him in another Countrey where he had no sepulcher prouided Herod hoped when the people cryed at his words It is the voyce of God that hee should be worshipped euer after as God but God resisted his pride and before he descended from his throane the wormes so defaced his pompe that none which called him God would be like vnto him so whē women take more paines to dresse themselues then they doe all the day after and pay deerer to maintaine one vice than they neede to learne all vertues they thinke to please men by it but God resisteth their pride and al that see them though they cap and curtsie to them yet they iudge worse of them and thinke that they would not weare these signes of lightnes and pride vnlesse they were light and proud indeede Thus if their apparell condemne them before men how will it condemne them before GOD If sinne did not blinde them would they so deceiue themselues to take the contrary way and thinke that should honor them which disgraceth other But as Balaam was stopped knew not who stopped him so they are resisted and know not who resisteth them Though they doe al to please yet they can please none they please not God for God resisteth them they please not the humble for the humble are contrarie to thē they please not the proud for the proud doe enuie them which striue to bee as proude as they they please not themselues because they cannot bee so proud and braue as they would bee onely they please the diuell because their pride doth intitle him to them Thus much of Gods battailes against the proud Heere Peter leaueth the proud with this brand in their forehead This is the man whom God resisteth then hee turneth to the lowly and comforteth them But he giueth grace to the humble as if hee should say you are like Iohn the beloued Disciple which leaned on Christs bosome Iohn 13. 23. though God resist the proud yet hee will not frowne vpon you but when he resisteth them he wil giue grace vnto you as if hee should say the proud are without grace for God giueth not grace vnto the proud but to the humble according to that to Esay 66. 2. To him will I looke euen to him that is poore of a contrite heart and trembleth at my wordes therefore Learne of me saith Christ to be hūble meek as though the humble and meeke were his schollers Therefore God must needes loue the humble because they are like his sonne they shall haue his best giftes of which hee sayth 2. Cor. 12. 9. My grace is sufficient as if hee should say hee which hath giuen you his grace can he denie you any thing as Christ saith Hee which hath giuen vs his Sonne will he not giue vs all things with him Therefore grace may be called the gift of gifts because all gifts come with grace as the Court goeth with the Queene Therefore feare not to bee humble least you be contemned for all the promises of God are made to humilitie and yet men feare to be humble lest they shuld be contemned Humilitie did not make Iohn contemptible but when he refused the name of a Prophet Christ saith that hee was more then a Prophet Mat. 11. 2. Humilitie did not make Moses contemptible but as he was the mildest man vpon earth so he was the greatest vpon the earth Numb 12. Humilitie did not make Dauid contemptible but when he humbled himselfe hee said vnto Micol I will be more humble yet and lowly in my owne sight yet thou and thy maides shall honour me 2. Sam. 6. 22. As Christ ceased not to be a king because he was like a seruant nor to bee a Lion because he was like a Lamb nor to be God because he was made man nor to bee a Iudge because he was iudged so man dooth not loose his honour by humilitie but he shal be honored for his humilitie as the Son was honoured when he was humbled Luk. 15. 8. Thus humilitie hath found that which pride sought like little Dauid which was least accompted of and yet gotte the victorie yea when no man durst encounter with the Gyant 1. Sam. 17. 28. This is the ladder whereby we must ascend Gen. 28. 12. pride did cast vs downe and humilitie must raise vs vp As the way to heauen is narrowe Mat. 12. 13. so the gate is lowe and he had neede to stoope which entreth in at it therefore be not proud least God oppose himselfe against you but be humble and the grace of God belongeth to you So long as thou art proude and readest this sentence GOD giueth grace to the humble thou mayst say to thy soule Soule thou hast no part herein for grace is the portion of the humble and the dowrie of the meeke and the treasure of the lowlie but to thee it is saide The Lord resisteth the proude as if he should say Auoide Sathan Math. 4. or Departe from mee ye wicked Math 25. 45. Thus you see howe you may haue GOD your friende or your enemie Hee resisteth the proud and giueth grace to the humble if thou disdaine to learne humilitie of man learne it of GOD who humbled himselfe from heauen to earth to exalte thee from earth to heauen to which Kingdome when the proud shall be shut out the Lord Iesus bring vs for his mercies sake FINIS THE YOVNG MANS TASKE Ecclesiastes 12. 1. Remember thy Creator in the dayes of thy youth IF it be so as they say that none but young men do heare our doctrine then this Text is well chosen for the auditory to teach young men that which if they learne they may say with Dauid I haue more vnderstanding then the auncient Psalm 119. 100. All Scripture is mans duetie and answeres like Iohn Baptist to What shall wee doe In the first of Iohn the second and the twelfth Iohn sayth I write vnto you babes I write vnto you children I write vnto you fathers I write vnto you youngmen I write vnto you old men So the word which is called aflying booke flyeth from one age to another from one sexe to another from one calling to another till like a Iudge it hath giuen euery man his charge Among the rest I may call this Scripture The young mans taske Wherein the Wise man sheweth when is the best time to sow the seede of vertue that it may bring foorth the fruite of life and make a man alway readie to die Let him remember his Creator in the daies of his youth and all his life shall runne in a line the middle like the beginning and the ende like the middle as the Sunne setteth against the place where it rose After Salomon had described man like Martha troubling and toyling himselfe about many things at last hee bringeth him to that one thing necessarie which Christ taught Marie and shewes him that if he had begun there at first he had found that which
vnnaturall they may say thou followest thy mother for she was vnnaturall first in locking vp her brests from thee and committing thee forth like a Cuckow to be hatched in a Sparrowes nest Hereof it comes that we say He suckt euill from the dug that is as the Nurse is affected in her bodie or in her minde commonly the childe draweth the like infirmitie from her as the egges of a Henne are altered vnder the Hauke yet they which haue no milke can giue no milke But whose breastes haue this perpetuall drought Forsooth it is lyke the goute no beggers may haue it but Citizens or Gentlewomen In the ninth chapter of Hosea thy brestes are named for a curse what lamentable happe haue Gentlewomen to light vpon this curse more then other sure if their breasts be drie as they say they should fast and pray together that this curse migro be remoued from them The next dutie is Catechize a childe in his youth and he will remember it when he is olde This is the right blessing which fathers and mothers giue to their children when they cause God to blesse them too The wrong mother cared not though the childe were deuided but the right mother would not haue it deuided so wicked Parents care not though their children be destroied but godly parents would not haue them destroyed but saued that when they haue dwelt together in earth they may dwell together in heauen As the Midwife frameth the bodie when it is young and tender so the parents must frame the minde while it is greene and flexible for youth is the seed time of vertue They which are called fathers are called by the name of God to warne them that they are in stead of God to their children which teacheth all his sons What example haue children but their parents and sure the prouidence of God doth ease their charge more than they are aware for a childe will learne better of his father than of anie other And therefore wee read of no Schoolemaisters in the scripture but the Parents for when Christ saith to the Iewes If yee be the sonnes of Abraham yee will doe the workes of your Father Abraham he sheweth that sonnes vse to walke in their Fathers steppes whether they bee good or bad It is a maruellous delight to the father and mother when people say that their children are like them but if they be like them in godlinesse it is as great delight to other as to the parents or else we say that they are so like that they are the worse for it Well doth Dauid call children arrowes for if they be wel bred they shoote at their parents enemies and if they be euill bred they shoote at their parents Therefore many fathers want a staffe to stay them in their age because they prepared none before like olde Eli which was corrected himselfe for not correcting his sonnes Are not children called the fruite of their parents Therefore as a good tree is knowne by bringing foorth good fruite so parents should shewe their godlinesse in the education of their children which are their fruite For this cause the Iewes were wont to name their children so whē they were borne that euer after if they did but thinke vppon their names they would put them in mind of that religion which they should professe for they did signifie some thing that they should learne An admonition to such as call their children at all aduentures somtime by the names of dogs euen as they proue after In 1. Kings 2. 2. we haue Dauid instructing his sonnes In Gen. 39. Iacob correcting his sonnes and in Iob. 1. Iob praying for his sonnes These three put together instructing correcting praying make good children and happie parents Once Christ tooke a childe and set him in the midst of his disciples and sayd He which will receiue the kingdome of heauen must receiue it as a little childe shewing that our children should be so innocent so humble and voide of euill that they may be taken for examples of the children of God Therefore in Psalme 127. 4. children are called the heritage of the Lord to shew that they should be trained as though they were not mens children but Gods that they may haue Gods heritage after Thus if you doo your seruants shall be Gods seruants and your children shall be Gods children and your house shall be Gods house like a little Church when others are like a denne of theeues Now I speake to one which is a mother so soone as she is married therefore peraduenture you looke that I should shewe the dutie of stepmothers Their name dooth shewe them their duetie too for a stepmother doth signifie a stedmother that is one mother dieth and another commeth in her stead therefore that your loue may settle to those little ones as it ought you must remember that ye are their stedmother that is in sted of their mother and therefore to loue them and tender them and cherish them as their mother did She must not looke vpon them like Rehoboam who tolde his people that hee would be worse vnto them then his predecessour for then they will turne from her as his subiects did from him but she must come to them as Dauid came to the people after Saules death and sayd Though your master Saul be dead yet I will raigne ouer you so she must say to them though your mother be dead yet will I be a mother so the children will loue her asmuch as their father Further these children are orphanes and therefore you must not onely regarde them as children but as orphane children Now God requireth a greater care ouer widowes and Orphanes than ouer anie other women or children Lastly you must remember that saying As you measure vnto other so it shall be measured vnto you againe that is as you intreate these children so another may come after and intreat your children for he which hath taken away the first mother and sent you can take away the seconde mother and sende a third which shall not be like a stepmother to yours vnlesse you be like a stepmother to these If these duties bee performed in marriage then I neede not speake of Diuorcement which is the rod of mariage and diuideth them which were one flesh as if the bodie and soule were parted asunder But because all performe not their wedlocke vowes therfore hee which appointed mariage hath appointed diuorcement as it were taking our priuilege from vs when we abuse it As God hath ordained remedies for euery disease so he hath ordained a remedie for the disease of mariage The disease of marriage is adulterie and the medicine hereof is diuorcement Moses licensed them to depart for hardnesse of heart but Christ licenseth them to depart for no cause but adulterie If they might be separated for discord some
Doe this in remembrance of me that is these signes shall bee a remembrance of my death when you breake the bread you shall remember the wounding of my body and when you drinke the wine you shall remember the sheading of my blood If wee doe this is remembraunce of Christs bodie which was broken like the bread it is an argument that his bodie is not there because remembrance is not of thinges present but of things absent we remember not but wee see that which is before vs. This might put the Papists in remembrance that Christ is not sacrificed now when we do but remember his sacrifice this is not Christes sacrifice but a remembrance of his sacrifice he was sacrificed before and now it is applied lest his sacrifice should be in vaine This was done once reallie when he offered himselfe vpon the crosse therefore that offering was called a sacrifice because he was sacrificed indeed but this offering is called a Sacrament because it is but a signe of his sacrifice If Christ in this Sacrament were offered indeede then it should bee called a sacrifice as his once offering was but because it is but a remembrance of his sacrifice therefore it is called a Sacrament This is not a sacrifice of Christ but a sacrifice of our selues Lest we shoulde take it to bee a sacrifice of Christ Christ himselfe calleth it a remembrance of his sacrifice Do this in my remembrance Here is our worke as Christ hath done so must we doe so we minister and so you receiue wee can giue you nothing but that which we haue receiued from him as Paul saith Therefore if Christ did not giue his mortall bodie which stood before them and could not profite them nor his glorified bodie which was not glorified then and when it was glorified ascended vp vnto heauen and there abideth how can these iugling Priests make their God againe which made them They can no more turne wine into blood bread into flesh than they can commaund a gnat to become a camell for it is a greater worke to make God than to make the world Therefore as Christ saith When they tell you here is Christ and there is Christ beleeue them not So when they tell you that Christ is in heauen and that Christ is in earth in this place and that place beleeue them not for Elias ascension was a figure of Christes ascension when Elias was ascended yet some sought for his bodie vpon earth so though Christ be ascended yet manie seeke his bodie vpon earth but as they could not finde Elias bodie so these cannot finde Christes bodie although they haue sought three hundred yeares But if his bodie were vpon earth as they say should we handle it and touch it now it is glorified After his resurrection he sayd vnto Marie Touch me not because his bodie was glorified that is not to bee touched with fingers any more but with faith Therefore we reade of none which touched his bodie after it was risen but onely Thomas to settle his faith Thus you see wee neede to suborne no witnesses for euerie word in this Text which they alleadge for Transubstantiation doth make agaynst Transubstantiation whereby if Antichrist doth signifie those which are against Christ you see who may be called Antichrist There is no question