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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
water_n	call_v	earth_n	sea_n	3,957	5	6.9260	4	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A03620	Certeine comfortable expositions of the constant martyr of Christ, M. Iohn Hooper, Bishop of Glocester and Worcester written in the time of his tribulation and imprisonment, vpon the XXIII. LXII. LXXIII. and LXXVII. Psalmes of the prophet Dauid.	Hooper, John, d. 1555.; Bull, Henry, d. 1575?; A. F., fl. 1580.; Hooper, John, d. 1555. Exposition upon the. 23. psalme of David.	1580 (1580)	STC 13743; ESTC S104196	167,330	255

them with greate ioy and consolation what God had done generally to all men after that what he had done to some particular men and priuat nations naming Iacob Ioseph whose ofspring and succession he brought out of the lande of Egypt as it followeth in the Psalme 15 Thou hast mightily deliuered thy people euen the sonnes of Iacob and Ioseph Sela. Of this verse we learne two consolations The one that euerie Christian troubled may sée his elders and also his betters troubled not that it is a comforte to a man that is afflicted to sée another in trouble but to marke that God loued none so well but in this world he sent trouble vnto and excepted not his déere sonne Wherefore it is a consolation to the afflicted to be made like vnto the godly fathers that were before his time by tribulation and to remember that although all Christian men be not brought vnder the captiuitie of Pharao in Egypt nor vnder Nabuchodonozer in Babylon yet there is an Egypt and a Babylon for euery Christian member that is to say the captiuitie of sinne the bondage of the fleshe the seueritie of the lawe the daunger of the worlde the enimitie of Infidels the treason of dissembling friends the wickednesse of ciuil diuellishe ordinaunces the dissimulation of hypocrites the periurie of incōstant persons the breach of faithfull promises the inconstancie of the weake y e crueltie of Papistes the loue of man the hatred of God with many others as y e ignorance of Gods lawes rebellion of the heart against it frowardnesse of the will to consent vnto it diffidence mistrust of Gods mercie boldnesse to sinne in the time of health faintnesse and mistrust of the remission thereof in sickenes loue of vice and sinne hatred of vertue and godlinesse souden falling from grace slowe rising vnto it againe lothsomnesse to die mortally readinesse to liue wickedly sorrowfulnesse to forsake this world great delight to vse it euill whiles we haue it lothe to séeke heauenly thinges glad to séeke earthly thinges nothing féeling the pouertie and trouble of the soul alwayes grudging at the pouertie and trouble of the body with innumerable other captiuities that euery Christian is intangled withall as euery man may iudge by his owne life The next consolation is to sée the trueth of Gods helpe promised to all men when they be troubled to haue béene declared opened and verified in others in time past For this is the greatest consolation that can be to any man in trouble or in sicknesse when he is assured of such help and such medicines as neuer were vsed but did helpe the afflicted and heale the sick Now against all the troubles of man and also against all the sickness of man God hath promised his present and helping mercie the which medicine and helpe neuer failed but did helpe as many as put their trust therein Therefore doth this Prophet Asaphe establish and assure himselfe of Gods helpe against his gréeuous temptations and troubles that he suffered by recording that his greefes were no greater nor his troubles more daungerous then Iacobs Iosephes and their posterities nor yet so gréeuous In so much that séeing the mercie of God could helpe the greater troubles in his predecessors he could helpe and ease the lesse in him that was presently troubled And béeing so assured of Gods helpe he spake at the end of this verse Sela as though he had said It is most true that God can help and comfort me as he holpe and comforted my forefathers And for the better consolation and more firme assurance he sheweth how meruellously he did helpe the posterite of Iacob Ioseph after this sort 16 The waters sawe thee oh God the waters saw thee and were afraid the depthes also were troubled In this that he saith The waters were afraide when they sawe God First the maner of speach in the Scripture is to be noted that attributeth vnto insensible things sensible qualities as in this place is attributed vnto the water sight and feare whereas in déede properly the water cannot sée nor feare But when the Scripture vseth any such phrase or speache there is to be marked diuers doctrines of edifying First of GOD then insensible creatures and thirdly