LECTVRES ON THE XV. PSALME Read in the Cathedrall Church of S. Paule in London Wherein besides many other very profitable and necessarie matters the question of Vsurie is plainely and fully decided By GEORGE DOVVNAME Doctor of Diuinitie Whereunto are annexed two other Treatises of the same authour the one of Fasting the other of Prayer LONDON Printed by Adam Islip for Cuthbert Burbie and are to be sold in Paules Church-yard at the signe of the Swan 1604. TO THE MOST HIGH AND MIGHTY KING IAMES BY THE GRACE OF GOD KING of great Brittaine Fraunce and Ireland defender of the Faith c. YOVR Maiesties gracious acceptance of my Treatise concerning Antichrist hath emboldened me to dedicat these my labours vnto your Highnesse which are in no other respect worthie of your royall patronage but that they haue bene imployed in the explanation of an excellent Psalme of the royall Prophet Dauid whose writings the holy Ghost hath the rather commended to posteritie that by his example Kings and Princes might be admonished to spend part of their time which they may spare from their royall administration in heauenly meditations and spirituall exercises whereby they might gather assurance to themselues that after their earthly kingdome is ended they shall inherit an euerlasting kingdome in heauen for although it be a singuler fauour of God vouchsafed vnto them that they should so beare the image of his power and authoritie amongst men as that they should bee called Gods yet godly and Christian kings are not so much to glorie in the fruition of their temporall crownes and kingdomes as to solace themselues in the comfortable expectation of that incorruptible crowne of glorie which is laid vp for them in heauen For which cause King Dauid thought it to be his dutie to giue all diligence as Peter since hath exhorted vs all to make his calling and election sure and by vndoubted testimonies and infallible tokens to gather assurance vnto himselfe that hee was the true child of God And that he should not take his marks amisse as men are apt to deceiue themselue in this point he intreateth the Lord in this Psalme to reueale vnto him the vndoubted marks of the sons heires of God which hauing learned by the information of the holy Ghost he publisheth them to the common good of the Church Shewing as it were from the Oracle of God that not all that professe the true religion nor all that are able to discourse therof but those that walke worthie of their calling that behaue themselues as it becōmeth the children of the light that is that liue vprightly worke righteousnesse speake the truth from their hearts c. are the sound members of the Church militant vpon earth and shall bee inheritors of glorie in the Church triumphant in heauen The meditation and practise of which things I do so much the more boldly commend to your Maiestie because it euidently appeareth by your former both studies in priuat and also speeches in publicke and writings published you haue propounded Dauid to your selfe as a patterne for imitation And now as a Minister of God I exhort your Highnesse to immitat him still as in speaking and writing so especially in the conscionable practise of Christian duties that you may bee more and more as he was a man according to Gods owne hart walking before the Lord as he did in truth and righteousnesse and vprightnesse of heart and gouerning and guiding the people of God according to the integritie of his heart and the singuler wisedome of his hands So shall the Lord take pleasure in you as he did in him and will not onely giue your Highnesse long and prosperous dayes but will also blesse your posteritie after you and establish them in the throne of these kingdomes for euer to the euerlasting glorie of his name and the perpetuall good of his Church which mercies the Lord graunt for his Christs sake Amen Your Maiesties obedient and loyall subiect George Downame LECTVRES ON the 15. Psalme Verse 1. A Psalme of Dauid Lord who shall soiourne in thy Tabernacle who shall dwell in the mountaine of thy holinesse THis Psalme of Dauid is a Psalme of doctrine wherin the Kingly Prophet sheweth by what markes and notes a sound member of the Church militant and a true citizen of the kingdome of heauen may bee discerned and knowne And it is set downe in forme of a dialogue betwixt Dauid and the Lord consisting on two parts Dauids question Verse 1. and Gods answer in the rest of the Psalme The occasion of the question seemeth to haue beene the disguising and counterfeiting of many professors in all ages who liuing in the Church and not being of it but as goats among the sheepe and as tares among the corne doe notwithstanding by an externall profession of religion and false opinion of true pietie deceiue not only others but