in Poperie except Purgatorie the Popes publican and tasker about which the Papistes are at such ciuill warres among themselues as about this Transubstantiation They cannot tell when the chaunge beginneth nor what manner of change it is nor how long the change continueth some hang one way and some another like the Midianites which fought one against another And no maruell though their consciences stagger about it for to shew you the right father of it it was one of the dreames of Innocentius the third in the yeare of our Lorde 1215. so manie yeares passed before Transubstantiation was named and then a Pope set it first on foote so it came out of Rome the grandame of all heresies and for want of scriptures hath bene defended with fire and sword and swallowed mo Martyrs than all the gulfs of the Papall sea beside Now when the doctrines of men goe for scriptures you shal see how many errors rush into the Church for graunt but this to Pope Innocentius as the Papists do that the bread and wine are chaunged into Christes bodie First it wil follow that Christs body is not ascended vp to heauen because it remaineth vpon earth and so one of the articles of our faith shalbe falsified which saith He is ascended into heauen or if he be ascended and descended againe another article will be falsified which saith That hee sitteth at the right hand of his father that is as Peter saith he abideth in heauen Secondly it will follow that Christ hath not a true bodie but a fantasticall bodie because it may bee in manie places at one time for if his bodie be in the Sacrament he must needes haue so many bodies as there bee Sacraments nay hee must haue so many bodies as there be bittes in euerie Sacrament Thirdly it will follow that his bodie is diuided from his soule and consequentlie is a dead bodie because the bread is onely changed into his bodie and not into his soule Fourthly it will follow that the wicked and prophane reprobate may receiue Christ as well as the godlie because they haue a mouth to eate as well as the best Fiftly it will followe that Christes Sacrifice once for all was not sufficient because we must sacrifice him againe and breake his bodie and shed his blood as the Iewes crucified him vpon the Crosse Sixtly it will follow that the bread being turned into the bodie of our Redeemer hath a part of our redemption as well as Christ Seuenthly it wil follow that Christ did eate his owne bodie for all the fathers saie that hee did eate the same Bread which he gaue to his Disciples Lastly it will follow that a Massing Priest shalbe the creator of his Creator because hee makes him which made him All these absurdities are hatched of Transubstantiation Thus when men deuise Articles of their owne while they strike vppon the anuill the sparkes flie in their face and they are like the man which began to build and could not finish it When I see the Papist in so many absurdities for entertaing one errour me thinks hee seemeth like a Collier which is grymed with his owne coales Therefore as in maners we should thinke of of Peters saying Whether is it meete to obey God or men So in doctrines we should thinke whether it be meete to beleeue God or men Thus haue you heard the Author of this Sacrament The Lord Iesus the time when it was instituted in the night that he was betraied the manner how it was instituted after thankesgiuing the end why it was instituted for a remembrance of his death
the man whom godlines doth make rich For When the blessing of the Lorde maketh rich saith Salomon hee dooth adde no sorrow to it but saith hee the reuenewes of the wicked is trouble as though his mony were care Wherfore let Patron and Landlord and Lawyer and all say nowe that Paule hath chosen the better riches which thiefe nor moath nor canker can corrupt these are the riches at last which we must dwell with when all the rest which we haue lyed for and sworne for and fretted for and couzened for and broken our sleepe for lost many Sermons for forsake vs like seruants which change their masters then Godlinesse shall seeme as great gaine to vs as it did to Paule and he which loued the world most would giue all that he hath for a dram of faith that he might be sure to go to heauen when he is dead though he went towardes hell so long as he liued Here then is an answere to them which aske What profit is it to serue God Howe happie was Barzillai that would not be exalted What quiet had the Shunamite which cared not for preferment When did the Disciples seeme so rich as when they were willing to leaue all This shall be your gaine when you are Vsurers of godlinesse Is not the word gone foorth yet which hath killed couetousnesse that I may end my Sermon Either you goe away contented or else you goe away condemned of your owne conscience Before you were vexed with couetousnes but now the word shall vexe you too for you shall neuer couet nor lye nor deceiue hereafter but a sergeant shall arrest you vpon it and some sentence which you haue heard shall gnaw you at the heart with a Memorandum of hell that yee shall wish Oh that I could abandon this sinne or else that I had neuer heard that warning that makes it a corrosiue vnto mee before I can leaue it If they which are greedie still could see what peace and rest and ioye go home with them which are contented although they may say with Peter Gold and siluer haue I none euerie man would be a suter to Godlinesse that he might haue the dowrie of contentation If anie here be couetous still let him alway thinke why Dauid prayeth Turne my heart vnto thy law and not vnto couetousnes he might haue named pride or anger or lust but to shewe that no sinne did so keepe his thoughts from the law as couetousnes when it came vpon him he saith Turne my hart vnto thy law not vnto couetousnes as though a man could not be couetous haue leisure to thinke vpon any good But as Iohn baptized with water so I cā but teach you with words Now you haue heard what Contentation is you must pray to another to giue it you It is said of this Citie that many Citizens of London haue good wils but bad deedes that is you doe no good vntill ye die First ye are vngodly that you may be rich and then you part from some of your riches to excuse for your vngodlinesse It may bee that some here haue sette downe in their wils When I die I bequeath 100 pounds to a Colledge 100 pounds to an hospitall and 100 gownes to poore men I do maruell that you giue no more when you are at that point for Iudas when he died returned all againe so yee die and thinke when ye are gone that God will take this for a quittance Bee not deceiued for God doth not looke vpon that which you doe for feare but vpon that which ye doe for loue If you can find in your heart to do good while you are in health as Zacheus did then God hath respect to your offering but before God hearken how you giue your riches first he examins how ye came by them for a man may be hanged for stealing the monie which he giueth to the poore because if hee should count Godlines gaine much more should he care to gaine by godlie meanes Thus you see the fruits of Godlinesse and the fruits of Couetousnes to stay Balaam posting for a bribe and the sonnes of Zebede suing for preferment least seeking for asses they lose a better kingdome then Saul found If you be couetous you shall neuer haue enough though you haue too much but whē ye pray Thy kingdome come ye shall wish my kingdome come If ye be godlie ye shall haue enough though yee seeme to haue nothing like the Smyrnians of whom God said I know thy pouertie but thou art rich Therefore what counsel shall I giue you but as Christ coūselled his Disciples Be not friends to riches but make you friends of riches know this that if ye cannot say as Paul saith I haue learned to be content Godlinesse is not yet come to your house for the companion of godlines is contentation which when she comes wil bring you all things Therfore as Christ saith If the sonne make you free you shall be free indeed so I say if godlines make you rich ye shall be rich indeede The Lord Iesus make you doers of that yee haue heard FINIS THE AFFINITIE OF THE FAITHFVL Luke 8. 19 Then came to him his Mother his Brethren and could not come neare him for the prease 20 And it was told him by certaine which sayd thy mother and thy brethren stand without and would see thee 21 But he answered and said vnto them My Mother my brethren are these which heare the word of God and do it HEre is Christ preaching a great prease hearing his mother and his friends interrupting Christ againe withstanding the interruption with a comfortable doctrine of his mercies toward them which heare the word of God and doe it When Christ was about a good worke and many were gathered together to heare him the Diuell thought with him selfe as the Priestes and Sadduces did in the fourth of the Acts If I let him alone thus all the world will follow him and I shall be like Rachel without children therefore deuising the likeliest pollicie to frustrate disgrace but one of his Sermons thereby to make the people more vnwilling to heare him againe as he set Eue vpon Adam and made Iobs wife his instrument when hee could not fit it himselfe so he sendeth Christs Mother and putteth in the mind of his kinsmen to come vnto him at that instant when he was in this holy exercise call vpon him while he was preaching to come away and go with them Christ seeing the serpents dealing how he had made his mother his tempter that all his Auditorie might go away emptie and say where they came We heard the man which is called Iesus and he began to preach vnto vs with such words as though he would carie vs to Heauen but in the middest of his Sermon came his Mother and Brethren to him that it might be
this day but thus it standes God hath sent vnto vs for our hearts and wee answere him as the husbands of the vineyard when he sent for fruites or as Nabal answered Dauid when he sent for food Who is Dauid or who is the Lord that I should take my heart from pleasure and sin and giue it vnto him Thus we demurre vpon the cause when we should giue whether we should giue or no and aske the flesh and our lusts and our pleasures and if the diuell will not giue his assent then wee returne an excuse it is not mine to giue or if thou canst get the diuels good will I will not stand or let sinne and pleasure haue it for a while and when they haue done with it then God shall haue it Thus euery thing which should be thrown out hath a place in our heart and he which should bee receiued in can haue no roome there though hee would open the doores of heauen if we would open the doores of our hearts that the King of glorie might come in What shall become of those hearts when he which craues them now shall iudge them hereafter Then shall they stand like Esau and see them blessed like Iacob which gaue their hearts and crie themselues as hee did to his father Isaac Hast thou not reserued a blessing for vs What a heauie heart will it bee then when it may not ioy any longer here and the ioyes of Heauen are shut agaynst it and hee which desired it will not haue it because it comes like the foolish Virgins when the doores of mercie are shut Thus ye haue heard what God requires for all that hee hath giuen you and how all your seruices are lost vntill you bring it What shall I wish you now before my departure I wish you would giue all your hearts to God while I speake that yee might haue a Kingdome for them Send for your hearts where they are wandering one from the Banke another from the Tauerne another from the Shop another frō the Theaters call them home and giue them all vnto God and see how hee will welcome them as the Father imbraceth his Sonne If your hearts were with God durst the Diuell fetch them durst those sinnes come at them Euen as Dina was defloured when she strayed from home so is the heart when it straieth from God Therefore call the members together and let them fast like a quest of twelue men vntill they consent vppon lawe before anie moe Tearmes passe to giue God his right and let him take the heart which hee wooeth which hee would marrie which hee would endowe with all his goods and make it the heyre of the crowne When you pray let your heart pray when you heare let your heart heare when you giue let your heart giue whatsoeuer you doe set the heart to doe it and if it be not so perfect as it should bee yet it shalbe accepted for the friend that giues it Now if you cannot command your hearts to turne vnto God because the diuell pleades custome and the flesh will not agree to leaue her possessions then remember what Christ saith When ye giue almes let not your left hand know what the right hand doth so the flesh must not knowe what the spirite doth Thou must not make thy lusts of counsel but as Abraham when hee was bid to offer his sonne rose vp betime and left his wife at home and neuer made Sarah priuie lest she should stop him being more tender ouer her childe like women than the father is so thou must giue thy heart to God before the flesh heare of it for if Abigaile had consulted with Nabal whether she shuld haue supplied Dauid with victuals or no when he sent the miser would neuer haue giuen his consent which scolded so soone as he heard of it therefore she went alone and gaue that which hee asked and neuer tolde her husband what shee would doe lest hee should hinder her which sought her welfare and his too so wee should steale our harts from the world as the world stole them from vs and transport them to God when the flesh is a sleepe I haue but one daye more to teach you all that you must learne of me therefore I would holde you heere vntill you assent to giue all your hearts to God If ye giue them not now where haue I cast the seede and how haue ye heard all this yeare If ye will giue them now ye shall bee adopted this daye the sonnes of God and I shall leaue you in the bosome of Christ which will giue you heauen for your hearts The Lord Iesu graunt that my wordes bee not the sauour of death vnto my soule here but that you may goe in strength thereof through prosperitie and aduersitie till you heare that comfort from heauen Come ye blessed and receiue the inheritance prepared for you FINIS THE TRVE TRIAL OF THE SPIRITES To the Reader TWo things we are apt to forget Gods benefites and our sinnes for the first the Lord saith I haue loued you and they say Wherein hast thou loued vs For the second hee saith Ye haue despised me and they say Wherein haue we despised thee THE TRVE TRIAL OF THE SPIRITES 1. Thess 5. 19 c. 19 Quench not the spirit 20 Despise not prophecying 21 Trie all things and keepe that which is good 22 Abstaine from all appearance of euill AT the last time which I spake of these wordes In all things giue thanks Quench not the Spirit Touching the first I shewed you that it is an easier thing to obtaine of God than to bee thankfull to him for moe haue gone away speeders than haue gone away thankers Then how the wicked are beholding to God as well as the iust and therfore it is sayd that the Sunne doth shine vpon the iust and the vniust Then how Iacob came not so barely to Laban when he brought nothing with him but his staffe in his hand as man commeth into this worlde without strength or staffe to sustaine him which made the Apostle to aske What haue you which you haue not receiued Therefore to teach man to be thankfull vnto his maker hee was not made in Paradise the place of ioy and happines but being made out of Paradise hee was brought into Paradise to shew how all his ioy and happines came from God and not from nature that he might know where to bestow his thankes Therefore Dauid to perswade all men vnto thankfulnesse saith It is a good and pleasant thing to be thankfull If he had sayd no more but good all which loue goodnesse were bound to be thankful but when he saith not onely good but pleasant too all which loue pleasure are bounde to be thankfull and therefore as Peters mother in lawe so soone as Christ healed her of a feauer rose vp immediatly to
