he doth bend his force strength against man that so he may persecute God in his creature Saint Basil resembleth the rage and fury of the diuell in this point vnto the rage fury of the wilde Panthers for as they carrying naturally a hatred against man if they see but the image and picture of a man they run vpon it and teare it in peeces with no lesse fury then if it were man himselfe so the diuell carrying a deadly hatred against God because his proud assaults were defeated by him his arrogancy punished with the losse of heauen and torment of hel and being not able to do violence to God as himselfe knoweth by wofull experience he setteth vpon man who is the picture or image of God and he vseth no lesse cruelty both against his body and his soule then he would were he able against God himselfe Our Sauiour Christ tels the Pharisees Math. 23.15 that they compasse sea and land to make one of their profession that is to make men superstitious hypocriticall sinfull as themselues were That which our Sauiour obiecteth there against them the diuel doth in a maner confesse of himselfe Iob 1.7 For when God asked him from whence he came his answer was that he came from compassing the earth and from walking to and fro in it Now this walking of the diuel vp and downe in the earth is not for any good which he intendeth vnto man for he walketh not as Christ did to do good and to heale all diseases both of body and soule among the people but as the end of the Pharisees cōpassing of sea land was to make men wicked like themselues so the end of the diuels compassing the earth is to draw men out of the wayes of life and to make them damned like himselfe This was the Apostle Saint Peters meaning when he giueth this reason of Satans compassing the earth 1. Pet. 5.8 He walketh about like a roring Lion seeking whom he may deuoure Now among those infinite meanes which the diuell vseth to deuoure vs by drawing vs from the wayes of life I will insist briefly vpon these few The first whereof is this saith Bernard The diuell doth subtilly pry Bernard lib. de ordine vita and iudicially looke into the natures and complexions of men and according to the predominant and ouerruling humor in man he applieth his temptation vnto this or that sinne for in euery man there is some one humour that is most inclinable to some sin As for example The men of a sanguin and bloudy complexion being naturally prone vnto ambition and vnchast behauior the diuell straight vpon this their naturall inclination will spend all his strength to bring these men not only to an affecting but also if it be possible to an effecting of these sins You shall see it in the examples of king Dauid and his sonne Absolon First concerning Dauid the diuell knowing that to be true which was said of him 1. Sam. 16. that he was ruddy and of a good countenance and obseruing that he did dayly from the top of his house behold the wife of Vrias washing her he presently takes the occasiō suggesteth him to send for her this being once done he hath soone drawn Dauid out of the way of life made him an adulterer 2. Sam. 14. And for Absolon his son he being not vnlike vnto his father in that sanguine and beautiful complexion the diuell working vpon this perswadeth him to both to ambition and vncleane behauiour for first he perswades him to affect a kingdome and rather then he should be without a kingdō 2. Sam. 15. he puts this in his heart to depriue his own father And for vnchast behauior so effectually did the diuell worke vpon him that he spared not his fathers concubines 2. Sam. 16. but defiled them and himself with them euen on the top of the house in the sight of all the people And as the diuell prouoketh men of sanguin complexions vnto these sinnes so he deales with men of other complexions for if he finde that thou art flegmaticke then wil he suggest vnto thy soule the sinne of idlenesse and prouoke thee vnto those sinnes that are depending vpon that If he see thee to be cholericke then he will perswade thee to hatred malice anger reuenge and such like And if her perceiue thy complexion to be melancholick thē will he bend all the power and strength that he hath to driue thee to desperation To preuent therefore the diuell in this first policy as Solomon saith vnto the sluggard Go to the Pismire ô thou sluggard Prouer. 6.6 learne her wayes be wise so say I vnto you go vnto the diuel himself learne his wayes and be wise The diuels course as you heare is to looke diligently into the natures and complexions of men and so to apply his temptations vnto those sinnes vnto which naturally they are carried do thou then the like looke carefully into thy own body consider diligently thy owne complexion and withall those sinnes vnto which thou art naturally caried And if thou finde thy selfe naturally inclinable either vnto wantonnesse or vnto couetousnesse or vnto wrath or vnto enuy or vnto drunkennesse or vnto any one sin more then other be thou then sure to set a barre before the doore of thy soule and keepe Sathan from entring in for sinne Serm. de sex tribulationibus as Saint Bernard well speakes by the suggestion of Sathan may stand at the doore of thy soule and knocke but vnlesse thou open vnto him by consent he cannot enter A second meanes which the diuell vseth to keepe vs from the way of life is this whereas our vnderstanding by the fall of Adam is already blind and darke he corrupts it further and maketh vs altogether vnable to discerne betweene good and euill causing vs to commit wickednesse with this strong conceit that our actions and workes are iust And hence it is that so many in these dayes are ouertaken and deceiued with the sinne of couetousnesse because though they be neuer so couetous 1. Sam. 25. yea as couetous as Naball was yet the diuell perswadeth them and they easily beleeue it that it is not couetousnesse it is but frugalitie And hēce it is that we haue so many lasciuious people in the lād because though they be neuer so much giuē to the lust of vncleannesse yea to lust after those they should not 2. Sam. 13. as Amnon did after his owne sister Thamar yet the diuell perswadeth them and they easily beleeue it that it is not to be called lust but rather loue And thus our bad actions by the subtilty of the diuel being couered and coloured with good names we are damned in these and in many other sins committing them and that with greedinesse But are we desirous to preuent the diuell in this his second policy let vs then vse the same discretion for
death and in our will are most ready to apprehend it yet for want of perseuerance and continuance in so good a course currimus non comprehendimus many of vs indeed do runne but few of vs attaine our iourneys end Of these three therfore in their order And first for the blindnes of our reason which being not able to discerne the way of life from the way of death and by the fall of Adam preuailing ouer all the sonnes of Adam is the first maine let in vs why so few of vs do find out this way of life 1. Blindnesse of reason The time was when in man there were these three things wisedome of heart puritie of life strength of bodie but the soule of man by the suggestion of Sathan by the delectation which the apple promised and by the consent which man yeelded fell from that high and beautifull Trinitie His wisdome was turned into blindnesse of heart his strength was turned into weaknesse of bodie and the puritie of his life was changed into vncleane behauiour so that concerning his strength that is now no better then a broken reed as Rabshakeh spake of Aegypt 2. King 18.21 and therefore Dauid most aduisedly in the 28. Psalme and 7. verse said Thou O Lord art my strength The puritie of his life that Esay 64.6 said Esay is like a stained and polluted cloth and as for our reason and vnderstanding it is cleane decayed in Adam All the knowledge and vnderstanding of man is either morall naturall or logicall all which three in man by sinne are perished For the end of morall knowledge being this to prefer good things before euill things mans reason in this is so corrupted that the euill things of this world which haue but an appearance of good are preferred before good things indeed and the good things indeed they are reiected You shall see this in the example of King Saul 1. Sam. 15.30 for to be honorable in the sight of God being true honour indeed and to be honorable in the sight of men being bonum apparens but an outward shadow or an appearance of true honour the reason of King Saul there is so blinded that he refuseth to be honored in the sight of God and he desireth the Prophet rather to honour him before the people And whereas the end of our naturall knowledge is to preferre those things which are most profitable for the vse of man our reason for the most part is so blinded herein that we preferre in our iudgements the things that are most hurtfull And lastly whereas the end of our logicall or discoursing reason is to discerne truth frō falshood vanitie from lies this likewise is so corrupted in vs that we all as the Prophet Dauid saith Psal 4.2 follow vanitie and seeke after leasing so that man hauing thus wonderfully lost his reason wherein he was created that which God spake in an Ironie concerning man the very beasts of the earth may say and say truly Gen. 3.22 Man is become like one of vs and they haue their warrant for it out of the 49. Psalme and last verse Man being in honour vnderstood not but is like the beasts that perish nay in this he is farre worse then the brute beasts Esay 1.3 for the Oxe knowes his owner and the Asse his masters crib but Israel hath not known my people hath not vnderstood Mans reason without Gods grace is euen as Sampson without his guide when his eyes were out Iudg. 16.26 without whose direction he could not finde the pillars of the house nor can the natural carnal man find any pillar or principle of his faith without Gods grace guiding his steps to it Salomon saith in the fourth of Ecclesiastes and tenth verse Vae soli Wo be vnto him that is alone and in this it is most true for if mans reason be without