of liberty epicurisme sensualitie that we plucke vp good vvorkes as weedes by the rootes and cast them foorth of the doores as the children of the bondwomaÌ„ not worthy to inherite with the free-borne We never said that faith without workes barren and empty of her fruits iustified an vnrighteous soule but that faith so qualified doth notwithstanding iustifie without those workes this we mainetaine against men and angels so we remooue not workes from faith but workes from iustifying Still they followe their mistresse but in remission of sinnes and cloathing the sinner with the iustice of God therein they giue her the place and put the burthen of that worke vpon her shoulders Let Bilha the handmaide supply the defectes of Rahell and beare children vnto Iacob but let her ever remember that Rahel is aboue her and singular in some respect And let not Ioseph forget though he ride in the second chariot of Egypt be the next man to the king yet that the king hath reserved the throne to himselfe Shall I yet teach you by a more sensible and familiar demonstration Bethulia is in danger of Holofernes the terrour of the East as we of the iustice of God and as the strength of Bethulia was thought too weake to encounter him so all our obedience to the law of God is weake and vnsufficient to defende vs. Iudith vndertaketh for the people of her city faith for vs Iudith goeth accompanied with her handmaides faith with her works and though the eies of her handmaid were ever towards her Lady to carry the scrippe c. yet in performing that act of deliverance Iudith is alone her maide standing and waiting at the dore and not so much as setting her foot within the chamber So although our loue and obedience bee as attendant to faith as ever that servant was to Iudith yet in performing this mighty act of deliverance acquiting the conscience froÌ„ the curse of the law pacifying the anger of God and presenting vs blamelesse before his holy eies al which standeth in the apprehension of the merites of Christ and a stedfast perswasion that he hath assumed for vs faith is wholely and solely alone our workes not claiming any part in that sacred action Therefore wee conclude saith the Apostle Rom. 3. that a man is iustified by faith without the workes of the law Therefore you see saith Iames in the second of his Epistle that of works a man is iustified and not of faith only He is and he is not doth the one conclude the former and doeth the other inferre also by way of conclusion that he hath prooved the latter What shall we say is God divided or is there dissension in the spirit of vnity or is there more than one truth Apostle against Apostle Iames against Paul in one and the same question deriving a contrary conclusion Not so But as the striking of two flintes togither beateth out fire so the comparing of these their two opinions will make the truth more manifest Surely by faith we are iustified without the workes of the law Meane it of ceremonies as some doe meane it of morall commandements the position is both waies true This rocke we must cleaue vnto this rocke must be published abroad rockes stones will publish this rocke if we conceale it To him that worketh not but beleeveth on him that iustifieth the vngodly his faith is accounted for righteousnes Rom. 4. to him that worketh not I will not say that he worketh not at all but he worketh not in this action nor with any intent either to prepare or further his iustificatioÌ„ before the face of God his workes are not reckoned at that time nay they withdraw their presence and hang downe their heades and are abashed to offer themselues in that service But here is the point As I am iustified by faith without the workes of the law so by the workes of the law must my faith be iustified that is avouched made good and testified both to God and man with effectuall proofe and demonstration that it is not a naked fruitlesse hypocriticall faith but soundlye and substantially conditioned So Iames ment it And Thomas Aquinas writing vpon that Epistle confirmeth that meaning that the iustification vvhereof he spake is the exercising or accomplishing of iustice for a thing is then saide to bee done either vvhen it is perfected or when it is made knowne So then there is one righteousnesse imputed favoured and cast vpon vs though it bee not ours there is another righteousnes exercised or declared there is one iustice of iustification there is another iustice of testification there is one that acquiteth before God another that approveth especially before man the one without vs and lent the other within vs inhabitant and inherent the one in Christ and from him communicated to vs the other in our selues and to him in some sort recompenced For such is the nature of faith and loue as the Auncientes described their graces the one is in taking and apprehension the other is in giving and remuneration First we receiue by our faith and then by our charitie we returne some-thing Paule speaketh of the former of these iustifications Iames of the latter Paule delivered simply the doctrine Iames answered an obiection against those that gloried in the name and shadow of faith Paule instructed the vnderstanding Iames informed the life Paule as a Doctor and in the schooles lecturing Iames as a pastour and in the pulpit applying the one handling iustification properly the other to speake as properly sanctification the one establishing a reall christian iustifying faith the other confuting a verball devilish falsifying faith There is now then but one Lord one spirit one truth one gospell one tongue one soule in both these Apostles Consider the state of the question in this present example of the Ninivites You know what they were not only aliantes and strangers fâ—om the covenant and hope of God but of aliantes strangers such whose iniquity streamed into the highest heaven and called downe vengance vpon them What should they now doe to redeeme their peace For if they had fasted till their knees had bowed vnder them if they had put sacke-cloath about their loines till the haire and wale thereof had entred even into their soules if they had spent the day in crying and the night in wailing and if they had lived besides as iustly to the world as Aristides did in Athens who was banished the city for over-much iustice and had not withall beleeved I wil not say but God might haue spared to haue made them notorious examples of his iustice to the worlde but surely they had remained as aforetime children of darknes still and sonnes of perdition and the waies of peace they had never knowne Therefore to conclude on their parte they are iustified by their faith This is it that investeth them into the friendship and loue of God their very beleeving of him is imputed
vnto him at the resurrection of iust men vvhat then if the waters were come vp evâ—n vnto his soule Or coulde hee perswade himselfe that any depth of vvaters coulde over-reach the iudgementes and counsailes of the Lorde in preserving his Saintes Are not they also abyssus magna as greate and a greater deepe than ever sea had what then if the depth closed him about did hee not know that weedes shoulde rotte and fall away from his head and in steede of weedes the head shoulde bee crowned with mercy and compassion and clothed vvith glory as with the sunne-beames vvhat then though the weedes were bound about his head vvas hee to learne that the Lorde shoulde one day say to all the prisoners of hope though Ossa and Pindus the graves of those Gyants had buried their bodies stande vp and shew your selves and that the gates of hell much lesse the barres of the earth are not of force to resist his ordinances what theÌ„ though hee were descended to the bottomes of the mountaines c. What if his heade and heart also body and soule the vvhole composition and frame of Ionas had susteined a dissolution temporall vvhich the lawe of mortalitye and the common condition of all fleshe had made him subiect vnto is there not a time of refreshing when both the substance and beauty of all these shal be renewed againe Then againe I say what needeth in seculum so deepe a suspition of the goodnesse of the Lord as if it had for ever relinquished him it is an effect which for the most part a vehement griefe worketh in all sortes