vs eat and be merry Vers. 24. For this my sonne was dead and is aliue againe and hee was lost but he is found and they beegan to be meery My helpe is in the name of the Lord. THis Parable may properlie bee called A mirrour of Mercy for in it the Lord laieth opeÌ„ vnto vs the bowels of his fatherly loue and compassion toward penitent sinners hee proclaimed once by word his name to Moses The Lord strong mercifull and gracious slow to anger aboundant in mercy and truth reseruing mercy for thousands forgiuing iniquity transgressions and sins By many proofes sensiue hath hee declared it heere most clearly he shadowes it Setting downe to vs one a most miserable sinner worthy to bee condemned yet vpon his repentance gratiously pardoned for an example of the like mercy to bee shewed vnto all who after this manner repenting of their sins shall returne vnto the Lord their God To this purpose hath our Sauior deliliuered before two Parables One of the wandring sheepe an other of the lost peece of mony and now hee adioynes the third of the Prodigall child It is not without great cause that our Sauior takes such paines to confirme vs in this point For it is a difficill thing yea a supernaturall worke to perswade a guilty sinner of Gods mercy the reason is because the law which threatens a curse against the transgressors of her commandements is naturally written in euery mans heart and the sentence of death due to sinne by capital letters is grauen in the conscience so that it is true of all sinners which the Apostle speaketh of one sort that they are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 such as haue within themselues against themselues pronounced a ditty of damnation and euery man may feele in himselfe a conscience armed not vn like that Cherubin with a sword of wrath shaking against him and telling him that his sinne hath made him vnworthy to enter in the paradise of God Whereof it comes to passe that miserable man abiding vnder the bondage of sinful nature perisheth in one of these two fearfull sickenesses of the soule atheisme or desperation The first is a most dangerous and deadly disease 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and opens a dore to all kind of impiety for what wickednesse will not that man commit who beeing blinded by the deceit of sinne is brought to thinke there is no God nor iudgement to come But against this dangerous and deuouring poison the Lord hath prouided most effectuall Antidots for besides the works and the word of God w ch cry out that there is a God hee preserueth euen in the most corrupt conscience such a light as forces the deepest contemner to feare that same God-head which he denies and so proues it true in all Atheists which Cicero spake of one Metrodorus Nec quenqnam vidi qui magis ea timeret quae timenda esse negaret I neuer saw any more feared for which he said was not to be feared at all And thus the Atheist being wakened out of the sound sleep of Atheisme and brought to some sense and feare of a Diuinitie is incontiuent sore oppressed with the other euill of desperation for the first thing that a guilty soule apprehends in God is iudgement and wrath the conscience sending out 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 accusing cogitatioÌ„s which conclude within theÌ„ against themselues a condemnatory sentence and in this hee that hath escaped the first shall not faile to perish if â— doore of mercy be not opened vnto him And heere againe many are deceiued by presumption who thinke the way of mercy plaine easie well enough known and that they are sure they haue it But alas they flatter themselues with a conceit of it who had neuer the certainty of it All haue no faith who speake of it Many are called few are chosen The kingdome of heauen suffers violence If Adam after one transgression ran away from the Lord afraid at his voice and preseÌ„ce in whoÌ„ he delighted before what maruel his sinful children guilty of so many transgressions like perturbed and confounded men fearing his iudgements runne from him and fall into the gulfe of despaire And if Ioseph and Mary hauing lost the coÌ„pany of Christ but for one day not regarding him as they should were three daies in seeking before they could finde him againe shal men who so long a time liued strangers from the life of God bee so foolish as to thinke it requires no paines no labour to seeke him to finde and to bee reconciled with him But if they can get onely in their ending day one word to cry for mercy they are sure to obtaine it Let vs not be so farre deceiued it is no wisdome to hazard so great a matter as is our eternall saluation vpon so small an aduenture To cure therefore these great euils specially the last two of desperation and presumption by many waies doth the Lord draw vs to an experience and sense of his mercy and then to a conscience of our dutie towards him for where before the Cherubin an Angell was set at the entry of Paradise with a shaking sword to hold out man wee haue now the Christ the Lord of Angels with the keies of Dauids house to open Paradise vnto vs and as conscience within vs cries condemnation to vs for sinne so the spirit of adoption sent into