wealth whose power whose wisedome can be neither augmented nor diminished who neither before the cōstitution of the world nor after he had made all things is one iot more or lesse then hee was before nor if all the angels and all mankinde should be saued and should praise him perpetually is any whit the woorthier nor if they all were damned and did blaspheme him is lesse glorious at all This so great a lord not drawne nor driuen by any straights at all but of méere grace and bountie whilst our acts of hostilitie were yet in fresh memorie was content to encline the heauens of his royall maiestie and to descend into this Caue of calamities to cloath him with the vesture of our mortalitie to charge himselfe with the déepe debt of al our sins and for satisfaction thereof to endure such torments as were neuer suffered in this world For my sake O Lorde thou wast borne in a stall for mée thou wast laid in a manger for mée thou wast circumcised the eight day for me thou wast conueyed into Egypt for me to conclude thou wast persecuted and turmoyled with a number of infamies for me thou watchedst for me thou trauailedst for me thou swettest for mée thou didst wéepe for me thou hast prooued all those euils which my enormous crimes haue deserued thou béeing innocent and guiltlesse Finally for mée thou wast apprehended as a malefactour abandoned of thy fréends solde denied presented before the tribunall seate of those iudges where thou were accused bufferted defamed whipped spitted at scratched condemned crucified blasphemed pierced with a speare dead and buried Therefore with what desert of mine can I acquite my selfe I will not say of all these courtesies but of the least drop of blood shed out of thy holy side for me vnworthy wretch How is it possible that I should loue him sufficiently who so hath loued me so hath created me so hath redéemed me and hath bought mée so dearely If I be lifted vp from the earth sayth our Sauiour all things shall be drawne after me But with what chaines with what violence With the force of loue and with the bondes of his benefits With the rope of Adam sayth our Lorde I will draw thē vnto me and with the knot of loue Therefore who will not bee lifted vppe with this draught who will not suffer himselfe to bee catcht and caried with such chaines If one little drop of water falling continually vppon a stone will pearce and breake it at the last how shall not the bonds of so many benefits be inough to rent my stony heart a sunder And if the very earth wrought in the feruent heat is sometimes conuerted into fire how shall my heart be frée from burning béeing so beset with the glowing coles of such vnmeasurable loue if it bee so haynous an offence not to loue this Lorde what shall it be to offend him to despise him and to transgresse his commaundementes How canst thou haue any heart or hand to offende those handes which haue bene so bountifull vnto thée which for thée were spread vpon the crosse When that lasciuious woman besought the Patriarke Ioseph that he would betray his maister the holy man repelled her with this saying Behold O wretched woman what trust my Lord hath reposed in me to put all that he hath into my handes except thée his wife therefore with what face can I commit this vilanie against my Soueraigne Which is as if hée had sayd If my Lord hath béen so friendly affectioned towards me if he hath committed all that he hath to my custodie if in such wise he hath fancied and honoured me that in me only it resteth to dispose of his affaires how may I béeing tyed with the bonds of so many benefites haue any handes at all to offende a Lorde so liberall And it doeth not content him to say It is no reason to offende him but How can I offend him for the greatnesse of good turnes doo not onely restraine the will but in a manner all power and possibilitie to annoy the benefactor And it bindeth fast both the handes and the féete of a man that he cannot striue against it Wherefore if these kind of ceremonies as to bee gratefull for good turnes bée of so great force what shall we thinke of the benefites of God That man committed to Iosephs fidelitie all his businesse and God hath put into thy hands all that he hath Consider then howe much Gods treasures are more woorthy then any that Pharao did possesse for that so much more is this which thou enioyest then was that which Ioseph did receiue But tell me what thing hath God which he hath not giuen into thy hands heauen earth the sunne the moone the starres the sea birdes fishes trées beasts and finally all that is conteined vnder the golden globe he hath bestowed vppon thée and yet not that onely which is héere belowe in earth but likewise all that is in the Heauens aboue which is the glory the riches and the delights of Angels and Saintes which are there praying busily for thy commoditie All things saith the Apostle are yours whether it be Paul Paul or Apollo or Peter bee it the worlde bee it life bee it death bee it the time present or that to come all is yours for that all serueth for your behoofe and