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<DATE>2013-11-06</DATE>
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<NAME>Anne Simpson</NAME>
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<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
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<PB REF="1">
<P>A SERMON PREACHED IN ITALIAN, <HI>By the most Reuerend father,</HI> MARC ANTONY DE DOMINIS, Archb. of SPALATO, the fir&s;t Sunday in Aduent, ANNO 1617.</P>
<P>In the Mercers Chappel in London, to the <HI>Italians</HI> in that City, and many other Hono|rable auditors then a&s;&s;embled.</P>
<P>Vpon the 12. Ver&s;e of the 13. Chapter to the <HI>Romanes,</HI> being part of the Epi&s;tle for that day.</P>
<P><HI>First publi&s;hed in</HI> ITALIAN <HI>by the Author, and thereout Tran&s;lated into Engli&s;h.</HI></P>
<P>LONDON. Printed by IOHN BILL, M.DC.XVII.</P>
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<DIV1 TYPE="sermon">
<PB REF="2">
<PB N="1" REF="2">
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>ROM. 13.12.</HI></BIBL>
<P>The night is pa&s;&s;ed, the day is at hand: Let vs therefore ca&s;t off the workes of darkne&s;&s;e, and let vs put on the armour of light.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_IF in this pre&s;ent drooping, and dead time of the yeere it delights a man, after the long&s;ome night, to behold the day, though mo&s;t-what cloudie, and at the &s;horte&s;t, much more de|lightfull mu&s;t the &s;ame be in the mo&s;t plea|&s;urable &s;ea&s;ons of the yeere, when the Sunne being in his greate&s;t &s;trength, affoordeth vs long, and faire dayes, fit for many worthy employments. But if, immediately vpon one of the&s;e chill and tedious nights, there &s;hould &s;hine foorth an vnexpected Sum|mer&s;day, which were neuer to be intercep|ted by any night, or winter, or irke&s;omne&s;&s;e at all, how would we be taken with delight, and admiration. The ble&s;&s;ed Apo&s;tle Saint
<PB N="2" REF="3">Paul, after a very long &amp; many wayes dark|&s;ome night, ob&s;eruing, that now there had approached both to him&s;elfe, and to his deare brethren in Chri&s;t, a day in many re|&s;pects mo&s;t happie, which was to expect no night at all, with this congratulatory &s;peech addre&s;&s;eth him&s;elfe to them, and giueth this watchword, &s;aying, <HI>Nox praece&s;sit; dies autem appropinquauit. The night is pa&s;t, and the day is at hand.</HI></P>
<P>With the &s;ame &s;entence may I fitly now furni&s;h my &s;elfe, in this my fir&s;t &s;peech, for an affectionate congratulation with you, my beloued brethren of <HI>Italie,</HI> and you my other auditors heere a&s;&s;embled to heare me. Fora&s;much as I haue at this time &s;et my &s;elfe no other taske, then to pre&s;ent in common mine owne ioyes, together with yours: my comming into the&s;e parts being, not to teach others, but to be taught my &s;elfe, not to be an in&s;tructor, but to be in&s;tructed, and &s;et aright. Now therefore hauing vnderta|ken, for &s;atisfying the de&s;ire, and pious re|que&s;t of many, to &s;peake vnto you this day, and happily againe hereafter in the like
<PB N="3" REF="3">maner, I intend to hold my &s;elfe to my wonted &s;implicity of preaching, and plain|ne&s;&s;e of &s;tile, and to keepe aloofe from all choice phra&s;es, and affected &s;treines of Ita|lian elegancies, contenting my &s;elfe rather to worke vpon the affections, then to &s;atisfie the vnder&s;tanding.</P>
<P>I re&s;ume therefore my Text, and &s;ay, <HI>Nox praece&s;sit &amp;c. The night is pa&s;t, the day commeth on. Let vs ca&s;t off the workes of darknes, and put on the armour of light.</HI> The&s;e foure briefe pro|po&s;itions &s;hall be the foure points of this pre&s;ent Exerci&s;e.</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM N="1">1 The fir&s;t of the diuer&s;e my&s;ticall, and &s;pirituall nights, which are &s;ayd to be pa&s;&s;ed.</ITEM>
<ITEM N="2">2 The &s;econd of the diuer&s;e dayes oppo|&s;ite to tho&s;e nights.</ITEM>
<ITEM N="3">3 The third of putting off darkne&s;&s;e.</ITEM>
<ITEM N="4">4 The fourth of putting on light.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<DIV2 TYPE="prayer">
<P>BVt before we vndertake the handling of the&s;e particulars, we are to pre&s;ent our &s;elues in hearty praiers before the throne of the di|uine Maie&s;tie, humblie reque&s;ting our hea|uenly Father, fir&s;t to ca&s;t the tender eyes of
<PB N="4" REF="4">his mercy vpon his vniuer&s;all holy Church, and that it would plea&s;e him by his &s;pirit to vnite all Chri&s;tian Churches in the onely, true, pure, and holy faith, to combine them in perfect charity, to extingui&s;h all di&s;uni|ons, to make vp all rents and &s;chi&s;mes, to mollifie all hardned hearts, that they may ca&s;t off their ob&s;tinacie, and lay a&s;ide all hu|mane re&s;pects, and de&s;eignes; that &s;o all ob|&s;tacles, hindering this &s;o important vnion, may be remooued. Let vs pray for all Chri|&s;tian Princes, that God would kindle in their hearts a feruent zeale to procure the generall reformation of the Church, and to &s;et forward this holy vnion. In &s;peciall let vs pray for his mo&s;t excellent Maie&s;tie of <HI>Great Britaine,</HI> the true Defender of the true ancient, pure, &amp; holy, Catholique, and A|po&s;tolique faith: that God would in his owne hands hold his Maie&s;ties heart, and continue &s;till turning, and plying it to his holy &s;eruice, and to the accompli&s;hing of what&s;oeuer tendeth to the &s;pirituall, and temporall good of this mo&s;t flouri&s;hing kingdome: that he would giue him a long
<PB N="5" REF="4">and a pro&s;perous life, and finally put Satan, and all his other enemies vnder his feet. He ble&s;&s;e with all pro&s;perity the Queenes Ma|ie&s;tie: Hee with his grace a&s;&s;i&s;t the mo&s;t noble Prince <HI>Charles,</HI> e&s;pecially in the&s;e his tender yeeres, which v&s;ually hold fa&s;t the fir&s;t good impre&s;&s;ions; Infu&s;e, O Lord, into him feare of thy holy name, zeale of pietie, and religion, and the imitation of the &s;olide and true Regall vertues of his Father. Pray we likewi&s;e for the mo&s;t Illu&s;trious, the E|lector <HI>Fredericke,</HI> Count Palatine, and the Lady <HI>Elizabeth,</HI> that God will make them fruitfull parents of a ble&s;&s;ed offpring. Pray we al&s;o for the mo&s;t renowmed State of <HI>Ve|nice,</HI> that God would deliuer them from all their enemies, and pre&s;erue them in their full liberty. God enlighten the mindes of tho&s;e wi&s;e and graue Senatours, and giue them vnder&s;tanding to know, and courage to execute what&s;oeuer &s;hall make for the aduancement of his glory, &s;eruice, and reli|gion. Pray wee for the mo&s;t honourable Coun&s;ellers, Gouernours, and Magi&s;trates what&s;oeuer of the&s;e kingdomes, that God
<PB N="6" REF="5">would powre downe of his &s;pirit plentifully vpon them, for the good guidance and go|uernment of this people. Let vs pray for all Prelates, Prie&s;ts, and Mini&s;ters of the holy Vniuer&s;all Church: In &s;peciall for tho&s;e that mannage the &s;pirituall affaires in the&s;e king|domes, that they may performe their &s;eruice to God, and to his holy Church with true zeale, and an vpright heart. Let vs pray for all the Nobility of the&s;e kingdomes, that God would keepe and maintaine them in their due fealtie toward God, and toward their King, and alwayes incline their hearts to good, and holy de&s;eignes. Pray we for all the people, that God would ble&s;&s;e them with all aboundance of &s;pirituall, and temporall ble&s;&s;ings. La&s;tly let vs pray, that God would grant me &s;uch grace, that, in publi&s;hing his &s;acred word, I may both my &s;elfe reape in|wardly true &s;pirituall fruit, and reach foorth the like to this honourable audience. For all the&s;e things let vs deuoutly &s;ay that Prayer, which our Lord IESVS CHRIST hath taught vs. <HI>Our Father, &amp;c.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="7" REF="5">
<P>THE no le&s;&s;e enlightned, then belo|ued Di&s;ciple of our Sauiour, Saint <HI>Iohn</HI> the Apo&s;tle, Euangeli&s;t, &amp; Pro|phet, intending to compri&s;e in a very &s;mall abridgement, the whole doctrine of the Go&s;pel, and to &s;hew what was the aime, and &s;cope, whereto all Euangelicall preaching mu&s;t tend, in&s;i&s;ted vpon two briefe propo|&s;itions combined together, but by relation of contrariety; the one affirmatiue, the o|ther negatiue, both concerning God. And before he &s;ets them forth, in his fir&s;t Epi&s;tle he premi&s;eth a faire troope to make way for them. <HI>Quod fuit ab initio &amp;c.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iohn 1.1.</NOTE> <HI>That which was from the beginning, which wee haue heard, which we haue &s;eene with our eyes, which we haue looked vpon, and our hands haue handled of the word of life. For the life was manife&s;ted, and wee haue &s;eene it, and beare witnes, and &s;hew vnto you that eternall life, which was with the Father, and was manife&s;ted vnto vs.</HI> And yet, not content with this great preparation, hee repeateth a|gaine, and &s;aith, <HI>That, which wee haue &s;eene, and heard, declare we vnto you, that yee al&s;o may haue fellow&s;hippe with vs; and our fellow&s;hippe
<PB N="8" REF="6">is with the Father, and with his &s;onne Ie&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI> Now therefore hauing awakened vs with touching vpon the exceeding benefit of be|ing receiued into fellow&s;hippe with the ho|ly Apo&s;tles, by receiuing that, which hee thus propoundeth to vs; let him &s;ay at the la&s;t, what this is of &s;o great importance, which was from the beginning, that is, from beyond all eternity: which the holy Apo&s;tles had heard, and handled with their hands, which &s;hould bring vs eternall life, and which they were to preach, and teach thorowout the world: Let him &s;ay, and declare it in a word, we will heare it. <HI>Ethaec e&s;t annunciatio &amp;c. This is the me&s;&s;age, which we haue heard, and declare vnto you.</HI> Well: Ble&s;&s;ed Saint Iohn, we are ready, and prepa|red to heare this your admirable and my&s;te|rious me&s;&s;age: vnfold at length that, which you haue heard, and learnt, and receiued to report vnto vs. Behold, heere it followeth in few words: <HI>Quoniam Deus lux e&s;t; &amp; in eo tenebrae non &s;unt vllae; That God is light, and in him there is no darkenes at all.</HI> Behold this is the ab&s;tract, and &s;umme of our faith, That God
<PB N="9" REF="6">is light without darkne&s;&s;e. Therefore our e|ternall &s;aluation confi&s;teth in receiuing this light, and in ca&s;ting out darkne&s;&s;e. <HI>Deus lux e&s;t &amp;c. God is light.</HI></P>
<P>If God him&s;elfe be light, what maruaile then, that hee &s;o delighteth to imploy him|&s;elfe about light. The fir&s;t inward Word, which God from all eternity brought forth within him&s;elfe, what was it but his &s;ub&s;tan|tiall, eternall word, his only begotten &s;onne, whom we know to be <HI>Lumen de lumine,</HI> light of light. <HI>Lux vera, quae illuminat &amp;c.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iohn 1.</NOTE> <HI>The true light, which enlightneth euery man that commeth into the world.</HI> Likewi&s;e the fir&s;t externall word of God, which he vttered out of him|&s;elfe after an eternity of &s;ilence, was this, <HI>Fiat lux, Let there be light.</HI> Light, a creature &s;o be|loued of the Creator, that he thought good to be&s;tow this one and onely quality as a &s;ufficient dowrie on the heauenly bodies, which are the mo&s;t noble and exalted crea|tures in all the ranke of &s;en&s;ible &s;ub&s;tances. But will ye yet further ob&s;erue, how great a friend God is to light, and enemie to dark|ne&s;&s;e? Behold hee would not &s;uffer his new
<PB N="10" REF="7">framed materiall world to remaine without light &s;o much as the three fir&s;t dayes of the Creation.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gene&s;. 1.1.</NOTE> The Sunne and Moone the two great lights, together with the other le&s;&s;er lights of the &s;tarres, were to bee made the fourth day: and yet, becau&s;e in this meane while <HI>darknes was vpon the face of the deepe,</HI> in the fir&s;t di&s;tingui&s;hing of things out of the confu&s;ed lumpe, God, as enemie of this dark|ne&s;&s;e, &s;ayd, <HI>Let there be light; and there was light.</HI> Light the fir&s;t borne of all the vi&s;ible crea|tures: light, which hath no po&s;itiue contra|ry in nature: light, which di&s;playeth it &s;elfe to all, and maketh all things el&s;e manife&s;t: light, which pierceth euery tran&s;parent bo|dy though mo&s;t &s;olide: light, the ioy of the eyes, and comfort of euery afflicted heart. <HI>Quale gaudium e&s;t mihi, qui in tenebris &s;edeo, &amp; lumen coeli nen video? What ioy can I take, that &s;it in darknes, and behold not the light of heauen?</HI> &s;ayd good old <HI>Tobia,</HI> when hee was blinde: Light, which transfu&s;eth it &s;elfe in a mo|ment: light, which cannot be defiled by the touch of things impure: light, which giueth life to all colours, and actuateth them: light,
<PB N="11" REF="7">the mother of all beauties, and ornaments of this &s;en&s;ible world. The Rainebow ma|keth a goodly &s;hew being guarded, and &s;tri|ped with &s;o many, and &s;o amiable colours, which in truth are nothing els, but the light of the Sunne reflected from dewie clouds, and by diuers compo&s;ures of more, or le&s;&s;e opacity reduced to &s;uch variety of colours. And generally al colours, which cloath with &s;uch beauty the be&s;t vi&s;ible bodies, and re|pre&s;ent them to the eie with delight, what are they el&s;e, but mixtures of the light&s;ome elements with the ob&s;cure. To conclude, light may by way of re&s;emblance, and parti|cipation be accompted a diuine thing, ina&s;|much as <HI>God is light, and in him there is no darke|nes.</HI> And therefore as &s;oone, as God had cre|ated the light, the pen of the Holy Gho&s;t te|&s;tifieth, that <HI>God &s;aw the light that it was good, and diuided the light from the darkne&s;se.</HI> Vpon the atchieuement of euery other daies work, the Scripture clo&s;eth vp with this, <HI>Et vidit Deus, quod e&s;&s;et bonum; And God &s;aw that it was good.</HI> But vpon the worke of the fir&s;t day, wholly imployed in creating light only, the