of man for whose sake the Scripture sometime speaketh vnto insensible creatures as though they were sensible and worketh miracles in them for the instruction and amendement of sensible and reasonable man The learning touching God is that he worketh his will and vseth his creatures as it séemeth vnto his wisedome inscrutable most méete and conuenient as here he troubleth and altereth the condition of the seas and waters These waters were appointed by God in the third day of the creation to be in one place and was called The Sea a pleasaunt element and a beautifull thing to sée and God said It was good as the effect thereof sheweth in déede for it nourisheth the earth with necessarie moysture by priuie veines and secrete passages secretely passing through the earth And when the floudes that doe moysture the earth haue done their office they returne into their old lodging the Sea againe from whence riseth the matter of showres and raine to moisture from aboue that flouds beneath cannot be conueyed vnto And it serueth for transporting the necessaries of one realme to the other quietly suffering the ships of passe with great gaine pleasure These and many more commodities God worketh by this insensible creature when it is calme and nauigable but when he moueth it with his winds and tempestes it is so horrible in it selfe that no man may without perill and death trauell within it so raging and feareful is that pleasaunt element of tho water when God moueth it It hath by Gods appointment his time of calme and time of storme time to profite men and time to vndoe men time to be a refuge for men in the dayes of peril and time to be a graue and sepulchre for men time to conioyne strange nations together and time to separate them againe as it pleaseth the creator Almightie God to appoint and direct it The doctrine that toucheth the insensible creature it selfe is that it can be no longer calme nor any longer troubled then it pleaseth the heauenly gouernour to dispose it And here is to be noted against such men as attribute stormes and calmes to Fortune whereas onely the voice of the Lord moueth tempestes and sendeth faire weather It is also a doctrine against all men that do thinke the waters and seas may be moued and ceasse at their owne pleasure which is contrarie to this Prophets doctrine that saith The waters sawe the Lord were afraide So that their trouble riseth from the commaundement of the Lord and they cannot do what they lust but what God biddeth them to doe It is godly set foorth afterwardes in another Psalme wherein the passage of

the children of Israel is mentioned as it is in this Psalme The doctrine touching man in this verse is a declaration of mans obstinacie and stubbernesse The insensible creature the water that lacketh both life and reason at euery commandement be as the Lord their maker commaundeth them to be With euery tempest they be troubled and with euery calme so plaine and quiet that it séemeth rather a stablished land then a variable sea But let God send his word vnto man and the contentes thereof threaten the tempest of all tempestes eternall death hell fire and Gods euerlasting displeasure yet man will not heare nor sée them nor yet be moued any thing at all Or let God gently and fauourably offer his mercies vnto man and by his word exhort him neuer so much to repentance it is for the most part in vaine Therefore God by his Prophets Moses and Esaie called Heauen and Earth to witnesse against mans stubbernesse and hardnesse of heart There is also out of this trouble of the water this doctrine to be learned how to receiue consolation and how to learne feare by the creatures of God that beare no life and yet be thus troubled Consolation in this sort When the penitent man that suffereth affliction and trouble séeth vnsensible thinges moued and vnquieted that neuer offended he shal iudge the lesse wonder at his owne trouble When he séeth that a sinner and wretched offender of God is punished he shal learne feare When he séeth God doth punish his creatures that neuer offended for the sinne of man what punishment is man worthie to haue that is nothing but sinne it selfe And what feare should this bring into Christian mens consciences to knowe that no creature deserueth punishment no creature disobeyeth God but the diuel and man Oh what man or woman can with faith looke vpon the least flowers of the field and not hate himselfe In Summer time when men shall sée the medowes and gardens so meruellously apparelled with flowers of euery colour so that he shall not be able to discerne whether their beautie better please the eye or their swéete sauour the nose what may they learne in thinking of themselues as the trueth is that there is nothing in them but filth and sin that