though they beare the visors of men After he had sayd Mine vnderstanding was restored to me he annexeth Mine honour was restored to me so he grew to a king againe as he was wont to put on one roabe after another when hee was a King so when GOD would make him a king againe first hee puts vpon him the roabe of vnderstanding as it were the foundation of a king like the principall spirit which came vpon Saul the first of Samuel 10. 9. And when he had a princes heart then GOD gaue him a Princes power and proclaymed like a voyce from Heauen Nabuchadnezzar king of Babel so gloriously he rose againe like the Sunne with a triumph of his restitution welcome of his subiects like the shoute which went before Salomon 1. King 1. 34. One would think when Nabuchadnezzar was a King GOD would neuer haue made him like a beast nor after made him again a king for who would suffer a beast to rule ouer thē seeing such stomackes are in men that they will hardly endure any rulers Therefore it is strange that these men would suffer one to rule ouer them that had been 7. yeeres like a beast it is euen as if one had lien 7. yeres in the graue and after come to challenge his house and goods from them which haue it in possession and count it their owne I think such a one should haue so cold a suite that vnles it were some fewe that loued him while hee liued hee might goe againe to his graue for a house to dwel in so no body looketh now for Nabuchadnezzar to come out of the wildernes hee was the vnlikelyest man in the world to bee King after such a change but see what God can doe though all bee against it he which made a king like a beast raysed a king of a beast Mine vnderstanding sayth Nabuchadnezzar was restored to me and more than that mine honour was augmented more than it was when I was so proud of it As God turned his heart so hee turned the hearts of his Nobles and people that they receiued him for their King againe and sought vnto him and reuerenced him for all the disgrace which they had seene which made them before to contemne him like a beast Here a wise man may studie and wonder like Elisha when his master was rapt to heauen For as though a snuffe had beene taken from the ground and set in the candlestick againe and shined brighter than it did before So Nabuchadnezzar was raised from the dust and set in the throan euen now no man cared for him and nowe no man dare displease him that which Salomon sayth in Prou. 16. 17. When the wayes of a man please the Lord he will make all his enemies at peace with him so when Nabuchadnezzar pleased the Lord God gaue him grace with men his glorie was augmented My glory was encreased c. that is he receiued not onely his kingdome and power and honour agayne but hee receiued vsury of them For his seauen yeers banishment they had been put out seuen yeeres to the Banke for him to receiue more whē he came again so when he sought his owne honour honour departed from him his pallace could not holde it his treasures could not redeeme it his gard could not stay it but pride chased it away whilest he followed after it But when he sought Gods honor and cared not for his owne honour was increased according to that I will honour them that honour me What would Nabuchadnezzar say to our Nabuchadnezzars if hee were liuing which thinke it agaynst their honor to seeke Christs honour and that if his kingdome went vp their kingdome should go down like Herod which thought hee coulde not bee King if Christ should raigne and the Pharisies which thought they shoulde bee despised if Christ were regarded If Nabuchadnezzars honour came vnto him for the honour which he gaue to GOD how long will their honour last which eate and drinke giue and take set vp and pull downe and doe all that they doe to honour themselues as Nabuchadnezzar built Babel vntill that voyce came thundering from heauen Thy kingdome is departed from thee thy office is departed from thee thy life is departed from thee Some haue exalted themselues like Nabuchadnezzar and are not fallen yet some mounted vp haue fallen low and lower like Balaam but they are not yet at the ground they haue ruled like beasts longer then Nabuchadnezzar and yet looke not vp to heauen that they may bee changed Thus Nabuchadnezzar is welcome to his throne againe Now he hath receiued grace let vs examine his thankfulnes If you marke how euery thing comes in his order you shall see a marueilous consequence obserued both in his Fall Restitution When he looked vpon his pallace then he waxed proud when he waxed proud then God threatned him whē he was threatned then God banished him when hee was banished then he lift vp his eyes to heauen when he lift vp his eyes to heauen his vnderstanding came vnto him when his vnderstanding came vnto him then he gaue thanks to God shewing vs the vse of our vnderstanding why God hath giuen reason vnto men viz. to serue him and praise him vpon earth as Nabuchadnezzar worshipped God so soone as he came to vnderstanding so so soone as we come to yeres of discretion and begin to vnderstand we should begin a new life and serue him whom all creatures doe serue with vs or else our vnderstanding is vaine and wee are beasts still for by this Nabuchadnezzar shewes that hee had vnderstanding and was like a man because hee gaue praise to God was moued in heart to worship him which made him according to that definition that Dauid maketh of vnderstanding in the tenth verse of the one hundred and eleuenth Psalm They which obserue them haue a good vnderstanding they which obserue the Commaundements haue a good vnderstanding not they which speake of the Commandements nor they which write of the Commandements nor they which preach of the Commaundements but they which keepe the Commaundements haue a good vnderstanding The rest haue a false vnderstanding a vaine vnderstanding an vnderstanding like that of the Scribes Pharisies which was enough to condemne them but not to saue them By this euery man should trie his wisedome for so soone as vnderstanding commeth to him as it came to Nabuchadnezzar it will extort praier and obedience from him whether hee will or no therefore our Nabuchadnezzars are beasts still for this is no part of their vnderstanding But he which can go beyond all in shifts policie is counted the wisest man in Court Citie Oh if Machauil had liued in our countrey what a Monarch should be be to what honour and wealth and power and credite might he haue risen vnto in short time whether he had been a Lawyer or a Courtier or a Prelate me thinkes I see how many fingers would poynt at
of this vice GOD suffereth men to fall into other vices which men abhorre and punish as theft and fornication and drunkennes to make them ashamed by these vices which were not ashamed of pride this is an argument that of all sinnes pride is the worst because God suffereth other sinnes to come and shame vs least we should bee proude Agayne Pride hath this propertie and sleight that it mixeth it selfe with our good workes and followeth vertue As from the ashes of a Phoenix ariseth another Phoenix so of the ashes of our good workes ariseth pride When the diuell cannot stay vs from a good worke then he laboureth by all meanes to make vs proud of it and so he staineth our worke and stealeth our reward For though a man doe neuer so much good yet if he be proude of it hee loseth his reward as the Pharisies did therefore the best and the wisest and the holiest men had need to watch this vice for if they take not great heed it will make them proud of their wisedome and of their zeale and of their goodnes Paul was almost puffed vp with reuelations Aron and Miriam began to rebell because they thought themselues as good as Moses and all the fathers of any heresie began their heresie at this a magnificate opinion of themselues and an ouerweening of their owne gifts So pride setteth vpon the best euen as the temper set vpon Christ Agayne a man had need to take heede of pride for she will not keepe counsaile but if he be proud she will tell that he is proud and therefore is called an impudent sinne because she descrieth her selfe in the eye in the speech in the iesture in the looke in the gaâ—e like the drunkard so that a man cannot bee proud and seeme humble Thus God hath tied a iust punishmeÌ„t to this vice that he which entertaineth the vice that he loueth should not auoid the name which he abhorreth but he shall be esteemed proud and called proud of all that know him and many that know him not shall point at him with their fingers in the streetes say there goes a proud fellow which they pronounce of no vice els but the drunkard because these two bewray themselues Thus you see howe the proud resist God now you shall see how GOD resisteth the proud They are so heady that almost none dare resist them but God I will resist them saith God Therefore when hee heard the proud man say in the 14 of Esaiah I will ascend vp into heauen hee answereth himselfe Thou shalt be brought downe to the graue This is hee which resisteth the proud When Hamans wife heard her husband say that Mordecai was against him because he was an Israelite she sayd that her husband should take the soile and Mordecai shoulde preuayle What if she had heard her husband say that the Lord of Mordecai was agaynst him If the seruant bee so terrible who dare encounter with his master God hated Esau and how did Esau prosper though hee was the elder brother yet he missed the birth-right and though his father loued him yet hee could not blesse him because God hated him God was wroth with the Angels and droue them out of heauen God was wroth with Adam and thrust him out of Paradice GOD was wroth with Nabucadnezzar and turned him out of his Pallace God was wroth with Cain and though hee were the first man that was borne of a woman yet God made him a vagabond vpon his owne land GOD was wroth with Saul and though he was the first king that euer was annoynted yet God made his owne hand his executioner GOD was wroth with the olde world and though the earth was naked when they were drowned yet hee regarded nothing but destroyed a world of men together This is he which resisteth the proude what shall wee doe if the world be against vs and the flesh against vs and the diuell against vs and God against vs too which should defend vs In heauen in earth and in the sea he findes vs out And as the displeasure of a king draweth many enemies with it so the displeasure of God setteth all his creatures against vs therefore he is called the Lord of hoasts as though hee came with an armie against vs. When hee fought with the Aramites the Sunne tooke his part when hee fought against the Sodomites the fire tooke his parte when hee fought against the Egyptians the water tooke his parte when he fought against the Murmurers the earth tooke his part when he fought against the Idolaters the Lyons tooke his part when hee fought against the mockers the Beares tooke his part this is hee which resisteth the proud What can hee hope which remembreth that God is set against him and that the Lord of heauen and of earth is his enemie This thought made the Philistines flie say God is come into the hoast No enemie is like this enemie he euer ouercommeth and when hee hath ouercomen he can cast into hell make the diuels torment them againe therefore well might Salomon prophecie Pro. 29. 23. The pride of man shall bring him lowe for God hath ouercome him who brought pride into the world as pride brought him low so Salomon saith it shall bring men low too What a turne is this that that which he tooke like a chayne as Dauid sayth to adorne him doth hang him that which he tooke to exalt him doth debase him that which hee tooke to winne loue getteth hatred that which he tooke to obtaine glory procureth shame as if God did take the sworde out of his hand as Dauid tooke the sworde of Goliah and slewe him with his owne weapon When the Pharisie said he was not like the Publicane Luk. 19. 11. he said true for then he was not like the Publican indeede because the Publican was better than he So when a proude man thinkes best of himselfe then God and men thinke worst of him all his glorie is but like a vapour which clymeth as though it would goe vp to heauen but when it comes to a little height it falles downe againe and neuer ascends more So Adam thought that the faire apple shuld make him like his maker Gen. 3. but God resisted his pride and that apple made him like the Serpent that tempted him with it Absolom thought that rebellion would make him a king 2. Sam. 15. 2. but God resisted his pride and his rebellion hanged him on a tree Nimrod thought that Babel should get him a name Gen. 11. but God resisted his pride the name of his building was called CoÌ„fusioÌ„ euer since Nabuchadnezzar built his pallace for his honor Dan. 4. but God resisted his pride and his pallace spued him out when his seruants remayned in it Shebna builded a sepulcher for his memoriall Esa 22. but GOD resisted his pride and buried
he sought without trouble and been happier many yeares since than he is now Therefore to them which are young Salomon shewes what a vantage they haue aboue the aged like a ship which seeing another ship sinke before her lookes about her pulles downe her sayle turneth her course and escapes the sands which would swallow her as they had done the other So they which are young neede not trie the snares and allurements of the worlde or the issues and effectes of sinne which olde men haue tried before them but take the tryall and experience of others and goe a neerer way to obtaine their wished desires That is this sayth Salomon If thou wouldest haue any setled peace or heartie ioye in this vaine or transitorie worlde which thou hast beene seeking all the time since thou wert borne thou must Remember thy Creator which did make thee which hath elected thee which hath redeemed thee which daylie preserueth thee which will for euer glorifie thee and as the kinde remembrance of a friende doth recreate the minde so to thinke and meditate vpon GOD will supply thy thoughts dispell thy griefes and make thee cheerefull as the sight of the Arke comforted Dauid for ioye and comfort and pleasure is whereas God is as light and cheerefulnes and beautie is whereas the Sunne is Nowe if thou wouldest haue this ioy and comfort pleasure to bee long and wouldest escape those thousand miseries vexations and vanities which Salomon by many weary and tedious tryals sought to make naked before thee yet held all but vanitie when hee had founde the way thou must Remember thy Creator in the daies of thy youth at the first spring time and then thy happynesse shall bee as long as thy life and all thy thoughts while thou remainest on earth a foretaste of the glorie of Heauen This is the summe of Salomons counsaile Salomon findes man seeking happinesse out of the way as Esau hunted long for a blessing and yet went without it he pities to see him seeke and not finde to runne and not obtaine therefore he setteth him in the way like a guide sent from heauen which often had strayed himselfe before and being now recouered to his right way stands like a mark of knowledge in the turnings that leade vnto blinde by-waies to direct all those that passe by that they may followe the readie path that leadeth to eternall happinesse And because the Trauailour marcheth cheerefully which knoweth his way before he setteth foorth therefore from the first setting forth euen from the time of youth when a man beginneth to runne his pilgrimage Salomon tels him how he shall therein prepare himselfe to walke and sets him in a faire high way wherein is no turning either to the right hand or the left which he calleth the remembrance of GOD. As if he should say Walke with God as Enoch did and remember well that he which shall be thy Iudge doth see all that thou doest and heareth thee at euerie worde and this thought shall keepe thee in the way at all times like the clowde and piller of fire which went before the Children of Israel aswell by day as night when they trauailed in the wildernes In the next chapter before and the ninth verse Salomon sayd Reioyce O young man in thy youth now he hath chaunged his note to Remember