sometimes themselues also For many there are who place all religion in the performance of the outward worship And therefore such persons if they frequent the Church heare the word receiue the sacraments call vpon God with the rest of the congregation they imagine that they haue sufficiently discharged their dutie though their life and conuersation be irreligious and vnrighteous Yea and not a few seeme to repose such trust and affiance in the very name of the Church that if they imagine themselues to bee in the true Church and doe not gaine say the doctrine therein professed they take no further care for their saluation but liue securely as though all the members of the visible Church were also members of the inuisible and as though all which haue the externall Church to their mother had also God to their spiritual father in Christ. Wherefore to the end that men should no longer deceiue themselues with vaine opinions fond conceits the Prophet hauing first consulted as it were with the Oracle of God setteth downe certaine marks or notes of a true Christian and citizen of heauen wherby euery man may discerne himselfe And withall he teacheth that in a sound and liuely member of the Church an externall profession of the faith and an outward communion with the Church of God is not sufficient vnlesse the vprightnesse of our life be answerable to our profession And the same is confirmed by our Sauiour Christ Not euery one that saith vnto me Lord Lord shall enter into the kingdome of heauen but he that doth the will of my father which is in heauen Many shall say vnto me in that day Lord Lord haue not wee prophecied in thy name and cast out diuels in thy name and done great wonders in thy name And then will I professe vnto them saying I know you not depart from me you workers of iniquitie But now let vs search out the true sence and meaning of this question By the names of Tabernacle and Mountaine we are to vnderstand the two parts of the
hast sayth he vnto the Lord shewed vnto thy seruant Dauâ—d my father great mercy when he walked before thee in truth and in righteousnesse and in vprightnesse of heart with thee Of Ezechias you heard before But omitting other examples let vs call to mind the example of Enoch by which being the first in this kind we may best conceiue what account the Lord maketh of Integritie For when as he walked before God vprightly the Lord did therfore translate him out of this valley of teares that he should not see death and assumed him into heauen where he might inioy immortall glorie But if neither the golden reason of excellency can moue vs nor the siluer reason of profit allure vs then must the yron reason of necessitie enforce vs to Integrity and vprightnesse of heart For first such is the necessity thereof that without Integritie the best graces we seeme to haue are counterfeit and therefore but glorious sinnes the best worship we can performe is but hypocrisie and therefore abhominable in Gods sight For vprightnesse is the soundnesse of all graces and virtues as also of all religion and worship of God without which they are vnsound and nothing worth And first as touching graces if they be not ioyned with vprightnesse of hart they are sinnes vnder the maskes or vizards of virtue yea as it may seeme double sinnes for as Augustine sayth Simulata aequitas est duplex iniquitas quia iniquitas est simulatio Fained equitie is double iniquity both because it is iniquitiâ— and because it is â—aining Wherefore in the Scriptures it is required that our faith should be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vnfained that is such a faith as inwardly purifieth the hart and outwardly worketh by loue otherwise it is not a true and a liuely but a counterfeit and dead faith Likewise our loue must be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vnfained that is as Iohn saith we must loue not in speech and tongue but in deed and truth Or as Paul speaketh our loue must proceed from a pure heart a good conscience and â—aith vnfained Our wisedome also must be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 without dissimulation not that mixt or Machiuilian prudence which politicke men in the world so greatly praise being mixed with hypocrisie and deceit but that prudence of serpents tempered with the simplicitie of Doues otherwise it is as Iames saith earthly carnall and diuellish Lastly our repentance and conuersion vnto God must be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vnfained and from our whole hart For it is not the renting of the garments but of the heart that pleaseth God Neither is it the bowing of the head like a Bul-rush but the humiliation the melting the contrition of the heart that is acceptable before him Such as was the repentance of