all but vnto such as doo acknowledge it with thankes gyuing accept it with ioyfulnesse and become his seruauntes in newe obedyence and then they are called iuste or ryghteous by imputation and therefore it is sayde The iuste shall lyue by fayth Nowe because God is knowen to be mercifull Rom. 1.17 there be that follow their owne lustes and appetites and put of from day to day their returning vnto God buylding neyther on fayth nor yet on Godes mercye but on their owne lustye wylles and desires and that buylding cannot stande neyther can that be a sufficient pleasing of God that is done without fayth Yea Iames. and yet fayth of it selfe in some poyntes fayleth that is where it doth trouble or is inconstant Mat. 7.21 as for example The Diuels beleeue but they tremble Agayne Not euery one that sayth vnto mee Lorde Lorde shall enter into the kingdome of heauen but he that doth the will of my father which is in heauen But this fayth fayleth Howe ye shall know true fayth because it tasteth of weakenesse feare and synne The true fayth is tryed by constancie in Trybulation as appeareth in Saint Paul to the Thessalonians 1. Thes 3.5 and by perfecte Loue as appeareth in Saint Paull to Timothye where he sayth The ende of the commaundement is loue 1. Tim. 1.5 out of a pure hart and of a good conscience and of fayth vnfayned The true fayth hath a frée accesse vnto God with boldnesse Eph. 3.12 By true fayth we resist the Diuell and ouercome the world 1. Iohn 5.4 as S. Iohn saith This is the victory that ouercommeth the worlde euen our fayth And Peter saith 1. Pet. 58.9 your aduersary the Diuell goeth about like a roring Lion séeking whom he may deuour whom resist stedfast in fayth by true fayth we are preserued vnto saluatiō as Peter saith Which are kept by the power of God through fayth vnto saluation 1. Pet. 1.5 After all this we must consider that as knowledge goeth before fayth so perseuerance and stedfast continuance followeth after fayth which stedfast continuance hath béen founde in all the godlye Patriarches Perseuerāce Prophets and Apostles vnremooueable and which is so necessary in a christian man and so muche required in a Christian man as fruit is expected of the trée without the which the trée is not estéemed for it is the tryall of a man in temptation or affliction For the Diuell will séeke to remooue hym the world will séeke to shake him the flesh wil seke to weigh his Anker then if he be vnstedfast or if he be not founde to be the good fighting souldier of Christ what auayleth all his christian doctrine yea wat auaileth his sworde and buckler if he run away from his aduersarie as Demostenes Demostenes hauing written in his Target 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 good fortune as who woulde say fortune was his guide yet in the face of his enemie he ranne away so that whether it be in prosperitie to hold fast the Lord and not to be vainely puffed vp in the worlde nor to settle his heart in the world nor to turne his eies away from his poore brethren not to oppresse nor couet or desire an other mans goods This is stedfast abiding in the Lorde in prosperitie Or whether it be in aduersitie to be patient in all tribulations to be thankefull for all crosses and to tarrie the Lordes leasure to suffer euery burden that is layde vpon hym whether it be sickenesse pouertie imprisonment slander or whatsoeuer Christ sayde He that wyll be my disciple must take vp his crosse and follow me He sayd not take his crosse and stande styll or goe backe but to followe hym this is stedfast fayth in aduersity As touching his persecution which is that we shoulde not slyde backe from almightie God there are many notable examples in scripture of it Iosu 1.8 Iosuah sayth Let not this booke of the lawe depart out of thy mouth but meditate therein day and night that thou mayest obserue and do according to all that is written in it The Prophet Dauid sayth in his fyrst Psalme Psal 1.12 Blessed is the man that hath not walked in the counsell of the vngodly c. But his delight is in the lawe of the Lord and in his lawe will he exercise hym selfe day and night Iob sayth Although he kyll me I will not forsake hym Our Sauiour Christ sayth happie is he that continueth vnto the ende By the lawe of reason we ought so long to be the Lordes Heb. 8.13 as the Lord is ours but Christ Iesus is ours yesterday and to day and for euer he findeth vs euery day comforteth vs euery day sendeth to vs his grace euery day encreaseth his blessinges on the earth for vs euery day Euen so euery day we should be faythfull and stedfast seruauntes vnto hym Psal 116.33 The Prophete Dauid desireth the Lord to teach hym the waye of his statutes and he would kéepe it vnto the ende Besides these benefites knowledge New birth Phil. 1. faith and perseueraunce which we gather out of the word of God we fynde the regeneratiō