<PB N="12" REF="8">addition is more &s;peciall; <HI>Et vidit Deus lu|cem, quod e&s;set bona; And God &s;aw the light that it was good.</HI> But as for darkene&s;&s;e, that be|ing interchangeablie to accompany the light for the bringing in of night, indeed there followeth Gods both &s;eparation, and nomination of them both; <HI>Diui&s;it Deus, &amp; vocauit Deus: God &s;eparated the light from the darkne&s;&s;e, and God calleth the light Day, and the darkne&s;&s;e Night.</HI> But vpon this the Scripture doth not adde, that <HI>God &s;aw that it was good;</HI> becau&s;e (it is S.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Aug. de Gen. ad lit. cap. 17.</NOTE> <HI>Augu&s;tines</HI> argute collection) God, as a &s;peciall louer of the light and hater of darknes, gaue to the light only this appro|bation, and prai&s;e, <HI>Quod erat bona,</HI> that it was good. But of the day and night coupled to|gether, he would affoord no &s;uch commen|dation, le&s;t he &s;hould giue to night and dark|ne&s;&s;e the aduancement of goodnes. The rea|&s;on is cleare; for that <HI>Deus lux e&s;t, God is light,</HI> and in him there is no darknes, and hee it is, that dwelleth in that light, which no man can approach vnto.</P>
<P>Well therefore might S. <HI>Paul</HI> frame this his congratulation with the faithfull vnder
<PB N="13" REF="8">the metaphore of light, and darkene&s;&s;e, day, and night; <HI>Nox praece&s;sit, dies autem appro|pinquauit;</HI> telling this, as mo&s;t comforta|ble newes, that a very long&s;ome, and irke|&s;ome night was ouerblowne, and that a goodly faire day then had ouertaken them. <HI>Procopius</HI> writeth, that neere to the Pole, where the nights endure diuers moneths long, the inhabitants in the end of &s;uch a night, at &s;uch time as the Sunne v&s;eth to render him&s;elfe to their view, get vp their highe&s;t mountaines, &s;triuing to haue the fir&s;t view of that mo&s;t de&s;ired creature: and no &s;ooner doe they e&s;pie it, but they adorne them&s;elues in their be&s;t attire, and with mu|tuall ioy and embraces congratulate, &s;aying, Behold the Sunne, the Sunne appeares; and &s;o they inuite and fea&s;t one another. And all this vpon the view of the materiall Sun onely. Another maner of fea&s;t, and ioy it is, to which the Apo&s;tle heere doeth incite, and inuite. While&s;t in a my&s;ticall, and &s;piri|tuall &s;en&s;e he proclaymeth to vs, that, The night is pa&s;&s;ed, and the day come. Where he pointeth at the mi&s;eries of the continuall,
<PB N="14" REF="9">dreadfull, and hideous nights then ouerpa&s;|&s;ed, and of the long &amp; happie daies brought vnto vs by that Sunne, which knowes no going downe.</P>
<P><HI>Nox praece&s;sit.</HI> Three kindes of nights are heere vnder&s;tood by Saint <HI>Paul,</HI> whereof he ioyed that they were ouerpa&s;&s;ed. The fir&s;t the night of ignorance, the &s;econd of &s;inne, the third of negligence. To the&s;e, in regard of our &s;elues, and the&s;e times, I will adde a fourth, the night of errors. So that of the&s;e the two fir&s;t goe before the receiuing of the faith, namely the night of blinding igno|rance, and tyrannizing &s;inne; the other two follow the faith receiued, namely &s;tupifying negligence, and infecting error.</P>
<P>Yee haue often reade, and many of you con&s;idered the &s;trange maner of &s;peech v&s;ed in the holy Scriptures, in the di&s;tinction of the &s;ix dayes of the Creation. <HI>And the euening, and the morning, were the fir&s;t day:</HI> Euery day hath its night, the day goeth before, and the night followeth after, the morning maketh way for the euening. Surely nature requi|reth that the habite &s;hould precede the pri|uation:
<PB N="15" REF="9">Whereupon I conceiue not to what purpo&s;e <HI>Ari&s;totle</HI> pu&s;led him&s;elfe, and trou|bled naturall Philo&s;ophie, by &s;houldring in after Matter &amp; Forme, Priuation for a third principle of naturall bodies, vnle&s;&s;e hee meant hereby, that what&s;oeuer is generated, maketh a pa&s;&s;age from not beeing vnto bee|ing. But if &s;o, yet this not beeing might well bee termed negation rather then priua|tion: Or rather by priuation; perhaps the Philo&s;opher would &s;ignifie vnto vs the na|turall inclination of matter to receiue a new forme, which appetite is very improperly called priuation. Now, as for the text <HI>Fa|ctum e&s;t ve&s;pere, &amp; mane &amp;c.</HI> It is enough for vs, that it, being a phra&s;e meerely extraordi|nary, importeth a my&s;tery. Too tedious &s;hould I bee, if I &s;hould heere propound all the diuers opinions of the holy Fathers vp|on tho&s;e words. But for as much as &s;erueth my purpo&s;e, I doubt not, but that God in his intention was willing to make man wholly diurnall, and no whit participating of the night: For hee created him right and iu&s;t, and endued him with &s;uch gifts, whereby
<PB N="16" REF="10">hee might, if hee would, haue made to him|&s;elfe, and to all his po&s;terity, a perpetuall &s;pirituall day, which &s;hould neuer haue &s;eene any night at all. But God (ina&s;much as hee fore&s;aw, that wretched man would within a few houres after his creation aban|don the light, and ca&s;t him&s;elfe headlong into darkne&s;&s;e) mooued with compa&s;&s;ion of him, in his determination prouided a reme|dy, by de&s;tinating for mans &s;ake his owne &s;onne, the true light, and &s;unne of righteou&s;|ne&s;&s;e to bring them from darkene&s;&s;e to light, from night to day. And therefore it ioyes my heart to thinke how God ordayned that (be&s;ides other my&s;terious interpretations) euen for the &s;hadowing out this then hid|den my&s;tery, the Scripture de&s;cribing the beginning of the world &s;hould &s;peake in this wi&s;e, <HI>Factum est ve&s;pere, &amp; mane,</HI> intimating fir&s;t the euening or night of mans mi&s;ery, and then the morning or day of his redemp|tion following. For as for his fir&s;t e&s;tate of integrity and light, it was &s;o &s;hort, that it is not to bee accounted for a day in this kinde. And &s;o S. <HI>Paul</HI> here not varying fro~ this our
<PB N="17" REF="10">contemplation, reioyceth that that night is pa&s;&s;ed, and this day arriued; &s;aying, <HI>Nox prae|ce&s;sit, dies autem appropinquauit.</HI> The night is pa&s;t, the day is at hand.</P>
<P>By the fir&s;t of the&s;e nights I meane igno|rance, or &s;mall knowledge of things con|cerning God. But heere it may bee obiected if S. <HI>Paul</HI> had written this Epi&s;tle to the con|uerted Gentiles onely, well might he vnder|&s;tand by this night ignorance; but writing al&s;o to the Iewes then in Rome conuerted to Chri&s;tianity, it &s;eemeth that they could not then be taken to liue in darkene&s;&s;e, and in the night of ignorance.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 76.1.</NOTE> For <HI>Notus in Iudaea De|us. In Iurie is God knowne, his name is great in I&s;rael. Iuda was his Sanctuary,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 114.2.</NOTE> <HI>and I&s;rael his do|minion.</HI> Which al&s;o was &s;ignified in <HI>Egypt,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 10.</NOTE> when there was palpable darkne&s;&s;e thorow|out all that land, but in the land of <HI>Go&s;hen,</HI> where the children of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> dwelt, there was cleere light.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;ai 9.2.</NOTE> The Prophet <HI>I&s;ay</HI> &s;pake onely of the Gentiles, when he &s;ayd, <HI>The people that walked in darkene&s;&s;e, haue &s;eene a great light, and they that dwelt in the land of the &s;hadow of death, vpon them hath the light &s;hined.</HI> The Iewes had
<PB N="18" REF="11">the Law,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cap. 3.</NOTE> and the Prophets. <HI>To them</HI> (as Saint <HI>Paul</HI> witne&s;&s;eth in this epi&s;tle) <HI>were commit|ted the oracles of God.</HI> Yet notwith&s;tanding, &s;eeing that S. <HI>Paul</HI> hath made no &s;uch &s;epa|ration, nor di&s;tinction betweene Iew and Gentile, but hath expre&s;ly proclaimed, that <HI>the Go&s;pell is the power of God vnto &s;aluation to euery beleeuer,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom 1.</NOTE> <HI>to the Iew fir&s;t, and then to the Greeke. For by it the righteou&s;nes of God is re|uecled from faith to faith;</HI> He intendeth there|fore, that a&s;well the Iew, as Gentile by the meanes of the Go&s;pel only hath attained the true and perfect knowledge of God. So then the Go&s;pell being this light, and day, for certaine, <HI>Nox praece&s;sit, The night is pa&s;&s;ed,</HI> not to the Gentiles onely, but al&s;o to the Iewes. For if wee con&s;ider the knowledge, which was to be found either in <HI>Iurie,</HI> or a|mong the Gentiles before the comming of Chri&s;t, that, in re&s;pect of the knowledge of God and of heauenly things, was very &s;mall and &s;hallow, whereupon it might worthily be called night in compari&s;on of the cleare day of the Go&s;pell. As for the Law, who knowes not that it was <HI>Vmbra futurorum,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 10.1.</NOTE> <HI>The
<PB N="19" REF="11">&s;hadow of things to come,</HI> as S. <HI>Paul</HI> calleth it? And if it were a &s;hadow, it did partake of the nature of night. In the Old Te&s;tament the my&s;tery of the Trinity is very ob&s;curely al|luded vnto. And as for that of the Incarna|tion, if it had beene ordinarily vnder&s;tood of the Iewes, they would not haue made &s;uch re&s;i&s;tance again&s;t Chri&s;t. Now there|fore becau&s;e both Iew, &amp; Gentile before the comming of Chri&s;t were very weake, and wanted the perfect knowledge of God, S. <HI>Paul</HI> heere &s;ayeth to them both, <HI>Nox prae|ce&s;sit,</HI> The night is gone. The Prophet <HI>I&s;ai</HI> foretelleth it, and the Euangeli&s;t S. <HI>Matthew</HI> confirmeth it, what was the mea&s;ure of the true knowledge of God as well among the Iewes, as Gentiles, at the time when the Redeemer came into the world.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 12.20.</NOTE> <HI>A brui&s;ed reede &s;hall hee not breake, and the &s;moaking flaxe &s;hall he not quench.</HI> Our Sauiour Chri&s;t did finde Iudaea to bee a broken reede, wherby is in&s;inuated, (according to the expo&s;ition of my countryman Saint <HI>Hierome</HI>) that the Iew was not at that time &s;o loudly &s;ounding in &s;etting forth the glory of God, as former|ly
<PB N="20" REF="12">they were. And in truth that people then (as al&s;o at this day farre more mi&s;erably) was more guided by the &s;uper&s;titious traditions of their vaine Rabbines, then by the holy Scriptures. Wherewith our Sauiour al&s;o vp|braided them, &s;aying, <HI>Why doe ye by your tradi|tions tran&s;gre&s;&s;e Gods Commandement?</HI> And the very &s;ame now adayes is to bee found vnder the Papacie; where much more accompt is made of the Popes commandements, then of Gods; The committing of adultery be|ing reputed galantery, but the eating of fle&s;h vpon a Friday, a &s;acriledge worthy of fagot and fire. As for the Gentiles, Chri&s;t found them to be <HI>linum fumigans,</HI> &s;mothering flaxe, not altogether put out, but &s;omwhat &s;moak|ing, by rea&s;on of that &s;mall and weake knowledge of God, which the glimp&s;e of the Law of Nature affoorded them. And there|fore in conclu&s;ion, an vniuer&s;all and com|mon night did ouer&s;pread all, both Iew, and Gentile. And if <HI>Zachary</HI> the father of the great <HI>Bapti&s;t</HI> had not acknowledged the nightly darkene&s;&s;e, wherein both him&s;elfe, and the re&s;t of that people remained, hee
<PB N="21" REF="12">would not haue&s;ung, that Chri&s;t was <HI>the day &s;pring from on High, To giue light to them that &s;it in darkene&s;&s;e, and in the &s;hadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.</HI> Surely that,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iob 36.32.</NOTE> which we read in the booke of <HI>Iob</HI> may be truely vnder&s;tood as well of Iudai&s;me, as of Gentili&s;me; And this it is, <HI>In manibus ab|&s;condit lucem, &amp; praecepit ei, vt rur&s;us adueniat; He bideth the light in his hands, and commandeth it to come againe.</HI> Whereby is giuen vs to vn|der&s;tand, that God, before that hee &s;ent the Light of his owne Sonne into the world, did hold the light of the knowledge of God cla&s;ped vp in his hand, &s;o that, how&s;oe|uer&s;ome glimmering beames darted foorth through the clifts from betweene the fin|gers, yet he did re&s;erue the wyde opening of his hand till the fulne&s;&s;e of time; and there|fore then he commanded this light <HI>vtrur&s;us adueniat,</HI> to come againe at that time when S. <HI>Paul</HI> &s;hould &s;hortly after proclaime, <HI>Nox praece&s;sit.</HI></P>
<P>But if by this night wee will vnder&s;tand the true and totall darkene&s;&s;e of Infidelity, then are wee to &s;ay, that the Apo&s;tle doeth
<PB N="22" REF="13">not heere meane the ancient by-pa&s;t times before the comming of Chri&s;t, but rather the very time wherein our Sauiour liued in his fle&s;h vpon the earth, and when the Go|&s;pel was fir&s;t publi&s;hed by the Apo&s;tles. In a word heere is e&s;pecially to bee vnder&s;tood that e&s;tate, wherein the new Chri&s;tians of Rome (a&s;well Iewes, as Gentiles) were im|mediatly before their conuer&s;ion to the Go&s;|pel, which was indeed an vtter darkne&s;&s;e of night. What els were the Ge~tiles of that time in Rome, and throughout the whole world, but Idolaters? And as for the Iewes, had not they then crucified our Lord and Sauiour? Had not they then reiected their Me&s;&s;ias? Did not they the~ remain with the veile ouer their hearts?
