his inheritaunce Let vs therefore diligentlie note when it it is saide That thou maiest prosper in the land that God ment not to busie his people in this present life but by this meane it pleseth him to conduct them higher namely to the hope of immortalitie which he had promised them Neuertheles our Lord promiseth his blessing in such sort vnto this people that euen in this life they shall perceiue it and haue thereof some tast waiting to haue the full enioying thereof when they shall be withdrawne out of this world And at this day we ought also to call to minde the testimonie of S. Paule That when we shal feare God we haue the promises of the present life and of the life to come For God wil in this life giue vs some feeling of his goodnes to the end we might therby be led vnto an higher hope and that we also learne to receue the benefites of God in such sort in this world as that we be persuaded we shal be satisâ—ied with them when we shal be come into his kingdome where we shall enioy them in all fulnesse and plentie Now let vs cast our selues downe before the face of our good God with acknowledgement of our faults praying him to make vs feele them better than we haue done vntill we be sed to a true repentance and that more and more feeling our owne wretchednesse wee may learne to resist all the affections of our flesh and all our wicked and peruerse desires and not this only but that cursed presumption which is in vs of attempting to do that which we thinke good that nothing may hinder vs to followe the pure and simple worde of our GOD knowing that this is the true and perfect rule to order vs by that wee attempt to adde nothing thereto but simply rest in that which is therein conteined to profite more and more therein vntill that hauing atchieued and ended our course here on earth wee come vnto that heauenlie rest wherevnto he calleth vs and in the meane time pray we him to reach vs out his hand to stay vs when we shall seeke vnto him and call on him in all our needes and necessities That it will please him to graunt this grace not onely to vs but vnto all people and nations of the earth c. The. 16. Sermon Deut. Chap. 6. 1 These are the commaundementes ordinaunces and lawes which the Lord your God hath commaunded me to teach you that ye might do them in the lande whither ye goe to possesse it 2 That thou mightest feare the Lorde thy God by keeping all the dayes of thy life thou thy sonne and thy sonnes sonne all his ordinaunces and commaundementes which I commaund thee that thy dayes may be prolonged WE haue often heretofore sene how Moses did put the people in minde of the things conteined in the law euen yesterday we sawe how to the same purpose he made mention of them yet againe in this place he doth the like Howbeit this is no needlesse or vnprofitable repetition seing that men haue so soone forgot the things they learne in the schoole of God except the memorie of them for their better remembrance be often refreshed And we see there needeth nothing to turne vs aside from our duetie herein for we are so much inclined vnto vanitie that there is nothing more harder than to reteine vs vnder the obedience of god As soone as we haue conceiued a fantasie it carieth vs away headlong and we remember no more what God had said vnto vs Moreouer because he seeketh no other thing than to winne vs vnto himself he must roote out of vs those false opinions wherewith wee are alreadie forepossessed For it is with vs as with a ground which hath lien fallowe a long time whereon a man must bestowe exceeding great labour before he can applie it to some profitable vse And that is the cause why Moses saith againe That these are the commaundements and ordinaunces and lawes which the Lord hath committed vnto him that hee deliuer them vnto the people and that they bee obserued Now by these woordes he signifieth that God will reteine the people in his obedience when hee semeth to say What meane ye ye wretched ones to wander Loe I deliuer vnto you my lawe when you shall holde your selues in this doctrine you can not erre this is the way of saluation therefore keepe your selues in it Nowe for all this men are still wandering they are borne away headlong hither thither and God continueth to raine them with the bridle as when an headstrong horse is hardlie ruled the rider restraineth him backe with bitte and bridle not for one time onely but so long as he continueth wild and vntamed Yee see then how God vseth the same order with his people And hereby he sheweth that the minde of man is full of rebellion or full of lightnesse and rashnesse and that he can not wholie rest him selfe on the woord of God wherein notwithstanding our whole saluation and happinesse consisteth Seeing then it is so let vs note that vnder the person of the people of Israel we are here warned that when God hath set before vs his worde wee must not thinke on it for one day onely but that we ought to exercise our selues therein all the time of our life And when wee heare this Beholde the statutes Beholde the ordinaunces Beholde the commaundementes which I propose vnto you we must remember that it is not for vs to establish lawes and rules to gouerne our life by but that this authoritie apperteineth onely vnto god Moreouer he hath also admonished vs that he hath shewed vs the right way Let vs therefore followe it and walke therein let vs not make further inquirie what wee ought to doe for there remaineth no doubting when our Lord hath once spoken wee must no longer alledge I know not whether this bee good I knowe not whether somewhat else bee to bee added Content wee our selues with that which God hath shewed vs for he shall alwayes bee a good maister to teach vs if so bee wee bee not peruerse and euill scholers to learne vnder him And for this cause here is againe mention made of commaundementes statutes and ordinaunces that we might not thinke that God woulde instruct vs by halfes There is then in his lawe comprised a full perfection of all wisedome so that there resteth nothing but that wee yeald obedience therevnto that wee bee not so curious as to desire more than God sheweth vs that we haue no foolish deuotions which leade vs wandering hither and thither knowing that God hath not enuied them which were vnder his charge the knowledge of any thing behouefull for them but hath taught them all that which was profitable and necessarie for them Let vs therfore gouerne our selues according vnto his will let vs applie all our senses thereto let his lawe suffice and content vs albeit the whole world scorne and
