A Guide vnto godlinesse moste worthy to bee followed of all true Christians A TREATISE WHEREIN is set forth the folly of man in prolonging the amendment of his sinful life togither with the chiefe causes thereof and souereigne remedies againste the same Written in Latin by Iohn Riuius Englished by W. G. ¶ Imprinted at London by Gregorye Seton and are to be solde at the signe of the Hedghogge at the West end of Paules To the right reuerend father in God Gylbert by Gods merciful prouidence Bishoppe of Bath and Welles W. Gace wisheth peace and saluation in Christ. YOV are not ignorant as I think right reuerend Father that the corruption of our age is become euen lamentable and the enormities vvhich novve doe reigne verye great and grieuous For pietie nowe preuaileth with fevv but sinne seduceth many the most part slepe in senselesse securitie Vertue and godlinesse are almoste quite exiled vice and vvickednes almost vvholy embraced mē for the most part are become not godly but godles not vertuous but vicious professinge one thing in vvordes performing another in works as swift as the swallow to runne vnto vanitie as slow as the vvorme to folow vertue and pietie If any proofe be sought hereof we neede goe no further then to dayly experience and vsuall examples For to confes that there be some in dede which serue the Lord with vnfeyned fear dutiful obedience yet vvithout all dout the greatest part do liue very leudly and are too too slacke and remisse in matters of theyr saluation In steede of humilitie many nowe a dayes vse hautines in steede of prayer prating in steede of fasting feasting in steede of almes auarice in steede of setting forth Gods glory with their tongue which was made giuen thē especially to that end herrible dishonouring of his holy name by most wicked and vnlavvfull othes in steede of chastitye adulterie vvhich is nowe counted almost no sinne in steede of plain dealing deepe dissembling in steede of hearty good will hatred malice so that there is almost no faithfull friendshippe or loyall loue left amongst vs But I cannot stand to rehearse al so greate is the corruption and so many folde are the vices vvhich at this day doe reigne yea manye are so farre frō leading a life vvhich beseemeth Christians that in vertuous behauiour and liuing they are farre inferiour to many of the heathen as in sanctitie to Socrates in abstinence to Aristides in integrity to Phocion c That I may omit many other which vvere vvith sundrye vertues very plentifully endued vvho notwithstandinge had onelye the lighte of nature and rule of reason to directe them If then this age of ours be such that all kind of vice so mightely preuaileth vertue and godlines being litle or nothing regarded which as I sayd by daily experience vsual examples before our eyes is plainly proued so that the vertuous actions of many of the Heathen may be to a greate number in these our dayes as it were lanterns of light patterns and examples to imitate and folow If I say the case be thus as vndoubtedly it is how requisite are such remedies as may reduce men from such levvde liuing to the doing of their duetie By consideration of the premisses righte reuerend father I vvas moued to employe some time to englishe this treatise thinking that it vvill bee verye profitable in these our dayes wherin sin so aboundeth forasmuch as in the same is set forth the folly of men in prolonginge the amendmēt of their sinfull life as also the chiefe causes which moue them so to doe with singular and souereigne remedies againste the same whereupon I haue entituled it and that not amisse as I thinke A GVIDE VNTO GODLINES for that it reclaimeth men from sinne vvithdravveth them from vice and shevveth vnto them the right and plaine path to pietie vertue Now vvhat is better for men thē to follovv such a guide what more profitable then to vvalke in such a path which shal plainly appeare if we consider from vvhence they leade and vvhither they direct namely from vice to vertue frō sinne to godlines from the seruitude of Satan to the liberty of Christ from the snares of the deuill to the fatherly fauour of our most gracious God. As concerning vice or sinne from whence this Guide leadeth vs it is vndoubtedly a thing foule and filthy as by testimonies of the Scripture may be plainly proued Dauid sayth VVash me throughly from mine iniquitie clense me frō my sinne purge me frō my wickednes c. Now vvhat do vve vse to wash what to clense purge but that which is vncleā defiled with filthines Moreouer to omit how almost euery sinne is punished some vvay or other euen in this life