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor. 3.</NOTE> And what greater infidelitie, then not to receiue Chri&s;t? Nay, to per&s;ecute him in his members? Euen in this night S. <HI>Paul</HI> accounted him&s;elfe to haue bin: And worthily; For he te&s;tifieth of him&s;elfe, that he <HI>was formerly a bla&s;phemer,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Tim. 1. Galat. 1.</NOTE> <HI>and a per&s;ecuter, and iniunious; and that hee per&s;ecuted the Church of God beyond mea&s;ure, and wa&s;ted it.</HI> Out of the lumpe of the&s;e hardened, and blinded
<PB N="23" REF="13">Iewes, came the remnant of the&s;e, which embraced the Chri&s;tian religion. And there|fore with good rea&s;on of the&s;e, as &s;o of him|&s;elfe, <HI>S. Paul</HI> &s;aid, <HI>Nox praece&s;sit,</HI> To vs, and in &s;peciall to me, the night is pa&s;&s;ed.</P>
<P>The &s;econd night, whereof <HI>S. Paul</HI> would here be vnder&s;tood, is the night of reigning &s;inne; and this was mo&s;t common both a|mong the Iewes, and Gentiles. How hei|nous and filthy the enormities of the Gen|tiles were, e&s;pecially in Rome, may appeare by the particular, and euen loath&s;ome cata|logue recorded by <HI>S. Paul</HI> in this Epi&s;tle. <HI>Wherefore God gaue them vp to their hearts lu&s;ts,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 1.</NOTE> <HI>vnto vncleannes, to defile their owne bodies be|tweene them&s;elues: who turned the trueth of God into a lye, and wor&s;hipped, and &s;erued the creature. Wherefore God gaue them vp to vile affections</HI> of mo&s;t abominable &s;innes. <HI>And deliuered them vp to a reprobate minde, to doe tho&s;e things which are not conuenient. Being filled with all vnrigh|teou&s;nes, formcation, wickednes, couetou&s;nes, ma|liciou&s;nes, full of enuy, murther, debate, deceit, malignity, whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despitefull, proud, boasters, inuenters of euil things,
<PB N="24" REF="14">di&s;obedient to parents, without vnderstanding, co|uenant breakers, without naturall affection, im|placable, vnmercifull.</HI> Surely either <HI>S. Paul</HI> pro|phetically de&s;cribeth the enormous &s;innes, and mo&s;t corrupt maners of Rome, as it &s;tands in our times: Or els Rome, as now it is, and hath bene for &s;ome ages pa&s;t, hath vn|dertaken to be in all points like to heathe|ni&s;h Rome, as it was in <HI>S. Pauls</HI> time. The manifold wickedne&s;&s;es of the now Rome could not bee more exactly pencelled, and drawen out to life, then by that, which the Apo&s;tle here particularizeth. O dreadfull night! &ocirc; palpable darkne&s;&s;e! &ocirc; vntollerable blindne&s;&s;e! Verely &s;uch impieties, and im|purities conclude, that as yet the fir&s;t night of the want of the knowledge of God re|maineth there, Ina&s;much as &s;o hidious &s;innes are proper to the Heathen, as the &s;ame Apo|&s;tle witne&s;&s;eth, <HI>Sicut &amp; Gentes; As the Gen|tiles,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. The&s;&s;. 4.5. Ephe&s;. 4.17.</NOTE> <HI>which know not God. Non ambuletis &s;icut &amp; Gentes &amp;c. That ye walke not as the Gentiles walke, in the vanity of their minds, hauing the vn|der&s;tanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, through the ignorance that is in them, be|cau&s;e
<PB N="25" REF="14">of the blindne&s;&s;e of their heart: Who being pa&s;t feeling, haue giuen them&s;elues ouer vnto la&s;|&s;ciuiou&s;ne&s;&s;e, to worke all vncleannes with gree|dines.</HI> Certainly &s;uch life and maners, which are very ordinary and common in the Court of Rome (yet I except what&s;oeuer good men are there) doe inferre, that according to the Apo&s;tles intimation, the knowledge of God, and hope of euerla&s;ting life is not to be found among them. <HI>Edamus, bibamus, cras moriemur.</HI> Let vs eat and drinke to day, for we &s;hall die to morrow. And yet they mo&s;t of all &s;hould open their eyes, and mend their maners. Thus therefore to the Gentiles made Chri&s;tians, <HI>Nox praece&s;sit,</HI> The night of grieuous offences is pa&s;t. Neither yet were the Iewes out of the &s;hade of this night; <HI>Qui alios doces, teip&s;um non doces?</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 2.</NOTE> <HI>Thou which teach|e&s;t another, teache&s;t thou not thy &s;elfe? Thou that preache&s;t a man &s;hould not &s;teale, doe&s;t thou &s;teale? Thou that &s;ay&s;t a man &s;hould not commit adultery, doe&s;t thou commit adultery? Thou that abhorre&s;t idols, doest thou commit &s;acriledge? Thou that make&s;t thy boa&s;t of the Law, through breaking the Law, di&s;honoure&s;t thou God? For the name of God
<PB N="26" REF="15">is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you.</HI></P>
<P><HI>There is no difference,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 3.</NOTE> <HI>for all haue &s;inned, and come &s;hort of the glory of God.</HI> All therfore were ouer clouded with this night of mo&s;t grie|uous &s;innes. <HI>Wee haue prooued both Iewes and Gentiles to be all vnder &s;inne, as it is written, They are all gone out of the way, they are all become vn|profitable, there is none that doth good no not one.</HI></P>
<P>Now what is the night? Nothing el&s;e, but the ab&s;ence of the Sunne. And what el&s;e, but &s;inne,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Wi&s;d. 1.</NOTE> driueth the Sunne of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e Chri&s;t Ie&s;us from our &s;oules. <HI>In maleuolam animam non intrabit Sapientiae, nec habitabit in corpore &s;ubdito peccatis: Wi&s;edome will not enter into a malicious &s;oule, nor dwell in a body &s;ubiected to &s;inne.</HI> What is the night? It is the &s;hadow of the earth interpo&s;ing it &s;elfe betweene vs and the Sunne. And what el&s;e is &s;inne, but a darke, and gro&s;&s;e ob&s;tacle intercepting the beames of the inui&s;ible Sunne, &s;o that they cannot pierce downe to vs?
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;ay 59.2.</NOTE> <HI>Your trangre&s;si|ons haue made a &s;eparation betweene God and you, and your &s;innes haue hid his face from you.</HI> What is the night? It is a &s;ea&s;on vnfit for trauailers other then tho&s;e, that are willing to loo&s;e
<PB N="27" REF="15">their way, and to aduenture their neckes in headlong downefals. And what el&s;e is &s;inne, but a wandring from the way that leadeth to heauen, and a downeright gallop into the pit of hell?
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;alm. 81.23.</NOTE> <HI>Dimi&s;i eos &s;ecundum de&s;ideria cordis ip&s;orum; ibunt in adinuentionibus &s;uis. I gaue them vp to their owne hearts lu&s;ts, and they will walke in their owne inuentions.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Prou. 18.3.</NOTE> <HI>Improbus cum in profun|dum venerit peccatorum contemnit: &s;ed &s;equitur eum ignominia &amp; opprobrium. When the wicked man commeth into the depth of &s;inne, he groweth to contempt, but &s;hame and reproach follow him.</HI> Of this night al&s;o S. <HI>Paul</HI> heere &s;ayd, <HI>The night is pa&s;&s;ed:</HI> For they were now wa&s;hed and clean|&s;ed from their &s;innes, and had their mem|bers al&s;o mortified; as I &s;hall touch in con&s;i|dering the day oppo&s;ite to this night.</P>
<P>The third night, which S. <HI>Paul</HI> heere had an eye vnto, was the night of negligence, and dulne&s;&s;e. Nay it may &s;eeme, that hee had principall re&s;pect heereunto: For being that hee &s;pake to the Romanes already con|uerted to Chri&s;t, who&s;e faith al&s;o hee &s;ayd to haue <HI>beene &s;poken of thorowout the whole world;</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 1.</NOTE> they therefore were out of the night of infi|delity.
