is sufficient for them Thy testimonies saith Dauid are my counsellers Their counsell was to him sufficient Hee red not the scriptures at idle times or at leisure they were his meditation continually Reading was not irkesome and tedious vnto him his eies did preuent the night watches to meditate in the word The time was not lost which was so bestowed For by thy commaundements saith he thou hast made me wiser than mine enemies The diligence of that noble Eunuch chiefe officer to the Queene of Ethiopia is greatly commended as a woorthie president for Christian Courtiers to behold and followe Many cannot reade yet al ought to heare I will hearken saith Dauid what the Lord God will say Who doth not reioyce to heare a prince speake gracious and fauorable wordes But I wil heare the lord speake saith the prophet For he wil speake peace vnto his people A bad seruaunt an euill wife a cursed childe a damnable creature that will not gladly heare the voice of the Lord the husband the father the creator Christ taught dailie in the temple and doubtlesse he was daily heard But hearing of the woord may not daily be attended least it hinder more weightie affaires Is there any thing more weightie than the matter of saluation Is the earth of more account than heauen a short miserable life than a blessed and immortall Philip of Macedonia casting off the suite of a poore woman with a short answere that he had no leisure to heare her cause she aunswered boldly Why then hast thou leisure to be a king I may as boldly aske of them which say they haue no leisure to heare Gods word how they will finde the leisure to be saued This word only saueth Receiue ye therfore the word ingrafted which is able to saue your soules 13 If there bee no saluation but by faith no faith but by hearing the woord of God how should the people be saued without teachers The mother Citie of the Realme is reasonably furnished with faithfull preachers certaine other Cities not many in number are blessed too though not in like sort But the sillie people of the Land otherwhere especially in the North parts pine away way and perish for want of this sauing foode they are much decayed for want of prophecie Many there are that heare not a sermon in seuen yeres I might say safely in seuenteene Their bloud will be required at some bodies hands The Lord deliuer vs from that hard account and graunt redresse with speede 14 But why doth the countrie want preachers The people pay tithes of that they haue therefore there must needes be sufficient to maintaine them If things were well ordered this sequele were good But the chiefest benefices were by the Pope long since impropriated vnto a Monkes which deuoured the fruits and gaue a sillie stipend vnto a poore Sir Iohn to say Masse And as they left it so we finde it still Where liuings were not impropriated by the Pope there they are for the most part so handled that patrons maintaine themselues with those tithes which the people giue and ministers haue that which the patrons leaue The worlde dealeth with Gods Clergie as Dionysius the tyrant with Iupiters Idoll They make themselues as merie with spoyling Christs patrimonie as he with robbing Iupiter of his golden cloake which being too heauie for Sommer and too colde for Winter he tooke away and left in stead of it a cotten coate light for the one time and warme for the other To take from them which liue idly and superstitiously in the Church they pleade it to be lawfull because those vnprofitable members were vnwoorthie to enioie the fat of the earth Abbeies being eaten vp and other profites gone now as greedie cormorants they sease also vpon the Church of Christ. It is not fit forsooth that men sanctified vnto heauenly things should be ouermuch encombred with these earthly commodities and therefore euen of great deuotion and zeale they will ease the Church of these her burthens Thus by men that cannot stand without the fall of the Church of God all meanes are inuented to begger the ministerie A deuise no doubt of Satan and a practise of his impes to cause a famine of the bread of life by staruing the Oxe that should treade out the come and to withdrawe Gods people from seeking the Lord by weakening and discouraging such as should guide them in the waie of life Thus you see how God must be sought in his word which woord because all men must heare and learne therefore many must be sent to teache it 15 But because the seede which is cast into the earth groweth not vp vnlesse it be watered with the dewe of heauen neither doth the sound of the woord bring any man vnto Christ except the grace of the spirite be with it which grace God offereth so freely vnto men that there needeth no more but Aske and Haue for this cause it followeth in the Prophet Call vpon him while he is neere We may reade and heare of God as of one farre off But when we praie vnto God we acknowledge that he is as it were within sight when we cal vpon him we speake to him as vnto one which is present He is neuer so clearely and plainely found his presence is neuer so familiarly enioied as by heartie praier Praier consisterh of two parts Thankesgiuing for that which we haue receiued and requesting of that whereof our soules or bodies haue neede 16 The good king Dauid falling into consideration of the infinite mercies of God bursteth out into these carefull woordes What shall I render to the Lord Finding no way to requite hee resolueth thus I will take the cup of saluation and call vpon the name of the Lord. Perhaps the Prophet had the more care to shewe himselfe thankefull towards God by reason of the griefe which himselfe sustained through mens ingratitude towards him He maketh pitifull complaint that his familiar friends who ate bread at his table who tooke sweete counsell with him whom hee had many waies benefited were vnthankefull and requited him with trecherous dealing An honest hearted man is neuer so grieued as when his friendlinesse is requited with ingratitude If it be saith S. Ambrose a fault to bee matched euen with murther not to requite man with thankefulnesse what a crime is it to deale vnthankefully with God Dixeris maledicta cuncta cum ingratum hominem dixeris Wee haue named all the naughtinesse that can bee obiected when wee haue termed a man vnthankefull saieth another Lycurgus beeing asked why in his Lawes he had set downe no punishment for ingratitude answered I haue left it to the gods to punish All the punishment which man could deuise he though too easie for a fault so heinous The ingratitude of Ierusalem did more wound the heart of the sonne of God Christ Iesus than the speare that pierced him through the heart vpon the crosse Hee
to bee celebrated yet neither purgatorie nor praier neither any other after helps can be auaileable for the partie departed and therefore wee must nowe sowe as hereafter we will reape Cast away impietie and worldly concupiscence and liue a sober a iust and a godlie life looking for the blessed hope and the appearance of the glorie of the great God and of our Sauiour Iesus Christ. Here we are as Christs souldiers appointed to fight a good fight to fulfill our course to keepe the faith and so to looke for the promised crowne of glorie which God will giue to such as looke for and loue his comming 5 Whereof Iob is a good remembrance vnto vs. All the daies of this my warfare doe I waite till my chaunging shall come In which words we haue three things chiefly to bee considered First that our whole life is a warfare Secondly that this warre will haue an ende Thirdly that this end is daily to be looked for 6 He which saith here I waite all the daies of this my warrefare saith otherwhere also Mans life is a warrefare vpon earth In this Christian warre some be generals some captaines some trumpetors the rest be common and ordinarie souldiers Euerie one must keepe his standing answere his calling fight and manfully striue for the victorie 7 Kings and princes are generals Gods lieuetenaunts vpon earth to defend Gods people to set them in order to see them well gouerned to fight in Gods quarell to preferre and promote Gods cause They should serue the Lorde the king of kings in feare Imbrace the sonne aduaunce true religion Seeke the kingdome of heauen wherein doth consist their victorie and glorie This they will doe if they be zealous in Gods cause if they be in deede the Nurces of his Church they will hate his enemies with perfect hatred they will punish transgressors protect the innocent execute iustice and iudgement without respect of persons So shal they militare Christo doe the office of a good general in Gods warre Such generals were Dauid Iehosaphat Ezechias and Iosias These generals are placed of God and therefore of dutie to be obeyed Let euerie soule be subiect to the higher power for there is no power but of God God giueth good princes as a blessing and the same God giueth euill princes as a curse He gaue Samuel in his fauour and in his wrath the gaue Saul He maketh an hypocrite to raigne for the sins of the people These generals haue authority frō the Lord of Hosts to draw the sword against transgressors and to execute martial law according to such limitatiō as God hath prescribed 8 The captaines are the Nobilitie put in their seueral authorities our seuerall bands They must valiantly goe before striue and stand for Gods cause giue good example to their souldiers in honest behauiour in painefull trauell according to their callings So vpright in all their dooings that the people may be enforced to iustifie them as the Israelites did their Samuel Good captaines make good souldiers 9 The trumpetors are the ministers of Gods woord by the blast of the trumpe both to giue warning of the enemie and also to order the going forward of the armie To these men God saith Crie out alowde leaue not off lift vp thy voice like a trumpet and shewe my people their offences If these men be dumme dogges and sound not the trumpet as well to forewarne as to guide Gods armie The perishing bloud shall bee required at their handes by whom it hath beene betraied Paul was faithfull and skilfull to sound this trumpe and to sound it in season to striue for the truth and to powre out his bloud in Gods quarell He ended his daies like a man full of valour I haue fought a good fight I haue fulfilled my course I haue kept the faith His faithfull heart was carefull for the whole armie of God I haue care of all the Churches 10 The common souldiers must keepe their stand and station in all obedience and readinesse stowtly they must fight vnder Christs victorious banner They are not trifles for which they striue Therefore let them not shrinke nor cowardly runne away but with an inuincible courage in an assured hope of the victorie abide all warrelike miseries sustained with the comfort of that reward which no man shall receiue except he striue lawfully No man that laieth his hand to the plough and looketh backeward is woorthie of the kingdome of heauen But hee that endureth to the ende shall be saued 11 Now we must striue for Christ and not for Antichrist for the truth and not against it I can doe nothing against the trueth but for the truth saith S. Paul For the gospel and not for the doctrine of man for true religion and not for superstition must wee striue But our striuing for the most part is all awrie and wicked Wee striue who may be the prowdest pretending equalitie wee striue in deede for superioritie Neither equall nor superior can wee abide wee striue how to supplant and ouerthrowe one another Enuie hath made men impudent striuing to vndermine and cast downe the wals of innocencie striuing how to place and how to displace how to disgrace and how to bring into fauour howe to set vp and how to throwe downe And in so dooing wee striue against our selues and for the aduauntage of our deadly foes This warre is not Christian this is not to striue lawfully This is not to fight a good fight This victorie shall not be crowned 12 Our principall and common enemies against whom wee must all iointly fight are the diuell the world and the flesh The diuell is strong and subtile a roaring Lion and an olde Serpent of long and great experience So soone as we professe to be Christs souldiers as a malitious and fierce enemie hee inuadeth vs. My sonne if thou wilt come into the seruice of God stand fast in righteousnesse and feare and arme thy soule to temptation Christ himselfe was tempted immediatly after that he was baptized His waies of assault are these He perswadeth to euill he either hindereth or infecteth that which is good that no action which we doe may be pleasant in the sight of God Hee tempteth and ouercommeth euen the perfectest as he did Adam the strongest as he did Sampson the wisest as he did Solomon Hee therefore that standeth let him take heede that he doe not fall No perfection no strength no wisedome ought to free vs of this care But we neede to praie continually Leade vs not into temptation And yet we beeing in the midst of the battle with such an enemie still sleepe in securitie But the diuell sleepeth not And this malitious aduersarie hath spials in our armie he laboureth by corruption to make a mutinie amongst vs that whilest we striue amongst our selues he
23 By this inbred corruption our vnderstanding is so darkened that naturally we cannot perceiue the things which are of God no we count them foolishnesse our will is in such thraldome and slauerie vnto sinne that it cannot like of any thing spirituall and heauenly but is wholly caried vnto fleshly desires 24 If therefore we perceiue the things that are of God and doe like of them if our hearts be enclined to doe his will because this cannot come of our selues our nature bending a cleane contrarie way we acknowledge most willingly and vnfeinedly The good we doe is his it is not ours our beginning to doe and our continuance in dooing well proceedeth onely and wholly from him If any man receiue the grace of God offered it is because God hath framed his heart thereto If any man come when God calleth it is because his grace which calleth draweth If being brought vnto Christ we continue in him we haue no other reason to yeeld of our dooing but onely this he hath linked vs and fastened vs vnto himselfe We neither rise when we are fallen nor stand when we are risen by our owne strength When we are in distresse we are of our selues so far from abilitie to helpe our selues that we are not able to craue helpe of him vnlesse his spirite wrest out Abba Father from vs. We cannot mone our owne case vnlesse he doe grone and sigh for vs we are not able to name Iesus vnlesse by the speciall grace of his spirite our mouthes be opened no we cannot of our selues so much as think of naming him if to thinke of naming him be a good thought 25 When against our naturall inclination to euill his spirite which worketh all in all hath so preuailed that wee now beginne to hate the workes of the flesh hauing an earnest desire to abounde in loue ioie peace long suffering gentlenesse goodnesse faith meekenesse temperaunce and all other fruites of the spirite yet by reason of the strength of that bodie of sinne which euer fighteth against the spirite our inward man is so weakened that we cannot do the things which we would and the things which we do euen the best of them are so farre beneath that perfection which the Lawe of God requireth that if he should rigorously examine them in iustice no fleshe could euer be accounted righteous in his sight The loathsomest things that can be imagined the cloathes that be most vncleane are not so foule as our very righteousnes is vnrighteous Wherupon we conclude that whatsoeuer wee receiue by way of reward at Gods hand either in this life or in the life to come wee receiue it as a thing freely giuen by him without any merite or desert of ours we doe not say in our hearts The Lord hath giuen vs these good things to possesse for our righteousnesse For seeing it is he which giueth both to will and to doe he crowneth in deede his owne worke when he rewardeth ours and he neuer rewardeth any worke of his owne wherein there is not somwhat of ours which he pardoneth 26 Thus being naked and vtterly destitute in our selues we seeke all things in Christ Iesus Him onely we acknowledge to be our wisedome our iustification our sanctification our redemption our priest our sacrifice our king our head our mediator our phisition our waie our trueth our life In our selues we finde nothing but pouertie and weakenesse praise and honour and glorie wee giue to him The onely marke we ayme at is to set vp his throne to aduaunce his kingdome to make it knowne that in him the Father hath layde vp all the treasures of heauen to the ende that vnto him the thirstie may repaire for water the hungrie for bread the naked for cloathes and wee all for all things needeful to the safetie of our soules and bodies 27 This is not the scope which the Church of Rome proposeth They direct all things to an other end How can ye beleeue saith Christ to the Iewes which receiue honour one of an other and seeke not that honour which commeth of God alone And howe can the faith of the Church of Rome be sound sith they hold such doctrines as tend wholly to their owne glorie their owne gaine and not to the praise and honour of God 28 That they seeke not his glorie but their owne it may appeare vnto any man which throughly considereth of their doctrine First they will not acknowledge that pouertie and nakednesse those filthie garments of corruption and sinne wherein Adam hath wrapped his posteritie But in the pride of their hearts they dissemble it diminish it and make light of it For although they denie not but that mans nature is corrupted yet marke how they paire and lessen this corruption The Prophet Dauid doeth terme it wickednesse and sinne but they make it onely an inclination vnto sinning The Lorde himselfe doeth witnesse that by it all the imaginations of the thoughts of mans heart are only euill they restraine it to the inferior part of the soule and make it onely a mother of some grosser desires The blessed Apostle prayed groned and wept against it as a thing which made him altogeher wearie of his life But after Baptisme they make no more account of those inward rebellious motions against the spirite than they doe of the beating of a mans pulse 29 And as they hide that weakenesse which indeede they haue so they boast of that strength which is not in them For being subiect vnto miserable bondage vnder sinne by reason of that corruption which hath spred it selfe ouer all flesh they bragge notwithstanding of the freedome of their wil as if sinne had not vtterly bereaued vs thereof but stil it were in vs to frame and fashion our owne hearts vnto good things For proofe whereof their maner is to make long discourses teaching that Gods foreknowledge doth not take away free will that men are not violently drawen to good or euill Which things we easily and willingly graunt neither doe we teache or euer did that the freedome of our wil is taken away by the eternall decree of his vnsearchable purpose but this we say and all that haue the trueth doe say the same that the will of man being free vnto naturall and ciuill actions hath of it selfe no freedome to desire things heauenly and spirituall not because the eternall purpose of God but because the corruption of our nature hath addicted vs only vnto euill We doe not teache or euer did that any man is the seruaunt either of sinne or of righteousnesie by constraint For whether we obey the one vnto death and condemnation or vnto life and saluation the other our obedience is alwayes voluntarie it is not wrested from vs against our wils But the question being how we are made willing vnto that which is good this is the difference betweene our aunswere and theirs We say onely by the grace of God