hovv great a discommoditie is it that this vice or sinne bringeth vnto vs in that it moueth the Lorde to vvithhold his benefits and blessings from vs Most feruent is the loue of the Lorde God yet the vvaters of wickednes are able to quench it exceeding great is his liberalitie and bountie infinite is his clemencie and mercye yet sinne is able to close his hand and to cause him to detein his benefites from vs sinne is able to make him of a gracious giuer a vvrathfull reuenger of a fauourable father a sharpe and seuere iudge the like may be sayd of the rest of Gods benefits Finally the end of sinne is eternall torments and perpetuall paynes Many thinges mighte be spoken pertinent to this purpose some I onely briefly touch manye moe I willingly omit thinking these sufficient VVhereas this Guide directeth vs to vertue godlines it is a thing assuredly of a very great importaunce For that vvhereunto it guideth vs farre exceedeth all vvorldlye vvelth all terrene treasures Noblenes of birth is a thing much esteemed yet is it receiued of our forefathers by succession Riches are much regarded had in great price yet are they subiect vnto manye casualties Beauty is a thing much loued and liked yet is it also very fraile and fading Helth of the body is muche to be vvished yet is it diuers and sundry wayes mutable strength of the body is of many much made of yet is it by sicknes abated by age adminished vvasted Howbeit vertue or godlines commeth not by succession but frō the speciall grace of God the fountaine of all goodnes Vertue is not subiect to vvorldly changes chances it is not by aduersity altered by torments abated by enemies taken avvaye neither by anye other worldlye meanes fayleth vnlesse man through his owne defaulte be the cause thereof It remaineth as vvell with the sick as the vvhole vvith the old as the young Finally as they that follovv vice and perseuer in sinne are the seruaunts of sinne slaues of Satan so they that embrace and exercise true vertue and godlines are not bonde but free not seruants but sonnes euen the sonnes of God and heyres annexed vvith Christ For true
breaketh concorde zeale dissolueth friendship c. Nowe as wee oughte not to be proude or presumptuous being once victors so neither ought we straighte to be discouraged or caste awaye our weapons when we are ouercome What must we do thē To take away the former ignomie let vs more fiercely assaile the enemie put away the shame before receiued by newe vallour and valiantnes no otherwise then that champion mentioned in a certain Poet when he had fallen heauily to the earth being nothing terrified with the fall He commeth fiercer to the fight ire doth his courage moue again Shame stirres his strength and vallour which he in himselfe knew to remaine HOwbeit we must encounter with the enemie trusting not somuch to our own power prowesse as to Gods helpe assistaunce Thus hast thou y cause why for the most parte we persist not in our purposed determinatiō to liue vertuously according to Gods wil. For the cause as I haue sayde is our naturall corruption and pronenesse to sinne also the world offering daily inumerable occasions meanes to all kind of wickednes finally the deuill alwayes thinking of our destruction and omitting not scarce one moment of time eyther with open force or by priuie and secret means to assaile vs. God the father of our Lorde and sauiour Iesus Christ vouchsafe with his ayde and assistance to helpe vs and with his holye spirite to confirme and strengthen vs hauing suche a sore and continuall conflict with so manye enemies whom we are very weake to resiste that by his helpe we may represse the motions of the flesh and not be caried awaye with the allurements thereof that we may subdue our vicious nature and be able valiantly to resist the world alwaies ministring occasions means to infinite sinnes and the deuil on euerye side assailinge vs and attemptinge all meanes to destroye vs and that not onely a seruile feare which the law bringeth namely of Gods vengeaunce and eternall punishment may reuoke vs from sinne and wickednes being terrified with Gods wrath and iudgement and striken with dread and horror of hel but much rather yea specially a free feare with a certen honeste shamefastnes and vertuous reuerence toward GOD maye moue vs not easilye to commit any thinge whiche may displease our moste gracious and fauourable father and may also make vs of our owne accorde to auoyde vice and embrace vertue and by loue and charitie keepe vs in doing our duty so that if we commit anye offence vnawares as the imbecilitie of man is