most heynously stincke before the face of God And when man shal perceiue that flowers vade and loose both beautie to the eye and swéete sauor to the nose that neuer transgressed what may miserable man thinke he is worthie to loose y t is nothing but sinne and euer offendeth Againe when man shal perceiue that God thus meruellously after long Winter and great stormes doth raise out of the vile earth so beautifull flowers plantes and trées what consolation may the man take that hath his faith in Christ to thinke that all his sinnes in his precious bloud be forgiuen and after long persequution cruel death he shall come to eternall life After this sort did the Prophet consider the workes of God the troubles of his creatures receiued great consolation therby In the end of this verse the Prophete sayth The deapthes were troubled In the which words he hath aptly shewed the mightie power of God and perceiueth how the record of Gods fact may be his consolation In this that he saith The deapths were troubled there be diuers vnderstandings If the meane of the seas when they are troublesome tempestuous by soule weather he speaketh rather after the iudgement of such as suffer the trouble and peril of the waues that thinke at one time they fall to the bottome of the sea at an other time they be rather vpon high mounteins then vpon the waters the rages thereof be so extreme yet in déede the bottome of the seas be not felt neither doth the shippe that is saued descend so farre but the tempestes be so sore that it séemeth to the sufferers thereof that no extremitie can be more In this sense it serueth meruellously the Prophetes purpose For as they that endure the tempestes of the sea thinke there could be no more extremitie then they susteine so doe they that suffer the tempest of mistrust and despaire for a time of the conscience thinke they could endure no more extremitie of conscience whereas in déede if God should suffer them to féele the extremitie it were eternall death as the extremitie of the sea in tempestes is shipwracke and losse of man and goods But if it be vnderstoode as if standeth in the letter then hath the Prophet relation to the mightie hand of GOD that brake the red sea euen vnto the very bottome and also the water of Iordane that his people might haue both a nighe way a safe way a glorious way towards the land that the Lorde had promised them And then in this sense we learne that although water and winde with all troubles else couer the face of the earth in the bottome of the sea and is not possible to come to the vse of man euen so the troublesome temptations and great terror of Gods wrath against sinne couereth the soule of man that vnto the iudgement of the flesh it shall neuer come to haue the vse and fruition of Gods holy fauour againe But nowe as we sée by miracle God maketh drie the deapthe of horrible seas and turneth the bottome of them to the vse of man so doeth he in the bloud of Christ by the operation of the holy ghost drie vp and cleane lade out the ponds and déep seas of mistrust heuines out of the soule and turneth the soule it selfe to the vse of his owne honour in the ioyes euerlasting And as the water couereth the beautie of the land so do sinne temptation couer the image and beautie of mans soule in this life But as with a worde God can remedie the one so with the least of his mercies he can redresse the other And for the better experience and more certeintie thereof we sée it proued by this prophete Asaph in this place For the ground was neuer more ouerwhelmed with water nor the bright Sunne with dimmie cloudes then was this poore Prophetes spirite with heauinesse and sorrowe of sinne and temptations Therefore he féeleth howe God easeth the heart and recordeth howe he banished floudes and waters to make his people a way to rest and tranquillitie 17 The clouds powred out water the aire thundered and thine arrowes went abroad The Prophete remembreth the meruellous invndation and drowning of the worlde in the dayes of Noah that drowned all the world for sinne sauing such as were in the Arke or Ship with Noah And he remembreth also the horrible thunder that was heard of the people when God gaue his lawe vnto them vpon mount Synai Likewise he calleth to remembrance the plagues of Egypt wherewithall God punished Pharao his people and the whole land which paines and plagues he