yet not that alone which is aboue the heauens but the Lord of heauen himselfe hath giuen vs his onely sonne after sundry sorts sometimes as a patron sometimes as a defendor sometimes as a sauiour sometimes for a teacher sometime for a Phisitian sometime for a rewarde sometime for a conseruation sometime for a remedie and for each other our néed The Father hath giuen vs his sonne the sonne hath merited for vs the holy Ghost the holy Ghost hath made vs meritorious of GOD the Father himselfe from whome floweth the streames of all felicitie Therefore if this father as the Apostle sayth hath giuen vs his onely sonne which was the greatest gift he could bestow on vs howe will hee not deliuer vnto vs with him all other things whatsoeuer Therfore if it bee true that God hath giuen vnto thée al that he hath if he hath wrapt thée fast with obligation of so many benefites howe is it possible that thou shouldest molest or gréeue so liberall and bountifull a benefactour If it be a gréeuous crime not to be thankfull for so good turnes what shall it be to adioyne to ingratitude the contempt and offence of the benefactor If that young man founde himselfe in such bondage and so impotent to annoy him who had committed to his fidelitie the charge of his house what heart or courage canst thou haue to offend him which for thy behoofe hath created both heauen earth O more vngrateful then the very beast O more cruell then the Tigres O more insensible then the senslesse creatures not to consider so great a fall for what beast what Lion what Tiger
Prophet saith they shall cry vnto the hilles Math. 25. saying O ye hilles fall vpon vs and close vs in your Caues that we may not shewe our selues with such excéeding shame But wo worth ye wretches your hope is frustrate ye toyle against the tide weighing the force of that sentence definitiue Go ye caitiues into euerlasting fire long since prepared for Satan and his adherents What shall that cursed generation imagine then will become of themselues hearing this for if as Iob saith we can scarce abide to heare his mildest wordes Iob. 4. who can abide those thundring threats of his omnipotencie These words shall be so sharpe and so pearsing that at the verie instant the earth shall open it selfe wide and large and into the bottome and bowels thereof shall be whirled topsie turuie all those who Iob. 2 as the same Iob saith here haue had their paradise and pleasures in sundry sortes of Musicke and harmony trifleling out their time and yeares in all kinde of mirth and iollitie This fall and cracke of the earth S. Iohn describeth in his Apocalips in this maner I saw an Angell descending from heauen with great power and with such brightnesse that all the earth was lightned therewith and hée cryed aloude saying The great Cittie of Babilon is fallen downe and is made of the habitation of diuels and the cage of all filthy and abhominable fowles And further hée sayd I sawe another mightie Angell lifting vp on high a great stone much like to a mylstone and did cast it into the sea saying With such a violence shall the great Babylon bee throwne into the bottomlesse pitte and shall neuer recouer his estate againe In this sort shall the vngodly fall into the blacke and gastly prison full of confusion and vtter desolation Esay 66. But what tongue can expresse the innumerable sundrie sorts of torments in that place addressed for the wicked There their bodies shall be broyled with furious flames cōtinually there their soules shall be consumed with the worme of conscience which will neuer cease his gréenous gnawing There shall be that incessant howling and gnashing of téeth whereof the Scriptures treateth in so many places There these vnhappie wretches surseysed with cruell dispaire and rage shall waxe wood against GOD and themselues in suche dispiteous wise that they shall deuoure their owne fleshe and in a franticke moode rent it with their nayles crashing their téeth togither and spilling their Intrailes with sorrowe and sighing blaspheming and denying continually their creator that hath adiudged them to such sharpe punishments There euery of them shall crie out vpon his cursed condition and vnfortunate byrth estsoones repeating those pittifull bewaylinges and wofull wordes of patient Iob Iob. 3. but with a minde and intent farre contrarie to his These bee the wordes Curst be the day wherin I was borne and the night in whiche it was sayd A man is come into the worlde let that day be turned into darknesse let it not be reckoned of God nor beautified with light let it be ouerwhelmed with darknesse and shadowe of death let it be full fraught with obscuritie and bitternesse let that night be ouercast with a black cloude let not that day be numbred among dayes and moneths of the yeare Why did not death receiue me so soone as I was issued out of my mothers wombe why was I not carried from the place of my byrth straight to my graue why was I lulled in my mothers lap or why did she giue me suck This shall be their melodie their mydnight mattens their morning and euening prayer