of men except some of a Stoicall disposition and others of a worse that have seared their heartes with hot irons and can feele nothing So vvee reade in the Lamentations My strength and my hope is perished from the Lorde And for a space of time there is little difference either in speech or thought betwixt precious and reprobate spirites But whereas the nature of desperation is this obligatur consuetudine obseratur ingratitudine impenitudine obfirmatur custome bindeth ingratitude locketh impenitency barreth it vp there is not that custome ingratitude impenitency in Gods chosen ones but though they lay downe their hope they take it vp againe and though they giue over the field to the enimy and seeme to fly away yet they flye to returne and to fight with more courage and vpon better advantage The hope of a Christian man is very nicely and fearefully placed betwixt two extremities as Susanna in the midst of two adulterers Ista duo occidunt animaâ— aut desperatio aut perversa spes Desperation and presumption are two infamous gulfes and here as ill as ever Scylla Charybdis did for the wracke overthrow of in my poore soules For as it is not good on the one side to haue too bold head strong an hope that howsoever we liue whither swearing or fearing an oth we shal be saved eáspe freti sperando pereunt they that so hope perish by so hoping it is the hope of the hypocrite shall come to naught it is as the house of a spider that shal soone be overturned so on the other it is not safe to haue our iealous god alwaies in iealousie stil to diffide whither he be our merciful father yea or not For hope is ever accoÌ„panied with 2. sisters which never depart froÌ„ her sides society faith loue faith the guide to keepe vs froÌ„ desperation loue the rule to keepe vs from presumption For he that hath faith can never distrust of the mercies of God because he beleeveth the promises in Iesus Christ he that hath charity wil never presume of a sinfull and licentious life because he is taught by loue to keepe the coÌ„maÌ„dementes of the most High Ionas made some triall of both these extremities For when he went fiirst froÌ„ the face of the Lord and refused a plaine iniunction what was it els but presumption in him Now to distrust of the mercies of God and stifly to affirme that his miseries shall never be released is a spice of desperation But his wisedome was that at their first invasioÌ„ he treadeth vpoÌ„n the heades of both these serpents assoone as he feeleth them sting he presently armeth himselfe with the grace of God to escape from them Otherwise if as the speech of Ionas was in seculum so the thoughtes of his heart had continued in seculum without revocation then had he also takeÌ„ vp his place amongst those whom God had set on his left hand and made the mirrours to the world of his irrevocable damnation For this were insanabilis plaga as Ieremy speaketh a wound that never can be cured to despaire of the aide of God as if a surgion should promise helpe to a sore and the patient should thrust his nailes into it and answere him nay but it shall not be healed It is the iust state of the damned for when all the people vpon the earth besides liue by hope for he that soweth soweth in hope and he that reapeth reapeth in hope he that liveth liveth in hope and he that dieth dieth in hope yea the whole creature groneth vnder hope and waiteth for that time with a fervent desire vvhen the sonnes of God shall be revealed and it selfe restored these onely are past hope One compareth desperation to the beaste in Daniell that hath no name given to it The first of the fowre was a lion the second a beare the third a leopard but this without distinguishing the kinde was very fearefull and terrible and stronge and had greate iron teeth destroied and brake in peeces and stampt vnder his feete and had hornes enough to push at God with blasphemy at his brethren with iniury and at the soule within his owne bosome with distrust of mercy Other our sinnes are fearfull enough and haue as it were the rage of lions and leopardes and beares to spoile make desolate the soule of man but the finall decay indeede which can never be recovered whilst there standeth a seate of iustice in heaven is desperatioÌ„ The greatest sinnes they say are these which are opposed to the theologicall vertues faith hope charity infidelity to faith desperation to hope hatred to charity amoÌ„gst the which infidelity hatred the one not beleeving the other hating God are in themselues worse but in regard of him that sinneth desperation far excedeth theÌ„ both in the daunger annexed to it For what can bee more miserable than a wretch not pittying himselfe But to acquite the prophet of the Lord from so damned a sin as in the former verses after his deadly downe-fall one would haue thought when his iudgmeÌ„t came from his owne mouth I said I am cast out c. he arose againe set vp a staÌ„dart of coÌ„fort to al the distressed of the world yet will I looke againe towardes thy holy temple so in this 2. fight and fit of his
vnto them for righteousnesse as it was to Abraham and to testifie that faith to man to make it perfect before God to seale it vp to their owne conscience they are abundant also in good workes which is that other iustification vvhereof Iames disputeth For as in the temple of Ierusalem there were 3. distinctions of roumes the entry or porch where the beasts were killed the altar where they were sacrificed the holiest place of al whither the high priest entred once every yeare so in this repentance of Niniveh there are 3. sortes of righteousnes the first of ceremony in wearing sacke-cloath and fasting the second of morality in restitution the third the iustice of faith and as it were the dore of hope wherby they first enter into the kingdome of heaven We haue heard what the Ninivites did for their partes let vs nowe consider what God for his It is said that he saw their workes and repentâ—d him of the plague intended and brought it not Nay it is saide that God saw their workes God repented him of the plague vvith repetitioÌ„ of that blessed name to let the world vnderstande that the mischiefe was not turned away for the value and vertue of their workes but for the acceptance of his own good pleasure nor for the repentance of the city but for the repentaÌ„ce of his own heart a gracious inclination propension that he tooke to deliver them No marvaile it was if when God saw their workes he bethought him of their deliverance For when the person is once approved received to grace which their faith procured them his blemishes are not then looked vpon his infirmities covered his vnperfect obedience taken in good part nay coÌ„meÌ„ded honored rewarded daily provoked with promises invitatioÌ„s of greater blessednes to come So a father allureth his son the servaÌ„t doth ten times more yet is the recoÌ„peÌ„ce of the son ten times greater for the father respecteth not so much the workes of his child but because he is a father teÌ„dreth followeth him with fatherly affection wheras the hired servant on the other side is but a stranger vnto him Why then were the works of Niniveh acceptable vnto God not of theÌ„selues but for their sakes that wrought them they for their faith for this is the root that beareth theÌ„ al. In that great cloud of witnesses Heb. 11. what was the reason that they pleased God besides the honour of the world that they vvere vvell reported of and obtained the promises which was the garlande they ranne for besides their suffering of adversities subduing of kingdomes vvorking of righteousnesse with many other famous exploites there ascribed vnto them what was the reason I say but their faith which is the whole burdeÌ„ of the song in that memorable bead-role By faith did Abell thus Enoch thus and others otherwise But why not their workes of themselues For is not charity more than faith these three remaine faith hope and loue but the greater of these three is loue 1. Cor. 13. And the first and the greate commaundemente is this Thou shalt loue the Lorde thy GOD c. Math. the two and twentith And the end of the commaundement is loue 1. Tim. 1. And loue is the fulfilling of the lawe Romanes the thirteenth I graunt all this if thou be able to performe it Loue the Lorde thy God with all thy heart