more comfort then the first part hath discomfort And it is a plaine doctrine that although y e sinnes of man be many horrible yet be they fewer and lesse in estimation many thousande foldes then Gods mercies Death is declared in the first part of the verse in this that mans infirmitie is not onely sinful in body soule but also doutful of Gods mercy holy promises Yet in the second part by grace is set foorth life and cleane deliuerance from the tyrannie of the diuel the seruitude of sinne the accusation of the lawe and the infirmitie of nature by the strong and mightie power of God whose mercy in Christ is alwayes ready to helpe poore afflicted and troubled sinners After this confession of sinne and the great confidence that the prophet had in God for his mightie power and mercies sake that was both able by power and redy with will to help and remedie this troubled spirite and great aduersities of the Prophet he goeth foorth in the consolation taketh yet more and more of Gods benefites vsed in times towardes such as were afflicted after this sort 11 I will remember the workes of the Lord and call to my minde thy wonders of olde time 12 I will thinke also of thy workes and my talking shall be of thy doings 13 Thy way ô God is holy who is so great a God as our God 14 Thou art the God that doth wonders and hast declared thy power amongest people 15 Thou hast mightily deliuered thy people euen the sonnes of Iacob and Ioseph Sela. 16 The waters saw thee ô God the waters saw thee and were afraid the deapthes also were troubled 17 The cloudes powred out water the ayre thundered and thine arrowes went abroad 18 The voyce of thy thunder was heard round about the lightenings shone vpon the gound the earth was moued and shooke withall 19 Thy way is in the sea and thy pathes in the great waters and thy footsteps are not knowne 20 Thou leadest thy people like shepe by the hand of Moses and Aaron Of these meanes howe men take consolation in aduersitie that the Prophet nowe maketh mention of first we learne what difference is betwéene the consideration of Gods works aduisedly by faith the consideration of Gods workes rashly without faith The which diuersitie is to be séen in this Prophet For the one part as touching the remembring of Gods workes out of faith and in faith he spake before in the second verse and in the fourth verse how that he considered the workes and old doings of the Lord when he was troubled But as ye haue heard because his spirite was in a doubtfulnesse and mamering vppon the certeintie of Gods doinges he felt no consolation thereof but much heauinesse and anguish of minde For those demaundes Will God absent himselfe for euer Will he be no more mercifull and such like heauie and doubtfull complaintes could neuer procéed but from a sorrowful and much troubled conscience But now after that Gods spirit hath wrought in his spirit this assurance and iudgment that God can in him chaunge the conditions of his miseries as ye may sée he maketh no more complaint of doubtfulnesse neither remembreth any more the fearefulnesse of his conscience but goeth foorth with repetition and rehearsall of all thinges comfortably how that God in time past holpe troubled spirites and afflicted personages that put their trust in him So that of this we learne that whosoeuer hath a sure faith in God taketh consolation of Gods word and workes And such as haue not first true faith in God cannot in the spirite receiue comfort of Gods word or workes Outwardly men may meruel at God and his worker but inwardly it easeth not the heauinesse nor yet quieteth the grudge of conscience Wherefore it behoueth vs all that we pray earnestly vnto GOD to giue vs faith to beléeue his word and workes when we heare read or sée them For the word and workes of God do nothing comfort the vnfaithfull as we may sée by the Scripture where God saith He stretched foorth his hand al day long to a people that beléeued not for such as haue eares heare not eyes sée not be rather the worse for Gods word workes then the better Ye shal sée where the spirite of Dauid was replenished with faith he was in assured and ascerteined of Gods present helpe that he said he would not feare although a thousand men inuironed and compassed him round about No he would not feare thoughe he should walk in the shadow of death At another time when faith quailed and waxed faint he was trembling in his spirite and fearefull in his bodie as we may sée when he felt his spirite waxe faint he said My soule is troubled very sore and my bones be weakened And in other of his Psalmes he sheweth that his soule was very heauie and comfortlesse and could take no consolation Also when the spirite is assured of Gods grace then the eyes cannot looke vppon any worke of God but the mind taketh by the contemplation and sight thereof vnspeakeable consolation As Dauid declareth in his Psalmes and saith He would sée the heauens the workes of Gods fingers and would marke how one day was an induction to an other and how the heauens praised the Lord. At an other time when the consolation and life of the spirit was ouer whelmed with troubles he could not sée at all with his