Iosiah 2. King 22. not as that of Achab 1. King 21. nor yet as that of the dissembling Israelites who made semblance of repentance and turning to God but their heart was not vpright with him If therefore without vprightnesse our faith be dead our loue cold our wisedome diuellish our repentance counterfeit then is vprightnes no lesse necessary to saluation then I say not any one of these graces but theÌ„ all But as those graces which we may seeme to haue without vprightnes are couÌ„terfeit so our religion worship of God without it is hipocrisie For although it be the common practise of meÌ„ not only to content themselues with a profession of religion pietie towards God neglecting the duties of charitie towards men but also to rest in an outward and bodily worship notwithstanding it is no true religion before God which is altogether wanting in the duties of charitie neither is the outward worship without the inward acceptable vnto God This is notably declared in the Prophecy of Micah where to the hypocrite demanding wherewith he should come before the Lord and bow himselfe before the high God and making large offers if outward seruice would stand for good payment Shall I come before him saith he with burnt offerings and Calues of a yeare old will the Lord he pleased with thousands of Rammes or with ten thousand riuers of oyle shall I giue my first borne for my transgression the fruit of my body for the sinne of my soule Answer is made He hath shewed thee ô man what is good and what the Lord requireth of thee surely towards men to do iustly and to loue mercie and towards God to humble thyselfe to walke with thy God The reasonable seruice that is the spirituall worship of God is that liuing holy and acceptable sacrifice vnto God For God is a Spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and truth As for bodily exercise that profiteth little yea if it be seuered from the spirituall it hurteth much Therefore the Prophet denounceth the fearefull judgements of God against those who comming neere vnto him with their mouth and honoring him with their lippes do notwithstanding remoue their heart farre from him But the truth of this doctrine will more clearely appeare if we shall descend into the particuler consideration of the seuerall parts of Gods worship As first of prayer to the acceptable performance whereof there is required vprightnesse not onely in the action it selfe but also in the life of him that prayeth For as touching the action it selfe it is not sufficient to moue the lippes or to vtter a certaine number of words as Papists and other hopocrites do but our prayer if it shall be acceptable must also be a prayer of the heart and of the spirit a lifting vp of the soule a lifting vp of the heart with the hands a pouring forth of the soule before the Lord and to pray aright is to pray with our whole heart with an vpright heart out of a pure heart with lippes vnfained finally it is to pray in truth that is in vprightnesse and to this vpright prayer is the promise of hearing our prayer restrained Psal. 145. 18. The Lord is neere to them that call vpon him What to all yea to all saith the Prophet of purpose excluding hypocrites that call vpon him in truth For the Lord in our prayers doth not so much regard our tongue as our heart As for them which draw neare vnto the Lord with their lippes and are remooued from him in their heart they abuse the Maiesty of God whiles crying vnto him but not from their hearts they lye vnto God and go about to deceiue him with their lippes and by their hypocrisie to cast as it were a mist before his eyes But herein they are greatly deceiued For how soeuer masking vnder the vizards of hypocrisie they may hide themselues from men yet before God such maskers do as it were daunce in a net for before him all things
Catholicke or vniuersall Church For the Tabernacle signifieth the Church militant vpon earth the holy Mountaine the Church triumphant in heauen By sojourning in the Tabernacle is vnderstood the short and transitorie abode of Christians as it were pilgrims in the earth as in a strange land by dwelling in the Mountain of God is signified their perpetuall eternall rest in heauen as in their owne countrey Wherein the Prophet alludeth vnto that materiall Tabernacle which was called the Tabernacle of the assembly or congregation and to the mount Moriah where the Temple was placed the one whereof was a type of the Church militant vpon earth the other was a figure of the Church triumphant in heauen I am not ignorant that both members are by some expounded of the Church militant and by others of the Church triumphant but I follow that exposition which seemeth best to agree with the words and meaning of the holy ghost For the varietie of phrase plainely