Gods grace to guide it wo be vnto it it fals down and there is none to helpe it vp and therefore our Sauiour makes a manifest distinction betweene these two Gods grace and mans reason in that speech of his to Peter Math. 16.17 Blessed art thou Symon the sonne of Ionas for flesh and bloud hath not reuealed this vnto thee but my Father which is in heauen It was not flesh and bloud it was not naturall and carnall reason but Gods grace from aboue guiding his reason that made Peter lay hold vpon Christ the way of life and made Christ to pronounce him blessed Therefore a little after when as Gods grace and mans reason were separated and that Peter with carnall perswasions sought to dehort Christ from his passion vers 22. Sir pittie thy selfe this shall not be vnto thee Christ then biddeth him auant not by the name of Peter or the sonne of Ionas or Cephas but of Sathan himself Come behind me Sathan Peters reason was then alone and the light of Gods grace had withdrawne her influence and therefore no maruell if his counsell were such as was both against his owne and against the worlds saluation The Prophet Dauid was well acquainted with this blindnesse of mans reason and therefore he doth vtterly reiect it as his guide in the way of life and betakes himselfe wholy to the guidance of Gods good spirit Psal 143.10 Let thy good Spirit O Lord leade me into the way of righteousnesse and Psal 27. Thou Psal 27.1 O Lord art my light and my saluation my light against ignorance my saluation against impotencie and in the 119. Psalme Giue me vnderstanding O Lord and I shall keepe thy law For as it was not possible for the Israelites to passe through the red sea Exod. 14. if God by a speciall miracle had not prepared their way and made a passage for them Chrysost hom 40. in Math. so for man to passe from the wayes of death vnto the wayes of life from the wayes of sin to the wayes of righteousnes without the speciall mediation and helpe of diuine grace it is not possible This grace is that which is all in all vnto vs and of this may that of our Sauiour be most truly verified Iohn 15.5 Fulgent de praed ad Maxim lib. 1. Without me you can do nothing This is praeueniens cooperans subsequens it preuenteth vs that when we are downe we may rise vp it accompanieth vs to vphold vs in our right course and it must stil follow vs til we come to those eternall beatitudes For can we promise any more to our selues in finding out this way of life then Dauid in the 119. Psalme I will runne O Lord saith he the way of thy commaundements when thou hast set my heart at libertie Can we runne with our feete before our heart be prepared or can we runne with our heart before God had enlarged it Can we runne the way without the way which is Christ Iesus a way which we cannot see till our eyes be enlightened not so
him you are not reuiued hath not God called early and late vnto you as vnto his people the Iewes for an absolute relinquishment of sinne hath he not cryed euen out of this place by the shrillest trumpets that our land had to magistrates do iustly to officers liue not by bribes to citizens gaine not by vsury to country gentlemen grow not great by your poore neighbours oppression to all do vnto others as you would be done vnto Verily all this hath God done to bring vs to the wayes of life but with very bad successe for so voluntary an opposition there is betweene mans peruerse will and this holy wil of God that iniquity hath the chaire still triuing writs are in most offices Mammon is the cityzens God and the morter I may not say of al but of many of your goodly buildings abroad are tempered with the teares of Orphanes In this man reignes pride in that man dissention in a third enuy in a fourth dissimulation in some bribery in some periury and in most hypocrisie yea the whole land is couered with a flud of sinne as the old world with a flud of waters and men swim vp and downe in it like fishes in the sea by the motion of their owne passions so that that speech which God taketh vp against the Iews he may fitly take vp against vs and say I haue laboured to purge thy filthinesse but thou art not purged God hath called to the carnal man to forsake his beastly pleasures to the couetous man to relinquish his insatiable desires to the drunken man to forbeare barrelling vp Gods creatures in his belly to the blasphemers to leaue their swearing to the hypocrites to leaue dissembling to all of vs to leaue sinning and to runne the way of his commandements here in earth that hereafter we might receiue a crowne of glorie in heauen but what hath bin our answer surely from the frowardnesse of our hearts and from the obstinate rebellion of our peruerse wils we haue cried with Pharaoh Quis est Dominus Who is the Lord that we should serue him or the God of Iacob that we should regard him If therefore we are desirous to haue this peruersnesse of our wil remoued from vs which we know in most of vs to be a great meanes to keepe vs from the wayes of life then our best course is euermore to subiect our wils vnto the will of God Now the subiecting of our will vnto Gods will consisteth in these three Bernard serm contra pessimū vitium ingratitudinis first that we absolutely will those things which we certainly know God willeth then that we absolutely nil those things which we certainly know God nilleth and lastly that in those things whereof we are vncertaine whether God doth will or nill them neither must we altogether will them neither must we altogether refuse them so subiecting euery way our will vnto the will of God this peruersnesse of will which in most of vs is a second let to keep vs from finding the way of life will be remoued 3. Want of perseuerance Many there be which are willing and desirous to attain eternal life but yet they wil take no pains in the performance of Gods commandements not vnlike vnto Naaman the Syrian who comming to the Prophet to be cured of his leaprosie and the Prophet willing him onely to wash in Iordan seuen times and he should be cleane he stomaketh the matter and breaketh out into these words 2 King 5. I thought saith he that he wold haue come out vnto me and haue called on the name of his God and haue layed his hands vpon me and so I should be healed Here are three things which Naaman would haue done for him first he will haue the Prophet to come forth secondly to call vpon his God thirdly to lay his hands vpon him but in the meane time there is not the least paines mentioned to be vndertaken by himselfe And surely looke how it was with Naaman in the curing of his leaprous body so it is with most of vs in the curing of our leaprous soules we will haue God to do all for vs but we will do nothing for our selues our desire shall be as great for the cleansing of our leaprous soules as Naamans was for the cleansing of his leaprous bodie but if it once come vnto this thou must wash thy selfe in Iordan seuen times that is thou must bathe thy sinfull soule in the poole of repentance and enter in at the straight gate of a holy and religious life then with Naaman we fall to murmuring and we sticke not to say in effect as he said that we looke for a more easie kind of cure in our conuersion But let vs grant that we are willing to performe whatsoeuer is prescribed vnto vs for the finding of this way of life yet vnlesse we do perseuere and continue euen vnto the end in that course it is to smal purpose To haue the Arke of God for a while 1. Sam. 5. did more endanger the Philistines then benefite them and so for men to serue God for a while in a vertuous and religious course of life will more hurt then helpe them 2. Pet. 2.21 for better it is not to haue knowne the way of truth then not to persist in it and farre more happie are those men who haue not entred at all into the wayes of life then Iudas and such wicked ones as he whose ends are worse then their beginnings We do reade in the Gospell Math. 20.8 that some men came into the vineyard in the morning and that some came in at noone but none of these did receiue the reward but such as stayed vntill night to giue vs to vnderstand that they are not initia Christianorum sed fines not the good beginnings but the good endings of Christians which the Lord crowneth The Church of Thyatira in the Reuelation is much commended for this vertue Reuel 2.19 I know thy faith and thy workes and thy loue and that thy last workes are more then thy first and the conclusion of the Epistle vnto that Church and of all the other Epistles is this not he that drawes his sword not he that fighteth the battels of the Lord not he that spends his bloud and after fainteth but he that perseuereth and continueth to the end shall eate of the tree of life Bern. Epist 129 For without perseuerance nec qui pugnat victoriam nec palmam victor consequitur neither he which fighteth the Lords battels against sinne and Sathan can haue the victory nor he which ouercometh can haue the crowne of glorie It is a notable remembrance which our Sauiour Christ giueth vs in the Gospell from the example of Lots wife Luke 17.31 and which Saint Bernard amplifieth very fitly to this purpose Memento vxoris Loth Epist 2. de Sodoma quidem eiectae quia Deo credidit sed in via mutatae quia retro
