only bee made of the thoughts of the heart but wee must also giue an account of the words of the mouth They are the words of him that is the word of truth Of euery idle word that men shall speake they shall giue an account thereof at the day of Iudgement Matth. 12.36 If a man might be called to an account but for his grosser sort of sinnes as for his Whoredom Swearing Cheating Stealing Vsuries Briberies Extortions dishallowing of Sabbaths and the like there were some hope of safety although God knowes there is no hope of the saluation of such without a speedy and vnfained repentance which doth consist in an holy confession of their sinnes in an hearty sorrowing for the same Sermonem otiosum vocat inanem nullius vtilitatis qui sc nihil aedificatienis vel fructus adfert Marlor ex Cal◠in a faithfull restitution of that which hee hath taken from any man by falsity and wrong and in a godly reformation of his forepast life but God will bring into iudgemēt not onely euery secret thought but euery idle word and who alas shall be able to answere him one of a thousand Iob 9.3 Now an idle word is that which is spoken without a fruitfull edification of the hearers for our wordes ought not onely to be few but also they must be good and gracious they must be sauoury and well seasoned with the salt of the Sanctuary and therefore Iob cals the eare the taster of the Word that as we in the common foode of our body swallow not any thing downe into the stomack but what the pallat approues to be good and the grinders prepare for digestion so the eare will not giue passage vnto any word vnlesse it rellish of the Spirit of sanctification and bee truely good to the vse of edifying and may conuay some spiritual nourishmēt vnto the soule and therefore it is the exhortation of the blessed Apostle Let no cōmunication proceed out of the mouth but that which is good to the vse of edifying that it may minister grace vnto the hearers Ephes 4.29 The tongue is the Harbinger of the heart and the truest Ambassador both of the minde and meaning it will soone discry and make manifest vnto others what Countreymen we are whether we belong vnto the Prouince of Babel or the Land of Canaan If wee belong vnto the Prouince of Heauen then our speech is of this Countrey our language is heauenly we are frequent in praising of God in talking of his Word and in telling forth what great things the Lord hath done vnto our soules as our affections are in heauen so is our talke of heauen and heauenly things But if we belong vnto that infernall Kingdome then is the speech carnall sensuall diabolicall then is the tongue exercised in the language of that Countrey in swearing false-swearing cursing banning and blaspheming then is our communication such as may helpe to aduance the Kingdome of Satan whereof wee our selues are limmes and whereof hereafter without repentance wee shall be euerlastingly burning and neuer consuming fire-brands To conclude therefore if euery man must giue-an account of euery idle word not tending to the edification of himselfe and others and of all corrupt and filthy cōmunication whereby hee hath grieued the holy Spirit of God Ephos 4.30 Tremble then thou swearing and false swearing tongue whose Rhetorick and Eloquence of cōmon talke is an execrable oth nay as many othes as wordes thou that canst not sell a penny worth or a pound weight without dozens of othes we haue a world full of such tongues and because of such kind of tongues the lād mournes Gods heauy iudgements are gone out against it if account must bee made of euery idle word what shall become of that tongue that hath pleaded an vniust cause to the peruerting of Iustice wresting the Law to the vtter vndoing of the fatherlesse widdowes what shall become of that tongue that cannot speake a word in the defence of the poore vnlesse it be well tipt with gold the oyle that makes euery ioynt to bee nimble and euery bad cause to goe for current If account must bee made of euery idle word then stand amazed thou vaine and wanton tongue vnderstand and quake when thou hearest mentioned the terrible day of Iudgement thou whose words doe not only not tend to edification but to disgrace the Scripture the word of God it selfe thou that thinkest no iest wil goe for current vnlesse it be seasoned with the salt of the Sanctuary such is the profanenesse of the age in which wee liue that euery Actor vpon the stage euery profane Swaggerer and euery mincing Minion cānot speake a word but must haue a fling and gird at sanctified Scripture assuredly thine account is the greatest thy case fearefull thy iudgement intolerable Let euery man therefore take heede vnto his waies that he offend not in his tongue let him refraine his tongue from euill let him desire the Lord to set a watch before his lips that he may not speake his owne wordes but such as the Lord by his word cōmands him to speake for if our wordes are not such as they ought to be wee shall giue an account for them at the day of Iudgement 3. We