O filthie tongues which babble of nothing else but brawling and blasphemie O wretched cares which heare no other things but wofull mourning O vnhappie eyes whose obiect is miserie vppon miserie O wretched bodies who haue for your harbour a fierie fornace In what case shall they then be who héere earst wallowed in wealth and wantonnesse O what fléeting delight hath wrought continuall gréefe O what wofull habitations are addressed for you Now gone is all your gallant glée and iollitie wherein you delighted for a moment for which ye now lament eternally Now what doo your treasures auayle you where is your pompe and pleasure become the seuen fertile yeares are now ended quite and in place thereof are now succéeded the seuen barren yeares which shall so consume the abundance of those which are passed that there shall not remaine any one shadow or shewe thereof Therefore all your former felicitie is drenched and wrapped vp in the waues of wretchednesse and are now driuen to such straights and scarcitie that not so much as one droppe of water shall be granted vnto you wherwith ye might somwhat asswage the raging thirst which vexeth you so furiously neyther shall your wonted prosperitie reléeue your miserie but rather thereby ye shall be more fiercely afflicted For therein is accomplished this saying of Iob Iob. 21.24.25 that the sugred soppes of the vngodly shal be at the last deuoured with wormes Which S. Gregory in his Moralls expoundeth in this sort The memory of their wonted ioyes maketh their present paine to séeme more bitter by calling to minde how braue and frolike they haue bene and how base and vile they now are come and howe for loue of that which so soone slipte away they suffer that which neuer shall haue end Then shall they perceiue euidently the subtil slights of the enemie and being called to their account shall mutter too late these sayings of Salomon Sap. 5. Woe vnto vs wretches howe apparaunt is it now vnto vs that wée haue strayed from the trade of trueth that the light of instice hath not shined vpon vs and that the sunne of intelligence hath not risen ouer vs. Wée haue wasted and wearied our selues in the crooked and crabbed way of wickednesse but we haue not stepped one foote in the plaine and easie path which leadeth to righteousnesse What are we now abettered by our Princely traine and treasure All these thinges are now vanished as the fléeting shade and as the swift Courser chased vppon the spurre as a shippe driuen with the tide and tempest which leaueth behinde no print of his passage This and such like in the infernall pitte shall bee the talke of those which haue bene offendors For that the hope and trust of sinne is like vnto chaffe chased with the winde or as the skumme and froath of the Sea dispearsed with the waues as the smoke sodeinly dissolued into the ayre or as the remembraunce of a pylgrime passing by the way These be there the complaintes and this the perpetual penance of the vngodly which shall not assist them at all because the time is passed wherein they might haue bene reléeued hereby Come therefore in the time of grace and repentaunce and you that haue eares receiue the sounde aduise of our Lorde vttered by the Prophet saying Iere. 13. Serue and glorifie God before the
10. Finally there shall be inward and outward darknesse both of the body and minde farre more obscure then those of Egypt which might be felt and touched with the hand There shall be fire but not suche as we vse commonly which smarteth a little and vanisheth quickly but such as is most fit for that place that is which afflicteth vehemently and neuer ceaseth to torment If this be true how can it be that those whiche beléeue and confesse the same should line so loosely and sléepe in such securitie What daunger what tedious toyle would not any man gladly vndertake rather then he would endure one day yea one houre the least of these torments Why then to shun a perpetuitie of calamities so tragicall doo they not imploy themselues to so easie trauaile as that which is requisite to the following of vertue This thing were inough to sequester a mans soule from his sences and to bring him to an extacie that deliberateth aduisedly herevpon Yet if among these huge heapes of miseries were any hope of ende or redresse it woulde quallifie somewhat their gripings corsies but alas they find it there farre otherwise for the gates of comfort are closed vp on all sides In all kinde of heauinesse that may happen in this life resteth alwayes some reliefe wherein the afflicted may repose himselfe as that which is administred either by reason of time fréendes or company of many whiche doo participate with him in the same mishap or by hope to be released at last may mittigate their maladie But in this euill onely the cundits of grace are so stopped and the passages of common comfort so interrupted that these vnhappie creatures can finde fauour on no side neither from heauen neither from the earth neither of the time passed nor present nor of that to come nor of ought that can be else but they séeme to be pressed and pearsed of all partes and that all creatures coÌ„spire against them whereby at last they ware wood and wrath with themselues This is the extreme straightnesse whereof the wicked bewayle themselues by the Prophet in this sorte Psal 17. The dread of death hath hedged me in on euery side and the infernall frightes haue inuironed met round about in such wise that whereon soeuer they péepe or prie their obiect is alwayes miserie exempted of mercie The Virgines whiche stoode prest at the Pallace of their spouse were receiued in Matth. 