O young man in thy youth No more Reioyce but Remember Salomon mocked before and shewed what they did remember here he shewes what they should remember least anie Libertine should misconster him and say Salomon taught vs to reioyce Salomon gaue vs leaue to sinne Salomon said doe as ye list for you are yong men and haue a priuiledge to bee lasciuious and vaine he recants with a breath and denyes forthwith his word euen where he spake it What sayd I Reioyce O young man in thy youth I would say Remember O young man in thy youth So God mockes vs while wee sinne like Michaiah which bad Achab fight agaynst Aram and then forbad him againe so hee bids them reioyce and forbids them agayne Reioyce not in thy youth but repent in thy youth One would thinke that Salomon should haue giuen this Memorandum rather to olde men then to young men let them repent which looke to dye Oh saith Ieremie it is good for a man to beare the yoake in his youth if it be good to suffer in youth it is better to learne in youth Therefore if Dauid wisht that his tongue might cleaue to the roofe of his mouth if hee forgot Ierusalem what are they worthie which forget GOD the King of Ierusalem Can a childe forget his father Is not GOD our Father therefore who is too young to remember him seeing the childe doth knowe his father As the deepest wounds had neede to be first tented so the vnstablest mindes haue neede to bee first confirmed In this extremitie is youth as Salomon shewes them before hee teacheth them For in the last verse of the former chapter he calleth youth vanitie as if he would speake all euill in a word and say that youth is euen the age of sinne Therfore when he had shewed young men their sollie vnder the name of vanitie like a good Tutor he taketh them to schoole and teacheth them their dutie Remember thy Creator as though all sinne were the forgetfulnesse of God and all our obedience came from this remembrance that God created vs after his owne image in righteousnesse and holinesse to serue him here for a while and after to inherit the ioyes which he hath himselfe Which if we did remember doubles it would make vs ashamed to thinke and speake and doe as wee are woont For what man dooth remember his Creator or why he was created while he sweareth and forsweareth and maketh his trade of sinne as though there were no God to iudge nor hell to punish This is because the remembrance of God which would wake sinners is so chased from men for feare it should curbe them of their pleasures that they dare not thinke of him but striue to forget him that they may sinne without feare Therefore he becommeth a Schoolemaster for God and calleth children vnto him before they be corrupted to teach them this one lesson for the guide of their life Remember thy Creator To which he draweth them as it were with two cordes the short slight of their youth and the infinite infirmities of age To shew how soone our youth is gone which we thinke will neuer haue ende Salomon doth not reckon it by yeares but by dayes in the dayes of thy youth so the Scripture numbers our life by dayes and houres and minutes to teach vs to make vse of al our time and euery day to thinke vpon the ende Yet least they should post ouer this remembrance vnto age which is the generall daye that all set to repent after this verse Salomon brings in the old man deafe and blinde and lame and stammering for the
young man to behold as if he should say looke my sonne is this man fit to learne which cannot heare nor see nor speake nor goe Therefore remember thou thy creatour in the dayes of thy youth before this dotage come This then is the leuell of our message to hasten them forward which trauell towards heauen because there is a great space betweene God and vs and much a doe to aspire the toppe of mount Sion but more a doe to aspire the top of the mount of heauen Therefore as Abraham rose early to sacrifice his sonne in the morning so in the morning of thy life sacrifice thy selfe to God and let him which is Alpha in euery thing be Alpha in thy conuersion that is the beginning as well as the ende Because wee are giuen to set the best last that wee may haue a longer time for our sinnes and pleasures like the Iewes in the 1. of Agge 2. which said alway the time was not yet come when they should build the temple Therefore the holy Ghost crieth so often This is the acceptable time this is the day of saluation to day heare his voyce like Rebeccah which taught her sonne the nearest waie to get the blessing When Christ went about to cast out diuels they said that he tormented them before the time so whensoeuer thou goest about to dismisse thy sinnes and pleasures though thou stay till thou bee an olde man yet they will say still that thou dismissest them before the time But then is the time when the diuell saith the time is not yet for the diuell is a lier knoweth that with what liquor our vessels be seasoned at first they will tast of the same euer after whether it be good or bad Therefore as God sueth to haue vs begin at goodnesse so the diuell wooes vs to begin at wickednesse alledging either that wee are not resolued yet to leaue our pleasures or els that God is exceeding mercifull to sinners or else that we shall haue space enough to serue him hereafter So he stands as it were at the ladder foote and keepes vs off with these weapons that wee cannot get vpon the first staffe but one thought or other pulleth vs backe when the foote is in the stirrop ready to ride away from all our sinnes at once Thus wee haue long purposed to serue God and euery man thinketh that hee should be serued but wee cannot accord of the time when to beginne One saith when I am rich an other saith when I am free another saith when I am setled an other saith when I am olde then my pleasure will leaue me and I shall be fitter to fast and pray and sequester my selfe but now I shal be mocked if I be not like others Thus like bad borrowers when our day is past alreadie we craue a longer and a longer and yet a longer til we be arrested with death so the prince of creatures dieth before he considered why hee liued for as no discipline is vsed where Christs discipline is neglected so no time is obserued where Gods time is omitted It is an olde saying Repentance is neuer too late but it is a true saying Repentance is neuer too soone Therefore we are commaunded to runne that wee may obtaine which is the swiftest pace of man The Cherubines were portraited with wings before the place where the Israelites praied to shew how quickly they went about the Lords businesse The Hound which runnes but for the Hare girdes foorth so soone as he sees the Hare start the Hawke which flyeth but for the Partridge taketh her flight so soone as she spyes the Patridge spring so we should followe the woord so soone as it speaketh and come to our Master so soone as hee calleth For God requiring the first borne for his offering and the first fruites for his seruice requireth the first labours of his seruants and as I may say the maidenhead of euery man Therefore so soone as man was created a law was giuen him to shew that hee should liue vnder obedience from the day that hee is borne So soone as he is borne hee is baptized in the name of God to shew that when we cannot runne to Christ we should creepe vnto him and serue him as we can in youth and age so soone as hee beginneth to praye hee saith Thy name be hallowed thy kingdome come thy will be doone before hee aske his dayly bread to shew that wee should seeke the will of God before the food which we liue by much more before the sinnes and pleasures which we perish by so soone as the Lord distributed the Talents he enioyned his seruants to vse them Who is so young which hath not receiued some talēt or other therefore youth cannot excuse him because the talent requires to be asked of euery one which hath it So soone as God had created the man and the woman hee commanded them to increase and multiplie shall we increase and multiplie in the flesh before we encrease and multiplie in the spirit the first thing which God did after hee had created heauen and earth he did separate light from darkenes to shew vs how we should separate good from euill before our good become euill The first lesson that Iohn taught was Repent for the kingdome of heauen is at hand Math. 3. 2. The first lesson that the Disciples taught was Repent too for the kingdome of heauen is at hand Matth. 10. And the first lesson that Christ taught was repent for the kingdome of heauen is at hand Matth. 4. 10. to teach vs what we should do first Repent was the first lesson to yong and old For what can we owe God to morrow which wee are not indebted to day Therefore Dauid prayed Teach mee O Lord to number my dayes not yeares nor my moneths nor my weekes but my dayes shewing that we shall answere for daies as well as yeares for to day as well as to morrow and for our youth as straightly as our age which made him cry Remember not the sinnes of my youth which hee would not haue spoken if God did not marke the sinnes of youth as well as age Therefore he calleth children vnto him as Salomon dooth and saith that hee will teach them the feare of the Lord. For should children honor their father and not honour God It was a sweete comfort when the children went before Christ to his temple and sang there Hosanna to make their fathers ashamed which did not know the Messias when he came when their little children knew him It is written that when Christ heard a young man answer that hee had kept the commaundementes from his youth Christ beganne to loue him which shewes how Christ loueth these timelie beginnings when wee make him our nurse and drawe our first milke from his brests There is not one confession for olde men and another for young men the old man saith not I did beleeue
as haue been healed by her that as the Author of the Hebrewes saith By faith Abel offered a better Sacrifice than Caine by faith Enoch was translated before he sawe death by faith Noah prepared the Arke and was preserued from the Floud by faith Abraham was content to sacrifice his Sonne and yet beleeued that in his seede all the world should be blessed by faith Sara receiued strength to bring foorth a child when she was strooken in yeres and past the strength of the wombe So I may say of patience by patience Iob did beare all the torments that the diuell could heape vpon him by patience Iacob put vp a thousand wrongs from Laban and his children and neuer complained in one twentie yeares before he departed by patience Ioseph forgaue his brethren when hee might haue put them to death and gaue thē food when they feared reuenge by patience Christ suffered banishment and reproaches and scourges vntill he went to his death like a Lambe to the slaughter Among the strange cures of patience Dauid may report of his experience what this plaister hath done for him for being a figure of Christ he was alwaies hedged about with the crosse which prooued his patience like a Touchstone euery day As Christ was contemned of his Countreymen so Dauid was contemned of his brethren as Christ fled to Egypt so Dauid fled vnto Gath as Christ receiued foode of women so Dauid receiued food of Abigail as Herod persecuted Christ so Saul persecuted Dauid and the wrath of the King brought many enemies with it that when hee was annointed yet hee coulde not reigne and when he reigned yet his reigne was but a warfare the Philistines agaynst him the Ammonites agaynst him the Edomites agaynst him the Moabites agaynst him and Absolon his owne bowels agaynst him for whom he cryed Would God I had died for thee This sonne which was his dearling was his traytor and sought his death that brought him to life as though Saul had been risen from the graue againe In all these troubles Samuel shewes what was this pilgrimes comfort But Dauid comforted himselfe in the Lord his God as though hee had no comfort but in GOD alone This was the stone vpon which he leaned his head Be patient for Manie are the troubles of the righteous but the Lord deliuereth him out of all When hee did behold his trouble like the hoast of the Aramites he looked backe vnto God like Elisha and spied one with him stronger then all against him Therfore respecting his afflictiōs he crieth Many are the troubles of the righteous respecting the promise he singeth The Lord deliuereth them out of all Thus by his owne foote Dauid measureth the condition of the righteous and saith Many are the troubles of the righteous and then by his owne cure hee sheweth how they shall bee healed saying The Lord will deliuer him out of all If ye marke the spirite hath directed Dauid to those two things which make vs take our troubles grieously one because we doe not looke for them before they come Therefore as Christ told Peter before he suffered to strengthen him when he suffered so the holy Ghost doth run vpon the Crosse to keep vs in expectation of troubles that wee might prepare faith and patience and constancie for thē as Noah prepared an Arke for the floud The second thing which makes vs to start so at the Crosse is because we are like the Prophets seruant which did see his foes but not his friēds so we see our sore but not our salue Comfort seemes a far off like Abraham in the heauens as though it would neuer come so low therefore wee goe about to deliuer our selues as it is said Let vs breake his bands as though we could deliuer our selues But Hold your peace saith Moses the Lord shall fight for you So Dauid comes in like a pacifier and saith Vexe not your selues for the Lord will deliuer you Beare both these sentences in mind that you must go through a sea of troubles then that you shall come to a hauen of rest and no affliction shall take you before you be armed for it and in euery trouble you shall know where to haue your remedie Many are the troubles of the righteous but the Lorde deliuereth him out of all Here bee the two hands of God like a wound and a plaister one casteth downe the other raiseth vp It is good for a man to knowe his troubles before they come because afflictions are lightned in the expectation Therefore GOD sayth of Paul I will shewe him how many things he shall suffer for me God dealeth plainlie and tels vs the woorst at the first what wee shall trust to as Christ told his Disciples at the first If ye will bee my Disciples yee must take vp the Crosse cold entertainment to breake their fast with the rod. Other feastmakers sayth Christ broach the best wine first but Christ himselfe keepeth the best till the last This is the manner of Gods proceedings to send good after euill as hee made light after darknesse to turne iustice into mercie as he turned water into wine for as the beasts must be killed before they could be sacrificed so men must be killed before they can bee sacrificed that is the knife of correction must prune them and dresse them and lop off their rotten twigs before they can bring forth fruite these are the cordes which binde the ram vnto the Altar least when he is brought thither hee should runne from thence agayne this is the chariot which carrieth our thoughts to heauen as it did Nabuchadnezzars and our assumption before our assumption This is the hammer which squareth the rough stones till they be plaine and smooth and fit for the Temple This is the fierce messenger which is sent to compell them to the banquet which will not come when they are inuited Because we are naturally giuen to loue the world more then is good for vs therefore God hath set an edge of bitternesse vpon it to make vs to loath it like a Nurse which layeth Mustard vpon her breasts to weane the childe from the dug so Many are the troubles of the righteous to weane vs from the dugge of the world The crosse is one of our Schoolemasters in this life and the best wisdome is deerest bought prosperitie seeketh for nothing but necessitie seeketh and studieth and laboureth and prayeth for her wants As the rodde maketh the Scholler to applye his booke so all our knowledge is beaten into vs some learne theyr goodnesse of pouertie some of sicknesse some of troubles aduersitie is the fit time to learne the iustice mercie power and prouidence of GOD a fit time to learne the patience wisedome faith and obedience of man a fit time to learne the subtiltie frailtie and miserie of this worlde All this thou buyest for troubles yet
