tihtaxy of ^he heoiogical ^tmimry PRINCETON . NEW JERSEY /// V\V" PRESENTED BY Samuel Agnew, Esq. 1814 - 1880 March 26, 1851 Digitized by tine Internet Arcliive in 2015 https://archive.org/details/sermonsofedwinsaOOsand_0 SERMONS AND MISCELLANEOUS PIECES BY ARCHBISHOP SANDYS. jpot t^c iJutjUfation of t1)t SlStlorbs of t!)f ;iFat!)er0 anD CJarlp ioajrittr© of tfjt lirformrti THE SERMONS OF EDWIN SANDYS, D. SUCCESSIVELY BISHOP OF WORCESTER AND LONDON, AND ARCHBISHOP OF YORK ; TO WHICH AK£ ADDED SOME MISCELLANEOUS PIECES, BY THE SAME AUTHOR. ^j^^^^DITED FOR BY TIIK REV. JOHN AYRE, M.A., Mi.NISTKIl OK ST JOHN'S CHAPEL, HAMPSTEAD. CAMBRIDGE: PRINTED AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS. M.DCCC.XLU. C ON T E NT S. PAGE Biographical Notice of Archbishop Sandys i Epistle to the Reader 1 Order and Matter of the Sermons 5 Sermons 7 MISCELLANEOUS PIECES. Advice concerning Rites and Ceremonies in the Synod 1562 433 Orders for the Bishops and Clergy 434 Advertisement to the translation of Luther's Commentary on Galatians 435 Epistola PastoraUs Episcopo Cestrensi 436 The same translated 439 Prayers to be used at Hawkshead School 443 Preamble to the Archbishop's will 446 Notes 463 BIOGRApWraC^ NOTICE ARCHBISHOP SANDYS. Edwin Sandys or Sandes was born in the year 1519, near Hawkshead, in the part of Lancashire called Furness Fells. He was the third son of William Sandys, Esq. and Margaret his wife, a descendant of the ancient barons of Kendal. As Easthwaite Hall was the principal resi- dence of the father, it is probable that it was in this house that Edwin first saw the light. It is not certainly known at what seminary the future archbishop received the rudiments of his education : it has however been conjectured with some plausibility by a bio- grapher that, as the school of Furness Abbey was then highly distinguished, and as his family were feudatories of that house, he was a pupil of the monks. It is also ascer- tained that he was at one time instructed by Mr Bland, who, being rector of Adesham in Kent, was apprehended for his religion and burned at Canterbury, July 12, 1555. In 1532 or .3 he was removed to the University of Cam- bridge, and placed at St John's College, a house deeply tinctured with the principles of the Reformation ; and here doubtless the religious views of Sandys were, if not im- planted, at least confirmed. Though never either scholar or fellow of his college, he served the office of proctor, and was in 1547 elected master of Catharine Hall. This was just after his father's decease. He is said to have been at this time vicar of Haversham in Buckinghamshire, his a [.SANDYS.] II BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OK first considerable preferment: in 1549 he was made pre- bendary of Peterborough, and obtained in 1552 the second stall at Carlisle, both on the presentation of the crown. He had previously married a lady of his own name. In 1553, when he was vice-chancellor of the University of Cambridge, king Edward VI. died : the troubles that en- sued to Sandys shall be narrated in the words of Fox. " King Edward died, the world being unworthy of him : the duke of Northumberland came down to Cam- bridge with an army of men, having commission to pro- claim lady Jane queen, and by power to suppress lady Mary, who took upon her that dignity, and was proclaimed queen in Norfolk. The duke sent for Doctor Sandys, being vice-chancellor, for Doctor Parker, for Doctor Bill, and Master Leaver to sup with him. Amongst other speeches he said, Masters, pray for us, that we speed well : if not, you shall be made bishops, and we deacons. And even so it came to pass: Doctor Parker and Doctor Sandys were made bishops ; and he, and Sir J ohn Gates who was then at the table, were made deacons ere it was long after, on the Tower-hill. Doctor Sandys being vice-chan- cellor was required to preach on the morrow. The warning was short for such an auditory, and to speak of such a matter : yet he refused not the thing, but went into his chamber, and so to bed. He rose at three of the clock in the morning, took his bible in his hand, and after that he had prayed a good space, he shut his eyes, and, holding his bible before him, earnestly prayed to God that it might fall open where a most fit text should be for him to entreat of. The bible, as God would have it, fell open upon the first chapter of Josua, where he found so convenient a piece of scripture for that time, that the like he could not have chosen in all the bible. His text Josh. i. Ifi- was thus : Responderuntque ad Josue atqne dixerunt. Omnia quce prcecepisti nobis faciemus, et quocunque miseris ihimus : AnCIIBISnOl' SANDYS. Ill xirut obedivimus in cunctis Mosi, ita ohediemus et tibi ; tan- tum sit Dominus Deus tuns tecum s'lcut fuit cum Mose: qui contradixerit ori tuo, et non obedierit cunctis sermonibus quos prceceperis ei, moriatur : tu tantum confortare et viri- liter age. Who shall consider what was concluded by such as named themselves by the state, and withal the auditory, the time, and other circumstances, he shall easily see that this text most fitly served for the purpose. And as God gave the text, so gave he such order and utter- ance, as pulled many tears out of the eye of the biggest of them. " In the time of his sermon one of the guard lift up to him into the pulpit a mass book and a graile, which Sir George Haward with certain of the guard had taken that night in Master Hurlestone's ' house, where Lady Mary had been a little before, and there had mass. The duke with the rest of the nobility required Doctor Sandys to put his sermon in writing, and appointed Master Leaver to go to London with it, and to put it in print. Doctor Sandys required one day and a half for writing of it. At the time appointed he had made it ready ; and Master Leaver was ready booted to receive it at his hands and carry it to London. As he was delivering of it, one of the beadles, named Master Adams, came weeping to him, and prayed him to shift for himself, for the duke was retired and queen Mary proclaimed. " Doctor Sandys was not troubled herewithal, but gave the sermon written to Master Layfield. Master Leaver departed home ; and he went to dinner to one Master Moore's, a beadle, his great friend. At the dinner Mis- tress Moore, seeing him merry and pleasant (for he had ever a man's courage, and could not be terrified), drank unto him, saying, Master vice-chancellor, I drink unto you ; for this is the last time that ever T shall see you. Compare p. vi. ]. 17. — Ei>.l IV BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF And SO it was ; for she was dead before Doctor Sandys returned out of Germany. The duke that night retired to Cambridge, and sent for Doctor Sandys to go with him to the market-place to proclaim queen Mary. The duke cast up his cap with others, and so laughed, that the tears ran down his cheeks for grief. He told Doctor Sandys that queen Mary was a merciful woman, and that he doubted not thereof; declaring that he had sent unto her to know her pleasure, and looked for a general pardon. Doctor Sandys answered. My life is not dear unto me, neither have I done or said any thing that urgeth my conscience. For that which I spake of the state, I have instructions warranted by the subscription of sixteen counsellors ; neither can speech be treason, neither yet have I spoken further than the word of God and the laws of the realm doth warrant me, come of me what God will. But be you assured, you shall never escape death : for if she would save you, those that now shall rule will kill you. " That night the guard apprehended the duke ; and cer- tain grooms of the stable were as busy with Doctor Sandys as if they would take a prisoner. But Sir John Gates, who lay then in Doctor Sandys his house, sharply re- buked them, and drave them away. Doctor Sandys, by the advice of Sir John Gates, walked into the fields. In the mean time the university, contrary to all order, had met together in consultation, and ordered, that Doctor Mouse and Doctor Hatcher should repair to Doctor Sandys' lodging, and fet^ away the statute book of the university, the keys, and such other things that were in his keeping : and so they did ; for Doctor Mouse being an earnest protestant the day before, and one whom Doctor Sandys had done much for, now was he become a papist, and his great enemy. Certain of the university had appointed [1 Fet— fetch.] ARCHBISHOP SANDYS. V a congregation at afternoon. As the bell rang to it, Doctor Sandys cometh out of the fields ; and sending for the beadles, asketh what the matter meaneth, and re- quired them to wait upon him to the schools, according to their duty. So they did. And so soon as Doctor Sandys, the beadles going before him, came into the re- gent-house and took his chair, one Master Mitch with a rabble of unlearned papists went into a bye school, and conspired together to pull him out of his chair, and to use violence unto him. Doctor Sandys began his oration, expostulating with the university, charging them with great ingratitude, declaring that he had said nothing in his ser- mon but that he was ready to justify, and that their case was all one with his ; for they had not only concealed, but consented to that which he had spoken. " And thus while he remembered unto them how bene- ficial he had been to the university, and their unthankful- ness to him again, in cometh Master Mitch with his con- spirators about twenty in number. One layeth hand upon the chair, to pull it from him ; another told him that that was not his place; and another called him traitor. Whereat he perceiving how they used violence, and being of great courage, groped to his dagger, and had dispatched some of them as God's enemies, if Doctor Bill and Doctor Blith had not fallen upon him, and prayed him for God's sake to hold his hands and be quiet, and patiently to bear that great offered wrong. He was persuaded by them ; and after that tumult was ceased, he ended his oration, and, having some money of the university's in his hand, he there delivered the same every farthing. He gave up the books, reckonings, and keys, pertaining to the univer- sity, and withal yielded up his office, praying God to give the university a better officer, and to give them bettor and more thankful hearts ; and so repaired home to his own college. vi BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF " On the morrow after there came unto him one Master Gerningham, and one iSlaster Thomas ^Mildmay. Gerning- ham told him, that it was the queen's pleasure that two of the guard should attend upon him, and that he must be carried prisoner to the Tower of London with the duke. Master Mildmay said, he marvelled that a learned man would speak so unadvisedly against so good a prince, and wilfully run into such danger. Doctor Sandys an- swered, I shall not be ashamed of bonds ; but if I could do as Master Mildmay can, I needed not to fear bonds. For he came do^™ in payment against queen Mary, and armed in the field, and now he returneth in pajTnent for queen Mary ; before a traitor, and now a great friend. T cannot \Wth one mouth blow hot and cold after this sort. " Upon tliis his stable was robbed of four notable good geldings : the best of them Master Huddlestone took for his own saddle, and rode on him to London in his sight. An inventory was taken of all his goods by Master Moore, beadle for the university. He was set upon a lame horse that halted to the ground, which thing a friend of his perceiving prayed that he might lend him a nag. The yeomen of the guard were contented. As he departed forth at the town's end, some papists resorted thither to jeer at him, some of his friends to mourn for him. He came in the rank to London, the people being full of outcries. And as he came in at Bishopsgate, one Uke a nulkwife hurled a stone at him, and hit him on the breast with, such a blow, that he was like to fall off his horse. To whom he mildly said, Woman, God forgive it thee. Truth is, that journey and evil entreating so mor- tified him, that he was more ready to die than to Uve. As he came through Tower-hiU-street, one woman standing in her door cried, Fie on thee, thou knave, thou knave, thou traitor, thou heretic. Whereat he smiled. Look, ARCHBISHOP SANUYS. Vll the desperate heretic (saith she) laugheth at this gear. A woman on the other side of the street answered, say- ing, Fie on thee, neighbour ! thou art not worthy to be called a woman, railing upon this gentleman whom thou knowest not, neither yet the cause why he is thus en- treated. Then she said, Good gentleman, God be thy comfort, and give thee strength to stand in God's cause even to the end ! And thus he passed through fire and water into the Tower, the first prisoner that entered in that day, which was St James' day. The yeomen of the guard took from him his borrowed nag, and what else so- ever he had. His man, one Quinting Suainton brought after him a bible and some shirts, and such like things. The bible was sent in to him ; but the shirts and such like served the yeomen of the guard. " After he had been in the Tower three weeks in a bad prison, he was lift up into Nuns' bower, a better prison, where was put to him Master John Bradford. "At the day of queen Mary's coronation, their prison door was set open, ever shut before. One Master Mitchell, his old acquaintance, which had been prisoner before in the same place, came in to him, and said. Master Sandys, there is such a stir in the Tower, that neither gates, doors, nor prisoners, are looked to this day. Take my cloak, my hat, and my rapier, and get you gone : you may go out of the gates without questioning : save yourself, and let me do as I may. A rare friendship ; but he refused the offer, saying, I know no just cause why I should be in prison : and thus to do were to make myself guilty. I will expect God's good will ; yet must I think myself most bound unto you. And so Master Mitchell departed. " While Doctor Sandys and Master Bradford were thus in close prison together twenty-nine weeks, one John Bow- ler was their keeper, a very perverse papist ; yet by often persuading of him, (for he would give ear,) and by gentle viii BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF using of him, at the length he began to mislike popery, and to favour the gospel, and so persuaded in true re- ligion, that on a Sunday, when they had mass in the chapel, he bringeth up a service book, a manchet, and a glass of wine, and there Doctor Sandys ministered the comnnmion to Bradford and to Bowler. Thus Bowler was their son begotten in bonds. When Wyat was in arms, and the old duke of Norfolk sent forth with a power of men to apprehend him ; that room might be made in the Tower for him and other his complices. Doctor Cranmer, Doctor Ridley, and Master Bradford were cast into one prison, and Doctor Sandys with nine other preachers were sent into the Marshalsea. " The keeper of the Marshalsea appointed to every preacher a man to lead him in the street : he caused them to go far before, and he and Doctor Sandys came behind, whom he would not lead, but walked familiarly with him. Yet Doctor Sandys was known ; and the people everywhere prayed to God to comfort him and to strengthen him in the truth. By that time the people's minds were altered : popery began to be unsavoury. After they pass- ed the bridge, the keeper, Thomas Way, said to Doctor Sandys, I perceive the vain people would set you forward to the fire. Ye are as vain as they, if you being a young man will stand in your own conceit, and prefer your own knowledge before the judgment of so many worthy pre- lates, ancient, learned, and grave men, as be in this realm. If you so do, you shall find me as strait a keeper, as one that utterly misliketh your religion. Doctor Sandys answered, I know my years young and my learning small : it is enough to know Christ crucified ; and he hath learned nothing, that seeth not the great blasphemy that is in popery. I will yield unto God and not unto man : I have read in the scriptures of many godly and courteous keepers : God may make you one. If not, I trust he will give me ARCHBISHOP SANDYS. ix strength and patience to bear your hard deaHng with me. Saith Thomas Way, Do ye then mind to stand to your rehgion ? Yea, saith Doctor Sandys, by God"s gi-ace. Truly, saith the keeper, I love you the better : I did but tempt you. What favour I can shew you ye shall be sure of, and I shall think myself happy if I may die at the stake with you. The said keeper shewed Doctor Sandys ever after all friendship : he trusted him to go into the fields alone, and there met with Master Bradford, who then was removed into the Bench and there found the like favour of his keeper. He laid him in the best chamber in the house : he would not suffer the knight marshal's man to lay fetters on him, as others had. And at his request he put Master Sanders in to him, to be his bedfellow ; and sundry times suffered his wife, who was Master Sandys'" daughter of Essex, a gentlewoman beautiful both in body and soul, to resort to him. There was great resort to Doctor Sandys and Master Sanders : they had much money offered them, but they would receive none. They had the communion there three or four times, and a great sort of communicants. Doctor Sandys gave such exhortation to the people (for at that time being young he was thought very eloquent) that he moved many tears, and made the people abhor the mass, and defy all popery. " When Wyat with his army came into Southwark, he sent two gentlemen into the Marshalsea to Doctor Sandys, saying, that Master Wyat would be glad of his company and advice, and that the gates should be set open for all the prisoners. He answered, Tell Master Wyat, if this his rising be of God, it will take place ; if not, it will fall. For my part I was committed hither by order : I will be discharged by like order, or I will never depart hence. So answered Master Sanders, and the rest of the preachers being there prisoners. " After that Doctor Sandys had been nine weeks prisoner X BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OP in the Marshalsea, by the mediation of Sir Thomas Holcroft, then knight marshal, he was set at hberty. Sir Thomas sued earnestly to the bishop of Winchester, Doctor Gar- diner, for his deliverance : after many repulses, (except Doc- tor Sandys would be one of their sect, and then he could want nothing,) he wrung out of him that, if the queen could like of his deliverance, he would not be against it : for that was Sir Thomas' last request. In the mean time he had procured two ladies of the privy chamber to move the queen in it ; who was contented if the bishop of Win- chester could like of it. The next time that the bishop went into the privy chamber to speak with the queen. Master Holcroft followed, and had his warrant for Doctor Sandys' remission ready; and prayed the two ladies, when as the bishop should take his leave, to put the queen in mind of Doctor Sandys. So they did ; and the queen said, Win- chester, what think you by Doctor Sandys, is he not suf- ficiently punished ? As it please your majesty, saith Win- chester. That he spake, remembering his former promise to Master Holcroft, that he would not be against Doctor Sandys, if the queen should like to discharge him. Saith the queen. Then truly, we would that he were set at liberty. Immediately Master Holcroft offered the queen the warrant; who subscribed the same, and called Win- chester to put to his hand ; and so he did. The warrant was given to the knight marshal again, Sir Thomas Hol- croft. As the bishop went forth of the privy chamber door, he called Master Holcroft to him, commanding him not to set Doctor Sandys at liberty, until he had taken sureties of two gentlemen of his country with him, every one bound in five hundred pounds, that Doctor Sandys should not depart out of the realm without licence. Master Hol- croft immediately after met with two gentlemen of the north, friends and cousins to Doctor Sandys, who offered to be bound in body, goods, and lands for him. After AKtJHHlSHOl" HANUY.S. XI dinner the same day, Master Holcroft sent for Doctor Sandys to his lodging at ^\ estminster, requiring the keeper to company with him. He came accordingly, finding Mas- ter Holcroft alone, walking in his garden. Master Hol- croft imparted his long suit, with the whole proceeding, and what effect it had taken, to Doctor Sandys ; much rejoicing that it was his good hap to do him good, and to procure his liberty, and that nothing remained, but that he would enter into bonds with his two sureties for not departing out of the realm. Doctor Sandys answered, I give God thanks, who hath moved your heart to mind me so well, and I think myself most bound unto you. God shall requite, and I shall never be found unthankful. But as you have dealt friendly with me, I will also deal plainly with you. I came a free man into prison, I will not go forth a bondman. As I cannot benefit my friends, so will I not hurt them. And if I be set at liberty, I will not tarry six days in this realm if I may get out. If therefore I may not go free forth, send me to the Marshalsea again, and there ye shall be sure of me. " This answer much misliked Master Holcroft : he told Doctor Sandys that the time would not long continue, a change would shortly come ; the state was but a cloud, and would soon shake away : and that his cousin Sir Edward Bray would gladly receive him and his wife into house, where he should never need to come at church ; and how the Lady Bray was a zealous gentlewoman, who hated popery : adding, that he would not so deal with him, to lose all his labour. When Doctor Sandys could not be removed from his former saying. Master Holcroft said, Seeing you cannot be altered, I will change my purpose and yield unto you. Come of it what will, I will set you at liberty ; and seeing you mind to go over sea, get you gone so quick like as you can. One thing I re- quire of you, that while you are there you write nothing Xll BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF to come hither ; for so ye may undo me. He friendly kissed Doctor Sandys, bade him farewell, and commanded the keeper to take no fees of him, saying, Let me answer Winchester as I may. Doctor Sandys returning with the keeper to the Marshalsea tarried all night ; there on the morrow gave a dinner to all the prisoners, bade his bed- fellow and sworn stake-fellow, if it had so pleased God, Master Sanders, farewell, with many tears and kissings, the one falling on the other's neck ; and so departed, clearly delivered without examination or bond. From thence he went to the Bench, and there talked with Master Bradford, and Master Farrar, bishop of Saint David's, then prisoners. Then he comforted them ; and they praised God for his happy deliverance. He went by Winchesters house, and there took boat, and came to a friend's house in London called William Banks, and tarried there one night. On the morrow at night he shifted to another friend's house, and there he learned that search was made for him. " Doctor W atson and Master Christopherson, coming to the bishop of Winchester, told him that he had set at liberty the greatest heretic in England, and one that had of all other most corrupted the university of Cambridge, Doctor Sandys. Whereupon the bishop of Winchester, being chancellor of England, sent for all the constables of London, commanding them to watch for Doctor Sandys, who was then within the city, and to apprehend him ; and whosoever of them should take him and bring him to him, he should have five pounds for his labour. Doctor Sandys, suspecting the matter, conveyed him by night to one Master Bartie's house, a stranger, who was in the Mar- shalsea with him prisoner awhile : he was a good protestant and dwelt in Mark-lane. There he was six days, and had one or two of his friends that repaired unto him. Then he repaired to an acquaintance of his, one Hurle- ARCHBISHOP SANDYS, XUl stone, a skinner, dwelling in Cornliill : he caused his man Quinting to provide two geldings for him, minding on the morrow to ride into Essex to Master Sandys, his father- in-law, where his wife was, "At his going to bed in Hurlestone's house, he had a pair of hose newly made that were too long for him. For while he was in the Tower, a tailor was admitted him to make him a pair of hose. One came unto him whose name was Benjamin, a good protestant, dwelling in Birch- in-lane : he might not speak to him, or come unto him to take measure of him, but only look upon his leg : he made the hose, and they were two inches too long. These hose he prayed the goodwife of the house to send to some tailor, to cut his hose two inches shorter. The wife re- quired the boy of the house to carry them to the next tailor to cut. The boy chanced (or rather God so pro- vided) to go to the next tailor, which was Benjamin that made them, which also was a constable, and acquainted with the lord chancellor's commandment. The boy re- quired him to cut the hose. He said, I am not thy master's tailor. Saith the boy, Because you are our next neighbour, and my master's tailor dwelleth far off, I came to you, for it is far night, and he must occupy them timely in the morning. Benjamin took the hose and looked upon them : he knew his handy work, and said. These are not thy master's hose, but Doctor Sandys' : them I made in the Tower. The boy yielded and said, it was so. Saith he, Cro to thy mistress, pray her to sit up till twelve «jf the clock ; then I will bring the hose, and speak with Doctor Sandys to his good. " At midnight the goodwife of the house and Ben- jamin the tailor cometh into Doctor Sandys' chamber : the wife prayeth him not to be afraid of their coming. He answered, Nothing can be amiss : what God will, that shall be done. Then Benjamin telleth him that he made his xiv BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OP hose, and by what good chance they now came to his hands. God used the means that he might admonish him of his peril, and advise him how to escape it ; telHng him that all the constables of London, whereof he was one, watched for him, and some were so greedily set, that they prayed him, if he took him, to let them have the carriage of him to the bishop of Winchester, and he should have the five pound. Saith Benjamin, It is known that your man hath provided two geldings, and that you mind to ride out at Aldgate to-morrow, and there then you are sure to be taken. Follow mine advice ; and by God's grace ye shall escape their hands. Let your man walk all the day to-morrow in the street where your horses stand, booted and ready to ride. The goodman's servant of the house shall take the horses and carry them to Bethnal-green. The goodman shall be booted, and fol- low after as if he would ride, I will be here with you to-morrow about eight of the clock : it is both term and parliament time : here we will break our fast, and, when the street is full, we will go forth. Look wildly, and if you meet your brother in the street, shun him not, but outface him and know him not. Accordingly Doctor Sandys did, clothed like a gentleman in all respects, and looked wildly as one that had been long kept in prison out of the light. Benjamin carried him through Birchin- lane, and from one lane to another, till he came at Moorgate. There they went forth until they came to Bethnal-green, where the horses were ready, and Master Hurlestone, to ride with him as his man. Doctor Sandys pulled on his boots, and taking leave of his friend Ben- jamin, with tears they kissed each other; he put his hand in his purse, and would have given Benjamin a great part of that little he had, but Benjamin would take none. Yet since, Doctor Sandys hath remembered him thankfully. He rode that night to his father-in-law. Master Sandys, where ARCHBISHOP SANDYS. XV his wife was : he had not been there two hours but it was told Master Sandys, that there was two of the guard which would that night apprehend Doctor Sandys, and so they were appointed. " That night Doctor Sandys was guided to an honest farmer near the sea, where he tarried two days and two nights in a chamber without all company. After that he shifted to one James Mower a shipmaster, who dwelt at Milton shore, where he expected wind for the English fleet ready into Flanders. While he was there, James Mower brought to him forty or fifty mariners, to whom he gave an exhortation : they liked him so well, that they promised to die for it, or that he should be apprehended. " The sixth of May, being Sunday, the wind served. He took his leave of his host and hostess, and went towards the ship. In taking his leave of his hostess, who was barren, and had been married eight years, he gave her a fine handkerchief and an old royal of gold in it, thanking her much, and said. Be of good comfort ; ere that an whole year be past, God shall give you a child, a boy. And it came to pass, for that day twelvemonth lacking one day God gave her a fair son. "At the shore Doctor Sandys met with Master Isaac of Kent, who had his eldest son there ; who, upon the liking he had to Doctor Sandys, sent his son with him, who af- terward died in his father's house in Frankfort. Doctor Sandys and Doctor Cox were both in one ship, being one CockreFs ship. They were within the kenning, when two of the guard came thither to apprehend Doctor Sandys. They arrived at Antwerp, being bid to dinner to Master Locke. And at dinner time one George Gilpin, being secretary to the English house, and kinsman to Doctor Sandys, came to him and rounded him in his ear, and said. King Philip hath sent to make search for you, and to apprehend you. Hereupon they rose from their dinner in xvi BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF a marvellous great shower, and went out at the gate to- ward the land of Cleve. They found a waggon and hasted away, and came safe to Ausburg in Cleveland, where Doctor Sandys tarried fourteen days, and then journeyed towards Strausborough, where, after he had lived one year, his wife came unto him. He fell sore sick of a flux, which kept him nine months, and brought him to death's door. He had a child which fell sick of the plague and died. His wife at length fell sick of a consumption, and died in his arms : no man had a more godly woman to his wife. " After this. Master Sampson went away to Emmanuel, a man skilful in Hebrew. Master Grindall went into the country to learn the Dutch tongue. Doctor Sandys still remained in Strausborough, whose sustentation then was chiefly from one Master Isaac, who loved him most dearly, and was ever more ready to give than he to take. He gave him in that space above one hundred marks, which sum the said Doctor Sandys paid him again, and by his other gifts and friendliness shewed himself to be a thankful man. When his wife was dead, he went to Zurich, and there was in Peter Martyr's house for the space of five weeks. Being there, as they sat at dinner, word suddenly came that queen Mary was dead, and Doctor Sandys was sent for by his friends at Strausborough. That news made Master Martyr and Master Jarret, then there, very joyful, but Doctor Sandys could not rejoice : it smote into his heart that he should be called to misery. " Master Bullinger and the ministers feasted him, and he took his leave and returned to Strausborough, where he preached ; and so Master Grindall and he came towards England, and came to London the same day that queen Ehzabeth was crowned." When Sandys returned to England, he was graciously received by the queen, and was soon employed in the ARCHBISHOP SANDYS. xvn various matters which regarded the reformation of rehgion. He was one of the divines in commission for reviewing the Common Prayer, who met at Sir Thomas Smith's in West- minster. His name is also found in some lists of those who, selected from the Romish and reformed parties, were to hold a solemn disputation before the privy council ; but it appears that he was not one of the disputants, though it is very probable he was present as an auditor. And when visitors were sent throughout the country, he was one of those appointed to travel through and preach in the northern counties. Sandys was of course marked out for preferment ; and indeed he stood in absolute need of something for his maintenance, for he declares in a letter to Parker', " in the time of our exile were we not so bare as we are now brought." Yet he had some scruples to overcome before he consented to occupy the place intended for him. He, with some others, had an objection to the use of the vestments that had been customary in the Romish church, and he urged the abrogation as much as possible of cere- monies. Being unsuccessful in his endeavours, he consulted with those of his friends who were in a like position with himself as to what was their proper course of conduct. After full deliberation, they concluded that it would be unbecoming and injurious for them to desert their ministry on account of rites, which were but few and not abstract- edly evil, especially as purity of doctrin^ was obtained. They felt that, if they retired, it would perhaps open the door to concealed papists ; and therefore they determined that they would agree to the order established ; and this determination nothing afterwards occurred to shake. Wor- cester was the see designed for Sandys, and to this he was consecrated at Lambeth, Dec. 21, 155.Q, by Parker, archbishop of Canterbury, Barlow, Scory, and Hodgkin as- ' Burnet, Hist, of Ref. Records, Vol. n. Book iii. No. xxii. b [sANDYS.] xviii mOGKAPHlCAL NOTICE OF sisting. There were also consecrated the same day, Grindall as bishop of London, Cox of Ely, and Merick of Bangor. Nowell, GrindalFs chaplain, preached the consecration sermon from Acts xx. 28. The oath of allegiance and homage was soon after taken by Sandys, on the same day as by Parker and several other bishops. Shortly after his consecration he visited his diocese by commission for the archbishop. In the course of this visitation a circumstance occurred, which probably gave occasion to much future discomfort to the bishop. When he came to the parish where Sir John Bourne lived, a presentment was made of an altar-stone standing in the church. This Sandys ordered to be pulled down and defaced. But Bourne, who was a Romanist, and had > borne the office of principal secretary of state under queen Mary, resisted the order and had the altar carried to his own house. The bishop very soon visited his diocese a second time as ordinary, and deprived two persons. By this proceeding he gave offence to the archbishop of Can- terbury, who censured him for visiting again after so short an interval, and conceived that he had acted with too great rigour. Sandys vindicated himself in a letter, which, (dated Oct. 24, 1560,) has been preserved'. It would seem that the bishop of Worcester''s reply was satisfactory to the archbishop, as the friendship between these eminent persons was terminated only by Pai-ker's death. In 1563, the dispute between bishop Sandys and Sir John Bourne was heard before the privy council. Bourne had, it appears, taken every opportunity of insulting the bishop and deriding his wife ; for he was now married a second time to Cecilia, daughter of Sir Thomas Wilford ; and a tumult had once arisen between the retainers of both parties, in which several persons were wounded. Bourne preferred a series of accusations against the bishop ' Strype's Life of Parker, Appendix, No. xiii. ARCHBISHOP SANDYS. xix to which Sandys rephed ; and after much discussion Sir John having been committed to the Marshalsea was com- pelled to make his submission to the bishop. It was made however with little sincerity, for we find up to the last year of his continuance in the see of Worcester, that the prelate had reason to complain of his enmity'. Sandys was one of those employed upon the Bishops'' Bible. The books allotted to him were 1 and 2 Kings and 1 and 2 Chronicles. He applied himself diligently to these, and sent them completed to the archbishop, as appears by his letter that accompanied them, Feb. 6, 1565. In 1570 the see of London was vacant by the pro- motion of Grindall to that of York. The bishop of Worcester was selected, chiefly through secretary Cecil, as a proper person to be Grindairs successor. The grounds for his appointment were, that he was known to be a man of spirit and determination, and a warm promoter of the queen's ecclesiastical commands ; that he had been a bishop many years, and had therefore full experience of the epis- copal office ; and that, having formerly resided much in London, he was well known to and beloved by the citizens. But on the proposal being made him he shrunk from it, alleging his insufficiency, both as respected mind and body, for such a place. He was however told that the queen had in special favour fixed upon him, and misliked to alter her determination, and that the people were grieved at his unwillingness. He felt it therefore now his duty to comply. Shortly after his translation he visited his new diocese and issued injunctions : 1. To keep strictly the book of common prayer. 2. No man to preach without a licence. ' Large particulars of tlie dispute witli Sir John Bourne may be seen in Strype's Annals, Vol. i. Chap. 35. b~2 XX mOGKAPHlCAL NOTICE OF 3. To observe the appointed apparel ; that is, to wear the square cap, the scholars gown, &c. ; and in all divine service to wear the surplice. 4. None to receive strangers, that is, any of other parishes, to their communion. 5. All clerks' tolerations to be called in'. 6. That parish clerks intrude not into the priests' duty, as before they had sometimes done. In 1571 Sandys was present at the convocation, and signed the book of canons then made. We also find him afterwards taking a part in the ecclesiastical commission, and administering his episcopal authority with characteristic vigour. He claimed the superintendence of the Dutch church in London. He suppressed (in 1572) the mass celebrated at the Portuguese ambassador's in Tower Street, which was a favourite resort of the Romanists. He was equally desirous of restraining those who contravened the established order of the church. In a letter written Aug. 5, 1573", to lord treasurer Burghley and the earl of Leicester, he complains of the seditious preachers at St Paul's cross, to whom the people flocked, as in the time of popery they had run on pilgrimage. Field, Wilcox, and Cartwright he names as their leaders, and speaks of the great favour shewn especially to Cartwright by the city. As he found himself too weak to check their pro- ceedings, he prays the lords to interfere and to enjoin the French ministers, who it seems had put in, not to meddle ^ To explain this article it must be understood that private preach- ing and administration of the sacraments had been held in houses after a different form than that appointed in the Liturgy, which, and the government, were in these assemblies condemned. Some persons were imprisoned for this. But bishop Grindall had by permission and order of the privy councU, after about a year's restraint, granted them theii- liberty and some toleration to their practices on a promise of peaceable behaviour. The promise however had not been kept, and hence the indulgence was withdrawn. Strype's Life of Whitgift, Appendix, No. xvi. ARCHBISHOP SANDYS. XXI in such matters, and also to write a letter to the city against shewing countenance to these men. About the same time the bishop was brought into a more personal collision with Deering. This individual had been suspended by the privy council from his lectureship in St Paul's : but on the recommendation of Sandys, for which he was afterwards rebuked by the queen, he was restored without consulting the ecclesiastical commissioners. His party thereupon triumphed ; and Deering himself re- lying on his popularity held out a kind of threat to the bishop against his interference. The prelate was not a man to be daunted : he replied with spirit ; and ere long Deering was on the bishop's complaint a second time silenced. To end such divisions Sandys conceived the best course would be to summon a national synod. " I humbly pray your lordship," he wrote to the treasurer, " to be a means unto her majesty that a national council may be called, wherein these matters now in question may be thoroughly debated, and that concluded, and by her majesty confirmed, which may most tend to the true serving of God and the good ordering of this church of England. If your lord- ship travail herein, you shall travail in God's cause, and for the quiet of his church ; and the sooner the better. For it is time to cut off these troubles. I have earnestly moved the archbishop of Canterbury in this matter." Archbishop Parker died May 17, 1575, and Sandys was the principal mourner at his funeral. He received by the deceased prelate's will a walking-staff as a token of friendly remembrance. The vacancy thus made in the primacy pre- pared the way for the bishop of London's advancement to a higher post. For Grindall, archbishop of York, was selected to succeed Parker ; and Sandys, who had followed Grindall to London, was also his successor in the see of York. He was translated thitlier March 8, 1576. His xxii BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF farewell sermon to his charge in London is the 22nd in the present volume. It may be doubted whether the change was advan- tageous to either prelate. At Canterbury Grindall found little else but sorrow ; and Sandys was vexed during almost the whole remainder of his life with perpetual contention. Before he was fully installed in the see, an attempt was made to alienate Bishopthorp from it. This was urged indeed merely as a temporary measure, in order that the lord president of the north might occupy it ; but Sandys perceived that if this house once fell into other hands, there would be little probability of its ever being restored : he therefore stoutly resisted the proposal' on the grounds, that Bishopthorp was absolutely necessary to the archbishop as a residence near York, and that if he yielded to the alie- nation he should appear to have consented to a spoliation of the see. But this was not his only trouble. He had a disagreement with Grindall about dilapidations ; which being referred to the lord treasurer was, as it should seem, at length peaceably settled by him. And, to put these matters all together, he disputed with the same prelate two or three years afterwards about the possession of the lease of a house at Battersea, intended for the convenience of the archbishops of York when they came to London. Grindall's full reply may be found in Strype^. But these were not the worst contentions. His successor, Aylmer, in the see of London demanded of him the income of the see from the Michaelmas preceding up to Lady-day, which Sandys refused, alleging that, if he yielded up the revenues as far back as the Purification, it was as much as he had expected, or as in reason could be required. Aylmer ap- pealed to the lord treasurer ; and Sandys, provoked at his ' His reasons at length dated Jan. 28, 1576, are given by Strype, Annals, Vol. ii. Book ii. Chap. 2. ^ Life of Grindall, Book ii. Chap. 10. ARCHBISHOP SANDYS. xxiii pertinacity, reflected upon him in severe terms, especially as he had, he said, himself been instrumental in furthering his preferment. It is not known how eventually this affair was settled. In 1579 he had another dispute with the same bishop about dilapidations. Aylmer would not, as had been agreed by the two archbishops, refer the dis- pute to the lord treasurer, but insisted on a commis- sion. When at length, (for the controversy lasted some years,) a sentence was given, it seems to have been not so favourable to the archbishop as he had anticipated, and to have called forth from him a statement of reasons why it should be modified. In his ecclesiastical proceedings also Sandys met with opposition. In 1577 he visited Durham (the see being vacant) ; but the dean, W. Whittingham, who had been ordained by the English exiles at Geneva, refused his visi- tation. A contest ensued ; and the archbishop, who was thought in some measure wrong by the lord treasurer, proceeded to excommunication. The proceedings were protracted through several years : two commissions of in- quiry and visitation were at different times granted ; but before the whole was brought to a conclusion, the dean of Durham died. It added to Sandys' disquietude that his own dean, Hutton, took part with Whittingham, and also protested against the archbishop's right to visit the chapter of York cathedral. Proceeding on his metropolitan visitation, the archbishop gave in 1578 an account to the lord treasurer of some of Ills proceedings. He had found, he said, two sorts of pre- cisians ; some who objected to the public service as then estabUshed, while others maintained the continued obliga- tion of the Mosaic law. He added that " the people were very ignorant, and yet willing and of capacity to learn. Whereupon he set the preachers on work, to preach at every market and great town every second Sunday. And XXIV BIOGKAPHICAL NOTICE OF that he took his part and did as much as the rest. And that besides, for the increase of learning in the ministry, he gave order that every archdeacon should keep four synods in the year. And the ministers there assembled (some principal points of religion having been before pro- pounded to them) all should be prepared to speak, but such only should speak as should be called thereunto by some grave persons appointed moderators ; and that they should speak to the matter and not mgari [i. e. stray from it.] And this to be done among the ministers themselves." Sandys was thus, it would seem, not unfavourable to what were called the prophesyings, provided they were kept within due limits. He had already given evidence of this by having, while bishop of London, in 1574, signed an order in council in recommendation of them in the diocese of Norwich. The archbishop was, it appears, found fault with in the visitation just referred to. He was accused of being too lordly, of being solicitous to get money; but the great cause of offence he gave was, his questioning the canonical ordination of Whittingham. It may here be mentioned to his honour, that he never, though once urgently applied to by his friend lord treasurer Burghley, would grant an advowson before it fell void. He was anxious, he said, to prefer men of merit, and he did not choose to give to others that which more reasonably should be the reward of those trained under his immediate eye. Neither would he ever take a resignation. In his archiepiscopal see he was as zealous against popery, as he has already been shewn to be while bishop of London. In May 1581 a diabolical plot was hatched against him, which would, had it not been detected, have for ever stained his moral character, and driven him in dis- grace from society. It was contrived by Sir Robert Sta- pleton, who had conceived a grudge against the archbishop, ABCHBISHOP SANDYS. XXV and was stimulated with the hope of appropriating some of the property of the see. At Doncaster, while on a visitation, the inn-keeper's wife introduced herself at night into the archbishop's chamber, where her husband pre- tending to discover her threatened the prelate with his dagger. Stapleton, who was at hand, affected to interpose, expressed his concern for the honour of the church, and charged all present to secresy. Sandys, wakened with the tumult, and dreading lest, as appearances were againist him, he might not be able to establish his innocence, consented to give money to the inn-keeper and to yield to Stapleton's demands. But as these grew with every concession, till at last he required even the manor of Southwell, the arch- bishop, no longer able to bear the thraldom he suffered, revealed the matter to the lord treasurer, and entreated his help in vindicating himself. The queen and the earl of Leicester interested themselves for him : the conspira- tors were examined before the star chamber, and obliged to confess their guilt. They were hereupon compelled, besides other punishments, to acknowledge the archbishop's innocence at the assizes at York. But as this submission, particularly on the part of Sir Robert, was made with little appearance of contrition, the prelate for his own jus- tification rightly insisted on further satisfaction. And it was not till after a long confinement in the Tower and the Fleet, that in 1584. Stapleton shewed himself really penitent for his crime. This the archbishop called, with justice, the great trouble of his life'. In 1583, the see of Canterbury was vacant by Grindall's death ; but Sandys was not called on again to succeed him, both on account of his warmth of temper, and also because the queen did not like the primate to be a married man. In 1584, Sandys had the honour of recommending ' For full particulars see Strype's Annals, Vol. iii. Book i. Chap. 9, and Appendix Nos. xx. xxi. xxvi mOGKAPHlCAL NOTICE OF Hooker, whom he had previously appointed tutor to his son Edwin, to the mastership of the Temple. In the same year we find him actively exerting himself in parliament, on the presentation of a petition of sixteen articles by the Commons to the Lords, reflecting on the present government of the church and on the bishops. Some of these articles he deemed reasonable ; but to others he strongly objected. He promised that non-residence should be checked, and can- didates for the ministry diligently examined ; but wholly dis- allowed the demands, that at every ordination there should be six ministers to lay hands on those ordained ; that none should be preferred without requiring the approval of the parish, which he thought likely to breed controversies ; that oaths and subscriptions should not be imposed ; and that such as had been suspended should be restored, except on submission. He approved however, he said, and he added that he spoke in the name of many of his brethren, of the exercises or prophesyings, provided they were conducted under due order'. It was about this time that archbishop Sandys founded and endowed the grammar school at Hawkshead in Lan- cashire, the letters patent for the establishment of which are dated April 10, 1585. He drew up a code of statutes for this school, which have been printed in Abingdon's Antiquities of the cathedral church of Worcester. It may be added, that he was a benefactor to the school of Highgate, Middlesex. In 1585, the archbishop was involved in fresh troubles. He wrote to the lord treasurer against usury, which was at an excessive rate at York ; but his dean opposed him in his endeavours to redress the grievance. Articles were exhibited against the dean ; and mutual recriminations ensued, the dean charging the archbishop with providing for his family out of the revenues of the see, which ' Strvpe, Life of Whitgift, Book iii. Chap. 10. ARCHBISHOP SANDYS. xxvn Sandys strenuously denied, declaring that he had but granted leases to his sons, which ho must have granted to some, and that he was justified in giving to his own children rather than to strangers. In the end the dean was compelled to make a submission. Attempts were afterwards, in 1587, made to alienate Southwell from the see of York. The earl of Leicester, it would seem, wanted it, and the queen was persuaded to favour the plan. The proposal was, that the archbishop should lease it out for 70 years ; but he could not be prevailed on to consent. After this he was engaged in a controversy with the new dean, Matthew, of Durham ; and in 1588 he was urged to give up his episcopal house in London. He refused ; but so many troubles preyed deeply on his mind, and this last is supposed to have hastened his death. He died July 10 in that year, and was buried in the collegiate church of Southwell. Archbishop Sandys' family consisted of six sons and two daughters. His widow survived till l6lO. His epitaph is as follows : " Edwinus Sandes sacra? theologian doctor, postquam uoumi edg:e of iiionu- Wigorniensem episcopatum xi annos totidemque tribus demptis Londinensem gessisset ; Eboracensis sui archie- piscopatus anno xii°, vitae autem lxix°, obiit Julii x", anno Dom. 1588. " Cujus hie conditum cadaver jacet, genere non humilis, Attiieiiead. vixit dignitate locoque magnus ; exemplo major ; duplici functus episcopatu, archiepiscopali tandem amplitudine etiam illustris ; honores hosce mercatus grandi pretio, meritis vir- tutibusque. Homo hominum a mahtia et vindicta innocen- tissimus, magnanimus, apertus, ot tan turn nescius adulari ; summe liberalis atque misericors, hospitalissimus, optimus, facilis, et in sola vitia superbus : scilicet baud minora quam locutus est, vixit ; et fuit in evangelii pr.Tdicandi laboribus atl extremum usque halitum rairabiliter assiduus. A ser- xxviii BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OK monibus ejus nunquam non melior discederes. Facundus volebat esse, et videbatur. Ignavos, sedulitatis suae con- scius, oderat. Bonas literas auxit pro facultatibus. Eccle- siae patrimonium, velut rem Deo consecratam deeuit, in- tactum defendit. Gratia, qua floruit apud illustrissimam mortalium Elizabetham, effecit, ne banc, in qua jaces, ecclesiam tu jacentem cerneres, venerande prsesul. Utri- usque memorandum fortunae exemplar, qui tanta cum ges- seris, multo his majora anirao ad omnia semper impavido perpessus es ; carceres, exilia, amplissimarum facultatum amissiones, quodque omnium difficillime innocens perferre animus consuevit, immanes calumnias ; et hac re una votis tuis minor, quod Christo testimonium etiam sanguine non praebueris. Attamen qui in prosperis tantos fluctus, et post agonum tot adversa, tandem quietis sempiternae por- tum, fessus mundi, Deique sitiens reperisti, aeternum las- tare ; vice sanguinis sunt sudores tui. Abi lector, nec ista scias tantum ut sciveris, sed ut imitere. At the feet VerhuM Domini manet in wternimi^r under the arms. ' Edwin Sandes, doctor of sacred theology, after he had held the bishopric of W orcester eleven years, and that of London three years less, died July 10, 1588, in the twelfth year of his incumbency of the see of York and the sixty-ninth of his life. He whose body lies buried here was of a family not mean, of a rank and station great, in the example lie set still greater, having filled two bishoprics, and been at last distinguished with the archiepiscopal dignity, obtaming these honours at a high price, namely, his merits and virtues. He was of all men most free from malice and revenge, magnanimous, open, and ignorant only how to flatter; very liberal and compassionate, most hospitable, virtuous, affable, and proud to vices alone : his life was in no degree inferior to his teaching; and he was wonderfully assiduous in the labour of preaching the gospel, even to his last breath. You could not but depart improved from his sermons. He desired to be eloquent, and so he was seen to be. Conscious of his own industry he disliked the slothful. He encouraged literature according to his means. The patrimony of the church, as that which is dedicated to God ought to be, he preserved untouched. It was the influence enjoyed with the most illustrious Elizabetli which preserved you, venerable prelate, from seeing this church in which you now lie itself lying prostrate. You were a memorable cxami)le of every kind of fortune, who did so much, ARCHBISHOP SANDYS. xxix The following notice of Sandys may be added : it is taken from Dr Wliitaker's life of this prelate. From a MS. Catalogue of Bishops who have belonged to the Society of St Johns College, Cambridge. "Edwinus Sandys, natus in Furness Fells, in Com. Lane, ex familia antiqua in agro Cumbr. apud villam St Begse, Grindallo archiepiscopo natalem, eique ex vicinia notus, et ex morum ac studiorum cognatione amicus, per csetera fere gemelli ; uterque enim incepit in artibus eodem anno 1540, — ac in theologia an. 1549. — Uterque procu- rator Academise, Collegiorum quoque prsefecti uterque ; uterque episcopus eodem anno et postea ejusdem sedis archiepiscopus. " Vixit noster in CoUegio lo. pensionarius per septen- nium aut eo amplius. — Inter socios aulse Catherinse non Procnn. ail. 1553 occurrit : admissus ibi prsefectus circa annum 1547. — Ca- nonicus Eccl. Cath. Petriburg. ad prjesentationem Regisfi Majest. Decern. 23. an. 1549, ejectus inde — Canonicus Car- leolensis ad prsesent. Reg. Maj. Sept. an. 1552. " Sub eodem tempore duce Northumbr. adveniente et procancellario jussu ducis concionante de re dubia et ancipite, incurrit in ofFensam reginse ac compingitur in turrem Lond. ; ubi diu detentus tandem amicorum ope et and suffered yet more, with a mind always fearless against all things, prisons, exile, the loss of ample possessions, and what the innocent mind can least of all endure, atrocious slanders ; and in this thing- alone did you fail in your desires, that you did not seal your testimony for Christ with your blood. But, as at length after so many fluctua- tions in prosperity, and so many contests of adversity, weary of the world and thirsting for God, you have found the haven of everlasting rest, rejoice eternally: your labours are instead of your blood. Go, reader, think it not enough to know these things, but imitate. The word of the Lord abidoth for ever. XXX HIOGR.VPHICAL NOTICE OF reginse gratia cvasit ac fugit in Germaniam. — Reversus inde an. 1559, designatus Episcopus Vigorn. Sacratus Dec. 21. ejusdem anni, ac Grindallo translate, primo a sede Lond. deinde a sede Eborac. ei utrobique successit, tarn Londini quam Eboraci : ob. Julii 10. 1588. Southwellise tumulatus cum splendido epitaphio'." It only remains to notice the archbishop's works. These, as enumerated by Tanner, whose list is given in the note^ are ^ Edwin Sandys, born in Fumess Fells, in the county of Lan- caster, of an ancient family in Cumberland, near St Bees, the birth- place of archbishop Grindall, was known to him by neighbourhood and attached to him by similarity of manners and pursuits : in other tilings they were almost twins : for each incepted in arts in the same year, 1.540, and in divinity in 154:9. Each was proctor of the university, each a master of a college, each a bishop in the same year, and after- wards archbishop of the same see. Vice-chan- Our Sandys lived in St John's as a pensioner for seven years or more. year 1553. He is not found among the fellows of Catherine Hall; but was made master there about the year 1547- He was canon of the cathedral church of Peterborough, on the presentation of the king's majesty, Dec. 2.3, 1549, ejected thence, — canon of Carlisle on the presentation of the king's majesty, Sept. 1552. At the time when the duke of Northumberland came, the vice- chancellor, having by the duke's command preached on a matter doubt- ful and uncertain, incurred the queen's anger and was thro'wn into the Tower of London : where having been long detained, he at length, by the help of friends and the favour of the queen, was liberated, and fled into Germany. Returning thence in 1559 he was appointed bishop of Worcester. He was consecrated Dec. 21, of the same year, and on Grindall's translation first from the see of London, then from that of York, he succeeded liira in each, both at London and at York. He died July 10, 1588, and was buried at Southwell, with a splendid epitaph. ^ Sandys [[Edwinus^ filius Gulielmi. patria Lancastrensis (Cumbri- ensis natus apud S. Begoe fanum, Strj'pe in Fita Grindal 2.) ajjud Conisby natus ex antique et gencroso stemmate. Fnit collegii S. Jo- hannis academise Cantabrig. alumnus, ubi procurator A. mdxlii. dein S. th. doctor A. mdxlix. Aulae S. CatharinEe magister et vice-cancel- larius A. mdlii. et renunciabatur. Regnante Maria in turrim Londi- nensem detruditur; et tandem inde liberatus in Germaniam trajecit, ubi exul Argentorati et Tiguri degit, quoad vixit Maria. In patriam ARCHBISHOP SANDYS. XXXI * I. Sermons. II. Vindication of himself against Sir John Bourne. * III. Advice concerning Rites and Ceremonies in the Synod of 1562. * IV. Orders for the Bishops and Clergy. * V. Pastoral Epistle to the Bishop of Chester. VI. A share in the Bishops' Bible. * VII. Advertisement to the Translation of Luther on the Galatians. VIII. Various Letters. Those marked * will be found in the present volume. There have also been added the preamble to his will, and the prayers he composed for his school at Hawkshead. Some letters of Sandys, together with those of other emi- nent men to foreign reformers, will appear in a volume now preparing for the press by the Parker Society, from rediens ab Elizabetha A. mdlix episcopus ^yigomiensis, anno mdlxx Londinensis, et A. mdlxxvi arcliiepiscopus Eboracensis constitutus est. Scripsit Anglice, Sermons on several occasions, num. xxii. Pr. praef. "Of other things besides." Pr. concionis i. "Our evangelical prophet Esaias." Lond. mdlxxxv. 4to. quae saepius impressee extant. Lond. MDCxvi. 4to. Long Vindication of himself against Sir John Bourne, MDLxiii. Strype, Elizab. p. .348. His advAce concerning rites and cere- monies in the Synod mdlxii. Ibid. p. 297. Orders for the Bishops and Clergy, Ibid. p. 300. Epistolas varias ad M. Parkernm, Strype in Vita Parker, App. n. 13. Burnet. Hist. Reform. Tom. ii. Append. p. 332, MS. Coll. Corp. Chr. Cantabr. Miscell. i. 455, vid. Strype in Vita Grindal, p. 299. Epistolam Parkhursto episc. Norwicensi, Strype in Vita Parker, p. 333. Epistolam Bernardo Gilpin de episcopatu Carliol. Fuller. Ch. Hist. xvi. 63. Epistolam pastoralem episcopo Cestrensem, Latine. mdlxxxiii. 13 Febr. Pr. " Intuenti mihi." MS. Caio Gonvil. Cantabr. D. 37, p. 471. In Bibliis sncris in sermonem Anglicum convertendis suas cgit partes mdlx. Idco ante primuni li- brum Regum et post secundum libnim Chronicorum in Bibliis episco- palibus {the Bishops' Bible) dantur literae E. W. pro Edwinus Wigorn. qui libros hos proculdubio in Anglicum sennonem transtulit. Epistolam firaf. translationi M. Lutheri super Galatas. Lond. mdlxxvii. 4to. Obiit. A. MDLXxxvin. Augusti 8, [Jul. 10, A Wood MS. C. 38. Et Reg. Ebor.] et in ecclcsia collcgiata Southwelliae huniatus jacet. Blo- fcild. Godwin. MS. "VV^ood. II. Holland. Heroolog. p. 207. Fox. 208(5. Hollinsh. .545. XXxii BIOGRAPHICAL XOTICK, &C. the originals preserved at Zurich ; and, if it be thought desirable to print any more of his letters, they will be comprised in a volume, hereafter to be compiled, of Letters of the Reformers. It may be proper to state that the Sermons are printed from the first edition of 1585, with the necessary correction of typographical errors. The quotations from the fathers have been given at length, with a very few unimportant exceptions, in which the editor, though enjoying the assist- ance of friends, has been unable to trace out the passage intended. Additional references have been included within brackets. SERMONS ARCHBISHOP SANDYS. [sANDYS.] If* ^feSK 5?J 1^1 SEKMONS Made by the most reue- rende Father in God, Edwin, Arch- bishop of Yorke, Primate of England and Metropolitane. DAN. 12. 3. They that be wise shall shine as the brightnesse of the firmament: and they that turne many to righteousnesse, as the starves for euer and euer. AT LONDON, Printed by Henrie Midleton, for Thomas Charde 1585. #3 m I W TO THE CHRISTIAN READERS, GRACE AND PEACE THROUGH JESU CHRIST OUR LORD. " Op other things besides these, my son, take thou J|^'^'*3 -|^"- heed: for there is none end of making many books, and much reading is a weariness of the flesh. Let us hear the end of all : fear God and keep his commandments ; for this is the whole duty of every man." By which words of weight, proceeding from the oracle, not of Apollo, but of God himself, what effect hath been wrought, both in the hearts and in the hands of many great learned clerks, both here and elsewhere, both heretofore and at this day, to make them withdraw their minds from writing, and to withhold their pens from paper, some witnesses worthy credit could testify, but that daily experience needeth no farther proof. Howbeit, when it is well known, and ought accordingly to be considered, that the place alleged should rather correct the bookish humour of common writers and idle discoursers, than controul the writing of necessary and needful works, which, to the singular advancement of king- doms and commonweals, to the most excellent service of Almighty God, to the inestimable benefit and blessing of his church, many hundred years sithens that saying of Solomon, have been printed and published notwithstanding ; (as by large volumes innumerable, of scriptures and fathers, of histories and arts in all kinds of knowledge, may evidently appear ;) every man of ability should rather by those examples encourage himself, than suffer himself by these words to be dissuaded, to employ the talent, as well of his hand as of his tongue, to meet with and overtake all 1 [sANDYS.] 2 THE EPISTLE practices and inconveniences, and as it were to apply a salve to every sore, to minister a medicine to every malady that may occur. Again, when we perceive Sanballat, To- biah, Geshem, Noadiah the prophetess, and their accom- plices, continually to hinder and impeach, as much as in them lieth, the work of God's temple ; that is papists, Jesuits, and malcontents, with their adherents, all adver- saries and enemies to the everlasting truth of the gospel, without intermission to abuse their great leisure and small learning, to plant error and heresy in the hearts of our brethren, thereby to supplant all religious worship of Al- mighty God, all audience of his word and reverence to his sacraments, all humble obedience to lawful magistrates, all dutiful regard of wholesome laws, all careful observation of ancient discipline, all sincere and seemly conversation of christian life and honest manners ; how can the Holy Ghost (who reproveth the world of sin) but require us to bestow all the forces and habiliments we have, not only, as good Zacharias and Aggeus\ to prophesy, but, as godly Zoro- babel and Salathiel, to re-edify, that is, as well by writing as by preaching, as well by our books as by our sermons, and as it were with a trowel in the one hand and a sword in the other to raise and erect the new Jerusalem, sup- plying the decays, repairing the ruins, filling up the breaches, building up the walls and towers of Sion in perfect beauty ? The consideration whereof, together with some other ear- nest and vehement persuasions to the like effect used, did at the last, though long first, induce the most reverend author of this book, even another Esdras or Nehemias, to suffer these his labours to come to light : as well for that he mought leave behind him a witness and warrant of his godly and zealous affection, that the profession of his faith mought become the sweet savour of life to life in all, rather than the savour of death to death in any ; as also for Aggeus— Haggai.— Ed.] TO THK READER. 3 that words spoken are soon come soon gone, but wi'itten withal may make a deeper impression, and so, by striking as well the eye of the reader as the ear of the hearer, may pierce his heart the better and save his soul the sooner. Of the book itself I will say but this ; that, for mine own part, I am verily persuaded, there is no work written in this kind wherein men of principal estate, or particular callings, may be either more sufficiently informed to know, or more plainly directed to perform, their several duties : the superior how to govern, the inferior how to obey ; the minister what to teach, the people what to learn; the parliament what to establish, the realm what to em- brace ; her majesty and council what to hear, court, city, and country what to amend : why patrons especially pro- fessing godliness should be uncorrupt ; why pastors under- going such a charge should keep the flock from the fox and wolf ; why bishops should be more vigilant and precise not to admit ministers hand over head ; why the rich should be open-handed, and poor Christ in his needy mem- bers competently relieved : how the church to be deci- phered by her proper marks, of the word to be heard with diligence, and the sacraments with reverence to be frequented : how the temple to be purged of idolatry, superstition, and superfluity ; the churchmen of ignorance, negligence, and simony ; the commonweal of unmerciful- ness, covetousness, and usury ; the judgment-seats, both civil and ecclesiastical, of bribery, extortion, and partiality : why the gospel to be preached with favour, the law with terror, yet both with a caveat : how God to be worshipped, our neighbours entreated, our children and families cate- chised, ourselves conformed to Christ his image, the simple advised, the subtil prevented, the weak supported, the ob- stinate corrected : what patience to be used under the cross, what thankfulness to be shewed for God's great mercies, what prayei-s in our extreraest necessities to be poured 1—2 4 THE EPISTLE TO THE HEADER. out : what sorrow must throw down the sinful man, what faith raise him up, what hope sustain him, what charity inflame him, what worthy fruits commend him to the world : finally, how the truth may be confirmed, falsehood refelled, vice reproved, virtue advanced, and so the child of God made a man wise unto salvation, and perfectly enabled unto every good work : besides many other most profitable observations, sooner taught than learned, yet sooner learned than followed, such and so many, as in so few sermons you shall hardly find, I believe, but in the same. Nor is this my single opinion only, but many men's censure of greater learning and better judgment ; who know what belongs to matter and method, to times and persons, to place and occasions, with other due circumstances of well and wise meaning, speaking, and writing. But, as those sermons be best praised ever that be ever best practised ; so, if these shall be received into the good ground of your hearts, with the same affection and spirit they were preach- ed first and now be published, no doubt but the sower, the seed, the soil, the increase and all, will be found to the glory of his grace that worketh all in all. Wherefore, as not only Paul, Apollos, and Cephas, but all are ours, and we are Christ's, and Christ is God's ; so let us com- fort and strengthen one another in our holy faith, holding nothing more dear unto us than the salvation each of others : and in God's holy fear commend we one another to that faithful Creator, who is Father of all, above us all, and through us all, and in us all. To him be rendered all thanks, and all honour given for ever and for ever. THE ORDER AND MATTER OF THE SERMONS. SER5I0N I. Ho, cverj' one that thirsteth, come to the waters; &c. Esay Lv. 1. II. Be this sin against the Lord far from mc, tliat I should cease to pray, &c. 1 Sam. xii. 23. III. Take us the little foxes which destroy the vines: for our vine hath flourished. Cant. ii. 1.5. IV. I exhort tlierefore before all things that requests, supplica- tions, &e. 1 Tim. ii. 1. V. Be like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, &c. Phil. ii. 2. VI. Teach me thy way, O Lord, and I will walk in thy tinith. Psal. Lxxxvi. n. VII. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Jac. iv. 8. VIII. Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near. Esay lv. 6. IX. All the days of this my warfare do I wait, till my changing come. Job xiv. 14. X. That being delivered out of the hands of our enemies we may serve him, &c. Luke i. 74. XI. Owe nothing to any man, but this, to love one another: for he that loveth, &c. Rom. xiii. 8. XII. He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what the Lord rcquireth of thee, ^c. Mic. vi. 8. XIII. And Jesus went into the temple of (Jod, and cast out all them that sold and bought, &c. Matt. xxi. 12. XIV. Then Peter opened his mouth and said. Of a truth I perceive that God, &c. Acts x. 31. XV. We therefore as helpers beseech you that ye receive not the grace of God in vain, &c. 2 Cor. vi. 2. 6 ORDER OF THE SERMON.S. SERMON XVI. Marriage is lionourable in all. Heb. xiii. 4. XVJI. After these things Jesus went his way over the sea of Gali- lee, ike. Joh. vi. 1. XVIII. Then there shall be signs in the sun and in the moon, &c. Luke xxi. 25. XIX. And when he was entered into the ship, his disciples followed him, &c. Matt. viii. 23. XX. The end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, &c. 1 Pet. iv. 7. XXI. Offer the sacritices of righteousness, &c. Psal. iv. 5. XXII. For the rest, brethren, fare ye well, be perfect, be of good comfort, &c. 2 Cor. xiii. 11. A SERMON MADE IN PAUL'S, ON THE DAY OF CHRIST'S NATIVITY. ESAY LV. 1. Ho, every one that thirsteth, come to the waters ; and ye that have no silver, come, buy and eat: Come, I say, btiy wine and milk without silver, and without money. 2. Wherefore do ye lay out silver, and not for bread ; and your labour, without being satisfied ? Hearken diligently unto me, and eat that which is good, and let your sotil delight in fatness. 3. Incline your ears, and come unto me ; hear, and your souls shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. Our evangelical prophet Esaias, through the spirit of cinist, and revelation, hath in the former part of this his prophecy, which he eight hundred years before the birth of Christ (even as and suffer, if the thing had already been performed, such is the cer- zl&l^f tainty of his prophecy) most lively described and set forth the nativity, the preaching, the persecution, the apprehen- sion, the death, the resurrection, the ascension, yea, and the latter coming of our Saviour Christ to judge the quick and the dead ; in such w ise, that, for the substance there- of, no evangelist hath more perfectly or plainly set forth this great mystery of our salvation. He foretelleth that Christ shall be born of a Virgin; that his name shall be Imnianuel ; that his office shall be to preach the glad tidings of salvation to the poor in spirit ; that he shall be led as a sheep to the shambles to be slain ; that he shall be stricken for our sakes, and bear the burden of all our sins upon his back. 2. His birth, foreshewed so long ago by this heavenly Hi= birth prophet, was in fulness of time accomphshed, as this day, uuhat"'^ in Bethlem, a city of David, according to the testimony sr'ok'nTe- of that angel sent from heaven to proclaim the birth of prophet!''* the Son of God at the same time, saying: "Behold, ILnkeii.[io, 8 THE FIRST SERMOX. bring you tidings of great joy, that shall be unto all the people ; because this day is born unto you a Saviour, which is Christ our Lord, in the city of David." This is that Seed of the woman which breaketh the Serpent's head, that meek Abel murdered by his brethren for our sin, that true Isaac whom his Father hath offered up to be a sacrifice of pacification and atonement between him and us. This is that Melchisedec, both a king and a priest, that liveth for ever, without father or mother, beginning or ending. This is Joseph that was sold for thirty pieces of money. This is that Samson full of strength and cou- rage, who, to save his people and destroy his enemies, hath willingly brought death upon his own head. This is that Lord and Son of David, to whom the Lord said, rsai.cx.[i.] ugj^ ^jj^y jj-jy Yight hand." This is that Bridegroom in the Canticle, whose heart is so inflamed with heavenly love towards his dear spouse, which is his church. This is he, whom holy Simeon embracing prophesied that he [Luke ii. 32.] should be "a light to the Gentiles, and a glory to his people Israel ;" he upon whom the Holy Ghost descended, [Mat^tyii- and of whom the Father testified from heaven, "This is my well-beloved Son." This is that Lamb of God, pointed [John i. 29.] at by John, and sent to "take away the sins of the world ;" to redeem us from thraldom, not with gold, nor silver, but with the inestimable price of his precious blood ; to be made our wisdom, justification, sanctification, and isai. ix. [6.] redemption. This is the Child that is born for us, the Son that is given for our cause, the King whose rule is upon his shoulders, whose name is Marvellous, the Giver of Counsel, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace ; the same Messias which was shadowed in the ceremonies and sacrifices of old, which was pre- figured in the law, and is presented in the gospel, and hath been approved to the world by signs and wonders, by so clear evidence as cannot be either dissembled or denied. Let us therefore onbrace this babe with joy, let us kiss the Son, let us, with the angels of heaven, praise the Lord ; let us sing their psalm to the honour of Lukeii.[i4.] his name, "Glory be to God on high, and on earth peace." vitedunto" ^' "^^^ prophet Esaias having in spirit espied Christ, Christ. and seen the day, though far off, wherein the Saviour of O, EVEKY ONE THAT THIRSTETH, &C. 9 the world should be bom, calleth all the nations of the earth together, and exhorteth them to come, to behold, to believe, to embrace, to taste of the mercies of Christ Jesus, which are as water to refresh their thirsty spirits, and as milk to nourish and comfort their hearts. " All you that thirst, come to the waters," &c. In which ex- hortation the prophet observeth this order : first, ho exhorteth the people to come : secondly, he telleth whither and to whom they should come : thirdly, he teacheth after what sort they must come : fourthly, what commodity such as come shall receive. 4. " Come all that are thirsty." God's mercy is i. great and general ; he hath no partial respect unto any called ^ffp- , , • 1 1 i-j • neratlv, all person : no country, no kmdred, no age, no condition, no but speci- sex is excluded. He calleth Jew and Gentile, young and ^mrsty'! aged, rich and needy, bond and free, man and woman. He commanded his gospel to be preached to all ; " Go xvi. your ways, preach the gospel to every creature." In the parable all are invited to that magnificent marriage and kingly supper. Christ himself crieth, in general words, "Come to me all that labour." If all be called and ex- Matt. xi. [28.] horted to come, what cause can any man allege sufficient to excuse his not coming? The buying of farms, or the trying of oxen, or the marrying of wives? They have base minds, that are withheld by these means. But, if any have a fearful and a trembling heart, who being called stand still afar off, not because they will not, but because they dare not approach near ; them God pitieth, yea unto them especially, or rather only unto them, he saith, " Come you." Be thy sins never so great, fear not to come ; for he that calleth thee hath stretched out his arms of mercy at length ; they are wide open to embrace thee : mercy is ready to all that will receive it ; and to them that need it most, most ready. A comfortable lesson to all sinners. 5. Come all that are " thirsty." He calleth not them which are full, and need neither meat nor drink, but such as be hungi-y and thirsty, them he calleth. The proud Pharisee, that was full of his own righteousness, hungered not after remission of sins ; and they, who are over-filled with works of supererogation, and have store to serve themselves and others, never thirst to drink of the cup 10 THE FIRST SERMON. of salvation : in general, such as are drunk with the vain trust of their own merits will neither taste of this bread, nor drink of this water. The covetous man tliirsteth after money, even with the sale of his own soul to get it ; the lewd after fleshly delights and pleasures, to the wasting of his patrimony upon them ; the proud after glory, that his itching ears may be tickled with his own praise : but what thirst the prophet doth mean Christ sheweth in Matt. V. [6.] the gospel, where he also blesseth it : " Blessed are they which hunger and thirst for righteousness." Such as see their own nakedness, as feel their own infirmities, as groan under the heavy burden of their sin, as confess with David, Psai.ii. [3.] "J l^now mine own iniquities;" as make request with the Lukexviii. publican, " God be merciful to me a sinner;" as cvy with Luiiev.[i2.] the leper, "Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean :" such are invited, unto such our pi'ophet speaketh. He calleth not the just, but unto sinners he saith. Come ; go not away, but come. . 2- 6. AVhither, and to whom ? " Come to the waters." Wliither and to whom J^q^ to sucli Waters, as either the well or the river yield- tney are . •' called. To eth ; but to those that issue from the Son of God, to wine and those that shall be in him which tasteth them a well of joiinvi.[68.] water springing unto everlasting life. " Unto whom shall we go ? Thou hast the words of everlasting life." Come to these waters, buy this wine and this milk. Other bread is no bread ; eat that which is jjood. Under these names of water, wine, and milk, all things necessary to a spiri- tual life are comprehended. For as with these corporal meats and drinks the body is nourished, so in Christ, through the believing of the gospel, our soul is refreshed, and perfectly fed unto everlasting life. Christ is the fresh fountain, whereof whoso drinketh shall never thirst. Christ is that bread which descended from heaven. He that eateth that bread, which is his flesh, shall live for ever. Christ is that wine which maketh merry the heart of man, and quieteth the troubled conscience. Christ is that milk which nourisheth and feedeth us, that we may grow to a perfect man. Milk is fit for infants, water is convenient for young men, wine agreeth with old age. So in the scriptures there is food, both for such as are simple and weak, and also for such as are learned and strong. 0, EVERY ONE THAT THIRSTHTH, &C. 11 7. This jrracc of God which savetli, hath ai)pcared Water,«ine, f '11 inilk, freely to all men : this heavenly food, Christ Jesus, by preach- o^'-red by ing the gospel is offered to all, as manna the heavenly bread, by faith to feed upon ; and as a lively fountain to drink of to everlasting life. All are of mercy, grace, and favour freely called ; all may come and freely feed, without penny or penny-worth. The grace of God is free, remission of sins is fi-ec — freely gi'anted, freely given without money. " The price of our redemption is neither gold nor silver : Through grace ye are freely saved." For i^°"de " it cannot be grace any way, which is not every way "'^tf"^^_^2i. free'," saith St Augustine. 8. "Wherefore do ve lay out your silver for that The con- , . , . , , , , 1 • 1 • '"■^■'i' ^"''^ which IS no bread, and your labour on that which is not i>y anti- Christ for to satisfy f As before he exhorted us to come and buy money, freely without money, because God is no money-man, nei- ther can any man deserve favour at his hands, but what- soever wo have of him, we have it of mercy ; so now he sharply reprovcth all such as by money or merchandize, by desert or merit, seek after salvation. He dehorteth us from false teachers, crafty seducers, which offer to sell the grace and mercy of God for money. Christ proposeth his heavenly treasures, remission of sins, justification, sanc- tification, mercy, grace, and salvation, freely. He that sitteth in the temple of God, and termeth himself Chrisfs vicar, doth in like sort offer unto the people bread, water, wine, milk, pardon of sins, grace, mercy, and eternal life; but not freely : he is a merchant, he giveth nothing, and that is nothing which he selleth. For although he make large promises to the buyer, he selleth that which he hath not to deliver. "Eternal life is the gift of God." The pope therefore selleth but wind and smoke for fire, sha- dows for truths : he deceiveth the buyers with false sleights, false measures, false weights. Beware of this merchant, lose not your labour, cast not away your money : it is not meat but poison which he offereth you. His physic cannot heal your diseases; his holy water cannot wash away the spots of a sullied and defiled soul, as he untruly Non cnim Dei gi-atia erit ullo modo, uisi gratuita fuerit omni modo.— August. Op. Par. 169G. Cont. Pclag. et Cwlest. Lib. ii. Do Pcc- cato Originali. 28. Tom. x. col. 26o. — Ed."] 12 THE FIRST SRRMOX. would bear you in hand ; his blasphemous masses do not appease, but provoke God's wrath; they cannot benefit the quick, nmch less the dead, which either need no help, or are past all help ; his rotten relics cannot comfort you ; his blind, dumb, and worm-eaten idols can do you no good." It is cast away which is spent upon his shameless pardons; they will not prevail — God will not admit them : by his Latin service ye cannot be edified, or made wiser. Yet this trumpery they sell for money, and upon this trash they cause silly men to waste their substance, and to these to commit their souls. Thus you see a manifest difference between Christ and antichrist, the doctrine of God and the learning of man, true teachei-s and false, sound and counterfeited religion. The one offereth true bread freely: the other, that which is no bread, for bread, and that not freely neither, but for money. The diversity of religion professed in these our times is here most plainly and lively depainted. For the better clearing whereof, I will in three notes lay before your eyes the whole difference which is between them. Tiireedif- c). First, WO disagree in the very foundation. They ferences be- ' o j j twecn the l;i,y quc ijround, and we another. AVe lav no one stono floclrme '~ r> i • i professed but Only upon that foundation of the jjrophets and apostles. Christians, whereupon whosoever is builded, gi-oweth into an holy tem- and that , . , t i i i • ? • i which is pie m the Lord — a temple, which no wind, no waves, no maint.iined ^ • i i , > mi f i • by their stomi, uo tempest IS able to overthrow. Ihe foundation the pope ' of our religion is the written word, the scriptures of God, herents. the Undoubted records of the Holy Ghost. ^Ve require difference no Credit to be given to any part or parcel of our doc- sround and trine, further than the same may be clearly and mani- of'doc'trine. festly proved by the plain words of the law of God, which why^reii?ion romaineth in wi-iting, to be seen, read, and examined of proundcd all men. This we do, first, because we know that God scripture" hath causcd his whole law to be written : secondly, because we see that it hath been the practice of all the defenders of the truth since the beginning to rely their faith only upon the scripture and written word : thirdly, because it is evi- dent and plain that we cannot receive any other foundation of heavenly truth without the overthrow of christian faith. la'^vof'God There was never any law-maker so simple, as to which is the make statutes for perpetuity, and not to register them in O, EVERY ONE THAT THIRSTKTH, &:C. 1.3 books, or engrave them in tables. When Memucan was desirous to have a law made for the brino-ina; of women o o ^ writing. in subjection under their husbands, his persuasion was this, "If it may please the king, let a royal decree proceed ^'jg^'j"^'' from him, and let it be written." The laws of the Modes and Persians, that might never be altered, were for ever recorded. When God delivered his first law unto his people, the law which commonly we call moi'al, he gave it them written in tables of stone. Again, when he delivered them civil ordinances for the administration of justice be- tween man and man, Closes first proclaimed all those laws and ordinances amongst the people ; afterward he took and wrote in a book all the words of the Lord. As for the laws of rites and ceremonies, they are likewise written in this book. To these we must add that law, which the blessed apostle doth call the " law of faith." This law Rom. iii. . [27-] God preached unto Adam by himself, " The seed of the Gen.iii.[i5.] woman shall break the serpenfs head :" unto Abraham by his angel, "In thee shall all the nations of the earth be Gen.xii.[3.] blessed :" to the children of Abraham by his prophets, "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son:" finally, isai.vii.[i4.] unto us by his Son, and by them whom his Son hath sent into the world to make it known, " That through this ^^'^g^'ij'- man is preached remission of sins ; and from all things from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses, by him every one that believeth is justified." And the sta- tutes of this law are also written. God, being moreover desirous to have his servants not only taught by doctrine, but provoked also by examples, gave them a fifth sort of laws and testimonies, called historical, not leaving these neither to men, to deliver unto their children by word of mouth, but all by writing. If God have committed his laws moral, civil, ceremonial, evangelical, and historical also, unto writing, where should we seek for the statutes of the Almighty but in his written word I 11. The ancients of the house of God knew no foun- Tiietrue c 1 • 1 • mi • • professors tam of his truth but this. They never inquired what had of aii a^es 1 1 • 1 • r 1 1 • 1 1 1 'f 1 1 liave rested been whispered in men s ears ; that which they believed and their faith taught, they read it out of the book. In the history oftuieoniy. Josua it is recorded, how he did assemble the tribes, elders, heads, judges, and officers of Israel together, shewing them 14 THE FIRST SERMON. wliat God had spoken unto them by Moses, but uttering to - K.'.nes them no speecli which was not written. Josias, with all the x.\ni.[3.] '■ ' men of Judah. and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests, prophets, and all the people, small and gi'eat, made a covenant before the Lord, to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all their heart and with all their soul : but what statutes ? what testimo- nies I '• The words of the covenant written in this book."' Christ speaketh many things, his apostles many things, con- cerning the doctrine of the prophets, but no one point of doctrine which is not found in their books and writings. [20.] The prophet Esay crieth. Ad legem et testimonimn, " To the law and to the testimony." If they teach not " according to this law, it is because there is no light in them." Consider [Luke iv. 8.] the practice of Christ Jesus. His proofs are, Scriptum est, [Lukex.ac] u written:" his demands are, Qmmodo legis? "How [John V. 39.] (Jqs^; thou read f His apologies are. Scrutamini scriptural, " Search the scriptures, they bear me record." His apostles tread in the same path ; they go not the breadth of an hair, not a whit from that which is written. Thus St Paul protesteth, [3!^°'' "I delivered unto you that which I received, how Christ died for our sins according to the sci'iptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose the third day according to the scriptures." It is not lightly to be marked, which is twice repeated. He delivered nothing but according to the scriptures." " I would hear the voice of my pastor" (saith St Augustine) ; " read this out of some prophet, read it out of some psalm, recite it out of the law, recite it out of the gospel, recite it out of some apostle : read it, and we will believe it'." These be good precedents for us to follow, till sufficient reason be alleged why we should lay another foun- dation than that which hath been laid by so many, so wise, so reverend buildei-s. ^on^xoll"' Especially sith this foundation is so peculiar to the written veri- C inviJemus aliciii: legite nobis hoc de lege, de prophetis, de psalmis, de ipso evangelic, de apostolicis literis: legite, et credimus. — August. Op. Par. 1694. Contra Donatistas Epist., vulg. De Unit. Eccles. Liber Unus. Tom. ix. col. 345. The archbishop appears to have liad also in liis mind the following passage: Ego voceni pastoris inquire. Lege hoc milii de propheta, lege milii de psalmo, i-ecita mihi de lege, recita de evangelio, recita de apostolo. — Sermo xlvi. De Pastoribus in Ezek. xxxiv. Tom. v. col. 242.— Ed.] 0, EVERY ONE THAT THIBSTETH, 8:C. 15 truth, that we cannot rest upon any other without manifest danger of the utter overthrow of christian faith. For first, what certainty or assurance can we have of any of those things wliich are behevecl, if our faith do not lean only upon the scriptures i If once a religious credit be given to un- written verities and to men's reports, the undoubted articles of our belief cannot choose but at the length become doubt- ful and uncertain, like a tale that passeth from man to man, and is told as many ways as there are men to tell it. Again, if once it be granted that there is any part of the law of God unwritten, if entrance once be given to laws that pass by the word of mouth, I would know when we should be able to say, "Now we have all the statutes of God, these we must observe, but more we may not receive." The Mar- cionites, they have a doctrine, as they say, received from the apostles by tradition, without book : Valentinus, he likewise urgeth very stoutly, "Christ had many things to tell his disciples, which as then they could not bear," and therefore his doctrine may not be tried by the book, "it is a tra- dition'." Let any thing but the written word of God take place in matters of faith ; and who seeth not that the very main sea of heresies must needs break in upon the church of Christ ; These are, as we suppose, causes just and allow- able, and sufficient in the indifferent judgment of reasonable men, why we should deliver you no doctrine concerning faith and religion, but only that which is in scripture ; w hy we should admonish you to beware of bread soured with phari- saical leaven, and to feed upon that which ye know came down from heaven ; to shun bi'oken cisterns, and to come to the well of living waters, as here ye are exhorted by the prophet. 13. At this the adverse part doth greatly storm: they The pope cannot abide to have controversies judged only by the scrip- have his tures. They which make scripture only the ground and tied unto foundation of faith, arc no fit builders for the church of ami why. Rome. When Constantinus required that those matters, about which the church was then very hot in contention, might be decided "only according to those things which are written," the answer of Hilary was, Hoc qui rejmdiat "^Jj^^iJ^ quern ipse tradidit. Q' Marcion and Valentiuus were heretics of tlie second century. — Ed.] IG THE FIRST SERMON. antichristus est^ : "He which refuseth this is antichrist."" Why then do our adversaries fly this kind of trial i Why refuse they to go to the "law and testimonies,*" there to be judged? The reason is rendered by the prophet, "It is because there is no light in them." They have chosen to themselves another foundation than that of the prophets and Ambros. in apostles. Wherefore, as Herod, to cover the baseness of cap. 3. his stock, and to the end that in time he might be thought to be of the blood I'oyal, burned the sacred monuments and books of the Jews, wherein the lineal descents, pedigrees, and genealogies of the kings of Israel were described^ ; so they, to strengthen the authority of their base and ill- favoured grounds, do endeavour not only in word and writ- ing, by contumelious and reproachful terms, to discoun- tenance, but also (if the power of God were not greater than theirs) by fire and flame to destroy for ever the eternal testament of the Son of God. We charge them with no corner attempts : we have seen the burning of these heavenly records, we have seen the very handling of the book of life punished with bitter and cruel death. May we not justly August.con- say to that man of sin, as St Augustine to Petilian ? Judas tra liter. _ ' _ _ * _ _ i^'^ca'"'-'''" carnalem tradidit, tu spiritualem : furens evange- liiim sanctum fiammis sacrilegis tradldistr\ "Judas betrayed Christ in the flesh, but thou in the spirit. In thy fury thou hast delivered the holy gospel unto heinous flames." Thegrounds 14. But what are the orounds, for which they have ot poperv. , o ' ^ ^ ^ thus furiously bent themselves against the writings of the Holy Ghost ? The grounds, whereupon they build such doctrines as cannot stand with the scriptures of God, are feigned miracles, the record and witness of foul spirits, pre- cepts of men, muddy legends, uncertain traditions ; which grounds, so long as the light of the gospel shineth in men's Q Hilar. Pictavor. Episc. Op. Par. 1G98. Ad Constant. Aug. Lib. n. 8. col. 1229.— Eu.] P Ambros. Op. Par. 1686. Expos. Ev. sec. Luc. Lib. iii. 41. Tom. i. col. 1829.— Ed.] P Judas Christum carnaliter tradidit, tu spiritaliter furens evange- lium sanctum flammis sacrilegis tradidisti. — August. Op. Par. 1694. Contra Literas Petiliani Lib. ii. 17. Tom. ix. col. 221. This charge is made by Petilian against Augustine, not by Augustine against Petilian. —En.] 1 O, EVERY ONE THAT THIRSTETH, &C. 17 eyes, so long as we have the scriptures to direct us in our judgment, are easily perceived to be but bogs and false grounds : but take away the scriptures, put out the light, and in darkness who can descry what they are ? This is the only reason why antichrist doth so much strive to hood- wink the world, by conveying the scriptures out of sight. 15. By the scriptures we learn that the coming of that wicked one shall be " with powex-, and signs, and lying wonders, and in all deceivableness of unrighteousness which when we hear, it giveth us plainly to understand, that mira- cles are rather to be taken for causes of reasonable suspicion, than infallible proofs of true doctrine. But the pope well pei'ceiveth that, if the scriptures may be buried, his mi- racles will then stand him in good stead. As soon as Philip preached " the things that concerned the kingdom of God, ^,2*j and the name of Jesus Christ," to the people of Samaria, they forsook the sorceries of Simon Magus, and believed the doctrine of the scriptures. But till then they all gave heed to witchcraft, and their general judgment of Magus was, " This man is the power of the great God." 16. In the scriptures we are charged to hear Moses ^p"'''^- and the prophets. In the scriptures we find that Christ refused the testimony of an unclean spii'it. In the scriptures we have learned how to answer them, which send us either to devils, or dead men's ghosts, to be schooled and taught. " Should not a people inquire at their God ? From the liv- Jj'^'j ing to the dead?" But let it be provided that such sen- tences as these may be no more remembered, and then what is it which the pope may not confirm by his pale and grisly witnesses ? When men do not hear of these scriptures, they will easily find as good reason as Saul to open their ears, and to listen unto Satan, " God ansvvereth me no more neither 'f^^^'i-is j by prophets, nor by dreams : therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest tell me what to do." 17- How often are we warned in scriptures to take ^Jenf'^ heed that we build not religion upon doctrines of men ! How sharply are the Corinthians taken up by the apostle, for pinning themselves upon men's sleeves, saying, " I am [^^j"'" '"' of Paul, and I of Apollos ! " But if this were concealed, who would control the pope for dividing his train ; for ai)pointing some to be of Benedict, some of Francis, some of 2 [rt.VNDYS.J 18 THE FIRST SERMON. Dominick ; for exacting more rigorously the strict obser- vation of their rules, than the keeping of the laws and sta- tutes of God ? Legends. j^j^g ^}jg j^^jg^ popery was thick enough to stop the light of the scriptures of God, the fabulous legends of saints' lives were thought as true as the gospel. There they had, with marvellous cunning conveyance, interlaced all points of popish doctrine ; which, being barely taught, would, by reason of the grossness of them, have been loathed in short time ; but being mingled with strange and pleasant fables, and so poured both into young and tender wits as the first liquor wherewith their minds were seasoned, and into old heads as the only thing that might hold them, even then when all other entries of delight were shut up, so long as they had but an ear left, were so effectual to deceive all sorts of men, that, knowing this, we cannot marvel if popery were spread far and wide. He did the pope very profitable service, which first found out this ground to build on. It bare up their building a great while. But after that the light began a little to appear, when men had gotten once a sight of the scriptures in a known tongue, they wondered to see the world so deluded, insomuch that, even amongst themselves, such as had any small fi-eedom of judgment spared not plainly to avouch that this ground was but mire and slough, altogether unfit Vives. f^^, spiritual building. " W^hy that book should be called a Golden legend," saitli Vives, (for so it was intituled) " I do not know, sith it was written by a man of an iron mouth and a leaden heart, and is altogether full of most shameless Hieron"de li^s'." Erasmus Hkewisc, "At this day," saith he, "every scHptorib.' 'Liody's dreams, yea the dotages of silly women, are read amongst divine scriptures^." P Quam iiidigna est divis et hominibus Christianis ilia sanctorum historia, quae Legenda aurea noininatur, quam nescio cur auream appcl- lent, quum scripta sit ab homine ferrei oris, plumbei cordis. Quid foedius dici potest illo libro? 6 quam pudendum est nobis Christianis, non esse prtestantissimos nostrorum divorum actus vcrius et accuratius mcmoi'itc niandatos ! — Lodovici V'ivis Op. Basil. 155-5. De Causis Con'up- tai-um Artium, Lib. ii. Tom. i. pp. 371, 2. — Ed.] P Hinc apparet non nisi apostolicas littcras olim legi solitas in tcmplis, aut certe vironim apostolic33 autlioritatis ; cum hodie mona- O, EVERY ONE THAT THIRSTETH, &C. 19 19. The last ground which they have, and the fairest Traditions, to the eye, is their traditions. Under the name of doctrine received from Moses by word of mouth, without writing, that is to say tradition, the scribes and Pharisees were able smoothly to carry away any thing, till Christ recalled all things to the law, the psalms, and the prophets, till he opened the scriptures. And as in other grounds, so in this, the pope hath found by good experience, that they cannot stand longer than the scriptures lie secret and unknown. 20. He thei'efore that buildeth upon these gi'ounds Doctrines ha,th cause, I think, to bestir hand and foot, that men may npoi'i ttie be always kept olf from the scriptures. For whatsoever is ["rmm'is builded upon these grounds, by the scripture it is over- scripture, thrown. The scriptures have prescribed an holy commu- nion : they upon their foundation have reared a blasphemous mass. The scripture maketh baptism the consecrated seal of man's salvation : they upon their foundation have builded the baptism of bells and ships. The scripture saith, Christ was offered up but once : they upon their foundation have erected an altar, whereupon he is daily offered up. The scripture will have the scriptures to be read of all men, prayer to be made with understanding, Christ to be a full satisfaction for sin, worship to be done unto God alone: they upon their foundations have builded a doctrine that forbiddeth God's people to read his word, that teacheth them to pour out their prayer in a tongue which they can- not understand, that hath found out a way to satisfy the wrath of Almighty God in this life by penance, and after this life by endurance in purgatory ; a doctrine that com- mandeth them to call upon saints and souls departed, to worship the work of their own hands, to say to a piece of bread, " My Lord and my God." If these doctrines Roiiirion of theirs did not contain, as they do, most manifest impiety, ullorVs'i'ich yet all religion builded upon such gi-ounds must needs be u'ou^hVt vain and frivolous. For, although we offer up never so many injurious, i; sacrifices ; though we keep all the days in the year holy ; "famiin^ though we pray, and give thanks, and do alms ; yet, except a,',d"Ini'«T- we know that herein we shew obedience to the laws and chorum somnia, imo miiliercularum dcliramenta legantur inter divinas scriptiiras. — Hieron. Op. Basil. 151C. Erasiiii Roteiotl. in Catal. Script. Ecclesiast. Scholia. Tom. i. p. 141. — Ed.] 2 2 20 THE FIRST SERMON'. statutes of our God, we do but tire out ourselves in vain. Will God reward those things wherein he taketh no delight? Or taketh he delight in any thing, and hath not shewed it ? Or hath he shewed it, and not in scriptui'e ? Doubtless they worship him but in vain, which either teach or practise the precepts of men for the laws of God. That they teach or practise the precepts of men, they will not grant ; yet the most that possibly they can allege to prove any one of these things to be of God is this, " Such or such a father saith, that this or this, being not written, is nevertheless apostolical." And they know that the witnesses, whom they cite in matters of tradition, do sometimes check and con- trary one another. In the controversy that was between tlie East and West churches concerning the feast of Easter, the one part alleged tradition to prove their custom ; and the other part, tradition to prove the contrary. It might be that neither was apostolical : both could not be, when each gainsaid other. Yet both must be, if all be apostolical which the fathers have said is apostolical. If all be not, where is the certainty of these grounds 1 Why do they murder, burn, and persecute from place to place as many as make any doubt of these things, which are grounded upon so fickle and weak foundation I Tiie second 21. But, to leave the foundation whereupon they build (Inierence ' r J between their doctrino, if in the rest we find them as corrupt, as true Cliris- , , ' ' tianity and in this they have been declared weak ; surely then we may popery is in . . the end. boIdly affirm that the church of Rome is rather a sink of all abomination, than a fountain from whence those living waters, or a store-house wherein that heavenly food, whereof the prophet Esay speaketh, may be had. Let us therefore now consider the end, as well of our religion, as of theirs. Let us view the mark whereat each part doth shoot. Whatsoever men do, they do it to some end. And the quality of things which are done to any end is judged to be good or bad by the end whereunto they are done. Hereof it is, that in scripture things other- wise highly commended, as prayer, fasting, and alms deeds, are most bitterly reproved when they tend to bad ends. As there is but one Author, from whom all things are, so tliere is but one end, unto whom all things should incline and bend themselves. God is Alpha, the first, from whom 0, liVBRY OXE THAT THIRSTETH, &C. 21 all other things have their being and beginning ; wherefore in reason he is Omega, the end and final cause of all things: upon him they must attend, and seeing they arc not of themselves, therefore they may not serve themselves, but for the glory of him by whom they are. From hence a rule may be gathered, to judge between pure religion in deed, and that which is untruly so called. For that religion no doubt is best, which most advanceth the glory of God ; and that which taketh most from him, the worst. Ipsi gloria in ecclesia : In the church of God all glory Eph. iii. is given, not to men, but to him. This is the song of'^"''^ the true church of Christ, " Righteousness, O Lord, be- Dan.ix.[7.] longeth unto thee, but unto us open shame." 22. Wherefore, touching ourselves, we teach with the Man is hum- blessed apostles and prophets, " that by nature we are doctrine the children of wrath that corruption is bred and settled on's,'inai'sin. within our bones ; that we are both born and begotten in '■^'^ it ; that with it all the powers and faculties of our nature are infected ; that still it cleaveth fast unto our souls, and, although the deadly sting be taken from it, yet there it sticketh as long as life doth endure, so irksome and so grievous, that it forceth the most upright and perfect to cry, " Miserable man, who shall deliver me V ^om. vw. . . . . [24-] 23. By this inbred corruption our understanding is '^hraidom of so darkened, that naturally we cannot perceive the things which are of God ; no, we count them foolishness : our will is in such thraldom and slavery unto sin, that it cannot like of any thing spiritual and heavenly, but is wholly car- ried unto fleshly desires. 