<PB N="28" REF="16">delity. Of whom al&s;o he had &s;ayd, that they <HI>were freely in&s;tified by Gods grace,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 3.24.</NOTE> <HI>through the re|demption, that is in Ie&s;us Chri&s;t. &mdash; by faith in his blood, to declare his righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e for the remi&s;si|on of &s;innes pa&s;t.</HI> And therefore now they be|ing iu&s;tified, and out of the night of &s;inne, yet the Apo&s;tle in this chapter &s;aith to them, <HI>It is now high time for vs to awake from &s;leepe.</HI> They were therefore yet a&s;leepe, and &s;o re|mained in a certaine kinde of night, though they had ouerpa&s;&s;ed the two former nights, whereof I haue &s;poken. And of this third night the Apo&s;tles meaning is, that it is not entirely pa&s;&s;ed ouer: but he exhorteth them to endeuor, and &s;triue to &s;hake off this &s;leep, and to driue away this night al&s;o, as former|ly by Gods grace they had worne out the o|ther two nights of ignorance, and of &s;inne, He therefore vrgeth them to rouze vp them|&s;elues from &s;pirituall &s;loth, and drow&s;ine&s;&s;e, and to become watchfull in things pertei|ning to their &s;aluation. This night will bee more euident by our mention of the day op|po&s;ite heereunto.</P>
<P>I pa&s;&s;e therefore to the fourth night, from
<PB N="29" REF="16">which God out of his infinite bounty hath freed vs in the&s;e times. Concerning which, I may &s;ay with <HI>S. Paul,</HI> on mine owne be|halfe, and yours (my brethren of <HI>Italy,</HI> whom God hath ble&s;&s;ed with the cleare light of the trueth) <HI>Nox praece&s;sit, The night is past.</HI> And for this I make &s;uch congratulation as may &s;erue, not to in&s;ult vpon others, or proudly to glory in our &s;elues, but to render due thankes to the Almighty, and to &s;tirre vp our affections to compa&s;&s;ionate our bre|thren, who yet remaine in no &s;mall danger, lying in the deepe dark&s;ome night of many errors, though profe&s;&s;ing the Chri&s;tian faith. Surely a night &s;o much the more dan|gerous, in that tho&s;e poore &s;oules deeme them&s;elues onely to enioy the Light, and dreame that all others, who adhere not to their part, remaine in darkene&s;&s;e,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 5.</NOTE> <HI>Et dicunt bonum malum &amp;c. And call good euill, and euill good, accounting light to be darkne&s;&s;e, and darke|ne&s;&s;e light.</HI></P>
<P>The Church of God is &s;ayd to be <HI>Ca&s;tro|rum acies ordinata; An armie &s;et in array.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cant. 6.3. Iob 7.</NOTE> And in truth the whole <HI>life of man is a warfare vp|on
<PB N="30" REF="17">earth.</HI> But this warfare of the Church, and this mighty Armie in my opinion may bee more fitly re&s;embled to an <HI>Armada</HI> on the Sea, then to a march on the land. In which regard the Church is called, <HI>A Merchants &s;hip bringing food from a farre.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Prou. 31.14.</NOTE> And our Sauiour Chri&s;t being in a &s;hip did then mo&s;t liuely repre&s;ent his Church,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luke 5.3.</NOTE> as is very elegantly de|clared by the holy Fathers. Chri&s;t hath his Nauie of many &s;hips of warre, that is, a col|lection of many particular Churches, wher|of he is the Head, and Generall. Again&s;t this Nauy there are in the &s;ea of this world open|ly &s;et out many other &s;hips of warre vnder the conduct of the Diuell, which are the troopes of diabolical &s;ects, and &s;uper&s;titious Infidels, the enemies of Chri&s;t. And in this warfare I, to my great griefe, behold the &s;hips that are vnder the &s;ame Captaine, and Commander our Sauiour Chri&s;t, to pur&s;ue one another with no le&s;&s;e, nay perhaps with more hatred, then if they were indeed the &s;hips of the enemy. The Church of Rome, and tho&s;e that follow the conduct of it, hate to the death the Reformed Churches. And
<PB N="31" REF="17">the Reformed hate them. I would faine &s;et you right, my Auditors, in a great, and very common mi&s;take, if &s;o bee that yee thinke the Reformed Religion to bee ano|ther Religion wholly differing from the Romane. The Religion of both is in the maine e&s;&s;entials and fundamentals the very &s;ame. Both haue the &s;ame Chri&s;t for their Lord and Ma&s;ter; both the &s;ame bapti&s;me; both are founded by the &s;ame Apo&s;tles; both haue and profe&s;&s;e the &s;ame Go&s;pel. But to the end wee may vnder&s;tand the e&s;tate of both the Romane, and Reformed Chur|ches, I meane to hold my &s;elfe to my &s;imili|tude of &s;hips, and Nauigation. The voy|age of the Militant Church is a continuall &s;ayling in the Ocean of this world, amids a thou&s;and &s;helfes, and rockes, gulfes, and quick&s;ands, where no &s;hore, nor land at all is to bee &s;eene. For our pilgrimage heere is in faith, and tendeth to the attaining of things inui&s;ible. <HI>Wee walke by faith,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor. 5.7.</NOTE> <HI>and not by &s;ight. Wee &s;ee now through a gla&s;se darkly,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 13.12.</NOTE> <HI>but then wee &s;hall behold face to face.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor. 4.18.</NOTE> Wee looke not
<PB N="32" REF="18">on the things, that are &s;eene, but on the things, that are not &s;eene. For the things, which are &s;eene, are temporall: but the things, which are not &s;eene, are eternall.</HI> And the Nauigation, wherein the Church Militant is employed, tendeth to Spirituall things, <HI>which are not &s;eene.</HI> And &s;urely in Sea voyages amid&s;t the maine, where no land marke can bee &s;eene for the direction of the &s;hippe, the onely certaine meanes of guidance for Nauigation con&s;i|&s;teth in the v&s;ing of a good Compa&s;&s;e, hauing a Needle well touched with the Load&s;tone, as al&s;o in hauing a Ship mans Card, or Sea mappe iu&s;tly quartered, and coa&s;ted. Hee that without the&s;e, or with a fal&s;e Compa&s;&s;e, or Mappe, &s;aileth out of all &s;ight of &s;hoare, may bee &s;aide to wander in vtter darkene&s;&s;e, and midnight, though it be at noone-tide; And contrary wi&s;e, hee that is furni&s;hed with a true Compa&s;&s;e, though hee &s;aile in the deepe of Sea, and of night, yet hee enioyeth the day, and cleare|eth his pa&s;&s;age at all occa&s;ions. Now for the difference of the Reformed Shippes, and the Romane, it is not in the bottome,
<PB N="33" REF="18">nor in the tackeling, but onely in the Com|pa&s;&s;e. The Romane &s;hippe is a good Ve&s;|&s;ell, well built, not rotten, nor fallen in pie|ces; it is well furni&s;hed with Ma&s;ts, with Yards, with Cordage, with Cables, with Anchors; it hath an excellent Sea-mappe: the pa&s;&s;engers, and common &s;ouldiers in it are all vnder the colours of one and the &s;ame Generall, our Sauiour Chri&s;t. And in the&s;e there is no difference betweene this Ship, and the reformed. But I finde one maine difference betweene them, whence al&s;o ari&s;e an innumerable other di&s;parities, and it is, that the Pilot, who &s;its at the &s;terne of the Romane &s;hip, hauing throwne a&s;ide the ordinary Compa&s;&s;e, and leauing the v&s;e of the approoued Sea-mappe, hath out of his owne capricious conceit deui&s;ed a new Card, and contriued a new-found Compa&s;&s;e of his owne, who&s;e needle hath no a&s;pect toward the Pole, or touch at all of the Load-&s;tone. Suteable al&s;o hereto hath he out of his owne head framed cer|taine Cardinall windes, which &s;erue onely for his Card. Nay (which is wor&s;e then
<PB N="34" REF="19">this) hee hath intruded into the po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of gouerning the helmes of all the &s;hippes, that roade in his company, and from euery of them hee hath taken away the v&s;e of the ordinary Compa&s;&s;e, and beating the Mar|riners, and ouer awing them by tyranny (who otherwi&s;e would doe well, and per|forme their office aright) will haue no nay, but all tho&s;e &s;hippes mu&s;t daunce atten|dance after his. And &s;o, for that hee v&s;eth no true Compa&s;&s;e, nor Carde, hee ringleads them all to wracke, and they follow him fa&s;t enough without light through the thicke&s;t darkene&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>For the vnfolding of this Metaphore, I &s;ay in a word, that the Bi&s;hoppe of Rome at this pre&s;ent, and for many ages pa&s;t, lea|uing the trauailers true Sea-card, the holy Scriptures, and the vnmooueable North-Pole, the aime at Heauen and heauenly things; and propounding to him&s;elfe one onely Port, his owne greatne&s;&s;e, and tem|porall pompe, hath in his deui&s;ed Compa&s;&s;e quartered out his owne counterfeit windes, which mu&s;t blow for that hauen; they are
<PB N="35" REF="19">dominion ouer all other Churches, ma&s;tery ouer the Keyes, infallibility of his iudge|ment, and authoritie in things Temporall, euen ouer Princes. And as for the poore pa&s;&s;engers, and common &s;ouldiers, who are tran&s;ported, and blindly clapt vp vnder the hatches in the&s;e wandring &s;hippes, he hath, to amu&s;e them, added in his fal&s;e Card ma|ny ba&s;tard windes, painted out in guilded, and flouri&s;hed lines; namely, our owne, and others merits, Inuocation of Saints, religious wor&s;hip of Images, the trea&s;ure of Indulgences, efficacie of Ma&s;&s;es, and of Prie&s;tly ab&s;olutions, <HI>Agnus Dei's,</HI> hallowed Beads, holy Water. By the&s;e, and other &s;uch windes neuer found in the ancient true Compa&s;&s;es, and whereof the ancient Pi|lots of the holy Church neuer heard any newes; by the&s;e bla&s;ts will hee haue his followers to &s;aile, whereby they are caried headlong into many mo&s;t important er|rors. The onely cau&s;e of all this mi&s;chiefe is that Archpilot. For if hee were remoo|ued, or could bee per&s;waded to leaue his owne mon&s;trous Chimericall Compa&s;&s;e,
<PB N="36" REF="20">and to betake him&s;elfe to the v&s;uall and auncient guide, pre&s;ently defacing all tho&s;e fal&s;e windes, verily the goodly fleete of the Catholique Church would ea&s;ily bee &s;et right, and holding the &s;afe and &s;ure way (as the Reformed Companies haue done) would approach to the true hauen of eter|nall bli&s;&s;e. True it is, that the&s;e Reformed Churches, beeing mi&s;ledde by this wan|dring guide, did &s;ometime follow that vaine and deceitfull Compa&s;&s;e. But at length they haue better bethought them&s;elues and ca&s;ting out that &s;trange intruding Pilot, they haue yeelded vp their &s;hippe to bee go|uerned by their owne true Steer&s;emen, &s;uch as God him&s;elfe hath ordayned. And &s;o v&s;ing the infallible Card of the holy Scrip|tures, and the true Compa&s;&s;e quartered out into the foure auncient Cardinall windes of the foure fir&s;t generull Councels, and &s;e|conded with the vnder-windes of the holy Fathers, they make an happy voyage, and without wandring arriue at the appointed hauen of &s;aluation. And this is the mi&s;era|ble night of manifold errours, wherein &s;o
<PB N="37" REF="20">many poore &s;oules &s;uffer them&s;elues to bee hoodwinked, and lulled a&s;leepe: from which yet we are re&s;cued by the Almighty hand of God. And therefore let vs yeelde him all po&s;&s;ible thankes, that <HI>This night is pa&s;&s;ed.</HI></P>
<P>If I &s;hould here enlarge my &s;elfe, and in|&s;i&s;t vpon the con&s;ideration of the&s;e forged mi&s;guiding bla&s;ts, to di&s;play all the particu|lar errors, which make this cloudie night, I might encomber my &s;elfe in a confu&s;ed <HI>Chaos,</HI> out of which I could not get in many dayes, much le&s;&s;e in the little portion of time allotted to this Exerci&s;e. Yet I can doe no le&s;&s;e now, then touch &s;ome of the mo&s;t prin|cipall, and vniuer&s;all of them, out of which, as from a roote, all the particular errors doe &s;pring.</P>
<P>It is very much behoouefull to the Pope for the mainteining him&s;elfe in the forged greatne&s;&s;e of his vniuer&s;all Vicar&s;hip of Chri&s;t, to holde the people in the deepe&s;t darkne&s;&s;e of ignorance, and blindne&s;&s;e, that po&s;&s;ibly may be. To this purpo&s;e one maine article, which he cau&s;eth to be taught in all
<PB N="38" REF="21">the Churches &s;ubiect to him, &s;tands him in great &s;tead; namely, that, for the &s;auing of mens &s;oules, an implicite faith &s;ufficeth: whereby a man beleeueth all to be trueth, what&s;oeuer the holy Catholique Romane Church beleeueth, and mainteineth. And by this meane the Pope layeth open a way for him&s;elfe to per&s;wade the &s;illy people, already blinded with this credence, to beleeue, and receiue what&s;oeuer hee impo&s;eth on them for his owne aduantage, and to make them admit for an article of faith, that hee is the onely vicar of Chri&s;t: that he cannot erre <HI>in cathedra,</HI> iudging out of his chaire: that he is the Lord paramount of the whole Church: that the keyes, and trea&s;ure of holy Church are in his hands onely: that he hath power to depo&s;e Kings from their Thrones, and to di&s;charge their &s;ubiects of their oath of fe|altie; and infinite other &s;uch fopperies: for the maintenance whereof, many wretches ca&s;t away their &s;oules. And by degrees it will come to that pa&s;&s;e one day, that he will make him&s;elfe to be adored for a God vpon earth. By this engine of implicite faith, he