great the same may bring so greate griefe and disquietnesse of mynde vnto vs that we shall take no ioye of our lyfe for that wee haue offended so louinge and mercifull a father vntill wee haue by heartye repentance pacified him againe Finallye the eternall God for his sonne our Lorde and Sauiour Iesus Christes sake graunte that in suche shortnesse of thys lyfe in suche vncertaintye of the houre of death we may not prolonge and dryue of from daye to daye the amendement of our manners but that acknowledging our sinnes wee may withoute all delaye endeuour to returne vnto goodnesse truelye and heartelye repente and by vnfeyned repentance of our sinnes pacifye our heauenlye Father Moreouer wyth the Publican mencioned in the Gospell humblye and wyth knockinge our breaste implore Gods fauour and mercye Fynallye that wee may be willing carefull to doe those thinges onelye which are acceptable to God that wee may reforme vice with vertu and that through Gods assistance wee may by all meanes endeuour to leade the rest of our lyfe hereafter godlily holily innocently chastly soberly temperatly profitably to the church of God friendly to the life of men agreeable to a christian profession and also perseuer in this our good purpose and determination The Conclusion THus much I thoughte good to write concerning the folly of men in prolonging the amendment of their life The verye matter it selfe whiche I tooke in hande to entreate of hath enforced me to speake of such thinges as to the vertuous and them that loue God are very pleasant and delectable but to suche as will seeme Christians when they are nothing lesse very vnpleasant and grieuous We haue spoken many things yea and haue so earnestly repeated the same that we may seeme almost tedious to the reader concerninge the shortnes and vncertainty of thys lyfe concerning death which by reason of the vncertaine chaunces that be incident vnto vs is dayly imminent and doth oftentimes come vppon men suddenly and vnawares which the godlye doe hartely desire and willingly suffer when it so pleaseth God but the wicked doe wonderfully dread and feare We haue spoken of the generall resurrection of the comming of the Lord of the last iudgement when all shall be called to the examination of the life which they haue led the daye whereof being dreadfull to the wicked the godly thinke shal be to them ioyfull and happy For then approcheth their redēption then commeth the time of comforte and refreshing as the Apostle in the Acts sayeth and as Tertulian sayeth then is the daye of Christian reioycing We haue spoken moreouer what rewardes are appointed after death for the godly and what punishments for the wicked For the godly shall ascende vnto God and in heauen enioye a life most blessed and euerlasting For what great felicitie is it alwayes to beholde God to be exhilarated with a perpetuall and most pleasant contemplation of his cositenance to see him as he is whom we now see through a glasse darkely as the Apostle Paule saieth finally to abound with all good thinges to be partakers of so great delights and ioyes as no man is able sufficiently either in cogitation to comprehend or in words to expresse Contrariwise the wicked shal be thrown hedlong into hell there to be tormented with most grieuous euerlasting paines For there is no eloquēce of any man so great which is able in words to vtter nether the wit of anye so sharp that it is able in cogitation to conceiue the lest parte of those torments which the wicked shal suffer in hel being condemned by the iust iudgement of God to eternall fire Finally we haue spoken of sundry other things which as I haue said shal be very pleasant to the godly but to the wicked very vnpleasant grieuous as of the sense of Gods wrath against sinne of shaking of securitie in the time of prosperitie of repenting vnfeynedly of the amendment of our manners of the reforming of our life of a dayly fight with our aduersaries the world the flesh and the deuill and of other such like thinges which it is not here needefull to repeate These things are in deede hard vnpleasant but as I hope wholesome profitable For phisitions as one wel witnesseth do cure grieuous diseases with sharpe remedies and as Cicero saith vnto Octauius No remedies which are laid vnto wounds do so procure griefe as they that are wholesome The eternal God the father of our Lord and redeemer Iesus Christ graunt that in this so corrupt and wretched age this our treatise howbeit if anye will earnestlye peruse the same may somewhat conteine the godly in their dutie and confirme them in the best part and may giue some occasion to the wicked I mean such as be not past hope to returne vnto goodnes finally that this sharpe medicine whiche is giuen that health maye be recouered thereby may haue force and power to helpe and heale them that be as it were sicke and almost desperate Which he without whose helpe al the endeuour of men is frustrate in vaine euen the Lord God almighty graunt To whom be praise honor and glory for euer Finis ¶ IMPRINTED at London by Gregory Seton and are to be solde at the signe of the Hedgehogge at the West end of Paules Anno. 1579.