our hearts from the Father cries with a stronger voice absolution from sinne No condemnation to theÌ„ which are in Christ. And against the terrour of the Law and curses thereof wee haue the grace of the Gospell full of sweet bâ—essings both promised and practised toward penitent sinners And for this one purpose it is that our Sauiour here triples the Parable to make vp vnto vs the stronger preseruatiue against our naturall disease of distrust and desperation For so as Ioseph spake to Pbaroah of his doubled visioÌ„ The dreme is doubled to Pharao the secoÌ„d time because the thing is established by God God hastes to performe it May we also speake of this tripled parable Iesus hath done it to shew the heires of promise the stability of his Counsell for it is a decree established with God to shew mercie to the penitent and he will hasten to performe it Now as it is a great worke to make the soule guilty of sinne conceiue any sense of of mercy so the soule once hauing conceiued it is easily moued through the sense of mercy to return vnto the Lord as we may see in this example Many are the arguments whereby wee are mooued to repentance but among theÌ„ all none goes so neere the hearts of his kindly children to pricke them with a godly sorrow for their sins as the sense of Gods mercie when they consider how good the Lord was vnto them before they sinned Haue I
Couenant vnder his feet what remaines but a fearefull looking for of iudgement and violent fire Let vs take heed in time and learne to be wise by this Prodigall child when we heare him glad to get the roome of a seruant shall not we reioice in our God who hath giuen vs the place of his children Lord make vs thankfull for it and giue vs grace to Walke worthy our heauenly vocation that in our life we may expresse our vertue who hath Translated vs out of darkenesse into maruellous light VERSE 20. As hee concluded before so he performeth now In the godly resolutions are first but actions follow In the wicked sometimes there are resolutions to amend their liues but no execution followeth their motions of repentance are like to the Morning dew or the false conception of a woman which commeth neuer to the birth but the Lord blesseth his own children both with the first and latter raine that is grace to beginne well and grace to perseuere vnto the ende And when hee was yet a farre off Now followeth the last part of this Pararable figuring vnto vs how gratious the Lord is how ready to shew mercy to poore sinners whensoeuer they repent of their sinnes and returne vnto him Here then is a ioyfull meeting betweene a mercifull God and a miserable sinner Blessed is the soule saith Bernard wherein mercy truth meet together and euery one of them kisses one another Here is truth in the prodigal child no guile no deceit in him simply and sincerely hee confesseth his sinne and the Lord who loueth truth in the inward affections meets him with mercy But howsoeuer these two meet together yet you see there is no comparison betweene them in the measure of their affections the one would fainer shew mercy then the other would haue it the childe is not so willing to returne as the father is ioyfull to receiue He ariseth and is comming but the father seeth him a farre off and runnes he falleth on his necke and kisseth him Non Pari vbertate sâ—uune amans amor sponsus sponâ—a creator creatura non magis quam sitiens fons As there is great difference betweene the flowing of the Ocean and the flowing of a little riuer and as there is great oddes betweene that which the thirsty man drinkes and that which the fountaine hath to giue him so is there betweene the creature louing GOD and GOD who is loue it selfe What then shal we not loue him because we cannot equal him in loue shal wee not goe to him because we cannot go so fast as he commeth to vs. No no Nam etsi minus diligit creatura quia minor est tamen si tota diligis nihil deest vbi totum est For albeit the loue of the creature bee lesse because it selfe is lesse yet if wee loue him with our whole hearts nothing is lacking where the whole is And most comfortable is it that hee saith when hee was yet a farre off he had compassion vpon hâ—m he had not yet come he had fallen downe he had not confessed and yet the Father sheweth mercy vpon him See then how the very first motions of repentance if they bee vnfeined euen the beginnings of our conuersion if they be from the heart are acceptable to GOD He bruseth not the brused reed hee quencheth not the smoaking flaxe Though our repentance be but in a beginning yet if it bee true God will meete it with mercy there is the nature of Gods compassions In the beginning of Daniel his supplication God sent him an answere and at the beginning of our turnings to God God turnes vnto vs. I haue been sound of them that sought mee not saith the Lord will he then hide his face from them that seeke him If when we were sinners Christ died for vs much more beeing now iustified by his bloud shall wee bee saued from wrath through him and if when wee were enemies wee were reconciled to God much more beeing reconciled we shall bee saued by his life If he ranne to this childe when he was a farre off will