shall not only be called vnto an account for our thoughts De operibus and wordes but also of our works wheresoeuer and whensoeuer committed whether by day or by night whether in the field or in the Citie whether in the City or in the house whether in the house or in our chamber whether in our chamber or in our bed there is nothing couered that shall not bee reuealed nothing hid that shall not bee knowne and made manifest before God before the Angels before Saints before the whole world at the day of Iudgemēt so saith the blessed Apostle We must all appeare before the Iudgement seate of Christ and there receiue according to our workes 2. Cor. 5.10 God will giue vnto euery man according to his waies and according to the fruit of his works they that haue done good shal goe into euerlasting life but they that haue done ill shal goe into euerlasting fire This God himselfe reuealed to S. Iohn for truth it selfe I saw the dead great and small stand before God and they were iudged according to their workes Apoc. 20.12 To this purpose saith August In quibus actibus quisque homo inuentus fuerit quando exierit de corpore in his iudicabitur in what sins soeuer man goes out of the body vnrepented of of the same hee shall be iudged at the day of Iudgement as the Preacher therefore concludes his Booke so will I conclude this point God will bring euery worke vnto Iudgement with euery secret thing whether it be good or euill Eccles 12. v. 14. 4. Neither shall we bee onely called vnto an account for our thoughts our words and workes but also for our goods and possessions how we haue gotten them how
qui exaudiet In hell there is sorrow mourning crying and yet none that will heare Then shall the wicked wish that they had neuer been borne or that God in their first creation had made them some creatures of another kinde as Todes Serpents or Cockatrices for then their miseries and shame should haue ended with their liues Then shall the rent-racking Lādlord wish that he had neuer oppressed his poore Tenāts Then shall the couetous Patron wish that hee had neuer made a prey of the Leuites portion Then shall the carelesse Pastor wish that he had neuer left his flock vnto the hyrelings who instead of Preaching the word of God in season and cut of season doe tye their flock vnto a slender dyet either a few cold dead Homilies or some certayne monethly Sermons yet thinke their charge is very sufficiently discharged Then shall the couetous Lawyer wish that hee had neuer sold his tongue for bribes to pleade against the fatherlesse and widdowes Then shall the gourmandizing Epicure wish that hee had neuer surfetted at his table and suffer the poore to starue at his gate Then shall the carnall Protestant wish that he had neuer prattled so much of Religion and practised so little Then shall the drunkard wish that hee had neuer turned so much liquor ouer his tongue wantonly wastfully and now want a drop of cold water for to coole his tongue Then shall the wanton fornicator wish that hee had neuer wasted his body and his goods vpon the body of a strange woman and withall shall confesse that breuis est volupt as fornicationis sed perpetua est poena fornicatoris short is the pleasure of fornication but perpetuall is the payne of the fornicator O consider this in time all ye that forget God! I will conclude with Chrysostomes meditation Vtinam homines Hom. 13. in Epist ad Rom. in tabernis vinarijs reliquisque commessationibus balneis imo vbique de gehenna disputarent I would to God that men euen in wine Tauernes Ale-houses in their bāquets in their baths I will adde in bawdy houses yea euery where would dispute of Hell Non enim sinet in Gehennam incidere Gehennae meminisse Men would not run so headlong to hell did they but remember hell did they but meditate on that fire our common kinde of fire is but painted fire in respect of that and yet how hardly can we endure our finger neere it an houre how much lesse shall wee be able to dwell eternally in that euerlastingly burning Lake of fire and brimstone With the Deuil and his Angels The wicked haue serued the Deuill all the dayes of their life and therefore now they must haue an irksome habitation with the Deuils and portion of torments with his Angels as it is said that the beast and the false Prophet were cast into the place of eternall torments with the Deuil Reuel 20.10 And indeede this conclusion of the wicked doth agree well with their conuersation as they haue forsaken God and followed Satan in obeying his sinnefull suggestions now therefore they shall goe their way with Satan as companions in sinne so partakers in suffering The body shall bee tormented because it would not obey the soule the soule because it would follow the rebellious body both soule and body because they obeyed the instigation of Satan and left the directions of Gods holy Spirit Secondly this Iudge is so vpright in iudgement that in giuing of sentence against the wicked first hee cannot erre through ignorance for he searcheth the heart and tryeth the reines to giue vnto euery man according to his wayes and according to the fruit of his workes Heb. 4.13 Ierem. 