owne bodie which should haue bene as the Apostle saith of all our bodies the temple of the holy Ghost 1. Cor. 6.19 was by lust made the member of a harlot Gen. 3.6 This is that Eue that perswadeth Adam to forbidden fruites Gen. 39.7 this is that Aegyptian Putipharis that eggeth on innocent Ioseph to filthines Iudg. 4.18 this is that Iahel that seduceth Sisera with fained affection this is that Dalilah which lulleth Sampson asleep vpon her knees Iudg. 16.19 deliuereth him vp to the Philistins this is that dancing daughter of Herodias Marke 6.25 that cutteth off the head the good beginnings of many a Iohn Baptist In a word this is that talking damsell at whose voice Luk. 22.56.57 with the Apostle Saint Peter we do most of vs denie our maister Christ I may say truly in this case with that reuerend father Crede mihi loquor coram Domino Augustin non mentior Cedros Libani duces gregum sub hac peste cecidisse reperi de quorum casu non minùs dubitabam quà m Ambrosii vel Hieronymi Beleeue me I speake before the Lord I lie not I haue knowne the Cedars of Libanus and the leaders of the flockes to haue fallen and sunk downe violently vnder this temptation of whose fall I made no more doubt then I did of the fall of Ambrose or of Hierom. There being then in man a double pleasure carnis cordis August serm 33. de verbis secunduÌ„ LucaÌ„ the pleasure of the flesh and the pleasure of the heart the pleasure of the flesh when we giue our selues ouer to fulfill the lusts thereof the pleasure of the heart when we delight our selues in the Lord therefore the cariage of euery Christian soule betweene these two pleasures must be such that the pleasure of the flesh be no let or impediment to the pleasure of the heart But you wil say how may this be seeing there is continuall enmitie betweene these and the one of them as the Apostle speaketh stil lusteth against the other Gal. 5.17 I answer affirmatiuely that it may well be and I will shew you how Gâ—egor dialog lib 2. I do reade in the writings of Saint Gregory this relation concerning one Benedict a religious man that whensoeuer he felt this conflict in his soule betweene the flesh and the spirit he would throng his body into a place where nettles and briers grew sic per vulnera cutis eduxitè corpore vulnus mentis and so by those wounds which he inflicted on his body he cured that wound which would haue infected his soule his former inclination to fleshly pleasure by this stratageme being turned into paine and sorrow But if you think this to be too hard and sharp a course for a carnal man to follow I will then giue you a second which is of no lesse consequent then that but yet of lesse molestatioÌ„ Toby in the sixt chapter and second verse when he washed himselfe in the floud Tigris a great fish leaped at him to haue deuoured him but by the Angels counsell hauing drawne the fish vnto drie land it was so far from deuouring him that it yeelded it selfe to be deuoured of him And so it falleth out in this conflict betweene the flesh and the spirit for this flesh of ours so long as it swims in pleasures and is pampered vp with delicacies so long is it ready to deuoure and extinguish our spirits but if once we draw it vpon drie land from amidst her pleasures by abstinence and fasting it will then haue no power or at least but small power to impugne the spirit Gregor Pastor â—urae cap. 42. Olla ebulliens duplex habet remedium vel cum aqua frigida infunditur vel cum ab igne elongatur A seething pot hath but two remedies either thou must powre in cold water or else thou must remoue it further from the fire And so the vntamed flesh of men boiling with lust hath but two remedies either they must powre into their soules the water of repentance and allay the heat of their lust with the cold teares of contrition or else they must remoue it further froÌ„ the fire the fire I mean not only of meates and of drinkes for gluttonie and drunkennesse are the bellowes of concupiscence Sine Cerere Baccho friget Venus venter mero aestuas spumat libidinem Hieron and the belly boyling with wine fometh out lust as Saint Hierome saith but also of lasciuious company by which as fire added vnto fire the lust of the flesh is more intemperate Vnto this if you please as a meanes to restraine these lustful passions least by them with the common multitude we be led from the wayes of life I may add the fearfull end of this sinne fearfull I call it not onely in regard of those horrible diseases breeding in the bodie and in time consuming euen the marrow in the bones but fearfull in regard of that dreadfull iudgement which shall be inflicted in the last day both vpon body and soule in hell fire For to the lustful sinner shall God say euen as the Angell said to Babel Reuel 18.7 Quantum glorificauit se in delicijs tantum date illi tormentum luctum In as much as he hath glorified himself and liued in pleasure so much giue you vnto him torment and sorrow There is a way that seemeth good saith Salomon but the end thereof is death this way is the broad and common way of lustfull flesh and bloud the pleasures whereof though they be sweet in the mouth yet will they be bitter in the belly like a cup of deadly poyson They are the daughters of those locusts mentioned in the Reuelation Reuel 9.7.10 which haue faces faire as men but killing stings in their tailes and I may well resemble them to the herbe Sardonia in Sardinia of which Solinus writeth that it maketh the eaters thereof to looke as if they laughed but in their laughing they die Much more might be added vnto this purpose but I take it this may be sufficient both to haue shewne you how these lusts of the flesh are a great meanes to keepe many from the wayes of life and also how we may represse these lusts of the flesh when they are rebellious And now I come to the third and last enemy which opposeth himselfe against man and that is that old Serpent the Diuell of whose subtilties in withdrawing vs froÌ„ the wayes of life as in the rest so in this I beseech you to heare a while with patience The Diuell Exod. 17. As Amaleck resisted the Israelites and vsed all the meanes that possibly he could deuise to keep them froÌ„ coming into the earthly Canaan so it is the policie of that infernall Amalek the diuell to keepe men from comming into the Canaan of heauen For the diuell hating God with a perfect hatred and being not able to offer violence vnto him
to draw vs vnto brotherly loue and vnity O how good and pleasant a thing it is for brethrē to dwel together in vnity And so the diuel he maketh choise of both these to draw vs to the committing of iniquity sometimes vsing but one of these and sometimes ioyning them both for the strengthning of his temptation In the 22. of Numbers one of these was sufficient to draw Balaam vnto sinne for though he had receiued a commandement from God that he should not go with the princes of Moab to curse the people of Israel yet when he cōsidered that Balacks offers would proue cōmodious to him he resolueth vpon the iourney with them and his Asses thrise reuolt could not stay him But in the third of Genesis there the diuell vseth both and with them both he preuailed against our mother Eue for albeit she knew well that she should dye the death in eating of the forbidden tree yet because she saw that it was good for meat and pleasant to the eyes she tooke thereof and did eate That then these deceitful temptations of the diuel may be reiected first that no commodity do draw thee from the wayes of life to sinne let that saying of our Sauiour Christ be alwaies in thy mind what shal a man get if he win the whole world Math. 16.26 and loose his owne soule what shall a man get if by vsury oppression of the poore extortiō false weights false measures and the like he shall be able to purchase much land Luk. 16.19 and with the rich glutton go in purple and fine linnen and fare deliciously euery day when as these commodious sinnes as he accounteth them shall bring no lesse discommoditie vpon him then hel fire And secondly that no pleasure preuail with thee remēber that sin though it be sweet in the mouth yet it wil be bitter in the belly that though it be pleasāt in the beginning yet it will be painfull in the end that the diuell dealeth herein with vs as vnconscionable Mercers and Drapers deale with their chapmen For as they neuer shew vnto their chapmen the middle part fag end of their wares which perhaps are stark naught but onely the vpper part thereof which commonly is very good so this maister Mercer the diuel he sheweth alwaies to his sinfull chapmen the vpper part of his wares namely the present pleasure delectation and delight of sin but as for the middle part of his wares which is remorse of conscience and the fag end of his wares which is Gods vengeance these he neuer sheweth For beloued if men should see before hand with the spirituall eyes of their soules either the middle part of sinne which is remorse of conscience or the end of sinne which is Gods vengeance either in this life or in the other then out of doubt whē the diuel shal offer his wares vnto the sale as to the couetous man his neighbors vineyard to the adulterer his neighbors wife to the taylour long bils to the retailer false weights and so in the rest they will all answer if there be any sparke of grace or goodnesse in them as the Athenian Orator did vpon the like proffer Non emam tanti poenitere I wil not buy repentance so deare And thus at last haue you seene those impediments and lets why so few do finde the way of life The impediments ex parte quaerentis in our selues that seeke the way are three blindnesse of reason peruersnesse of will and want of perseuerance and the lets ex parte retrahentium are three likewise the world with his inticements the flesh with her allurements and the diuell with his suggestions vnto sinne And now to conclude Hom. 1. ad pop Antioch Saint Chrysostome in his first homily to the people of Antioch doth require a reward for a sermon which he made against the blasphemers of Gods name The onely reward beloued which I wil craue for my sermon is this that it would please Almighty God so to worke in the hearts of all you that haue now bene partakers of it that you may say and say truly of my sermon as Tully in his Academicks saith of Varros bookes Nos in nostra vrbe peregrinantes tanquam hospites tui libri quasi domum deduxerunt We who heretofore in this our city of London by the blindnesse of our reason the peruersnesse of our wils and want of perseuerance haue erred from the wayes of life and by the inticements of the world the allurements of the flesh and the suggestions of the diuell haue wandered vp and downe in the plaines of sinne and in the vallies of iniquitie are thereby now brought home againe vnto the wayes of life and reduced into the number of that little flocke whereof that great Shepheard and Bishop of our soules Christ Iesus is the head The which God the Father grant for his Iesus Christ his