good And as it is profitable for them to be constrained so is it a thing verie reasonable to constraine them For why should not the Church enforce her lost children to returne to saluation if lost children enforce others to turne to destruction Seeing that the whole seruice in our Church is no other than Gods written worde as there can be alleaged no iust cause why any man should withdrawe himselfe from this word so appertaineth it vnto princes that feare God within their dominions to compel euery subiect to come and heare this worde least the church by this euill example should be greatly offended Gods causes are zealously to be seene vnto and the winning of mens soules is religiously to be sought And thus much briefly touching the seruice of God To see the Gospel eueriewhere preached the ministers prouided for and the people compelled to come heare the worde This is the feare of God which Samuel requireth 22 Whereunto must bee added a speciall regard to the common wealth It is commonly saide that the common wealth is sore diseased and that euerie member of that bodie seemeth to be grieued Remedie would bee sought in time least remedie come too late But I am no Phisition for that bodie and therefore is it not fit for me to minister any medicine to it But I shall pray for the health thereof and set it ouer to such as haue skill and can helpe The care of the common wealth chiefly appertaineth to the head of the common wealth who is Parens Patriae the mother of this sicke childe It is required at our handes to feare and serue the Lorde in trueth That prince doth serue God in trueth and in deede which is careful that the euill may be punished and repressed and that the good may bee defended and aduaunced When generally all men are seene vnto that euerie man doe his duetie then God is in trueth and synceritie serued 23 The prince is set as the head ouer the bodie as the chiefe shepeheard ouer the flocke These titles are giuen to Princes and gouernours to put them in minde not onely of their honour and preeminence but of their charge and office also But the prince cannot doe this alone it is a burthen too heauie for one to weeld And therefore hee must according to the counsel which Iethro gaue vnto Moses choose out of all the people men wise and fearing God louers of the trueth such as hate couetousnesse and out of them make rulers ouer thousands hundreds fifties and tennes that they may sit and iudge the people at all seasons Magistrates should bee chosen out of all the people for their woorthinesse It is vnmeete that such things as should followe deserts bee procured by other sinister meanes Magistrates should be wise men furnished with learning vnderstanding good skil and long experience men that feare God religious louers of his trueth fauourers of the Gospell and of all such as liue in the feare of God True and vpright dealers such as will stedfastly fasten their eies vpon the causes brought before them and not regard the face of any man lastly haters of couetousnesse bribes and rewardes Good officers should thus be qualified And to the end that magistrates may be such it must be prouided that there may be choise of officers without sale of offices It is not probable that he which obtaineth such a roume for a price wil leaue it freely or deale iustly in it A greater corruption than this cannot enter into a common wealth For by this meane both the prince and people are deceiued To punish the euil to maintaine the good to ouerlooke the whole and to choose appoint forth worthie officers for the gouernment of the common wealth this is the duetie of a prince that feareth God That prince which doth this serueth God in trueth 24 Homer bringeth in Iupiter sitting in the middest of the assemblie of gods whom he menaceth and threateneth on this wise Let not any god or goddesse attempt the breache of my mandate If I vnderstand that any doe I wil giue him small ioie of this place or prouide him another farre ynough hence a dwelling place the gates whereof are yron and the ground brasse I will plunge him as deepe vnder hel as heauen is ouer earth He shall well knowe his might to be somewhat beneath mine For if ye thinke your selues to be stronger than I am make triall of your strength fasten a chaine in heauen and ioyne all your force at the end thereof But yee shall neuer be able to pull Iupiter out of heauen no though ye sweate much about it whereas if I list to put but my finger to the haling of you I wil pluck vp sea and lande with you So much am I superior vnto gods and men Kings and princes in their seuerall dominions haue such power through the prouidēce of almightie God by whose appointment they weare their crownes that their ordinaunces bee not lightly broken vnlesse themselues be carelesse to haue them kept For by reason of the Maiestie that God hath giuen them they are feared of all estates and conditions of men They can throwe downe whom they wil and whom they wil they can aduaunce They haue the chaine and the reine in their hands they can draw others whither they wil but others are not able to drawe them vnlesse they list This power and strength and glorie which GOD hath giuen vnto kings and whereby they are able to leade the worlde as it were in a string leaueth them vtterly without excuse if they vse it not to the benefite of the common wealth They cannot serue God in trueth and giue the bridle to their subiects to sinne without restraint These times of greatest and grauest consultation are fit occasions wherein Princes may most effectually shewe howe heartily and truely they feare the Lord. These are the times to prouide chaines that is to say good statutes and lawes to holde all men within compasse and to binde together the skattered parts of the common wealth When the great counsel of Rome entered into the Senate to consult for the good gouernment and defence of the Empire first they went sacrificed to Iupiter and there euerie man offered vp and left behinde him his priuate affections promising that their consultation should onely tend to the common benefite Leaue you all priuate affections likewise cast them behinde you seeke not your owne commoditie Let it appeare that you loue your Countrie God the Prince and the common wealth require a faithfull performance of this seruice at your hands Seeke by Lawe the syncere setting foorth the maintenance and continuance of Gods true religion Let this be your first and principal care and so shal ye serue the Lorde in trueth 25 Seeke by Lawe to represse the gainesayers and the enemies of this trueth This libertie that men may openly professe diuersitie of religion must needs be dangerous to the
him that raiseth vp cōtentions amongst brethren Loue is the Liuerie-coate of Christ whosoeuer wil be numbred with his seruaunts must put it on By this men shall know you to be my Disciples If ye loue one another In those verie creatures which God hath left emptie and voide of vnderstanding there is a kinde of loue a consent we see there is in the stars in the elements in times and seasons amongst the beasts of the field the fowles of the aire the fishes of the sea and fruites of the earth euerie beast doth loue his like to our shame and reproche if hauing so many schoolemasters to teach vs one thing we learne it not especially being so necessarie as it is For in loue and concord our praiers are accepted in the sight of God and without them abhorred Verilie I saie vnto you that if two of you shall agree in earth vpon any thing whatsoeuer they shall desire it shall be giuen them of my father which is in heauen 7 S. Paul therefore to perswade men to this concord vseth a similitude drawne from the members of a naturall bodie wherein he noteth that the bodie by nature is a thing whole and perfect consisting of all his members if any part be wanting or cut off it is maimed Euen so in this mysticall bodie of Christ in this spirituall societie of the faithfull if any part bee cut off the whole is defaced and deformed All the members and euery one of them labour not for themselues onely but for the vse and preseruation of the whole bodie So are we borne not for our selues alone but for others also for whom we should trauell as for our selues The members striue not but are content with their placing be it honourable be it base Euen so should not wee striue for equalitie or superioritie but euerie man content himselfe with his owne calling The members reioice and suffer together Euen so should wee bee kindely affected eche to other mourning with them that mourne and being glad with them that doe reioice That member which hath not this sympathie this mutuall suffering this feeling of other mens hurts is dead and rotten Remember them saith the Apostle that are in bonds as though yee your selues were bound with them and them that are in affliction as if yee your selues were afflicted in their bodies The members are sundrie and haue sundrie offices For if all were an eye where were the hearing If all did commaund which should obeie Euen so in this resembled bodie and ciuil societie there must be diuersitie as of members so of functions The prince is as the head without whose discreete and wise gouernement the Lawes would cease and the people being not ruled by order of Lawes ruine and confusion would soone followe eche contending and striuing against other the end would be the vtter subuersion of all The ministers of the word are as the eyes to watche and not to winke or sleepe and as the mouth to speake and not be dumme For then they performe not their allotted function They are placed as watchemen ouer the Church for the good and godlie direction thereof to take heede both to themselues and to all the flocke whereof the holie Ghost hath made them ouerseers to feede the Church of God which he hath purchased with his owne bloud to warne the people of the enemie euer at hand alwaies readie to assault to teache and instruct the people of God in the waie of their saluation to tell them of their sinnes to crie vnto them and not to cease The Iudges are as eares who should sit in open places to heare the causes and complaints of the people opening the one eare to the plaintife and reseruing the other to the defendants answere The nobilitie are as the shoulders and armes to beare the burthen of the common wealth to holde vp the head and defend the bodie with might and force with wise counsel and good aduise Men of lower degrees are set as inferior parts in the bodie painefully to trauel for the necessarie sustentation both of themselues and others All these members are so necessarie that none can want without the ruine of the whole For euerie one hath need of other by the help of the other is maintained This necessary cōiunction should cause the Prince to loue the people as Moses which wished rather to be blotted out of the booke of life than that they should perish and as Dauid which besought the Lord to turne his wrathfull hand against him and to spare the people It should cause such loue in the people towards the Prince as was both in the people of Israel towardes their Prince and gouernour Iosua when they said All that thou hast commanded vs we will doe and whithersoeuer thou sendest vs we will goe and in Dauids subiects towards him when they stoode fast by him at such time as he fled from his rebellious and vnnaturall sonne not suffering that he should aduenture himselfe in the field but they rather for him to beare the brunt and burthen of the battell Thou shalt not goe thou art woorth tenne thousand of vs. This should cause the pastor to loue his flocke as Paul did loue his brethren I would wish my selfe separated from Christ for my brethren and againe Our good will was to haue dealt vnto you not the Gospell of GOD onely but euen our owne soules too because ye were deere vnto vs. This should cause the people to loue their pastor deerely as the Galathians loued Paul to whom he giueth this testimonie I beare you record that if it had beene possible you would haue plucked out your owne eies and haue giuen them to me Finally this should cause all men to walke in loue euen as Christ our example hath loued vs. 8 It followeth Let nothing be doone through contention or vainglorie After that S. Paul hath exhorted vs to loue and vnitie now he remooueth the lets and enemies of them The breache of all concord is contention and the daughter of contention is dissipation Wherefore our God is not the God of contention but of peace not of confusion but of order his Apostles are not breeders of stirs and mutinies they are messengers sent to make peace to this they prouoke and exhort eueriewhere I beseech you let there be no contentions amongst you Followe peace Let no roote of bitternesse spring vp and trouble you Where the man and the wife the parents and the children striue one against another that house needeth no forreine enemie to bring it to nought it will bee deuoured of it selfe A kingdome a citie diuided by contention how should it stand All times and examples are our witnesses Contention betweene Roboam and Ieroboam brought the kingdome of Israel first to a diuision and then to confusion The contention betweene Simon Iohn and Eleazar chiefe men in the citie of Ierusalem was the last and vtter