17.10 Yea all things are naked and open to his eyes before whom we must appeare Hee that knew Iohn the Baptist in the wombe and saw Nathanael vnder the Fig-tree doth also know and see our goings out and our commings in he discernes Esau from Iacob and knowes faire Rahel from bleare-eyed Leah hee knowes the thoughts and intents of our hearts the words of our mouthes and the workes of our hands Psal 139.1.2.3.4 and is able to set before vs euen our most secret sinnes Secondly he cannot be ouer-swayed with fauour or friendship Indeede in earthly Courts amongst the sonnes of men wickednesse may bee in the place of Iudgement Eccles 3. ver 16. but in this great Court of heauen the Iudge will not be parciall to any God hath no respect of persons Rom. 2. v. 21. but euery one that feareth God and worketh righteousnesse shall bee accepted at that day Nothing will then preuaile but a pure heart and an vpright spirit and as for the Iudge with righteousnesse will hee iudge the world Causa non persona iudicabitur Martyr and the people with equity Psal 58.9 If great men bee found in great sinnes they shall be adiudged vnto great torments Tophet is prepared for the King and the poorest begger shall then haue as good audience in this Court of Iustice as the mightiest Monarch in the world Thirdly this Iudge cannot be ouercome with power Indeede amongst the sonnes of men might oftentimes ouer-comes the right but vnto this Iudge all power is giuen both in heauen and earth Matth. 28.18 He it was that threw the Angels out of heauen Adam out of Paradise Saul out of his Kingdome Nebuchadnezzar out of mens society to conuerse with beasts and he it is that wil humble the high lookes of man and abase the loftinesse of men in that day Isa 2.11 As this Iudge cannot be ouer-swayed with power so can he not be bowed with pity and compassion The time was indeede when our Sauiour wept ouer Ierusalem and made a Sermon full of teares O Ierusalem Ierusalem Luke 19.41 But now alas there is no place for pardon though Ierusalem should seek it with teares Could thine eyes then shead as many teares as there are drops of water in the Sea yet thou couldest not bee able to moue Christ vnto compassion The day before the trumpet sound mercy shal be preached to the penitent and beleeuers by the Gospell but from the time that the sentence is once giuen there shall neuer be more offring of mercy the dore shall be closed though the wicked cry for mercy with Esau seeke the blessing with many teares yet shall they neuer finde it But as Christ doth now weepe for the sinners conuersion so wil hee then laugh at the sinners destruction 5. Lastly this Iudge cannot be corrupted with bribes which amongst the sonnes of men peruert iustice blinde the eyes of those that sit in Iudgement for the richest in the world must appeare naked and empty-hāded before Christ as naked as euer wee came into the world and nakeder then euer we went out of the world by as much as a winding sheet comes vnto Riches Pro. 11.4 gold and siluer auaileth not in the day of wrath but righteousnes saueth the soule I will conclude
Sonne of God the Sauiour of the world the Redeemer of Israel For the great day of his wrath is come 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Iude 6. the great day where we may note the vniuersality of it all the dayes of iudgement going before were but types and figures but Epitomes and compends of that day that great day that is to come the drowning of the old world was a great day the burning of Sodome and Gomorrah a great day the ransacking of Ierusalem a great day yet all these together will not expresse and shew forth the least part of that dreadfully incomparable great day that is to come And who can stand It is a Metaphor drawne from those that whiles some eminent danger hangeth ouer their heads cannot looke vp but speedily they flie away vntill they are out of breath their spirits spent so they fall groueling to the ground so saith our Sauiour Christ mens hearts shall faile them for feare and for looking after those things that shall come to the world Luke 21.16 The cause of this their flying is not only the fearefull apparitions of heauen as presages and prognostications of their dismall doome but Erynnis conscientiae as Melancthon cals it the sting of conscience like a fiend of hell dogs and driues them for the wicked flie when none pursueth them Pro. 28.1 They therefore are said to stand that are not terrified appaled which are not cast downe neither in body nor minde but doe confidently expect and wait their Masters comming therefore it was our Sauiours counsaile vnto his Disciples and in them vnto his whole Church hauing forewarned them that he would come vpon them at a time that they wote not of as trauell vpon a woman as a thiefe in the night he doth fore-arme them too by willing them to be frequent in watching