<PB N="39" REF="21">barreth vp the way to the people, &s;o that they cannot come to de&s;cry his inuentions, as long as they make it a &s;cruple of con&s;ci|ence to examine, or con&s;ider what trueth may bee in &s;uch determinations, which are made by him for his owne aduantage onely, and not for their &s;oules health. In this meane while the poore vulgar think, that they haue as much faith, as will &s;erue for their &s;aluati|on; and yet in fine they will bee found to haue none at all. I beleeue that, which the Church beleeues. If I come not to particu|lar articles, I yet beleeue nothing, but onely am in a di&s;po&s;ition to beleeue that, which the Church of Rome &s;hall pre&s;cribe mee, whether true, or fal&s;e. Verely for any man to &s;ay, I beleeue that, which another man belee|ueth, is as much, as if he &s;aid, I &s;ee that, which another man &s;eeth, though my owne eyes be &s;hut. And as no man can be &s;aid to &s;ee, but only when the faculty of his owne &s;ight exerci&s;eth its operation vpon a particular obiect; &s;o there is no actuall beleeuing, but when the vnder&s;tanding, and will doe actu|ally apprehend, and embrace the obiect of
<PB N="40" REF="22">faith. There are vnder the Papacy, there are among the people many men endued by God with &s;ufficient iudgement and capacity to receiue good in&s;truction in many my&s;te|ries of our faith, if they had conuenient meanes and opportunity to learne them: but by rea&s;on of this implied faith, they are not only kept from learning tho&s;e things which they ought to know, but al&s;o a great number of them, and they not of the dullards, when they vnder a confu&s;ed notion apprehend &s;uch articles, frame to them&s;elues fal&s;e, and erroneous conceipts of them. How many being enwrapped in this implicite faith, and being otherwi&s;e able di&s;tinctly to vnder|&s;tand, that there are in Chri&s;t two di&s;tinct natures, and but one onely per&s;on, and that diuine, yet thinke that Chri&s;t is man by an humane per&s;on, and &s;o are Ne&s;torians? How many are there, that beleeue Chri&s;t to be a meere man, and &s;o are Arians? How ma|ny beleeue that in Chri&s;t the diuine and hu|mane natures are confounded into one na|ture? Innumerable &s;uch mon&s;ters of all he|re&s;ies may bee found vnder this <HI>Chimaera</HI> of
<PB N="41" REF="22">inuolued faith. Be&s;ides this, the more to che|ri&s;h the&s;e mon&s;trous errors, the Popes barre Chri&s;tian people from all means of learning the verities of the Chri&s;tian faith, forbid|ding them the v&s;e of the holy Scriptures in &s;uch language, as they may vnder&s;tand. For they are well a&s;&s;ured, that the very vulgar would, by reading the Scriptures, di&s;couer the manifold deui&s;es, and trickes, wherwith the Popes, the Bi&s;hops, the Preachers, the Prie&s;ts, and Friars delude the &s;imple people, to draw money out of their pur&s;es, and to make them&s;elues be thought &s;o many Gods. If the people might bee &s;uffered to read the Scriptures in the mother tongue, they would finde, that all the twelue Apo&s;tles had the &s;ame charge, in all re&s;pects, equall with S. <HI>Peter,</HI> of planting, &amp; gouerning the Church. They would &s;ee, that in all the Bible there is nothing to bee found for S. <HI>Peters</HI> being at Rome, nor that hee hath left any &s;peciall charge with the Bi&s;hop of Rome. They would be aduerti&s;ed, that all Bi&s;hops &s;ucceed the Apo&s;tles in equall power among them|&s;elues, without &s;ubiection of one to another:
<PB N="42" REF="23">And that the vnion of holy Church con&s;i|&s;teth in the vnity of faith, and in charity, whereby all Churches are combined, and embrace one the other, and not in being vn|der any one vi&s;ible head, but vnder Chri&s;t, the true, and only head of the Church. They would well know, that the Ma&s;&s;e hath no other v&s;e, nor bringeth any other &s;pirituall benefite, then to con&s;ecrate the holy Sacra|ment for Communion, and that only, when there are &s;ome, more, or le&s;&s;e to communi|cate, that the pronouncing of &s;ome part a|loud, and whi&s;pering the re&s;t, &s;o that the people heares it not, is but a mockery. Like|wi&s;e that tho&s;e mimicall ge&s;tures with the hands, leggs, and eyes &s;erue for nothing, but to &s;et the people on gazing in a wonder|ment. They would learne, that in the bread of the Euchari&s;t there is the true body of Chri&s;t Sacramentally, and after a wonderful maner, which to vs is inexplicable; but not in fle&s;h and bones, with eyes, hands, and feet. Neither &s;hould they euer finde, that that con&s;ecrated bread is to bee adored for God, euen as wee adore not the water which re|pre&s;ents
<PB N="43" REF="23">the blood of Chri&s;t in bapti&s;me, al|though, by the power of Gods grace, this water, and that bread in him that receiueth it worthily, worke maruelous &s;pirituall effects in the &s;oule. They would vnder&s;tand, that Purgatory, being not once named, nor im|plied in the Scriptures, is an inuention of the Prie&s;ts, and Friars, to make men call for Ma&s;&s;es, and to draw on paiments, and obla|tions for the re&s;cuing of &s;oules out of Pur|gatory. Which deuice ray&s;eth an income, whereby &s;uch a &s;warme of idle&s;bies (not on|ly vnprofitable to the Church, but al&s;o &s;can|dalous) are maintained, liuing in iollity, and wallowing in all vncleanne&s;&s;e. The&s;e, and many other like trueths would the people de&s;crie, if they might read the holy Scrip|tures, nor would they &s;uffer them&s;elues to be any longer deceiued, and fuddled vp in that darke cloud, and night of infolded faith. Much the ea&s;ier al&s;o would they vnder&s;tand the&s;e things, if together with the Scriptures, diuers godly, and holy Bookes might bee &s;uffered to come to their view, which di&s;co|uer the impo&s;tures of the Papacie, and &s;in|cerely
<PB N="44" REF="24">lay down the true way to &s;aluatio~; yet the&s;e Bookes are mo&s;t fal&s;ly by the Pope, for his owne behoofe, declared to be hereticall, and prohibited, as pe&s;tile~t in that kind, with|out euer &s;hewing particularly wherin the&s;e pretended here&s;ies con&s;i&s;t: Which are not|with&s;tanding taught by the holy Fathers of the Church. But this is his refuge for &s;ecu|rity, le&s;t his errours &s;hould bee di&s;couered. And, as for &s;o many &s;oules running this way headlong into hell, that troubleth him not, may he the while hold vp his wordly pomp. And &s;o much of the fir&s;t generall error.</P>
<P>Another generall error, wherewith the captiuated Churches in Italy, and many o|ther el&s;ewhere are &s;educed, is the per&s;wading of the &s;imple people, that they obtaine infal|lible remi&s;&s;ion of all their &s;innes committed after bapti&s;me, by vertue of certaine exter|nall, &s;en&s;ible, and materiall actions, which are called Sacraments, and Sacramentals. In|deed the common people being by nature prone, and ha&s;ty to &s;uper&s;tition, and more willing, and ready to vndergoe externall ea|&s;ie performances, then inward duties diffi|cult,
<PB N="45" REF="24">and di&s;ta&s;tful to fle&s;h and blood, put too much confidence in the&s;e outward &s;uper&s;ti|tions, being in the meane time de&s;titute of the true inward effect of de&s;ired remi&s;&s;ion of their &s;innes, and &s;o the blinde being led by the blinde, both fall into the pit.</P>
<P>The true Sacraments in&s;tituted by our Sauiour for remi&s;&s;ion of &s;innes, are holy Bapti&s;me, and the &s;acred Communion. And the only true and reall remedy, whereby re|mi&s;&s;ion of &s;innes, done after Bapti&s;me, is ob|teined, is Repentance, which con&s;i&s;teth in true &s;orrowing for &s;inne, together with re|&s;olution to leaue &s;inne by the a&s;&s;i&s;tance of Gods grace. But &s;ee how extrauagant the Papall doctrine is in this point: Namely, that it is nece&s;&s;ary to confe&s;&s;e to a Prie&s;t all and euery of our &s;innes, one by one, toge|ther with the circum&s;tances of them; and that thereupon pre&s;ently comes ab&s;olution, which <HI>ex opere operato</HI> by vertue of the deed done, that is, infalliblie, by a Sacramentall operation, relea&s;eth the &s;inne <HI>quantum ad cul|pam,</HI> as much as concernes the guiltine&s;&s;e of it: and as for an after-reckoning <HI>quantum ad
<PB N="46" REF="25">poenam,</HI> concerning the puni&s;hment, that is remitted by &s;atisfaction enioined, or by In|dulgences. This &s;o mighty efficacy they at|tribute to Prie&s;tly ab&s;olution, by vertue whereof they will that a &s;inner pre&s;ently becommeth <HI>ex attrito contritus,</HI> that is to &s;ay, though he doe not truly and &s;oundly repent him of his &s;innes, but conceiue a certaine &s;leight and light &s;orrow, out of feare onely of Gods puni&s;hments, and not out of hatred of &s;inne, yet vpon the act of ab&s;olution, hee enioyeth the benefit of remi&s;&s;ion, as fully, as if he had true and entire repentance, toge|ther with hatred of &s;inne. In this maner they breed vp a &s;inner, and make him in his af|fection to cleaue fa&s;t to his &s;innes, while&s;t he flattereth him&s;elfe, that Confe&s;&s;ion tur|neth his attrition into contrition. And thus poore &s;oules, being beguiled with this blin|ding and benighting Doctrine, tru&s;t &s;o farre vpon this their externall Confe&s;&s;ion, and ex|ternall Ab&s;olution, that they neglect inward repentance, and &s;o &s;ticke fa&s;t in their &s;innes, thinking that they haue done their part, when they haue gone ouer the beadroule of
<PB N="47" REF="25">their &s;innes, and &s;o receiued Ab&s;olution. But tho&s;e good &s;oules, that put not this &s;uper&s;ti|tious co~fidence in any &s;uch power of Ab&s;o|lution (which in trueth cannot deriue from the Go&s;pel any Sacramentall operation) and certainely per&s;wade them&s;elues, that they haue no other meanes of remedy, then true hearty repentante, they relie vpon that one|ly, and make reque&s;t to God for it by hum|ble and feruent prayers, v&s;ing al&s;o other helpes, whereto the Scriptures direct vs, fa|&s;tings, giuing of almes, and other workes of charitie: Not that the&s;e doe &s;atisfie for the puni&s;hment, as the Romani&s;ts vainly teach, (For God, when hee pardoneth the &s;inne, re|mitteth al&s;o the puni&s;hme~t, as is mo&s;t cleare in Scripture) but, becau&s;e the&s;e are fruits of inward Repentance, and parts of outward; and &s;o make way for remi&s;&s;ion of &s;innes. But the Romi&s;h prepo&s;terous cour&s;e (mi&s;|taking, and mi&s;-doing in the darke night of this error) worketh cleane contrary, and &s;et|teth the cart before the hor&s;e, fir&s;t granting remi&s;&s;ion, and afterward impo&s;ing workes of repentance, which indeede &s;hould goe
<PB N="48" REF="26">before repentance, and much more before remi&s;&s;ion. And by this reckoning the vn|happy &s;oules, when they thinke them&s;elues mo&s;t free, then remaine mo&s;t bound, and vnpardoned before the throne of God. This deui&s;e therfore of Sacramentall Confe&s;&s;ion, and Sacramentall Ab&s;olution, as they terme it, as it is pernicious, &s;o it hath the brand of nouelty, being fir&s;t impo&s;ed by Pope <HI>Inno|cent</HI> the third: After the entrance whereof, the forme of true repentance is very hardly to bee found in the Churches &s;ubiect to the Papacy. O how much better were it for a &s;inner not to goe to Confe&s;&s;ion, but onely when he findeth him&s;elfe in his owne con|&s;cience rightly di&s;po&s;ed, &amp; to be in the &s;tate of true repentance? For the often frequen|ting of Confe&s;&s;ion, as it is v&s;ed, and receiuing of Ab&s;olution, &s;uch as it is, makes a &s;infull wretch feede him&s;elfe with &s;hadowes, and &s;eeme to him&s;elfe to giue his con&s;cience &s;uf|ficient &s;atisfaction. Whereupon he, not &s;ee|ing the mi&s;erable e&s;tate, wherin he remains, neuer thinketh &s;eriou&s;ly of true repentance. Whereas, if hee had not that vaine imploy|ment,
<PB N="49" REF="26">which &s;erueth him but to cloake his &s;innes, he would finde him&s;elfe to bee yet in the e&s;tate of &s;inne, and would earne&s;tly be|thinke him&s;elfe of the true remedy, namely inward &s;incere repentance, which, without any other confe&s;&s;ion, or ab&s;olution, cancel|leth our &s;innes, as fully appeareth out of the holy Scriptures, and Fathers. It is therefore an errour very grieuous, and hurtful to the &s;oule, to beleeue that the&s;e externall perfor|mances conferre remi&s;&s;ion of &s;innes, and that they are nece&s;&s;ary therunto. What &s;hall we &s;ay of &s;o many other meere externall tri|fles, whereto the people is mo&s;t &s;uper&s;titi|ou&s;ly inclined, as holy water, beades, cro&s;&s;es, con&s;ecrated Images, Papall and Epi&s;copall benedictions, Stations, Pardons, the new found hoode of the Carmelites, called the <HI>Habitell,</HI> the whipcoards of Saint <HI>Francis,</HI> the girdles of the Cordeliers, the vi&s;iting of &s;uch a Church in &s;uch dayes, or of the&s;e and the&s;e altars, and reliques, nay the very hearing of Ma&s;&s;es, and anealing him, that lies a dying? The&s;e, and &s;uch like other outward &s;hewes, doe fill, and puffe vp the &s;oule with a very
<PB N="50" REF="27">&s;urfet of an imaginary, and fal&s;e deuotion. Wherupon men thinke not of purging their con&s;ciences, of con&s;ummating their faith, of inflaming their charity towards God, and toward their neighbor; they bu&s;ie not them|&s;elues about repenting of their &s;innes, and performing tho&s;e internall actions, wherein the e&s;&s;entiall part of our reconciliation with God, and eternall &s;aluation doth con&s;i&s;t. And when a man hath once in a day &s;igned him&s;elfe with the &s;igne of the Cro&s;&s;e, and &s;ayd ouer his <HI>Pater Noster,</HI> (which he vnder|&s;tands neuer a whit) together with his <HI>Aue Maria,</HI> and hath heard Ma&s;&s;e, why then for|&s;ooth he is a Saint, and hath learned enough in religion: and &s;o fa&s;tning vpon the&s;e out|&s;ides, he &s;ets vp his re&s;t on them for his &s;alua|tion. And, if at any time they can en&s;nare an vngrounded Prote&s;tant, and winne him o|uer to their partie, they thinke him very well furni&s;hed, if he can beleeue in the Pope, and will heare Ma&s;&s;e; vpon this pre&s;ently, with|out any more adoe, they declare him to bea mo&s;t perfect Catholique. Let them not heere tell me, that the inwards of the &s;oule are &s;tir|red