15. as the Euangelist saith and sodeinly the gates were locked O perpetuall pinning faste O immortall inclosure O gate of comfort which neuer shall be opened which is as though he had saide Closed is the porte of pardon shut is the doore and hatch of hope and intercession of grace of consolation and of meriting any more The sixe daies are vanished wherin Manna was to be gathered but the Sabboth it could not be founde wherfore he must fast alwaies which would not prouide for himselfe in time The yâ—le sluggard saith Salomon fearing the colde will not till his grounde in the Winter whereby he shall begge in the sommer and nothing shall be giuen him And againe He that laboureth in the sommer and time of haruest is discréete but he that then betakes him to sleepe is the sonne of perdition What greater confusion can there be then that which hapned to the riche myser who might haue purchased his place in heauen with the crums of bread that fell froÌ„ his table by his couetousnesse in deteyning that litle is now brought to such penury himself that he craueth shall craue coÌ„tinually one drop of water shal neuer obtaine it In whose heart doth not this request of that wretch moue a remorse O father Abraham pittie my case and send Lazarus Luke 16. that he may dip the top of his finger in the water and may touch my toong therewith for this fire tormenteth me out of measure What lesse petition could be demaunded then this for he durst not request one vessell of water neither would he that Lazarus should wet all his hande nor his whole finger which is to be wondred at but only the toppe of his finger and yet it would not be graunted vnto him By which thou seest how close the gates of grace are shulte and howe farre the prohibition and curse stretcheth which is prepared for the vngodly sith they cannot get so small a matter In such sort that cast they their gastly lookes which way they will let them extend their hand to what place them list they shall finde no crum of comfort be it neuer so small And as one fallen into the sea plunging in the deapth of the waters can finde no perfect footing and often stretching out his arme catcheth and graspeth round about in vaine being now euen swallowed in the gulfe So shall it happen to the accursed crue to whome the worlde is without any stabilitie for wading in the waues of such woe wretchednesse and alwaies striuing with death without trust or stay of any succour to leane vnto Of all the gréefes which is suffered in that mischéeuous place and harbour of aduersitie this is the greatest for if these punishmentes were determinable by any time yea though it were a thousande yeares or a hundred thousande million of yeares it were some kinde of comfort for that which hath end is not altogither to be dispraïsed but the paine of the wicked shall be eternall and the time of their distresse shall be coequall with the diuine glorie of God so long as God shall liue so long shall they dye and when God shall cease to be that he is then shall they likewise leaue to be that they are O dying life O liuing and immortall death I know not whether I should call thée life or death for if thou be life why dyest thou if thou be death how doest thou still endure I will not therefore call thée the one nor the other for that neither the one nor the other conteyneth ought that good is Life hath his limits and death dureth but for a time which much auayleth to the asswaging of sorrowes but in thée are neyther boundes nor space at all What then art thou Verely thou art the penaunce of life and the plague of death for thou hast the sting and torment of death euerlastingly and of life thou hast the perpetuitie without intermission GOD spoyled both life and death of their happinesse and committed to thée that which was left for the perpetuall punishment of the vngodly O cursed confection O bitter pill berest vtterly of all the benefites and delights that floweth from our swéete Samour Christ which is the foode that all wretched sinners féede vpon I wish therfore deare brother that not sildome thou wouldest erect thy earthly minde to the consideration of this eternitie and as a beast of the world wouldest sometimes make thy repast thervpoÌ„ Which that thou mayest performe effectually propone before thy eyes of vnderstanding the affliction that a