sake to whom with the blessed spirit three in Trinitie but one in Vnitie be ascribed all honour and glorie for euermore FINIS THE LAST IVDGEMENT TO THE RIGHT WORSHIPFVLL IOHN BREVVSTER ESQVIRE SIR among many patrons of vertue and Theologicall endeuours I presume to rank your name who as I know you not inferiour to the best for a Fautor of learning and a louer of Pietie so I present you here with such a worke best fitting your addiction and most worthie your patronage And howsoeuer I may seeme officiously bold to publish these things without free consent of the Author as I confesse I do yet out of earnest desire to raise him from obscuritie to a deserued eminence in the worlds account and throughly moued with pitie that so heauenly things should perish with the breath they were deliuered as if eternitie should fade with a moment I haue aduentured to giue them longer life seconding my boldnesse with a strong presumption that I shall frustrate needlesse doubts and herein deserue your good opinion And on this hope I rest committing the sequele to your serious view and my attempt in this to your fauourable construction Yours in all affection and dutie C. B. MATTH 25.15 Watch therefore for you know neither the day nor the houre when the Sonne of man will come AS when children hauing ouer-slept themselues and begin to cry as fearing the correction of their seuere maisters their indulgent mothers do commonly comfort them with one of these two things as first that there is no time yet past and secondly that their maister is a gentle man and will forgiue them In the very same manner do the carnall and carelesse worldlings of this age deale with those their acquaintance and friends who haue fetched a long and a deepe sleepe in sinne and securitie For whereas their counsell to them should be that which Saint Paul hath Ephes 5.14 Awake thou that sleepest and stand vp frō the dead and Christ shall giue thee light these men cleane contrary to take away all feare of iudgement to come in
Secundus August de ciu dei lib. 15. cap. 9. It was therfore the true sentence of another heathen man that the older the world waxeth the bodies of men naturally for stature are lesse and for strength are weaker and this was the opinion of Homer himselfe a great Poet and no small Philosopher For speaking of the battell which was fought betweene Aeneas and Diomedes he affirmeth that Diomedes cast a stone at Aeneas so heauy and of so great a weight as fourteen men saith he are not able to cast the like as men go now a dayes And if as the world waxeth in yeares so mans strength doth decrease then doubtlesse the world waxing still old it will at last come to nothing and so consequently euen in plaine reason the world and men in the world will haue an end But me thinks I heare some godlesse and prophane Atheist reply thus Suppose that the world and men in the world shall haue an end yet I am of opinion that there is the same end of a man that there is of a beast A beast when it dieth the flesh is consumed and the soule vanisheth into the aire and there is his full period and why may it not be so with man For the answer herunto It was Plato his opinion who deserued and that iustly the name of a diuine that the soules of men did not die but liue being separated frō their bodyes and that after this life ended they should giue an account of all their actions And those fictions in the Poets concerning the Elisian fields and places of pleasure for good men after this life and places of punishment for euil men what did they else shew but that there hath bene among the wisest of the heathen a certaine perswasion of the soules immortality and that after this life it should be iudged But because the prophane Atheist wil not be drawne to a beleef either of the soules immortality or of the bodies resurrection in the day of iudgment vnlesse we can win them therunto by the maine sway of reason let vs see whether in reason we commit any absurdity or no in beleeuing the resurrection of the body Tertullian propounding the question for them In Apol. cap. 45 Quomodo dissoluta materia exhiberi potest How is it possible that the matter of mās body being once dissolued as it shall be in the graue should euer rise againe and be perfectly exhibited before the iudgement seat of God he doth answer their question thus Quid tibi noui eueniet qui non eras factus es cum iterum non eris fies What strange or new wonder is this thou which once wert not wast made by God and so hereafter when thou shalt not be thou shalt be made again for God can as easily restore thee being dissolued into dust as he could create thee at the first being nothing In the first Psalme fifth verse we reade it thus The wicked shall not stand in iudgement but the Caldey paraphrase hath it thus They shal not rise in that great day the day of iudgmēt In regard of which words some Hebrew writers haue bene bold to make this collection that the wicked shal not rise but their bodies and soules at the houre of death shall perish and come to nothing But as in many points they are fantastically foolish so in this are they most erroneously hereticall For although it be there said that the wicked shal not rise in iudgmēt we must not thereby gather Carere eos resurgendi natura sed resurgendi in iudicium perdidisse ordinem We must not gather that the nature property of rising shal be wāting vnto thē but that they haue lost the order of rising vnto iudgmēt Now what the order of rising vnto iudgemēt is we may see in the third of Ioh. the 18. 19. ver where our Sauiour saith thus He that beleeueth in me shall not be iudged but he which beleeueth not Iam iudicatus est he is already iudged The which words of our Sauiour haply they may trouble the carelesse hearers and the negligent readers therof for in that he saith he that beleeueth in me shall not be iudged there he exempteth the faithful from iudgment and in that he saith he that beleeueth not is already iudged he seemes to teach that the Infidels shal not be admitted vnto iudgment And if the faithfull are exempted frō iudgemēt to come and the Infidels are already iudged why then Non videtur locus esse relictus iudicio It should seeme there is no place left for iudgement and that there are no persōs to be iudged Yes saith Hilary for in the 18. verse our Sauior hauing exēpted the beleeuers and vnbeleeuers the beleeuers à iudicio condemnationis from the iudgement of condemnation and the Infidels and vnbeleeuers because their iudgement of condemnation is so certain that it is in the eternall decree of God already past and there remaines onely at the last day but the publication thereof In the 19. verse he expresseth the parties to be iudged and the cause of their iudgement for thus he saith This is the condemnation that light is come into the world and men loued darkenesse rather then the light because their deeds are euill As if he had said There is a middle sort of people which are neither altogether without faith nor absolutely faithfull the feare of God containeth them in the Church but the vaine vanities of the world draw them vnto secular vices Orant quia timent peccant quia volunt they pray because they are afraid of God and his iudgements but withall they commit sinne because they take a pleasure and delight in it These then which do loue darkenesse rather then light that is which are content to loue Christ who is the light of the world but withall they preferre the euill deeds of darknesse these are they let the Hebrew writers fable what they wil which shal one day come to iudgement And that we may the better conceiue and beleeue this there are as you know in our assises and sessions here vpon earth certaine things necessarily required As first there is required the person and presence of the Iudge Secondly certaine vpright Iustices his assistants vpon the bench Thirdly the citation of the prisoners to the bar with leaue giuen them to pleade for thēselues Fourthly the allegation or accusatiō of the witnesses Fiftly the Iudges verdit Sixtly the proceeding to sentence either of absolution or condemnation And lastly the execution of the sentence cōmitted to the sheriffe or bayliffe Of al which beloued that we may the better beleeue that great sessions in that last and dreadfull day of iudgement we haue speciall mention in the Scriptures And first for the Iudge that is Iesus Christ the second person in Trinitie Forhowsoeuer the whole Trinitie haue a stroke in the action yet the execution thereof is committed by them to the second person So Christ himselfe saith Iohn the
THE NARROW WAY AND THE LAST IVDGEMENT Deliuered in two Sermons the first at Pauls Crosse the other elsewhere by G. B. Preacher of the word at Alphamston in Essex 2. TIM 2.7 Consider what I say and the Lord giue thee vnderstanding in all things LONDON Printed for MATTHEW LOWNES 1607. TO THE RIGHT WORSHIPFVL SIR VVILLIAM VVALGRAVE KNIGHT OF BVERS IN ESSEX RIght Worshipfull the generall report of your worthinesse your peculiar affection to the Author as I vnderstand and the knowne dignitie of this his worke are the onely motiues of this my seeming boldnesse in committing this Sermon to the generall view vnder your countenance and protection which though I confesse I haue done without his leaue as being modestly vnwilling to encounter censure or to oppose himselfe an obiect to enuie yet in that it hath receiued the currant stampe of approbation in the iudgement of the wisest and your self as I haue heard an auricular iudge of the gracefull deliuery I haue in my selfe dissolued doubt and confidently thwart imputation with this assurance that it cannot but be gratefull to the Reader and come no lesse acceptable to you And though my selfe am vtterly vnknowne to you yet as one bound to loue vertue euen in strangers I honour it in you and haue bene so much the rather induced to this dedication by how much I am informed you are truly affected to this my deare friend and a cherisher of his endeuors Sir you cannot lose by it for learning will still be prest to honour her Mecaenas and such as fauour Arts chiefly