<PB N="51" REF="27">vp, and whetted by the&s;e outward acti|ons. For experience &s;heweth the contrary, that the people, when they haue tired them|&s;elues with vi&s;iting &s;o many altars, with hea|ring &s;o many Ma&s;&s;es, with chewing ouer &s;o many halfe-&s;cores of <HI>Aue Maries,</HI> in running ouer al the Ro&s;ary, when they haue &s;o and &s;o many times ki&s;&s;ed the Cro&s;&s;e, and haue bin in Proce&s;&s;ions, they looke no further, but deeme them&s;elues to bee all holy, and that they need nothing el&s;e; and yet they goe on in their &s;innes: nay, &s;uch as the&s;e, for the mo&s;t part, become in their inward, wor&s;e euery day then other; and for all this, mend not their liues, nor &s;ettle them&s;elues to true repentance.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Lament. 4.4.</NOTE> Of the&s;e poore &s;tarued &s;oules we may &s;ay, <HI>Paruuli petierunt panem, &amp; non est qui frangat eis. The children called for bread, and there is none to breake it to them.</HI> And if they affoord them any &s;craps of bread, it mu&s;t not be the true bread of life, but in &s;tead of whole&s;ome and nouri&s;hing bread made of wheat, they giue them bread made of bran, or acornes: and, to keepe them from &s;ence of hunger, they &s;tuffe them vp with &s;wines
<PB N="52" REF="28">meat, the huskes, and &s;hales of the&s;e &s;uper|fluous, and &s;uper&s;titious deuotions. What now adayes carrieth away the noi&s;e in their pulpits? what, but the Papacie, Purgatory, and Indulgences, and other the like &s;uper|&s;titions? Here one extolls a certaine Image of the ble&s;&s;ed Virgin to bee &s;eene in his Church, which makes miracles Gods plen|ty: but the&s;e feates are either imagined, or dreamed of, or el&s;e contriued by impo&s;ture. There another &s;tands vpon the commen|dation of a certaine wodden wonder-wor|king Crucifixe, making a mo&s;ter of it with a troope of lighted Torches about it: and, the more to endeare it, hee withdraweth the Curtaines but &s;eldome, and openeth the Shrine at a few &s;et times in the yeere. Otherwhere others doe the like, and all for the &s;ame end; namely to allure the &s;imple people to flocke to them, and &s;o to worke vpon their pur&s;es. O mi&s;ery of corruption! O night of darkene&s;&s;e!</P>
<P>I pa&s;&s;e now to the third generall error, and it is this: That the thunderbolt of ex|communication darted out by the Pope is
<PB N="53" REF="28">euermore very terrible, and that it &s;trikes deepe, wounding the &s;oule, and tumbling it downe-right into hell, if the Popes com|mands be not obeyed. True it is, that eue|ry Bi&s;hop within his owne Bi&s;hopricke (no le&s;&s;e then the Pope within the Bi&s;hopricke of Rome) hath power to excommunicate grieuous, and &s;candalous offenders, either debarring them of Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall commu|nion with other Chri&s;tian people, vntill they amend; or, if the ca&s;e bee de&s;perate, ca&s;ting them out of the Church, and cut|ting them off from the body of Chri&s;t, as dead and rotten members. But when&s;oe|uer &s;uch Excommunications are &s;ent out without iu&s;t, yea and mo&s;t weighty cau&s;e, they more hurt him that thundereth them out, then them, again&s;t whom they are bent. It mu&s;t needes therefore be a great folly, to &s;tand in feare of the Popes Ex|communication when&s;oeuer hee threatens in this &s;ort, Either beleeue what&s;oeuer I &s;ay, or I will excommunicate you: Either ad|mit me to be &s;upreme Lord of all the world both in &s;pirituall, and temporall matters,
<PB N="54" REF="29">or you &s;hall be excommunicated: Either acknowledge, and wor&s;hip mee for a god vpon earth, or you &s;hall bee held for Ex|communicate. To bring his owne ends to pa&s;&s;e, he worketh in this &s;ort: hee compel|leth men both to beleeue, and al&s;o to per|forme what&s;oeuer he plea&s;e: hee forelayeth meanes to keepe &s;imple ouerfearefull men in awe, &s;o that they &s;hall not dare to &s;tand out in their owne defence again&s;t his Ty|rannie. By the&s;e vaine terrors he taketh a|way the v&s;e of many excellent bookes, therefore prohibited, becau&s;e they lay open his collu&s;ions. Neuerthele&s;&s;e this rule is certaine, and infallible, who&s;ouer, walking vprightly in the &s;ight of God, with &s;inceri|ty of heart, and hone&s;t intention, readeth bookes, not out of carnall curio&s;ity, but out of de&s;ire to learne, and to di&s;cerne be|tweene truth and fal&s;ehood, and to the end that hee may not alwaies remaine blind, let him not feare a whit, nor make any account of &s;uch Excommunication, which can ne|uer &s;eparate any man from God, vnle&s;&s;e hee hath in his owne heart fir&s;t &s;eparated him|&s;elfe
<PB N="55" REF="29">from him. Without doubt, the Pope maketh great v&s;e of this &s;carcrow feare of his Excommunications, as a fit engine to en|force many a fal&s;ehood, and to hide out of the way many truths, for the vpholding of his owne mo&s;t vndue, and v&s;urped great|ne&s;&s;e. This indeede hath bene his weapon, wherewith hee long &s;ince hath layde about him; but it hath beene retorted backe vpon him by many holy men, who haue not &s;pa|red to laugh at his fal&s;e thunderclaps, bol|ted out by great abu&s;e without nece&s;&s;ity, or iu&s;t cau&s;e at all, and haue made him to giue ouer with &s;hame enough. Let vs now there|fore render our thankes to God, who hath re&s;cued vs <HI>de ore Leonis,</HI> out of the mouth of the Lion, and <HI>de nube erroris</HI> out of the cloud of error, &s;o that the enemy cannot leade vs into &s;uch deepe darkene&s;&s;e, as he yet doth many &s;oules mi&s;erably captiuated to him. And therefore to vs, <HI>Nox praece&s;sit, The night is past.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Dies autem appropinquauit; But the day hath approached.</HI> To the&s;e foure nights there are as many daies corre&s;pondent. The fir&s;t is of
<PB N="56" REF="30">the knowledge of God, and of the holy Chri&s;tian faith, the &s;hadowes being di&s;char|ged, and the veiles taken away by the com|ming of Chri&s;t, when that which lay hidde vnder types, and darke re&s;emblances, was manife&s;ted by the light of the Go&s;pel. Nei|ther was it without my&s;terious &s;ignificati|on, that at the very pa&s;&s;ion of Chri&s;t <HI>the veile of the Temple was rent from the toppe downe to the bottome.</HI> For the &s;acred my&s;teries of God were not now to remaine any longer cur|tayned vp, ina&s;much as at the appearing of the Sunne of righteou&s;nes all tho&s;e cloudes and darkenes vani&s;hed away; cleere reuela|tion beeing then made to vs of the vnity in Nature, and trinity in Per&s;ons in God, and of the Redeemer, the true and naturall Sonne of God, in whom are two Natures, the one diuine, the other humane, &s;ub&s;i&s;t|ing in the diuine Per&s;on of the Word. He is in &s;ub&s;tance, and cleere &s;ignification the fore&s;hadowed &s;potle&s;&s;e Lambe of God: He is the true Sacrifice, which was hidden, and veyled in the &s;acrifices of the old Law, the mo&s;t precious &s;acrifice offered vp vpon the
<PB N="57" REF="30">altar of the Cro&s;&s;e for our &s;innes; whereto no other &s;acrifice is now to &s;ucceed,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 12.</NOTE> be&s;ides the rea&s;onable &s;eruice of our &s;oules, and bo|dies, and perpetuall thanke&s;giuing, and a|doration of his mo&s;t holy name.</P>
<P>The &s;econd day is the day of Grace, with full remi&s;&s;ion of all our &s;innes in holy Bap|ti&s;me, the Church beeing &s;anctified, and clean&s;ed by the Lauer of water in the Word. Of tho&s;e, that receiued Chri&s;t by the preaching of the Apo&s;tles, Saint <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aid;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ephe&s;. 5.</NOTE> <HI>Yee were &s;ometimes darkene&s;se, but now yee are light in the Lord, who commanded light to &s;hine out of darkene&s;&s;e.</HI> To the Gentiles the light of Nature, and to the Iewes the Law did point at what ought to be done; but neither the one, nor the other gaue grace, and &s;trength to worke well,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.</NOTE> as Saint <HI>Paul</HI> proo|ueth:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Hebr. 10.</NOTE> For that Nature beeing corrupted was ouer nimble to runne headlong into &s;inne. But the grace of Chri&s;t helpeth our naturall weakene&s;&s;e, and helpeth vs to bee &s;et free, and pre&s;erued from &s;inne, and therefore, <HI>Hic dies appropinquauit, The day hath approached.</HI></P>
<PB N="58" REF="31">
<P>The third day is the day of watchful|ne&s;&s;e, diligence, and care. The wild, and &s;auage bea&s;ts watch mo&s;t of all in the night time, forraging then for their prey. On the contrarie, man r<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="2 letters">o&s;eth him&s;elfe in the night, and goeth about his bu&s;ine&s;&s;e in the day time.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 104.20.</NOTE> <HI>Po&s;ui&s;ti tenebras, &amp; facta e&s;t nox, in ip&s;a pertran&s;ibunt omnes be&s;tiae Syluae, &amp;c. Thou made&s;t darkene&s;&s;e, and it is night, where|in all the bea&s;ts of the Fore&s;t creepe forth. The young Lions roare after their prey, and &s;eek their meat of God. When the Sunne ri&s;eth, they retire, and couch in their dennes.</HI> It is not &s;o with man: For when the Sunne is vp, then <HI>Exi|bit homo ad opus &s;uum, &amp;c. Man goeth forth to his worke, and to his labour till the Euening.</HI> It is the propertie of bea&s;ts, and tho&s;e the mo&s;t harmefull, to make the day their time of &s;leepe, and the night their time of labour: &s;o of men, tho&s;e that employ them&s;elues a|bout euill,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iohn 3.19.</NOTE> &s;hun the light. <HI>Men loued darke|ne&s;&s;e more then the light: For their workes were euill. Euerie man that doeth euill, hateth the light, and commeth not to the light, lea&s;t his deeds &s;hould be reproued.</HI> But tho&s;e men, that take not
<PB N="59" REF="31">after &s;uch wild bea&s;ts, employ them&s;elues in good works, as much as they can, while&s;t they haue the oportunitie of the light, and &s;pend not the day in &s;leepe, but make their aduantage of the time.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iohn 3.21.</NOTE> <HI>He, that doeth the trueth, commeth to the light, that his deeds might be made manife&s;t; that they are wrought in God.</HI> Chri&s;t our in&s;tructor, and en&s;ample, &s;aid of him&s;elfe, <HI>I mu&s;t worke the workes of him, that &s;ent mee, while&s;t it is day. The night commeth, when no man can worke.</HI> How much more ought wee euerie of vs to &s;ay the &s;ame of our &s;elues, to whom S. <HI>Paule</HI> &s;ayeth, <HI>Hora e&s;t iam nos de &s;omno &s;urgere.</HI> Now it is time for vs to ari&s;e from &s;leepe. While&s;t the day of this life la&s;teth we are to bu&s;ie our &s;elues in good workes, and to &s;hew that we haue a liuely faith. <HI>Venit nox; The night commeth, wherein no man can worke.</HI> It is a meere folly to expect (as the Romani&s;ts doe) that others &s;hould worke for vs, and apply their works to vs when wee are dead and gone; that o|thers &s;hould fa&s;t for vs, purcha&s;e S. <HI>Gregories</HI> Ma&s;&s;es, and &s;eeke out priuiledged altars, and procure Indulgences for vs, <HI>Per mo|dum
<PB N="60" REF="32">interce&s;&s;ion,</HI> they &s;eeke out priuiledged al|tars: But the night ouertakes them, where|in no man can worke; &s;urely neyther him|&s;elfe in per&s;on, nor others to his v&s;e. Our journey is ended: we by death arriue at our long home, either of eternall Saluation, or of endle&s;&s;e damnation; there is no meane e&s;tate betweene the&s;e two.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eccle&s;. 11.3.</NOTE> <HI>If the tree fall toward the South or toward the North, in the place where the treefalleth, there it &s;hall be.</HI> Therefore while&s;t the day holdes, doe that, which thou ha&s;t to doe.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 115.17, 18.</NOTE> <HI>The dead pray&s;e not the Lord, neither any that goe downe into the place of &s;ilence;</HI> that is, into the graue. <HI>But we</HI> (that liue) <HI>let vs pray&s;e the Lord.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 38.18, 19.</NOTE> <HI>The graue cannot prai&s;e thee, death can|not celebrate thee, they that goe downe into the pit cannot hope for thy trueth. The liuing, the liuing, he &s;hall prai&s;e thee.</HI> The fourth kind of day, is the day of pure &amp; meere trueth. <HI>The night is pa&s;sed</HI> of &s;o many errors, which with the Papacy haue crept into the Papall Churches: and to vs, by the grace of the Almighty, the day is arriued. He that liued vnder the Pa|pacy might, and ought then to &s;ay in his prayers to God, <HI>Emitte lucem tuam, &amp; verita|tem
<PB N="61" REF="32">tuam. Send foorth thy light, and thy trueth.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 43.3.</NOTE> But he, that is freed thence, mu&s;t in&s;i&s;t vpon that, which followeth, <HI>Ip&s;a me deduxerunt, &amp; adduxerunt in montem &s;anctu~ tuum, &amp; in taber|naculatua. They haue led me, and brought me vnto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles.</HI> Here (belo|ued brethren) heere in this Kingdome wee haue the hill of God, which is ray&s;ed vp to|wards heauen, and &s;tandeth di&s;coa&s;ted farre enough from the &s;inke, and myre of the Pa|pall corruptions. Here are the tabernacles, and tents of the armies of the Lord of ho&s;ts pitcht in goodly aray, and furni&s;hed for the confronting all oppo&s;ite forces. Heere the light of the trueth is freely, and openly let in. Heere the holy Scriptures are mo&s;t exactly &s;tudied. Here are great multitudes of lear|ned men, and aboue all, the mo&s;t learned the Anoynted of the Lord, a King, who is the wonder of the Kings of the earth, a match|le&s;&s;e paterne to all the Kings and Princes of Chri&s;tendome, of great zeale in purging, ad|uancing, and mainteining Chri&s;ts holy Re|ligion. Heere the &s;incere word of God is taught plentifully. Here the Bi&s;hops are ve|ry