¶ SERMONS of M. Iohn Caluine vpon the ▪ X. Commandementes of the Lawe geuen of God by Moses otherwise called the Decalogue Gathered word for word presently at his Sermons when he preached on Deuteronomie without adding vnto or diminishing from them any thing afterward Translated out of Frenche into English by I. H. ¶ Imprinted at London for Iohn Harison 1579. ¶ To the Right excellent and Honourable Lorde the Lorde Robert Dudley Earle of Leycester Baron of Denbigh Knight of the most Noble Order of the Garter Maister of the Queenes Maiesties horses and one of her Graces most Honourable priuie Councell Iohn Harmar wisheth all godlie felicitie continuance of health increase of Honour and Graces eternall OCcasioned Right Honourable to consider certeine of M. Caluins Sermons in the Frenche tongue vpon the lawe of God and his hestes and finding them though gathered and set forth by others yet aunswerable to their makers labour to bee godlie learned and profitable I was the bolder to aduenture the deliuerance of them into our mother language and most bolde to present your Honour therewith the beginning of small abilitie such as they bee yet due to your Lordshippe vnto whom I owe all thankfulnesse and humble duetie Your Honours good procurement of her Maiesties gratious fauour whereby I first became a Scholer in Winchester Colledge afterward to bee remoued to the New Colledge of Oxford whereof at this present I am a poore member I could neuer since forget or burie so good a benefite in such great obliuion Some signification therefore of a gratefull minde is herein sought together with the profit of many the simpler sorte which the rather may be atteined to by your Lordshippes honourable name fauourable countenance and protection which being vouchsafed will be sufficientlieable to counteruaile the contrarie endeuours of such euill disposed persons as seeke euen vnder the colour of greatest truth to pull out the eyes of knowledge and to bring a palpable darkenesse vpon the face of the earth a darkenesse to be brought in by the grosse mist of deuout ignoraunce as more perillous so more lamentable than the temporarie darkenesse of Aegypt For that is the pretence which they vse when as they seeke no other thing than to entrap men by diuelish Sophistrie What need the lawe say they We haue the Gospel What neede we written expositors We haue the liuelie voices of Preachers sounding in great plentie euerie where Of which two speaches the former is vaine the latter parciall and both of them are wicked Truth it is that the strength and sting of the lawes dominion to condemnation concerning the faithfull is weakened and cleane plucked out that the fire is extinguished wherewith the mountaine smoked that the stonie tables are softened that the heauie yoke is lightened that grace hath superabounded and an horne of strong saluation is erected and declared through the administration of the spirite What then Shall we therefore welter in sinne and wallow in the lustes thereof because of these things God forbid Nay rather as the lawe schooleth vs to seeke for grace at the bodie of Christ so the gratious Christian is taught to repaire againe to the booke of the lawe to liue therafter in deede now without seruile feare being deliuered from bondage to serue in freedome of an vpright holie and sincere conscience But as the Bee that hath in her honie hath also a sting so the best men indued with the grace of GOD a thing incomparablie better than honie haue notwithstanding certeine remnantes of the staine of Adam as a sting of corruption to their mortall bodies Whereof to put vs in mind that we may plucke out this sting and as it were weed the garden of our consciences who as the purest ground yet bring forth some weedes of imperfection the lawe of God is most behoouefull and necessarie and M. Caluins trauelles thereon most fruitefull and profitable who striketh euer at the originall and roote of sinne and bringeth the commandement to his olde first and true meaning from the corrupt and common vnderstanding For hee groundeth the exposition of the law vpon the nature of the Lawgiuer who because he is a spirit will be serued in spirit and truth And because he searcheth the reines soundeth the depth of the heart will be serued with euerie affection and motion thereof in all holinesse and sinceritie so that no man can safelie feede or flatter himselfe in the smallest of his owne faultes or follics And now what need there is of this knowledge in England all men see and others can better saie than my selfe declare how thinlie scant here and there such excellent vnderstanding groweth Which thing in more wordes to lament were an ouerlong deteining of your Lordship from your greater affaires The Lord of Lordes and God almightie garde you euer and guide you with his holie spirit to the benefite and commoditie of our countrie and to the profite of his Church with increase of honour to his honour alwayes Your humble to commaund ▪ Iohn Harmar The first Sermon of M. Iohn Caluine vppon the Commaundementes of the Lawe Deut. Chap. 4. 