feruent in prayer Watch therefore pray continually that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to passe and that you may bee able to stand before the Sonne of man Luke 21.36 Thus hauing Analysed the whole Chapter diuided my Text and expounded the wordes I draw forth this generall doctrine and it flowes naturall of its owne accord without any violent strayning or iniury vnto the Text this is the doctrine 1. Doct. that the state and condition of the wicked is full of horror at the day of iudgement This is proued by phrases of Scripture First It is called the Lords day the day of the Lord intimating thereby that as the wicked haue had their day the terme of their life wherein they dare as boldly to commit sinne as if they should neuer come to iudgement and as the Prophet Amos speaketh putting farre off the euill day and approching to the seat of iniquity Amos 6.3 so likewise the Lord will haue his day and these are the dayes of vengeance saith our Sauiour Christ Luke 21. v. 22. wherein the Lord will execute the seuerity of his wrath vpon sinne and sinners Secondly it is called the day of wrath now the wrath of a King is the messenger of death how much more the wrath of the Lord of Hosts the breath of whose nostrils kindleth that euerlastingly burning Tophet and his wrath abideth for euer vpon the children of disobedience in that burning Lake of hell fire for they that haue iustly prouoked the Lord vnto wrath in this their life time by fornication by vncleannesse by inordinate affection by euill concupiscence by couetousnesse which is Idolatry by wrath by anger by maliciousnesse by cursed and filthy speaking Colos 3.5.8 shall be sure to finde the recompence and their reward wrath for wrath the very fruit of their owne fruitlesse works for for these things sake the wrath of God commeth vpon the children of disobedience Colos 3.6 temporally by manifest iudgements of his wrath and eternally in hell where his wrath abideth for euer and for euer in that dungeon of Dogs that is among the wicked whose estate is worse then a Dogs as namely Inchanters Whoremongers Murtherers Idolaters and whosoeuer loueth or maketh lyes Reuel 22.15 Thirdly our Sauiour Christ speaking of that day saith that it should come vpon the world as trauell vpon a woman with child which is not onely to be vnderstood of the vncertainty of it when it will come yet as sure will it come as trauell vpon a woman with child but the similitude holds true in another sense that as a woman with child drawing neere to her trauell is in sorrow and cryeth in her paines Isay 26.17 a punishment peculiar to that sex by reason of our first Parents transgression Gen. 3.16 she doth oftentimes send foorth bitter sighes and sobbes grieuous grones lamentable cryes vncertayne whether her issue will bee a Beniamin the sonne of her right hand or a Benoni the sonne of her sorrow death yet still doth shee lift vp her eyes vnto the Hils from whence commeth her helpe so the wicked shall lift vp their eyes vnto the Hils for they shall cry vnto the Hils for helpe vnto the Mountaynes for succour and vnto the Rocks for safety yet they shall receiue none from neither Me thinkes I heare not onely Ieroms Trumpet sounding in mine * Surgite mortui venite ad iudicium eares but a horrible howling of a promiscuous multitude a greater mourning weeping and lamentation was neuer heard in Rama Matt. 2.18 Parents weeping for their children children for their parents the husband for the wife the wife for the husband yet can they not helpe one another but as they haue beene companions in sin so shal they be cōpanions in torments and such torments that are matchlesse farre beyond the paynes of women for her paynes end either with a happy birth or with as happy a buriall for better is the day of death then the day wherein we are borne but the paines of the wicked are endles easelesse remedilesse and as they haue conceiued iniquity so shall they receiue the fruit thereof Fourthly S. Iohn describing the miserable estate condition of the Church vnder Antichrist doth very liuely set forth the desperate estate and cōdition of the wicked at the day of iudgemēt they shall seeke for death in those dayes and shall not finde it they shall desire to dye and death shall flye from them Reuel 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Arist l. 3. Ethic. 9.6 Death according to the Philosopher is of all terribles the most terrible and vnto the naturall man it is euen death to remember death yet full glad would the wicked bee if they might returne to their graue againe neuer heare and feele that dreadfull doome of diuine iustice denounced and inflicted vpon them at that last euerlasting iudgement in Hell Gregor Moral Vbi erit miseris mors sine morte finis sine fine defectus sine defectu quia mors ibi semper incipit deficere nescit where the wicked shal be