c. and thy neighbour as thy selfe and there is nothing wanting vnto thee thou hast kept the commandement thou hast fulfilled the law thou needest not the passion of thy redeemer thou maiest catch the crowne of life by rightfull desert But this thou art not able to performe were thou as righteous as Noe as obedient as Abraham as holy as Iob as faithfull as David as cleare as the sunne and moone as pure as the starres in heaven yet thou must sing and sigh with a better soule than thine owne who saw and sighed for the impurity of all living flesh Enter not into iudgement vvith thy servant O Lorde for no flesh living can bee iustified in thy sight God hath concluded thee and thy fathers before thee and the fruit of thy body to the last generation of the world vnder sinne and because vnder sinne therefore vnder wrath and malediction and death if thou flie not into the sanctuarie to hide and safegarde thy selfe But blessed be the name of Christ the daies are come wherein this song is sunge in the lande of Iudah and through all the Israell of God farre and neare vvee haue a stronge cittie salvation hath God set for wals and bul-workes about it Open ye the gates that the righteous nation which keepeth faith may enter in Which is that righteous nation that shall enter into the citty of God thus walled and fortressed but that which keepeth faith or rather faithes as the Hebrew hath that is all faith not ceasing to beleeue till their liues end They that beleeue thus adding faith vnto faith the Lord vvill returne them as great a measure of his blessing even peace vpon peace in the next wordes because they trust in him We neede no better expositour The righteous man is he that beleeveth and the beleeving man is he that vvorketh righteousnes for these two shall never be sundred and the onlie key that openeth vnto vs the gates of the citty is our faith So then when we see good workes we must know that they are but fruites and seeke out the root of them and when we haue the root we must also haue regarde to the moisture and iuice whereby it is nourished For as the fruits of the earth grow from their root that root liveth not by it selfe but is fedde and preserved by the fatnes of the soile warmth of the sun benefite of the aire vnder which it standeth so good workes grow from faith and that faith liveth in the obiect the merites and obedience of Iesus Christ feeding and strengthning it selfe by the sweet influence and sappe of these heavenly conceites that he came into the worlde to saue sinners and that he died for her sinne and rose to life for her iustification For as we esteeme the worth of a ring of gold not so much in it selfe as in the gemme that it carrieth so are we iustified magnified also in the sight of God by faith in Christ not for this quality of beleeving which is as vnperfite as our works but for the obiect of this quality Christ our mediatour which is the diamonde and iewell borne therein The hand of a leper though never so bloudy and vncleane yet it may doe the office of an hand in taking and holding fast the almes that is given The giver may bee liberall enough and the gift sufficient to releeue though the hand that received it full of impurity So it is not the weakenesse of our faith in apprehending and applying the passion of Christ that
invincible courage in defending the Church Nazianzen writeth of Basile that betweene him his followers there is no more cōparison than betweene pillers their shadowes I omitte the rest But such are our vnequall iudgementes of those whose equalles wee shall hardelye bee that if vvee were willed to speake what we thought of Basile we would reckon him but a shadow and counterfeit to our selues and great Athanasius as one of the least amongst vs and thrust out the eyes of Ambrose and tearme him a crow and a chough as the Pie of Mirandula did Cyprian should haue a letter of his name changed as sometimes it was and bee but Caprian vnto vs one that wrote of trifles and vanities I omitte the rest the classicall and principall Doctours of the church next the Apostles of Christ and their next succeeders the starres and ornamentes of learning the pillers of religion and Christianity in their time who put their bodyes and soules betwixt Christ and his adversaries who spake and vvrote and lived and died in defence of his truth whose labours were then renowned and GOD in his providence hath reserved their bookes to this day monumentes to vs of their infatigable paines and helpes to our studies if wee bee not enemies to our selues I could be content to say much for them because I vse them much For I never could bee bold to offer mine owne inventions and conceiptes to the world when I haue found them such in S. Augustine and others as might not bee amended I would not wish the learned of any sort that hath but borne a booke to dispraise learning She hath enemies enough abroade though she be iustified by her children It is fitter that wisedome be beaten by fooles than by wisemen and that Barbary disgrace artes rather than Athens the mother and nurse of them But aboue all other places a blow given in the pulpit leaveth a skarre in the face of learning which cannot easily be removed It preiudiceth the teaching of others as if they fed the people with akornes huskes in steede of bred because they gather the mēbers of truth togither dispersed through oratours philosophers poets fathers scriptures make one body of them all which God is the author of they are thought in a manner to preach falshod Or at least it is vanity in those that preach itching in those that heare in neither of both to be allowed I also condēne it whē it is so Vaine vaine glorious invention let it wither at the braine that sent it forth And let itching eares fret consume away with the malignity of their humours Where we find them itching afte◠pleāsure it is good to make them smart with the acrimony of severe reprehension But where it is otherwise let not a rash conclusion without proofe be admitted against good learning If Asclepiodorus will draw with a cole or chawke alone I iudge him not if others will paint with colours neither let them bee iudged If some will barely teach and others proue if some affect to speake with simplicity and others with variety illustrate If some conferre with men of yester day others with antiquitye some binde themselues precisely to the words of God others not refraine the words of men vsing thē as the words of God If some stande narrowlye vpon the tearmes and sentences of faith others not depart from the proportion of faith nor bring in anye thinge dissonant and disagreeing to the vniformity thereof both may doe well but the latter in mine opinion doe farre the better That which concerneth you in this little dissent of iudgementes the sheepe of his pasture by whome wee are set in his house to giue you your portion in due time is this that you be not dismaied heereat For wee preach not our selues in such kinde of preachinges but Christ Iesus the Lorde not to commend our giftes but to edifie your consciences And to this ende I may saye vvith some alteration of vvordes as the Apostle to the Corinthians All thinges are yours whither it bee Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the vvorlde or life or death or thinges present or thinges to come so all thinges are yours in our preachinge whither it be scripture or nature or art all is yours Yours are Philosophers Orators Historigraphers Poets Iewes Gentiles Grecians Barbarians Fathers new-writers men angelles that you may be saved this only is the end where vnto our knowledge learning of what kind soever is directed To returne to Ionas discontented and withall to conclude you see the fall nay you see the relapse of a chosen prophet a sicknes recovered and a recidivation into the same or a worse sickenes Before hee had sinned and recanted his sinne and washed his disobedience away with the water of the sea but now is returned to the mire againe mire indeed wherein his heart as a troubled muddy spring is so disordered that he discerneth nothing a right neither in faith to God nor charity to man nor loue to himselfe accusing the most righteous Lord envying his innocent brethren and carried away headlong with a kind of detestation towardes his owne person