44 This is the Lawe whiche Moses set before the children of Israel 45 These are the witnesses and the ordinances and the Lawes whiche Moses declared to the children of Israel after they came out of Aegypt 46 On this side Iordan in the vallie ouer against Beth-peor in the land of Sihon King of the Amorites which dwelt at Heshbon FOrasmuch as the world is hardly kept and reteined in subiection vnder God let vs see how he for his part after he had chosen to himselfe one peculiar people vouchsafeth to rule them not for one time onely but so long and so often vntill the people should bee well accustomed to the yoke whiche order he vseth yet daily in his Church It ought to suffice vs that we had vnderstood of the truth of our God in one simple woord but because we are not so readie to beleeue as were requisite and when we haue begonne we decline and fall away in the end insomuch that we vtterly forget that which was taught vs see I say howe he is not contented to haue declared vnto vs for one day that whiche apperteineth to our saluation but calleth the same to our mindes continually and imprinteth it in our heartes as much as is possible Let vs consider to this purpose how Moses reciteth in this place that he not onely deliuered the Lawe in Horeb but also that after that he had made his circuite in the wildernesse by the space of fortie yeares or there about he hath againe instructed the people yea that of all the time he was with them he neuer ceased to set before them that which God had commaunded him to publish as we haue alreadie aboue touched And the diligence we here see in Moses is not superfluous but to good purpose when he saith that being come almost to Iordan and hauing discomfited Sehon King
you haue not bene worthie to enter into the lande which I did promise you See then how God woulde chastise his people when he suffereth them to dwell nigh vnto the temple of Peor And at this day when we are mingled among idolaters and perceiue what vncleanesse they commit and howe they peruertall religion let vs know that God by this meanes doth punish vs or at least humbleth vs because of our sinnes And in deede considering this we ought not onely to lament for the sinnes which are committed by these incredulous and vnbeleeuing persons but also because we knowe that we are not worthie to haue the worlde wholy reformed and to behold an agreement harmonie in religion that God might be in all places purely worshipped that when we are so neere to the superstitions of other that we be constrained to see some of the markes and signes and to heare something thereof we must impute this to our owne sinnes But how so euer it be God ceaseth not to geue a good remedie to the people of Israel for when the lawe was in this sort taught by Moses it was all one as if God shoulde separate his from those miserable blinde ones which wandered and went astraie in their superstitions Now herevpon we haue to note that although all the worlde be peruerted and that in it wee see great confusions and that all is full of errours and corruptions yet notwithstanding it behoueth that we haue recourse to the worde of God to be guided thereby which must strengthen vs in such sort that we may defie all the superstitions of idolaters And if we be so full fraughted with vanitie that we geue ouer our selues to decline and to turne aside hither and thither after that God shall haue geuen vs his worde there remaineth then no excuse For as I haue alreadie said this shoulde be a bridle good enough for vs that God declareth to vs his will. Although all the worlde drawe backward and some haue one fantasie and others make a faire shewe of some religion yet all this must be esteemed as vaine friuolous after that we haue heard the voice of our God and by that shall haue intelligence of his will. And therefore let vs put to our vse this certeine and infallible doctrine the worde of God to withdrawe vs from all wicked opinions from all euill errours from all that the diuell hath forged and counterfeited and from all that men shall haue inuented deuised in the world Thus ye see what we haue to beare in minde when Moses maketh mention here of the temple of Peor Nowe he also addeth that this was after the two kinges Og the king of Bashan Sehon the king of the Amorites or of Heshbon were discomfited This circumstance serueth to reproue the people if they shoulde not yeald them selues in all obedience vnto god We knowe that according to the benefite GOD bestoweth on vs we ought so much the more to be stirred vp and prouoked to loue and to feare him God hath shewed himselfe bountifull and liberall towards vs ought it not to drawe vs so much the more vnto him For when a mortall man is indebted and bounde vnto vs for some benefite and good turne shall he not be accounted dissolute and verie vnthankfull if he reknowledge not the good we did him Howe then shall there be lesse excuse towards the liuing God Let vs then remember that Moses in this place maketh expresse mention of these two Kinges which were banquished and subdued to the end the people should reknowledge this benefite in this manner Go to we haue had here two excellent victories When heretofore we attempted warre against the commaundement of God our enimies with great courage gaue vs the foile there was in vs no strength our enimies were as waspes which come to put out our eyes as the similitude hereof hath bene before giuen there are now two Kings strong and mightie ouerthrowen and subdued without any cost of ours God hath deliuered them into our handes Who hath bene the cause of both these victories Hath it not bene God which hath ruled gouerned all herein Sithence then it is so that he hath pitie on vs hath begonne