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soul_n life_n live_v spirit_n 13,616 5 5.5781 4 true
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ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A00405 Sathans sowing season. By William Est minister and preacher of Gods word in Bydeford. Est, William, 1546 or 7-1625.; Est, William, 1546 or 7-1625. Mirrour of mercy. 1611 (1611) STC 10536.5; ESTC S118580 32,844 100

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on In vaine hast thou receiued thy soule the grace of God the good seede if thou directest not the same to the desires of heauenly things to the fruite of good workes for the obtaining whereof the soule was created other graces giuen of God But to come to some particular men are said to sleep when they neglect abuse the grace of God the good seed whiles they hearken not to the coūsel of the Apostle Take heed that no man fall away from the grace of God Heb. 12. 15. that is that hee abuse not the good seede and neglect the vse thereof Let no roote of bitternesse spring vp and trouble you saith he For euen as through the negligence of the husband mā many noy some weeds spring vp which hinder the growth of the good seed and fret away the corne so the growth of the tares of vices hinder the operation of grace Wherfore said the Apostle a little before Lift vp your hands which hang downe and your weake knees that is shake off all drow sinesse and negligence Who would not iudge that their faith sleepeth yea that it is dead which neuer sheweth forth the vitall motions of godlinesse which are wauering suffer themselues to be carried away like children with euery winde of vaine doctrine by the deceipt eraftinesse of men whereby they lay waite to deceiue Ephes 4. Of which number are they that reuolt from the Gospell to Papistry and wrest religion and the Scriptures vt Lesbiam regulam as the prouerbe is or frame their profession as a nose of waxe vnto all fashions to please mens humours and to serue their turne Doth not their hope sleep which is not fixed on the inuisible heauenly good things which should allure them to the loue of a good life Seemeth not their charity to bee extinct which kindleth no sparkes of the loue of God and of their neighbour in their hearts Doth not their wisedome and reason only proper to man sleep whose office is to foresee imminent dangers discerne betwixt good and euill and to prouide for the life to come when they liue so supine and carelesse of their soules and willingly suffer themselues to be caught in the snares of Sathan He sleepeth yea he is in a dangerous sleepe which liueth in enuy hatred and malice of his neighbour Hee that hateth his brother is in darknesse saith Saint Iohn The carnall filthy lecherous and licencious liuer sleepeth which is not ashamed to commit that filthinesse which a good Christian should bee ashamed euen to name saith the Apopostle Eph. 5. 12. The couetous worldling sleepeth yea and that sweetly as he thinketh when he saith Soule liue at ease eate drinke and take thy pleasure thou hast much goods laid vp in store for many yeares Luk. 12. 19. but the spirit of God intituleth them by the name of fooles saying Thou foole this night shall they fetch away thy soule from thee and then whose shal those things be which thou hast prouided verse 20. The glutton drunkard whose God is his belly sleepeth whom the Apostle Peter stirreth vp with the consideration of his danger saying Be sober and watch for your aduersary the Diuell as a roaring Lyon walketh about seeking whom he may deuoure The negligent secure and sluggish Christian sleepeth who taketh no care of his soule but setteth it vpon sixes and seuens of whom saith Salomon The slothfull man saith a Lyon is without I shall be slaine in the streete Pro. 22 to him all things seeme hard all things pertaining to godlinesse and deuotion seeme vnpossible hee can finde no time as yet to arise from his sins no time with him is fit for repentance But beloued the spirit of God who best knoweth the importance heereof is in nothing more frequent and earnest then in exhorting vs vs I say which are regenerate in Christ the good seede the children of the kingdome to vigilancy and watchfulnesse that we giue not place vnto the Diuell Christ cryeth out and repeateth it againe that hee might impresse it in our memories VVatch saith he and what I say vnto you I say vnto all mē watch Againe if the good man of the house had knowne what houre the thiefe would come hee wold haue watched and not haue suffered his house to bee digged through Luk 12. 