argueth diuersitie of matter sojourning in Gods Tabernacle being much different from dwelling in the Mountaine of his holinesse And the conclusion of the answere in the last words of the Psalme which without doubt doth render the true meaning of the question belongeth both to this life and to that which is to come He that doth these things shall not beremooued for euer that is he shall neither fall away from the grace of God in this life nor be excluded out of Gods glorious presence in the life to come The sence therefore and meaning of the question is this Lord thou searcher and trier of the hearts and reines of men who art acquainted with all secrets and best knowest who are thine for as much as there is so much vnsoundnesse and hipocrisie among them that professe thy name and frequent the places of thy worship that many deceiue others with a counterfeit shew and some beguile themselues with a false opinion of religion declare I beseech thee vnto thy Church some tokens and cognisances of a true and sound Christian whereby the sheepe may be discerned from the goats and the wheat from tares shew vs Lord who is a sound member of the Church militant here on earth and shal be an inheritor of glorie in the Church triumphant in heauen who is a true subject of thy kingdome of grace and shall be an heire of the kingdome of glory And this was the meaning of the question Now let vs come to the words of this text Wherein wee are to consider two things the parts of the question and the partie to whom it is propounded Of the parts wee are to speake first seuerally of either and then joyntly of both together The former part Lord who shall soiourne in thy Tabernacle By Tabernacle some as I said vnderstand heauen which elsewhere in the Scriptures is called Gods Tabernacle and not vnsitly seeing the Lord stretcheth out the heauens as a curtaine and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in But howsoeuer the name Tabernacles is sometimes figuratiuely vsed to signifie heauenly and euerlasting habitations Notwithstanding it more properly signifieth tents in warre and the flitting habitations of warfaring men And that by Tabernacle is here meant the Church militant the other word of soiourning doth import For heauenly Tabernacles are not tents to sojourne in but mansions of perpetuall habitation and euerlasting rest Basill by Tabernacle vnderstandeth our flesh which the Apostle calleth the â—arthly house of our Tabernacle for our bodies are not onely Tabernacles but Temples also of God As if this were the sence Lord who is he who hauing sojourned as a stranger in this flesh of ours shal at the length rest with thee in thine heauenly kingdome And surely the sence which he giueth is godly for it teacheth that those which shall for euer rest in the mountaine of Gods holinesse do liue in this flesh as pilgrims and strangers mortifying their earthly members Notwithstanding his exposition is not fit For according to this interpretation the former part of the question containeth the answere to the latter for so hee sayth He that hath soiourned as a pilgrim in the flesh he shall dwell in the holy mountaine Most fitly therefore by Tabernacle we may vnderstand the Church militant which elsewhere is called the Tabernacle of God and sometimes the house sometimes the Temple of God For a Tabernacle is a militarie mansion and as it were a portable house which hath no fixed seat or setled place Now whereas the holy ghost calleth the Church of God a Tabernacle we learn first that the life of a Christian is a warfare as Iob saith wherein we are to fight against the enemies of our saluation which fight against our soules namely the flesh the world and the diuell Whereupon the Church of God vpon earth is called the Church militant It behooueth therefore euery one of vs that would bee esteemed a true member of the Church to behaue our selues as Christian souldiours fighting vnder the banner of Christ. And for as much as our aduersarie the Diuell goeth about like a roaring Lion seeking whom he may deuour and seeing the flesh lusteth against the spirit sending out of the heart as it were a furnace the sparkles of foolish and noisome lusts which fight against our soules and the world likewise partly by the desires thereof partly by bad examples carrieth vs away to embrace the world to mind earthly things to serue Mammon and to place our paradise here on the earth It behooueth vs therfore both to prepare our selues to this combat and therefore not to bee secure or to sleepe as others but to stand vpon our guard to be sober and vigilant and to arme our selues with that complete armour of God described Eph. 6. and also in the fight valiantly to encounter and constantly to withstand our spirituall enemies to resist