compassion vpon the poore Let vs seeke vp Christ and prouide for him He sought vs and found vs when we were robbed spoiled and deadly wounded let not vs turne away our faces from him seeking crauing so small help at our hands He became poore to make vs riche let vs out of the aboundance of our riches spare somewhat nowe to the reliefe of his pouertie He will well requite it It is not lost which is bestowed vpon him in his poore afflicted members that which wee put in the handes of the poore we lay it vp in the Lords bosome where neither dice nor cards hawkes nor hounds horses nor harlots can consume it rust and canker can not eate it theeues can not robbe and bereaue vs of it Vnwoorthie we are to be called Christians if wee suffer our head Christ Iesus to be naked and cloath him not if we see him hungrie and giue him no bread Woorse wee are than Iewes if we suffer this ignominie to bee doone vnto Christ this ingratitude to be shewed to so gratious a God O let vs be mercifull that as children we may resemble our heauenly father for he is mercifull Vnto this mercifull God the Father the Sonne and the holie Ghost be honour glorie and praise nowe and euer Amen The ninth Sermon A Sermon made in Pauls at the solemnization of CHARLES the 9. the French Kings funerall IOB 14. 14 All the daies of this my warrefare doe I waite till my changing come THE custome of funerals as it is auncient so is it commendable Abraham the father of our faith purchased a peece of ground to burie his dead in And in that place he himselfe Sara Isaak Iacob and Ioseph were buried with great solemnitie much mourning Tobias is commended for burying the dead So is Marie Magdalene for preparing of ointment for the burying of our Sauiour So is Ioseph and also Nicodemus for the care that they had about Christs funerall 2 Causes of funerals S. Augustine giueth three First it is the office of humanitie the duetie of charitie decently to commit the dead corps to the earth out of which they came This charitable dutie is commended in Toby and others whose names I mentioned before and was of the verie Heathen religiously obserued Secondly it is a thing verie seemely and conuenient with reuerence to laie the corps in graue because our bodies are the temples of the holie Ghost wherein by which as by liuely instruments both God hath beene glorified and his people haue receiued good Knowe yee not that your bodie is the temple of the holie Ghost which is in you That which hath beene so notable an instrument would not be vnreuerently entreated though dead Thirdly our faith is hereby confirmed touching the article of our resurrection For we laie downe the bodie in the earth vnder hope that This mortall must put on immortalitie as confessing with Iob I beleeue that my redeemer liueth and that I shall see God in my fleshe mine eyes shall behold him and none other But the Christian Church doeth not neither ought to vse funerals thereby to relieue or benefite the dead All these things saith S. Augustine furniture of funerals order of burying and the pompe of exequies are rather comforts to the liuing than helps to the dead The glutton of whom S. Luke speaketh in the Gospell was buried no doubt with pompe ynough yet his wicked soule was plunged into hell There commeth therefore no part of blessednesse to the dead by funerals but Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord. Lazarus wanted as it is to be thought his funerall but the want thereof bereaued him not of his happie estate he died in the Lord and so was blessed 3 Sith therefore death bringeth with it our particular iudgement sith he that beleeueth on the sonne hath euerlasting life but he that beleeueth not on the sonne shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth on him Let vs liue as we will die and die as they that hope to rise againe and liue with Christ hereafter As euerie man departeth hence so shall he be iudged at the last daie And Euerie man shall sleepe with his owne cause and with his owne cause rise againe At our particular death is our particular iudgement at the glorious comming of Christ shall bee the generall reuelation of the iudgement of the whole world After this life there is no helpe remaining to the dead to the liuing there is mercie offered to the deade there remaineth onely iudgement He that is not purged heere shall be iudged as filthie there 4 Vaine therefore and dangerous is the opinion of Purgatorie Vaine because it hath no foundation at all in Gods woord Moses prescribing all kindes of sacrifices in the old Lawe maketh no mention either of sacrificing or praying for the dead Paul instructing the Thessalonians what they ought to doe in funerals neither doeth remember vnto them sacrifice nor praier Iust Simeon neuer dreamed of Purgatorie when as he saide Lorde now lettest thou thy seruant depart in peace according to thy word Small peace is there in Purgatorie as Papists report It neuer came into Saint Pauls minde when he said I desire to depart hence and to be with Christ. It was not reuealed to the Angell when he said Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord they rest from their labours There is no rest but intollerable paine imagined in Purgatorie euen to them which die in the Lord. Neither Lazarus not the rich man were acquainted with it the one was immediately caried into heauen the other cast into hel He which said to theefe This day thou shalt be with me in Paradise knewe onely two waies the straite way to heauen the broade way to hell hee who knewe all things was ignorant of this third way For there is no such waie to knowe This opinion is perilous The hope of helpe in Purgatorie hath sent many deceiued soules into hell This opinion is iniurious to the bloud of Christ. For if any sinne remaine to bee purged by these after paines then The bloud of Christ doth not cleanse vs from all sinne and then â—e make God a lyer It destroieth repentance without which there is no remission of sinnes here and with which satisfaction for sins afterward cannot stand For faith and repentance cease with this life He that hath not his pardon heere deceiueth himselfe if he hope to haue it hereafter elsewhere Euery man after life shal beare his owne burthen as euerie man hath wrought in his bodie There commeth nothing to the spirits of them that bee dead but that which they wrought while they were aliue Worke thou righteousnesse before thy death for in the graue it is too late And thus it doth appeare that although the vse of funerals be auncient and that for good causes they are
with his complices eatē vp of the earth Herode sodainely deuoured with lice The riche man after all his prouision sodainely smitten with death Lying Ananias sodainely fel downe dead Eglon the Moabite Abner the captaine sodainely murthered by the swoord of Aod and Ioab All histories all ages are full of like examples 24 The third danger is that in driuing off to the lest day we shall finde hard time then to turne vnto our God Sickenesse wil sore disquiet vs Satan wil extremely tempt vs Our friends with talking and crauing will molest vs the terror of our ouglie conscience will astonish vs so that hard it will be for vs then to bee rightly mindful of our end so in this extremitie to turn to God that hee in our extreme case may turne his mercie towardes vs. And as S. Augustine saith The remedies come too late when perill of death is neere Remember that which hee also saith elsewhere Hee that hath liued well cannot die ill and hee can hardlie die well that hath liued ill Hee saith hardly not vnpossibly but questionlesseverie hardly 25 Put thine houshold in an order for thou shalt die and not liue saith Esay to Ezechias Giue thy goods whilest they be thine for after death thou hast no interest in them Stand with your loines girded and your shoes on your feete and your staffe in your hande that you may bee readie Wee haue slept too long in sinne to our great danger Let vs now awake to our speedie deliueraunce It is sufficient for vs that we haue spent the time that is past of our life after the will of the Gentiles Let vs now imitate that woorthie souldier who after long warring vnder Adrian the Emperor returned home and liued as Christs souldier a most godlie life and after 7◠yeeres died and caused to be written on his tombe Here lyeth Similis a man that was many yeres and liued but seuen Let vs these fewe yeres that we haue liue them to God For that onely is woorthie to be called a life which bringeth vs from a transitorie life to an eternall from a miserable to a most blessed and glorious Let the trumpe euer sound in our eares Rise you dead come vnto iudgement Let vs daily remember that we must die and so shall we contemne these things present and make hast to things to come Truly if we shal rightly consider the vanitie of the worlde the miserable estate of man that we are here but pilgrims and haue no permanent citie that whilest we liue in this rotten tabernacle wee are meere straungers and men from home that wee daily slide yea and fall into sinne that our righteous God hateth it and that the stipend therof is eternall death and withall propose before our eyes the celestiall kingdome the crowne of glorie the eternall felicites which the Lord hath prepared in heauen for such as loue his comming we wil not onely watchefully looke for but most greedily desire the same In our heart wee wil daily crie with S. Iohn Come quickely Lord Iesu wee wil bee like affected to S. Paul desiring to depart hence and to be with Christ we wil sigh and mourne as hee did O wretched man that I am who shall deliuer me frō the bodie of this death We wil with Iob euen be wearie of our liues and crie with Elias It is ynough O Lord take my soule it wil be with vs as it was with al the blessed Patriarches and Prophets and Apostles and holie men now glorious Saints in heauen who continually beeing heere thirsted after God and now most blessedly haue enioied him we will vtterly contemne this earthly trash worldely vanities and transitorie things and desire and seeke those things which are aboue where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God we will whilest wee haue our beeing heere which is but a while humble our selues to walke with our God and although wee tread this earth yet our conuersation wil be in heauen from whence also we looke for the Sauiour the Lord Iesus Christ who will change our vile bodie that it may bee fashioned like to his glorious bodie according to the working whereby he is able to subdue all things vnto himselfe 26 Thus wee see that funerals are Christian auncient and commendable that the causes are sundry good godly yet neither our preaching nor praier neither any other ceremonie nor circumstance can profite the dead but are helping comforts to such as liue that onely in this life mercie remaineth for man and after this life onely iudgement As we now sowe so we shall then reape Here we are Christs souldiers to fight a good fight so wee may hope for the crowne of glorie Which thing Iob doeth wel declare vnto vs First telling vs that wee are in continuall warre wherein both the generals the captaines the trumpetors and common souldiers that is the prince the nobilitie the ministers and the people must take to them a good courage be faithful dutiful and manfull in fighting the battle of the Lorde euerie man keepe his standing and answere his office But we must all striue for Gods truth and not struggle against it not ambitiously contending for superioritie or malitiously howe to vndermine and wrong one another This is no lawfull combat no Christian warre this is not to fight a good fight But wee must wage warre against our common and our deadly enemies the diuell the world and the flesh The diuel is a roaring lyon a subtile serpent who hath ouercome the perfectest the strongest the wisest The world is all wrapped in wickednesse The flesh wrestleth against the spirite We must put on the armour of God resist the diuell and he will flie from vs crucifie the world chasten our flesh and bring it into subiection vnto the more noble part our spirit At length this our warrefare will come to an ende wee may looke for a change All the world is mutable and of all thinges in the world man most mutable We would change our condition our magistrates our ministers our religion all things But the change that Iob speaketh of we least remember wee litle thinke vpon the change of this mortall life Wee may assure our selues that we all shall die It is an act of Parliament that shall neuer be repealed it is the way of all flesh The daies of man are short and wretched short a spanne long wretched full of miseries All flesh is as grasse and as a flowre both do fade but the flowre sooner Cares wantonnesse ambition yea God in sundrie respects cutteth off both the good and the bad good flowers bad flowers but all as flowers The time of our change is vncertaine and often sodaine that our minde be not troubled that we alwaies be in readinesse Iobs example admonisheth vs of this I looke still when my changing shall come Let vs after his example
daily looke for our change Let vs expect the comming of Christ. Hee commeth in post the forewarnings are fulfilled Iniquitie aboundeth Christian charitie is frosen the Gospell is preached Then is the ende Let vs not slumber in securitie or driue off to returne vnto our God For it is hard for the buried in sinne to rise Man often is sodainely smitten that he hath no time to repent In his last daie he is disquieted by sickenesse by Satan yea by his friendes yea by his owne conscience Let vs liue in reuerent expectation of the Lord with our loines girt and with our lampes light and let the trumpet of iudgement euer sound in our eares it will wel stirre vp our hearts Let vs liue these fewe daies that remaine vnto the Lord whom we ought to haue serued all our daies And lastly recounting the vanitie of the worlde the miserable state of this life and the inestimable blessednesse of the life to come let vs with Iohn Paul Elias the blessed seruants and Saints of God looke for the appearance of the comming of Christ Iesus who will place vs vpon the right hand of his father and giue vs possession of our inheritance that we may haue the perfect fruition of all the treasures prepared for vs by our God in heauen To him euen the Father the Sonne and the holie Ghost three persons and one God of eternall maiestie be all honour c. The tenth Sermon A Sermon preached at his first comming to Yorke Lvc. 1. 74 That being deliuered out of the hands of our enemies we may serue him without feare 75 In holinesse and righteousnesse before him all the daies of our life THE greater and better part of holie Scripture either setteth foorth Gods goodnesse towards vs or our duetie towards him In these fewe but most pithie woords of Zacharie both are comprehended The great benefite we receiue from God is our redemption in Christ. The dutie which wee owe to him againe is in holinesse and righteousnesse of life continually to serue him He toucheth our redemption in one word but in many words explicateth the dutie which we owe for it vnto our redeemer giuing vs hereby secretly to vnderstand that men are easilie taught to knowe but hardly brought to doe their masters wil. We are rich in al speech and vnderstanding but in deedes ful poore and barren We know much but litle doe we although amongst other things knowne this be one that He which knoweth his masters will and doth it not shall be beaten with many stripes and this another that Not euerie one that saith Lord Lord but he which doth the will of the father shall enter into the kingdome of heauen Wee are for all this such as those Pharisees were whom Christ reprooueth because they saide and did not Euen such we are become as Iude doth describe Wels without water Clowdes without raine Trees without fruite dead though not as yet pulled vp by the rootes Wee are hearers of the woord and yet skantly that but workers of the woord we are not God graunt that the woord wherein wee nowe glorie bee not one day to our shame that the Gospel of saluation beare not witnesse against vs and condemne vs that the words which Christ hath spoken vnto vs heape not iudgement vpon our heads that this be not our condemnation also that light beeing come into the worlde wee loue darkenesse more than light Surely if wee continue to professe in woords and denie in deedes to crucifie to our selues our Sauiour Christ afresh to feede vpon our vomit and to welter in the lothsome myre of our filthie sinne wee shall make our selues vnwoorthie of the kingdome of God wee cannot claime the benefite of Christs merits neither bee partakers of that glorious redemption which Zacharie heere remembreth vnto vs but the bloud of Christ shall be vpon our heads and wee shall perish in our sinne as being guiltie of our owne damnation Thy destruction O Israel is of thy selfe 2 Wherefore to auoide Gods perpetual indignation and our perpetuall confusion let vs followe the counsel of Zacharie who instructed by the spirit of wisedome teacheth vs First that wee are redeemed secondly that the ende of our redemption is that we may serue him that hath redeemed vs thirdly after what sort we should serue him Where he saith that wee are deliuered out of the hands of our enemies it argueth that we once were in their hands We are freed therefore we were bond And in this point we haue to consider First our bondage then the meane of our deliuerance and lastly the cause by which we were deliuered 3 Adam through his rebellion lost his freedome and became a bondman and all we through him and in him are bond conceiued and borne in sinne the children of wrath bond vnto Satan and seruaunts vnto wickednesse the deserued reward whereof is death euen double death this our present mortalitie and euerlasting damnation As by one man sinne entred into the world and by sinne death so death went ouer all men in asmuch as all men sinned With Adam we lost Gods first fauour and protection with him the gratious image of God was blotted out in vs also with him we were expelled out of paradise cast vpon the face of the cursed earth throwen into the hands of our cruell enemie whose liuerie wee did put on and vnder whose miserable thraldome wee liued In this fall from God we lost our immortalitie we lost our freewill wee lost our wisedome our vertue our light our glorie our ioie our heauen our God Our peruerse heart became prone to all euill and full of all sinnefulnesse we became vnwise in our iudgement disobedient to our God deceiued and deceiuing seruing lusts and deadly pleasures liuing in malitiousnesse and enuie hatefull and hating one another We were without hope and without God in this present world all blinded in ignorance and wrapped in all sinne For as we changed our master so changed we our mindes and maners also and for Christ we serued Antichrist we threwe away the loue of Gods eternall truth and according to the ignorance of our blinded hearts hungerly fed vpon all poisoned error and plunged our selues into all wickednesse This was our most miserable estate thus we were thus we are by nature This was the pitifull condition of all humane flesh 4 Let vs now see the meane of this our deliuerance from this deadly captiuitie Wee are ransomed out of the handes of our enemies pulled out of the iawes of Satan freed from the seruitude of Antichrist of ignorance and of sinne onely by the mediation of our redeemer Iesus Christ. He is the Lyon of the tribe of Iuda which alone hath trodden the winepresse alone hath fought the battell in fighting atchieued the victorie and by vanquishing brought our enemie Satan vnder our feete for euer On the crosse with his bloud hee
