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<DATE>2009-08-13</DATE>
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<NAME>Judith Siefring</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>TWO TREATISES, One of the Latter day of <HI>Iudgement:</HI> The other of the Ioyes of <HI>Heauen.</HI></P>
<Q><BIBL><HI>1. Cor. 15.52.</HI></BIBL>
<P>In a moment, in the twinckling of an eye, &s;hall the Trumpet blow, and the dead &s;halbe rai&s;ed, and we &s;halbe chaunged that are found aliue.</P></Q>
<Q><BIBL><HI>Mat. 24.22.</HI></BIBL>
<P>Except tho&s;e dayes &s;hould bee &s;hortened, no fle&s;h &s;hould be &s;aued: but for the elects &s;ake, tho&s;e dayes &s;halbe &s;hortned.</P></Q>
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</FIGURE></P>
<P>Imprinted at London by Thomas Creed, and are to be &s;olde at his hou&s;e in the Olde Change, at the &s;igne of the Eagle and Childe. 1600.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="to the reader">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD>The Epi&s;tle to the Reader.</HEAD>
<P>_GEntle Reader, my de|&s;ire hath bene of a long time, to &s;et downe vn|to thee, the <HI>Excellent,</HI> the <HI>Decaied,</HI> and the <HI>Re|&s;tored E&s;tate of man;</HI> if by Gods grace, I might, or may as yet in good time performe it. Wherof I haue fini&s;hed a great part, the which if God giue good &s;ucce&s;&s;e, in due time, &s;hall be added to that which is al|readie publi&s;hed: wherein I haue &s;et downe the <HI>Excellent E&s;tate of man:</HI> by de|claring how God created him after his Image.</P>
<P>The thing that I haue aimed at, both in that, and this, or any thing el&s;e, that hereafter I &s;hall do, is only to profit and to do good. And therefore at this time, and according to this time, and trouble|&s;ome &amp; dangerous dayes of this world; progno&s;ticating the vtter ruine and de|cay
<PB REF="3">thereof, I haue thought good by this Treati&s;e of the Latter Iudgement, to put you in remembrance, that you may be ready and prepared, when the Trumpet &s;hall blowe, and when we &s;hall be called to our account. That euery one of vs in the meane time, may haue this in our minde, and in our mouth; <HI>Good Lord pre|pare vs to thy kingdom, and &s;horten the daies of &s;inne. Ezekias</HI> de&s;ired to haue his dayes prolonged. And vnto <HI>Io&s;ias,</HI> it was pro|nounced for a ble&s;&s;ing, that his time &s;hould be &s;hortned. Which of the&s;e two was the better choyce, that I leaue to thy re&s;olutio~: per&s;wading thee to that, which I take to be be&s;t.</P>
<Q><L>Suprema cogita; Cor &s;it in aethere:</L>
<L>Foelix qui potuit mundum contemnere.</L></Q>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Thine to his power, <HI>S. I.</HI></SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="treatise">
<PB REF="3">
<HEAD><HI>A TREATISE OF</HI> the latter day of iudge|ment.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<BIBL><HI>Act. 10.36. to 43.</HI></BIBL>
<Q><P>Ye know the word which God hath &s;ent to the children of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> preaching peace by Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, which is Lord of all. E|uen the word which came through all <HI>Iudea,</HI> beginning in <HI>Galile,</HI> after the Bapti&s;me which <HI>Iohn</HI> preached. To wit, how God annointed Ie&s;us of <HI>Naza|reth,</HI> with the holy Ghost, and with po|wer: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppre&s;&s;ed of the di|uell: for God was with him. And wee are witne&s;&s;es of all things which hee did, both in the land of the Iewes, and in <HI>Ie|ru&s;alem:</HI> whom they &s;lew, hanging him on a tree. Him God rai&s;ed vp the third day, and cau&s;ed that he was &s;hewed open|ly; not to all the people, but vnto the wit|ne&s;&s;es, cho&s;en before of God, euen to vs,
<PB N="2" REF="4">which did eate and drinke with him, af|ter he aro&s;e from the dead.</P>
<P>And he commaunded vs to preach vnto the people, &amp; to te&s;tifie, that it is hee, that is ordained of God, a Iudge of quicke and dead.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_EVery one no doubt is de&s;irous to know, what &s;hall bee done at the latter day, at the day of doome and iudgement. A doctrine very ne|ce&s;&s;ary to them that haue any care of them&s;elues, and of their owne &s;aluation; and very profita|ble al&s;o to prouoke vs to the loue, knowledge, and feare of God. And &s;o much the more profitable and nece&s;&s;a|ry it is, by how much the nearer that day is at hand, and approacheth, beeing as our Sauiour Chri&s;t &s;aith, hard at the doores.</P>
<P>Concerning the&s;e words which I haue read vnto you, I &s;hall require you to haue regard vnto the&s;e principall mat|ters.