<PB N="62" REF="33">learned, religious, and vigilant ouer their flocks. Here the Prie&s;ts are euery way &s;uffi|cient, and very skilfull in the cure of &s;oules. Heere the people are very zealous, and fer|uently addicted to holy and &s;pirituall due|ties. Thanks therefore be to God, who after the night of &s;o many errors, hath &s;ent foorth his light and trueth, which haue led me, and brought me into his holy hill, and to his ta|bernacles. And &s;o reioycing in the Lord, I &s;ay againe to my &s;elfe, and to you, my brethren, <HI>The night is pa&s;&s;ed, and the day is at hand.</HI></P>
<P>Heere perhaps &s;ome man may demaund of mee, why S. <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aith, that the <HI>day is at hand,</HI> and not rather that it is already come: which doubt &s;eemeth the greater vpon the words, which goe before, <HI>Nunc propior e&s;t no|&s;tra&s;alus, qu&agrave;m cum credidimus; Now is our &s;al|uation neerer, then when wee beleeued.</HI> Heere therefore the approach of the day is the ap|proach of &s;aluation; and the day, and &s;aluati|on are to bee taken to &s;ignifie one, and the &s;ame, and by con&s;equence be&s;ides that day, and &s;aluation, which is Chri&s;t, and his Go&s;|pel, &amp; be&s;ides that day and &s;aluation, which
<PB N="63" REF="33">&s;ignifieth grace, and the remi&s;&s;ion of &s;innes, S. <HI>Paul</HI> vnder&s;tandeth yet another day, and another &s;aluation, which he declareth to bee come neerer at the time of his writing this Epi&s;tle to them, then it was when they fir&s;t receiued the Faith, and holy Bapti&s;me, with remi&s;&s;ion of &s;innes. By this &s;aluation, which is &s;aid to haue come neerer, <HI>Lyra</HI> vnder&s;tan|deth the Saluation brought in by the com|ming of Chri&s;t, as being neerer, then it was before his comming. But neither S. <HI>Paul,</HI> nor the&s;e Chri&s;tians, to whom hee wrote it, were beleeuers before the comming of Chri&s;t. And yet S. <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aith plainely, <HI>qu&agrave;m cum credidimus,</HI> that is, then when we began to beleeue in Chri&s;t. Saint <HI>Chy&s;o&s;tome</HI> by this Saluation vnder&s;tandeth the generall re&s;ur|rection, which &s;hall be at the &s;econd com|ming of Chri&s;t, at Doome&s;day: where|with S. <HI>Paul</HI> awaketh the faithfull, to make them watchfull, and ready for that generall Iudgement, which in the very Apo&s;tles times was by many deemed to be very nigh at hand. But it is better for vs to interprete this admonition of the Apo&s;tle concerning
<PB N="64" REF="34">Death, and the particular iudgement of eue|ry man; and euery of vs to &s;ay to our &s;elues, and to one another, <HI>No&s;ter dies appropinqua|uit, &amp; propior e&s;t Salus no&s;tra; Our day is at hand, and our Saluation is neerer,</HI> becau&s;e the day of our death comes on euery moment neerer, &amp; neerer. Let vs therfore, my brethren, pro|uide that at the comming of that la&s;t day, Chri&s;t may finde vs prepared:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 24.</NOTE> <HI>For yee know not at what houre your Ma&s;ter will come.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 25.</NOTE> Be rea|die, as the fiue wi&s;e Virgins were ready, and entred in with the Spou&s;e to the wedding. And let vs take heede, that befalles vs not, which the fiue fooli&s;h virgins found, who were for euer &s;hut out of doores from the wedding, with that terrible an&s;were, <HI>Ne&s;cio vos, I know you not.</HI> And therefore <HI>horaest nos de &s;omno &s;urgere.</HI> It is high time for vs to awake from &s;leepe, fora&s;much as <HI>Dies appro|pinquauit; The day is nigh at hand.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Abijciamus ergo operatenebrarum;</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gene. 1.</NOTE> Let vs put off this blacke &s;uite. The fir&s;t worke of dark|ne&s;&s;e, or rather that darkne&s;&s;e, which God in the fir&s;t Creation of the world did diuide from the light,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">De ciuitat. Dei. lib. 11. cap. 19.</NOTE> is by S. <HI>Augu&s;tine</HI> expounded
<PB N="65" REF="34">to be the euill Angels; who are al&s;o &s;tiled by S. <HI>Paul, The Princes of the darkne&s;&s;e of this world.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ephe&s;. 6.12.</NOTE> The&s;e wee haue openly renounced in our Bapti&s;me; and yet they cea&s;e not to &s;et vpon vs. <HI>Re&s;i&s;t the Diuell and hee will flie from you.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iames. 4.</NOTE> He that trauaileth in the night ea&s;ily falleth into the hands of theeues, and cut-throats, and is mo&s;t commonly robbed of that hee hath, and &s;ometime of his life al&s;o.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iohn 11.9.</NOTE> <HI>If a man walke in the day, he &s;tumbleth not, becau&s;e he &s;eeth the light of this world. But if a man walke in the night he &s;tumbleth, becau&s;e there is no light in him.</HI> The Diuels are the&s;e night-theeues, and &s;omtime al&s;o day-roauers, <HI>Meridiani,</HI> euen in the noone day. Their &s;nares are temptations, and &s;inne their pri&s;on. If therfore we would not fall into their hands, and become &s;laues to the kingdome of darkne&s;&s;e, let vs ca&s;t a|way the workes of darkne&s;&s;e, let vs walke in the day in our Sauiour Chri&s;ts companie, and wee &s;hall not need to &s;tand in feare of them. <HI>Scuto circundabit te veritas eius,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 91.4.</NOTE> <HI>non ti|mebis &agrave; timore nocturno. A &s;agitta volante in die, &agrave; negotio perambulante in tenebris, ab incur&s;u &amp; daemonio meridiano. Cadent &agrave; latere tuo mille,
<PB N="66" REF="35">&amp; decem milliad dextris tuis, ad te autem non ap|propinquabit. His truth &s;hall &s;hield thee as a buck|ler. Thou &s;halt not bee afraid of the feare of the night, nor of the arrow that flieth by day, of the worke that walketh in the darke, of inua&s;ion, nor of the diuell of the midday. A thou&s;and &s;hall fall at thy &s;ide, and ten thou&s;and at thy right hand: but it &s;hall not come nigh thee.</HI> The workes of dark|ne&s;&s;e are &s;leepe, dreames, and idlene&s;&s;e. Let vs &s;hake off the&s;e al&s;o.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 13.25.</NOTE> For <HI>while&s;t men are a&s;leepe the enemie &s;oweth the Tares.</HI> And the vaine dreames of worldly proiects doe &s;o intoxi|cate the braine, that wee forget our owne &s;oules, and things eternall. That mi&s;erable worldling was in a dreame, when he &s;ayd, <HI>I will pull downe my barnes,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luke 12.19.</NOTE> <HI>and build vp greater. I will &s;ay vnto my &s;oule, Soule thou ha&s;t much goods layed vp for many yeeres. Liue at ea&s;e, eat, drinke, and take thy pa&s;time.</HI> But this dreame was very &s;hort; for pre&s;ently hee heard that voice from God, <HI>O foole, this night will they fetch away thy &s;oule from thee.</HI> Let vs therfore &s;hake off &s;uch dreames as the&s;e, together with all idlene&s;&s;e, and &s;luggi&s;hne&s;&s;e in things con|cerning God, and his heauenly trueth. It
<PB N="67" REF="35">mu&s;t bee accounted among the workes of darkne&s;&s;e, if we be po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed with a nightly, drow&s;ie &s;ilence in Gods bu&s;ine&s;&s;e, during this cleare day of trueth. Let vs therfore ca&s;t away this &s;tupidity, let vs breake this &s;ilence.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;ai 58.</NOTE> <HI>Clama, nece&s;&s;es.</HI> Crie out aloud, and &s;pare not, &s;ayth the Prophet. So did S. <HI>Paul</HI> as he te&s;ti|fieth of him&s;elfe, <HI>Mundus &s;um &agrave; &s;anguine &amp;c. I am pure from the blood of all men.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 20.26.</NOTE> <HI>For I haue not &s;hunned to declare vnto you, all the coun|&s;ell of GOD.</HI> Therefore if we al&s;o doe not thus, we &s;hall not be guiltle&s;&s;e of the blood of tho&s;e &s;oules, which peri&s;h through our &s;ilence. Let vs prai&s;e God with our voice, let vs publi&s;h abroad his truth.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Colo&s;. 3.16.</NOTE> <HI>Teaching and admoni&s;hing our &s;elues in P&s;almes, and Hymmes, and &s;pirituall &s;ongs &s;inging with grace in our hearts to the Lord.</HI> Let vs therefore ca&s;t away the&s;e, and all other workes of darkene&s;&s;e.</P>
<P><HI>Et induamur arma lucis.</HI> As &s;oone as wee haue quitte our &s;elues of our blacke, and dolefull apparell, it remaines, that wee doe not any while remaine naked, but foorth|with put on our cleare and light&s;ome ar|ray.
<PB N="68" REF="36"><HI>Let vs put on the armour of light.</HI> It is not hard to finde what this armour of light is. Our Sauiour Chri&s;t, &s;peaking of him&s;elfe, &s;aide,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iohn. 8.12. and 8.46. and 9 5.</NOTE> <HI>I am the light of the world. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. I am come a light into the world.</HI> And our Apo|&s;tle here declareth expre&s;&s;elie, that he meant Chri&s;t to bee this our light&s;ome cloathing, when hee addeth afterward <HI>Put on the Lord Ie&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI> Before that Chri&s;t came, God, as I told you, held the light hidden in his hand. But, after his comming, his beloued di&s;ciple de&s;cribeth the holy Church in the&s;e words; <HI>A Woman clad with the Sunne, and the Moone vnder her feete.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Reuel. 12.1.</NOTE> And the &s;ame accor|deth with St. <HI>Pauls</HI> exhorting euery Chri&s;ti|an to <HI>Put on Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, and take no thought for the fle&s;h, to fulfill the lu&s;ts of it.</HI> The trea|ding of the Moone vnder ourfeete, is the contemning of the fle&s;hly vanity of things temporall and tran&s;itory, which is the pro|per duty of a Chri&s;tian. And euen this, which Saint <HI>Paul</HI> here &s;aith to the Romanes <HI>The night is pa&s;t, let vs put on the armour of light;</HI> hee &s;aith in other words to the Ephe&s;i|ans,
<PB N="69" REF="36"><HI>Awake thou that &s;leepest,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ephe&s;. 5.14.</NOTE> <HI>and Chri&s;t &s;hall giue thee light.</HI></P>
<P>Some curious braines haue coniectured, that <HI>Noah,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 7.</NOTE> when hee was &s;hutte vppe in the Arke, and could not haue light by the little window thereof, (which al&s;o was continu|ally kept &s;hut) v&s;ed a Carbuncle, or &s;ome o|ther more radiant precious Stone, to giue light in the Arke. And what &s;tone can be &s;o bright to enlighten our darkenes, while&s;t we float to &s;aue vs from the deluge of &s;inne, as Chri&s;t? <HI>Petra autem erat Chri&s;t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">s.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 10.4. Ioh. 1.9.</NOTE> And that &s;tone is Chri&s;t, who al&s;o is <HI>the true light, that enlighteneth euery man that commeth into the world.</HI> Hee is the mo&s;t re&s;plendent, and pre|cious Gemme: Let vs fell all to purcha&s;e it. He that hath not Chri&s;t before him, let him not looke for the light.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;alm. 127.3.</NOTE> <HI>Vanum est vob&iacute;s ante lucem &s;urgere. It is but lo&s;t labour for you to ri&s;e before the daylight.</HI> He that thinketh him&s;elfe able to ri&s;e out of darkene&s;&s;e, and ob&s;cure night of &s;inne and infidelity, before that Chri&s;t &s; end forth the day-&s;pring of grace in|to his heart, &s;urely hee is in an idle conceit,
<PB N="70" REF="37">and dreameth in the night of a great errour. If thou of thy &s;elfe wilt needes get vp before the light, thou &s;halt finde thy &s;elfe notwith|&s;tanding to remaine in the darke. Hee that would walke in &s;afety, and in the light, let him ri&s;e indeede, but hee mu&s;t ri&s;e with Chri&s;t, and follow Chri&s;t whither&s;oeuer he leadeth:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 13.14.</NOTE> and this is to <HI>put on the Lord Ie&s;us.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Adam</HI> was &s;ometime cloathed with the goodly white Roabe of innocencie, and ori|ginall iu&s;tice. But (alas) being mi&s;&s;eled by the coun&s;aile giuen him by the Serpent the Prince of darkene&s;&s;e, he fell into the hands of theeues,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luke 10.30.</NOTE> <HI>which &s;tripped him of his rayment, and wounded him, and departed, leauing him halfe dead.</HI> But behold, the good Samaritane doth not only cure his wounds, but al&s;o couereth his nakedne&s;&s;e, vouch&s;afing him&s;elfe to be|come a garment vnto him. <HI>Therefore put yee on the Lord Ie&s;us.</HI> This is that wedding Gar|ment, without which who&s;oeuer pre&s;enteth him&s;elfe to the Table of the Lord, &s;hall bee thru&s;t out of doores <HI>in tenebras exteriores,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 22.13.</NOTE> <HI>in|to vtter darkene&s;&s;e.</HI> The Prophet <HI>I&s;ay</HI> fore|&s;poke
<PB N="71" REF="37">this faire Roabe, this nuptiall Gar|ment, which was then at making for vs.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;ai. 61.10.</NOTE> <HI>I will greatly reioyce in the Lord, my &s;oule &s;hall bee ioyfull in my God. For hee hath cloathed mee with the garments of &s;aluation: hee hath couered mee with the Roabe of righteou&s;ene&s;&s;e, as a bride|groome decketh him&s;elfe with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth her &s;elfe with her iewels.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Induamur arma lucis. Let vs put on the armor of light.</HI> Hee &s;aith not let vs put on the gar|ments of light, but the armour of light. For Chri&s;t arrayeth vs, <HI>non ad pompam, &s;ed ad pugnam,</HI> not to &s;et vs out in an empty and vaine &s;hew, but to furni&s;h, and &s;ecure vs for combat, the whole life of a Chri&s;tian beeing a warfare. Of the mo&s;t accompli&s;hed Ar|my of <HI>Antiochus</HI> it is related in the hi&s;tory of the Machabees, that,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Machab.</NOTE> <HI>when the Sunne &s;hone vpon the &s;hields of gold, and bra&s;&s;e, the moun|taines gli&s;tred therewith, and &s;hined like lampes of fire.</HI> It is another manner of lu&s;tre, and beau|ty, which this armour of light, worne by a Chri&s;tian, doth dart forth on euery &s;ide vp|on the eyes of God him&s;elfe, and of the ho|ly