24. If therefore we perceive the things that are of Grace. God, and do like of them ; if our hearts be inclined to do his will ; because this cannot come of ourselves (our natui'e bending a clean contrary way), we acknowledge most willingly and unfeignedly, the good we do is his, it is not ours : our beginning to do, and our continuance in doing well, proceedcth only and wholly from him. If any man receive the grace of God offered, it is because God hath framed his heart thereto. If any man come when (iod calleth, it is because his grace, which calleth, draweth. If being brought unto Christ we continue in him, we have no other reason to yield of ouv doing, but 22 THE FIRST SEKMON. only this, ho hath linked us and fastened us unto himself. Wc neither rise when we arc fallen, nor stand when we arc risen, by our own strength. When we arc in distress, we are of ourselves so far from ability to help ourselves, that we are not able to crave help of him, un- less his Spirit wrest out " Abba, Father," from us. We can- not moan our own case, unless he do groan and sigh for us : we are not able to name Jesus, unless by the special grace of his Spirit our mouths be opened : no, we cannot of our- selves so much as think of naming him, if to think of naming him be a good thought. Works. 25. When against our natural inclination to evil his Spirit, which worketh all in all, hath so prevailed, that wc now begin to hate the works of the flesh, having an earnest [2'''23'] desire to abound in " love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gen- tleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance," and all other fruits of the Spirit ; yet, by reason of the strength of that body of sin which ever fighteth against the Spirit, our in- ward man is so weakened, that we cannot do the things which we would ; and the things which we do, even the best of them, are so far beneath that perfection which the law of God requireth, that, if he should rigorously ex- amine them in justice, no flesh could ever be accounted righteous in his sight. The loathsomest things that can be imagined, the clothes that be most unclean, are not so foul as our very righteousness is unrighteous. Whereupon we conclude, that whatsoever we receive by way of reward at God's hand, either in this life or in the life to come, we receive it as a thing freely given by him, without any merit or desert of ours : we do not say in our hearts, [Dcut.ix.4.] <■<■ f\^Q Lord hath given us these good things to possess for our righteousness." For seeing it is he which giveth both to will and to do, he crowneth indeed his ovra work, when he rewardeth ours ; and he never rewardeth any work of his own, wherein there is not somewhat of ours which he pardoneth. Jilkethto Thus being naked and utterly destitute in our- mei?\nT" ^elvcs, WC seck all things in Christ Jesus. Him only we ciirfs^"'^'^ acknowledge to be our wisdom, our justification, our sanc- tification, our redemption, our priest, our sacrifice, our king, our head, our mediator, our physician, our way, our truth, 0, EVERY ONE THAT THIIISTETII, &C. 23 our life. In ourselves we find nothing but poverty and weakness : praise, and honour, and glory, we give to him. The only mark we aim at is to set up his throne, to ad- vance his kingdom, to make it known that in him the Father hath laid up all the treasures of heaven ; to the end that unto him the thirsty may repair for water, the hungry for bread, the naked for clothes, and we all for all things needful to the safety of our souls and bodies. 27. This is not the scope which the church of Rome The cimrch proposeth : they direct all things to another end. " How secketh*'her can ye believe," saith Christ to the Jews, "which receive and fa^n!^ honour one of another, and seek not that honour which Cometh of God alone V And how can the faith of the church of Rome be sound, sith they hold such doctrines as tend wholly to their own glory, their own gain, and not to the praise and honour of God ? 28. That tliey seek not his glory but their own, it siie pareth . 1-1,1 11 • , , '■"'f' f"""- may appear unto any man which throughly considereth nistietii of their doctrine. First, they will not acknowledge that nai'corrup- poverty and nakedness, those filthy garments of corruption and sin, wherein Adam hath wrapped his posterity : but in the pride of their hearts they dissemble it, diminish it, and make light of it. For although they deny not but that man's nature is corrupted, yet mark how they pare and lessen this corruption. The prophet David doth term it " wickedness" and " sin ;" but they make it only an inclina- I'^ai. ii.[5.] tion unto sinning. The Lord himself doth witness that by it " all the imaginations of the thoughts of man's heart <^''"- [5.] are only evil : " they restrain it to the inferior part of the soul, and make it only a mother of some grosser desires. The blessed apostle prayed, groaned, and wept against it, as a thing which made him altogether weary of his life : but after baptism they make no more account of those inward rebellious motions against the Spirit, than they do of the beating of a man's pulse. 29. And as they hide that weakness which indeed ^'If ''oa^'- •' etn of frec- they have, so they boast of that strength which is not in them. For being subject unto miserable bondage under sin, by reason of that corruption which hath spread itself over all Mesh, they brag notwithstanding of the freedom of theii' will ; as if sin had not utterly bereaved us there- 24 THE FIRST SERMON. of, but still it were in us to frame and fashion our own hearts luito good things. For proof whereof, their man- ner is to make long discourses, teaching that God's fore- knowledge doth not take away free-will, that men are not violently drawn to good or evil. Which things we easily and willingly grant ; neither do we teach, or ever did, that the freedom of our will is taken away by the eter- nal decree of his unsearchable purpose : but this we say, and all that have the truth do say the same — that the will of man, being free unto natural and civil actions, hath of itself no freedom to desire things heavenly and spiritual ; not because the eternal purpose of God, but because the corruption of our nature, hath addicted us only unto evil. We do not teach, or ever did, that any man is the servant either of sin or of righteousness by constraint ; for whether we obey the one unto death and condemnation, or unto life and salvation the other, our obedience is always voluntary ; it is not wrested from us against our wills. But the question being, how we are made willing unto that which is good, this is the differ- ence between our answer and theirs : We say, only by the grace of God ; they say, partly by grace, but principally by the power and strength of their own nature. For, being ashamed to affirm with Pelagius that a man may do the works of righteousness by nature without the grace of God, they hold his grace to be a thing indeed neces- sary ; but how? As a bird that is tied, or a man that is in fetters, needeth only to have those incumbrances removed, having then a natural ability to fly and walk without any further help ; so man, as they say, hath in himself ability to do good, if the grace of God do but lemove lets. Is not this to make nature the principal cause of our well doing? whereas in truth, without the special motion of God's Spirit, and that in every parti- cular action, we are no more able to walk in the ways which God hath commanded, than a drunken man to go without leading, who staggereth even in the plainest ground, though all stumblingblocks be removed, though his way lie never so smooth before him : such is our weakness. In Rom. ix. consideration whereof the blessed apostle saith plainly, " It is not in him that willeth, or in him that runneth, but 0, EVERY ONE THAT THIRSTETH, &C. 2.5 in God that shewoth mercy."" We drag and are not able of ourselves to set one foot before another. " Draw mo," '■ ^^'^ saith the spouse in the Canticles, " and then we will run after thee." But these men, little considering of what frail metal they are made, perceiving not how sin hath weakened the faculties of the soul, vaunt of freedom, of strength, of inward power, and make their own will the chiefest cause of their well doing. 30. And when they have done any thing which to J'^! Justification works. their seeming is well done, they prize it so high, and esteem so much of it, that God, as they think, should do ihem injury, if in judgment he did not pronounce them just and righteous for their works"" sake. If it were pos- sible that God, entering into judgment, should find any so upright and perfect that by their works they might be justified in his sight, doubtless he should find his own servants to be such, or else none ; if any of his servants, surely his prophets ; if any prophet, rather David than any other. But David crieth out, " Enter not into judg- ment," no, not " with thy servant, O Lord : for in thy sight shall none that liveth be justified." For, whether we con- sider works forbidden or commanded by the law, what man is there living, which can say in the one, " My heart is pure"? in the other, "I have done all that is enjoined me"? For if it were so, that we knew nothing wherein we had transgressed the laws and statutes of the Almighty, yet herein could we in no wise be justified, because of secret sins, hidden even from our own selves. For which if God shall call us to our reckoning, and mark straitly what is done amiss, "O Lord," saith the Psai. c.xxx. prophet, "who shall stand?" Again, if wo had done''^'' whatsoever we could ; yet, because we cannot do so much as we should, we ought to acknowledge ourselves unprofit- able : whereas we, even the best of us, are far from doing that which, if we would, we might do. 31. Now, if God notwithstandino-, for his Son"'s sake, " ' and works do so allow and accept the work of our hands, that he of , , . . ero^ation. bountiiully rewardeth our weak service with an excellent and an eternal weight of glory, how much are we bound both to praise his mercy, and to hate the insolency of those men, who, besides all this, swelling in the proud con- 26 THE FIRST SEKMON. ceit of thoir works, wiW have eternal life, which is his gift, to be thoir merit ! nor only that, but the worthiness of their deserts to be so great, that many of them, doing God more sen'ice than can be sufficiently rewarded in their own persons, deserve heaven, not only for themselves, but for others too. These shipwi-ecks of faith they have made by reason of their inward pride, cxce'^sheiv' 32. The oxccssive desire of outward pomp hath fur- outward thermore caused them to disdain the baseness of Christ pomp. Jesus and of his apostles, to be ashamed of the mean and low estate wherein they lived ; to make of their deacons and priests cardinals, exceeding the kings of the earth in glory ; of their bishop a monarch, under whose foot the emperor himself hath been a footstool, whose stirrup the greatest sovereigns have scarce been deemed worthy to hold, at whose bridle kings have attended as servants ; that Kccies.x.[6, the words of the Preacher might be justified, " Folly is set in great excellency, and the rich set in the low place. I have seen servants on horses, and princes walking as servants on the ground." siiera.iin- 33. This pomp cannot be maintained with nothing: vilcmcr- Jt must havc stronw sinews. And therefore, whatsoever cnandize. , . . , . man s wit might possibly devise for gain, they have both found it out, and put it in ure ; setting offices, masses, prayers, pardons, sacraments, heaven and earth, all the treasures of the house of God, to sale; if we may term it the house of God, which they have made a shop of so vile mer- chandise. It were infinite to recite what huge sums of money they have heretofore, by religious pretences, every year gathered witliin the compass of this one island : what heaps then have they raked out of other parts of Christen- dom i AVhich offals and profits if once men begin, as here, so in other kingdoms also, to withhold from them ; if men leave off buying their wares any more ; if things which are lat and excellent depart ; doubtless that city, Avhich now is clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, which now is gilded with gold, and decked with precious stones and pearls, shall in one hour be made desolate. This they know, and it maketh them careful to maintain whatsoever is commodious and gainful to them. As for the gloiy of God, it is the least part of their care : nay, they care not how heinous O, EVERY ONE THAT THIUSTETII, &C. 27 sacrilege they commit in spoiling and robbing him of his honour. S4t. It is an honour unto God, when all men bv faith kiip lobbctu pomt their nn^ers, as it were, at Christ J esus, naminor him honour 1 o ' ' ^ ' o wliicli he the only Lamb which taketh away the sins of the world ; should have when ho is acknowledged the only Mediator between God volition','" and us ; when we confess, that he is that Priest according enco. to the order of Melchisedec, which, having offered one sa- Heb. x. [12, crifice for sins, hath therewith, because it was a perfect sacrifice, consecrated for ever them that are sanctified ; when our faith is so ascertained and grounded upon his promises, that we can be " bold as lions," assuring ourselves Piov. xxviii. that " the eye of the Lord is on them which trust in his p^li. xxxiu. mercy, to deliver their souls from death," as the prophet ^'''^ witnesseth. But how do they give unto him this honour, who have devised so many ways to take away sin, besides the blood of the Lamb of God ? — who, as though we might not be bold " to enter into the holy place by the new and C^'^''- lively way which ho hath prepared for us through the vail, which is his fiesh ;" or as though there were some others, without whom the Father in him is not pleased, some others more willing to hear our requests than he who gave himself to death for our sakes, have made their intercessors infinite in number ; and, as though his sacrifice were so unperfoct that by being once offered it could not perfectly consecrate those which arc sanctified, renew their oblations day by day ; finally, as though the prophet were over-presumptuous which saith, " God is our hope, and strength, and help, therefore I'sai. xwi. will not we fear," go about by all means to strike a servile terror into the hearts of the faithful, to keep them always wavering and doubting, to take away all assurance of the mercy and favour of God towards them ; which when we have lost, what courage can we have to withstand the fiery assaults of Satan ? what comfort or consolation in the midst of those sharp and bitter conflicts, which we must endure if we will live godly in Christ Jesus 1 85. It is an honour unto God, when his name only is called upon, when we worship and fall down before none but him. This honour he getteth not at their hands, which have gotten to themselves legions of angels to whom they pray, and millions of idols which they daily adore. Their differ- 28 THE FIRST SERMON. ences between an idol and an image are but shifts. Call them what ye will, they are similitudes of things in heaven or things in earth, which is sufficient to condemn them of idolatry that worship such things. Their distinctions be- tween the honour which they give to images, and the wor- ship which they do to God alone, may sei-ve to blear the eyes of mortal men : but the eternal God doth know, that they honour creatures with that honour which is forbidden Exofi. XX. them in the law ; that they " bow down to them," and that " they serve them."" 36. It is an honour unto God, when reverence and obedience is shewed unto his law. But is this performed in that synagogue, where he sitteth which is an adversary, and exalteth himself against all that is called God, or that is worshipped ; making himself supreme judge of all nations ; requiring his own words to be heard of all men as the words of God ; bereaving magistrates of their lawful power ; ex- empting his clergy from the civil sword, what villainy soever they commit ; changing at pleasure the government of Christ established in his church ; dispensing with sin, be it never so directly against the express commandment of God ; forbid- ding his clergy marriage, under colour of severing them from the world, but indeed to ease them of such cares and trou- bles as are necessarily joined with that honourable estate which God commendeth ; and both secretly with concubines, and openly in stews, permitting them fornication, which God doth hate ? Seeing therefore that this their synagogue is nothing but a sink of all uncleanness, seeing that all their endeavours tend to no other end, but only to the ad- vancement of themselves, the dishonour of God, and the disgrace of Christ, doubtless they are not, they cannot be, the men which minister the waters of eternal life unto thirsty souls. The third 37. Now that WO havo seen both the ground, and the between end, as Well of that faith which we profess, as of the doctrine ianity and whicli is held by tlicm who are deadly enemies to us and our fhe means profcssiou ; it remaiueth that a word be spoken of the means of proceed- whicli are used on both parts to set forward that for which we strive. Touching ourselves, as the mai-k which we shoot at is to set up the kingdom of Christ Jesus, a kingdom which is not of the world ; so the means which herein we O, EVERY ONE THAT THIRSTETII, SiC. 29 use are not worldly, but altogether heavenly and spiritual. What the proceedings of the gospel have been, yo are not ignorant : ye know very well, how without force, without cruelty, without treachery and deceit, without all wisdom of flesh and blood, in naked simplicity, in truth uncoloured, and, as the apostle speaketh, in foolishness of preaching, we have laboured to prepare you for one husband ; to present you as a pure virgin to Christ, not outwardly arrayed in purple and scarlet, gilded with gold, precious stones, and pearl, like the strumpet that sitteth upon many waters ; but, like the spouse of Solomon, glorious within, full of Christ, rich in faith and in good works, fulfilled with know- ledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, strengthened mightily in the inward man, rooted and grounded in sincere love, enabled to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height of the love of Christ, strengthened with all patience and long-suffering, blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly things. 38. Contrariwise they, desiring no such thing, but seeking to build an earthly kingdom for themselves, use the means which are fittest for that purpose. They feed men's eyes with all glorious and glittering shews : they invent to themselves instruments of music to delight the ear ; but of the work of the Lord, of preaching the gospel, of instruct- ing the heart, of building the faith, of exhorting and com- forting God's people, who seeth not how little regard they have? They keep men occupied always in corporal and bodily exercise, which profiteth little ; but are they careful i Tim. iv. to train men up in the knowledge of Christ, which is eternal life? in true godliness, which is profitable unto all things, which hath the promise of the life present, and of that which is to come ? No, their practice from time to time doth shew that most profane and godless men, only siding themselves with the church of liome, and defending by all means the pope's honour, may both be counted as catho- lics, and oven canonized as saints among them. If they pass the days of their life lewdly, after death at a reason- able price they may purchase rest for their souls. If their hearts be set upon adulteiy, incest, theft, murder ; consider' [' Consider — givs- a cnnsidoration or fee to, — Kn.J 30 THE FIRST SERMON. the holy father for his parchment and lead ; and what more easily granted in the court of Rome than full and free liberty to commit sin? Hence it cometh to pass, that as every man is most licentiously bent, so he joineth himself most willingly to the church of Rome, and warreth most earnestly for that faith, which faith if the rich men of this world be for the most part ready to embrace, what marvel [Markx.23.] is it? For whereas Christ hath said, " It is hard for a rich man to enter into heaven," their doctrine and practice mak- eth the way expedite only for the rich : but by the way which they teach, for a poor man to enter into the kingdom of heaven, it is a hard matter. It were too much to recite all the means whereby that kingdom of darkness hath grown : it were a thing too full of horror to discourse of all the treacheries, poisonings, murderings, massacres, which they have used to maintain their power ; never any tyrant in the world more. Did Christ, did Peter, did the blessed apostles, thus subdue and conquer nations ? Did they thus enlarge the kingdom of God? As verily as he doth live, it is not the goodness of their religion, but the strength of their faction and the wiliness of flesh, by which they stand. 39. Wherefore, briefly to conclude this matter, and in few words to knit up that which remaineth ; I have, as you see, set before you life and death, truth and error, wholesome food and noisome poison. If ye tender the safety of your own souls, be not as children ready to take whatsoever is offered you : learn to judge between good and evil : lay not out money for that which is no bread : spend not your labour in that which cannot satisfy: come to the waters whereunto God calletli you. 3. 40. The manner of coming is set down by the pro- sort nieif' phct in many Vv'ords : the sum of all is this : we must not tothpwaters givo ear unto lying spirits ; " Hear not the words of the; jerl xxiii. prophets that prophesy unto you, and teach you vanity : ' they speak the vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the Lord turn away your ears from such, and " hearken unto me," saith the Lord. " Hearken diligently," carefully, attentively. The word of life is of power and strength to save your souls. But if ye be as vessels that leak and run out, how should the doctrine O, EVEKY ONE THAT TlllRSTETII, &C. of salvation profit you? This food, refusing all other, we are exhorted both to take and to eat. If sinners, heretics, enemies of the truth, say. Come with us ; shun them, turn away your feet from their paths, offer not you their offer- ings of blood, present not yourselves in their temples, taste not things sacrificed unto their idols ; " Eat that which is good." Labour not for the meat which perisheth, much less for that whereby men perish ; but labour for the meat that endureth to everlasting life, which meat the Son of man shall give you, for " him hath God the [Joiinvi.27.] Father sealed." He is the bread of life : his flesh is meat indeed, and his blood is drink indeed : his word is the power of God unto salvation : his sacraments are seals of righteousness by faith : in him are all the treasures of peace, joy, rest, comfort : no eye hath seen, no ear hath heard, no heart hath conceived the things which are hid- den and laid up in him. Whereupon if we feed in such sort that our souls take joy, pleasure, and " delight in fatness," then the fruit which hereby we shall reap is this : 41. "Your soul," saith God, "shall live, and I will ™ „ ' ' ' What coin- make an everlastina: covenant with vou, even the sure ""O'l'ti'^s ~ •> ^ sucli as mercies of David." What ? Shall they then which hear- <^«-"^' •' receive. ken unto him, and put their tnast in his mercy, deliver their lives for ever from the hand of the grave? Shall they live, and not see death ? There is a first and a second death : the one only severeth the soul from the body for a time ; the other tormenteth, first the soul severed, and afterward both body and soul for ever. The second death shall not touch them of whom the prophet here speakcth. But of the first Job hath said, " Death is the house appointed for all the living." Where- j^;',''^'"'''- fore God doth not promise to prolong the days of his children continually here on earth; but his promise is, that their souls shall live. For touching outward things, we cannot cei"tainly judge the hatred or love of God by them. In these external events, " The same condition ^'^'^'.^^jj y is to the just and to the wicked, to the good and pure, and to them that are polluted, to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not. As is the good, so is the sin- ner ; he that sweareth as he that feareth an oath." " How 32 THE FIRST SERMON. dieth the wise man? Even as the fool,"'"' eaith the Preacher. Nay, one is wicked, and hveth in ease and prosperity ; an- other feareth God, and dieth in the bitterness of his soul : they sleep both in the dust together, the worms cover them jobxxi.[3o.] both alike. This only is the difference, " The wicked is kept to the day of destruction, and shall be brought forth [Hab. ii. 4.] to the day of wrath." But " the just shall live by faith his soul shall live. The foundation from whence this life floweth is that covenant, which was made with 2 Sam. vii. David : " I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of the ' body, and I will stablish his kingdom : he shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever."'"' Now as David, so the children of David after him, fulfilled their days, and fell asleep : the throne of David was not established in them for ever. But of Christ the angel of the Lord Luke 1. [32, j^j^^i^ gg^j^}^ u rpi^g Lord shall give unto him the throne of his father David, and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom shall be no end." Wherefore in Christ this covenant with David is ful- filled. The mercies which were promised unto David are Acts xiii. the benefits, and, as the apostle termeth them, " the holy things,"" which we receive by Christ Jesus. This covenant [2^o' 21 f"' everlasting. " If,"""" saith God by the prophet Jeremy, " you can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, that there should not be day and night in their season, then may my covenant be broken with David."" As the covenant made with David is everlasting, so the mei'cies therein contained are " sure." Of the sure mercies [Psai.ixxxix. of David thus he speaketh in the book of Psalms : " Mine 21—23, 28.] ^ hand shall be established with him, and mine arm shall strengthen him : the enemy shall not oppress him ; neither shall the wicked do him hurt ; but I will destroy his foes before his face, and plague them that hate him : my mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and my cove- nant shall stand fast with him." The covenant made with David is made with us : his mercies are our mercies, if so be we perform that which here is required at our hands. If we hearken diligently unto him that crieth, " Come to the waters," if we cleave fast unto his truth, p "The,' pi-ol)abl,v an citot for " thy." — Ed.] O, EVERY ONE THAT THIRSTETH, &C. if we embrace his promises with joy, eating that whicli is good, shunning and loathing that which is evil ; surely ]n's hand shall be established with us as with David, his arm shall be our strength, the enemy shall not oppress us, neither shall the wicked do us harm : but God shall destroy all our enemies before us, and plague them that hate us ; his mercies he shall keep towards us for ever, his covenant shall stand fast with us, our souls shall live, he shall make an everlasting covenant with us, even the sure mercies of David. AVhich mercies the God of all mercy grant us ; unto A^•hom, with the Son by whose blood they are purchased, together with that glorious Spirit which hath sealed in our hearts full assurance that they cannot fail, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen, [sANDYS.] 3 THE SECOND SERMON. A SERMON MADE BEFORE THE PARLIAMENT AT WESTMINSTER. 1 Samuel XII. 23. Be this sin against the Lord far from me, that I should cease to pray for you : hut I will shew you the good and the right way. 24. Therefore fear you the Lord, and serve him in the truth. The use of HiSTORiEs, as Well sacrecl as profane, at larsre record, that parliaments. , ' . . good princes have ever vigilantly looked into the state of the commonwealth which is their charge ; and per- ceiving disorder, or foreseeing danger, have speedily caused consultation to be had, as well for the reformation, as for the preservation thereof. In which consultation three especial things are commonly offered to consider of: the state of religion ; the state of the prince ; and the state of the commonwealth. Three most necessary things to be regarded and provided for. If religion be not sound, men's souls cannot be safe : if the head be not preserved, the body of necessity must decay : if good government want', the commonwealth falleth into confusion. Our pro- phet, that good prince and mler of the people, in the great assembly of the Israelites, remembered unto them these self-same things, as, by the words which I have chosen to treat of, it will appear. Our Samuel, our good and gracious governor, moved with like affection, hath called this honourable and high court of parliament for like end. Wherein that things well intended may the better proceed and take best effect, let us in our prayers crave help and assistance from above. Wherein let us not forget Christ's universal church, this particular church of England and Ireland, the Queen's excellent majesty, our most sovereign Lady and chief Governor, that God, remembering ns in liis mercy, may grant her majesty a 1^' Want — 1)0 wanting. — Ed.] BE THIS Sm AGAINST THR LORD, &C. 35 long happy life, with the increase of all godly honour and I'elicity, to the great praise of his name and great good of his church. Let us also remember in our prayers the honourable privy council, the clergy, the nobility, with the whole people of this realm ; that God may grant every one grace in his calling sincerely to serve him. And espe- cially at this time let us call upon God for wisdom and grace from above, that in this consultation of parliament, all private affections and respects to our own commodities laid aside, God's glory and the good of his church and this commonwealth only and sincerely may be sought. For these, and grace, let us pray unto God as our Saviour Christ hath taught us: "Our Father," &c. 2. The better to convey myself to the matter which I Tilings to be considerecl have in hand, I shall crave leave that I may speak somewhat in the person . of Samuel. of this princely prophet Samuel : who, descending; of noble He was a ^ , , • . • minister. parentage, was by his mother consecrated to the ministry. Of which calling though Christ himself thought so highly and honourably that, refusing to be a king, he chose the Johnvi.[i5.] office of a minister ; yet so perverse is the judgment of the world, that they think no condition more base or vile. The minister with his master Christ is contemned : this holy office is become odious: "AH men seek their own," and serve Phii.ii. [21.] themselves : it is accounted slavery to serve the Lord. 3. Samuel was called of God to be a magistrate, He was a wherein he was so faithful and upright, that his adversaries gfistrate ; yet were forced to justify his doings, and to bear him record them over that he neither was a bribe-taker, nor an extortioner, nor wa's p'laced. one that had injured any man. It were well with our commonwealth, if all officers could carry away the like testimony. But evil subjects cannot away with good ma- gistrates. The prodigal, which have consumed their sub- stance in lewdness and vanity, long for a change ; supposing that their state will be bettered thereby, and persuading themselves that it cannot be made worse. "All change is perilous ; " and an old saying is it, " Seldom comes the better." A better this peoj)le could hardly have had : yet so unquiet and discontented they were, that (the good and peaceable government of Samuel notwithstanding) they misliked their present state, and desired another governor to be given them. The worthy magistrate Moses was Exod. xv. 3 — 2 36 THE SECOND SERMON. 2Sam.xvii. muttered against; the noble king David for a time de- posed ; our feithful Samuel rejected. Behold the hard state of good princes, who are for the most part rewarded with great ingratitude. Moses' dear cousins became his [•i^^'s.]''''' deadly enemies: David's familiar friends became his most fierce and violent foes : Samuel was rejected of such as Chrysippus. most favoured. Chrysippus, observing the course of these things, saith that which experience proveth true : " Thou shalt be sure, if thou govern amiss, to purchase God's, if well, the people's anger and displeasure." The danger of this office, by reason of the great ingratitude Kxod. iv. of the people, made Moses say to God, " Send whom thou Leniosthe- wilt scnd." It causcd Demosthenes rather to wish banish- 'I'liemisto- meut, than place of o-overnraent ; and Themistocles to cles. . " . prefer hell itself to the judgment-seat. ^Vhen Antigonus should put on a royal diadem, he brake forth into this Vaier. Max. speech, "O clotli of more honourable than happy estate; lib. vil. cap. .... • 1 1 ii- wherewith if a man were so throughly acquainted that he could tell the number of cares and miseries wherewith thou art fraught, he would not stoop for thee, though he might have thee for the taking up." Wherefore it grieved not Samuel to be eased of so heavy a burthen : but God was much grieved to see so great disgrace of- i^sam. viii. fered to his anointed. " They have not rejected thee, but me," saith the Lord. To dislike and cast off a good Rom. xiii. magistrate is to dislike and cast off God ; because " all power is of God." God, in his wrath for godly Samuel, gave them wicked Saul. I pray God in his justice serve all such alike, as seek after such change, as cannot sub- rait themselves with loving; and obedient hearts to the good government of worthy Samuel, their natural prince, their good and faithful magistrate ; wlioni for conscience sake they ought to honour and obey. He was both 4. Samucl was both a prophet and a prince, a mi- a prophet . . n r -rv • i aiuiapiince. mster and a magistrate: so was Melchisedec, Moses, David, Christ. He had need to be a rare man, that should well Lukexvi. answer sundry offices. When Bedde rationem, "Give ac- count," conieth, then one office such as the least of these will be thought a burthen heavy enough for any one, be- sides these, to have borne. But the matching of these two offices doth teach, what agreement, love, and liking BE THIS SIN AGAIXST THK LOUD, &C. shoulfl be between tliesc two officers. They are God's two hands to build up withal the decayed walls of Jeru- salem. If the one hand set forward, and the other put backward, God's work will be ill wrought. The wisdom of God matched Moses and Aaron, two brethren ; the KxocI. ... Ill- 11- "'•J one the mmister, the other the magistrate ; that, knit together in brotherly love, they might labour together with both hands for the furtherance of God's building. AV'hcn the word and the sword do join, then is the people well ruled, and then is (iod well served. So long as king Joas 2 Kings xu. * * [2.] and the good priest Jehoida lived together, God was served according to his word : the priest rightly counselled, the king gladly followed. 5. Samuel, zealous for the olorv of God, and carcsfur''.''''-,*.'''"- ' o . ' tamed in tlic for the commonwealth, preacheth to the parliament assem- g^'J.^J'* bled after this sort : " Be this sin airainst the Lord far from i- Ti'eduty ~ _ _ _ _ ottliemiiiis- me, Sec." Wherein first, he putteth the ministers in mind l^'i.^^ of their duty ; secondly, he telleth the prince and people "^j tjie of their office; lastly, he sheweth, if thev do it not, what 3. The duty ' 'of the pco- punishment will follow. pie- 6. Samuel, reiected and put from tiie office of a inagis- nishment, if 1 1 • f 1 1 1 11- , ''"'y ^'^ trate by this iroward and rebellious people, yet was not so jiot per- froward himself, as to forsake the office of a minister. Sinnuei /.f-a- -Ill !• «'ii- 1 loiisiuGod's JN either minded he to revenge this wrong oirered him; but cause, but with a mild mind he was content, not only to pray for them, own. but to teach them ftiithfully, and lovingly to admonish them. A pattern for all princes to be mild in their own matters, yet earnest and zealous in the quarrel of God. He prayed for the people his enemies — the cause was his own : he took the sword in his hand, and cut king Agag in pieces — the 1 sam. xv. cause was God's. Moses in his own cause was a man most '"^^'^ mild ; ho quietly suffered wonderful wrongs : but when he perceived idolatry committed, God's glory coming into ques- tion, he with his partakers, for worshipping of that calf, put Kvod. xxxii. to the sword three thousand men. Christ our Saviour and ^'^''^ Master sufiPered, though undeservedly, yet meekly, all re- proof, yea reproach, yea death itself: but when his Father's .Tcimii. [15.] cause came in hand, that the house of (iod was made a den of thieves, he bestirred him with his whip, coursed those simoniacal choppers ami changers, buyers and sellers, out of the temple, and make havock of whatsoever they had. 38 THE SECOND SERMON. _ , .1- 7- This mild und zealous Samuel, zealous in God's cause, By his own _ ' example he and mild in his own, first by his own example putteth the giveth mi- _ _ _ . . . nisters to ministers in mind of their duty : in whom he requireth two unaerstand _ _ _ •' , their duty to ^^^''"8'®' principal points concerning them, to pray, and pray and to to tcach. " God forbid that I should sin against the Lord, teach. Ml 1 1 11 and cease praying for you : I will shew you the good and right way." His prayer g. Christ, that ffood pastor, was earnest in ijrayer was earnest, ' r> i ' l j as^appeareth for the people, " Holy Father, keep them :" yea for his words, "Be enemies, " Father, forgive them." Paul, the good apostle, this sin far _ . . , from me, "prayed without intermission." James, the good bishop that I should . i i . cease to of Jerusalem, made his knees as hard as the hoof of a pray." camel with continual praying ^ Our good prophet Samuel thinketh it a great sin not to pray for the people : Ahsit a one hoc peccatum, " Be this sin far from me." Christ, Peter, Paul, Jeremy, prayed with many tears. God is de- lighted with an hearty prayer, both in the minister, in Lukexxii. prince, and in the people. Christ was so fervent herein, that he sweat water and blood. King David, in Psai. vi. [6.] jjis earnest prayer, nightly watered his bed with tears. xx^iiL'[i2, "^^^ Israelites in Babylon, in pouring out their hearty Exod xxxii. pi'ayers, poured out also tears abundantly. Moses was so earnest with God in his prayers, that God said unto [lo.T ' ' " Why dost thou hold me V Anna- was so eager, that she poured out her very heart before God in prayer. The very ethnicks^ would not dally with their false gods Plutarch, jjj prayer. Plutarch reporteth, that when they met in the house of their idols to pray, one openly pronounced, Hoc agite; " Do this." Talk not, trifle not, let not your minds wander. Do that ye come for. For " prayer is the lifting up of the mind to God." And Christ complaineth Matt. XV. of this lip-labour : " This people honour me with their lips." God seeth thy heart, and he requireth it. prayed 9. The persons for whom Samuel did pray, are spe- princeand cified in the latter end of his speech. For to whom he the people. . . . ^ ^ saith, "if ye do wickedly, ye shall perish, both you and your king;" for them, that they might not do wickedly, he 1 Tim. ii. [I, prayed. We must pray "first for kings, and all that are [' Euseb. Pamph. Hist. JM. Amst. 1095. Lib. ii. 23. p. 50.— Ed.] P Anna — Hannah. — En.] [' Ethnicks — heathen. — Ed.] BE THIS Sl.\ AGAINST THE LOUD, &C. 89 placed in .-luthority that God may give them under- standing hearts, rightly to rule ; faithful counsellors, from whom they may receive wise and grave advice; careful minds, to put good counsels in execution. Evil counsel given and followed hath wrought much woe to many princes, and utter ruin to sundry commonwealths. King Hanan 2 Sam. x. [3, hearkoncfl to evil counsel, and executed it ; but it turned to the confusion of him and his people. Absolon likewise 2 Sam. xvi. followed AchitopheFs wicked counsel ; and destruction like- ^^'^ wise followed them both. Solomon, he gave ear to foolish 1 Kings xi. . [1— lO-j women, and followed their idolatrous devices ; whereby he procured to himself the wrath of God. Roboam rejected the counsel of the grave and wise, and followed the light and lusty devices of young brains ; but it spoiled him of the most part of his kingdom. Zedekias would not hear Jer.^xxxviii. the good counsel of Jeremy, but gave ear to the evil advice of his bad counsellors ; which in the end turned to his con- fusion. Happy is that prince, that hath wise and godly counsellors ; and thrice happy, that will follow them. Then may the people live a quiet and a peaceable life in all god- liness and honesty. Samuel prayed for the prince and the people. This is one principal part of the minister's office. 10. The other is to teach. "If I teach not, woe xiie next worth me,'' saith St Paul. But what is it that the mi- m^mster^s nister should teach ? The pope to be head of the uni- whafthe" °' versal church ? No : that Christ claimeth as his own laod'^and''^ right. To abstain from marriage and meat, as not lawful to colV^^s!] be used? That St Paul termeth the " doctrine of devils." fCriv.'"^ Shall we teach purgatory and prayer to the dead, or for ^'^ the dead ' But St John teacheth, that we are purged by Uoim i. [-.] the blood of Christ. And God commandeth us to call upon him in our prayer. Other commandment have we none. To be short, shall we teach the doctrine of men? Then all our "worshipping of God shall be in vain." Ma"'^v.[9.] Samuel therefore telleth us what we shall teach, namely, " the good and right way." Esay, speaking of God's word, saith, " This is the way, walk in it." The prophet Jeremy isai. xxx. hath the like, " Stand upon the ways and see, and in- jcr.\i. [le.] quire of the old way, which is the good way, and walk in it." We ought to walk in the old path of God's an- cient word : for that is the good and the right way. 40 THE SECOND SERMON. [8*32 ?" " ^^"^^^ which seemeth right unto you.*" " But what I coniniand, that only do : neither add nor detract any thing.'' Christ taught not his own ways, but John xiv. the wavs of his Father : " The words which I have [10.] ^ . . spoken are not nnne, but his that sent me, the Father's." 1 Cor. xi. St Paul durst not teach anv other thinor than what ho Gal. i. [8.] had received of the Lord. Yea, he curseth the very angels of heaven, if they teach any other way than that which he had already dehvered, as right and good. It is the office therefore of the minister to teach the word. i^Pet. iv. " He that speaketh, let him speak as the words of God." The good emperor Constantinus was so careful of this, that he required of the synod over which he was set to decide matters of religion, that they should order all things by the book of God, which book he placed for the same purpose in the midst of them : and what the bishops in synod did so conclude to be godly and be- hoveful, that he did ratify and confirm. Piich as (]o 11. The ministers, you see, should teach the risrht not this . ° "ork,shouid way. He which beareth that name, and performeth not fi-mi to bear this offico, is but an " idol "Let another take his bishop- zevh.xi. nek. Such drones were better smothered, than suffered [ 17.] . . . . Acts i. [20.] in that hive, where none should live that will not labour. Such as sow not, w'hy should they reap ? Neither is it any new thing to cast out unworthy ministers who cast 1 Kings ii. off' caro of their duty. Solomon deposed Abiathar the '"'■^ high priest: and Justinian deprived Sylverius and Vigilius, bishops of Rome. These are good precedents for princes in like case to follow. Punishment 12. Affain, sucli as tcach, but teach not the good due unto , • , , i i i- • ■ surh as aud right wav ; such as are open and public mamtamers teach wavs ^ " ... rontrary to of crrors and heresv ; such, in the judgment of God, are tliat which , " , 7 • is srood and thought unwortliy to live. Falsus propheta moriatur. Elias Deut."xui. and Jehu did not think themselves imbrued, but rather ikingsxviii. sanctified with such blood. I have no cruel heart : blood ^^Kin-s X. be far from me : I mind ' nothing less. Yet needs must ["'4 25 ] . , " ' ' it be granted that the mamtainers and teachers of errors and heresy are to be repressed in every christian com- monwealth. Such troublers of the quiet of the church, such deceivers of the people, are at least wise, according Mind— desh-e.— Ed."| BE THIS SIN AGAINST THE LOHD, ScC. 41 to llio ancient commendable custom of the church, to be removed from the ministry. It is no reason that the church enemies should be fostered in the bosom of the church. The histories of things done by good princes and rulers in these cases are so many and manifest, that I need not trouble you with recital of them. Amphilochius Trip. hist, the bishop sharply reproved Theodosius the emperor, that 25.' he so long winked at Arius, and suffered him to spread his pestilent heresy far and wide over the body of the church : the emperor was not angry at the words of just reproof ; but forthwith banished Arius, and gave him some part of his just deserts. The ministers, what room soever they have in the church of God, ought to pi'ay, and teach the good and right way, or else to give place to others that can and will. And thus much for the duty of the ministers. 13. It followeth, "Fear the Lord, and serve him in ^, The (lutv of the truth with all your hearts. ' The prophet, in these p>'n' e . , . towards God words, putteth the prmce and people in remembrance ofa'"itiie . , - 111 • • •! coiiimon- their duty. Wherem double service is required; the ser- wealth, vice due unto God, and the service due unto the common- wealth. The service which we owe unto God is fear : which fear is ever joined with love, and for that cause called a son-like fear ; to distinguish it from that servile fear, the end whereof is desperation, as the fruit of the former is love, which maketh not ashamed. Fear God ; for they which fear him shall not feel his power. All things be naked and open before him. He doth see, and will judge. Fear him therefore : but love him too, who hath so loved thee, that he hath not spared his only Son, but given him to death for thee. 14. God putteth the heads in mind of this duty ; How princes knowing that, as they go before, so the people will follow princes, after. Jeroboam gave evil example, and he made the people sin. Josias feared and zealously served God; and ^ Kings .wii. the people did the like. Quomodo reges Domino servmnt in Aug. Ep. 50. timore, nisi ea qucc contra Domini jussa sunt reliciiosa severi- tate proliibendo atque pleciendo ? Aliter rex servit ut homo, aliter tit rex : ut homo^ fideliter tintendo ; 2it re,7\ leges justa pra'cipientes et contraria prohihentcs sanciendo\ "How do [} Quomodo ergo reges Domino serviimt in timore, nisi ea, quae contra jussa Domini fiunt, religiosa scvcritatc proliibendo atque plec- tendo ? 42 THE SECOND SERMON. princes servo the Lord in fear," saith St Augustine, " unless with religious rigour they forbid and punish things wherein the statutes of the Lord are broken ? The king serveth God as a man one way, and another way as a king ; as a man by leading a faithful life ; as a king by making laws, such as enjoin things that are just, and forbid the contrary."" xxx*!™'] Ezekias did God the service of a king in destroying the groves and temples of idols, which wore builded against 2Chron. the Commandment of God. Josias did the like in re- XXXIV. forming the church, in dispatching all idolatry and super- stition. Darius did God royal service, when he gave the uan.vi.[24.] [^fy[ jj^^o Daniel's hands, and cast his enemies into the den of lions. Nebuchodonazer did the like, when by strait Dan. iii. [28, law he Commanded that none should blaspheme, but that all should serve the God of Sydrach, Mysach, and Abed- nago. Herein princes do rightly serve God as princes, when to serve him they do such things, " as unless they were princes they could not do." The first 15. The first point of kino-ly service unto God is to point of 1 . . kindly ser- pursue and cleanse his church. Christ teach eth this by vice unto . . . . . <> ii i- Godisto that which he did at his enterino; into that foully defiled purge his i n t i t • i • church. temple of Jerusalem. It appertameth to prmces, to ma- gistrates, to them which are now assembled in this honour- able court of parliament, by all good means and laws to see God's house made clean ; that it may be the house of prayer, and not a den of thieves. doctrineami F^'^t it must be purged from all false doctrine; idolatry, from all idolatry and superstition. The good kings Eze- kias and Josias were careful in this behalf. They could not abide idolatry to be committed, or God to be blas- phemed, within their dominions. It had been hard to have purchased such a thing as a mass at Moses' hands with jj^chron.xv. a mass of money. That zealous prince king Asa deposed Maacha his grandmother wholly from all government, for setting up a foul idol in a grove. Ho that dealt so sharply with his grandmother for this, surely would in no tendo? Aliter enini servitj quia homo est, aliter quia etiani rex est. Quia homo est, ei sorvit vivendo fideliter: quia vero etiam rex est, servit leges justa praecipicntes ct contraria prohibentcs convenienti vigorc sanciendo. — August. Op. Par. 1679. Ep. clxxxv. Tom. ii. col. 651. —En.] BE THIS SIN AGAINST THE LORD, &C. 48 case or respect have tolerated a blasphemous mass in his reformed church and kingdom. The evil, which others do by our sufferance, is ours. We do it, when we suffer it to be done. Princes, to please princes, may not displease the Prince of all princes. Fear the Lord, and serve him in zeal and in truth : cast out of the church of England all leaven of blasphemy and idolatry. So shall you glorify God, " and he shall glorify you."" Paul's heart was set on ^J^^^- fire, his spirit was kindled within him, when he saw the ^^^'^ city of Athens given to idolatry. Ye know the history of i Mac. ii. that worthy man Mattathias. We pray daily, " Hallowed be thy name but with what minds, if wittingly we suffer his name to be profaned and blasphemed? 17. "Fear the Lord:" purge his church: remove all i".!""^ occa- '■ " sions of stones of offence out of his vineyard. St Paul's rule is, "Let offence. 1 Cor. XIV. all things in the church be done seemly." What that t^" ] seemliness is, he himself expoundeth in these woi'ds, " Let i cor. xiv. all things be done unto edification." The primitive church, ^^^'^ casting away Judaical and heathenish rites, was simple in her ceremonies. The pope hath polluted and burthened the church with both. We may have no other than such as are comely, and serve for the furtherance of true religion. 18. The church had need to be purged of another From enormity ; or else it cannot be safe. The sin of Magus must be removed. This disease spreadcth far. Patrons gape for gains ; and hungry fellows, utterly destitute of all good learning or godly zeal, yea, scantly clothed with com- mon honesty, having money, find ready entrance into the church. These are thieves and robbers: they creep into the John x. [i.] church of Christ by stealth. They are not called of God, as Heb. v. [4.] Aaron was. This sin is universally complained of. Surely, if simoniacal affection have corrupted the heart of any bishop (as some will not let openly to say), it were not amiss if his heart were given him in his hand. He is easily dealt withal if he be disbishopped. If the lot fall on the layman, the loss of his patronage is but a light punishment for a fault so heinous. But whosoever is this money-man, I will say unto him, in the words of St Peter, " Thy money be with thee Acts viii. unto perdition." Shifts are but shifts in these matters. ^"^^ It is all one to go plainly to work with Judas, " What will ye give mef and to give thy patronage to thy servant to THK SECOND SERMON. Anibrosiiis. sell, .111(1 SO to (livifle Chi'ist's coat between you. Ambrose, in his book De Pastorc, seenietli to touch bishops of his time with simony, saying, Quod dedit cum episcopus ordinaretur, aumm fnit; et quod perdidit, anima fuit: cum alhim ordina- ret^ quod accepit, pecunia fuit; quod dedit, lepra fait^. " That which he gave when lie was ordained bishop was gold ; and that which he lost was his soul : that which he took when he ordained another was money ; and that which he gave was a leprosy." This is the hole whereat so many unfit 1 Tim. V. and unworthy persons have crept in. " Lay not thy hands on any man (j^uickly,'''' is worn out of remembrance. Such as cannot feed the flock are now dispensed withal to be owners of the fleece. God no doubt will find out the fault ; and the blood of such as perish will be required at somebody's hands. God grant speedy reformation liei'ein ! Such in authority, as truly fear God, will purge his church from false doctrine, from idolatry, from superstition, and from simony. The next 19. The next point of princely service done to God is point of • 1 1 r- • T)rinceiyscv- to iiui'se the cliurch with wholesome food, till we all q-vovv up vire to God . . . ° is to provide to a perfect man m Christ Jesus, lhat this food may be tliathispeo- ,. , , , pie may be muiistered, that this word may be preached every where to tauslit ttie 1 . 11 • 1 • way of sal- (_rod s people, good princcs, and such as are m authority, must take special care. For this is truly to serve and fear God. It is not enough that princes and magistrates em- brace the gospel, that they feed upon the food of salvation themselves ; but they, as heads and pastors, must see this bread broken and delivered to the people. Christ had care of all the people, and sent his disciples abroad with this Matt.xxviii. charge, " Go vour wavs into the whole world." The will of ifira.ii.[4.] Christ is, " that all be saved, and come to tlie knowledge of the truth." The preaching of the gospel is called the kingdom of Christ ; for by that means Christ is planted, groweth, and reigneth in the hearts and souls of the people. If the flock want their pastor, and by reason thereof through famine perish, doubtless that blood of souls will be re- quired. Laws provide for many matters of small import- ance. This weighty matter of man's salvation is not lightly Luke X. [2.] to be passed over. The harvest no doubt is great, many [} Ainbi-os. Op. Par. 1G90. De Dignit. SacerJot. Tom. ii. Appendix, col. 363. — This treatise is placed by the Benedictine editors among the Tractatus Supposititii. — Ed.] BE THIS SIN AGAINST THE LORD, &C. 45 willing to hear the word : few there be that labour, but many idle lookers-on, who take the wages, but either will not or cannot work. They have learned of the evil stewai'd Luke xvi. to play the thief; both to rob their master Christ of his glory, and the church of Christ of their salvation. But woe be to those shepherds which feed themselves, and suffer the flock of Christ to want their meat. 20. The want of reward hindei*eth this work. But Provision to 1 o 1 11 1 be made foi- this will be answered, home have enough, and some have too teaciiers to IT • 1 • 1 1 1 11 ^^^^ P^''* much. 1 am acquainted with tliese speeches ; but let me pose, say again : A great sort ' have too little, and some that are worthy to have have stark nothing. No man hath too much, that well doetli his duty : for he is worthy of double i Tim. v. that honour which he hath. And he that can justly be ^^'^'^ charged with want of duty, let his candlestick, in God's Rev. ii. [s.j name and for God's sake, be removed. Now if it be al- leged that, if equal division were made, all might be suffi- ciently provided for : But who shall make the division ? There is cause, why men may think it scant safe for the church of Christ to put her patrimony to arbitrement ; lest, while division be pretended, some Quintus Fablus adjudge a cic. de off. good part thereof to the senate of Rome. Rome hath rob- bed Christ of his honour, and by Impropriations given his patrimony to Idle fat monks to feed upon. We have re- stored Christ to his honour and dignity : but we still hold from him his lands and living, like a ward. The ethnick and Idolatrous priests of Egypt, of Jupiter, of Baal, of Bel, were liberally provided for. The priests of Aaron, the scribes and Pharisees, the monks, friars, and sacrificing popish priests, were in high authority, and had the wealth of the world. Shall idle service be preferred to the true service of God I Shall false prophets be better regarded and rewarded than true preachers i Then just is our condemna- tion. For we shew that, "light being come into the johniii.[i9.] world," we love it not so much as they loved darkness. The gospel hath evil luck : it is never preached, but the patrimony thereof is pinched. Such as will pretend the gospel, and labour to pull away the patrimony of the gos- pel, may well profess Christ in words, but they deny him Tit. i. [ic.j in their deeds. 1^' Sort — number, multitude. — Ed,] 46 THE SECOND SERMON. tobJ'con'-'' ministers are to be provided for, that the hear" vhat ^^^^'^ '^^Y preacliod ; so the people must be brought to soever they conform themselves to the thankful receivine: thereof, that pretend to o ' trarj""" ^^^^^ thence they may learn truly to serve and fear God. And this care also pertainetli to godly princes and good magistrates, to provide good laws for the same, and to see those laws put in execution. Although conscience cannot be forced, yet unto external obedience, in lawfid things, men may lawfully be compelled. God the great King, who Lukexiv. worketli all things well, sent forth his officers to compel men to come in and eat of his gi-eat supper. Hereupon St Aug.epist. Augustme saith, Qui compelUttir, quo non mlt cogitur ; sed cum intrant, jam volens pascitur^. " He that is constrained, is driven whither he would not go willingly ; but when he is entered by constraint, then he feedeth with a good ^vill.'" Paul never embraced the gospel until he was cast off his Acts IX. [C] horse flat upon the earth ; and then he cried, " Lord, what wilt thou have me to do V It is profitable for men to be constrained unto those things which are good. And as it is profitable for them to be constrained, so is it a thing very reasonable to constrain them. For why should not the church enforce her lost children to return to salvation, if lost children enforce others to turn to destruction Seeing that the whole service in our church is no other than God's wTitten w'ord ; as there can be alleged no just cause why any man should withdraw himself from this word, so apper- taineth it unto princes that fear God, within their domi- nions, to compel every subject to come and hear this word, lest the church by this evil example should be greatly of- fended. God's causes are zealously to be seen unto ; and the winning of men's souls is rehgiously to be sought. And thus much briefly touching the service of God. To see the gospel every where preached, the ministers provided for, and the people compelled to come hear the word — this is the fear of God which Samuel requireth. The duty of £2. Whereunto must be added a special regard to the the prince _ ^ towards tiie commonwealth. It is commonly said that the common- common- •' wealth. wealth is sore diseased, and that every member of that body seemeth to be grieved. Remedy would be sought in time, lest remedy come too late. But I am no physician for that [' August. Op. Par. 1679. Ep. clxxiii. Tom. n. col. 61G.— Ed.] RE THIS SIN AfiAINST THE LORD, &C. 47 body ; and therefore is it not fit for me to minister any me- dicine to it. But I shall pray for the health thereof, and set it over to such as have skill and can help. The care of the commonwealth chiefly appertaineth to the head of the commonwealth, who is Parens Patriw, the mother of this sick child. It is required at our hands to fear and sene the Lord in truth. That prince doth serve God in truth and in deed, which is careful that the evil may be punished and repressed, and that the good may be defended and advanced. When generally all men are seen unto, that every man do his duty, then God is in truth and sincerity served. 23. The prince is set as the head over the body, with the as the chief shepherd over the flock. These titles are otncersmust given to princes and governors, to put them in mind, not whose"^*^' only of their honour and pre-eminence, but of their charge greafcare and office also. But the prince cannot do this alone : it haa"'^' is a burthen too heavy for one to wield. And therefore he must, according to the counsel which Jethro gave unto Moses, " choose out of all the people men wise and fear- J^'^od. xviii. ^ ^ [21, 22.] mg God, lovers of the truth, such as hate covetousness, and out of them make rulers over thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, that they may sit and judge the people at all seasons." Magistrates should be chosen out of all the people for their worthiness. It is unmeet that such things as should follow deserts be procured by other si- nister means. Magistrates should be wise men, furnished with learning, understanding, good skill, and long experi- ence ; men that fear God, religious lovers of his truth, favourers of the gospel, and of all such as live in the fear of God ; true and upright dealers, such as will stedfastly fasten their eyes upon the causes brought before them, and not regard the face of any man ; lastly, haters of covetousness, bribes, and rewards. Good officers should thus be qualified. And, to the end that magistrates may be such, it must be provided that there may be choice of officers without sale of offices. It is not probable that he, which obtaineth such a room for a price, will leave it freely, or deal justly in it. A greater corniption than this cannot enter into a connnonwealtli. For by this mean both the prince and people are deceived. To punish the evil, to maintain the good, to overlook the 48 THE SECOND SERMON. whole, and to choose and appoint forth worthy officers for the government of the commonwealtii, this is the duty of a prince that feareth God. That prince which doth this serveth God in truth. Thepowpr^ 24. Homer bringeth in Jupiter sitting in the midst they list to of the assembly of gods, whom he menaceth and threaten- use it unto ±i ■ • , T t . i ii g:oodpur- eth on this wise: Let not any god or goddess attempt poses. ^j^^ breach of my mandate. If I understand that any do, I will give him small joy of this place, or provide him another far enough hence, a dwelling-place, the gates whereof are iron, and the ground bi-ass. I will plunge him as deep under hell, as heaven is over earth. He shall well know his might to be somewhat beneath mine. For if ye think yourselves to be stronger than I am, make trial of your strength, fasten a chain in heaven, and join all your force at the end thereof. But ye shall never be able to pull Jupiter out of heaven, no, though ye sweat much about it : whereas if I list to put but my finger to the haling of you, I will pluck up sea and land with you ; so much am I superior unto gods and men'." Kings and princes in their several dominions have such power through the providence of Almighty God, by whose ap- pointment they wear their crowns, that their ordinances be not lightly broken, unless themselves be careless to have them kept. For, by reason of the majesty that God hath given them, they are feared of all estates and conditions of men. They can throw down whom they will ; and whom they will they can advance. They have the chain and the rein in their hands : they can draw others whither they \\ill, but others are not able to draw them unless they list. This power, and strength, and glory, which God hath given unto kings, and whereby they are able to lead the world as it were in a string, leaveth them utterly without excuse, if they use it not to the benefit of the commonwealth. They cannot serve God in truth, and give the bridle to their subjects to sin with- out restraint. These times of greatest and gravest con- sultation are fit occasions, wherein princes may most effec- tually shew how heartily and truly they fear the Lord. These are the times to provide chains, that is to say, Horn. 11. e. 7— 27.— Ed.] HE THIS SIN AGAINST THE LOIiD, S:C. 49 wood statutes and laws to hold all men within compass, Makinjof . n 1 to re- anu to bind together the scattered parts oi the common- medyabuse;. wealth. When the great council of Rome entered into moinvealtli. the senate, to consult for the good government and de- fence of the empire ; first they went and sacrificed to Jupiter, and thei'e every man offered up and left behind him his private affections, promising that their consulta- tion should only tend to the common benefit. Leave you all private affections likewise : cast them behind you : seek not your own commodity. Let it appear that you love your country. God, the prince, and the commonwealth, require a faithful performance of this service at your hands. Seek by law the sincere setting forth, the maintenance and continuance, of God's true religion. Let this be your first and principal care ; and so shall ye serve the Lord in truth. 25. Seek by law to repress the gainsayers, and the Liberty of enemies of this truth. This liberty, that men may openly tUveis re-" profess diversity of religion, must needs be dangerous to dan?erous xi 1 1 nT-r . ,. . r. ,. . , ,, totUe state. the commonwealth. What stirs diversity oi religion hath raised in nations and kingdoms, the histories are so many and so plain, and our times in such sort have told you, that with further proof I need not trouble your ears. One God, one king, one faith, one profession, is fit for one monarchy and commonwealth. Division weakeneth : con- cord strengtlieneth. The story of Scilurus the Scythian is known, who upon his death-bed taught his fourscore sons the force of unity by the strength of sticks, weak by themselves, when they are tied in a bundle. Let con- formity and unity in religion be provided for ; and it shall be as a wall of defence unto this realm. 26. And as these thiners are especially to be rc- smaller ° . abuses in garded ; as our principal care must be for the highest ""'rf^. ^I'l^t. matters, sincerity and unity in religion ; so we may not neglect or pass over smaller things, which need redress. For, as diseases and sores in the basest and vilest parts of the body do grieve and may endanger the chiefest, unless they be cured betimes ; so the least abuses, by sufferance, may work the greatest harm. Gorgeous ap- parel and sumptuous diet, with such like matters, may seem small things ; but they are the causes of no small 4 [sANDYS.] no THE SECOND SERMON. evils. They eat up England ; and are therefore to be re- prepsed by strait laws. It is a part of true service done unto God to see even unto these things, in ofti?ers"^ 27. We may seem to cast our eyes very low, when priiice.*''*^ we look iuto the dealings of every officer under the prince. Yet every one must be seen unto. They wax suddenly rich by the spoil of the prince. Reform it by law, that the'^meaner Walk in truth. If merchants, with other artificers, jradcsof and meaner trades, do enrich themselves by impoverishing others through deceitful shifts ; the commonwealth suffereth damage by their uneven dealings. If we will have Grod served in truth, we must by law reform them. ^^"'^y- 28. That biting worm of usury, that devouring wolf, hath consumed many : many it hath pulled upon their knees, and brought to beggary ; many such as might have lived in great wealth, and in honour not a few. This canker hath corrupted all England. It is become the chief chaffer and merchandise of England. We shall do God and our countiy true service, by taking av.'ay this evil. Repress it by law ; else the heavy hand of God hangeth over us and will strike us. 29. That vile sin of adultery, in God's commonwealth punished with death, so overfloweth the banks of all chas- tity, that, if by sharp laws it be not speedily cut off, God from heaven with fire will consume it. Prevent God's wrath : bridle this outrage : so shall you serve the Lord in truth. Corner con- 30. There is nothing more hurtful to the common- tracts, with- ° out consent wealth than these corner contracts, without consent of of parents. ' parents ; contraiy to- the word of God, the law of nature, the law civil, and all right and reason. The inconveni- ences that follow are not sufiferable. Euaristus, a bishop of Rome, saith, " It is not wedlock, but whoredom, when the consent of parents is wanting'." God cannot be better {} . . . legitimum . . . non fit conjugium, nisi ab his qui super ipsam femiiiam dominationem vidcntui' habere^ et a quibus custoditur, uxor petatur, ct a parentibus aut propinquioribus sponsetur . . . Aliter vcro ])ra!sumpta, non conjugia, sed aut adulteria, aut contuberniaj aut stupra, vel fornicationes, potiusquam Icgitima conjugia esse non dubitate. — Eva- risti Epist. i. in Concil. Stud. Labbci. Lut. Par. 1671. Tom. i. col. 5PA. — Tlie epistle is spurious: Evaristus having been bishop of Rome about Adulterv. BE THIS SIN AGAINST THE LORD, &C. 51 served, than if by law ye restrain this unlawful contract- ing. The children of this inconvenient marriage may scarcely be termed lawful. The devil, that hath ever hated wedlock, and lovetli whoredom, was the first author of this gi'eat disorder. God grant you understanding hearts and Avilhng minds, faithfully and in truth to travail to re- press and take away these evils. 31. And, as evil is to be controuled by law, so that The poor, which is good is also by law to be procured. God hath made us many ways rich. For what we have, freely at his hands we have it. But he himself is become very poor ; insomuch that, for want of relief, he is forced to beg ; and, for want of lodging and meat, he lieth and dieth in our streets. This great ingi-atitude God cannot but revenge. O, what shame is this to a christian commonwealth, in a reformed country ! Obstinate Jews would never shew themselves so unthankful. Their an- Deut.xv.[7.] cient law, forbidding beggars, is even to this day most straitly kept amongst them. Laws in this behalf have been provided; but as they wanted perfection, so have they in manner in no point or any where had execution. Serve God in truth : provide that Christ crave not. Such as will not feed him here he will never feed in his kingdom. Thus have I, point by point, let you see dis- orders and wants in the commonwealth. Ye have au- thority by law to reform them. Consider dutifully of it, and serve God truly as ye ought, always remembering the saying of the prophet Esay, "Woe be to them that isai. x. [i.] make wicked laws." 32. When good laws are made, they must be put in execution. Law is the life of the commonwealth ; and execution the life of the law. And better not to make laws, than not to execute laws when they are once made. This is the duty of the public ministers of the common- wealth. They must first keep laws themselves; and then see that others in like sort may observe them. If the officers and ministers of the commonwealth contemn laws, doubtless the people will never reverence them : if they A. D. 100; wliilc liis letter quotes writings of the fouith ccntujy, and makes use of Jerome's version of tlie scriptures. See Prolegoiuena, p. 0.3, to Blondell's Epist. Decrctalium Examen.— Ed.^I 4—2 52 THE SECOND SERMON. break them, the people will never keep them. Which Solon. Solon wisely considering, wisely answered, being demanded what was chief safety for a commonwealth, " If the citi- zens obey the magistrate, and the magistrate the laws."" You that are appointed to this purpose, and put in trust therewith, lay aside dread and meed, favour and friend- ship, gift and gain ; and with simplicity of heart punish the transgressor of the law, according to the law. Make Jif ""^ Anacharsis' web of the law : let not the hornet escape, and the little fly be caught. Few laws, well made and well kept, would serve the turn. This is God's service : the execution thereof he hath set over to your hands. Jer.^xivm. ggj-yg jjj^j^ truth and singleness of heart. " Cursed is he that negligently doeth the work of the Lord." Thediityof S3. Thus mucli liatli been spoken concerning higher towa''rd°J'''^ powers, and of their duty in the service of God. Samuel speaketh not to them alone : to the people it is spoken, as well as to the prince, " Fear and serve ye the Lord in truth." Fear God : embrace the gospel : lead your lives in holiness and righteousness according to the word of truth. The Lord is a strong defence to them that fear Psai. xxxiv. u rpj^gy ^-^^^^ fg^^, jjjj^^ ^^j^^ nothing." i^^rjierpow- Give unto the Lord's anointed due reverence and Koin. xiii. houour. " Let every soul be subject," not by constraint '^'•J but for conscience sake. Imitate those worthy Israelites, who were so willingly obedient to Josua, that they cried Josh. i. [18.] with one voice, " Whosoever shall rebel against thy com- mandment, and will not obey thy words in all that thou commandest him, let him die." Grudge not, repine not at Psai. ii.[3.] higher powers: say not in your hearts, "Let us break their bands, and cast away their chains from us." Towards the 35. Seek the peace of the commonwealth, and the common- ' Jer 'xx'ix ^^^^^Y thereof ; "for in the peace thereof your peace doth ['•] stand." In this sort God is to be feared : in this sort of all sorts he is to be served ; and by this mean the com- monwealth is to be maintained and preserved. If we, linked together in the fear of God, and in true concord and amity among ourselves, put to our helping hands, every one dutifully in his calling, to the supporting of this state and defending thereof, doubtless no enemy, no foreign power can hurt us, no bull of Basan shall prevail BE THIS eiN AGAINST THE LORD, &C. 53 against us : but we and our commonwealth, in despite of all both corporal and spiritual enemies, shall be strength- ened and stablished for ever. So true is it, " That king- Greg. Na- dom which is grounded upon goodwill standeth fast and sure for ever." 36. But as the natural body without sinews cannot subsidies, grow, wax strong, or continue ; no more can a civil body without his sinews. The sinews of the commonwealth are the treasures. Tributes therefore and subsidies are due to the prince. " Give unto Caesar those things that are Caesar's ^J^'^f- " tribute unto whom tribute belongeth.'" It is not given J^""'- to the prince, but to the commonwealth : it is in truth bestowed upon ourselves. The prince, in respect of pri- vate use, neither needeth neither requireth our money. It is the commonwealth, whereunto we owe not our goods only, but our lives also : it requireth this at our hands for our own safety. The prince will be but a steward hereof, seasonably to lay it out for public use. Good commonwealths-men have not spared to give their very lives for their country; as Themistocles, Curtius, Codrus, ■^'••"^''r- lii)- v. and others. And who can so little regard the common- wealth as, by pinching at a piece of money, to pinch it ? He that seeth his house ruinous, and for sparing will not repair it ; if it fall upon his head, let him fault himself. Moses found his subjects marvellous ready in this behalf : ^'^j"^-^'"'"- when a voluntary contribution was required towards the building of the tabernacle, they brought in so much, that he was forced to cry, Sufficit ; " now enough." Cyrus was a gentle and a good prince, and he had thankful subjects : their voluntary gift at one subsidy surmounted all the long-heaped treasure of rich Croesus. The prince's trea- sure is wasted in our defence : our duty is to repair it again for our safety. This duty God and our connnon- wealth require at our hands. Let us pay frankly this debt : so shall we work our own safety, strengthen the common- wealth, and serve God and our country in truth, 37. And thus we learn, that if the ministers earnestly t he puiiish- pray for, and faithfully teach the prince and the people ; theiniilfster, if the prince and the people sincerely fear and serve God — and't"" pVo- fear him as an omnipotent Lord and just Judge, and saui* duties" withal love him as a most loving Father ; serve hipi fornied!'^'" 54 THE SECOND SERMON. ill cleansing and feeding his church — cleansing it from false doctrine, idolatry, superstition, and simony, feeding it with the word, by causing it every where to be preached, which will be by providing maintenance for the preachers thereof, and compelling all subjects to hear God's word, and receive his sacraments : further, if the prince care- fully consider of the commonwealth, to repress the evil, encourage and strengthen the good, and overlook the whole ; and do choose wise, religious, lovers of the truth, and haters of covetousness under him to govern it : if in this great and stately council of the kingdom (banishing pri- vate affections) it sincerely be sought by law to set forth and prefer true religion, and withal to bridle the desperate tongues of gainsayers : if by strength of good laws they repress monstrous apparel and excessive diet, deceitful bar- gaining, usury, adultery, unlawfully stolen contracts ; and so provide for the poor, that Christ in his members may be relieved : if the officers of the commonwealth keep good laws themselves ; and faithfully, without foolish pity (which is cruelty), see them executed upon others : if the people, like good subjects, fear God, honour the prince, live peace- ably, and seek the safety of their country : lastly, if we all, linked together in love, liberally relieve the common- wealth, and frankly supply the want thereof, for our own safety — then doubtless the Lord will bless and pre- serve our prince and us, and stablisli this kingdom in peace and prosperity, to flourish and to continue. But if we be cold and negligent in God's cause ; if we be unthankful and disobedient to our good Samuel, to our gracious sovereign ; then let us look for that which God tlireateneth here by his prophet, " Both you and your king shall perish." God grant in his mercy that, assisted with his gi'ace, we may sincerely seek and serve him, to his great glory and our great safety in this life, and eter- nal salvation in the world to come ! To that immortal, (mly wise, and most gracious God, &c. THE THIRD SERMON. A SERMON PREACHED IN YORK, AT THE CELEBRATION OF THE DAY OF THE QUEEN'S ENTRANCE INTO HER REIGN. Canticles II. 15. Take us the little foxes which destroy the vines: for our vine hath flourished. Such solemn assemblies in so sacred a place, to give God femwies^or thanks for great benefits received, are no rare things aiuonj; daineti i", o ' o _ o the church, God's people; but are confirmed by sundry examples in the ^^^'^^p™^'*" scriptures. Nehemias, after that the house of God was re- special bcne- edified, assembled the people, caused the law^ of the Lord ^'ehem. viii. to be openly read, gave thanks unto the Lord for their de- liverance from Babylon and for restitution of religion, and with great rejoicing and feasting kept that day holy unto the Lord. When, by the means of queen Hester, the Jews Esther ix. ^ J i- ' _ 1^29 32.] had gotten rest, and given a great overthrow to their ene- mies, she likewise, with the advice of her godly uncle, Mar- docheus', commanded the people to keep that day, the four- teenth of the month Adar, holy unto the Lord yearly, to feast and give thanks for God's great mercies and their marvellous deliverance. When God had delivered his people i Mac xiii. [51j 52. J Israel from the tyranny of Triphon by the means of Simon the high priest, a governor and prince of the Jews, Simon ordained that the same day of their deliverance should yearly be kept holy unto the Lord with gladness, feasting, and thanksgiving. The feasts of Passover, Pentecost, Tabcr- ueut. xvi. nacles, and such other, were commanded to be kept holy in remembrance of great benefits received at the Lord's hands. The people of Israel, with thankful hearts remem- bering what a great benefit they had received, when he chose and anointed David to be their king, gathered together Mardocheus — Mordccai. — Ed.] 56 THE THIRD SERMON. in a solemn assembly to celebrate that happy day, and to give God thanks, sang with joyful acclamation unto the Ps^ai. cxviii. Lord, " This is the day which the Lord hath made, let us rejoice and be glad in it." Musrofthe 2. Greater cause to assemble together, and to give biies^pre-" Grod thauks for blessiugs and benefits received, had never Enffiaiidas nation or people than we presently have. For as this day, where?^ now twenty years fully finished, the Lord in his mercy re- membering us, when we little hoped and less deserved, de- livered us from the state of miserable servitude, and gave us our gracious sovereign, his own elect, Elizabeth by his grace our prince and governor, the restorer of our religion and liberty. Lord, shew us the light of thy favourable counte- nance : multiply these good days : grant us many of these happy years : O Lord, I pray thee, save now : O Lord, I pray thee, now give prosperity : Lord, preserve whom thou hast given : give her, O Lord, good success and prosperity. Eusebius, the bishop of Cesarea, thought himself much hon- oured, that he was appointed to celebrate with a sermon the inauguration of Constantinus the emperor. Even so I take it for my great good hap, that it falleth to my lot at this present to put you in remembrance of the great happiness which hath befallen us as on this day, that we may rejoice and be thankful for it. contained m ^- "^"^^ better performance hereof, as the public ''"j.^Pj^'^'^'"' minister of the church, I bring unto you the voice of the written church, a part of the most excellent Song of Solomon. AVhich at the first sight although it may seem a strange piece of scripture, and scantly fit for this time ; yet, when it shall be throughly considered of, it will appear very perti- nent to our time and purpose. For herein is contained a doctrine touching the mercies of God towards us, the mali- cious frowardness of his and our enemies, and our duty towards him concerning them. " Our vineyard hath flou- rished ; behold the mere grace and favour of God towards his church : " Little foxes devour it ; " behold the ingratitude of the people, resisting the grace of God, and abusing his mercy : " Take us these little foxes ; " behold the command- ment of God, and the duty of his servants. Of these three things in order as they lie, my purpose is, by God's assist- ance, to speak. TAKE US THE LITTLE FOXES WHICH DESTROY, ScC. 57 4. The church of God, by a metaphor, is many times i. in the scriptures termed a vineyard ; neither can there be a yard liath better resemblance in any thing, and that in divers respects. The cliurcli But because it were more curious than profitable particu- a vineyard! larly to follow the comparison, I will only remember unto tiVsf be""*' you the chief parts. The vineyard that shall fructify nmst then plant- fall into the hands of a skilful and laboursome husbandman, tinrdb^fenc- who first must weed it, stone it, and prepare it ; then he end It may must in season, and with cunning, plant a good vine that will bear a pleasant grape in it, water, underprop, and prune it ; and lastly compass it about with a ditch, a strong wall, or a sure hedge for defence. Such a vineyard must needs bring forth good fruit. God of his goodness hath provided for this vineyard, his church of England, all these helps abundantly : he hath beautified it and furnished it most plentifully with rare and wonderful blessings. 5. He hath given it a skilful overseer, one endued with xiie church all gifts and qualities fit for government. " An unwise king bicfsed w'th destroyeth his people : but where they that be in authority wiseyand*"^' are men of understanding, there the city prospereth." " Be ifffio"us'|'jist, wise therefore, O ye kings ; be learned, ye judges of the performing earth," saith the prophet. It pleased the Lord greatly that saSd^duttes Solomon asked rather wisdom than riches, knowledge than Ecc'ius.'x. honour : " Give unto thy servant, O Lord, an understanding ^^^i jj r,o.j heai't, to judge thy people, that I may discern between good Jy?]'"^* '"" and bad." If learning and wisdom be so necessarily required in a governor, how great is the goodness of Almighty God to us-ward, which hath so plentifully bestowed this gift of knowledge and wisdom upon our sovereign, not far inferior to Mithridates for diversity of languages, but far surmount- ing all former English princes in learning, knowledge, and understanding ! which rare and excellent gift dwelleth not in her royal breast alone, but is beautified and accompanied with sundry other most singular graces. She is the very patroness of true religion, rightly termed " the Defender of the Faith ;" one that before all other things seeketh the kingdom of God. If the threatenings of men could have terrified her, or their allurements enticed her, or any crafty persuasions have prevailed, she had revolted long ere this ; so fiercely by great potentates her constancy hath been as- saulted. But God hath strengthened his royal handmaid : 58 THE THIRD SERMON. tlae fear of God hath put to flight the fear of men : her rcH- gious heart is accepted of the Lord, and glorious it is also in the eyes of the world. A prince so zealous for God's house, so firmly settled in his truth, that she hath constantly de- tei'mincd, and oftentimes vowed, rather to suffer all torments, than one jot to relent in matter of religion. She is not fraudulent and treacherous, but dealeth justly and truly in word and deed with all men, promiseth and performeth. Herein her majesty passeth all princes ; and therefore in credit she is far before others. And her great desire is, that all men placed in authority under her should deal truly, judge rightly, and give to every man his own accord- ing to justice, matching always with justice mercy ; which two are so linked and coupled together, that they may not be severed. Justice without mercy is too sharp and rigor- ous ; and mercy without justice is not mercy but folly. That no prince of this realm, inclining so much to mercy, did ever less hinder the course of justice than her highness hath done, such as are placed in judicial rooms must needs con- Psai. xiv. £ggg_ truly it may be said, " The sceptre of thy kingdom is a righteous sceptre ; thou lovest justice, and hatest sin." Of nature a prince most merciful, in judgment upright and just. A prince void of all corruption, an hater of bribes, free in bestowing, in taking close-handed : one that hath learned and doth practise our Saviours lesson, "It is a more blessed thing to give, than to receive." A right Samuel, that cannot be charged with indirect dealing. A prince mild as Moses, just as Samuel, peaceful as Solomon, zealous as David. Neither speak I this in flattery, which thing be fjir from me, but in an upright conscience ; not of guess, but of knowledge ; not seeking myself, but the glory of God ; that, being put in mind of your happiness, ye may praise God for his mercy, and glorify him in his gracious gifts. Thus hath God blessed this vineyard his church with a learned, wise, religious, just, uncorrupt, mild, merciful, peace- ful, and zealous prince to govern it. A great blessmg : the Lord continue it, and make us thankful for it ! The vine- 6. Tliis skilfid mauurcr of the vineyard must first rid I'and pursed the gTouud, purgo tlic cliurcli. The barn floor must be amfsiper- clcanscd, before the harvest be brought in. Jeremy com- htition. mandeth the thorns first to be rooted out, and then the seed TAKE US TilE LITTLE FOXES WIIICII DESTROY, &C. 50 to be cast into the ground. Moses gave charge to cast out all leaven, before the people might celebrate the passovor. Josua willed the Canaanites to be expelled, ere he would establish his commonwealth of Israel. Jacob would not sa- crifice unto God, till he had purged his house of idols. The like might be shewed in David, Ezekias, Nehemias, Matta- thias. But one example may serve for all, being of our Saviour, who is above all and Lord of all. Christ, at his first entry into the temple, purged it by casting out buyers and sellers. Our gracious governor, following Christ's ex- ample, hath laboured most earnestly first to cleanse this ground, and to purge this church of England ; hath caused the stones to be picked out, brambles and briars to be pull- ed up, all rubbidge and whatsoever was hurtful to be re- moved, the den of thieves to be dispersed, buyers and sell- ers of popish trash, monks, friars, massmongers, with like miscreants, to be hurled and whipped out ; the stumbling stones of superstition, the baggage of man's traditions, with all monuments of idolatry, vanity, and popery, to be cast out of the house of God and vineyard of the Lord ; so that the field of God is cleared,, the vineyard cleansed, the church purged, ready for the seed to be sown, and the vine to be planted. And all this without resistance or tumult. It was the work of God : it is marvellous to as many as duly con- sider it. 7. Now it behoveth the vinitor to take great heed what cin-ist vine he planteth in this vineyard. Thorns will not bring tiievineyard forth grapes, nor thistles figs. If thou sow the giddy darnel ° of human traditions, look for like fruit ; for ho that con- ceiveth vanity shall bring forth wind. But our skilful house- holder, our wise governor, hath planted in this our vineyard neither thorns nor thistles, but the true vine Christ, growing in the hearts of his elect. This vine hath been diligently watered with the dew of God's truth sincerely preached : it hath been cherished with his sacraments, reverently adminis- tered according to his will : it hath been under-propped with the continuance of authority, and defence of zealous christian magistrates; pruned with the two-edged sword of God's Spirit, working by the ministry of his servants, who with the sweet promises of the gospel have reared up the drooping branches overburthened with sin, and with the 60 THE THIRD SERMON. sharp threatenings of the law have cut off the lascivious wild boughs of wickedness. No flock better fed, no people more instructed, no vineyard in the world more beautiful or goodly to behold. yarVfenced ^' ^'^'^ vineyard so prepared, this vine so planted, ^scipUne °^ ^^^^^^^'^^ underset, hath also been strongly hedged, and fenced with godly laws of good discipline, to put back all enemies, to punish all transgressors, to bridle the unruly, and to keep men in order, that the church of God may live in all peace and tranquillity, with all piety and honesty. This is the flourishing vineyard of the Lord ; the beautiful ark of covenant, wherein are reposed the treasures of God, the golden pot with manna, the rod of Aaron, and the tables of Moses. No church under heaven more enriched with 1 Cor. i. [5, treasures and gifts of God ; so that we may truly say, " We are enriched by him in all knowledge, and in all speech, inso- much that we are not destitute of any gift." The Lord may isai. V. [4.] justly say to us, as to his people of old, " What might I do for my vine, which I have not done V and we may well sing the song which the Spirit hath indited, even of purpose as it seemeth for us, Vinea nostra floruit. " Our vine hath flou- rished." The fruits of 9. And, although the ground where this vine is planted Sard many; hath been verv barren, yet hath it brought forth many which^s^^' goodly and pleasant grapes. The gospel hath chased away spirituaiand walking Spirits : it hath cast out devils, banished much igno- rance and blindness, put horrible blasphemy in manner to flight, utterly cleansed that sink, the stews, made vain and filthy songs less current than they have been in former times, and caused sin to be more shunned, although it be, God knoweth, too much still frequented. But one pleasant grape especially the gospel, the word of reconciliation, hath brought forth, and that is the sweet fruit of peace ; peace towards God, and peace amongst ourselves. The gospel preacheth Christ. Christ is our peace, and peace-maker. He that hath Christ hath peace with God ; and he that be- lieveth in him hath him. By this means we have peace of conscience, peace with God. The other peace is civil peace among men. This is a pleasant fruit and a great blessing. He that knoweth the hurt of war can best judge of the worth of this benefit. The God of peace hath done this for TAKE US THE LITTLE FOXES WHICH DESTHOY, &C. Gl US, to our singular commodity and comfort : he hath given peace in our days : England never so long tasted the like. War heretofore hath torn this realm in pieces : all nations round about us starve in the field, tumble in war, wallow in blood, expecting no end of their troubles, but utter ruin and desolation. In the mean while we sit safe under our vine : every man in peace may quietly follow his vocation. God hath not dealt thus with all nations as he hath dealt with us, the least nation of all. It must be granted, some storms have been stirred up to disturb this our happy rest. But the Prince of peace and Lord of our tranquillity hath ceased the waves of the sea, stilled the rage of the people, marvellously prevented their wicked devices, and confounded the devisers of them. There is neither power nor coun- sel against the Lord. God taketh away the hearts of the enemies, and then as fearful hares they flee at the wagging of every leaf ; yea, they fear where there is nothing to be feared. For this great calm, for this miraculous peace, we have to praise our God. 10. This peace hath fructified and brought foi"th his riic fruit of natural fruit, which is plenty. War is a locust, devouring pilnty!^*^^' all fruits : peace, as a sweet and pleasant dew, maketh all things fruitful. Peace hath made this land fiow, like Ca- naan, with milk and honey. God hath opened his merciful hand, and replenished us with all his blessings : the Lord hath shewed us his loving kindness, and our land hath brought forth her increase. 11. These earthly blessings God hath given to try us The end why whether, provoked by his gracious benignity, we will walk in these tem- his law or no. " I will rain down bread out of heaven, that fn^l] I may try you whether ye will walk in my law or no." After ^!]"^" "^'^ this sort he proved Adam, giving him all dominion over his creatures, with all the fruit and plenty of the earth. So proved he the Sodomites with a country, for pleasure and plenty, termed " the Lord's garden." So proved he Israel, ^^^j'- when he gave them Canaan : but they were forgetful of the Giver, and abused his gifts, both their peace and plenty : they provoked God unto wrath, and they felt his heavy hand : their peace was turned into war, their plenty into distress, their pleasure into pain, their joy into sorrow. 62 THE THIRD SERMOX. The plnofues which follow temporal blessinss wlien they are abused. The vine- vard devour- ed by little foxes. Why the church ene- mies are termed foxes, and why little. 12. These things are witten to warn us, that we should beware of the Hke sins, lest we feel the like plagues. For if we regard not the favour of God, if we contemn his word, the word o" salvation ; if w« refuse to hear it, read it, follow it ; if the seed of God do not fructify in our hearts ; if the peace we have with God bring not forth piety ; if our civil peace bring forth no better fruit than beastly security ; if plenty work nothing in us but pride ; if with Adam in our presumption we disobey the Lord ; if with Sodom, when we are full, our care be only to satisfy our lust ; if we neglect the poor, and deride the just ; if, with Israel, we lust after Mesh, and despise angels' food; if we hunger after popery, and thirst not after the water of life ; if we fall away from God, and fall down to creatures ; if we run a whoring, and defile the flesh, and profane the temple of God ; if we tempt God, being weary of our profession, having wavering minds and backsliding hearts ; if we desj)ise government, and speak evil of them that be in authority ; if we mutter and murmur against the principality of Moses and Aaron ; if we loathe the present state, and seek after alterations ; then shall all these godly blessings of God turn into cursings ; the message of life shall be unto us a savour of death ; the words of the Son of God, spoken unto us for our salvation, shall bear witness against us and condenm us ; our vineyards shall be laid waste ; we shall be made a bye- word and a wonder to the world ; and, for a just reward of this our wickedness, our former benefits shall but add a greater weioht unto our wo. But this be far from us, and from our children, for evermore. AVhere- fore, to return and to conclude this part, when we shall behold the great mercies of God so plentifully poured upon us ; how he hath regarded his vineyard, blessed and enriched this his church mth so great gifts, and so mar- vellous ti'easures, you see how truly we may say, Vinea nostra floruit, " Our vine hath flourished." This is the good- ness of God towards us. 13. Let us now cast our eyes another way, and see how men have dealt with the Lord's vineyard. Great hath been the favour of God towards it : and great also hath been the malice of Satan, and the ingi-atitude of man, in labouring by all means to lay it waste. These enemies of the vineyard are termed ''foxes;"" under which name be comprised all TAKE US THE LITTLE FOXES WHICH DESTROY, ScC. 63 lieretios, all schismatics, all hypocintes, atheists, epicures, conspirators, persecutors, ^vith all the rabble of the wicked. They are termed " little foxes," either for that they are more rash, more wilful, and more hurtful to the vineyard than the old foxes, because they shun no pei'il ; or else they are so called in contempt. For although they seem mighty, strong, and fierce, yet, when God shall arm himself against them, then they will appear silly weak cubs, not able to kick against the prick. There is no wiliness, no force, no power, no counsel against our God. If Christ say, " It is I," all Joij" "viii. liis enemies do stagger and fall flat to the ground. The little cubs perhaps are animated by reason of their wiliness, and because they know they are many in number. It is true, "The children of this world are wise in their gene- [Lu'^e xvi. ration ; " subtile they are as serpents. But God confoundeth the counsels of all crafty Achitophels, and taketh foxes in the snares they set for others. The number is great ; and, as the manner is of evil weeds, it groweth apace : they are ten for one. But one David is worth not only ten, but ten thou- sand Philistines, because he cometh in the name of the Lord. He that fighteth under Chrisfs banner, and is protected under the shadow of the wings of the Almighty, he is safe, be he in never so gi'cat perils. Gedeon with three hundred, crying, " The sword of the Lord and Gedeon," slew and put JuJ?. vii. to flight an infinite number, the huge array of the !Madian- ites. It is all one with God to overcome with few or many. So the enemies then of God, the enemies of the church, they are but silly weak cubs ; be they never so wily, never so many. 14. But the enemies of God's vineyard are therefoi'e The ciiurcu chiefly called foxes, because they are of hke condition unto sembiefoxes foxes, whom tliey singularly resemble in four peculiar pro- ilortics.'"^"' perties. The fox is ravenous, greedy on his prey. And iniaveniiig. these cubs, enemies to the cross of Christ, have under jjretence of long prayer devoured widows' houses ; spared no estate or condition of men ; beguiled princes of their possessions ; gotten to themselves the riches and wealth of the whole world with false merchandise, selliu'r that for bread which is no bread, making their gain of masses, merits, })ardons, and such like stuff. Unsatiable dogs they are, ever barking and never satisfied. The old grey fox G4 THE THIRD SERMON. is become the lord of the whole earth, the king of kings ; his cardinals, abbots, and bishops, great princes, and lords of whole countries ; the little foxes, as monks, friars, and massing priests, what with singing, and what with beg- ging, have raked no small heaps together. 15. Foxes do feed on blood, in desire whereof they kill more than they can devour. Christ calleth Herod " fox," partly for his savage and cruel murdering of infants. What thousands of the children and lambs of God these Herodians, these Romanists, these ravening wolves and bloody foxes, have devoured, look into the histories of all times, you shall wonder at it and abhor them. Doubtless the righteous blood which they have shed upon the earth shall come upon them : the blood of the saints, whom they have cruelly butchered, crieth unto the Lord against them for revenge, and the Lord will hear it. " Whomsoever thou shalt see take delight in the blood of persecution, he is a fox." 16. As they lively resemble foxes in greediness and cruelty ; so in wiliness also they are like unto them : crafty they are and subtile, as false as a fox. The fox will not worry near his bele', but rangeth far abroad, lest he be espied. So these subtile deceivers go far off : they com- pass sea and land to make a proselyte of their own pro- fession : they shut themselves up in their beles in the day- time : they dare not abide the light, but seek lurking- holes and corners, disguising themselves in strange apparel, lest their wonted attire should bewray them ; wily foxes, deep dissemblers, double-hearted, double-tongued, double- faced ; speaking them full fair whom they hate full deadly ; promising and not performing ; shifting off and seeking time ; now humble as sheep, but when time serveth, as fierce as lions. By subtile sleights and breach of faith they brought John Huss to the council at Constance, and there cruelly murdered him : they promised him a safe conduct to come and to go ; but those holy fathers agreed upon a new point of religion, that " Promise is not to be kept with heretics," and so cruelly and treacherously con- sumed with fire the saint of God. These faith-breakers be no more to be trusted than foxes. P Bield— den, or covert — is still used in Scotland. — Ed.] TAKE US THE LITTLE FOXES WHICH DESTROY, &C. fio 17. The last property that I note in the fox is that in casting 1 ii •! T -11 1 I an evil sa- ne casteth an evil savour. 1 will not remember unto you, vour. for offending your chaste ears, the horrible filthiness where- with those learned scribes, those holy fathers, those maid- en priests, those foxes, were infected ; the smell whereof ascended up into heaven, and cried out for vengeance against them. Spiritual and corporal whoredom for the most part go together. Who was more hot in the ser- vice of Baal than Jezebel, that devout hypocrite? And yet she was but a painted harlot. When Israel gave themselves to idolatry, they forthwith fell unto whoredom. Men's life and religion are for the most part like ; a sound faith, a sweet behaviour : men gather not figs of thorns ; neither can their outward conversation be pure, whose in- ward persuasion is not good. These are they that de- stroy the vines. Whereunto even now they have prepared themselves : for this end and purpose they gather them- selves together; they boldly have their conventicles; they contrive treachery, and devise how to destroy the vine- yard and church of God. In the late evil times the pro- fessors of the gospel found no such liberty. But the saying of Christ is verified, " Foxes have holes, but the Matt. viii. Son of man hath not where to hide his head." 18. Two especial means they use in seeking to de- The means stroy the vineyard ; force, and persuasion. Force of two use to de- sorts ; open, and secret. Open force of persecution that churciir cruel beast hath always practised from time to time. What fraud ; force prince hath he not stirred up, what nation hath he not c?et"' open, ai'med, to persecute the professors of true religion with swoRf.*"*^ fire and sword ? The red bloody dragon doth still vex the Rev. xii. woman with her child, Christ with his church. The prac- 1^'^"''-^ tice hereof all nations have felt, and England cannot forget. The late I'ebellion in this realm, raised for no other cause but by force to subvert religion, by no other man than the father of these foxes, is fresh in memory'. 19. When by open force this beast cannot quench secret force, . .by treach- his thirst with the blood of his saints, then he practiseth eries, sor- by secret devices. Sometimes, under pretence of marriage sonrnss."' and faithful affinity, he leadeth princes blindfold to the {} The rebellion in the northern counties headed by tiie earls of Northumberland and Westmoreland in 15G9.— Ed.] 5 [sANDYg.] 66 THE THIRD SERMON. house of slaughter : sometimes, under colour of giving aid to possess kingdoms, he dispossesseth them both of their state and of their life : sometimes he offereth league and confederacy with such as in heart he deadly hateth, there- by to stay their force, till he may fitly practice his pur- posed mischief. When these practices will not serve, then they sell themselves to Satan, as did pope Silvester^ : they enter into an execrable league with the devil ; and labour by incantation, conjuration, magic, sorcery, and witchcraft, to consume, kill, and destroy the Lord's anointed by pic- turing, &c. When enchantments will not serve, that no poisoned device be left unattempted, they fly to poisonings, which practice of theirs hath taken effect in divers. Henry ^ the emperor received poison in sacramental bread, Victor^ the pope in sacramental wine. Wherein it is to be noted by the way, that if they did offer the body and blood of Christ indeed, as they pretend to do, they could not mingle that sacred and glorified substance with poison. Of late noble DandelotS with others, have drunk of the like cup. So these foxes conceive mischief, and bring forth most monstroas and cruel wickedness, both by open violence and by secret treachery, i^pl'i-suad^ "^^^ other mean, whereby they labour to hinder inentsdraivn ^^^^ course of the gospcl and to subvert religion, is fraud, ^™™auti- the natural property of a fox. This fraud is practised after sundry sorts. First they labour to seduce the sim- ple by persuasion. Of persuasion they have sundry kinds. As, first, the antiquity of their religion, their fathers' old faith. But they should remember that their religion is as new as false ; six hundred years after Christ unknown. The substance of our religion is most ancient, and shall be most permanent : it was from the beginning ; it shall remain to the end; no jot nor tittle thereof shall perish. In matter of religion we may not follow our fathers further than they have followed our master Christ. We must think, not what others have said or done before, but what he wliich is before all others hath said and done. Silvester II. was believed to be a magician. — Ed.] (^^ Henry VII. emperor of Germany. — Ed.] Victor II.— Ed.] Francis d'Andelot, a brother of Coligni, admiral of Francc—ED.] TAKE US THE LITTLE FOXES WHICH DESTROY, &C. G7 " Hear him.'''' The scripture hath given us warning to be wary in this point. God fed Israel with wormwood, and gave them waters of gall to drink, because they walked after " Baalims, which their fathers taught them." ^"-^ 21. Another ground whereupon they build their per- p^. suasion, is the " authority of the church,"" and of the pope, ^^j' p^pg'''^'' which cannot err. There is a church of God, and a sy- nagogue of Satan. The church of God is builded upon the doctrine of the apostles and prophets. The true church hath her marks whereby she is known ; the go- spel truly preached, the sacraments sincerely ministered, discipline duly executed. The popish church hath neither the true foundation nor yet the right marks of the church of God : her foundation is man : her marks are blasphemy, idolatry, superstition. Christ is " the head of his body the <^°'- 1^'^-^ church.'''' This Head cannot err : the head of the church antichristian is the pope, that man of sin, a liar, yea, a very father of lies. 22. From these general persuasions they train the J™"e|Jcy people to particulai's, teaching many other shameful things ; saalnce but this above all other, as most needful to be held of all, that the mass is a sacrifice available for quick and dead, strong and effectual to take away sin, forcible in ridding souls out of purgatory pains. But St Paul teach- eth, that Christ was offered up once to take away all sin, [Hjb.x. i3. and by that one oblation, because it was perfect, obtained the full delivery and redemption of his church. " The [i Jo'>n'-7-] blood of Christ doth cleanse us from all sin."" Therefore we need not their after-cleansings, which in truth are defilings. With these and other like false and subtile persuasions, they lead the simple people to the pit of de- struction. 