the diuell and hee shall flie from vs with the shield of faith to quench his fierie darts and with the sword of the spirit which is the word of God to refell his assertions and repell his assentations So to vse the world that we doe not ouer-vse it so to possesse worldly things that we be not possessed of them but rather renouncing worldly lusts and being wained from worldly desires to meditate and mind heauenly things To crucifie the flesh with the lusts thereof and to mortifie our members which are on the earth liuing not according to the flesh but according to the spirit This warfare is to be entertained this warre is to be maintained of vs if we would be esteemed sound members of the Church militant who sojourning in the Tabernacle of God doe fight in his campe against our spirituall enemies But on the other side if we execute the workes of the diuell giuing our selues ouer vnto sinne and iniquitie if with Demas we embrace
of God That he is not such an one as shall either sojourne in the Tabernacle of God or dwell in his holy mountaine vnlesse the description of a sound Christian and citisen of heauen which is comprised in this answer of the Lord agree vnto him And of this answer we are now to speake For when as Dauid as if he had bene the high Priest standing before the propitiatory had consulted with the Oracle of God The Lord maketh aunswere as it were from betwixt the Cherubins therein fully satisfying his demaund For being demaunded who shall sojourne in the Tabernacle of God and rest in his holy mountaine He answereth That he which walketh vprightly and worketh righteousnesse c. shall neuer beremooued In which answere we are to consider two things the description of a sound Christian in the whole body of the Psalme and his priuiledge in the last words he that doth these things shall neuer beremooued The description consisteth wholly of the effects whereby the Lord would haue a true citisen of the kingdome of heauen to be tried and knowne as our Sauiour saith By their fruits you shall know them But here it may be demaunded first Why doth he not rather describe a sound member of the Church and heire of heauen by his faith or by the profession thereof seeing to faith the kingdome of heauen is promised and seeing also the profession of the true faith maketh one a member of the visible Church I answer because faith is an inward and hidden grace many deceiue both themselues and others by a profession of faith and therfore the holy ghost will haue euery mans faith to bee tried and known by the fruits thereof And howsoeuer eternall life be promised to faith and eternall damnation be threatned against infidelitie yet the sentence of saluation and condemnation shall be pronounced according to workes as the euidence of both Secondly it may be demaunded Why among all the fruits of faith which are almost innumerable he maketh choise of those duties which we owe to our brother especially considering that the duties which we owe immediatly to God are more principall wherein also consisteth our religion and pietie towards God As for example the true inuocation of the name of God the sincere profession of the faith the sauing hearing of the word c. Answ. We are to consider that this question is propounded of such as liuing in the visible Church would seeme to be religious making a profession of the faith hearing the word of God and calling vpon his name viz. which of them because all are not religious which would seeme to be so are indeed sound members of the Church and heires of heauen For of those which are openly prophane and doe not so much as make a semblance of religion there is no question to bee made For without question there is no place for such in the kingdome of heauen Now that wee may rightly discerne of those which professe religion who among them are sound who vnsound the markes and tokens are not to bee taken from the outward duties of Gods worship as prayer hearing of the word receiuing of the sacraments and much lesse the obseruation of humane traditions for all these things hypocrits also are accustomed to do but from the duties of charitie and righteousnesse which we owe to our brethren For the touchstone of pietie and true religion towards God is charitie towards our brother Herein saith Iohn are the children of God knowne and the children of the diuell whosoeuer doth not righteousnesse is not of God neither he that loueth not his brother Theâ—e is no man almost in the Church who will not affirme that he beleeueth in Christ that he loueth God that he is the disciple of Christ How then shall he be tried True faith worketh by loue and is to be manifested by workes without which it is to be judged dead The true loue of God must shew it selfe in the loue of our brother For