to day especially seeinge it is vncertaine whether wee shall liue vntil to morowe As concerning the clemencie gentlenes of God let that alwaies remaine in our mind which Cyprian sayth in a certaine place As fauourable saith he gracious as God alwayes is by the loue of a father so much is he to be feared by the maiesty of a iudge So shall it come to passe that the feare of Gods punishmente wil reclaime vs from sinning hope of Gods pardon will not lull vs a sleepe in ouer much securitie It is too much to say howe Priestes in the papacie doe flatter themselues with this hope of Gods clemency who al their life time kepe concubines and vnder a pretence of single life company with harlots freely without punishment neuer thinking of reforming their life or putting their concubines away And in the meane season knowing themselues guiltie of this dishonestie vnclean and wicked life they doe notwithstanding almoste euerye day celebrate diuine seruice and come to the misticall and holy table feeding vnworthely of y breade of the Lord vnworthely drinking of his holy cuppe Now how horrible a thing is it and how ful of peril and danger alwais to liue in that state in which if death come vpon thee there is no hope at all of thy saluation In vaine therfore do they flatter themselues with hope of gods mercy who so kepe cōcubines do with an obstinate mynd perseuer in wickednes neither euer go about to put away their strumpets or to amend their life neither do repent truely from their heart neither with weeping sighes craue pardon of God for their wickednes cōmitted But will some mā say they aske pardon of God oftentimes they often beseech his clemency to forgiue them For in the end of their euening prayer they say almost dayly Conuert vs O God and turne thine anger away from vs Also in the end of morning prayer Thou O Lord say they haue mercy vpon vs So at other times also they often pray that God wil haue mercy on them that he will be fauourable vnto them forgiue them I heare it neither doe I here stand to decide with howe earnest attention of mind with what zeale ferueney of spirite they doe that But be it that they pray with a mind ardent lifted vp vnto God and with a most serious and earnest affection what then What doth this auaile if they put not away their concubines with intent neuer to receiue them againe and do persist in a setled purpose and determination to liue chastly afterward doe also perseuer in endeuouring to amend their life and in continuall repentance for their wickednes committed Now because they doe not this as the thinge it selfe plainly sheweth who can doubt but they either beleue those things to be a fable with the holy scriptures tech of the last iudgemēt or els do too much flatter thēselues with a vain and false hope of Gods pardō O horible face of y popish church They which oughte to ouersee guide gouerne and teach others and that as wel by example as word they behaue themselues so that others are meruelously offended by them When the laity come to the Lordes table with what reuerence with what feare trembling with howe deuout loue and godlines doe they the same Howe doe they prepare themselues to confesse their sinnes and to aske pardon of God How doe they endeuour to their vttermoste that no scruple or doubt remayne in their minde conscience how certainely and firmely do they determine with them selues to amende theyr maners and reforme their life Now what doe the Popish Priestes These forsooth as one of their owne profession sayth make hast from the wicked company of their concubines to go to the alter and this they doe very often vnpunished without all shame They haue no care to amend their life they thinke not of putting away their harlots finally they are touched with no greefe in their mindes by considering their sinne and not to vse many woordes they seeme christians in name onely and word but in very deede are plain heathen Howe many occasions haue they to repente and turne vnto goodnes they visite such as are afflicted with greeuous