eyes but cryed and complained that he was starke blinde And also in that meruellous Psalme in number 88. whereas prayer is made to be deliuered from the horrour and féeling of sinne the Prophet saith that his eyes waxed dimme and blinde The same is to be séene likewise in the crosses and afflictions that God sendeth As long as true faith and confidence remaineth in the heart all troubles be wellcome and thankfully taken as we read When Iob had newes that his goods and chidren were taken from him in manner soudeinly he most patiently said God gaue them and God hath taken them away as God would so it is done But when faith quailed and the spirite was troubled then followed these impatient wordes I would my sinne were layed in one balance and my paine in an other As though God had layed more vppon him then he had deserued When the spirit was quieted for all his pouertie and nakednesse he reioyced and was contented with his birth and comming into the world and also with the state in the world appointed vnto him by God saying Naked I came out of my mothers bellie and naked I shall depart hence againe But when faith fainted then came out these woordes The day the night and the time be cursed wherein I was borne With many more horrible wordes as the text declareth So that we sée whereas Gods spirite wanteth there is no learning nor consolation to be

and benigne father who was not onely liberall and frée to his children but also to his hirelings that lacked nothing This consideration of his offence towards his father made him a great deale more sorrie then al the paines he otherwise susteined And thus must euerie Christian waite vpon the Lord and then doubtlesse consolation shall followe as it appeareth by the same prodigal sonne and by this Psalme of the Prophet Moreouer if we marke with what dangers and troubles the soule séeketh her Lorde and spouse Iesus Christ in the mysticall booke of Solomons Ballads we shall sée with what attendaunce diligence and patience the soule waiteth vpon Christ. I sought him saith the soule but I found him not I called him and he woulde not aunswere me The watchmen of the citie found me and beatte mee and wounded me They tooke my robe from me that kepte the walles I require you ye daughters of Hierusalem if ye find my spouse tell him that I am sicke with loue Note these wordes I sought him saith the soule found him not I called him and he answered not Was not this ynough to haue cleane discomforted the heauie sicke and troubled soule that ranne and cryed to her loue and husband Iesus Christe and yet for the time neuer the neare Further in running and calling for him the soule fell into the handes of her enimies that robbed her of her mantell And yet notwithstanding these daungers she cryed out vnto all that she mette that incase they founde her spouse they woulde tell him that she was sicke with his loue Ponder these thinges altogether first to trauell and crye and not to profit Next in trauelling and crying to lose all her goodes yea the mantell that she went in Thirdly to putte her life in daunger with confessing Christe to be her spouse before such as hated him mortally And yet howe did this Christian creature Doubtlesse wayted vpon the Lorde without murmur or grudge And in all these troubles note there is no complaint nor quarell made of her prayers that were not heard of the paines that for the time profited not of y e losse of her goodes and apparell nor yet of the daunger that she was in of her and Christe her spouses enimies But here was the wéeping lamentation and sorrowe that Christ her spouse could not be found In whose loue she burned so ardently that all aduersities gréeued her not neither did shée any thing at all estéeme them but onely the want of Christe was her gréefe and sorowe Yet was she patient and trusted still in the Lorde The like may ye sée by the woman of Canaan howe she called vpon the Lord for her daughter vnto whome Christe made no worde of answere Further his disciples wer troubled and wearied by her importunate suite Also Christe called her in maner no better then a dogge yet was there neither the bitternesse of his wordes nor the inhumanitie of his Apostles that she passed for but she wayted still vppon the Lorde and was nothing sorrowfull for all the sharpe words she suffered but onely because the helpe of the Lord was not extended and bestowed vppon her daughter as she desired But what insueth of suche a patient expectation and sorrowfulnesse of Gods absence Marke what the Prophete sayeth The seconde part of the Psalme 1 For of him commeth my saluation 2 He verily is my strength and my saluation hee is my defence so shall I not greatly fall The seconde parte declareth why the troubled person seeketh health of God HEere