to accomplish the promise whiche he made to our fathers that we haue alredie so good a warrant gage thereof ought not wee to endeuour to yeald our selues wholie to our God Ought we not in all thinges to be subiecte vnto him Ought we not to geue our selues ouer into his hand which he hath shewed so strong by reason of the loue he beateth vs See I say how Moses hath vnderstod this which he reciteth touching the ouerthrow of Sehon Og euen to reproue the vnthankfulnesse of the people if they submite not them selues willinglie to the seruice of their God to whome they were so much bound But now we ought also to applie this doctrine to our owne vse that is that as often as we perceiue in our selues any slouth or lithernesse in the busines of the Lord any remisse negligence any coldnes any rebelliō of the flesh which striueth stubbornly resisteth in such sort that wee come not to God with so cheerefull earnest affection as were requisitie that then we enter into a count of the benefites wee haue receiued of him to say Wretched creature howe art thou so negligent that thou cleauest not to thy God when he hath declared his will vnto vs Consider what thou holdest of him consider the benefits he hath bestowed on thee euen vnto this houre So then let euerie one examine consider how farre he is indebted to God that we may be the more prouoked to serue him And in generall let vs know that he not only created vs when we were not but also that after that he had redeemed vs by the bloud of our Lorde Iesus Christ as he redeemed his people out of the land of Egypt he hath by his grace drawen vs to him so as we had the doctrine of the Gospell deliuered vs which is all one as if he had receiued vs vnder his gard and protection and daily he sheweth the same vnto vs by effectes for what greater aides and succours haue wee from him in our infirmities Should we not a thousand times bee ouercome of Satan if our God had not his hand stretched out to succour vs Yes uerelie we should be then all ouercome and not onely oppressed but also swalowed vp in our temptations without such a stay and refuge as I haue said Sith then it is so that our Lorde ceaseth not to confirme daily his goodnesse towards vs let vs on our part aduise our selues and consider to take this occasion to serue him with a more ardent desire and greater zeale as we see it is heere spoken In this sense it foloweth that Moses speaketh to the people of Israel saying Heare O Israel the lawe which the Lord hath caused to be proposed vnto you that ye may
not approch nigh to the hill for the great feare they had conceiued And although at this day we refuse not but that God shoulde speake vnto vs yet when all is well considered it should not bee profitable for vs And therefore let vs knowe that this ought not to lessen the certeintie and assurance of our faith when God thus vseth the meanes ministerie of men It is said consequently That God hath taught his people saying I am the eternall or euerliuing thy God which hath brought thee out of the land of Egypt thou shalt haue no other GOD before my face In this place GOD to hold his people as with a bridle in obedience telleth them that the knowledge they haue ought to keepe them farre from all superstitions For it is no straunge thing to see the Heathen haue their idols and to runne astray after their errours and fantasies if wee remember what man is in him selfe Wee are also so geuen to vanitie that it is lamentable to behold neither neede wee to goe to schole to learne to bee deceiued for euerie man heerein is a great Doctour in that case briefly wee all runne to euill though vnder the cloke and colour of that whiche is good so that for the true seruice of GOD there is nothing in vs but superstition and idolatrie and so the Gentiles haue had their diuerse kindes of superstition for euerie one hath forged somewhat at his pleasure and all this while the liuing GOD hath beene left and forsaken of all And why Because GOD vouchsafed not to bee so gratious to all the worlde to declare him selfe vnto them Wee see then how men were become as beastes in their opinions and that was for default of teaching although for all this they are not helde excused for they are alwayes guiltie before GOD for asmuch as the founteine of idolatrie proceedeth from their owne malice and vnthankfulnesse when as men by their owne motion haue forsaken the euerliuing god But when the worlde was growne out of kinde the poore Gentiles wandered like blinde men in darknesse for they wanted the light to shew them the way of saluation Howe here the Lorde accuseth the Israelites of rebellion if they obserue not the Lawe which he hath giuen Why so I am the euerliuing thy god When he saith The euerliuing it is to exclude other Gods which are inuented of men As if he should say There is but one Godhead and that is found in me it must needes then be concluded that they whiche hauing knowen me turne themselues after their idols haue no excuse to alledge that they haue not willinglie and wittinglie renounced the liuing god Nowe when he adioyneth That he is the GOD of his people this is to shew that he hath sufficiently declared himselfe to bee knowen vnto them as if he did say I haue separated you from among the rest of men you see howe others wander and that because they lacke wherewith to guide and direct them but I haue chosen you for my people and I haue giuen my selfe to you Seeing then I am your GOD hold your selues to me otherwise you shall haue much lesse excuse than the Painims My bengeance must needes bee double vpon you yea an hundred times more grieuous than vppon other because you haue falsified the promise and broken the couenaunt which I made with you He alledgeth yet further the fauour he did shew to this people when he saith