39. So that vessell of election Saint Paul reasoneth and exhorteth Gods children saying Yee are all children of the light and of the day we are not of the night neither of darknesse Therefore let vs not sleepe as other doe but let vs watch and be sober 1. Thess 5. 5. 6. And our Sauiour againe counsaileth saying Bee yee like vnto men that waite for their maister when hee returne from the wedding Luk. 12. 36. Nothing truly might more significantly be spoken to incite vs to perpetuall vigilance Seruants doe neuer with greater carefulnesse waite for their maister then when the solemnity of his mariage being ended he returneth home to dinner that nothing bee wanting but all things necessary bee prouided and in reedinesse for such a feast So should all true Christians be euer vigilant waiting for the coming of the Lord that they be not found vnprepared For the son of man will come at an houre when yee thinke not Now let vs see how dangerous and hurtfull it is vnto vs not to watch but liue securely whiles we are in the warfare of this life The enemy now seeing our supine negligence aud stupide carelesnesse of our soules now bestirreth him hee will not loose this fit oportunity this is Sathans sowing season now he casteth abroade his tares now he prepareth his ground that is the hearts of the wicked to receiue his pestilent seede as thou mayest easily perceiue if thou obserue the manners of wicked men if thou seekest at that time to awake them admonish them of their dangers they will perhaps heare approue thy sayings but being pressed downe with the weight of wicked custome they betake them againe to their sleep as the wise man saith who so telleth a foole of wisedome is as a man that speaketh to one that is asleepe Ecclesiasticus chap. 22. As one that is sicke of a feuer to whom sleepe is very hurtfull if thou pull him and with noyse stirre him vp and tell him that sleepe nourisheth and increaseth his disease hee lifteth vp his drowsie eyes and heareth thee but being ouercome with the force of the hurtfull humour hee is drowned againe with sleepe So it happeneth to those that are plunged in the sleepe of sinne and pleasures of the world if wee call vpon them lay before them death iudgement hell perpetuall torments prepared for the wicked their sinnes committed the danger of suddaine death c. Heauen and the most blessed reward prepared for the godly c. they will heare this and confesse it to bee true but being ouercome with the violence
many impieties false religions monsters of iniquities so many periuries blasphemies adulteries among men professing Christianity This the Prophet in the person of God admireth Esay 5. when after he had described Gods goodnesse and diligence in dressing his vineyard hee saith VVhat could I haue done any more to my vineyard that I haue not done VVhy haue I looked that it should bring forth grapes and it bringeth forth wilde grapes And Ieremy 2. 21. Yet I had planted thee a noble vine whose plants are all naturall how then art thou turned into the plants of a strange vine From whence hath it so many tares seeing that sinne fighteth against Almighty God of whom wee receiue all good things and in whom we moue liue and haue our being from whence then are so many tares If nothing bee so hurtfull vnto man as sinne if of sinne cometh death and eternall damnation if of sinne proceedeth all miseries and plagues in this life why are men so easily induced to sin from whence are these tares If as Augustine saith vnusquisque peccando animam suam Diabolo vendit by sinning a man selleth his soule to the Diuell receiuing as the price thereof a little transitory pleasure how spring so many tares If wee demand of the Philosophers what man is they will answer Animal rationale a reasonable creature If man then be a reasonable creature what should be more agreeable to the law of nature then to frame his life according to the rule of reason But if sin be not onely against the law of God but also contrary to the light of reason how should a reasonable creature commit daily and hourely so many sins Why I pray you did the Son of God take vpon him our flesh why did he preach teach do and suffer many great things was it not that he might destroy the works of the diuell and what are the workes of the diuell but sins and why gaue he himselfe for vs was it not that hee might redeeme vs from all iniquity and purge vs to be a peculiar people vnto himselfe zealous of good workes They therefore that serue sin what doe they else but crucifie againe to themselues the sonne of God and make a mocke of him Heb. 6. 