from the al-discerning eie of Almightie God though in their life time they thinke that they shall neuer be remooued but are as seemingly safe as Nebuchadnezar or as secure from danger as Edom though now their greatnesse reacheth vnto heauen and their dominion to the ends of the earth Dan. 4.19 though now they build themselues stately houses for the honour of their Maiesty vers 27. Though now they seeme to dwell in the clefts of the rocks secure and farre inough remote out of danger mounting aloft like Eagles in the aire making their nest among the Starres Obad. v. 3. as though no danger should euer come nigh their dwellings Yet Kings with their Armies then shall flie and be discomfited and yet cannot flie from the presence of God nor from beyond the reach of his arme Thus you see that the truth of this doctrine is confirmed by many proofes that the estate and condition of the wicked is full of horror at the dreadfull day of Iudgement Reason 1 Ob signorum multitudinem Now the reasons of this doctrine are many the first is this by reason of the manifold signes and fearefull apparitions both in heauen and earth which will strike an horror dread and amazednesse into the hearts of the wicked Saint Matthew describes them thus the Sunne shall bee darkened and the Moone shall not giue her light the Stars shall fall from heauen and the Powers of heauen shall be shaken Mat. 24.29 The words are to be vnderstood not metaphorically but properly of the alteration of the works of nature as adiuncts circumstances and fearefull presages of that dismall day when the Sunne shall not stand still only as at the prayer of Iosuah Ios 10.12 neither shall it onely goe backward ten degrees as vpon Ahaz Diall Isa 38.8 but it shall be as blacke as a sackcloth of haire Reuel 6.12 We reade that there was an exceeding great darknesse of the Sunne at our Sauiours Passion throughout all the land and many bodies of the Saints which slept arose Matth. 27.52 How fearefull then and how wonderfull shall the comming of Christ vnto Iudgement be when the Sunne the Moone and the Starres and all the powerfull influences of heauen shal grow blacke duskie and vtterly be obscured when all the dead Saints and sinners great and small both in Sea and land shall come forth of their graues whereof the first was a type and figure Mat. 24.31 when the Lord himselfe shall descend from heauen with a shoute and with the voice of the Archangell and with the trumpet of God 1. Thes 4.16 Saint Luke likewise describes the circumstances of that day thus There shall be signes in the Sunne and in the Moone and in the Starres the Sea and the waters shal roare mens harts shall faile them for feare and for looking after these things that shall come vpon the world Luk. 21. vers 25. An Earthquake of it selfe is very fearefull as threatning the ruines of Citties hazarding the subuersion of many stately buildings shaking the very foundations of Kings Palaces and the inundation of waters hath beene very terrible as our Westerne parts can very well witnesse when men euen wisht for Noahs Arke againe and sought the highest places for refuge against the mercilesse waues of the Sea some climbing the clifts of craggy rockes some steeples some the tops of houses some trees some floated vpon the waters like Paul his companions many were drowned But now when the Seas shall roare Rockes shall rent Mountaines shake and shiuer and the glorious Heauens become darke and dusky how shall the hearts of men be appaled with dread and terrour to behold the same and yet notwithstanding these things are but the beginning of sorrowes saith our Sauiour Christ but a Preamble but a Proem but a Prologue to the Tragedy I am not ignorant but that the darkning of the Sunne the Moone and the Starres in the holy Scripture may sometimes bee taken for some kind of calamity ready to fall vpon some particular Kingdome and that these signes doe not alway denotate properly the last day of Iudgement but may be referd to some other particular times of iudgement as the great ouerthrow of the Babylonish Kingdome Isa 13. or the last totall and finall destruction of the Iewes by the Romanes Luk. 21. or that celestiall and truely Diuine victory of Constantine the Great against Maxentius and the Romane Gouernours in the which the great power of almighty God miraculously shone from heauen in reuenging the precious bloud of the blessed Martyrs So the Wise-man exhorting vs to thinke on God in youth and not to deferre repentance vntill we be old drawes one of his motiues and arguments to induce vs thereunto ab incommodo from the manifold inconueniences and impediments accompanying old age that will hinder vs from the true performance of so waighty a worke Repent saith he and turne to God while the Sun is not darke nor the Moone nor the Starres Eccles 12.2 that is before old age approacheth when thou shalt haue no more pleasure in thy dayes then if thou wert shut vp in a darke dungeon and debard of the comfort and benefit of those great and glorious lights of Heauen The second reason Why the state and condition of the wicked is full of horrour at the day of Iudgement Ob