That he brought them out of the land of Egypt out of the house of bondage whereby he signifieth that he hath so bound the people vnto him that they can not reuolt but that they shall deserue to be more grieuously punished For when they shall haue forgotten the redemption by the whiche they were deliuered out of bondage should not their vnthankfulnesse be double when being deliuered by so mightie an hand they yeald not them selues wholie to the seruice of their redeemer And of purpose doth he call Egypt The house of bondage to the end the people shoulde well consider in what estate they had bene there For we see howe they whiche had sighed and cried when they were oppressed with such great violence and tyrannie as we reade of in Exodus assoone as God had deliuered them desired to returne thicher againe And whence proceedeth this but that they remembred not their wrong and oppression but while they endured it and that the diuell did shutte vp their eyes that they should not esteeme the fauour of GOD according to the price and worthinesse thereof That is the cause why Moses in this place nameth Egypt The house of bondage In the end there is set downe the commaundement that the people shoulde haue no other GOD before the face of him whom they ought to hold for their god Now let vs applie this whole doctrine to our vse First therefore when it is said I am the eternall or euerliuing let vs learne so to weigh the sense and meaning of this woord that when as the maiestie of GOD appeareth vnto vs we imagine no other deitie For GOD can not suffer any companion If the brightnesse of the Sunne darken the light of the Starres is it not great reason that when GOD sheweth him selfe euerie one should worshippe him and that all glorie whiche shall haue bene before be as it were brought to nothing And this is the cause why it is saide to the Prophetes That when the Lorde shall reigne there shall then appeare no other brightnesse but his that the Sunne it selfe shal be dimmed and that the Moone shal be turned into darknesse This is to shewe that if we mingle with GOD the fantasies of our owne braine we take away so much from the right whiche apperteineth to him for he can not suffer any companion It behoueth then that this woorde Euerliuing bridle all our fantasies and fond imaginations in such sort that wee presume not on the libertie to conceiue this and that but that we content our selues with this simplicitie to haue one GOD and that this suffice vs And for this cause it is also said That when our Lorde Iesus shall prepare and establish his seate in the worlde that all the idols of Egypt shall fall to the ground Now this place apperteineth vnto vs For as Moses saide to the people of auncient time You haue the euerliuing and therefore it behoueth that all idols bee chaced from among you euen so nowe sithence GOD is declared and made manifest vnto vs in the person of his onely sonne all our idols must fall downe Moreouer we knowe that Egypt aboue all countries of the worlde besides was full fraughted with idols Therefore though wee haue bene in former times euen plunged in lies and errours and darknesse though wee haue had an infinite number of idols yet as soone as GOD declareth that he is the euerliuing all must vanish and fall away as water Nowe when further he nameth himselfe Our GOD this is to entise vs
of the Amorites and Og the King of Bashan his neighbour that he yet putteth them in minde of the statutes and ordinaunces of God to the end the people should rest on them and put them in practise and that if heretofore they haue not bene sufficientlie instructed they should at the lest then knowe the truth of the Lorde wherein they should wholie abide Thus yee see what Moses ment by this place and here he purposely placeth together these wordes the Lawe the Witnesses the Statutes the Ordinaunces to the end he might more fullie expresse declare as we haue before shewed that God hath not instructed his people by halfes or deliuered vnto them some obscure or short and vnperfect doctrine but that he hath comprised in the Lawe whatsoeuer was good and profitable so that if in it the people would stay them selues they should not neede to be busied in seeking for any thing beside as being fullie and wholie guided and directed by it Let vs marke this for in this sense the Lawe is a doctrine as indeed the worde whereby it is called is hence taken and deriued It foloweth The witnesses which unporteth as much as if God should declare that he maketh some contract or bargaine with men that he setteth downe articles to this end that he neither omitteth or forgetteth any thing whiche should serue to knit vp this mutuall agreement and aliance when it pleaseth him to choose and adopt vs for his people and for his Church to bring vs to himselfe For to speake in fewe woordes all that whiche concerneth this spirituall couenaunt betweene him and vs is comprehended vnder this word Witnesses because these are as the articles and pointes of the couenaunt as when bondes are geuen when men contract and bargaine together all is put in which may serue for the one and the other partie Wee see then how God hath protested that the Lawe conteineth a sufficient doctrine if so be men would keepe them selues vnder it to the declaration whereof the two other woordes followe the Statutes the Ordinaunces Nowe when God bestoweth such paine to teach and instruct vs and declareth that he hath omitted nothing whiche might perteine herevnto who will not meruell that our mindes for all this are so fleeing and wandering that we alwayes desire I knowe not what something better than that whiche wee finde in the woorde of God This diuelish curiositie both from all times reigned in the world and at this day a man may see that whatsoeuer one doeth