23. Or, if they cannot prevail by such persuasions, From ^ they find out prophecies, and therewith fill the people''s prophecies, ears : they have the books of Merlin, and other fantastical spirits, full of doubtful sayings and deceitful dreams : of these they make such constructions and expositions, as may serve their purpose ; all tending to this end, that alteration is near, that the state will not continue, that religion cannot endure long. Such and such times when this change should be, they have presumed more than once 5 — 2 G8 THE THIRD SERMON. to appoint. But their times-master hath deceived them : they have found him a lying spirit in the mouth of his prophets. This practice of Satan and of his imps hath brought sundry great persons and noble houses to confu- sion. Let their posterity take example and warning by them. Their fraud 24. They have left no means unattempted, whereby in persuad- i • p , , , in^ by pro- the hearts of the people might any way be seduced. Where- mises of re- „ , • i • n . • • • i conciliation, tore unto other their deceitful practices they have joined the offer of reconciliation. The pope hath sent his proc- tors abroad to pardon whatsoever is already past, so that men will now forsake the church of Christ, and join them- selves unto that harlot inseparably henceforward ; which to do they must take a solemn oath, and in token thereof wear some mark of the beast, as a cross, an Agnus Dei, a medal, or some such badge of recognisance. These po- pish proctors have poisoned many ; and the observing of this most wicked oath hath made many silly souls, espe- cially women, break their faith to Christ, their loyalty to their prince, and their promised obedience to their husbands. A wicked promise is best unmade, but being made is better broken than performed. It had been a less offence for Herod to break liis oath than to behead an innocent. We may neither make nor keep any pro- mise, oath, or vow against the Lord. As for reconciliation, 2Cor.v.[2o.] " Be reconciled unto God." He it is which alone remit- teth sin ; and they only which are reconciled to him shall be saved. Their stra- 25. But these dcstroyers and subverters of the Lord's tagem of , raising up vineyard cease not thus. Some credit they think to win slanderous *^ . , , , reports. to their own cause, if they can worlc the discredit of such as are maintainers of the contrary. To this end they raise up slanderous reports against our magistrates and ministers, that the people, first misliking them, may afterwards be brought with more ease to mislike of that religion whereof they are. This is an old practice of the ancient enemy. Daniel was charged to contemn the decree of Nebuchadnezzar, Micheas' to be a liar, Jeremy to be an enemy to the commonwealth, Elias to be a disturber of the state, Christ to be an enemy unto Caesar, P Micheas — Micaiali. — Ed.] TAKK US THE LITTLE FOXES WHICH UESTKOY, &C. 69 Paul to bo factious and seditious, the Christians in the days of Trajan the emperor to have their women common in their night-assembhes, to worship an ass's head instead of God, with many such hke shameless reports. How these foxes have falsely slandered both magistrates and ministers of God in these our days, it shall be needless here to recite. Their books are extant as full of lies as lines. Thus you see how they labour by all means to hinder the passage of the gospel, and utterly to sub- vert true religion. AVe see also how the Lord of hosts tighteth for us ; how the Almighty is our defence ; how he that keepeth us slumbereth not ; how strangely and miraculously he preserveth his anointed David, both from the bloody hands of Saul abroad, and Absolon at home, in the midst of so many conspiracies, treacheries, snares, and traps, which these foxes have devised and laid. A\'c see how God preserveth his vineyard, how he maintaineth his church so many ways assaulted, maugre all his and all our enemies. It is his only work, marvellous in our eyes : it is the Lord, let us praise his name. 26. But although God hitherto hath preserved his s. vineyard from the spoil of these foxes, yet his will and must be commandment is, that we should not live in security, whom', by but beware of them ; watch them, and catch them, if ' ' we can : " Take us the little foxes." This last and most necessary part, for order sake, may bo thus divided. First we learn, that foxes are to be taken ; secondly, to whom ; thirdly, by whom ; and lastly, how they are to be taken. 27. These foxes are to be taken. For so the spouse wiiy foxes of Christ, or rather Christ himself, commandeth. And taken. ^ why ? Because they are hurtful to his vineyard. God commandeth false prophets not only to be taken, but also to die the death : " Let the false prophet die." ne^'i- "iii. Paul wisheth that the disturbers of the peace of the Gai. v. [12.J church were cut off. He laid an heavy hand upon Elymas Acts xiii. the sorcerer, when he stroke him stark blind. Moses, Exod. xxxii. [27, 28.] at the commandment of God, made a speedy dispatch of idolaters. The apostle would that dogs, evil work- Phii. iu. [2.] men, sect-makers, should be shunned, that all heretics not Tit. iii, [10.] recalling themselves by admonition should be avoided. The scabbed sheep must be removed out of the Hock, 70 THE THIRD SERMON. They must be taken, if it may l)e, to the church ; if not, then from the church. They must be taken by the friends of the bride- groom, mi- nisters and magis- trates. The minis- ter taketh them by doctrine. [2 Tim. iv. 2.] Luke iii. L3-14.] the leper should be severed, the adulterer cast out, the leaven put away, foxes taken and tied short. This is the will of God, the request of the spouse, the com- mandment of Christ. The law of nature, God, and man, crieth, " Take these foxes." 28. But unto whom ? Nobis. Catch them unto us, Saith the spouse of Christ. Christ came into the world to save sinners : he willeth not the death of a sinner, but rather that he should convert and live. He came to recall the lost sheep of the house of Israel : his will is, that stony hearts be turned into fleshy ; that foxes be changed into sheep ; that enemies be reconciled, and made friends ; that strangers be made citizens with his saints ; that all come unto him, that all may find rest for their souls. He created man for himself, for himself he redeemed him : his will is, that foxes be taken and brought to him, that he himself may be glorified in them. 29. But who should take them? The friends of the spouse, the servants and officers of the bridegroom Christ. There be two especial servants, whom the Lord hath appointed to hunt for these cubs ; the magistrate, and the minister. These are to join their force together, to be as brethren, Moses and Aaron, knit in love and liking, to give all diligence and mutual endeavour for the appre- hension of these foxes. For why ? the vineyard of the Lord is set over to their oversight and government. Kings and queens should be as nurses, to tender and cherish the church of Christ, to keep every noisome and hurtful thing from it. Ministers are they whom God hath set to sweat and labour in the vineyard ; to govern and feed the flock, which he hath purchased with his own blood. These are the Lord's two hands ; to both these he speaketh when he saith, " Take the foxes." But all the craft is in the catching. We must therefore learn how they are to be taken. 30. The minister hath his nets to take withal, the magistrate hath his traps. The first is the net of God's word, to cast into the sea for fishes, or to set upon the land for foxes. " Preach the word ; be instant in season, and out of season." The law of the Lord converteth souls. With this net John Baptist caught at one time a great TAKE US THE LITTLE FOXES WHICH DESTROY, &C. 71 number of Ibxes ; scribes, Pharisees, publicans, soldiers, and sinners: they came confessing their sins, and asking, " What shall we do?" Peter cast out this net, and in one sermon Acts ii. [41.] brought three thousand unto Christ. With this net at Cesarea he took Cornelius the captain, with a great mul- Actsx.[34- titude. Paul, by spreading this net, gat huge numbers in Asia, in Africa, in Europe, in all parts and quarters of the world. Christ himself with this net took so many that they said, " Behold, the whole world goeth after him." ^'i- Philip took the eunuch in this net ; in the same net Lydia, ^j^Jg'j* Dionysius, Paulus Sergius, was caught. Ambrose set this net for Augustine, and took him in it. Verily, if this net were diligently set, it would catch these cubs apace. For they err, because they know not the scriptures ; and they cannot know, because they are not taught. Wo therefore to the idle and idol pastor, to the dumb dog, to the un- preaching minister ! For the blood of all these that perish for lack of taking, through his negligence, shall be required at his hands. 31. The second net is godly conversation, good ex- By example ample of life. This net holdeth hard. Examples are a great deal stronger than words, and the voice doth not so fully instruct as the life. Therefore Peter saith, "Be a 1 Pet. v. [3.] platform for the flock to follow." " He that liveth other- wise than he speaketh, toacheth God to punish him," saith St Chrysostom. Paul termeth such teachers as are fertile i^Coi - in speech and barren in life, tinkling cymbals. They send forth a sound, and inwardly are hollow. Christ did what he taught. His innocency and patience changed the hearts of the very soldiers that put him to death. And as the godly example of a good life draweth many to Christ, so an evil life giveth great offence. The bad demeanour of Heli's sons caused men to loath the offering of the Lord. " And you," saith Jacob to his two sons, Simeon and Levi, Gen. xxxiv. "have made me to be abhorred among the inhabitants of the land." Let us therefore have our conversation honest 1 Pet. u. [12.] among these men, that, as now they speak evil of us as evil doers, so hereafter they may by our good works, which they shall see, glorify God in the day of visitation. 32. The third net to take these foxes in is discipline. By.ecciesi- ^ '- asticaldisci- vVherc the former nets fail, this will take hold: it held that pii''e- Till:: THIUO SERMON. 1 Cor. V. incestuous Corinthian, whom no other wav could have taken. Hereby Ambrose brought the emperor Theodosius himself Au?. decor, to unfeigned humility and hearty repentance'. "Doth it not appertain unto pastoral diligence," saith St Augustine, with fear, yea, if they resist, with feeling of stripes, to recall to the fold of the Lord those sheep, when we find them, which have not been violently carried away, but, by fair and soft usage being seduced, have gone astray and began to be held in possession of strangers^?" Those wilful cubs, which neither by teaching nor by example will 2Cor. X. [6.] reformed, must feel the smart of the rod. " We have," saith Paul, "in a readiness punishment against all dis- obedience." Such as will not come to feed with Christ Lukexiv. willingly, must be compelled against their wills. "Con- strain them to come in." Thus the minister should take these little foxes, and win them unto the Lord with the net of God's word, of good example, and of discipline. Now, if they cannot be so recalled that themselves perish not, they are to be cut off' or tied up, that they destroy not others. trate"taleth ^S- The magistrate therefore must also set traps to dvnpunish- catch these foxes withal. The chief trap the magistrate ments. hath is the law. Artaxerxes writeth his letter unto Es- dras, whom he sent to Jerusalem to see the people go- verned, and requireth him both to place magistrates and judges over the people, and to see that they might live according to the laws of God and the king, adding there- Kira vii. unto a sharp commination against transgressors : " Who- soever will not do the law of thy God, and the king's law, let him have judgment without delay, whether it be unto death, or to banishment, or to confiscation of goods, or to imprisonment." The kinds of punishment here set down are four, death, exile, confiscation, incarceration. These lawful means are wisely to be used of christian magistrates, as traps to take these little foxes. By death. 34. The first is death. It is the Lord's command- [Deut. xiii. ment, " Let the false prophet die," " Let the adulterer and ib.xxivVib.'] the adulteress be put to death," "Let the blasphemer be [} Theod. Hist. Eccl. Amst. 1695. Lib. v. c. 18. pp. 220— 3.— Ed.] Ij' August. Op. Par. 1679. De Correct. Donatist. Lib. ad Bonifac. seu Epist. clxxxv. Tom. ii. cols. 652, 8. — Ed.] TAKE US THE LITTLE FOXES WHICH DESTROY, &f. 73 stoned." Moses observed this in destroying idolaters, and hanging up them that committed whoredom. The magis- trate beareth not the sword in vain. Asa the good king of Judah gave commandment, that " if any would not seek 2 chron.^v. the Lord God of Israel, he should die, from the least to the greatest, from the man to the woman." Thus zealous magistrates have endeavoured to take rebellious foxes. 35. Exile is also a punishment fit for foxes. Zem- By exile, babel and Jeshua, together with the rest of the fathers of Israel, agreed not to suffer the enemies of their religion, those wily foxes, to join with them, but banished them out of their company : " It is not for us and you to build a Ezra iv. [3.] house to our Grod." The emperor Theodosius likewise, being moved thereunto by that zealous bishop Amphilo- chius, drave all the Arians out of his dominion ^ These foxes must be removed, the further the better. And it were well with Christ's church, if they were all as far as Rome hence, from whence many of them came, who now wander and range amongst us. God spared not to expel angels out of heaven, men out of paradise. And when Absolon had put off the dutiful mind of a natural son', 2 sam. xiii. then David, laying aside the tender affection of a loving ^^'''^ father, banished him his country. 36'. The third trap to take withal is confiscation of I'v^^onfisca- goods ; which Avay is the easiest, and not the worst. For the most men love mammon better than God, their riches more than their religion. When the rich man heard that he and his wealth must part, he went away very sorrow- ful ; if he from Christ, it is to be hoped these will from antichrist. There can be no sharper punishment to a worldly-minded man, than to be taken in this trap. God therefore commanded the Egyptians to be spoiled, than which there could be no plague more grievous unto them, being so greedily set upon their gain. When the Phihs- 1 Sam. xiii. tines would keep the Jews in good order, and disable ^^^'^ them to rebel, they took their weapons and instruments of war from them. It is no evil or unlawful policy to weaken these enemies, which are ready to use the strength of their wealth to the overthrow of the church, if occasion [' Theod. Hist. Eccl. Amst. 1605. Lib. v. c. IG. p. 218.— Ed.] 74 THE THIKD SERMON. did serve. Toucli them by the purse : it is the most easy and ready way, whereby to take and tame these foxes. Byincarce- 37. The last wav set down bv wise Artaxerxes is ration. , , , incarceration. When Joseph had cast his brethren in prison, then they remembered their fault and repented : [Gen. xiii. iiiQYi they thought, " We suffer these things deservedly for xxxi'u^'fio- hardness of our hearts against our brother." IManasses ^^•J was never reclaimed until he was inclosed in prison. He was miserable in his kingdom, and blessed in his captivity. Thus it is the duty as well of the magistrate as the mi- nister to obey the commandment of the Almighty, and by all means to prevent wicked enterprises, to root out evil, and to seek the safety of God's vineyard, his beloved church. Which God grant them once effectually to do, for their own discharge, and benefit of the people so dearly re- deemed by the blood of Christ. To whom, &c. THE FOURTH SERMON. A SERMON PREACHED IN THE SAME PLACE, AND UPON THE SAME OCCASION WITH THE FORMER. 1 Tim. II. 1. / exhort therefore before all things, that requests, supplications, in~ tercessions, and givings of thanks, be made for all men ; 2. For Icings, and for all that are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and a peaceable Ife, in all godliness and honesty. Moses, speakino; to the people of God concernino; the The cause of . 7. , ,1 * , the assem- mstitution 01 the passover to be kept at the aijpointed tiy, and the „ . , 4--, , , matters season, irom year to year, saith, "When thy son shall which this scri ptiir6 ask thee, What is this I thou shalt say unto him, With otiereth to a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of. of the house of bondage ; and in remembrance hereof we [i4.] ' celebrate this feast." In hke sort, when your children shall ask you what this our assembly meaneth, you shall answer, that it is to give God thanks for that great be- nefit which we received at his hands as this day, when in his mercy he gave us our gracious elect Elizabeth, whom he hath used as his mighty arm, to work our delivei'ance, to bring us out of Egypt, the house of Romish servitude. " This is the day which the Lord hath made," this is that Psai. cxviii. . . [24.] our happy day, the Lord in his mercy hath made it ; let us be thankful for it, let us rejoice and be glad in it. This is the acceptable time, the day of salvation, the happy time of our deliverance. This day God shewed us the light of his gracious countenance, and had mercy on us in bestowing upon us so great a treasure, so good a gover- nor, so worthy a prince. The Lord grant us many of these days, and long continuance of these happy years ! And, as our apostle doth exhort us, let us both prais© the Lord, and pray unto him, that under so good a go- vernment we may live a quiet, a godly, and an honest 76 THE FOURTH SERMOX. life, as the Lord's goodness towards us, and our duty to- wards him, and profession of his name, require. " I ex- hort you therefore before all things," &c. Here are two things offered to our consideration, first, an exhortation, " Pray for all men, especially for princes and nilers f ' se- condly, a reason of this exhortation, " that by their good government we may live a quiet, a godly, and an honest life." \n exiiorta ^' ^" exhorting us to pray, he sheweth the benefit tionunto and fruit of our praver. We must pray to God to give prayer. . . us good princes and rulers : under a good prince we ought to lead a good life : a good prince should procure peace, piety, and honesty to the people : a good people should live peaceably, godlily, and honestly under their prince. The exhortation is, " Pray for all men, especially princes and rulers." In this part we have to consider. What prayer is ; To whom we should pray ; What be the parts of prayer ; When, where, and how we should pray ; For whom we should pray, whatprayer 3. Prayer is a lifting up of the mind unto God, or parts it a friendly talking with the Lord, from an high and a kindled affection of the heart. In the word God speaketh unto us, in prayer we speak unto him. Prayer is the pouring out of a contrite heart, with a sure persuasion that God will grant our requests, and give ear to the suits which we make unto him. This prayer must be only unto God. It is prayer unto God that only hath Psai. 1. [15.] promise, that only hath example in the scriptures. " Call John xvi. upon me," saith God ; " Ask the Father in my name," ^an!vi. saith our Saviour, " ask, and ye shall have." " When ye ^^''^ shall pray," saith Christ, " pray thus, Our Father which art in heaven." So and none otherwise prayed all the patriarchs, prophets, apostles, and Christ himself, and all true Christians in all ages. In prayer no creature may be joined with God. " God and our Lady help us," is no allowable prayer. Petitions, or 4. This prayer, which must be made only to God, our apostle divideth into his parts, "requests," "supplica- tions," "intercessions," "thanksgivings." Requests or pe- titions are when we pray for the increase of God's good gifts in us, and that of his mercy and favour he would I EXHORT THEREFORE BEFORE ALT. TIIINGS, S:C. give us whatsoever is necessary for body or soul ; and, forasmuch as we cannot obtain any thing for our own merits, that he would grant us all things for his Son our Saviours sake. 5. Supplications, when we pray to be delivered from suppiica- evil ; as when we pray that the wrath of God, which we have deserved, may through his mercy be removed from us as far as the east is from the west, that our sin may be remitted and blotted out of God's books. 6. Intercessions are when we pray for such as do interces- afflict and \vrong us, for our enemies which persecute us ; that God would forgive them, turn their hearts, and better them. Or when we pray for others ; either for removing of evil from them, or for God's favour and blessing to- wards them. 7. Thanksgivings are when we praise and thank God g^,^"!^|' for the great mercies, graces, and gifts, which we have received at his hands. For we must acknowledge that " every good and perfect gift cometh down from above, from james i. the Father of lights," and is by his mercy freely given. ^^'''^ Prayer generally may be divided into two parts, petition and thanksgiving : in the one we ask of God ; in the other we offer unto God : both are accepted as sweet-smelling sacrifices ; pure, and through the merit of his Son pleasant in his sight. I shall not need to put you in remembrance, that we must pray both for ourselves and others ; that there is a private, and a public prayer ; that we must pray for things pertaining to salvation absolutely, and for things that pertain to this life conditionally. These are matters wherewith ye are throughly acquainted. 8. The next thing to be considered in prayer, is when, when, where, and how to pray. When! Always, "without ceas- howto'pray. ing." Where? In all places, especially that place which, [u-f*'^' being sanctified to this use, is therefore called the house of prayer. How? From the heart, "lifting up pure and ^T'^ 'i fs] clean hands that is to say, in faith, and in love. Our prayer, feathered with these two wings, flieth straight into heaven. .9. Thus we are by the apostle willed to pray before ^™/^[,'"^" all things, according to the commandment of our Saviour, ti>'ngs. "Seek first the kingdom of God." Lot us begin all ouryif''^'' 78 THE FOURTH SERMON. Exod. iii. [9, 10.] Exod. xxxii [9-H.] .Tosli. vi. [20.] jnsii. X. n.s. i-^.i Dan. iii. [27.] For whom we naist pray, and for wliom not. \ John V. [16.] 2 Cor. xii. works, our enterprises, our actions, our journeys, our lying down, our rising up, our eating, our drinking, and all our studies, with prayer. So our bread shall be multipHed, our oil increased, our meat sanctified, all our endeavours and actions blessed. If the very ethnicks in the beginning of their books first prayed unto their gods, to prosper and give good success to their labours ; it were a shame for us not to pray to our God before all things, knowing that the prayer of the just is greatly available before him. Prayer is a succour unto us, a sacrifice to God, and a scourge to Satan. Examples are infinite. Israel in pi-ayer groaned unto God, and was delivered out of Egypt. Mo- ses by prayer so held God, that he could not destroy his idolatrous people. The blast of prayer overthrew the walls of Jericho. At the prayer of Josua the sun stood still. The young men prayed in tho burning furnace, and their prayer took away the force of the fire. The scriptures are full of examples of all sorts : kings, prophets, apostles, faithful Christians, have called upon the Lord in the time of their troubles : he hath heard them, granted their re- quests, and delivered them from their distresses. Where- fore, before all things the apostle here exhorteth us unto prayer. 10. But for whom? First, generally for all men; then specially for kings, and them that are placed in authority. It seemeth, some were of opinion that prayers should be made only for the faithful, for the brethren, for Christians, and not for infidels, Paul, to meet with this uncharitable error, saith, " Let supplications be made for all men." St John in his canonical epistle seemeth to make exception against this general doctrine : " There is a sin unto death, I say not that thou shouldest pray for it." This is that sin which Christ calleth sin against the Holy Ghost, which never shall be remitted, and therefore is not to be prayed for. But, because it is hard for us to discern who sin unto eternal death, christian charity will that we hope well of all, and observe the general rule to pray " for all." There were secrets revealed to the apostles of Christ, which are hidden from us : they had the gift of prophesying and discerning of spirits, to foresee, and know ; which gifts these times have not. Paul, rapt into the third heaven, I EXHORT THEREFORE BEFORE AM, THINGS, &C. 79 learned secrets not to be revealed: lie knew that Hy-iTim. i. [20.] menseus and Alexander were reprobates. We may not so judge of others. "Who art thou that judgest another Rom. xiv. man's servant V In outward shew, after the judgment of man, Paul, being a violent persecutor of Christ, sinned unto death ; yet was he the elect vessel and glorious in- strument of God. Christ is "the propitiation for the sins [iJoimii.a.] of the whole world he will have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth. We must therefore have a charitable meaning toward.s all, and pray for all, as he hath died for all. Pray even for your enemies, for them that persecute and slander you : " Bless them that [Jiatt.v.44.] curse you Wish vvell to them that do ill to you. For God suffereth his rain to fall and his light to shine both upon good and bad. Abraham prayed for Abimelech, Moses for idolaters, Samuel for Saul, Stephen for them that stoned him, and Christ for them that cruelly put him to shameful death. Let us imitate these holy patterns. 11. As we should pray for all men, so chiefly for Prayer to be kings, and such as are in authority, because they chiefly "i'aiiy fo!-^ need it. In Paul's time the kings and rulers of the peo- sucii is are pie were ethnicks, tyrants, enemies to Christ, and cruel persecutors of the gospel : whereupon some thought it not convenient for the church to pray for them who sought to destroy it. St Paul abatcth this opinion, teaching them that they should chiefly pray for such, as for men in greatest danger, and most needing the help of their prayer. Pray for him that prayeth not for himself. The prophet Jeremy Jer. .wix. requireth the Israelites to pray for the cruel persecutor ^''^ of God's people, Nebuchadnezzar. For God in his mercy giveth good princes, and in his ire he giveth " wantons," M as Esay saith, and " hypocrites," as Job writeth. Both ^ph xxxiv. evil and good are the ordinance of God. We must pray for ill princes, because the king's heart is in God's hand ; that he may turn their minds, and stay their persecutions, of evil make them good, and of strangers from the com- monwealth of his saints make them pillars and stays unto the church. For good princes we ought heartily to praise the Lord, for them especially to pray, as the prophet did for Solomon, " Give thy judgments to the king, O God, psh. ixxii. and thy righteousness to the king's son." For it is the 80 THE roURTH SERMON. singular gift of God not only to set up rightful govern- ment in the world, but also to cherish and preserve the same. Even they whom he hath furnished with the spirit of righteousness and of judgment, are unable further forth to execute their charge, than they be specially directed by the hand of God, and assisted from heaven with all Apoioget! helps necessary for their calling. If the Christians did pray for the wealth and prosperity of those princes, which bent all their force and power against the kingdom of Christ', surely for such as are defenders of the faith, and zealous patrons of God's people, we ought daUy and hourly to pour out supplications, that God would grant them a long life, a safe government, a sure dwelling, valiant sol- diers, faithful counsellors, a good people, a quiet world, and whatsoever the hearts of men or kings do desire. And let all such as will not say Amen to those prayers, assure themselves that they are neither dutiful Christians nor faithful subjects, but disloyal contemners of God's or- dinance, and rebellious despisers of his commandment, who spake by the mouth of his apostle, saying, " Pray for kings, and all such as be in authority." No nation 12. If any church, any people, anv nation in the world, more occa- , \ t ^ i • i sioned than havo cause to praiso the Lord for their prince : this land the English . o , , . to praise the hath more than anv, in respect of the wonderful blessmgs Lord for . " 7 . . . their prince, wherewith God, by the ministry of his handmaid, hath enriched us far beyond all that we are possibly able to conceive. Israel was well apaid with the good government of Deborah, Judith, and Hester. But they thought them- selves twice happy when God gave them Moses, Samuel, David, Solomon, Jehosaphat, Ezekias, Josias, to govern them. England liked well, and took it for no small bless- ing of God, when Henry the first, Henry the second, Edward the first, Edward the third, Edward the fourth, Henry the fifth, Henry the sixth, Henry the seventh, Henry the eighth, Edward the sixth, bare rule over it. But did God ever bless the throne of any man aa he hath done the royal seat of his anointed at this day? Inspice Dei voces... scitotc ex illis praeceptum esse nobiSj ad re- tlundantiam benignitatis, etiam pro inimicis Deum orarc, et pcrsecuto- ribus nostris bona precari. — Tcrtull. Op. Lutet. 1G41. Apologct. adv. Gentes, 31. p. .10.— Ed.] I EXHORT THEREFORE BEFORE ALL THINGS, &C, 81 Hath the hke ever been licard of in any nation to that wliich in ours is seen ? Our Deborah hath mightily re- pressed the rebel Jaben : our Judith hath beheaded Ho- lophernes, the sworn enemy of Christianity : our Hester liath hanged up that Haman, which sought to bring both us and our children into miserable servitude. And, if we may compare with the ancients of Israel, Moses was not more mild, nor Samuel more just, nor David more faithful, nor Solomon more peaceful, nor Jehosaphat more ready to assist his neighbours, nor Ezekias more careful for God's cause, nor Josias more zealous to restore sincere religion : if ye make the comparison between her own predecessors, neither was Henry the first better learned, nor Henry the second more easy to forgive and put up injuries, nor Edward the first more chaste, nor Edward the third more loth to accept of foreign dominion being offered, nor Edward the fourth more just in yielding all men their own, nor Henry the fifth more happy, nor Henry the sixth more holy, nor Henry the seventh more prudent, nor Henry the eighth more valiant in quelling the pope, nor Edward the sixth more sincerely affected towards the gospel of Christ. Look upon other princes at this day : some are drunken with the poisoned cup of that harlot, whose venom her highness doth abhor ; some have imbrued themselves in blood, wherewith her majesty did never yet stain the tip of her finger : when they tumble in war, she sitteth in peace ; when they break oaths and covenants, she keepeth promise: therefore God hath blessed the work of her hands: she found this realm in war, she hath established it in peace : she found it in debt, which she hath discharged ; she hath changed dross into silver and gold ; she hath, by living within compass and sparing wasteful expences, without pressing the people, or seeking more than ordinary and usual tribute, furnished this land with so great a navy, with such store of armour and wai'like munition, both for defence and offence, as England never had in former times. This I speak not of flattery, (it was never my fault) but rather in sincerity testifying the truth, that seeing your happiness you may be thankful, and considering the won- derful mercies of God ye may fall into that meditation of tlu! prophet, AVhat shall I render unto the Lord 'i All i^^^J G [SANDV.S.] 82 THE FOURTH SERMON. his benefits are upon me. I will receive the cup of sal- vation, and call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows unto the Lord, even now in the presence of all his people." God hath loaden us with all his benefits. Far be it from us that our unthankfulness should bereave us of this felicity. That we hear the sound of bells, and not the thundering of guns ; that our goods are not spoiled, our houses razed, our lands extended \ our bodies imprisoned, our wives and children murdered before our eyes ; that mercy and truth are met together; that righteousness and peace have kissed each other ; that in liberty of body and freedom of conscience we may assemble thus together in the house of God, to make our prayers, to hear his word, to receive these holy and heavenly mystei-ies; do we think it a small, or a light, or a common benefit s How should we requite the Lord ^ We have nothing in us worthy the name of recompence. All that we can render or repay for that which we have received is, before we crave more, to be mindful and thankful of that we have obtained al- ready, to take up the cup of salvation, call upon the name of the Lord in the presence of all the people : let sup- plications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for kings : this one payment doth abundantly satisfy God for all graces, benefits, and blessings, which by the means of good kings have been poured upon us. hi'a'Ithoritv Neither let us pray for our prince only, but also under tiie ' fQj. ^11 such as God hath placed in authority under her. prince must i •' ed for'^''be^' Gvery power is of God, whether it be ecclesiastical or they ffood or civil iiower. We must pray for all those that be in au- bad;Detheu' _ '- i authority thoritv, be they mod or bad ; for the continuance of the ecclesiasti- • J r> caiorci\ii. one, and the amendment of the other. Our prayer for ecclesiastical powers must be, that God would place over his people good guides, loving and wise shepherds, such as may carefully govern the flock, over which the Holy Ghost doth make them overseers ; such as Peter, that will feed as much as in them lieth ; such as Paul, that will preach in season and out of season, that will soundly instruct, sharply improve, severely correct, and diligently guide ; such as John, that fear not to reprove kings to their faces ; as Elias, which will not spare to punish trans- [' Extended — confiscated, seized. — Ep.] I EXHORT THEREFORE REFORE ALL THINGS, &e. 83 gressors : that the church may be dehvered from such as Judas and Magus, buyers and sellers, from false prophets, from sacrificing Balaamites, from devouring wolves, wily foxes, insatiable dogs, dumb curs, deceitful workmen, makers of division, idle pastors, unsavoury salt, such as make their belly their God, their preferment their religion, lewdly and worldly minded men. Our prayer for them in whose hands civil government lieth must be that, forasmuch as one is unable to bear the burthen of a commonwealth alone, such, according to the counsel of Jethro, may be chosen, as be Solomons, not Nabals ; men of wisdom, and not dottrels ; men of experience that can, and of courage that will, both wisely and boldly discharge their duty ; men like to Gedeon, and not to Pilate, such as will not fear the face of Caesar, when they should do right ; men able mightily to put down sin ; men that fear God sin- cerely, being lovers of the truth, not secret fosterers of superstition ; men that hate covetousness, and are not takers of bribes to pervert judgment ; men like to Samuel, not the sons of Samuel. Wo be to that people which is led with blind guides, and wo be to that commonwealth, which is ruled with base, bad, and evil governors ! 14. Let us therefore bless God, if we have good rulers, T,,e,.p.ison and pray that we may reap the good fruit of them ; that for^f^n^ is to say, that we may lead a peaceable and quiet life ^^^J°Jg under them, with all godliness and honesty. Herein we pr|''pj°'ljn(i have two things to be considered, the duty of rulers, and . , o _ ' . men in mind the duty of them which live imder rulers. Kings, and o/J!"'''" •' _ _ . duties. such as are in authority» must seek the peace, piety, and JJ[','j"'j|'|'*(,y honesty of the people : the people thus governed must lead ^^''JJj'^'^g'J'^J a peaceable, a godly, and honest life under them. It was people lUe . ... . . '1 peace. said to the Jews which lived in captivity, but may serve as a profitable lesson for all that have sovereignty over others : " Seek the prosperity of the city ; in the peace Jer. xxix. thereof you shall have peace." Solomon hath this com- mendation especially given him in scripture, as a notable effect of his wonderful wisdom : "He had peace on all sides: Judah and Israel dwelt without fear: every man sat quiet under his vine, and under his fig-tree, all the days of Solomon." Our Saviour Christ is called the " Prince isai. ix. [C] of peace : "" he brought peace into the world : at his na- 6—2 84 THE rouRTM sermon. Lukeii. [u.] tivlty the angels sung "Peace on earth:*" at what time he was born, there was peace amongst all people. Ezekias like- wise sought the peace of his country by earnest and hearty [8*]'' V^'^y^^' '• " there be peace and truth in my days." la piety. \ty fi^g iQ^g j^^^i honourable peace which we have enjoyed and do enjoy, is in the eyes of all that do behold it wonderful ; the more, because the procurer of our peace hath been careful therewithal to have piety and true re- ligion planted and continued amongst us. Doubtless they that so Avatch over the people committed unto their charge, shew that they are neither coldly affected towards God, nor uncharitably towards their people. David, Solomon, Jeho- saphat, Asa, Ezekias, Josias, are commended of God for good rulers, because they were religious and feared God. These, loving the law of the Lord themselves, laboured by all means to make the people partakers also of the like love. These were indeed the nurses of the church, having the same affection and kind-hearted inclination, 1 Thess. ii. which the blessed apostle had towards them of Thessalo- [8-] . ^ . , mca, unto whom he was not only content to give the milk of the gospel of Christ, but willing that they might suck even blood out of his breast, so it were for their benefit. So dear and precious they were unto him. Such a nurse was Moses, which fed the people with the law of God, the food of life, meat sweeter than honey or the honey-comb. Such a one Jehosaphat, in sending abroad preachers to feed the people. Such a one Ezekias, in washing and cleansing the church from idolatry ; Josias, in reforming the house of God; Solomon, in deposing evil priests and placing better, in labouring by all means to enlarge the glorious kingdom of God. These did the parts of good and faithful nurses, and God did highly requite their service. In honesty. 16. After piety, honesty and order must be sought. This is attained unto by seeing good laws both made and put in execution. For the execution of the law is the life of the law ; and a law not executed is but a dead law. And here let rulers first learn to observe laws them- selves, and so with greater courage and better countenance they may punisli Ijy law the transgressors of tlie law. For this cause St Paul would have a bishop, whose office it is I EXHORT THEREFORE BEFORE ALL THINGS, &:C. 85 to reprove otliers, liiniself to be unreprovablc. Judali gvavo sentence against Tbamar for licr incontinency : " Bring ^^pn^-^xxvui. her forth, and let her be burnt." But when he once understood it was his own offence, the case was altered. The prophf't David was driven to the like. Those ma- gistrates do both wickedly and shamefully, which prescribe a law of honest life unto others, and keep it not them- selves. It is a foul thing, when he that punishetli is more worthy punishment than the party punished. Paul himself, being blameless, executed discipline with great authority upon that lewd incestuous person. Samuel, a faultless magistrate, was not alraid to cut off the head of Agag the king with his own hands. Moses could not with that courage have hanged up those gentlemen-fornicators, had not his own life that way been without stain or blemish. AVhen magistrates themselves be clear, they may boldly punish others, and see diligently to the strait execution of laws. For want whereof it cometh to pass, tliat for the most part laws are accounted like to cob- webs, which take small Hies and hold them fast, but suf- fer hornets to break through.. In execution of laws, we may not respect the person of the rich, or of the poor : neither fear nor pity must remove us : that which is just must take place in both. For if laws be not executed without respect of person, if sin be not severely repressed, if the people be not kept in order, it will shake the state, all will be in an uproar, no man shall be master of his own, or in any safety of his life, all ini(|uity will abound, all honesty will be exiled, and the magistrate shall bear the sword in vain. To neglect it is to neglect that thing for which this ordinance of God was first ap- pointed. For if men without these means might be kept in order, surely God would never have established govern- ment to keep them in order by these means. Barbarous, therefore, and wicked is the opinion of the anabaptists, which condenm all superiority, authority, and government in the church. For what is this else, but utterly to ex- pel, both out of church and commonwealth, all godliness, all peace, all honesty ? 17. Now, as mao-istratcs and rulers sliould by good The duty of ./ o people government procure peace, promote religion, and presejvo pj^i'^^e^'ls [g 86 THE FOURTH SEIIAION. lead a peare- honesty amongst men; so our apostle requii'eth at tlio peo- iy, amian ple's hands, that they under government lead a peaceable, quiet, and honest life. There is a double peace, the one outward, the other inward ; peace with men, and peace with Clod. With God there is no peace, but in Christ. Through faith in him we have peace with God, and not otherwise. He hath peace with God, whose sins are re- Rom.iv.[7.] niitted : for, "Blessed are they whose iniquities are par- doned." But our sins are remitted only in the blood of iJohn 1. [7.] Christ Jesus: "His blood doth purge us from all sin." Christ therefore is our only peace-maker with God. This is that peace which passeth all understanding : he that will enjoy it must be careful to keep a good conscience. [lef " " Have a good conscience, that, when men speak evil of you as of ill doers, they may be ashamed." For if our own heart condemn us, God is greater and will more sin- cerely judge us. A good conscience maketh a strong faith. jSIany, by loosing their hold of the one, have made ship- wreck of the other. What It is to 18. The peaceable and (Uiiet hfe, which St Paul in live peace- ii i- • • ably. this place doth chiefly require, is to have outward peace . Rom. with men. " If it be possible, and as much as in you lies, have peace with all men." Yet not peace with all men so, but that we may be always ready for God*'s cause to sustain the hatred of all men in the world. We may not for peace sake flatter men in their sin; for that is to be partakers of evil. We must have peace with all, if it may be, and so far as in us lieth, ever pi-eferring a good conscience and a clu-istian mind. For it may not be, which may not be honestly. Follow those things that belong unto peace, but unto godly peace. For our God is the God of true and of good peace. He detesteth them that sow dis- cord, yea, the soul of the Lord abhorreth them. Doeg was hated of God for setting dissention between Saul and David ; Achitophel likewise for stirring up Absolon to strive against his father. For as peace makers are blessed, so cursed are all disturbers of peace, all breeders and maintainors of sedition. Unto peace we must join holiness, true and Heb. xii. religious worshipping of God. So saitli the apostle : " Fol- low peace and holiness, without which no man shall see Matt. iv. the Lord." " Thou slialt worship the Lord thy God, and I KXUOK'l' TIIlillEFOIlB HEI'ORE ALL TIIINGS, &C. 87 him only shalt thou servo.'''' He is a spirit, and will be worshipped in spirit and truth ; in inward holiness, not in outward shew of holiness only ; in sincerity, and not in ceremony alone ; according to his own will and command- ment, not according to the fancy or invention of man. "Every god," saith Socrates, "is so to be worshipped ^ug.de con- •' o ' ' i sen. Evang. as himself hath appointed'." lib. i. cap. 19. This our servincr of God in the church of God Ttie princi- . , pal public in true holiness consisteth chiefly in true and earnest prayer fiuti^s of . .. ,. godliness unto God, in diliaccnt and dutiful hearmo; of his word, are prayer, m faithful and reverent receiving of his sacraments. In the^word, prayer we beg of God those things which we wish and hope in? of the SQcr&mcntSa to receive, and we praise him for things already received. This is a sweet and an acceptable sacrifice. The hearing of his word is also a service wherewith he is pleased. 20. And as praying and hearing, so the worthy re- t>vo sacra- . !• PI- ments, bap- ceiving of his sacraments, is not only a sealing of his (jrace t'sn and the . . 1 • • supper of unto us, but also a testifying of our godliness towards him. the Lord. His sacraments are two in number, instituted by Christ to be received of Christians : by the one, which is baptism, we are received and incorporated into the church of Christ; by the other, which is the eucharist, or Lord's supper, we are nourished and fed unto life everlasting. These are pledges and assurances of remission of sins, and salvation, purchased by the death of Christ. These are G.od''s seals, added unto his most certain promises for the confirmation of our weak faith, weak by reason of the infirmity of our flesh. "For, if we were spiritual," saith Chrysostom, " we " ""^y" should not need these corporal signs ^." We being now prepared and purposed to be partakers of this holy mys- tery, the sacrament of the body and blood of Christ, it standeth us upon to have that due consideration which the weight of a matter so nearly concerning our salvation doth require, to the end that we may to our comfort and profit receive the same. Deeply to enter into this matter Q' Socratis cnim sentcntia est, unumquenique doum sic coli oportere, ([uoinodo sc ipse colenduni esse praccepeiit.— August. Op. Par. 1G80. Do Consensu Evangelistarum, Lil). i. 26. Tom. iii. Parsii. col. 12. — Ed.] ^ V,i /xci> yup aVto/iaTo? ei, yu/xvd av aura, (roi rd dam/xaTa irapecwKe c(vpa. — Chrysost. Op. Par. 1727. In Matt. Horn, lxxxii. Tom. vii. p. 787. — Eu.] 88 THE FOURTH SERMON. the shortness of this time will not permit : yet somewhat I will say, and give you a taste of things needful. Of the out- 21. In this sacrament there are two things, a visible ward sis:ns . . . , , . . ., , , , iii theeu-^ Sign, and an invisible grace : there is a visible sacramental how the in- sign of bread and wine, and there is the thing and matter thereof u** signified, namely, the body and blood of Christ : there is by^carnai°' an earthly matter, and an heavenly matter. The outward devouring, sacramontal sign is common to all ; as well the bad, as the rituai'and good. Judas received the Lord's bread ; but not that feTdin"'^ bread, which is the Lord to the faithful receiver. The body and spiritual part, that which feedeth the soul, only the faith- christ" ful do receive. For he cannot be partaker of the body Jesus. Christ, which is no member of Christ's body. This food offered us at the Lord's table is to feed our souls withal : it is meat for the mind, and not for the belly. Our souls, being spiritual, can neither receive nor digest that which is corporal ; they feed only upon spiritual food. johnvi.[63.] It is the spiritual eating that giveth life. " The flesh," saith Christ, " doth nothing profit." VVe must lift up ourselves from these external and earthly signs, and like eagles fly up and soar aloft, there to feed on Christ, which sitteth on the right hand of his Father, whom the heavens shall keep until the latter day. From thence and from no other altar shall he come, in his natural body, to judge both quick and dead. His natural body is local, for else it were not a natural body : his body is there, therefore not here : for a natural body doth not occupy sundry places at once. Here we have a sacrament, a sign, a memorial, a commemoration, a representation, a figure effectual, of the body and blood of Christ. These terms the ancient fathers, Iren.neus, Tertullian, St Augustine, St Jerome, St Chrysostom, do use'. Seeing then that Christ in his natural body is absent from hence ; seeing he is risen, and is not here ; seeing he hath left the world, and is gone to his Father ; " how shall I," saith St Augustine, " lay hold on him which is absent ? how shall I put my hand into heaven ? Send up thy faith, and thou hast taken hold." " Why preparest thou thy teeth? Believe, and thou hast eaten"." [1 See Note A.— Ed.] P Quomodo tenebo absentcm ? Quomodo in coelum manum mittam, ut ibi sedentem teneam ? Fidem mitte, et tenuisti. — August. Op. Par. I EXHORT TIIEREFOKK BEFOKK AI.L THINGS', &C. 89 Thy teeth shall not do him violence, neither thy stomach contain his glorious body. Thy faith must reach up into heaven. By faith he is seen, by faith he is touched, by faith he is digested. Spiritually by faith we feed upon Christ, when we stedfastly believe that his body was broken, and his blood shed for us, upon the cross ; by which sacrifice, offered once for all, as sufficient for all, our sins were freely remitted, blotted out, and washed away. This is our heavenly bread, our spiritual food. This doth strengthen our souls and cheer our hearts. Sweeter it is unto us than honey, when we are certified by this outward sacrament of the inward grace given unto us through his death ; when in him we are assured of remission of sins and eternal life. Better food than this thy soul can never feed upon. This is the bread of everlasting life. They which truly eat it shall live by it. 22. Thus I have briefly, simply, and plainly unfolded The visible unto vou the meaning of this most holy mystery. Time bread and • * wine v tu jivariKU (TVjijioXa t»;9 oikci((v €^[(rraT(ti (pva-ew;. fxevei yap eiri Ttj<; irpoTcpat ova-lav, k«i tov ;- ^,l«T()2ossunt\ Q' Aoytffaiievo<; fiij irorc eMON. witli sceptre and with sword, to be patrons and defenders of all his servants. It is a glorious thing for a prince to fight, as David did, the Lord's wars against the Philistines, to be in the field under Christ's banner. But to draw in one yoke with infidels, to be in league with antichrist, it U^K'ngs is both an impious and a base thing. By joining with 2 Kiiigsviii. Achaz\ Jchosapliat gained nothino-, and Ochozias^ as little [28, 29.] ... . 2^King:si.\. by joining with Jorani. Joas and Jehu, worthy princes, regarded God's cause, and had singular care of the safety of their people : the one took away that cruel murderer 2^Kin?s xi. of the king"s blood, the conspiring and traitorous queen Athaliali ; the other brake the neck of that idolatrous, 2 Kings ix. proud, and lascivious queen Jezebel. Moses and David, most worthy princes, looked not only on themselves, but provided for their posterity, when the one appointed Josua, and the other Solomon to reign after them. The prince, that hath not a special and singular care over his people, hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel. It concern- If), Neither doth this concern the dutv of princes etn also _ " ^ counsellors, onlv, but of counsellors also. Their care should be greater ministers, . . and 2:ene. fox- the i)rince and commonwealth, than for their own com- rally all . ' . i -nv • inen. modity. ] will not remember unto you Codrus, and Deems, Curtius, Brutus, with such like, who loved their country more than themselves. I will not ])ut you in mind of those two jjrecepts set down by Tully out of Plato ; the one, of not seeking for private commodity ; the other, of not lean- ing to one part, and neglecting another, of the common- wealth. I like not so well to deal with profane things in this place ; the woi'd of God being so plentiful, and of great power to move the hearts of such as believe. In the scrip- tures of God, counsellors have examples laid before them of both soi'ts ; as well such as have referred all their coun- sels to their own private gain, as also such as have faithfully 2 Sam. xvii. employed their travails to the benefit of others. Achitophel being a man of a traitorous heart, gave treacherous advice, tending to the king's confusion ; but Chusa^ the Arehite directed faithfully his counsel to the safety of his lord and master the king. Let him be followed, who is most to be An error for Ahab. — En.] P Ochozias— Ahaziah. — Ed.J Chiisa-Hushai.— En.] BE LIKE MINDED, HAVING THE SAJIE LOVE, kc. Ill commended, and was best rewarded. This lesson must be delivered unto them also, which have charge to deliver it unto others. For wo be to those pastors that feed them- selves, and not their flock ! Paul had care of all churches. Christ preferred the safety of his flock before his own soul : he gave his precious life for his beloved sheep. To be short, this must teach every member to travail for the benefit of the whole body, that the glory of God may be sought of all : which that all may seek sincerely and heartily, God the Father grant, for his Son our Saviours sake : to whom, &c. THE SIXTH SERMON. A SERMON PREACHED BEFORE THE QUEEN. Psalm LXXXVI. 11. Tenth me thy way, O Lord, and I will walk in thy timth. Aj.etitionto I WILL not meddle with the argument of this psalm, be taught it i i i i • t^ie way^if nor make any general discourse of the whole : this one piomiseto vei'se sliall suffice, being plentiful and rich in matter, most walk in his r. /. , . i o p i • tiutu. iit lor these our times, and not unnt lor this most honour- able audience : they are the words of a most worthy prince, pertinent to all princes, and convenient for all Christians. This short sentence consisteth partly of a petition, and partly of a promise. For, first, he prayeth to be taught of God : secondly, he promiseth to walk in his truth. In the former part are these things chiefly to be considered : first, a request to be taught, "Teach me;" secondly, to be taught of God, " Teach me, O Lord ; " thirdly, what he would be taught, " Teach me thy ways." tobItau"4it 2. The king, in praying to be taught, confesseth his eth^i'ftg-" ignorance ; and if the great prophet of God plead igno- norance. rauce, who is he that dare boast of knowledge? If St Paul, after so long study and after so many heavenly i^Cor. xiii. revelations, did confess, " We know in part ; " then the best learned of all may learn. Yea, when a man hath done his best, he must then begin again, as if all which hath been done already were in comparison of perfection nothing. It is too much arrogancy in that proud man, who thinketh himself to have all knowledge hid in the chest of his bosom, and all truth chained to his tongue, so that he can neither deceive nor be deceived. No man hath attained to the knowledge of any thing, which will not confess with Socrates, iCor.x.[i.] urpj^jg (jne thing I know, that I know nothing." "Bre- thren," saith the apostle, " I would not have you ignorant." TE.VCH ME THY WAY, O LORD, &C. 113 Ignorance is the mother, not of devotion, but of super- stition ; not of truth, but of error and sin. If Ave desire therefore rather to walk in light, than to dwell in blind- ness, we must learn of this princely prophet to become scholai's in God's school : we must with Solomon prefer i Kings hi. knowledge and wisdom befoi*o riches, honour and long life. 3. God hath appointed good means to lead men to The means , whereby knowledge : he hath caused the scriptures to be written God doth for our learning. Without the knowledge whereof, neither knowledge. can kings bear rule, neither subjects obey and live in order as they should. Wherefore Josua was commanded not to josh. i. [8.] lay aside the volume of the law at any time, night nor day. The prophet David made it his continual study. The Psai. cxix. . . [97, 148.] Wisest governors of Israel would not enterprise any matter of weight till they had turned the leaves of this book, thence to take advice for their better direction. This most precious jewel is to be preferred before all treasure. If thou be hungry, it is meat to satisfy thee ; if thou be thirsty, it is drink to refresh thee ; if thou be sick, it is a present remedy ; if thou be weak, it is a staff to lean unto ; if thine enemy assault thee, it is a sword to fight withal ; if thou be in darkness, it is a lanthom to guide thy feet; if thou be doubtful of the way, it is a bright shining star to direct thee ; if thou be in displeasure with God, it is the message of reconciliation; if thou study to save thy soul, receive the word ingrafted, for that is able to do it : it is the word of life. Whoso loveth salvation will love this word, love to read it, love to hear it ; and such as will neither read nor hear it, Christ saith plainly, they are not of God. For the spouse gladly heareth the voice of the bridegroom; and "my sheep hear my voice," P7.] saith the Prince of pastors. 4. But the world seemeth to be glutted with the The con- . . tempt of the word : there be many stomachs that cannot digest it, and means *' 1 • 1 • whereby many that loathe it. I stand in fear that God in his knowledge . .,, . , ,« 1 • 1 /> IS attained. justice Will give us, instead of plenty of this bread, a la- mine, and, for wholesome food, meat that shall rot be- tween our teeth. There is not that desire in us to know the wisdom of Christ, which was in the (]ueen of Saba Luke xi. to hear the wisdom of Solomon. There wove of the 8 [.SANDYS, j 114 THE SIXTH SERMON'. Jews no small numbers that heard Christ three days to- gether in the wilderness, and that fasting : but he hath fed us so full that we care not for him. The servants of Solomon were thought happy, that they might stand daily to hear his wisdom. Happy it were both for the servants of Solomon, and for Solomon too, if but every sabbath they would hear him which is far both greater and wiser than Solomon. There is no want, except it be of willingness only : for both we have leisure enough to hear, and there are store of them whom God hath very well enabled to speak. No time can be better spent ; nothing more necessary for a christian court. What more prince-like, than to honour the Prince of all princes with that service, wherein he is so highly delighted I The belly is daily and daintily fed : O suffer not the soul to want rhat food which abideth for ever. They are not blessed that [28^] ^^^^ '''"'^ pamper the flesh : they are, that " hear the word and keep it." This word, attentively and carefully heard, would convert our souls, correct our lives, soften our hearts, inflame our minds with the love of God : it would root out vice and ingraft virtue, banish vain, and cherish good desires in us : it would lay our sins before our faces, humble our proud and haughty looks, bring us unto true and hearty repentance, throw us down with godly sorrow, and raise us up again with heavenly comfort, in the merits and mercies •> Tim. iii. of Christ .Jesus : it would perfectly perfect us unto every '^"'^ good work. Unto know- 5. The proplict, being inflamed with a desire of know- ledse iiiayer i i t • i is as iieodful ledge and understandmgr, saw no other way to attani there- as mfcdita- * ... . , . i- • tion. unto, but by jommg with contmual meditation earnest (Psai. cxix. prayer. "Teach me thy ways, O Lord: Give me under- 33, 34.] standing : Shew me thy law." He knew that praying was as needful altogether as reading ; that il' there be any difference at all, it is this : by praying we profit more than by reading. No man Q, As lie dcsiretli to be taught, so it is especially wisdom ex. to be Hotod that his desire is to be taught of God. Teach his teacher, tliou iiie, " O Lord." There is none that can open the sealed book of God, but only the Lion of the tribe of .Judah, the Ke\ . V. [9.J Koot of David, the Lamb of God. For " Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seven seals thereof; TEACH ME THY WAY, 0 LORD, &C, 1 1 0 because thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood." It is he that hath the key of David, which openeth and no man shutteth, shutteth and no man openeth. For the outward reading of the word, without the inward working of his Spirit, is nothing. The pre- cise Pharisees, the learned scribes, read the scriptures over and over again : they not only read them in books, but wore them on their garments : they were not only taught, but were able themselves to teach others. But because this heavenly teacher had not instiiicted them, their un- derstanding was darkened, their knowledge was but vanity : they were ignorant altogether in that saving truth, which the prophet David is so desirous to leai-n. The mysteries of salvation were so hard to be conceived of the very apostles of Christ Jesus, that he is forced many times sharply to rebuke them for their dulness ; which unless he himself had removed by opening the eyes of their minds, Lukexxiv. they could never have attained to the knowledge of sal- ^^'''^ vation in Christ Jesus. The oars of that woman Lydia Acts xvi. would have been as close shut against the preaching of'''*' Paul as any others, if the finger of God had not touched .and opened her heart. As many as learn, they are " taught Joim vi. of God and no man knoweth the Father, but he to [.Matt. xi. 27,] whom it pleaseth the Son to reveal him." There is but one teacher in the school of Christ: he it is "that leadeth John xvi. [13 ] unto all truth." 7. Now, although Christ only openeth the book of oang:ei()us 1 11 -11 1- 1 II to look for knowledge, giveth understandmg, and revealeth unto us instruction the will of his Father ; although the Spirit only be the tions. schoolmaster that inwardly guideth the heart in the way of truth ; yet may we not gape for revelations, as the anabaptists do, or think that God hath revealed unto us whatsoever we do vainly imagine and conceive in our brains. For as there is a Spirit of truth, so there is also a lying spirit. St John therefore giveth us a caveat not to credit every spirit ; but to " try [the] ' spirits, whether i John iv. they be of God or no." We are to be taught of God, yet by such means as God hath appointed. The rich man, being in torments, craved revelations for his brethren : P The wonl "tlif," which is not in the first edition of l.'iS.";, is inserted from the second edition of 1010. — Eu.]] 8—2 116 THE SIXTH SEBMOX. '^aY''"' whom it was answered, "They have Moses and the propliets." God doth teach inwardly, but by outward means. He spake in old time by angels, by dreams, by visions, by revelations. But now in these latter days he hath spoken by his Son ; and he by his ministers. He f2fi^39t ^^^S^^^ eunuch, but it was by Philip : he taught Cor- Acts X. nelius. but it was by Peter : he taught Paul, but it was Acts IX. O ' [10-19.] by Ananias. tvWch'the 8. But howsoever or by whomsoever we be taught, sireth'to''*" the thing which we must learn is the word of God ; not the way'onbr decrees and decretals of popes, not the quiddities of too curious schoolmen, not lying legends, not amorous arts, not the dangerous discourses of politics, void of the fear of God, denying and defacing christian religion. This is not our school, these are not our studies. What we should desire to learn, the prophet sheweth by the words following, " thy ways." JavTakeii ^' "^^^ word woif, by a translation or metaphor in scrfpture'° scripture, hath sundry significations. Sometime it is ne"' doctrine, as " Thou teachest the way of God [Acts xxii. truly sometimes for religion, as when St Paul saith, I -^j^tsxxiv. persecuted this mw/;" and again, "According to this icaj/ which they call heresy, I worship the God of my fathers sometimes it is taken for the course and order of a man's isaKviii. hfe, as in the words of the pi'ophet Esay, "The Lord taught me that I should not walk in the wai/ of this people;"" sometimes for the counsels and purposes of men, .Tob^xx.\iv. so Elihu meant it, saying, " His eyes are upon the waj/s of man, and he seeth all his goings." The way which the prophet here would learn of God is true religion, the doctrine of his holy will in his word revealed, but chiefly the doctrine of the true !Messias promised, the way of truth itself, he only being the wa}', the truth, and the life, having given us an example that we should follow his steps who did no sin. Now, as God hath his way, so man isai.lv. [8.] hath his. "My ways are not your ways." The ways of Christ and antichrist, of the church of God and the syna- gogue of Satan, of religion and superstition, these are [John xiv. contrary each to other. Christ saith of himself, " I am the way." In the knowledge of this way St Paul glorieth : I Cor. ii. [2.] 4t J esteemed to know nothing but Chri.st Jesus, and him TEACH MR THY WAY, 0 LORD, &C. 117 crucified and in the knowledge of this way the pro- phet desireth to be taught of God : " Teach me thy way, 0 Lord." 10. To this petition he addeth a promise, first, to pi'o^ise " walk," and secondly, to walk " in truth." We may not be '^^^^'^ idle : " We are created unto good works, which God hath Eph. ii. [lo.] prepared, that we might walk in them." We are redeemed and " boudit with a price," not to do nothins:, or to live as i cor. vi. * ^ ° [20.] we list, but " to serve him" which hath redeemed us. Our Saviour could in no wise abide idleness : " Why stand ye Matt. xx. still f St Paul would have all men to be stirring : " Let ' cor. vu. [17.] every man walk." Not one is excepted, not one can be dispensed withal: "Whosoever he be that will not labour, 2 Thess. Hi. let him not eat." For it is good that every man should eat his bread in the sweat of his brows. And work, in the wise man's judgment, is even as needful for men as meat. There is no such bane to a commonwealth or king- dom, no such poison to the manners of every particular man, as idleness is. Examples we have too many in all ages. Idleness in David was a cause of lewdness : so that it is not good, no not for princes, to be idle. Idleness was the root of all that filth in Sodoma. Israel, in the absence of Moses, being idle, fell to feasting, dancing, and idolatry. And therefore, seeing that such as be idle are subject to so many noisome temptations, St Jerome's counsel is this : " See thou be always doing somewhat, that the devil may find thee occupied : he that is out of good exercise is easily snared of the devil'." And "idleness," saith St Bernard, " is the mother of toys, (he might have said of vices) and the step-dame of virtues^." Amasis king of Egypt made provision by law against idleness, once a year calling every man to a reckoning, what he had gotten, and what he had spent. In this reckoning was neither the gain of carding, dicing, usury, bribery, cozenage, nor extortion allowed. " Let every man walk in that vocation 1 cor. vii. [20.] Facito aliquiil opeiis; ut te semper diabolus inveniat occupa- tum.— Hieron. Op. Par. 1700. Ad Rusticum Monach. Epist. xcv. Tom. IV. col. 773.— El).] P Fugienda proiude otiositas, mater niiganim, noverca virtiitnm Bernard. Op. Par. IGOO. De Consider. Lib. n. c. 13. Tom. u. Vol. i. col. 42.5._Ed.] 118 THE SIXTH SERMOV. wlievcwith God hath called him."' God hath called no man -with these vocations. Yet dare I not say, neither will I, that for any man, at any time, in any sort, to recreate himself with cards or dice, is sin. I am not of that opinion, ^'et it fjilleth out too often that these ex- ercises are occasions of much sin. And when they are so, it were no doubt much better to be altogether idle than so ill occupied. We must not play, Vjut walk. musruMu" 11- And, lest in walking we should wander out of the way, the prophet now teacheth us w-herein we should walk: '-In truth." We must beware of crooked by- walks : the way of the Lord is the straight path of truth. Therefore the prophet maketli this promise : "I will walk in thy truth." Truth comprehendeth both soundness of doctrine and integrity of life. Solomon declareth that 1 Kings iii. David walked after this sort : " Mv father walked in truth [6.] _ _ . _ and justice before thee :" in " tinth" of doctrme, and in "justice" of life. He faithfully performed his promise unto the Lord, Walking in 12. St Paul complaineth m-ievously of some walkers. heresy. i o ./ Phil. iii. " Many there are," saith he, "that walk, of whom I have [18.] . ' ' told you often, and now tell you weeping, they are ene- mies of the cross of Christ." The cross of Christ is taken here for the passion of Christ, which suffered on the cross. Whoso offereth up Christ again, once offered and sacri- ficed for our sins, he is an enemy to the cross of Christ. To seek remission of sins, redemption, justification, satis- faction, or salvation, elsewhere than in Christ crucified, is to be an enemy to the cross of Christ, and to walk not in the high-way of truth, but in the by-paths of wicked men. waikin? 13. St Paul notetli other by-walkers, which walk ac- after the flesh. cording to the flesh. In this by-way walked the Sodo- Gal. V. [19— . " . . J J 21.] mites, the Benjamites, yea and David sometimes himself. This was the by-path of the rich glutton, which fed daintily day by day, whose god was his belly : he served no other Lord. In this by-way walk all wantons, flatterers, liars, envious persons, stirrers of strife, makers of division, sec- taries, and such like. The end also of this way is per- Walkin? ditioU. sftpr covet* ousness. 14. Ezekicl complaineth of walkers which walk after [31.]" ' ' covetousness. This path is haunted of all sorts of men: TEACH JIE THY WAY, O LORD, &C. 119 priests, prophets themselves, ;md prophets' cliildrcn, yea, kings have been subject to this fault. They are most mi- serable which take this way. They enjoy no quietness, they tire out themselves with foolish cares, they entangle their hearts with noisome lusts, they grieve the Spirit, their toil and vexation hath neither end nor measure. The prophet therefore beffffeth at the hands of God : " Incline mine Psa'- cxix. . . „ [36.] heart to thy testimonies, and not to covetousness. 15. Jeremy complaineth of walkers in the hai'dness '^yai' ' open sinner an open sinner, and gave great offence. It was told him ™niinit- by Nathan, " Thou hast made the Lord's enemies to bias- '^v- , , . . . 2 83111. Ml. pheme." Marriage is honourable in the sight of all men ; n* ] but fornication and adultery the Lord doth abhor, and the offenders therein the Lord shall judge. This one sin oen. vi. drowned the whole world : it called fire out of heaven to [I-au;]'^" burn up cities : it destroyed the tribe of Benjamin. " Let '/"j"'^" it not be once named amongst you." " They that are such l^Xi ' 128 THE SEVENTH SERMOX. shall not inherit the kingdom of God." These foul of- fenders are here termed " sinners." cruefdeai-'" ^- '^^^^ Jews Were grievous sinners, which slew their propiiL'tVof pi'ophets, and stoned such as were sent unto them. But they escaped not his heavy hand, whose servants they did so cruelly entreat. God plagued this their sin with strange desolation. He made their house like Shilo, and their city a curse to all the nations of the earth. The Lord hath also sent wise men, scribes and embassadors unto us : of them in these our days we have killed and crucified none : we have scourged none of them in our synagogues : we have persecuted none from city to city : we have not beaten one, and stoned another : we have not dealt thus cruelly with any one of them ; but we have dealt hardly and unkindly with more than one. No man's life hatli been touched : many men's livings are. They have not been murdered and slain : they are defaced, reviled, and made contemptible to the whole world. These messengers ought to be better esteemed for their master's and for their message sake. But the Son of God, whose servants they are, will in his good time revenge it : he will not [Luke X. 16.] bear this injurious ignominy done to himself. "He that despiseth you despiseth me." Such contemners of Christ and of his ministers may most justly be called " sinners." Achab, in G. Achab gave great and open offence in robbing Na- Nabotii. both of his vineyard ; and God did revenge this open sin 1 Kings xxi. . . • 1 1 witli an open plague, punishmg the devoui-er with de- vourers, blood with blood. The vineyard of the Lord is set over to the spoil : it is the only prey that is left for greedy cormorants to raven upon. The hedge is broken ; wild boars are entered in for to destroy it. If God had not set his elect over it, no doubt ere this day it had been utterly laid waste. You could have looked for no grapes of piety, of learning, or of religion of it ; but, being rooted up by these violent boars, it would have brought out nothing but sow-thistles, ignorance, superstition, and isai. xxxiii. gross idolatry. But, " Wo be to thee that spoilest ! shalt ^'■^ not thou be spoiled V How both the church and common- wealth are spoiled, all men see it ; but few will tell it, and no man goeth about to redress it. These greedy gleaners DHAW NEAR TO GOD, &C. ]29 are also in the number of them whom our apostle here nameth " sinners." 7. The sin of kino; Saul was heinous, in consultino' sani.incon- o ? o .^iiitino- with with a witch that had a familiar spirit, inquiring of hera«itL^i. what chance should befall him. This grievous sin God twin. [7,8.] grievously and without delay plagued. On the next mor- row he and his sons were slain ; all Israel discomfited, murdered, and put to flight. If every good gift come from God, shall we seek help at devils' hands? If only God knowetli the heart of man and things to come, shall we inquire of secrets at the mouth of Satan 1 " The devil is John via, a liar and shall we beheve him ? He is our adversary ; '^^^'^ and shall we seek aid of him ? He is a deceiver ; and shall we trust in him? "There is no fellowship between 2 cor. vi. . [IS-] Ghrist and Belial neither ought the servants of Christ to communicate with such servants of Satan. " Let witches, Levit. xx. [27.] sorcerers, and soothsayers, die the death," saith the Lord. Such as communicate with them communicate with devils ; and such also are " sinners." 8. Doeg sinned greatly in accusing faithful David and the good high priest Ahimelech to king Saul ; who, being ^jjyj^j'JJ.'J, light of belief, persecuted the one, and murdered the other, unjustly. 'E' . . .1 .Sam. xxu. Haman, dealing so with godly Mardocheus, brought him [-''jj^gj! almost to the gallows, and his people to great confusion. The Arians accused the right chri.stian bi.shop Athanasius of incontinency before the emperor Constantinus ; but his innocency, through the providence of God, cleared him'. Christ was charged to be a drunkard, a companion of Matt. xi. sinners, a destroyer of the law, and of the temple, an enemy to Caesar. Such false accusations are more current in these our evil times and latter days than ever. If the heathen accounted it a discredit to be termed an accuser, may we not justly call false accusers sinners ? By whose means, if false accusations may get credit, innocency shall be con- demned, Christ shall be crucified as a malefactor, and Bar- abbas as an innocent shall be let loose. Wherefore th(! civil law hath well provided, that the false accuser receive as much damage as he seeketh to bring upon another. And this law hath been sometimes executed. He that falsely accused Apollonius was so served. For, failing in f^^^^-^'^- [' Tlieod. Hist. Eccl. Amst. IG'J.5. Lib. i. c. ,'30. i>p. C3, 4.— Ed.] .9 [.SANDYS.] 180 THE SEVENTH SERMOX. Double- minded meu. Gen. xxxiv. [24.] Such are they of the Family of Love. 1 Cor, \i. [190 Such they which term themselves the only ca- tholics. liis proof, sentence was given that both his thighs should be broken'. This is another kind of ''sinners." 9. Now, as our apostle remembereth unto us open sinners, so doth he also covert sinners, whom he ealleth " double-minded."" The Sichemites were " double-minded" in matters of religion, who in respect of gain and profit Avei'e content outwardly to yield to Jacob and his sons, to re- ceive the Jews' religion, and to be circumcised. Men for commodity can transform themselves into all colours and conditions, and in open shew profess any religion, inwardly keeping their false hearts to themselves. 10. Which practice the Family of Love* hath lately drawn to a precept, and hath newly broached it as sale- able doctrine, that meu need not openly be of any religion whereby they may endanger themselves ; that it is good Christendom to lie, swear, and forswear, to say and unsay to any, saving such as be of the same family, with whom they must only use all plainness, and keep their mysteries secret from all others to themselves. These men may do any thing to avoid affliction, and they have scripture for that purpose : " Your bodies are the temples of the Holy Ghost :" you may not suffer God's temples to be touched. As fitly alleged, as scrlptuu est by the devil. 11. In a paper which of late came from the pope as a token to his dear children, there were printed the five wounds of Christ with this posy : Fill, da mihi cor fuiim, et svfficit : " Son, give me thy heart, and it sufficeth." Whether his holiness did mean thereby to allow dissimu- lation or no, I will not define. His practices are mys- tical, and his brood is so throughly framed in this way, that they seem to take the pope's emblem in no other meaning. They halt on both sides: they serve all times, and turn with all winds. By professing all rehgions, they shew themselves plainly to be of none. They have double hearts, one heart for the prince, another for the pope ; one for Chi-ist, and another for Baal ; one for a commu- nion, and another for a mass. These dissembling wolves put upon themselves sheep's skins, to deceive withal. Now Q Euseb. Pampli. Hist. Eccl. Amst. 1695. p. 153.— Ed.] \^ The Family of Love were a sect of anabaptists, of which Heniy Nicolai or Nicholas, a native of Munster, was the founder. — Ed.J DRAW NEAR TO GOD, ScC. are tliey mild and gentle, flattering, and promising all loyalty to the prince, conformity to government, and con- sent to religion. But if the times should turn, they would turn off the sheep's coat, and play the wolf in his right kind. They would shew their ravenous nature by their cruel deeds: then would they fill their bellies with that after which they now thirst : they v,ould find swift feet to shed the blood of imiocents. From the mouth of the lion, O Lord, deliver us ! This sort of people our apostle calleth " double-hearted." 12. Herod was a double-hearted man, who, calling ?^"cii a one 1 • 1 /-II • Herod, the wise men to him, bade them so and search out Christ, ("ain. J"ab, return and bring him word, that he also might go and Matt. ii. [s.] worship him. He intended to kill whom he pretended to w'orship. Judas was like affected : he kissed and betrayed. Matt. xwi. Cain's mind was as double, when he spake fair unto his [len. iv. [s.j brother, enticed him into the field, and there villainously murdered him. Joab dealt even so with Amasa and Ab-[2Sam.xx. ner, whom, under pretence of friendship, traitorously he 2 Sam. iii. slew. Absolon invited his brother Amnion to a feast, and 2 Sam. xiii. in the midst thereof suddenly bereaved him of his life. '■^^'^ 13. These double hearts died not w^th these men : -^ufii are aii tliev to- they live still in their posterity. With Herod, all men wards God, pretend to worship Christ : but most part also, with Herod, the truth in • 1 • 1 • 1 •!! 1 • ivord,andiu in truth, jn heart, in hie, kill him, and trample under I'fe deny the . . 1 1 1 p 1 • -J17-1 power of it; their leet the precious blood 01 his testament. Whom we towards profess in word, we deny in deed : whom in doctrine we which fawn follow, him in life we forsake : thus in doubleness with whom iV" T 1 II Til 1-1 heart they Judas we natter, we disseinble, we courtesy, Ave kiss; but abhor, the inward heart is full of malice and treason. Faithful friendship hath taken his flight away : " There is no truth [Hos. iv. 1.] in the earth." We speak them full fair, whom we hate full deadly. Whom we kiss, we can sell to death for a piece of money. Judges can talk of justice, and for money pervert judgment. For money the vineyard of the Lord is laid waste by them who profess themselves the keepers of it. By them for money the flock of Christ is scattered, and left to the wolf to be devoured : for money an idol is made a pastor : Judas selleth, Magus buycth, and a thief by a thief is placecj. Beware of these double-hearted men. Cain is a murderer, speak he never so fair. If Absolon 9—2 132 THE SKVENTH SERMON. feast thee, yet fear lest thou find sour sauce to thy sweet meat. Tlie bond of brotherhood is not of strength suffi- cient to retain these double hearts. Take heed of Joab, howsoever he fawn ; for he carrieth inwardly a big and haughty mind. It is death to him that any should be in credit, or direct David, besides himself. He must do all alone. His outward speech is fair ; but his inward thought is full of hatred, envy, and wrath, mhidedmen 14. Sucli as the fountain is, such is the river that cminnoniy I'unueth fi'om it. A doublc heart maketh a double tongue. ton?iie(i. They which think deceitfully, "speak deceitfully, and flat- Psai. xu. [2.] ^gj, ^j^jj ^j^gjj, lipg " The disciples of the Pharisees and the Herodians, as they had double hearts, so had they f/c"" ^^'^^^^^ tongues. Before Christ's face they could say : " Mas- ter, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God truly, neither carest for any man, nor respectest the person of men:" but behind his back they termed [alY^" * "seducer, a companion of publicans and sinners, a Avine-bibber," and most spitefully railed against the right- eous Lord of glory. All flatterers are double-tongued. AVhom they praise excessively, being present, of him their manner is, being out of sight, to speak most slanderously and vilely. So unlike they are to our Saviour Christ, who would not praise John to John's disciples, but after their departure commended him to the people. It is St Augustine's judgment, " that the hand of no persecutor is more grievous than is the tongue of a flatterer'." I^'hoi-tldto^ 15. These sinners and double hearts our apostle doth illito Gofi' reprove : using withal an earnest exhortation unto them to draw near unto God, from whom they have so far strayed. All sinners are strayers : for sin maketh a isai. [2.] division between God and man. " Your iniquities have made a separation between me and you." To sin is to depart and fall away from God : the more we sin, the faster and farther we fly from him. Judas sinned deeply and deadly : having sinned, he could not abide the pre- sence of that innocent whom he had betrayed ; but went out and unrecoverably fell away. The prodigal child, being Plus persequltiu- lingua adulatoris, quam manus interfectoris. — • August. Op. Par. 1G81. Enarratio in Psal. Ixix. 5. Tom. iv. col. 7M. —Ed.] DRAW NEAR TO GOD, &C. 133 loosely given, waxed weary of his father's virtuous house, ranged abroad, fell to folly, fed on filthiness, and bathed himself in all loathsome sin : yet, being touched with God's hand, he repented and drew near. What should I name this or that man which hath gone astray ? It is most true, that the prophet saith : "We have all erred and '"'•f^'] gone astray like sheep." Not one hath remained within the sheepfold. Every one hath either skipped over the hurdles, or crept through the hedge. " All have sinned, ^o"^- i"- there is not one innocent."" He that saith he is no sinner, is a sinner, because he is a liar. Our sin therefore hath se- parated us from God, who hateth and abhorreth sin. Our doubtful double hearts have carried us into many crooked and dangerous ways. Our apostle doth call us home again, as sheep that have strayed, saying, " Draw near unto God." 16. But what, is it in our own will and power to ^ _ I near unto return ^ or doth God command that which is impossible <^"''''^"o^'" y _ our power for us to perform ? Truth it is, " All our sufficiency is "ithout r ^ ^ J Srace. of God. Of ourselves we are not able to think a good 2Cor.iii.[5.j thought." "It is God that giveth both to will and to Phn. ii. [is.] perform." "Without me," saith Christ, "you are able [John xv. 5.] to do nothing." No doubt we have power and free will to run from God ; but to draw near unto him is his grace and gift. Ad malum sufficit sihi libermn arbitrium, ad bo- ^"n-^'« <'^^- num non^ : " Free will hath in itself ability enough to evil, but not to good." He commandeth us therefore to do that, which of ourselves we are not able to do ; that, seeing our want, we may crave his grace and help, which will enable us to draw near unto him. This grace is not in vain : by it we are that we are ; when we be, as we should be, near unto him. If he that commandeth us do not reach us his hand, when wo are bidden to draw near, we go farther off. " But let God give that which ho command- eth, and then command whatsoever ho wilP." "Convert us O Lord, and we shall be converted." If he convert us is.] [} Quid cnim valeat liberum aibitiium non adjutum, in ipso Adam demonstratura est. Ad malum sufficit sibi ; ad bonuni non, nisi adju- vetur a Deo. — August. Op, Par. 1685. De Cantico Novo c. 8. Tom. vi. col. .596.— Ed.] P Da quod jubes, et jube quod vis. — August. Op. I'ar. 1G79. Confess, Lib. X. 40. Tom. i. col. 184.— Ed.] 134 THE SEVENTH SERMON. not, we shall I'cmain as we are, or rather proceed to worse. Johiivi. No ma,n cometh unto me," saith Christ, "except tho Father draw him.'"' Tho Spirit and grace of God, of un- toward and unwilling, maketh forward and ready ; and so, by the efficacy of tho Spirit being changed, we which were far off are drawn near. The way ' '^^^^ ^^^^ draw near unto God our apostle how to draw sQttetl^ down at large: "Cleanse vour hands, purge your near unto _ ~ ^ i a j God. hearts, be afflicted, mourn, weep : let your laughter be turned into sorrow, and your joy into grief. Humble your- selves in the sight of the Lord." Esay the prophet teach- isai. iv.[7.] eth the self-same in few words: "Let the wicked forsake his ways, and the unrighteous his own imaginations, and return unto the Lord." St Paul meaneth the same thing. Tit. ii. [12.] when he speaketh of " denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, and living soberly, righteously, and godlily, in this present world." But our Saviour Christ shutteth up the Mark i. [15.] wliole in 0116 woi'd : " Repent." Our hands 18. The Order of our repentance, set down by the must be .... cleansed, blcsscd apostlc, is tliis. First of all, we must remove evil from us. " Cleanse your hands : purge your hearts :" wash and scour both body and soul : make yourselves clean, both from outward and inward sins. For it is not sufficient to abstain from evil in our external actions, but wo must also chase from our hearts evil cogitations. The i.ukexviii. proud Pharisco seemed to have a pure life, but he had a [11 12] . . ' polluted lieart. If the fountain and spring be not pure and sweet, the rivers that issue from it must needs be Matt. XV. unsavoury. " From the heart there proceed evil cogita- tions, murders, adulteries, fornications, false witnessings, revilings." These are the fruits of an impure heart ; and these are the works of unclean fingers. The hand is but the servant, to execute that which tho heai't hath de- vised. It was folly in Pilate to wash his hands in token of his purity, when his heart had consented to shed the blood of that innocent. Hand taken ],9. Tho hand hath sundry significations in the scrip- for counsel. . . . i , t ± li •> Sam. xiv. turcs. Sometimo it is taken lor counsel, as, " Is not the hand of Joab with thee in all these things V And again : Acts iv. [27, " They met together to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel had before decreed to be done." Evil hands are DRAW NEAR TO GOD, &C. 135 the breeders of all mischievous practices ; but such coun- sel is commonly worst to the giver. David prayed to God to confound the traitorous counsel of Achitophel, who con- spired against his master and king. And it came to pass •?. sam. xvii. that his fingers did knit a rope about his own traitorous '"'^'^ throat, to strangle himself withal. It is written of David, [Psaiixxviii. that " he fed his people in the singleness of his heart, and led them forth in the discretion of his hands." The sword of government is an edged tool : it requireth the hand of wise counsel discreetly to wield it. Roboara, being i Kingrs xii. guided by the unwise hands of those lusty young coun- '"'^ sellers, who advised him to oppress his people with heavy burthens, to bring them into bondage, and to give them short and sharp answers, wrought in the people discon- tented minds, alienated their hearts from their prince ; which in the end was the tearinji of his kingdom into pieces. Of twelve parts he lost ten and better. 20. The word hand is also taken for cruelty and op- Hands fuu , , of blood. pression, because the hand is the mstrument to work these things. " Your hands," saith the prophet, " are full of blood." isai. i. [15.] Such hands had Herod. And such have they, not only which kill, but which hate, malice, and slander their brethren : for [1 John iii. "he which hateth his brother is a man-slayer." ^"'^ 21. Finally, because the hand worketh most of all Aiipoiiu- 11 1 !• 1 1 1 • 1 • !• 1 t'ons under tlie members 01 the body m the necessary actions of man s the name of life, therefore all pollutions in our outward deeds are con- iiands. tained in the name of unclean hands. 22. The slanderer and libeller hath bloody hands : siander. his tongue cutteth like a sharp razor : his pen wi'iteth in blood. For he killeth whom he defameth. 23. The oppressor with his bloody fingers pulleth the oppression, skin off the people's backs. yEmilius, being placed by Ti- berius Caesar over Egypt, oppressed the Egyptians with great and unwonted exactions. The emperor hearing of it was wroth, and wrote unto him, " that he would have his shec]) to be shorn, but not flayed." Such oppressors of the people greatly wrong the prince, who, being faultless, yet is forced to bear the burthen of that blame. Such gleaners of other men's good^, and pillers, and purloiners, although they join house to house, yet, the foundation of them being laid in blood, that building shall not continue. " That which 136 THE SEVENTH SERMON. comcth ill, shall go worse away : they lose as much in their consciences, as they gain in their coffers." I'ribes. 24. Rewards likewise do not only blind the eyes, and pervert the words, but they also defile the hands of the wise and righteous. Simony. 25. All such as enter into the church of God by corrupt means, defile their hands, and destroy their souls. " That," saith St Ambrose, " which the man gave when he was ordained bishop, was but gold ; and that which ho lost, was his soul'." Usury. 26. The usurer doth so mire his fingers in money, that with his foul filthy fists he can never take hold upon the tabernacle of God. Our hands 27. It Were infinite to go through all particulars. We foul even . when they defile our hands, whensoever our actions are corrupted, are cleanest. ■■ n i • i • infected, and polluted with sin ; seem they unto us never so perfect, holy, and good. Things highly esteemed before Tsai.ixiv. mcu are found to be as vanity before God. Our very righteousness in his sight is polluted. Yea many times, even when we do good, then we do ill : in our prayer by coldness, in our alms-deeds by vain glory, we defile the hands which we lift up unto God, and put forth unto men. These foul hands our apostle biddeth us wash : 3Iundate manus vesfras, 0 ])eccatores- . The heart 28. And as we must wash our foul hands, so must must be ' purged. purge our infected hearts. " The heart of man is not Jer. xvu. i t5 [9, 10.] searched by man. Who knoweth it ? Only God is the searcher of hearts." The hypocrite seemeth holy in the face of the world ; but his inward man is poisoned with sin. Of men he is commended and reverenced ; but his false impure heart the Lord doth abhor. Thy heart must be purged, before thy hands can be washed to any purpose. For as all impurity risetli from the heart, and so polluteth the hands ; so must first thy heart be purified, and that Lukexi.[34.] will make all clean : " If thine eye be right, all thy body will be clear," saith our Savioui*. The stomach well con- firmed, all the body will be in good estate. But our hearts Prov.xx.[9.] are impure : neither can any man say, " My heart is clean." The Pharisee said, that he was righteous ; but he looked [1 Sec Ijeforc, p. 44.— Ed.] Cleanse your hands, O sinners. — Ed.] DKAW NEAR TO GOD, &C. 137 only upon his hands, and did not see into his proud and mcilieious lieart. The penitent pubhcan wisely knocked upon his heart ; for there lay the disease. Every sin brecdeth in the heart : from thence it hath his original ; anrl every heart is possessed with sundry sins, and hath need carefully to be purged. 29. Pride polluteth man's heart. This venom poisoned l/nJ^g^'jf" the heart of the great angel of God ; of Adam, the most p'^Q^- perfect man of God ; of Nabuchodonozar, the great and mighty emperor ; of Ozias the king. Their hearts were lifted up ; and therefore God tlii-ew them down. " Pride is the fii'st and greatest sin' and therefore with chiefest care to be shunned. This hidden poison cannot be smothered : it will burst forth into the outward parts. It will appear in thy countenance, in thy pace, and in thy apparel. Monstrous attire doth shew a monstrous mind. A mincing tripping pace, as the prophet doth note, argueth a proud and an unstable heart. A lofty countenance, a stretched- isai.iii.[i6.] out neck, and a wandering eye, are the pictures of an haughty and a wanton mind. " Unchaste looks are tokens of unchaste thoughts." 30. Saint Paul hath made mention of three great it '"".'it '>p and pestilent infections of the heart. The first is banquet- being: over- ing and drunkenness. Beware your hearts be not over- witirsur- charged with surfeiting and drunkenness." Meat and drink LuVe xxi. are ordained for man, and not man for them : we should eat to live, and not live to eat. Nature is content with little, and by much the health is impaired. A full belly dulleth the senses ; and the more wine, the less wit. The judgment of Plato is, that he which filleth his belly twice a day, shall never prove but a sot. Too much drink laid Noah naked, and made him ridiculous to his own son. " Drunkenness is a fawning devil; a sweet poison, a pleasant sin : which ^\'hosoever hath, wanteth himself ; and whoso- ever committeth, doth not commit sin, but is altogether very sin itself*." Let not your hearts therefore be oppressed and defiled with surfeiting, nor with drunkenness. [} Maximum peccatum in homine supcrbia est; quandoquidem inde manavit nostri oiigo delicti. — Ambros. Op. Par. 1C8G. In Psal. cxviii. Expos. Tom. I. col. 1046.— En.] [" EI)rietas cajdis mater, parens litium, faroris gcnitrix, pctulantix dcf'onniter est magistral banc (|ui liabet, so non Iiabct: banc qui babct, 138 THE SEVENTH SEKMOX. bori^n-'^and' ' -A-iiotlior i:)oison of the heart is chambering and wantonness, wautonness. The former breedeth the latter. And where Hieron.siip. cp. aciTim. fulness is, there filth reigneth ' These are commonly linked together ; and where the one is near, the other is not [Ezck. xvi. far off. Ezekiel the prophet addeth another cause of this vice, and that is idleness. A full belly and an idle body make an unchaste heart. David taking an afternoon''s va- cation, and walking idle in his gallery, fell shamefully away from his former purity, and dangerously from God. Idle- ness and riotousness are the fuel of uncleanness, which St Jerome considering, breaketh out into these words : " 0 infernal fury, the matter whereof is gluttony ; pride, the flame ; the sparks, lewd words ; the smoke, infamy ; the ashes, impurity ; the last end, hell, misery."" Our bodies are made unto sanctification, and not to fornication : let us use them to that end to which they were created, that we may bring them to that joyful end of eternal blessed- ness. fatXam" 32. The third bane of the heart is emulation and [PhiL iilT.j contention. " Let nothing be done through contention and vain glory." Pride causeth emulation, and of emulation cometh strife ; so that the cursed generation of vice is fruitful. Pride made the devilish angel envy that his Lord and God should be above him : it made Adam de- sire to be as full of knowledge as his Creator ; Absolon to emulate his father, and to thirst after his kingdom. Caesar was so proud, that he could not abide a superior : Pom- fi^']''^'" psy could not bear an equal. Corah, Dathan, and Abiram, liabct, homo non est ; banc qui liabct non peccatum facit, sed est ipso pec'catum. Ebrietas est dicmon blandus, venenum dulce, rabies volun- taria, iuvitatus bostis, illecebra boncstatis, ct pudoris injuria: banc nuUus uoverit Cbristianus, no auditu quidem sacerdos attingat : ne qui est forma virtutum, vitiorum inde fiat et inveniatur exemplum. — Pet. Cbrysolog. Sermo xxvi. De Fidel. Dispensat. in Max, Bibliotli. Vet. Patrum. Lugd. 1677. Tom. vii. p. 865. — Ed.^ " Cum enim luxuriata; fucrint in Christo, nubere volunt." Cum sub CO tempore religionis abundantiam babuerint : quic siepe solct generarc luxuriam. — Hieron. Op. Par. 1706. Comment, in Epist. I. ad Timotb. Cap. v. Tom. v. col. 1092. — The Benedictine editors prefix to tliis and some otlier commentaries the following notice : Com- mentarii . . . consequentes licet Hieronymo tribuantur in MSS. Codd. Pelagiano tamcn vel ipsi Pelagio adscribcndi sunt. — Ed.^] URAW NEAR TO CiOD, &C. 13.0 in the pride of their hearts, sought to displace Moses and Aaron, the chief magistrate and the chief minister. They set down a handsome platform of ecjuality ; and many of the multitude allowed of it, as well pleased with a popular estate, where the worst of them might bo as good as the best. But God brought their device and themselves to nought. This emulation is ever contentious ; and conten- tion bringeth dissipation. A kingdom divided will not en- dure. " Our God is the God of peace, and not of con- i^cor. xiv. tention.""' In peace then we shall have safety, and be followers of our God. We ought therefore to bo mild and quiet, like sheep ; and not contentious and biting, like dogs. "Whilst one of you doth bite another, take Gai. v. [13.] heed ye be not devoured one of another." Therefore let every man be content with his own estate. For God hath ordained distinct estates ; and by his providence men are placed in them. Pride, surfeiting, and drunkenness, chambering, and wantonness, emulation, and contention, are infections of the heart, and dangerously defile the Barae : we must purge our hearts of them. ^3. Thus, if we with a simple eye behold our hands, j"J,',ands and take a view of our souls, we shall easily espy foul *J,'',%"a'but fingers and polluted hearts. We ai-e bid by our apostle Christ, to wash the one, and purge the other; but this is not in the ability of sinful man : it is the work of our gracious God. Christ is the only physician to heal this our disease. Only God reniitteth and easeth us of our sin. Therefore our defiled hands and depraved hearts cannot otherwise be washed and made clean, but -only with tho blood of that immaculate Lamb. For so tho scripture witnesseth : "The blood of Jesus Christ doth make us clean from all uoimi. [7.] sin." " If ho wash us, we shall bo whiter than snow." I'sai. a. [7.] Otherwise our filthy sin will stick to us for ever. And thus we see that evil must be taken away from all parts, both inward and outward : our hands must be cleansed, and our hearts purged. This is the fii'st part of our re- pentance. 34. But this will never bo done, unless we conceive ciirisf ;ii. our hands washed in the water of our eyes. Have we sinned with David ? Let us cry peccavi with as grieved an heart as ^],^"::^^^'- David did. Have we denied Christ with Peter, not with our [69— /5.J ... lips, but in our lives ? Let us then weep for it with Peter — 5oY"' '■^^ bitterly. Have we in transgressing followed the wanton steps of Mary Magdalene? Let us follow her steps also in pouring out tears plentifully for our offences. Have we wandered, and gone astray with the prodigal child I Let us with him likewise turn into ourselves, and behold our defiled souls : let us with him return home at the length with a contrite Luke XV. heart, burstinof out into that confession full of sorrow : " Fa- i'saf. li. [17.] ther, I have sinned against heaven and against thee." "A bruised and humbled heart, O God, thou wilt not despise," Actsiii.[is.] " Repent you therefore of your sins," saith Peter, " that your sins may be done away." Let your tears shew that ye do repent ; and let your lives declare that ye are con- verted. " When evils past are bewailed, and things be- wailed are not committed again, this," saith Ambrose, " is to repent. It is a vain repentance, which is bye and bye sullied again by transgressing. Tears avail nothing, if we fall afresh into our sins. It is bootless to ask pardon for evil deeds, and when we have done, to do them again'." [2Pet. ii. This is plain: "The dog to his vomit, and the swine to his mire." Let us therefore wholly cast away all impiety and worldly concupiscence : let us change this idle, vain, wanton, and] profane life, with sober, righteous, and godly behaviour. " Let your laughter be turned into mourning, P Poenitentia vera est dolor cordis et amaritudo anims pro malis, quae quisque commisit. Poenitentia est ct mala praeterita plangere, et plangenda iterum non committere. — Ambros. Op. Par. 1690. Sernio XXV. De Sancta Quadrages. ix. Tom. ii. Appendix, col. 425. — This sermon is placed by the Benedictine editors among the Tractatus Sup- posititii.^ — Ed.J DRAW NEAR TO GOD, &C. J41 and your joy into heaviness." For our God seeth all our thoughts : he heareth all our words : he beholdeth all our works. There is no wantonness nor wickedness, but our God, who doth hate it, seeth it (the Lord be merciful unto us); yea, our just God, who will judge us according unto our deeds, seeth it. 0 Lord, be merciful unto us. O Lord, who shall stand in that most dreadful day ? Lord, grant us true repentance, that, forsaking ourselves and detesting our sins, we may fly so unto thy mercy, that we may taste of thy tender compassions, and not re- ceive according to thy justice and our most sinful deserts. " Enter not, Lord, into judgment with thy servants." 0 [i^'^a'- cxiiii. let us at the length wash our hands and purge our hearts. Let us mourn and bewail our sins ; that so, being clean, we may approach and come near unto our God. 35. The only thino: which hindereth and keepeth us must be . . liumblpd back from this, is that overweening: which we have of a'"" '""own . ° down. ourselves. Whereby it cometh to pass that, when we should be sorrowful, we are puffed up. The apostle therefore, to meet with this fault, and remove this let, addeth : " Cast down yourselves : humble yourselves in the sight of God." ' The country which we seek for is on high, but the way is below that leadeth unto it. He that seeketh the one, must not refuse the other.' The publican, hum- bling himself before God, drew near unto him and was received. To whom hath God regard ? on whom doth he look ? to whom is he near ? " Even unto him that is poor isai. ixvi. and of a contrite spirit, and that trembleth at my words," saith the Lord. Manasses, notwithstanding his idolatrous sinfulness, yet by humility drew near unto God, and found his saving mercy. And all that are or shall be his, must learn of him to be mild, as he is mild ; to humble them- selves unto Christ's mercy, who humbled himself unto man's cruelty. 36. What hath man wherein of right he can boast ''^17.'' o notninif in himself, or whereof he may be proud ? It is God who "^o",'|',[ "o'j hath given us those good gifts which we have : we have ™g ^^J,!!""'' them not of ourselves ; and he hath given them us not to lowiyminds. pride ourselves in them, and so to make them ill, but humbly to be thankful for them, and to dispose of them well to his glory, knowing and remembering that we must 142 THE SEVENTH SERMON. straitly reckon for them. "Render an account," will one day be a fearful speech. For why I Doth thy nobility, power, and authority lift up thy mind ? These are given fi™]' ^^^^ from above. " By me kings reign : by me princes tRom. xiii. ijear rule." " There is no power but of God." He that Luke i. [52.] setteth up, can likewise cast down. Nay, "He hath cast down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble and meek." And what he hath done once, he can do again. The highest place is not the sweetest nor the safest place : much authority is cumbered with many cares. Such as have entered into a great charge must enter into a great account. And greater cause have they to fear their reckoning, than to be proud of their ruling. The more that God hath lift thee up, the more thou oughtest to humble thyself before him, lest he eternally cast thee down. JuHoftiness ^ christian heart must be an humble heart; otiookTn"* and the way to humble ourselves is to know ourselves. seive°y ^^^^ ^^^^ upon our black feet, our fair peacock feathers no doubt would soon fall down. If we did cast our eyes upon our foul hands and polluted hearts ; if we did sift ourselves, and search our souls, and see how ugly we had made ourselves in the sight of God, having blotted out his gracious image in us, and clothed ourselves with the maculate coat of sin, the reward whereof is that eter- nal death of hell ; this sight would terrify us, this consi- deration would pull down our haughtiness, and cause us to mislike and utterly deny ourselves, and fly only unto God's mercy. Our cheerful countenance woidd be changed into an heavy, our mirth into sighing, our pastime into prayer. It would make our soi'rowful hearts to water our wanton eyes with bitter teai's. It would cast down our Never more biff and high looks flat upon the earth, and turn our curled almsed than ^ now". irizzled wnthen han* mto a baser use, even mto a towel to wipe the feet of Christ withal. In the stead of mon- strous apparel, we would put on sackcloth and ashes ; and ilom. vii. cry with St Paul, " Miserable man that I am ! who shall deliver me V This sight of ourselves would humble us in the sight of God, This humility would cause us to draw Q This side note is in tlic edition of 1010, ))ut not in that of lo8o. — En.] DRAW NKAR TO GOD, &C. 143 near unto him : if we drew near unto him, he would draw near unto us : if we did cast ourselves down, he would mercifully lift us up. 38. For so it followeth in the last part. This com- what'com- modity remaineth to such, as in such humble sort draw f,y'(i"."win| near unto him. "He will draw near unto you: he willjlgj"""^" lift you up." If we sinners and double-hearted men wash and purge our hands and hearts, if by faith and unfeigned repentance we draw near unto him, he will meet us in the way, embrace us with his arms of mercy, kiss us with the kiss of peace and reconciliation, put on our spousal ring upon our finger, as fully restored unto our gracious and blessed spouse in that perfect spiritual marriage. He is as ready to forgive our sins, as we are to ask forgive- ness : if we turn unto him by repentance, he doubtless will turn unto us in mercy. " He will refresh us ; and we shall Majt->:'-[28, find eternal rest for our wearied souls." Be our sins as bloody as scarlet is red, he will make them as white as snow. Though they now press sore upon us, yet he will remove them as far from us, as the east is from the west : yea, he will drown them in the very bottom of the sea : Mic.vii.[i9.] he will wholly blot them out of his book, forgive them, Ezek. xviii. and forget them for ever. This our gi'acious God hath promised : this our true God, who cannot deceive, will per- form. Lastly, if with penitent and humbled hearts for our J3^°32 j'" sins we cast ourselves down before God, our God will lift us up. If we condemn ourselves with trust in his mercy, our God will justify us. If we die unto sin, we shall be raised up unto happy righteousness. The more we humble ourselves, the more he will exalt us ; not for our own de- serts, but for his promise sake, of free mercy, and his Son's complete merits. To conclude, if here we be humbled with Christ, hereafter we shall be exalted with Christ, even into the high heavens ; and there be placed in the joyful pre - sence of God our Father : to whom, with his Son Clirist Jesus our Saviour, and the Holy Ghost our Sanetifier and Comforter, be all honour and praise now and for ever. Amen. THE EIGHTH SERMON. A SERMON PREACHED BEFORE THE QUEEN. EsAY LV. 6. Seek ye the Lord while he mai/ he found: call upon him while he ?.