if any man shall say that he loueth God and hateth his brother he is a lyar The true disciple of Christ is knowne by brotherly loue Hereby saith our Sauiour shall all men know you to be my disciples if you loue one another Now in the loue of our neighbour all the duties of the second Table are summarily comprised Let no man therefore so deceiue himselfe as to thinke that he is truly religious towards God if hee liue vnjustly or vncharitably among his neighbours For our religion towards God is to bee esteemed according to those fruits which appeare in our calling and conuersation with men For hereby according to the Scriptures is all our religion and pietie towards God to bee examined and tried And for this cause in describing a citizen of heauen he reckneth vp those duties which are to be exercised towards our brother that by them as it were certaine cognisances the true seruant of God may bee discerned from the slaue of the Diuell And so elsewhere in the Scriptures the like questions receiue not vnlike answers As Psal. 24. 3. 4. 6. Esay 33. 14. 15. 16. Hitherto I haue spoken of the description in generall now we are to descend to the seuerall parts and branches thereof of them some are generall others more speciall I call those generall which summarily comprise all the duties of a good man in the 2. verse namely that he be vpright in heart just in his deeds and true in his words The more speciall are contained in the rest of the Psalme whereby the child of God is described partly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by way of deniall that he slandereth not that he doth not euill vnto his neighbour that he receiueth not an ill report against him that he breaketh not his oath that he putteth not to vsury that he receiueth no rewards partly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that hee contemneth the wicked and honoureth the godly And these specials may bee vnderstood as branches of the generall For he that is vpright is not partiall but behaueth himselfe towards men as they behaue themselues towards God honoring those that honor God and despising those that contemne the Lord. He that is iust is not iniurious to his neighbour neither is he an vsurer or briber He that loueth the truth he is true in his oath and promises he detesteth slandering both in himselfe and others hauing neither a tongue to vtter nor an eare to heare slaunders Or you may conceiue thus that a citizen of heauen is here described by ten notes whereof foure is affirmatiue signifying the vertues wherewith he is indued and six are negatiue signifying those speciall vices which hee is carefull to auoid Of these notes we are to speake in order The first whereof is Integrity or vprightnesse in these words He that walketh vprightly To walke in the Hebrew phrase signifieth either generally to liue to order a mans life or more
the Lord hath ordained the judgement seat to be a rocke of defence and refuge for the innocent and guiltlesse they haue made it an hill of robbers Thirdly because they haue not onely set judgement and justice to sale which is an abhominable practise but also as the Prophet Amos speaketh They sell the righteous for siluer and the poore for a paire of shoes Such judges Demosthenes compared to a paire of scoles which alwaies incline on that side whence they haue receiued any thing And surely a small weight many times will make them to incline to the wicked who seeketh to corrupt them and to decline from right Prou. 28. 21 To haue respect of persons it is not good for that man will transgresse for a piece of bread It were therefore to be wished that justice and judges now adaies were such as they were wont to be painted for justice was blindfolded and judges were pictured without hands whereby was signified that judges should not receiue rewards nor respect persons which is commonly a consequent of rewards Vpon the greatnesse of this offence followeth the third thing namely that is is pernicious to them that vse it for therefore doth the holy ghost denounce a feareful woe against such persons Esay 5. 23. Woe be to them which iustiâ—ie the wicked for a reward and take away the righteousnesse of the righteous from him therefore as the flame of fire deuoureth the stubble and as the chaffe is consumed of the flame so their root shall be as rottenness c. But it is onely pernicious to themselues but also to the countrey wherein they liue as I haue in generall shewed Ezek. 22. 12. and thereunto wee may adde the testimonie of the Prophet Micah chap. 3. 