he can not represse and stay this wicked and cursed desire but that men will bee alwayes wiser than God would haue them to bee And why We can not denie when his woord is preached but that he hath declared all thinges which were good and for our profite but yet we for all this time are verie ticklish we flote in out fantasies and we will alwayes haue one thing or other more than that which God hath shewed vs Seeing then that such a vice bewrayeth it selfe in vs it doth stand vs in hand to beare in mind the warning which is here conteined namely that if we will suffer God to be our maister we shall finde in his schoole all perfection of wisedome For his lawe is sufficient of it selfe to make vs wise againe It conteineth as we haue saide the articles whiche serue to ioyne vs to our God in whome all our glorie and felicitie consisteth Moreouer it sheweth vs the rule of well doing in such sort that we neede not searche further to vnderstand what God liketh and alloweth for we haue both his statues ordinaunces So then we may know and be throughlie persuaded that our life shal be acceptable vnto God if we passe not the boundes whiche he hath set and assigned vs but if wee adde any thing of our owne whatsoeuer it bee let vs not thinke that God approueth it as right and good for he hath forgotten nothing of that whiche belongeth to our profite and necessitie These two pointes are well worth the noting for they serue to make vs to haue in greater price and reuerence the doctrine whiche is euerie day proposed vnto vs in the name of god For when wee see that in it is perfect wisedome ought not we is applie all our senses to it and to hold our selues thereto When we see that God ceaseth not but continueth daily to teach vs ought not we for our part to be diligent and attentiue to the end we might profite vnder him And if at the first we be not so geuen vnto it as were requisite we should be all the time of our life ought wee not to traine our selues to knowe alwayes better and better the will of God euen vntill we bee wholie ridde of all ignoraunce which shal be when we are taken foorth of this world and not before Nowe it is certeine that whiche Moses hath done ought at this day to serue vs for a rule and example for it is not done at randon and beside good purpose Againe God appointed him as a spectacle and mirrour to all Prophetes and to all those which haue the charge of teaching in his church Let vs then vnderstand that God will not that we receiue his truth for one day onely as if one lesson were inough for vs but that wee shoulde repeate againe that which before we vnderstood to the end it might tarrie by vs and take such deepe roote in vs that we might haue no excuse nor make any allegation to say O I haue not bene yet throughly instructed God then on his part is alwayes readie to teach vs to the end we might not erre except we our selues woulde wittingly decline and of wilfull malice And here is expresse mention made of the temple of Peor to shewe that although the people had in that place an obiect or sight to turne them to superstition yet they had also a remedie in that God daily stirred them vp by his worde to the end they shoulde not meddle with the idolatries of the Painims True it is that it was an hard and greeuous chastisement that the people of God were feigne to haue euer before their eyes the temple of an idol it was all one as if God to spite and anger them shoulde say I did call you to possesse a land which shoulde be dedicated to my seruice where you shoulde haue seene nothing which might in any point haue offended you for my sanctuarie shoulde haue bene set vp in the middest of you I woulde haue bene purely worshipped according to my lawe the lande should not haue bene vnhalowed defiled with her old superstitions all idolatrie should haue bene so raced out that a man should heare nothing but my praises sounded but now ye see ye are here in the corner of the countrie where you see a temple of idols where you see many villanous abhominations This is then as a vengeance which you feele for your sinnes for as much as
loe hee is exempted out of this condemnation Some then shall bee founde which shall haue obserued the lawe of GOD and therefore all are not curssed But Saint Paule presupposeth that the lawe is vnpossible and if he had not tooke this as graunted hee might seeme to haue proceeded in his argument without sense or reason Thus we see that the Papistes haue taken and grounded themselues vpon a principle and ground altogether contrarie to the spirite of God yea they are so rude and ignoraunt that they haue not yet learned and vnderstoode the ABC of faith and of Christian religion So then let vs diligently note that when question is of the lawe of GOD we must not measure it by our strength and power to respect what we are able to doe but we must consider what we owe vnto god Yea but what then shall bee the meane to deliuer vs from the curse of the lawe For it seemeth vnto them that all the worlde must needes be damned I graunt it well and it behoueth it bee so that is that we be all damned if we will haue saluation in Christ Iesus For how shall we seeke vnto the grace and mercie of God except we knowe the want and need we haue thereof Men would not seeme beggers by their good will. But as long as we shall thinke anie iustice to bee in vs wee shall neuer haue any care to seeke it elsewhere than in our selues therfore we must be wholie rid of all opinion of our owne vertues we must perceiue the wrath of God which is bent against vs we must feele the weight and burthen of death which lieth on and presseth vs For without this it cannot bee that wee shall bee able to prepare our selues to obteine mercie at the hande of god But this thing requireth a more large and ample