« near. 7. Let the wicked forsake his ways, and the unrighteous his own imagi- nations, and return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him ; and to our God, for he is very ready to forgive. ami'with"' Here we learn by the prophet, that salvation is not God is ^^^^■i freely given of God to as many as hunger and thirst sousrht. after it ; that they which seek the Lord shall find him, so that they seek him in due and seasonable time; and that the time of seeking the Lord is now : " Seek the Lord,"" &c. In this exhortation of the prophet let us, first, con- sider why ; secondly, how God is to be sought ; and, thirdly, what gain doth grow to the seeker. If I should particularly prosecute this distribution, and follow it at large, as every part shall minister occasion of speech, I should be too long for this place. But I mind brevity, because I know before whom I speak. Few words will be sufficient for the wise ; and to a mind well instructed already a short putting in mind will serve. If I chance to say what other men have said before me, (for what can be said which hath not been said before ?) I must beseech you to remember the words of the blessed apostle St Paul, which was not ashamed Phil. iii. [1.] to tell even his own tale twice : " To write unto you the same things, to me it is not tedious, and to you it is necessary." ^ ^ 1. 2. God preferreth obedience before sacrifice. He ac- mandeth us counteth it better to obey than to offer. For as all vice ' is contained in the name of disobedience, because that only SEEK YK THE LORD, &C. ]45 is naught which God misliketh, and that which he misHketh, lie hath forbidden ; so I may be bold to say with St Augus- tine, that "there is no virtue but obedience only'." If there- fore the centurion's soldiers obediently went, came, and J^^^ did what he commanded ; if the Israelites were so dutiful unto Josua, that they said, " All things which thou hast Josh. i. [is, commanded us we will do ; he that shall not obey let him die the death if mortal men for conscience sake must be obeyed ; shall we despise the voice of him that saith from heaven, "Seek ye the Lord"? When God doth bid us go, we may not stand still. And that which his pro- phets in his name command us, he commandeth himself. 3. But, lest that the maiesty of him which commandeth Godaiiuretu ' "I •' . us by bene- should rather astonish men than set them forward to seek fits to seek lum. Us as the Lord, with rough commandments he ioineth often- isiaei, by ' ° three espe- times sweet allurements : " Come unto me come, " and ye ciai biess- shall find rest for your souls not enticing men with fair and sweet words only, but pouring his benefits also plenti- fully upon them. So he dealt with his old and ancient people, whom by his prophet Micheas he putteth in re- membrance of three especial blessings, whereby they were provoked to serve the Lord : " Surely I have brought thee Mic. vi. [4, up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of bondage ; and I have sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab had devised, and what Balaam the son of Peor answered him from Shittira unto Gilgal, that ye may know the righteousness of the Lord." 4. The chiefest benefit which the Lord T)oured upon neiiverance out of thral- his people, and the first whereby he allured them to seek tiom. hira, was this : with an outstretched arm he brought them forth from the land of Egypt, the house of bondage, where their dwelling-place was a prison, and a long life, long misery. No doubt a mighty and a merciful work of God to deliver his people out of such thraldom, and to set them at such liberty as they afterwards enjoyed. Oportcbat autcm ut homo sub Domino Deo positus alicunde pro- hiberetur, ut ei promerendi Dominum suum virtus esset ipsa obcdientia, quam possum verissime dicere solam esso virtutcm omni creaturie rationali agenti sub Dei potcstate. — August. Op. Par. ](!80. De Gcnesi ad litteram Lib. viii. 12. Tom. iii. Pars i. col. 200. — Eu.] 10 [sANDYS.] 146 THE EIGHTH RERMOX. Bondage is an heavy yoke, an exceeding plague ; freedom and liberty a great benefit, a sweet blessing. The like benefit, in as great a measure of love, favour, and power, we have received at the hands of our merciful God. He hath done that for us, a rejected nation, which he did for his own inheritance. He hath delivered us from the tyranny and thraldom of that great Pharaoh, from Satan, sin, hell, death, and condemnation, by the mighty hand of our Moses, our grand captain, Christ Jesus, who on the cross gat the victory, spoiled our enemy, cancelled the writing of our bondage and servitude, brought us through the Red Sea, and by his bloodshed wrought our perfect and full deliverance. Again, when we groaned under the heavy burthens of a second, the child of the former Pharaoh ; when the tyranny of antichrist lay grievous upon our souls, constraining us by force unto those things, in comparison whereof the gathering of stubble, or making of brick, the sustaining of burthens far heavier than the Egyptian laid any upon Israel, would have seemed tolerable, light, and easy ; in the midst of these insufterable griefs, even then, when these Egyptians were most fiercely and eagerly bent, when they thought their kingdom most strongly established, and us past looking for any deliverance (and what else could the reason of man suppose ?) ; even then our mighty and merciful God, (to whose works man's thoughts aspire not) by the hand of his mild and faithful servant delivered his people out of that thraldom, of bond made us free, discharged us from the intolerable tyranny of antichrist, delivered us from the usurped power of popery, from the Romish yoke of servile superstition, that we might seiTC no longer that man of sin, but our God ; not with a slavish mind, but in perfect freedom of con- science ; according to his most holy word, and not man s blasphemous doctrine. If we did not pass over this blessing of God with blind or closed eyes, surely the con- sideration thereof would move us, it would force us to break into words of wonderment, and to cry out with Psai. xxxi. the prophet, " How great is thy goodness !" It would stir uj) in us an earnest desire to seek our gracious Lord, and, when he is found, for ever to cleave fast unto him. see;c ye the lord, Szc. 147 5. God, further provokino' his people L«racl to seek Tiie benefit _ i _ Oil of siving' him, piitteth them in mind of a, second benefit, of sendinc: Moses, ' i . Aaron, and jNIoses, Aaron, and Mary ' before them : Moses to be their Mary, magistrate, and Aaron to be th(?ir priest ; the one to judge, and the other to teach ; the one to punisli sinners, the other to i)ray and to offer for them. These two were brethren, that the bond of nature miglit unite their minds in government ; and that their unity might more advance God's glory, and procure the tranquilHty and safety of their country. So Joas the king and Jehoiada the bishop joining hands, and drawing in one hue, man's poHcy giving place to the word of God, the only fountain of true honour- able policy, Israel had a prosperous and happy state. G. Moses was a worthy magistrate. And his greatest Moses se- commendation is, that he was no less sharp and severe in punishing God's cause, than mild and gentle in his own. His mild- oiiwiacrs, ness caused him many times to put up other private in- pakioning juries : it never caused him to spare such as attempted done'to the overthrow of true religion, or made the people to bow themselves unto strange gods. In such cases the very Num^. .\x.v. heads and princes of the people escaped not his just hands. He did wisely consider that, as it is a point of mercy to pardon private wrongs, so not to punish public transgres- sors against God and the state were great injustice ; it being in doubt whether their deeds were more pestilent, or their example, if it were strengthened by impunity, would be more pernicious, " The sceptre of thy kingdom," ^'^^'y--|'^'^- saith the prophet, " is a sceptre of righteousness."" And he proveth it thus : " For thou lovest righteousness, and hatest iniquity." Wilt thou know what is good, and what the Lord requireth of thee? "Surely," saith the prophet, Mic. vi. [8.] " to do justice, and to love mercy." The song of David psai. ci. [i.j had these two parts, "mei'cy" and "judgment." Princes are God's lieutenants : his person they bear, and his image they must resemble. In him both these are joined to- gether : " I am the Lord which shew mercy, judgment, jer. xi. [24.] and righteousness on earth." " Mercy without justice is not mercy, but folly," saith St Chrysostom. And again, " Mercy is then rightly termed mercy, if it bo shewed [1 Mary— Mirmm.— Ei).] 10 — 2 148 THE EIGHTH SERMON. SO, that justice be not thereby brought into contempt'." Aug. ep. 54. And St Augustine saith, that " As it is mercy sometimes to punish, so sometimes to spare is cruelty"." Concerning ourselves thus much I can say, that if care be not had thereof in time to keep back the rage of sin by repressing sinners, it will be too late, when the land doth flow with blood, to think upon it. Moses so loved the safety of Exod. x.xxii. his people, that he cried : " Lord, spare them, or wipe me out of the book of life." To have a governor like to Moses, mild and merciful, yet not careless to be zealous in God's cause, nor unmindful in justice to punish great transgressors, is a great and a rare blessing. Which if our God have bestowed upon us (for unto him we must acknowledge it, although in this place I pass it over, be- cause my desire is not to please, but to teach, neither did I ever use flattering words, as ye know), but if God have been merciful to us herein, the Lord make us thankful for it. Aaron and Together with Moses God gave his people Aaron the priest ; which gift he accounteth also as a great bless- ing. Yet Aaron was a man, though of great virtue, not altogether without blemish. We see how, for fear of the people more than of God, in the absence of Moses, he jdayed the milksop, erected an idol, and with his body, wheresoever his heart was become, either committed idol- atry, or at least permitted it, persuaded hereunto, as some suppose, by Mary the sister of Moses. We have too many followers of the steps of Aaron in this weakness. Howbeit unto some God hath given a greater measure of strength and courao;e : some there are more bold and con- stant in God's cause and their duty ; some that will not Misericordia time vera est misericordia, si sic facta fuerit, xit justitia per earn non contemnatur: si autem contempta justitia miseri- cordia observetur, ipsa misericordia non est misericordia, sed fatuitas. Nam justitia non est vera justitia, nisi habuerit in se et misericordiam : sic et misericordia non est vera misericordia, nisi habuerit in se jus- titiam. — Chrysost. Op. Par. 1724. Opus Imperf. iji Watt. Horn. xlvi. pp. cxciv. cxcv. — The Benedictine editors, in their prolegomena to this work, say: Imperfectum ilhid opus nee esse, nec esse posse, Chrysos- tomi certum est. — E».] p Sicut enim est aliquando misericordia jjuniens, ita et crudehtas parcens. — August. Op. Par. 1679. Jipist. cUii. Tom. ii. col. 530. — En.] SEEK YE THE LOUD, &C. 149 bow their knees to B.aal, that will not displease Cxod for the pleasuring of man ; some whose liberty and lives are not so dear unto them, but that they can be contented not only to be bound, but also to die for the testimony of Christ. Of this better sort, although in comparison of the worse the number be not so great as good, yet I suppose that few nations under heaven have more faithful and able ministers than this land hath. Beg we at the hands of the Lord of the harvest, to send more pastors and fewer hirelings, more labourers and fewer loiterers. For, in respect of the greatness of the harvest, these workmen, though they be many, yet are but few. When God doth give his people good governors and wise teach- ers ; when he maketh their men to excel in wisdom, their princes to be as Moses, and their priests as Aaron ; and, besides all this, raiseth up wouien like to Mary amongst them, pouring out his Spirit, not only upon their sons, but upon their daughters also, choosing out of them, not- withstanding their wealmess, mighty instruments of his power; surely a benefit so rare and precious should win men's hearts unto God for ever. 8. But the prophet goeth forward, and maketh men- The ene- tion of a third thing, which is, that God did turn the turned"into cursings of Balaam into blessings. " Remember what Ba- Num. jcxiii. lak king of Moab had devised, and what Balaam the son ^'^ of Peer answered him from Shittim to Gilgal, that ye may know the righteousness of the Lord." It fretted the heart of that profane king Balak, to behold the flourishing prosperity of God's people, to see Og the king of Bashan, and Sihon king of the Amorites, conquered and slain by them. " This multitude," saith he, " will lick up all that [Num. xxii. are about us, as an ox licketh up the grass of the field." Wherefore, mistrusting his own strength, and having seen trial of theirs, he devised to hire Balaam the wizard to curse them, and thought by that mean, without all per- adventure, to prevail over them. But ye know Balaam's answers ; the first, " How shall I cui'se, where God hath not cursed?" the second, "God hath blessed, and I cannot alter it ; " the third, " How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thine habitations, O Israel ! As the valleys arc they stretched forth, as gardens by the river's side, as the aloe- trees which the Lord hatli planted, and as the cedars be- side the waters." When he saw that God would not suffer his tongue to curse Israel, though it were hired, he gave Rev. 11. [14.] Balak this advice, to cause the daughters of Moab to steal away their hearts by carnal pleasure, and so to allure them unto the sacririce of their gods, that, they forsaking the true God, he might also forsake them. This practice was a stumbling-block in their way : whilst they abode in fi— ajj^xxxi. Shittim, they committed fornication : they coupled them- L'^-J selves unto Baal Peor, and ate of things sacrificed unto idols and devils. Wherefore God plagued them, and laid his heavy hand upon them : howbeit he withdrew not his Josh. V. [9.] niercy and kindness wholly from them, but in Gilgal took away this their shame, and sealed again the covenant of reconciled love. So that, as there was no curse which could take away his blessing, so there was no counsel that could hinder his good purpose towards his people. Ye are not ignorant how the Balaamite of Rome hath cursed us, our prince, our prophets, and our people, even as " the [43.^™' "' Philistine cursed David by his gods." But we have found Matt.v.[ii.] pi'omise of Christ most true: "Blessed are ye when they shall revile vou." Our God hath turned all his curses into blessings : his name be blessed for it. The pope, that Balaam, hath bitterly cursed the ground whereon we go, and the whole land wherein we live. But hath there grown a briar or a thorn the more upon it, for all that man's cursed He that shall survey it and view it well, and mark the plentifulness of these latter years, must needs confess that God hath bestowed upon it more than ordinary or usual blessings. As the blessings of that man are by God ac- cursed, so where he curseth, there the Lord blesseth ; and, to the eternal reproof of that our enemy's unjust and un- charitable execration, he hath in these our days opened his bountiful hand far wider than in former times, when those antichristian blessings came posting yearly from Rome, and embraced our land so kindly, that they sucked the sap of wealth both from branch and root. The land of Canaan was a pleasant and a fruitful land, flowing with milk and abounding with honey : truly it was barren, and almost beggarly, in respect of our abundance and store. isai. V. [4.] God may justly say to us, " Vt hat could I have done SEEK YE THE LOKI), &C. 151 more imto my vineyard, which I have not done unto it Ho hath miraculously given and continued with us that grand blessing of his glorious gospel : ho hath wonderfully preserved our sovereign, his servant : he hath kept her safe, as Moses, and David, from Pharaoh, from Dathan, and from Amalek, from Goliath, from Saul, from Absolon, from the hands of her open enemies, and treasons of her de- ceitful friends : he hath not only given her a circumspect heart to foresee and to prevent, and, I trust, to cut off all intended destruction ; but also hath more than miracu- lously abated the pride, and confounded the manifold coun- sels, of her and oiu' enemies, and, contrary to all expecta- tion, kept us in peace and safety. God make us thankful and give us hearts sincerely bent to seek him, which so mercifully by his benefits and graces hath sought us ! " How great is thy goodness, O Lord, which thou hast Psa'- xx^'- hud up in store for them that fear thee ! " " For this I'^ai. xxxii. shall every one that is godly make his prayer unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found," and call upon thee while tbou art near. .9. If this way will not serve to brinff us unto God, Tiiem, . ^ " _ whom bene- another must be assaved : if we will not be led by fan* fits "ot ^ • 1 /-( 1 1 • win, plagues means, we shall be drawn by foul : God hath blessings must con- o strain to for them which are of a pliable mind, but for the fro- seek the ward rods. Them he first threatcnetli, as having no de- light or pleasure to punish : he punisheth as one unwilling to destroy. God's correction is for our reformation ; but, if it will not reform us, for our confusion. This self-love of ours, this senseless security, this contempt of God's word, this want of godly zeal, these contrivings of treason and conspiracy, are tokens that God hath bent his dreadful bow, and is preparing to make his arrows drunk with our blood. If he spared neither Israelites nor angels, doubt- less neither will he spare us, except unfeignedly we seek him, and seek him now. 10. For "now is the acceptable time:" now is grace Now is the time to seek offered: the Lord now stretcheth out his hands of mercy : the Lord. ^ this is the day wherein the Lord may be found of them that seek him. But some stop their ears at this, and will not hear : they are too wise to be enchanted with these times. If ye tell them of seeking the I/ord, their answer 152 THE EIGHTH SERMON. [Exod. V. 2.] Js, " Who is tho Lord T They say plainly in their foolish [Psai.iiii. 1.] hearts, "There is no God." But the just God will one [1^^2o'J shew himself to their confusion. Others have their excuses of worldly hinderances and lets : farms, or oxen, or wives, have tied them by the leg, when they should go and seek the Lord. Others have a mind not utterly unwilling to seek after him ; but they would fain stay awhile, and seek him hereafter. Youth, they say, must have his swing : let old age wax holy. Such novices there were, of whom Clirysostom^ writeth, that they would not be bap- tized until they were in their death-beds, lest baptism should be as a bridle to hold' them in. They were desirous to have their forth" in their carnal desires, and at the end of their days by baptism to wash away all at once. But God shall mock such craft ; and they, who will not come when he calleth, when they call shall not be heard. Be- ware of these delays. Let us not defer and put off till to-moiTow; but while it is called to-day, even whilst this acceptable day is, let us seek the Lord, that we may find him. Now he is ready to meet us by the way, and lovingly to embrace us with the arms of his eternal mercy. The Lord is sccond thing to be considered is, how we may jought and gggk the Lord, and in seeking him be sure to find him. found by _ ' _ o faith. I xvill omit to shew how vainly the gentiles in their idols, the Jews in their ceremonies and traditions, the papists in their superstitions, do seek the Lord. They seek him and find him not, because they seek him where he is not, not where he is; as themselves have imagined, and not as he hath prescribed. The first entrance into the way Q' "Otuv yelp ti9 cid tovto anapTclvtj, i'va to dyiov (SairTiaixu TTpo^ 6(T^aTai? Xa^ii TaT<; avwrnioulK, Tro-Waicis ov eTTiTev^eTCii. Kat, TriaTevcrciTe /jloi, ov (polSwi/ J/ia? Xeyu, 6 nevoo Xeyeti/. ttoXXov; olca TOVTO TTcSovTci^ ey(u, o'l TrpocTCoKin fxev tov ^uiTiV/ictTo? -KoXXa ilfiapTavov npo'; Ce Trj rjfxepn Ttj's TeXevTt}^ airriXOov Ktvo'i. o yup 6eo<; CM TOVTO to (SairTicrpa ecaiKev, t'va Xvcnj Ta? a/iopTia?, ov^ i'va av^tjari raV diiapT'iav. ei Ce Tieccare desinit iram Dei mortalem facit}: "God is pacified by the [' Lac-tant. Op. Lut. Par. 17455. Libei- do Ira Dei, c. xxi. 'Wm. ii. p. ]7.3.-J-:i).] 158 THE EIGHTH SERMOX. mending of our manners ; and he that ccaseth from sin, bringeth the wrath of God to an end," saith Lactantiiis. "We must forsake therefore our own ways, our own cogita- tions : they are wicked and ungodly. Tliere is nothing ours but imbecihty and naughtiness, which with ourseh'es we must utterly renounce and forsake, and fly to God's mercy, that in mercy he may accept us. No doubt we have all wandered out of the way, all have started aside, every man hath wandered his own fond and sinful way : we have provoked God's wrath, our ingratitude hath grieved him : we liave wickedly profaned his sacred gospel, his word we have contemned and abused, using it as a cloak to cover our deep hypocrisy. Christ was never more professed, and never less obeyed. It is truly verified in our times which Hos. iv. [1, the prophet Oseas' complained of in his: "There is no truth, there is no mercifulness, there is no knowledge of God in the land : cursing and lying, and nmrder and theft, and whoredom, liave overflowed : blood hath touched F.zek. xvi. blood." Ezckicl tcacheth that the sins of Sodom, that [ij.j ... . sink of sin, were idleness, fulness of bread, j)ride, and un- mercifulness towards the poor. Are not these the sins of this land, of this city, of this court, at this day? Are not these bad ways our ways I Half England liveth idly or worse occupied : we are fed to the full ; and who is not puffed up with pride? or who relieveth his neighbour's v.-ant ? No man is contented with his own estate, but every one striveth to climb higher, to sit aloft. There is want of the true fear of God in all sorts, estates, and ages. Yet we please ourselves, and walk on, as if God either saw not our sin, or else in his justice could not punish it. Are the eyes of the Lord shut up ? or hath God forgotten to be just? Surely our sins will not suffer his plagues to stay long from us. What plagues, I dare not presume to prophesy : for God hath kept that secret to himself. But I stand in fear that we are the men [Matt. xxi. to whom Christ saith, " The kingdom of God shall be taken from you ; " that we are they, whose sins will bring the sceptre of this kingdom into the hands of an hypocrite. If God in his justice do this, wo worth us most wretched men ! The loss of the gospel is the loss of our souls ; and 17 Oseas — Ilosca. — Ed.] SF.EIC YE THE LORD, &C. 159 the loss of our sovereign the loss of our lives. Truly, when I fall into consideration of the wickedness of this world, that all sorts of men fall to sinning with greediness, that there is scant one left, as Elias complalneth, that truly seeketli after God, that in all conditions iniquity doth abound and charity wax cold, that the zeal of God is utterly dried up in the hearts of men, that God is served for fashion's sake and not in truth ; what should I tliink but that God hath gathered his lap full of plagues, and is ready to pour them down u[)on us ? There is but one way to stay him, for which he himself doth stay and wait. Do ye not know that the lenity of God inviteth you to repent- ance ? If we will save our Nineveh, we must repent and turn to our God : we must seek him, both prince and people. 19. The benefit which cometh unto those that seek^|,p|^Vj him is this : " he will have mercy on them."''' Although the I|j.''',','™u'-*'' house of Israel rebelled against the Lord, as a froward woman rebelleth against her husband, yet he ceased not to call upon them still by the voice of his prophets : " O ye Jer. iii. [22.] disobedient children, retui'n, return, and 1 will heal your rebeUions." " Surely it pertaineth unto God to say, I ^^^i''- i *" [31. Geneva have pardoned, I will not destroy." " He looketh upon men ; and if one say, I have sinned, and perverted righteous- I'^T-ii'J.j ness, and it did not profit me, ho will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see light. Lo, all these things will God work twice or thrice with a man." He desireth not our destruction, but our conversion, be we never so great sinners. " For he is very ready to forgive." Ask pardon, and thou shalt have it. lleturn to the Lord imfeignedly, and he will mercifully accept thee. 20. And if he be ready to forgive us, let not us o ' fulness to- be loth to give unto him. Wq need not ask where he is, wam^God ° wlinni we or what he wanteth, that we may give unto him. He f ' ^'""^' IS near at hand, straying and starving in the streets : naked, ''y ""i" ""^r- , , . . ntiilncss to hungry, cold, harbourless, sick, and diseased, ruthfully moan- ti"-' iw^r. ing and crying for relief. Let the pitiful cry of our Christ move our hearts to mercy. " He that shutteth his ears at Prov. xxi. the cry of the poor, shall cry himself and not be heard." Let the merciless Moguntine' terrify men of hard and stony [' Tlic archbishop here refers to tlic well-known anil ihcn popiiLir Icfcudary story of liishop Ilntto. — Kd.J IGO THE EIGHTH SERMON. hearts, who was devoured of rats, the vilest vermin, for his cruel heart, void of all compassion upon the poor. Let us seek up Christ, and provide for him. He sought us and found us, when we were robbed, spoiled, and deadly wounded : let not us turn away our faces fi-om him, seeking and craving so small help at our hands. He became poor to make us rich : let us out of the abundance of our riches spare somewhat now to the relief of his poverty. He will well requite it. It is not lost which is bestowed upon him in his poor afflicted members : that which we put in the hands of the poor, we lay it up in the Lord's bosom ; where neither dice nor cards, hawks nor hounds, horses nor harlots, can consume it ; rust and canker cannot eat it, thieves cannot rob and bereave us of it. Unworthy we are to be called Christians, if we suffer our head, Christ Jesus, to be naked, and clothe him not ; if we see him hungry, and give him no bread. Worse we are than Jews, if we suffer this ignominy to be done unto Christ, this ingra- titude to be shewed to so gracious a God. O let us be merciful ; that as children we may resemble our heavenly Father, for he is merciful. Unto this merciful God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, be honour, glory, and praise now and ever. Amen. THE NINTH SERMON. A SERMON MADE IN PAUL'S, AT THE SOLEMNIZATION OF CHARLES THE NINTH', THE FRENCH KING'S FUNERAL. JOK XIV. 14. All thv days of thin in;/ wurfarc do I wuit. till my rlmiifjiiiy conic. Thk custom of funerals, as it is ancient, so is it com- The custom mendable. Abraham, the father of our faith, purchased ancient and a. piece of ground to bury his dead in. And in that phice We. he himself, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, were buried x.\v.'[9;xii'x. with great solemnity and much mourning. Tobias is com- rfu.]' mended for burying the dead. So is Mary Magdalene for john'xii?[7, preparing of ointment for the burying of our Saviour. So j'ohn xix. is Joseph, and also Nicodemus, for the cai'e that they had about Christ's funeral. 2. Causes of funerals St Auifustine giveth three. First, T'^ec ^ ° , causes or it is the office of humanity, the duty of charity, decently fyjj'g'"^,^''"^ to commit the dead corps to the earth, out of which they came. This charitable duty is commended in Toby and others, whose names I mentioned before, and was of the very heathen religiously observed. Secondly, it is a thing very seemly and convenient, with reverence to lay the corps in grave ; because our bodies are the temples of the Holy Ghost, wherein and by which, as by lively instruments, both God hath been glorified, and his people have received good. " Know ye not that your body is the temple of Jj^or. vi. the Holy Ghost which is in you?" That which hath been so notable an instrument, would not be uin'everently en- treated, though dead. Thirdly, our faith is hereby con- firmed touching the article of our resurrection. For we [' Charks IX. died May 80, 1574.— Ed.] U [fcAN'O V.S.J 162 THE .\1NTH SERMON. [53 j"^'"^' <^own the body in the earth, under hope that "this mortal must put on immortahty as confessing with Job, [25-^7 ] " ^ bx^ armour, the girdle of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the helmet of salvation, and the buckler of faith, a sure defence against all the fiery darts of Satan ; and let us take in our hand the sword of the Spirit, the word of God, the dint whereof he dare not abide. " Resist the devil, James iv. 7. and he will flee from you." Resist him in faith, in prayer, and in the word. "Be crucified unto the world," even Gai. vi. [u.] as strangers which are not of the world. " For we have Heb. xiii. here no abiding city." Chastise the body with watchings, with labour, with fastings. It is a great victory to over- come the devil, a greater to overcome the world, and the greatest of all to overcome thyself, even thine own flesh. To him that overcometh shall be given a crown. But he that is overcome shall be the continual bondman of Satan, our vile and cruel enemy. Let us so strive that we may over- come. He only that "striveth lawfully" shall be crowned. 2Tim.ii.[5.] 13. This war at length will have an end, a change. „ 2- & ' n Our warfare Man is mutable ; subject to change, and desirous of change. ^IJ^UJ^'"'^* No man is long contented with his own estate, be it never ciianse de- o ' sireu of all SO excellent. The angel would change, to be like unto ">e"- God. Adam would change, to be as wise as he that made him. Absolon would chann;e, and sit in his father's seat. 2 Sam. xv. . . [10.] Solomon would have change of wives. The Israelites would 1 km^s xi. change Moses and Aaron, both magistrate and minister, xiim. xvi. They would needs change their judge for a king, their 1 sam. viii. Samuel for Saul. The Sichemites would change their Gel. xxxiv. religion. The Israelites would change manna, the food of Kxod. xvi. angels, for the fleshpots of Egypt. The wavering Jews i^lj^"""'''' changed Christ for Barabbas, their Saviour for a murderer. We are like affected to them, in liking and loving change ; change of meat, change of apparel, change of manners. We change simple dealing into crafty undermining, faith- fulness into treachery, truth into falsehood, liberality into 108 THE NINTH SERMON. oovetousness, humility into pride, chastity into lewdness, mercy into niahce, hght into darkness, day into night, all virtue into all vice. And, that which is more monstrous, sheep are changed into goats ; shepherds into wolves ; and, as Bernard saith, " prelates into Pilates ; nurses of the church into robbers of the church'.'"' The hearts and tongues of men are changed, and of single both made double. Our times breed men of the nature of the fish polypus, which can change itself into all colours to deceive. And, as he saith in the comedy, " There is a change of all things''^." Thechaiiffe J 4, gut while wc are thus occupied about these chop- wnicli Job t 1 looked for. pings and changings, we seem never to remember that great change whereof Job here speaketh ; which he daily looked and longed for. And that is the chano;e of this mortal life, looking for that great and glorious resurrection. Death is here termed a change. This change is certain : all flesh must die. The time till this change doth come, not long : the days of man are short and miserable. The time when this change will come, uncertain. Unto this j^ji jj^^gi; (jig_ o-ave a law to our father rnanuo all o are subject. Adam, forbidding him to eat of the fruit ; adding the pe- nalty of death if he did. Adam transgressed : the penalty [Gen.iii.i9.] was inflicted. The sentence of death was this: "Dust thou art, and into dust thou shalt return.'" In our fa- ther's fall we fell ; and of his punishment his children are Heb.ix.[27.] partakers. This is a statute made by the three states : " It Jobxiv.[5.] is appointed to all men once to die." "Thou hast appointed 1 Kin^s ii. man his bounds, which he cannot pass." This is " the I'sai.ixxxi.v. way of all flesh:" "what man is he that liveth and shall not see death?" Neither king nor kesar could ever be 2 Kings XX. dispensed withal from this statute. The good king Ezekias sought and sued unto God for a dispensation ; but it would not be granted : only he obtained the prolonging of his days for a few years. This law standeth fast : this debt 1^' Papa, cardinalium, episcoporum, aliommque pontifieiorum satel- litiiiu inultiplicem inipietatem graviter reprehendit, eos antichrist! ininistro.s, non doctore.s, .sed seductores ; non pastores, scd impostores ; lion pnclatos, sed Pilatos appellaas. — Bernard, Lib. 11. cap. 8, De Vita ejus. — Such is the reference given in Catal. Testium Veritatis, Genev. IfiOS, cols. l.S7!>, 80: but in Bernard. Op. Par. 1690, which has been consulted, the passage does not appear in the place indicated. — Ed.]] [" Ter. Eun. u. ii. 4o. — Ed.J ALL THE DAYS OP THIS MY WARFARE, &C. 169 is due unto all flesh. And the time that we have before the day of payment is not long. 1 6. The days of man are short : the number of his ^'o man tar 1 • 1 1 T 1 All *™'" '''^ months is known only to the Lord. All creatures now time of his chatve. wax old with the aged world. This is even the last hour : the world cannot continue long. Mathusela lived 969 years. Gen. v. [27.] If in our age we reach to 80, it is with sorrow and la- bour. " Thou hast made my days as it were a span long," p^^'i Yxxix ' saith David. "All flesh is grass," saith the prophet, "and t^l all the glory thereof as the flower of the field :" both the 7-] grass and the flower quickly fade and fall away ; and the flower sooner than the grass. 17. The people are the grass, and will abide the wither- Themiffhu- ^st soonest ing. The flower is the nobility, set aloft in great beauty : ciiangeii. yet every frost causeth the flower to fade, and every blast of wind ruffleth the leaves, and even shaketh them off. This all times do teach ; and the action we have in hand doth presently put us in mind thereof. This mighty king, this great prince, Charles the French king, whose funeral we now celebrate, in his young years, in his flourishing age, in the perfect strength of his body, when he minded weighty matters and great attempts, even then was he stopped in the midst of his race, and the line of his life cut off". This glorious flower is faded and fallen away. How soon ! How suddenly ! It falleth out in experience true which is written by Ecclesiasticus : " The life of po- Eccius. x. tentates endureth not long." Some, though few, are con- ^^'^ sumed with the cares of the commonwealth. The good king David complaineth that his bones were even dried Psai cii- [3 ] up with the cares he took for his country. Some are wasted away by wantonness, as Commodus, Claudius, Nero, Alexander the Great. Some are shortened by ambition : they will never leave climbing till they catch a fall. That cut off" the days of Absolon : that brought Haman to the pj^^'Jl-j"^'"- tree. Some God taketh away because the world is not f-^^^'^ worthy of them ; and some, because they are not worthy of it. He cut oflF Josias ; for " his soul pleased God : 2 Kin?.s xxiii. [29.] therefore he made haste to take him away" from the f^^'j^''- " • midst of iniquities. He cut off" Achab, Agag, and Herod, iKingsxxii. because they were "bloody" and "wily" meii ; therefore Psai.iv.[23.] they did " not live out half their days." 170 THE XIXTH SERJIOX. Ilid"[ouiiy^ ] 8. So true it is : " j\Ian tliat is born of a woman put in mind hath but a short time to live:'" and it is even as true of our _ ' change by that followeth in the same sentence, that " his few days are the usual . ' •' accidents of full of miserv. He Cometh up, and is cut down like a common *' , ^ rifni) xiv 1 • ^® fleeth as it were a shadow, and continueth not." 2.] ' Man's life is as unlasting as a flower. He cometh up, and is cut down as a flower. He vanisheth away like a sha- dow of a flower. And while he liveth, he is full of misery. He cometh into the world with sorrow and weep- ing : whilst he liveth in the world he is hated of the world, or else (which is worse) of God ; assaulted of Satan in con- tinual war ; subject to the manifold diseases both of the body and of the soul, the one truly miserable, but the other most intolerable. He never continueth in one state. To-day in his princely throne, to-morrow in his dusty grave ; to-day placed in great authority, to-morrow cast out of countenance ; to-day in high favour, to-morrow in high displeasure ; now rich, now poor ; now in wealth, now in wo ; now sound, now sick ; now joyful, now full of sor- row ; to-day a man, to-morrow nothing. O how short, how changeable, and how miserable is the state of mortal man ! which we neglect, but Jacob well considered, when Gen. xivii. he answered Pharaoh of his age, " The days of my pere- Eph. V. grination are panel et mali ; few and evil." "Walk there- [15, IG.] . . fore circumspectly," saith St Paul, " for the days are evil." We are fallen into those evil days and perilous times, of the which both Paul and Peter forewarned us. These may be rightly called dismal days. The god of this world hath blinded the eyes of men. " Let him therefore that standeth (I say it again) take heed that he fall not." Let us expect our change, and pray the Lord to increase our faith ; that we may be able to stand before him in that day, that dreadful day of his just judgment. ?enai'Jf"tiie ^^^3'^ ^^^^^ short and evil, so is the ti_meuncer- time of our change either to better or worse uncertain. " What is most certain ? Death. What most uncertain I The time of death," saith Bernard'. We are all tenants at will, uncertain how long to remain in this our earthly [} Nil mortalibus vel morte certiiis, vol incertius hora mortis: siqui- dem tamquam fui- in nocte, ita veniet. — Beniavd. Op, Par. 1G90, Ejiist.cv. Tom. I. Vol. i.eol. 100.— Ed.] tain. ALL THE DAYS OP THIS MY WARFARE, &C. 171 tabernacle. Of this we are put in mind in the Lord's prayer. Give us " this day" our daily bread. We say " this day," as uncertain of to-niorrow. It is written of one that, being invited to a dinner on the morrow by his friend, he answered : " These many days I never had to- morrow." Therefore saith St James, let us not appoint for to-morrow, but with conditions : " If the Lord will," ^jl™** and "if we live." The Egyptians, considering the uncer- tainty of man's days, were accustomed at their great feasts in the midst of their jollity to have one suddenly come forth with an image of death, and shewing it to the guests to pronounce this speech : " Eat, drink, be merry : within a while thou shalt be such as this." And the Israelites dwelt in tents, uncertain of their abode, ever ready to shift : whereby they represent unto us our peregrination in this mortality ; wherein because we are uncertain to stay long, we ought at all times to be ready to depart, so that we may enter into that celestial Canaan. This time of man's life and death God hath made uncertain for two causes ; the one, that his mind might not be troubled ; the other this present text giveth, and it is the last member of our division. 20. This end or chan":e is daily to be looked for. 3- O , The clian je Seein"' that death is certain, our days short, and the time of ''ff ° _ _ . continually of our dissolution unknown : wisdom would have us to put t J looked for; the ourselves in readiness, lookins; for our change, the end of first change . . . l>y death. this bad life, that it may be to us the beginning of a better. It is good counsel which St Augustine giveth : "Death looketh for thee every where: if thou be wise, look thou every where for him." The remembrance of this our end would bridle sin well in us. " Remember eccIus. vii. thy end ; and thou shalt never do amiss." Christ saith, " Watch ; for you know not at what hour he will come." ^]?^'' He Cometh suddenly as a thief in the night. " The Luke xii. Lord will come when thou lookest not for him, and in an hour that thou knowest not." Let us watch therefore Matt. xxv. with the wise virgins, having our lamps continually burn- ing, waiting for the coming of the bridegroom, that we may enter with him into his joy. The second, 21. And as man's life is short, so is the coming ofsJcond Christ at hand. Wait ; for it " will surely conve, and will °^ 172 THE NINTH SERMON. Hab.^iK,[3.] not stay." " The time is short." This we know ; though L29.]^ it be not in us to know the definite point of time, which [18.] ' to the angels of heaven is unrevealed. But Christ hath set down certain tokens of the end, which all are fulfilled; ^^^^ amongst others he saith, " Iniquity shall abound: charity shall wax cold : the gospel shall be preached in all the world; and then shall come the end." Never more iniquity ; never less charity ; the gospel never so liberally taught : behold iPet.iv.[7.] the end. Peter saith, "The end of all things is at hand." If then at hand, how much nearer now ! If those were the latter times, surely these are the last times, the very Eccius. V. end of the end. Hear the counsel of a wise man : " Make [7.J no tarrying to turn unto the Lord, and put not off from day to day; for suddenly shall the wrath of the Lord break forth, and in thy security thou shalt be destroyed, and thou shalt perish in the time of vengeance." The first 22. By procrastination, driving off, and forslowing our not expect- tumiug to the Lord and looking for our change, three great tmuau" our dangers do ensue. First, if we slumber and sleep in secu- ciiangi. ^.^^^ accustom ourselves with sinning, not looking for our change, neither remembering the fearful coming; of our Lord ; our custom will wax to be our nature, and hard will it be for us to rise from sin, in which we have been John xi. so long and so deeply buried. After that Lazarus had lain [39 u.] ^^^^ days in the grave, Christ used many circumstances for the raising of him again, who raised others with a word. The second 23. Secondly, it is dangerous in respect of the sud- den taking away which happeneth to many, insomuch that they have not time sufficiently to think upon God, or Gen. vii. ouco to cry, " Lord, help." The first age, in all their Gen. xix. jollity, Hot thinking on death, were suddenly drowned ; Kxod^xiv. the Sodomites suddenly by fire consum.ed ; Pharaoh with mm. xxi. his army swallowed up in the sea ; the Israelites gnawn Num. xvi. of deadly serpents ; Dathan with his complices eaten up Acts xti3 of the earth ; Herod suddenly devoured with lice ; the Liiik^exii. I'ich man, after all his provision, suddenly smitten with Acts V. [5.] death ; lying Ananias suddenly fell down dead ; Eglon the f20-22.']' Moabite, Abner the captain, suddenly murdered by the ^2>jam. 111. Aod' and Joab. All histories, all ages, are full of like examples. [> Aod— Eliml.-En.] ALL THE DAYS OF THIS MY WABFARE, &C. 173 24. The third danger is, that, in driving off to the The third, last day, we shall find hard time then to turn unto our God. Sickness will sore disquiet us, Satan will extremely tempt us, our friends with talking and craving will molest us, the terror of our ugly conscience will astonish us : so that hard it will be for us then to be rightly mindful of our end, and so in this extremity to turn to God, that he in our extreme case may turn his mercy towards us. And, as St Augustine saith, " The remedies come too late when peril of death is near'." Remember that which he also saith elsewhere : " He that hath lived well cannot die Ani.dedoct. ill ; and he can hardly die well that hath lived ilP." He saith hardly, not unpossibly, but questionless very hardly. 25. "Put thine household in an order, for thou shalt ^'otives to „ -ii-i 1 • /-f 1 wishing^ and die, and not live, saith Lsay to ilizekias. Give thy luokinR tor goods whilst they be thine, for after death thou hast 2 Kings xx.' no interest in them. " Stand with your loins girded and Kxod. xii. your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand ; ''"'^ that you may be ready." We have slept too long in sin, to our great danger. Let us now awake to our 1 pet. iv. [3.] speedy deliverance. It is sufficient for us that we have spent the time that is past of our life after the will of the gentiles. Let us now imitate that worthy soldier, who, after long warring under Adrian the emperor, returned home, and lived as Christ's soldier a most godly life, and after seven years died, and caused to be written on his tomb, " Here lieth Similis, a man that was many years, and liced but seven." Let us, these few years that we have. The passage intended here, to which also the reference is made in page 171, is probably the following: Quotidie expavescenda transitus nostri et commigrationis incerta hora ; qiuc et niodo vel insperata vel subita sunt, et in EEternum remediis cai'itura sunt. Pricveniendus est dies, qui preevenire consuevit. — August. Op. Par. 1683. Seimo cliv. 10. De Passione Domini. Tom. v. Appendix, col. 272. The Benedictine editors do not consider this sermon a genuine work of Augustine, but say, Non indignus est Fausto Semipelagiano. — En.] P The reference to the treatise De Doctrina Christiana appears to be inaccurate : the following is doubtless the passage quoted : Mori male times, male vivere non times. Corrige male vivere, time male mori. Sed noli timere : Non potest male mori, qui bene vixerit. — August. Op. Par. 1685. De Disciplina Christiana 18. Tom. vi. col. 588, —En.] 174 THE NINTH SERMON. live tlicm to God. For that only is worthy to be called a life, which bringeth us from a transitory life to an eternal, from a miserable to a most blessed and glorious. Let the trump ever sound in our ears : " Rise, you dead, come unto judgment." Let us daily remember that we must die ; and so' shall we contemn these things present, and make haste to things to come. Truly, if we shall rightly consider the vanity of the world, the miserable Heb. xiii. estate of man, that we are here but pilgrims, " and have 2 Cor. V. [1.] no permanent city," that whilst we live in this rotten tabernacle we are mere strangers and men from home, that we daily slide, yea and fall into sin, that our right- eous God hateth it, and that the stipend thereof is eternal death, and withal propose before our eyes the celestial kingdom, the crown of glory, the eternal felicities which 2Tim.iv.[8.] the Lord hath prepared in heaven for such as love his coming, we will not only watchfully look for, but most greedily desire the same : in our heart we will daily cry Rev. .vxii. with St John, " Come quickly, Lord Jesu :" we will be [Phil. i. 23.] like affected to St Paul, desiring to depart hence and to Rom. Ml. ^^^Jj Christ : we will sigh and mourn as he did, " O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the fjobvii. 15, body of this death?" We will, with Job, even be weary i^Kinss xix. of our lives ; and cry, with Elias, " It is enough, O Lord, take ray soul it will be with us as it was with all the blessed patriarchs, and prophets, and apostles, and holy men, now glorious saints in heaven ; who continually being here thirsted after God, and now most blessedly have enjoyed him : we will utterly contemn this earthly trash, worldly vanities, and transitory things, and desire and Col. iii. [1.] " seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God :" we will, whilst we have our being here, which is but a while, humble ourselves to walk with our God; and although we tread this eai"th, Phil. iii. [20, yet " our conversation will be in heaven; from whence also '^'^ we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will change our vile body, that it may be fashioned hke to his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able to subdue all things unto himself." of that 20. Thus we see that funerals are christian, ancient, been ' and commendable ; that the causes are sundry, good, and spoken. ALL THE DAYS OF THIS MY WAKFARE, &C. 173 godly ; yet neither our preaching nor prayer, neither any other ceremony nor circumstance, can profit the dead, but are helping comforts to such as Hve; that only in this life mercy remaineth for man, and after this life only judgment. As we now sow, so we shall then reap. Here we are Christ's soldiers to fight a good fight ; so we may hope for the crown of glory. Which thing Job doth well declare unto us : first telling us that we are in continual war ; wherein both the generals, the captains, the trumpeters, and common soldiers, that is, the prince, the nobility, the ministers, and the people, must take to them a good courage, be faithful, dutiful, and manful, in fighting the battle of the Lord ; every man keep his standing and answer his office. But we must all strive for God's truth, and not struggle against it, not ambitiously contending for superiority, or maliciously how to undermine and wrong one another. This is no lawful combat, no christian war: this is not to fight a good fight. But we must wage war against our common and our deadly enemies, the devil, the world, and the flesh. The devil is a roaring lion, a subtile serpent, who hath overcome the perfectest, the strongest, the wisest. The world is all wrapped in wickedness. The flesh wi'estleth against the Spirit. Wo must put on the armour of God, resist the devil and he will fly from us, crucify the world, chasten our flesh, and bring it into subjection unto the more noble part, our spirit. At length this our warfare will come to an end : we may look for a change. All the world is mutable, and of all the things in the world man most mutable. We would change our condition, our magistrates, our minis- ters, our religion, all things. But the change that Job speaketh of we least remember: we little think upon the change of this mortal life. We may assure ourselves that we all shall die. It is an act of parliament that shall never be repealed : it is the way of all flesh. The days of man are short, and wretched : short, a span long ; wretched, full of miseries. All flesh is as grass, and as a flower : both do fade, but the flower sooner. Cares, wantonness, ambition, yea, God in sundry respects cuttcth off both the good and the bad, good flowers, and bad flowers ; but all as flowers. The time of our change is uncertain, and often sudden ; that our mind be not troubled, that we always be in readi- 176 THE XINTH SEPMOX. ness. Job*'s example admonisheth us of this : " I look still when my changing shall come." Let us after his example daily look for our change. Let us expect the coming of Christ. He cometh in post : the forewarnings are fulfilled : iniquity aboundeth, christian charity is frozen, the gospel is preached : then is the end. Let us not slumber in security, or drive off to return unto our God. For it is hard for the buried in sin to rise. Man often is suddenly smitten, that he hath no time to repent. In his last day he is disquieted by sickness, by Satan, yea, by his friends, yea by his own conscience. Let us live in reverent expectation of the Lord, with our loins girt, and with our lamps light, and let the trumpet of judgment ever sound in our ears : it will well stir up our hearts. Let us live these few days that remain unto the Lord, whom we ought to have served all our days. And lastly, recounting the vanity of the world, the miserable state of this life, and the inestimable blessedness of the life to come, let us, with John, Paul, Elias, the blessed servants and saints of God, look for the appearance of the coming of Christ Jesus ; who will place us upon the right hand of his Father, and give us possession of our inheritance, that we may have the perfect fruition of all the treasures prepared for us by our God in heaven. To him even the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, three Persons, and one God of eternal majesty, be all honour, &c. THE TENTH SERMOxN. A SERMON PREACHED AT HIS FIRST COMING TO YORK. Luke I. 74. That, being delivered out of the, hand.t of our eneinie.t, we may serve him without fear, 7o. /it holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life. The greater and better part of holy scripture either As we have ~ 1.1 redemption setteth forth God's goodness towards us, or our duty to- at t'lei'ands ° ^ * of God, so wards him. In these few but most pithy words of Zachary iie at ours , • p should have both are comprehended. The great benefit we receive from the duty of 1 • • /-(I • mi 1 1-1 continual God is our redemption in Christ. Ihe duty which we owe holiness and ... 1 • 1 r> !• • ri^hteous- to him again is in hohness and righteousness oi hie con- ness of ufe. tinually to serve him. He toucheth our redemption in one word, but in many words cxphcateth the duty whicli we owe for it unto our Redeemer ; giving us hereby secretly to understand, that men are easily taught to know, but hardly brought to do, their masters will. AV^e are rich in i Cor. i. [5.] all speech and understanding, but in deeds full poor and bar- ren. We know much, but little do we ; although, amongst other things known, this be one, that "'he which knovveth Luke xii. his masters will, and doth it not, shall be beaten with many stripes and this another, that " not every one Matt. vii. that saith. Lord, Lord, but he which doth the will of the Father, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven," We are for all this such as those Pharisees were whom Christ re- Matt. xxUi. provcth, because they said, and did not. Even such we '"^'^ are become, as Jude doth describe : " Wells without water, Jude [i2.] clouds without rain, tx'ees without fruit, dead though not as yet " pulled up by the roots." We are hearers of the word, and yet scantly that : but workers of the word we are not. God grant that the word wherein we now gloiy, be not f)no day to our shame ; that the gospel of salvation 12 [sAXDYH.] 178 THE TENTH SEKMOX. bear not witness against us, and condemn us ; that the words which Christ hath spoken unto us heap not judg- ment upon our heads ; that this be not our condemnation Johniii.[i9.] also, "that, hght being come into the world," we "love dark- ness more than light." Surely, if we continue to profess Heb. vi. [c] ill vvords and deny in deeds, to crucify to ourselves our 2Pet.ii.[22.] Saviour Christ afresh, to feed upon our vomit, and to welter in the loathsome mire of our filthy sin ; we shall Acts xiii. make ourselves " unworthy of the kingdom of God," we cannot claim the benefit of Christ's merits, neither be par- takers of that glorious redemption which Zachary here re- membereth unto us : but the blood of Christ shall be upon our heads, and we shall perish in our sin as being guilty Hos.xiii.[9.] of our own damnation. " Thy destruction, O Israel, is of thyself." demption, ^- Wherefore, to avoid God's perpetual indignation thereof to ^"^^ perpetual confusion, let us follow the counsel of th7mam!er '^^^^^^U 5 ^^'^o, instructed by the Spirit of wisdom, teacheth of service, firgt that we are redeemed; secondly, that the end of in holiness, ' ' our redemption is that we may serve him that hath redeemed us ; thirdly, after what sort we should serve him. Where he saith, that we are delivered out of the hands of our enemies, it argueth that we once were in their hands. We are freed ; therefore we were bond. And in this point we have to consider, first, our bondage ; then, the mean of our deliverance ; and lastly, the cause by which we were delivered. All men by ^- Adam through his rebellion lost his freedom, and bondmen. ^Gcame a bondman ; and all we through him and in him Psai. li. [5.] are bond, " conceived and born in sin," the children of wrath, bond unto Satan, and servants unto wickedness ; the Rom. vi. deserved "reward" whereof is "death," even double death, Rom. V. [12.] this our present mortality, and everlasting damnation. "As by one man sin entered into the world, and by sin death ; so death went over all men, inasmuch as all men sin- ned." With Adam we lost God's first favour and pro- tection : with him the gracious image of God was blotted out in us also : with him we were expelled out of paradise, cast upon the face of the cursed earth, thrown into the hands of our cruel enemy, whoso livery we did put on, and under whose miserable thraldom we lived. In this fall THAT BEING DELIVERED OUT OP THE HANDS, &C. 179 from God we lost our immortjility, we lost our free will, we lost our wisdom, our virtue, our light, our glory, our joy, our heaven, our God. Our perverse heart became prone to all evil, and full of all sinfulness : we became tmwise in our judgment, disobedient to our God, deceived and deceiving, serving lusts and deadly pleasures, living in maliciousness and envy, hateful and hating one ano- ther. We were "without hope, and without God in Eph. ii. [12.] this present world all blinded in ignorance, and wrapped in all sin. For as we changed our master, so changed we our minds and manners also, and for Christ we served antichrist ; we threw away the love of God's eternal truth, and, according to the ignorance of our blinded hearts, hun- gerly fed upon all poisoned error, and plunged ourselves into all wickedness. This was our most miserable estate : thus we were ; and thus we are by nature. This was the pitiful condition of all human flesh. 4. Let us now see the mean of this our deliverance By Christ we are re- from this deadly captivity. We are ransomed out of the deemed out 11,. ' 11 1 f 1 • en of bondage. hands 01 our enemies, pulled out 01 tlie jaws 01 batan, freed from the servitude of antichrist, of ignorance, and of sin, only by the mediation of our Redeemer Jesus Christ. He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah, which alone hath trodden the wine-press, alone hath fought the battle, in fighting achieved the victory, and by vanquishing brought our enemy Satan under our feet for ever. On the cross with his blood he blotted out the handwriting that was [Coi. ii. 14.] against us : he spoiled our foes of their prey : he took even ca])tivity itself captive: in a word, he wrought our Epii. iv. [s.] full and complete deliverance. The price of our redemption was not gold, but blood ; the precious blood of our blessed Saviour. The blood of .Jesus Christ doth deliver us from all sin. And as he died to redeem us, so rose he again to justify us. In rising again he triumphed over death now conquered : he burst the gates and chains of hell, and set our feet in a place of great liberty : he clothed us with his righteousness ; reconciled us to his Father ; of enemies, made us friends ; of no people, the people of God ; of strangers, citizens with angels and inhabitants of heaven, free denizens with the children of God, and heirs of his everlasting kingdom. This deliverance out of 12 2 180 THE TENTH SERMOX. bondage, this redemption, this kingdom of God, and ever- lasting inheritance, our Christ hath purchased, and God hath granted to all such as thankfully will receive him. John i. [12.] " \s many as received him, to them he gave power to be made the sons of God and to receive him is to be- lieve in him ; for so it followeth, " to them which believe in his name.'''' Faith therefore is the mean to make us partakers of that great redemption in Christ Jesus. Here- Acts x. [43.] unto "all the prophets bear witness, that whosoever shall believe in him, by his name he shall receive remission of sins,'''' and withal eternal life. Us he hath 5. And as Christ hath delivered all his out of the dehvered after a more captivitv of Satan and sin, so hath he also us after a pecidiarand ^ •• . . special man- more special and peculiar manner out of that den of thieves, out of that prison of Romish servitude, out of the bloody claws of that cruel and proud antichrist. Our God hath used our Moses to deliver us from Egyptiacal servitude, that we may serve him henceforward in freedom of conscience : he hath led us out of a marvellous dark- ness into a marvellous light : he hath given us (for his gift it is) an understanding heart to know God the Fa- ther, and him whom he hath sent, Jesus Christ, unto whom by this star, his shining gospel, he hath conducted us. This truth of God hath discovered, yea, and discom- fited also gross error. For the want of this light w'as the cause of all our blindness, which is the mother of all su- perstition, which is the enemy to all religion. That now we have eyes to see, and hearts to imderstand, there is no other cause besides the mercy of our Redeemer. The cause of Yov of the cause of our c;racious deliverance thus our deliver- _ ance is the Zacharv recordeth. It was, saith he, " that he might shew niorcy of •' ^ ' ° . him who mercv towards our fathers."' God made a covenant with our hath de- • . . . . iiveiedus. father Abraham, confirmed it with an oath, not that it might be surer, but that we might be more assured of it : the co- venant was that he would shew mercy, and in mercy work our deliverance. To perform this covenant of grace and mercy made unto our fathers, and comprehending also us, he gave u[) his only-begotten Son in the fulness of time to death. There was no other motive why he should work Kph. ii. 14, our deliverance but only this, his mercy. " God therefore, ■"■^ which is rich in mercy, for the great love wherewith lie THAT HEING DIOI.IVKRKU OUT OF THE IIAXDS, &e. 181 loved us, even when no Mere dead by sin. re\'ived us witli Christ." The cause of our redemption was his good-will only. For " by gr;ice" we are delivered. He did it ac- cording to the good pleasure of his own will, according to the riches of his grace. So that all the steps to this our redemption are built upon mercy only. God in mercy made covenant of our deliverance, in mercy confirmed it with an oath, in mercy through the merits of Christ performed his promise to us ; so that our whole redemption is free, not due; of mercy, and not of merits: "Not by works which Tit. iii. [5.] we have wrought, but according to his great mercy he hath saved us.'"' Man never brought one stone to this building : man never laid one finger to this work : it is the only building and work of God, who in tender com- passion hath both begun and finished it. We may well wonder that God with so merciful eyes looked upon so miserable and so sinful creatures, that the Son of God would die for the redemption of his enemies. This doth indeed commend his love ; seeing that all which he hath done is of mere mercy in himself, without any shadow of merit in us. 7. Xow that Christ hath delivered us from Satan, ^^l^e re- and that with so dear a price, let us fall no more into fhe^^j^" the claws of that roaring lion, lest he utterlv devour us. f ' mm. He is cast out of our house : let him enter in no more, lest he bring seven with him woi'se than himself, and then our evil end be far worse than our bad beginning. Now that Christ hath cleansed us from our sin, let us not, swine-like, return to wallow in that slime again. " Thou J"'"" ^- art made whole,"" saith Christ : I have washed away thy sin with my blood : "Go and sin no more, lest a worse thing happen unto thee." Now that Christ in a mighty arm hath freed us from I'haraoh, from the house of bondage, let us return no more to the flesh-pots of Egypt : let us not lust after quails ; for if we feed upon them, we shall surfeit of them to our destruction. Let us serve no more him that serveth Satan, that undoubted man of sin. And lastly, now that Clu'ist hath opened our blinded eyes, and hath poured understanding into our hearts, now that he hath given us a lantern to guide our feet, let us tumble no more in darkness ; but as the children of 182 Tin; TENTH SERMON. light walk in the hght honestly, as becomcth men in so clear noon-day. For the end of our redemption is that we may serve him without fear, that hath so dearly re- deemed us. uiito labour ^' First, we nuist serve. Secondly, we must serve and service, no other but him. Thirdly, him we must serve without fear. We were created, man is born unto service and labour, as birds unto flight. We were not redeemed and bought with a price to be idle and do nothing, but to glorify him in body and spirit that hath bought us. We are not called to stand or sit still, but to walk every one in that vocation wherewith he is called. The scriptures Matt. viii. are full of such speeches as these, " Go," " walk," " work," John xii. " Sweat," " why stand ye idle V — to teach us that service Q^Tun. ii. is required at our hands. Gen.iii.[i9.] 9. God delivered us, to the end that being delivered we Matt. XX. ixiiglit now serve him, as heretofore we served Satan. We serve^hhii, ^re not now our own men to serve whom or how we list ; ofher." ^^'c ^^'^ '^i'^ to scrve him as he prescribeth. " No man can ^24."" serve two masters :" we have yielded and promised our ser- vice to him ; therefore besides him we may serve no other. Not mam- IQ. We may not serve mammon; for that is made mon, as ■' covetous to serve us. The covetous man, which servetli his money, men ana . usurers do. is justly Called of Paul " an idolater." For he is our God, Eph. V. [5.] -J J _ not whom we profess, but m whom we repose our trust, and whom we serve and obey. When the Lord commandeth one thing, and his money persuades another, will not his obedience declare whom he raaketh his God ? God saith, Lnkevi. "Lend freely, and look for no gain." But will the usurer. whose money is his God, remit his interest because of this, because the Lord hath so charged him ? No : he will not so let go his ten, or twenty, or thirty in the hundred. To him the glory of God, yea, and his own soul, is vile : nothing is precious but only money. What the prophei, speaketh of putting forth money to usury, lie full little regardeth, but feedeth still upon his mast, and blesseth himself when he waxeth fat, not perceiving that God hath already plagued him with a plague of all plagues, the obduration of his heart. And although that God hath o-iven him over into a dull and senseless mind, his ears being so dammed up that nothing can have entrance to THAT BJJLNG OEUVERED OUT 01'^ THE HAND.S, &C. 183 move or touch his hard heart ; yet he still blesseth himself and his accursed soul. Thou usurer, thou idolater, that dost glory in thy shame, in thy evil-gotten gold, dost thou not know that thy wealth shall melt like snow before the sun ' thinkest thou still to hold it J " O fool, this nigjht Luke xii. [20.] shall they take away thy soul," perhaps this instant ; and then whose is all this ? After that Zaccheus fell to the Luke xix. [8 1 service of Christ, and that Christ entered into his house, he presently forsook the service of mammon, made a large restitution of that which he had gained by such unlawful means, and then began to be liberal, not only to lend freely, but to give for nothing : he gave the one half of all his goods to the poor. If God would at this day work thus in the heart of one Zaccheus, a rich usurer, how many poor might be relieved by such a restitution ! He might maintain many a needy man, and save his own soul. Well, this one thing we know. This word, that proceedeth out of God's mouth against usury, "shall not return in vain ^^^'•'^'•'^^'•l if it cannot work reformation, it will work confusion. 11. As these serve their money, so there are some ^^oy^e^ Domino non seririentes sed sm coifri, " servants to the belly, tyne-serv- and not to the Lord." He scrveth the belly who frameth himself to be of any religion, so that in this world he may live by it ; when popery hath the upper hand, then a papist ; when the gospel is in due estimation, a protestant ; all things to all men, that somewhat may be gained or saved to himself. He maketli no difference between the mass and the communion, Christ and Belial ; but for his belly sake will halt on both sides, serve all times and turns. Such a one was Leontius bishoi) of Antioch ; who, beinsr in Theoci. lib. * • 1 1 • !• • * II. cap. 24. heart an Arian, covered his religion, and joined with the council of Nice in outward profession of the truth'. So his soul was led by the devil, and his body by the world. 12. Some, and those many, are servants of men, as Not men, as those which in matters of religion wholly hang their souls fartwn'.'&c. upon human authorities and judgments. So did the Co- rinthians: "T hold of Paul, I of Cephas, and T of Apollos." icn.-.i.[i2.] So do all the pope's favourites. And so do those that 2Tim. iv. choose to themselves new masters, new teachers, according to their itching and wandering ears, esteeming such and Tlieod. Plist. Eccl. Amst. 1G95. p. lOG.— Ed.] 184 THE I'ENTH SERMON'. Not the worUl, sin, and .Satan. Rom. vi. [12.] Deut. [13.] We must serve with fear, child- like, not slavish. I'sal.ii. [11.] despising others. So do they which praise and flatter men in their folly, thereby to win themselves estimation with them which liave men's persons in admiration for gain'^s sake. Finally, so do they which repose their trust in the merits of men, that seek justification or remission of sins either by their own woi'ks or by the deserts of others. For to know that he is our redemption, sanctification, and justice, is no small jiart of God's service : to give this to any other is to take it from him ; which whoso doeth is not worthy to be named his servant. He that serveth him must serve him alone. 13. Not him and the world ; for the world is wholly set on vanity and mischief: it hateth him, and therefore we must hate it. If ye be liis servants, let not sin bear rule in your bodies, or have dominion over you. We must die unto sin, that we may live imto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. He that doth sin is the servant of the devil : the devil is but a bad master to serve : he is a liar, a thief, and a murderer ; and he entertaineth no servants but eucli as be like himself, whose wages are fire, chains, brimstone, darkness, wailing, howling, and gnashing of teeth, in a v/ord, everlasting death and damnation. We are not ransomed out of the hands of our enemies, to serve these masters, mammon, the belly, men, sin, the workl, or the devil ; but we are redeemed to serve him only, to serve our Christ, our Redeemer, that hath full dearly bought us. " Thou slialt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." 14. Him we must serve " witliout fear." In the psalm it is said, " Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice unto him with reverence." And here we are taught to serve him without fear. As there is but one God, so the scrip- ture is always one. There is a fear which children have towards their parents, and a fear of servants towards their masters. God will be feai-ed of us as children, but not as servants ; or if as servants, not as slaves. The believing Christian, the regenerate child of God, who through faith in Christ is certain of liis deliverance from the devil and from hell, assured of remission of sins and of life evei- lasting in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ our Saviour, he serveth in the reverent fear of love, and not THAT ItKIXr; DfLIVKREI) OUT OF THE H.Wn^i. &<'. 1 in that dreadful fear of tlcatli and everlasting damnation, wherewith the reprobate mind is daunted. He feareth not death, for he is sure of life : he feareth not damnation, for he is assured of salvation : he believeth that which Christ hath pi'omised, and doubteth nothing of the obtaining of that which Christ hath procured for him. He is surely persuaded with St Paul, that " neither death, nor life, nor Rom. viii. tribulation, nor affliction, nor any thing present, or to come, ^^^'^ shall separate him from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus." Ho feareth therefore neither the sting of death, f.?'''"- nor the power of Satan. But this certainty of God's love towards him in Christ, and the testimony of his love to- wards God again, casteth out all fear of eternal punishment. " For ye have not," saith the apostle, " received again the Rom. viu. spirit of bondage unto fear ; but ye have received the Spirit ^^^''^ of adoption, by which we cry Abba, Father." The Spirit testifieth with our spirit, that God is our gracious Father ; and if he our Father, we his children ; and if his children, heirs of his glorious kingdom. The preaching of the law letteth us see our sin, but no remedy against the sting thereof ; so that it maketh us fear, and with trembling look for the reward of sin, which is everlasting death. But the Spirit of adoption by the preaching of the gospel telleth us that in Christ we have remission of sins ; we are re- conciled unto God, and adopted by him ; we are his chosen children, and may boldly and joyfully call him Father. And this certainty of our salvation the Spirit of God testi- fieth to our spirit, whereby we put away all servile fear of punishment, being assured of God's constant favour and eternal love towards us ; who never leaveth unfinished that which he hath begun, nor forsaketh him whom he hath chosen. 15. Therefore dangerous and desperate is that doc- Pop«n- 1-111 1 tearlieth, tnne of the papists which doth teach us ever to be doubtful mstead of and in suspense of our salvation. A lamentable, discom- trust, fortable, and miserable estate. Here it is in one word confounded. For Zachary saith, " we are redeemed to serve him without fear or doubtfulness." For where doubt is, there is fear ; and what greater fear, than of a thing so fea,rful ' He that will serve God, must serve him in a quiet and joyful conscience, with a sure and undoubted 186 TlIK TKNTH SERMON. contidenco of mercy and salvation in Christ the Lord of Psai. cxxx. mercy. "With thee is mercy," saith the prophet, "that thou raayest be feared." As if he should say : Thou art full of clemency and compassion, and therefore we serve thee with a reverent, and without a servile fear; being persuaded of thy great mercy, must fear Fear is evcr of the inferior to the superior. It superiors. j^ot required in the prince to fear the subject, the master the servant, the father the child, or the husband the wife ; but contrary in all. God feareth not man, his creature : man ought to fear God, who hath created him ; to fear him as a loving father, and not as men do fear a fierce tyrant. must be '^^^^^ which is required of us is ever Jole!'^"'"'' witli love. The good child feareth to offend his father, for that love and reverence he bearetli to him, and not in respect or for fear of punishment. The honest and well-natured wife, that truly loveth her husband, for the same cause feareth and taketh great heed lest in any thing she should offend him. Even with such fear ought we to serve our God, who is our father ; our Christ, who is our spouse. Psai.ii. [11.] Qf ^}-,jg godly fear the prophet David saith, "Serve the Psai.xxxiv. Lord in fear." And again: "Fear the Lord, all ye his Matt.x.[28.] saints." Of this Christ speaketh : " Fear him which can destroy both body and soul." This fear great goodness and happiness do accompany. It is the beginning of true wisdom. For all wisdom without the fear of God is but earthly, fleshly, and devilish. They that have it shall be Psai. xxxiv. satisfied with all good things: "There is no want to them that fear him." It causeth men to decline from evil: it banislieth sin, worketh repentance in man's heart ; and happy are all they that fear the Lord, as they cursed which fear him not. If the angel had feared the Lord, he had still kept his place and glorious estate, and not been made of an angel a devil, cast out of heaven into hell. If Adam had loved and feared God, he had not been banished out of paradise, and thrown upon the face fjpii. vii. of this cursed earth. If the fear of God had not of old [17-24.] ^y;^,^|.gfi^ |}^(3 whole world had not been drowned. If the Gen. xix. city of Sodoma had feared God, they might have remained oenfiv. [8.] in prosperity until this day. If Cain had feared God, he THAT BEING OELIVEKED OUT OK THE HANDtl, &C. 187 had not so treacherously nuirdered his brother. If Cham, Gen.ix.p2.] he had not so shamefully discovered his father. If Laban, Gem x^xix. he had not so deceitfully dealt with Jacob. If Pharaoh, he would have let Israel depart when God conunanded. If Israel had loved and truly feared Grod, they would not have Num._^xi. loathed manna, despised magistrates, followed fleshly lusts, murdered the prophets, crucified Christ, and persecuted his apostles. If the Corinthians had feared God, they would not have been so contentious, so proud, so adulter- ous ; neither would they so uncharitably have judged their brethren in things indifferent : they would not have con- deumed marriage, the institution of God, neither in such sort profaned the holy sacraments of Christ. The fear of|2i'°22j"' God would have brought forth better fruit in all these ; and the want thereof brought forth this bad fruit. 18. If the fear of God dwelt in our hearts, the gospelT''^ i'r^»'''»- ' f i ma; ot the SO truly and plentifully preached among us would no doubt f°*|^}g f'r',iit brinsT forth far more fruit : after so manv monitions, per- is a token P . ' . l that the true suasions, and entreaties, we would lead a better life. When fear of ood , IS wanting. there are amongst us many that breed' contention and make division, that lend out their money upon usury, that pollute their neighbour's bed with adultery, that shut up the bowels of mercy and compassion, and suffer Christ to beg, cry, and starve in the streets, that neither regard the heavenly message of their salvation, nor esteem the messenger by whom it is brought, that shew no reverence to the word of God, but manifestly hate, loathe, and de- spise it, is it not too clear and manifest that we fear not the Lord? 19. If the fear of God were in us, Avould we deal t'ip' entreatln^: with the servants of God as we now do ? The dealino; of God's _ . , ~ messengers. of llanun, the son of Nahash, towards David's servants was not more villainous, than the dealings of the world are with the honourable embassadors of the most high God at this day. David sent his servants to the king of the children of Aiiiinon to comfort him, straight vipon tlie death of his fathei'. The malicious Ammonites, miscon- struing their intent, whispered in the car of their lord : "Thinkest thou that David doth honour thy father, or 2Siim.x.[3.] that he hath sent comforters unto thee ? Are they not rather sent as spies to search the city, and so to over- 188 T\\y. TENTH SKli.MOX. throw it f ' lie had no sooner hoard the name of a spy, but liands w ere laid uj)on David's servants : they were sent away \\ith their beards half shaven, and their coats cut off in the unseemliest place, to his own everla.stiu<; igno- miny and shame, which so despitefuUy used men sent unto him of mere love and hearty meaning. For the good king had no other drift or purpose in his heart but this : " I will shew kindness to Hanun, as his father shewed kindness unto me." The true David, the most mighty Prince, the King of all kings, hath in favour, mercy, and reconciled love, sent his embassadors, his ministers unto you, to comfort you in your griefs, and to bring you joyful tidings of a kingdom which it hath pleased his Father to bestow upon you. These messengers ought of Phil. ii. [29.] right to be honourably received. "Entreat such with [17.]™'^" honour," saith the apostle. Nay, such messengers '"are worthy of double honour." But behold, they are taken as [laY' ^^^^^ were spies : they are accounted as the offscourings, refuse, and baggage of the world ; not as the embassadors of the great King, but as contemptible peasants and base outcasts of men. Away they are sent loaden with spite- ful words, with slanderous reproaches, injurious dealings, all kinds of contumely and disgrace. But note, of whom; of the Anmionites which fear not God, of the profanely minded atheist, of the carnal gospeller, of the zealous hy- pocrite, of such in whom the fear of God or the care of their souls remaiueth not, of such as also sj)oil the pa- trimony of Christ, such as would not stick, I think, to sell Christ himself if thoy might for money, as Judas did, and to cast lots for his coat with Pilate's soldiers. This robbery and spoil, this despitefulness and ignominy, done unto David's messengers, he took in such sort as done unto himself. For the wrong or ignominy done to the messenger is done to the master who sent him, and on whose business he goeth. David would not put it up so, but revenged it. He comforted his faithful messengers, sent them new apparel, and caused them to remain at an appointed place, Jericho, until their beards were grown again ; for it was ignominious to the Jews to be beard- less. Afterward he addresseth forth an army of strong soldiers, who set upon the Ammonites, put them to flight, THAT BEIXr, DEMVEKED OI'T OF THE HAXn-i, & C. 189 and made oxeat niortalitv. And dotli not Christ our king: esteem the ignominy done to his messengers, as if it were done to himself? Hath he not said, "He that despiseth [Lnkex. ic] you despiseth me r No doubt he shall comfort bis afflicted and despised messengers. As they suffer for him, so shall they reign and shine in glory : " It is a righteous thing 2 Thess. i. with" him to render unto them that are despised rest, * but unto despisers tribulation and vengeance in the day when he shall shew himself from heaven with armies of angels in flaming fire, to the confusion of his enemies. And if in this world also he take from such unthankful Ammonites the gospel, religion, all knowledge and learn- ing; if for the light he give them darkness, for truth lies, for knowledge blindness, for learning barbarism, for Christ Belial ; they have the just reward which is due unto them that truly fear not the Lord. ^Ve must serve, we must serve him, we must serve him without servile fear. 20. But after what sort? "In holiness and righteous- itheimifffth ness before him all the davs of our life." Here we are . prt-'sciioe to note, first, that God himself prescribeth how men shall 1"'" ' ' i be served. serve him ; then, what service it is which he prescribeth. God accepteth of no service, but such as he cominandeth. " Ye shall not do every one that which scemeth rieht i)eut. xu. unto you ; but ye shall do whatsoever I enjoin you," saith ' the Lord. Our service is limited to that which God liketh. Their worshipping and serving of God " is in vain, which .Markvii.[7.] teach doctrines the precepts of men." That which men think highly of, that doth God abhor. Saul thought that 1 sam. w. sacrifice had been service : God had liked lictter of his obedience. Oza' supposed he had done God very good 2 sam. \i. service in holding up the ark which was like to fall : but God taught him that it was far otherwise. The scribes and Pharisees thought themselves the only men that served God, because of their long and often praying, their much fastings, their washings, their tithings, their giving of alms ; but who recjuired these things at their hands ? Where hath God prescribed these kinds of outward service and worshij* to be done, as being acceptable to him without inward ho- liness and true righteousness ' In the same rank with these Pharisaical devices we may place those papal inventions of [' Oza— Uzzah.— Ei).] 190 THK TENTH SERMON. masses, pilgrimages, vows, auriailar confessions, and what- soever man hath invented without the warrant of God's word, seem it never so godly and holy unto them. For the word of God is the only rule of our religion, our only direction in the service of God. He will be 21. The service which God hath here prescribed us served . , . ™ i • • iioiinessand IS this, " To scrvc him iu holiness and righteousness be- righteous- o ■ . , , . nesssm-^ tovQ liini, all the days of our life.'" Herein is contained coniiiiuaiiy. whatsoever God commandeth in his law. This is the brief of both the tables. Holiness hath relation to the former table, and righteousness to the latter : in holiness is set forth our duty towards God, in righteousness towards man. We must serve God in holiness in respect of himself: we must serve man in righteousness in respect of God. For that which we do to men, if he command it, we do it Matt. XXV. unto him. " In as much as ve have done this," saith Christ, UO.J . " to one of these little ones, ye have done it to me." oiiroiic- 22. Holiness is the end of our election: "He chose tion, his will, oim- before the foundations of the world, that we might raiiinii'% ^^'^b'- ' holiness is a thing which God doth greatly quiretlihoii- desirc : " This is the will of God, even your holiness." iiess at our _ . iiands. Unto lioHuess we are not onlv constrained by his command- Eph. 1. [4. 1 •' 1 ihess. iv. nient, but allured also by his example : " Be holy, because b'pet.i.ie.] I am holy." Unto this we are called: "For God did not call us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness." So that, un- less we esteem vilely of our own election, unless we re- fuse to satisfy the will, to obey the commandment, to follow the example, and to answer the vocation in which God liath called us, we must be holy. Our holiness 23. And tliis our holiness in serving of him must not must ap- 1 1 • • , 11- pert). I)e smothered m our mind, or concealed m our chamber, but be shewed in open place. As his benefits towards us are more clear than the noon-day, so our confession of liiin and praise of his name must be openly in the face and eyes of the world, especially in the congregation [Lukeix.26.] of his saints. "For whosoever," saith Clhrist, "is ashamed of me before men, I Avill be ashamed of him before my Father." Christ hath given us example : he made a good 1 Tim. vi. and an open confession unto Pontius Pilate. Daniel, being Daii.vi, [10.] forbid by the king, prayed openly thrice a day to the God of Israel. God commanded Solomon to build him a THAT BEING DELIVERED OUT OP THE HANDS, ScC. 191 temple, wherein publicly he would be served and worship- ped of all his people. All the people ascended up to Sion, to the house of the Lord of hosts, there publicly to serve and praise their God. Such as will be members of Christ must be knit together in one body, and in one place, with one mind and one mouth, glorify the Lord. 24. It is true that, when the church is infected 'iiid J]^[!j'^'Jj^jj polluted with idolatry and superstition, when the house of ^f,^spj.^.^„*° prayer is made a den of thieves, the temple of God a i/p^pcret^'^ synagogue of Satan, when the truth of God is persecuted ^^^i when with the professors thereof, then we are to serve him as we conveniently may. When public service is public idola- try, then we are to listen unto those admonitions : " Avoid • cor. x. . . . . the worshipping of idols " Bear no yoke with infidels 2^Cor. vi. "Depart, go out. Touch not that which is polluted." isai.iii.[ii.] Rather celebrate the passover in the wilderness with Christ, than in a temple profaned and defiled with idolatry. When the gospel is persecuted, secret congregations are allowed. When Christ was crucified, the disciples kept themselves Acts ii. [i.] secretly together in a parlour at Jerusalem, for fear of the Jews, and there served God. Such private congre- gations the ecclesiastical histories plentifully set forth and commend. In such tempests, to serve our God in deserts, Heb. xi. in hills, in dens, and holes of the earth, we must be con- tent. But conventicles or private meetings, when the gospel of God, being strengthened with the civil hand, hath his i'ree and safe passage, is publicly and sincerely preached, when all persecution and fear thereof is wholly vanished, have been ever suspicious, and they are the nurses of all errors. It is the property of froward sectaries, whose in- ventions cannot abide the light, to make obscure conven- ticles, when the doctrine of truth is set at liberty. The Donatists, the Arians, the Anabaptists, the Family of Love, with all others of the like sort, fostei'ed up their errors in secret and dark coi-ners. But such as be of the flock of the great shepherd Christ ought to assemble themselves in one sheepfold. Perversity never wants excuses, neither is satisfied with any reason ; but no man can in right refuse to connminicate \sith us in our cluu'cli. It is tlu; sanctuary of the Lord, the house of God, the ark of God, wlievein the treasures of heaven arc laid for onr use. 192 THE TENTH SEKMOX. Christian majistiates may con- strain tlieir subjects iinio ()|»en assunilflips wiiere God is sti ved. Witli holi- ness, risht- eoiisness must be joined. Uom. xiii. Righteous niaffis- trates. no other than such as God hath commanded. The golden pot with manna, the flourishing rod of Aaron, and the tables of Moses; these are no bugs' to fray away God's children. Tliey have nothing offered them but the heavenly food, whereupon the elect of God should feed, even that bread which Christ hath sanctified and broken unto us for our comfort. 2.5. Such stray sheep therefore, as will not of their own accord assemble themselves to serve the Lord in the midst of his holy congregation, may lawfully and in reason ought to be constrained thereunto. For though religion cannot be driven into men by force, yet men by force may be driven to tliosu ordinary means whereby they are wont to be brought to the knowlodije of the truth. Parents cannot constrain their children to be learned ; but parents may constrain them to repair thither where they may be taught. Thus you see that God must be served of us in holiness ; holiness openly declared and professed, not secretly kept and laid up onlv in our hearts and bosoms. 20". It followeth in the words of Zachary, "'And in righteousness." This righteousness hath chiefly respect to the second table, and putteth us in mind how we ought to use our neighbour. In doing right unto him, we serve the Lord Jesus, whose conmiandment this is, in righteousness. One lesson well observed were sufficient for this matter. If wei could love our neighbours with that kindness which we do ourselves, which is the precept of the law, we would not want in any part of ritrhteous duty towards men. " Render unto every one that which is due this is righteousness. 27. They which are in authority are called "justices," to the end that their name might put them in mind of that duty which they owe to the commonwealth. If they .] THAT BKIXG DELIVERKD OUT OP THE HANDS, &C. 193 Moses ; if they love not the truth as David ; if they hate not covetousness as did Samuel ; surely they do not serve God in righteousness and justice, because they are inju- rious towards their neighbours. 28. The minister of God's word is also a servant. RiM''«°"» ministers. We are your servants, brethren, for Christ's sake, whose embassage we bring. If we be fraudulent or negligent in performing the parts of this duty, we are most unright- eous. 29. To serve in iustice is the duty of every man. Rishteous The rich man is a servant to the poor, to relieve and comfort him as he is able ; for that is right, and to that end God hath made him rich, that he as a faithful steward might bestow those rich blessings upon the family and household of God. John the bishop of Constantinople, who for his liberal relieving of the needy was surnamed the Almncr', was wont to provide daily meat for the poor, and when it was made ready, to come forth, and himself see it served. This service is of us very slenderly and slackly done : Christ's impotent and miserable mem- bers are sent away not relieved. To suffer him in his members so to beg, wlio hath given thee all that thou hast, is horrible ingratitude : it is not the part of a christianly affected heart, of one that serveth his Lord in righteousness. 80. The counsellor at the law is a servant to his chent, Rigiiteous • • 1 mi lawyers. whom he ought to serve in righteousness. Take not ex- cessively of the poor ; for that is not right and equal. Of right you should even without money plead his cause : so (iod conimandeth, who will no doubt in that respect pay you your fees with a bountiful hand. Take not of both parties ; for that is treachery and not justice. Thou takest not those fees, but stealest them. Neglect not thy client's cause : if thou promise, perform : neither take upon thee more than thou canst well answer. If with words and subtile handling thou winnest an evil cause to another man's wrong, thou art guilty of that wrong : if thou dost by negligence lose a good cause, thou art guilty of that [' The archbishop proljaljly means Joannes Eleemosynarius Alex- andrin. Epise. See Annal. Kccles. Auc-t. Cms. Buvonio Sorano, Roni. 1.51>y. Anno (no. Tom. vin. pp. 212-14.— Ed.] [s.wtjvs.] 194 THE TENTH SERMON. loss, and servest not thy client nor thy God in righteous- ness. ml^ofwhat conclude and knit up all in a word: of what estate so- trade or vocation soever we be, this we must know, that ever. ' ' he only serveth God in holiness and righteousness who, Tit. ii. [12.] denying impiety and worldly concupiscence, liveth " soberly, justly, and holily in this present world;" soberly as touch- ing himself, justly towards his neighbour, and hohly as concerning God ; ho that casteth off the old Adam, and putteth on Jesus Christ ; ho that truly repenteth, that leadeth a new life, who heareth the word and worketh it, who knoweth the will of God and doth it. and riVht!^^ 32. And tliis we must do coram ij^so, " before him." must"be^in "^^^ servico wliich we do before him must be zealous, Rev'iii [16 ^^^'^y? 3,nd sincere. We may not serve God with luke- 17] warm service, as the Laodiceans did. For then God no doubt will vomit out us, as he threatened to do them. Vehement therefore and zealous must we be for the house of God, for the glory of God, and in God's service, ^nd of zeal ^3. But every zeal God doth not accept or like of. served* For as there is a zeal according to knowledge, so there is a blind heady zeal, void of true knowledge, and there- iTim.i.[i3.] fore of true faith. St Paul, in his blind zeal, persecuted the church of God. The Jews, in their blind zeal, cru- Rom. X. [2.] cified their Lord Clu'ist. " They have a zeal," saith the [1 Cor. ii. 8.] apostle, "but not according to knowledge." "If they had known the Lord of glory, they would never have crucified him." This blind zeal causcth poor deceived souls to think themselves zealously afi^ected towards Christ, Avhen they are stubbornly set for antichrist. Zeal without knowledge is not zeal, but stomach. It is not true zeal, but rather a bi'ain-sick giddiness, which causeth many to forsake their natural home, and to wander to Jerusalem, there to wor- iKin^sxx. ship God: as if they thought, with Benadab' king of Syria, that God were the God of the hills and not of the val- leys. It is another thing to be eagei*, and another thing to be zealous. They deceive themselves which think they do the duty of servants zealously bent in their master's cause, when they are sharp without all sober and stayed consideration, reproving them openly whom they ought P Benadab — Ben-liadad. — Ed.] THAT BEING DELIVERED OUT OP THE HANDS, &C. 195 privately to admonish, rashly condemning them whom they ought charitably to judge as brethren. 34. We must be zealous in God's cause. For angels Exampiesof themselves without zeal are nothing. But our zeal must God's ser- be, as I said, with judgment. Ye are not ignorant what Exoa. xxxii. heroical zeal there was in Moses, in Elias, in Jehu, in •'Kin'isl^ Phinees, in Mattathias, in Christ. This zeal, this love, 2 Kh'ias x^ this true holiness and hearty fear of God, is abated in Numl xL. the best, and utterly banished out of most men. Where i^^mIc; n. now, in what corner of this earth, shall we find a man fis-ic'.] in zeal comparable unto David, whom, when the word of [45|'46!]^' God was contemned, and his ministers despised, the grief thereof had like to have wasted away I " My zeal," saith Psai. cxtx. he, " hath even melted me, because mine enemies have '^'^"^ forgotten thy words." What a cross, what a torment was the sin of Sodom to the heart of just Lot ! The small remorse which we have for sin sheweth our zeal is not very great. Let us pray therefore to God, as to increase our faith, so to kindle true zeal in us, that wc may, as Phinees, with the sword of the Holy Ghost, the word of God, run through, cut asundei-, and destroy all the filth and uncleanness which lietli lurking in our hearts ; that we cut off all our lewd affections, our carnal lusts, our lascivious thoughts ; that we may so mortify the members of the body, and rectify the affections of the mind, that with a chaste life, in body and soul, we may glorify our God. Let us pray for the zeal that was in Christ Jesus, that we may with the sharp whip of unfeigned repentance drive out of our bodies, which are the temples of God's Holy Spirit, all buying and selling, all covetousness, usury, envy, lying, deceit ; that we give not our bodies and souls to any such profane use, but to be kept imcorrupt and pure, as beseemeth the temples of his Holy Spirit ; that we may offer up unto God, in the midst of these temples, the sacrifice of an humble and of a contrite heart, the I'sai. li. [17.] sacrifice of righteousness, the sacrifice of praise. Let us beseech him, I say, to inflame our hearts with true zeal, that, earnestly seeking our own salvation and the safety of others, we may be zealous, as the blessed apostle was, with the zeal of God; even holy and zealous before the ^.Cor. xi. Lord. 13—2 196 THE TENTH SERMON. musfbe as ^^^^ "^"^^ coupled wlth judgment in know- jj^jj^ kiiowledoje, so with truth and sincerity. God will league, so in . sincerity, j^ot bs scrvcd with feigned holiness and with counterfeit religion, with outward shews and with the lips, but with the heart. In our prayers we must pour out our hearts before him : in repentance our hearts must be rent asunder: in our alms we must keep a single heart : when the word is preached, we must open our hearts to receive it : what- soever we do in his service, we must do it heartily, as to the Lord. For all our serving of him is in vain, nay, it is damnable, if we seek only which way we may appear holy and righteous unto men. Such as we would seem to be, we must be indeed ; such we must appear in truth before that Lord who seeth our very hearts, and examin- eth our inmost reins. Let us ever remember that God looketh upon us with open eyes, he beholdeth in greatest darkness, he seeth the unsearchable heart and thought of man : no secret can be kept secret from him. This would bridle in us all inward wicked cogitations, all outward wicked works, if we could well, and as we should, consider it. For if we be ashamed and afraid to offend in the sight of man, who hath only power over our mortal body, how much more should we be overcome with shame and fear to sin in the sight of that eternal God, who hath power over body and soul, to cast them both into eternal fire ! trfGodmuft Thus we are to serve our Redeemer: we are the days of I'^nsomed and bought to serve, not for a day, but for all our life. qu^. Jays : we are redeemed for ever, to serve him for ever. He that runneth is not crowned till he have ended his race, and then beginnetli his glory. Judas and Demas began to serve the Lord ; but they were soon weary : their service was unrewarded, because it was uncontinued. Only he that continueth to the end shall be saved : which salvation of our souls and bodies the Lord of his infinite mercies grant, that we may aspire unto him in this life, and attain unto him in the life to come, through the merits of J esus Christ : to whom, with the Father, and the Holy Ghost, &:c. THE ELEVENTH SERMON. A SERMON MADE AT YORK. Rom. XIII. 8. Give nothing to any man, hut this, to love one another ; for he that loreth another hath fulfilled the law. 9. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shall not kill, T/wu shall not steal, Thou shalt not hear false witness. Thou shall nol covet, and if there he any other commandment, it is brief y com- prehended in this saying, even in this. Thou shall love thy neighbour as thyself. 10. Love doth not evil to his neighbour : therefore is love the fulfilling of the law. 11. And thai considering the season, that it is now time that we should arise from sleep ; for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed if. 12. The night is past, and the day is at hand: let us therefore cast away the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light ; 1.3. So that we walk honestly as in the day. Our apostle, in the former part of this chapter, liath ouglit to^be* diligently set down as well the office and authority of a "'jf/theV magistrate, as also what duty and obedience the subjects do owe unto him. He was occasioned hereunto, for that christian, the Jews, the elect nation of God (who therefore claimed to be a free people) could not abide so to subject them- selves, as to live obediently under foreign princes. The gentiles which now were become christians, thought it not agreeable to their holy profession to yield obedience unto wicked magistrates, persecutors of true religion, who by evil means had attained unto that authority, and behaved themselves as ill in it. Paul, in this treaty of a magis- trate, meeteth with both these errors. He layeth down this foundation for an absolute and a general rule : " Let every soul be subject to the higher powers," This obe- 198 THE ELEVENTH SERMON. dience he requireth both of Jew and gentile, of prophet and priest, in sum, of every Christian ; and this position he proveth by sundry forcible reasons, should 2. First, "there is no power but of God. The powers unto'tnigis- ^^^^^ ordained of him." Be the magistrate Jew trates. ^jj. gentile, christian or heathen, good or bad, he hath . his authority from God, the Magistrate of all magistrates. God hath placed him and ordained him to be thy governor ; in respect whereof thou art bound for thy conscience sake towards God for to obey him. Another reason why every soul should live in subjection to the higher power is, because whosoever resisteth the ordinance of God, pro- voketh the judgment of God against himself. If God for thy sin set a wanton, an hypocrite, yea, or an infidel over thee, thou must obey that wanton, that hypocrite, and that infidel, and not rebel against him. God hath ordained him : to resist that power is to resist the ordi- nance of God : to conspire against him is to conspire against God : to reject him is to reject God. Christ submitted himself to the authority of Cpesar, and to Pilate's judg- ment. Resisters and rebels receive to themselves condem- nation : they never have, neither ever shall, escape the heavy hand of God's wrath : they feel it often in this life ; but in the life to come, if they escape it here, they are 'sure to feel it. A third reason why Ave should live obediently is, because there is no reason why we should do otherwise. For why should any man desire not to be subject? Be- cause he is afraid of the power of kings and rulers i Princes are a terror, not to them that do well, but to evil-doers. Wilt thou then be without fear of the power? Withdraw not thyself from obedience, but do well : so shalt thou have praise, and be without fear. For this end magistrates are appointed of God to maintain the good, and repress the evil. And the magistrate is so necessary in respect hereof, that no commonwealth can be safe or long stand without him. For if the bad were not bridled more by the authority of the magistrate, than by any moderation in themselves, they would eat up the good ; and a wonderful confusion would soon follow. A fourth reason may be this. God hath put a sword in the magistrate's hands, to shew that he hath appointed OWE NOTHING TO ANY MAN^ &C. 199 him as his vicegerent to take vengeance on them which do evil. So that the very sight of the sword ought to put us in mind of his power and our obedience. For God hath not dehvered him a sword for nothing : he is the minister of God's wrath : he hath not received the sword in vain, it is given him to smite the wicked withal. 3. Wherefore "ye must be subject, not because of fob°e obeyed wrath only, but also for conscience sake." The apostle con- j-°.'^on^°''''' cludeth upon the former reasons, that we must submit science i _ ; sake, and ourselves obediently unto the magistrate, and attempt no- thing against him, not only for fear of punishment, he being the minister of God's displeasure, but also for con- science sake, in that God requireth this obedience at our hands. All this notwithstanding, if magistrates should com- mand that which is impious, and which God forbiddeth, in such cases we have our answer well warranted : Melius Acts v. [29.] est obedire Deo qiiam liominibus : " It is better to obey God than men." 4. In token of this obedience wo pay them tribute, Tribute due 1 II- 1 1 11 • • i Ti • to princes. as acknowledgmg them to be God s mmisters. It is not a strange or a new custom to pay custom to princes : all nations, all people, have ever used it and yielded it ; and magistrates well deserve it. For their office is both painful and chargeable ; they ever caring for the benefit of the commonwealth, to repress the evil, to strengthen the good, to set up virtue, to cast down vice, to defend their people and country, and in well governing, as the good ministers of God, to spend both their goods and lives. These magistrates must bo supported, and may law- fully receive the reward of their labours : nay, they must receive it. Wherefore, unless ye will be injurious, and withhold back from them that which is theirs even by debt, and not by courtesy, give to all men their duty, " tribute to whom tribute, custom to whom custom, fear to whom fear, and honour to whom honour is due." We must have magistrates in great estimation and reverence : we must fear them as the ministers of God's wi'ath : we must honour them, for that they occupy God's place for our benefit : we must readily and willingly pay unto them tribute and custom ; for God hath so appointed, and they have so deserved. And therefore the apostlo saith. Red- 200 THE ELEVENTH SERMON. (lite: "Pay it." Whereupon St Chrysostom fitly noteth, " We do not give it unto magistrates, but wo pay it unto them'." It is as due as debt. owriVmen, Upon this particular touching our duty towards God^^''^^ *° magistrates, our apostle inlerreth a general exhortation : " Owe nothing to any man but this, to love one another," &c. This exhortation compriseth two things ; our duty to our neighbour, our duty to God. Our duty to our neighbour consisteth in paying him what we owe him, and in loving him as we love ourselves. Exanipiesof 6. Owe nothing to any man, pay thy debt: pay unto have weii'^or the magistrate obedience, fear, honour, tribute, custom : eri the'^iteht ' f-H this is duo uuto him, all this is thy debt. The people of magistrates, Israel bound themselves with solemn promise to pay this debt to their magistrate Josua, whom the Lord had given fjosii.i. 16 to be their governor: "All things which thou hast com- manded us, we will do ; and whithersoever thou wilt send us, we will go : as we obeyed Moses, so will we also obey thee. Only let the Lord thy God be with thee as he was with Moses. Whosoever shall rebel against thy commandment, and will not obey thy words in all that thou commandest him, let him be put to death." This is the debt we owe to magistrates. Miriam would not pay this debt to her brother Moses ; and God plagued her with a foul Icjirosy : so that she, which had separated herself from connuon obedience, was separated from all com- pany. Dathan and Abiram, with their complices, rebel- liously murmured against their magistrate ; and God made the earth open and swallow them up ; and a number of that conspiracy he consumed with fire. Absolon rebelled, and \yould not pay this debt of obedience to his father : but God quickly paid him that which was due to his re- bellious and disloyal attempts. God is still the same God : he hateth iniquity, and will not suffer conspiracy, rebel- lion, or treason against lawful magistrates either unrevealed or unrevenged. And therefore let all subjects, as well to avoid the wrath of God, as also for conscience sake, pay [' K((i oiioi fiTTf, core, o'A\' ofKocorc, kui rac oipeiXa^ -rrpoae- O11K6V. — Chrysost. Op. Par. 1731. In Epist. ad Roin. Uoin. xxm. Tom. )x. p. (J89.