firste be thrée doctrines to be noted Firste to knowe by Gods worde that God can helpe The second that God will helpe And the thirde that the afflicted is bounde boldely to require helpe of God Whereof the troubled person muste be assured by the scripture or else he shall neuer finde consolation Now to the firste parte that God can helpe this scripture is to be marked that saith God is omnipotent that is to witt able to do all thinges So said he to Abraham when he eftsoones promised him the land of Canaan I am the God omnipotent walk before me and be perfect The same saide Iacob when Beniamin his young sonne was so instantly desired by his brethren to go into Egypt when they lacked corne My God omnipotent saide Iacob can make the prince of Aegypt fauourable vnto you So did God tell Moses that he was the Lorde that appeared vnto Abraham Isahac and Iacob euen the almightie God The like is in the same booke when God had drowned Pharao and his hoaff Moses gaue thankes and sayde His name was almightie Thus in the word of God we may learne euery where as well by his name as by his most meruellous works that he is omnipotent and there is nothing impossible vnto him Euen so doth the word of God declare that as he is omnipotent and can saue in like manner is he willing and will saue King Dauid saith that He saueth both man and beast In another Psalme he saith God saked him from all aduersities And againe he saith He wil saue all that trust in him And not onely saue but also saue for nothing So God saith by the prophet Esaie I will saue thy children And in the same booke it is declared that Gods hand is not weakened but that he can saue and wil saue This willing nature of God to saue is manifestly opened vnto vs in al the Prophets And in Saint Matthewe Christe saith Hee came to saue such as were lost The same is to be séene in S. Luke howe that The sonne of man came not to damne but to saue S. Iohn the Euangelist saith His comming was to saue the world And S. Paul saith He would all men to be saued Now as the word of God and the examples conteined in the same declare that God can will helpe in the time of trouble and aduersitie so doeth it declare that men be bound to call and séeke for helpe in the time of aduersitie As we read in Esaie the Prophet where God cryeth out in this sort Ye that be a thirst come to the waters c. In S. Matthewe Christ commaundeth all men that be troubled to come vnto him Also in the Psalmes He biddeth all men call vpon him in the dayes of their heauinesse and he will heare them and deliuer them Againe He willeth vs to aske and it shalbe giuen vnto vs. Nowe as these thrée doctrines are to be marked in the almightie God so must they be grounded in the heart of the troubled person And first he must giue this honour vnto God that he alone is able to saue and none but he as the Prophet Esay sayth of him Then being thus persuaded the afflicted person will not séeke helpe at dead Saintes nor at any other creatures hande but at Gods onely And as none

calleth after the phrase of the scripture arrowes and dartes These remembraunces may be comfortes to the hearers and to the readers two manner of wayes First in this that God when he punisheth punisheth iustly as he did the whole world for sinne Whereof the Prophete gathereth If sinne iustly merited doe trouble all the generation of man it is no great meruell though sinne trouble me that am but one man and a vile sinner If sinne brought all flesh vnto death sauing those that were in the ship is it any meruell though sinne make me to tremble quake Againe If God when he gaue the lawe of Moses and to the people spake out of thunder declaring what a thing it was to transgresse that lawe in so much that al y e people were afraid to heare the Lord speake and desired that Moses might supplie his roome what meruell is it that my conscience trembleth féeling that my soule hath offended the lawes of God And if Pharao and his realme were sore afraid of Gods outward plagues what cause haue I to feare the inwarde dread and sorrowfull sight of sinne shewed vnto me by Gods lawe So that we may take this cōsolation out of this place that God is a iust Iudge to punish sinne and not a Tyrant that punisheth of affection or wilfull desire And so saide Dauid When so euer or howe so euer thou punish let men say and iudge as they list thou art iust and righteous be all thy doings The other consolation is that in the middest of all aduersities God preserued penitent and faithfull sinners As in the time of the vniuersall floud the water hurted not Noah nor suche as were in the ship In the time of Pharaos plagues the Israelites tooke no harme At the giuing of the lawe the Israelites perished not with lightening and thunder Euen so sorrowes and anguish