declaration Let vs therefore first of all beare in minde that when wee feele anie euill thought to arise in vs and that our appetites and lustes with anie pleasant motion shall tickle and stirre vs vp vnto euill that we bee culpable and also guiltie of sinne before god But here one may demaunde this question Whether if when a man conceiueth a wicked thought and hee bee so farre from resting on it that hee detesteth it before hee feele anie pricke and prouocation thereof whether this be sinne As there are manie thoughtes whiche touche not our heart which moue vs not at all which ingender and breede no wicked lust in vs yea a man may haue some thought arise beeing as it were halfe a sleepe and well this flitteth from him without mouing the heart or drawing anie lust after it and yet for this we must lament and bewaile our selues before GOD and knowe that except God staied vs by his grace wee haue opened the doore to Satan whereat entring in hee might incontinently winne vs vnto farther wickednesse Wee must therefore bee sorie for this thing albeit GOD imputeth it not vnto vs for sinne But there is nowe a seconde degree when not onelie wee conceiue some wicked thing in our minde moued herevnto by some present obiect but when wee shall be thereby something moued that wee shall feele some pricke of Satan which stirreth vs then is sinne conceiued that is to say although there bee no consent giuen and albeit the will bee not resolute herein yet is sinne formed before GOD and it is dâ—mnable in his sight for to haue this better vnderstoode wee must alledge examples hereof It may so happen that a man beholding either the house or the lande of an other conceiueth some flying fantasie and yet his heart is nothing moued herewith hee hath no such desire bredde in him as to saye I woulde this were mine but hee passeth from this thought and seeth it is but a vanitie he coulde not withstand it from arising in him But albeit there be not here in anie wicked affection and desire yet notwithstanding GOD doth hereby warne vs of our insirmitie and weakenesse And wee must herevpon humble and bewaile ourselues and acknowledge that this is alreadie a sinne for which wee were to bee condemned For let vs consider whether this shall bee founde in the Angels of heauen It is most certaine it shall not bee seene in them And yet the iustice and righteousnesse of Angels shall hardly suffice to satisfie and answere the lawe of god True it is that there is in God an other iustice as we haue seene in the booke of Iob which surpasseth and exceedeth this of the law but if the Angels of heauen applie them selues to fulfill the lawe of GOD without doubt it is all they are able to doe to conforme them selues to the rule which hee here prescribeth vs Wee see then that this is a vice for which men ought to condemne them selues not when they shall haue hadde anie occasion offered whereby some wicked affection might arise but when they shall haue bredde in them such a desire as to say I coulde wish this or that Although a man incontinentlie repelleth such a desire and stayeth nothing at all vpon it yet is he culpable of this couetousnesse which is here mentioned Nowe seeing this is so let vs learne altogether to condemne our selues and againe let vs beware we fall not into a double condemnation when we shall not only haue coueted something to prouoke vs vnto euill but shall haue nourished this desire as when a woman hath couceiued shee nourisheth her childe vntill she bring him forth for when we shall haue loosed the bridle to our wicked lustes and desires so farre as that our will be wonne in so much that we rest our selues on wickednesse to giue our full consent therevnto behold howe we incurre a double condemnation and then must we with more and greater teares bewaile our miserie for we see we haue brought two condemnations vppon our heads except God of his infinite mercie and goodnesse beare with vs Loe what wee haue here to note touching euill and wicked thoughtes Nowe withall we must returne to consider of the remedie we haue herein for we were in a desperate case as being vtterlie confounded if we had not this grace and mercie of God whereby we are succoured and relieued Therefore when we shall haue vnderstood and confessed that we are in all sortes that may be culpable beholde God calleth and sheweth vs that of these so manie wicked desires which are in vs although in their owne nature they are sinne yet will he not impute anie of them vnto vs for sinne Is then a wicked desire reputed sinne in the faithfull No. But here two diuers things are to be considered For if we respect the nature of the vice it is alwayes sinne But doeth God pardon it Why then beholde he calleth none of these euill concupiscences vnto account forasmuch as by his free mercie and goodnesse hee pardoneth them vnto the faithfull We knowe also that by the bloud of Iesus Christ all our spottes are washed and