the new byrth or new shaping of our selues for that in déede we were disfigured by reasō of Adams fall and lost the shape of righteousnes true obedience which now in Christ are accepted and nowe we shoulde fashion our selues not according to Adā in disobedience the lust of the flesh but according to the children of God and like our forerunner Christ Iesu as Saint Paul saith 1. Pe. 1.23 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Iesu Of this newe birth the Apostle speaketh Being borne a newe not of mortall séede but of immortall by the worde of GOD who lyueth and endureth for euer O what great comforte do the decayed members of Adam receyue by the word of God when by reading or hearing it they sée their restitution in Christ Iesu how muche we are bound to almightie God for his worde Peace Also in the worde of God we finde peace euen that peace which is concluded by God to vs ward Which as the Apostle sayth Ep. 2.13.14 Passeth all vnderstanding for as much as he was to stoute an enemie to be set agaynst vs great was our ouerthrowe where he was an aduersary and there our Citie was like to be sackte and we confounded in our dwellinges Where the Lorde besieged it but nowe in Christ Iesus ye which were once farre of are made néere by the blood of Christ For he is our peace which hath made of both one and hath broken the stop of the partition wall And he hath commaunded his disciples that into what Cittie Mat. 10.13 towne or house so euer that is worthie that they came into their peace shoulde cōe vpon it This peace if it be well weied and well considered what the value of it is it shal be
estéemed the most precious iewel that can be hid in our mind and the swéetest ambassage that euer was sent vnto mankinde for the great accusation that was layde agaynst vs is nowe pacified and God is at peace with vs. An other benefite we gather out of the word of God which is consolation Consolation that is to say the comforte ioye and delight of the minde and the lifting vp of the heart from the oppressing cares the burden of sinne and tormentes of this miserable lyfe The Prophet Dauid being plunged in many miseries and broyles sayde In the woorde of the Lorde will I reioyce in the worde of the Lord will I comforte mée Psal 119.92 Also in the .119 Psalm Except thy law had been my delight I should nowe haue perished in mine afliction And againe in the same Psalme .111 verse Thy testimonies haue I taken as an heritage for euer for they are the ioy of my heart And so vndoubtedly in our extreame miserie in our banishment in our sicknes and article of death when affection is quite deade and naturall appetite and digestion gone yet the worde of God being reade or hearde is a great comforte and consolation vnto the minde The third meane in Christ to vanquish the force of sinne 3. Meane Prayer The thirde meane to vanquish the force of sinne is humble hartie prayers not such as procéedeth a primoribus laboris From the téeth forward but suche as commeth from the very heart stringes and féeling of the conscience which is the same that pearceth the gates of heauen and knocketh in the eares of the Lord and wheras some haue called it the messenger betwéene God and man Ang. see 26 de tempore Chris sup 22. Nath. some the keye of heauen and some the strength of man Yet for mine owne experience I acknowledge this definition Prayer is the acknowledging of sin the feeling of the burthen of conscience the vertue of mās helples trust the appealing to gods mercy By the which I sée myne owne weakenesse I confesse myne owne necessitie and I flye vnto hym that is the onely helpe but the manner howe we all shoulde flée vnto hym is that as he is a spirite him selfe so in spirite we should come vnto him we vse not to haue a Clowne of the Countrie or an Husbandmā to be our atturney in the common lawes of this realme but a Lawyer and such a one as may lawfully haue accesse to the pleading place euen so in spirite and soule which is the seate of knowledge we shoulde come vnto the Lorde for the soule is that part of man that séeth knoweth and affecteth the best Psal 25.1 Dauid when he prayed vnto the Lorde sayde Vnto thee O Lorde will will I lyft vp my soule and the Virgin Mary sayde My soule doth magnifie the Lord and my spirite hath reioysed in God my sauiour So that the spirite must labor the conscience must feele and the heart must flée vnto the almighty and none other A good example was shewed in Dauid whē he sayd Psal 86.4 Comfort the soule of thy seruaunt for vnto thée O Lord do I lift vp vp my soule Likewyse in an other place he sayth O let me heare thy louing kindnesse betymes in the morning for in thee is my trust shewe thou me the way that I shoulde walke in for I lift vp my soule vnto thée and this is not to be vsed only for necessities sake when any occasion or extremitie doth vrge vs but continually