diffidence and weaknesse of faith they are plagues and punishments for all men by reason of sinne yet penitent sinners by reason of faith in Christ take no hurt nor damnation by them As it appeareth by this Prophete that was troubled in the spirite and in the body as meruellously as could be but yet in Christ escaped the daunger as all men shal do that repent and beléeue Whereof we learne that as the rayne falleth generally and yet bettereth no earth to bring foorth her fruite but such as is apt to receiue the rayne stonie rocks and barren ground being nothing the better euen so doth the plagues and rayne of Gods displeasure plague all mankinde but none be the better therefore but such as repent and bewayle their sinnes that gaue GOD iust occasion thus to punishe them The same is to be considered also of the verse that followeth which is this 18 The lightening shone vpon the ground the earth was moued and shooke therewithall By these manner of speaches The lightening shone and the earth quaked the Prophete setteth foorth the strength and might of Gods power and willeth men to loue him and to feare him For he is able to defend and preserue his faythfull and to punish and plague the wicked And the like he sayth in the verse following 19 Thy way is in the sea and thy pathes in the deep waters and thy footsteps are not knowne He taketh comfort of this miracle that GOD brought the Israelites through the red sea in this that the waters knewe the Israelites gaue place vnto them that they might drye footed goe through them But when king Pharao and his people would haue followed in the same path persequuting Gods people the sea would make no way for him nor yet shew the steppes where the Israelites troade but ouerwhelmed them in most desperate deaths So in the seas of temptations suche as put their trust in the Lorde passe and neuer perish by them whereas such as put not their trust in the Lorde perish in temptations as Pharao and his armie did by water And the next verse that concludeth the Psalme sheweth by what meanes the Israelites were vnder God saued in the red sea by the handes of Moses and Aaron as it appeareth 20 Thou leadest thy people like sheepe by the hand of Moses and Aaron Of this verse the afflicted may learne many consolations First that the best people that be are no better able to resist temptations then the simple shéepe is able to withstande the brier that catcheth him The next that man is of no more abilitie to beware of temptations then the poore shéepe is to aboyd the brier being preserued only by the diligence of the shéepheard The thirde that as the shéepheard is carefull of his intangled and briered shéepe so is GOD of his afflicted faithfull And the fourth is that the people of Israel could take no harme of the water bycause they entered the sea at Gods commaundement Whereof we learne that no daunger can hurt when God doth commaund vs to enter into it and all daungers ouercome vs if we choose them our selues besides Gods commaundement As Peter when he went at Gods commandement vppon the water tooke no hurt but when he entered into the Bishops house vppon his owne presumption was ouercome and denied Christ. The Israelities when they fought at Gods commaundement the perill was nothing but when they would doe it of their owne heades they perished So that we are bound to attend vppon Gods commaundement and then no daunger shall destroy vs though it paine vs. The other doctrine is in this that God vsed the ministerie of Moses and Aaron in the deliuerance of his people who did commanded them to do nothing but that the Lord did first bid Whereof we learne that such as be ministers appointed of God and doe nothing but as God commaundeth are to be followed As S. Paule saith Followe mee as I followe Christ. And these men can by the word of God giue good counsell and great consolation both for bodie and soule as we perceiue this Prophet in marking Gods doinges vnto the Israelites applied by grace the same wisedome and helping mercie vnto himselfe to his eternall rest through Iesus Christ in the world to come To whome with the father and the holy Ghost be all laude and praise world without end Let all Christians say Amen FINIS ❧ A table declaring as well the generall as the speciall contentes of this whole Booke ¶ The figures note the number of the leafe A. the first side B. the second ❧ The argument of the 23. Psalme fol. 9. A. ¶ Of this Psalme there are seuen partes ibid. B. 1 Who it is that hath the cure and charge of mans life and saluation 10. A. 2 Wherein the life and saluation of man consisteth 14. B. 3 How a man is brought to the knowledge of life and saluation which part sheweth what man is of himselfe and how he is brought into his life and to feede in the pleasaunt