as it were requisite Wee shall then bee accursed and condemned when God shall iudge vs in any rigor and seueritie So then men must not here vaunt them selues of obteining any reward which they haue merited nor boast of their workes but rather let them knowe that all the promises which God hath giuen in his lawe import with them a condition and therefore shoulde bee vnprofitable vnto vs by reason that none discharge them selues of their dutie except God would accept of vs and beare with vs for his meere bountie and goodnesse And hereby wee see what rage and madnesse this is in the Papistes when they boast themselues of their merites that it seemeth them they haue to contracte and couenaunt with God and they so venturoustie vpon a diuelish ouerweening and boldnesse make their account that they thinke God is verie much bound and beholding vnto them But what proofes haue they of their satisfactions their woorkes their meâ—â—â—es And where shall a man finde those merites O we haue done say they this and that no remedie but wee must make vp our accountes with god And behold on the contrarie side God who requireth that wee serue him in all and through all which wee are neuer able to doe as wee haue seene heretofore and as it is sufficientlie handled and declared in many other places Nowe let all the worlde examine them selues to see whether there may herein be found one which hath accomplished the lawe But so farre we shal be from finding any such that there is not one which may protest that he hath done the hundred part of that which is in the lawe required Therefore all must confesse that they are accursed Yea in this so small portion and so little as may be wherein men acquite them selues shall bee alwayes founde some wickednesse and some blottes or other So then GOD shall iustly reiect and haue in detestation all that we bring and are able to doe Let men therefore bee ouerwhelmed and confounded with shame and let them confesse that they are all culpable guiltie before god Wherefore let vs note that this promise cannot be accomplished but that God beareth with vs and respecteth not so manie vices and infirmities as are in vs but by his mercie hideth and burieth them Therefore our workes are then receiued and approued by God when he respecteth not what they are but accepteth them through the vertue of the death and passion of our Lorde Iesus Christ as good and holie And albeit there be alwayes many blots and staines in vs yea much stinking corruption except it should be washed away by the bloud of Iesus Christ yet hee alwayes accepteth vs by the meanes thereof and no otherwise So let vs learne to boast our selues and glorifie in the meere and only mercie of God and not vaunt vs of anie merites And in the meane time let vs not cease to be incited and stirred vp with so much greater zeale to serue him when we see that hee will allure and winne vs vnto him selfe by such mildnesse and gentlenesse Yea Moses sheweth that whatsoeuer God promiseth vnto his people when they shall obserue his law procedeth from this fountaine rather than from anie obligation And this is that which he saith As God hath promised to thy fathers as if he said Beloued serue God and he shall be a good maister vnto you And thinke not that you haue lost your time labour when you shall haue obserued his law for you shall haue a large reward which is made readie for you But withall consider ye whence it proceedeth Behold the fountaine saith hee that is that before ye were borne and brought into this worlde God hath promised your fathers to bring them into a land which floweth with milke and honie Moses thus leading the people vnto this promise which had beene made vnto the Patriarches sheweth sufficiently that God maketh no new promise but that he ratifieth and confirmeth that which hee had said And why Is it that he was bound to them which were not yet born No but because he had loued their fathers as he hath aboue said It is true that Moses now sheweth that the people was partaker of such a promise if so be they should obserue the lawe of God. But what We must yet alwayes come to this point that men are vtterly confounded if they will oppose themselues against GOD alledging anie dignitie or worthinesse of their owne and that they shall alwayes remaine in their condemnation they shall finde that they are all accursed It behoueth therefore that they haue their onely refuge vnto the mercie of GOD and that they knowe that when they shall haue forced them selues to walke according vnto his lawe that God shall owe them nothing albeit he will not leaue to accomplish that which he hath promised them euen by his meere goodnesse and free mercie Loe then howe this place ought to bee vnderstoode Nowe seeing he in this place speaketh of the land promised vnto the Iewes let vs note that at this day we ought to be by manie degrees more incited and prouoked to serue GOD seeing hee hath dedicated the whole earth vnto himselfe and will that his name be called on throughout all the worlde For the bloud which our Lorde Iesus Christ hath shedde hath sanctified all the world which was then as it were in all filth and pollution For we knowe there was no lande but this which GOD had reserued vnto himselfe and wherein hee woulde beare rule vntill the comming of his Sonne But when our Lorde Iesus Christ appeared he then obteined possession of the whole worlde and his kingdome was extended from one end vnto an other and especially nowe when the Gospell hath beene published Sithence then it is so let vs diligently note that we are at this day much more streightly bounde vnto the seruice and worship of GOD for as much as by the precious bloud of his Sonne he hath consecrated and made holie the whole earth to the end wee may dwell and be lodged therein and that we may liue vnder his kingdome And therefore as we will that he haue vs vnder his safegard and protection so let vs beware that wee yeeld vp our selues wholie vnto him But because men are alwayes so fickle and wauering that as I haue alreadie saide no bridles are sufficient to raine them to obedience Moses confirmeth all the doctrine hee hath in this place pronounced by saying Heare therefore O Israel the Lorde thy GOD is one god He had saide before Hearken he had said Take yee heede he had said That they must obserue the lawe But here he confirmeth his whole matter much more better when hee saith so expressely That the GOD of Israel is one GOD For by this his meaning is to exclude all the gods which the worlde forgeth and he will shewe that it is not lawfull for them to conceiue anie thing after their owne fansie but that only which we holde by