once angry and angry againe and not onely conceaving but defending anger angry with the worme in the earth angry with the sunne in the skie angry with the winde in the aire angry with the former and governour of all these who could haue ended his passion with the least breath of his angry lippes A daungerous and grievous wound in a Sainte If I woulde thrust my fingers into it and thoroughly handle it But I leaue it to the order of my text vvorthy of another sea and of another whale and once more of the belly of hell even of hell indeede if God would exactly stand to repay it Improbe Neptunum accusat qui iterum naufragium facit Hee hath no reason to accuse Neptune that so presentlye after a late daunger will hazard himself to take shipwracke againe God is admirable in his Saintes not onely in their risinges but in their fallings also The best amongst them haue fallen And I loue to report their falles not that I take any pleasure with vngracious Chain to vncover the nakednes of my fathers but because that mantell and cloke of charity which God casteth over their sinnes to cover their weaknesses with is the comfortablest reading and learninge that the world hath S. Augustine spake wisely of the errour of Cyprian Propterea non vidit aliquid ut aliquid per eum supereminentius videretur There was something which he saw not that hee might gaine the knowlege of some more excellent thing That vvhich hee lost in faith hee gott in charity So there is somewhat that Ionas doth not to make way to the doing of some bettter worke For if hee gained nothing else the mercy of God might by this meanes bee the more commended in the forgiuenesse of his trespasse and that which hee
looseth in charity hee getteth in faith that is in the assurance and ratification of the loue of God towardes him Commissum atque conscriptum est saith Augustine vppon the 51. Psalme of the adultery and murther of David So is this fault of Ionas both done and written by one of whome I am sure that his witnesse is true because hee accuseth himselfe and it is written for our learning that those who yet stand fall not and those that are fallen may rise againe Trust not your armes of flesh trust not your heartes of ashes trust not your purest and vprightest spirits whilest they have their dwelling in houses of clay and there is a law in the members striving against them to get the victory If you have stood a time yet trust not your legges you may slide againe or if you have slipt and recovered trust not that recovery for feare of back-sliding Trust not the prerogative of your calling Prophets have fallen Patriarches have fallen Apostles have fallen starres have fallen Angelles have fallen trust notly your strength it is infirmitye trust not wisedome it is folly trust not the frendshippe of the world it is enmity with God trust not the authority thereof it is contemptible in his sight trust not the purity of nature it is defiled trust not the righteousnesse of your workes it is vnperfit trust in the mercy of God for that onely is absolute and in the merites of his beloved sonne for they are all-sufficient It is I it is even I which for mine owne sake put avvay thine iniquities It is not I nor thou nor Abraham nor Moses nor Peter at Rome not Paul at Ierusalem that can doe this cure Heare thy Physitian It is I even I. Not with the preparation of thine owne nature nor with the liberty of thine owne will nor with the cooperation of thine owne iustice heare him once againe It is I even I which for mine owne sake If thou thinketh to hire him thou loosest him Hee standeth not vpon thy desart but vpon his owne most holy name his owne most righteous promise and the obedience of his owne and most only begotten sonne the Lord Christ Iesus An admonition to the readers IT may seeme strange that I have vsed so lardge and impertinent a digression in behalfe of good learning As after a longe oration spent in the praise of Hercules one asked quis vituperavit Who dispraised Hercules So you may desire to know vvho dispraised learning Let it suffice you to vnderstand that one of my fellow-labourers in this worke of the Lorde whome neither I iudge in the freedome of his conscience for speaking what hee thought neither can free from the community of erring with my selfe and others because wee are all vnperfite in knowledge vpon the best day of the seven in the best place and before not the meanest assembly handling the wordes of the Apostle 1. Cor. 16.13 watch yee stand fast in the faith tooke occasion therevpon to stande for the onelye worde of faith in sermons with vehement exception against the histories of the Gentiles Orators Poets other prophane knowledge Wherein let it be his commendation that according to the warning of his text he was diligent in his watch and being iealous for the truth suspected those for enemies which were not and shewed his fidelity to the faith though he went a litle too far missed in the iust measure of applying it For mine owne part I woulde have spared mine answer especially in publicke but that I perceived the speech to bee bent to some marke of a few that laboured in that calling and the eares of the people dranke it in with earnest attētion because it was heartily spoken and some were perplexed others offended therewith and learning was wounded which not to have salved had beene a wrong and the arrow flew from her side glanced vpon vs all without exception in that church who in our manner of teaching held no other course THE XLI LECTVRE Chap. 4. ver 2. And he praied vnto the Lord and said I pray thee O Lord was not this my saying when I was yet in my country c. THe first part of this chapter is spent in declaring the fault of Ionas his vnmerciful affection towards this poore people freed from the wrath of God to whō he should have wished wel if they had beene enemies as now they were friends reconciled by apparāt repentance rather thē have missed this successe which fell out not only have doubled and trebled his paines but even have pulled out his eies laid downe his life to have saved their lives Ionas in liew hereof envieth their mercy received and is angry against God the dispenser carver of that mercy angry against himselfe that hee liveth to behold his expectatiō so contraried A wound in a prophet so much the more intollerable that it was but greene after his late recovery For being newly raised vp from falling he dasheth his foote presently against the same stone rebelling before against the expresse commandement of God and now repining fretting expostulating not much lesse then rebelling againe One would have thought that the salte sea should have purged and washed away all his cholericke distemperatures and that his daunger so nevvly endured and eschewed farther than his hope coulde see into shoulde wholye have transformed him into a man of mercye But you see it is otherwise For the goodnes of God displeaseth Ionas exceedingly and hee is angry The impatience of Ionas consisting of envy implied and probably coniectured it displeased Ionas of anger openly expressed wee haue in generall laide downe in the first verse are particularly to pursue in those that follow Thē were named the affections onely now we come to the effectes of those affections with what gesture speech he came before God Surely the effects are such that they deserue to bee smitten with the censure of the wise man A stone is heavy the sand weighty but yet a fooles heart is heavier than thē both Ballance the iustice of God in his righteous dealing with the penitent city of Niniveh against the anger of Ionas fired enraged doth not Ionas impeach it as if the Lord had done some iniury for which he were iustly to be taunted brought into question O I beseech thee was not this my saying c. Pōder his owne offence which if Saul or some other aliant had cōmitted hee should haue borne his trespasse doth he not iustifie it therfore I prevented it that is I did not amisse to flie vnto Tharsis The state of this mighty city to be desolate overthrown he regardeth no more than to see a grasse in the field mowen downe For I knew thee to be a mercifull God that which I feared is fallen vpon me the exhibition of thy grace to Niniveh Yea the price of his owne life is but vile in his owne eies so he may wreake his anger