Iudicis Maiestatem is the Maiesty of the Iudge the beholding of whose countenance so full of glory and maiesty shall possesse the hearts of the wicked with amazement and astonishment Now the Iudge at this great Assise and generall Audit is Christ himselfe he that once stood before the iudgement seat of Pontius Pilate to receiue his sentence shall now summon Pontius Piliate and all the Potentates of the earth vnto his Consistory to receiue their dreadful doome That Christ is the sole Iudge at the last day they are his owne words The Father iudgeth no man but hath committed all iudgement vnto the Sonne Iohn 5. v. 22. And hath committed vnto him all power and authority to execute iudgement because he is the Sonne of man v. 27. Because hee is the Sonne of man and this cause yeelds vs comfort else were we in a miserable case hee doth partake of our nature and therefore is pittifull compassionate yea farre beyond humane reach or reason the Apostles likewise were commanded to testifie this truth and to preach this point that Christ is ordained by God to bee Iudge of the quicke and dead Act. 10. v. 42. So likewise in the 17. Act. 31. Paul preaching to the Athenians presseth repentance and the argument which he vseth to prouoke them thereunto is the consideration of the day of Iudgement when God will iudge the world in righteousnesse by that man that is Christ whom hee hath ordained So likewise the Apostle in the second to the Romanes ver 16. God shall iudge the secrets of men by Iesus Christ And in the second to Timothy c. 4. vers 1. Iesus
witnesse against the wicked at that day But farre greater is the royalty of Gods children they haue gards of Angels thousands of Angels doe inuiron them about and defend them from all their foes though neuer so many neuer so mighty sometime striking off the fetters in which they are tyed prisoners and making passage for them by throwing open the dores of the prison and as these swift-winked messengers doe obserue the wayes of the wicked whose ministery they haue abused and as they haue presumed to commit sin in the sight of the Angels the Angels being spectators and eye-witnesses to all their actions shall bee produced as so many accusers at the day of Iudgement Tremble then thou profane and loose liuer that darest to cōmit that in the sight of the Angels which thou fearest to doe in the sight of little children The fourth sort of accusers are the Saints before them whom they haue despised scorned and abused in this life whom they haue accounted as the scumme and the off-scowring of all things men vnworthy to liue whom they haue had in derision and a prouerbe of reproch as the wicked haue iudged the godly at their pleasure so the Saints then shal iudge the wicked the world that is the company of the wicked and they that in this life haue been made the foote-stooles of the wicked shall then sit vpon Thrones iudging the twelue Tribes of Israel Matth. 19.28 The fifth sort of witnesses are the wicked witnessing against the wicked The men of Niniue saith our Sauiour Christ shall rise vp with this generation and shall condemne it the Queene of the South shall rise vp with this generation in the Iudgement and shall condemne it Matth. 12.40.41 Tyre and Sydon shall witnesse against Corazin and Bethsaida Sodom and Gomorrah against Capernaum Ephraim against Manasses Manasses against Ephraim the Pharises against the Sadduces the Sadduces against the Pharisees the Pope against the Turke the Turke against the Pope and they that know not whether there bee a holy Ghost or no shall witnesse against the formall Protestants of our time who often talke of the Spirit and yet walk after the flesh hauing a shew of godlinesse and yet denie the power thereof yea and not onely so but birds of a feather such as haue been companions in sinne and haue had fellowship in the vnfruitfull workes of darknesse shal witnes one against another the Egyptians against the Egyptians the swearer against the swearer the Extortioner against the Extortioner the Vsurer against the Vsurer the Drunkard against the Drunkard and they that haue slept in the same bed of sin the Adulterer against the Adulteresse one wicked wretch shal witnes against onother at the day of Iudgement And what know we but that the Satyrs of Virginia may witnesse against many seeming Saints in England at that day they vnto whom the light of the Gospell hath not dawned as yet but are nuzled in darknesse bred in blindnesse and led along in ignorance shal doubtlesse witnesse against many of vs that liue vnder the sound of the Word enioying the free passage of the Gospell the pure preaching of the Word of God in season and out of season that haue had so many Sermons of repentance that haue had so many threats of Gods Iudgements denounced against vs and yet wee perseuere in the same sinnes which wee finde condemed by the Word for where grace is most plentiful there sin is most sinful doubtlesse the Heathens Pagans and Infidels Whores and Harlots shall enter