— En.] OWE XOTHING TO ANY MAN, SiC. 201 this debt of true obedience in all lawful causes to their lawful magistrate. 7. Let the mafristvate pav unto the people the debt The masis- i •> 1 I _ trate is n which he oweth them. The debt of the masristratc is the ''ptitoi" to tlie people, just execution of lawful punishment against transgi'essors. a^^iieyare^ The sword is delivered unto him for that purpose : neither iiim ; iie of 1 . 1 1 , . justice, as IS any open transgression of any kmd, whether it concei'n 'they of obe- the first or second table of the law of God, or any man of any calling, be he prophet or priest, exempted from this judgment. Solomon deposed Abiathar the high priest : Jehu slew the false prophets ; Elias the Baalites. This sword is given of God to magistrates, to execute just judg- ment against all sins and all sinners ; and this part of debt is to be paid. It is also a part of the magistrate's debt to give upright sentence in matters of controversy between parties. For which cause the poets feign justice to carry a sword in the one hand, and a balance in the other ; to kill sin with the one, and with the other to weigh litigious and controversed causes. 8. Such as are magistrates, to whom the decidine: of Q""''''*'* ° , , ° qmred iii a causes and punishing offences is committed, should be chosen maeristrate. ^ Exod. xvui. out of all the people, the best and fittest men for their t^i-] wisdom and courage, their religion and hearty affection to the truth, and for the hatred which they bear to covct- ousness. For this is no office for a fool ; and ho that f'eareth not God will shew partiality : he that loveth not the tmth will justify the wicked, and condemn the inno- cent : he that hateth not covetousness will take rewards, and be corrupted with bribes, as the sons of Eli, which received gifts with the one hand, and with the other per- verted judgment. The eyes even of the wise are blinded herewithal. Fear also, affection, and commiseration, with desire to please men, are great hurts unto justice. Pilate, for fear of Caesar, gave sentence against Christ : for fear of displeasing a man on earth, he murdered the King and God of heaven. ^Vhom money cannot corrupt, affection will carry away : it is the cut-throat of all justice : the people daily both feel it, and rue it. Pity, or commise- ration, made Josua spare the miserable Gabionites, con- trary to the express commandment of God. Desire to please caused Pilate to send Jesus over unto Herod ; who Luke xxiii. L7-11.J 202 THE ELEVENTH SERMON. together with his band despised and mocked him. It caused Herod to imbrue his hands in the Baptist's blood. It causeth many, even against the hght of their own con- sciences, to justify the wicked, and condemn the man whom they find innocent. Such do very ill discharge the debt which they owe unto their brethren. nle^mfnilto- ^* "^'^^ minister is also a debtor to the people com- [Rom Tu] iiiitted to his charge. "I am a debtor," saith the apostle, " both to Greeks and barbarians, to learned and unlearned." 1 Pet. V. [2.] The pastor is a debtor unto his flock, to feed it so much as in him lieth, to feed it both spiritually and corporally ; spiritually by life and doctrine, corporally with hospitality according to his ability. Woe be to that pastor that payeth not this debt ! For if the flock perish for want of food, all that perishing blood shall be required at his hands. A hard reckoning for him to answer, and a sharp punishment to sustain for not answering. i^eirsto IQ. The flock is indebted to their pastor, to honour and to reverence him as their father, to hear him as their schoolmaster, to obey and submit themselves unto him as to one whom God hath set over them for to rule them, to observe his wholesome precepts, to follow him in life as he followeth Christ, to love him, and to minister necessaries unto him for his convenient sustentation. All this debt is set down in the scriptures ; and God requireth payment of it. The^debtof H. Thc liusbaud doth owe unto his wife due benevo- wives.ma's- lencB, tender and faithful love, provision for things needful ters, ser- . , . . . vants. and honest, wise government, good mstruction, protection, custody, and honour : the wife is indebted unto her hus- band to honour him, to love him, to obey him, to learn of him, to be governed by him, to live under him in silence with all subjection, to ease him in the orderly nurturing of his children and the wise governing of his house, to be not only an help, but a credit unto him, by her keeping home, by her industry and painfulness, by her sober, holy, and discreet behaviour. The master oweth to his servant meat, wages, correction, instruction : the serv- ant to his master honour, obedience, faithful service, and whatsoever he is able by labour to perform. Usurers bad 12. Everv man is to his neighbour a debtor, not paymasters ° OWE NOTHING TO ANY MAN, &C. 203 only of that which himself borroweth, but of whatsoever of that • 1 11 which thev his neighbour needeth ; a debtor not only to pay that he owe. oweth, but also to lend that he hath and may conveniently spare ; to lend, I say, according to the rule of Christ, "Lend, looking for nothing thereby: and your reward ^'^Y^'- shall be much : you shall be the sons of the Most High." So that these over-payments, the usury which hath spoiled and eaten up many, the canker of the commonwealth, is utterly both forbidden to man, and abhorred of God. To bargain for lead, grain, or leases, with such as have neither lead, grain, nor lease to pay, neither any such matter meant, but only unlawful gain of money, the party to forfeit his obligation, because he neither can nor meaneth such pay- ment, and the lender not content to receive less advantage than thirty at the hundred ; this is but a patched cloak to cover this vile sin withal. Whatsoever thou receivest upon condition, or by what means soever thou receivest more than was lent, thou art an usurer towards thy brother, and God will bo a revenger against thee. He whom thou shouldest obey, if thou wilt be saved, doth in express words command thee not to lend thy money for usury. If thou lend money to my people, to the poor Exod. xxii. with thee, thou shalt not be as an usurer unto him." " If Levit. xxv. thy brother be impoverished, and fallen into decay, thou ^^^'^ shalt relieve him, and as a stranger or sojourner, so shall he live with thee." And again : " Thou shalt not give to neut. xxiii. usury to thy brother, usury of money, usury of meat, ^^^'^ usury of any thing that is put to usury." This word of God man cannot dispense withal ; and it shall not return in vain. If it cannot be a converting commandment, it shall be a confounding judgment. The reasons of men for usury must give place to the precept of God against it. What man art thou that wilt be wiser than thy Maker ? Hath God condemned it, and darest thou defend it? Is it in his judgment injurious, and doth thy cen- sure think it equal ? Hath he seen reason to prohibit it, and dost thou see reason why thou mayest use it ? Such reasons, with the makers and users of them, the Lord's justice shall destroy. And yet, in truth, all reason and the very law of nature is against it : all nations at all times have condemned it, as the very bane and pestilence 20i THE ELEVENTH SERMON. of a commonwealth : whereof the old Roman both history and practice is an often witness. These secret shifts are .seen of God, and abhorred, and will be revenged. Well mayest thou escape the hands of man, by thy coloured delusions, yet canst thou not escape the sharp and swift judgment of God ; who, accordingly as he hath threat- ened, will exclude thee out of his kingdom, interdict thee his tabernacle, and hurl thee into hell, where thy evil- gotten money can neither redeem nor help thee. A just reward for thy unjust usury ! Our apostle requireth that we pay unto every man the thing that we owe. And we are as much debtors to lend freely, as others faith- fully to pay the thing which is lent. Falsehood in 13. Tlio merchant is indebted to his neighbour, the merchants . _ " payments, seller to the buyer, to deal truly with him ; not to de- fraud him by fiilse weights, false measures, false lights, false words, by swearuig and forswearing, or by any such usual but unlawful mean. One lesson observed serveth this matter : lend as thou wouldst borrow ; sell as thou wouldst buy ; do as thou wouldst be done unto. This is duty, this is debt. Pay it, and "owe nothing unto any man but this, that ye love one another." The debt of "jho debt of love is natural and continual. We love IS gene- rai and con- .^w qwc it, and WG owc it uuto all. And unto whom tmual. All ' men owe it, ^To owG it WO liBveT pay it, cxccpt WO acknowledge that and no man _ . t • i i • . payeth it so we owo it still. lu tliis debt of love A\ e must consider bnt that still he oweth it. why WO must love, whom we must love, and lastly, how we must love. Reasons \^ 'j^q qu^j^ ^hc rcasous drawu from nature, this why love is ' due debt, q^^q taken from the God of nature shall suffice. We must love because God hath so commanded, and because it is [John xiii. the fulfilling of all his commandments. " I give you a new commandment," saith Christ, " that ye love one an- other." In our new birth or regeneration we are made brethren and fellow-heirs with Christ of God's kingdom. As God therefore for ever loveth us in Christ, so we ought to love our brethren for God, and in Christ, for ever. If ye will be known to be his servants, by this men shall know you. If ye will be counted not hearers only, but also doers of the law, the law is love. He that loveth another fuliilleth the law. "W^hich the apostle proveth OWE NOTHING TO ANY MAN, &C. 205 thus. The law saith : " Tliou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness, thou shalt not covet:" that is to say. Thou shalt no way harm thy brother. Love doth no evil or hurt to any : he that loveth his neighbour will not take away his life, will not defile his bed, will not steal or rob him of his goods, will not witness untruly against him, will not in his heart covet any thing that is his ; and he that doth any of these things against him beareth not indeed hearty and true love towards him. " Therefore is love the fulfillino; of the law." So that you see great cause why we should enter into this holy and christian band of love. 16. But whom must we love? "Thou shalt love thy L-'vi'iiiiie neighbour. And who is our neighbour V Not he only to whom we are joined by familiar acquaintance, by alliance, or nearness of dwelling ; but whosoever doth need our help, ■ he is our neighbour, be he Jew or gentile, Christian or infidel, yea, friend or enemy, he is our neighbour. To him we ought to be near to do him good. It is frivolous for thee to object. He is mine enemy, he hath many ways wronged me, he hath raised slanderous reports of me, he hath practised against me, spoiled and robbed me : how can I love him ? If Christ had loved his friends only, he had never loved thee, whosoever thou art. Look upon him, wliose hands were stretched out upon the cross for his enemies, and for thee when thou wast his foe. No man proposeth him as a pattern to be followed, whom in his heart ho doth mislike. Thou mislikest thine enemy because he hateth thee : if thou hate him, then dost thou imitate the very thing which thou hatost. Love thy neigh- bour therefore without exception, and love him as thyself. 1 7. For after this manner we ought to love. No man How we . . . . ou^ht to hateth his own flesh: no man is envious of his own com- love others; AT 111 1 c 1 • namely, as modity or preferment. Natui'e breedeth a self-love in every ourselves, man. And as this law of nature doth work in us a very fervent and careful desire, both to procure unto ourselves whatsoever we are pei'suaded is good, and to avoid whatso- ever seemeth hurtful or noisome ; so the law of charity requireth at our hands like readiness and cheerfulness to benefit others. Of love towards ourselves, we hide and very warily cover all such faults as might any way work 206 THE ELEVENTH SERMON. our discredit or disgrace. If we love our brethren as ourselves, we will no more blaze their offences than our [iPet.iv.8.] own. " Charity doth hide the multitude of sms." But when we enlarge the sins of other men, that they may seem great ; or reckon them up by one and one, to make them appear as if they were many ; how fulfil we the law of charity? Would we do this in our own ti'ansgressions ? AVe arc never weary in doing good to ourselves ; but to do good to others we have no sooner begun but we are even tired. Ourselves we love not in word and shew, but in truth and in deed. If we speak deceitfully every one to his neighbour ; if we flatter with our lips ; if we carry in our heads a double tongue, and in our bodies a double heart, and say we love, we lie. Which of us being in his right mind doth lift up his fist to strike himself? If any part of our bodies be out of frame, any bone out of joint, we seek by and bye all the help we can to set it in. The name of strife and contention would never be heard of, if we were thus affected towards others. The only breach of peace is the want of love : he that loveth all men will have peace with all men. beXTrved ^8. Yet tliis doth suffer a kind of exception. " Have i"/other"' peace with all men," saith the apostle; but he addeth, Rom. XII. u jf jjjjj^y jj^j^fi much as in you lieth." It may not be, which may not be lawfully. We may not so yield unto love, that we yield unto sin withal ; not so have peace with our neighbours, that, to continue love with them, we depart from the faith and love of Grod ; or that, for peace sake, we flatter and follow our neighbour in his evil. That were to fall out with Christ, that we may keep in with men. If thy hand or eye offend thee, cut the one off, pluck the other out : love God's creation, but hate all sinfulness : the Lord also doth abhor it. And there- fore we must be well content to lose the love and bear the enmity of the whole world, for the love we bear to God and his truth. With that strife to keep this peace the Lord is pleased, Thesjeat 19, But wc are fallen into these evil times, wherein want of lov e ... i i • i i tt ^ i in these our iniquity abouudcth, and charity waxetli cold. Hearty love is turned into hearty hatred : our hands are bloody, and our hearts malicious. He livetli not. that loveth his neigh- OWE NOTHING TO ANY MAN, &C. 207 bour as himself. If we did love our neighbours as our- selves, we would not oppress them with extortion and usury : we would not undermine them, and wring them in bar- gaining : we would not so proudly contemn them, so spite- fully envy them, so impudently slander them, or so greedily practise for their infamy and discredit : we would not speak them fair, and mind them evil ; fawn on them, and betray them ; seek our credit by their reproach, our gain by their loss : when we see their necessities, we would relieve and succour them, bind up their wounds with the good Sa- maritan, and charitably provide for them. When we suffer them for want to perish in our streets, this is an evident token and manifest argument that wo neither love God, neither them that are of God ; neither him, nor hia. If the virtues which are in love be not found in us, but if contrariwise we abound in those vices from which love is free ; if we be void of patience and courtesy, full of envy and froward dealing; if we swell in pride, and care not what we do to advance ourselves above others ; if every man's care be only for himself; if our wrath be kindled with every light occasion, and any thing suffice to make us always think the worst that can be surmised, and do the worst that can be invented ; if we rather be glad at the fall of our brethren, than rejoice when they constantly abide in the truth ; if we be come to that pass, that we can in a manner suffer nothing, believe nothing, hope nothing, bear and endure nothing ; what should we say, but acknow- ledge the arrearages in which we are cast, and confess that we have left that debt of love which we owe to our bre- thren undischarged? God grant us gi-ace to amend this bad payment, lest he pay us our due punishment ! Thus much of our duty towards our neighbour set down in these words. "Owe nothing," &c. 20. Now folio weth the duty which we owe unto God. 2. . . . Our duty to And that, considermg the season, that it is now time God, repent- we should arise from sleep ; for now is our salvation nearer newness of than when we believed. The night is past, and the day is at hand. Let us therefore cast away the works of dark- ness, and let us put on the armour of light ; so that we walk honestly as in the day." Two things are here required at our liands ; to cast off th(> wor]<.s of darkness, to put 208 THE ELEVKNTII SERMO.V. on the armour of light; to put off the old man Adam, and to put on the new man Christ ; to shake off the ragged coat of sin, and to clothe ourselves with the comely vesture of innocency ; to abstain from evil, and to do good ; in a word, to repent and amend. Why we should thus do, our apostle giveth reasons : the time doth require that now we should arise from sleep : our salvation is near : the night is past, and the day hath dawned. tTuireththe' ^1. This time requireth a new life. For this is the of this'd-bt ^^^^ hour ; the acceptable time, the day of salvation ; the day when as God doth visit us in his mei'cy, calling us to the knowledge of him and of his Son Christ, by the preaching of the gospel to the saving of our souls. O that we could know the day of our A'isltation, and would take hold of this gracious time of mercy ! Arise at length, ai'ise from sin, and redeem the time past and lost. We have long, yea too, too long slumbered : it is now more than high time to arise, to arise from sleep of error, of sin, and of security. nosVin"'' 22. Many are fallen asleep in the blind errors of man's worui s'lffep- doctrine : many are yet drowned in the dregs of popery, thou"htiie preferring dreams, fancies, lies, and fables, before the hea- past"""^ venly doctrine of God's everlasting truth. The cause of this their blindness is ignorance of the scriptures : the cause of their ignorance is the hardness of their hearts. They neither know, they are so ignorant ; nor will know, they are so stubborn. ^Vhen they are exhorted to read, they close their eyes ; when to hear, they shut their ears ; when to come, they draw back their feet. If the sun shine never so bright, they see it not : if the trump sound never [Lukeviii. so loud, it vvill not waken them. Christ compareth them very aptly to the hard stony way, whereon what good seed soever is cast, is lost : it can take no root ; for either it is eaten up by birds, or trodden down by men. The stub- born-hearted and stilf-necked Jews were cast into this dead sleep, establishing their own righteousness, and rejecting the righteousness that is in Christ Jesu, reposing salvation in their external sacrifices and ceremonies ; not seeking it there where it was only to be found, in Christ, which was the sacrificed Lamb from the beginning of the world, that only takoth away the sins of the world. As those wore then, OWE NOTIIIXG TO ANY MAN, &e. 209 SO now these are ; who with the proud Pharisees justify themselves by their own defiled works ; not regarding the true justification which we have in Christ through faith ; prefemng the sacrifice of the blasphemous mass, the mere invention of man, or of Satan, before the sweet and ac- ceptable sacrifice which Christ made for us upon the cross once, not to be renewed, and sufficient, not needing help. Men they are of dull ears and of hard hearts, a rebellious and fi-oward generation, to whom whatsoever we speak, this account we may make beforehand: "Surely they will notEzek. iii. hear," neither will they arise from the error wherein Satan hath rocked them asleep, cry the prophets never so loud and so often, "Rise, O Jerusalem, be enlightened, for thy isai. ix.[i.] light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee." "The light is come into the world." Therefore, John iii. . . [19-] considering the season, it is time we should awake, lest we be unseasonably taken asleep, and so judged as we are taken. 23. Arise, thou that sleepest, whether it be in error. As many or in "sin." This sleep is so pleasant, that all the world error, so tha lieth in it, and hardly can shake it off. King David fell ™ into it, and continued in it, sleeping very soundly, never lifting up his head for two years' space, till at the length Nathan the prophet, at the commandment of God, awakened him. Zaccheus slept a long time pleasantly in his usury with heaps of evil-gotten goods under his head, till the Son of God himself called upon him and lifted him up, by whose voice he was effectually and throughly wakened; insomuch that his eyes being now opened to see the ugli- ness of his sin, wherein he had so long time before slum- bered, he not only made restitution, but also gave the one half of all his goods to tlie poor. This man awaked in an happy time. It is most dangerous to slumber long in sin. Custom of sin maketh sin familiar, so that at the length we learn not to fear it at all, but rather to take delight and pleasure in it, to commit it, as the apostle saith, with a kind of "greediness," to count sin no sin, to swallow [Eph.iv. 19.] it down without any remorse or contradiction. Their case is lamentable which are thus fallen asleep, and for the most part their end miserable. Such was the sleep of that rich man, who, havini;; filled his barns, and provided J^"'*'' " ' ' [18, 19.1 14 [sANDYS.] 210 THE ELEVENTH SERMON. store for many years, encouraged himself to sensuality : " Soul, take thy rest." You that love the rest of your souls in deed, keep your souls waking, and do not sufier Eph. V. [14.] them to take rest. " Awake, thou that sleepest," and takest thy rest : " stand up from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light." It is time to awake : we have slept too long. God would not have us to sleep unto death, but to awake unto hfe : for he will not the death of a sinner: his desire is rather that we should repent. Now is the time, now Christ calleth thee, now he stretcheth out his arms, now he offereth mercy : come unto him, and thou shalt find true rest for thy wearied soul. Long hath been thy sleep, great hath been thy sin : but God is full of compassion, prest^ and ready not only to grant, but to offer pardon. If now we refuse it offering itself to us, it will refuse us hereafter when we offer ourselves to it. secuxitj\ '° 24. Of this we are not afraid ; because we sleep as well in security as in sin. We must therefore be raised out of this sleep also. Man's life is a warfare, and men are soldiers : we must keep our standing and watch, lest we be unawares both assaulted and surprised. We have both many and mighty and fierce adversaries ; the devil, who is violently and greedily set as an hungry lion, that roareth for his prey ; the world, which hath infinite sleights to deceive us ; the flesh, which mightily striveth and wrest- leth against the Spirit. There is no place of security left for a christian soldier, there being so many great dangers. There is nowhere any place wherein it is safe to be se- Bernaiii. cure. "Not in heaven," saith Bernard, "nor in paradise; nmch less in the world ^." In heaven the angels fell from the very presence of the Godliead : Adam fell in paradise from the place of pleasure ; and Judas in the world from the school of our Saviour. In the time of Noe they lived in great security ; and the flood suddenly overwhelmed them. In the time of Lot the Sodomites lived in as great security, and were as suddenly consumed with fire. Thus with fire and water security hath been plagued. God hath P Prest — earnest. — Ed.] P Nusquam est securitas, fratres, neque in ccelo, neque in para- Jiso ; multo minus in mundo. — Bernard. Op. Par. 1G90. Semo xxx. De Diversis. Torn. iii. Vol. i. col. 1147. — En.] OWE NOTHING TO ANY MAN, SjC. 211 armed the very elements against that thing, wherein not- withstanding we continue, as if we would try whether he, which wakened them by sending water upon the one, and fire upon the other, would waken us by causing the earth to swallow us up. What we should look for, God doth best know : our security, being the same with theirs, can denounce no less to us than it brought to them. We cry, Peace, peace : what more evident token can there be, that our sudden destruction is at hand 2 Men are commonly nearest unto peril, both corporal and spiritual, when their minds are furthest from thinking of preventing it. It is written of the people Avhich were in Laish, that because they had no business with any body, nor any body with them, no man raised any tumult, or usurped any dominion in their land, and the place which they inhabited was good and lacked nothing, therefore they dwelt careless, quiet and sure. Which when the spials sent forth from the children of Dan had once perceived, they made no doubt of con- quering the land, but encouraged their brethren and set them forward: "Be not slothful to go and enter to pos- fJudp. xvUi sess the land. If ye will go, ye shall come unto a care- ^' less people : the country is large : surely God hath given it into your hands." They went up, being only six hun- dred men, came to Laish, found the people without all mistrust of danger, put them to the sword, and burnt up their city. Their peace bred plenty; their plenty, security; their security, their destruction. And as in dangers of the body, so likewise, or rather much more, in perils which beset the soul, we shall find those temptations most grievous which assault us at unawares. For this cause we are in scriptures so often called upon to be watchful. " Watch and pray," saith our Saviour, " that ye fall not Matt, xxvi into temptation." He that falleth into temptation asleep, hardly riseth out of temptation alive. For if they that watch continually be not conquerors but with much ado, what shall become of them, upon whom Satan then layeth hands, when, being lusty and strong, having whatsoever their hearts can wish, they are at peace, take their rest, and because they have no change, therefore fear not God? Surely their destruction is as the swelling of an high wall: it Cometh suddenly down, and they are fearfully consumed. 14—2 212 THE ELEVENTH SERMON. Watch therefore, and sleep not in security. Blessed is he that watclieth. ^!.uatfoi°iIi'^ -5. " Our salvation is nearer than when we believed." therefore we "^^is is the sccond reasoH why we should " cast away tlie sklp'stm in ^^orks of darkness, and put on the armour of light." We darkness, jjj^yg entered our names into the profession of Christianity in our baptism : we have received the truth by it : we seek salvation: we have been long scholars, we ought now to grow to some good perfection : we draw now near unto the end, therefore we should amend our pace in this our course. The nearer we come to the end of our race, the faster we should run, if we desired to get the reward we run for. Let us do so. And seeing the race that we have to run is even in a manner finished, and the crown we I'un for is immortal, let us be earnest in the cause, let us cast off all hinderances, and strive industriously unto that salvation which is set before us. Now that we are almost as it were within the reach of the crown of glory, let us take strength unto us, let us double our courage, in- crease our zeal, add more and more unto every good and perfect gift which we have received from the Father of light. This the nearness of our salvation doth now especially require. past."'"''* 26. Let them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow f)f death, sleep on. But unto us "the night is past." Night iii the scriptures is taken for ignorance, the times whereof are now past. The day-star is risen, and hath appeared imto us. Christ, the true light, is come into the world : he that now will walk in darkness is not blind but wil- ful, and runneth with open eyes to his own damnation. [John XV. jf ijjg iiad jjQt come into the world, "if I had not spoken unto them," saith Christ, " they might have pleaded ignorance :" but I have told them the truth; therefore they are left without excuse. Christ, that light of the world, hath appeared : his cross is painted out before our eyes. [2 Cor. iv. " If our gospel be hid, it is from them that perish, whom the god," or rather the devil, " of this world hath blinded." We are in the light : the way of truth lieth plain and open before our faces. Let not us walk now as the children of darkness. For darkness and the night are past. OWE NOTHING TO ANY MAN, &C. 213 27. " The day drcavveth near." The day of every man's Tiieiastday particuhir dissolution, and the day of that general judg- near, ment of all men. Although the day of our death be un- certain; yet, because all our days are few, our first day is no sooner come, but we are sure and certain that the last draweth near. Wherefore it behoveth us continually to watch, to look for our end, and to put ourselves in a readiness for it. For as we are found in that day, so shall we find in the day after that, the day of the glorious appearing of Christ, when all secrets shall be unsealed, all faults made manifest, and every man receive a blessing or a curse, as he hath wrought in his body good or bad. Many days are past since Christ and his apostles did count it near; therefore now it must needs draw much nearer, and be even at the door. We may now say justly, " It is time to rise from sleep. Our salvation is nearer than when we believed. The night is past, the day draw- eth on." 28. "Let us walk honestly therefore, as in the day." ""ist •' therefore We are created and redeemed to walk and serve God, "ai^ ho- , . .„ PI ncstlv, as m whose service, if we go not forward, we go backward : i" the day. we may neither lie down nor stand still, but take pains and walk. And that " honestly," having our conversation according to our good profession. We are set as it were upon a stage : the world, angels, and men, fix their eyes upon us. And if the eyes of all these were closed, yet he to whom the night and the light are all one in clearness, our eternal God, he seeth our cogitations, and searcheth our heart: he understandeth all our ways. All things lie open and uncovered unto him : he beholdeth all practices, all devices, all treacheries, all treasons, all sin. Let us walk uprightly and live honestly, as in his sight. 29. This we shall do, if we follow the counsel and "'-j'"^.''*, exhortation of St Paul ; that is, if we first " cast away works of the works of darkness." Sinful actions are called works of darkness. First, because much sin springcth out of igno- rance, which is blindness and darkness ; wherefore St Paul allegeth ignorance to be the cause why he persecuted the church of Christ. Secondly, for that sinners, because their works are evil, hate the light which discovereth them, and love darkness wherein they may conceal them. Thirdly, 214 THE ELEVENTH SERMON. because the works of sin are to be cast into that per- petual and utter darkness of hell, and bound in ever- lasting chains of darkness unto the judgment of that great day. ^tmi^the Howbeit, for that it sufficeth not to abstain from u™".""^ ^^^^■> ^^^^ required that wo should do good ; there- fore the apostle cxhorteth us not only to "cast away the works of darkness," but " to put upon us the armour of light." Wherein look, what was said why sin should bo called by the name of darkness, the like may on the con- trary side be said why righteousness should be termed by the name of light. First, for that good works are the Phil. i. [9— fruits of the light of knowledge, wherein if we " increase more and more in love, and in all spiritual understanding, we shall not only put a difference between those things that are more excellent, but be pure also and without of- fence unto the day of Christ, filled with the fruits of righteousness which cometh by Jesu Christ, unto the glory and praise of God." Secondly, because they that walk [2il"'"' honestly as in the day-time delight in the light: "For lie that doth the truth cometh to the light, that his deeds 1 John i. may be made manifest, that they are done in God," " who is light, and in him is no darkness at all." And there- fore, insomuch as they well understand that the night will come, wherein nobody shall be able to work, while they have the light they give themselves to walk m the light, that they may bo the sons of the light. And thirdly, be- cause, as Bernard saith. Bona opera non sunt camce repii, sed via regnandi^ ; " Good works are not the causes of, but the way unto the kingdom," so they lead us the way to the inheritance of saints in light, and to the fruition of [James i. that God, who as he is "the Father of lights, in whom there is no variableness nor shadow of change," so he dwelleth in a light that cannot as yet be comen^ unto: we P Alioquin si proprie appellentur ca, quae dicimus nostra merita ; spei quocdam sunt scminaria, caritatis incentiva, occultn? praedestinatio- nis indicia, futura? felicitatis prsesagia, via regni, non causa regnandi. Denique quos justificavit, non quos justos invenit, hos et magnificavit. — Bernard. Op. Par. 1C90. Tractat. de Grat. ct Lib. Arbit. cap. xiv. Tom. II. Vol. I. col. 624.— En.] p Comen — the old form of the participle of to come. — Ed.] [5.] 17.] OWE NOTHING TO ANY MAN, &C. 215 shall come to it hereafter, when we shall drink of the well of life, when in his light we shall see light. To the which everlasting life and light he bring us, who is not only the way, the truth, and the life, but God of God, Light of Light, even Jesus our Saviour : to whom, with the Father, and the Holy Ghost, three Persons, and one God, &c. THE TWELFTH SERMON. A SERMON PREACHED AT AN ASSIZES. MiCAH YI. 8. He hath shelved thee, O man, what in good, and what the Lord re- quireth of thee : Surely, to do judgment and to hve mercy, to humble thyself, and to walk carefully with thy God. Theorra- You the better understanding of the prophet in these sion of the . . ~ . . ^ above writ- few words rccited, it shall be requisite to open unto you a ten words of . . ^ . . the prophet, few circumstances concerning them, wherein I will be short. We learn in the text that goeth before in this chapter, that God was displeased with his people the Israelites. And that it might appear how just cause he had of offence given him, he challengeth them, that his graciousness to- wards them, and their unthankfulness towards him, might be examined and tried in just judgment. And God ap- pointeth the mountains to be judges herein, that is, as Jerome^ expoundeth it, the angels of heaven, whom God often useth as ministers for his glory and for the benefit of man. God declareth therefore here by his prophet, first, that he never wronged them, and therefore they had no cause to complain ; secondly, that he hath bestowed his manifold benefits upon them ; that he delivered them out of the house of bondage, from the tyrannical hands of cruel Pharaoh, whose slaves their fathers were ; that he had given them worthy magistrates, and good priests, to rule, direct, and instruct them, Moses, Aaron, Miriam ; P Judicio contende adversum montes, quos non alios significari piito quam angelos quibus rerum liumanarum commissa est procuratio. — Hieron. Op. Par. 1704. Comment. Lib. ii. in Michseae Proph. Cap. vi. Tom. III. col. 1538. — Ed.] HE HATH SHEWED THEE, O MAN, &C. 217 and lastly, that he had turned Balaam's cursings against, them into blessings towards thera. Now, after that God had thus set forth his great goodness towards them, ho chargeth them with their great unkindness towards him ; iiow they fell from the serving of him to the worshipping of false gods, by running a whoring after idols, and sacri- ficing on their hill-altars, committing most gross idolatry, and foolish superstition ; how altogether they contemned the word of the Almighty, the preaching of the prophets, were drowned in sinful security, and fed themselves with their own phantasies, the inventions and vain conceits of man. These and such like were their faults, as may ap- pear in the life of king Achaz, in whose time and reign the prophecy was written. The people, unable to gainsay so manifest a truth, were forced to plead guilty, and to acknowledge their offences, and therefore went about to seek out means how to pacify God's wath, and to satisfy for their sins ; and being doubtful by what means, or with what sacrifice, to please God and appease his anger, in- quireth, "Wherewith shall I come before the Lord?" The prophet Micheas directeth the doubtful minds of the people in this behalf, and saith, " He hath shewed thee, 0 man, what is good, and what the Lord requireth of thee." Thus in few, ye see the occasion of these words, which I have taken in hand to expound unto you. 2. And it shall not be unprofitable with like brevity P''''''eness i _ between the to apply the circumstances to us and to our times. If occasion of- ^ ^ . , . . . fered to the God should in like case contend in judgment with us, the i>roi)het of " " / those words law would accuse us, heaven and earth would bear witness then, and of the like now. agamst us, and our own consciences would condemn us. For great and manifold are God's mercies towards us ; and we render nothing again but mere and extreme ingratitude. "What have I done to thee, or wherein have I grieved [Mic.vi. 3.] thee?" saith the Lord. 3. God hath not envied us : he oweth us nothing, but he giveth us much : he hath not been grievous unto wards the o o church of us, but mercifully considered of us. He hath kept pro- England, mise with us, and performed his word, though we have neglected our faith towards him. We have often tasted of his bountiful goodness, of us altogether undeserved. Polycarpus, being required by an infidel judge to blaspheme Pl'^^'lj''''- 218 XHE TWELFTH SERMON. Christ, made this answer : " Fourscore and six years have I served him, neither did he once harm me in any thing ; how then can I bhispheme my king, that hath saved me^ T' We cannot charge our just God with any wrong, our gra- cious Lord with any unkindness towards us ; but must with Polycarpus ever acknowledge his unspeakable mercy and exceeding goodness. For as he bestowed upon his people the Israelites sundry great benefits, so hath he blessed us with the like or greater. God with a mighty arm hath delivered us out of Egypt, from the tyranny of Pharaoh, not only out of the chains and deadly thraldom of Satan and sin by the death and blood of Jesus Christ our Redeemer, but also out of the servile bondage of the great Pharaoh, though lesser than the former, the Romish antichrist, who villainously bereaved us of our spiritual liberty, robbed us of that inestimable treasure the word of God, and oppressed us with the intolerable burthen of unprofitable labours, trained us up in ignorance, forced us in idolatry and superstition, the ways to hell, to seek our safety and everlasting life. But God in his mercy hath remembered us to do us good, and to work our deliver- ance, of bondslaves to make us free men, of the chil- dren of darkness to make us the sons of light in him, and to restore us to the comfortable freedom of conscience by the gracious liberty of the gospel. God hath also blessed us with good magistrates : he hath not only given us his Son Christ, the Prince of his people, who, by offering up himself a sacrifice for our sins, procured vmto us free re- mission of them; but hath also blessed us with worthy rulers under him, which govern in equity, and sincerely seek the glory of God. He hath given us Moses our sovereign, a prudent and a gentle magistrate, who seeketh not revenge, but beareth with the muttering of the people ; yea, with the rebellious Dathan and Abiron, choosing rather to put up any tolerable wrong, than to see the ruin and subversion of men, though they seek it themselves. He hath also given us Aaron and Miriam, priests and pro- phets, to minister unto us the heavenly bread, the food of our souls, the word of God, the sacraments of Christ; 17 Euseb. Pamph. Hist. Eccl. Amst. 1695, p. 107.— Ed.] HE HATH SHEWED THEE, O MAN, &C. 219 and that most faithfully and sincerely, without changing or mingling. And as I said of late in this place, so I say again, England hath at no time heretofore been blessed with so many and so faithful preachers of God's word. Surely God mindeth your salvation, in that he so plenti- fully offereth unto you the word of salvation; nor that only, but therewithal peace, plenty, and rest, such as our ftithers never tasted of in their ages. 4. Which mercies and blessings poured upon us in so qji^'Jj^j great measure should in reason enforce us to praise him ihe Lord " ... for his good' our God, and to serve him in true holiness all the days "^ss. of our life, from the fountain of whose imspeakable good- ness we have received them. The Israelites (their strange deliverance out of Egypt, their good magistrates, their manifold blessings, benefits, and graces notwithstanding) were found unthankful. And if God shall enter into judgment with us, and throughly examine us (as one day he will), may we not be accused, and shall wo not be found guilty, of the like ingrateful crime? Have wo not a longing, as they had, unto that from which the Lord hath delivered us in great mercy? God hath blessed us with both magistrates and ministers of great value ; but so thankful are we to him and to them his servants, that we can easily abuse both, mutter against the one, and despise the other: neither is obeyed, neither reverenced, according to the word and will of God. But such as cannot away with Samuel, God in his wrath shall give them a Saul ; and such as mislike of the true preacher shall be rewarded with a false prophet. The word is loathed : men are full of the gospel ; and of many it is professed without all fruit : we shall therefore hunger for this bread, seek it, and not find it : in the stead hereof, we shall surfeit upon the fruit of our own desires : yea, God in his justice shall take his word from us, and give it to a people that will bring forth better fruits, and more worthy of so precious a blessing. Thus truly considering our case, and entering into judgment with God, we must with the Israelites plead guilty, and, as profess his mercies, so confess our faults. 5. The guilty Israelites sought means how to satisfy whicii incn for their sins. Their means were to sacrifice to God, and Ibr remedy of this. 220 THE TWELFTH SERMON. to offer up calves, rams, and goats ; yea, some have not shrunk to pour the blood of their own children upon the [3Kingsiii. altar, as Moab, who offered up his eldest son to pacify the wrath of God, when in battle he was besieged and brought into straits. Even by like means, when our con- science hath accused us of sin, many have sought to make satisfaction to God for it : some have sought remission of sins in a great number of prayers uttered in a strange tongue without either sense or zeal, neither made in faith nor charity, procuring hatred in God's sight, while they looked to be heard by their much babbling: some have sought to pacify God by hearing and buying of many masses, wherein God was blasphemed, and foul idolatry committed ; some by killing of Christ, the first-begotten Son, again, sacrificing him afresh, as they thought, upon their hill-altars for the dead and the quick ; but they were deceived : some by the mediation of saints departed, robbing Christ of his office, who is the only mediator and intercessor between God and man : some have thought to make amends for their sins by buying popish pardons, by taking their walks in long pilgrimages to dumb and sense- less idols, and in such like not only vain but impious de- vices of man's foolish brain. Thus sundry have sought out sundry ways, some blasphemous, and some of them ridiculous, to appease the wrath of God provoked by their sin. The Israelites doubted by what mean to satisfy for their sin : what God would accept, they could not tell : they were altogether uncertain which way to please him ; and truly it is lamentable that there be so many even now in the clear light of the saving gospel, which doubt by what means they may be saved ; and in this doubtful- ness many still follow their own phantasies, and through ignorance are led into the highway of damnation. Where- fore such as are doubtful, our prophet Micheas clearly resolveth : such as are out of the way, he calleth into the right path : such as are ignorant, he instructeth ; and such as will learn, he offereth to teach what the good will and pleasure of the Lord is. The way g. "He hath shewed thee, 0 man, what is good and which God _ ' ' o hath pre- acceptable to him surely not to take upon thee to sa- scribed by . ^ . •' ^ his prophet, tisfy for sin thyself, for that passeth thy power, all thy HE HATH SHEWED THEE, 0 MAN, &C. 221 righteousness being but filthiness in the pure sight of God ;• not to offer up any sacrifice, as being in itself propitiatory for sin, for that Christ only hath done on the cross, and that but once, and that for all : he is the only sacrifice, the only priest, the only mediator, the only Redeemer. The price of our salvation is neither gold nor silver, but the precious blood of the innocent Lamb of God, Christ Jesus, shed for the sins of the world: "there is no other name Acts iv. [12.] under heaven, whereby we can be saved."" God requireth therefore no satisfaction for sins at thy hands, but at his he hath required it to the uttermost : Christ is thine : God Roni. viii. hath freely given thee both him, and with him all things that are his. If thou receive him through a true faith, thy salvation is sealed, and thou art safe. " For as many Joim i. [12.] as have received him, to them he hath given power to be the sons of God, even to them that believe in his name." If thou confess with thy mouth, and believe in thy heart, that thou art delivered from thy sin by that one oblation of Christ, offered upon the cross ; that his merit hath made thee the child of his Father, and the inheritor of that kingdom which he hath prepared for as many as are his ; then apply thyself to live after the will and commandment of him that hath done so great things for thee : shew thy faith by thy life : let it appear and be seen in thy works, that thou art indeed the loving and the justified child of God, ready and desirous to obey and do his will. And lest in thy worldng thou shouldest follow thine own phantasy, and do that which is not acceptable in the sight of God, ho hath laid out thy way before thee. 7. "He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good, 1^;°,^™ and what the Lord requireth of thee : surely, to do judg- ^^J'^'j; ascod ment and to love mercy, to humble thyself, to walk care- prescnbeth. fully with thy God." Wherein we first learn this lesson, that no service we do to God can please him, but such as himself in his word hath prescribed : he will be served as he hath commanded in his law, and not as thou hast devised with thyself. That service which God in his word doth not require at thy hands, if thou offer it him, it is in vain thou offerest. The Lord hath not asked it, and he will not accept it of thee. " In vain they worship 222 THE TWELFTH SERMON. me, teaching doctrines the pi'ecepts of men." It is not for nothing that God was so curious in platting forth the tabernacle, and so precise in commanding that all things without exception should be done according to that pattern. Was God so careful over an earthly and a corruptible house, think you ? No : his meaning was to teach us that in the spiritual tabernacle, in matters of religion, pertaining to the service and worship of God, all things should be done according to the rule of his own will, which is set down in his written word. For hath he not said in the Deut. xii. Ijiw, " What I command thee, that only shalt thou do : Kev.^xxii. thou shalt neither add nor diminish"? He that addeth, God shall add unto him all the plagues ; he that taketh away, God shall take from him all the blessings, contained Clem. Alex, that book. " The doctrine of Christ," saith Clemens Alexandrinus, " is most absolute, neither wanteth it any thing'." God is well pleased, when men are so rehgiously affected, that they dare not swerve a hair's breadth from Cyprian, j^jg Cyprian saith, " The foundation of all reli- gion and faith is laid in the word of God'"." And St Jerome, " That which hath not authority out of the word of God is altogether as easily refused as proved^" Which rule of religion if the Latin church had as well observed, as it is both in the scriptures often given, and often com- mended by the godly fathers, the church of Christ had never been burthened with so many unprofitable traditions and new inventions of men : so many superstitions, so great idolatry, so ugly pollutions, had never found entrance into ^ AutoteAjj? fjitv ovv Ktti a.TrpocrCerj'; kutu tov ^wrrjpa dicaa- KaX'ia, BJi/ajui? ovaa kui "''aii'y- ment is committed, take heed unto it. Let it not spare mighty men ; for their sins are mighty sins. If such offend, their fall draweth down others with them. God therefore conimanded Moses to hang up the princes of the people upon gibbets, that they might be examples of punishment who had been examples in sinning. The good consul Junius Brutus spared not his own sons, but cut off their conspiring heads ; and Aulus Fulvius, in the like case, did the like thing. Pilate abused his office, when upon suit he spared captain Barabbas the nmrderer, and killed Christ our Saviour. Spare not traitors, murderers, or thieves, lest you be partakers of their sins. Your lenity towards them is cruelty towards the commonweal, the enemies of whose peace they are. Serve God in fear, love his truth, promote his gospel. The seat, the judg- ment, the sword, is the Lord's : defend therefore his cause, see to the keeping of his statutes, enlarge his kingdom, advance his glory : for he hath promised to glorify them [i Sam. ii. that honour him, but they that despise him shall be full ^"^'^ base : he shall make them vile and contemptible. 1 6. " Doing of judgment"" may also generally be taken for iust dealing. Justice is a virtue which jriveth every t'e . ^ . . . •' all the deal- man his own. Render unto everv man that which is his. in^sgene- /. 1 • 1 1 1 nillyofall Let every man perform his office and fulfil his duty : let men. every man do right one to another : do as you would be done unto. If this law were observed, the people should be eased of great expences, judges and justices of great travail. Christ saith, If a man take thy coat from thee,'" [Matt.v.4o.] rather than strive, "give him also thy cloak." " There i cor. vi. is verily a fault amongst you, because ye go to law one ^'^'^ with another : why do you not rather suffer wrong V Why do ye not rather sustain any kind of tolerable harm? Abraham gave place to Lot, and would not contend : his only reason was, " we are brethren." But brotherhood is Gen.xiu.[8.] now-a-days no argument of agreement : our times are so unlike their times, and we so unlike them. There were no better moan in my opinion to bridle these qu.irrelling and contentious minds of wranglers, than to burthen such 15—2 228 THE TWELFTH SERMON. as fail in their cause with great expences and amercia- ments. It would make them beware of quarrels and unjust contending, if they were sure to pay well for it. Do judg- ment : deal justly one with another : pay unto all men that which is due : that which is not due seek not to have at any man's hands. dojud'^"^' 17. The second duty to our neighbour is "mercy:" must'aisJ^'^ " ^^^^^ shewed thee, O man, what is good, and what J^J;?,™J;^'=y ; the Lord requireth of thee: Surely, to do judgment, and doth not"* to love mercy." " Be merciful," saith our Saviour, " as jud-I-e^ your Father is also merciful." This mercy, as Christ there Lilke vi teacheth, will shew forth itself in three properties. First, [36, 37.] it will bridle that uncharitable rashness of judging and condemning others. NoUte judlcare : " judge not." Mercy will not be hasty to judge. There be judgments civil, and judgments ecclesiastical ; judgments public, and private judgments. Christ neither forbiddeth the magistrate, nei- ther the public minister, tp judge according to the law ; neither the parent or master, to judge and correct their offending children or servants. It is uncharitable private judgment which God forbiddeth, when men unadvisedly take upon them to give sentence of others, as if God had resigned his own right into their hands : they con- demn whom they list, and say what they list : even as they fancy, so they judge. This man is a saint, and that man a sinner; he the servant of God, and he the child of death. Who art thou that so judgest another's serv- ant \ Is it not to his own master only to whom he stands or falls? Who art thou that takest such severity upon thee? that dealest so unmercifully with thy brother? He is a sinner: so thou either art, or hast been, or mayest be: judge therefore thyself, try and examine thine own works. Judge, I say, thyself, and judge not him, lest thou be condemned of the Lord for both not judging Gal. vi. [1.] and judging. " If a brother be overtaken with a fault, ye that are spiritual shew mercy : restore him with the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted." Verily this merciless judging of others is the cause why we fall into many perils and secret temptations. Love mercy therefore; and judge not. He that judgeth with the Pharisee with the Pharisee shall be judged. HE IIATH SHEWED THEE, O MAN, &C. 229 18. Another fruit of "mercy" is forgiveness. They Lovers^of who are hasty to judge are for the most part in for- J^^'J^'^^^'pu^ giving slow. But " forgive, and ye shall be forgiven." ^'^^i^f^^l^^- Howbeit, such as sit in judgment ought to correct and 37.] not to remit ; because they deal not with injuries done to themselves, but to the laws and commonwealth, or church : but in private injuries we must all remember the words, and follow the example of our Saviour: "Be merciful and forgive." Christ forgave them that put him to death ; Stephen, them that stoned him ; J oseph, them that sold him ; the king, his unthrifty servant one thou- sand talents. If we ibrgive not others, it is in vain to pray that which we daily pray : " Forgive us." For so doth Ecclesiasticus well teach us : " He that seeketh venge- eccIus. ance shall find vengeance of the Lord ; and he will 5.] surely keep his sins. Forgive thy neighbour the hurt that he hath done to thee : so shall thy sins be forgiven thee also, when thou prayest. Should a man bear hatred against man, and desire forgiveness of the Lord ? He will shew no mercy to a man that is like himself ; and will he ask for- giveness of his own sins? If he that is but flesh nourish hatred, and ask pardon of God, who will entreat for his sins?" And our Saviour's commandment is: " If thou bring- Matt. v. * [23, 24.] thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee ; leave there thine offer- ing before the altar, and go thy way : fii'st be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift." Where- unto St Chrysostom alluding saith, " That God had rather want thy sacrifice due to him, than reconciliation should not be made between th^e and thy brother'." 19. The next and third fruit of " merev" mentioned '^^'"'''^''"''^ men are by our Saviour is, " Give, and it shall be given unto you." iiou"tifui. / O J [Luke VI. He that loveth mercy giveth alms; but the covetous man ^s.] is cruel. God is so careful to have the poor relieved, that he hath bound himself by promise to make alms most gainful to the giver : so that it is not in this as in other common expences, l)ut " whatsoever we lay out, that wo Q 1 1 '/a o uv yevoiro tovtwv t^fxepdrepov twv prjjMTusv ; ckkott- TetrOco, (ptjdtv, e/irj XciTpcla, "va ij arj ctyclin] pLe'ivif eirei kui tovto dvffta, tj Trp(k Tov dceXipuv KaraWayi']. — Chrysost. Op. Par. 1727. In Matt. Horn. xvi. Tom. vii. p. 21G.— Ed.] 230 THE TWELFTH SERMON. rprov.xix. ^,p_" a j^j^ ^^^^^^ gj^.p^]^ ^j^^ p^^^. leiicleth to the Lord," a siiro discharger of his debts to the uttermost : for he leaveth not a cup of cold water given in his name unrcwai'dcd. The occasions which we have to shew forth this fruit of mercy are very many and great : we have the poor with us, and we have them with us in great numbers. Are we not worse than Jews, if we suffer our Christ, at whose hands we have received all our riches, in his naked and hungry members to beg his bread at our doors, and pitifully to die even in the midst of our streets for distress, for cold and hunger? If our gospel bring forth instead of mercy this cruelty, instead of kindness this hardness of heart, doubtless God will take his precious gospel from us, and give it to a people that will bring forth better and sweeter fruit. Now, if the love of God and mercy towards our brother cannot pierce our flinty hearts, yet let shame of the world compel us, and our own commodity induce us well to consider of this lament- able case. If that which is given were given in good order, it would ease this common grief. By good order and wise provision the impotent might be so relieved that they should not need to beg, and such as are able might be forced in the sweat of their brows to eat their own bread. And if the matter were taken in hand by them by whom it should, I do not doubt but God would touch the hearts of many a man with tender mercy, that they would both cheerfully and liberally contribute to this work of mercy, which God doth more esteem than any other sacrifice : nay, he refuseth sacrifice and craveth this. The Lord ioveth a cheerful and a bountiful giver, and will plen- tifully reward him. Let every good man set forward this work : it is the work of the Lord, the fruit of mercy, good and gainful, not only to others, but also to ourselves. For behold how the works of mercy do return back again unto them from whom they proceed. "Judge not, and you yourselves shall not be judged. Forgive, and ye shall be for- given yourselves : give, and it shall be given unto you." Jito-cthcr"^ which notwithstanding, the bowels of com- inpn iicss passion are in some men so marvellously dried and closed up, that they turn away their faces from all men that desire any thing at their hands, though they ask it not HE IIATIl SHEWED THEE, O MAX, &C. 231 of gift, but of loan, unless they ask to buy the loan with usury. The Jews even to this day will not lend upon usury among themselves, but lend freely to their brethren and without gain. Judas himself, that sold his Master for money, was not more cruel hearted, I suppose, than these men are, who for money devour their brethren. Their hearts are iron hearts. They have no spark of pity or compassion left in them. Let them not thinlc but that one day their gain shall bo their exceeding loss. If Chry- sostom thought that one evil-gotten groat laid up amongst a chest full of money would be as a canker to fret out and eat up the rest, what shall become then of so much gotten by so unmerciful and ungodly means? Where is love, where is mercy, when lending of money is become merchandise ? Enough hath been said in this place of this matter : which if it be not amended, bo ye assured that the Lord God in his just wrath will plague you both in yourselves and in your posterity for it. 21. Now that we have seen what duty we owe to fluty to- men, let us see what God requiretli to be performed unto ",!jj|'i[j,,\''re. himself. "He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good." 'i"'"';;"' ' ' ~ our hands. Our duty towards him is to humble ourselves, and to walk carefully with our God. He that will walk with God must be of an humble heart. It is the mild-hearted, and not the proud-minded ; the publican, and not the Pharisee, that walketh with him. 22. To v/alk with him is to bo sincerely and heartily wiiat it is to _ walk with careful to set forward his cause, to promote his gospel, to God. defend his trutii, to amplify his kingdom to the uttermost of our powers. Princes and they that judge the earth, whom God hath blessed with so high an honour, espe- cially should in fear and reverence serve their God, love his word and gospel, earnestly and cheerfully advance, maintain, and defend true religion. They are able to do most good; and therefore most is required of them. Bishops and ministers, the dispensers of God's blessed mysteries, ehould carefully travail in their Lord's cause and glory, in season and out of season to preach the gospel, even so much as in us lieth : or else the of God, which hangeth over our heads, shall be poured down upon us. But the [' 'W^o.— Ed.] 232 THE TWELFTH SERMON. saying of St Paul is verified in these our days npon all [Phil. ii. 21.] sorts of people: "All men seek their own." The prefer- ring of true religion, the seeking of God's glory, is the least part of men's care or thought. It was otherwise with Moses, who both loved God's service with perfect love, and hated superstition with perfect hatred. Theodosius, for want of this warmness and zeal in God's quarrel, suffered by his too much lenity the Arians, who denied Christ to be God, (juietly to spread abroad their heresies in his domi- nions, without check or controlling. The good bishop Am- philochius upon this occasion repaired to the emperor, who had at that time with him his son and heir Arcadius. The bishop did his obeisance and duty to the emperor, but saluted not his son; wherewith the emperor finding fault, said. Why salute ye not our son, who shall sit on our seat? No, emperor; for so much as thou dost not care for the Son of God, but sufferest him to lose his honour and place, neither shall thy son be regarded or sit on thy seat. Here, at his own cause called into question, he waxed warm, and forthwith expelled the Arians out of his dominions'. Many of them who are hot in their own matters, are cold in God's cause. Yet our prophet biddeth us carefully to walk with our God, and to be earnest in seeking of his king- dom and glory. He which 23. Be careful over your conversation: give no cause with God of slander to them which arc \vithout, or of offence to the must walk ,. , , , i t t i -i carefully, little oncs : let not the gospel be discredited bv your be- especially if , ox %> j God have havioui'S. Be careful that the light of your life so shine made him iii i • i it-ii asit^were beioro the woi'Id, that therein your heavenly leather may amongst be glorified. Ye ought to shine as lights : take heed that your light be not turned into darkness. Be bright stars, and not misty clouds. If an eclipse fall amongst you, the rest of England will be darkened with it. Ye are seen and marked of men and angels. The world hath many eyes, ears, and tongues. London, Westminster, the inns of court and chancery, from whence the best and most of you do flow, are as a fountain from > whence should spring all true religion, all piety, virtue, and godly conversation. If this spring be corrupted, the rivers that flow from it must needs be polluted. If blasphemous popery, full of idolatry [1 Sec before, pp. 41, 73.— Ed.] HE HATII SHEWED TUEE, 0 MAN, &C. 233 and superstition, if vain and puffed-up pride, if wicked avarice and intolerable usury, the great canker of the com- monwealth, if belly-cheer and filthy whoredom, if subtile and false dealing, if counterfeit and feigned friendship, if flattery and dissimulation, bo the water of this your well ; doubt you not but that all England will drink thereof, and they being poisoned by your ill example, their blood shall be required at your hands. 24. Walk therefore, and walk on, go forward. For They which " . walk witli if ve be in the way of life, not to go forward is to go God must . , . , , ° stillwalkon. backward. If ye be entered into this happy path, step not aside, give not back. A dog returning to his vomit is a foul and an ugly thing to behold. Take heed, I say, of backsliding. It is a dreadful thing to forsake Christ, and to be ashamed of the gospel. He that tasteth of this sweet gift of God, the gospel of Christ, and falleth back from it, he is a tormentor, as much as in him lieth, and a crucifior of the Lord of glory. Walk therefore, go on from strength to strength, from virtue to virtue. Ye have been heretofore often moved ; but what effect hath it taken ? God grant that there be not a retiring from strength to weakness, from virtue to sinfulness ! It is to be feared that many men's wonted zeal is transformed into cold security, their liberality into greediness and biting usury, charity into envy, sobriety into wantonness, humility into pride and haughtiness. This is the common walking of men, for whom it were far better if they stood still. The apostle could not mention them but with tears. "There are many [pw. iii.is, which walk," saith he, " of whom I have told you often, and now tell you weeping, they are enemies of the cross of Christ : their belly is their god, their glory is in their shame, their end is damnation." 25. Walk not as these do in darkness, but in lig-ht. ^^e aii walk Ijctorc Ciod "God is light:" walk therefore "with God." And then yebutnotaii' . , •' with God. do that which he rcquireth at your hands. Walk with him : [iJohni. 5.] for howsoever we walk, we are sure to walk before him. We cannot shun his eye : if we fly up into heaven, he is there : if we go down into hoU, there he is also. He seeth things done in light, and beholdeth that which is covered with darkness : he is privy unto men's thoughts : he knew the spiteful and malicious purposes of the scribes and Pharisees : 234 THE TWELFTH SERMON. he espied Adam biting the forbidden fruit : he looked upon Cain shedding his brother's blood : he perceived the secret pins of Sodom: he understood the corruption of Giezi\ and made it manifest : he saw the double heart of Judas, who kissed his master and betrayed him : he beheld Siba when he falsely and traitorously accused Mephiboseth unto David. The cloaked adultery and murder, which David had covered with clouds of policy, could not be hidden from his eye : the lie of Ananias was written in capital letters before him, plain to be read : the sleights and conveyances of the usurer cannot be covered with fig-tree leaves from the sight of the Almighty : there is neither bribe given nor taken, but God looketh upon it : there is no treachery nor treason that can be hid from him, Dominus mdet'-, is a short, but a good lesson. I beseech you, learn it and remember it, that it may teach you to walk always as in the sight of the Lord, who will be a swift witness and a fierce judge against evil doers who walk with Satan. Which thing, rightly and duly con- sidered and weighed, would bridle these untamed affections of ours, and terrify men from these heinous and wilful sins. Our Lord grant this good effect for his great mercy's sake ! Thus have you heard the occasion, explication, and application of these the prophefs words ; what way we may please God and pacify his wrath ; what we owe to our neighbours, namely, to deal justly and mercifully with them, not rashly to judge of them; easily to forgive them, and liberally to give unto them ; what we owe likewise to our gracious God, to wit, to humble ourselves lowly before his majesty, and carefully, zealously, and continually to walk in his presence. To this God, even our good and merciful Father, with his Son our Saviour, and the Holy Ghost our Sanctifier, three Persons and one God, be all honour and glory world without end. Amen. Giczi — Geliazi. — En.] [2 The Lord seeth.— Ed.] THE THIRTEENTH SERMON. A SERMON MADE IN YORK, AT A VISITATION. Matt. XXI. 12. And Jeans went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that xold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the nionerj- changer.s, and the seats of them that sold doves, 13. And said to them, It is written, Mine house shall he called the house of prayer : but ye have made it a den of thieves. The church and spouse of God hath been ever most '^}'^^''[,'' dear to the children of God. Godly princes have always ?ro'i'y carefully ti'a vailed for the good preservation and govern- of tiie ment thereof. David, that princely prophet, Solomon, that wise and mighty king, Jehosaphat, Ezckias, Josias, Zoro- babel, with others most religious and worthy men, which bare excellent rule in their dominions, have painfully tra- vailed not only to build, to amplify, and to enlarge the kingdom of God by setting forward true religion, but also to purge and reform his temple by taking a\vay such de- filements and corruptions as grew by means of careless government. The apostles of Christ both among the Jews and gentiles did first plant churches by the diligent i)reach- ing of the gospel, and afterward with like care and dili- gence visit them to sec in what state they stood, that, if any thing were gone to decay, it might in time be repaired. This is recorded unto us in the history of their acts and deeds, and namely in the fifteenth chapter. Christ the Actsxv.rse.] anointed King and Priest, the great Shepherd of the sheep, the perfect example given us to follow, did not only go about through all Galilee and the coasts of Jewry, preach- ing the glad tidings of the gospel, and confirming his heavenly doctrine with wonderful miracles ; but, as it is in this present history declared, perceiving that through 236 THE THIRTEENTH SERMON. the subtilty of Satan, and covetousness of the priests, the temple of God was profaned, in his pastoral care ho visited it, and in the zeal of God voided them out which did defile it. How the fathers of the church, and chief pastors, have with great care and diligence every where, at all times, in all ages, done the like, I need not declare unto you : the histories are plain and plentiful. And thus con- sidering my calling and the charge committed unto me, I thought myself by these former examples in duty forced and in conscience bound not only, as much as in me lieth, to feed the flock of Christ, but also to view and see in what state the church of God committed to my * oversight and government standeth. And as Christ began with the most magnificent temple of Jerusalem, which he found profaned and polluted through the practice of the priests ; so thought I it convenient and meet first to visit this most ancient and famous church, the head and example to all the rest, well hoping to find it in better order. Thecimrch 2. That wc may learn by the doctrine and example jiurpeii, and . the use of Christ how we ought to use ourselves in the house of thereof ° shewed, by God, as well for the establishing of true religion and of the snicere servmg of God, as also for the expelling of that which is vain, corrupt, and counterfeit, there are in this action of Christ two things especially to be considered of: First, he cometh to Jerusalem, entereth into the temple, findeth it full of corruption, and doth purge it : Secondly, he teacheth the true use of it, and sheweth them their fault who did abuse it. The enter- g. Christ coming towards Jerusalem was at the first tainmcnt or _ , ^ , , Christ and highly magnified and received with applause of the people, his minis- J o ^ i x r i ' ters in the cryinsT, " Hosanua, Blessed is he that cometh King in the vorld, wlien „ , t i • i i • i ,i tiiey so name of the Lord ; peace m heaven and glory on high. about to do , . ^ . i t i • o thewoikof But this fair weather did not long continue. So soon as the Lord. . i i , • n • Lukexix. hc entei'cd into the city and taught, the chiei priests, the scribes, and the princes of the people sought to destroy him : yea, the people Avhich before gave so great ap- plause, crying, Hosanna, soon after cried with a loud voice, Crvcifige^. The gospel in prosperity hath many pretensed friends and favourers ; but when it is persecuted by the wise and mighty men of the world, then these [1 Crucify him.— Ed.] AND JESUS WENT INTO THE TEMPLE OF GOD, &C. 237 counterfeits shew themselves in their own colours : the hoUowness of their hearts is then descried. Let the minister therefore, which mindcth indeed the glory of God, beware that he never depend upon men, whoso minds are changeable and always wavering; but let him rest upon God, and rely himself wholly upon his provi- dence. Let us all faithfully and painfully travail in our function, making ourselves ready for the cross, patiently to suffer with Christ Jesus. 4. Being come to the city, he straightway entered p^psvs en- mto the temple, either, as Gregory noteth, to declare quod the temple. ex culpa sacerdotum ruina popidi\ "that the fault of the priests is the ruin of the people," and therefore his prin- cipal care was to correct and reform them ; or else to give all men an example of diligence in repairing to the house of God. 5. Having entered the temple, he findeth there, in- The state stead of pastors teaching the word of God, drovers and found the brokers making sale ; instead of pews for prayer, tables Jerusalem, for exchange ; instead of righteous men, brute beasts ; thieves, instead of a sanctified congregation. Thus he found the church of Jerusalem disfigured and forlorn : this was the state of that synagogue, at what time he came to visit it. 6. How to proceed in reforming a church so greatly ^^^i^etiffo disordered, our Saviour hath taught us by his own practice refoim the . church by amongst the Jews. He entered into the temple, threw pursing: it. out the men that bought and sold, whipped out the beasts, poured out the changers' money, turned their tables upside- down, overthrew the seats of them that sold doves, and withal told them, Scriptum est, " It is written." 7. In that we read how Christ did all these things, uy whom we are thereby given to understand, at whose hands we should be' must expect reformation of things amiss in the church of when things God. Christ had authority to cast out of the temple be'^amis"'! whatsoever dis})leased him, because he was su])reme Lord over it. The persons therefore to whom this work of reformation belongeth are not all men indifferently, but they only to whom he hath granted the seat of special Greg. Papae I. Mag. Op. Par. 170.5. In Evangel. Lib. ii. Horn, xxxix. Tom. i. col. 1G4G. — Ed.] 238 THE THIRTEENTH SERMON. authority in his church. If they whom he hath set over his house as principal servants, guides and stewards, either civilly or spiritually, as Moses or as Aaron, to rule and govern it until his coming, shall, in such manner as agreeth with their several places and callings, perform his duty in the church of Christ ; whosoever in such proceedings with- standeth them, the same undoubtedly rebelleth against God. Yea, I say further, when God hath given his ['•23.']"^'^' P<3ople kings which are as nursing fathers, and queens which are as nursing mothers to his church ; when princes are not enemies but professors of the faith, and protect- ors of the faithful ; their hands ought to be chief in this work : neither is it lawful for subjects, of what degree and order soever, by themselves to attempt alteration and change in the church of God, though it be from worse 2jvingsxxii. to better. In the days of Josias, Helkiah, although ho were the Lord's high priest, and knew things to be very much out of order, did not thereupon, according to the custom of the turbulent and seditious, by word or writing- alienate and estrange the minds of the people from tho present kind of government either of the church or public weal, but peaceably and orderly ho sent Shaphan the chancellor to the king ; who, perceiving the things which were amiss, went immediately up to the house of the Lord with all the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jeru- salem with him, and the priests and prophets and all the people, where, the faults and abuses being clearly set down that every one might see them, he gave commandment to Helkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the door, to bring out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels that were made for Baal. Thus the prince did his duty, and the priests theirs ; he by injunction, and they by execution ; they instructing him, and he strengthening them in the work cf the Lord. Seeing therefore we have on the one side (the name of the Lord be blessed for it !) the highest power zealous for the glory of God, as theirs was ; let not us, whom this care ought especially to touch, shew ourselves less ready than they were to bring out of the temple of the Lord all such filthy corruptions, as are crept into it by tho wicked dealings of those ungodly men AND JESUS WENT INTO THE TEMPLE OF GOD, ScC. 239 which care not how shamefully they pollute and defile it ; let not us, whom the Lord hath made the overseers of his house, be slothful in proceeding to sweep, cleanse, and purge it, according as laws and statutes have wisely pro- vided in this behalf ; let us consider that we are the Lord's labourers, that the work we have in hand is his husbandry, that our duty is as well "to destroy" as " to Jji-. i. [ic] build," "to root out" as "to plant." 8- But what is that which we must labour to destroy ? ^^'.i''' "■■>,s what weeds be those which we must endeavour to root out ? ''i"i"'">t''e We read here, that our Saviour did cast buyers and sellers out of the temple, terming them " thieves." For although to buy and sell be actions in themselves lawful and honest, yet the time and place, with other circumstances, may so change their quality, that he which buyeth shall be as one that robbeth, and he that selleth as one that stealeth. They bought and sold in the temple : this Christ con- demnetli. Yet behold what a beautiful colour they had set upon their wicked practices, to make them seem al- lowable before men. For of the judgment of God they made no account. It is written in the law, " Thou shalt eat i'*""*- . [23— 26.J before the Lord thy God, in the place which he shall choose to cause his name to dwell there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the first-born of thy kine, and of thy sheep, that thou mayest learn to fear the Lord thy God alway. And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it, because the place is far from thee, where the Lord thy God shall choose to set his name, when the Lord thy God shall bless thee, then shalt thou make it in money, and take the money in thine hand, and go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose ; and thou shalt bestow the money for whatsoever thine heart desireth, and shalt eat it there be- fore the Lord thy God, and rejoice both thou and thine household." Under pretence of providing that, according to this law, men which dwelt far off might always, at their coming to the temple, have sacrifices there and offerings in a readiness to present before the Lord, their covetous humour fed itself upon the people without all fear of God, without any reverence at all of his sanctuary. May they not justly be termed " thieves," who, pretending thus to serve 240 THE THIKTEENTH SERMON. the Lord in his sacrifices, robbed and spoiled him in his saints? No doubt Jerusalem, had she known the things which belonged to her peace, would have blessed the hour wherein the Lord of the house came to ease that holy place of so intolerable burthens, to rid his temple of so noisome filth. What we ]^o-w because the root, from whence these abuses should re- ' form in the ^^^^ corruptions grew, was the settled wickedness where- cliurch, ac- _ i o ' chriit'se" ^^'^'^ hearts both of the priests and people were pos- ampie. sessed, therefore we may, without swerving from the true intent of this history, take occasion here to note some special pollutions of the mystical temple of God, which is his church, and to shew the great necessity of removing them : wherein (as the present occasion of our assembly at this time requireth) I will especially touch such as pro- perly belong to that part of the church which hath the spiritual regiment of the other. This therefore is the prin- cipal matter which now we have to observe in the fact of our Lord and Master Christ ; that if in visiting our temples we find them possessed with wicked pastors, they are not there to be suffered : the rod of severity must whip them out. Who be good shepherds, and who be thieves, it is soon discerned : ye shall know them by their fruits, affection'of Uuto good pastors our Saviour opposeth hirelings, evil pastors, tliieves, and robbers, shewing: also the difference between John X. [1— ' ' to 18'] the one and the other. The good shepherd loveth his flock entirely : it grieveth him not to pour out his very soul for their sakes : he gathereth them as lambs into his arms, carrieth them in his bosom, and kindly entreateth them. Contrariwise the hireling careth not for the sheep : he beareth a stern and a stony heart towards them. And as their inward affections are far different, so their out- ward actions are much unlike, whether we look upon their entering into their function, or their dealing after they are entered. Their unor- H. The true shepherd " goeth in by the door: to tlerly enter- ^ ^ . itij? upon the him the porter openeth he taketh not this honour unto simony. himsclf, but expcctetli a calling from God, as Aaron did : he breaketh not in by violence, but waiteth till the porter open unto him, till they give him entrance, to whom Christ hath given power and authority to ordain. But thieves AND JESUS WENT INTO THE TEMPLE OF GOD, &C. 241 and robbers "climb up another way:" they wind in them- selves by unlawful means: with money they purchase the rooms which they occupy in the church of Christ. Thus did Menelaus get the priesthood from Jason, at the hands of ' the king, by giving three hundred talents of silver more than the other ; albeit he had nothing in himself worthy of the high priesthood, but bare the stomach of a cruel tyrant and the wrath of a wild beast. Thus Leo the tenth, Innocentius the eighth, Silvester the third, two Gre- gorys, the sixth and the twelfth, yea, the most part of the bishops of Rome for many years, have obtained their popedoms. Thus do their cardinals, bishops, and prelates : thus do their clergy even to this day. And I would to God this were only their fault ! A thing both condemned by the commendable laws, decrees, and constitutions of sun- dry councils, and also by the blessed apostle St Peter so grievously accursed in him whose heart was first therewith infected, that, in the whole body of the sacred scripture, a note of the like indignation conceived against any other sin (as I am persuaded) can scarcely be found. For why? If they which bought and sold but the beasts of the field and birds of the air, doves, sheep, and oxen, in the place which God had sanctified to himself, were therefore termed by a name that declareth their dealings to have been as much abhorred in his sight, as if they had spent all the days of their life in theft and robbery, how can we think any bitterness of speech, or sharpness of punishment, too great for so extreme licentiousness, as theirs that make sale of the cure of souls, that bargain for the gifts of the Holy Ghost? For so they are. The making of bishops, the bestowing of benefices, the presenting, instituting, and inducting of pastors, the placing of teachers, guides, and overseers in the church, is and should be accounted the very work of the Holy Ghost. " Attend," saith St Paul, ^^g^^^^- "take heed to yourselves, and to the whole flock, wherein the Holy Ghost hath placed you bishops to rule the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood." Whosoever therefore be the man that prcsumeth to stain a thing so holy with the execrable filth of indirect dealing, of buying, selling, covenanting, bargaining cither for money, or money worth, may it not as justly be said to him, as IG [sANDYS.] 242 THE THIRTEENTH SERMON. Actsjiii. to Magus, " Thy money perish with thee, because thou thinkest that the gift of God may be obtained with money: thou hast neither part nor fellowship in this business; for thine heart is not right in the sight of God." I counsel them, with St Peter, that are in the gall of this bitter- ness and in the bonds of this iniquity, betime to repent them of their wickedness, and to pray unto God that, if it bo possible, the thoughts of their hearts may be for- given them. deaiin^^after It IS a true Saying, Vix bono peraguntur exitu tered'"'' malo suwt inclioata principio : " Things ill begun are not commonly well ended neither are their proceedings likely to be good, whose beginnings are so greatly out of order. They which enter not into the temple as did Aaron, will hardly behave themselves in the house of the s^Mac.iv. Lord as Aaron did. Jason obtained a superiority in the church by money: but how behaved he himself in this his purchased function? Began he not immediately to draw his brethren to the customs of the gentiles? Did he not by and bye change their laws and policies, and bring up new statutes contrary to their law? As the good shep- herd entering in at the door, when he is entered, guideth [Ps. Lxxviii. his sheep (as David) in the discretion of his hands, feedeth them carefully with wholesome doctrine, and walketh in all uprightness of holy and undefiled conversation before them ; so he that climbeth up another way, after he hath gotten himself in, seeketh nothing but to steal, kill, and destroy. johnx.Do.] » The thief cometh not but to steal, to kill, and to de- stroy." He hath no other end or purpose. They steal. rpj^^ ^^^j^ ^j^j^^^ ^j^^^^ should bo dosirod by the pastor is the weal and benefit of his flock. For if the mark whereat we shoot be but to make our commodity by the gospel of Jesus Christ, wherein do we differ from thieves and robbers? Is not our intent and purpose the veiy self-same with theirs? Wherefore St Peters exliorta- 1 Pet. V. [2.] tion is, " Feed the flock of God, caring for it, not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind." If a man have all knowledge, insomuch that he be able to speak with tongues, yea, and to prophesy; yet if the thing for which he labour- etli be his own gain, if he use this vocation, than which nothing is more precious and holy, only as a way or trade AND JESUS WENT INTO THE TEMPLE OP GOD, &C. 243 to live by, whatsoever ho receiveth with such a mind, he stealeth rather than receiveth it. This is that whereof the Lord complaineth so grievously by his prophets : " The Mic.iii.[ii.] priests teach for hire, the prophets prophesy for money: yet will they lean upon the Lord and say, Is not the Lord among us V And again : " These shepherds cannot isa^ hi. understand : they all look to their own way," every one for his advantage and for his own purpose. Moses, blessing Levi before his death, saith first, "They shall teach Jacob oeut.xxxiii. thy judgments and Israel thy law, they shall put incense before thy face and then addeth, " Bless, O Lord, his substance, accept the work of his hands." As if he should have said : So long as Levi and his sons do not seek their own commodity, but thy glory, thou art righteous, and canst not forget to provide in large manner both for them and theirs. As indeed, till the men of that sacred ^*J^™-j"- order took flesh-hooks in their hands, and sought to better their estate by force, till they became like to greedy mas- tiffs, ravening curs, who ever saw the Levite of the Lord forsaken, or the son of the Levite begging his bread? So likewise the church of God was never spoiled, till her pastors were over careful to be enriched. In the prime and first appearing of christian religion, as long as that heroical contempt of earthly things continued in the guides and leaders of the people, what heaps of Avorldly treasure were brought and laid down even at their feet ! Men thought themselves to perform notliing worthy of that profession into which they were entered, unless they sold away their lands, goods, and possessions, and gave all to make them rich, by whose means themselves were become righteous. The contrary to which affection, as in other parts of the christian world, so in this also, hath taken such root, and is grown now so strong, that God may justly charge us as sometime he did his own people, saying, " Ye have Mai. iii. [9.] spoiled me, even this whole nation." If therefore we be grieved (as who is not gi-ieved?) to see the havock that is made of the church of God, let us change our earthly and worldly affection, that ho may change the condi- tion of his church. God is no purveyor for tliieves and robbers. Let us, in sincerity and in truth, heartily and in deed despise our own gain for his glory, and 16—2 244 THE THIRTEENTH SERMON. prove him if he will not rebuke these devourers for our sakes. whenUiey "^^^^ ^^'^^ thing which Christ observeth in thieves theuuti' ^^^^y destroy the flock, and make as little con- raveth. science to kill as to steal. They kill not the bodies, but This some the souls of men. The life of the soul is the word of do because they cannot truth, wherein whosoever hath taken upon him to instruct teach, some -i because the flock of Christ, and either cannot or will not do it, they will ' . not. what doth he else but kill and destroy? Moses, speak- ing of the obedience of Israel to the laws and statutes [Dent. iv. of their God, " This is,'' saith he, " your wisdom." But how came Israel by that wisdom ? Did they naturally know the Lord, as beasts do naturally know their dams? No: "The Lord said unto me," saith Moses, "Gather the people together, and I will cause them to hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children." So they came near and stood under the moun- tain, and were taught of God, which spake unto them out of the midst of the fire. Thus God taught Israel then. Afterward he raised up prophets among them of their own brethren ; and they were taught by men like unto themselves. Neither hath God at any time ceased and left off ; but from the beginning of the world to this very hour he hath given men knowledge by instruction, and saved his elect by teaching. Cannot God then give wisdom from above without a teacher? Yes, God is able to maintain the life of man without bread. But why do we talk of his absolute power, when his will is that Cor- nelius be taught by Peter, Lydia by Paul, Paul by Ana- nias, the eunuch by Philip, every soul that is wise in [Epii- 'V. 11, the doctrine of salvation by "apostles, prophets, evange- lists, teachers appointed for the gathering together of the saints, for the work of the ministry, and for the edifica- tion of the body of Christ?" As therefore he that will live must eat, so he that will be saved must have a teacher. Wherefore when the Lord meant a blessing to [jer. iii. 15.] his people, he made them this promise : " I will give you pastors according to my heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding." When their pastors were void of knowledge and understanding, this was ever a AND JESfS WENT INTO THE TEMPLE OF GOD, &C. 245 token that their ruin and destruction was at hand. Come now, saith the prophet, " all ye beasts of the field, conic isai. ui. [9, to devour, even all the beasts of the forest :" this people ^^'^ cannot continue now, they must needs perish ; for " their watchmen are all blind, they have no knowledge : they are all dumb dogs, and cannot bark: they lie asleep, and delight in sleeping." Wo are unworthy of our lives, if we do not acknowledge the wondei'ful blessing of God in our ministry at this day. For howsoever it be debased by some, yet is it so far off, God be thanked, from the state of the Jewish clergy in those days, that I am per- suaded there neither is, nor ever was, a more learned ministry in any nation under heaven. Nevertheless I ac- knowledge, it is much to be lamented, that, the glorious gospel of Christ now shining with so perfect beauty as it doth, in the midst of so great light so many should rtill remain in darkness, living as men without God in this present world, and perishing through the ignorance of his saving truth. In the mean while, they which are the chief and principal causes hereof think they have very well discharged themselves by accusing others ; as if, when they, against all both religion and reason, havo drawn unto themselves those possessions which ought to maintain such as labour in the gospel, a bishop by striking the earth with one foot might raise up learned pastors sufficient to furnish a whole province. But, whosoever be the princi- pal cause of this disorder, they undoubtedly cannot wash their hands of it, that presume to take upon them the charge of souls, for which they know themselves unfit and altogether unsufficient. In these which destroy, because they cannot save, there is only a defect which, although it worthily deserve punishment, doth nevertheless move some pity and compassion, if there be a willingness to do that which there wanteth ability to perform. Ikit against such as wittingly and wilfully suffer the sheep, for which Christ died, to die for want of instruction, the souls of them that perish do cry as the blood of Abel against Cain, for venge- ance and wrath. "Give attendance'''' therefore "to read- J Tim. u-. ing, to exhortation, to doctrine, exercise these things," and give yourselves unto them, that all may sec how you profit, and how the church doth profit by you. Ye arp fed by tho 246 THE THIRTEENTH SERMON. sweat of other men''s brows : ye receive things temporal without any corporal labour of your own. But with what conscience do ye this, if they which minister unto your necessities reap not that at your hands for which they minister ? You can perhaps allege many colourable excuses for yourselves. But will you allege the same in that day, when a strict account of your stewardship shall be required by him that cometh to judge both quick and 1 Cor. XV. dead? Consider these things, and "be ve stedfast, un- [58.1 . moveable, abounding always in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labour in the Lord is not in vain." Is it not better for you to save both yourselves and others, than by not saving others not to save yourselves? tochin'"*^^ 15. They which are saved must be sanctified "in pernicfo^'* truth" : they which are of the truth must be consummate heresy or ^ and "made perfect in one." They are no better therefore joim'xvii. *han soul-murderers, be they never so painful in their [17,23.] teaching, that teach such doctrines as do either poison the church with heresy, or dismember and rent it asunder with schism. Of heretics St Paul, forewarning the church Acts XX. of Ephesus, saith, " I know that after my departure there will ravening wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock." Of schismatics he writeth in most earnest manner as well to the church of Corinth, as of Rome. To the icor.i.[io.] one : "I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all say one thing, and that there be Rom. xvi. no schisms amongst you." To the other: "Mark them diligently which cause division." These serve not the Saviour, they serve the destroyer of the world, " They iiev.ix.[ii.] have over them a king, to wit, the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is called Abaddon," that is to say, a destroyer. Their pestilent properties St John sheweth, by comparing the harm which they do in the church to the torments which they suffer that are stung with scorpions. example''''^ 16. Now, as theso destroy by ill teaching, so likevdse insVomiiHy thcro are others who, teaching well but living ill, do more deriy their life in one hour, than good by their doctrine !:oz.i.ii.c.5. in many years. Sozomene^ writeth that, when barbarous nations saw how the christian priests, which were captives. P Soz. HLst. Eccl. Amst. 1700, Lib. ii. c. 6, pp. 367, 868.— Ed.] AND JESUS WENT INTO THE TEMPLE OF GOD, &C. 247 did by their sober and reverend behaviour dam up the mouths of evil speakers, they thought them to be men full of wisdom and understanding, and hoped to find favour at the hands of God, if they should worship him after the manner of those worthy and grave sages. Could the ancient prophets, the blessed apostles, the holy fathers in former times have enlarged the bounds of the church in so strange wise as they did, had they not converted more by the rare integrity of their manners, than by the force and power of their words ? Not without cause therefore doth the prophet make request in the psalm, that the [Psai. priests 01 the Lord may put on righteousness as a gar- ment ; for if their shame be seen, who shall hide the nakedness of the people ? Thus we see what should espe- cially be reformed in the principal part of the house of God. 17. It remaineth now that somewhat be spoken of theTiieman- i ner of manner of reformation. Christ in reforming the church reforming. o . Christ re- proceeded orderly, knowing that disorderly remedies offfrmcdthc ^ . ~ *' . temple or- evils are as dangerous as the evils for which they are deriy. sought. His orderly proceeding appeareth in this, that he first visited, and then reformed. Visitations, if they be used according to the true intent and purpose wliere- unto they were ordained, are needful and profitable in the church. For howsoever they be now abused by men of corrupt minds, the cause for which they were first esta- blished was the maintenance of truth, the rooting out of heresy, the confirming of good orders, the redressing of things amiss, the continuing of religion, peace, and inno- cency amongst men. If we reap not this fruit and com- modity by them, the fault is in ourselves ; in the parties visited, when they hide and conceal that which should be reformed; in the visitors, when they are careless in ad- monishing and, if that do not servo, in punishing offenders detected and lawfully convicted before them. Let the one sort therefore remember the sin of Achan, how close it Josh. vii. was kept, and how God plagued Israel till it was revealed ; and let the other consider the example of Christ, which proceeded no less severely in punishing than orderly in searching out the faults and abuses of the temple. 18. The rod in the hand of the pastor is as necessary scvcieiy. 248 THE THIRTEENTH SERMON. as the staff, yea, perhaps more, because they are more whom fear doth constrain, than whom love doth alkire to become virtuous. It is noted that in the days of Jason, a dissolute and careless high priest, the inferior sort of priests being let alone were no more diligent about the service of the altar, but despised the temple, and regarded not the sacrifices : they became frequenters of games and heathenish exercises, not without great disgrace to their Nehem.xiii. calh'ng. When Nehemias, returning from captivity, found that Eliashab the high priest had chambered his kinsman, Tobiah, in the court of the house of God, where aforetime the offerings, the incense, the tithes of corn, of wine, and of oil appointed for the Levites had been laid, by which means it came to pass that they receiving not their por- tions were fled, and so the temple was left destitute ; " this," saith Nehemias, " gineved me sore." But whence grew this fault ? Where did Nehemias lay the blame, but in the governors ? "I reproved," saith he, " the rulers, and said unto them, Why is the house of God forsaken V If iniquity do abound for want of punishment, they which have authority, be it civil or ecclesiastical, to repress sin, must answer it. Throughly. jc) It is not sufficient for them to mislike sin, but they must proceed against it, and that so far till they have throughly redressed things amiss. Christ did not cease pursuing thieves till their cattle were gone, their tables overthrown, their money scattered, themselves ex- pelled and driven out. Which example Constantino well following, hath made himself a precedent worthy by other christian governors to be followed. He did not content himself with misliking or reproving, or lightly punishing heretics, but quite and clean disburthened the church of Eusei). cie them. " Shall we suffer," saith he, " the contagious infec- vitaCon- . p . o • i i Ktiint.iib.' tion of so great evils to creep further; knowmg that long ill. cap. C2. » ,1,1 1 delay may cause even the sound and the strong to be infected with it, as with a plague I Why do we not speedily with rigour of public punishment cut up the very roots of such iniquity M" The angel of the church of \^ T'l ovv ; cive^oneda ivepaiTepoi twv toiovtwv kcikwv ; d\\' tj jXdKpa TrapeTn6vpi;ai<; wtrircp XotpiKto j/oo'j;/iaTi kcrjfxo 1 • p 1 1 quiretli the deed, and lay open the grossness oi their lault, but also temple to be instruct them in the right use of that which hitherto they had so greatly abused. " My house shall be called the house of prayer for all nations."" In which words we learn first, that the church is consecrated to the service of God, in respect whereof it is called " his house secondly, what sei-vice it is which he i-equireth : " My house shall be called the house of prayer;" thirdly, of whom this service is required, namely, of " all nations." 23. It addeth much to the wickedness of the eons Ti^e temple sanctitied to of Heh, and proveth the sin of the young men to have *f q^^'^''^'^ been very gi'eat in the sight of the Lord, that they shewed their ravening nature upon the purest and holiest things; that they made no difference between the offerings of the Lord, and common flesh ; that they shamefully abused themselves with women, even in the door of the taber- nacle of God. The prophet Daniel hath set it down as Dan. v. [3.] a note of extreme impiety in Balthazar', that he with his princes, wives, and concubines, dmnk wine in the golden and silver vessels which were taken out of the temple at Jerusalem. ^Vhen the men of Tyi'us brought fish and other wares, and sold them on the sabbath to the children of Judah, Nehemias reproved the rulers of Judah, and said unto them, " What evil thing is this that ye do, Nehem.xiii. breaking the sabbath day ? Did not your fathers thus, and our God brought all this plague upon us and upon this city? yet ye increase wrath upon Israel, breaking the sabbath." Such traffic is as bad in the house, as on the day, which God hath sanctified. Wherefore in the law these two are jointly coupled together : " Ye shall keep lpvh. xi\. my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary." The pro- faning therefore of the temple, the house of God, the place of prayer, is an evident token, that amongst the Jews all religion was now trodden under feet, all rever- ence of God abolished. This sheweth that there was now no difference at all : holy and common, pure and profane, clean and unclean, all was one. When they, which ought not to die but without the city, were suffered to live within the temple, yea, of and at the altar, when God's [' Balthazar— Belshazzar. — Ed.] 252 THE THIRTEENTH SERMON. Jer.vii.[Il.] The public scrvitur of Goil III the chxirch con- sisteth in liearing the word. Pent. xii. rs.i 1 Kings viii, [27.j Psal. cxxii. [1.] In rcccivini the sacra- ments. own house was made a den of thieves, we cannot easily imagine a degree of profaneness beyond this. At this the Lord himself doth seem to wonder. " Is this house be- come a den of thieves, whereupon my name is called, be- fore your eyes?" What reverence or service is it likely that they would shew otherwhere unto the Lord, who lived as thieves in that glorious sanctuary where all the earth should tremble before him? 24. In the house of God they had the law both read and expounded, they offered sacrifice, and they prayed. But because the service for which the temple was or- dained, though not only, yet principally, is prayer, there- fore he hath said, " My house shall be called the house of prayer." In Deuteronomy it is called " the place which God chose to cause his name to dwell there." " It is true indeed," saith Solomon, " that God will dwell on the earth?" No doubt, where his truth is sincerely professed, where his sacraments are rightly and duly ministered, where his name is called upon by hearty prayer, where two or three are gathered together in his name, that is to say, to serve him in these things, there the working of his Spirit is so forcible and effectual, his mercy is so object' even unto sense, his grace is in such sort felt, seen, and tasted, that he seemeth as it were to stand before men's eyes, to walk, to inhabit, and to dwell amongst them, when they are thus occupied. The door of the church is the gate of the Lord, and the righteous will surely enter into it. They rejoice when they hear men say : " We will go into the house of the Lord," the house of prayer, where as many as call upon the name of the Lord shall un- doubtedly be saved. But because no man can call on him in whom he doth not believe, nor believe without hearing the word of God ; requisite therefore it is, that the house of public prayer should also be the house of public preaching. For this cause the Jews heard the law every sabbath day in their synagogues. 2.5. And as they did not only hear the word, but also offer sacrifice, in the house of God ; so we in our churches have both the gospel preached, and the sacra- ments, which arc seals of the gospel, administered, knowing \} Object — obvious. — Ed.] AND JESUS WENT INTO THE TEMPLE OF GOD, &C. 253 that Christ hath commanded both ahko. He which sent his disciples to teach, sent them also to baptize : he which enjoined them to preach, gave them also another charge : Hoc facite : " Do this in remembrance of me." There- fore, as often as wo speak unto you out of these places, as often as here we minister the sacrament of baptism to your children, in token of their new spiritual birth, as often as we do hero present ourselves at the Lord's table to eat of his bread and to drink of the wine which he hath prepared for the comfortable nourishment of our souls, we keep the Lord's institution,* and not our own : we do as he hath commanded, not as we have devised : wo use the house of God not as thieves, but as saints. 26. For these things the sanctuary was erected: for in prayer, these the house of God was sanctified, and for prayer. Therefore the twelve told the rest of the disciples (as it is in the history of their acts), " We will give ourselves Acts vi. [4.] continually unto prayer and ministration of the word."" Aaron was appointed under the law, as to offer so also to pray for himself and for the people. " Be this Sm I Sam. xii. against the Lord," saith Samuel, " far from me, that I ^^^'^ should cease to pray for you." The request which Solo- 1 Kin^s viii. mon made unto God in the first dedication of the tern- '^^""•'^•^ pie was, that if his people Israel should at any time for their sins be overthrown before the enemy, or heaven be so shut up that they should be in distress for want of rain, or if there should be famine in the land, or pesti- lence, or blasting, or mildew, or grasshopper, or caterpillar, if the enemy should besiege them, if they should fall into any adversity, whether it were of body or of mind, his ears might always be open to the prayers, which they should make before the Lord in the house of prayer. Hear the supplications of thy people Israel which pray " in this place." 27. Nor only their supplications, but moreover Solo- ^1',"^,,?°'' mon addeth: "As touching the stranger that is not of s';'vi J L to them to whom God did send him. He alleged not how dangerous it was to preach the gospel in Cesarea, how long and tedious a way thither, how odious to be conversant with the gentiles : he indented ' not what re- ward he should have, he asked not who should bear his costs : he alleged not his worn body, his old age : he was n Cor. i.\. void of all such i)ut-offs : he knew that " wo be unto him 16.] , if he preached not :" he remembered his lesson given to 1 Pet. V. [2.] others, " Feed the flock of God he forgat not Christ's John x.