he not embrace his children that are come neere vnto him Non persuadet nudo verbo sed exemplo Hee will assure vs of mercy not by his naked word onely but by example also I wil speake against a Nation to destroy it but if this Nation turne from their wickednesse I will repent of the plague that I thought to bring vpon them What can bee more cleare will we turne from our sinnes God will turne from his iudgements Neither is there any place here to speake of the greatnesse of our sins as though they were not curable by his mercies Though your sinnes were as Crimson they shall be made white as snow though they were red like Scarlet they shall bee made as woll Howsoeuer thou haue done them and made them many and great and they are double dipped wilt thou repent the strength of his mercy shall vndoe them shall change them and make them as if they had neuer beene done And if yet thou beleeue him not wheÌ„ he speakes at least beleeue him when hee sweares As I liue saith the Lord I desire not the death of a sinner but that he should turne and liue Estne Deus cum iur at indignus cui credatur Is not the Lord when he sweares worthy to bee credited But if neither his word nor his oath can mooue thee yet looke to his workes and for them beleeue his word Were not the Niuiuites spared when they repented Was not Achab spared when hee was humbled Who euer turned to the Lord and found not the Lord turning to him When the Leaper cried If thou wilt thou canst make mee cleane The Lord Iesus answered I will be thou cleane When the Centurion besought him to come to his house and heale his seruant Iesus answered I wil come and heale him There is a cloud of witnesses all prouing this one point Quidenim forte peccasti in saeculo nunquid amplius Paulo Quod si in ipsa religione nunquid plus Petro. For why hast thou sinned before thy calling so did Saint Peter and though thy sinnes were greater then theirs yet are they not so great as his mercy who hath promised to pardon Thus then in this Prodigall child haue we not onely mercy shewed to himselfe but exemplar mercy proposed to all such as repenting of their sinnes returne vnto him His Father saw him Albeit this beâ— put heere in the last roome yet is it to be referred to the first time of his conuersion The Lord looked vpon him as he looked to Peter after he had denied him hee made him to goe out and weepe bitterly for his sinnes grace was sent with the looke This is the looke of Gods face that Dauid praies for Looke vpon
finde a reuiuing of your hearts to his holy loue the dead winter the cold season the hard frostie and barren heart goes away and the soule warmed with the loue of God beginnes to budde to florish and bring out fruit Then may ye haue this comfort◠that the Lord hath drawne neere vnto you and ye also are become neere vnto the Lord. And this also serues to cleere the second point proposed by vs. How is it that a man goes or commeth to the Lord to wit non pedibus sed affectibus not by feete of the body but by affections of the soule So this young man Egressus de paradiso bonae conscientiae per campos licentiae per nemora luxuriae per paludes carnalis concupiscentiae per fluctus secularium curarum caepit vagari Departing out of the Paradise of a good conscience goeth a wandring through the fields of liberty through the woods of luxurie through the lakes of carnall cōcupiscence throgh the flouds of worldly cares Not resting in one sinne but from one falling into an other Erranti enim nullus terminus It is much easier to stop the beginnings of sin then to stay the course of it if it once breake forth Sicut lapidē initio inhibe re facilius est quā motū retorquere As it is lesse labour to stay a stone before it be mooued then turne it backe againe when it is in the tumbling Thus then goeth a man away further and further from the Lord by multiplication of his sinnes as a man by multiplication of his steps goeth a further away from the place wherein he was It should therefore be our first care to beeware of the beginnings of sinne and the next to beeware we multiply not our sinne least by so doing we go farre from the Lord. And there he wasted all his goods There is the fruit of his departure from his father A man that will forsake the Lord and refuse to bee gouerned by him can neither keepe himselfe nor yet the good things which God hath giuen him The seruice of sinne is a costly seruice all the portion of goods thou hast is not sufficient for it Sinne is a profused and vnthriftie spending of al that God hath giuen thee yea of thy body and soule also at the length Vnto euery man God hath giuen his owne portion of gifts of body and minde of these also which are externall prophanely called by Ethniques Fortunae bona wilt thou abide with the Lord and serue him hee shall teach thee to vse his gifts to his glory and thy good for the seruice of the Lord is easie honorable profitable nothing is wasted nothing is lost that thou spendest in it But if thou wilt forsake the Lord experience shall prooue that no good thing hee hath giuen thee will bide with thee Thy yeares goe away in vanity the strength of thy body cōsumed in the way of iniquity thy quicke ingenie thy memory