conscience sake pay this debt of true obedience in all lawfull causes to their lawfull magistrate 7 Let the magistrate pay vnto the people the debt which he oweth them The debt of the magistrate is the iust execution of lawfull punishment against transgressors The sword is deliuered vnto him for that purpose neither is any open transgression of any kinde whether it concerne the first or second table of the lawe of God or any man of any calling bee hee Prophet or Priest exempted from this iudgement Salomon deposed Abiathar the high Priest Iehu slewe the false Prophets Elias the Baalites This sword is giuen of God to magistrates to execute iust iudgement against all sinnes and all sinners and this part of debt is to be paide It is also a part of the magistrates debt to giue vpright sentence in matters of controuersie betweene parties For which cause the Poets faine Iustice to carie a sword in the one hand and a balance in the other to kill sinne with the one and with the other to weie litigious and controuersed causes 8 Such as are magistrates to whom the deciding of causes punishing offences is committed should be chosen out of al the people the best and fittest men for their wisedome and courage their religion and heartie affection to the truth and for the hatred which they beare to couetousnesse For this is no office for a foole and he that feareth not God will shewe partialitie he that loueth not the truth will iustifie the wicked and condemne the innocent he that hateth not couetousnesse will take rewards and be corrupted with bribes as the sonnes of Ely which receiued gifts with the one hand and with the other peruerted iudgement The eyes euen of the wise are blinded herewithall Feare also affection and commiseration with desire to please men are great hurts vnto iustice Pilate for feare of Caesar gaue sentence against Christ For feare of displeasing a man on earth hee murthered the king and God of heauen Whom monie cannot corrupt affection will carie away it is the cutthroate of al iustice the people daily both feele it and rue it Pitie or commiseration made Iosua spare the miserable Gabionites contrarie to the expresse commaundement of God Desire to please caused Pilate to send Iesus ouer vnto Herod who together with his band despised and mocked him It caused Herode to imbrue his hands in the Baptists bloud It causeth many euen against the light of their owne consciences to iustifie the wicked and condemne the man whom they finde innocent Such doe very ill discharge the debt which they owe vnto their brethren 9 The minister is also a debtor to the people committed to his charge I am a debtor saith the Apostle both to Greekes and Barbarians to learned vnlearned The pastor is a debtor vnto his flock to feed it so much as in him lyeth to feed it both spiritually corporally spiritually by life and doctrine corporally with hospitality according to his abilitie Woe be to that pastor y t paieth not this debt For if the flocke perish for want of food al y t perishing bloud shal be required at his hands A hard reckoning for him to answere a sharp punishmēt to sustain for not answering 10 The flocke is indebted to their pastor to honour and to reuerence him as their father to heare him as their schoolemaster to obey and submit themselues vnto him as to one whom God hath set ouer them for to rule them to obserue his wholesome precepts to followe him in life as hee followeth Christ to loue him and to minister necessaries vnto him for his conuenient sustentation All this debt is set downe in the scriptures and God requireth paiment of it 11 The husband doeth owe vnto his wife due beneuolence tender and faithfull loue prouision for things needefull and honest wise gouernement good instruction protection custodie and honour The wife is indebted vnto her husband to honour him to loue him to obey him to learne of him to be gouerned by him to liue vnder him in silence with all subiection to ease him in the orderly nurturing of his children and the wise gouerning of his house to be not onely an helpe but a credit vnto him by her keeping home by her industrie and painefulnesse by her sober holie and discreete behauiour The master oweth to his seruaunt meate wages correction instruction The seruant to his master honour obedience faithfull seruice and whatsoeuer he is able by labour to performe 12 Euerie man is to his neighbour a debtor not onely of that which himselfe boroweth but of whatsoeuer his neighbour needeth a debtor not onely to pay that he oweth but also to lende that he hath and may conueniently spare to lend I say according to the rule of Christ Lend looking for nothing thereby And your reward shall be much you shall be the sonnes of the most high So that these ouerpaiments the vsurie which hath spoiled and eaten vp many the canker of the common wealth is vtterly both forbidden to man and abhorred of God To bargaine for leade graine or leases with such as haue neither leade graine nor lease to pay neither any such matter meant but onely vnlawfull gaine of monie the partie to forfeit his obligation because hee neither can nor meaneth such paiment and the lender not content to receiue lesse aduantage than thirtie at the hundred this is but a patched cloake to couer this vile sinne withall Whatsoeuer thou receiuest vpon condition or by what meanes soeuer thou receiuest more than was lent thou art an vsurer towards thy brother and God will be a reuenger against thee Hee whom thou shouldest obey if thou wilt be saued doth in expresse words command thee not to lend thy monie for vsurie If thou lend monie to my people to the poore with thee thou shalt not be as an vsurer vnto him If thy brother be impouerished and fallen into decaie thou shalt relieue him and as a stranger or soiournour so shall he liue with thee And againe Thou shalt not giue to vsurie to thy brother vsurie of monie vsurie of meate vsurie of any thing that is put to vsurie This woord of God man cannot dispence withall and it shall not returne in vaine If it cannot be a conuerting commaundement it shall bee a confounding iudgement The reasons of men for vsurie must giue place to the precept of God against it What man art thou that wilt bee wiser than thy maker Hath God condemned it and darest thou defend it Is it in his iudgement iniurious and doeth thy censure thinke it equall Hath he seene reason to prohibite it and doest thou see reason why thou maist vse it Such reasons with the makers and vsers of them the Lords iustice shal destroie And yet in truth all reason and the verie Lawe of nature is against it all Nations at all times haue condemned it
Peter tooke vp Cornelius and would not suffer him to worship him His successor compelleth princes to cast themselues downe before him and to kisse his filthie feete This beastly pride declareth him neither to be Christs vicar nor Peters successor but rather his childe who saide to Christ in the mount All these will I giue thee if thou wilt fall downe and worship me If man who is the liuely image of God may not haue this worship how much lesse stockes and stones the dead images of men For is it not more reasonable that the image-maker should be woorshipped than the workes of his hands 21 Finally Cornelius thanked Peter for his comming and declared withall howe readie he was to heare him For in that he saide thou hast doone well to come he shewed a thankefull minde for his paines taken So all should bee thankefull to such as bring them glad tidings the word of saluation He sendeth his woord and healeth them saith the prophet Let them confesse therefore before the Lord his louing kindenesse and his wonderfull woorkes before the sonnes of men The philosophers write euen by the Law and rules of nature that the children can neuer yeeld woorthie thanks vnto their parents for their birth and breeding Such as beget and breede vs spiritually deserue more thankes euen so much more as the soule is better than the bodie spirituall regeneration better than naturall procreation Such as will not be thankefull for the ministers of the trueth shall be requited with deceitful teachers For God will send them strong delusion that they should beleeue lies that all they may be damned that beleeue not the truth 22 Nowe howe readie himselfe and his companie were to heare Peter preache it appeareth by the woords following We are all present here before God to heare all things that are commanded thee of God Wherein both the dueties of the hearer and the preacher are plainely set downe The dutie of the hearer first to be present before God To remember that he standeth in the sight of God the seer and searcher of hearts from whom nothing is hid To stand before the preacher is to stand before God The presence of God requireth feare and reuerence Feare and reuerence should occupie the hearts of them who stand so Secondly to heare and learne There is none so well learned but hee may learne more For while we liue we knowe in part saith S. Paul and therefore we must giue diligent care and applie our mindes to that which is spoken We must not be as a beaten way where the seede can take no roote We must not suffer preiudice to treade downe and destroie the seede nor the birds of the ayre Satan to pull it out at the one eare so fast as it entereth in at the other We may not let our mindes wander but comming of purpose to heare to our profite we must beseeche God to giue vs memorie and vnderstanding to print into our hearts that which wee heare with our eares Thirdly to heare all things euen all the doctrine of God not things that doe please but things that displease our flesh not other mens faults but our owne not onely profession but also conuersation not onely faith but also workes not onely to heare but also to doe Herod heard Iohn gladly while hee carped others but hee could not abide to bee rubbed on the gall himselfe Hee heard Iohn in many things but not in all The Iewes at Rome heard Paul vntill hee applied the woords of Esay vnto them The heart of this people is waxed fat and their eares are dull of hearing and with their eyes haue they winked least they should see with their eies and heare with their eares and vnderstand with their hearts and returne that I might heale them Then they shrunke from him and would no more heare him The preacher is gladly heard of the people that can carpe the magistrates cut vp the ministers crie out against all order and set all at libertie But if hee shall reprooue their insolencie pride and vanitie their monstrous apparell their excessiue feasting their greedie couetousnesse their biting vsurie their halting hearts their muttering mindes their friendly words malitious deedes they will fall from him then He is a railer he doteth he wanteth discretion Not so Cornelius and his companie but they were readie to heare all and so fashioned and framed according to all that which God by his word should require at their hands 23 The duetie of the preacher is expressed in these woords That are commaunded thee of God The preacher may teache no other than he hath commission to speake than is commaunded him of God He may not adde to the written word neither take from it Gods Lawe is perfect it doth perfectly instruct and teache all things necessarie to saluation The Disciples must only breake those loaues vnto the people which they haue receiued at Christs hands They may not teache their owne dreames inuentions or doctrines For God will not haue them woorship him so but thou shalt heare the word saith he at my mouth and giue them warning from me And thus much of Cornelius what he was on what occasion he sent for Peter and howe he receiued him at his comming to him 24 Likewise in Peter three things we haue noted Howe he was occupied when the messengers came to him howe readilie he went with them and what the sermon was that hee preached to them The messengers found him at the sixth houre which is twelue as wee count fasting and praying on the house toppe where he sawe a vision in his traunce a sheete let out of heauen knit at foure corners wherein were all fowre footed beasts of the earth and wilde beasts and creeping things and fowles of heauen And a voice saide arise Peter kill and eate First wee see that Peter had his appointed houres of praier Praier is an acceptable sacrifice to God and a Christian exercise for the vse wherof the godlie will prescribe themselues certaine times For mans corrupt nature is easily caried away to worldely affaires Hee matcheth fasting with praier as needefull to stirre vp our slothfull drowsie spirits to pray the more feruently For a full bellie maketh a faint praier And he sought also a priuate place to pray in because in priuate places we may powre out our hearts more freely vnto God But of this I haue spoken before 25 The vision that appeared was to teache him that Christ was borne a Sauiour to the whole world that the Gospel was to be preached to all that he would all should be saued and come to the knowledge of the trueth And so was declared the calling of the Gentiles For Peter was commaunded to make no difference betweene Iewe and Gentile although the Gentiles were esteemed as vncleane in the eyes of the Iewes Peter being commaunded to kill and eate abstained in respect of the Lawe God
into them also the selfesame blessing of increase and fruitfulnesse And as vnto these so likewise vnto man the greatest in honour though in order the last of all his creatures he gaue the same power to spread out himselfe by propagation and to replenish the face of the earth 2 For the seemelier and better ordering whereof to the ende that as God himselfe is most pure and therefore hateth all vncleannesse so the actions of men who in nature resemble him might be framed according to the paterne of his image hee prescribed a way how man as beseemeth the excellencie of his creation nature might not after a brutish beastly maner but in al honestie cleanlines bring forth the honorable fruit of his bodie that so Gods creation and work might be continued his kingdom inlarged his name by reason of the multitude much more praised And this meane or way appointed by God was matrimonie a state whereof the chosen vessel of God writeth this as the iudgement of the holie Ghost Mariage is honourable Wherein for your better instruction and learning my purpose is to shew you the reasons of the honour which it should haue and also of the great disgrace which it hath amongst men 3 Mariage is honourable first in respect of the author by whom it was ordeined Secondly in regard of the causes thereof Thirdly for the dueties which are required of the parties maried Touching the first it appeareth in the beginning of the booke of Genesis howe after that God had perfectly accomplished his creation and had giuen the Lordeship ouer all liuing creatures vnto Adam he saide It is not good that man be alone let vs make him an helper that may be before him let vs make woman Whereupon our Sauiour in the Gospel inferreth That therefore which God hath ioyned together let no man separate approouing mariage to bee the institution of God and a naturall order proceeding I meane from the God of nature to bee obserued and vsed for euer Neither did hee onely confirme this lawe and ordinaunce of God in plaine woords and in his teaching but he also did honest and honour the same with his presence For being called to a mariage he his mother and kinsfolke gladly went there to feast with others where it pleased him miraculously to increase their cheere and withal their honour For it is not nothing which this doth adde to the holy and reuerend estimation thereof that the first miracle which Christ wrought was wrought at a mariage and is so by the holie Ghost recorded Nowe besides this that almightie God himselfe ordeined mariage and that in Paradise a most heauenly habitation and that before the innocencie was stained with sinne besides this that Christ did allow and many waies approoue the same yea and moreouer vouchsafed to resemble his spirituall coniunction with his Church vnto this estate we finde that the Patriarkes the Priests and Prophets the holiest men of God Abraham Moses Aaron and the rest of that blessed companie haue chosen to liue rather in mariage than otherwise acknowledging thereby the state of mariage to be vndoubtedly no lesse allowable if not more honourable than single life 4 Concerning the second point that is to say the honour which riseth from the causes for which GOD did institute the state of wedlocke the scripture noteth especially three The