\i. lesson given unto him : " If thou love me, feed my sheep :" he knew that the minister of the word ought to preach in season and out of season. And he took the thing in hand the more gladly, having hope that he should win unto Christ by the word a captain, a man of might and authority: in getting of whom he should also get a great sort, he should get an hundred soldiers, who easily would be drawn to be like affected with their captain : he should win a great family with the rest of Cornelius"' friends and kinsmen ; and even so it came to pass. It is a great gain unto the church of Christ, when as a man in authority is Actsxxvi. won by the word. Therefore St Paul used all persuasion to draw king Agrippa to be a Christian, knowing what great advantage would come thereby to Christ's church. To win a prince is to win a multitude, yea, a nation. The churc}i of Clu-ist increaseth and thriveth apace, when kings and queens become nurses to it. t^anrainto P^ter being come now to Cornehus, and perceiving his sermon. Jiqw God had touched his heart with the rest of his com- pany, and made them most ready and greedy of the word of God, opened his mouth and said, " Of a truth I per- ceive that God is no accepter of persons," and so forth. Indented — made an agreement or indenture. — Ed.] THEN PETER OPENED HIS MOUTH, &C. 277 Now Peter entereth into his sermon, seeing so wide a, door opened unto him, so great an occasion offered, so large and apt a field to sow God's seed in. In which sermon there is enousrh for a Christian to learn : all matter needful to salvation is comprised in it. He that hath taken out this lesson, needeth not to learn another. And a great occasion of it, as of other excellent sermons, was in the people. For the Holy Ghost soweth seed plentifully, where he findeth a good ground to cast it in ; and giveth great utterance lightly to the minister, when he giveth good will to the auditory to hear. If the field be barren, the seed is spared lest it should be spilt. He will not have his seed cast in an un- fruitful ground. Surely, when the people are worthy of the wo'rd, God will send preachers with abundance of it. 28. " Of a truth I perceive that God is no accepter Bejnff^ of persons."" This is St Peters entrance to his matter : goS, he 111111 teaclietli wherein he declareth that he hath now learned that the "'^^'^''g^f^''' gospel of Christ, the doctrine of salvation, doth as well iiimseif be- • 1 -1 IT -n 1 1 1 ^"^^ ^''^^ pertam to the gentiles as to the J ews. r or although ignorant, there was a partition-wall which divided them, now it is taken away. The gentiles were " aliens from the com- Eph. ii. [la monwealth of Israel, strangers from the covenant of pro- mise, and had no hope, and were without God in the world : but now in Christ Jesu they which were far off are made near. For he is our peace, which made of both one, and hath broken down the partition-wall, to make of twain one new man in himself, so making peace." " Through him both Jew and gentile have an entrance unto the Father by one Spirit." And Peter, having had this revealed to him before in his vision, doth now affirm to the gentiles in the beginning of his speech ; partly, to win favourable hearing in that ho envied not their salvation, as other Jews did, but carefully sought it ; partly, to make them attentive to hear those things which pertained to their salvation. " Of a truth I perceive." Peter confesseth his former ig- norance touching the calling of the gentiles, and that he i hath learned that which he knew not before. A token ' of his great humility. His successor the pope is led by another spirit : he cannot abide to grant ignorance, or that j he can err : all knowledge is shut up in scrinio pectoris^ (as they term it) "in the hutch of his breast." Paul >you!(] i 278 THE FOURTEENTH SERMON. not arrogate all knowledge, though he were taken up into the third heaven, and saw mysteries not to be revealed 1 Cor. xiii. unto men ; for he saith, " We know in part." These Rora- ^^'^ ish rabbies will be no disciples, but masters. They will John ix. answer him that shall take in hand to teach them : " Thou [34.] . . 1, art born wholly in sins, and dost thou teach us V God is no 29. But what hath Peter learned? "That God is accepter of 1 "am xvi accepter of persons." " I regard not that which man [7-] doth regard," saith God to Samuel : " for man regardeth that which is before his eyes ; but God regardeth the heart." The person here is taken for the outward appearance and qualities, as you would say, or circumstances of persons — as circumcision, uncircumcision ; man, woman ; magistrate, subject; Jew, gentile; Englishman, Frenchman; master, ser- vant ; rich, poor ; fair, evil favoured ; a tall man, a dwarf ; a citizen, a countryman ; a wise man, a fool ; a learned, an unlearned. These and such other things are here meant by the persons of men. God is no accepter of these out- Gal. iii. [28.] ward shews: he judgeth not as man judgeth. "There is neither Jew nor Grecian, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female ; for ye are all one in Christ Jesus." There is no respect of persons with God: neither ought we to be carried away with external shews of magnifical pomp, of glorious titles, of great authority, much learning, nor in matter of religion to respect the messenger, but the message. Paul reproveth the Corinth- ians for respecting of persons in matter of religion : some 1 Cor. iii. would hear none but Paul, some liked none but Apollos, [4.1.12,13.] Q^i[jgj,g followed after Peter, and would only be his disciples. "Is Christ divided V saith St Paul. The preacher is to be heard for the word's sake, and not for his own sake. If scribes and Pharisees teach out of the chair of Moses, if Judas teach the gospel of Christ, they are to be heard. To hear or not to hear in respect of the person, is to justify or condemn the word for the person. Respect not persons, but reverence the matter : when thou hearest the minister preaching the truth, thou hearest not him, but the Son of God, the teacher of all truth, Christ Jesus. Plato was as honest a man and as good a philosopher as was Diogenes, for all his pretence of simplicity and con- temning of the world. Have no respect to outward pre- THEN PETER OPENED HIS MOUTH, &C. 279 tcnces. Judge not according to the sight, lest in opinion you condemn the good and justify the evil. In matter of salvation neither ought the child to respect his parent, nor the servant his master, nor the subject his prince, nor pos- terity the predecessors; for we may not hang upon man, but upon God. "Cursed is he that maketh flesh his arm." Jer.xvii.[5.] We must herein only give ear and respect what the Son of God shall say unto us, who is the wisdom of his Father, whom our heavenly Father hath commanded us to hear, Matt.iii.[i7: _ ' Luke IX. 35.] saying, " Hear you him."" 30. " In every nation he that feareth him, and work- God accept- •> _ eth them eth righteousness, is accepted of him." God respecteth not Y''^^'^)^ ^^^^ ^ '■ , him in every the outward person, but the inward man. He regardeth nation, not the shape, but his own image that is in man. He is not partial to the Jew, more than to the gentile : rich and poor, learned and unlearned, are all one in his sight. He accepteth of such as fear him and work righteousness. Herein is comprised perfect religion ; our duty towards God, and our duty towards man ; the former, and the latter table ; to believe in God, and to do right to our neighbour ; to love God above all, and to love our neigh- bour as ourself. To fear God is in true holiness to serve God : to work righteousness is not to hurt but to help our neighbour, to do to others as we would be done unto ourselves. He that will be a wise man indeed, must learn to fear God. " The beginning of wisdom is the fear of ^j'!'"]"^" '• the Lord." All other wisdom wherein the fear of God wanteth, is but " earthly, sensual, and devilish." Such as jJa.mes iii. fear God shall be strengthened to stand against all as- saults of Satan ; yea, they shall continue and stand sted- fast unto the end, even to the last gasp! Canst thou not away with want 1 Wouldest thou have plenty ? " There Ps^i. xxxiv. is nothing wanting to them that fear him." Canst thou not away with infamy ? Wouldest thou be praised I The greatest praise that can come to any man is that he feareth God. " It is the glory of the rich, the noble, and J^'j'^j^^- ^• the poor." Wouldest thou have all virtues, and the re- wards of them ? Wouldest thou be free from sins, and the punishments ensuing them ? Follow the example of Cornelius, and fear God. For " they who fear God will Rccius. iii. honour and obey their parents:" they Avho fear God will 280 THE FOURTEENTH SERMON. Psai. xxvii. diligently exercise themselves in prayer : they who fear God will search their own hearts, see their offences, and with the prodigal child be sorry for tliem, confess them, and Eccius. xxi. forsake them. They who fear God will abstain from sin ; remembering that the Lord doth hate it, and will punish Eccius. i. it . and knowing that their doings cannot be hid from him. If the fear of God were planted in our hearts, we would learn after so many admonitions to lead a better life ; we would practise such lessons as we have been so long in learning; we would not live in such careless se- curity as we do ; the gospel would take better effect in us, and bring forth more plentiful fruit; we would at the length cast away impiety and worldly concupiscence, and live a sober, just, and godly life ; we would repent and forsake sin, lest sin procure God's speedy wrath ; the mi- nisters would be more diligent in feeding of the flock, the people more ready to hear the voice of the shepherd, the magistrates more careful over the commonwealth, the sub- jects more obedient to frame themselves to live under law ; the rich would not suffer the giver of their riches to go on begging ; the poor would endeavour to get spiritual treasures, and to be rich in Christ ; finally, we would not feed our bellies so daintily, nor so vainly and superfluously clothe our bodies, but use temperance in diet and so- briety in apparel ; having what to eat, and wherewith to be clothed, we would be content. Verily, to conclude, such Eccius. XV. as fear God abstain from evil, and do good, and, as our apostle St Peter saith, they do " work righteousness." And them 31. Rightcousness compriseth in it all such duty as righteous- WO do owe unto our neighbour. Whatsoever is contained ness, in the second table, is comprehended in this word " right- eousness." But how can we work righteousness, who are isai. ixiv. as unclcan things, and all our righteousness as a filthy clout ? Of whom the prophet saith, " There is not one that doth good, no not onef In deed we are not able to work perfect righteousness. For if we could, then Christ had died in vain, with whose perfect righteousness we must be clothed by imputation, that we may be ac- 2 Cor. V. cepted as righteous in God's sight. " For God hath made ^'^'^ him, which knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." But when THEN PETEK OPENED HIS MOUTH, &C. 281 we are justified so by the perfect righteousness of Christ, we must endeavour to serve God in righteousness, and bring forth good fruits, though they be unperfect, such as in this frailty of the flesh we may. And these are ac- cepted of God for Christ's sake, their weakness and im- perfection being pardoned in him. Wherefore in this sort we must work righteousness, and follow sanctification. Hi- therto, how all estates must apply themselves to work righteousness. 32. Omitting therefore others whom generally tin's •JJ'^fnd"^^"* toucheth, I will at this present remember children only of a point of righteousness which they must work, in giving nesstowards due honour to their parents. For there is a great fault in many at this day, that, whereas they are specially bound ^pj^^j^,'"^"' to their parents, both by the links of nature, and by the st"w them- 11 11 1 selves in bonds of God's word, they burst those bonds asunder, and marriage is ... 11- • 1 " tliin? un- ' dispose of themselves m marriage as they list, without con- righteous, sent of their parents. A fault, as most heinous in the sight of God and condemned by his law, so condemned too by the law of nature, the law civil, the law canon, and the opinion of the best writers. For the law of God Coi. iii. [20.] doth not only charge children generally to obey their pa- rents in all things, but also particularly doth shew by sundry examples that children ought to be given by their parents in marriage, and not to bo left to their own phantasies. And among the ethnicks, even by the law of nature, as their poets shew, marriages for children were not made by themselves, but by their parents. It is written in the law civil : "If a son marr}' a wife against in F, his father s will, the child that shall be born of that mar- iiomi'nis 1. Paul. riage shall not be counted lawful'." In the canon law it is said: "Marriages are then lawful when maidens are 30 q. 5. c. . Aliter. asked to wives of their parents, and are given by them openly to their husbands : otherwise they are not marriages, but whoredoms^." The best writers both old and new \^ Corpus Juris Civilis Rom. Lips. 1720. Digest. Lib. i. Tit. v. De Statu Hominum. 11. Paulus, Lib. xviii. Responsorum. p. 11,5. See also Digest. Lib. XXIII. Tit. 11. De Ritu Nuptiaruin. 2. Paulus, Lib. xxxv. Ad Edictum. p. 440.— Ed.] P Decretum Gratiani Par. 1.583. Deer. Sec. Pars. Causa xxx. Qusestio V. c. 1. cols. 1941, 2.— Ed.] 282 THE FOURTEENTH SERMON. subscribe hereunto ; TortuUian, Ambrose, Chrysostom, Au- gustine, with all the learnedst of latter times ; whose par- ticular sentences I omit to recite for brevity sake'. But if youthful, children have so little reverence both of God and men, that such admonition will not make them leave such disordered marriages, it behoveth magistrates, who are the common parents of the weal public, to bridle their lusts with severe laws for the redress of this evil and the mischiefs ensuing of it. And thus much of St Peter's entrance into his sermon : the sermon doth follow. Snee"'^ 33. "Ye know the word which God hath sent to sermon ^s"^'^ the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ," christ^^ and so forth. The sum of the sermon is this. Jesus Jesus. Christ, which is Lord of all, the preacher and author of peace, did faithfully perform the office for the which he was sent, preaching to the people the glad tidings of the gospel, and healing all their diseases, for God was vnth him ; and he was slain and hanged on tree : the third day he arose again from death : he ascended into heaven : from ■ thence shall he come to judge the quick and the dead : to whom all the prophets bear witness, that through his name all that believe in him shall have remission of their sins. Such as this is were the sermons of the apostles. Here are all things necessary to salvation expressed. This is that which God commanded his great apostle, St Peter, to preach. In this doctrine would he have his people trained up. The people received it as a sufficient doctrine. Peter and Paul were directed by one spirit : they neither esteemed i^cor. ii. " to know any thing but Jesus Christ, and him crucified neither could they testify or preach ought but him. This Tiie parts of sermon is divided into three parts; the first, that Jesus his sermon. ^^iq Lord of all was sent unto the people of Israel to preach peace ; the next, that he died and rose again from death to procure us this peace ; the last, that we are made partakers of this peace by faith in his name. Jesus Christ the Lord of all was sent unto the people of Israel to preach peace. Let us weigh the words severally : they are most effectuous, fully setting forth the mystery of our salvation. P See Note C— Ed.] THEN PETER OPENED HIS MOUTH, &C. 283 34. Jesus, by the interpretation of the angel, is a , '^^ . , ^ •' f ° Jesus Christ Saviour: "Thou shalt call his name Jesus; for ho shall Lord of aii save his people from their sins." The angel, appearing to God to the shepherds, said, " Behold, I bring you tidings of great peace, joy, that shall be to all the people ; that is, that unto Luke ii. [16, you is born this day a Saviour." The ethnicks do seek their safety in their idols ; the J ews in the observances of the law, and traditions ; the papists in their pardons, purgatory, masses, merits ; the true Christians seek it in Jesus Christ the Saviour, and in none but him. He will Acts iv. [12.] not be matched therein with any other; but he is a full, perfect, and only Saviour. He is " the Lamb of God that John i. [29.] taketh away the sin of the world." There is neither water nor fire, bulls nor bells, masses nor merits, pope nor par- don, that can save us. There is neither devil, or flesh, nor world, if he save us, that can condemn us. For who Rom. viii. can condemn, whom he doth justify ? And whom he justi- ^^'^ fieth not, who can save? Christ is anointed: and Jesus is called so, because he was " anointed of God above his Psai. xiv. • [7 1 fellows." Whereupon Esay the prophet writeth of him : " The Spirit of the Lord is upon me ; for he hath anointed isai. ixi. [i.j me." Anointed he was to be a king and priest : for they among the Jews were wont to be anointed. "He is theRev.xvu. King of kings, and the Lord of lords." The wise men of the east did acknowledge him a king : " Where is he Matt. ii. [2.] that is born king of the Jews?" Zachary sheweth fur- ther what manner of king : " Behold, thy King cometh to zerii. ix. thee, meek, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the '"'^'^ foal of an ass." This our king doth govern us with a right sceptre. " The sceptre of thy kingdom is a seep- psh. .\iv, tre of righteousness." He doth defend us with a mighty ^^'^ and stretched out arm, against whose power no power can stand. He is that triumphant prince, which hath most victoriously vanquished and thrown under foot our ene- mies. They labour in vain that kick against the pricks, Acts ix. [5.] that strive against his gospel. For he is a prince of might that doth defend it ; and " the gates of hell shall ^vi. not prevail against it." The sun will run his course : the passage of the gospel cannot be stopped. " The 2 Tim. ii. gospel is not bound." While it is persecuted, it is en- larged. "The blood that is spilt for it is the very seed Tertui. 284 THE FOURTEENTH SERMOX. of jt'." Now, as he is our King, so our Priest and Pro- phet too ; at whose mouth we should require the law of fit!}' Grod : that prophet like unto Moses, the searcher of truth : that very Son of Grod, of whom the Father hath Matt. iii. said, Ipsim audite : "Hear ye him." He is the Priest, ix.'so!]"'*" which once for all hath sufficiently sacrificed for our sins; [26.] ' ' by himself and by none other, once and not often, upon the cross, and not upon the altar; sufficient for all such as shall be saved. He is the Priest, the high bishop that raaketh intercession for us ; the only mediator be- tween God and man, to teach man the will of God, to reconcile God to man, to make intercession between God and man. These are the peculiar duties of Christ, as we are taught in the epistle to the Hebrews. i!S?dofSu " Which is Lord of all." Lest the gentiles should conceive that Jesus Christ was promised and sent to be a Saviour only to the Jews, he answereth that objection by a prevention (so to terra it) calling him Lord of all : the Lord 1 Tim.ii.[4.] of the gentile as well as of the Jew. "Christ will that all men be saved," that is, men of all sorts. He was sent to preach peace to all, both Jews and gentiles. He is the Matt.xxviii. Lord over all, even the Lord of glory, to whom all power 1 Cor. vi. is given both in heaven and in earth. He hath bought [20.] . . . . Luiie i. [74, US all witli a great price, that we should " serve him in ''^'^ holiness and righteousness." Let us remember therefore Mai. i. [6.] that of the prophet: "If I be a Lord, where is my fear? Matt. x.[28.] saith the Lord of hosts." " Fear not them which kill the body, but be not able to kill the soul : but rather fear ye him, which is able to destroy both body and soul in hell." Christ sent 36. « Which God hath sent." " When the fulness of from Ood to preach time was come. God sent forth his Son, made of a woman. Gal. iv. [4, and made under the law, that he miuht redeem them which 5.] were under the law." He was made man for us, that in our nature he might suffer for us. He was sent of his Father, Phil. ii. [6, " being equal with his Father ; and being in the form of God, he made himself of no reputation :" all to lift us up, that were cast down to hell, and to rid us from the Nec ciuiequam tamen proficit cxquisitior quaeque crudelitas vestra ; illecebra est magis sectce. Plures efficimur, quoties mctimur a vobis : semen est sanguis cliristianorum. — Tertull. Op. Lut. Par. 1641. Apo- loget. adv. Gentes 50. p. 45.— Ed.] THEV PETEU OPENED HIS MOUTH, SiO. 285 bondage of Satan and his angels, to whom we were en- thralled. For that is imported by the peace mentioned in the words that follow. God preached by him. " He i>ai. ixi. [i.] sent me to preach the gospel to the poor," saith Christ himself in Esay. To preach the gospel, even the gospel of peace ; not to preach war between God and man, but to preach peace. For the word of the gospel is the word of reconciliation. 37. And here by Christ's example all messengers ofsucii as _ •' _ >■ o picacli must God and ministers of his word are taught by the way, t't' sent to _ " •' preacli. that before they meddle with doing this office, they must '^^tioi"- v. be lawfully sent thereto. Such as deny their lawful send- ing do also deny their lawful preaching. " For how shall k^™- they preach, unless they be sent!" saith St Paul. The prophet complaineth of such runners as be not sent : " I ^,f|''-j'^^'''- have not sent these prophets, saith the Lord ; yet they run." Such are sent as are framed thereunto by the Holy Ghost ; whom the Holy Ghost hath furnished with gifts fit for that office : which do not usurp it, but stay till they Heb. v. [4.] be lawfully called, as was Aaron. 38. Christ was not only sent to preach peace, but J^^^^°^' also to be our peace-maker; for through him "we have ^-''^'st 's a . , . . . (loctrine ot peace with God ;" and in him we should seek peace with „ ,. , . -n 1 Rom. v.[l.] men too, as far as lieth m us. For the gospel is the i|om- ■■^i'- word of peace, not of contention, tumult, and rebellion, as our adversaries term it : of it ^ own nature it is the word of peace : it cometh otherwhence that contention doth follow it ; for as soon as the gospel beginneth to be preached, Satan maketh a stir and laboureth to suppress it. As soon as the wise men asked after Christ, Herod Matt. ii. p.] was troubled. As soon as Christ entered into Jerusalem to preach, " all the city was moved." The truth hath Matt. xxi. many enemies. The light is hated of evil doers: the gospel will ever be persecuted. And in this sense is that of Christ verified, " I came not to send peace, but the [Matt. x. sword." Christ was sent to preacli peace. He preached peace, and made peace between Jews and gentiles ; or rather, between them both and the Lord. " For he is Eph. ii. [n.] peace, which hath made of both one, and hath broken "It" for "its"; the latter word being formerly not in use and gciKTully siipplifil l)y "his."— Ed.] 286 THE FOURTEENTH SERMON. John X. [16.] the stop of the partition wall;'' "Other sheep I have, (saith Christ to the Jews) which are not of this fold: them must I bring also, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one sheepfold and one shepherd." He preached peace amongst men, and brought peace into the world. At the time of his nativity (as appeareth in his- tories), there was peace amongst all nations and people throughout all the whole world'; to shew imto the world, that the Lord of peace was come into the world. Peace is the badge that God giveth to discern his from others. [ss""^"'" ^^^^ Clu-ist's liveiy-coat. " By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye love one another." " He August. cannot be at peace with God, that is at war with his neigh- bour. He cannot have concord with Christ, that nourisheth discord with a Christian"." God hath made us one : let not the devil sunder us into many. Pride is a peace-breaker: Eph. iv. [3.] humble and mild hearts are not contentious, but " labour to keep the unity of the Spu-it in the bond of peace." God hath given us Christ, the Prince of peace : he hath given us the gospel, the word of peace : he hath given us a peaceful queen, (the Lord bless her !) and common peace in our country : let us be thankful to the Lord for it ; and woe to him that shall break it ! " Be of one mind, 2 Cor. xiii. live in peace ; and the Lord of love and peace shall be with you." He preached peace, peace between God and man. Sin made division between God and us, as it is isai. lix. [2.] written in Esay : " Your iniquities have separated between you and your God." So that God's favour descended not to us ; neither could our prayers ascend unto him. But Christ hath removed this wall of division: he hath taken [Col. ii. 14.] away this stoppage : " he hath cancelled on the cross this Avriting that was against us :" he hath made us a free 2 Cor. V. access unto God. Bv him we are reconciled unto God the [18.] Father. He hath laid our sins upon his own shoulders : Q Oros. Hist. MogTint. 1615, p. 512.— Ed.] [^■^ The following is probably the passage referred to : Unde Johannes dicit. Qui enim non diligit fratrem suum quern videt, Deum quern non videt, quonaodo potest diligere ? jMentiebantur enim quidam dilectionem se Dei habere, et de odio fratemo earn non habere convincebantur. — August. Op. Par. 1680. Expos. Epist. ad Gal. Cap. v. Tom. in. Pars u. col. 970.— Ed.] THEN PETER OPENED HIS MOUTH, &C. 287 he hath borne the pese' of his Fathers heavy wrath and indignation : he hath satisfied God's justice, and pacified hiiS anger, and made a perfect peace between God and us. Man's conscience can never rest nor be at peace, until it be settled in the full persuasion of remission of sins in the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus; whereby God receivetli us into his favour, and is at one with us through him. This is that joyful tidings of peace with God, which Christ was sent to preach unto the world. This is that " peace which passeth all understanding." He that with Phii. iv. [7.] patience resteth in this peace doth suffer all things : he rejoiceth in the midst of troubles and afflictions: he is not overcome with the fear of man's malice, but will cheer- fully and boldly say with St Paul, " If God be with us, Rom. viii. who can be against us V And with the prophet, " I will Psai. iv. [8.] lay me down, and sleep in peace ; for thou. Lord, only makest me dwell in safety." This is that peace which Christ preached, and promised to leave with his elect : " Peace John xiv. I leave with you, my peace I give unto you : not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor fear." This peace is far from the ungodly: " there is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked." They isaL ivH. are ever restless : the biting worm never ceaseth to gnaw and grate in their cumbered consciences. 39. Christ preached peace, when the Lord sent him. Jp,!,.'! 'if He was not negligent in his office ; he answered his calling preacf,ing carefully. He " wont about doing good, and healing all that p***^*' were oppressed of the devil." He was not retchless in God's matters. He was no dumb dog, no idle idol. He crept not into a corner, he hid not himself; but he walked, he went abroad : he said to his disciples, " Go ye, preach '^^viii. ye :" he gave the example himself : he lay not out of his diocese : he was resident upon his charge, and looked to every part of it : he made not his continual abode at Jeru- salem, nor at Jericho, nor at Capernaum, nor in any one city, town, or village, but he went through all Jewry and Galilee : not to poll and pill, to extort and wring out of the people what he could ; but it was to do good, and to heal such as were oppressed of the devil, to preach thi; word, and to work miracles. He preached throughout his [} Pese— weight, — Ed.] 288 THE FOURTEE\TH SERMON. Mark i. [38.] whole charge: " For I came out," saith he, "for that pur- pose." Nor only did he gladly teach such as came unto pM."' ^^"^^ ' invited also and provoked all that were weary and loaden to come, promising them that he would refresh their souls. And herein he did the office of a priest. And again, he healed all that Satan had afflicted ; and herein he Psai. i.\xii. did the office of a king. " He shall judge the poor of the people,"" saith the prophet : " he shall save the children of the needy, and shall subdue the oppressor." He threw out his enemy, the oppressor Satan, and delivered his people out of that enemy's hands. An example for the magistrate to defend the innocent, to deliver the oppressed, to punish the transgressor : for the sword is given him to this end. An example for the minister to teach the word of God, and confirm it with doing what good soever he may, ac- cording to the talents that the Lord hath given him. Finally, an example for every faithful Christian, to shew James ii. forth his belief by his conversation, his faith by works, [18.] , • , ' ^ 2Pet.i. [10.] " to make his vocation and calling sure" thereby, "lor God was with him." Christ wrought his wonderful works by the power of God, and not (as the scribes falsely charged him) by the power of Beelzebub ; " for God was with him." He taught the word that he received of his Father: he i,uke.\i. cast out devils by the finger of God. He was no chopper or changer of the word : he used neither witchcraft, sorcery, nor conjuring. He WTOught not by the devil, but by the power of God. chris^'died '^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^ again to procure procurc US this peace. " They slew him, hans'ino' him on the peace ^ r j ' o o which he a tree. God raised him up the third day." The death and preached. _ •' resurrection of Christ is the only mean of our reconciliation Rom. iv. and peace with God. For "he died for our sins, and rose ^"^"'^ for our justification." By his death and passion he hath cancelled, and fastened upon the cross, the hand-writing that was against us. He hath pacified God's wrath, he hath procured God's favour ; of enemies made us friends, of Eph. ii. [19.] strangers citizens, of the children of wTath the children of God, and fellow-heirs of his eternal kingdom. Gocihath 41. Before this crucified Christ, that died and rose hiniajudje affain, we shall appear to give an account of our whole life, of quick aud > , , , i i--r-i OiT-»j. dead. ot our thouglits, our works and words, i^or, as fet reter THEN PETER OPENED HIS MOUTH, &C. 289 saith, " he is ordained of God a judge of the quick and the dead." At the latter day he is appointed to be judge of all flesh: "the Father hath delivered all judgment unto John v. [22.] him." And " we shall all stand before his iudement seat, 2 Cor. v. . . [10.] that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or evil." This judge is both judge and witness. " I will come near unto you to judgment ; and I will be a swift witness against the soothsayers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that wrong- fully keep back the hireling's wages, and vex the widow and the fatherless, and oppress the stranger, and fear not me, saith the Lord of hosts." Nothing is hid from his eyes, he seeth the secrets of all hearts : he will not be corrupted, but give unto every one according to his works. Christ is judge. Wherefore we are taught to leave revenge unto him. " Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Rom. xn. Lord." For private men to revenge wrongs is to usurp '^'^^ Christ's office, to take judgment out of his hands whom God the Father hath appointed judge of the quick and the dead. You that be afflicted and oppressed with misery and wrong, lift up your heads ; " for your re- Matt. xxiv. demption draweth near." You that oppress and wrong Lilke^xxi. your brethren, repent, and desire pardon, lest the sentence of God's justice overtake you. His justice no man can abide ; " for in his siojht shall none that liveth be ius- Psai. cxiiii. „ . . . [2.] tified." Christ therefore is given, as St Peter teach- eth, to be our Jesus, that is, our Saviour ; our Christ, that is, anointed, a King, a Priest, and Prophet; the Lord of all, whom we ought to serve in holiness and righteousness ; sent of God, and made man, he preached peace between God and man, and between men among themselves : he died to be a sacrifice for us : he rose again to justify us : he is made our judge, and doth judge justly. 42. Now we with Peter, or rather with the Holy ^Jj^^J^j^^"'' Ghost, with the prophets and apostles, grive herein to '•'■^ . .... ~ sermon giv- Christ that which is his own. And here is the controversy 9^ , , , . Christ is bv between the adversaries of the gospel, the papists, and us. jjsaisogiven We give unto Christ that which is his rieht : thev rob, ""^ ^0 Our" eltiV'tT" and take from him that which is his due. We spoil our- s^'ics- 19 [sANDY.f.] 290 THE FOURTEENTH SERMON. selves of all righteousness, and seek to be clothed with his righteousness : they clothe themselves with their own righteousness, not caring for that righteousness which is in him. We hope to be saved by him, our only priest, our sacrifice, our mediator : they have shaven priests, and un- bloody sacrifices, and infinite mediators both of saints and angels. To be short, we acknowledge Christ our whole Saviour, and all the glory thereof we give unto God : tliey will be saved by themselves, their merits, their pardons ; they impart the glory of God unto dead men, to images, to relics, and to dumb creatures, ofthe'peace '^^^^ third and last part of St Peter"'s sermon was, chdsthath ^^^^ made partakers of peace by faith in Christ's are made ^^"^ name. " To him all the prophets give witness, that through partakers jjjg name all that believe in him shall receive remission of by faith. sins." Wherein three things are remembered unto us : that remission of sins is free ; that we receive it by faith ; and that this doctrine is witnessed by all the prophets. of'sins^free ^esh. hath sinned, and doth need forgiveness. Mark ii. [7.] God is the Only forgiver of our sins. Neither doth he Tit. iii. [5.] forgive them in respect of man's merits ; but of his mercy, good-will, and free mercy. The only means, that moved God to be merciful freely to sinful man, was that most acceptable sweet bloody sacrifice which the innocent Son Bora. iii. of God offered upon the cross for our sins. " AU have [23, 24.] ginned, and are deprived of the glory of God ; and are justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." He took our unrighteousness upon 2Cor.v. himself, and clothed us with his justice; and "he, who knew no sin, was made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." In Christ and for Actsiv. Christ we receive free I'emission of sins. "There is no [12.] other name given us under heaven whereby we may be John viii. saved." " I am the way, the truth, and the life : no man johnxiv!^'"' cometh to the Father, but by me," saith Christ. No sin ^^'^ forgiven but through him ; and through him all sins are forgiven freely. Of remission 45. The mean whereby we are made partakers of this of sins we i are made free rcmission of Sins, m the death and resurrection of by'faith? Christ, is faith in Christ. " For all" (saith Peter) " that believe in him shall receive remission of sins through his THEN PETER OPENED HIS MOUTH, &C. 291 name." God doth freely offer unto us remission of sin and peace in Christ : the mean and instrument to receive it withal is faith. He that believoth is made partaker of it ; and not of it only, but of eternal life also. " For he that John iii. believeth in me hath life eternal," saith our Saviour Christ. But this faith, this justifying faith, doth work through Rom. iii. love, and sheweth itself by works. The good tree will be Gai? v. [6.] fruitful. The believing justified child of God will fear God [is.] " and work righteousness. 46. This doctrine of justification by faith in the death unto this J _ doctrine all and resurrection of Christ Jesu is witnessed by all the •' phets bear prophets. It is no new doctrine, but old ; not only pro- witness, ceeding from the apostles, but also from the prophets. For Luke xxiv. Moses and all the prophets bear witness of him. And as '"^'''^ they, so the apostles after them. Whose steps we must follow, and acknowledge that no doctrine is to be esta- blished, but that which is testified by the apostles and Eph. ii. [20.] prophets. The true church of Christ doth build her faith on their foundation. God will be worshipped and served according to his prescript word, and not according to the brain of man. The prophets and apostles, with all such as be ministers of the word, are here and elsewhere called witnesses : yea, Christ himself termeth himself a witness of the truth. " For this cause am I born, and for this John xviii. [37 ] cause came into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth." And Christ saith to his apostles, "Ye shall Acts i. [s.] be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in Samaria; even to the uttermost ends of the earth." 47. The truth is to be testified by public preaching. S"/the' Paul commendeth the Thessalonians for believing his testi- f™{ea(Ij°ing mony. His testimony was the gospel, which he did preach " "rm'^'-^font and testify unto them. According to the voice that did 'j*"*^" speak unto him when he was cast off" his horse : " I have ^cts xxvi. appeared to thee for this purpose, to appoint thee a mi- nister and witness both of things which thou hast seen, and of the things in which I will appear unto thee." The truth is also testified by writing. By the writings of the prophets, apostles, and evangelists, the truth of God, Jesus Christ, was most plainly testified. As John, to name one John xxi. of them among many : " This is that disciple which tes- ^^'^ tifieth of these things." The truth is also witnessed when 1.9—2 292 THE FOUKTEENTH SERMON. as it is testified in blood : for a martyr is a witness. Christ told Peter, that when he was young he girded him- self, and walked whither he lusted ; but when he waxed old, other should gird him, and carry him whither he would 18° 19]™' "Now this" (saith John) "he spake, signifying by what death he should glorify God." Many martyrs have Kev.xii. thus testified the truth with suffering for it. But "they [11.] ° overcame by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony, not loving their life," no, not " to the death." That minister which will neither testify it by public preaching, nor by writing, will hardly testify it by Matt. xxvi. suffering; but will rather say with Peter, "I know not ^'''''■^ the man." But I must here make an end, for the time hath overtaken me ; and without repetition, as you know the manner is. To God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, three Persons and one almighty and all- merciful God, be rendered all thanks, and all glory given, for ever and ever. Amen. THE FIFTEENTH SERMON. A SERMON PREACHED AT STRAUSBOROUGH, IN THE TIME OF QUEEN MARY'S REIGN. 2 Cor. VI. 1. We therefore, as helpers, beseech you that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. 2. For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee : behold, now the accepted time, behold, now the day of salvation. The prophet, to abate the haughty conceit which na- God hath . ,1 , p 1 • 1 i created men turally we have oi ourselves, m such sort as every man to serve were his own God, and had no other whom to praise for him.''°"°"'^ the graces and gifts wherewith he is beautified and set forth as a mirror for all other creatures to behold and wonder at, endeavoureth to turn away our eyes from too much gazing upon our own excellency, by pointing as it were his finger at him who is author of every good and perfect gift, saying, " He made us, and not we ourselves." P ] For what end and purpose, Zachary teacheth ; namely, " that we might serve him in holiness and righteousness Luke i. [74, before hira all the days of our fife." "For we are his liilii. ii. [lo.] workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath ordained that we should walk in them."" " Ye are not," saith St Paul to the Corinthians, " your i cor. vi. own." Why so? "For you are bought with a price : glorify therefore God in your body, and in your spirit; for they are God's." ' Forsomuch then as we are all of the household of God, all one in Christ, all members of one and the same spiritual body, worshipping one Lord, receiving one baptism, professing one faith, and expecting one glory to be revealed upon us in that great day ; it 294 THE FIFTEENTH SERMON. is our duty, in token of our near conjunction in the Spii-it, with one heart, one mind, and as it were with one mouth, to present ourselves before his mercy seat, to praise him, to hear his word, to receive the seals of his merciful co- venant in the gospel, and to offer him our needful sup- plications together, that in all things it may appear that we are one, as he and the Father are one, even one God to be blessed for ever, ^ijoyf 2. With what zeal and desire God's people of old ness'the" ^^ero wout to do tliis, WO may guess by that which we fonn tlie^r"^ read of the prophet David ; who, being persecuted of his thrLord" wicked and unnatural son, and driven from the presence of that glorious tabernacle, which with great triumph and joy himself had placed in the city of David, where he was wont with the rest of the people to call upon the name of the Lord, to hear the law, and to offer sacrifice upon those beautiful altars, conceived such a deep impression of grief by the sorrowful meditation of those sweet and hea- venly comforts, whereof his soul had tasted in former times, that, forgetting quite the loss of all other royalties what- soever, he maketh moan for nothing but only this, that he might not now be partaker of those inestimable benefits, and the comforts of mind and conscience, which he was wont to receive at the hand of God, at such time as with the rest of the Israelites he resoiicd to the tabernacle, where God promised to be present and favourably to hear the petitions there made unto him. Of this his great misery he complaineth him lamentably in divers of his psalms ; but especially in the eighty-fourth, where he break- PsaK Kxxiv. eth out iuto thcsc words of great zeal : " O Lord of hosts, how amiable are thy tabernacles ! My soul longeth, yea, and fainteth for the courts of the Lord : mine heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God." He goeth on, and magnifieth the blessed estates of those silly birds, which might have their nests and lay their young even close by the altars, from the presence of which he was exiled. In the end, to shew the happy case wherein they are to whom continual and daily access to the house of the Lord is granted, he preferreth one day spent there before a thousand any otherwhere, the meanest room about the house; of (iod before the highest throne in the palaces of WE THEREFORE AS HELPERS, &iC. 295 the wicked. In another psalm he so speaketh, as if every (lay's absence from that holy place were a thousand years: " When shall I come to appear before the presence of Godf As if he should have said, Shall I never? Never shall I be so happy ? So the Israelites, at such time as Psai. they were exiles in Babylon, declared their earnest desires '^''^ this way by their bitter tears ; Nehemias, by his heavi- ness in the presence of the king ; Christ, by leaving his mother to present himself at holy exercises in the temple, being but as yet of green and tender age. And with what zeal, joy, and gladness, the disciples of Christ, after the death of their Master, joined themselves together in private houses, when by reason of the cruel persecution by the priests they durst not shew themselves abroad, it appear- eth both in the Evangelists and in the Acts of the Apos- tles. Yea, when afterward the Spirit of God miraculously descending upon them had increased both their zeal and courage, they openly professed him whom before they worshipped in secret places. No fear, no prohibition, no threatening of higher powers was able to witliliold them : they spake, they entered into the temple, they taught daily ; and being persecuted, were glad that God thought Acts v. [41.] them worthy to suffer for his sake, who had died for theirs. God, according to his promise, is ever present in his con- gregation. " Wheresoever two or three are assembled in Matt. .wiii. his name, he is with them :"" yea, what thing soever his '■^"'^ saints so assembled shall lawfully ask, his promise is, it shall be given them. 8. With what earnest desire, dear brethren, ought we '"^s. . . alacrity in then to stand in this place before the Lord : beino: driven serving God 1 \ r< ^ T\ • required from the tabernacle of God, as David persecuted, as the ""w cspe- cially. blessed apostles of Christ exiled, as Israel cast out of the churches wherein wc were nursed and trained up ! How thankful ought wc to be to our heavenly Father, who hath in so ample a manner, in the midst of our manifold dis- tresses and griefs, caused the light of his countenance to shine in the faces of us his poor afflicted servants ! For although, because wc, our princes, our prophets, and our people, have grievously sinned in not esteeming so preciously, nor following so religiously, his blessed gospel as wc ought to do, therefore he hath bereaved us of our worldly [)ro8- 296 THE FIFTEENTH SERMON. perity, and brought these miseries upon us, wherein we now are ; yet, knowing that we are the sheep of his pasture, how- soever we have wandered and gone astray, it hath pleased him in great abundance of mercy so to temper the sharpness of his correction, that we find him still our present helper at hand, and ready most to succour us in our extremest need. Could we wish for more at the hands of God than, being banished and constrained to forsake all the profits and comforts which we enjoyed at home in our native country, here amongst aliens and strangers to find a city so safe to dwell in, maintenance so competent for our needful and rea- sonable sustentation, such grace in the eyes of the godly magistrates under whom we live, such favour and respect to our hard estate, such free liberty to come together, to call upon God in our common prayers, to hear his word sincerely and truly preached in our own natural tongue, to the great and unsearchable comfort of our souls ; finally, all things so strangely and almost miraculously ministered and brought imto our hands, as doubtless we could never have found here, if the Lord himself had not gone before, as it were, to make ready and to provide for us? O what tokens of mercy and special favour hath our kmd and gracious Father shewed us in this our exile and distress for his gospel, in these our sorrowful and afflicted times! We have lost the saving truth at home, and found it abroad : our countrymen are become our enemies, and strangers are made our friends : being persecuted by our native rulers, foreign magistrates have shewed us favour. In banishment we have a place to dwell in : in anguish we [2 Cor. vi. abound with comfort ; and, as the apostle speaketh, " having nothing, we are as possessing all things." Therefore, dear brethren, having received these so great and rare graces at the merciful hands of our good God, I may justly, as one of your poor helpers in these holy labours, use the words of St Paul, which in the beginning I recited; ex- horting and beseeching you, " that ye receive not this grace of God in vain."" Be not an unthankful people : neglect not the great benefit now offered unto you : approach with all reverence, and present yourselves as humble petitioners before the Lord, and careful servants before our God. For I say unto you, as Jacob said in his journey towards WE THEREFORE AS HELPERS, &C. 297 Mesopotamia : Vere Dominus est in loco isto : " truly God is Gen. xxviii. here," even present amongst us. We do clearly and plainly per- ceive that, our fathers and mothers, our friends and familiars, having forsaken us, he hath received us as his dearest. 4. Let us now take a view of St Paul's words, which f^oJ,"^" I have propounded to entreat of. In the entrance of which fj^ipg"' * he professetli himself to be our helper, furthering us and setting us forward in the course of our salvation, not only by teaching the word of reconcilement, remission of sins, free mercy in the death and through the merits of Christ crucified ; but also by most earnest and vehement exhorta- tion, beseeching us worthily to receive this so freely offered grace and blessing. Now, as Paul was an helper and a mover unto godliness, so no doubt we ought all to be helpers every one to another, according to our calling, in distributing and communicating such gifts as we have received at the bountiful hands of God ; " every one,"" according to that of i Pet. iv. St Peter, " as he hath received grace himself, so ministering it to another, as good dispensers of the manifold graces of God." For he hath not delivered us our talents to be AVTapped up, hidden, and buried in the earth : we are stewards so to use the riches of his grace, as may be most to the advantage of his glory amongst men. •5. Unto this our blessed apostle exhorting setteth Three ^ ° _ thiiiss con- three especial things before our eves to be considered, tai""! i" TT 1 1 • T p 1 Paul's ex- r irst, he putteth us in remembrance of the great mercy iiortation. of God towards us, whereof we are moved not to shew ourselves unworthy receivers : secondly, he sheweth that this is the acceptable and only accounted time, wherein it must appear whether we receive that grace in vain or no : thirdly, he teacheth wherein and how we must declare ourselves so to have received it as behoveth. 6. "Receive not the grace of God in vain.'" I will „f^g^!^y,„^ not travail to tell you, how diversely the name of grace is '[■'' -.'"•ice ot *i ^ J o Ond in vain. taken in the sacred scriptures; but rather note unto you ^^''ft.ti'at 1 J "race IS. in what sense the Holy Ghost doth chiefly use it in this place. Grace is the favour and mercy of God towards sinful men. " It is called grace, because it is given gi-atis ; An?.inPsai. freely and undeservedly on our parts, to whom it is given'." (7 "Miser ego homo, quis me liberabit do corpore mortis hujus? Gratia Dei per Jcsum Christum Dominum nostrum." Quare gi-atia? Quia 298 THE FIFTEENTH SERMON. I For us it is purchased, by the only mean and mere merit of our Saviour Christ ; and to us it is both offered and (!xhibited, by the voluntary and unprovoked operation of the Spirit. This grace in itself being large and more than sufficient for all men, the Holy Ghost divideth and bestow- eth upon each, breathing where and as he listeth, according to the secret pleasure of his will. Through it we have salvation, whereas through sin we deserve death. For our iniquity was heinous in the sight of God ; first committed by Adam, and since continued in us. But far more ex- ceeding was the mercy of our Lord, who, when we were Gal. iv. his enemies, "sent forth his Son, made of a woman, and 5.] ' . . made under the law, that he might redeem them which were under the law, and that we might receive the adop- tion of sons." No tongue can express, neither any mind conceive this graciousness. Yet let us ponder it with such consideration as we are able. Great therefore, I say, was the mercy of our Creator, who gave his Son ; and great the love of our Saviour, who gave even himself for us. Our thraldom was great, that required a ransom of such value ; our guiltiness much, that could no otherwise be washed away, but with the very heart blood of the inno- cent Lamb of God, Christ Jesus our Lord : yea, inestimable and uneffable was the love of our gracious Lord, who, to spare us, spared not himself. He was content to become ignominious before men, that we might be glorious with his Father ; to be condenmed, that we might be absolved ; to be crowned with thorns, to purchase us a crown of im- mortality ; to lose his life, that we might gain life ; to suffer death, that we might escape it ; and to become as hated and accursed of God, that we might find favour and eternal grace with him. In his death our sin is pardoned : by his blood our filthiness is washed away: by his resur- rection we are reconciled to his Father, and made at one with God. Let us not break this so happy truce betwixt the Lord and us : let us not through sin condemn ourselves again : now that we arc justified, let us not walk toward hell, ho having made plain and easy the path to heaven. Quia gratis datur. Quare gratis datur? Quia nicrita tua non praeccs- senint, scd beneficia Dt-i te prsevenerunt. — August. Op. Par. 1681. In Psalmum xxx. Enarrat. ii. 0. Tom. iv. col. 149. — Ed.] WE THEREFOKE AS HELPERS, &C. 299 The image of God in us, defaced through Adam, is repaired by Christ: let us appeal', therefore, in this pure image before God, that we may be acceptable in his pure sight. Through Christ we are called to be citizens with the saints, and God's household servants : let us then put on the gar- ments of truth and innocency, that so it may appear whose servants we are by our Lord's livery. We are made the happy heirs of his glorious kingdom, and fellow heirs with Jesus Christ : wherefore let us not seek so possessions here, that we lose a better inheritance above in heaven. If we do, it is in vain that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ hath been so , largely offered unto us, and plentifully poured on us. Yea, his grace will increase the wofulness of our destruction. 7. Grace is offered and received by two especial out- g^^^^eii by ward means ; the preaching of the gospel, and the holy ^'["I'l^I^^.',.'^. administration of the blessed sacraments. These two are "lents. the instruments, or rather the hands, by the which the Holy Ghost doth offer, exhibit, seal, and deliver the grace of God unto us. 8. And there be two sorts of men to whom grace J;,"",! in is offered by the word in vain. The one are they which ^'""j'l^o**^ will not give it so much as the hearing, but do utterly hcant" contemn and unkindly refuse that which the Lord doth so kindly and so graciously offer to them. The other, they that hear it indeed, road it, but consider it not ; re- ceive it, but altogether without fruit, and for fashion's sake. Of the former sort are all such as Pharaoh was, who enjoined Moses to come no more in his sight, for he would not hear him. Such also were the Jews, to whom when Stephen preached, they stopped their ears. Such they of Acts vii. whom the Lord complaineth by the prophet, saying, " I jsai. ixvi. s[)ake and they would not hear." .9. Of the latter sort there be three kinds shadowed I'o as m the parable of the sower, which went forth to sow his rcta\n it seed : whereof some fell in the highway side, some in stony Matt. xiii. and gravelly ground, some also amongst thorns. That which fell by tiie highway side, either the birds of the air picked up, or men trod upon with their feet. Which our Saviour applieth unto him that heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandctli it not ; and by and bye the devil taketh it away, lest he should believe, and so be 300 THE FIFTEENTH SERMON. saved. For it fareth with the word preached, as with the seed sown. Some are so dissolute and retchless, that they let it in at the one ear, and out at the other. The hearts of some be so hardened and parched, because they want the watering of God's Spirit (which doth only mol- lify), that his word can take no root in them. The devil and his deceitful angels do so bewitch them, and fill their hearts with vain cogitations, so abalienate their minds, and trouble their memory, that they cannot tell what is said : it is forgotten by that it is spoken. Yea, the devil doth so throughly occupy the hearts of many other with superstitious opinions and fond persuasions, or with such worldly desires, such fleshly lusts, such froward affections, that the hearing of the blessed word is a wearisome work unto them : every hour spent that way is as tedious as a year, and thought to be wholly lost. Many likewise both hear the word preached, and read the scriptures, as the Pharisees did hear them ; that they may seem to favour the gospel, and so, under pretence of holiness, blind the eyes of others, and purloin commodity to themselves. Such come in amongst the children of God, as did Satan of old : yet God knows them to be children of darkness, not of light ; yea, and oftentimes he so shaketli them out of their painted rags, that the whole world may espy their ugly and deformed nakedness. Whilst by their hypocrisy they labour to deceive others, they deceive, yea, and damn themselves. To this sort of men therefore the word is offered ; but all in vain. Either they receive it not, or they receive it to their own destruction. 10. The second sort are resembled to the stony soil, which receiveth the seed, and it taketh root for a time ; but when the heat of the sun cometh, it withereth away. Many such there be, which have gladly heard the gospel, have frequented sermons with appearance of great devotion, and could freshly talk of the holy scriptures of God. But when the heat of the sun burst out, when persecution and fire followed the professors of it, O Lord, how many have shrunk, yea, and utterly fallen from it ! How many per- secutors now, which then were professors ! Not one amongst forty hath tarried the beam and blaze of his burning and trying sun. O Lord God, wonderful is thy mercy ; yet WE THEREFORE AS HELPERS, &C. 301 their estate is pitiful. These our times, clear brethren, have marvellously tried what ground we be, what root God's word hath taken in us. Much gravelly ground doth now appear, which before was thought to be sound and battle'. So it is, the timeliest fruit often cometh to least proof. The freshest gospeller in appearance, in experience is found not to be the soundest ; and the greatest talkers, oftentimes the idlest workers ; and such as have bragged most, when it came to be tried in the field, have first fled. Such are God's judgments ; who seeth far otherwise than man can see, and through a fawning face espieth a traitor's heart. How vainly therefore a great sort have received and gloried in this gospel, we now perceive, and with mournful hearts do rue it. The Lord forgive them, and strengthen us with his grace unto the end ! Here we learn that persecution followeth this seed of God. Christ testifieth that he came to send the sword amongst us, and Matt. x. not peace ; signifying, that the gospel would procure many enemies, and much persecution. Wherefore, " my son," eccIus. ii. saith the wise man in the book of Ecclesiasticus, " when '"''^ thou comest to the service of God, stand in justice and fear, and make ready thy soul to trial." Happy is that ground which, being tried, is found good and fruitful. 11. The third sort are compared to eround overgrown To such as J. o o receive it with thorns. For as thorns choke the seed which is sown a"'''t''ai"'t. but iinpro- amongst them, so that it cannot bring forth that fruit fitabiy. which it ought to do ; so the cares of the world, and the pleasures of this life, which bo as thorns to wound, as brambles and briars to entangle the minds and consciences of men, destroy that spiritual seed, which in a heart well prepared and purged from these weeds would grow up unto everlasting life. In this number we may reckon those base-minded worldlings mentioned in the parable ; who, being invited, came not, because their farms, their oxen, and their wives, withheld them. The inordinate care that some have for their children and family, how to find them food and raiment more than sufficient ; the desire that others have to keep their worldly substance, their posses- sions and riches, and also to increase the same, and get to live in wealth themselves, and to leave their children [' Battle— rich, fcrtilp.— En.] 302 THE FIFTEENTH SERMON. rich ; the pleasure that some other have to Hve in honour, and to be in office, finely to feed, and to go gorgeously, to follow their lusts and the transitory pleasures of this vain world, hath overgrown, yea utterly choked, in a great sort of men, a great deal of good seed. Many there be whom the cares, the riches, and the pleasures of this sinful world have so bewitched and drawn into so corrupt a sense, that even, like the Gadarenes or Gir- gesites, rather than lose one of their pigs, they will bid adieu to the gospel of Christ, and beseech the Lord of salvation to depart out of their coasts. Most true there- fore it is which St Paul noteth in them, whose hearts are possessed with carefulness of this world's good. " They that will be rich fall into temptation and snares, and into many foolish and noisome lusts, which drown men in per- dition and destruction." Riches are the nurses of all vain delights and fleshly pleasures. This caused our Saviour so ] heavily to threaten: "Woe be to the wealthy!" Let us therefore learn, by this warning of our Saviour, when the gospel of Christ is preached, to take heed, that neither it be devoured by birds, nor trodden down with feet, nor withered with heat, nor choked with thorns, and so made unprofitable ; but rather, being received, kept, and cherished in the ground of our hearts, it may grow and increase so abundantly, that when the Lord shall see it ready for the sickle, and send his angels to cut it down, it may fill the reapers' hands, and make rich the bams of him that looketh for fruit of it. 12. Now, as the graces of God purchased for us by Christ are offered unto us by the word, so are they also most lively and effectually by the sacraments. Christ hath instituted and left in his church, for our comfort and the confirmation of our faith, two sacraments or seals ; bap- tism, and the Lord's supper. In baptism, the outward washing of the flesh declareth the inward purging and cleansing of the Spirit. In the eucharist, or supper of the Lord, our corporal tasting of the visible elements, bread and wine, sheweth the heavenly nourishing of our souls unto life by the mystical participation of the glo- rious body and blood of Christ. For inasmuch as he saitli of one of these sacred elements, " This is my body which WE THEREFORE AS IlEM'ERS, &C. 303 is given for you and of the other, " This is my blood,'" [Matt he giveth us plainly to understand, that all the graces, which may flow from the body and blood of Christ Jesus, are in a mystery here not represented only, but presented unto us. So then, although we see nothing, feel and taste nothing, but bread and wine ; nevertheless let us not doubt at all, but that he spiritually performeth that which he doth declare and promise by his visible and outward signs; that is to say, that in this sacrament there is offered unto the church that very true and heavenly bread, which feedeth and nourisheth us unto life eternal ; that sacred blood, which will cleanse us from sin, and make us pure in the day of trial. Again, in that he saith, " Take, eat : [Matt drink ye all of this," he evidently declareth that his body ^' and blood are by this sacrament assured to be no less ours than his ; he being incorporate into us, and as it were made one with us. That he became man, it was for our sake : for our behoof and benefit he suffered : for us he rose again : for us he ascended into heaven ; and finally for us he will come again in judgment. And thus hath he made himself all ours ; ours his passions, ours his merits, ours his victory, ours his glory ; and therefore he giveth himself and all his, in this sacrament, wholly unto us. The reason and course whereof is this. In his word he hath promised and certified us of remission of sins, in his death ; of righteousness, in his merits ; of life, in his resurrection ; and in his ascension, of heavenly and ever- lasting glory. This promise we take hold on by faith, which is the instrument of our salvation : but because our faith is weak and staggering through the frailty of our mortal flesh, he hath given us this visible sacrament, as a seal and sure pledge of his irrevocable promise, for the more assurance and confirmation of our feeble faith. If a prince gave out his letters patent of a gift, so long as the seal is not put to, the gift is not fully ratified ; and the party to whom it is given thinketh not himself suffi- ciently assured of it. God's gift, without sealing, is sure ; as he himself is all one, without changing : yet, to bear with our infirmity, and to make us more secure of his promise, to his writing and word he added these outward signs and seals, to establish our faith, and to certify us 304 THE FIFTEENTH SERMON. How grace is received by the sa- craments, and not in vain. 1 Cor. xi. [28.] Matt. xxii. [12.] that his promise is most certain. He giveth us therefore these holy and visible signs of bread and wine, and saith, "Take and eat, this is my body and blood;" giving unto the signs the names which are proper to the things sig- nified by them ; as we use to do even in common speech, when the sign is a lively representation and image of the thing. 13. Let us therefore be thankful unto our Redeemer Christ for these' his great benefits, and so unspeakable and undeserved mercies ; and let us receive this holy sacra- ment as a sure pledge, that the virtue of his death and passion is imputed unto us for justice, even as though we had suffered the same which he did in our own natural bodies. Let us not be so perverse, as to draw back when Jesus Christ calleth us so lovingly to this royal feast; but, with good consideration of the worthiness of this gift, present we ourselves with a fervent zeal, that we may come worthily to this holy table. " Let each man try himself, and so eat," saith the apostle. Let us enter into ourselves therefore, and examine the estate of our hearts and souls, and consider in what case we stand. If we be not of the sanctified household of God, not Christ's servants and faithful disciples, shall we dare presume to press in, being aliens and strangers to the Lord's, as most comfortable, so also most dreadful, table ? No : let no im- penitent blasphemer of God, no whoremonger, or vile and unrepented sinner, presume to touch or taste this food ; for such shall not feed upon Christ and his merits, but they receive their own damnation. But such as will wor- thily feed at this blessed feast must earnestly and truly mourn for their sins past, in a settled purpose and reso- lution never willingly to defile themselves again. And such as will be partakers of this bread that came from heaven, Jesus Christ, our one and only Saviour, must also be as one bread or loaf, and as one body joined together in brotherly love and all other offices of godly and christ- ian charity. For if thou come to this banquet without this vesture of love, it shall be said unto thee, " Friend, how earnest thou hither, not having on thy wedding gar- ment f A woful speech, and an end most miserable. Let this suffice for the first point, which is the blessed WE THEREFORE AS HELPERS, &C. 305 apostle's exhortation, " not to receive the grace of (lod in vain." 14. Concerning the second member, wherein we •i'''^ xiie tfme to nut in mind that this is the time to shew ourselves worthy receive _ _ ^ *' ^raceonerea receivers of grace ; he applieth to his purpose the words y'"' of the prophet Esay, who, speaking unto Christ as in the ti'e p'^'^^^- person of his Father, saith, " In an acceptable time have |°^P'''j. I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped [8.] thee." The acceptable time is that whereof St Paul speaketh : " When the fulness of time came, God sent Gai. iv. [4.] his Son, made of a woman." It was indeed an accept- able time and full of grace, wherein the sacrifice of Christ was so gi'aciously accepted, and his prayers heard of God. And it may well be called " a day of salvation," wherein his Father gave him a triumphant victory over those so bitter torments of death. An acceptable time was it, a day of salvation ; not so much in respect of him, who at all times was accepted, as of us, who without him and his death had been refused. For in that day was our redemption wrought by our Redeemer, and sinners saved by his passion who had no sin. And as he died and rose, so he prayed and was heard for us : "I pray for Joim wn. them ; I pray not for the world ; I pray for them whom ^^'^ thou hast given me," saith our Saviour. Now the accept- able time and day of salvation which Esay spake of, St Paul doth very aptly and effectually apply to his present occasion : " Behold, now is the acceptable time : behold, now is the day of salvation." For the fathers lived in hope of this acceptable day of grace and favour to come : but the very time beginneth from the suffering of Christ Jesus, and continueth even to the world's end. And unto every one of us so much of this acceptable time is grant- ed, as we have time granted here to live. Which being not long (because our life is but as it were a span), it may fitly be called a day, or rather an hour of salvation. This day therefore grace is offered us of God ; against whose majesty " forasmuch as all have sinned," and by Rom. iii. sin " are deprived of his glory," we must needs acknow- ^'^'^'^ ledge that for the recovering of our loss we stand all in present need of his grace. Now is the time wherein our •souls do groan to be relieved with grace and mercy. For 20 [sand vs. J 306 THE FIFTEENTH SERMON. who can say, My heart is sound, I need no physician ? What one man is thei'e amongst us all, who hath loved God as he ought to do ? or tendered his neighbour's case as he would his own ? We may dally with ourselves, and think that we suffer not for our own transgressions, that we are not cause of that great plague and calamity, which presently is come upon our country. Beloved, do not de- ceive yourselves. Our God is a righteous judge, who blesseth the innocent, and heapeth punishment upon the offending soul. For truly, if we search ourselves as we ought to do with a single eye, if we examine our thoughts, take a reckoning of our words, and peise' our deeds and ways in an equal balance ; ask our hearts, and they will tell us, inquire of our conscience, and it will declare unto us, that every one of us hath well deserved more than hath happened unto any of us : yea, we shall find that all have not suffered half so much as every one hath deserved. Gen. iii. Qur first parents, for tasting the fruit that was forbidden them, were themselves cast out of their pleasant habita- tion, and punished in all their posterity to come for ever. Have we, being terrified by the horror of their example, withheld our hands, and bridled our affections from every ^■^^Y' unlawful and forbidden thing ? Corah, Dathan, and Abiram, with their favourites and confederates, were swallowed up of the earth for whispering against Moses and against Aaron. Did we never once mutter against our good and lawful magistrates, against our judges, and against the Lord's mi- 2 Sam. xxiv. nisters ? David, for numbering of his people, procured such a plague, that seventy thousand were consumed with it ; and are we so unspotted, that we have not in as heinous a matter as this offended God ? Would to God we were ! but the Lord and our own consciences do know, how far otherwise the case doth stand. I will not enter into particulars, nor open the sores of any man, but send you home into the closet of your own hearts to see it. And if we prose- cute the comparison in such wise as hath been touched, I nothing doubt but every one of us may justly lay the cause of this heavy displeasure of God, and grievous plague, upon himself : every one may say and cry out with the prophet David, " It is I that have sinned," 1 that have [' IVise — poise, weigh.— En.] WE THEREFORE AS HELPERS, ifec. 307 committed iniquity and deserved this great vengeance. The smart whereof as we do outwardly feel, so, if it inwardly pierce us to the quick of our hearts and souls, if we be ti-uly wounded and humbled in deed with the grievous re- membrance of our former sins ; this is, of all other, the most acceptable time for us to receive the saving health of God ; who as he taketh his time to offer us grace, so we must also take ours to receive it being offered. " To-day," saith the apostle, " if you will hear his voice, [Heb. iv. 7.] harden not your hearts." It is to-day, so long as he speak- eth by his prophet, saying, " Return every one from his jer. xviii. evil way, make your ways and your works good." " If this * nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their wickedness, I will repent of the plague that I thought to bring upon them." It is to-day, so long as that voice of John the Baptist is heard, " Repent ;" so long as wis- Matt. iii. dom uttereth her voice in the streets, and crieth, Turn ;" prdv. i. [23.] so long as our Lord and Saviour saith, " Come," it is to- M'ltt- "i- [28 ] day. These so often callings and so sweet admonitions ought to be of force sufficient to set us forward to re- pent, to turn and come to our merciful Saviour in this day of salvation, and to follow the worthy examples of our wise forefathers, who, being stiiTed up in like sort, have awaked and have been saved. That very day that pj^y"- Nathan the prophet told David of his fault, he repented, and was received to mercy. The Ninevites likewise were a wise and a circumspect people : they took their time, Jonah iii. even the acceptable time of their repentance, which else had come too late. So they, which repented at the preaching Matt. iii. of John, made speed to retire from their own by-paths, ' and to turn into the ways of God. As many as received fruitfully and effectually the grace which the Lord did offer by the hands of Peter, preaching the remission of sins, iii ['9.] they also took the opportunity of that self-same hour, and so were saved. All these things (as St Paul witnessetli) " are written for our instruction," that we might learn R"'"- xv. [4.] wisely to redeem the time, and to know the day of God's most gracious visitation. 15. Especially now, sith we do not only hear the The most IP,. . nil o • especial sound of his voice, but also feel the smart of his correc- timetore- rni • • 1 • ceive g;ra(:e tion. There is no hoi)e that ever wo will receive the "'"en goi! I .Tffliflptli. 308 THE FIFTEENTH SERMON. grace of God, if in the midst of our afflictions we refuse it. His case is desperate whom adversity cannot cure, whom eternal death hath so possessed and benumbed, that the very sharpest medicines are unable to work upon Piov, 1. [23.] ]r^[^ u Turn you, therefore," saith Wisdom, " at my cor- rection." When men are heavy laden with grief and sor- row, then are they fittest to call for and to receive re- freshing. Examples hereof are almost infinite. After Gen. xiu. Joseph's brethren were brought into comber' and into fear of their lives, they remembered their fact committed against their brother ; and it grieved them much, wliich before had much contented them. Whilst men are at ease and have rest in the flesh, grace is no grace ; the promises of God cannot have their effectual and powerful operations, 2Chron. no, not in the very elect of God. Look upon Manasses xxxiii. [2,12, , , , . 13.]^ in his throne, and in prison ; upon the people of Israel, cxxx'viL at home in peace, and abroad in banishment ; upon Noah, David, Ezekias, all the saints and servants of God, in their flourishing estate, and in their grievous troubles ; and ye shall find that the gracious offers of God were never Jobjixxiii. received worthily in deed, but in great extremities. " When a man is stricken with sorrow upon his bed, and the grief of his bones is sore," saith Elihu in the book of Job, " so that his life causeth him to abhor bread, and his soul dainty meat ; if in such a case there be a messenger with him, or an interpreter, one of a thousand, to declare unto man his righteousness, how that God will have mercy upon him, and will say, Deliver him that he go not down into the pit, for I have received a reconcihation ;" such a message of grace no doubt will then be heartily ac- cepted, or else be in vain for ever. It is affliction that maketh the kingdom of heaven to suffer violence. When we are in misery, in trouble, in distress of body and mind, then especially is the acceptable time, then is the high day jpr. xxxi. of our salvation. " Thou didst chastise me," saith the rig 1 prophet Jeremy, " and then I came to understanding." So that the most especial time to shew ourselves worthy receivers of the grace of God is when his chastisements are upon us, and his anger doth afflict our souls. Where- fore most properly, beloved in the Lord, to you it may Comber — trouble. — Ed.] WE THEKEFORE AS HELPERS, &iC. 309 be spoken, " receive not the grace of God in vain." This is tlie acceptable time, this is the day of your salvation. Although the grace of God have heretofore been offered and unkindly refused, yet, now that the hand of his heavy displeasure, now that the rod of his cori'ection is laid upon you, O receive it not now in so acceptable a time in vain ! 1 6. The only way to shew ourselves worthy receivers ^ 3. of grace is, by hearty and unfeigned repentance to acknow- way of ledge that we have sinned in perverting righteousness, and receiving to amend that which we know and acknowledge to be Fuarty re*-^ amiss. If we think to be received into his favour with- p'""'^"'^'^" out this, brethren, we deceive ourselves. He is gracious, but to the penitent ; and will have mercy upon sinners, but upon sinners which forsake their sinfulness. It is true that he will heal whom he hath spoiled ; and whom he hath wounded he will build up : he will quicken the dead, and raise up them that are thrown down ; yet so, if they say, "Come, and let us return unto the Lord." The first Hos.vi. [i.] effect therefore of grace in the heart of man is unfeigned repentance : with the doctrine whereof we are throughly enough acquainted. We have no need to be taught what the name doth signify : the nature, properties, and parts thereof are known. Only the practice wanteth ; whereunto we are so slow, and so hardly are drawn, that in this one point we weary out all our teachers : about this one thing they waste, they spend themselves. And in the end we are most commonly as we were at the first, like the leo- pard that changetli not his skin. To bring men to re- pentance is such a work of weight, that God himself seemeth as it were tired with labouring so long about it. As appeareth by those passionate and grievous complaints recorded in holy scripture : " I have spoken, they do not [isai. ixv. hear " I have stricken, they are not grieved " How r.i er. V. 3.] often would I have gathered them as a hen her chickens srlf under her wings, and they would not be gathered." " O hos. vi. [4.] Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee ? O Judah, how shall I entreat thee V Yet neither were they ignorant, and we do very well know, that there is no other medicine save repentance only, to heal the wounds of our souls ; no other way to restore ourselves again to our Father's SiO THE FIFTEEIS'TH SERMON. Luke xv. [18.] Luke vii. [37.] liy walking without oftence. [Luke xvii. 1-] home, but only, " Father, I have sinned no other mean to quench the wrathful indignation which our sins have caused to burn and Hame as an oven, but only our tears. Though our sins be red as scarlet, or as fire ; yet, being bathed with the water of our eyes, they are scoured and made as white as snow. It is written of Mary (not of that virtuous Mary, but of the dissolute), that she was mulier peccatrix ; notorious for her light and lewd behaviour. Yet by repentance, as she died unto sin, so, the memory of sin being dead unto her, she liveth still in the glori- ous remembrance of that righteousness which penitent sinners obtain by faith. She is honourably mentioned wheresoever the gospel of Christ is heard : all men speak of her tears, of her sins no one is mentioned or known. The precious oil wherewith she was wont to anoint her- self, that she might be more pleasant to the senses of her lovers, she now poureth out, and for love sake bestoweth it upon her Saviour. The eyes, which were wont to cast wanton looks upon the dissolute, did now gush out with water, and served as conduits at the feet of Christ. The hair, which before had been wrapped in gold, had been coloured, pleated, and bordered', laid out and beset with pearls, was now employed to a far other use, that the honour received from the feet of Jesus might put out the shame which before it had taken from the eyes of lewd and amorous beholders. Having washed and dried, she could not satisfy herself till she had also kissed, her Sa- viour's feet ; whose mercy had now eased her heart of tliat deadly sting, which the lips of wantons had imprinted and left behind them. O blessed pattern of true contrition, how worthily art thou left for all posterity to talk of, to behold, and to follow ! Such converts shew plainly that they are worthy receivers, and that the grace of God hath not appeared unto them in vain. For they who in this sort deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, will surely, according to the blessed apostle's exhortation which followeth, "give offence to none." 17. For although there must of necessity offences rise, yet, " Wo be to him by whom they rise !" Why ? Were not the Pharisees offended at the scholars and disciples of Bordered- -broideied. — Ed.] WE THEIIEFOKE AS HELPERS, &C. 311 Christ for not fasting, for eating with unwashed hands, for phicking the ears of corn on the Sabbath-day, and for such Hke things of their own invention, toys of no import- ance i Nay, did not the most charitable deeds of Christ liiniself offend these peevish hypocrites? It is true, they were offended with him and his, as at this day the Romish Pharisees are offended with us and ours. But we must mark and observe, that we are warned only not to give offence to any man. If men be offended with us, which by us are not offended, such offences, being not given of us but taken of them, are not our faults, but their follies. Unto us therefore at this time St Paul's exhortation im- porteth thus much, that sith God hath granted us favour in the eyes of this people, with whom we presently con- verse, it were a thing most intolerable for us with Jacob's children to commit such crimes, or give such offences, as might make us odious and loathsome in their sight. The gospel hath now gotten honour and renown by these our sufferings for it : let it not hereafter be ill spoken of and slandered through our disordered conversation. Of all others we had need to walk most warily. We are set as it were a city upon a mountain to be gazed at. Our con- versation is marked of all men, and diligent search made of it on every hand. Friends, enemies, and strangers ob- serve our steps ; and a little fault in us will be taken as a great offence. " Let the word of Christ dwell richly [Coi. iii. i6.] amongst you, with all wisdom " that ye may be blame- [Pii'i- ii- 15, less and pure, as the sons of God, without rebuke ; that we may be as shining lights in the world, holding forth the word of life, that in the day of Christ we may rejoice and be glad," as they who have not received the grace of God in vain. Let us, forsomuch as our heavenly Father, for the merits of his Son, and by the ministration of his Spirit, doth graciously offer and exhibit unto us his mani- fold mercies and benefits, especially in his holy word and sacraments, thankfully and worthily receive the same ; and namely, in this acceptable time, the only time appointed of God for us to receive and for him to offer grace. Finally, let us shew that his grace hath taken root and place in our fleshy, not fleshly hearts, in bringing forth the works of the Spirit, the fruit of true repentance, of sanctification 312 THE FIFTEENTH SERMON. and good life ; giving offence to no man, no, not to those which are without ; but walking quietly, honestly, and or- derly in all things, that men, seeing our blameless and inoffensive conversation, may glorify God the giver of all goodness, and the eternal Father. To whom, with the Son, and the Holy Ghost, one God of most glorious majesty, be all honour and praise rendered in the church for ever. Amen. THE SIXTEENTH SERMON. A SERMON PREACHED AT A MARRIAGE IN STRAUSBOROUGH. Heb. xni. 4. Marriage in honourable in all. As God made the world and all the creatures therein why God blessed contained to serve for the setting forth of his glory and plants, 1 <» •! I 1 • 1 beasts, and great majesty, so likewise by the lorcible and mighty men, with operation of his strength and power he preserveth still the mcVease , , , themselves works of his hands ; lest, if he should have only builded by propa- the goodly frame of this world, and afterward suffered the same to decay, the praise of his name should have lasted but a while, and reached but to a few ; which now passeth through many generations, and continueth to all eternity. For this he provided, when, having finished the creation of trees and herbs, and made them both beautiful and good in their appointed seasons, he blessed them with secret virtue, to multiply by bringing forth fruit and seed, each according to his kind ; that there might be a continuance and increase of things so behoveful for lively creatures. Also, that the lively and sensible creatures themselves, the birds of the air, the beasts of the field, and fishes in the sea, might yield in all ages the benefit which the children of men do reap by them ; he poured into them also the selfsame blessing of increase and fruitfulness. And as unto these, so likewise unto man, the greatest in honour, though in order the last of all his creatures, he gave the same power, to spread out himself by propagation, and to replenish the face of the earth. 2. For the seemlier and better ordering whereof, to Man's oir- the end that, as God himself is most pure, and therefore mamage. hateth all uncleanness, so the actions of men, who in nature 314 THE SIXTEENTH SERMOX. resemble him, might be framed according to the pattern of his image ; he prescribed a way how man, as beseemeth the excellency of his creation and nature, might, not after a brutish and beastly manner, but in all honesty and clean- liness, bring forth the honourable fruit of his body ; that so God's creation and work might be continued, his king- dom enlarged, and his name, by reason of the multitude, much more praised. And this mean or way appointed by God was matrimony; a state, whereof the chosen vessel of God writeth this, as the judgment of the Holy Ghost, " Marriage is honourable." Wherein for your better in- struction and learning, my purpose is to shew you the reasons of the honour which it should have, and also of the great disgrace which it hath amongst men. 1. 3. " Marriage is honourable first, in respect of the Marriage is , , , . i • i n • i j? honourable autlior by wliom it was ordamed ; secondly, m regard oi in respect of i-n o i t • i-i the author, the causcs tbereoi ; thirdly, lor the duties which are required of the parties married. Touching the first, it appeareth in the beginning of the book of Genesis, how after that God had perfectly accomplished his creation, and had given the lordship over all living creatures unto Gen. ii. [IS.] Adam, he said, "It is not good that man be alone : let us make him an helper that may be before him let us make woman. ^Vhereupon our Saviour in the gospel in- Mau. xL\. ferreth, " That therefore which God hath joined together, let no man separate approving marriage to be the in- stitution of God, and a natural order (proceeding, I mean, from the God of nature) to be observed and used for ever. Neither did he only confirm this law and ordinance of God in plain words and in his teaching, but he also did [\-n\ honest and honour the same with his presence. For being called to a marriage, he, his mother and kinsfolk gladly went, there to feast with others, where it pleased him mi- raculously to increase their cheer, and withal their honour. For it is not nothing which this doth add to the holy and reverend estimation thereof, that the first miracle which Christ wrought was wrought at a marriage, and is so by the Holy Ghost recorded. Now, besides this, that Almighty God himself ordained marriage, and that in paradise, a most heavenly habitation, and that before the innocency of man was stained with sin ; besides this, that MARRIAGE IS HONOURABLE, (fec. 315 Christ did allow and many ways approve the same, yea, and moreover vouchsafed to resemble his spiritual conjunc- tion with his church unto this estate ; we find that the patriarchs, the priests, and prophets, the holiest men of God, Abraham, Moses, Aaron, and the rest of that blessed company, have chosen to live rather in marriage than otherwise ; acknowledging thereby the state of marriage to be undoubtedly no less allowable, if not more honour- able, than single life. 4. Concerning the second point, that is to say, the jjarrfage is honour which riseth from the causes for which God did iionourabie in respect uf institute the state of wedlock, the scripture noteth espe- wSnt cially three. The first is mutual society, help, and comfort. ordain- _ ' 1 ' ed; as com- And this were a cause sufficient to esteem of marriage ^<"'i' ^^^'p- , » and mutual highly, if there were no other. For God hath said, " It iP'^'^ty. . ® ' . Gen. 11. [18.] IS not good that man be alone; let us make him an helper an helper, and not an hinderer. 5. The second cause why matrimony was ordained, J'j^°P''sa- and must be honoured, is increase and propagation. For although that tliis may be, as we see it is in lewd and shameless persons too often, without this estate of mar- riage; yet this is so much against the dignity of human nature, that such broods have been always basely ac- counted of by men which have had but the bare light of natural understanding. Wherefore the blessed apostle hath said, " I will that the younger sort marry, and bring i Tim. v. forth children ;" giving us thereby to understand, that there can be no seemly propagation of mankind save only in marriage. Children begotten in the state of matrimony are the blessing of God ; and " the fruit of the undefiled p**''!- f^xvii. womb is a reward,'"' as Solomon wisely acknowledged in the psalm. For a man to be honoured with the name of a father, to be renewed and continued in his posterity, if it be not a special blessing of God and a very exceed- ing gi'eat reward, why are men and women so desirous to see the fruit of their bodies 1 Why was Anna so ex- i ^'ai"- «• [10, 11.] ceeding in craving children at the hands of God? Why was barrenness so grievous unto Sarah ^ Why did it Luke i. [25.] seem reproachful unto Elizabeth? Is it a small benefit, that God hath raised out of the body of Abraham so many patriarchs, y>riests, prophets, judges, and kings; such 316 THE SIXTEENTH SERMON. Remedy against con- cupiscence. 1 Cor. vii. [2.] .\inbrose. Matt. xix. [12.] a multitude not only of men of reputation on earth, but also of blessed saints and citizens in heaven ? If it were an honour unto Abraham to be a father of many nations ; surely marriage, which made him a lawful and an honour- able father, ought very honourably to be esteemed. 6. Another cause of honour given unto marriage is, for that it is a remedy against uncleanness : " Let every man have his wife, and every woman her husband, for the avoiding of fornication." Upon which words of St Paul Ambrose writeth veiy aptly : Qui abstinent a licitis, in illicifa j^'^olabuntur^ : " They which forbear things law- ful to use fall many times to use things which they should forbear."" And he bringeth in the Manichees for example ; as we may bring in the papists, and namely that pond of Rome, adjoining to a nunnery, wherein were found the heads of seven thousand bastards'. It is true that all have not need of this remedy, because all are not subject to the danger and peril of this disease. But if any man be subject to this disease, let him beware how he despise this remedy. There be, no doubt, that have the gift of chas- tity by birth; and there be that have made themselves chaste by endeavour : but of this all^ men are not capa- ble. As it is the gift of God, so it seemeth to be a rare and not a common gift. Such as have it and so live sole, they are more fit to labour in God's church, it must needs be granted, for they are cumbered with fewer cares. But be these cares never so many and great, better it is to marry than to burn, and to be burthened with ordinary and honest cares, than with unordinary and dis- honest carelessness to be destroyed. There are many that deceive themselves, thinking a single and a chaste life to be all one. To be pure in body and in spirit, this is Ideo ergo non peiTnittit, ne ab licitis se abstinentes, inconcessa praesumerent, sicut faciuut Manichai. — Ambros. Op. Par. 1G90. Com- ment, in Epist. ad Cor. Prim. Cap. ^-ii. Tom. ii. Appendix, col. 132. — This commentary is placed by the Benedictine editors among the Tractatus Supposititii. — Ed.] The authoritj- on which the archbishop relied for this story was, no doubt, the letter of Volusianus to pope Nicholas, which Fox has printed in his Acts and Monuments, Lond. 1(>84, Vol. ii.pp. 391-3. — Ed.] Tlie early editions have "all this;" but the transposition seems absolutely necessary* to the sense. — Ed.] MARRIAGE IS HONOURABLE, (foc. 317 3. Mairiase chastity. He that seeth a woman, and in his heart hath a lewd desire towards her, hath defiled his heart, and is in soul unchaste. If every man try himself according to this rule exactly, peradventure he shall see a disease in himself that needeth remedy ; which if he neglect and so perish, whom may he blame ? The medicine is commended with a title of honour, that thereby we might be allured to use it. The danger of not using of it, if need re- quire, is death. For harlots and adulterers the Lord shall judge. 7. Thus much being spoken of the causes for which honour is given unto marriage ; I will briefly speak of the "esppct of duties of honour required between parties married. How I""*"''' 1 i ties between honourably a man should use his wife, St Paul teacheth PfplJ'*^^ plainly in many places, but especially in his epistle to the 0]'^^^^"*,^^^ Ephesians. " Men, love your wives, as Christ hath loved required his church." In which place he instructeth not only by pre- *\v- apeTv Krti dpyew. — Theophyl. Op. Venet. 1755. Comment, in I Epist. ad Tim. Cap. v. Tom. ii. p. .579.— Ed.] llARHrAGE IS JIOXOURABLE, (fec. 321 to waste or spoil their goods, but to spare with discretion, by such frugaHty as is convenient, to see things safe, and set in good order. God hath appointed her to be an helper, not an hinder er. If she cannot get, yet let her save. As he is to follow his affairs abroad, so she is to ease him of care and cost at home. Let her be mild-worded, and mild- mannered. For, Melius est habitare in angulo domus^ quam ptov. x\\. cum mvliere litigiosa : " It is better to dwell in the corner of an house, than with a contentious woman." An honest and a modest woman is an honour to her husband ; but the dissolute wife and undiscreet is a death. She may not be a gadder abroad, a tattler, or a busy-body, but sober, quiet, and demure ; not an open teacher, but ready to learn of her husband at home ; obedient in all lawful things ; taking example of Sarah, and giving example to the younger women of well demeaning themselves. Thus the man and wife joining themselves together in true love, endeavouring to live in the fear of God, and dutifully behaving them- selves the one towards the other, either of them bearing wisely the other's infirmities, doubtless they shall reap joy and comfort by their marriage : they shall find this their estate, which " is honourable in all," happy and profitable unto them. 1 0. Now that we see the honour which is due unto Marriage marriage in respect of the author, causes, and duties there- f,y ^""et'i^s'* unto belonging;, it remaineth that we consider by what * hat hold it o O' J not to he of means that honour is in each of these defaced. The honour f'"''- of wedlock in respect of the author is diminished, partly by the false persuasions of such as do not think it ordained of God ; and partly through their lewd and corrupt affec- tions, who, not denying this ordinance to be from him, enter notwithstanding carelessly into it, without such re- verend consideration as is requisite in things which he hath established. Satan, the sworn enemy of all godliness, hath ever by all means laboured to undermine, deface, and over- throw the credit of this kind of life, using the ministry of many wicked and forsaken heretics, by whom it hath been not only misliked as troublesome, but utterly condemned as unclean and beastly. The Manichees condemned marriage, as a thing whereof Satan was the first author : they denied utterly that God created male and female : they affirmed 21 [sANDYS.] 822 THE SIXTEKNTH SlillMON. as many as like the use of matrimony to be imps of Satan, not servants of God. Others, allowing marriage so it were but once, if happily it were iterated, disallowed it : with which error some of the ancient fathers themselves, as it seemeth, were overtaken. " It is," saith one, " a law of matrimony, not to iterate matrimony'." A law: but whose law? Sure we are that in the book of the law of God there is no such law. Again, there were that ap- proved wedlock, yea, though it were iterated; but if priests did marry, they held them no better than unclean persons. Finally, there are that say, marriage is, if not honourable, yet tolerable, and that in priests ; but so, if they enter into priesthood being once married, not into marriage being once priested^. Against these, howsoever in their sole and single life they pretend great purity and perfection, as it were of angels (although their glory most commonly hath been their shame, and the virginity of most of them hath been whore- dom and adultery), it sufficeth us that St Paul doth term [i_Tim. iv. their lessons " the doctrine of devils and that the godly patriarchs and prophets whom I named before, living in the state of marriage, were familiar with God, and most dear in his undefiled sight. Insomuch that by St Augus- tine^, speaking of this matter, Abraham is compared with John Baptist for his holiness, and by Chrysostom*, Moses with Elias. P A collection of passages similar to that in the text may be found in SS. Patr. Apost. Coteler. Amst. 1724. Not. in Herm. Past. Mandat. IV. Lib. II. and in Const. Lib. iii. cap. 2. Tom. i. pp. 90, 1. 278, 9. — En.] Compendious accounts of these various notions may be found in Bingham's Orig. Eccles. See particularly xxii. i. 5 ; xvi. xi. 7 ; xxii. i. 10; IV. v. 5.— Ed.] ['* Non est impar meritum continentise in Johanne qui nullas ex- pertus est nuptias, et in Abraham qui filios generavit. — August. Op. Par. 1685. De Bono Conjug. 26. Tom. vi. col. 835.— En.] ^ BouAei fxaOelv, oVi ovoev Trapa/SXctTTTet e'^^eiv yvvaTKa ku) TCKva ; ...fiti Ti Trap6/3\a\l/£ tuvtov tj TrapQevla; fxr'jTi ■napeveTroditre tov- Tov tj yvvt^ Kui ra TeKva; — Chrysost. Op. Par. 1718. Cont. Jud. Gent, et Hferet. Hom. Tom. i. p. 821. — The Benedictine editors consider this homily spurious, and call it " inepti hominis Chrysostomo adscriptum opus." — En.] MARRIAGE IS IIONOURARLE, (fcc. 323 1 1 . This state, therefore, whatsoever heretics have Man ias:e taught to the contrary, being, in consideration of the first iiy tiiem that ordainer thereof, honourable, we ought in no wise unad- not in liim visedly, hghtly, or wantonly, to take in hand a matter of acknow^**^^ such weight and of so grave importance, lest we dishonour auihorof ft. it by our disordered affections, as heretics by false per- suasions have done. In entering therefore into marriage, the first caution is that which St Paul hath to the Co- rinthians, whom he teacheth how their widows should be- stow themselves. For although the rule be in particularity applied to them, yet it serveth not for them alone, but for all, the condition of all being herein like to theirs. Whether it be a widow therefore tliat bestoweth herself, or a virgin which is bestowed in marriage, the thing she doth is lawful, " only in the Lord." •^Cor. vn. 12. They do not this in the Lord, that marry either Maniafe whom they should not, or as they should not. Whom parties too they should not, as persons either naturally or spiritually linked by unfit to join in marriage. Of persons unfit to be yoked in wedlock by reason of the natural bonds wherewith they are already coupled, the law hath plainly said, " None Lev. wiii. shall come near to any of the kindred of his flesh." The '^'"'^ unruly desires of men, which presume to go further in these cases than the shamefacedness of natural honesty doth permit, must be restrained and repressed. For this cause John the Baptist told Herod, " It is not lawful that thou Mark vi. shouldst have thy brother's wife." For this cause St Paul '"'^'^ dealt so sharply and severely in the cause of that lewd Corinthian, with whose foul and unnatural fault the whole i cor. v. [i.] church of Corinth was much disgraced. 13. In marriage, therefore, there ought to be a reverend Marriap;? " . without rare regard of nature, that this state be not dishonoured by of religion, unseemly copulation, as in like sort it is by the ungodly joining of the faithful with unbelievers. Of this thing holy Abraham, in providing a wife for his son, had as we see an especial care. For the eldest, and therefore by like- lihood the discreetest, servant of his house, yea, and the trustiest, as it seemeth (for he had rule over all which Abraham did possess), was not permitted to deal in this matter without taking a corporal oath beforehand. " I on. xxiv. will make thee swear," saith Abraham, " by the Lord 21—2 324 THE SIXTEENTH SERMON. God of heaven and God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, amongst whom I dwell." Abraham would not link his son with the wicked. He remembered what had Gen. vi. [2.] come of such marriages in the age before him, when " the sons of (lod took them wives of the daughters of men" only for their beauty, without regard of religion or honesty. Their destruction was a lesson unto him : he avoided their sin by fearing their punishment. God gave his people ex- press charge concerning this, that they should beware in joining marriage with Amorites and Canaanites, the in- dwellers of that profane country ; not only forbidding this kind of marriage, but also shewing the reason why his people should forbear it, lest idolatrous wives should make •j^oji'^^^'^'v- their husbands also to become idolaters: "Lest they make thy sons go a whoring after their gods." Whereof we ijKin^s xi. have a notable example in Solomon ; whose pitiful fall, being so wise a prince, to so horrible impiety, ought to be admonition sufficient unto us, to submit our wisdom to the wisdom of the Almighty, and our desires to his commandment. But had Solomon never been, or had his fall been unrecorded, our own times may teach us what fruits have come of such ungodly conjunctions. Man's nature is corrupt and frail : he runneth headlong into wickedness, but to righteousness must be drawn by God ; and sooner can the evil pervert the good, than the good Ezra X. [10, persuadc the evil. This kind of marriage therefore seemed so wicked unto Esdras, that he caused the Israelites, after their return out of captivity, to put away their strange, not women only, but wives which they had taken to them- selves in Babylon. And shall Christians do well in re- ceiving such into marriage, as Jews being married unto did well to put from them? i^Jeii^iout"'^ 14. But the common sort of men, in making their i^YhT^^ matches this way, have chiefly two outward untoward re- respectfng spocts, regarding nothing in their choice except it be ofweauh either beauty or money. The sons of God of old, be- witched with the beauty of the daughters of men, pro- cured the general flood to overflow them all, and to wash [i-f ^lvi defiled world. Sampson took one of the daughters *•] of the Philistines to wife, because she pleased his eye : MAHKIAGE IS HOiVOURABLE, &C. 325 but what came of it ? It cost him a polHng, wherein stood his strength ; and it lost him both his eyes, which before were ravished in the beauty of that deceitful wo- man. Others there are yet of a baser note, whose only care is to match themselves wealthily. Their question is with what money, not with what honesty, the parties whom they seek are endowed ; whether they be rich, not whether they be godly ; what lands they have on earth, not what possessions are laid up in heaven for them. Such as marry for money, as the money wasteth, so their love weareth ; neither is there any love or friendship con- stant, save only that which is grounded on constant causes, as virtue and godhness, whereof only neither time nor man can spoil us. There was a rich man in Athens which had a daughter to marry, and he asked counsel of Themistocles how to bestow her, shewing him that there was a very honest man that would gladly have her, but he was poor ; and there was a rich man which had also desired her, but he was not honest. Themistocles answered that, if he were to choose, he would prefer moneyless men before master- less money. It is true that St Paul saith, " Godliness i Tim. vi. is great gain." Whether it be man or woman that is ^^'^ godly, they be rich ; and, as Solomon saith, " He that Prov. xviii. findetli a good wife, findeth a good and precious thing the value of gold is not to be matched with her. In marriage therefore it behoveth us to be careful, that they whom we choose be of the household of God, professing one true religion with us ; the disparagement wherein is the cause of all dissention, true friendship being a loving consent, as in all things, so chiefly in God's true service. ] 5 . But this is not enough. For although the parties Marriage • II 1 T 1 11 1 without con- married be such as the law oi the Lord alloweth to come sent of pa- , . , , , . , rent.s, or together, yet can it not be said that they marry m the such as are Lord, except they also marry in such sort as the law pre- parents, scribeth. For marriage may be as much dishonoured by the one, as by the other. For orderly entering into the state of matrimony, it is required that they, which be under the tuition and government of others, have the full consent of their parents, tutors, or such as have rule over them, to direct and sniide them. Abraham provided a wife Gen. xxiv. . . [2— Ijxxviit. for his son Isaac : Isaac sent Jacob into Mesopotamia to '> 2.] 326 THE SIXTEENTH SERMON, his uncle Laban, and there commanded him to take a Exod.xx. wife, and he did so. In the law of Moses children are [12.] commanded to honour their parents. And what honour is given unto parents, if in this chief case, being the weightiest one of them that can happen in all their life, their advice, wisdom, authority, and commandment, be Exod.^xxii. contemned ? The law saith, " If a man find a maid that is not betrothed, and take her and know her, then the man that knew her shall give unto the father of the virgin fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife." What ? Although the parents be against it ? No. For, " If her father refuse to give her to him, he shall pay the money and not marry her." Again the law saith. Num. XXX. <•' Whosoever voweth a vow unto the Lord, or sweareth [2 — 5. J an oath to bind himself by a bond, he shall not break his promise, but shall do according to all that proceed- eth out of his mouth." Nevertheless, "if a woman vow a vow unto the Lord, and bind herself by a bond, being in her father's house, in the time of her youth, and her father disallow her the same day that he lieareth all her vows and bonds wherewith she hath bound herself, they shall not be of value, and the Lord will forgive her, because her father disallowed her." If promises made to God without consent of parents are of no effect, can promises made to men be effectual, where the parents' con- Coi. iii. [20.] sent is not had I " Children," saith the apostle, " obey your parents in all things." In all things? and not in this the greatest of all ? When St Augustine was re- quired to help to make a marriage in the behalf of a young man, and the other party was named, he answered : Auff.ep. 133. " I like that match well: Sed mater adolescentuloe non adest, cujus voluntatem^ ut nosti, requirere dehemus^ : but the mother of the young damsel is not present, whose good will (as you know well enough) we must ask." And, as the parents' or tutors' consent is to be had in all good and lawful marriages, so it is against the duty of good parents, either to keep their children longer un- [' Fortassis enim quae nunc non apparet, apparebit et mater, cujus voluntatem in tradenda filia omnibus, ut arbitror, natura prseponit : nisi cadem puella in ea jam jctate fuerit, ut jure licentiore sibi cligat ipsa quod vclit.