and all the gifts of the minde are spent without any fruit to thy selfe or to others for the present time or the time to come Thus all being wasted thou shalt in the end bee ashamed of thy selfe when thou lookest backe to thy former waies The word our Sauiour heere vseth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifieth to scatter there is not long ye see between his gathering and his scattering in the beginning of this verse he gathereth his portion and in the end thereof he scatters it that which men gather with offence of God shall not faile to be scattered ere it bee long Carnal couetousnesse made Iudas take from the high Priest thirty peeces of siluer the wages of iniquity to betray Christ but a tormenting conscience forced him shortly to cast it backe againe No better shall it be with them who gather where they should not They shall vomit their substance euen as a stomacke casteth out that disdainfully which wickedly superfluously men haue ingested into it Worldlings may enlarge their desire as the bel and death which cannot bee satisfied but against them shall the parable be taken vp Ho he that increaseth that which is not his how long and he that loadneth himselfe with thicke clay Shall they not rise vp suddenly that shall bite thee and awake that shall stirre thee and thou shalt bee their prey Yea truly though there were no Chaldean nor Sabaean no oppressour no robber to doe it thy owne hand shall scatter that which thou hast wickedly gathered It is lamentable to see the vaine security of worldlings they delight in aboundance as if their life were in it when they haue they looke neuer to want when they die they dispone with confidence as if their decrees were certaine and God would not reuoke them In their legacies they leaue their soules vnto God and their goods vnto men as best pleaseth them But consider not with what warrant they doe this For as to the first how canst thou be assured that GOD in death will receiue thy spirit seeing thou in thy life would neuer giue him the reasonable seruice thereof And as to the second how oft is it seen that God annuls the decrees concerning the distribution of their goods that either their portion perisheth before themselues or soone after them and what they leaue vnto one God disposeth it to an other crossing them in the same thing wher-they offended him that as they gathered not according to Gods will so God scatters and distributs it not according to their will Vers. 14 Now when he had spent all Hitherto wee haue heard his sinne described and the degrees thereof Now followeth a description of that miserable estate whereunto his sinne carrieh him Spent all Hee sought a portion of his fathers goodes hee sought not his fathers fauour and blessing Now all is spent There are two sorts of goods that God distributes to men the one I call his moueables the other I call the goodes of the permanent inheritance The first sort he giues indifferently to all men The second sort he reserues for his own children and there is the difference betweene the earthly and heauenportion the one is spended by vsing the more ye take of it the lesse ye haue they refresh not vs vnlesse they bee diminished in themselues if wee be increased by them they are empaired by vs but the goods of our heauenly inheritance are not spended by vsing the more we vse them the more wee are increased by them and the more also are they increased by vs by frequent praier wee learne to pray more feruently from the beginning of faith we make progresse to the fulnesse of faith our light our loue our life once begunne haue their own increasings till they come to perfection but they can neuer be lost nor wasted by vsing It cannot bee good for vs to rest in that which decaies by seruing vs if we loue eternity and seeke to be blessed for
reprobate And yet it is to be marked that sometimes the Citizens of Ierusalem are found in the streets of Babel the elect for a time may walk in the way of the wicked so Paul in the way of Idolatry Dauid in the way of adultery Noah in the way of drunkennesse Lot in the way of incest but they are in it as soiourners not as citizens they dwell not in Babel but at the voice of the Lord come out of it and are drawne home to Ierusalem Sometime againe ye shall see many citizens of Babel walking in the streets of Ierusalem wicked and impenitent men making a shew as if they were religious but their heart is not vpright before God Hauing a shew of godlinesse they deny the power therof They taste of the powers of the life to come by the hearing of the word but digest it not in their hearts by faith their soules feed not vpon it they are like the Corne that gowes vp in the blade but comes neuer to the fruit because it tooke no roote These are not citizens in Ierusalem but soiourners they are carried out of it like chaffe with euery kind of vanity their goodnes vanisheth like the morning dew they are weary at length of Ierusalem and goe home againe to Babel like dogges returning to their vomit and swine to their puddle againe And he sent him to his Farme to feed swine In this part of the Parable is figured vnto vs how the seruice wherein Satan imploies his miserable