to the rule of equitie that thou hauing dedicated the whole tearme of thy life to deuotion of the diuell wilt in the ende require to be rewarded of God Doest thou not behold herein euen that which the fiue foolish Virgins did prepare whereof the Euangelist sheweth that they were making them readie when they shoulde haue giuen vppe their accounts Therefore how canst thou expect any better successe then thou art admonished by this example continuing in the selfesame carefulnesse God is mightie and can inspire vpon vs true repentance when he list but howe often it happeneth at this houre and howe fewe they bee which then repent hartily aske S. Augustine S. Ambrose S. Gregory and all other Saints and thou shalt sée howe precisely and scrupulously they speake in this matter and thou shalt well perceiue what a madnesse it is so confidently to commit thy selfe to the mercie of a gulfe wherevnto so many skilfull Pilots did passe with such great horrour and feare To dye well is a knowledge which ought to be learned all the life before for in the houre of death the diseased is cumbred with so many cares and gréefes that hée hath no leysure to learne to dye well It is a generall rule that as the life is of euery man such is his daath The death of the wicked is conformable to their life Whereby it followeth that if the life bee mischéenous the death is miserable except God for some speciall purpose doth dispose it otherwise These be not my words but the Apostles sayings The ende of the vngodly shall be like vnto their deserts For speaking generally neither doo we looke for a good euent of wicked beginnings nor of good attemptes cuill happes Reade ouer the whole Byble and thou shalt not heare any thing repeated so oft as this What séede a man soweth such croppe shall he gather and that in the extremitie of death the vniust shall reape the fruite of their trauels and that God will impart to euery man according to his merits and that the death of euery man shall be conformable to the life he hath lead and that the iustice of the righteous man shall be vppon his head and the curse of the â—â—godly vpon his head likewise with a thousand such like sentences If all the diuine scriptures might be powred out to sée what would issue thereof scarce any thing would appeare more often to our view then this Wherefore if thy workes be wicked and thy life likewise what other thing can we prognosticate thereof but that the ende will succéede as the beginning and middle hath béene What thing else shall we thinke him to gather in the other life but corruption who in this life hath sowen nothing else but corruption Peraduenture as our Sauiour saith We may gather roses of thornes figges of furse-bushes c. If the house of the wicked as Salomon sayth declineth towards death and his foote path leadeth directly to hell what other port can bee expected after this nauigation but euen such an ende as where the wall or trée shall fall which bendeth to one side but in that part whither it howeth most For he whose life whose dooings whose thoughts hath bene their onely regard to hell for that they haue all deserued it where shall he settle himselfe after all this but euen there right where shall he haue his habitation if not in outward darkenesse which alway walked in inward darknesse how wouldest thou bring to passe that in the ende of his iourney he should arriue in heauen which hath alwayes pursued the beaten pathe that lyeth straight to hell The Argument Wee ought not to abuse the mercie of God perseuering in sinne vpon confidence thereof For if Gods mercy can suffer so many Infidelles in the worlde and in the Church so many wicked Christians and that all those should be cast away quite he will also suffer that euery one which stil remaineth in sinne shall perish eternally CHAP. X. ANd if on the other side thou say that great is the mercie of God which dooth embolden thée in such that continuing in thy naughtie life are yet assured of thy saluation But tell mee how canst thou offer greater iniâ—rie to the mercy of God then of his beneuolence to take occasion to displease him Who taught thee to argue in this sort that because God is good and gracious shou shouldest haue leaue to be vngracious and to merit heauen thereby The holy Ghost neuer taught thée this kinde of reasoning but rather in this fashion That God being so good ought to be honoured obeyed imbraced aboue all other thinges wherefore sith God is pittifull it is good reason that in him I shoulde repose my whole trust and considence that he will pardon my treipasses bee they neuer so hainous so that I detest them vtterly turning my selfe vnto him with a sincere heart But procéeding alwayes in sinne beléeue it well hée will not abeare it yea hee will condemne thée and hate thée the more whome hée suffereth so long Thou canst not gainsay me that of an hundreth partes of the worlde there is scarce one repleated with Christians and that of ninetie and nine which abide in the worlde none are saned For as in the time of that great flood none was saued out of the Arke of Noe nor out of the house of Rubbe none escaped of those which dwelt in Hierusalem so none can be saued out of the house of God which it his church euen that