fro and stagger like a drunken man and all their cunning is gone A liuely image of their vncertaine and variable liues and if you hearken to the comparison it is next to famine imprisonment a deadly disease to be a sea-man Sailers adventurors are neither amongst the living nor amongst the dead they hang betweene both readie to offer vp their soules to every flawe of winde and billow of water where with they are assaulted Yet these are the men and such the instrumentes and meanes whereby your wealth commeth in that liue by Marchandize you eate and drinke and vveare vpon your backes you traffique and spend the bloude of your sonnes and servantes So David called the water of the well of Bethlehem bloud because it vvas brought through the armie of the Philistines vvith the hazard of mens liues You owe much vnto God for the preservation of their liues your shippes and commodities are bounde to rehearse vnto your soules day and night that verse of thankesgiving which David repeateth in the Psalme before named as the burthen and amoebâ—um to those songes of deliverance Let vs therefore confesse before the Lord his loving kindnesse and his wonderfull workes before the sons of men let vs exalt him in the congregation of the people and praise him in the assembly of the elders And as you feare his maiesty your selues who turneth the flouds into a wildernes and a wildernes into springes of water who breaketh the shippes of the sea with an East-wind so see that your factors beyond the seas with all the officers and ministers belonging to your company bee men of the like affection It is not the tallenes of your shippes nor their swiftnesse manning and munition that can protect them against Gods vengeance You call them Lyons Leopards Beares and skorning the names of beasts you tearme theÌ„ Angelles Archangelles but remember when all is done that as Themistocles called the Navy of Athens wooddeÌ„ walles so yours are but woodden Beasts and woodden Angelles And woe be to him that saith to a stone thou art my father and to a peece of wood thou art my helper They haue good fortune written vpon their beakes saith Plutarke but many misfortunes in the successe of their labors Horace spake to as prowd a ship it should seeme as any those times knew Though Pontus pines thy frame A forrest faire thy dame Prowde be thy stocke And worthlesse name The windes will mocke To see thy shame Take heede The navy of Tyrus if the prophet describe it aright was the noblest navie that ever the seas vvere furrowed vvith the builders thereof made it of perfect beautie the boordes of the firre trers of Shenir the mastes of the cedars of Lebanon the oares of the Okes of Basan the bankes of the yvory of Chittim the sailes of the fine embrodered linnen of AEgypt the coveringes blew silke and purple of the Iles of Elisha They of Sidon and Arvad were her marriners the wisest in Tyre her pilottes the auncients of Gebal her calkers they of Persia and Lud and Phut her souldiours the Gammadins were in her towers and hung their shieldes vpon the walles round about and the King of Tyre saide in the hautines of his heart I am a God I sit in the seate of God in the midst of the sea yet see the ende in the same place her rowers brought her into greate waters and the east-winde brake her in the midst of the sea her riches together with marriners pilottes and calkers marchantes and men of warre all were overthrowen and came to a fearefull ruine The feare of the Lorde will be in steede of all these provisions feare him and both floudes and rockes shall feare you and all windes shall blow you happines and ship-wrackes shall avoide the place where your foote treadeth and as the apples of Gods owne eies so shall they reverence you and not dare to approch the channell where your way lieth hilles shall fall downe and mountaines shal be cast into the sea but those that feare the Lord shall never miscary the feare of the Lord shall both laÌ„d your ships in an happy haven and after your travels vpon the earth harbour your soules in his everlasting kingdome They were afraid I will not examine what kinde of feare it vvas vvhich surprised these marriners There is a feare that accompanieth the nature of man and the son of God himselfe was not free from it Marc. 14. It is written of him that he began to be afraid which feare of his and other the like vnpleasant affections he tooke vpon him our Divines say as he tooke our flesh vndertooke death rather in pitty then of necessity And Ierome vpon the place of the Evangelist before cited noteth that the feare of our blessed saviour was not a passion which overbare his mind but a propassion which he seemeth to collect from the word it selfe He began to be afraid 2 There is besides a fond and superstitious feare when men are afraid of their shadowes as Pisander was afraide of meeting his owne soule and Antenor would never go forth of the doores but either in a coach closed vpon al sides or with a target borne over his head fearing I gesse least the sky should fal down vpon it according to that in the Psalme They feare where no feare is The disciples were abasht at the sight of their maister after his resurrection supposing they had seene a spirite when neither had they seene a spirite at any time to moue that conceit neither is it possible that a spirituall substance caÌ„ sensibly be perceived We may easily acquite this coÌ„pany from such foolish feare it hath so apparant a reason to be grounded vpon 3 There is an other feare the obiect wherof is only God which by the praier and cry that followeth in the next wordes seemeth to be the feare meant though ignorantly misplaced and this in some is a servile feare ful of hatred malice contumely reproch if they durst bewray it tristis invtilis crudelis qui quia veniaÌ„ non quaerit noÌ„ consequitur saith Bernard it flieth abhorreth the Lord because he is Deus percutiens a God of vengance in other it is filiall such as the childe honoureth his father with perfitly good wherein there is nothing but loue reverence puritie ingenuitie borne of a free spirite the spirite of bondage slavery wholy abandoned so near in affinity to loue that you can hardly discerne them Pene illa est pene non est It is almost loue and almost not loue so little difference is it never beholdeth God but in the gracious light of his countenance There is mercy with thee O Lord therefore shalt thou be feared howsoever the cloudes of displeasure seeme sometimes to hide that grace away The feare of these men I cannot decide whether it were mixte with hope or altogether desperate and it skilleth not greately to
the blessed Virgin from sinne maketh a double kinde of dubitation one of infidelity another of admiration and discussion hovv can this thing be for it is not doubted by any man but the Virgin there doubted and Augustine so expoundeth the svvorde that shoulde pearse through her soule Luke the seconde so may I vvith better reason make a double kinde of infidelity one of abnegation deniall renouncement the other of wrastling combate contention which hath not yet subdued the adversarie force nor gotten the vpper hande I never knew the soule of any man no not of the sonne of man or rather of rhe sonne of woman though anointed with the oile of gladnesse and spirituall comforte aboue all his fellowes I never knew the soule so happily garded with the strength and munition of God that it coulde escape these fightes and terrours of conscience whereof I speake Looke vpon Abraham the father of the faithfull distrusting the providence of God as vnable to defend him his wife from Pharaoh and Abimelech vnlesse he committed an vntruth vpon Moses when hee was called from Egypt Gedeon when the Angell appeared vnto him at the threshing floore Samuell when he was willed to anoint David and he feared the malice of Saul Elias when he hid himselfe and needes would haue died in haste because of the theatnings of Iezabell vpon Mary and Zachary who asked as doubtfull a question as the Ninivites here did 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vpon all the Apostles of Christ whom hee often vpbraied with little faith and no faith and Christ the head of his Apostles whē he died vpon the crosse with such passionate outcrying as if all the mercies of