6. From whence then are these tares from whence is this aboundance of iniquity in the world how are men so easily seduced by Sathan to receiue this pestilent tare into the ground of their hearts And surely so great at this day is the corruption of Christian manners that as in the time of pestilence we do not so much wonder at them that dye as at them which remaine aliue so now adaies we may not so much maruell at hose that liue wickedly as at the gody honest deuout c. as if it were a miracle to see them vnspotted of so great corruption So that this place ehemently reproueth the negligence ●ngratitude and extreame impiety of men and serueth to exaggerate the filthinesse and and absurdity of sinne In that the Diuell is called the enuious man Homo humanitatem significat saith a Father the word man signifieth humanity And as God so wing the good seed is called a man so the diuell sowing his tares is here termed aman not that hee is a man sequia humanitatem simulat because he faineth himselfe to bee thy friend that hee might deceiue thee when indeed hee is thy most fraudulent enemy The same arte hee vsed in deceuing of Eue as if he tendred her good and wished her felicity The like cra he vsed in tempting of Christ speakin friendly vnto him but better saith S●lomon are the wounds of a friend then t●… kisses of an enemy He knoweth that he can effect little if hee walke vnmasked and therefore hee reacheth his poyso vnder the colour of goodnes But tal heed of him he is the enuious man H resembleth a thiefe in subtilty whic knocketh at thy dore in the night thou askest who is there hee changeth his name altereth his voice pretendeth to be thy friend that thou maiest open the dore vnto him at vnawares and so he spoileth thy house and killeth thee But what doth this enuious man hee soweth seed ex diametro contrary to the seed of God Christ sowed pouerty of spirit from whence then sprang auarice Christ sowed contempt of the world from whence then sprang so great loue of the world Christ sowed humility from whence then hath pride gotten that growth Christ sowed chastity from whence then hath whooredome fornication adulteries all licentious liuing so ouergrowne the world Christ sowed sanctifying of the Sabboth from whence then came such prophaning of the Sabboth in carousing drunkennes dauncing dicing stage playing and such like heathenish prophannes Surely the enuious mā hath done this these are the prints of his feet he hath beene heere learne to know him ex vnguibus Leonem as the Lyon by his pawes Learne here that all enuy is of the diuell it is a diabolical sin Enuy is first Ostium iniquitatis the doore of iniquity for by it death entred into the world By this was Iacob vexed of Esau Ioseph sold of his brethren Dauid persecuted of Saul Christ deliuered to the Iewes Secondly it is toxicum charitatis the bane of charity for were it not for enuy euery one would reioyce at anothers good as if it were his owne be soary for anothers harme Tolle inuidiam saith Augustine tuum est quod habeo meum est quod habes Take away enuy and that which I haue is thine and that which thou hast i mine Thirdly Enuy is putredo sanitatis the corruption of health for doe not the enuious man or woman hurt themselues most doe they not eate their owne heart and by fretting and enuying at others consume themselues Therefore God saith a father should do great iniury to the enuious man to place him in heauen where there is nothing but ioy for anothers prosperity is the obiect of enuy which euer tormenteth the enuious man and increaseth his sorrow Therefore hell is the place alotted to all enuious caitifs where they shall see nothing that they may enuy at but weeping howling gnashing of teeth Let Christians therefore far abandon and expell this pestilent vice the expresse image of the diuell and embrace brotherly loue the true badge of a Christian Fourthly wee are here taught that the wicked doe not onely hurt themselues but are also offensiue vnto others and do corrupt them For euen as the tares do draw and sucke out the humor that should nourish the wheat so the wicked by little and little consume the iuice of vertue in them with whom they conuerse He that toucheth pitch shall bee defiled therewith and a little leauen leaueneth the whole lumpe Vuaque conspect a liuorem ducit ab vua one rotten grape corrupteth the whole cluster Res maximi pretij est inter