which wee call Christianitie Beholde in what pickle and perplexitie it standeth in these dayes and thou shalte finde for certaine that in this whole mysticall bodie from toppe to toe is scarce any thing entire and sounde Sette aparte some principall Cittie where discipline taketh place and range abroad through all Townes and other places where as I saide is no talke of discipline and thou shalte finde much people of whome may be verified that which GOD saide touching Hierusalem Search all the stréetes and houses of Hierusalem and if thou shalte finde one iust man for his sake I will haue compassion vpon the Cittie Raunge abroad I say not now through Innes and Markets for that these anâ— places dedicated to deceit but through the best Cittizens houses As Ieremie saith Listen thy eares to that they speake and thou shalt hardly heare ouâ— good word but bitter backbytings and murmure shall fill thy eares Their disorder their oathes their blasphemie laughter discorde threates and of all sides both heart and tongues debate of earthly drosse and gaine but verie sâ—dome of God and good things but altogither in swearing and forswearing his holy name which is the memory he hath left vnto vs. The same Prophet saying Let them be mindfull of me but not in swearing falsly by my name iâ— such sort that by the externall shewe a man can scarce coniecture whether that nation be Christian or Heathen except it be by the sounde of belles and ruthful rage of
downe prostrate before the feete of thy sauionr and with a pēsiue hart say as followeth My sinnes O Lorde are in number about the sands of the Sea I haue spotted my selfe with the filth of euery vice and my offences are so multiplied that I deserue not nor dare not to beholde the Heauens because I haue prouoked thy wrath and haue done euill in thy sight The Argument In the second consideration he should consider that by sinne is lost the grace comfort of the holy Ghost the mutuall amitie the fauour fatherly protection of God the participation of all the good things don in the vniuersall Church and the benefit◠of Christes passion CHAP. IIII. VVEigh farther of howe great treasures vice doth robbe and spoyle thée which is one of the considerations that shoulde most affright a Christian whatsoeuer hee bee examining throughly on the one side what is lost by sinne and on the other side with what facility carelesse men offend daylie For by sinne is lost the grace of the holy Ghost which is the most precious gift that God can bestowe vppon his best beloued in this life It robbeth vs also of the fauour of God which alwayes accompanieth his grace And if it be a great griefe to léese the fauour of an earthly Prince howe muche greater should the griefe be to incurre the displeasure of him that is king of heauen and earth It bereaueth vs of the vertuous flowing from aboue of the giftes of the holy Ghost wherewith the soule is made bright and pure in the sight of God and is armed and animated against the force and violence of the enemie It robbeth the soule of his interest in heauen which procéedeth from the same grace sith that by grace glory is giuen as the Apostle saith Also of the spirit of adoption which maketh vs the sonnes of God and instéed thereof insecteth vs with the furie of rebellion which causeth vs to impugne his holy pleasure whereby wée léese the entertainment due vnto sonnes and the fatherly prouidence which God taketh of those whome hée receiueth for his children which is one of the greatest treasures that in this life may bee enioyed Wherein the Prophet reioyced not without good cause when hée saide I am right glad O Lorde because I sée my selfe shrowded vnder the shadowe of thy winges which is vnder the protection and fatherly prouidence that he hath of his chosen people By sinne is lost the peace the quiet and comfort of a guiltlesse conscience the swéetenesse and solace of the holie Ghost the fruite and merite of the vertuous actions that thou haste wrought all thy life before euen vntill that houre the participation of all those treasures which the Church holdeth in her custodie Finally by sinne is lost the participation and fruition of the merites which flowe from Christes passion who is our head because a sinner is not incorporated in his bodie as a liuely member through grace and charitie All this is lost by one mortall offence and that which is gained thereby is to be adiudged to eternall tormentes and for that time to be cancelled out of the booke of life and in steade of the sonne of God to bee made the vassall and bondslaue of Sathan and in steade of the temple and seate of the moste blessed Trinitie to become the denne of théeues the neast of Serpents the receipt and harbour of venemous Bafiliskes This is the guerdon conuenient for sinne whereby thou maiest learne whether it bee not good reason to tremble and quake beholding with howe little scruple of conscience with what facilitie and confidence so many carelesse men offende without measure And farther what reason it were that thou bedeawest thy chéekes with bloudie