first is mutuall societie helpe and comfort And this were a cause sufficient to esteeme of mariage highly if there were no other For God hath saide It is not good that man be alone Let vs make him an helper and helper and not an hinderer 5 The second cause why matrimonie was ordeined and must be honoured is increase and propagation For although that this may be as we see it it is in lewde and shamelesse persons too often without this estate of mariage yet this is so much against the dignitie of humane nature that such broodes haue beene alwaies basely accounted of by men which haue had but the bare light of naturall vnderstanding Wherefore the blessed Apostle hath saide I will that the younger sort marie and bring foorth children giuing vs thereby to vnderstand that there can be no seemely propagation of mankinde saue onely in mariage Children begotten in the state of matrimonie are the blessing of God and the fruite of the vndefiled wombe is a reward as Salomon wisely acknowledged in the Psalme For a man to be honoured with the name of a father to be renued and continued in his posteritie if it be not a speciall blessing of God a very exceeding great reward why are men women so desirous to see the fruit of their bodies Why was Anna so exceeding in crauing children at the hands of God Why was barrennesse so grieuous vnto Sara Why did it seeme reprocheful vnto Elizabeth Is it a small benefit that God hath raised out of the bodie of Abraham so many Patriarchs Priests Prophets Iudges and Kings such a multitude not onely of men of reputation on earth but also of blessed saints and citizens in heauen If it were an honour vnto Abraham to be a father of many nations surely mariage which made him a lawfull and an honourable father ought very honourably to be esteemed 6 Another cause of honour giuen vnto mariage is for that it is a remedie against vncleannesse Let euerie man haue his wife and euerie woman her husband for the auoiding of fornication Vpon which words of S. Paul Ambrose writeth verie aptly Qui abstinēt a licitis in illicita prolabuntur They which forbeare things lawfull to vse fall many times to vse things which they should forbeare And he bringeth in the Manichees for example as we may bring in the Papistes and namely that ponde of Rome adioyning to a Nunrie wherein were founde the heads of seuen thousand bastards It is true that all haue not neede of this remedie because all are not subiect to the daunger and perill of this disease But if any man be subiect to this disease let him beware howe he despise this remedie There bee no doubt that haue the gift of chastitie by birth and there be that haue made themselues chast by indeuour but of all this men are not capable As it is the gift of God so it seemeth to be a rare and not a common gift Such as haue it and so liue sole they are more fit to labour in Gods Church it must needes be graunted for they are combred with fewer cares But be these cares neuer so many and great better it is to marie than to burne and to be burthened with ordinarie and nest cares than with vnordinarie and dishonest carelesnesse to be destroied There are many that deceiue themselues thinking a single and a chast life to be all one To bee pure in bodie and in spirite this is chastitie Hee that seeth a woman and in his heart hath
a lewde desire towards her hath defiled his heart and is in soule vnchast If euerie man trie himselfe according to this rule exactly peraduenture hee shall see a disease in himselfe that needeth remedie Which if he neglect and so perish whom may he blame The medicine is commended with a title of honour that thereby we might be allured to vse it The daunger of not vsing of it if neede require is death For harlots and adulterers the Lord shall iudge 7 Thus much beeing spoken of the causes for which honour is giuen vnto mariage I wil briefly speake of the duties of honour required betweene parties maried Howe honourably a man should vse his wife S. Paul teacheth plainly in many places but especially in his epistle to the Ephesians Men loue your wiues as Christ hath loued his Church In which place he instructeth not onely by precept but also by setting a paterne before our eyes to followe and that is Christ the true spouse to his Church the congregation of the faithfull The husband ought to loue his wife euen as Christ did his Church But Christ suffered death to redeeme his Church Euen so the truely the husband if necessitie so required to saue his wife should ieopard his owne life His life is wel spent in sauing of her and by loosing of her ill spared Christ purged and made his Church beautiful voide of spot or wrincle that it might resemble himself as neere as might be in puritie Euen so the husband shold labour to reforme his wife to instruct frame her to discretion sobrietie al matron-like vertues all godlinesse A wise wife maketh a happy husband and in her goodnes he shal find gladnes The husband is called y e head of his wife as Christ is of the congregation When as the head espieth faults in the members of the bodie it doth not studie how to cut them off make separation but doth muse vpon a remedie labour to procure a medicine to applie vnto the hurt parts to recouer the bodie to couer the fault if he cannot cure it A good husband is a good head his indeuour will be to cure his diseased wife and not to cut her off from him especially to winne her vnto Christ if she wander out of the right waie Her faults will make him sorowfull not furious and to pitie her infirmities without hating of her person Wisedome is required in the head to rule and gouerne well the bodie which is placed vnder it He that braggeth and boasteth that hee is the head and yet wanteth the prudencie which the head should haue is vnwoorthy to be named that which indeede he is not A wise husband must winke at many faults and beare with many of his wiues infirmities He that foolishly champeth vpon those griefes which wisedome would haue be swallowed if hee liue in continuall miserie may say that hee onely liueth happily which liueth wisely no greater wisedome than to deuoure follies Yet the husbands lenitie ought not to be such as to nourish foolishnesse Vertue is alwaies discreete and in all things the mediocritie S. Paul giueth the reason why men should giue this honour to their wiues for he that loueth his wife loueth himselfe they two beeing one flesh No man euer hated his owne flesh Our owne bodies wee loue as Christ hath loued his Church If a mans natural bodie were neuer so mangled so sicke so corrupted so crooked and euill fauoured he would yet loue and feede it and cherishe it so much the more by howe much more it needed comfort Euen so ought a man to nourish comfort and helpe his wife bee shee neuer so deformed or out of fashion whether it bee by nature or by casualtie in bodie or in minde Wee haue Christ for our example When the Church ran a whoring and committed lothsome idolatrie he did not forsake it neither yet doth our gratious Lord forsake his beloued spouse wonderfully spotted with sinne but couereth and forgetteth faults and vseth all meanes possible to reforme and make vs fit for him The like should appeare in the husband to his wife seeing Paul setteth foorth Christ to be a paterne to followe This is that which S. Peter meaneth when he exhorteth men to dwell with their wiues according to knowledge He would haue husbands to rule according to wisedome and not to play the tyrants not to be sowre cruell rash rageful but to gouerne them according to y e order of Gods word in al sobrietie grauitie gentlenesse loue and discretion prouiding for them by honest meanes as for thēselues For if he that prouideth not for his familie bee woorse than an infidell there is none so bad as he that is carelesse for his wife No infidell neglecteth his owne bodie And as S. Paul in the place aboue mentioned so S. Peter in this which was last alleaged sheweth reasons why the husband should giue this honour to the wife 8 Giue honour vnto her velut infirmiori as to the weaker This may seeme rather to bee a cause to contemne than to honour For such is the vse The rich despise the poore the learned the ignorant the strong the weake But this vse is wicked Hath not God chosen the weake of this worlde to ouercome the strong the foolish to confound the wise Are not the ignoraunt as well as the learned Gods Haue the riche one foote more of possessions in heauen than haue the poore Despise not therfore the weaker creatures least thou dishonour the creator of them But seeing that man and wife are members of one bodie they especially ought to beare one with anothers infirmities to couer to dissemble and to forgiue eche of them others weakenesse Yea the viler the members of our bodies seeme to bee the more carefull we are to couer and to honour them for so S. Paul speaketh In like maner the more weake the woman is the more diligent should her husband be to giue her this honour to couer her infirmitie and not to broache it abroade For in dishonouring her he dishonesteth his owne bodie Wee easily forgiue children when they offend by reason of their age The want of discretion is for them excuse sufficient So a man ought to consider the infirmitie of his wife and to beare with her for it The second cause of honouring her is for that God doth giue her honour God maketh her partaker with thee of his spirituall graces and fellow heire of euerlasting life Dishonour thou not therefore her on earth whom God hath honoured with a place in heauen The third cause why the wife should bee well esteemed of is for vnities sake For contempt doth breede contention and contention is an hinderance to deuotion Honour your wiues therefore Ne preces vestrae interrumpantur that your praiers through strife bee not interrupted and broken off Thus much for the duetie of the husband 9 Touching the duties of honour which the wife doeth owe to the husband
e law hath plainly said None shall come neere to any of the kindred of his flesh The vnrulie desires of men which presume to go further in these cases than the shamefastnes of natural honestie doth permit must be restrained repressed For this cause Iohn the Baptist tolde Herode It is not lawfull that thou shouldst haue thy brothers wife For this cause S. Paul dealt so sharpely and seuerely in the cause of that lewde Corinthian with whose foule and vnnaturall fault the whole Church of Corinth was much disgraced 13 In mariage therefore there ought to bee a reuerend regard of nature that this state be not dishonoured by vnseemely copulation as in like sort it is by the vngodlie ioyning of the faithfull with vnbeleeuers Of this thing holie Abraham in prouiding a wife for his son had as we see an especiall care For the eldest therefore by likelyhoode the discreetest seruaunt of his house yea and the trustiest as it seemeth for he had rule ouer al which Abraham did possesse was not permitted to deale in this matter without taking a corporal oath before hand I wil make thee sweare saith Abraham by the Lord God of heauen and God of the earth that thou shalt not take a wife vnto my sonne of the daughters of the Cananites amōgst whom I dwell Abraham would not linke his sonne with the wicked Hee remembred what had come of such mariages in the age before him when the sonnes of God tooke them wiues of the daughters of men onely for their beautie without regard of religion or honestie Their destruction was a lesson vnto him he auoided their sinne by fearing their punishment GOD gaue his people expresse charge concerning this that they should beware in ioyning mariage with Amorites and Cananites the indwellers of that prophane Countrie not onely forbidding this kinde of mariage but also shewing the reason why his people should forbeare it least idolatrous wiues should make their husbands also to become idolators least they make thy sonnes goe a whoring after their gods Whereof wee haue a notable example in Salomon whose pitifull fall being so wise a prince to so horrible impietie ought to be admonition sufficient vnto vs to submit our wisedome to the wisedome of the almightie and our desires to his commaundement But had Salomon neuer beene or had his fall beene vnrecorded our owne times may teache vs what fruites haue come of such vngodlie coniunctions Mans nature is corrupt and fraile he runneth headlong into wickednesse but to righteousnesse must be drawen by God and sooner can the euill peruert the good than the good persuade the euill This kinde of mariage therefore seemed so wicked vnto Esdras that hee caused the Israelites after their returne out of captiuitie to put away their strange not women only but wiues which they had taken to themselues in Babylon And shall Christians doe wel in receiuing such into mariage as Iewes being maried vnto did wel to put from them 14 But the common sort of men in making their matches this way haue chiefly two outward vntoward respects regarding nothing in their choise except it be either beautie or monie The sonnes of God of olde bewitched with the beautie of the daughters of men procured the general flood to ouerflowe them all to wash the defiled world Samson tooke one of the daughters of the Philistims to wife because shee pleased his eye but what came of it It cost him a polling wherein stoode his strength and it lost him both his eyes which before were rauished in the beautie of that deceitful woman Others there are yet of a baser note whose only care is to match themselues wealthily Their question is with what monie not with what honestie the parties whom they seeke are endowed whether they bee riche not whether they be godlie what lands they haue on earth not what possessions are laide vp in heauen for them Such as marie for monie as the monie wasteth so their loue weareth neither is there any loue or friendship constant saue onely that which is grounded on constant causes as vertue and godlinesse whereof onely neither time nor man can spoile vs. There was a riche man in Athens which had a daughter to marie and he asked counsell of Themistocles howe to bestowe her shewing him that there was a verie honest man that would gladly haue her but he was poore and there was a riche man which had also desired her but he was not honest Themistocles aunswered that if he were to choose he would preferre monilesse men before masterlesse monie It is true that S. Paul saith Godlinesse is great gaine Whether it bee man or woman that is godlie they be rich and as Salomon saith He that findeth a good wife findeth a good and a pretious thing the value of golde is not to be matched with her In mariage therefore it behooueth vs to be carefull that they whom we choose bee of the houshold of God professing one true religion with vs the disparagement wherein is the cause of all dissension true friendeship being a louing consent as in all things so chiefly in Gods true seruice 15 But this is not ynough For although the parties maried be such as the lawe of the Lorde alloweth to come together yet can it not be saide that they marie in the Lord except they also marie in such sort as the lawe prescribeth For mariage may be as much dishonoured by the one as by the other For orderly entring into the state of matrimonie it is required that they which be vnder the tuition and gouernement of others haue the ful consent of their parents tutors or such as haue rule ouer them to direct and guide them Abraham prouided a wife for his sonne Isaak Isaak sent Iacob into Mesopotamia to his vncle Laban and there commaunded him to take a wife and he did so In the law of Moses children are commanded to honour their parents And what honour is giuen vnto parents if in this chiefe case beeing the weightiest one of them that can happen in all their life their aduise wisedome authoritie and commaundement be contemned The lawe saith If a man finde a maide that is not betrothed and take her and knowe her then the man that knewe her shall giue vnto the father of the virgin fiftie shekels of siluer and she shall be his wife What Although the parents be against it No. For If her father refuse to giue her to him he shall pay the monie and not marie her Againe the lawe saith Whosoeuer voweth a vowe vnto the Lorde or sweareth an oath to binde himselfe by a bond hee shall not breake his promise but shall doe according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth Neuerthelesse if a woman vowe a vowe vnto the Lord and binde her selfe by a bond beeing in her fathers house in the time of her youth and her