as our Sauiour Christ doth warne vs Luke 21 36 saying Watche therefore and pray continually that ye may be accompted worthie to escape all these thinges that shall come to passe Rom. 12.12 Likewyse Saint Paul to the Romans sayth Reioycing in hope patient in tribulation continuing in praier Ephe. 6.18 Also in the .vi. to the Ephesians Pray alwaies with all maner prayer and supplication in the spirite by reason whereof as long as we are in the fleshe subiect to miserie and sinne and as longe as Sathan and the flesh continueth alwaies to stirre or prouoke vs to sin so long should we be carefull and diligent to continue in prayer So that nowe to knowe what prayer is is necessary and howe to vse it is more requisite and what is got by it and what effect it worketh We may sée by good examples in many places in scripture The effect of prayer The Lorde sayth by the Prophete Dauid Psal 50.15 1. Kin. 18.45 1. Sam. 1.20 Call vpon me in the dayes of thy trouble and I will deliuer thée Eliah prayed for rayne and it was obtayned Hannah being barren prayed vnto the Lorde for a child and she conceiued and bare a sonne whom she named Samuell Iehoahaz being deliuered into the hands of the Sirians for his wickednesse was by prayer deliuered agayne from the King of Aram. Salomon prayed 2. Kin. 13.4 and obtayned wisedome When all Bethulia with the elders therein coulde by no meanes remooue the siege of Holophernes with his mightie host By Iudithes prayer her hand was strengthened and obtained the victory Nu. 16.14.18 Aaron in the time of Plague prayed for the people and the Plague seased When Iosua fought agayng the Amellekites he did vanquish them not so much by his owne might and policy as by the continuall prayer of Moses Exo. 12. who as long as he helde vp his handes vnto god so long did Israel preuaile but whē he faynted let downe his hands then did Ameleck and his people preuaile In so much that Aron and Hur stayed vp his handes till the going downe of the sonne otherwise they had béen put to flight discōfited Iosua 10. Iosua caused the sonne to staye hys course one whole day At the beséeging of Gibeon when he made his prayer to almightie God Thus we sée prayer to be a messenger from man vnto God and worketh most effectually in the faythfull and humble minded man 4. meane To forsake the world the flesh as it hath appeared in these places and in manye moe expressed in the holy scriptures The fourth meane in Christ to vanquish the force of sinne An other meane for vs to vse that sinne may with lesse force take hold in vs is to forsake the worlde the flesh and the Diuell according vnto our first promise made vnto God in Baptisme for so mightie are those enimies in mans inclination that they remoue his good affections and leade hym to a kinde of vayne delite wicked affection so mightie is this world especially with his contentes and the fleshe with her desires that hardly can a man looke vpward whose eyes are fixed downeward and scarce can a man bée of God whose felicitie is set eyther in the flesh or in the world An innumerable offences it doth cause to be prouoked and many vertues and honest actions therby are quite extinguished and because I haue spoken heretofore of Sathan and
of the flesh I will nowe onely speake of the world as one of the mightiest enimies that man hath in these dayes for by it the worde of God is little regarded and for the loue of it the Sabbaoth is the more prophaned by reason wherof iustice is corrupted truth is banished charitie is colde pittie is remoued from mens harts frēdship faynteth and naturall affection is quit altered agayne by it blindnes ruleth lyes are vsed periury is suffered honors are desired offices are bought blynd bayard is a good horse a slowe Iade is a good Gelding by it manhoode is not regarded chastitie is not estéemed worldly mariags vnfit matches are not gainsaid vertue had in small price trust is had in litle estimation and learning in no accompt we sée that for the wordes sake naturall loue betwixt the father and the childe is altered For the father that is a worldling accompteth not of that childe that is liberall no although his liberalitie be godly and commendable bestowed on the poore and howe many do preferre their children to learning for the ministrie sake or to the law for iustice sake or to any faculty for the same faculties sake but rather because they shall liue and beare a countenance in the world On the other side we sée the good nature of the childe chaunged for whome the father hath taken great paynes trauelled much watched often to procure liuinges vnto hym he thinketh to long the father doth lyue euery daye wisheth his death to haue his goodes and liuing besides that what going to lawe and mortal hatred betwixt frēds of néerest kinrede all for the world A freend chaungeth his frendship in respect of the worlde and so long