regard of the dissolutenesse of the present age wherein we liue and general iniquitie of these the worst and last times wherein the sins of men are multiplied being growne to the full and vnrighteousnesse is increased vpon the earth as was fore-tolde by our Sauior Christ in the 24. of Mathew his Gospel for that we are all better acquainted with sinne than with the remedie for auoidancâ— of sinne which is repentance without which we neither can haue peace of conscience noâ— yet the fauor of God who is a father to none but the penitent such as are truly humbled vnder the burthen of their sinnes and doâ— carrie a purpose of amendment I haue indeuoured at this time to lay before your eies the true portraiture and the liuely Anotomie of a repentant sinner in this example of S. Peter you shall behold him chaulking out the waie that leadeth to repentance whose foote-steps you must follow foote by foote and steppe by steppe if you will come where he is where is perfect peace and ioy such ioy as shall not be taken from vs greater ioy and glorie than Peter Luke 9. had on mount Tabor where Christ was transfigured Peter wept here for a time and that but a short time in respect of eternitie but there he reioyceth continually without ceasing his ioy hath no terme nor limitation of time So is it verified which was spoken by our Sauior Christ in the 5. of Mathew happie Mat. 54. are ye that mourne for ye shall reioyce Peters mourning is turned to mirth his sadnesse to solace his pain to pleasure his repenting to reioycing for Christ hath wiped away al teares from his eies because with him the first things are past alreadie and now he is crowned with glorie like the Angells And this he hath now in heauen because God loued him walking a good disciple here on earth shewing himselfe to be indeede what he was in name videlicet Simon an obedient hearer He is also called Peter videlicet confident and strong in faith like a rocke inuincible And in this place we find him penitent his obedience is testified in the historie of his life for at Christ his commandement he for sooke his calling and became his disciple his strength of faith our Sauior himselfe proueth where he saith vpon his confession of him Thou art Peter and vpon this rock will Mat. 16. 18. I build my congregation He was penitent the words nowe read vnto you doproue the same for after he had sinned he went out and wept bitterly O that euery Christian man were thus qualified like Peter these three graces repentaunce faith and obedience are better welcome vnto God than the three presents Mat.