truth fables and vaine fancies for the holie communion popish priuate blasphemous Masses for the seruing of God the worshipping of Images for fishe and loaues stones and serpentes 21 The next thing to bee noted in the Disciples is that when the people had eaten sufficiente they gathered vppe the broaken meate which remained By which frugalitie of theirs we are admonished to vse the creatures of God in such sort as they may be most beneficiall vnto manie after wee haue taken for our owne contentment then to reserue for the vse of others that nothing be wasted which may profitablie be saued God loueth a bountifull but not a wastfull hande For although it be true which the Prophet saith that God hath giuen the earth to the sonnes of men although it be graunted that we may rule ouer the fishe of the sea and ouer the foule of heauen and ouer euerie beast that moueth vpon the earth vsing them not onely for our necessitie but also for our honest delight and conuenient pleasure yet we must remember that this power is rather a stewardship than a Lordship ouer the creatures of God in earth We stand accountable for them we may not lauish them out as we list 22 That which hitherto we haue obserued in these Disciples is both allowed of God and written that it might be followed of vs. Another thing there is which we may not let passe although it be a blemish and a staine in them For when Christ spake vnto them of feeding the multitude one aunswered two hundred peniworth of breade is not sufficient for them that euerie man may take a morsell Another said here is a boy that hath fiue loaues and two fishes but what are they among so many The like we reade of the seruaunt of Elisha in the seconde of Kinges There came a man from Baalshalisha which brought the Prophet twentie barely loaues and certaine corne The Prophet willed it to be giuen to the people that they might eate But his seruaunte answered how should I set this before a hundred men Wel giue it saith the Prophet that they may eate For thus saith the Lord They shall eate and there shall remaine Then he set it before them they did eate left ouer This mistrust of the power and wonderfull prouidence of Almightie God is the very roote of all euill It cause◠the rich man spoken of in the Gospell to hoorde vp corne for many yeares it caused Ananias to withdraw a portion of the price of his fearme it caused Vespasian to lay an vnsauory imposition vppon the people to paie monie be it spoken with good manner for their very vrine it caused Iudas to betraie his Maister it caused the Israelites when their citie was besieged to make ther bellies their cofers to eate their goulde 23. But let vs now come from the people and disciples to the person of Christ himselfe In whom the first thing which we haue to obserue is his diligence in his office He preached in the cities in the temple in the villages in the ships on the shoares in the wildernes he neither spared any labour nor omitted any occasion to doe good 24 The next thing is his pitifull affection towardes the people vpon whom when he looked his hart was touched with compassion First because they were as sheepe without a Pastor The high priestes the learned Scribes the holie Pharisies were their appointed Pastors to gouerne them to teach them and to lead them by example of honest life Neuerthelesse Christ saith they were sine pastore without a sheepehard The glorious couetous deceiptfull ceremoniall and superstitious rable of popish guides God doth not account amongst the guides of his people neither are they to be called Pastours but deuourers of the flock Pastors which cannot or will not teach are no pastours Because thou hast refused knowledge saith God by his Prophet Ose I will also refuse thee that thou shalt be no priest to me Vndoubtedly their heartes are not touched with any pitie or compassion at all ouer Gods people who for their owne priuate gaine and commoditie thrust such pastours vpon the Church that when the Church hath them it may iustly be saide it hath no pastours This is the plague the poison the bane of al religiō it threatneth ruine to christianity 25 The other cause that moued Christ to compassion was that the people which had taried long with him were hungrie in the wildernes coulde get no meate By this we learne of our maister Christ to beare pytifull heartes towardes our needie naked and hungrie breathren For whosoeuer hath this worldes good and seeth his brother haue neede and shutteth vp his compassion towardes him how dwelleth the loue of God in such a man In former times here hath beene prouision for the poore some as yet remaineth but it is for the most part much abused I shall therefore exhorte you the citizens of London in Christ Iesus require it at your handes that such order may be taken that the poore may bee prouided for and not suffred to crie in your streetes If you that be magistrates will take the thing in hande you shall finde I doubt not a great sorte of liberall heartes and helping handes hereunto The suffring of the people to begge breadeth great inconuenience both in the Church and common wealth I do therefore in Christ againe require you to take due cōsideration hereof that this thing may bee reformed So shall you well please God ease and profit your selues and giue a good example to the rest of the realme God cannot bee vnmindfull of so good a worke It wilbe an hundred times requited both in this life and in the world to come 26 The last thing which I purpose to note in the person of our Sauiour is that he did not onely conceiue an inwarde pitie and therewith content him selfe but his compassion brake out and declared it selfe in workes of mercie He sent them not awaie as the maner is loaden with wordes and emptie of almes he fed them largelie and gaue them till euerie man had enough But first he gaue thanks to his heauenly father leauing vs an example thankfully to acknowledge that whatsoeuer wee receiue it commeth from him as from the principall authour whatsoeuer we bestow he is the Lord owner of it In deuiding the bread hee vse the ministerie of his disciples as the stewardes and disposers of his riches Be it therefore corporall or spirituall sustenaunce which we receiue although it bee at the handes of men yet is it vnto vs as if Christ him selfe in his owne person did reach out his hand from heauen to feede vs. They are therefore too nice which refuse their meate because they like not the man by whom it is brought and set before them They by whose meanes wee are made partakers of good thinges are vnto vs the Angels of God and ought accordinglie
these thinges should be accomplished but shewing signes that should goe before as well the destruction of Ierusalem as also his seconde comming It is not for you to knowe the times and seasons sayth he which the father hath put in his owne power No not the sonne of man as man knewe them 10 This knowledge is kept from men for two causes as Saint Augustine well noteth The one least it should hinder and withdrawe vs from perfourming our necessarie duties least it should terrifie and amase vs and make vs carelesse to prouide for our selues and others An other reason why the time both of our owne particular ende and of the generall consummation of all thinges is left vncertaine is that we might at all times make readie and prepare for it seeing it might happen at any time euen at any instant Watch and pray because ye know not what hower God hath therefore kept the time it selfe secrete but hath reuealed certaine tokens and signes going before it that when we see the messengers and forerunners of him which commeth swyftly to iudge quicke and dead wee may lift vp our heades knowing that our redeemer and redemption is neere at hande Christ foresheweth as I saide the signes that should happen as well before the ruine of Ierusalem as also before his second comming in the ende of the worlde The Euangelistes haue mixed and folded them one within another so that which do serue for the one and which for the other it cannot precisely be discerned S. Chrysostome thinketh that all the signes simply and literally vnderstoode haue relation to the destruction of Ierusalem but mystically or spiritually considered of they may be applyed to the end of the worlde Others whom in this I do rather followe referre the former signes as false prophets warre sedition earthquakes famine pestilence persecution hatred of the Disciples of Christ and beseeging to the destruction of Ierusalem And these latter signes in the sunne moone starres c. to the latter comming of Christ to iudgement 11 In this comming of Christ to iudge the quicke and the dead we may for our better instruction consider these thinges First that there shall be a Iudgement and who shalbe that iudge Secondly the time when this iudgmēt shalbe Thirdly the signes which shall goe before it Fourthly the manner of it Lastly how we ought to be in perpetuall preparation and readines therunto 12 A day the Lorde hath set in the which he will iudge the worlde in righteousnesse by that man whom he hath appointed whereof he hath giuen an assuraunce to all men in that he hath raysed him from the deade Heere we see plainely that there is a day appointed for righteous iudgement of the whole worlde that there is a man appointed to giue sentence in that day that there is an assuraunce alreadie giuen to all men of all thinges that are written concerning both the day the iudgement and the iudge With God sayeth the Apostle speaking to the faithfull which suffred tribulation for the name of Christ with God it is a righteous thing to recompence tribulation to them that trouble you to thē which are troubled rest This righteous thing with God is not perfourmed heere as yet For this worlde is as an hel vnto the godly an heauen vnto them which despise righteousnesse Therfore it cannot be but that God hath appointed a day heereafter to iudge the worlde with that iustice which shall giue vnto euerie man according to that he hath done be it good or euil which shall render vengaunce vnto them that know not God but rest vnto such as now are trobled for his sake Our Lord knoweth to deliuer the godlie from temptation but to reserue the vniust vnto the day of iudgement to be tormented Wherefore S. Peter threatning false prophetes and lying maisters which bring in sectes of perdition and denie him that bought them euen the Lord sayeth that their iudgement long agoe was not farre off and their perdition sleepeth not The day of their eternall condemnation is appointed the man that shall condemne them is alreadie assigned and well knowne We must all appeare before the iudgment seate of Christ. The father hath giuen all iudgement to the sonne He is constituted iudge of quicke and deade 13 This iudge hath three properties First he is more priuie to our thoughtes wordes and deedes then we our selues are he seeth in darkenesse as well as in light at midnight as at noone day no secrete is hidde from him neyther can any man conuey himselfe out of his eyesight He sawe Adam when he ate of the fruite which was forbidden him he looked vpon Cain when he slewe his onely brother he behelde Cham when he discouered his fathers nakednesse he tooke a viewe of Sara when she laught behinde the doore of the sonnes of Iacob when they solde their brother Ioseph into Egypt His eye was open vppon Dauids filthie and bloudie actes vpon Absolons treason vpon Achitophels wicked counsell The oppression of Achab the crueltie of Iesabell the pride of Haman the couetous heart of Balaam and of Geze the pride and hypocrisie of the Pharisee could not be kept from him Hee seeth all sleightes in merchaundise all shiftes in vsurie all malitious mindes all flattering tongues all lying lippes He looketh downe from heauen and beholdeth all the children of men from the habitation of his dwelling place he beholdeth all them that dwell on the earth he fashioneth their heartes euerie one and vnderstandeth all their workes Hee shall be both a iudge and a witnesse in that day of all the wicked deedes which the vngodly haue committed and of all the cruell speakinges which wicked sinners haue vttered against him and his who as nowe they cannot auoyde his sight so neither shall they then be able any way to escape his hande O consider this you that forgette God He that made the eye shall not he see Can your deedes be concealed from him that seeth all the children of men and can call them euerie one by his name 14 Another propertie of this heauenly iudge is the infinite greatnesse of his power He doth what pleaseth him all thinges are subiect vnto his will vnto him euerie knee boweth of thinges in heauen and thinges in earth and thinges vnder the earth He hath power to saue and to kill to lift into heauen and to cast into hell heauen is his seate earth is his footestoole What he willeth is as sure as it were alreadie done We should feare therefore this mightie iudge who hath such power to doe his will and who will doe that only which is iust 15 For his third propertie is his iustice Hee taketh no rewards his scepter is streight his iudgement righteous his eye simple he will not be intreated of the wicked neither shew them any mercie In that day euerie one of them shall receiue iustice
and iust punishment These are his properties and hee chaungeth them not He seeth all he hath all power hee is a righteous iudge of all ouer all for euer By this which hath beene spoken we see that we haue to looke for a day wherein the worlde shall be iudged and we see who it is that in that day shall iudge the world 16 Of this the Lorde hath sufficiently assured vs. For when diuerse thinges are spoken of before they come to passe the perfourmaunce of the first is the assurance of the rest He which promised to raise vp Iesus from the dead hath also promised to iudge quicke and dead by the same Iesus so raised Sith the one is perfourmed how can we stande in doubt of the other We may assure our selues that there is a day of iudgement to come because the resurrection of the iudge is alreadie accomplished past and gone So then euerie one of vs shall giue accounts of himselfe to God There is no prince no potentate no prophet no Apostle no man no woman neither rich nor poore high nor lowe that can escape this iudgement We must aunswere for our facts euen as euery man hath wrought We must aunswere for euerie idle worde for euerie corrupt and wicked thought What can the vncleane fornicator the couetous vsurer the mightie oppressor the proude contemner the ambitious climer the enuious hypocrite the bloudie murderer the false deceauer the cruell prince the vnfeeding pastor the vniust iudge the deceitfull merchaunt what may they aunswere in that day but pleade guiltie and what can they looke for but Ite maledicti Go ye cursed Once againe I say O consider this ye that forget God 17 But when shall this iudgement be As this question is mooued by two sortes of men so there are in scripture two kinds of answeres made vnto it There are mockers which walke after their owne lustes and these aske Where is the promise of his comming Since the fathers died which were ouerwhelmed by the floude of Noah all thinges continue as they were from their first creation To whom Saint Peter maketh answere that they erre of set purpose Otherwise they that are so wittie in reasoning against the truth of Gods promises might knowe this that the power of the worde which created the worlde and kept it till the day appointed for the punishment of the wicked by water doth also nowe keepe the heauens and the earth in store and reserue them to fire against the day of iudgement and of the destruction of vngodly men Hauing stopped their mouthes with this aunswere he leaueth them without any further instruction because they were but swine and the doctrine of the iudgement to come is precious But the Disciples of Christ with an other minde making this demaunde Tell vs when these thinges shalbe and what signe of thy comming and of the ende of the worlde are abundantly instructed by their Lorde and maister which knoweth all thinges and withholdeth nothing from his which is any way needefull to be knowne Touching the time they are forbidden to enquire about it For as in the dayes before the floude they did eate and drinke marrie and giue in marriage and knewe nothing till the floude came and tooke them all away so shall also the comming of the sonne of man bee In the howre that ye thinke not will the sonne of man come in a day and in an howre which no man knoweth no not the Angels of heauen but the father onely It is therefore both vaine and daungerous which some haue attempted in setting this and that yeere beyond which the world cannot endure But such is the crookednes of our nature In watching which is commaunded howe carelesse are wee And howe curious in seeking out the time and season which to do we are so oft and so expressely forbidden 18 Touching the signes and tokens going before the comming of Christ to iudgement they are set downe for our benefit and instruction And therefore let vs make some stay in the due consideration of them There shall be sayeth the Euangelist signes in the sunne and in the moone and in the starres c. These signes shall appeare before the comming of Christ partly that the worlde may be admonished of the fearefull iudgement that is at hande and thereby prouoked to repentance partly that the wicked may in this life be punished by the creatures of GOD whom they haue abused partly that it may appeare that the creatures which haue serued sinnefull man against their will will nowe no longer serue the enemies of their creatour and partly to declare that the worlde is come to his iust olde age and shall haue an ende There shall be signes in the sunne What signes these shall be it is elsewhere in the scriptures declared The heauens shall shake the sunne and moone shall be darke and the starres shall withdrawe their shining Againe the sunne shall be turned into darkenes and the moone into bloud before the great and terrible day of the Lord come The like we reade in the booke of Reuelation I behelde and loe the sunne was blacke as sackecloth of heare and the moone was like bloud and the starres of heauen fell vnto the earth as a figge tree casteth hir greene figges when it is shaken of a mightie winde Whereunto the wordes of S. Matthew also do agree The sunne shall be obscured and the moone shall not yeelde hir light the stars shall fall from heauen and the powers of heauen shall be shaken The simple literall vnderstanding is that there shalbe wonderfull and terrible Eclipses in the sunne and in the moone which things in this last age in this last houre of the worlde since the ascension of Christ haue sundrie times and in most strange sort beene seene Or else euen as when Christ was crucified the sunne lost his light and darkenes for a time was vpon the face of the whole earth so shall it be at his seconde comming to iudge the children of darkenesse with eternal death Others expound it that whē Christ shal come in his glorie the beames of his brightnesse shall so farre surmount the shining of the sunne moone or starres that in comparison thereof they shall seeme darke giue no light Of this his brightnes he gaue a glimse when he was transfigured in the mount Tabor To seeke out many expositions of these woordes it shall not neede This wee may obserue in the writinges of the prophetes that with them it is vsuall when they foreshewe great plagues to vse these and the like spheeches So doth Esayas in his prophecie concerning the plagues of Babylon The starres of heauen the planets thereof shall not giue their light the sunne shalbe darkened in his going foorth and the moone shall not cause her light to shine Againe The earth is vtterly broken downe the earth is cleane dissolued the earth is moued exceedingly