God had died with him And this is the lot of all the members of Christ thus they totter and and reele in their soules though the foundation of the Lord standeth sure and hath this seale vpon it the Lorde knoweth who are his I will more say they are the happiest soules and dearest vnto God that are so tried they are as the best gold which hath beene purified in the fire seven times and the LORDE will heape comfortes and ioies seven-folde into their bosomes The certainety of election and grace and our speciall assurance of the mercy of God is mightily oppugned by the adversaries I vvill say for this time no more than what note Catharinus gaue of the decree made against it by the last Councell of Trent hee was Archbishop of Minoria inwarde with the Popes of Rome and himselfe in person present at that Councell Besides his owne private opinion declared at large against Dominicus of Soto confessour to Charles the fifte that a man may bee certaine of his salvation by that assurance which although it be not equall to to the catholique faith yet it is true faith and that by the common lawe namely by that testimony vvhich the spirite giveth vnto our spirites that wee are the sonnes of GOD hee further telleth vs that both the Presidentes of that Synode one of them afterwarde Iulius the thirde did protest that the question did not seeme vnto them sufficiently discussed to decide any thing and that the Synode it selfe twise declared that the definition thereof vvas to bee omitted and put of to another time lastlie that the title thereof did abundantly manifest asmuch the tenour wherof was against the vaine confidence of heritiques not against the certainty of salvation in sounde and sober beleevers Vaine confidence of heretiques Vaine without probability And in heretiques not holdinge the trueth of doctrine Who ever allowed it But is it vaine confidence which is grounded vpon the promises of God watered by the bloud of Christ sealed by sacramentes testified by the spirit and assertained by the fruites of charity and obedience that vaine confidence where and in whome soever we finde we call by no milder names than the Rhemist commenters doe damnable false illusion vnhappy security presumption faithlesse perswasion and not the faith of Apostles but the faith of devilles Against such wee shut vp the bowelles of charitye the bosome of the church the cōmunion of her treasure and dowry which are the merites of Christ and as far forth as the keyes are committed vnto vs the gates of everlasting life Against such wee say not with the Psalme Reioyce and tremble but tremble without reioycing nor with the Apostle 2. Philip. Worke out your salvation with feare trembling but tremble and feare without any hope of salvation We vse nothinge but fretters and corrosives against such to make them smart be not high minded but feare and hee that seemeth to stande in his owne conceipt let him take heede that hee fall not Wee will sooner cast pearles to swine and bread to whelpes than salvation to such men who howsoever they live having no testimony of a good conscience vaunting of hope without the love of God despighting the good spirit of grace treading the bloud of the new testament vnder their feete turning grace into wantonnes and vsing the liberty of the gospell for a cloke of maliciousnesse yet say they are sure to bee saved by the mercy of God Thus far wee both agree but from the assurance of salvation wisely and substantially held neither the learning of our adversaries nor the cunning of devilles shall ever bee able to drawe vs. Wee will saye with Antonius Marinarius in the Counsell before alleadged If heaven fall if the earth vanishe avvay if the whole worlde runne headlonge I vvill looke to the goodnesse of God and stande vpright and if an Angell from heaven shall labour to perswade mee otherwise I will say Anathema vnto him O happy confidence of a christian heart If an honest vertuous man saith Cyprian should promise thee any thing thou wouldest give credit vnto him now when God speaketh with thee promiseth thee immortality doest thou waver in thy mind 〈◊〉 thou so faithles to distrust him this is not to know God at all this is to offend Christ the maister of beleevers with the sinne of vnbeleefe This is to be plāted in the church that is in the house of faith without faith Steuen saw the heavens open vnto him cōmended his spirit vnto God though as his body was overwhelmed with stones so were his eares with contumelies as many stones of temptation were cast by the devill against his conscience For where shoulde the weake haue safty and security but in the wounds of their saviour the mightier he is to saue me the more carelesse I dwell there the worlde rageth the bodye overbeareth the devell lyeth in waite yet I fall not because I am founded vpon a sure rocke I haue sinned a huge sinnne my conscience is troubled but it shall not bee dismaide for I vvill remember the vvoundes of the Lorde VVhat is so deadlye thae may not bee cured by the death of Christ therefore if I call but to minde hovve soveraigne and effectuall a medicine his
death is I cannot bee daunted by the malignitye of anye disease VVherefore as Christ admonished the church of Thyatira so I in the name of Christ exhort you that vvhich you haue alreadye holde fast till hee come Let not your hope and consolations in the mercies of GOD bee taken from you let others for their pleasure and for want of better groundes because they leane vpon a staffe of reede masses merites indulgences the like make shipwracke of this sweete article and bee carued away as the windes and seaes of their owne opinions shall driue them till they finde some other haven to rest in But shall ever raigne and beare the scepter in our consciences as an article of that price without the which our liues are not deare vnto vs· The sunne may bee vnder a cloude at times but feare not it vvill shine againe the may fire be buried vnder ashes but it vvill breake forth the arke may bee taken by the Philistines but it shall bee restored to Israell and these heavenlye perswasions may sometimes bee assaulted and battered but they shall eftsoones returne vnto vs. I dare affirme that there was never elect soule vpon the earth redeemed by the bloud and sanctified by the spirit of God but hath drunke largelye of these comfortes wherof I speake and then their largest draught when they haue most thirsted after it that howsoever their life hath beene tempered of good bad daies and good againe as those that are helde with agues of honour and dishonour health and sicknesse warre and peace ioy and heavinesse yet the betrer of these two conditions hath ever had the later and the vpper hand and to haue ended their liues I say not in their beddes but vnder a showre of stones as Steven did or by the sworde of a tyrant or amongst the teeth of wilde beastes hath beene no more vnto them than if a ripe figge had beene pluckte from the tree which it grewe vpon For they haue gone avvaye with a sentence of peace in their lippes as the doue came backe to the arke with an oliue branch Christ is my life death mine advantage Thus much of the Phrase who knoweth if God will returne The matter which they hope for in a worde and to conclude is the mercy of God In the explication whereof they vse an order of wordes 1. that God must returne as if hee were nowe absente and had withdrawen himselfe from them 2. that God must repent not by changing his minde but by callinge in the decree vvhich vvas gone forth 3. that the furie of his wrath must be pacified Lastly to this ende that destruction may bee averted from them as much as to say if God vouchsafe not his presence vnto vs or if hee holde his former intendment or if the heate of his fierce wrath be not quenched wee are sure to perish And so it fareth vvith vs all that except the Lorde doe illighten vs with his favourable and gracious countenance except hee apply himselfe with his whole heart and with all his soule as it is in Ieremy to doe vs good and vnlesse the fire of his anger bee drowned in the bowelles of compassion and his rage burning downe to hell bee swallowed vp into pitty aboue the cloudes what else can follow but the wracke of our bodyes and soules the eversion of our houses and families and vtter