diseases they heare thē confesse their sinnes they cōfort thē giue them wholesome exhortations and are oftentimes present with them when they yeelde vp the ghoste Moreouer they celebrate their funerals exequies and with great ceremony burie them commit their bodyes to the earth they walking in the temple oftentimes reade Epitaphs and verses grauen vpon tombes sepulchers they oftentimes heare and reade of the comming of the lord of the resurrection at the last day of the voyce of the Archangell of the trumpe of God c. So that by these meanes they may remember not onely the dead but euen death it selfe hanging ouer their heades euery houre they may remember also the laste iudgement the tribunall seate of the Lord and many other thinges which mighte moue them to amend But seeing by all these they are not brought to repent one of these two must nedes be true eyther that they count a fable those things which they reade in the holy scriptures of the iudgement to come and are with the Epicureans perswaded that the soule is extincte and dooth perishe with the body or els as I haue said that they flatter themselues with a vai◠and false hope and trust of Gods mercy Of the third cause why men driue of to reforme their life THe third cause why we prolong the amendment of our life is the custome of sinning which hath now almost the force of nature Now as it is very hard for euery one to ouercome his owne nature so the force of custome also is almost inuincible which men truely say to be as it were another nature Neither is it said amisse of one that those vices are hardlye cut of which do as it were grow vp with vs Howe tenderly gently parents bring vp their children frō their infancie we al do know From their tender age they are accustomed to delights pleasures They abstaine not frō foule silthy words and suche as are wicked blasphemous against God they weare sumptuous gorgeous apparel they do al things stoutly boldly impudently nothing modestly or reuerently They honour not their parents they reuerence not old folkes they disdaine their equales briefly what soeuer they list they think is lawful for thē to doe They are reclaimed frō naughtines neither with shame of men nor with feare of god They haue no care of religion pietie toward God much lesse of vertue honesty among men What should I vse many wordes Parents doe at this day by their owne example marre corrupt their children that they can with no aucthoritie correcte their maners Whereas in dede it becōmeth parentes neither to say any thing before their children with is vnsemely to be spoken
of concerning hel the riuer in hel that alwayes burneth the iudges Minos and Rhadamanthus the place abode punishmēt of the wicked wherupon came that saying of Seneca The poets deluded vs saith he and put vs in vaine feare so many count for trifles and fables vtterly contēne as vayne threats those thinges which at this day are read in the holy Scriptures of hel of eternal death of the fiery lake wher shal be weeping gnashing of teeth also of the resurrectiō of the soule bodye either to euerlasting paines or eternal glorye Whē as al these things without doubt strike horror into thē that be godly in deede do feare god aright as one saith they are almost afraid to heare thē once named or spoken of Thus hast thou the chiefe principall cause as I thinke why all of vs almost do so prolong the amendment of our life Of the second cause vvhy man differreth to amende his lyfe LEt vs nowe come to the second whiche is hope of Gods pardon and fauour a hope great in deede but surelye false and altogether vncertaine With this hope the continuall enemy of mankind the Deuil holdeth man in sinne and by dayly setting before him Gods lenitie and gentlenes keepeth him from fearing his iustice But as God doth easily pardon the penitent and fatherly forgeiueth such as returne vnto goodnes so he leaueth not vnpunished neither suffereth vnreuenged suche as with an obstinate mind perseuer in wickednes In vain therefore doe they hope for pardon who do not hartely repent for their sinnes committed The deuil notwithstanding by setting this hope before man bringeth to passe that he sinneth securely and neuer hath any earnest cogitation of amending his lyfe but despiseth the riches of Gods bountifulnes patience and long sufferance not knowing that the bountifulnesse of God leadeth him to repentaunce that I maye vse the wordes of the Apostle Paul writing to the Romans Let man here call to minde that which our sauiour sayth in the gospell of Matthew Repent saith he your former life for the kingdome of heauen is