teares if not for the loue of God yet at least for thine owne distresse which hast loste suche inestimable riches for so small a myte as is the delight and taste of one trespasse If Esau wayled and wept so bitterly because he had lost his inheritance in lewe of the like taste with what cryes and complaintes shouldest thou fill heauen and earth for the losse of so woorthie of patrimonie that with gréefe and sorrowes sharpe thou maiest recouer the thing thou hast lost by dalliance and delights The Argument In the third consideration hee should thinke vpon Gods benefites bestowed vpon man that he might be abashed therat and be ashamed of himselfe And therefore enioyne himselfe to some sharpe affliction for that hee hath bene a creature so vngratefull and vnkinde CHAP. V. FOr the better replication of this ponder in thy minde the infinit number of Gods benefites For how much the more a man wayeth how bountifull God hath bene towardes him so much the more he shall be confounded in himselfe séeing how wicked he hath shewed himselfe to God In this sort the Prophets did often perswade the people of God to repentance And in this manner Nathan the Prophet beganne with Dauid when ere he reprooued him of adultery laide before him the fauoure and regall dignitie wherevnto God had promoted him and what else he had reserued for him In like sort a man should chiefly regard these ten kindes of benefites that ensue that is the benefite of creation of conseruation of redemption of baptisme of calling of diuine inspiration of preseruation from euill of the Sarraments of peculiar grace and priuate prerogatiues which hée hath receiued of his Sauiour and lastly of the glorie which hée expecteth héereafter to haue And particularly let him fixe himselfe vppon the benefite of vocation whiche is this that God hath looked so long for his conuersion and hath suffered and supported his sundrie sortes of sinne with such excéeding patience breathing vpon him eftsoones godly motions and diuine inspirations in the very midst of his naughtie life thereby to withdrawe him from his iniquities and to stirre him to repentance Weighing then with equall balance this wonderfull liberalitie and benignitie of our Sauiour on the one side and on the other our stubbornnesse ingratitude rebellion and abhominations committed against so mercifull bounteous a benefactor who will not be abashed and appalled thereat who will not rent his cloathes whose eyes will not yéelde streames of teares whose heart and intrailes will not bee consumed in sighes who wil not call all creatures to reuenge and to wrecke their wrath vpon a caitiffe so ingratefull and rebellious The Argument In the fourth consideration a Christian should consider the contempt and iniury he hath done to God by his offences esteeming more and preferring earthly drosse before his diuine Maiestie CHAP. VI. COnsider farther the despight and great wrong that is done vnto God through sinne for that so oft as we offend the iudgement and practise thereof doth still passe into our hearts weakeneth the vnderstanding whereby we banish all feare of transgression nor we féele not the weight of sinne whiche if it were set diametrically in the one part before the interest of sin which is some
delight or gaine or steppe of dignitie or such like and on the other part the displeasure of God whereby we léese vtterly God himselfe who is the toppe of our felicitie In such sort as though God were conteined in one ballance and the taste aforesaide in the other and a man placed in the middest deliberating and giuing sentence which should be reiected despiseth God to enioy that fléeting delight what greater contempt what more ignominie what so great reproach can there bee offered to the diuine Maiestie of God then to preferre and estéem better of drosse and filth then of Gods excellencie Wherein we much resemble the Hebrewes when Christe and Barabbas béeing presented before them to knowe which should bee deliuered with one accord they rather chose Barabbas then Christe And this is as though we woulde say vnto God we will no more account thée for GOD but we will adore and haue for our God and finall ende our owne delightes and proper gaine For hée that so muche regardeth a delight that he preferreth it before the loue of God and estéemeth and accounteth it of greater price then God himselfe assayeth to robbe God of his royall dignitie who is the prop and piller of our beatitude bestowing it vpon some brickle or beastly pleasure whiche is as though he would bereaue God of his crowne and giue it to a creature What thing can be more horrible then this God commaunded the Heauens béeing sencelesse Creatures that they should féele this defect and should woonder thereat saying by the Prophet Ieremie O ye Heauens bée astonied thereat and lette your gates cracke with maruelling for my people haue offended mee gréeuously after two sortes They haue forsaken mee the fountaine of the water of life and they assay to asswage their thirst in stinking puddles which can holde no water He then that