as the other hath he is a freend and when he hath nothing then is he gone and his frendship beginneth to dissemble wisemen tal men honest men trusty men such as haue good qualities not estéemed if they haue no worldly shewe with all many a one haue shut vp his compassion from the poore putting on vngodlynesse lying and swearing that these things and these they haue giuen alredie diuers waies they are charged which is very oftentimes an vntruth many vnder the pretence of Christian profession hid their wicked actions and are lyke Cleophas they go with Christe but they knowe hym not It is not without cause that Esdras sayde that the world was ful of vnrighteousnesse and wickednes 2. Esd ◠27 and because of the sin and wickednesse of the world the Lord hath Prophesied vnto the world a mighty curse in Esa the prophet And therefore as the Apostle sayth Esa 24.1 Loue not the world neyther the thinges that are in the worlde if any man loue the world the loue of the father is not in hym for all that is in the world as the lust of the flesh the lust of the eyes and the pride of lyfe is not of the father 1. Io. 2.15 6. but is of the world There is an olde saying Vide homo ne sic hereas vt cum mundo pereas Take héede man Augustine that thou sticke not so to the world that thou perish with the world The young man in the gospel had fulfilled all the commaundementes Mat. 19.21 and was desirous of the kingdome of heauen but when Christ bid hym go sell all that he had and giue it to the poore it touched his delight wherefore Saint Barnard sayth Durus est hic sermo c. This saying séemeth very harde Sel all that thou hast c. But yet it is a hard saying whē Christ shall say Goe ye wicked into euerlasting fire The great loue of the worlde as I haue sayde is the cause of much sinne as couetousnesse oppression extortion vsury wresting of iustice and putting poore men from their right and their thirst is so great that a great many will breake their bellies then leaue or moderate their lust they be lyke the flye in a Tarre-barrell the more he stirres the faster he is They are not lyke the Dogges of Egipt which running by the ryuer Nilus and being thirsty will but lappe and begone for feare the Crocodiles take them but these worldlinges wil so long lap tyl the Diuel hath wrapped them vp they force neyther for the feare of Sathan nor the fauour of God Saint Iames sayth Iames. 4.4 Who so euer wil be a fréend of the world maketh hym selfe an enimie of God we daylie sée how lyttle mē wil be at charges for gods glory in mayntaining preaching or in bringing vp schollers nay they will rather take away both preachers and schollers liuinges from them then adde any thing to it It is a pittiful matter to sée the hardnes of the rusticke worldlinges for some murmure at charitie some grudge at substance some strayne at the charges of souldiers not looking into the commoditie and ease of it but thinke they haue a gut drawen out of their body when they haue a pennie taken out of their purses For these purposes and I thinke they haue cause to grudge sometimes because their charge is the greatest burthen though they be the poorest iades The .v. meane in Christ to vanquish the force of sinne When two valued thinges of like quantitie shal be layde together that are of estimation as gold and siluer The sweetnes and estimation of the second lyfe will not euery man make choyse rather of the gold then of the siluer Nay rather if somthing and nothing or good and bad were set together would there not be an easie choyse I make no lesse differēce betwixt heauen and earth this lyfe and the lyfe to come For in the one there is misery sorow afflictiō tribulation disdayne contempt malice slaunder infamie enuie pouertie nakednesse sickenes and death In the other there is ioy felicitie acceptation helth sufficiencie company amōg the whole felowship of heauen euerlasting lyfe Psal 84.1.2 touching the description of the place of ioy Dauid sayth O howe amiable are thy dwellinges thou Lorde of hostes My soule hath a desire and longing to enter into the courts of the Lord. Esa 35 10 Likewise the Prophet Esay sayth The redéemed of the Lord shall come to Zion with prayse and euerlasting ioye shal be vpon their heades Esa 51.3 they shall obtayne ioy and gladnesse The same Prophet also sayth Surely the Lorde shall comforte Zion he shal comfort al her desolations and he shall make her desert like Eden and her wildernes like the garden of the Lorde ioye and gladnesse shal be founde therein Iohn 16.22 prayse and the voyce of singing Our sauiour Christ hym selfe sayth And ye nowe therefore are in sorrow but I wil sée you agayne your harts shall reioyce your ioy shall no man take from you O most comfortable reléefe euen the very deade may be raysed vp to heare these great and comfortable ioyes that are prouided for the Lordes beloued 1. Cor. 2.9