— August. Op. Par. 1(579. Epist. ccliv. Tom. ii. col. 881.— Ed.1 MARRIAGE IS HONOURABLE, (fec. 327 married than is convenient, or through an over-great desire of enriching them (which is the common disease) to marry them against their hking. Such marriages seldom or never prove well, but are for the most part the cause of great sin and much misery. There can be no lawful and com- mendable match, where there wanteth full consent and agreement of the parties whom it most concerneth. Re- becca was asked, whether she would go with Abraham's <^en- ^"iv. servant and be married unto Isaac, or no. Her parents did neither keep her back from marriage when she was lit for it, nor conclude it till her own mind were known. Such then as marry not in the fear of God, making a religious and a godly choice, having the full consent of their parents or tutors ; doubtless God is no author of their marriage : it is not he that coupleth and joineth them together : their estate is base, and not honourable, in his sight. 1 6. Touching the causes for which God appointed Dishonour " . '■ (lone to mar- raarriaffe, we have heard that the first is mutual help and ""'ase in ^e- comfort. For the man is a "cover of defence unto his first of those wife, and the woman a "pillar" of rest unto her husband, which God A 11-1 11 • 111 appointed As a body without a head, so is a woman that hath no it. husband. And, " As where no hedge is, there the pos- eccIus. session is spoiled ; so he that hath no wife wandereth to ^'^"'^ and fro mourning." This is the judgment of the wise. But the mouths of fools are always open to aggravate the incumbrances, troubles, and sorrows, which the married are wont to sustain in the flesh ; never remembering the helps and comforts, which notwithstanding men religiously yoked in the Lord must needs acknowledge far to exceed all those grievances, both in number and measure. If any find it otherwise, sith the fault is not in marriage, which was instituted for our help, but in the married, who make it a hindrance to themselves by their own folly, let the men be blamed, let the thing be honoured. 17- But as in this case it fareth, so doth it also in The second, the next. A virtuous son is his mother's glory : they that see him count the womb that bare him blessed. Yea, Luke xi. [27 ] " though his father die, yet is he as if he were not dead, eccIus. xxx. because he leavoth one behind him, like him. In his life ^'^ he saw him, and had joy in him, and was not sorry in 328 THE SIXTEENTH SERMON. his death, neither was he ashamed before his enemies." Thus, when our children do well and prosper, mari-iage is honoured. But are they dissolute and disobedient? Do oen. xxxiv. ^^iqj trouble us, as Simeon and Levi did their father ? Do they make us abhorred amongst the inhabitants of the land ? By and bye we grudge, and think unreverently in our hearts. Behold, this is the fiaiit of maiTiage. So that which giveth honour to the birth of man, receiveth dishonour by his lewd behaviour. The thud. |g rp^ come to the last. The physician must be honoured, because God created him for necessity. In like sort marriage, which God hath given as a remedy, and not only as a mean unto propagation. If therefore we need it, and do not use it, how do we honour it ? St Paul was so careful in this respect, that even where he giveth the highest commendation to single life, there he 1 Cor. vii. addeth, " This I speak for your commodity, not to tangle [35, 37.] ^ snare, but that ye follow the thing which is honest." And again, " He that hath decreed in his heart to keep his virgin, doeth well, yet so, if he stand firm in his heart that he hath no need, but hath power over his own will." Otherwise, were it not better to use an honour- able remedy, than to nourish and increase an incurable sore? Let us take heed how we feed the flesh in her unlawful desires. For it cannot be in vain that God should speak so directly, and as it were so particularly, unto every one that lewdly defileth and profaneth the [1 Cor. iii. temple of the Holy Spirit : Perdet te Deus ; " Thee God shall destroy." This the enemy knoweth, and therefore he laboureth so diligently by all means to keep this sore ever festering within itself. For which cause it is strange to consider, how he hath dulled the hearts of many by settling a strong persuasion in them, that, although they fry in the heat of their vile affections, yet their outward continency of body is of itself meritorious before God, their single life of itself acceptable and holy. What a puddle of uncleanness, what a sink of filth, what ugly abomina- tions have grown in the world under this pretence, to the great displeasure of Almighty God, the dishonour of marriage, the slander and shame of christian profession, the enlarging of the kingdom of sin and darkness, the MARRIAGE IS HONOURABLE, &C 329 sending of souls innumerable down to hell, time will not suffer me to discourse. 19. I will therefore add somewhat concerning the Maniage.m ^ respect of disgrace which cometh unto raarriagie, in regard of the duties o _ e ' o thereunto duties thei-eunto belongins:, and so end. The company ijeionffins, P ~ _ . dishonoured and fellowship of married folks, if discreetly, lovingly and fpj want of ./ o ./ discretion lu religiously they perform those needful duties each unto J?Jf|[^''^'^ other which God requireth at the hands of both, then no doubt their estate is blessed of the Lord, and deserveth to be honoured amongst men. But if there want dis- cretion in them, we see what contentions, strifes, and heart-burnings are wont to grow between couples, to the great disquieting of their own minds inwardly, and if things do chance to break out, as such flames commonly do, to the discrediting also of their persons openly in the world. How unsweet and unpleasant such a life is, the wise man sheweth by comparing a troublesome and con- tentious wife to " a continual dropping as contrariwise, " if Prov. xix. there be in her tongue gentleness, meekness, and whole- [eccIus. xxxvi* 23>J some talk, then is not her husband like other men." 20. Let hearty love and affection be lacking between want of , , , . hearty af- them ; and what enemy can devise so great a torment fection. against them as they exercise continually upon themselves? Do they not find that daily whereof Job complaineth, as of a thing which touched him nearer to the quick than any other cross, though he suffered both many and heavy crosses besides? "My breath," saith he, "was strange [job xix. unto my wife, though I prayed her for the children's sake "'^ of mine own body." 2L Take away religion; let their hearts be void of w?"'"*^ 'i'^- ^ ligion and the fear of God ; and what sin is there so heinous, what ti'? fear of God. iniquity so huge, whereunto they are not always in danger one to be persuaded by the other? When Satan despair- eth of all other means, he useth this as the surest to speed in accomplishing wicked purposes. He found no such in- strument as Jezebel to make Achab wallow in blood, as idolatrous women to bewitch Solomon, as the daughters of Moab to steal away the hearts of the children of Is- rael. It is godliness and religion, conscience and fear of sin, that keepeth them within the limits of their duty. Without this, they are not only careless of that comely 330 THE SIXTEENTH SERMON. shamefacedness and sober temperance which beseemeth the honesty of their estate; but, exceeding the bounds of all modesty, they overflow and break out even into extreme lasciviousness with others. Hereby the honourable ordi- nance of God is loathed and condemned of loose wantons, as a thing which bringeth infinite miseries with it, a thing wherein there is nothing but grief, no quietness of heart, no repose of mind. Thus I have shewed you the author of marriage, God himself ; the causes of marriage, mutual comfort and help, procreation, and avoiding of uncleanness ; the duties that each party linked in marriage doth owe unto other ; the honour which marriage hath by every of these ; and in these the ground from whence discredit and dishonour groweth unto marriage. God grant that, whether we be called to this honourable estate of mar- riage, or have received the gift to live otherwise, we may keep both our souls and bodies unstained, and in all things walk as becometh saints that have betrothed themselves unto Christ Jesus. To whom with the Father and the Holy Ghost, &c. THE SEVENTEENTH SERMON. A SERMON PREACHED AT PAUL'S CROSS, AT HIS FIRST COMING TO THE BISHOPRICK OF LONDON. John VI. L After these things, Jesus went his way over the sea of Galilee of Tiberias. 2. And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased, S^c. Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the Arch-pastor nie wei^hti- . ness of a and ffreat Shepherd oi our souls, castine his eyes toward bishopiy the city of Jerusalem, bewailed the lamentable estate there- peciaiiyover of, and that with tears. The like effect, although pro- a wise ceeding from a cause unlike, I find in myself, beholding this Jerusalem of ours, this famous city : the greatness whereof doth add not a little to that exceeding grief of mind which the deep consideration of so weighty a thing must needs work. This office requireth a perfect man to teach, govern, and guide this learned and wise people : this great and large diocese doth wish for one furnished as Samuel, or rather as Solomon, with all graces and gifts of learning, policy, wisdom, and knowledge of things be- longing both to God and men. This cumbrous charge hath made many a good and godly man to withdraw him- self, to shrink back, utterly to refuse the like place and calling. For although it be a faithful saying, " If a man i Tim. iii. desire a bishop's office, he desireth a good work yet ^^'^ such are the difficulties, so many are the perils whereunto they are subject which labour in it, that the richest in all spiritual graces, the most plentifully endued with rare and excellent gifts of God, might have good cause to fear lest (the frailty of flesh and blood being so great) a burthen so heavy should make them faint. 2. It is no easy matter to till the Lord's eround, ' n<'ss of per- Ii82 THE SEVENTEENTH SERMON. forming the to weed his field, to brinff in his harvest, to trim his office ot a . ^ o ' bishop, in Vineyard, to feed his flock, to build his house, to watch respect of ... . . . the pains in over his citv, to preach his word, to distribute his sacra- teaching. ..... ments, to execute his discipline, to govern his church, to perform so many parts as are required in him by whom this great and high charge is undertaken. Where should one find a servant of that fidelity and wisdom which the cure of souls doth ask ? a servant that knoweth how to mi- nister seasonably unto every soul ; to feed infants, novices, little ones, with rudiments of Christianity as with milk, them of better growth with stronger meat ; to confirm men established in the truth, and reclaim them that slide from it ; to wound and bruise the hearts of the obstinate, who bend themselves wilfully against God ; and to comfort such as have heavy hearts, troubled consciences, by reason of sin ? 3. Neither is the pastor pressed only with these bur- thens which are peculiar and proper to himself, but even those which are common to others with him are also heavier unto him than others. To lead a godly and a righteous life belongeth not to the pastor alone, but unto all. Yet in this which is common unto all, there is more laid upon him than any. Others must be sober, he a mirror of sobriety ; they virtuous and honest, he such a pattern of virtue and honesty, that he may say with St [Phii.iii.i?.] Pjm]^ "Be ye followers of us, walk as ye have us for an example." St Chrysostom compareth the pastor unto one that wrestleth naked'. If there be any deformity at all in the body of a naked man, it is soon espied and faulted. We are naked to the eyes of the whole world : no one in the world which hath not more eyes than one ; no eye which is not quick and sharp sighted to espy a blemish ; no blemish, be it never so great in others, half so soon found, or half so much pointed at, as the least and light- est thing awry in us ; at whose hands notwithstanding it is required to walk unreprovable. Ov yap £<7Tii/, OVK eo-Ti cvvaTOv, tu twv tepewv KpuirTeaBai tXa-TTmpara' dwd kcu to piKpd Tai^eui^ KaTair]\a yiveTai. koi ydp dd\riTij^, £«o? pev dv o'Ikoi pevt], Kai prjdevt crvfiTrXeKr^Tai, hvva- TUi \avOdveiv, KfiV aaPevecTTUTO'; div TV^rj' otuv 6e aTTodviTtjTai —Chrysost. Op. Par. 1718. De Sacerdot. Lib. ni. 14. Tom. i. p. .390.— Ed.] AFTER THESE THINGS JESUS WENT, (SjC. 333 4. Now if unto these so many and so weighty con- studying:, siderations, to this endless care and thought, which a good shepherd taketh day and night in attending both to him- self that he may walk without blame, and to his flock that it may conveniently be governed, we adjoin those continual labours of studying, meditating, reading, and writing, whereunto the depth of the mysteries of God do necessarily enforce him that must lay them open before others (which if he do not, a wo inevitable hangeth over him ; if he do, the travail of doing it is such that the apostle himself crieth out, " Who is sufiicient for these [2cor.ii.i6.] things f) ; all this being duly and throughly weighed, we may well conclude that he, which desireth the room of a bishop in the church, desireth as a good, so also a hard, and undoubtedly a very troublesome office. 5. Secondly, it is an office full of peril and danger. The peril _ , , • , ,-1 bothofdis. h or II we preach things pleasant unto men, we discharge charging; not the duty of the servants of God : if we preach his discharging truth, we are hated as their deadly enemies to whom we """"^ '^"'^ preach. For not speaking against sin, the Lord threaten- eth death : " If thou dost not speak to admonish the wicked of his wicked way, his blood will I require at thine hand and for speaking against sin, Elias was persecuted, Zacha- rias stoned, Esaias cut in pieces, Jeremias cast into a dungeon, John Baptist, Stephen, Paul, James, Peter, Justin, Athanasius, Cyprian, Polycarp, of our own bishops and teachers not a few, in other nations huge multitudes, both heretofore and of late, in most cruel and savage manner tormented, with all extremity that might be de- vised to increase the bitterness of their death. 6. Many ancient prophets and worthy fathers of the i" ^^^^^ , , . , considers - primitive church, casting these accounts in their minds, tionsgood 1 11111 1 have shunned and laboured by what means they could to ^^^^^^'^ ^ avoid this office. Doubtless man's flesh is frail : we are avwd, tha^n all weak and full of infirmity. If this office require a gettheoftire 1,111 o ., of a bishop. strong man to bear the burthen 01 so great a travail, certainly it is altogether unfitly cast upon me. I would have wished rather rest for this my wearish body, full of diseases and, as the prophet speaketh, almost worn away like a clout. If this office, in respect of the hardness thereof, of the great dangers incident into it, and in con- 334 THE SEVENTEENTH SERMON. sideration of man's unableness to perform it, have made so many so loth to enter upon a charge of such difficulty and danger before God and the world, what may I then think of myself? From the bottom of my heart I con- [icor.xv.g.] fpgg -yvith St Paul, Minimus sum: "I am the least of the apostles, not worthy to be called an apostle." Wherefore, as Moses was contented to take upon him the charge and keeping of a few sheep in Madian, but, being called to guide the great and mighty people of Israel, answered, [Exod. iv. Mitte quern missurus es : " Send whom thou wilt send so, although considering the great want of labourers in the church of Christ, I were contented to undertake the care and charge of a small flock ; yet, being called to this great, this wise and rich people, remembering my unfitness thereunto, I saw no answer more convenient for me than that of Moses before mentioned. But God hath his secret and unsearchable working ; and I am as clay cypnan. in the potter's hand. ^S'* passeres non cadunt in terram absque providentia divina, fortuito fient episcopi ' ? " If sparrows fall not on the ground without the providence of the Almighty, are bishops made at all adventure f saith St Cyprian. Here I see God hath placed me by the hand of his chief minister, with the advice of her wise and honourable counsellors, and the choice of them to whom it appertaineth ; not without your great conten- tation and liking, as I am given to understand. I have therefore submitted myself, and taken upon me this heavy yoke (as the Searcher of all secrets will bear me record) wnwillingly and willingly. In respect of my many imper- fections, my unfitness to execute this great and weighty office in such sort as it ought to be performed, I receive it unwillingly ; but in regard of the calling which I am persuaded proceedeth from the determination of Almighty God, I willingly submit myself hereunto. It is you, it is you, dearly beloved, that have drawn me hither. Her ma- \^ Cum Dominus in evangelic suo dieat : Nonne duo passeres asse veneunt, et neuter eorum cadit in terram sine Patris voluntate? Cum ille nec minina fieri sine voluntate Dei dicat ; existimat aliquis sum- ma et magna, aut non sciente, aut non permittente Deo, in ecclesia Dei fieri; et saeerdotes, id est, dispensatores ejus, non de ejus sen- tentia ordinari ?— Cvpr. Op. Oxon. 1682. Epist. lix. p. 129.— En.] AFTER THESE THINGS JESUS WENT, &C. 335 jesty could spy nothing in me worthy of this room, but your too much and on my part altogether undeserved liking. The Lord be merciful unto me, and grant me his grace, that in some measure I may answer your expectation ! 7. And now to the matter which I have chosen to ^ons wifere- speak of at this present. Wherein it shall not be a thing fP"sook'*"^* unnecessary for your better understanding, somewhat to ^n^" vent"' consider of the circumstances and occasions whereupon the words which I have read do depend. Christ having cured j ^^n*^*; a poor sick man which had been eight and thirty years diseased, whom he found lying by the pond of Bethsaida', desirous of remedy, but lacking one to help him into the water where it was to be had, the blind Jews, because this was done upon the sabbath day, found themselves much grieved, and thereupon persecuted Jesus ; who, after an apology made in defence of that holy action, perceiving their malice to be increased thereby rather than abated, left them, and went beyond the sea of Galilee. Howbeit, the multitude left not him ; but because they had seen the signs and wonders which he wrought, miraculously re- covering the sick, and restoring them to perfect health, therefore they flocked after him in great troops. " When Jesus therefore had lifted up his eyes, and saw that a very great multitude came unto him, he saith to Philip, Whence shall we buy bread that these may eat f 8. The first reason therefore, why Christ forsook Je- Jo avoid ' •' tlie nanus rusalem, and went beyond the sea of Galilee, was to the end he might convey himself from the tyranny and per- secution of the wicked. So we read in the gospel accord- ing to St Matthew, that hearing how his fore-runner was Ma*|t- ■ beheaded, he went aside, took boat, and retired into a solitary place apart. Whereby we are given to under- stand, that if our lives be particularly sought, we may lawfully flee from the cruel and bloody hands of our per- secutors. Christ, foretelling his disciples of the grievous and heavy entertainment which they should find at the hands of the world, giveth them this lesson: "Beware of Matt. x. [17, men and withal this licence : " When they shall perse- ^^'^ cute you in this city, fly into another." Herein I need not much to persuade : frail and fearful flesh is ever ready to fly peril. But what scripture those men can allege for Bethsaida — Bethcsda. — Eu.] 336 THF, SKVENTEENTH SERMON'. Piov.xxviii. which they fly. To take soinr rest. Mark vi. [31.] themselves that fly not for the gospel, but from the gos- pel, that fly before they be persecuted, or their blood sought, as yet I cannot learn. Belike they fear lest they should be repaid with their own measure. No : our gos- pel is a doctrine of mercy, and not of malice : they which sincerely profess it are full of clemency, and altogethei* ruled by piety: our church consisteth of mild sheep, and not of cruel wolves : the popish church is the wolvish and bloody church. We seek reformation, and not de- struction ; knowing that christian hearts are to be per- suaded by the scriptures, and not by fire and faggot to be enforced. Yet do I not mean by this speech, but that the obstinate, the resisters and disturbers of religion, the false prophets and deceivers of the people, may be lawfully cut ofi^ : the sword may lawfully be drawn against such as are manifest traitors unto the truth and to the state. But this is not the matter whereof they stand in fear. It is not outward danger, but inward terror, for Fugit impius nemine persequente: " The wicked man flieth when no man pursueth him": he trem- bleth where nothing is to be feared : the wagging of a leaf doth make him shake, because his heart is evil. 9. Another cause why Christ went aside into the wil- derness may seem to have been a desire of taking some rest after the great and manifold travails that he and his disciples had sustained, as appeareth by the words which he spake to his disciples : " Come apart into the wilderness and rest a while." This lesson is gladly learned, and too much practised. Requiescite^ pleaseth every man. The truth is, that the body and mind of man must after labour be refreshed with rest. But he which laboureth not is altogether as unworthy to rest as to eat. Again, such as will take rest and ease after labours, must learn of Christ as well to measure their ease as their pains. He permitteth his disciples to take their rest ; but he limiteth and res- traineth his permission, saying, " Rest a while." For by too much rest men are not made the more fit, but the less willing to take pain. There is no one fault from which the wise man doth so much endeavour to withdraw men, as from sloth. For this cause he puttetli us so often in mind of the great blessings which God doth heap upon [' Rest .vc— En.] APTER THESK THINGS JESUS WENT, &C. 337 the painful man. " The hand of the diliojent shall bear [Prov. xii. rule.'"' " He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread, y>iov. xxviii. &c." Again, endeavouring to set out the lively pattern '^^^'^ of a perfect woman, such a one as can hardly be found amongst a thousand, he noteth this as a chief and principal virtue in her: " She laboureth cheerfully: her candle goeth Prov. xxxi. [18, 27.] not out : she overseeth the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness." As for the slothful, he did not only hate them himself, but laboured by all means to make them odious ; sometime by setting their forlorn estate before men's eyes : " I passed by the field of the slothful, and by Prov. xxiv. the vineyard of the man destitute of understanding; and lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down sometimes by shewing their excuses and shifts to avoid labour : " The slothful man saith, A lion is without, Prov. xxvi. I shall be slain in the streets sometimes by describing their lazy gestures : "As the door turneth upon his hinges, so doth the slothful man upon his bed : he hideth his hand in his bosom, and it grieveth him to put it to his own mouth sometimes by deriding their unwillingness to take their leave of their rest : " Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands." And what is the end ? " Poverty Cometh as one that travelleth by the way, and necessity like an armed man." Wherefore, though weariness, though la- bour and travail do cause thee to desire necessary rest, yet beware that the sweetness of rest do not cause thee to think that labour is unnecessary. Rest, but rest a little. 10. The last cause that I gather of Christ 's going into ^^^^^'^ the wilderness was, as it may be conjectured, to avoid the Easter, feast of Easter at Jerusalem. For so the evangelist speak- eth: " Easter, a festival day of the Jews, was now at hand." It seemeth strange that Christ, the example of all good order and behaviour, should fly from this solemn feast of Easter, which he himself by his prophet Moses had straitly commanded to be observed and kept. You must therefore consider, that the Jews neglected the commandment of God, and instead thereof set up their own traditions, as St Paul recordeth, so that the temple was now become a den of thieves. Christ therefore avoided too much fellow- ship with this wicked generation. " For what society hath [i^'^/g]' 22 [sANDYS.] 338 THE SEVENTEENTH 9ERM0N. righteousness with unrighteousness ? what communion hath Hght with darkness i what concord hath Christ with Behal ? what part hath the believer with the infidel? what agree- ment hath the temple of God with idols V In this we ought all to follow Christ ; all to fly, as he did, from the place where the service of God is openly profaned, and his name isai.iii. [II.] intolerably blasphemed. "Depart, depart, go out from thence." Choose rather to suffer want in the wilderness with Christ, than to enjoy the pleasures of the world with an evil conscience ; to be partakers of the word of life in a desert, than to reign where the adversary of Christ and Christianity beareth sway. God be praised for ever ! in our churches of England, to our gi'eat comfort, God is served even in such sort as himself by his holy word hath prescribed ; so that no miscontented person can allege any reason sufficient why to withdraw himself from our assem- blies. Our church prayers are the psalms, our lessons the scriptures, our sacraments according to Christ's institution. Which thing, not many years sithence, I alleging unto one of no small account now in Lovain, his answer was, " I must confess, that is good which you have in your chui-ches: but the truth is, you have not enough." Indeed we have less in their eye than enough. But if we weigh things according unto that rule, " Whatsoever I command you, take heed you do it : thou shalt put nothing thereto, nor take ought therefrom ;" then can it not be denied but that our little is sufficient, and their more is too much. 11. As these considerations drove Christ into the wil- derness, so the evangelist setteth forth some motives which caused so great a multitude to follow him. Some were drawn with the strangeness of those things which he wrought and taught amongst them. To whom in these our days we may compare them which haunt sermons for no other end, but either vainly to hearken for news, or curiously to note what order and eloquence they may find in the preacher, or maliciously to take hold of things spoken, when they may by froward construction be drawn to an offensive meaning. These labour to their own loss : they are un- profitable followers. Hunspr. Others followed Christ for bread. Such followers our times have brought out too many. So long as the Deut. xii. [32.] Occasions which moved the multitude to follow Christ. Novelties. AFTEIJ THESE THINGS JESUS WENT, &C. 339 gospel can feed, cherish and maintain them, they are will- ing and glad to be professors of it ; but when persecution Cometh, they shrink. A gi'eat sort of halting and dissem- bling ministers do now occupy rooms in the church, which in heart hate the gospel, yet for bread sake they are contented to go in the same rank with the followers of Chi'ist Jesus. But he knoweth their secret cogitations, and will one day make them known unto others what they are. 13. Sundry there were which followed for a desire Health, which they had of bodily health. For Christ " went about ^Jj"*^'- heahng every malady, and every infirmity in the people." We see by daily experience, that the body is more cared for than the soul, the flesh than the spirit, the carcase than the mind. If the body be diseased, we seek physic, and are willing to pay well for it : to preserve the body from grief and sickness, who is not careful? But where is he that studieth how to avoid the diseases of the soul, that mortifieth the noisome desires of the flesh, that keep- eth his heart in awe and subjection, that dieteth himself according to the ndes which that blessed physician hath prescribed? Chrysostom findeth great fault with parents in this behalf, who, if their children fall sick in body, weep and lament ; but if they be never so grievously vexed and tomented with sin, they make light or no account of it'. These men love the bodies of their children, as it seemeth, better than their souls. So this frail carcase, this body of clay, is much made of. To procure things good and com- fortable for it, we can be content to travel sea and land, to be at any cost, to endure any pains. If health may be had, though it be in a wilderness, it will be sought. 14. The last and best sort of followers were such .as tiip woni of followed Christ to hear his word. This is that travail that chiefly is required of a Christian : " Seek first the kingdom [Mntt.vi.ss.] of God." This doclareth us to be his children, to be his flock. " He that is of God heareth God's word." My .loim viii. [47.] r-i - , . „ „ . . . ^ , , - , John X. [27.] [_ llto? yap OVK uToTToi/; OTav fxev vtto caifxovoi ei/o^Ai/Toi aov o uioc, TTpo^ Trai/Ta? toi/t n-yiOi/Q i-pe'^ei<;, Knt touc £v to"? Kopv(pnT<; TODV opewv f i/oT^/\e7" r no past'o'r'to P^^P^^' upon whom vvhcn he looked, his heart was touched souls""^''^ with compassion ; first, because they wei'e as sheep without a pastor. The high priests, the learned scribes, the holy Pharisees, were their appointed pastors, to govern them, to teach them, and to lead them by example of honest life. Nevertheless Christ saith, they were sine pastore : '• without a shepherd." The glorious, covetous, deceitful, ceremonial, and superstitious rabble of popish guides, God doth not ac- count amongst the guides of his people : neither are they to be called pastors, but devourers of the flock. Pastors which Hos. iv. [6.] cannot or will not teach are no pastors. " Because thou hast refused knowledge," saith God by his prophet Ose\ " I will also refuse thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me." Undoubtedly their hearts are not touched with any pity or compassion at all over God's people, who, for their own pri- vate gain and commodity, thrust such pastors upon the church, that when the church hath them, it may justly be said it hath no pastors. This is the plague, the poison, the bane of all religion : it threateneth ruin to Christianity. Siemwi^iicii "^'^^ Other cause that moved Christ to compas- ro*refres^i°'^ sioH was, that the people which had tarried long with him tiieirbodies. ^ere hungry, and in the widerness could get no meat. By this we learn of our master Christ to bear pitiful hearts I John iii, towards our needy, naked, and hungry brethren. " For ^^'^'^ whosoever hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his compassion towards him, how dwelleth the love of God in such a man ?" In former times here hath been provision for the poor, and some as yet remaineth ; but it is for the most part much abused. I shall therefore exhort you, the citizens of London, and in Christ Jesus require it at your hands, that such order may be taken, that the poor may be provided for, and not suffer- ed to cry in your streets. If you that be magistrates will take the thing in hand, you shall find, I doubt not, a great sort of liberal hearts and helping hands hereunto. The suffering of the people to beg breedeth great inconvenience both in the church and commonwealth. I do therefore in Christ again require you to take due consideration hereof, that this thing may be reformed. So shall you well please [1 Osc— Hosca.—Ep.] AFTER THESE THINGS JESUS WENT, &C. God, ease and profit yourselves, and give a good example to the rest of the realm. God cannot be unmindful of so good a work. It will be an hundred times requited both in this life, and in the world to come. 26. The last thing which I purpose to note in the "If^rdi- person of our Saviour is, that he did not only conceive vided bread ; ^ ' _ _ _ and It in- an inward pity and therewith content himself ; but his ^f"*^???'' "' i ■' _ _ dividing. compassion brake out and declared itself in works of mercy. He sent them not away, as the manner is, leaden with words and empty of alms : he fed them largely, and gave them till every man had enough. But first he gave thanks to his heavenly Father ; leaving us an example thankfully to acknowledge that, whatsoever we receive, it cometh from him as from the principal author, and whatsoever we bestow, he is the Lord and owner of it. In dividing the bread he used the ministry of his disciples, as the stewards and disposers of his riches. Be it therefore corporal or spiritual sustenance which we receive, although it be at the hands of men, yet is it unto us as if Christ himself in his own person did reach out his hand from heaven to feed us. They are therefore too nice, which refuse their meat be-' cause they like not the man by whom it is brought and set before them. They, by whose means we are made partakers of good things, are unto us the angels of God, and ought accordingly to be honoured, of what quality soever they be in themselves. The food which they gave to the people did miraculously grow by diminishing, and by consuming increase. So it was with the meal and oil of that poor widow of Sarephta. It was in sight too little i Kinars to suffice one : in use it proved more than sufficient for many. So it is with all the graces and gifts of God : they grow in the hands of him that spendeth ; and in the coffers of him that saveth they waste. Thus I have briefly gone over such things as I thought most convenient for this time. The Lord bless the seed of his word sown amongst us, and give it a plentiful and a large increase, to his own glory and our comfort, through the merit of Jesus Christ, by the gracious operation of the Holy Ghost : To whom, &c. THE EIGHTEENTH SERMON. A SERMON PREACHED AT PAUL'S CROSS. Luke XXI. 2o. Then there shall be signs in, the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars, S^c. The excel- GoD bethinking himself, and as it were musinsr upon the If iicy ot the , , , c i Jewish na- benefits and blessings which he had, in great abundance of mercy, bestowed from time to time upon the people of Is- isai. V. [I.] rael, breaketh out by his prophet into these words : " What might I do for my vine, which I have not donef The graces wherewith he enriched them were infinite : their pre- rogatives above all other people of the world were manifold, and for the preciousness and rareness of them most won- j'Jonyx. derful : to them "the adoption, the glory, the covenant, the law, the service of God, the promises were impropriated : of them were the fathers, and of them, as concerning the flesh, Christ came, who is God over all blessed for ever :" they had the ark, the temple, and the oracles, with a promise that God would be their God, and they should be his, even God's own elected and beloved people (if they walked in his ways, and wrought his will) for ever. But this ungracious and unthankful nation was unworthy of such worthiness : they worshipped God with lips, and not with heart ; out- wardly in shew, but not inwardly in hearty and sincere truth ; according to the letter, but not according to the spirit ; after their own conceits, but not agreeably to his blessed will revealed in his holy word. Their cry was still, Jtr. vii. [J.J " The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord but, through their profanation, they made the temple of the Lord a den of thieves. They cried " Loi-d, Lord,'' but they did not his will on whom they cried : for sweet grapes, they THEN THERU SHALL BE SIGNS, i 1 1 1 mi -1 of the whole and OI the end oi the world. 1 hey enquired as men de- yotM. 1 1 1 PI . All Matt. xxiv. sirous to learn that whereoi they were ignorant. And tiiey asked of Christ, the wisdom of God, the appointed school- master of whom we should seek for knowledge. They asked, as I said, three several things; of the destruction of Je- rusalem, of the second coming of Christ, of the end of the world ; which two latter are indeed but one. To whom Christ maketh answer, not assigning any certainty of the times when these things should be accomplished, but shew- 352 THE EIGHTEENTH SERMON. ing signs that should go before as well the destruction of Jerusalem, as also his second coming. "■ It is not for you to know the times and seasons (saith he), which the Father hath put in his own power." No, not the Son of man, as man, knew them, when the 10. This knowledge is kept from men for two causes, worid^shaii as St Augustino Well noteth. The one, lest it should hinder twocauses and withdraw us from performing our necessary duties, lest from'^men, it should terrify and amaze us, and make us careless to iiot^'ith- provide for ourselves and others. Another reason, why the sisns'th'at''*^ time both of our own particular end and of the general are're-'"^'^ '* Consummation of all things is left uncertain, is that we might veaied. jj^j} ^jujeg make ready and prepare for it, seeing it might [Markxiii. happen at any time, even at any instant. "Watch and pray, because ye know not what hour." God hath therefore kept the time itself secret ; but hath revealed certain tokens and signs going before it, that, when we see the messengers and fore-runners of him which cometh swiftly to judge quick and dead, we may lift up our heads, knowing that our Redeemer and redemption is near at hand. Christ foresheweth (as I said) the signs that should happen as well before the ruin of Jerusalem, as also before his second coming in the end of the world. The evangelists have mixed and folded them one within another, so that which do serve for the one, and which for the other, it cannot precisely be discerned. St Chrysostom thinketh, that all the signs, simply and literally understood, have relation to the destruction of Jerusalem ; but mystically or spi- ritually considered of, they may be applied to the end of the world'. Others, whom in this I do rather follow, refer the former signs, as false prophets, war, sedition, earthquakes, famine, pestilence, persecution, hatred of the disciples of Christ, and besieging, to the destruction of Jerusalem ; and these latter signs in the sun, moon, and stars, &c. to the latter coming of Christ to judgment. Five things H. In tliis comiug of Christ to judge the quick and to be noted , , , o ^ . . • i j^i in the com- the dead, we may lor our better mstruction consider these Christ to things; first, that there shall be a judgment, and who judgment. A full exposition of Chrysostom's views on this subject will be found in his three homilies on Matthew xxiv. — Chrysost. Op. Par. 1727. In Matt. Horn. Ixxv, Ixxvi, Ixxvii. Tom. vn. pp. 722, &c. — En.] THEN THERE SHALL BE SIGNS, &C. 353 shall be that judge ; secondly, the time when this judgment shall be ; thirdly, the signs which shall go before it ; fourth- ly, the manner of it ; lastly, how we ought to be in perpetual preparation and readiness thereunto. 12. "A day the Lord hath set, in the which he will J]'^'"pha'i judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath appointed ; whereof he hath given an assurance to all t^i ] men, in that he hath raised him from the dead." Here we see plainly that there is a day appointed for righteous judgment of the whole world ; that there is a man ap- pointed to give sentence in that day ; that there is an assurance already given to all men of all things that are written concerning both the day, the judgment, and the 2 Thess. i. judge. " With God" (saith the apostle, speaking to the ' faithful which suffered tribulation for the name of Christ), " with God it is a righteous thing to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you, and to them which are troubled rest." This righteous thing with God is not performed here as yet. For this world is as an hell unto the godly, and an heaven unto them which despise righteousness. Therefore it cannot be but that God hath appointed a day hereafter to judge the world with that justice which shall give unto every man according to that he hath done, be it good or evil, and which shall render vengeance unto them that know not God, but rest unto such as now are troubled for his sake. "Our Lord knoweth to deliver the 2 Pet. it. [9.] godly from temptation, but to reseiTe the unjust unto the day of judgment to be tormented." Wherefore St Peter, threatening false prophets and lying masters, which bring in sects of perdition, and deny him that bought them, even the Lord, saith, that " their judgment long ago was 2 Pet. ii. [3.] not far off, and their perdition sleepeth not." The day of their eternal condemnation is appointed : the man that shall condemn them is already assigned and well known. " We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ." ^ c^' ^" "The Father hath given all judgment to the Son." " He J^'j^;^- |22-j is constituted judge of quick and dead." 13. This Judge hath three properties. First, he is ^^^.^ Pf'^^lf- more privy to our thoughts, words, and deeds, than wejjj^^l''"" ourselves are : he seeth in darkness as well as in light, o ' ledge. at midnight as at noon day : no secret is hid from him ; 23 [sANDYS.] 354 THE EIGHTEENTH SERMON. neither can any man convey himself out of his eye-sight. He saw Adam when he ate of the fruit which was for- bidden him : he looked upon Cain when he slew his only brother: he beheld Cham when he discovered his father's nakedness : he took a view of Sarah when she laughed behind the door ; of the sons of Jacob when they sold their brother Joseph into Egypt. His eye was open upon David's filthy and bloody acts, upon Absolon's treason, upon Achitophel's wicked counsel. The oppression of Achab, the cruelty of Jezebel, the pride of Haman, the covetous heart of Balaam and of Geze', the pride and hypocrisy of the Pharisee, could not be kept from him. He seeth all sleights in merchandise, all shifts in usury, all malicious minds, all flattering tongues, all lying lips. fi3-i5!f"' looketh down from heaven, and beholdeth all the children of men : from the habitation of his dwelling-place he beholdeth all them that dwell on the earth : he fashion- eth their hearts every one, and understandeth all their works." He shall be both a judge and a witness, in that Jude [15.] day, " of all the wicked deeds which the ungodly have committed, and of all the cruel speakings which wicked sinners have uttered against him and his," who as now they cannot avoid his sight, so neither shall they then be [Psai. 1. 22.] able any way to escape his hand. " 0 consider this, you [Psai. xciv. that forget God." " He that made the eye, shall not he see?" Can your deeds be concealed from him, that seeth all the children of men, and can call them every one by his name? His power. Another property of this heavenly Judge is the infinite greatness of his power. He doth what pleaseth Phil. ii. [10.] him : all things are subject unto his will : unto him " every knee boweth, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth." He hath power to save and to kill, to lift into heaven, and to cast into hell : heaven is his seat, earth is his footstool. What he will-' eth is as sure as it were already done. We should fear therefore this mighty Judge, who hath such power to do his will, and who will do that only which is just. His justice. 15. For his third property is his justice. He taketh no rewards : his sceptre is straight, his judgment right- ly' Geze — Gehazi. — Ed.^ THEN THERE SHALL BE SIGNS, &C. 355 eous, his eye simple : he will not be entreated of the wicked, neither shew them any mercy. In that day every one of them shall receive justice and just punishment. These are his properties ; and he changeth them not. He seeth all : he hath all power : he is a righteous judge of all, and over all for ever. By this which hath been spoken, we see that we have to look for a day wherein the world shall be judged ; and we see who it is that in that day shall judge the world. 16. Of this the Lord hath sufficiently assured us. Thecer- T-i 1 !• 1 • I p 1 f> 1 tainty and r or, when divers thmgs are spoken oi beiore they come assurance to pass, the performance of the first is the assurance of things, the rest. He which promised to raise up Jesus from the dead, hath also promised to judge quick and dead by the same Jesus so raised. Sith the one is performed, how can we stand in doubt of the other ? We may assure ourselves that there is a day of judgment to come ; because the resurrection of the Judge is already accomplished, past, and gone. " So then every one of us shall give accounts Rom. xiv. of himself to God." There is no prince, no potentate, no prophet, no apostle, no man, no woman, neither rich nor poor, high nor low, that can esca;pe this judgment. We must answer for our facts, even as every man hath wrought. We must answer for every idle word, for every corrupt and wicked thought. What can the unclean fornicator, the covetous usurer, the mighty oppressor, the proud con- temner, the ambitious climber, the envious hypocrite, the bloody murderer, the false deceiver, the cruel prince, the unfeeding pastor, the unjust judge, the deceitful merchant, what may they answer in that day but plead guilty? and what can they look for, but Ite maledidi: "Go, ye cursed 2" Once again I say, "0 consider this, ye that forget God." PsaL i. [22 j 17. But when shall this judgment be? As this question The time of „ , . . judgment. IS moved by two sorts of men, so there are m scripture two kinds of answers made unto it. There are mockers which walk after their own lusts ; and these ask, " Where 2 Pet. iii. [4, . 5, 7.] is the promise of his coming? Since the fathers died which were overwhelmed by the flood of Noah, all things continue as they were from their first creation." To whom St Peter maketh answer, that they err of set purpose. Otherwise they, that arc so witty in reasoning against 23—2 356 THE EIGHTEENTH SEKMON. the truth of God's promises, might know this, that the power of the word which created the world, and kept it till the day appointed for the punishment of the wicked by water, doth also now " keep the heavens and the earth in store, and reserve them to fire against the day of judgment and of the destruction of ungodly men." Having stopped their mouths with this answer, he leaveth them without any further instruction, because they were but swine, and the doctrine of the judgment to come is pre- cious. But the disciples of Christ with another mind [Matt. xxiv. making this demand, " Tell us when these things shall be, and what sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world," are abundantly instructed by their Lord and Mas- ter, which knoweth all things, and withholdeth nothing from his which is any way needful to be known. Touching Matt. xxiv. the time, they are forbidden to inquire about it. " For as [36 38 39 1 . ' ' ■ in the days before the flood they did eat and drink, marry, and give in marriage, and knew nothing till the flood came and took them all away ; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." " In the hour that ye think not, will the Son of man come ; in a day and in an hour which no man knoweth, no not the angels of heaven, but the Father only." It is therefore both vain and dangerous which some have attempted, in setting this and that year, beyond which the world cannot endure. But such is the crookedness of our nature. In watching, which is commanded, how care- Acts i. [7.] less are we ! and how curious in seeking out " the time and season," which to do we are so oft and so expressly forbidden ! before^the^ 18. Touching the signs and tokens going before the chri'sTto'^ coming of Christ to judgment, they are set down for our judgment, benefit and instruction ; and therefore let us make some stay in the due consideration of them. " There shall be," saith the evangelist, " signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars," &c. These signs shall appear before the coming of Christ ; partly, that the world may be ad- monished of the fearful judgment that is at hand, and thereby provoked to repentance ; partly, that the wicked may in this life be punished by the creatures of God, whom they have abused ; partly, that it may appear, that the creatures which have served sinful man against their will THEN THERE SHALL BE SIGNS, &C. 357 will now no longer serve the enemies of their Creator; and partly, to declare that the world is come to his just old age, and shall have an end. There shall be signs in the sun. What signs these shall be, it is elsewhere in the scriptures declared. " The heavens shall shake : the sun and Joei ii. [lo, . . 31.] moon shall be dark ; and the stars shall withdraw their shining." Again : " The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come," The like we read in the book of Revelation. " I beheld, and lo, the sun was black as sack- Rev. vi. [12, 13.] cloth of hair, and the moon was like blood, and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, as a fig-tree casteth her green figs, when it is shaken of a mighty wind." Where- unto the words of St Matthew also do agree : " The sun Matt. xxiv. shall be obscured, and the moon shall not yield her light: the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven shall be shaken." The simple and literal understanding is, that there shall be wonderful and terrible eclipses in the sun and in the moon : which things, in this last age, in this last hour of the world, since the ascension of Christ, have sundry times and in most strange sort been seen. Or else, even as, when Christ was crucified, the sun lost his light, and darkness for a time was upon the face of the whole earth ; so shall it be at his second coming to judge the children of darkness with eternal death. Others Beda. expound it that, when Christ shall come in his glory, the beams of his brightness shall so far surmount the shining of the sun, moon, or stars, that in comparison thereof they shall seem dark, and give no light'. Of this his brightness he gave a glimpse, when he was transfigured in the mount Tabor. To seek out many expositions of these words, it shall not need. This we may observe in the writings of the prophets, that with them it is usual, when they fore- shew great plagues, to use these and the like speeches. So doth Esaias in his prophecy concerning the plagues of Babylon : " The stars of heaven and the planets thereof J^^^'j 1^' Sidera in die judicii videbuntur obscurari, non deminutionc sua? lucis accedente, scd sujiervcnicnte vera; lucis claritate, quod vcro dieit, " Et stelliE ca?li erunt dccidcntes" : lioc est, suo lumine carentes. — Vcn. Bedse Op. Col. Agiip. 1612. In Matt. Evang. Cap. xxiv. Lib. iv. Tom. V. col. 70. — En.] 358 THE EIGHTEENTH SERMON. shall not give their light, the sun shall be darkened in his going foi-th, and the moon shall not cause her light to [fg'M j'^' ^^^"6-" Again : " The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly." " The moon shall be abashed, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in mount Sion." The like we read in Ezekiel, threatening destruction and desolation Ezek. xxxii. to Egypt : " I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark : I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light : all the lights of heaven will I make dark for thee, and bring darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord." I might allege the like out of Joel, J eremy, Amos, and Micheas ; but the matter is clear enough, and needeth rather to be considered than proved, rauppto-' '^^^ words, being literally thus understood, may foresaid'"' be morally applied, not without great fruit, unto the un- signs. derstanding and wise hearer, which can discern between interpretation of scripture and application thereof. In the one we give you the bare sense of the scripture : in the other we teach you the profitable use of it. For the use of scripture may be very well shewed, not only by such collections as do probably gather, or necessarily conclude one thing out of another ; but also by those allegorical comparisons which shew how in one thing another is shadowed, and a spiritual thing resembled in a corporal. As for example, if here we refer the sun to Christ, that Sun of righteousness, the moon to the church, and the stars to the pastors and doctors of the church. Jnin^o'nhe ^ho suu, in this sense, is most evidently in this do^trine'^'*'^ our age darkened : Christ is obscured by that great 6i^6™y antichrist, " the man of sin," who hath set himself in Christ's peculiar place, and will be " exalted above all that is called God." To make any other mediator between God and man, saving only Christ Jesus which is not only man, but also God; to seek elsewhere remission of sins, justification, redemption, sanctification, or salvation, than only in this Jesus, and in him crucified, doth darken and make dim both him and his merits. And of this treason the Romish antichristian church, which they term catholic, is found guilty. For the children of this harlot labour by all means to obscure the Son of God, to rob him of THEN THERE SHALL BE SIGNS, &C. 359 the glory of his deserts in our salvation. I would never have believed that any professing learning, or having had but a glimpse of the course of the word of God, could have been so gross in such sort to have eclipsed the bright- ness of Christ Jesus, by giving his glory unto earthly creatures, if of late I had not to my great grief and their great shame heard their own blasphemous confessions there- of. Surely the Romish strumpet hath rubbed her forehead : her children are become altogether shameless : whatsoever she determineth, they make it equivalent with the written word of God. There is no absurdity in popery (in which there are full many and full gross) which they do not defend to be right good and catholic. The pope's par- dons, purgatory, masses, merits, prayers both for and to the dead, pilgrimages, images, relics, yea holy water, and holy bread — all these they will have, some one way, and some another, to be forcible remedies against sin and death. This is their religion and serving of God : thus they honour the Lamb that was slain for the sins of all the world. If this do not derogate from him, and stop the brightness of his glory, who is the only once offered propitiation for all our sins, by whose blood we are only purged, whose death only hath made us free from death; if this do not obscure the glorious beauty of Christ Jesus, if this do not deface the worthiness of his merits, what doth? or what can do? Hath the glorious Son of God sacrificed his precious life for our sakes upon the cross, that Thomas of Canterbury's ' blood, poured out in an earthly quarrel, should make pas- sage to heaven for us ? Is there any man in whose heart the light of the glory of God hath shined, which seeth not how this fog doth darken this blessed Sun ? 21. Ao'ain, this Sun is obscured when as we profess T^e darken- , . . ,. inpTofthe that m our words, which m our lives and deeds we do s"" by cor- deny. After that kmg David had committed adultery, J?^^*'"'**- Nathan the prophet charged him therewith in these words : " Thou hast caused the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme." "^^f^J"- When men profess well and live ill, their life is not tole- rated for their profession, but their profession is slandered Koiu.ii.[24.] by their conversation. When the Jews which professed the law did not practise it, the law which they professed heard Thomas a Becket. — En.]] 3 GO THE EIGHTEENTH SERMON. evil thereby. For a bad professor of a good thing is a stain to that thing which he doth profess. This is the special fault of our wicked days : these our times are cloudy, and full of tliis darkness : our light doth not shine to glo- rify Grod, but our darkness doth abound to the obscuring of his Christ. The merciless rich men, which wring and oppress by deceitful and injurious dealing, which neglect and despise their afflicted brethren, the needy members of James ii. [7.] Christ, " do not they blaspheme the worthy name where- with both they and we are named V It were a great deal better never to have professed than not to practise, never to have received than not to observe, never to have known than not to obey, the word of truth. Unto them which hear the word and keep it being heard, a blessing is [Matt, xxiii. promised ; but unto them of whom it is written, Dicunt et noil faciunt : " They say and do not," woes again and [ili^j "'■ ^g^^^ denounced. " This know," saith the apostle, " that in the last days shall come perilous times. For men shall be lovers of themselves, covetous, boasters, proud, cursed speakers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, with- out natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, intem- perate, fierce, despisers of them which are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, having a shew of godUness, but having denied the power thereof." Let all the world judge whether these be not the clouds which have darkened the sun of our days. tonSiTnto Now as the sun resembleth Christ, so the moon crueftyof church. For as the moon hath her light from the persecution, g^j, so the church hcrs from Christ. And as the sun, being unchangeable, is at all times exceeding bright and glorious ; but the moon doth change, and sometimes is at the full, sometimes at the wane, her light to the eye of the world now increasing, and now diminishing, now filling the whole globe, and now in no part thereof appearing; so Christ, and his church. Christ's glory is always great, and always one. His church upon earth doth vary : now she flourisheth, and now is black : sometimes she over- spreadeth the face of the whole earth, at other times she is brought to so narrow straits, that mortal eye is unable to espy her. When the church of Christ is persecuted as it was in the days of those cruel emperors which were THEN THERE SHALL BE SIGNS, &C. 361 of old, and as it is at this day under antichrist and an- tichristian princes, this is as it were the changing and resolving of the moon into blood. Hereby it cometh to pass, that she which looketh as the morning, and is fair like the moon, changeth her outward shape and figure, and appeareth in the eyes of them that behold her like a garment dyed in blood. By this we see what the spouse of Christ is to look for in this world. Wilt thou be of the number of them that live godly ? Prepare thyself to suffer. All that will live godly in Christ must do it : it is their portion. If he were persecuted, why should we be spared ; if he despised, why we well reputed of 1 Let us not therefore be dismayed, though we see the church of God in heavy case. Let her foes debase and oppress her for a while ; her king shall at length deliver her, and crown her with eternal glory. She was never, I think, in greater distress, the enemy never more cruelly bent, Christ in his members never more bloodily crucified, than even in these our days, as well by enemies, as by false and bastard brethren, who, pretending the aid and succour of the church, practise nothing but theft and robbery. She is both wounded by her adversaries, and spoiled even by her own children : the one have made her bloody, and the other beggarly. Howbeit, as the ark of Noe was tossed upon the waters, but could not be dro\vned, the Lord sustaining it with his mighty hand ; so the church in the end shall have a glorious triumph over all the enemies of God : hell gates may strive, they cannot prevail : in suf- fering she shall conquer, and when by persecution she is made most black, then is she in truth most beautiful. " I Cant. i. [5.] am black, O daughters of Jerusalem," saith the spouse, " black but comely." Through ignominy she cometh unto glory, by tribulation to a kingdom, by the cross to joy, and by death to immortal and everlasting life. The death of the saints of God is precious: their sufferings are honourable in his sight, for whom they suffer: nay, they arc profitable even unto them : it behoveth the moon to be turned into blood. Her restoration shall be much more glorious. 23. Tt foUoweth that the stars also shall fall from t'"" ''""'"ff J of stars licaven. Unto stars we may vei-y well compare teachers, f"""'" 362 THE EIGHTEENTH SEBMON. pastors, and guides, the brightness of whose doctrine and conversation should give light to such as live in this world's [John V. 35.] misty darkness. J ohn Baptist was called Lucerna lucens et ardens : " a candle which doth both shine and burn." Dan.xii.[3.] rpj^gy which are as stars unto others here "shall here- after shine as the brightness of the firmament, and as the stars of heaven for evermore." But these dangerous days have made many of these stars to fall from the fir- mament of heavenly doctrine to the dregs and dreams of man's learning. And one star falleth not commonly alone : Lucifer drew a train of others after him. The star which falleth to the earth becometh earthly, loseth the light which it had, and, like a brand which is smothered, spend- [Heb. vi. eth and wasteth itself to nothing. He that hath been 4—6.] ... once illuminated like a star, and received the heavenly gift, and been partaker of God's Holy Spirit, and hath tasted of the good word of God and of the powers of the world to come, if he fall at any time away, hardly or never doth he rise again. Dreadful examples hereof there are both ancient and late, as Judas, Julian, Arius, Franciscus Spira, Staphilus, Baldwin', and such like : whose fearful ends it were to be wished that they which follow their declining steps did well consider. For touching our own countrymen and brethren according to the flesh, the great- est withstanders of the truth at this day are such as have been either preachers, or earnest professors of that which now they hate so deadly, and by impugning so fiercely persecute. They are fallen from heaven to earth : Christ they have forsaken, and betaken themselves to the man of sin, Christ's adversary : they embrace darkness instead of light, error in place of sound doctrine, damnable heresy for the pure and saving truth. Had it not been better that these apostataes had never known this blessed way, [' F. Spira was a lawyer of Padua, who died about 1548, in a state of great mental horror, in consequence of having been induced to recant the reformed faith. F. Staphylus was professor of Greek at Wittem- berg. In 15.53 he renounced protestantism, and afterwards published a book on the disagreement of doctrine among the protestants. F. Bau- douin was jirofessor of law at Bourges and other places. He is said to have four times professed the reformed religion, and as often to have returned to that of his ancestors. The other individuals mentioned in the text are sufficiently well known. — En.] THEN THERE SHALL BE SIGNS, &C. 363 than, knowing it, so traitorously and so damnably to shrink from it ? But, to leave them to their desperate resolution : others there are that stand in doctrine, but fall in life and manners, whose conversation is not in hea- ven, but altogether upon the earth, being worldly-minded, not like stars of light, but like clouds of darkness, teach- ing others and not themselves, that say and do not : they are wholly bewitched with love of this present base world ; themselves they seek, (and would to God they sought them- selves aright !) but they seek not Christ, without whom themselves are lost. This is the great scandal of the world at this day : wo unto them by whom it cometh ! Ro'ii- i'- Well, by that which hitherto hath been spoken, we see how Christ (the Sun of righteousness, the brightness of his Father) is obscured as well by false doctrine as by wicked conversation ; how the moon (the church) is made black and bloody by cruel persecution ; how the stars (the teachers and doctors of the church) are fallen, both by heresy from heavenly doctrine, and by dissolute beha- viour from the shining brightness of a sanctified and celestial hfe. 24. The same words raiffht give me occasion to touch other appii- o o ^ rations of sundry other kinds, both of persons and things : I might ^f'^^g"''''*^''' shew how the spiritual dignity of the pastor, who should be as the sun in the eyes of men, is darkened and ob- scured by contempt ; how the civil authority of the magis- trate, which ought to shew itself in exercising just and lawful power upon the works of darkness, and so to bear rule as it were in the night (being in this age in many places used as a sword to slay the innocent and well- meaning man, and as a shield to defend and strengthen sin), hath so clean lost that glorious light of justice, that it seemeth even changed into blood; thirdly, how the people, which are in number as the stars, be in nature and dis- position so far removed from heaven, that the very naming of things above, as of things which do not concern them, is become even tedious and odious unto them. Again, I might shew you how faith (which, as the sun, giveth light to other virtues) is itself dimmed ; how the ancient vir- tues, which have been in high and honourable callings, have left their place and are not found : they are fallen 364 THE EIGHTEENTH SERMON. like stars from heaven. Charity, being unto other virtues as the moon in comparison of the rest of the stars, is also changed : her sweet and amiable nature is converted into more than savage barbarity : tender-hearted men are become bloody-minded : every man hunteth after his bro- ther as after a prey : each degree is maliced and hated of other, the clergy of the laity, the shepherd of the sheep, the rich of the poor, yea, the man of the wife, the parents of the children, the master of the servants, all men of some, and some almost of all. The bond of peace, the link of love, that malicious enemy hath burst asunder. What shall I say ? Surely all things do shew that the end of all things is at hand, signs shau" Now, what effects these signs before mentioned heartsof'''' shall liave in men's hearts, those words do plainly declare men. which follow : " There shall be upon earth trouble among the nations, with perplexity." " By the nations (saith St Aug. ad Hes. Augustine) he meaneth those that shall stand on the left hand, and not those that are of the seed of Abraham, and shall be blessed \" Those dogs, goats, hypocrites, and counterfeit Christians, which are without the fold of Christ, having their own conscience to accuse and bear witness against them, that they have despised the Son of God, even him who should have been their Saviour, Christ Jesus ; that they have rejected his gospel, resisted the truth, weltered in all uncleanness and sin, like beasts ; shall at that day fall headlong into deep desperation, know- ing that at the hands of that just and severe judge they shall receive the due reward of their frowardness and iniquity. These terrible signs shall smite such fear into their hearts, and so wonderfully amaze them, that what- soever they behold, they shall tremble at it ; whatsoever they hear, it shall be in their ears as it were the roar- ing of the seas. Men's minds shall be troubled : their faith shall wither and waste away as an untimely plant : Quod ergo dictum est secundum Lucam, "Et in terris pressura gentium", gentes voluit intclligi, non pertinentes ad semen Abraha?, in quo benedicentur omnes gentes, sed gentes quic ad sinistram stabunt, quando congregabuntur ante Judicem vivonim ct inortuonim omnes gentes. — August. Op. Par. 1679, Epist. cxcix. Ad Hesych. 40. Tom. ii. col. 755.— Ed. "J THEN THERE SHALL BE SIGNS, &C. 365 they shall utterly fall from God, and all hope of salva- tion. Yea, the very elect shall quake and tremble : they shall be for the time void of counsel, and as it were men at their wits' end. For if now their minds be troubled, to see the present confusion of things in the world ; to see kingdoms and nations in armour one against another ; to see so much monstrous cruelty shewed, so much innocent blood poured upon the ground ; to see the wicked so pro- sper, and the godly so trodden under foot like dust; to see the matter of salvation, even the word of God, called into question, so earnestly and doubtfully to be disputed of even amongst the learned sort with most hateful and despiteful contention, whereof there is like to the eye of man to be no end — if this do so much astonish men's minds now, that it maketh them doubtful what to think, or what to do, in what great perplexity shall they be in that day, when false Christs and false prophets, not one nor two, but many, shall arise, so forcible in persuasion, that they might deceive, if it were possible, even the elect of God, and when the powers of heaven shall be moved ! When these things are, doubtless men's hearts must needs fail them for extreme fear, and for looking after those things which shall come upon the world. Our merciful Lord comfort us that we do not faint, and strengthen us that we may stand in that day ! After all those signs in the sun and the moon and the stars, in the powers of heaven, and in the hearts of men, betokening Christ's approach, "then," saith the evangelist, "they shall see the Son of man come." 26. The manner of his coming is thus described. " He cS-T"^ shall come in a cloud with power and great slorv." It 9""''"? to ' o a J judgment. was told the disciples, before whose faces Christ was re- ceived up into glory, "This Jesus, which is taken up from [Acts i. u.] you into heaven, shall so come as ye have seen him go." He went in a cloud, and shall come in a cloud. His first coming into the world was contemptible, but his second M^tt. xxv. coming shall be glorious ; his first, to be judged of the world ; his second, to judge the world. He shall be ac- companied with the angels of heaven, partly to set forth his princely honour and royal majesty ; for so it is written : " Let all his angels worship him ;" and partly to be his P^ai. xcvu. 360 THE EIGHTEENTH SERMON. ministers in things appertaining to this judgment ; for so Matt. xxiv. we read : " He shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet ; and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, and from the one end of the heaven unto the other." St Paul joineth with these angels flaming fire. [7-Vol' " ^^^^^ ^^^^ himself from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, rendering vengeance unto them that do not know God, and which obey not the gospel of our Lord J esus Christ ; which shall be punished with everlasting per- dition from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power, when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be made marvellous in all them that be- lieve." This fire shall (whereof the apostle speaketh) dis- solve and melt away the heavens and the earth. Which burning shall be as it were the fining of gold in the fur- nace, not consuming, but purging the substance of these creatures from the dross of those alterable qualities where- unto they are now subject. So Bede speaketh of them, Beda. Per imac/inem transeunt, per essentiam subsistunt : prceterif figura hujus mundi, non substantia^ : " Their shape vadeth, their substance remaineth: the figure of this world doth 2 Pet. iii. pass away, but not the nature." " We look for new hea- vens and a new earth," saith St Peter : " These heavens shall pass away with a noise : these elements shall melt with heat : this earth, with the works that are therein, shall be burned up." Then shall God be glorified, and appear marvellous. Let the mighty remember this, which build their nests aloft ; the rich, which join house to house, whose garners, cellars, and pastures are full of grain, wine, and cattle, whose chests are stuffed with money, who wholly apply the world as they should live ever upon the earth. All this gear will be consumed : it is but matter for the flame. Flee therefore, flee from this world, which will suddenly melt away : look not back toward this pleasant [^"bs'f Sodoma, which the Lord will shortly set on fire. For what doth it profit a man to gain the world, which, though it Quffi ergo peribunt, veterascent, ct mutabuntur: constat pro certo, quia consumpta per ignem, mox abeunte igne gratiorem resumet spe- ciem. Praeteriit enim figura hujus mundi, non substantia. — Ven. Bedae Op. Col. Agrip. 1612. In II Epi.st. Pet. Cap. iii. Tom. v. col. 724. See also in Apoc. Cap. xx. Lib. iii. col. 807- — En.'] THEN THERE SHALL BE SIGNS, &C. 367 be enjoyed for a while, yet at length must needs melt as wax, and to lose his soul, which, if it were not lost, might live in bliss for ever ? Love not, seek not the things of this world : look unto that by which we may stand in the day when the Lord shall shew himself from heaven, when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be made marvellous in them that believe. " The wicked shall not be Psai. i. [5.] able to stand in that judgment, neither sinners in righteous men's company." At the coming of this power, at the presence of this great God, at the sight of this tribunal seat, so full of glory and of terror, the deriders of Christ, the contemners of his word, the workers of iniquity, shall tremble and quake, and desire through despair that the mountains may fall on them, and cover them from his fearful presence. But the faithful, the elect, shall lift up their heads with joy, and be made partakers of exceeding glory : they shall sit upon the twelve seats, and judge the twelve tribes of Israel. Where the faith of the apostles shall condemn the unbelieving Jews ; the piety of the cen- turion all ungodly magistrates ; preaching Paul all un- preaching prelates ; Zaccheus all usurers ; and Lazarus all repining impatient and wicked beggars. The books shall Rev. xx, be laid wide open in the sight of all flesh ; the book of '"'^ God, and the book of man's conscience ; the book of his law, and the book of our life. It shall be examined in the one, what God hath commanded ; in the other it shall be testified how man hath obeyed : in the one, what works of mercy he hath required at our hands ; in the other, what fruits of merciless affection the ground of our stony hearts hath yielded. And according to the evidence both watt. xw. of the one and of the other, the eternal and irrevocable sentence shall pass from the mouth of God. The perjured, Rev.xxi.[8.] the usurer, the adulterer, the liar, the idolater, shall be cast into the lake which burnetii with fire and brimstone ; into that utter darkness, where shall be wailing, weeping, gnashing of teeth, endless horror, and everlasting wo. But the elect, which have lived a sober, a just, and a godly life, which have loved the coming of Christ Jesus more than this world or their present lives, they shall enter into the kingdom of their Lord, they shall be glori- fied with Christ, and possess with him that everlasting in- 368 THE EIGHTEENTH SERMON. Matt. XXV. heritance, having heard that most joyful sentence : " Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess the kingdom prepared for you from the first foundations of the world." ration unto 27. Hereupon St Peter inferreth this conclusion : men^, by " Seeing all these things must be dissolved, what manner 2 Pet.'tiil"" persons ought ye to be in holy conversation and godliness, [II, 12.] looking for, and hasting unto the coming of the day of [Lukexxi. GrodV And St Luke this threefold exhortation: "Take o4, do.j heed to yourselves : watch : pray continually." " Take heed of surfeiting and drunkenness, lest your hearts be oppressed ; lest that day come upon you at unawares," and unlooked for ; lest it happen to you as it happened to the fathers in the days of Noah : they ate and drank, and suddenly the water overwhelmed them ; or as to the Sodomites : they burned in lust, and suddenly fire consumed them from heaven ; or as to the Israelites : they fed themselves greedily, surfeited, and died with the meat in their mouths. Let their dreadful ends make us eschew their sins. Beware also of the cares of this life. They be perilous thorns, and prick thy heart to death. Judas was careful by any means to gather money ; and to what it brought him, ye all know. Ananias and Saphira, caring how to live, made no conscience to lie to the Holy Ghost : their destruction was most sudden. When the rich man was in the midst of his care how to enlarge his bams, that very night his soul was taken from him. Beware therefore, and take heed specially of these two things : let not your hearts be overwhelmed with excess of meats and drinks, nor choked with the cares of this present life. By watch- £8. Besides this wariness and heed-taking, it is further required that we be also watchful. For sith we know not what time the Lord will come, expedient it is that we should be in continual expectation of him, that, whensoever he come, we may be ready with joy to meet him. Happy is he that watchfully looketh for the coming of Christ Jesus, and he miserable whom the Lord shall overtake Jerome. unlooked for. St Jerome did so live in continual watching and waiting for this day of redemption, that the sound of that voice was still in his ears, Arise, ye dead, and come to Job xiv.[i4.] judgment ! "I do wait," saith Job, "all the days of my warfare, till my change come." The like we read of the THEN THERE SHALL BE SIGNS, &C. .369 prophet David, whose watchfulness was such, that the watchman standing upon his ward, being weary of the discorafortableness of the night, doth not so eye the rising of the morning as he did the glorious appearing of the Lord. "I have waited,"" saith he, "upon the Lord, my [Psai. cxxx. soul hath waited, and I have trusted in his word. My soul waiteth on the Lord, more than the morning watch watcheth for the morning." How happy is their estate, whom the Lord in that day shall find thus ready for him ! 29. But because we can of ourselves neither rightly P''">''"g^- beware, nor diligently watch without the special assistance of his Spirit, therefore, as we are exhorted to watch, so are we likewise admonished to pray. The Lord of his infinite mercy grant, that, being thus prepared to meet the Lord in the day when he cometh to judge the quick and the dead, we may be found worthy to enter with him into that rest, which he by the shedding of his most precious blood hath purchased for all the blessed of his Father : To whom, &c. [.SANDYS.] 24 THE NINETEENTH SERMON. A SERMON PREACHED AT PAUL'S CROSS. Matt. VHI. 23. And when he was entered into the ship, his disciples followed him. 24. And behold, there arose a great tempest in the seq, so that the ship was covered with waves: but he was asleep. SieVhurch^ This short history doth by way of a type or figure set militant forth the state of the church, putting us in mind that the fignured by a _ . ship tossed way to the kingdom of God is roueh ; that we must enter upon the . . ° , , i , waters. mto joy through much sorrow ; that here we must be al- ways on the suffering side ; that the whole hfe of a christ- ian man upon earth is a warfare ; that such as will be dis- ciples of Christ must bear the cross ; that as many as will be in the same ship with him must prepare themselves unto dangerous storms. The sea of this wicked world is trouble- some : the church of God is beaten and tossed like a boat : it is disfigured with sharp and stormy weather. Feeble is all flesh, manifold are our infirmities, faint is our faith ; and seeing our sin, with the remembrance of the stipend due for the same, we are ready to sink into the bottomless gulf of desperation. In this dangerous estate we find no help in ourselves. But behold, the disciples of Christ have taught us by their example where help is to be sought in the midst of these manifold and great distresses : and that is only in Christ, who is always a present helper of them which seek him in time of need ; who hath overcome and victoriously triumphed on the cross against Satan, sin, the world, hell, death, and condemnation. To him all power giveth place : against him no force is able to stand : unto him all things are made subject. He is that Samson which by his own ANO WHEN HE WAS ENTERED INTO THE SHIP, &C. 371 death hath slain his foes ; that David which hath dashed out the brains of Gohah, the grand enemy of God's people ; that seed ■which hath bruised the serpent's head ; that Al- mighty which rebuketh winds, ceaseth storms, easeth the burthens of them that mourn, washeth away iniquity, freely forgiveth sin, heareth and delivereth out of trouble. If we cry with the disciples in our distress, " Help, Lord," he will in mercy awake and hear us : through his mighty power he will both cause the raging of the sea to cease, and stay the madness of the people. 2. But, to the end we may more particularly gather {JefonoTed such lessons out of this parcel of scripture, as may most g",*"""* tend to God's glory and our edifying, I mean to stand while this time will permit upon these points, shewing, first, that we must follow Christ into the ship ; secondly, that as many as will sail with him shall be in danger ; thirdly, that in their danger they shall not be destitute of help, if they seek it at his hands. It is not my peculiar conceit, but Tertullian' and Chrysostom~ do note, that this ship representeth the church of Christ tossed with the surges of temptation, with the stormy waves of calamity and trouble in this present world. 3. Christ hath always had a church here on earth : This siiip •' _ must be it was begun in paradise ; sithence it hath remained and known from . ... the ship of continued even unto this day. And as Christ hath his antichrist. boat, so hath antichrist also his. AVherefore it belioveth us to know and discern the one from the other. The ark of the tabernacle of the Lord hath her true ornaments whereby to be known. Therein are laid up the treasures of God, most precious jewels. St Paul telleth us what they are. In the ark of the testament was " a golden pot Heb. ix. [4.] having manna, and the rod of Aaron that had blossomed, and the tables of the testament." In the tables was the \vritten word of God : manna was a figure of that mystical [' Ceterum navicula ilia figuram ecclesiiE praeferebat, quod in mari, id est seculo, fluctibus, id est persecutionibus et tentationibus, inquietatur, Domino per patientiam velut dormiente. — TertulL Op. Lut. 1641. De Baptismo, p. 261. — En.^] Fi'/jH/acna? evfKev tuvtu (rui/e^ajpf ?to, kui tvtto': rjv Tiav jueA- \ovTuiv Karu\rj\l/e(TQat nvTov<; -Tretpaa/xmu. — Chrysost. Op. Par. 1727- In Matt. Horn, xxviii. Tom. vui. p. 333. — En.] 24—2 372 THE NINETEENTH SERMON. food wherewith we are nourished to eternal Hfe : the rod of Aaron i-esembled the sceptre of disciphne. So that where nothing is taught but according to the written word, where the sacraments are sincerely ministered, where the rod and sceptre of government is used, there is Christ, there is the church. And we may thank our God for ever, that in his marvellous great mercy he hath made us partakers of these so rich and precious blessings ; whereby we know as- suredly that God is amongst us, that he sitteth in the midst of our assemblies, that this church is unto us as the ark of Noah, as the glorious sanctuary of the Lord, as the ship into which Christ Jesus is entered. know\"e '^^ When the Romans minded to leave the city, Scipio chnsT'is"' ^^^^ ensign in his hand, and set forwards towards the must^ouow Capitol, saying, Quiaimque xult rempuUicam salvam me sequatur^ : " Whosoever wisheth well to the common state, let him follow me."''' But most truly it may be said, " Whosoever wisheth well to his own soul, let him follow Christ."" He is no servant, that refuseth to follow his master : he that followeth him not is not worthy of him. The sheep when they hear the voice of their shepherd, they go after him. He is no member of Christ, that sundereth himself from the head of that body whereof he professeth himself a member. That branch, that is cut off from the vine, withereth and is fit for nothing but for the fire. After that Judas left Christ, and gave himself to be a sectary of the high priests, his case was lamentable. No man cometh to the haven, but he which followeth Christ to the ship. If we leave him, whither should we go I There is no other that hath the words of eternal life. Let us therefore do as his disciples did, forsake all and "follow."''' Follow him not only to the ship, but in the ship. The way to 5. Thcv follow Christ to the ship, which by faith in follow him . ' . to the ship the gospel are gathered and united to his church; the door is by deny- o i o ^ /->]•,. ing our- and entrance whereunto is narrow, r or so Christ descri- SG1V6S. Matt. xvi. beth it : "If any man will come after me, let him deny him- S!uke ix. self."" This lesson is general : for St Luke saith, Dixit Mark viii. omnibus : " He spake unto all ;'" and St Mark, Bt turboe ^^^'^ et discipulis dixit : " He spake it both to the multitude and to his disciples.'''' No man therefore can look to come [' T. Liv. Hist. Lil). xxn. c. .53.— En.] AND WHEN HE WAS ENTEKEU INTO THE SHU', &C. 373 unto Christ by any other way. We must begin with tlio plain denying of* ourselves, that is to say, the forsaking of our impiety and fleshly lusts. 6. To deny impiety is to forsake false doctrine, false worshipping of God, and whatsoever is against the first part or table of the law. "The house of God," saith tot.. xiv. . . . ... [5,0.] Tobias, " shall be built for ever with a glorious buikhng, as the prophets have spoken of it ; and all nations shall turn and fear the Lord God truly, and shall buiy their idols that is to say, they shall forsake their im- piety, and so be numbered with the saints of God. When the Ephesians, which had used curious arts, were con- A^t^ ^i>:- verted to the faith of Christ, they brought their books and burned them, as many as were worth by estimation fifty thousand pieces of silver. By the writings of Atlie- nagoras, Clemens, Justin Martyr, Arnobius, Minutius, Lactantius, and many other of the ancients, it appearcth that the very first thing which those men of famous me- mory did in their conversion from gentility ' to the truth, was openly to proclaim defiance to that impiety, wherein they had been nursled and trained up. Constantino, con- sidering with himself the lives and doings of former em- perors, and finding that their estate had been always worse which had worshipped the gods of the nations, that they whicli gave greatest credit to idolatrous spirits of di- vination were but deluded, that none had fairer promises of prosperous events than they whose ends were most in- fortunate, that his father only amongst the rest putting his trust in the God which created heaven and earth had by experience all the time of his life found him a mighty pro- tector, and a bountiful rewarder of them that fear him ; when it pleased God by this mean to bring him to a love and liking of the truth, he began forthwith to show great tokens of favour unto Christians, to have conference with their bishops and chief professors, to restore them whom cruelty had cast out of their lawful possessions for believ- ing in the name of Christ, to erect houses of great charge for prayer and holy exercises of the church, to do what- soever might any way be devised, not only for the succour and needful relief, but also for the honour and dignity of I ' Gentility — religion of the g-cntiles, paganism. — En.] 374 THE NINETEENTH SERMON. Christians. Now by this that Tobias foresheweth how the gentiles, being converted to the truth, shall bury their idols ; that St Luke recordeth how the Ephesians burned all their impious books ; that the fathers in their first conversion wrote so vehemently against paganism ; that Constantine gave so many and so great tokens of a mind detesting all impiety, and burning with the love of Christ Jesus; by this, I say, we may perceive how im- possible it is to steal a true denial of impiety, how im- possible for a man which indeed hath denied it not to shew his denial in his deeds, worki'iy *^ • ^o deny impiety it is not enough, except we also desireT'^''' *^®"y A^^hly lusts. If we look into our evil and cor- rupt nature, we shall find nothing but that which leadeth us clean from Christ, nothing but rebellion against the Spirit, distrust in the providence of Almighty God, joy and delight in earthly things, blindness of mind, hardness of heart. All this we must mortify : this we must shake off: we must quite rehnquish our own wills, and submit ourselves wholly to the will of God. Shall we refuse to John V. [30.] do this, when Christ himself hath said, " I seek not to have mine own will, but the will of him that sent me?" John iv.[34.] And again, "It is meat unto me to do his will." And Matt. xxvi. in his greatest agony, " Not as I will, O Father, but as ^^^'^ thou wilt." This is a doctrine hard to practise and put in ure. It is the fault of our corrupt flesh : we think too highly of ourselves : we are too much wedded to our own wills. The blessed apostle (as we think) speaketh 1 Cor. iii. like a man besides himself, when he saith, " If any man [18] > • seem to be wise amongst you in this world, let him be made a fool that he may become wise." This is but the entrance unto Christianity ; yet how few are there which Luke .\iv. be come thus far ! The rich youner man in the gospel [■]g 23.] . . . seemed to be very forward in the way ; but Christ di.s- covereth his affection, and sheweth, that he had not de- nied himself, and therefore was no fit disciple for him. It made him heavy and pensive to think of leaving so great possessions, and of weaning his heart so soon from the world. He could have been contented to deny im- piety ; but Christ would have worldly concupiscence also Tit. n. [11, denied. "For the grace of God our Saviour," saith AND WHEN HE WAS ENTERED INTO THE SHIP, &C. 375 the apostle, " hath appeared to all men, teaching us that denying impiety and worldly desires, we live soberly, and justly, and godly in this present world." 8. This is the way wherein Christ must be followed JoUoZ^^im by as many as desire to be shipped with him, to be of J" /^-t^tj'Pj^ the number of his people. This is the door of entrance into the church. When we are once entered and received into the ship, as we followed him thither by believing the gospel, by " denying impiety and worldly lusts ; " so there we must follow him by walking as we have him for our example, purging ourselves " even as he is pure," and Jj-^j"''" " shewing forth the virtues of him that hath called us out ' Pet. ii. [9.] of darlcness into his marvellous light." " Be ye holy, for Levit. xi. I am holy," saith the Lord. As according to his simili- tude and likeness we were at the first created, so now according to the same similitude we must also be framed and fashioned anew. Sith we were first light, and became darkness afterward, and are made now again of darkness light in the Lord, it is no reason that we should any more frame ourselves unto the lusts of our ignorance ; " but, as he which hath called us is holy, so likewise ought 1 Pet. i. [i5.j we to be holy in all manner of conversation." When the Jews boasted that they had Abraham to their father, their vanity was reproved : " If ye were the sons of Abraham," ^j^J^ "J'j"" saith Christ, " ye would do the works of Abraham : but now ye go about to kill me, a man that have told you the truth, which I have heard of God : Hoc Abraham non fecit : Abraham did not this." It is in vain for us to boast of the name of Christians, except the image of Christ be seen in our life and conversation. If we follow him not, we are not his. 9. We are exhorted to be followers both of God and j^owGodis^ of men. " Be ye followers of God, as most dear children." ^ti. and how J ' men. Again: "Be ye followers of them which through faith and ^pii- v- [1] patience inherit the promises." God is the rule, as of faith, so of life : wherefore absolutely, " Be ye followers of God ;" but of men always with this caution, " Be ye followers of i^cor. xi. me, as I am of Christ." The Thessalonians St Paul com- mendeth, forasmuch as they were " followers of him and Jg"^"^^*- '• of the Lord." If our fathers, elders, guides, and teachers, be a "rebellious generation, a generation that set not their 376 THE NINETEENTH SERMON. heart aright, and whose spirit is not faithful unto God," then are they no precedents for us to follow : but be followers of us, so long as we are followers of Christ, and 1 Tim. iv. are examples unto you, " in word, in conversation, in love, Phil. iv. [8, in spirit, in faith, in pureness." ^Vhatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things pertain to love, whatsoever things are of good report ; if there be any virtue, if there be any praise, think on these things, which ye have both learned and received, and heard and seen in rae : these things do, and the God of peace shall be with you." Se^with'*"^ 10. Their estate in the world which follow Christ in suffeftrou-' ha.th been shewed, is here resembled by a affliction ^^^'P ^^^sed and grievously shaken with a tempest. It is and ever hath been, yea, and will be their lot, whether they be upon sea or land, to be in peril, to stand in fear, to have wind and weather against them. As many as fol- low him must deny themselves, and, having denied them- selves, they must take up the cross. The cross signifieth all afflictions ; which may be divided into two kinds, afflictions of punishment, and afflictions of trial : the former are com- mon unto all ; the latter are proper to the elect of God. Afflictions J J The sin of Adam brought misery unto man, and common " . unto all a curse unto all the creatures of God. Hence it cometh men. to pass, that with sorrow and tears we enter into the world ; and when we are in it, we have a short continuance : yet in that shortness, good Lord, unto how many chances and changes are we subject ! In the end we die ; and who doth know what becometh of us ? our graves keep us secret. Job xiv. [n, u the waters pass from the sea, and as the flood de- cayeth and drieth up, so man sleepeth and riseth not : he lieth in the dust, and shall not be raised from his sleep till the heaven be no more." O how bitter is this to such as put their trust in uncertain riches ! how dreadful is the remembrance of death unto the wicked ! But they only are not subject unto death : the sorrows of tlie grave take hold on all, inasmuch as all have sinned. Howbeit, in these afflictions which come as punishments unto all, there is a difference. They come not unto all with like intent of him that sendeth them : they fall upon the godly AND WHEN HE WAS ENTERED fNTO THE SHU', &C. 377 for their correction, but they bring confusion unto the wicked. ] 2. There are other afflictions proper to behevers, pell'alar"^ tribulations which God doth send as special tokens of favour to his dearest saints ; trials which are, unto them that bear them patiently, seals and assurances, that they are counted worthy of the kingdom of God for which they suffer. For the world, which hateth both the truth and the light, cannot but hate all such as love the truth, and as walk in the light. Out of this fountain spring all those molestations which the godly do suffer for righteousness' sake at the hands of wicked and ungodly men. David saw this when he said, " Many are the troubles of the just." St P'^ai- xxx'v. Paul did consider it, and therefore said, '■ They that will [2 Tim. iii. live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." Christ ^^'^ did often put his disciples and scholars in remembrance of it : " If they have persecuted me, they will persecute you." [Joim w. In the world we are sure to find heavy entertainment ; but ' this is our comfort : with whom we suffer, with him we shall reign : we shall live with him in glory with whom now we are in misery, if so be we take up our cross and follow him. Patience perforce is no patience. Not every one which beai'cth any manner of cross, but he which taketh it up, that is to say, which is willing to bear it, he shall receive an immortal crown of glory. The wild, rcsty, and unbroken horse, if he kick and fling never so much, yet is he forced to carry his rider ; but, being managed and tamed, he passeth on quietly with his burthen. The wicked mutter, they murmur and blaspheme when they are once touched ; but the servants of God do not only take that patiently which is laid upon them, but they rejoice that they arc thought worthy to suffer. Bo they never so much afflicted in body, the end of their affliction is always joy in the spirit. The wicked kick against the prick : the godly sub- mit themselves to the yoke, knowing that they arc stricken with a tender hand, that he which humbleth them loveth them, and shall turn all things to their good. Yea, they take up not only their own crosses, but also the griefs and sufferings of others u[)on their backs : they are con- tent to feel the smart even of other men's stripes, to put their shoulders under the burthens of their brethren, to .378 THE NINETEENTH SERMON. weep for the sorrows of other men as much as for their own, when others are bound to be as if they were in chains with them. These are the sufferings of the church of Christ : these are the crosses of his children. As for heretics, they have no portion in this cup. Though they offer themselves unto all kinds of torture, yet because they suffer not for the truth, but against the truth, they cannot look for that rest which is promised to God's afflicted, l^^ess. I. u when the Lord shall shew himself from heaven, accom- panied with his mighty angels." For it is not the cross, [Matt. V. but the cause, that makes a martyr. " Blessed are they that suffer for righteousness'' sake." There is no cause why that irreligious crew should glory in their sufferings, which fight for antichrist, for heresy, for popery, for super- Aug^cont. stition, sedition, self-will and singularity : Non ex passione men. lib. i. cevta est justitia, sed eos justitla passio gloriosa est,^ saith '^^^ ' St Augustine : " Our sufferings are no argument of our righteousness, but our righteousness an ornament unto our sufferings." kid'upon 13. To these afflictions whereof we have hitherto body ofThe spokeu, the church hath always been subject : from the beginning it hath been tossed and much troubled. Abel, the image of the church, was unnaturally murdered by the bloody hand of his own brother. Abraham, the father of our faith, with his family, a figure of the church, lived as a pilgrim, and they as strangers upon earth. The Israelites were in Egypt tyrannized by Pharaoh, in the wilderness many ways chastised of the Lord, afterwards in continual storms, war, and battle, before they could be placed in the land of Canaan : when they were come thither and had dwelt long there, in the end their temple was spoiled, their people murdered, their cities razed, and they led captives into strange countries. This was the lot of God's church, the portion of his elect and chosen people in former times. In the last days, Christ himself was no sooner in the world, but he was by and bye forced to save his life by flight. There was no day, no hour that passed over him without grief, from the time of his birth to that very moment wherein he yielded up the ghost. How it fared Avith his P August. Op. Par. 1(588. Cont. Jipist. Pavmcn. Lib. i. 15. Tom. ix. col. 21.— Ed.] church. AND WHEN HE WAS ENTERED INTO THE SHIP, &C. 379 disciples after him, and after them with the churches which they had planted, it may appear by the liistory partly of their acts, and partly of those times wherein Nero, Trajan, Domitian, Diocletian, and others of the like disposition lived. But no time so bloody and cruel, as since that Roman strumpet hath usurped authority over Christ and his church. The church could hide itself in no corner of any kingdom in the whole world, but his tyranny found it out, to vex it, to persecute it, and to spoil it. What blood he hath shed, what murders he hath committed in these latter days, England, Scotland, Flanders, and France, can sufficiently record. By this it is evident to all men's eyes, how the church in the midst of this wicked world is tossed like a ship upon the sea. 14. As the whole church of Christ, so every member upon every , '' , particular that truly proiesseth him, is subject unto great tentation. member. If the ship be in danger, how can they be without peril that are in it ? As soon as we profess the name of Christ, the devil stirreth up his storms and tempests of temptation, to make us deny and forsake our profession ; wherein his assaults be most fierce, in which respect the blessed apostle doth call them fiery. So it pleased God to chastise and keep under every son whom he receiveth. And if we would be without affliction, then were we bastards and not children. 15. If both the whole body and every member there- Upon the . . principal 01 be thus devoted unto sufFerinff, the chiefest members members spccifl-lly. must look to be in greatest dangers. That which Christ told his disciples must be verified in all their successors : "The world shall hate them." For why? They which [John xv. hate to be reformed cannot brook to be reproved ; and we must needs rebuke the world of sin. What misery soever cometh to the church, the minister is alway the first that feeleth the smart of it. This we find to have been true in the prophets, in the apostles, and in others, that from time to time have borne the rooms of over- seers in the church. Quern prophetarum non persecuti sunt ? [Matt, xxiji. saith Christ : " What prophet can be named which hath 52.'] not been persecuted?"" The time would not suffer me to make but only a bare rehearsal either of the ancient worthy guides of the church, which have been most cruelly on- 380 THE NINETEENTH SERMON. treated and murdered in former times, or of your own pastors whom our late evil days have seen taken from us in most cruel sort. The^causes |g ^j^j^ pj^j^^^ ^^^^^ ^j^^ ^j^^j^ rtorms do*^'' Christ, and every member of the same, is subject to tri- bie^that™"' hulations, afflictions, and troubles, and the chiefest mem- church. |jgj.g jxiost subject. Let us now consider how and why this Cometh to pass. The most near and immediate cause of their trouble which are tossed upon the sea, is the rising of winds and the ratjins: of the waters. This is raani- fest unto sense. They that go down to the sea in ships, and use traffic in great waters, do see that, when the stormy wind ariseth and Jifteth up the waves, they which are in the ship mount up to heaven and descend to the deep, so that their soul melteth for trouble ; they are tossed to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and all their understanding is swallowed up. Wherefore the blustering winds and the stormy seas were the sensible cause, why the ship wherein Christ with his disciples sailed was sore tossed and greatly dangered. Now, if we look into the sea of the world, we shall find that all our grief and vexation cometh from those unquiet motions which are raised by our spiritual and ghostly enemy, who never resteth, but tumbleth to and fro, raising one tempestuous storm in the neck of another. What marvel then if the church be troubled ; or rather, how can it be otherwise than troubled and sore assaulted, seeing Satan hath so many ways to molest it, and useth as many as he hath ? Sometimes he stirreth up cruel and bloody persecution. If that will not serve, he useth such winds as are some- what more calm, but no whit less dangerous, the winds of division and contention, than which nothing doth sooner hazard the church of Christ. A kingdom being at unity in itself, though it be small, yet may be strong ; but di- vided and distracted into factions, though it be mighty, how should it stand ? This is a thing which I wish greatly that we did throughly consider. Hitherto (such is the mercy of Almighty God) our enemies have not prevailed against us, although they be many, and wc but few ; they strong, and wc weak. But if a few silly weak ones be miserably divided, what may we look for but inevitable AXD WHEN HE WAS ICXTEUKD INTO THE SHIP, &C. 881 ruin ? It is lamentable that the gospel of peace should bring forth schism. This is both slanderous, and undoubt- edly perilous to our profession. Unto them whom Satan hath abused, as his instruments to work this evil, I may speak in a manner as the clerk of Ephesus did to the people, when they were in an uproar without cause. There is no idolatry, no impiety, maintained by the laws and orders of this church. If Demetrius and the craftsmen which are with him have any thing concerning other mat- ters, there is authority, we have courts, there are lawful assemblies to hear, to discuss, and to determine them. When they refuse the peaceable means whereby strife may be ended, and will follow no course but that which breed- eth confusion and raiseth tumults, may they not justly be accused as clamorous troublers of the church of God, for- asmuch as there can be no just and allowable reason al- leged of these their troublesome and unquiet dealings ^ Shall we be followers of men in contention, and that about frivolous and vain things, and leave the walking after Christ in peace and love ? " Now the God of patience and con- Rom. xv. solation grant that at the length we may be like minded one toward another, according to Christ Jesus, that with one mind and one mouth we may praise God even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." 17- Thus the church, as a ship, is by outward per- ^^"'^ / 1 storms secution and mward contention, as it were by storms and t™"- tempests, troubled. ±he storms, which trouble the i^arti- partituiar 1 1 p 1 1 1 * ilo arise. cular members oi the church, ai-e our own rebellious and disordered desires, which never suffer us to enjoy any long rest of mind. Some are troubled with one unquietness, and some with another. Some cannot rest for the cares of the world : some swell with pride and vain glory : some boil in rancour, envy and malice : some fry in lust, some with anger. The best are secretly disturbed with that from which the holy apostle crieth out, "Miserable man, [Rom. who shall deliver me V When these things have so shaken "'^ us, that our souls are thereby bruised, then doth Satan raise the greatest storm of all other. He layeth our sins before our eyes, and persuadeth with us, as he did with Cain and Judas, that our iniquity is greater than can be pardoned, our sores past cure, our breaches such as are 382 THE NINETEENTH SERMON. without hope or remedy. With this blast and puff he overthroweth many ; and the dearest children of God are most subject hereunto. It is therefore good to resist sin betimes, lest, when the conscience is therewith overbur- thened, if the devil cast our sin before us, together with the judgment of God against sin, we make shipwreck of our faith. biesdo°"iow Now, when these troubles are not quieted by such causes that causes as have power to appease them, then are the causes pease th?m (although Hot properly, but figuratively) said to be asleep, are asleep, Lord, whoH he secth his children to be afflicted, or suffereth the wicked for a time to go unpunished, till he deliver the one, and plague the other, is to our seem- ing as if he slept. And the grace of God in us, whereby we withstand and resist that which fighteth against the Spirit, may be said to wake as long as it worketh, and to sleep then when it ceaseth working. When we sleep naturally, our bodies are subject to many dangers. Ho- lofernes being asleep, the weak hand of Judith was able Aug- in to make him shorter by the head. In corde christiano Psal. 32. et tranquillitas erit et pax, sed quamdiu vigilat fides nostra: Si autem dormit fides nostra, periclitamwr^ . " In a christ- ian heart there shall be both tranquillity and peace, but no longer than our faith is kept waking: if that fall asleep, we are in danger," saith St Augustine. For this cause St Paul crieth out so loud in the ears of men, Epi>^v..[i4.] " Awake, thou that sleepest and to Timothy, " Stir up the gift of God which is in thee," but let it not sleep, to^be shaken 19. If the master and governor of the ship, who trateV."""''