I will be as Ioshua which stoode alone and as Elkanah was in stead of children to Annah so Christ shall be in stead of comfort in stead of wealth and health and libertie to mee For manie were the troubles of Ioseph and the Lord deliuered him out of all many were the troubles of Abraham and the Lord deliuered him out of all many were the troubles of Dauid and the Lorde deliuered him out of all manie were the troubles of Iob and the Lorde deliuered him out of all therefore he can deliuer me out of all But if he doe not say Sidrach Misaac and Abednego yet wee will not doe euill to escape daunger because Christ hath suffered more for vs. Therefore if I perish I perish saith Hester She was content that her life should perish but if my purse suffer my money doth but perish if my bodie bee imprisoned my pleasures doe but perish and who can tell wheÌ„ he hath suffered that which is appoynted Therefore God sayth When I see conuenient time will I execute iudgement Not when thou doest thinke it a conuenient time but when he doth think it a conuenient time Therefore saith Dauid to the Lord In thee doe I trust al the day that is if he come not in the morning he will come at noone if he come not at noone he will come at night at one houre of the day he will deliuer me and then as the calme was greater after the tempest than it was before so my ioye shall bee sweeter after teares than it was before the remembrance of Babylon will make vs sing more ioyfull in Sion Thus Dauid describeth the iourney of the righteous as if they should goe through the sea and the wildernesse as the Israelites went to Canaan Looke not for ease nor pleasure in your way but for beasts and serpents and theeues vntill ye be past the wildernesse all is straight and darke and feareful but so soon as you are through the narrowe gate all is large and goodly and pleasant as if you were in Paradise Seeing then your kingdome is not here looke not for a golden life in an iron world but remember that Lazarus doth not mourne in heauen though he suffered paines vpon earth but the glutton mourneth in hell that staied not for the pleasures of heauen To which pleasures the Lord Iesus bring vs when this cloud of trouble is blowen ouer vs Amen FINIS THE CHRISTIANS Practise Rom. 12. 2. Be yee changed by the renuing of your mindes that yee may prooue what is the good will of God acceptable and perfect WHen Christ sent foorth his Disciples he said vnto them Goe preach and baptize ioyning these two together Preaching and Baptizing This being the occasion of our exercise because I am to speake of Baptisme which is the Sacrament of Regeneration I could not choose a fitter Scripture then this which I handled last which speakes of the renuâ—ng of our mindes for when our mindes are renued then the vow which we made in Baptisme is performed When Paul had forbidden the Romanes to fashion themselues vnto the world he sheweth them another fashion which hee calles The renuing of the minde As the Eagle renueth her youth so men must renue their mindes This fashion is called the Wedding garment which euery man must weare that comes to the banquet of the King As when men haue gone ouer one fashion after another at last they come to the olde fashion againe so here Paul calles them to the olde fashion again which was vsed in Adams time that is the Image and fashion wherein they were created Nowe the reason followeth That they might proue what the wil of God is as if hee should say This shall be the fruit of your regeneration when your mindes are renued you shall know many thinges which are hid from you you shall bee able to iudge doctrines who preach truth and who preach error and you shall vnderstand the will of God what he would haue you doe and what hee would haue you flie as if you were in his bosome As new wine will not abide but in new vessels so this new knowledge will not abide but in new mindes The minde renued knoweth God so that this Scripture may be called the path to knowledge or the waie to sound the minde of God which is a secret that euery man longs to know but the most turne a wrong leafe to finde it as Paul sayth of Peter He lookes a wrong way to the Gospel When the serpent taught knowledge he said If ye eate the forbidden fruite your eyes shalbe opened and you shall knowe good and euill but Paul sayth If ye will not eate the forbidden fruite your eyes shal be opened and you shall know good and euill This is one reason why Paul would haue them renue their mindes That they might know the will of God Why doth not the word of God teach vs the wil of God Yes but no man doth vnderstand this word but hee which hath a new minde because as the Sunne is not discerned by any light but by his owne light so no spirite can interpret the Scripture but the same spirite which wrote it which is called the holy spirite because it is holy and because it makes holy Sinne was the first vaile which obscured mans vnderstanding and till the cause of this eclipse be taken away the Apostle sayth that we shall see but in part that is as the Sunne may be seene in his eclipse but he seemes liker to darknesse then to light so vnderstanding may be seene in the wicked but it is liker ignorance then knowledge therefore Paul makes knowledge one of the fruites which bud out of righteousnes They which haue renued their mindes saith he shall proue what the will of God is that is they shall trie all that they doe heare and learne by all that they see vntill they tract out the will and meaning of GOD. As the water ingendreth Ice and the Ice againe ingendreth water so knowledge begets righteousnes and righteousnes againe begetteth knowledge according to that in Eccles 2. 26 To a man that is good in his sight God giueth wisedome and knowledge therefore though ye haue seene cunning Lawyers by much reading and expert Phisitians by long study yet you could neuer see a perfect and sound and iudiciall Diuine without holynesse I cannot tel how this knowledge is rather feeling than learning in the aboundance of the heart or an extreame study sent by God vnto good men like the Ramme which was brought vnto Abraham when he would sacrifice his Sonne As Salomon sayth The knowledge of good things is vnderstanding so none but they which are holy haue this vnderstanding He which can say with Dauid I loue thy lawe and I keepe thy precepts may follow with Dauid I haue more vnderstanding than my teachers and know more then the auncient
with it selfe because it cannot walke nor talke nor heare nor see nor taste nor sleepe as it was wont therfore wisheth often the night were gone that the paine were past Indeede hee that sees many daies sees many miseries and therefore what is not vayne in life sith life it selfe is vayne Shewe mee the light which will not darken shewe mee the flowre which will not fade shewe me the fruite which will not corrupt shewe mee the garment which will not weare shew mee the beauty which will not wither shewe mee the strength which will not weaken shewe mee the time which will not passe and I will reclaime that All is vanitie but if all things vanish then all things are vaine yet this will not goe for truth before men haue smarted for the triall Some are so vaine that they count nothing vanitie but that which is vainer than the rest delightes them most for there is as it were acommon weale of vaine persons and hee which can bee vainest is like a King of the rest Some are of this minde that they thinke all is vanitie but that which they loue and therefore they call them vaine and curious and phantasticall which speake against their vanities and say that it is necessarie to bee vaine for they cannot liue vnlesse they deceiue they cannot please vnles they flatter they cannot bee beleeued vnles they sweare they cannot be esteemed vnles they roist as Demetrius thought that hee should beg vnlesse he might sell Images There is another sort like the buier in Pro. 20. which sayth It is naught it is naught but when hee is gone apart hee boasteth So they will say of the worlde It is naught It is naught before men and sweare that all is vanitie but when they are gone apart they reconcile themselues vnto it and kisse it and promise to be vaine still but they cannot abide to be counted vaine the vainest man that is This shewes that the follie of the worlde is so open and shamefull that her loues must needes condemne her You shall heare them say often times It is a vaine world a wicked world a naughty world yet they will not forsake it to die like dastard souldiers who raile against the enemie but dare not fight against him Al is vanitie but this is vanitie of vanities that men wil follow that which they cōdemne But this is that euery sinner might cōdemne himselfe for the conscience must iudge first and then God as our Sauiour saieth Out of thine owne mouth and so out of thine owne heart I wil condemne thee naughty seruaunt Shewing that the wicked condemne themselues before they are condemned of God These are the worldes fooles which care not what is their end so that their way be pleasant Oh that here were a full ende or conclusion of Vanities but beholde a greater Vanitie is behind for our Religion is Vanitie like the Scribes and Pharisies as Mathew saieth in the 23. Chapter and 27. verse hauing a bare shew of holines as hee saieth he could call it but a shew of holines scarce that our vanitie is vanitie but our holines is but a shew of holines not worthie to be called holines but like holines yet the most part haue not so much as the shew of holines as the Pharisies had but are vaine in shew inside and outside too Thus wee finde nothing yet but vanitie I cannot leade you from one vnto another to shew you the seuerall vanities of euerie person or euery thing because Salomon saith All is vanitie How many sins then haue we to condemne vs whose vanities are sprinkeled in euerie thing Which haue not onelie so many vanities as there be things but many vanities in euery thing As in our fare how many vanities be there which makes vs rise somtime sicke sometime sleepy sometime drunke Yet are there more vanities in our sportes our laughing and swearing and iesting and scoffing and dallying and playing with the Scriptures which oftentimes leaues such a sting behinde that we had rather haue lost our sport than feele the worme that gnaws vs for it And yet there bee more vanities in our apparrel ruffe vpon ruffe lace vpon lace cut vpon cut 24. orders to the 3. and 4. degree as though our apparrell were apparelled vntil the woman be not worth so much as her artire that if we would see vanitie her selfe how she would goe if she did weare apparrel she would euen goe like our women for she could not goe nor speake nor looke vainer Who dooth not know that these are vanities and that they might leaue them if they would But that ye might see there is a heart within vainer than the apparel is without Therefore when these vanities re worn out they wil haue new and still new til all be spent vpon vanitie and then they begin like the prodigall childe to see how vaine they were when they haue bought Wisedome with sorrow What would Salomon say if he should see how vanitie is growen since his time what a hight she is mounted what a traine followes her that there is no prince in the world hath so many attendants as vanitie She was but an Impe then but now she is a mother and who can number her sonnes and daughters the child is vaine in playing the mother vaine in dandling the father vaine in giuing the Courtier vaine in spending the souldier vaine in boasting the suter vaine in striuing the trauailer vaine in talking the merchant vaine in swearing the gentleman vaine in building the husbandman vaine in carking the olde man vaine in coueting the Seruingman vaine in soothing the young man vaine in sporting the Papist vaine in superstition the protestant vaine in conuersation Euery vanitie is so pleasant to one or other that they cannot misse one So she gads by Sea by land and still mo disciples flock vnto her of gamsters swearers and players and tiplers and haksters and Courtiers as thicke as the flies of Aegipt which buzzed in their eares and their eies and their necks before and behind that a man cannot set his foot but vpon Vanitie As the waters couered the earth when but eight persons were saued so vanitie hath couered it again a worse deluge than the first because it hath not suffered eight persons to escape but euery man is tainted with some vanitie or other which God seeing in that place and Citie which should be best in the world that all men in the citie were vaine cals it the Citie of vanitie So wee may say the world of vanitie because she hath an interest in euery person of it shee sits vpon the earth like a Serpent and hatcheth all the sinnes which you see amongst men As ful as Heauen is of blisse so the world is fraught with vanitie Court Citie countrey whither doth not vanitie goe but to Heauen Seeing then that vanitie is so extolled amongest men Salomon
and God honoured For after that Iosua had quietly possessed the Lande of Canaan he builded a Tabernacle wherein to call vppon the Lorde not perfect Nowe it followeth in the Text But the Lorde was angrie with mee for your sakes and would not heare me c. So soone as Moses changed his praier God turneth from him and will not heare him So soone we make God to forsake vs if wee doe not according to his will Moses sheweth the cause why God woulde not heare him although he were a great man and in high authority yet he is not ashamed to confesse his fault which hee might haue kept secrete if he would for the people knewe not that he had sinned because the sinne which he committed was not open but secret yea it was but a little repine as in the eleuenth of Numbers the eleuenth verse therefore Moses might haue kept it from them but because hee woulde not iustifie himselfe hee telleth them that the Lorde was angry with him and because hee would not haue the people to iustifie themselues he telleth them it is for their sakes Thus when Moses changeth his prayer God will no longer heare him so wee see that where sin is their prayer is not effectuall so that if wee will hope to receiue by prayer any thing at Gods handes wee must first remooue and take a way the cause of our hinderance which is sinne before wee can receiue the thing wee pray for For here we see that prayer which before pacified the wrath of God which healed Meriam being striken with Leprosie which raised the widdowes Sonne from death to life by which Dauid obtayned victorie which brought downe fire from heauen to consume the Idolaters Sacrifices which brought Ieremiah out of prison and Ionah out of the Fishes belly and made the Sunne to stande stil and the raine to fall from heauen and triumphed ouer all is heere by a little sinne quite ouerthrowne euen like a greate Monarke poysoned with a little Spider But the Lord was angrie with me for your sakes and would not heare me God when Moses had prayed did not graunt his request but was angrie with him but lest Moses should be quite discouraged he straight wayes mitigateth his anger biddeth him be content and speake no more vnto him of that matter God doth not bid him that hee shoulde not praie any more vnto him but that he should pray no more for that thing First God biddeth him to be content as if he should haue said although thou maist not enter into the land yet I will content thee other waies thus God woulde haue vs in what estate soeuer we be to be content with our calling for it is his appointment And seeing he hath in ough to content vs all therefore wee shoulde not murmure nor grudge one at another but be thankfull vnto him because it is his good will and pleasure it shoulde bee so And surelie Moses woulde and was willing that the Iewes should profite by his Doctrine for he hath set it downe in the 20. of Numbers twise and in the 27. 