<PB N="72" REF="38">Angels, and ble&s;&s;ed &s;oules. <HI>For the wea|pons of our warfare are not carnall,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor. 10.4.</NOTE> <HI>but mighty through God, to the pulling downe of &s;trong holds, ca&s;ting downe imaginations, and euery high thing, that exalteth it &s;elfe again&s;t the knowledge of God, and bringing into captiuitie euery thought to the o|bedience of Chri&s;t.</HI> And &s;o Chri&s;t is our Ar|mour, our &s;trength, our defence, our cou|rage, our conquerer, and in the end our both rewarder, and reward. Behold the armour of light.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ephe&s;. 6.12.</NOTE> <HI>Put on the whole armour of God, that yee may bee able to &s;tand again&s;t the wiles of the diuell. For we wre&s;tle not again&s;t fle&s;h and blood, but again&s;t principalities, again&s;t powers, again&s;t the rulers of the darkene&s;se of this world, again&s;t &s;pirituall wickedne&s;&s;es in high places. Put on the bre&s;tplate of righteou&s;ene&s;&s;e, &mdash; take the &s;hield of faith, &mdash; the helmet of &s;aluation, the &s;word of the &s;pirit which is the word of God.</HI> I hope in God, by the helpe al&s;o of your godly prayers, deare brethren, that his heauenly Maie&s;ty will reach foorth to mee, and direct in my hand this &s;word of his word, wherewith, as I haue begun, &s;o I may bee enabled to hold
<PB N="73" REF="38">on the combat again&s;t the Rulers of darke|ne&s;&s;e, for the &s;etting free &s;o many poore de|ceiued &s;oules from a many of errours, and that I may al&s;o put this &s;word into their owne hands, with which they of them|&s;elues may worke their owne freedome from that yoake of Tyranny, which lieth &s;o heauy vpon them.</P>
<P>Let vs all put on the armour of light, and in &s;peciall, you my brethren of Italy. For if we would all with ioynt endeuour furni&s;h our &s;elues with this armour, wee might the better hope for a glorious victory. We &s;hall indeed put on the armour of light, if, vpon the reforming of Religion, and dete&s;tation of errors in doctrine, we &s;hall lead an exem|plary life, full of good edification, keeping our &s;elues a farre off from &s;in, and being de|uout in prayers, frequent in hearing, and rea|ding the word of God, and in performance of other &s;pirituall exerci&s;es, e&s;pecially in re|ceiuing the holy Communion, and al&s;o &s;hall &s;hew our &s;elues fruitfull in good workes. <HI>So let your light &s;hine before men,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 5.</NOTE> <HI>that they may
<PB N="74" REF="39">&s;ee your good works, and glorifie your Father which is in heauen.</HI> What &s;hall it auaile vs to haue re|formed Religion, and not to reforme our liues withall? To beleeue aright, and to doe that which is wrong will &s;tand vs in little &s;teed, nay it will &s;inke vs the deeper, into Hell.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luke 12.</NOTE> He that knoweth the will of God, and doeth it not, <HI>&s;halbe beaten with the more &s;tripes. The Diuels al&s;o beleeue,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iam. 2.19.</NOTE> <HI>and tremble.</HI> It is a cur|rent &s;peech among the Papi&s;ts, that who&s;o|euer leaueth their party, and ioyneth him|&s;elfe to the Reformed Churches, doth it for the loue of carnall libertie, and that he may lead a licentious life. It lieth vpon vs for our part to giue them no occa&s;ion of &s;uch re|proachfull &s;landers; and to array our &s;elues with &s;uch light&s;ome, and glittering armour, as may dazle their eies, and confound them: &s;o that they may be forced to confe&s;&s;e, that in the Reformed Churches, there is an vn|feined and fruitfull profe&s;&s;ion of the refor|mation of life al&s;o; and that there men liue in the true feare of God, in true godline&s;&s;e, and true deuotion, free from &s;candall. <HI>Put
<PB N="75" REF="39">yee on therefore, as the elect of God,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Col. 3.12.</NOTE> <HI>holy and be|loued, the bowels of mercy kindne&s;&s;e, humblene&s;&s;e of minde, meekne&s;&s;e, long &s;uffering, forbearing one another, and forgiuing one another, if any man haue a quarrell again&s;t any. And aboue all the&s;e things put on charity, which is the bond of perfect|ne&s;&s;e.</HI> If we put on the armour of light, wee &s;hall become <HI>the children of light,</HI> and enioy al&s;o the fruit of light.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ephe&s;. 5.9.</NOTE> <HI>For the fruit</HI>
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Alias of the Spirit.</NOTE> <HI>of the light is in all goodne&s;&s;e, and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and trueth.</HI></P>
<P>Which of vs knoweth not that the chil|dren of God are &s;tiled, <HI>The children of the light?</HI> The rea&s;on is, becau&s;e God him&s;elfe is light. Whereupon our Sauiour Chri&s;t v&s;eth this reprehen&s;io~, that the children of this world, that is, the children of darkne&s;&s;e <HI>are wi&s;er then the children of light:</HI> And admoni&s;heth vs in this maner: <HI>While yee haue light,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iohn. 12.36. Ephe&s;. 5.</NOTE> <HI>beleeue in the light, that ye may be the children of light.</HI> In like maner S. <HI>Paul: Walke as the children of light.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. The&s;&s;. 5.</NOTE> Becau&s;e yee are <HI>the children of light, and the &s;onnes of God.</HI> And therfore here he exhorteth vs: <HI>Let vs put on the armour of light.</HI> A Chri|&s;tian &s;heweth quickly by his life, whether he
<PB N="76" REF="40">be the &s;onne of God, or no. The Eagle with his &s;trong and cleare eyes is able, and accu|&s;tomed to looke directly vpon the Sunne, and by this e&s;&s;ay &s;hee is wont to prooue her yong ones: namely if they be both able, and willing to fixe their &s;ight vpon the flaming circle of the Sunne, then &s;he takes them for her owne: but if they will nor gaze vpon the Sunne, but turne their eyes away from the beames thereof, then &s;hee ca&s;teth them out of her ne&s;t, as a ba&s;tard degenerating, and changeling brood. So our heauenly Father, who <HI>as an Eagle &s;tirreth vp her ne&s;t, fluttereth oner her yong,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 32.11.</NOTE> <HI>&s;preadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings,</HI> doth prooue vs, whether we delight to looke vp on him being our light, and, if he finde, that we <HI>&s;eeke tho&s;e things which are about,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Colo&s;&s;. 3.2.</NOTE> and make our con|uer&s;atio~ to &s;hine with the cleare white of in|nocency, of due obedience to him, and of ho|ly imiration of him, then hee holdeth vs for his owne vndoubted offpring, and for true children of the light. But if he finde vs <HI>Luci|fugas</HI> to &s;hrinke backe from the light, and to
<PB N="77" REF="40">turne away from beholding our Sunne of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, compo&s;ing our &s;elues to be|hold only <HI>tho&s;e things that are vpon the earth,</HI> then hee ca&s;teth vs off, for &s;o many Owles and Battes, that loue the darke, and cannot abide the light.</P>
<P>That light, from whence wee are to ex|pect the&s;e good effects mu&s;t be Chri&s;t only. By no Planet, or Starre, other then the Sun, can true and pure gold bee begotten in the bowels of the earth; or fine Orient Pearle in the &s;hels of fi&s;hes. Let the Alchymi&s;ts &s;weat, and &s;pend them&s;elues in labouring to make gold by artificiall meanes, and heat, diuers from the heat of the Sunne: They &s;hall bring foorth nothing, but fal&s;e Alchymicall gold, of no worth. Who&s;oeuer &s;eeketh for &s;ancti|ty, and grace (which is the true and precious gold, and the riches of all our &s;pirituall good) from any other Planet, then from the true Sunne Chri&s;t, he troubleth him&s;elfe in vaine. When we are clad with this light, e|uen with Chri&s;t, we &s;hall be a mo&s;t accepta|ble &s;ight to the eyes of our heauenly King,
<PB N="78" REF="41">and haue cau&s;e to pre&s;ume of victory ouer the Prince of darkne&s;&s;e.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;ther. 5.</NOTE> So <HI>He&s;ter</HI> being ar|rayed in royall robes did winne the heart of <HI>A&s;&s;uerus.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iudith 10.3.</NOTE> So <HI>Iudith,</HI> being clad <HI>with garments of gladne&s;&s;e,</HI> obtained that notable victory vpon <HI>Holophernes.</HI></P>
<P>If S. <HI>Paul</HI> heere biddeth all the faithfull, <HI>Put on the armour of light;</HI> &s;urely (that which much affecteth me) he &s;peaketh the &s;ame in more &s;pecial &amp; effectuall maner to vs Prie&s;ts and Mini&s;ters of Chri&s;t. For euen long be|fore this, God did &s;ufficiently declare, that his Mini&s;ters were to be clothed with light and whitene&s;&s;e.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ezech. 44.17.</NOTE> <HI>When they enter in at the gates of the inner Court, they &s;halbe cloathed with linnen garments, and no wollen &s;hall come vpon them.</HI> He that is to mini&s;ter in the Sanctuary, mu&s;t not haue wooll about him, being a &s;uper|fluity pertayning to a bea&s;t (that is, hee mu&s;t not carry <HI>affectus animales,</HI> carnall, and bea&s;t|ly affections) but white, and pure linnen, which is the &s;ymbole of the brightne&s;&s;e of all vertues, good example, and perfect righte|ou&s;ne&s;&s;e.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 132.16.</NOTE> <HI>Sacerdotes tui induantur iu&s;titiam. Let
<PB N="79" REF="41">thy Prie&s;ts be clothed with righteou&s;nes. Et num|damini, qui fertis va&s;a Domini:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;ai. 52.</NOTE> <HI>Be yee cleane that cary the ve&s;&s;els of the Lord.</HI> And what el&s;e is &s;ignified to vs by the white linnen gar|ment, wherewith (according to the mo&s;t ancient rites, &amp; laudable cu&s;tome of the pure and yet, yet-uncorrupted Church) we are cloathed, while&s;t we exerci&s;e our &s;acred fun|ction, but that it is our duety to put on the light, and to &s;hine in all purity of life? This white habite putteth vs in mind, that chiefly of vs that is &s;poken by our Sauiour;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 5.15.</NOTE> <HI>No man lighteth a candle, &amp; puttteh it vnder a bu&s;hell, but &s;etteth it vp in a candle&s;tick, &amp; it giueth light to all that are in the hou&s;e.</HI> They that are in the holy Mini&s;tery, ought now to &s;erue for a Pillar of a cloud by day, and a Pillar of fire by night, to guide the Army of the Lord into the land of promi&s;e: They are the eyes of the Church. I may therefore apply to the Church that &s;peach vttered by our Sauiour;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mar. 6.2.</NOTE> <HI>Lucerna cor|poris e&s;toculus. The eye is the light of the body.</HI> And (as <HI>Gregory Nazianzen</HI> a mo&s;t worthy Bi&s;hop hereupon inferreth,)
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Epi&s;t. 30. apud Ba&s;ilium.</NOTE> <HI>Lucerna autem Eccle&s;iae
<PB N="80" REF="42">est Epi&s;copus. A Bi&s;hop is the Light or lampe, of his Church.</HI> Therefore O Church, <HI>If thine eye be &s;ingle, thy whole body &s;halbe full of light: But if thine eye be euill, thy whole body &s;halbe full of dark|nes. If therefore the light, that is in thee, be dark|nes, how great is that darkenes?</HI> The Papall Churches (alas) know too wel by wofull ex|perience, that from darke and euil eyes com|meth that palpable darknes, wherin they are held. Their Prelates, e&s;pecially he that ma|keth him&s;elfe Prelate of Prelats, are naughty pour-blind eyes, (nor do I except my &s;elfe, as I was heretofore, being blind with them for company) eyes full of earthly du&s;t, which are bent onely to poare downeward vpon the earth. And &s;o the di&s;tre&s;&s;ed Churches vnder them remaine clouded vp in darkne&s;&s;e. But let vs thanke GOD, that here the eyes are all pure, and &s;imple: and thereupon <HI>Totum cor|pus,</HI> the whole body of this happy Church <HI>lucidum e&s;t,</HI> is cleare, and bright.</P>
<P>Thus haue I &s;poken of light, and of dark|ne&s;&s;e, of day, and of night. In this life, in this valley of teares we are much &s;ubiect to
<PB N="81" REF="42">darkne&s;&s;e. Let vs therefore pray the Author and Fountaine of all light, that after this darke&s;ome life, he would conduct vs vp to that holy, and heauenly Hieru&s;alem,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Reuel. 21.23.</NOTE> which <HI>hath no neede of the Sunne, neither of the Moone to &s;hine in it: For the glory of God doeth lighten it, and the Lambe is the light thereof.</HI> To whom be prai&s;e, and glory for euermore.</P>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q>The grace of our Lord Ie&s;us Chri&s;t,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor. 13.14.</NOTE> and the loue of God, and the fellow&s;hip of the holy Gho&s;t be with vs all. <HI>Amen.</HI></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
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</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