considereth how many thousand times hee hath done vnto God the very same contempt and iniurie what should he not tremble to haue committed so gréeuous crimes should hee not wish that his eyes were turned into fountaines of teares to bewails night and day so great euils and excesses The Argument Fifthly we ought to consider how much God hateth sinne and for the same how many men be scourged with sundry calamities CHAP. VII COnsider the execrable hatred that God beareth to sinne which cannot be comprehended in the vnderstanding of man for that the malice of sin is conformable to the maiestie of the person offended Wherfore as the greatnesse and omnipotencie of God is infinit so also is the malice of sin committed against him And farther as the bountie of god is infinit so he hath an infinit hatred to wickednesse And yet if thou will know this geare more clearely and wilt imprint déeper in thy minde the hugenesse of this hatred and therewithall wilt fixe in thy heart the feare of God which is the foundation of all our auaile marke the dreadfull and bitter punishments that he hath executed against sinne and thereby shalt vnderstand it the better These punishments are innumerable but thou mayest set to the view of thy consideration the most notable amongst them As was the wrath of God extended vpon his chéefest Angell and all his adherents Vpon the first man with all his posteritie Vpon the whole world by the generall floud Vppon the fiue great Cities consumed with fire and Brimstone discending from Heauen Vpon the two sonnes of Aron Nadab and Abiu because they would offer vp sacrifice to God with other mens fire Vppon Dauid for his adulterie Vpon Saule for his disobedience Vpon Hely for not chastening his Children Vpon Anania and Saphira for their auarice Vppon Nabuchodonezer for his pride Vpon Hierusalem Babylon and Niniuie and other Citties which for their diuers offences were vttterly destroyed and left desolate Consider also the fiercenesse of hell fire and the torments thereof which GOD prouided for the reuenge of sinne the satisfaction and punishment that his sonne was forced to endure before he coulde cure the guilt and griefe of sinne which is more terrible then all the rest for the worthinesse of the person vpon whom it was executed Euery one of these punishments if it bee scanned aduisedly with his due circumstances shall much auaile to aduise vs of the dreadfull seueritie of Gods iustice and the mortall hatred he heareth to sinne whereby may be driuen into our hearts the dread of God and dolour of sinne He therefore that considereth how oft he hath incurred this so haynous indignation of God shall it not be requisite that hee shrinke and shiuer thereat and that hee with for a sea of sorrowfull sobbes and teares to quench therewith the furie and flame of Gods hideous hatred enkindled against him A man therefore meditating in his minde with a vehement passion of dole that the mightie Lorde of hostes will lay vppon him all the plagues before mentioned or at the least some part of them lette him méekely prostrate himselfe before the presence of God and béeing truely humbled in the very bottome of his heart say he thus A Prayer O Supreme Creator of all things I reckoning in the secret records of my minde my gréeuous guilt committed against thy diuine Maiestie doo meruaile at my folly yea at my madnesse weighing how benigne and mightie a patron I haue abandoned I accuse and curse my ingratitude séeing that from such libertie I am come to so wretched thraldome I know not what to expect or hope for but hell death and desperation For the iustice which I cannot shunne doth gall and crush my conscience yet remember contrariwise thy infinit mercie and clemencie which by the testimonie of thy Prophet excelleth all other workes and by the which in a cortaine manner thou masterest thy selfe suddenly a ioyfull sparke of hope doth recreate my sore afflicted soule For why should I dispayre to obtaine pardon of him who by his Prophets doth so oft inuite sinners to repentance saying I wish not the death of a sinner but rather his conuersion and life And thy onely begotten sonne by many Parables hath manifested vnto vs howe readie thy remission is to all true penitents This he shewed by the Iewell which was lost and founde againe by the prodigall sonne whose perfect image I acknowledge to be in my selfe For he I am which haue wrongfully renounced thée my most affectioned father and hee that wasted his bloud riotously and following the pursuites of my fleshly desires haue fled from thē pleasant path of thy commaundements and haue fallen into the beastly bondage of sinne and consequently haue béene oppressed with extreame distresse and miserie From whence I know not who can restore mee home againe but hee onely from whome I haue reuolted Swéete Sauiour let thy mercy receiue the man that humply prayeth pardon whom thou hast graciously expected euen till this houre But because this is not due to my merittes in stead of them I offer vnto thée all the trauailes and deserts of thy dearely