^' sitteth at the helm, fall asleep, the ship cannot keep her It docs not appear that there is any such passage in the place indicated. The following is probably that intended by the arch- bishop : Quando ille dicitur dormire, nos dormimus : et quando ille dici- tur exsurgere, nos excitamur. Nam et Dominus dormiebat in navi; et ideo fluctuabat navis, quia dormiebat Jesus. Nam si illic vigilaret Jesus, non fluctuaret navis. Navis tua, cor tuum: Jesus in navi, fides in corde. Si meministi fiJei tuse, non fluctuat cor tuum: si oblitus es fidem tuam, dormit Christus: observa naufragium. Verumtamen quod restat fac, ut si dormierit excitetur; dicas illi, Domine, exsurge, perimus : ut increpet ventos, et fiat tranquillitas in corde tuo. — Aug-ust. Op. Par. 1681. In Psalm xxxiv. Enar. Sermo i. Tom. iv. col. 230.— En.] AND WHEN HE WAS ENTERED INTO THE SHIP, &C. 383 right course unguided, but will full upon every sand, rush upon every rock, and so hazard whatsoever is in it. The boat of Christ is set over unto two governors, the ma- gistrate and the minister : it is dangerous if either of them be not watchful. When such kings ruled Israel as lived securely, took their ease, and cared not for the pub- lic benefit, such as Manasses and Jeroboam, then was there great confusion in the church and commonwealth : God was not served : idolatry every where was committed. It is a great fault in rulers and judges of the earth, when their eyes are not open to behold the disorderly dealings of the wicked, nor their ears to receive the com- plaints of the poor, the fatherless, the widow, and them which suffer wrong. There was sometime a Serjeant that now resteth (I hope in peace), who, when a poor man craved his advice in a matter, and offered him no money, answered, " I hear thee, but I feel thee not." This man's heart was awake unto covetousness, but unto judgment and justice asleep. 20. Ministers are termed by a special name of watch- By minis. ters. men, to shew, that they above all others should beware of too much sleep. " Son of man, I have made thee a Ezek. iii. watchman unto the house of Israel," saith the Lord to 2'-^.]^'""' his prophet. " Now, if the people take a man from amongst them, and make him their watchman, if when he seeth the sword come upon the land he blow the trumpet and warn the people, then he that heareth the sound of the trumpet, and will not be warned, if the sword come and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. For he heard the sound of the trumpet, and would not be admonished : therefore his blood shall be upon him ; as contrariwise, he that receiveth warning shall save his life. But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned, if the sword come and take any man from amongst them ; he is taken away for his iniquity, but his blood will I re- quire at the watchman's hand." Wherefore, there could not a greater plague happen to the people of God, than that whereof the prophet Esay maketh mention : " Their isai.ivi.[io.] watchmen are all blind : they lie asleep and delight in sleeping." Whilst the husbandmen slept, the evil man 384 THE NINETEENTH SERMON. sowed his darnel, and went his way, and was not seen. Sleepy folk are the cause why the field of the Lord is overgrown with weeds, his church infected with sin and error. When the pastor sleepeth, the wolf devoureth: sin entereth and niaketh havock. t'hltcinfst 21. But, sith "he that keepeth Israel will neither and'we bf shunher nor sleep," it may be marvelled how that thing [PsaU cxjd. ^^hich he keepeth can be subject to so many storms and tempests, wliich might be prevented if he did not suffer himself or us, or them whom he hath set as watchmen over us, to fall asleep. Whereunto I answer, by the same distinction which the spouse herself doth make in the Song Cant. V. [2.] of Solomon: "I sleep, but my heart waketh." God suf- feretli us, that is to say, our outward man, to be mo- lested, troubled, vexed : upon our flesh he seemeth many times to shut his eyes, although in truth the eyes of his fatherly providence be always open even upon that, not permitting us therein to be tried and tempted above our strength. But over our hearts we know by manifest ex- perience, and are sure to find, that he still keepeth a Psai. cxxi. continual watch. " The Lord will keep thee (saith the prophet) from all evil : he will keep thy soul." And al- though it be grievous, yet is it meet and expedient, yea good and profitable for us, that our hearts, our souls, our spii'its, being so surely and safely kept, God should sometimes wink at the troubles of our flesh, as if he saw them not. his disciples ^2. The disciples in their great fear and danger went troubies'^*^"^ uuto Christ, and wakened him with their cries : " Help, we perish." Dost thou see us cast away, and not consider it ? Of the like complaints of the people of God in the midst of their distresses, we read in sundry places, especially of the Psai. xiiv. psalms : " Up, why sleepest thou, O Lord ? Awake, be not [23 26.] ever. Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and for- gettest our misery and our affliction I Our soul is beaten down unto the dust, our belly cleaveth unto the ground : rise up for our succour, and redeem us for thy mercy'^s sake." These groans and cries be not poured out in vain. Christ rebuketh the winds and seas : his servants have their wish : their requests are no sooner uttered than granted. If we, as good disciples of these disciples, do in our troubles fly AND WHEN HE WAS ENTERED INTO THE SHIP, fec. 385 unto Clirist for aid, in his mercy he shall hear us, and de- liver us by the strength of his mighty power. He cannot suffer us to be tried above that which we are able to bear. Be our suit never so desperate, he can help it. For nothing is impossible with God. Would you see some fit examples ? The Israelites groaned unto him in Egypt : he heard them and delivered they from the tyranny of Pharaoh. The young men in the furnace called upon him, and were preserved. The cry of Daniel stopped the mouths of lions : Paul and Silas being in bonds prayed, and their chains fell loose from them ; the doors opened and gave them passage. Although we be plunged never so low, although the floods run clean over us, insomuch that we seem to ourselves as it were past help and recovery, yet we are not past help so long as we are not past desire to be holpen. The greatness of our peril can be no stop to our deliverance, because the power of our deliverer is infinite. In deed we see that men are altogether amazed, and in a manner bereft of wit and un- derstanding, when they feel themselves dangerously tossed to and fro. But do we not also see that, when they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, he bringeth them out of distress, he turneth the storm to calm, so that the waves thereof are still ? do we not see how they pass through tri- bulations to the kingdom of heaven, and through stormy tempests are brought to the haven where they would be ? This the Lord doth, that we might confess his loving kindness before him, and his wonderful works before the sons of men. To him therefore, even God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, be all honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen. [SANDYS.] 25 THE TWENTIETH SERMON. A SERMON PREACHED AT PAUL'S CROSS. 1 Peter IV. 7. The end of all things is at hand. Be ye therefore sober and watching in prayer. 8. But above all things have fervent love awLong you ; for love covereth the multitude of sins. 9. Be ye harborous^ one towards another, without grudging. 10. Let every man, as he hath received the gift, minister the same one to another, as good disposers of the manifold graces of God. uveas"uiey '^^^ apostle St Peter, like a perfit^ workman and a endihai'/*^ skilful buildor, first layeth a sure foundation, and then Sow they""* framoth and erecteth a good building thereupon. The have lived, foundation is Christ. " Another foundation no man can 1 Cor. 111. ni ] .. ^ , lav." He is the rock, the foundation ; and we as " lively 1 Pet. 11. [5.] •' stones" must be framed thereupon, hewed and squared with the hammer and square of God's word, that we may grow to be " a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up unto God through Jesus Christ spiritual and acceptable sacrifices" of piety, prayer, and thanksgiving. Through Christ we are brought from darkness unto light, that from henceforth we should walk as the children of that light wherein he hath placed us : of a perverse generation we are through him made an holy people, that we should be Deut. X. [12 " holy" as he is that called us : we are redeemed, " not by 1 Pet. i. [18, gold and silver," but by the innocent blood of the immacu- Luke i. [74, late Lamb, to " serve him that hath delivered us out of the 75.] hands of our enemies in holiness and righteousness all the days of our hfe :" we are called to be the children of God, citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem, and to be fellow heirs P Harborous — hospitable. — En.] Perfit— perfect. — Ed.] THE END OF ALL THINGS IS AT HAND, ScC. 387 with Christ of that his eternal Icingdom ; that we should be obedient and loving children, trusty and dutiful citizens, that we may be not only called, but chosen, accepted, and admitted to inherit with Christ, the first begotten of God. What building we be, whether " gold or stubble," what life we lead, it will one day appear. Our conversion will be called unto an hard account. In that day we must stand before the tribunal seat of God, and render a reckoning, yea, and receive as we have wrought in our bodies, good or bad. The iudge is even at hand : Veniens veniet : " He will Habak. ii. . . . [3.] come surely without fail, and without stay." " He standeth Kev.iii.[2o.] before the door."" This is the last hour: the trump is in a readiness to be blown to judgment. 2. For, saith Peter, "the end of all things hancceth nie consi- . o o deration of over us." In which words the apostle doth both comfort the last en,! CI m- 1 1-1 liotli make us, and exhort us. buch as are amicted, oppressed with them that 1 • 1 • 1 1 are heavy wrong, burthened with poverty, vexed with sickness, slan- joyful, and dered, persecuted, or hated of the world, here they may are gotiiy receive comfort. Your misery shall be but momentany and short ; your joy shall be great and endless. " Lift up your Luke xxi. heads, for your redemption draweth near." The end of your '^^^'^ affliction, together with the end of all things, is at hand. Again, upon these words a most necessary exhortation is inferred. Chx'ist is coming in the clouds : all flesh shall rise and reckon : he only that hath his lamp burning shall enter in with the bridegroom : as we are found, so shall we be taken and judged. " The end is at hand : be sober there- fore, and watch unto prayer." 3. Whereas the holy scriptures do make often mention The last end . . of all things of a double end ; the one, wherein we are to yield up our is certain, mortal lives ; the other, wherein Christ at his second coming shall finish the course of all this sinful world ; the apostle treating in this place of the latter, I shall at this present follow his footsteps, and speak of Christ his second coming to put an end to all things. For they which say, " Where 2Pet.iii.[4.] is the promise of his coming ?" deceive themselves. " He Acts xvii. hath set a day wherein he will judge the world in justice :" '"^''^ " he is appointed judge of quick and dead." The angel of Acts x. [42.] God beareth witness of his coming. " This Jesus, which Acts i. [ii.j is taken up into heaven, shall so come as ye have seen him go." And St John, as if he beheld and saw him coming, 25—2 .388 THE TWENTIETH SERMON. The time near at Rev.i. [7.] saith, "Behold, he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him."" Hl^erwf^Sn- ^- ^® coming is most certain, so the hour, Actei"[7 ] *^*y' n^oiith, year, or time, is most uncertain. " It is not for you to know the seasons and precise points of time, Matt. xxiv. which the Father hath appointed in his own power." " Of that day and hour no man knoweth, no, not the very angels i^Thess. V. of heaven, but my Father only." " The day of the Lord will come stealing upon us, as a thief in the night." 5. Now, as we know not the day and time, so let us pearetrby''' assured that this coming of the Lord is near. He is S nea^ we slack, Es wc do couut slackuess. That it is at hand, know not. j^^y probably gathered out of the scriptures in divers Matt. xxiv. places. The signs mentioned by Christ in the gospel, which should be the foreshewers of this terrible day, are almost Dan. vii. already all fulfilled. The prophecies of Daniel of the four monarchies, of the little horn, and of the times, weeks, and 3 Thess. ii. days, are manifestly come to pass. The defections or fallings away, which are spoken of in holy scriptures, are also in great part accomplished. The provinces, the ten kingdoms, are fallen from the Roman empire, and that wicked one hath wrought the mystery of iniquity. Again, there hath been, in a manner, a general falling from the catholic faith, as the apostle long before foretold us ; some unto Mahomet, some unto antichrist his brother. Even about one time Mahomet appeared, and the pope swerved from the true faith of Christ ; the one renouncing him in name, the other in deed ; the one quite blotting out the mention of Christ, and denying at all to profess him in word, the other keep- ing his name, but robbing him of his office, and shutting him out of his right place ; both falling from the faith. That defection also is come upon us, which St Paul did iT^m. iv. prophesy of : "In the latter times men shall fall from the faith, giving ear to deceiving spirits and doctrines of devils." mt.^iii. And St Peter: " There shall come in the last days mockers, that walk after their own lusts, and say, Where is the pro- mise of his coming?" Thus heretics and atheists have fallen from Christ and christian faith. We that profess Christ and his gospel, are also charged with a defection, a schism, and a falling away. But in every apostasy two things must be considered, from whom and to whom this sliding THE END OF ALL THINGS IS AT HAND, &C. 389 is. We gladly grant that we are fallen away from the bishop of Rome, who long ago fell from Christ : we do utterly abandon his usurped and proud authority : we have happily forsaken that synagogue of Satan, that den of thieves, that polluted church, that simoniacal temple ; and we joy- fully confess that we have no society or fellowship with his darkness. In our sermons we preach Christ, and none else but him: we know nothing, we teach nothing, we believe nothing, but Christ and him crucified. In our sacraments we shew forth the Lord's death in no other sort, than he himself hath done and commanded us to do. In our lives we worship the Lord alone ; and, in yielding up our souls, we fly for mercy only to the merits of Christ Jesus, our merciful Saviour. This is our apostasy. We have forsaken him that hath forsaken God, and whom God hath forsaken : we have left that man of sin, that rose- coloured harlot with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, that triple-crowned beast, that double- sworded tyrant, that thief and murderer, who hath robbed so many souls of salvation, and sucked so much innocent blood of christian martyrs, that adversary unto Christ, that pretensed vicar, who hath displaced the person, not only taking upon him Christ 's room and office, but also boasting himself as if he were a god, and being content of his parasites so to be called. This wicked man of sin is at length revealed by the sincere preaching of the gospel. Daniel in his prophecies, Paul in his epistles, and John in his revelations, have most lively described and pointed him forth even as it were with the finger. Yea, through his pride and ambition, his usurping authority and worldly rule, his tyranny and persecuting of Christ in his members, he hath sufficiently revealed and detected himself, if none had done it for him. 6. This wicked man the Lord shall destroy with the Thedestruc- tion of anti- breath of his mouth ; and then shall be the end. The cunst. blast of God's trump hath made him already stagger: he hath caught such a cramp, that he beginneth now to halt : his long and far-reaching arm is marvellously shortened : his coffers are waxen leaner : his falsehood is espied : many princes refuse to taste any more of his poisoned cup : he is fallen from being the head, and come almost to be the 3.90 THE TWENTIETH SERMON. tail : he was too cruel and too violent to continue. There is no counsel nor power against the Lord. And that, as all men, so especially he hath felt. It is too hard for him to kick against the spur, to fight against the Lord of hosts. Seeing therefore that this man of sin is not only revealed, but in a manner overthrown too, doubtless the Lord is coming, and the end of all things draweth near. [Mau.^xxiv. " Iniquity (saith our Saviour) shall abound, and charity shall wax cold : the gospel shall be preached in the whole world ; and then an end." Iniquity doth abound : for, as the pro- Hos. iv. [1, phet saith, " There is no truth, there is no pity, there is '^'^ no knowledge of God in the earth. Slandering, lying, mur- dering, stealing, and whoring, have overflowed the world." Charity is frozen up, and become cold as ice. These latter days have bred and brought out swarms of such as love themselves, but neither God nor their neighbours. God's word never sounded more shrill, never was preached more sincerely, than at this day. It is not bound or shut up in straits : it hath free and large passage. Iniquity thus flowing, charity thus ebbing, and God's gospel thus sound- ing throughout the world, I may conclude with St Peter, " The end is near at hand." U)wan"s'^^ 7. This comiug of Christ will be a joyful day for st'peter'^'' God's children : they shall hft up their heads : but to an- infeireth tichrlst, to the euemics of God's gospel, to the workers upon this .... . doctrine, of iniquity, it will be a day of wrath, indignation, and all affliction. But they put far from them the remembrance thereof: they set it aloof, and go still forward, heaping up riches, though they know not how soon they shall de- part from them ; building, though they know not for what inhabitant ; purchasing, though they know not who shall in- herit ; decking, feeding, pampering themselves, though they know not whether the next or this night, the next or this moment, their soul shall be taken from them. The world is 1 John ii. towards an end. " Love not the world therefore, neither the things that are in the world;" but "be ye sober and watching in prayer, and above all things have fervent love amongst you." This is St Peters exhortation in this place; wherein we learn our duty towards God, and our duty to- wards our neighbour. Towards God : " be sober, watch, and pray :" towards our neighbour : " have fervent charity." THE END OF ALL THINGS IS AT HAND, &C. 891 8. There is an inward and an outward sobriety : " in- }ny>&TA so- •' briety. ward sobriety," as Origen defineth, " is that whereby we keep our affections and desires within lists, that no man take more upon him than is meet, but every one accord- ing to the measure of his degree Which definition that father seemeth to have drawn out of the words of St Paul : " Let no man be more wise than behoveth him ; but let Rom. xii. [3.] every man be soberly minded." Angels, having too lofty a conceit of themselves, were not able to keep their first estate. Our first parents, for passing the limits of sobriety, lost the godly possession which God had given into their hands. Through an unsober desire of knowing all things, they knew too soon their own misery. This haughtiness of heart set Absolon so far besides himself, that neither force of nature, fear of God, nor shame of men and the world, could withhold him from traitorous attempting to tear the crown from his fathers head. It is strange to see how Herod was swollen with the arrogant overweening and proud conceit of his own eloquence. His strange blas- phemous pride had a strange and fearful punishment. Na- buchodonozor, through his affection being not content to be the highest amongst men, was made the vilest among beasts. Those are ugly patterns of monstrous minds, void of that sobriety which was in Paul, who, although God had exalted him to the third heaven, and there shewed him more than a man might conceive, thought neverthe- less modestly and meekly of himself. "I am the least of ^g^o''- "v- the apostles, not worthy to be called an apostle." The like affection was in St Peter : it caused him to loathe himself at the sight of the majesty of the Son of God: " Depart Luke v. [s.i from me (saith he), I am a sinful man." It was in that centurion, which thought himself unworthy to open a door In his ergo omnibus Paulus nos vult "non plus sapere quam oportet saperc, sed sapere ad sobrietatem :" quod in Grsco dicitur i'ersti- o _ tion, and manifold kinds of watching, whereof the scriptures make mention ; but rather note a few unto you most necessary, and such as the apostle chiefly meaneth. Before we can watch, we must be wakened. Wherefore he saith, "Awake, EpU. v. [u.] thou that sleepest, and stand up from the dead ; and Christ shall give thee light." He speaketh not of natural sleep- ing, but of a sleep which is in death. He that liveth in pleasures is dead being ahve ; and they that wake unto sin are asleep unto righteousness. All such as live in error, and lie in sin, are but dead men in the sight of God. Aristotle saith, that seven hours of sleep suffice naturally 396 THE TWENTIETH SERMON. the body. Let it suffice the souls of men to have slept in the lap of antichrist 700 years, and to have been rocked so long in the cradle of that deadly error. It is now high time to awake, and arise from the dreams of popery ; for they are not sickly, but deadly. At the length, let Christ shine unto thee : the light of his gospel, if thou embrace it, will drive away the dark clouds of error and ignorance. Awake, I say, at the sound of God's word, from thy for- mer superstition ; and at length embrace the truth, which will be as a lantern, nay, as a bright shining star to guide thee unto Christ. St Paul speaketh to the elect of God, who doubtless will at length awake. As for the repro- bate, they still shall sleep on in their errors and sins, unto isai. ix. [1.] their eternal death and confusion. But " arise, Jerusa- lem, and be thou enlightened:" arise, Jerusalem, from death to life, from error to truth, from darkness to light, from antichrist to Christ, who by his Holy Spirit will illuminate thee, that thou mayest know God the Father, and him whom he hath sent, Jesus Christ, and that is the only way to everlasting life. Pliny, reproving our drowsiness, saith, that sleep doth steal away the half of our life. But this sleep whereof we speak stealeth away the whole life of the greatest part of men. David himself lay slumbering in the filthy sleep of whoredom a whole year at the least, and could not awake until Nathan blew in his ear and stirred him. But David's sleep was but a nap in comparison of such as are so hard and fast asleep, that they will never stir, until fire out of heaven flee about their ears to waken them. So were the Sodomites wakened and consumed. Awake therefore; and when ye are wakened, then watch. rtat wro^ur- 13. Watch, that ye be not deceived by false prophets, deemed by' who watch to dcceivo you, and teach otherwise than Christ false teach- j^^^^j^ taught. The devil is a subtile persuader of men : he is a lying spirit in the mouth of his prophets : his mi- nisters and workmen are crafty companions, such as creep into houses and lead away the simple as captives with them. A man of a watchful eye shall know these wolves by two properties. First, they are ravenous, cruel, bloody : they will persecute and kill : they will be as Cain, and not as Abel ; as Ismael, and not as Isaac ; as Esau, and not as THE END OF ALL THINGS IS AT HAND, &C. 397 Jacob ; as Pharaoh, and not as Moses ; as Caiaphas, and not as Peter. The second note is that which Chrysostom chrysost. mentioneth : " Whoso in blasphemy yelleth and howleth with a foul and open mouth against the truth, he is a wolf." Such they were of whom the prophet speaketh in the psalm, saying, " They set their mouth against heaven." 14. All must watch, that they be not themselves de- Watchin|^ ceived by these deceitful wolves when they put on sheep's clothing. But God giveth charge to such as be the pastors of his people, to be watchful also over others ; not only carefully to feed them, as his flock dearly redeemed, in good and wholesome pastures, but also to drive and chase away the wolves, lest God's sheep be devoured by them. And this pastoral office doth not only pertain unto priests and preachers, but also unto princes and temporal governors, whom God hath placed in authority to that end that they should promote his glory. For the which cause God calleth Cyrus the king, his shepherd. Vigilate : " watch" the wolf isai. xUv. to drive him away : watch the flock to feed it. 15. Let every one be watchful over his life, that his hatching . , . . over our conversation be according to his profession. If we walk I'ves. disorderly, we shall not walk alone : our example will draw others after it ; and their sins we shall answer for. Lu- cifer fell not alone : he drew company from heaven with him. Jeroboam, being sinful, made Israel to sin. And he is burned in the hand with that mark of horror, for a warning to all succeeding ages : " Jeroboam the son of ^^^^^ Nebat, that made Israel to sin." Let us beware that we play not Simeon and Levi, and so make our father Jacob to be loathed of the Canaanites. We profess Christ and true Christianity: let us not through our lewd life be a slander to our Saviour, and a shame to his gospel. Watch therefore. But because, as St Paul saith, neither plant- Praying, ing nor watering will help, except God himself do give [7.] increase ; because our watching, as the prophet witnesseth, is in vain, neither can sobriety and heedfulness serve to keep a city, " except the Lord himself do keep it let P^ai. rxxvii. Q Qui ergo secundum Deum vocem humilitatis et confessionis emit- tit, ovis est: qui vero adversus veritatem turpiter blasphemiis ululat contra Deum, lupus est. — Chrysost. Op. Par. 1724. Opus Imperf. in Matt. Horn. xix. Tom. vi. p. xciv. — Ed.] 398 THE TWENTIETH SERMON. US crave help at God's merciful hands, and let. us pray as well as watch. When St Paul hath armed God's soldier, fEph.vi.ip.] he biddeth him ^ pray." Man, be he never so well appointed for defence, never so strong and perfit, cannot stand with- out God's strength. He that looketh but a little into the world, shall espy just cause to move us to prayer, if any men ; now, if ever. The great devil in these our later days is let loose. Antichrist rageth and seeketh our con- fusion. The wicked glistering world marvellously deceiveth and bewitcheth. The flesh reigneth and beareth swing. The spirit is faint : sin overfloweth : Christ is coming in the clouds to call us unto judgment. Therefore " be ye sober, watch, and pray." Pray, I say, not in shew, but in deed ; not in appearance, but from the heart ; not for fashion, but in earnest. Babble not in words like hypo- crites, but pour out thy heart before God, as did Hannah. And God grant, for his Christ our Jesus' sake, that in faith and love we may lift up pure hands, sincere affec- tions, and hearty groans unto our Lord, that we may over- come our many and dreadful enemies, purchase pardon, and glorify God. Let us with David, with whom we have sinned, pray for mercy. Let us with the disciples of Christ, with whom we have wavered, pray for the increase of our faith, because the end of all things is now at hand. rarctl"men'',' 1^- It followeth, " Have fcrveut clwity amougst your- Peterin- selvcs." Tliis conccmeth our duty towards men, as the hisTioctlme ^thcr did towards God. All our duty towards our neigh- theen'doflii ^^^^ cousisteth in love. " He that loveth another hath tiiin-s : have fulfilled the law." John, the beloved disciple of Christ, was fervent cha- ' _ _ ... [Rom xiii preaclicr of love : it was ever in his mouth, as it is in 8-] his writings ; insomuch that, lying upon his death-bed, his disciples requesting to have one lesson from him before his departure, he was able to devise no one thing more need- ful to be spoken of, than this which he had often said : " Love one another, my little children." Peter would have our love to be earnest and hot. Every one loveth himself very vehemently ; but our love towards others is very cold and cliill. Our love for the most part this way is in word and in phrase, but not in deed and in truth. This world is double-hearted : dissembling is made a trade to live by. There be many Labans, but few Jacobs ; many that salute THE END OP ALL THINGS LS AT HAND, &C. 399 and say «w\ but their next word is apprehendite'^ . If [Matt.xxvi. Christ came now, he were Hke to find Httle faith, but less charity : yet without charity all that we do is vain : yea it is very sin. Let us therefore love as God hath loved us : he loved us not slenderly, when he took so bitter a death for us : a God for his enemies. See therefore that ye have vehement, sincere, and hearty love among your- selves ; not contenting yourselves barely to have it in shew, unless ye shew it by these effects which St Peter in this place setteth down. Vehement love here spoken of is de- scribed by these properties. First, it "covereth the mul- titude of sins : " secondly, it causeth us to be given to " hospitality : " thirdly, it will not suffer men to hide those graces which they have received at God's hands, but is a cause of bestowing the same to the use and benefit of their brethren. 17. It is not our charity that can cover our sins from P^i'v . ' _ •' _ _ hidetli sins. the sight of God. Christ is the propitiation for our sins. " It is I that blot out your iniquities," saith the Lord, t^^^^'- But, as God's love to usward covereth our sins, so ours towards our brethren doth cover theirs. If God love us, his mercy is as a cloak that hideth all our shame : he seeth no blemish or deformity in us. If we love our brethren, our charity is as a veil before our eyes: we behold not their faults. Although they be great, we do not weigh them ; although many, we reckon them not. For " charity cover- eth even the multitude of sins." The eye of the charitable man is always viewing his own wounds : as for the scars of other men, he seeth them not. His hand is always oc- cupied, not in picking out motes from other men's eyes, but in drawing out beams from his own. St Augustine, to shew the great dislike he had of such as uncharitably delighted to unfold other men's faults, wrote these verses over his table : Quisquis amat dictis ahsentum rodere vitam, I'osidon.in Hanc mmsam vetitam noverit esse nibi^. Whoso loveth to gnaw upon men in their absence, Let him know tliat this table doth not like liis pi-escncc. [1 Hail.— Ed.] Lay hold on hiin. — Ed.] ['* August. Op. Par. 1G96. Tom. x. Appendix, eol. 272 — En.] 400 THE TWENTIETH SERMON. Charity is ig. The next fruit of love is hospitality. "Be har- prone unto . • i ri t-* i • hospitality, borous OHG toward another, without grudging." St Paul is of the same judgment ; for having used this exhortation, Heb. xiii. " Let brotherly love continue," he immediately addeth: "Be not forgetful to lodge strangers." Hospitality hath respect unto all men, but chiefly to strangers, namely such as are of the household of faith, and are driven out of their country for the profession of Christ's gospel. Such are chiefly to be relieved. Of such especially it is written and provided Lev. xix. for in the law : " The stranger that dwelleth with you shall be as one of yourselves, and thou shalt love him as thyself : for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt : I am the Lord your God." God hath offered us at this time great occasion to shew forth our charity. Many of God's good children are strangers in England. Let us not omit this good occasion to do good. Abraham and Lot were li- beral towards strangers ; and, when they supposed to have received men, they received angels to their great benefit. But we no doubt, in receiving these strangers which wander from place to place, being cast out of their countries for confessing and professing Christ, receive not angels, but the [Matt. X. Lord of angels. " He that receiveth you receiveth me." In doing good to strangers, we do good also to ourselves: Matt-^xxv. for great shall be the benefit when Christ shall say, " I was a stranger, and ye harboured me:" as great the curse to them to whom it shall be said, " I was harbourless, and ye did not lodge me." St Peter would have us given to hos- pitality without murmuring, and with kindness entertain strangers. For in shewing of benevolence there are three special virtues, which if they be wanting, our benefits lose ^2Cor. ix. 6, their grace and goodness. The first is willingness : " God doth love a cheerful giver." The second is bountifulness : for " he that soweth sparingly shall reap sparingly." The third is singleness of heart : for if we give vain-gloriously to be seen of men, we lose our reward at God's hands, as by murmuring we deserve no thanks of men. hospitality" There be two grand enemies of hospitahty. The one is covetousness, the other profuseness. Nigardliness would not suffer Nabal, that rich carl, to bestow a piece 1 Sam. XXV. of bread to relieve the necessity of David a king. "Shall I take my bread and my water and the flesh of my beasts THK END OF ALL THINGS IS AT HAND, (fec. 401 that I have killed for my shearers, and give it to men whom I know not either who or whence they are?" Others, with the prodigal son, waste that unthriftily, wherewith they should relieve the poor and comfort strangers : some of them being eaten up, as they say, with three H. H. H. horses, hawks, and harlots ; some with vain apparel, casting away as much upon a garment, as would almost ransom a king ; some with building, some with banqueting; some by one mean, and some by another : whereby it is come to pass that hospitality itself is waxen a stranger, and needeth har- bour : we have shut it quite and clean out of doors. 20. The last fruit of hearty love is the good bestow- charity •' communi- mg of our graces and gifts to the benefit of others. " Let cateth every ° _ ... Srace and every man, as he hath received a gift, minister the same s'ft of God , . ? 1 1 1 uuto others. one to another, as good disposers of the manifold graces of God." The gifts that we have which be good, they be of God ; for " every good gift cometh down from the Father James i. of lights." And these gifts we receive to bestow upon others, as good stewards of the Lord. St Peter doth seem chiefly as it were to point unto two sorts of high and principal stewards, at whose hands an especial reckoning of the graces of God will be required ; the magistrate and the minister. For God " leadeth his people like sheep by the hand of Moses and Aaron," whose gifts are the sword and the word : where- of the one may not be borne in vain, but drawn to the punishment of evildoers, and to the advancement of them that do well ; the other is to be preached in season and out of season, to the confirmation of the truth, the refuta- tion of error, the exhortation to virtue, the dissuasion from vice, that the man of God may be perfectly enabled to every good work. Hovvbeit, as magistrates and ministers are prin- cipally meant in this exhortation, so are all sexes and sorts of people called upon. For we shall all give an account of our stewardship : we must all make a reckoning of the ta- lents we have received ; be they five, two, or one. No man is born or brought up to himself, but to the benefit and behoof of another ; and as stones in one building, or mem- bers in one body, so is every man interested and invested in the possession each one of another, to the end no man should seek his own things, but the things that make for the profiting of another. Which one lesson amongst many, ' 26 [sANDYS.] 402 THE TWENTIETH SERMON. if once we would hear to learn it, and learn to remember it, and remember to follow it, and follow to continue and persevere in it, we should not only declare ourselves to be good dispensers of the manifold gifts and graces of God, Matt. XXV. ljut hear also that blessed voice, Etige, serve hone et fidelis : " Come, my good and faithful servant : I have set thee over a few small things, I will henceforth place thee over more and greater: come and enter into thy Masters joy where- unto he bring us, that so dearly bought it for us, even Jesus the price of our redemption : to whom, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, a Trinity in unity, be rendered all thanks, and all glory given from this time forth and for evermore. Amen. THE ONE AND TWENTIETH SERMON. A SERMON PREACHED AT PAUL'S CROSS, AT WHAT TIME A MAIN TREASON' WAS DISCOVERED. Psalm IV. 5. Offer the sacrifices of righteousness. The occasion why the princely prophet wrote this psahn Jiie orn- is the great distress whereunto he was brought by the mon- I'-n "f 1 1 11- 1 • 1 1 • 1 • • A tlie psalm, strous and unnatural rebellion, which his ambitious son Abso- lon raised against him. This forced him to fly unto God for aid, and by earnest prayer to seek help from heaven. The sum and substance of the psalm consisteth in these points. First, he crieth unto God for deliverance from this wicked conspiracy : " Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness : thou hast set me at liberty when I was in distress : have mercy upon me, and hearken unto my prayer." Secondly, he reproveth the wicked enterprise of his foes, and therewithal moveth them to repentance : " O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame, loving vanity and seeking lies ? For be ye sure that the Lord hath chosen to himself a godly man : the Lord will hear when I call unto him : tremble, and sin not : examine your own heart upon your bed, and be still : offer the sacrifices of right- eousness, and trust in the Lord." Thirdly, as one assured of present help, he tumeth his talk again unto God, and rejoiceth in the sweet and comfortable feeling of his grace, saying, "Many say, Who will shew us any good? but. Lord, lift up the light of thy countenance upon us : thou hast given me more joy of heart than they have had when their wheat and their wine did abound : I will lay me down, and also sleep in peace ; for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety." [' The conspiracy of Babingtoii and Ballard in ].'385. — Ed.3 26—2 404 THE ONE AND TWENTIETH SERMON. auesethhis' ^- '^^^^ prophet, in calling upon the name of God, anTrfght- '^^.keth mention of his own innocency : " Hear me when 1 eousness. ^^11, O God of my righteousness." Not that he thought himself so just and righteous, that God could not charge him with any sin ; for so no man can try his cause and stand in judgment with God : which thing he also confess- [Psai.cxiiii. eth. Saying in another place, "Enter not into judgment with thy servant ; for in thy sight shall no flesh living be justified." For one duty scarce performed, he is able to charge us with a thousand omitted ; nay, we cannot allege him one for a thousand. Why then doth the prophet spej^K of innocency ? Why doth he use this phrase of speech : "Hear me, 0 God of my righteousness"? Surely he knew that God is a merciful defender of them whom the world doth undeservedly hate and persecute. And in respect of his enemies, for any cause which they had so to conspire and rebel against him, he might justly and truly even in the sight of God protest himself to be innocent. He was a merciful and a just prince, never offering wrong to any: his rebellious son he had sundry times spared, but never offfended : he never grieved his wicked counsellor Achitophel, neither yet the raging people which unnaturally opposed themselves against him. In respect hereof he allegeth his righteousness and innocency, his heart being a witness unto him that towards them he had ever shewed himself mild and merciful. Hemaketh 3. The prophet, having thus professed his uprightness, God's wont- urgeth and provoketh God to take the defence of his cause cd mercies o -l ^ towards now, as at all times he had heretofore protected him : " Thou hast set me at liberty when I was in distress." David passed through many troubles; but God delivered him out of all. He strengthened him against that huge and mon- strous Philistine, far beyond the reason or expectation of man. For, if ye compare a youngling with one of perfect age, a simple shepherd with a soldier exercised in feats of arms, one of small stature with a vast giant, a naked man with one most strongly armed, the combat could not choose but seem in all points very unequal, insomuch that the Phi- listine plainly contemned him. But God fought for him, and gave him the victory. Besides this, he delivered him also from the fraud and treachery of wicked Doeg, from OFFER THE SACRIFICES, &C. 405 the treason of the men of Caila' and Ziph, which laboured to give him into his enemies' hands. God delivered him from Achis king of Geth, where he was in great danger. How often, and by what miraculous means he saved him out of the hands of Saul, the histories do manifestly and plainly shew. Therefore he putteth God in remembrance of this his wonted mercy. God is well pleased when his benefits are well remembered. Upon this experience of God's former mercies he conceiveth great confidence and sure hope, that his protector would not leave him now in the briars ; that the God of whose mercy he had so often tasted, seeing that his cause was just, would not now leave him as a prey to his enemies, neither suffer them to tram- ple over him. 4. Thus we see, that the security of princes doth not [^J°J' rest upon their power, be they never so strongly guarded, ^p'|j.p^'^°"' but upon their innocency : we see from whence they ought against him, in their troubles to look for succour : we see by what means they may assure themselves of help from heaven. In the second part of the psalm the prophet reporteth the re- bellion of his foes, and withal moveth them to repentance. He reproveth them especially for two causes ; first, for that they laboured to displace the prince whom God had set over them, wherein the ignominy which they did unto him was not so great as the injury which they offered unto God. 5. The contrivers thereof were not men of mean call- what kind /•I'll 1 1- iic"*^ ""^^ ^^^y mg, but of high place and great authority ; and therefore were which 1 11 1 1 r» A 1 1 1 conspired. they are not called the sons of Adam, but the " sons of man," Jilii viri, noble personages. Conspiracies are not wont to be bred in the heads of the meanest sort: which thing the prophet noteth in the second psalm : " The princes [Psai. ii. 2.j are assembled together in counsel against the Lord, and against his Christ." Mary, the very sister of Moses, a wo- man of place and countenance, devised a plot to displace her brother. Moses spared her because she was his sister ; but God plagued her because she was a rebel, and cast upon her a most foul disease. Core, Dathan, and Abiram, which conspired also against Moses, were not the meanest men in their tribe. Jeroboam, a man of great might, conspired [' Caila — Keilah. — Ed.] 406 THE ONE AND TWENTIETH SERMON. against Solomon, and openly rebelled against Roboam. The king's son Absolon, the great wise counsellor Achitophel, rose up against their lawful sovereign, and armed the people against him. If I should enter into profane histories, and recite unto you the authors and contrivers of civil seditions from time to time, it would appear that they were for the most part filii viri. It is sometime otherwise. For we read that simple men, that men whose names are not spoken of \\ithout some special note of extreme baseness, have not- withstanding stirred up dangerous tumults. But such are either set on by other of greater calling, or else, as heedless men, they soon vanish and come to nothing. But if potent and mighty persons attempt the overthrow of a state, ex- cept they be discovered and cut off at the first, they over- whelm all like a main sea. God therefore commanded Moses especially to punish the princes of the people, as the Num. X.XV. chief authors of all evil. " Take all the heads of the people : hang them up before the Lord." It is not safe to think of mercy, when the mighty have determined to cast down them whom God hath set up, to displace whom he hath settled, to bring into ignommy whom he hath advanced to the seat of honour. Their con- (J. The Continuance of these wicked ones in their trai- tiiuLince 111 their wicked torous purposo sheweth both their cankered and incorrigi- purpose. \ ^ . " ble malice, and also the patience and long-suffering of that good king. Wherefore he saith, " O ye sons of man, how long?" Such malice they conceived, such desire they had to advance themselves, so greedy they were of government, and to bear the whole swing, that they ceased not, they gave not over. Men easily stay themselves from proceed- ing in good things, but hardly are drawn from performing evil. This property the Lord did note in them which sought to make themselves famous by building a tower as high as [Gen. xi. (>.] heavcu. " Behold," saith the Lord, " this they begin to do ; neither can they now be stopped from whatsoever they have imagined to bring to pass." But God defeated that purpose by dividing their language. Such as love to climb aloft, to build in the skies, to make their dwelling- Thcircun- placo amougst the stars, will never stay till God cast "icesr^anist them doVVH. Inointed.'* 7. " Ye SOUS of man, how long C This rebellion rose OFFER THE SACRIFICES, &C. 407 not upon a sudden rage : it was with much consultation first contrived, and so continued from time to time. After Absolon had imbrued his hands in blood, after he had cowardly slain his brother, after his heart was inured with so great and grievous sins, he stayed at nothing, but went on adding blood unto blood. If moderate severity could have bettered him, he was driven out from his father''s presence : if unspeakable clemency could have caused hira to relent, his murder was pardoned, he called home, and received into favour. But his cankered heart could never be scoured. It is true which the wise man saith, " There [EccIus. xii. is no trusting of a new reconciled enemy." Being now in favour in the court, he sought all means to wreak his wrath, and by conspiracy to compass the kingdom. First, he laboured to win the favour of the people : he was gentle and humble to every one, so courteous that he kissed them : he lamented that they were not well en- treated, that their causes were not indifferently heard, that they were oppressed with grants from the king, wherein private men's gain was sought, and the commonwealth much hindered : he wished the public benefit were better considered of. By these means he stole away the hearts of the people ; he became popular, and was thought a great good commonwealthsman : if any thing fell out well, he was reputed the only author and occasioner of it. Touching religion, because it was generally well liked, therefore he neglected no occasion wherein he might make any plausible shew of a mind most religiously inclined. He asked leave of his father to go to Hebi'on, there to pay his vow and to sacrifice unto God. This holy hypo- crite would hide his treason under the cloak of religion. While he pretended the serving of God according to the law, he minded a lawless rebellion against God and his anointed, most unnaturally conspiring against his dear fa- ther. Many of the nobles, suspecting no treason, liked well of him, honoured him as chief next to king David, and accompanied him to Hebron, the chief city. In the mean while, he sent closely abroad his secret messengers, his sworn men whom he trusted best, in every coast at one certain day and hour to proclaim him king; and the same day, by the subtile advice of crafty Achitophcl, who 408 THE ONE AND TWENTIETH SERMON. was grandfather to Bersabe', and therefore hated David, he was proclaimed in Hebron. Behold this holy traitor, who chose rather to worsliip the rising than the setting sun ! Achitophel giveth shrewd counsel forthwith to ap- prehend the king, and to surprise the city with all the treasure, artillery, and other munitions of war that were therein. This counsel was dangerous to king David : how- beit, he being but fainthearted, that purpose was altered. He looked for greater strength both foreign and at home : in the mean time, his counsel was disclosed, and the king by the providence of God delivered. Achitophel for sor- row went home and died : he hanged himself. Treason will not be cured till traitors be extinguished : this hydra hath many heads : if you cut off one, more will start up, unless the neck be seared. The Pharisees and scribes, with the Herodians, never ceased till they brought our Saviour unto his cross. The pope, with that serpentine generation, will never be pacified, but still practise against the Lord and against his anointed. The froward rebel- lious Israelites could not rest till Samuel was taken from them. It is the nature of the wicked, the longer they continue in sin, the less to be weary of it : they have no sooner brought one thing to pass, but immediately they devise another : there is no end of their malice ; and there- fore the king asketh, " How long V patience" * ^- '^'^^ wouderful patience of the good king in bear- ing with these rebels, whose former faults he had often winked at and sundry times pardoned, did them no good : his lenity was abused, neither were such men so to be dealt with : it is not the way to seek by benefits to reclaim men so grounded and settled in evil. The obdu- rate heart of Pharaoh will never be mollified. Tigers will not be tamed : it is almost impossible that one, which hath drunk of the cup of that harlot, should retain in his heart any drop of loyal blood, or any part of a sound and faithful meaning towards such as are not of their own mark, what courtesy or kindness soever be shewed them. All their (le- 9, j^n^ i\-^q prophet ffoetli on condemning; their mad- vices were 110 o but vanity, ness, forasmucli as the thing which they devised was but [■ Bersabe— Bathslu'ba.—Eii.] OFFER THE SACRIFICES, &C. 409 " vanity." They might soothe themselves in their purpose for a time ; but he sheweth that in the end it should deceive them, as a man is deceived that putteth his trust in a lie. " How long will you turn my glory into shame, loving vanity, and seeking liesf They pleased themselves in their subtile inventions, devices, and counsels, not con- sidering that there is no device, no counsel, that can prevail against the Lord. The prophet knew that he which dwelleth in heaven did laugh and had them in de- rision ; that he would make Achitophel to snare himself in his own devices ; that he would take them in the pit which they had digged for others. This he knew ; and this he willeth them also to know, that whom the Lord hath set up he will maintain and defend. " Be ye sure that the Lord hath chosen to himself a godly man : the Lord will hear when I call unto him." The consideration hereof (if we weigh it as we should) may give us courage and strength against that man of blood, which at this day doth so cruelly persecute the professors of the gospel, and so proudly take upon him to depose christian princes and to place hypocrites in their rooms at his pleasure. Let him also know, that the Lord hath chosen to himself godly men : the Lord will hear when they call upon him : he that toucheth them toucheth even the apple of the Lord's own eye. Let him tremble that lifteth but a finger against them. 10. Contretniscite : " Be afraid" to set yourselves against J^'r't^j to**" God and your prince, to attempt such an overthrow to ''t'''"" and •' i _ diaiij^e their the common state. Cease from conspiracy : leave your '"^^ treacherous devices : be not deceived, you cannot prevail : of „ . I riirlitpous- you do but work your own confusion : call yourselves to '^''^ "'it" a reckoning betimes : have some quiet and sober consider- ation of your doings : when you are in your beds free from all trouble, then commune with your own hearts, weigh the cause that you take in hand. I am your prince, God hath placed me over you : yc are my subjects, God hath so placed you : you should love me, and not seek my shame and sub- version : ye owe me obedience and not rebellion, honour and not treason. What occasion have I given you thus to set yourselves against nic I have dealt rigliteously and graci- ously with you : I have been merciful, not cruel over you : 410 THE OXE AND TWENTIETH SERMON. I have sought your safety more than mine own. But whom would ye have to reign over you ? A false worshipper, an hypocrite, a murderer of his ovra brother, an incestuous for- nicator, one that will flatter you and deceive you, swear and not perform. Consider these things, weigh what wicked- ness you have taken in hand, and be quiet, "be still.''' Cease from rebellion, and obey peaceably the prince whom God hath placed over you. So long as ye continue in the hard- ness of your hearts, though you offer him all the beasts upon a thousand hills, it is all in vain. Repent, and " offer up Levit. iv. the Sacrifices of righteousness." The Israelites, when they had sinned, were wont to offer sacrifice to pacify God, as appeareth in the law. But for the most part this was done without feeling of their sin, without tine repentance, for- mally, and for fashion sake only. But outward service, with- out inward remorse and repentance for sin, God doth abhor. The rebel Absolon offered sacrifice in Hebron ; but in vain, because his heart was full of treason. Antichrist reneweth his oblations every day ; but to what purpose, so long as he mindeth murder, stirreth rebellion, and maliciously per- secuteth the spouse of Christ ? " Sacrifice the sacrifices of righteousness f offer God repentance for your former faults ; and " put your trust in the Lord." Thus we see by what occasion the prophet uttereth these words, which I have chosen to speak of at this time. usuaUn'au ^^^^ Sacrifices it hath been usual in all ages, amongst all people, kindreds, and nations of the earth. But I will only speak of such as the people of God have offered up. Before the law, Abel, Abraham, Jacob, Job, and others ; in the time of the law, Aaron with the Levites presented offerings before the Lord. In the time of the gospel the apostles had, and at this day also Christians have, their sacrifices, which, being faithfully offered, are graciously accepted in the sight of God. Gmfmuir Sacrificing is a voluntary action, whereby we cth. worship God, offering him somewhat in token that we acknowledge him to be the Lord, and ourselves his ser- ) Pet. ii. [5.] vants. " Ye are madef saith St Peter, " an holy priest- hood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God hy Jesus Christ." God thcrefoi-e doth require this duty at our hands. It was commanded in the law : the prophet OFFER THE SACRIFICES, &C. 411 David calleth for it ; and St Peter teacheth that even now it is also due unto God from men. 13. Let us now consider who are priests to offer up t''^ priests i _ ^ by whom these sacrifices. For there can be no sacrifice without a facritice is tobeonereu. priest, as there can be no priest where there is no sacri- fice. In the scriptures I find a threefold priesthood allowed of God ; a Levitical priesthood, such as that of Aaron and liis sons ; a royal priesthood, figured in Melchisedeck, and verified in Christ ; a spiritual priesthood, belonging gene- rally to all Christians. The Levitical priesthood continued unto Christ, then ceased. For being a figure of the truth which was to come, the truth being come, it could no longer continue. Neither is there in the royal priesthood of Melchisedeck any other that hath succeeded, but only Christ. He is "a priest for ever according to the order of Melchisedeck," a king and a priest, a God and a man, per- fect, innocent, undefiled, unspotted, severed from sinners ; yet numbered, punished, plagued with the wicked ; hum- bled to the depth, and exalted far above the highest heavens ; without beginning, without end, without father as man, without mother as God. The third priesthood is that which is common to all Christians : for " he hath [Rev. i. 6.] made us kings and priests unto God his Father." Where the popish priesthood taketh footing, in what ground the foundation thereof is laid, I cannot find in the scriptures. Antichrist is the author of that priesthood : to him they sacrifice, him they serve. 14. What sacrifices Aaron did offer up, and what ''"''f ^,'''7'<'<"'" 1 H hu ll Aaron sacrifice Christ hath presented to his Father, we all know, ofrcreiu the ^ _ sarnhci' of It followeth now to be considered, what kind of sacrifice •^'""'^t- '""' , oursacri- we must offer. Aaron offered sacrifice, which could not in fice. itself be acce2)ted of God, nor take away the sins of them for whom it was offered. For whether they be offerings of thanksgiving, they were not of that value that God should take delight and pleasure in them ; or sin-offerings, " it is [Heb. x. i.i impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sin" — impossible. But the Priest according to the order of Melchisedeck hath offered the sacrifice of his own flesh, acceptable even for the worthiness of it, and by the virtue which is in it forcible and more than sufficient to wasli awav all sin. Tliis h(^ did willindv : " He made him- isai. im. iro.J 412 THE ONE AND TWENTIETH SERMON. Heb. X. [H.] self an offering for sin."' He did it perfectly : "With one offering he consecrated for ever them that are sanctified." Where full remission of sin is, there needeth no further sacrifice for sin ; and the Holy Ghost beareth us recor I [Hji^- that we have full remission of all our sins : " Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more."" We are healed with his stripes ; and where there is no sore, there needs no salve. Not that we have no sin ; but, acknowledging that we have it, it is as if we had it not, because he is [1 Johni.7.] faithful to forgive it, and just to cleanse us from it. " The blood of Jesus cleanseth us from all sin ; " the blood of Jesus once shed, the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once. So that there remaineth no other sacrifice to be daily offered, but the sacrifice of " righteousness," which we must all offer. ItthirSxiKa. ^^^^ hands of the minister it is required that he feed the flock committed unto his charge : this is right- eousness in him, it is his sacrifice. God will have no blind, no lame, no unclean thing to be offered : therefore let as many as offer the sacrifice of righteousness take heed to Psai.xii.[G.] that they do. "The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver tried in a furnace of earth fined seven times." 1 Pet. IV. jjg therefore that speaketh, " let him speak as the words of God." Tiiemainte- 16. Furthermore, as it is reason that they which sa- nauce of the . iiit p ^ i •• minister to crihce at the altar should live oi the altar, even so it is lice. against all equity and right, that the labour of preaching the gospel should rest upon any man's back, and the main- tenance due for the same be withheld and kept from him. It hath been told you often, and some have been angry to hear it so often told, that the ministry is too much pinched, the living of the church so fleeced, that many worthy mi- nisters have scarce, nay, they have not wherewith tolerably to sustain themselves. The sacrifice 17. To come from the minister to the magistrate, when of the ma- ~, gistrate. heiuous Crimes are detected and brought to light, there is then a special sacrifice of righteousness required at his hands; such a sacrifice as Joas offered, who, following the good advice of Jehoida the high priest his faithful counsel- lor, put Athalia, which had murdered the king's children and usurped the kingdom, to the sword. The Lord some- OFFER THE SACRIFICES, &EC. 413 time doth so deal with his people, that they plainly see his wrath to be kindled, and his heavy indignation impossible to be appeased, till this sacrifice be offered him. The Israelites Josh. vii. were overthrown in battle, till Achan was stoned to death. King David found no rest in his kingdom, till Absolon and Adonias had that which their rebellious practices did de- serve. God requireth as well the sacrifice of justice, as of mercy : yea, he sometimes accepteth justice for a sacri- fice, and plagueth mercy as a grievous sin. If David had not spared his son for murder, his son had not troubled him with rebellion. For rebellion he would also in fatherly pity and compassion have spared him : this God could not suffer, but took execution of justice himself, stretched out the arm of an oak, and strangled the gallant in his own hair. Saul suffered Agag : but he felt the wrath of the Lord for it to the loss of his kingdom. Qui parcit Iwpo mactat chrysost. gregem : " He that spareth a wolf spilleth the blood of the flock," saith Chrysostom. God appointeth the magistrate to be " a revenger unto wrath upon him that committeth evil." Rom. xiii. They which glory to have the sword rusty in the sheath, when they would draw it out, peradventure shall not so well be able. Let magistrates therefore, from the highest to the lowest, execute justice without fear or favour when need requireth, and so they shall offer up the sacrifice of righteousness. 18. As this sacrifice belongeth peculiarly to them, so tI'p sacrifice . , , , , ot all Christ- there are others belonging, although to them, yet not to 'ans offering , . . their goods. them alone, but to all Christians. We must all sacrifice unto the Lord with our goods, with our minds, and with our bodies. For all these we have received to serve him withal. With our goods the needy must be relieved, the naked clothed, the hungry comforted and fed. For this sacrifice St Paul commendeth to the Philippians : "I was Piiii- iv. even filled after that I had received of Epaphroditus that which came from you, an odour that smelleth sweet, a sa- crifice acceptable and pleasant unto God." The Hke he hath also to the Hebrews : " To do good and to distribute Heh. xiii. forget not ; for with such sacrifice God is pleased." 19. To have the sacrifice of the body offered, St Paul is very earnest with the Romans : " I beseech you, bre- [Rom. xii. thren, by the mercies of God, that ye give up your bodies 414 THE ONE AND TWENTIETH SERMON. a living sacrifice, holy .ind acceptable unto God "' '■ Let not thine eye behold the thing which is evil, and it is made a sacrifice : let no unclean word escape thy tongue, and it is an offering : let thine hand do no harm, and it is an ob- lation';" saith St Chrysostom. To the like effect Origcn : " When thou subduest pride, thou dost offer a calf; when wrath, a ram ; when lust, a goat ; a dove, when a vain and wandering cogitation But the most precious sacrifice of the body is, when being mortified it is also offered to the cross for the testimony of Jesus Christ, in whose cause the death of the saints is dear in the sight of God. If the pro- phets, the apostles, the martyrs of all ages, have offered up the glorious sacrifice of righteousness, why should we be accounted faithful as they were, unless we be willing to do and to suffer as they did? We have a long time had fair weather : wisdom would that we should provide for storms. Christ's church must be tried ; such is God's wont. A rough storm was rising ; but the Lord (such are his mercies) raised up a wind which scattered the clouds : he hath in great fa- vour and tender love delivered us from the lion's mouth : let us therefore live no longer in this our senseless security, but offer him sacrifice, as of our bodies, so likewise of our minds, repentance and praise. 20. Our sins no doubt have provoked his wrath : our ingratitude hath grieved him : our iniquities have kindled his indignation : we have grievously offended by despising his word, from the highest to the lowest. The magistrates are for the most part cold in God's cause : they are not eaten up with the zeal of his house : justice and judgment Kai TTo)? av yevono to 1i. vi. darts of Satan are expelled and driven back ; that unto [^iark ix. . . . 23.] believers all things are possible ; that he which believeth Jo'im v. [24. j Cometh not into judgment, but hath passed from death to life ; are we not glad to say in our hearts. Lord, we be- lieve ? If we be, then considering that by how much our faith is more stedfast, by so much we are the more cer- tainly assured of all these things, let us join in request with the disciples of Christ, and beg of him to " increase Luke xvu. faith in us :" let us cry even with tears. Lord, help our in- ' credulity. 12. " But how can you believe," saith our Saviour, '"s^"'"'" "that receive glory one of another, and the glory which ^-t^^J is of God only ye seek not ?" How should we grow unto fulness of faith, which are so empty and void of godliness ? The complaint of the prophet might never be more truly and generally applied: "there is no fear of God." Zeal ^''j'**'- is even quenched, religion almost dead, true devotion abo- lished from the hearts of men : there is not a godly man left upon earth ; or if there be, if God have reserved to himself at this present many thousands (as I doubt not but he hath) of godly men, yet how hard is it to find one amongst those many thousands which daily goeth for- ward profiting and perfiting himself in godliness ! 13. Whereat we cannot greatly marvel. For if men inbrotiiPiiy , ., 11- 1 • kindness grow SO cold as we daily see they do in charity, love, and love. and brotherly kindness towards men whom they see, they must needs be colder in love towards God, whom no man ever saw. Thus, because our profiting in all these parts of inward perfection hath been hitherto very slow, it is therefore needful to put you in mind of this present ex- hortation : " concerning that which remaineth, brethren, be perfect." outHard 1 4. It is not enough to suck for inward perfection, I", aoin!,r'." 426 THE TWO AND TWENTIETH SERMON. unless we also endeavour to be outwardly perfect. If we have the ripeness of men in knowledge, we may not shew the fondness of children in behaviour. To say we have faith, what availeth it, except we have works also ? See we not that the faith of Abraham was effectual, and wrought with his works, and that through his works his faith was made perfect? Are we sincerely religious towards God? [James i. " Pure religion and undefiled before God even the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their adver- sity, and to keep ourselves unspotted of the world." Do we profess love and charity towards our brethren? Let the whole course and practice of our life, as near as pos- sibly we can, be sincere, upright, sound, and perfect. For broken dealings are as odious in the sight of God, as they are grievous and offensive towards men. Let your love appear by your good fruits, your works of charity. And if ye have laid a good foundation of this already, finish the work which ye have begun : in that which ye do, study how to abound. Be not weary of well doing. As in that 1 Thess. iv. which is past, so " for that which remaineth, brethren, we beseech you and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that ye increase more and more not only coveting spiritual gifts, and being studious of good works, but also seeking to excel in them, that in all things ye may be made rich in Christ, in all virtue, and in all speech. In speaking. 15. "The mouth of the fool (saith Solomon) is fed Prov. XV. . ^ , ' Coi^iv [6] foolishness:" but "let your speech (saith the apostle) be gracious always, and powdered with salt." Perfection herein ought so much the more earnestly to be desired, by how much it is the more hardly obtained in this than in other things. As by using the bit in the mouth of a horse his whole body is turned about ; and as by moving the rudder a ship is directed whithersoever it pleaseth the mind of the governor ; so he that is perfect to rule the tongue James iii. witli skill is able to rule all the body with ease. " But the tongue is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison." There- fore as many as desire to be perfect must keep a continual watch before their lips, that, if an unsavoury word escape them, they may lay their hands on their mouths betimes; that, if they have spoken unadvisedly once, they may answer no more, or if twice, yet proceed no further. This use shall FOR THE REST, BRETHREN, FARE YE WELL, &C. 427 breed such perfection In the end, that all our talk shall be gracious, all our words well seasoned, all our speech and communication become such as that whereof the wise man speaketh in the book of Ecclesiasticus, saying, " The talk EccIus. of him that feareth God is all wisdom." x.\vii.[n.] ] 6. With these things if we join that perfection also in suffering:, which St James mentioneth : " Let patience have her perfect James i. [4.] work," we shall then fully answer our apostle's exhortation, we shall "be perfect and entire, lacking nothing." " Now [iPet.v.io.] the God of all grace which hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus make you perfect, confirm, strengthen and stablish you." 17. Our apostle very fitly, having exhorted us to he An exhor- perfect, addeth in the next place, Consolationem habete : " Be rtjoice and r ^ 1 ' beofg;ood of good comfort." For as many as seek to be perfect shall comfort, find many grievous hinderances to stay them in their course : necessary therefore it is that in this respect they should be comforted. There is no one part or degree of perfection wherein the righteous and godly do not find many great occasions offered, quite to discourage and daunt their hearts, St Paul was perfect and ripe in the knowledge of Jesus Christ ; and it was objected against him as a token of extreme fury, Multce llUroc te ad insaniam redigunt : Acts x.\vi. " Much learning makes thee mad." Abraham, for the great perfection of his faith, is called the father of them that believe : but how sore were those assaults that with- stood his hope and assurance in the promise ! The god- liness of Job was so absolute and perfect, that God himself doth as it were make a vaunt of him unto Satan : " Hast [Job i. s.] thou not considered my servant Job, how none is like him in the earth, an upright and just man, one that feareth God and escheweth evil f Yet how near was he brought to the gulf of destruction, both of body and soul ! The love, wherewith the holy apostle embraced the church of Corinth, was so strong and perfect, that he wished oven to be be- 2 Cor. xii. stowed and spent for their souls : but what a discourage- ment was this unto him, that the more he did love, the less he was loved ! Touching the prophet Jeremy, whether we consider his dealings, his speakings, or his sufferings, we see there was great integrity in all ; but his wrestlings and strivings with tiie wicked were so irksome and tedious 428 THE TWO AND TWENTIETH SERMON. unto him, that he seemed sometimes more than half re- solved to give over all, as if it were but bootless to strive longer. All which notwithstanding, we are here exhorted to be of good comfort, forasmuch as, although our hinderances be great, yet sure we are safely to pass through them : they cannot dam up the way between us and the kingdom of heaven. Through this strait way our brethren have passed before us ; and we need not fear to follow after. Christ himself hath gone before by a far harder passage than his meaning is to lead any of us by. Think it therefore no strange thing for the perfect to suffer : be not discomforted 1 Pet. V. [9.] or dismayed at it, "knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren which are in the world." If we patiently suffer with him and them, we shall gloriously be crowned with him and them. It is true that the godly, the just, and perfect, have fierce adversaries, mighty enemies, the devil with his lost and forsaken train, the world full of baits and allurements unto evil, the flesh ever ready and John xvi. greedy to take them. " But have confidence (saith our Saviour), I have overcome." Although ye travail and be heavy laden for a while, yet comfort yourselves, knowing that your anguishes, griefs, and molestations shall have an end, your tears shall be wiped away and dried up ; but the joy which shall be given you is everlasting. The seed of tears which ye sow now is nothing to that harvest of joy which hereafter shall be reaped. Again, whatsoever doth befall us here, it cometh not unto us by hap or chance ; but all is disposed by the will and providence of Almighty God : when we are chastised, we are chastised of the Lord : it is of mere love and perfect righteousness that we are corrected : it is not for our harm, but to our good, either for the trial of our faith, or for the re- formation of our life. So that the man which feareth God, which walketh uprightly in his sight, having the testimony of a good conscience, cannot want matter of consolation : he hath wherefore in the Lord to rejoice always : God hath given enough for his continual comfort. " For that which resteth" therefore, brethren, lift up your heads and "be comforted." tationto 18. Finally, to come to the last branch of this pre- Sn^u."" sent exhortation, " be of one mind, live in peace." These FOn THE REST, RRETHREN, FARE YE WELL, &C. 429 fruits of unity and peace are not gathered, but where in- tegrity and comfort have taken root. One temple was builded for the people of God, one law written by the fin- ger of God, that the church of God might in all things be one. The bond of unity is verity : neither can they be truly one, which are not one in truth. And therefore, although an angel should come from heaven with all shew of learn- ing, and all appearance of unspotted and undefiled purity, teaching things contrary to that one truth which you have received, reach him no hand, salute him not in token of consent : unity with him is enmity with God. But if all be builded upon the settled foundation of God's truth, if all be members of one body, servants to one master, sol- diers fighting under one banner, children of one and the same father ; then is the natoe of unity and peace amiable. " Behold," saith the prophet, " how good and how sweet Psai. a thing it is for brethren to dwell together in one.""' It is good like the dew which watereth the hills, sweet like that oil which was poured upon the head of the high priest. Oil is pleasant, and dew profitable : the one giveth a most fragrant smell, the other maketh the ground fruitful : but the goodness and sweetness of unity, of peace, no tongue is able sufficiently to express. If this oil and dew of peace, unity, and concord shall be poured, as upon Hermon and Aaron, so likewise upon the tops of our mountains, upon the heads of our guides, upon our magistrates, and upon our ministers, and shall thence distil to the lower parts, as it were to the valleys that lie under the one, and to the skirts of the other''s garments, the fruit that shall thereby gi'ow unto us, and the pleasure which all beholders shall conceive of it, is unspeakable. Wherefore, with St Paul, "I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus icor.i.[io.] Christ, that you all speak one thing, and that there be no dissentions among you, but be ye knit together in one mind and in one judgment."" And, as it is said that the last lesson which St John the evangelist gave to his disciples was, Filioli, diUfi'ite vos inmcem : "my little children, love one another so, my dear brethren, receive you al.so this last lesson at my hands : "Be perfect, bo of good comfort, bo of one mind, live in peace.""' 19. And then I dare conclude and promise witli St inade'to"'^'' 430 THK TWO AND TWENTIETH SERMON. do'™" Paul, "the God of love and peace shall abide with you." hUherto" That God whicli hath so much commended peace unto us, exhorted, ^jj^t God who is SO much delighted in love, that God which is the author of love and peace, that God which is peace and love itself, he will be with you ; a sure tower for your defence, against whose power no power is able to stand ; a present help in all necessities ; a loving Fa- ther which cannot forget you ; a merciful God ; a faithful Schoolmaster ; a good Shepherd. He wiU feed you with the food of life : he wiU augment and increase your faith, confirm and stablish you in all truth : his love to the end shall continue with you : liis peace he wUl give you, and leave among you : he wiU stand always at your right hand, maintain your lot, lead you tlirough this vale of tears, and conduct you safely to the land of promise : he will pull from your shoulders this miserable coat of your corruption, and clothe you with the robes of immortality : he will change this vile body, and make it like the glorious body of Jesus Christ. All this that God, which cannot lie, hath promised : all this that omnipotent, mighty, and mer- ciful God will perform even to all such as labour to become perfect, as joy in the Holy Ghost, as have comfort in Christ, as consent in true religion, and live in peace and brotherly concord. To that God immortal, invisible, and only wise, be all honour, glory, and praise, now and ever. Amen. MISCELLANEOUS PIECES OP ARCHBISHOP SANDYS. MISCELLANEOUS PIECES OF ARCHBISHOP SANDYS. ADVICE CONCERNING RITES AND CEREMONIES IN THE SYNOD, MDLXII. From Strype's Annals, Vol. i. Part i. Chap. xxix. [Here bishop Sandys brought in his paper : wherein his advice was to move her majesty,] First, That, with her majesty''s authority, with the as- sistance of the archbishop of Canterbury, according to the limitation of the act provided in that behalf, might be taken out of the Book of Common Prayer private baptism, which Potest fieH hath respect unto women : who, by the word of God, can- nistiop not be ministers of the sacraments, or of any one of them, marginal Secondly, That, by hke authority, the collect for crossing the infant in the forehead may be blotted out : as it seems very superstitious, so it is not needful. Thirdly, That, according to order taken by her majesty''s father, king Henry VHI. of most famous memory, and by the late king Edward, her majesty's brother, certain learned men, bishops and others, may by her majesty be appointed to set down ecclesiastical orders and rules in all ecclesiastical matters, for the good government of the church of England, as shall be by them thought most meet ; and the same in this present session of parliament, whatsoever they shall order or set down, within one year next to be effectual, and for law confirmed by act of parliament, at or in this session. 28 [sANDYS.]] 434 MISCELLANEOUS PIECES. ORDERS FOR THE BISHOPS AND CLERGY. Id. Chap. XXX. [Sandys, bishop of Wigorn, drew up orders] to be observed by the bishops and other ecclesiastical persons, by their consents and subscriptions in this present synod. First, Forasmuch as bishops are not born for themselves, but for their successors, and are only possessors for their own time ; every bishop, by the subscription of his hand, promiseth that he shall not either by lease, grant, or any other means, let, set, or alienate any of his manors, or whatsoever heretofore hath not been in lease, except only for his own time, and while he is bishop. Item, That no bishop, dean, or chapter, shall give or grant any advowson of their prebend, parsonage, or vicarage, after the date hereof. Item, That no bishop shall admit any into the ministry, who hath not good testimony of his conversation ; who is not learned, fit to teach the people ; and who hath not presently some appointed place, cure, and living to serve. And that he do not admit the same without the consent of six learned ministers ; who shall all lay their hands upon his head at his admission. Item, That every bishop by himself, or by his officer, shall see that every curate, parson, vicar, or other, do ca- techise the children and youth of his parish every Sunday, according to the injunction in that behalf. Item, It is ordered, that no minister shall marry any other than be within his parish, the woman-party at the least ; and that he do it not, except the banns be openly thrice proclaimed in the same parish, and that he knew that the parents of the party consented thereto. Item, That no bishop, dean, or chapter, shall bestow their benefices, whereof they be patrons, but upon such as be learned and fit for the office, and such as will subscribe to sound religion now by authority set down. Item, That every bishop take order, that whosoever is a common swearer in his diocese, if after two admonitions by the minister he will not leave the same, that then it shall be lawful for the minister to exclude him from the communion, until he shall find reformation in him. MISCELtANEOL'S PIECES. 435 ADVERTISEMENT TO THE TRANSLATION OF LUTHER'S COMMENTARY ON GALATIANS. To the Reader. This book being brought unto me to peruse and to consider of, I thought it my part, not only to allow of it to the print, but also to commend it to the reader, as a treatise most comfortable to all afflicted consciences ex- ercised in the school of Christ. The author felt what he spake, and had experience of what he wrote, and there- fore able more lively to express both the assaults and the salving, the order of the battle and the mean of the vic- tory. Satan is the enemy, the victory is by only faith in Christ, as John recordeth. If Christ justify, who can con- demn? saith St Paul. This most necessary doctrine the author hath most substantially cleared in this his com- mentary : which being written in the Latin tongue cer- tain godly learned men have most sincerely translated into our language, to the great benefit of all such as with humbled hearts will diligently read the same. Some be- gan it according to such skill as they had. Others godly affected, not suffering so good a matter in handling to be marred, put to their helping hands, for the better framing and furthering of so worthy a work. They refuse to be named, seeking neither their own gain nor glory, but think- ing it their happiness, if by any means they may relieve afflicted minds, and do good to the church of Christ, yield- ing all glory unto God, to whom all glory is due. Aprilis 28, 1575. EnwiNtTs London. 28—2 436 MISCELLANEOUS PIECES. EPISTOLA PASTORALIS EPISC. CESTRENS'. E MSS. Caio-GonvUl. Cantab. 197. pp. 471—4. (MSS. More, A. 27. in the printed Catalogue.) Archiepiscopus Ebormi Cestrensi Episcopo. Gratia, pax, et salus, a Deo Patre et Domino nostro Jesu Christo. Intuenti niihi, frater venerande, cursum et conditionem hujus impietate perditi sseculi, quantos agat triumphos Satan, quam longe latcque dominetur scelus, quam innumeri sint ac frequentes irapi-oborum hominum flagitiosi greges, quam exilis, quam arida, vel potius quam nulla sit in terris fides, nulla pietas ; videmur in ultima et impia mundi hujus jam interitui vicina tempora deve- nisse. Cum porro mihi in mentem venit zlzaniam, horum peccatorum semen, nulla re magis in agro Domini vel spargi vel succrescere, quam agricolarum somnolentia, colonorum desidia ; nec aliunde tantam cladem invectam esse Hierosolymse nostrse sanctse civitati (qua et muri ejus evertuntur, et ipsa pene capta cedit inimicorum vio- lentise) quam quod excubiae, quae deberent vigilare, somno sopitse, suis muneribus desunt : ad hsec cum recolo nos etiam ipsos, quibus curam suae vineae commisit Dominus, officio nostro parum satisfecisse, vitas nimium secure tan- quam in alta pace transegisse, neque hostibus Christi satis fortiter resistendo, neque Domini fundum arando satis dili- genter, neque pascendo gregem satis fideliter, neque satis vigilanter in specula consistendo, munus nostrum prout decuit adimplevisse : uti meipeum negligentia2 coarguo^, tes- teque conscientia cogor succumbere veniamque petere, (quanquam dissolutum et penitus desidem me nunquam fuisse novit Dominus ;) ita, charitate pia fraternaque bene- volentia commotus, meum esse duco te cohortari : uti quemadmodum idem nobis incumbit onus, eadem est admi- nistrandae provinciae reddenda ratio ; sic conjunctis animis \} This pastoral epistle has been printed, but with some variations, by Strype, Annals, Vol. iii. Book i. Chap. 15. Appendix, No. xxix. — Ed.] P Coargo, MS.— Ed.] MISCELLANEOUS PIECES. 487 quales nos esse decet ponderemus, securitatem et somnolen- tiam discutiamus, redimamus tempus, accingamus nos ad prcelium, gladios et arma Spiritus eapiamus, hostem com- munem profligemus, et Christi fidem vel ad sanguinem et caHlem defendamus. Prajfecit enim nos Deus gentibus et populis, ut extirpemus et eradicemus, ut perdamus et eji- ciamus, ut aedificemus et plantemus. Ideoque nostrum est, fibras superstitionis et idololatriag radices falce divini verbi resecare, bonas etiam fruges evangelii propagatione per animos hominum conserere, arces et turres Jerechuntis tuba coelestis Spiritus evertere, muros autem Jerosolimse sa- crumque templum, quantum in nobis est, erigere ; saevitiam et tyrannidem Antichristi summa contentione convellere, regnum autem et imperium Filii Dei sedula prasdicatione stabilire. Neque vero solum hunc in pascendo suo grege laborem videtur Dominus a nobis postulare, verum etiam flagitat, ne solutis legum sacratarura vinculis impune pec- catum volitet. Vult enim Dominus libidinem comprimi, scelus constringi, dissolutos mores contineri, quseque dilapsa jam diffluxerunt, severis legibus et dignis suppliciis coerceri. Ita et saluti praecipitantis patriae melius consulemus, et eorum furorem qui afflictam earn cupiunt opprimere foelicius concutiemus. Hie igitur fidelos et justos nos esse convenit, aequa lance quod suuni est cuique tribuentes. Non enim debemus nos quenquam, vel ob opes divitem, vel ob auctori- tatem potentem, vel ob amicitiam charum, vel ob commodi- tatem utilem, sic respicere, quo minus opus Domini strenue compleamus. Qui ergo sunt contumaces et praefracti liostes virga sunt ferrca comminuendi, saltern, ne lepra sua sanos inficiant, constringendi : capiendae sunt vulpecuLx' fxa ; Trio? 06 TM (TTO/XaTt TT pO(rOl. Fabius, 45. Faith Cometh by hearing the word of God, 153 ; we are made partakers of peace by it, 290 ; we have remission of sins by it, 290 ; justification by it an old doctrine proceeding from pro- phets and apostles, 291 ; perfection in it to be sought, 424 ; victory only by it, 435. False teachers, how they may be known, 396,397. Family of Love, a sect, 130, 191. Families to be instructed in the fear of God, 264, 270. Fathers do sometimes check and contra- dict one another, 20 ; the first thing they did on their conversion was to proclaim defiance to paganism, 373. Fear must be joined with love, 1(J6. Flatterer, his tongue is grievous, 132. Forgiveness of injuries a fruit of mercy, 229. Foxes, enemies of the church so called, 62, &c. ; the means they use to de- stroy the church, force and fraud, 65, &c.; must be taken and how, 69, &c., 437, 441. Free-will, 133. Fulvius, his impartiality, 227. Funeral, Sandys' directions for his, 447. Funerals, causes of solemnizing, 161. Gates, Sir John, ii, iv. Gelasius, pope, his testimony that the cup was given to the laity, 455. Gentile and Jew, no difference between, 275, 277. God, how to draw near unto, 134, &c. ; comfortindrawing near unto him, 143; to be sought and found by faith and prayer, 152-155; fruit of seeking him, 1 59 ; forsakes not whom he has chosen, 185 ; his messengers cruelly intreated, 187; must prescribe how he will be served, 189,221; ourduty to, is repent- ance and newness of life, 207 ; various ways devised of pacifying his wrath against sin, 219, 220 ; the true way of pacifying him, 220, 221 ; what it is to walk with him, 231 ; walkers with him must walk on, 233 ; public serving of him in the church consists in hearing the word, prayer, and the sacraments, 252; will be served of all nations, 253, 254, 2/9 ; neither parentage nor vocation shuts us from his kingdom, 257 ; no accepter of persons, 278 ; his fear should be planted in the heart, 280 ; created men to serve and honour him, 293 ; as the perfect rule to be followed absolutely, 375. Godliness, perfection in, to be sought, 425. Godly have always had a care for the church, 235. Gospel, the little fruit of, a token that the fear of God is wanting, 187; while persecuted, it is enlarged, 283 ; men may lawfully flee from persecutors of it, 335. Grace of God free, 11, 21, 297 ; needed that we may draw near unto God, 133; worksapreparationtoit, apopish error, 267 ; receiving it in vain, what, 297, &c. ; offered by the word and sacraments, 299, &c. ; time to receive it when offered by gospel, 305; — when God afflicts, 307, 308; right way of receiving it by repentance and walk- ing without offence, 309, &c. Graces and gifts grow in the hands of him that spendeth, 345. Gratiani Decretum, quoted in regard to marriages without parents' consent, 281; quoted fordecree of (lelasius, 455. Gregory Nazianzen says, a kingdom grounded on good will stands fast, 53 ; declares unity and peace the best thing, 93. Gregory, pope, declares universal bishop a proud name, 101 ; explains why Christ entered into the temple, Matt, xxi. 12, 237. Grindall, archbishop, comes to England with Sandys, xvi ; consecrated to see of London, xviii ; translated to V'ork, xix ; granted some liberty toopposers of liturgy, xx ; translated to Canter- bury, xxi ; disagreement with Sandys, xxii ; dies, xxv. Hand, significations of, in scripture, 134, 135; must be cleansed, 134. 462 INDEX. Hatto, bishop, legend of, referred to, 159. Hawkshead school, founded by Sandys, xxvi ; prayers to be used at it, 443. Hearer of the word, his duty, 273, 274. Heart must be purged, 136, &c. Heavens and earth shall be dissolved, 366. Heliogabalus, his gluttony, 393. Henry the emperor received poison in the sacrament, 66. Hervetus, 249. Hilary, his answer to Constantine, 15, 16 ; his description of peace, 94. Hill on which Christ sat, what it de- notes, 340. Holcroft, Sir T., procures the liberation of Sandys, x, &c. Holiness the end of our election, 190; must appear, 190. Homer quoted, 48. Honorius II., pope, 224. Honour to God, what, 27, 28. Hooker, recommended by Sandys to mastership of Temple, xxvi. Hospitality to be shewn to godly strangers, 266 ; charity is prone unto it, 400. Huddlestone, Mr, takes one of Sandys' horses, vi. Humbled, necessary to be, 141. Humbleness of mind, a mean to pre- serve unity, 103. Humility, divers kinds of, 103, 104. Hurlestone, an acquaintance of Sandys, xiii, xiv. Husbands, duties of, 317, &c. Hutton, dean of York, his disputes with Sandys, xxiii, xxvi. Idleness, no such bane as, 117. Idol, and image, no real difference between, 28. Idolatry and superstition to be rooted out, 437, 440. Ignorance the mother of superstition, 113. Inferiors must fear superiors, 186. Ingratitude a foul crime, 156. Innocency, security of princes rests upon, 405. Irenaeus, his testimony on the eucha- rist, 453. Isaac, Mr, a friend of Sandys, xv, xvi. James, bishop of Jerusalem, his conti- nual praying, 38. Jerome counsels to be always occupied, 117; says, where fuln ess is filth reigns, 138 ; denounces idleness and riotous- ness, 138 ; explains what is meant by mountains (Micahvi. 2), 216; insists on the authority of the word of God, 222 ; expounds the doing of judgment, 223 ; had always the sound of call to judgment in his ears, 368 ; says that Christ in the eucharist gave a repre- sentation of the truth of his body and blood, 454 ; his testimony that the cup was given to the laity, 455. Jerusalem destroyed by contentions of John, Simon, and Eleazar, 101. Jewish nation, excellency of, 346; temple, overthrow of, predicted, and fulfilment of it, 347 ; cause of this ruin, 258, 348 ; a warning to us, 259, 349, &c. John, bishop of Constantinople assumes the title of universal bishop, 101 ; the Almner, 193. Judas, his dreadful example, 362. Judges must be free from bribes, fault- less, &c., 225 ; to be neither hasty nor slow, 226. Judgment, what it is to do, 223, 227 ; must be administered by magistrates, 224 ; shall certainly be, 353, 355 ; who shall be judge, his properties, 353, &c. ; time of it not to be enquired into, 355, 356 ; signs going before it, 356, &c. ; warnings and preparation for it, 368, 369. Julian, his dreadful example, 362. Justice to be in dealings of all, 227. Justification by faith witnessed by all the prophets and apostles, 291. Justinian deposed Sylverius and Vigi- lius, 40. Knowledge, means whereby God lead- eth to it, 113; contempt of means whereby it is attained, 113; prayer and meditation needful in order to it, 114 ; God the only teacher of it, 114 ; perfection to be sought in it, 424. Labour, man born unto, 182. Lactantius says, God is pacified by the mending of our manners, 157. INDEX. 463 Last day draweth near, 213. Laws to be executed and keut by au- thorities, 51. Lawyers must be righteous, 193. Leaver, Mr, ii, iii. Legends thought true in time of popery, 18. Leontius, bishop of Antioch, an Arian, 183. Levites, blessing upon, till they became depraved, 243. Life of man a warfare, 164, &c. Lock, Mr, XV. London, magistrates of, charged to re- lieve the poor, 344. Lord's supper — see Eucharist. Love, the livery coat of Christ, 98 ; fear must be joined with it, towards God, 186 ; debt of it natural and continual, and reasons why, 204 ; due to neigh- bours, and who they be, 205 ; caution in respect to it, 206 ; great want of it in these times, 206, 207. Lusts to be denied, 374. Luther on Galatians, a comfortable trea- tise, 435. Lycurgus set down no punishment for ingratitude, 156. Magistrates should be chosen for wor- thiness, 47 ; may constrain their sub- jects to open assemblies for God's service, 192 ; ought to be righteous, 192; to be obeyed whether christian or heathen, 197 ; why obedience to be yielded to them, 198; tribute a debt due to them, 199 ; examples of those who have well or ill discharged the debt they owe them, 200; qualities required in them, 201 ; their sacrifice, 412. Mammon, not to be served, 182. Marcion, a heretic, 15. Marriage not lawful without consent of parents, 50, 281, 325, 326, 455; honourable for the author, 314; — for causes why ordained, 315; — for mu- tual duties, 317 ; dishonoured by he- retics, 321 ; not to be carelessly or im- properly entered on, 323 ; beauty or wealth in it, not to be too much re- spected, 324, 325; must be affection and religion in it, 329 ; not to be so- lemnized except in the parish where parties, or woman at least, reside, 434. Martyr, Peter, Sandys dwelt in his house, xvi. fllary, queen, consents to Sandys being set at liberty, x. Matthew Paris, referred to, 224. Mass, no foundation for, in scripture, 223. Men to be followed with a caution, 375. Merchants must deal truly, 204. Mercies promised to David, 32. Mercy without justice is folly, 147 ; to be loved, 228. Merits, popish doctrine of, 25. Ministers, office of, thought highly of by Christ, contemned by men, 35, 350; their duty to pray and teach, 38, 39 ; those who neglect their duty should be deposed, 40 ; provision to be made for them, 45, 96 ; their debt to the flock, 202 ; the means whereby the elect are to be brought to obedi- ence of Christ, 342 ; their sacrifice and maintenance, 412. Ministry, a learned, in England, 245. Miracles, no infallible proofs of true doctrine, 17. Mistrust of God's providence a root of all evil, 343. Mitchell, 3Ir, apprises Sandys he may escape from the Tower, vii. Mitch, Mr, tries to pull Sandys from his vice-chancellor's chair, v. Moon, representing the church, turned into blood by persecution, 360, 361. Moore, Mr, a friend of Sandys, iii, vi. Moses, a worthy magistrate, 147. Mouse, Dr, one day a protestant, the next a papist, iv. Mower, James, Sandys lodged at his house, XV. Neighbours, who they be, 205. Nero, 169. Nets to be used by ministers, 70, &c., 437, 441. Nicholas or Nicolai, founder of Family of Love, 130. Northumberland, duke of, ii, iii, iv. Obedience to be at once given to God's commands, 269. Offence, we must walk without, 310,311. 464 INDEX. Origen defines sobriety, 391 ; expounds what a sacrifice is, 414. Original sin, man humbled by true doctrine of, 21. Orosius referred to, 186. Paganus, 249. Parker, archbishop, with the duke of Northumberland, ii ; consecrates Sandys, xvii; displeased with him, xviii ; dies, xxi. Parents, some love the bodies of their children better than their souls, 33'J. Parliaments, use of, 34. Partiality not to be shewn by judges, 226. Pastors too careful to be enriched, and then the church spoiled, 243 ; that cannot, or will not, teach, no pastors, 344. Paul's farewell to the Corinthians, 418. Peace, tlie fruit of the gospel, 60, 61 ; by Jesus Christ, 282 ; the badge of God's people, 286 ; Christ's diligence in preaching it, 287; Christ died to procure it, 288 ; we are made partak- ers of it by faith, 290 ; exhortation to it, 428, 429. Peaceably, what it is to live, 86. Pelagius, 24. People, to be constrained to hear the word, 46 ; their duty towards God, higher powers, &c., 52; their duty under princes, 85, 86 ; when tliey are worthy the word, God will send preachers of it, 277- Perfection, exhortation to, 420 ; of two kinds, 421 ; in God, what, 421 ; in us by imputation, 422 ; to be sought for industriously, 423; inward, 423, &c. ; outward, 425, &c. Persecution, cruelty of, 361. Persons not to be respected in execu- tion of laws, 85 ; God no acceptor of, 278 ; not to be respected, 437, 440. Philip of Macedon, answer made to, 154. Plagues must constrain those whom benefits will not win, 151. Plato, 278. Pliny says, sleep steals away half our life, 396. Poison has been administered in the sacrament, 66. Polycarp, his answer to an infidel judge, 217, 218. Pope, authority of, papists' argument from, 67 ; paper which came from him, 130; has frequently obtained the popedom by simony, 241 ; his haughtiness in requiring his feet to be kissed, 272; has not the humi- lity that Peter shewed, 277 ; always practising against the Lord and his anointed, 408. Popery, difference between it and true Christianity, 12, 20, 28 ; grounds of it, 16, &c. ; doctrines of it opposed to scripture, 19 ; teaches not fear but distrust, 185 ; absurdities of it defended to be catholic, 359. Popish guides no pastors, 344. Poor, rebuke for not relieving them, 51 ; mercifulness to, 159, 160. Prayer, to be made for kings and for people, 38, 78, &c. ; to or for the dead not to be taught, 39 ; what, and its parts, 76, 77; why it is to be made for princes and people, 83, &c. ; fruitless where repentance is not, 157; two sorts, public and private, 261 ; a christian exercise, 275 ; need- ful in conjunction with watchfulness, 397, 398 ; for the queen, 415, 416. Prayers to be used at Hawkshead school, 443, &c. Preacher, his duty, 274. Preachers, seditious at Paul's Cross, Sandys complains of, xx. Precepts of men, religion not to be built on, 17. Pride, a great sin, 137. Priesthood, a threefold, in the scrip- tures, 411. Priests, christian, their sober behaviour made a favourable impression on bar- barous nations, 246, 247. Princes, their duty towards God and commonwealth, 41 ; how they serve God as princes, 41, &c. ; they are to purge and cleanse the church, 42, 43; they must provide that people be taught, 44, 45 ; their duty to- v/ards the commonwealth, 46, 47 ; their power to provide good laws, 48, lk.c. ; they must execute laws, 51, 52 ; must study to make people live in peace, 83 ; — in piety and honesty, INDKX. 465 M ; they must themselves be ex- amples, 84, 85 ; must care for others, 108, 109; must be foremost in the way of truth, 123, 124; to wm them to the truth is great gain, 27fi. Profanation, open, of the service of (Jod we must fly from, 338. Professors, many have fallen in time of persecution, 300. Propl'.ecies concerning Christ accom- plished, 7 ; feigned, a means used to deceive the people, 6/. Punishments to be inflicted on foxes that spoil the church, 72, &c. Purgatory, the opinion of it vain and dangerous, 102, lfi3; has no founda- tion in scripture, 223. Queen, prayer for, 415, 416. Ratramnus, see Bertram. Rebellion in the northern counties of England, 85. Redemption of men by Christ free, not due, 180, 181 ; was that they might serve him, 181. Reformation of the church, the proper manner of it, 247, &c. ; the rule to be followed in it is the written word, 250. Religions, liberty of professing divers, j dangerous to the state, 40. Remission of sins free, 2!I0. Repentance necessary, 139, 140, 207 ; the right way of worthy receiving grace, 309. Revelations, dangerous to look for in- ! struction by them, 115. Rites and ceremonies in the church of England not ungodly, 448. Rome, church of, seeks her own glory and gain, 23; her evil doctrines, 23, &c.; robs God of his honour, 27. .Sacraments, two, 87 ; grace oflfered by, 302, 303. Sacrifices usual in all ages, and God re- quires them of us, 410; the priests by whom they are offered, 41 1 ; what oflfered by Aaron, what by Christ, and what by us, 411, &c. Samuel, a minister, magistrate, prophet and prince, 35, 3(i; a pattern herein to be followed, 37. [.SANDYS. J Sanders, Mr, a fellow prisoner with Sandys, ix. Sandys, archbishop, his birth and education, i ; vice-chancellor of Cambridge, where he preaches at proclamation of queen Jane, ii; pre- pares his sermon for the press, iii ; his answer to the duke of Northum- berland, iv ; expostulates with the university, v ; resigns his office of vice-chancellor, v ; carried to the Tower, vi ; refuses to escape, vii ; removed to the Marshalsea, viii ; re- leased, xii; goes into Essex, xiv ; sails to Antwerp, xv; goes to Straus- borough and Zurich, xvi; loses his wife and child, xvi ; returns to Lon- don, xvi ; in commission for revising Common- Prayer, xvii; has some scruples about rites and ceremonies, xvii ; consecrated bishop of Wor- cester, xvii ; displeases archbishop Parker, xviii ; has a dispute with .Sir John Bourne, xviii; married a second time, xviii ; employed on bishops' bible, xix ; translated to London, xix ; issues injunctions, xix ; complains of seditious preach- ers, XX ; has a dispute with Deering, xxi ; recommends a national synod, xxi ; receives a legacy from arch- bishop Parker, xxi ; translated to York, xxi; disputes with (Jrindall, and Aylmer, xxii ; opposed by Whit- tingham, xxiii; gives an account of his visitation to lord treasurer Burgh- ley, xxiii ; is plotted against by Sir R. Stapleton, xxiv, xxv ; answers in parliament the petition of sixteen articles, xxvi ; has a controversy with his dean, xxvi ; dies and is buried at Southwell, xxvii ; his epitaph, xxvii, xxviii; notice of him from X)atalogue of bishops, xxix, XXX ; his works, xxx, xxxi; excellence of his sermons, 3 ; bids farewell to London, 419, &c. ; his hope of his successor, 420. Schism, lamentable, no just cause for it, 381. .Scilurus, the Scythian, story of, 49. .Scipio, liis saying to the Romans who wished to leave the city, 372. .Scripture the foiinilatioii and rule of 466 INDEX. religion, 12, 222 ; true professors have rested their faith on it, 13, 14 ; pope will not have his doctrine tried thereby, 15, 16; commendation of it, 113. Security, sleeping in, dangerous, 210. Seneca describes how life is wasted, 392. Sermons, many men haunt them for vain reasons, 338. Service, to be paid only to God, 182; with childlike, not slavish fear, 184 ; God must prescribe it, 189, 221. Ship of the churclimustbe distinguish- ed from that of antichrist, 371 ; we must follow Christ into it by deny- ing ourselves and imitating him, 372, &c. ; those that are in it with Christ must suffer trouble, 376. Sigismund, emperor, 102. Signs of Christ's coming, 356, &c., 388, &c. ; strike terror into men's minds, 364, 365. Silvester, pope, believed to be a ma- gician, 66. Similis, his epitaph, 173. Simony, the church to be purged from, 43, 44, 136; thieves break into the church by it, 240, 241 ; those that en- ter by it deal evilly after they have entered, 242. Sin, most sleep in, 209. Sinners exhorted to draw near to God, 127; different kinds of, 127, &c. Sleepiness to be shaken off by magis- trates and ministers, 382, &c. Sloth reproved, 337. Sobriety, inward, 391; outward, 392, &c. Socrates, his opinion of worship, 87. Socrates, Eccles. Hist, referred to, 109, 347. Solon describes the chief safety of a commonwealth, .52. Southwell, Sandys buried at, xxvii. Sozomen, Eccles. Hist, referred to, 97, 109, 246, 261, 347, 441. Spira, his dreadful end, 362. Spirits foul, testimony of refused, 17- Staphilus, 362. Stapleton, Sir R., his foul plot against Sandys, xxiv, xxv. Stars falling from heaven signify pastors falling away, 361, 362 ; another application of, 363. Slewaidship, iiccount to he .^Iven of, 401 . Subsidies due to the prince, 53. Syrus, P., denounces ingratitude, 156. Sylverius, pope, deposed by Justinian, 40. Tanner, bishop, his account of Sandys' works, XXX, xxxi. Tares, by what fault they grow in the Lord's field, 436, 439. Teachers, the want of, and why so few, 154, 155; needful, 244; God provides them for such as desire to learn, and honours them, 268, 269. Teaching, to be in the good and right way, 39, 40. Temple, use to which Christ required it to be restored, 251 . Temporal blessings, why God sends them, 61 ; if they are abused, plagues will follow, 62. Terence, quoted, 108, 168. Tertullian says that Christians prayed for persecuting emperors, 80 ; asserts that the blood spilt for the gospel is the seed of it, 283, 284 ; likens the ship (Matt. viii. 23, 24), to the church, 371; says that Christ called a figure of his body, his body, 453; forbids sons to marry without consent of their parents, 455. Thales, story of, 392. Thankfulness due to those who bring the word of salvation, 273. Themistocles, 36, 53, 325. Theodoret, Eccles. Hist, referred to, 72, 73, 109, 129, 183, 224, 455. says the mystical tokens in the eucharist do not leave their proper nature, 89. Theodosius rebuked by Amphilochius, 41, 73, 232 ; brought by Ambrose to repentance, 72 ; gave his assent to a law to do nothing without delibera- tion, 224. Theophylact says the wife must regard the things within the house, 320. Thraldom of will, 21. Traditions, a ground of popery, 16, 19. Transgressions, the cause of plagues, 306. Treason will not be cured till traitors be extinguished, 408. Tribute due to princes, 53, 199. Trip. Hist, referred fo, 41. INDEX. 467 Troubles, causes from which they arise, 380, 381 ; they grow when causes which should appease them sleep, 382 ; Christ sends help to his disciples in them, 384, 385. Truth throws down men and advances Christ, 22, 23; to be walked in, 117, 122, 123 ; to be testified by public preaching, 291. Unity, the scripture exhorts to, 93; description of the best kind of it, 94 ; of religion in the church of England, 95 ; hinderances to it, 100, &c. ; preservatives of it, 103, ice. Unwritten verities, dangerous to admit, 14, 15. Usury, Sandys remonstrates against, xxvi ; to be repressed, 50, 136; ten, twenty, thirty in tlie hundred taken, 182 ; a vile sin, 203. Vain-glory, a hinderance to unity, 101; hardly bridled, 102, 103. Valentinus, a heretic, 15. Valerius Maximus, referred to, 36, 52, 53. Vengeance, to be left to God, 289. Victor, pope, received poison in the sacrament, 66. Vigilius, pope, deposed by Justinian, 40. Vitellius, his gluttony, 393. Vives condemns the golden legend, 18. Volusianus, his letter to pope Nicho- las, 316. Walkers in by-paths complained of, 118, &c. Wantonness, a poison of the heart, 138. Waste must be avoided, 342. Watching, most necessary kinds of, 395, &c. Waters of life, men are invited to, 10; how men must come to them, 30. Way, keeper of the Jlarshalsea, viii. Way, how taken in scripture, 116. Whittingham, dean of Durham, xxiii, xxiv. Wicked abound because wicked bear rule, 121. Wife, to be honoured of her husband, 317, &c. ; honour she owes her hus- band, .320. Wilford, Sir T., Sandys marries his daughter, xviii. Winchester, Gardiner, bishop of, x, xii. Will, thraldom of, 21. Word of God, a precious jewel, 113. Word, scruples against hearing it re- proved, 271 . Works of men are imperfect and evil, 22; justification by them a doctrine of popery, 25 ; of supererogation not to be allowed, 25; of darkness to be cast oft', 213; good, the fruits of the light of knowledge, 214. World, its blindness, 208. Wyat, his rebellion, viii, ix. Zeal, necessity and nature of, 194 ; examples of it, 195 ; must be in knowledge and sincerity, 196; moved Christ to reform the church, 249 ; none in church of Rome, 249 ; of the godly to serve the Lord, 294.