into the Kingdome of Heauen before such as turne the grace of God into wantonnesse Neither shall the wicked onely one witnesse against another but they shal all witnes against themselues Out of the hellish horror of a distracting conscience they shall witnesse against themselues and pronounce themselues guiltie of euerlasting condemnation for when the Ancient of daies shall sit downe vpon his white Throne before whom Heauen and Earth fled away then shall the Bookes be opened and the Bookes are two the Booke of the Law and the Book of thine owne conscience The Law will pleade for transgression of her Precepts and will tell thee what thou shouldest haue done thy conscience will present vnto thy view the things which thou hast done and shall pronounce the sentence of condemnation with so shrill a voice that thy deafest eare may heare it this booke of conscience is in thine owne keeping lockt vp within the closet of thine owne bosome none can falsifie it neither is there any thing written in this booke but what thine owne hand hath subscribed therunto therfore thou canst not take any exception against it As was Gods proceeding against Iuda and Ierusalem such shall his proceeding bee against the wicked at the day of Iudgement before he pronounced their Iudgement hee appealed vnto their owne consciences whether they had not deserued that God should vtterly reiect and forsake them O Inhabitants of Ierusalem and men of Iudah iudge Isaiah 5. I pray you betwixt mee and my Vineyard Iudge you that is looke into your owne consciences and there reade your owne sinnes and iudge whether you haue not deserued that I should take away the hedge that is leaue off to defend you from your enemies and suffer the Babylonians to inuade and spoile you Make you desolate that is destitute of politicall gouernment and that Briers and Thornes should grow vp that is many of you carried away vnto the Idolatrie and other sins of the Babylonians and that the clouds should raine no raine that is that you should be depriued of all kind of comforts in your captiuitie altogether pining with sorrow Psalm 137 sitting downe by the waters of Babylon weeping and hanging vp your Harps vpon the Willow trees that are therein So shall it bee at the day of Iudgement God will appeale vnto the consciences of the wicked and the consciences of the wicked shal frame that desperate conclusion of euerlasting condemnation against themselues They shall not bee brought to the fight of their sinnes by parables as Iuda and Ierusalem here or as Dauid 1. Sam. 12. But their sinnes shall be written in the book of their conscience in such great capitall Letters that he that runnes may reade it and so shall they be euidently conuicted and conuinced by the contents of this booke and testimony of their owne conscience so that as Eliphaz said falsely of Iob thine owne mouth and not I condemne thee shall the iust Iudge of all things at that day speake truly vnto thee by the mouth of thine owne conscience O thou euill seruant thine owne conscience bearing witnesse against thee will I condemne thee Ascendat itaque homo tribunal mentis suae si timet illud meminerit quod oportet eum ante tribunal Christi exhiberi August Hom. 50. Quicquid enim erubescimus confiteri hoe totum proprijs linguis coram totomundo proclam abimus Et apertis conscientiarum libris singulis manifestabimus
and heart is heauie Isai 1.5 where by head as Interpreters obserue is meant the King for the Prophet speaketh vnto the Iewes as if they were one body and when the Prophet complained of this sicknesse of the head he meant Ahaz who then was head of the Kingdome and his disease was not in the foote as Asa his gout but in the corruption of his life hee did nothing that was right in the sight of the Lord his God 2. K. 16.2 the hart is the Priests that if they be such as they should be may very well resemble the heart that as the heart communicateth vitall spirits vnto the whole body so the Ministers of God should endeuour to create the life of grace in euery mans soule But if like the heart they do not employ themselues in their peculiar office and dutie preaching the Word of God in season and out of season quickning the members that are dead in sin and endeuouring daily the conuersion of soules by wholsome doctrine and holy conuersation then are they not hearts any longer but harmes and in Gods due time they shall bee trodden vnder foote like clay in the streete or cast out with vnsauory salt to the dounghill The foot may not find fault with head or heart only I will ingeminate the Prophets words Both head is sick and hart is heauy The matter which I haue in hand forceth mee to shew the generalitie of sinne and so consequently the propinquity of the general Iudgement If God should look downe from heauen vpon the children of men and marke what is done amisse in this our sinful Sublunarie he may see that al are gone aside euen from the highest to the lowest from the youngest to the eldest from the richest to the poorest