the moone shall be abashed the sunne ashamed when the Lorde of hostes shal raigne in mount Sion The like we read in Ezechiel threatning destruction and desolation to Egypt I will couer the heauen and make the starres thereof darke I will couer the sunne with a cloude and the moone shall not giue hir light all the lightes of heauen will I make darke for thee and bring darkenes vpon thy lande sayth the Lorde I might alledge the like out of Ioel Ieremie Amos and Micheas but the matter is cleare inough needeth rather to be considered thaÌ„ prooued 19 The wordes being literally thus vnderstoode may be morally applied not without great fruite vnto the vnderstanding and wise hearer which can discerne betweene interpretation of scripture application thereof In the one we giue you the bare sense of the scripture in the other we teach you the profitable vse of it For the vse of scripture may be very well shewed not only by such collectioÌ„s as do probably gather or necessarily coÌ„clude one thing out of another but also by those allegoricall comparisons which shewe how in one thing another is shadowed a spirituall thing resembled in a corporall As for example if heere we refer the sun to Christ that sunne of righteousnes the moone to the Church and the starres to the pastors and doctors of the Church 20 The sunne in this sence is most euidently in this our age darkned Christ is obscured by that great enimie Antichrist the man of sinne who hath set himselfe in Christs peculiar place and will be exalted aboue all that is called God To make any other mediator betwene God and man sauing only Christ Iesus which is not onely man but also God To seeke else where remission of sinnes iustification redemption sanctification or saluation than only in this Iesus in him crucified doth darken make dimme both him and his merites And of this treason the Romish Antichristian Church which they terme Catholike is founde guiltie For the children of this harlot labour by al meanes to obscure the sonne of God to robbe him of the glorie of his desertes in our saluation I would neuer haue beleeued that any professing learning or hauing had but a glimse of the course of the woorde of God could haue beene so grosse in such sort to haue eclipsed the brightnesse of Christ Iesus by giuing his glorie vnto earthly creatures if of late I had not to my great greefe and their great shame heard their owne blasphemous conâ—essions therof Surely the Romish strumpet hath rubbed hir forehead hir children are become altogether shamelesse whatsoeuer shee determineth they make it equiualent with the written word of God There is no absurditie in poperie in which there are ful many and full grosse which they doe not defende to be right good and Catholike The Popes pardons purgatorie masses merites praiers both for to y e dead pilgrimages images reliques yea holy water and holy bread All these they will haue some one way and some another to bee forcible remedies against sinne and death This is their religion and seruing of God thus they honour the Lambe that was slaine for the sinnes of all the worlde If this doe not derogate from him and stoppe the brightnesse of his glorie who is the only once offered propitiation for all our sinnes by whose bloud we are only purged whose death only hath made vs free from death if this doe not obscure the glorious beautie of Christ Iesus if this doe not deface the woorthinesse of his merites what doeth or what can do Hath the glorious sonne of God sacrificed his precious life for our sakes vpon the crosse that Thomas of Caunterburies bloud powred out in an earthly quarrell should make passage to heauen for vs Is there any man in whose heart the light of the glorie of God hath shined which seeth not how this fogge doth darken this blessed sunne 21 Againe this sonne is obscured when as we professe that in our woordes which in our liues and deedes we doe denie After that king Dauid had committed adulterie Nathan the phophet charged him therewith in these words Thou hast caused the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme When men professe wel liue ill their life is not tolerated for their profession but their profession is slandered by their conuersation When the Iewes which professed the Law did not practise it the Law which they professed heard euill thereby For a bad professor of a good thing is a staine to that thing which he doth professe This is the speciall fault of our wicked dayes these our times are clowdie and full of this darkenesse our light doth not shine to glorifie God but our darkenes doth abounde to the obscuring of his Christ. The mercilesse rich men which wring and oppresse by deceitfull and iniurious dealing which neglect and despise their afflicted brethren the needie members of Christ doe not they blaspheme the woorthie name wherewith both they and we are named It were a great deale better neuer to haue professed then not to practise neuer to haue receaued then not to obserue neuer to haue knowne then not to obey the word of truth Vnto them which heare the word and keepe it being heard a blessing is promised but vnto theÌ„ of whom it is written Dicunt non faciunt They say do not woes againe and againe are denounced This knowe sayth the Apostle that in the last dayes shall come perillous times For men shall be louers of themselues couetous boasters proude cursed speakers disobedient to parentes vnthankefull vnholy without naturall affection truce breakers false accusers intemperate fierce despisers of them which are good traitours headie high minded louers of pleasure more than louers of God hauing a shewe of godlinesse but hauing denied the power thereof Let all the worlde iudge whether these be not the cloudes which haue darkned the sunne of our dayes 22 Now as the sun reseÌ„bleth Christ so the moone his Church For as the moone hath hir light from the sun so the Church hirs from Christ. And as the sunne being vnchangeable is at all times exceeding bright and glorious but the moone doth change and some times is at the full sometimes at the wane hir light to the eye of the worlde now encreasing and nowe diminishing nowe filling the whole globe and now in no part thereof appearing so Christ and his Church Christs glorie is alwaies great and alwaies one His Church vpon earth doth varie nowe she flowrisheth and nowe is blacke sometimes shee ouer spreadeth the face of the whole earth at other times she is brought to so narrowe streightes that mortall eye is vnable to espie hir When the Church of Christ is persecuted as it was in the dayes of those cruell Emperours which were of olde and as it is at this daie vnder Antichrist and Antichristian Princes this is as it were the chaunging
all The bonde of peace the lincke of loue that malitious enemie hath burst a sunder What shall I saye Surely all thinges doe shewe that the ende of all thinges is at hande 25 Nowe what effectes these signes before mentioned shall haue in mens heartes those woordes doe plainely declare which followe There shall bee vppon earth trouble among the nations with perplexitie By the nations sayeth Saint Augustine he meaneth those that shall stande on the left hande and not those that are of the seede of Abraham and shall bee blessed Those dogges goates hypocrites and counterfaite Christians which are without the folde of Christ hauing their owne conscience to accuse and beare witnesse against them that they haue despised the sonne of GOD euen him who shoulde haue beene their sauiour Christ Iesus that they haue reiected his Gospell resisted the trueth weltered in all vncleannesse and sinne like beastes shall at that day fall headlong into deepe desperation knowing that at the handes of that iust and seuere iudge they shall receiue the due rewarde of their frowardnesse and iniquitie These terrible signes shall smite such feare into their heartes and so woonderfully amase them that whatsoeuer they beholde they shall tremble at it whatsoeuer they heare it shall be in their eares as it were the roaring of the seas Mens mindes shall be troubled their faith shall wither and wast away as an vntimely plant they shall vtterly fall from GOD and all hope of saluation Yea the verie elect shall quake and tremble they shall be for the time voyde of counsell and as it were men at their wittes ende For if nowe their mindes be troubled to see the present confusion of thinges in the worlde to see kingdomes and nations in armour one against another to see so much monstrous crueltie shewed so much innocent blood powred vpon the ground to see the wicked so prosper and the godlie so trodden vnder foote like duste to see the matter of saluation euen the woord of God called into question so earnestlie and doubtfullie to be disputed of euen amonges the learned sorte with most hatefull and despitefull contention whereof there is like to the eye of man to bee no ende if this doe so much astonish mens mindes nowe that it maketh them doubtfull what to thinke or what to doe in what great perplexitie shall they bee in that day when false Christes and false prophetes not one nor two but many shall arise so forcible in perswasion that they might deceaue if it were possible euen the elect of God and when the powers of heauen shall be mooued When these thinges are doubtlesse mens hartes must needes faile them for extreame feare and for looking after those thinges which shall come vpon the world Our mercifull Lord comfort vs that we doe not faint and strenghen vs that we may stand in that day After all those signes in the sunne and the moone and the starres in the powers of heauen and in the heartes of men betokening Christes approch Then sayeth the Euangelist they shall see the sonne of man come 26 The manner of his comming is thus described Hee shall come in a cloude with power and great glorie It was tolde the Disciples before whose faces Christ was receaued vp into glorie This Iesus which is taken vppe from you into heauen shall so come as yee haue seene him goe Hee went in a cloude and shall come in a cloude His first comming into the worlde was contemptible but his seconde comming shall be glorious his first to be iudged of the worlde his seconde to iudge the worlde He shall be accompanied with the Angelles of heauen partly to sette foorth his princely honour and royall Maiestie for so it is written Let all his Angelles worshippe him and partly to be his ministers in thinges apperteyning to this iudgement for so we reade He shall sende his Angels with a great sounde of a trumpet they shal gather together his elect from the foure winds and from the one end of the heauen vnto the other S. Paul ioineth with these Angels flaming fire He shall shew himself frō heauen with his mighty Angels in flaming fire rendering vengeance vnto them that do not knowe God and which obey not the Gospel of our Lorde Iesus Christ which shall be punished with euerlasting perdition from the presence of the Lorde and from the glorie of his power when hee shall come to be glorified in his sainctes and to be made marueilous in all them that beleeue This fire shall whereof the Apostle speaketh dissolue and melt away the heauens and the earth Which burning shall bee as it were the fining of goulde in the fornace not consuming but purging the substaunce of these creatures from the drosse of those alterable qualities whereunto they are nowe subiect So Bede speaketh of them Per imaginem transeunt per essentiam subsistunt praeterit figura huius mundi non substantia Their shape vadeth their substaunce remayneth the figure of this worlde doeth passe awaie but not the nature Wee looke for newe heauens and a newe earth sayeth Saint Peter These heauens shall passe away with a noyse these elementes shall melt with heate this earth with the workes that are there in shall be burnt vp Then shall God be glorified and appeare merueilous Let the mightie remember this which build their nestes aloft the rich which ioyne house to house whose garners sellars and pastures are full of graine wine and cattell whose chestes are stuft with money who wholie applie the worlde as they should liue euer vpon the earth All this geare will be consumed it is but matter for the flame Flee therefore flee from this worlde which will sodenlie melt away looke not backe towarde this pleasant Sodoma which the Lorde will shortlie set on fire For what doeth it profit a man to gaine the worlde which though it be enioied for a while yet at length must needes melt as waxe and to loose his soule which if it were not lost might liue in blisse for euer Loue not seeke not the things of this world looke vnto that by which wee may stande in the day when the Lorde shall shewe himselfe from heauen when he shall come to be glorified in his Saintes and to bee made merueilous in them that beleeue The wicked shall not be able to stande in that iudgement neyther sinners in righteous mens companie At the comming of this power at the presence of this great GOD at the sight of this Tribunall seate so full of glorie and of terrour the deriders of Christ the contemners of his worde the workers of iniquitie shall tremble and quake and desire through despaire that the mountaines may fall on them and couer them from his fearefull presence But the faithfull the elect shall lift vp their heades with ioye and be made partakers of exceeding glorie they shall sit vppon the twelue seates and iudge the twelue