those that labor in Gods vineyard like lamps consume thēselues to giue light to others I say such goodnes and loue extended to religion and the professors therof is the treasure layd vp in heauen and shall remaine with the world of perpetuall record Thus hauing done as I thinke a thankfull office not greatly fearing the Authors displeasure if you but approue my act I referre you to the ensuing matter resting Yours in deuotion for your vertue-fauouring inclination C. B. MATTH 7.14 And few there be that find it IT is the nature of euery man to affect long life here in this world and this Almightie God knew well and therefore when he commaunded the Israelites that they should honour their parents as a prouocation to the performance of that dutie he proposeth this reward vnto them Exod. 20.12 that their dayes should be long in the land which their Lord their God should giue them But albeit we are desirous to liue long and to see many dayes here in this life yet because reason and experience teacheth vs that though we liue long yet at one time or other we shall be dissolued into our first dust for terraes Gen. 3.19 in terram reuerteris it was God his sentence against all flesh Dust thou art and into dust thou shalt againe returne therefore the desire of mans nature stretcheth it selfe further and not only content with long life here in this world it affecteth a longer life nay it affecteth an eternal life in the world to come S. Pauls earnest desire was this I desire to be dissolued and to be with Christ Philip. 1.23 and old Symeon when he had once seene our Sauiour in the flesh he sung this sweete requiem to his owne soule Lord now let thy seruant depart in peace Luke 2.29 Albeit life were no doubt sweete vnto these two Saints of God yet their desires aimed at a better thing they were desirous to change corruption for incorruption mortalitie for immortalitie a life temporall and full of sorrowes for a life eternall and full of comfort Now as this was the desire of these Saints of God so no doubt it is or at least it should be the desire of all the sonnes of men they should not onely content themselues with the present possession of this life temporall but they should hope looke for a life to come which is eternall But in this it fareth with the world as with those old Israelites which came with Moses out of Aegypt for though they were for their number many thousands and all of them had a longing desire to enter into the land of Canaan yet it was only granted but vnto two of them Numb 14.30 vnto Caleb and vnto Iosuah so in the Aegypt of this world in this place of palpable darknesse though the desires of most men be to enter into the kingdome of heauen to raigne with Christ for euer yet this heauenly blessing is not granted to all Math. 20.16 for as Christ himselfe saith Many are called but few are chosen and as the way is broade and the gate wide that leadeth to destruction in the verse going before that is as the way of sin which leadeth men vnto hell is easie and many there be which enter in thereat so in the beginning of this verse straight is the gate and narrow is the way that leadeth vnto life that is a holy and a religious conuersation in this world which is the high way to leade men to the kingdome of heauen is full of difficulties and as our Sauiour addeth in the words which I haue read they are but few that find it To shew you how a holy and religious conuersation in this world is that straight gate and that narrow way that leadeth vnto life wold be a discourse both pleasing and profitable but because that lies without the bounds and limits of my text and the drift of my text is onely this that few men and few women doe find out this way of life therefore the summe of my discourse out of these words must be this to examine those lets and hinderances why among so many as seeme to be in the way of a godly life which is the way that leadeth to eternall life so few there be that find it that if we haue not found out this way of life we may now seek after it and find it and if we haue already found it that then we may perseuere and continue in it The lets then and the hinderances why so few there are that do finde the way of life are of two sorts ex parte quaerentis and ex parte retrahentium they either concerne our selues which are to seeke the way or they are such as do allure vs and withdraw vs from the search of it Hinderances in our selues that are to seeke the way are especially these three the first is coecitas rationis the blindnesse of our reason and vnderstanding which is not able of it selfe to discerne good from euill the way of life from the way of death The second is peruersitas voluntatis the peeuishnesse and peruersnesse of our wils which albeit we discerne the way refuseth to walke in it And the third is defectus perseuerantiae a want of perseuerance For although in our reason and vnderstanding we are able to discerne good frō euill the way of life from the way of
aspexit Remember Lots wife how she was brought indeed out of Sodome because she beleeued God but was changed by the way into a pillar of salt because she looked backe God hath commaunded vs as he did Lot and his wife that wee should come out of Sodome that is that we should forsake our sinnes and not so much as looke back vnto sinne but runne in hast till we come into heauen which is our Zoar. If therefore with Lots wife we wil looke backe in our way to the pleasantnesse of sinne we shall be sure with her to tast the bitternesse of her punishment for as she vbi respexit Gen. 19.26 ibi remansit where she looked backe there she stood still and came not vnto Zoar where her life should haue bene saued so if once we haue abandoned sinne which is the broade way that leadeth vnto death and haue entred into a holy and religious course which is this narrow way that leadeth vnto life if then with Lots wife we go not forward but looke backward to our former delights of sin it is impossible for vs to come to Zoar that is vnto heauen where our soules and bodies should be saued They are our Sauiour Christ his own words in the ninth of Luke and the last verse No man putting his hand vnto the plough and looking backe is fit for the kingdome of God Exod. 16.26 The Israelites were commanded not once in a moneth nor once in a weeke but euery day to gather Manna except vpon the Sabboth day to teach them and to teach vs that till such time as we come vnto that eternall Sabboth of our euerlasting rest in heauen we must neuer stand still in the way of a godly life but euery day be going forward Apelles posie was Nulla dies sine linea Let no day passe from me without drawing one line at the least and Titus the Emperor was wont to say Sueton. in Tit. Amici diem perdidimus Ezech. 47.4 that he had lost that day in which he did no good As the waters in Ezechiel rose by degrees first to the ankles then vnto the knees then vnto the loines and lastly to the head and as the wheate which Christ speakes of Mark 4.28 grew vp riper and riper first there was a blade then the eare then the full corne and lastly came the haruest so like those waters we must grow higher and higher till we come vnto our head Christ and like that wheate we must grow riper and riper til we come to the haruest which is the end of the world There is in Persia a stone called Selenites Plin. lib. vlt. cuius interior candor cum Luna crescit decrescit whose inward whitenesse increaseth and decreaseth as the Moone The deuotion of Christians must not be like this stone still changing and continuing no longer in one moode then a sparrow lights vpon the ground but we must proceed in the way of righteousnesse euen as Abraham went to Canaan that is we must eundo pergere still be going and as those kine of the Philistines which bare the Arke of God 1. Sam. 6. though they were milch had calues at home yet without turning either to the right or left hand they kept on their way to Bethshemesh so hauing once ioyned ourselues vnto the yoke of Christ and bearing the arke of his law vpon our shoulders in the way of a vertuous life though we haue many allurements to draw vs backe as those kine had their calues yet without turning either to the right or left hand we must keepe our way to Bethshemesh that is vnto the house of the Sunne for so the word signifieth where the Son of God raigneth In the 13. of Saint Matthew the kingdome of God is described in this manner It is as a grain of Musterdseed at first the least of al seeds Math. 13.31 but when a man hath sowne it in his field it becometh first an herbe then the greatest of herbs thirdly a tree lastly the birdes make arbours and shades in the bowes of it Now why should the kingdome of God be compared vnto this seede which is still increasing verily no better reason can be giuen for it then this that we may all learne not to stand still in our Christian growth but to preseuere and go on from grace vnto grace till we become perfect men in Christ Iesus As the star neuer ceased going Math. 2.9 till it came vnto the house where Christ was so if we be once entred into the way of a holy and religious life we must neuer stand still but continue still going till we come vnto heauen where God is If we haue faith we must then go from faith to faith if we haue loue we must continue and abide in loue if we haue zeale we must labor to be consumed with zeale if we giue almes we must go a step further and giue it with chearfulnesse and as God hath continued a chaine of his good graces vnto vs first by predestinating secondly by calling Rom. 8.30 thirdly by iustifying fourthly by glorifying vs so must we continue a chain of our graces towards God by giuing al diligence 2. Pet. 1.5.6 as the Apostle Saint Peter speaketh to ioine vertue with our faith and with our vertue knowledge and with our knowledge tēperance and with our temperance patience and with our patience godlinesse and neuer leaue ioyning the linkes of that golden chaine there ioyned till our bodies and soules come to be disioined But beloued if the want of any vertue is to be lamented in this age it is the want of this vertue of all vertues perseuerance For if we take a view of all estates of men euen from the highest to the lowest shall we not be so far frō finding any increase or growth in Christian duties any going forward in the way of righteousnesse from grace vnto grace Indies deficit in agris agricola Cyp. con Deme. and from strength vnto strength that we shall rather finde an vniuersall falling away and defection in them Is there not now as S. Cyprian iustly complained in his time a daily defectiō in the world both of men and of mens manners Is there not a defection of the husbandman in the field of the marriner at the sea of citizens in townes of townsemen in villages Is there not a defection of innocency in the court of iustice in iudgement of concord in friendship of workmanship in arts of discipline in manners Where is that zeale vnto the word that hunger thirst after the waters of the wel of life that was wont to be amōg vs Do we still thirst after these waters of the well of life 2. Sam. 23. as Dauid for the waters of the well of Bethlem Nay rather are we not come vnto that fulnesse and satietie Numb 11.7 that we euen loath these waters of life as Israel loathed Manna If it were not so