desolation to townes citties and entire countries Therefore let vs beseech God that hee ever vouchsafe to dwell with vs as he sometimes dwelt in the bush to change his cursing into blessings to quench his deserved wrath kindled like a whole river of brimstone with his streames of grace that it may bee well with vs and our children our whole land and our last end may be that which is the end and conclusion of the kings edict that wee perish not THE XXXIX LECTVRE Chap. 3. vers 10. And God saw their workes that they turned from their evill waies THE grounde which the people of Niniveh tooke for repentance was faith which although it appeareth by their manner of speech having scruple vncerteinty in it to have beene an vnperfect faith not throughly strengthned and fighting as yet against the horrour of their owne sinnes and terrour of Gods iudgements yet an vnperfect faith is faith more or lesse and the best that ever were have not escaped such distractions and disquietinges of their soules and when they have wrastled a time against the adversarye powers they have returned with the victory and have set vp their banners of triumph in the name and vertue of the Lord of hostes their foundations are in the holy hilles not in the vallies of their owne infirmities for then they must despaire but in the might and mercye of almightye God which stande for ever The matter of their faith consisting of foure members three of them appertaining to God his returne repentance and leaving of his fierce wrath the fourth and last to themselves I went over in hast and will briefly repeate vnto you 1. They beleeved that God might returne and vouchsafe them his presence and company againe taken from the manner of men who in their anger and displeasure forsake the verye place where their eye-sore lyeth and being reconciled vse it for an argument of their revived frendshippe to returne to those houses which they had forsaken So saith God Ose◠5. I vvill goe and returne to my place till they acknowledge their faultes and seeke mee In their affliction they will seeke mee diligently and say come let vs returne vnto the Lorde So they depart from God and God from them They withdraw their obedience hee his blessinges and although he bee in the middest of them nearer than their flesh to their spirites yet by any demonstration of love they cannot perceave his presence God was ever in Niniveh no doubt by his essence his power his overlooking providence for in him they lived mooved and alvvaies had their being but hee vvas not in Niniveh by grace by the guiding and goverment of his holy spirit neither by speciall favour assistance hee had fotsaken their citty and consciences as thorny vnprofitable ground fitter for idols and abominations than for himselfe to dwell in 2. They beleeved that God might repent which is also borrowed from the affections of men whose māner is to be sory in their harts for their former displeasure conceived and to wish it had never bin and asmuch as possible they may to revoke vvhatsoever in the heat thereof they had determined The 3. is consequent to the former for if he returne and repent his anger must needes bee remooved Al these motions either of the body in going from place to place or of the soule in altering her passions are attributed vnto vs truly but vnto God in no other māner than may stand with the nature and honour of his vnmooueable maiesty Now lastly where God is departed and
pleasure in Though I speake with the tongues of men angelles and haue not charity I am as sounding brasse or a tinckling cymball though I had the gift of prophecy and knew all secrets and knowledge yea if I had all faith so that I coulde remooue mountaines and had not charity 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 before I was little I was but a sound now I am nothinge What can we lesse pronounce of the prayer of Ionas though one that spake with the tongue of a man in coÌ„parison of other men the tongue of an angell a tongue of the learned a tongue refined like silver though one that had the gift of prophecy and knewe as many misteries of knowledge as was expedient for flesh and bloud to be acquainted with one that had faith enough to saue him in the bottome of the seas the bottome of the mountaines the bottome belly of a monstrous fish but that the want of loue was sufficient to haue lost the blessing grace of all his hearts desires And said I pray thee O Lorde was not this my saying c. Consider now I beseech you what he prayed and therein howe long it is before hee commeth to the matter intended a foolish and vnnecessary discourse interposed of his owne praise but his subiection to the wil of God not thought vpon For what is the substaÌ„ce of his prayer that which is inferred after a loÌ„g preface therfore I pray thee take away my life from mee hee strengthneth it by reason for it is better for me to die than to liue Why better the cause of this commodiousnes and convenience are contained in the prolocution in those frivolous vaine speeches that are first laide downe I beseech thee was not this my saying c. Asmuch as to say I was thrust forth into a charge which from the first houre I had never liking vnto wherin I thought said and resolved to my selfe from the very beginning that I should be deceived Admit all this Say thou foresawest it and that the end would bee other than thou lookedest for oughtest thou therfore to haue refused thy message a necessity was laid vpon thee and thou mightest well assure thy selfe that woes would haue lighted vpon thee as many as the haires of thy head if thou didst it not Leaue the event to God let him vse his floore at his pleasure whither hee gather into the barne or skatter as the dust of the earth do thou the office of a prophet Againe thou sentest me to denounce a iudgment thou meantest nothing but wel vnto theÌ„ I preached righteousnes and severity thou art a gracious God and full of pitty I made their accounts perfect and straight that destruction should fal vpon them at the end of forty daies thou takest a pen of thy mercy and dashest thy former writing writest theÌ„ a longer day yeares and generations to come I know not how many Vpon this he concludeth therefore now O Lord take away my life c. But we will weigh the conclusion when we come to it Mean-time we must rip vp his former speaches which were of preparatioÌ„ making the way to his suit before haÌ„d Peruse theÌ„ who will he shal finde them fuller of affections than words and such a bundell of errors wrapt togither as one would hardly haue imagined in a prophet Wherein by a blind selfe-liking loue to his owne wit iudgement he is carried from reason truth obedience from that reverent estimation which he should haue had of God For howe often in so short a space doth he challendge wisedome to himselfe I beseech thee O Lord I appeale to thine own coÌ„scieÌ„ce speake but truth be not partiall in thine owne cause was not this my saying I am able to alleadge particulars I can remember the time and the place when I was yet in my countrey therefore I prevented it If I had had mine own will I had stopt this inconvenience for I was not to learne that thou vvast a gracious God there was no pointe of fore-sight wherein I mistooke Thus his saying his providence his prevention his knowledge these are the thinges that hee standeth to much and to long vpon Thy saying Ionas or my saying or the saying of any mortall man what are the wordes of our lippes or the imaginations of our harts but naughtie foolish peruerse from our youth vp if God direct them not or vvhat thy prevention and forecast or of all thy companions prophets or prophets children in the world to knowe what to morrow will bring vpon you or the closing vp of the present day vnlesse some wisdome from heaven cast beames into your mindes to â—llighten them As Elizeus directed the hand of Ioash the king of Israell to shoote and the arrow of Gods deliverance followed vpon it and so often as he smote the ground by the apointment of the prophet so often and no longer he had likelihoode of good successe so the Lord must direct our tongues hearts in all that proceedeth froÌ„ them and where his holy Spirit ceaseth to guide vs there it vvill bee verified that the prophet hath Surelie everie man is a beast by