which are in the ship mount vp to heauen descēd to the deepe so that their soule melteth for trouble they are tossed to fro stagger like a drunken man al their vnderstanding is swallowed vp Wherfore the blustring winds the stormy seas were the sensible cause why the ship wherein Christ with his disciples sayled was sore tossed greatly dangered Now if we looke into the sea of the world we shall finde that all our griefe vexation cōmeth from those vnquiet motions which are raised by our spirituall and ghostly enemy who neuer resteth but tumbleth to and fro raising one tempestuous storme in the necke of an other What maruell then if the church be troubled or rather how can it be otherwise then troubled sore assalted seeing Satan hath so many waies to molest it vseth as many as he hath Sometimes he stirreth vp cruell bloudy persecution If that will not serue hee vseth such windes as are somwhat more calme but no whit lesse dangerous the windes of diuision and contention then which nothing doth sooner hazard the church of Christ. A kingdom being at vnity in it selfe though it be smal yet may be strong but diuided distracted into factiōs though it be mighty how should it stand This is a thing which I wish greatly that we did throughly consider Hetherto such is is the mercy of almighty God our enemies haue not preuayled against vs although they bee many and wee but fewe they strong and wee weake But if a few sillie weake ones be miserably diuided what may wee looke for but ineuitable ruine It is lamentable that the Gospell of peace should bring forth schisme This is both slaunderous vndoubtedly perilous to our profession Vnto them whom Satan hath abused as his instruments to worke this euill I may speake in a maner as the clearke of Ephesus did to the people when they were in an vprore without cause There is no idolatry no impiety maintained by the lawes and orders of this church If Demetrius the craftes men which are with him haue any thing cōcerning other maters there is authority we haue courts there are lawfull assemblies to heare to discusse to determine thē When they refuse the peaceable meanes wherby strife may be ended will followe no course but that which breedeth confusion raiseth tumultes may they not iustly be accused as clamorous troblers of the church of God for as much as there cā be no iust alowable reason aleaged of these their troublesom vnquiet dealings Shall we be followers of mē in contention that about friuolous vaine things leaue the walking after Christ in peace loue Now the God of patiēce cōsolatiō grant that at y e lēgth we may be like minded one toward another according to Christ Iesus that with one minde one mouth we may praise God euē y e father of our Lord Iesus Christ. 17 Thus the church as a ship is by outwarde persecution inward cōtentiō as it were by stormes tēpests troubled The stormes which trouble the particular members of the church are our own rebellious disordred desires which neuer suffer vs to enioy any long rest of minde Some are troubled with one vnquietnes som with another Some cānot rest for the cares of the world som swel with pride vaine glory some boile in rācor enuy malice some fry in lust some with anger The best are secretly disturbed with that frō which the holy Apostle crieth out Miserable mā who shall deliuer me Whē these things haue so shaken vs that our soules are therby brused thē doth Satā raise the greatest storme of all other He layth our sins before our eies perswadeth with vs as he did with Cain Iudas that our iniquity is greater thē can be pardoned our sores past cure our breaches such as are without hope of remedy With this blast puffe he ouerthroweth many the dearest children of God are most subiect hereunto It is therefore good to resist sin betimes least when the conscience is therewith ouerburdened if the Diuel cast our sin before vs together with the iudegment of God against sinne we make shipwrack of our faith 18 Now when these troubles are not quieted by such causes as haue power to appease thē thē are the causes although not properly but figuratiuely said to be aslepe So the Lord whē he seeth children to be afflicted or suffreth the wicked for a time to goe vnpunished till he deliuer the one and plague the other is to our seeming as if he slept And the grace of God in vs whereby wee withstand and resist that which fighteth against the spirit may be saide to wake as long as it worketh to sleepe then when it ceaseth working When we sleepe naturally our bodies are subiect to many daungers Holofernes being a sleepe the weake hand of Iudith was able to make him shorter by the head In corde christiano tranquillitas erit pax sed quamdiu vigilat fides nostra Si autem dormit fides nostra periclitamur In a christian heart there shall be both tranquillitie and peace but no longer then our faith is kept waking if that fall asleepe we are in daunger saith S. Augustine For this cause S. Paule cryeth out so loude in the eares of men Awake thou that sleepest And to Timothie Stirre vp the gift of God which is in thee but let it not sleepe 19 If the maister and gouernour of the ship who sitteth at the helme fal asleepe the ship cannot keepe hir right course vnguided but will fall vpon euerie sande rush vpon euerie rocke and so hazard whatsoeuer is in it The boate of Christ is set ouer vnto two gouernours the magistrate and the minister It is daungerous if either of them be not watchfull When such kings ruled Israell as liued securely tooke their case and cared not for the publike benefit such as Manasses and Ieroboam then was there great confusion in the Church and common wealth God was not serued idolatrie euerie where was committed It is a great fault in rulers and iudges of the earth when their eyes are not open to beholde the disorderly dealinges of the wicked nor their eares to receiue the complaintes of the poore the fatherlesse the widow and them which suffer wrong There was sometime a Sergeant that now resteth I hope in peace who when a poore man craued his aduise in a matter and offered him no mony aunswered I heare thee but I feele thee not This mans heart was awake vnto couetousnes but vnto iudgement and iustice asleepe 20 Ministers are termed by a speciall name of watchmen to shewe that they aboue all others shoulde beware of too much sleepe Sonne of man I haue made thee a watchman vnto the house of Israell saith the Lorde to his Prophet Nowe if the people take a man from amongest them
laboured rather by perswasion to reclaime transgressors then by correction with which kinde of dealing because stubborne mindes will not be bowed my softnesse I graunt hath rather deserued reproofe then praise My life and conuersation amongest you I leaue wholy to your secret iudgementes I cannot not saie for who can that my heart is cleare If in manie thinges we offende all how can any man saie hee is no sinner except hee saie also that God is a lier Howbeit this the God of my righteousnesse knoweth that wittingly and willingly I haue wronged no man if I haue reddam quadruplum I will render foure times so much good If any haue wronged mee I hartelie forgiue and will forget it for euer While I liue I will acknowledge that I haue receiued more good liking fauour and friendship at your handes then I coulde either looke for or deserue God no doubt hath his people hee hath many a deere childe in this citie But nowe that by his prouidence not by my procurement I am called from hence to serue elswhere in the church of Christ I will with S. Paule take my leaue of you and that the more willingly as well because it is Gods good will and appointment as also for that I trust the chaunge shall bee good and profitable vnto you My hope is that the Lord hath prouided one of choice to bee placed ouer you a man to vndertake this great charge so well inabled for strength courage grauitie wisedome skill in gouernement knowledge as in manie other thinges so especiallie in the heauenlie mysteries of God that I doubt not but my departure shall turne verie much to your aduauntage Amongest whom sith a great parte of my life is nowe spent and a fewe euill daies doe remaine otherwhere to bee bestowed I must vse the wordes of the blessed Apostle For that which remaineth my brethren fare ye well my deere and faithfull flocke farewell my crowne and my ioy farewell againe with griefe I speake it farewell I must in bodie goe from you yet in heart and good will I shall euer bee with you you shall euer bee most deere vnto me and I shall not cease God forbid I shoulde to powre out my prayers before the almightie in your behalfe that the greate sheepeherd of the sheepe of the Lorde Iesus Christ may take charge of you and by his holie spirite direct and gouerne you in all your waies In like sorte I most hartelie craue at your handes that yee bee not vnmindefull to praie also for mee thaâ— I may walke worthely in my calling and fulfill the ministerie which I haue receiued that God may open vnto mee the doore of vtteraunce to speake the misteries of Christ as becommeth mee to speake that I maie in faith and boldnesse do his message that hee maie deliuer mee from the disobedient and that my seruice maie bee accepted of the Saintes that the worde of the Lorde may haue his free passage and that I may finishe the residue of my course in the Gospell of Christ to the glorie of God and profit of the Church 3 And nowe brethren for my last and longe farewell I can vse no fitter wordes of exhortation then these are Bee perfect haue consolation bee of one minde liue in peace and the God of charitie and peace shall bee with you Two speciall thinges there are comprised in these wordes an exhortation and a promise Wee are exhorted to bee perfect to bee of good comfort to liue in vnitie and peace and wee are promised that so doing the God of loue and peace shall remaine with vs. The first parte of the exhortation is as it were the roote aâ—d fountayne of the seconde and the seconde likewise of the laste For perfection breedeth comforte and comforte causeth peace But let vs particularlie consider of euerie braunch of the exhortation Bee perfect 4 Integritie or perfection is of two sortes the one is deuine the other humaine That which pertaineth vnto God is absolute that which is of men is not without defect In God there is full and absolute perfection Your heauenlie father is perfect sayth our Sauiour So perfect that there is not so much as anie shadow of imperfection at all in him Hee is light perfect light there is no darkenesse in him Hee is the fountaine from whence all perfection floweth euerie perfect gift is from aboue Hee which planted the eare shall not hee heare hee that formed the eye shal not hee see He that teacheth man knowledge shall not hee vnderstande sayth the Prophet Shall I cause to bring foorth and shall I bee barren sayth the Lorde Hee cannot but be perfect in himselfe which is the cause of all perfection in others 5 And as he is perfect so all thinges are perfect which are his His law is perfect and maketh them perfect which fulfill it O that my waies were directed according to thy statutes then should I not be confounded saith the Prophet His commaundements are holy iust good Scimus quia bona est lex the goodnes and perfection of it is apparant cleare and manifest wee knowe the lawe is good But S. Paule seemeth to charge the lawe with imperfection The lawe saith hee brought nothing vnto perfection It is true that the lawe in it selfe is perfect able to saue and make perfit all such as are able perfitlie to obserue it For what saith the lawe Do this and thou shalt liue Yet no man liueth by the lawe why so Because the lawe in vnperfit God forbid The cause then why being perfit it bringeth nothing to perfection is the weakenesse and infirmitie of our flesh Wherefore that which was impossible to the lawe in as much as it was weake because of the fleshe God sending his owne sonne in the similitude of sinfull flesh and for sinne condemned sinne in the flesh that the righteousnes of the lawe might be fulfilled Although no man therefore be brought to perfection by the law yet the law remaineth perfit euen as he is perfit which gaue the lawe 6 Euerie worke of the mightie God is perfit When he had made heauen and earth sea and lande fishe foule man beast and whatsoeuer is contained within the compasse of the whole world hauing finished all he behelde the works of his owne handes and saw they were all exceeding good If there bee this perfection in the workes of God then whatsoeuer hee doe in heauen or in earth seeme it vnto vs neuer so much out of order yea although it bee euen against all reason in our eyes yet must wee alwaies set our handes vnto this It is of God therefore perfit For woe bee to him that saith to his father what hast thou begotten or to his mother what hast thou brought forth Shall the claie saie to the workeman what makest thou dust and ashes to the creator of heauen and earth it is not good and perfit which
thou doest 7 As God is perfit in himselfe in his worde and in all his workes so we are exhorted to fashion our selues according to that similitude and likenesse which is in him and to become perfit as our father in heauen is perfit There is a perfection which all beleeuers haue by imputation whereof although S. Paule doe not speake directly in this place yet because it is the roote of that perfection whereof he speaketh it is not besides the purpose for me to put you in minde of it Vnto euerie sonne of Adam it may iustlie be saide Thou wast perfit in thy waies from the day that thou wast created till iniquitie was founde in thee But our sanctification being once defiled and polluted with sinne he which liketh no vncleane or vnperfect thing if hee looke vppon vs as wee are in our selues cannot but loath vs. Wherefore except the perfection of righteousnes which is in Christ be imputed vnto vs and accounted as ours except in him we be made the righteousnes of God howe should we euer hope to appeare without spot and wrincle in the sight of God He therefore is perfect whose imperfections Christ with his perfection hath couered This is a secret which because the Iewes were not able to comprehende therefore they stumbled Israel sought perfection and found it not Wherefore Because they sought it by the workes of the law and not by faith they thought perfection by imputation to be a meere fancie Contrariwise the Gentils not following that perfection which is by the lawe attained vnto that which is by faith which S. Paule did so esteeme that although he were concerning the righteousnesse which is in the lawe vnreproueable yet he thought all the labour and trauell lost which hee had spent about attaining perfection that way and desired nothing more than to be found not hauing his owne perfection which was of the law but that which is through the faith of Christ. 8 But the perfection wherof S. Paul heere speaketh is nothing else but the finishing of that which the grace of Christ hath alreadie begun to worke in our hearts our growing and increasing in true godlinesse our proceeding and going forwarde from vertue to vertue from strength to strength till we come vnto that whereunto we striue Brethren sayeth the Apostle I count not my selfe as if I had attained it or were alreadie perfect But one thing I forget that which is behinde and endeuour my selfe vnto that which is before and followe harde towardes the marke for the price of the high calling of God in Christ Iesus Let vs therefore as many as be perfect be thus minded let as many as haue attained the former perfection striue vnto this which is the latter 9 For this cause Apostles Prophetes Euangelistes pastors and teachers at the first were giuen vnto this all doctrine and exhortation doth tende that being builded together to be the habitation of God by the spirite wee might rise to a perfect man vnto the measure of the age of the fulnesse of Christ and in all things growe vp into him which is the head in all thinges whether they be inwarde vertues or outwarde duties which God requireth at the handes of men Touching inwarde vertues although we haue knowledge and be established in the present trueth although our faith bee such that it be knowen and spoken of through out the worlde although we abound in godlinesse in brotherlie kindenesse and in all loue it is neuerthelesse a thing needefull as long as we are in this tabernacle that we be alwayes put in minde stirred vp and prouoked to endeuour that in these thinges we may abounde more and more and go forward in them to perfection 10 The worde of truth which is the Gospell was fruitfull among the Colossians from the very first day that they hearde and truely knewe the grace of God Yet S. Paule ceased not still to pray for them and to desire that they might be fulfilled with the knowledge of his will in all wisedome spirituall vnderstanding that they might encrease in the knowledge of God and so be perfect The Hebrues no dout were not vtterly ignorant in the highest mysteries of their saluation yet are they sharply reproued for their rawnesse and exhorted to proceede from the doctrine of the beginning of Christ and from the first principles of the word of God that at the length they might come to some perfection We must all confesse euen the best learned amongst vs all that as yet we are but beginning to learne we knowe but little our skill is of small and tender growth It behooueth vs therefore to pray continually with the prophet Lord teach vs thy statutes make vs to vnderstande the way of thy preceptes that we may profit in meditating of thy lawe leade vs on in our way by the gracious conduction of thy holy spirite so direct our course that we may run out the race into which we are entred not ceasing till thou hast brought vs into all truth fully instructed vs in thy righteousnesse made vs absolute and perfect vnto all good workes 11 Where there is backwardnesse in knowledge there must needes be also weakenes of faith if we growe in the one we are the nearer to perfection in the other Howe great care the blessed Apostle had that the faith of as many as did beleeue through his preaching might be perfited let that one speach of his to them of Thessalonica serue to shewe in steede of manie Bretheren wee had consolation in you in all our affliction and necessitie through your faith For nowe are we aliue if we stande stedfast in the Lorde What thankes can we recompence to God againe for you for all the ioy for which we reioyce for your sakes before God night and day praying exceedinglie that we might see your face and might accomplish that which is lacking in your faith If he were thus carefull for the faith of others shall we neglect to make perfect our owne When we heare that this is the victorie which ouercometh the world euen our faith that by faith all the firie dartes of Satan are expelled and driuen back that vnto beleeuers all thinges are possible that he which beleeueth commeth not into iudgment but hath passed from death to life are we not glad to say in our hartes Lord we beleeue If we be then considering that by how much our faith is more stedfast by so much we are the more certainlie assured of all these thinges let vs ioyne in request with the disciples of Christ and beg of him to increase faith in vs let vs crie euen with teares Lorde helpe our incredulitie 12 But how can you beleeue saith our sauiour that receaue glorie one of another and the glorie which is of God onelie ye seeke not How should we growe vnto fulnesse of faith which are so emptie and void of godlinesse The complaint