13. in the 32. Deut. 49. and in this place all to the intent to shewe that God is able to content all He is not like to Iacob who when hee had blessed one of his sonnes could not blesse the other but he when hee had blessed the poore blessed the hungry and when hee had blessed the hungrie he blessed them that wept when he had blessed them that wept he blessed them that were reuiled and suffered for Christes sake There is no ende of his blessing because his mercie indureeh for euer God is so mercifull that though we are nor able to praie aright yet he considereth of our praiers and turneth to the best for our good not graunting our request manie times but a better thing than we doe desire of him as when Dauid praied that the Childe gotten in adultery might liue God heard him and did consider of it yet did not graunt his request but a better thing that was that his Sonne Salomon should raigne after him And when our Sauiour Christ praied that that houre might passe ouer him God heard him and did consider of it yet did not grant his request but a better thing that his death should take away the sinnes of the world and here in this place where Moses priaeth God heareth his praier and doth consider of it yet doth not grant his request but a better thing that is that he shall goe into heauenly Canaan Thus wee see that God is so mercifull that hee can scarce punish sinners hee is so louing that often he giueth vs better things than wee can desire who then will offend so merciful and louing a father Let vs seeing God is so merciful vnto vs take heede that we abuse not his mercies lest in so dooing we prouoke him vnto iudgement Now God hath told Moses that he shall not goe into the Land he beginneth to teach him how hee shall doe to see it and biddeth him goe vp into the top of Pisgah and cast his eies Estward and westward and Northward and Southward and behold it c. As a Bird staied with a little string or a strong man in swimming held backe by a small twig so a little sinne staieth this great Captaine that he cannot come within the land of Canaan First God is angry with him enuies him altogether as though hee were not worthy so much as to go vp the mount thus we may see how one of the least sinnes is able to turne from vs all the goodnes all the fauour which God beareth to vs. After God commands Moses to go vp the mount Here Moses obeieth Gods cōmandement but if he had bin like many a murmuring man he would haue denied to go vp the moūt saying what banquet is this to me but a dainty dish set before one forbiddē to eate but Moses had rather die than anger the Lorde againe when he had bid him be content Thus we may learne of Moses to bee content with our calling whether wee haue little or much For God contented Moses as wel with the sight of Canaan as those who possessed it So when GOD hath not ordained vs to see great substance as he hath some of our brethren yet because we should not be discontent he will giue vs as much pleasure at the sight of them in others as though we our selues enioyed them So GOD contenth Moses and he contenteth Iosua for as Iosua came into the land as Moses could not so Moses saw it as Iosua coulde not So I say God contenteth all that Iosua should not enuie Moses nor Moses enuie Iosua And this was the great power of God who although Moses were very old yet was his eie-sight most perfect insomuch that hee could see farther than any of all his company For being vpon the
Mount hee sawe all the land of Gilead vnto Dan and all Nepthalie the land of Ephraim Manasses and all the lande of Iuda vnto the vttermost Sea c. The like to this did neuer any see beeing of the age of Moses who was 120. yeares olde Manie things might Moses haue obiected which might haue hindered him from going vp the Mount For surely it must needes be a griefe to him when he considered that great paine which he had taken in bringing them through the wildernesse and conducting them 40. yeares together and nowe when he had no further to goe but euen ouer Iordaine to be taken a waie then and another which neuer tooke any paines possesse all his labours This I say must bee a great and intollerable thing to fleshe and bloode for when one hath laid a foundation and anothere come and build vpon it surely hee will think himselfe hardly dealt withal Or if one haue drawne a picture head and face and all sauing the legges if one come and drawe the legges and so take his labours hee woulde hardlie take it well You knowe how they which were hired and wrought all the daie long because the had not more than those which began the last houre murmured against the maister of the house Such is our nature and yet notwithstanding all this Moses is content Hee knoweth that God doth him no wrong but is iust and mercifull also He blesseth all alike as Iacobs children were blessed Moses so long as he was vpon the plaine ground could not see the types of heauen but when he was vpon the Mount he saw it before he came to heauen it selfe So let vs euen now seale the Mount as Moses did that we may see and consider these ioyes Which thing shall be to reclaime our heartes from earthly matters As Peter went vp the mount to see Christs glory and Moses went vp the mount to see the lande of promise so let vs ascend from these earthly things to the contemplation of heauenly This should be our iourney till wee come vp to heauen it selfe to clime the hill for we are lowe men of stature like Zacheus who cannot see Christ before we be lifted from the earth so that if we will euer possesse heauen we must pluck our heartes from the earth and then shall we see God nearer than we can possibly if wee keepe our mindes vppon earthlie matters God sheweth himselfe to some nearer to some farther off and to some in parables As the Prophetes sawe God nearer than the Patriarches and the Apostles nearer than the Prophetes As to Abraham hee saide In thy seede Esaiah came nearer and said vnto vs a childe is borne c. Iohn yet came more neare and said Behold the Lamb of God Get thee vp into the top of Pisgah and lift thine eies Westward and Northward Southward and Eastward and beholde it with thine eies for thou shalt not goe ouer this Iordaine Now Moses is in his prospect as Dauid was in his Tower Here he must prepare him selfe to die while hee is looking vpon the land which so long he hath beene in comming to Who woulde not but haue grieued at this That after so long as fourtie yeares trauaile in hope to possesse it should now in the ende bee content with a sight of it and so vanish awaie Yet Moses for all this murmureth not but like Iob taketh it patiently And as hee was vpon the Mount where GOD vanished So heere hee is vpon the Mount and vanisheth away himselfe as it appeareth in Deuteronomie the thirtie foure Chapter and the sixth verse no man knoweth his tombe nor which way hee is gone lest the Iewes shoulde haue worshipped his Reliques as the Papistes doe theirs So good Rulers are taken awaie in a time when death is least suspected As Lot was taken away before the people of Sodom knew as is shewed in the nineteenth Chapter of Genesis and the tenth verse So wee see that when our time is come and our glasse run out that neither our riches nor our wits nor our friends nor any thing that wee haue in this world can cary vs no further No no more than Moses coulde goe ouer this Iordaine But Charge Iosua and incourage him and embolden him for he shall goe before this people and hee shall deuide for inheritance vnto them the land which thou shalt see c. Now Moses fainteth here commeth Iosua a figure of Christ who leadeth the people into Canaan as Christ doth lead them into heauen Moses is no sooner dead but God chooseth another to goe in out before his people And now God chooseth a gouernour See what a man he chooseth O would that God might haue the choosing still for then all gouernours should be such as Iosua for such is our corruption that if we choose our selues that we still choose such as God would not haue chosen and therefore wee had neede to pray to the Lord God as Moses did that hee would appoint a man which may go in out before vs that we be not as sheepe without a shepheard More was spoken touching this point which I haue not noted because I coulde not set it downe in such perfection as it was deliuered But Charge Iosua incourage him and imbolden him c. God would not haue Moses to incourage Iosua words onely but in deeds too and therefore Moses giueth him all the glory he can as Iohn gaue it vnto Christ Charge Iosua incourage him bolden him Heere God woulde haue Iosua incouraged with all the incouragement that may bee as though he coulde neuer bee incouraged enough God had incouraged him himselfe before as in the 21. vers before And I charged Iosua the same time c. And in 27. Deut. Moses setteth him before Eliazar the Priest and he put his hand vpon him and gaue him a charge c. And in 31. Deut. 23. GOD bids him Be strong of a good courage And in 1. Iosua 50. God tels him That there shall not be a man able to withst and him all the dayes of his life For he will be with him and neuer leaue him nor forsake him And againe in the 9. verse hee saith Haue not I commaunded thee not to feare for I will bee with thee whither so euer thou goest And in the 31. of Deut. verse 7. When Moses prepared himselfe to die hee called Iosua bid him Be strong and of a good courage And in 8. Iosua ver 10. the Lorde biddeth him Not to feare when his enemies come vpon him Thus is Iosua incouraged of all and thus should Iosua bee encouraged still But who encourageth Iosua so Nay where is that hee that doth not discourage Iosua Now Iosua is contemned scorned of the vilest And is this to encourage him No Iosua had neede of better incouragemēt than this else Iosua and all the Iosuas in this land will faint
which was after broken If the crowne did lie in the midde way then thou needest run but halfe the way but to shew that there is no reward for them that begin well all the promises are made to him that continueth to the end Hee is cursed not onely which doth euill but hee which dooth the worke of the Lorde negligently or by halfes that is hee which offereth a maymed sacrifice for a sound almost a Christian for altogether Therefore Dauid before hee prayes summoneth his thoughts his speeches actions and saith All that is within mee praise the Lorde as a man giueth that which he thinketh wil be accepted that he may be welcome for it If we did serue an vngratefull master then we might thinke almost enough But Christ did not loue almost when he shed his heart bloud for vs therefore he cannot aske more than he gaue and yet the inheritaunce of his blessings is behinde why shouldest not thou giue as much for them as Abraham or Dauid or Simeon which would haue serued God till this time if they had liued still reformed themselues yet thought they had done nothing as Iacob counted his seruice for Rachel nothing because he loued her but thou thinkest that if thou giuest thy pleasures thou shalt want thy pleasures No as Abrahā did not lose his son when he would haue sacrificed his sonne so God can keepe his pleasures when thou resignest thy pleasures Thou thinkest that God will not misse it as Ananias thought that Peter woulde not misse it but if Peter did misse it will not God misse it So we pare the offering like Elies sonnes which kept the best and fatest to themselues which made the people abhor the sacrifices and shall not God abhor such sacrifices If Ely reprooued his sons how wil God reproue them which reproued Ely for not reprouing thē enough A spirituall eare can heare GOD reprouing this land for this mincing of his worship Can the preaching of the word the signes of heauen the shaking of the earth the victorie of your enemies and all the blessings of God make you but almost Christians almost religious almost thankefull Is this my reward saith God as though you were afrayde to bee too good If you thinke that you shall bee mocked if you bee too zealous as Micholl scorned Dauid when he daunced before the Arke Dauid tels you how you shal stop such scorners mouthes O saith Dauid I will be more humble yet before my God When Michol sawe his resolution she mocked him no more but reuerenced him euer after So tell the Diuell and all his mockers I wil be more zealous more feruēt and more holy yet vntill I be like him which said Follow me and they which mocke thee shall reuerence thee as Michol did Dauid This when thou art in the way to heauen remember that thou must goe forwarde or backward for Iacob did see none stand vpon the ladder which ascended vp to heauen but either thy went vp or down they which go not forward go backward They which will not come so forward as altogether shall not stay at almost but fal from their faith loue and knowledge and zeale by descents till Christes threatning be fulfilled That which they seeme to haue shall be taken from them as though they neuer had any taste at al. Thus I haue set you a glasse to beholde whether you are in almost or altogether Yet Paul lured for Agrippa Now he sues to the people When he had caught the King hee spred his net for the people I would to God that not onely thou but all that heare mee were not onely almost but altogether as I am Hee might wish rather than hope and therefore hee praies I would to God that all were Christians As Moses wished that all coulde prophesie Peter was taught both to feede the sheepe and the lambs great and small and old an young rich and poore So Paul praies for the King and for the people too wisheth that they were all Christians This prayer we may say for them that doe not praye for themselues to make them ashamed when they see other more careful for their soules than they thēselues The Pastours care extendeth to all although some are more to be laboured yet none is to be despised which is but a lamb of the flock Paule doth not wish Agrippa more honour or more wealth or more friēds but more religion which is the greatest want of Princes Although they haue receiued a kingdome yet they are not so thankfull as they which haue receiued nothing but from hande to mouth Though they haue done a thousand times more euil yet they are not so penitent as he which hath done least of all They sit in Gods seat are called Gods but are not like God but like Mammon more than their names and their Crownes except Dauid or Salomon or Iosua a fewe which remember whose person they bear the rest are like Herod and Saul and Nabuchadnezzar which know not from whō their kingdoms come As I am saith Paul directly Paul shoulde haue replied altogether a Christian and not altogether as I am but who shall teach the Spirit to perswade Hee chose to say as I am that Agrippa might see his single heart and loue toward him who went not about to seduce him but wisht it vnto him as vnto him selfe Euen as I am If any thing will perswade most fit is the example when he which teacheth vs goes before vs for then we see that hee dealeth plainly and speakes of loue and meanes no deceit when we see him doe as he saith Saul hath slaine his thousand but Dauid his ten thousand So where another conuerts a thousand hee shall conuert ten thousand which can say like Christ Follow mee Oh what is this when a Christian and I am all one that ye might say to your children I woulde to God thou were a Christian when you say I woulde to God thou were like me The king shoulde bee like Paule by this saying How then doe some say with Festus Too much zeale hath made thee mad If the people know the Lords prayer the ten cōmandemēts the Articles of beleefe it is enough is this to be like Paul No Festus the knowledge of the word doth not make a mā mad but makes him wise to saluation Can that which makes a mā wise make him mad Therefore they which say that we are the worse for knowledge or worse for religion or worse for zeale are like Festus which had neither knowledge zeale nor religion in him And they which teach the people that they shall not neede to be as Paul but that a mediocritie will serue incurre that curse of Paule Hee which teacheth another doctrine than that which yee haue receiued of vs which wished all as perfect as himselfe Let him bee Anathema that is accursed They which loue you like Paul doo not wish you zeale by waight and knowledge by