captiues is vile and vnhonest What baser imploiment can be then to take the sonne of a freeman borne vnto honour and make him a swine heard for the sow is a filthy and vnhonest beast that likes the puddle better then the palace and counts more of the dung then of the most precious pearles and yet this is Satans dealing with all these wretches that come vnder his commandement hee waltereth them in the depth of filthy and vncleane cogitations and affections hee plungeth them in the stinking puddle and mire of sinne abusing them farre worse then Pharao did the Israelites of God for he oppressed their bodies compelling them to worke in bricke and clay an vnseemely seruitude indeede for so honorable a people yet he could not detaine their mindes from sighing and crying to God for the bondage But Satan oppresseth his captiues in such sort that they haue no minde of God no thought of liberty no wearinesse of the bondage no desire of any heauēly or excellent thing is in them they are beastly in all their motions affections and actions O fearfull exchange that a man once made to the image of God and to rule all the creatures of God should so farre mismake himselfe as to become a companion to the beasts and a slaue vnto Satan And hee would faine haue filled his belly with the huskes This now is the highest degree of his miserie that hauing offered to serue in the most vile seruitude he cannot get meate for his seruice yea not so much as the huskes of acornes to fill his belly withall The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifieth a little horne as also the skin or codde or hull within which is the kirnell Now so great was this mans penury that not onely hee could not get the kirnell of any fruite whereupon he might sustaine his miserable life but could not get so much as the huske or shell wherewith to fill his belly By this kinde of speech the Lord will let vs see that the best delicates which Satan hath to giue his captiues are shadows without substance husks without kernels burdenable when they are eaten no way profitable but as to inward pleasure solide ioy or any thing that is truly good Satan hath it not to giue Hee is but a iugler and a false deceiuer promising much whē hee tempts performing nothing O pitifull blindnesse that our soules should bee deceiued with such a seducer and that other mens losse cannot learne vs to become wise He promised much to Adam Euah Yee shall bee as Gods But what got they He bewitched this prodigall childe with great hopes but they euanished and proued vaine and still hee abuseth the world after the same manner Euer from the beginning hee hath prooued a lier yet men will credit him he is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an alluring Serpent and that in most miserable manner It is true which Pisida saith of him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he allures vs to serue him for nothing without giuing any kinde of good vnto vs. For if a man shall cast his eies on the multitude what shall ye see Doe they not dote after Satans allurements like Israel doting after Ashur Aegypt louing lies and following vanities Some deceiued one way and some another but all delighting in things that profit not Naturalists write that the Chamelion a little spotted beast neither eats nor drinkes but liues on the ayre The Ostrich eateth yron and is able to digest it The Viper liues on venemous things The Sow on filth and vile vncleanesse No better yea not so good as these are Satans banqueters some hee feeds as he did Ephraim with the wind Men vaine glorious who waxe proud in themselues for the blast of another mans breath Others like the Ostrich whose hearts ar◠delighted with their treasures of siluer and gold as if it were a portion meet for the soule of man but they cannot digest it They shall vomit the substance which they haue deuoured Some againe are worse who with the Viper liue vpon hatred enuie maliciousnesse louing all such things as may destroy These also are Satans delicats which nourishe not but rent and consume the belly which receiues them But most part of his miserable guestes feede like the sow they hanch vp all sort of vncleannesse with greedinesse they take it for food but death is in their pot Malorum blandientium virus occultum est arridentis nequiliae facies laeta instar veneni poculum esse videtur quod sumitur vbi epotaueris pernicies hausta grassatur The poison of slartering sinne is secret the face of it smiling it seemes to be a cup of pleasant drinke but when it is drunke out it destroieth Wickednesse was sweet in his mouth he sauoured it and would not forsake it but the gall of Aspes was in the middest of him But this doth more augment their misery that by no seruice of Satan can they finde satisfaction to themselues euen when they enioy the obiects of their sinnes yet haue they not their desired ioy and contentmēt He would faine haue filled his belly with the huskes and hee could not saith the parable What then can not the hunger of sinne begotten satisfie No doubtlesse no more then the graue or the fire or the barren wombe giue them as ye please still they cal for more Will couetousnesse will concupisence say