heretofore bene and it is at this day the foundatiō root of rebellions treasons murthers thefts of such damnable machiauelliā policies as are hardly to be found euen among the Gentiles as it was the speech of Agrippina the Emperour Neros mother when she heard that her sonne Nero should be Emperor Sueton. in Nerone but yet should kill his mother in his Empire Occidat modò imperet Let him kill me so he may be Emperour so I pray God that by the perswasion of the diuell it be not a setled resolution in the hearts of many Let me perish not temporally with Agrippina but eternally both in soule and body if so be in this life I may haue places of preferment either in church or common-wealth Riches Now for the wealth and riches of the world that they likewise as well as worldly honours are a meanes to draw vs from the wayes of life it is a case clearely decided by our Sauiour Christ in the 19. of Saint Mathew Mat. 19.20.21 for when the yong man had made this question vnto Christ Maister what shall I do to attaine eternall life and Christ his answer was Keepe the commandements and his reply to that was I haue kept them from my youth vp and Christ his replication to him againe was Yet thou wantest one thing Sell all that thou hast and giue it to the poore at that saying saith the text he departed sorowfull and the cause of his sorow is there noted to be this He had great possessions and was rich and therefore our Sauiour is bold in the 23. verse to set downe this as a conclusion that a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdome of heauen But were it not a case thus cleared by our Sauiour Christ yet if we will but looke into the qualities and conditions of rich men we shall find their wealth to haue bene and to be vnto them an occasion of many grieuous and grosse sinnes by meanes whereof they are kept from the wayes of life For to begin first with the sinne of pride a sinne so hatefull in Gods eyes that it cast our first parents out of Paradise and Lucifer from heauen to hel to begin I say with the sinne of pride mark it when you wil you shall see that where store of wealth is there commonly is store of pride and therefore among other charges which Saint Paul giues to Timothy this is not left out 1. Tim. 6.17 namely that he should charge rich men that they be not high minded And the heathen man Tully describing the qualities of the rich In Orat. de lege Agrar ad Quirit which for the most part are very intollerable among others he setteth downe pride for one and his instance is in the men of Campania Campani semper superbi bonitate agrorum fructuum The men of Campania are euer high minded and proud in regard of the store of fruites and of corne which their country yeeldeth and it is not only true in them 2. Lib. Rhet. but as Aristotle saith it holdeth in all rich men in al countries whatsoeuer But if this sinne of pride did onely accompanie our earthly riches it were well sed ecce venit Gad behold there are a great companie of sinnes more for as they do breed in vs pride of heart to the contempt of our poore neighbours so do they corrupt our memories to the forgetfulnesse of God This Moses knew to be true and therefore he giueth this caueat to the children of Israel Deut. 6.10 When the Lord thy God hath brought thee into the land which he sware vnto thy fathers to giue thee with goodly cities which thou buildedst not with houses full of all manner of goods which thou filledst not with vineyards and Oliue trees which thou plantedst not when thou hast eaten and art full then take heed and beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God Yea so common a thing it is for worldly riches to make men forget God that Salomon himselfe though he were wiser then other men and so consequently better able to resist sinne yet he maketh it his earnest sute vnto God O Lord giue me neither pouertie nor riches Prou. 30.8 not pouerty lest I steale and take the name of my God in vaine not riches least I be too full and deny thee and say Who is the Lord For albeit I perswade my selfe that there be many both in this citie and in other places of the land who in a thankfull remembrance of Gods goodnesse and bountie to them do confesse with Iacob Gen. 32.10 I came ouer this Iordan with my staffe and lo I haue now gotten two bands I came poore and without prouision to this place and lo I haue not onely gotten great wealth but such honour also that I sit with Princes yet looke we generally vpon the courses of the rich and we shall find it to be true that as the Moone when she is at the ful she is then farthest from the Sun of whom she doth receiue her light so men when they are fullest of earthly riches and blessings they are then commonly farthest from God from whose fulnesse they haue receiued them And as pride and forgetfulnesse of God do accompany our earthly riches so a third euil of them is that they make men to offend and sin in luxury In the twelfth of Luke and 19. verse the great rich man whose grounds brought foorth fruite plentifully he thinkes on nothing but his belly Soule now thou hast much goods for many yeares liue at ease eate drinke follow thy pleasure And in the fifteenth of Luke the yonger of the two brethren hauing receiued that portion of goods which belonged to him he spends it all in few dayes in gluttonie and venery Fourthly whereas the word of God is a speciall meanes to bring vs to saluation these worldly riches choke the word and make it vnfruitfull You may see it in the thirteenth of Saint Mathew Mat. 13.22 where our Sauiour expounding the parable of the sower saith thus He that receiues the seed among the thornes is he that heares the word but the care of the world the deceitfulnesse of riches choke the word in him and he is made vnfruitful Fiftly whereas it is a true note of the true child of God euermore to be weary of this sinful world Philip. 1.23 and to desire with Saint Paul to be dissolued and to be with Christ these earthly riches do make those which haue them loth to die yea with a good will a rich man would not so much as thinke of death saith the wise man O death Eccles 41.1 how bitter is the remembrance of thee to a man that liues at rest and ease in his possessions And as worldly riches are an occasion of these euils so lastly are they the cause of Idolatry yea the couetous affectation of them saith Saint Paul Ephes 5.5 is Idolatry And
mortuus sum non sentio non attendo non curo siqua verò sunt Christi haec viuuÌ„ inueniuÌ„t paratuÌ„ Concerning these earthly and worldly matters I haue no sense or feeling of them by my reason I condemne them and from my heart I abandon them but if there be mention made of Christ and of finding the waies of life then my decaied spirits gather strength then all the powers and faculties of my soule will me to cry with the Prophet Dauid Paratum est cor meum Psal 57.7 Domine My heart is ready ô Lord my heart is ready For otherwise if cleauing by an inordinate affection and loue to this world and the things of it we neglect and reiect the waies of life Deut. 3.27 as Moses from the top of Pisgah might behold with his eyes the land of Canaan but might not enter into it as the Syrians did heare Elisha speake whom they desired to take 2. King 6.29 but could not take him so with the outward eares of our bodies we may heare of the ioyes of another life and with the intellectuall eyes of our minds we may see that great glory which the iust shall haue heareafter but our selues shall neuer come into heauen our selues shall neuer be partakers of it And as Lysimachus king of Lydia hauing yeelded himself into the hands of his enemies for a cup of cold water to quench his thirst cryed out Plutarch O me hominem infoelicem qui tantillae voluptatis gratia tantum amiserim regnum ô miserable and wretched man that I am who for so short a pleasure haue parted with so glorious a kingdome as the kingdome of Lydia so when we shall see in the last day that by yeelding too much vnto this world and the things of it we haue parted with the wayes of life and so consequently haue yeelded vp our selues into the hands of our spirituall enemies we shal mourne and lament we shall sigh and wring our hands and all the dreadfull torments which we shall then suffer shall not wound and vexe vs so sore as this one consideration namely when we shall call to mind that for the momentary and traÌ„sitorie pleasures of this word we haue parted with that same exceeding 2. Cor. 4.17 eternall surpassing weight of glory in the kingdome of heauen And thus much shall serue to haue spoken of the world and of the things of the world which is the first enemie that opposeth himself against man to keepe him from the way of life I com to the second enemy and this is Caro. The carnall lusts and desires of the flesh â—th lib. 10. c. 5 Aristotle disputing of the nature and efficacie of pleasure saith this that a man