from the Eagle to the Wren They are altogether become abominable there is none that doth good no not one Psalme 14.3 The foundations of the Earth are out of course sinne hath gotten the vpper hand iniquity aboundeth vertue is disgraced vice aduanced Sin now adaies is growne vnto such a presumption and that notwithstanding the sword of Authoritie which vnlesse it lay vnsheathed in the hand of the Magistrate bearìng it in vaine were able to destroy this Hydra of sinne though new heads budded out continually It it recorded of a French Ambassador in the time of King Richard the third how he told the King that there were three great Whores in England Pride Couetousnesse Luxurie If this Ambassador were to come againe he may tell the King that there are more then tenne times three not a sinne but hath his mate Pride and Ambition Couetousnesse and Extortion Adultery and Fornication Flattery and Dissimulation Strife and Contention Swearing and Forswearing Lying and Cursed speaking Chambering and Wantonnesse Strife and Enuying nay more sinnes then I can name Si superbientibus angelis Deus nō pepercit quantò minùs tibi putredo vermis Bernard and such sinnes as are not to be named To insist a while vpon some particulars to begin first with the first that first sinne of Pride so hatefull in the highest Eye that it threw the Angels out of Heauen whereby they became reprobate Deuils and yet no sinne so common none growne more generall then this sinne of Pride Were the daughters of Zion euer more proud and haughtie then our Dames of England who are so farre from being like women that professe the feare of God 1. Tim. 2.10 that they scarce looke like the creatures of God being so miscreate ofttimes and so deformed with their French their Spanish and their foolish fashions with their Plumes Fannes Feathers and Fardingales Veluet Vizards that they looke rather like some Antickes Maskers May games Esaias Text of fashions is multiplied by the fancies of our time Their bonnets and their bracelets their slippers and their mufflers their vailes their wimples and their crisping pinnes their round tyers like the Moone Isaiah 3.19 Yet he makes no mention of the yellow Ruffes of their perfumed shagged haire which neuer grew vpon their ownehead nor of their painted faces a pretty artificiall meanes to mend the workmanship of their Maker But I thinke that the Mystery of this art may rather be reduced to the common place of whorishnesse or in a nearer tearme the attire of an harlot Prou. 7. that as Erasmus said of a Lyar Oftende mihi mendacem ostendam tibifurem shew me a Lyar and I wil shew thee a thiefe so shew mee a painted face may I say and I will shew thee a whore for shee dwels at the Signe of a painted face Neither is this sinne of pride peculiar vnto women onely but also to men for they are almost become like vnto women as though they were willing to change sexes with them In the time of Popery as one saies wittily England was made an Asse to beare the burthen of the Popes taxations but now England is metamorphosed into an Ape an imitator of all fashions of all Countries and Nations France Spaine and Italy c. To leaue pride as an vgly monster and to speake of the generalitie of the sinne of whoredom which deserues the second place in Satans Kingdome The base-begotten-bastard-broode that this sin brings foorth into the world manifests the generality of it for almost what Parish within this Kingdom nay almost in the whole world but hath an adulterous issue within it and wheras one hath none another hath two Beside how is the bed of honourable marriage abused by vnlawfull mixtures God that is vnus one as Bernard Vnissimus most one hath made vnam one woman vni for one man and one man for one woman so speakes the Prophet And did hee not make one where God sends vs backe to the coppie and first institution of marriage he made one man for one woman Adam for Eue and ioyned them both together in one inuiolable band of honorable wedlock Ge. 2.24 Yet had he abundance of spirit that is by that selfe same secret inspiration whereby Adam became a liuing soule by that same powerfull influence if I may so speake God could haue created more men for one woman yet he did not And why would he not Because he sought a godly seede that is as marriage is honourable so the fruite of this diuine ordinance should bee holy not illigitimate not bastards not a promiscuous seede Malach 2.15 But alas how is the ende of marriage peruerted how doth euery man neigh after his neighbours wife Ieremie 5.8 That is men are as shamelesse and as resolutely impudent in this filthy fact like welfed horses that haue no vnderstanding Psalm 32.9 which the Prophet calles the sinne of abomination Ezek. 22.11 How doth euery man lay waite at his neighbours doore Iob 31.4 that is by priuate stealth to warme anothers bed leauing their own cisternes the wife of their youth to embrace the bosome of the stranger Prou. 5. But I will leaue this sinne in secret where it is committed for