his owne knowledge Therefore the advise of Salomon is good Trust in the Lorde vvith all thine hearte and leane not vnto thy vvisedome in all thy waies acknovvledge him and he shall direct thy pathes Be not wise in thine owne eies and feare the Lorde and departe from evill so shall health bee to thy navell and marrow to thy bones You haue heard the counsaile of the wise nowe ioine vnto it for conclusion the iudgment of the most righteous Wâ—e vnto them that are wise in their owne eies and prudent in their owne sight Wisedome presumed you see and drawne from the cisterne of our owne braine is in the reputation of God as the sinnes of covetousnesse oppression drunkennes and such like and standeth in the crew of those damned and wretched iniquities which God accurseth I pray thee I like the note that Ierome giveth vpon this place he tempereth his complaint because in some sort he accuseth God of iniustice For this cause he sweetneth the accusatioÌ„ with faire flattering speach For to haue challendged God in grosse blunt tearms had bin to apparant therfore he commeth with a plausible glosing insinuation vnto him I pray thee O Lord for remembring that fearful name of his Iehova wherein he saw nothing but maiesty dreadfulnes could he do lesse than entreate him if he had spoken but to the king of Niniveh in whose dominions he was or to Ieroboam the second who raigned in his own natiue couÌ„try the very regard of their persons and place would haue enforced him so much It was the couÌ„saile that AEsop gaue to Solon enquiring what speach he should vse before Croesus either verye little or very sweete For a prince is pacified with curtesie and
terrâ Zach. 13. wickednesse out of the land or an vncleane spirit from the earth but a wicked and vncleane spirit from out his owne breast whereby hee was driven to so franticke a passion 5. Hee will also proove which is the reason annexed to the petition that it is better for him to die than to live and he prooveth it by comparing two opposites death and life the horrour of one of which he shoulde rather have commended the svveetenesse and comfort of the other Thales on a time giving forth incredibly and strangely enough that there was no difference betweene life and death one presently closed vpon him Cur ergo non moreris why then diâ—st thou not because saith hee there is no difference Albeit it appeareth sufficiently that hee shâ—wed a difference by refusing it But the paradoxe which Ionas heare alleadgeth addeth much to that of Thales For hee affirmeth in peremptory tearmes havinge them laide before his eies to compare togither and to make his choice Death is better than life Howbeit hee saith not simply it is better to die than to live but better for mee One as wise as ever Ionas was who had beene taken vp into the third heavens seene revelations in this very question betweene life and death gave no other answere or solution vnto it but per hoc verbum Nescio by this word I knowe not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 what to choose I knowe not And hee confessed that hee vvas streightened or pinched betweene these two whither it were better for him to abide in the flesh or to be with Christ. No doubt simply to bee with Christ. For that is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but onely better but much and very much better but to abide in the flesh was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 more needefull and profitable for the Church For wee were not borne to our selves but for the good of our parents countrey kinred and friendes saide Plato and much more for the flocke of Christ which he hath purchased with his bloud whither they bee Iewes or Gentiles weake or stronge Israelites or Ninivites to further their faith and to helpe them to salvation for thus we are debters to all men The speeches of Caesar were wont to be that hee had lived long enough whither hee respected nature or honour Tully aunswered him It may bee for honour and nature longe enough but that vvhich is chiefest of all not for the common wealth Againe I haue heard thee say that thou hast lived longe enough to thy selfe I beleeue it But then I would also heare If thou livedst to thy selfe alone or to thy selfe alone wert borne Wee are all placed and pitched in our stations and haue our watches and services apointed vs. Let vs not offer to depart thence till it bee the pleasure of our God to dismisse vs. Vnlesse wee haue learned that vndutifull lesson which the messenger vsed at the dores of Elizeus 2. of Kinges and the 6. Beholde this evill commeth of the Lorde should I attend on the Lord any longer It is better for mee to die than to liue Say not so for how knowest thou If thou wilt harken to counsaile leaue it to the wisedome of God to iudge what is best for thee for he will not giue that which is most pleasant but most convenient Charior est illis homo quam sibi A man is dearer to God than to himselfe Socrates in Alcibiades woulde not haue any man aske ought at Gods handes in particular but in generality to giue him good thinges Because he knew what was most behoofe-full for each one whereas our selues craue many thinges which not to haue obteined had bene greater ease At length hee concludeth For hee that is vvont to giue good thinges so easily is also able to choose the fittest The promises in the gospell I graunt are verye lardge Whatsoever you shall aske in my name that will I doe Ioh. 14 And Aske and it shall bee given you Math. 7. For every one that asketh receaveth Howe commeth it to passe then that the sonnes of Zebedee aske and receave not Wee woulde that thou shouldest doe for vs that that we desire Marke 10. The reason is given there by our Saviour Nescitis quid petatis You knowe not what you aske This is also the cause that Ionas receaveth not his asking he knoweth not what hee asketh You haue not because you aske not Iam. 4. that is one cause Yea but you aske and haue not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Because you aske amisse both concerning the end to consume it on your lusts and touching the maÌ„ner because without faith and for the matter it it selfe because it is hurtfull vnto you And if you obserue it you shall espie a condition conveyed into the promise of Christ If you being evill giue good thinges to your children how much more shall your father in beaven giue good things to them that aske him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 good thinges not such as may doe you hurt Another evangelist faith for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the holy or good Spirite Which is all in all able ready to rectifie your mindes order your affections set you to craue more holesome and profitable giftes For if vvee aske the contrary except when the Lorde is pleased to lay a curse vpon our praiers though wee call never so loude and impatientlye in his eares Vsque quó domine clamabo non exauâ—ies O Lorde hovve longe shall I cry vnto thee and thou wilt not heare me he answereth at least by his silence and deniall even as long as a man in a burning ague shall say to his Phisitian vsque quó how longe shall I cry for colde water I burne I am vexed I am tormented I am almost out of breath and hee answereth againe Non misereor modo I cannot yet pittye thee Such mercy were cruelty and thine owne will and wishe is daungerously bent against thee This is the cause to conclude that Ionas his suite speedeth not Ionas thinketh it better to die It is onely better in seeming as a distasted palate is soonest pleased with the worst meate God thinketh the contrary Naye Ionas thinketh God knoweth that hee dieth indeede if he die out of charity and that if hee shoulde giue his bodie to the fire or againe to the water or a thousand deathes more without loue it could not profite him Therefore hee is not suffered to dye when he would but by another mercy of God not inferiour to that in his former deliverye is reserved to an other repentance and to more peaceable dayes Saint Augustine vpon the wordes of the Evangelist If thou wilt enter into life keepe the commaundementes where hee proveth that there is no true life but that which is blessed nor blessed but that which is eternall noteth the manner of men to be in their miseries to call for death rather