many titles to make it more amiable It is called a lanterne to direct vs a medicine to heale vs a guide to conduct vs a bit to restraine vs a sworde to defend vs water to wash vs fire to inflame vs salt to season vs milke to nourish vs wine to reioice vs rayne to refresh vs a treasure to inrich vs and the keye to open and vnlocke heauen gates vnto vs. Thus the worde is named in al things that we should onely desire it in stead of all things And surely therefore the worde is in so small request among vs because wee know not what blessings it bringeth with it It is the word of saluation because it saueth the soule from pyning as the corne which Ioseph sent did Iacobs house from famine So that as Elisha sayd of Iordan wash and be cleansed so may we say of the word Heare it and be saued It is called the worde of life because it reuiueth the spirite as Elishaes bones reuiued the Israelites It is called the worde of reconciliation because it is like a golden chayne to linke GOD and vs together And in regarde hereof it is called a iewell of inestimable price as if all the treasure in Egypt were not wealthy enough to buy it And therfore as Dauid longed for the Well of Bethlehem so must we long and languish for the milke of the worde The Word is resembled to milke in three respects First because it is the onely foode of the faithfull as milke is the onely and proper foode of babes Secondly because it is not hard and intricate but playne and easie to be conceiued as milke is easie to be digested Thirdly because it is sweete and comfortable to the soule as milke is sweete and pleasaunt in taste For the first poynt the Lord chargeth the Israelites to doe whatsoeuer he had commaunded and not to adde or diminish any thing And Iosua Iosiah Ezra and the rest when theâ— would renew the Lordes couenant with the people reade nothing but the lawe to shewe that it was the only rule and square of al their duety and therefore Esay recalleth vs to the lawe and to the testimonie c. and Christ sends vs to search the Scriptures because by them we haue eternall life and therefore the Popish church which nor content with the milke of the Gospell hath broached manie heathen traditions and vnwritten trash doth not feede but choke and poyson her children with them and depriue the Lords people of this foode of life and like cursed Philistines stop vp the wells of water which other haue digged what doe they else but starue and famish so manie Nations For well may their hedge priests like drie Nurses delight and disport the children for a season but when hunger bites when the distressed conscience would bee fed and comforted then they are not able to affoorde them the very crummes from Christs table and therefore wee must needes account the estate of those congregations to bee full of dread and horror which haue not this milke of the word to feede their soules which want a good steward to giue them their meate in due season which like the AEgyptians lye crawling in the darke when other churches enioy most comfortable light Iaacob forsooke the blessed land of Canaan when it had no bread and can we be enamored of those assemblies where there is no soules foode If ye did consider my beloued that ye cannot be nourished vnto eternall life but by the milke of the word ye would rather desire your bodies might be without souls than your churches without preachers I tremble to thinke how oft you haue heard this and yet how little you haue performed it For the second poynt that the doctrine of the Gospel is plaine appeareth when the wise man saith Al the words of his mouth are plaine easie to him that wil vnderstand The testimony of the Lord is sure giueth light to the simple If our Gospel be hid saith the Apostle it is hid vnto them that perish for as the Sunne which was made to lighten all things is most light so the word which was made to cleare all things is most cleare so that if there be no communion betweene light and darknes the word of God be a lanterne vnto our feete a light vnto our pathes then it is euident that the Word hath no darknes in it If we see not all thinges the fault is not in the light but in the eie as Agar could not see the water which yet was before her therfore our aduersaries falsly charge the Scriptures of exceeding hardnes and intricatenes When the spies were returned from Canaanâ— they could not say but that it was a good lande but they sayd it was hard to come by So the Papists must needes confesse that the Scripture is a good Word and yet to disswade the Lordes people from a serious and diligent search of it they bring vp a slaunder and say it hath many obscurities and by-pathes But as Elisha saw the horses and fiery chariots which his enemies could not see So beloued if yee come with a faithfull and a holy heart to the Worde and to the Scripture yee shall see that plainnesse and easinesse in the doctrine which our aduersaries cannot see For the third poynte that the Gospell is the onely comfort and consolation of a faithfull soule The Prophet Ieremie saith Thy wordes were found by mee and I did eate them and thy worde was vnto mee the ioye and reioycing of my heart Thy testimonies haue I taken for an heritage for euer for they are the ioye of my heart As a man will bee glad to be hired to a noble man so Dauid when hee had gotten the milke of the Worde reioyced as much as if hee had been hyred vnto God and therefore in all the storie of the Acts we see ioy and comfort to haue followed the word as Elisha followed Elias and would not leaue him So the wise men reioyced exceedingly when they saw the starre which should leade them to Christ so yee haue matter of great ioy comfort when ye heare the woord preached which shall carrie you to heauen like the chariots which conueyed Iaacob into AEgypt There be many Micols in this land which haue mocked King Dauid for dauncing before the Arke There are many which terme vs heady and foolish men because we come and throng prease thus to a sermon but as Christ said Father forgiue them they knowe not what they doe So God forgiue them they know not what they say for if they did feele the calme of conscience the ioy of heart the consolation of spirite and the exceeding and euerlasting comforts in God which the faithfull possesse and enioye by hearing the word they would account vs not onely fooles but starke mad if al the pleasures or profites or daungers of the world should withdrawe or with-holde vs
the name Three things I note wherefore the diuell may be sayd to compasse the earth First because he tempteth all men Secondly because he tempteth to all sinnes Thirdly because he tempteth by all meanes So whosoeuer sinneth wherein soeuer he offendeth whereby soeuer he is allured the sinne and the sinner and the baite are compassed and contriued by this Archpolitique which calles himself a Cōpasser Many haue their names for naught because they doe nothing for thē like Labans images which were called Gods though they were but blocks but the diuell deserues his names he is not called a tempter and a lyar and a slaunderer and an accuser and a deceiuer and a murtherer a compasser in vaine like S. George which is alwaies on horseback and neuer rides but he would doe more thē by his office he is bound to Other are called officers because they haue an office but he is called an enemy because he sheweth his enuy Other are called Iusticers because they should doe iustice but he is called a tempter because he practiseth temptations Other are called Pastors because they should feede but he is called a deuourer because he doth deuour we cal him a Compasser because that he doth compasse Euer since he fel frō heauen he hath liued like Caine which cannot rest in a place but is a rūnagate ouer the earth from doore to doore from man to man begging for sinnes as the starued soule begs for bread He should haue dwelt in heauen and not bin compassing the earth hee should haue sung with the Angels not been quarelling with men but he hath changed his calling and is become a compasser that is to lay fetters vpō men as GOD hath fettered him least they should ascend to the place from whence he is fallen Therefore in this the Lyer spake truth whē he said I come from compassing the earth as if hee should say to God I come from the slaughter of thy seruants not to aske forgiuenes for all the soules which he hath slaine alreadie but to get a commission that GOD would make him Knight Marshall ouer the world to slay and kill as many as hee hated like the bramble which set it selfe on fire first and then fiered all the wood Peter describing the diuels walke saith that he goeth about The diuel saith that he goeth a compassing Peter puts in seeking whom hee may deuoure the diuell leaues out deuour and sayth no more but that he compasseth This circular walke is peculiar to the diuell and therfore may be called the diuels circuite All other creatures go forward but the diuell goeth about which may well bee applied to the craftie diuell because to goe about is commonly takē to vndermine when he meaneth he will destroy you then we say he will compasse you so when the diuell compasseth then beware lest he deuour For the diuell goeth about men as the Fowler goeth about the lark to snare her as the theefe goeth about the house to robbe it as the yuie goeth about the oake to kil it The diuels walk is a siege which goeth about but to find an issue to goe in for he goeth about but vntil he can get in to be a possessor He is cōtent to be a compasser The first name the diuell hath in Scripture is a Serpent he is a Serpent so are his waies like a Serpent which windeth himself like a circle As GOD is sayd to make an hedge about men so here the diuel is said to make an hedg about men but this is an hedge of temptations and that is an hedge against temptatiōs As Dauid saith the Angels compasse vs so might hee say the diuels compasse vs Sathan compasseth and man is compassed Sathan is like the circumference and man is as it were the Centre that is temptations goe round about him and he dwelleth in the middest of them Thus much of Compassing now what he doth compasse I come from Compassing the earth This is the diuels pilgrimage from one ende of the earth to the other then to the other againe and then backe againe like a wandring Marchant which seeketh his trafficke where hee can speed cheapest I haue heard of some trauellers which haue gone about the earth but I neuer heard of any that had seene all parts of the earth but this olde Pilgrime Satan which hath been in heauen and in paradise and in the earth and in the sea and in hell and yet hath not done his walke but like the Sunne which courseth about the earth euery day so there is no day but Satan seeth euery man vpon earth as a compasse hath no end so hee makes no ende of compassing Because he is such a compasser of the world therefore Paul calleth him The God of this word not a peece of the world as Englād or Ireland or France or Germanie or Spayne but of the world that is of all the countries and cities and townes and villages and houses The Pope talkes of his kingdome how many Prouinces are vnder his dominiō but the diuels circuit is greater then the Popes one would thinke that he could neuer tend halfe his flocke because he is Vicar of so great a Monarchie and yet he is neuer non-resident You may see his steppes euery where so brim and fresh as though they were printed in ashes If God make you see your country naked your Temples desolate your Cities ruined your houses spoyled you will say the Spanyards haue been heere so when you see your mindes corrupted your hearts hardened your willes peruerted your charitie cooled your Iudges bribers your Rulers persecutors your Lawyers brablers your Marchants vsurers your Landlords extortioners your Patrones symonists your Pastors loyterers you may say the diuell hath been here Seeing then these weedes growe in euery ground you may beare the diuel witnesse that he doth compasse all the earth If a man loue his friend he will say I will goe an hundred miles to doe him good but if the diuel hate a man he wil goe a thousand miles to doe him hurt The diuel doth not goe his progresse like a King only for delight but all the way as he goeth Peter saith He seeketh whom he may deuoure The diuel goeth a visiting he will teach the sicke how they shall recouer their health hee will whisper the poore how they shall come by riches he will tell the captiues how they shall redeeme their libertie but to deuoure is the ende of his visitation Therefore Peter called him a Lyon and said that he went about and told vs that he sought as he went at last he saith to deuour there he ends shewing that deuouring is his ende Now you shall heare whom hee compasseth and to what he compasseth and how he compasseth When it is said that the diuell compasseth the earth it is meant that he compasseth the men of the earth out of which I gather first of all creatures he compasseth men secondly that he compasseth all
astonish me because the Iudges sonne is my aduocate the diuel doth not amaze me because the Angels pitch about me The graue doth not grieue me because it was my Lords bed Oh that Gods mercy to me might mooue other to loue him for the lesse I can expresse it the more it is The Prophets and Apostles are my fore-runners euery man is gone before me or else he will follow after mee if it please God to receiue me into heauen before them which haue serued him better I owe more thankefulnes vnto him And because I haue deferred my repentance till this houre whereby my saluation is cut off if I should die sodainly Lo how my God in his merciful prouidence to preuent my destruction calleth me by a lingering sicknes which staieth till I be ready and prepareth mee to my end like a preacher and makes me by wholesome paines weary of this beloued worlde least I should depart vnwilling like them whose death is their damnation So he loueth me while he beateth me that his stripes are plasters to salue me therefore who shall loue him if I despise him This is my whole office now to strengthen my body with my heart and be contented as God hath appointed vntill I can glorifie him or vntil he glorifie me If I liue I liue to sacrifice and if I die I die a â—acrifice for his mercy is aboue mine iniquitie Therefore if I should feare death it were a signe that I had not faith nor hope as I professed but that I doubted of Gods truth in his promise whether he will forgiue his penitent sinner or no. It is my father let him doe what seemeth good in his sight Come Lord Iesus for thy seruant commeth I am willing helpe my vnwillingnes Thus the faythful departe in another sort with such peace and ioy round about them that all which see wish that their soules may followe theirs A Letter written to ones friend in his sicknes BEloued I maruel not that you haue paine for you are sicke but I maruel that you couer it not for offence because the wisdome of a man is to bite in his griefe alwaies to shew more comfort in God than pain in suffering Now God calleth to repetitions to see whether you haue learned more constancie than others if sicknes be sharpe make it not sharper with frowardnes but know this is a great fauour to vs when we die by sicknes which maketh vs ready for him that calleth vs â—ow you haue nothing to think vpon but God you cannot think vpon him without ioy your griefe passeth but your ioy will neuer passe Tell me patient how many stripes is heauen worth Is my friend onely sicke it the world or his fayth weaker than others You haue alwayes prayed Thy will be done now are you offended that Gods wil is done How hath the faithful man forgotten that all things euen death turne to the best to them that loue God Teach the happy O Lord to see his happines through troubles Euery pain is a preuention of the paines of hell and euery ease in paine is a fore-taste of the ease and peace and ioyes in heauen Therfore remember your own comforts to others before and be not impatient when there is most neede of patience but as you haue euer taught vs to liue so nowe giue vs an example to die and deceiue Satan as Iob did FINIS ReuereÌ„dum Couerdalum excipio Eccle. 