11 12. for when as hee had said that the heads or princes of Ierusalem did judge for rewards and the priests did teach for hire he inferreth Therefore shall Sion for your sake be ploughed as a field and Ierusalem shall be an â—eape and the mountaine of the house as the high places of the forrest I come to corrupt lawyers and aduocats who so often take reward against the innocent as they doe take vpon them the defence of such causes as they in their owne conscience are persuaded to be euill and vnjust Which being so common a fault among lawyers as that very few which plead causes either in ciuile or ecclesiasticall courts doe seeme to make any conscience thereof to whom all is fish that commeth to their nets therefore all lawyers are to be exhorted to apply this note vnto themselues For if those which shall be saued are such as doe not take a reward against the innocent as the holy ghost here witnesseth how then can they be saued whose vsuall practise is to take rewards against the innocent And that they may the more effectually be dissuaded from this sinne let them a little consider with me how fearefully they sinne against God their neighbour and themselues Against God whiles they seeke to ouerthrow the truth and to peruert the Judgement which is the Lords Secondly against their neighbour And in this regard euery corrupt lawyer is as Salomon sayth of euery false witnesse an hammer a sword and a sharpe â—rrow an hammer or mallet to the judge a sword to his client and an arrow to his adursarie For whiles our lawyers doe their indeuours as the Greeke sophisters were wont 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is to make the worse cause the better they doe as it were knocke the judge on the head amasing him so and dazeling his eyes that he may not see and pronounce the truth To their client they are as two edged swords wounding him two wayes to wit in body and soule As touching his bodie and outward estate they notably impouerish him to enrich themselues and plucke off his feathers to feather their owne nest for as the fowlers â—age is full of birds so the houses of these faulconers are full of riches gotten by deceit as Ieremie speaketh The soule also of their client they wouâ—d when they animate him to goe on in offering wrong to his neighbour and cause him to sinne against his owne soule To the aduersarie being indeed the innocent partie euery Tertullus is a sharpe arrow wounding him either in bodie goods or good name against all or any whereof they care not what vntruths and slaunderous calumniations they vtter so their cause may therby be aduantaged Lastly they sinne against themselues and their owne soules first because they aid the wicked vnto euill which is forbidden Exod. 23. 1. and is reprooued 2. Chron. 19. 2 as also Psal. 50. 18. When thou sawest a theefe thou consentedst vnto him and is condemned Rom. 1. 31. Secondly because they haue sold their tongues to speake likes for an euill cause cannot be maintained but by manifold vntruths Now riches or treasures gotten by a deceitfull or lying tongue is vanitie tossed too and fro of them that seeke death Prou. 21. 6. And therefore it is greatly to be feared least these men as they haue set their tongues so also their â—oules to sale for that is truly affirmed of all couetous persons Eccles. 10. 9. The like is to be said of euery false witnesse who for reward is suborned to testifie vntruths That hee sinneth against God whose judgement he seeketh to peruert against the judge whom he endeuoureth to auert from justice and truth against the parties who suborneth him to whom he consenteth vnto euill against the innocent partie whom by his false testimonie he hurteth and sometimes killeth him with a word against his owne soule for seeing a false witnesse is an abbomination vnto the Lord Prou. 6. 18 therefore he shall not escape but surely perish Prou. 19. 5. 9. And yet this is not all that may be said in detestation of false witnesse bearing For seeing witnesses in places of judgement doe not deliuer their testimonies but vpon an oath therefore euery false witnesse is guiltie not onely of false witnesse bearing but also of perjurie whereby he polluteth the holy name of God wrongeth the innocent abuseth the judge and all that are present and that vnder the religion of an oath hee citeth the Lord himselfe and that in the place of judgement to testifie an vntruth and which is most fearfull he tempteth the Lord and as it were dareth him in the audience of allthat are present to execute his fierce wrath and indignation vpon him For in othes wee call vpon God not onely to be our witnesse that we sweare truly but also to be a reuenger of vs if we sweare falsely therefore he which sweareth that which he knoweth to be vntrue he prouoketh the Lord and as it were dareth him to take vengeance vpon him Thus then we see by these two last notes what the sound Christian and citizen of heauen doth not to wit that neither priuatly in contracts nor publickely in place of