which taketh greater delight in instrumentall then in vocal musick if he heare the same musitian both to play vpon his instrument and to sing the pleasure and delight which he conceiueth in hearing of the instrument doth so leade away his affections that he hath no care at all of the voice and as this is true in musick so is it true saith he in all other things when we intend two things at once that which breedeth the greater pleasure and delight for the most part doth euermore exclude the lesse There being then in man two kinds of affections carnall and spirituall and all men for the most part taking greater delight in their carnall then in their spirituall affections of necessitie it must come to passe that their carnall affections do swallow vp their spirituall and so consequently they are so farre from finding the waies of life that there is in them no desire no lust at all vnto it The sect and companie of the Epicures who maintained carnal pleasure to be the onely summum bonum of this life did swarme in greater abundance then any other sect did non quòd veri aliquid afferat Lactan. de falsa sap cap. 17. sed quia multos populare nomen voluptatis inuitat not because saith Lactantius there was any truth at all in their doctrine but because the popular name of carnal pleasure is able to draw a world of men to it Saint Paul confesseth of himselfe Rom. 7.18 that in his flesh there dwelt no good thing and that he saw a law in his members rebelling against the law of his mind and not that only vers 23. but that it led him away captiue to the law of sinne insomuch that for very griefe of heart he breaketh out into these words Miser homo vers 24. O wretched man that I am who shall deliuer me from the bodie of this death Saint Hierome writeth of himselfe In Epist ad Eustoch that albeit he led a most strict and austere life in the wildernesse exercising himselfe continually in prayer and bringing his body vnder by long and often abstinence yet notwithstanding that he was vehemently assaulted by the lusts and desires of the flesh euen as Saint Paul was And surely if the mortified flesh of these Saints of God mortified no doubt by prayer and by long and often fasting did notwithstanding as themselues confessed leade away their soules captiue to the law of sinne then may we well conclude that the vntamed flesh of vs vnbridled men will forcibly and with violence misleade our soules from the way of life Our Sauiour Christ speaking of his owne passion is so farre from the feare of death in himselfe that he armeth his disciples against it saying that he would go to prepare a place for them Iohn 14. â— but afterwards when he was to die vnto the world and to go to his father then he seemes to be of another mind then transeat à me Calix Luke 22.42 Father if it be thy will let this cup passe from me And what was the reason of this surely that in the 26. of Mathew and 41. verse The spirit is ready but the flesh is weake The spirit indeed of many men is prone vnto that which is good they desire so to runne the race of a godly life here that hereafter they may receiue a crowne of glory but so it is that mans life is as Iob speaketh Iob 7.1 Gal. 5.17 Militia super terraÌ„ a warfare vpon earth the flesh still lusting against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh and that which is most to be lamented in most of vs the flesh extinguisheth the spirit Sampson was a strong and valiant man Iudg. 14.6 he encountred a Lion and ouercame him but encountring with the fury of his owne lustful passions he could not master them Messes incendit alienas Iudg. 16.17 Ambros in Apol Dauid vnius ipse mulieris accensus igniculo messem suae virtutis amisit He set fire indeed on the haruests of other men but himself being inflamed with the fire of lust lost the haruest of all his vertues Salomon built a goodly Temple vnto God but in the meane time his
the preseruation of our soules which we do for the preseruation of our bodily health It is a rule in Phisick Pars maxima sanitatis est notitia morbi the best meanes for a sicke man to recouer his health is to acknowledge his sicknesse For if a man which hath the gout in his toe will not take notice of it but say it is nothing but a tingling in his toe and if a man hath got the cough of the lungs and wil not acknowledge it but say it is nothing but a great cold which he hath takē these diseases wil grow so hard vpon them that at length it will be hard or rather impossible to cure them wheras notice being taken of them in time the danger is the lesse the cure more easie And so the Diuines haue the like rule Pars maxima salutis est notitia peccati The best meanes for a sicke man in soule to be recouered is to acknowledge and take notice of sinne which is the sicknesse of the soule For the man that is ouergrowne with couetousnesse and saith it is but frugalitie which is infected with the sinne of vncleannesse and maintaineth it to be but loue the man who like a swashbuckler is alwayes drawing his sword cutting and hacking the harmelesse and will haue this to haue no worse name then manhood and fortitude these and the like diseases wil grow so hard vpon the soule that it will be a plaine miracle to remoue them whereas they being knowne and acknowledged for sinnes as they are indeed the cure of them is easie and the danger of being drawne out of the waies of life by them is quickly auoided But if the Diuell be thus preuented in this second policie then like a sedulous and industrious enemie he setteth vpon vs with a third for if he perceiue that thou conceiuest aright of thy sinnes as that they are indeed sinnes then he laboureth to deceiue thee with this that Dominus non videt though thou takest them to be sinnes yet saith the diuell the Lord doth not see them and with this haue many bene deceiued In the eighth of Ezechiel and twelfth verse it is Gods speech vnto the Prophet Son of man hast thou seene what the Ancients of Israel do in the darke euery one in the chamber of his imagery for they say the Lord sees vs not the Lord hath forsakē the earth Almighty God shews the Prophet that the ancients of Israel had painted round about their walls euery similitude of creeping things and abhominable beasts and he makes this to be the cause a grosse perswasion that the Lord did not see them But art thou desirous to preuent the diuell in this fallacian also then for thy better instruction let me reason with thee thus He that could espie our first parents hiding themselues among the thicke trees of the garden Gen. 3.9 cannot his eyes find out thy sinne though it be committed in a secret place Psal 94.9 He that planted the eare shall not he heare saith Dauid or he that formed the eye shall not he see As if he had said Make no question but whatsoeuer you speake or do God doth heare it God doth see it It is not with the sight of God as it is with the sight of man if there be not a due and a proportionate distance betweene the sight of man and the obiect the eye of man cannot possibly see it but say God were circumscribed in some one place and grant it were in heauen yet that great distance which is betweene heauen and earth euen seuen score and eighteene thousand foure hundred and sixtie three miles as the Astronomers haue coniectured yet doth not this great distance hinder God from seeing our sinnes Psal 14.2 For the Lord looked downe from heauen vpon the children of men what to do to see if any would vnderstand and seeeke after God but looking downe he saw that all were gone out of the way that there was none that did good no not one But if the Diuell preuaile not with this third fallacian then behold a fourth for doth God see thy sin saith Sathan yet be bold to sinne still for God is so mercifull August in Psa 144. that he will not punish sinne It is Saint Augustines complaint that there be two sorts of men which do snatch occasions of sinning to themselues the one from the mercie the other from the iustice of God One saith God will take so strict and seuere an account of our doings that we shall not be able to answer one for a thousand and therefore saith he being sure to be damned cur non facio quiquid volo why do I not whatsoeuer I wil The other he saith Gods mercie is aboue his workes and at what time soeuer I repent though it be at the last gaspe he wil receiue me with the armes of his mercy as he did the theefe vpon the crosse and therefore why do not I go on still in my wickednesse Desperat ille vt peccet sperat iste vt peccet vtrumque metuendum the one despaireth that he may sinne still the other hopeth that he may sinne still and both are to be feared But for those which dreame altogether of Gods mercie that this fallacian of the diuels by which many thousands are drawne from the wayes of life may be preuented let them remember that God as he is mercifull so he is iust In the 116. Psalme and fifth verse The Lord is mercifull and iust saith Dauid not mercifull alone but iust also And as we cannot bide our sinnes from the all-seeing eye of God so we cannot be defended frō the strong arme of his iustice In the 6. of Genesis and 12. verse it is said that God looked downe vpon the earth and seeing that all flesh had corrupted his wayes he saith to Noah An end of al flesh is come before me for the earth is filled with crueltie through them and behold I will destroy them from the earth In which words we may obserue first that God sees our sinnes secondly that though he seeth sinne yet he is mercifull and thirdly that as he is mercifull so he is iust God looked downe vpon the earth and saw that all flesh had corrupted his way there is the first Gods sight of sinne the earth is filled with crueltie there is the second the mercie of God and long suffering for he doth not presently execute iudgement vpon them but stayed so long till the earth was full of crueltie And behold I will destroy them from the earth there is Gods iustice But if the diuell by none of these be able to deceiue vs and to draw vs from the wayes of life then he hath a fift which shall be my last at this time He setteth before our eyes the good and pleasure that doth accompany our sinne and indeede these are shrewd temptations vnto flesh and blood Psal 133.1 The Prophet Dauid maketh choise of these two