9 9. Gen. 2. 18. Exo. 22. 16. Deu. 22. 28. Why contracts goe before mariage Mat. 1. 18. * That is betweene y e contract the mariage Luke 1. 27. 42. 49. c. What mariage is The parts of the treatise Heb. 13. 4. The excellencie of mariage Act. 7. 53. Heb. 2. 2. Gen. 2. 22. Mariage the first ordinance of God Gen. 3. 15. Luke 1. 25. Deu 32. 2. Christes first miracle at a Mariage Ioh. 2. 8. Mat. 22. 2. Verse 11. Cant. 5. 9. Three mariages of Christ Reue. 19. 7. Reu. 21. 9. Reu. 17. 1. By mariage the womans curse turned into two blessings Gen. 3. 16. Gen. 1. 28. Ioh. 16. 11. 1. Tim. 2. 15 * For those paines wil trie her faith Note Gen. 2. 22. A note of Adams sleepe Gen. 2. 21. 1. Cor. 15. 22. 45. Eph. 5. 14. Ioh. 14. 6. A note of Adams sleepe Gen. 27. 3. A note of Adams rib Gen. 2. 22. Eph. 5. 23. The Fathers obseruation Pro. 14. 14. Thus Adam doth Gen. 2. Gen. 29. 20. Three causes of mariage Gen. 2. 7. Gen. 1. 28. Why mariage is called Matrimony This is signified in Deu. 23. 1. Prou. 5. 18. Mal. 2. 15. The second cause 1. Cor. 7. 8. Papists stewes 2. Sa. 16. 22 Mal. 2. 15. Deu. 17. 17. 1. Tim. 3. 2. Gen. 4. 23. Mat. 9. 5. Prou. 2. 16. Gen. 36. 25. Fornicators like the diuell Mat. 13. 22. Psa 128. 4. Gen. 1. 28. Bastards Iudg. 11. 1. They might be saued but they had the marke of the curse Leu. 20. 10. Deu. 22. 22. Maried fornicators Mariage of Ministers 1. Cor. 7. 9. Heb. 13. 4. 1. Cor. 7. 1. Tim. 3. 2. 1. Cor. 7. 6. 1. Cor. 7. 17. Gen. 2. 18. Mat. 19. 11. 1. Tim. 4. 3. Rom. 3. 8. * Be not thou vain and these words will not be offensiue Heb. 13. 4. 1. Cor. 7. 8. Leuit. 12. 4. 5. c. 1. Cor. 7. 5. The third cause Gen. 2. Eccl. 4. 10. Pro. 19. 6. Pro. 27. 10. 1. Sam. 14. 7 A wife is the poore mans riches Prou. 21. 9. 1. Sa. 16. 14 The choise Deut. 1. 23. 4. Two spies for a wife Zach. 5. 7. 1. Reg. 3. 9. Gen. 24. 12. Godly fitte Ephe. 5. 29. Cant. 6. 8. Psal 45. 9. 1. Sa. 16. 7. 1. Cor. 13. 13. A fit wife The ceremonie is not approued but the inuention declared 1. Sa. 2. 35. The saying of a godly man Gen. 2. 18. 2. Cor. 6. 14. Gen. 2. 22. Phil. 4. 3. Ezec. 16. 44 Fiue rules in the choise of a good wife Psal. 11. 26 Pro. 10. 7. Mar. 14. 9. Luke 6. 26. Iohn 15. 19 Iohn 8. 46. Luke 16. Eccle 8. 7. Esay 3. 9. Acts 3. 2. Gen. 24. 65. To Adam first and to Moses after Maids must speake 〈…〉 Mat. 12. 34 Mat. 12. 36 Pro. 18. 7. Pro. 17. 23. Eccl. 12. 10. Pro 19. 15. Nu. 19. 15. Luk. 16. 19. Mar. 1. 6. 2. King 1. 8. 1 The. 5. 22 Rom. 12. 2. 1. Reg. 12. 8. Pro. 1. 11. Psal 6. 8. Gen. 24. 50. Parents consent in Mariage Exod. 20. Gen. 2. 22. Exod. 22. Num. 30. 6. Deut. 7. 3. 1. Cor. 7. 38. Iob. 1. 3. 10. Gen. 29. 18. 1 Sam. 18. 17. â— Gen 28. 6. Gen. 34. 9. Gen. 24. 51. 52. 53. Iudg. 14 2. Mariage with Papists c. Gen. 24. 3. Exo. 34. 16. Gen. 28. 1. Mal. 2. 11. Ezra 9. 12. Gen. 34. 14. The similitude holds in their saying not in their meaning for they spake truely but they ment
It is saide that the Disciples prayed continually in the first to the Romans Paul which teacheth vs here to praie without ceasing saith that he himselfe prayed without ceasing As Iacob woulde not let the Angell go before he had blessed him so a Christian should not let God rest before he heare him This is the state that a ChristiaÌ„ should striue to and neuer thinke that hee is sound at the heart till all his thoughts bee a kinde of prayer Now if wee should examine our selues whether we Pray as we should as Paul teacheth vs to examine our selues whether we beleeue as we should I am of opinion that there is no such want in this land as the waÌ„t of praier for it is neglected as though it were neuer commaunded as if there were no God to worship or as if we had no neede of him In the Papists time none were called Beads-men that is men which were bound to pray but the poore men as though none were bounde to pray but poore men but nowe the world goeth as though neither rich nor poore were bounde to pray one would thinke that our deliuerance our of Egipt that our victorie against the Spaniards that the weather which threatneth sicknes that the dearth which threatneth famine should make vs pray and yet it doth not for where is the person which praieth now more thaÌ„ he did before Some are like the fool which saith in his heart there is no God for they pray neuer though Paul say Pray euer Caine was reiected for offering an vnworthie sacrifice 〈…〉 cannot admire but in a circle so they cannot praie but in the church and then they praye when they should heare Some are like the Ephramites which can pronounce euerie word but that which they should so they neuer want wordes but when they speake to God It is straunge to thinke how liuely they are to euerie thing els and how dead they are to praie as many come to Sermons and neuer marke what the Preacher saith vntil he come to this To whome be all praise power and dominion for euer so many praie and neuer marke what they say vntil they come to this Giue vs this day our dailie bread Doost thou thinke that God doth marke that praier which thou doost not marke thy selfe Some come to God as if they did fetch fire a spurt and away like a messenger which is gone before he haue his answere If God wil take a Pater noster of them and heare them for that so it is for they neuer made any other praier in their liues but euen as a child saith Grace so they say Our Father put them out of that and they cannot praie a word no more than the child can make a grace if he be put out of his owne Some are like Nadah and Abihu which neuer looke with what fire their sacrifice is is kindled so they neuer respect with 〈…〉 sometime they praie or maâ—â—ce for reuenge sometime of greedines for riches somtime of lust for pleasure Now as no sacrifice was accepted with God but that which was kindled with the fire which came downe from Heauen so no praier is accepted with God but that which is kindled with some motion from Heauen Their praier neuer ascendeth to Heauen for Abels heart made Abels offering accepted Some are like the builders of Babel which call for one thing when they shoulde call for another so they praie for one thing when they shoulde praie for another when they called for stones they brought them timber when they called for timber they brought them stones so when they call for health God sendes them sicknes when they call for rest God sendes them trouble when they cal for riches God sendes them wants when they call for honor God sendes them shame when they call for ease God sendes them a yoke For it is a iust thing with GOD that they which doo one thing for another should receiue one thing for another Some are like the prodigall sonne which praied but vntill he had gotten his patrimonie and then he forsooke his father which gaue it him so they praie no longer but vntill they haue that which they would haue and then they flie from God as he did from his father and liue like swine in another Countrie till extremitie and penury 〈◊〉 them home again These are the Beadsmen of our age and these are the praiers which wee offer to him which made heauen and earth Wouldest thou regarde his sute which shoulde intreate thee so contemptuouslie as thou intrearest God let vs consider how that praier should obtaine remission of sinne which is sinne it selfe Paul saith Let al which call vpon the name of the Lorde departe from iniquitie as if hee should say the Lord will he are none which praie vnto him but them which depart from iniquitie Salomon saith the praier of the wicked is an abhomination if his best worke be an abhomination what are his worst deedes And the sinner himselfe Therefore hee aduiseth Prepare thy hearte before thou goe into the Temple lest thou offer the Sacrifice of fooles as if hee should say as hee which offereth a present vnto a Prince which the Prince likes not is a foole for his paines This is the cause saith one why God doth not heare our praiers as he did our Fathers because wee pray not with such humilitie and perseuerance as they did Many touched Christ but one drewe vertue out of him so manie praie vnto Christe but fewe draw comfort from him Now if you will knowe what praier is accepted with God Iames saith the praier of the iust auaileth much if it bee feruent hee saith not that the praier of the wicked auaileth anie thing though it bee neuer so feruent but the person must be iust the praier must bee feruent too by this thou knowest then whether thy praier bee accepted with God As God sent downe fire from heauen to consume Eliah his Sacrifice because it pleased him s he will send downe a kind of ioy and lightnes vpon thy heart which shall kindle thee within as the fire kindled Eliahs Sacrifice and sende thee awaie with such a ioie like a Sutor which commeth from the Prince when his petition is graunted this is the ende of euerie praier which is made in Faith as Christ answered the Centurian Be it vnto thee as thou beleeuest So thy heart shall aunswere thee Be it vnto thee as thou beleeuest When we begin to praie we are going from the Diuell and when we ende our praier we are come to God At first manie temptations will hinder thee but with earnestnes thou shalt driue them away Then Make no haste as Salomon saith to get out of the kinges presence For the Lord and thy praier are met together in heauen like Christ and the woman at Iacobs well Seeing then that prayer is such an excellent thing that it
is giuen to none but to him which is called Excellent and such a pleasant thing that Paul ioyneth Pray continuallie with Reioice continually and such a heauenlie thing that it makes vs like the Angels which are in Heauen and such a necessarie thing that God built a house for it and made a daie for it and such a holy thing that none but the holie can deale with it and such a strong thing that it ouercommeth GOD which ouercommeth all How is it then that our Fathers spent so much time in praier and we make no account of it Haue we nothing to praie for as well as they Nay they prayed for nothing but wee had neede to praie for the like The Turkes and Idolaters praie to them which caÌ„not heare but he which saith I will heare hath not so many Supplications to him as Noble-men What will we giue God if we will not afford him thanks What will we doe for him if we wil not praise him If thou be wise saith Salomon thou art wise vnto thy seâ—fe so if we doo praie we do praie for our selues Shall the birds sing vnto God and not they for whome hee created birdes What a foole is he which will fight and trauaile and watch for himselfe and will not speake for himselfe If GOD had required such costlie Sacrifices of vs as hee did of the Iewes it is to be feared that hee shall not be serued at all for we are such Gregesites that we would not part from our beasts to Sacrifice to him Therefore let vs not say God will not heare but let vs say we doe not aske for God is redâ—er to giue than we to aske therefore let vs pray that our neglect of prayer may be forgiuen FINIS The betraying of Christ Math. 27. 1. 2. 3. 4. When the morning was come all the chiefe Priestes and the Elders of the people tooke counsaile against Iesus to put him to death And led him away bound and deliuered him vnto Pontius Pilate the Gouernour Then when Iudas which betrayed him sawe that hee was condemned hee repented himselfe and brought againe the thirtie pieces of siluer to the chiefe Priests and Elders Saying I haue sinned betraying the innocent bloud but they sayd what is that to vs see thou to it THE last time you heard how a Publican receiued Christ now you shall heare howe an Apostle betraieth Christ But first heere is set downe what the Priests and the Elders did against Christ of whom it is said When the morning was come all the chiefe Priests and the Elders of the people tooke counsaile against Iesus to put him to death 2. And led him awaie bound and deliuered him vnto Pontius Pilate the gouernour The Priests were Ecclesiasticall persons and the Elders were ciuill Magistrates so they which shoulde haue stoode most for Christ stoode moste against him Marke putteth in the Scribes too Luke putteth in the whole multitude as if he should say The Priests the Scribes and the Pharisies and the Elders and the people Hee which stood for all had all against him Heere is fulfilled that which was prophesied in the second Psalme They banded themselues against the Lord against his annonited But why did they band themselues against the Lord or against his annointed What was their desire of him To haue his goods nay hee had non for himselfe but they were richer than he To haue his libertie Nay that would not suffice them for they had bound him before To bring the people into dislike of him Nay that would not serue them for they had done so alreadie vntill euen his Disciples were fled from him What would they haue then his bloud yea they tooke counsaile saith Mathewe to put him to death They had the Diuels minde which is not satisfied but with death and how doe they continue it Hee saith They tooke counsaile about it When Pharaoh did most foolishlie hee said come Let vs worke wiselie So when they did worst then they seeme to doe it in best maner for they will not sinne without counsaile a wise counsaile to cousult of murther like the Papists counsels when they giue licence for treason They may be fitlier said to take armes then to take counsell For Christ saith before that they came with swords sâ—aues to take him Dauid speakes of a malignant Church that is a Church of malicious persons such a Church was this for they called themselues the Church and went about to kill the head of the Church In the beginning of the night Christ instituted the Sacrament and consulted how to saue them and at midnight they institued their treason and consulted how to destroy him The time which they chose and the Iudge which they chose are specially to be noted the time In the morning c. This therefore is not to be expounded of the beginning of their counsell but of the end of their counsell for they tooke counsell in the night and executed it in the morning When they agreed to goe vnto Pilate it was night but when they brought him to Pilate it was morning But marke how vniustly they handled him before they brought him to the Iudge They should haue done nothing against him before he came to his iudgment but they did all against him except condemning him and crucifying him before they came to the Iudge For all that is spoken before of examining him and mocking him and reuiling him and buffeting him spitting in his face was done before they came to the Iudge which shewes that they were euen angry that they could not kil him without the Iuge too All this was done in the night and therefore Christ saide to his Disciples in the Euening This night all of you shall bee offended for mee Shewing that all these things should be done in the night Therefore Saint Marke saith that Peter and Iames and Iohn where a sleepe when Iudas and his companions came against him which sheweth that it was the time of sleep and in the one and fiftieth verse hee sayth that a yong man ran after with a linnen garment vpon his bare bodie which sheweth that hee hearing a tumult and an vprore to grow in the night ran forth of dores in great hast without his clothes as they doe in a fire to se what was doone and it is added that they stroue to take him and that hee was fayne to slippe of his Linnen and runne away from them naked as Ioseph did when hee left his Cloake with his light Mistresse when he slipt from her which sheweth how voyde of shame and modestie they were to offer such violence to a straunger that hee coulde scarse scape their handes naked although they had nothing against him This I note to shew that their conspiracie against Christ was a night worke like them which hate the light because they doe euill It was not their woont to sit in counsayle in the night but in the