at hand And that which the Lord saith in Esay Which of them shall I then regarde Euē him that is poore of a lowly troubled spirite and standeth in awe of my words Christ saith moreouer in the gospel of Luke Vnlesse ye repent ye shal al likewise perish And Peter in the Acts sayth Repente ye therefore and conuert that your sinnes may be put away I omit sixe hundred other places in the Scriptures which tende to the same ende that is which teache that none can hope and trust for pardon of his sinnes but he that repenteth For in vaine as I haue sayde doth he hope to haue remission and forgiuenes whose hearte is not touched with true repentance Now albeit no repentaunce be to late before God which the example of the theese mentioned in the gospell doth declare for God desireth not the destruction of sinners but rather that they repent and liue Who notwithstanding seeth not how daungerous a thing it is to differre the amendment of our life Well was it sayd of one that none hath euer had God so fauourable vnto him that he coulde promise himselfe to liue till the morowe Death oftentimes cōmeth vpon men vnawares so that they haue no time so much as to thinke of repenting and amendinge their life I will not here rehearse those thinges whiche Plinie declareth in hys natural history of sodain deathes farasmuch as nothing almost is more common vsual euen at this time also It is not many yeeres since there were two olde men in this country both inhabitants of one and the same citie who the same night they dyd lye with the strumpets to whō they vsed to resort that one lost his life by an Apoplexie the other was stabbed in with a dagger so both of them died sodenly with how great peril of their soules let euerye one thinke with himselfe I confesse it in dede to be true that it is cōmon to the godly as wel as to the wicked to die sodenly that that is true also with the wiseman saith that the righteous man with what death so euer he be preuented shal be in rest How dreadful a thing is it notwithstanding that the impenitent person should sodenly be ouertaken with death after such a sort Of how many haue we heard oftētimes who euen when they were tipling and making god chere falling vnto strife brawling amōg themselues haue bin thrust through one of an other Of howe many who being taken in adultery haue by the sword lost their liues Of howe many who playing at the dice haue bin slayne of them that played with them That I may say nothing of them who falling frō their horse haue brokē theyr neckes who haue perished sodenly in the sea by shipwracke finally who either byfalling of houses or by some other chance haue died a sodain death Although then y God doth desire rather the repentaunce then death of a sinner as in deede he doth it is notwithstanding a very perilous thing by reason of the vncertaine chaunces which be incident vnto vs to differre the amendment of our life vppon hope of Gods mercy Thou must repent in time while thou doost yet liue and art in good health But thus standeth the case A younge man takethe hys pastime and pleasure geueth himselfe to banketting and riotous liuing promiseth himselfe to liue manye yeeres and therefore thinketh nothing of reforming his life but differreth this thing vntill olde age whereunto notwithstanding it is vncertaine whether he shall euer come For what one among manye thousandes liueth vntill olde age Nowe what doth he that is become verye olde and is as it were euen at deathes dore To morrowe saith he it shall be done and againe it shall be done to morrow so he willingly deceiueth vaynly flattereth himselfe seeing as I haue sayde no man can promise himselfe to liue till the morrow no no man knoweth whether he shall liue vntil the euening In the meane season mē so dayly differring prolonging the amendmēt of their life death oftentimes commeth vppon them vnawares as we may see almost euerye day and yet can not other mens harms make vs to beware so doth the deuill alwayes drawe vs on and allure vs with a vayne hope of Gods pardon and of a long life Now although it neither ought nor by any meanes may be denyed that the penitēt obtaine gods grace and fauour at all times neither may it be sayde that he who is nowe about to yeeld vp the ghost in that very agonye of death should despeire of pardon who notwithstanding is so vnwise that he doth not rather desire that which is safe and boyde of all danger then that which is ioyned with exceedinge greate perill Wherefore rather then there shoulde be any scruple or doubte let vs thinke in time of amending our life let vs not differre it from day