concealeth the time and expresseth onely the manner of his coming And therefore for any man to thinke himselfe sufficiently instructed of the time of Christ his coming by reason of those prognosticke signes which our Sauiour hath set downe it is a grosse and a foolish impiety Yea saith Saint Austin Epist 7 8. to take a computation of times that therby we may know when the end of the world and Christ his coming shall be Nihil videtur aliud quà m scire velle quod Christus ait scire neminem posse It is nothing else but to be desirous to know that which our Sauiour Christ hath said no man can know For of that day and houre knoweth no man saith Christ Mat. 24.36 no not the Angels of heauen but my Father onely Nay in the 13. of Saint Marke and 32. verse he excepteth against himself to leue the high knowledge therof to his Father Of that day and houre knoweth no man no not the Angels which are in heauen neither the Sonne himselfe as he is man only saue the Father And therfore that the world might be the better resolued in this point in the vncertainty of his coming vnto iudgment besides those many watchwords of his to the world It is not for you to know the times and seasons which the father hath put in his owne power Math. 24.42 Math. 25.13 Mark 13.33 You know not what houre your maister will come You know not the day nor the houre when the Sonne of man will come Yee know not when the time is and the like He hath in the Gospell compared his coming vnto three things which come most sodainly and before we are aware and these are a snare a thiefe and the floud of Noah In the 21. of Luke and 34. verse he resembleth the day of his coming vnto iudgement to a snare Take heed vnto your selues least at any time your hearts be ouercome with surfetting and drunkennesse and the cares of this life and least that day come on you at vnawares for as a snare shall it come on all theÌ„ that dwell on the face of the whole earth A snare you know entaÌ„gleth on the sodaine and the birds and wilde beasts whilst fâ—arelesse of danger they are intentiue to their foode they sodainly fall into it And so it is with man saith Solomon he considereth not his end Eccles 9.12 But as the fishes which are taken in a net and as the birds which are caught in a snare so are the children of men snared in the euill when it falleth sodainly vpon them Men may feast it merrily with Iobs children Iob. 1.19 Dan. 5.3 and be frolick with their companions amidst their cups with Balthassar and as it is in the 21. of Iob they may call for the Tabret and the Harpe and reioyce in the sound of Organs but on the sodaine euen before they be aware August Epist 80. they go downe into the graue saith Iob that is they fal into the snare of death and so consequently into the snare of iudgement For Qualis in die isto quisque moritur talis in die illo iudicabitur as the day of mans death leaues him so the day of Gods last iudgement shall finde him And as Christ for the sodainesse vncertainty of his coming compareth it to a snare so he compareth it likewise to the coming of a theefe Math. 24.43 If the good man of the house did know at what houre the theefe would come he would surely watch and not suffer his house to be digged through And therefore be ye also ready for in the houre ye think not wil the son of man come The Apostle Peter in his second Epistle 3.10 makes the same resemblance The day of the Lord will come euen as a theefe in the night in the which the heauens shall passe away with a noyse and the elements shall melt with heat and the earth with the works that are therein shall be burnt vp And Saint Paule 1. Thess 5.2 handling the same argument hath the very same The day of the Lord shall come as a theefe in the night and when men shall say peace and safety then shall come vpon them sodaine destruction as the trauell vpon a woman with child and they shall not escape And as the day of Christ his comming is compared for the vncertaintie thereof vnto a snare and a theefe so for the same cause it is compared by him to the floud of Noah Math. 24.36 As the dayes of Noah were so likewise saith Christ shal the comming of the Sonne of man be For as in the dayes before the floud they did eate drink mary 〈◊〉 giue in mariage vnto the day that Noah entred into the Ark and knew nothing til the floud came and tooke them all away so shall also the comming of the sonne of man be And therefore â—hat answer which our Sauiour gaue to the Pharises question Luk. 17. and 20. vâ—â— may well be the conclusion of this point The kingdome of God cometh not with obseruation that is saith the Glosse it cometh not with the obseruation of the time as if he had said haply some Astronomer or other is so cunning as to tell you when the cloudes will drop but at what time the Sonne of man shall come to iudgement in the cloudes no Astronomer is so cunning as to tell you that for of that day houre knoweth no man no not the Angels in heauen nor the Sonne himselfe but the Father onely Well then beloued these three points being thus cleared First that their will be a comming of the Sonne of man to iudgement Secondly that this his comming vnto iudgement will be fearfull and terrible And thirdly that the time of this his comming is vncertaine we know not when what remaineth now but the vse which we are to make of all these and that is a vigilant and carefull preparation of our selues against his comming prescribed in the first words Vigilate igitur Watch therefore In the first of Ieremy the Prophet at the first saw nothing but a rod but after saith the text he beheld seething pot And so the wicked and vngodly people haply they may see and feele in this world nothing but rods light and slight punishments but the time will come when Salomons rods shall be turned into Rehoboams Scorpions and the Prophet Ieremies rod will proue a seething pot For as flesh is pâ—â— into a seething pot so the bodies and soules of men in regard of their sinnes committed in the flesh shall be cast into the seething and boyling lake of hell At which time they shall haue nothing to comfort them either aboue them or beneath them on the right hand or on the left within them or without them Aboue them shall be the angry Iudge for their wickednesse condemning them beneath them shal be hel open and the fornace boyling to receiue them on their right hand shal be their sinnes accusing them on
their left hand the diuels ready to execute Gods eternall sentence on them within them shall be their conscience gnawing without them the damned soules wailing and round about them the whole world burning Good Lord good Lord saith a deuout father what will a wretched sinner do enuironed with all these miseries how will his heart sustaine these anguishes what way will he take to go backe saith he it is impossible and to go forward it is intollerable And surely all this being true and drawne by necessary consequent from the word of God me thinkes now there should need no watchword at all and our Sauiour Christ his vigilate igitur in this place may seeme superfluous The heathen man did both say and beleeue Tul. de nat deor lib. 1. that whosoeuer remembreth that God will reward the godly and punish the vngodly he cannot but be godly And if this be not true in vs that are Christians then as Clymacus well obserues Plus timebimus canem quaÌ„ CreatoreÌ„ we shal shew our selues to be more afraid of our dog then we are of our God If a theefe do assault our house in the night and our dogge which is within do but barke we need no further vigilate we 〈…〉 warning 〈…〉 〈…〉 will â—ise and we will 〈…〉 Our Sauiour Christ then haui◠〈…〉 many times that he will on◠〈…〉 that his comming will be as 〈…〉 and terrible and that the time 〈…〉 is most vncertaine we know 〈…〉 now any further vigilate any 〈…〉 prepare our selues against this comming 〈…〉 â—ued a very cleare case that the barking of 〈…〉 wil preuaile more with vs for the sauing of 〈…〉 then the voice of our God for the sauing of 〈…〉 When Ioseph had forewarned Pharaoh and the 〈…〉 of Aegypt of that great famine which was 〈…〉 vpon the land there was no further 〈…〉 be vigilant And if they 〈◊〉 so care◠〈…〉 momentary death of body ough◠〈…〉 to be vigilant how to preuent the e◠〈…〉 of soule and body Well then how 〈…〉 our selues that our true vigilancie ma◠〈…〉 thus saith Saint Bernard Audisti edictu◠〈…〉 dictum Hast thou heard of the fearefull 〈…〉 which God hath determined to powre vp 〈…〉 beware then of sinne which will be the 〈…〉 punishment But is this all no the watc◠〈…〉 well set for the same spirit which saith Psal 〈…〉 Flie from euill immediatly addeth and do 〈…〉 14. of Luke and 31. verse What King saith 〈…〉 going to make warre against another King sâ—t◠〈…〉 downe first and taketh counsell whether he be ab◠〈◊〉 ten thousands to meete him which commeth agâ—nst him with twentie thousands or else while he is yet a grea◠〈◊〉 〈…〉 〈…〉 â—olicie betw◠〈…〉 〈…〉 â—rre better policie betw◠〈◊〉 〈…〉 sinnes grieue God more 〈…〉 can vexe his neighbor king 〈…〉 â—ter disproportion between 〈…〉 the strength of God then 〈…〉 of ten thousands and an ar◠〈…〉 â—houâ—ands First then let vs seriously 〈◊〉 counsell whether we may boldly say with 〈◊〉 3. verse 18. Behold now if I prepare me vnto 〈◊〉 I know that I shall be iustified And if we can◠〈…〉 this perswasion in regard of our for◠〈…〉 contempt of Gods commaunde◠〈…〉 must be our second course euen 〈…〉 off that is while his grace by 〈…〉 the Gospell is offered vnto vs 〈…〉 and vnfained repentance as an 〈…〉 him desiring him that he would 〈…〉 â—om his throne of iustice and be◠〈…〉 his throne of mercy That so in that 〈…〉 full day of his comming we may not 〈…〉 euerlasting horror of our soules that fear◠〈◊〉 Go ye cursed into euerlasting fire which is 〈…〉 diuel and his angels but to the endlesse 〈◊〉 our soules that other comfortable sen◠〈…〉 â—â—e ye blessed of my Father inherite the 〈…〉 â—dome prepared for you from 〈…〉 the beginning of the world FINIS