<PB N="3" REF="4">Fir&s;t what is the cau&s;e why this ge|nerall iudgement &s;halbe.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Diui&s;ion.</NOTE> Secondly, the declaration of this iudgement. Thirdly, who &s;hall be the iudge. La&s;tly, how it pertaineth to the wicked &amp; to the god|ly; wherunto I haue thought good to ad an exhortatio~, the better to be prepared.</P>
<P>The cau&s;e wherfore Chri&s;t &s;hal come to iudgement, principally is no other, but that which procured death vnto vs, and the la&s;t &amp; generall iudgement, &s;hall make that matter more certain; not only that this bodily death, which is a &s;epera|tion of our &s;oule &amp; body for a time, &s;hal not &s;erue the turne, &amp; be inough to &s;ati&s;|fie that puni&s;hment which we haue de|&s;erued: but al&s;o that &s;ome &s;hall be deli|uered to eternal death, both of body and &s;oule, as indeed we &s;hould be all in that e&s;tate, were it not for the benefite of Chri&s;t his death. The &s;inne &amp; tran&s;gre&s;|&s;ion of <HI>Adam,</HI> as al&s;o the &s;ins and tran&s;|gre&s;&s;ions of vs al, was &amp; is the cau&s;e, why God is di&s;plea&s;ed with vs, and why his wrath is vpon vs, and why we are &s;ubiect vnto death, and why wee &s;hall appeare before the iudgement &s;eate of God. <HI>P&s;al: 90.9. For when thou art angry,</HI>
<PB N="4" REF="5">&s;aith the Prophet, <HI>All our dayes are gone&punc; we bring our yeares to an end, as it were a tale that is told; wee con&s;ume away in thy di&s;plea&s;ure. Thou wilt &s;et our mi&s;deeds be|fore thee, and our &s;ecret &s;innes in the &s;ight of thy countenance.</HI> Our mi&s;deeds haue procured death, had not Chri&s;t died for vs, and ro&s;e againe from death, to deliuer vs from feare. They were the cau&s;e, why we were &s;hut out from heauen; had not Chri&s;t a&s;cended vp into heauen, to pro|cure vs an entrance, they had brought vs to the fearefull iudgement of God, and to the heauy and wofull &s;entence of euerla&s;ting condemnation and endle&s;&s;e de&s;truction, if by the meanes of our Sa|uiour Chri&s;t, we might not be deliuered from it. For when we were at hell gates, and appointed to de&s;truction, he came with this ioyfull me&s;&s;age: <HI>Come againe ye children of men.</HI> As indeed his fir&s;t comming here on earth, was to &s;aue and not to de&s;troy, and to call &s;inners to repentance, that they might bee recei|ued into the fauour of God, and haue their &s;innes forgiuen them; but this his &s;econd comming, at the latter end of the world, &s;hall be to iudge, to tender ven|geance,
<PB N="5" REF="5">and to de&s;troy tho&s;e &s;inners, who in this life were again&s;t his glory, and their owne &s;aluation; to call them now to account, whom when time was he called to repentance, and who now &s;hall be puni&s;hed by the extremitie of the wrath of God. Who if they had well regarded it in their life time, might haue bene receiued into fauour, their &s;innes being forgiuen: &s;o that at the day of iudgement, they &s;hould not haue beene put to any hazard for them, nor ventu|red the daunger of lo&s;&s;e of body and &s;oule for them. Here in this life they might haue e&s;caped that, which in that day they &s;hall not be able to auoyd. We &s;ee in all well ordered Realmes, that if it were not for offences committed, and for the manifold outrages, of robbers, theeues and murderers, the Iudges nee|ded not ride their circuit, neither &s;huld there be any iudgement heard of. But as before that man had di&s;obeied God, this &s;entence was giuen out; <HI>If thou doe&s;t eate, thou &s;halt die the death:</HI> &s;o &s;eeing he hath diuer&s;ly, and mo&s;t notoriou&s;ly of|fended, therefore hath God appointed a day to &s;it in iudgement, to make this
<PB N="6" REF="6">&s;entence more &s;ure and knowne, and to put it in ful execution. We read of <HI>Enoch</HI> that holy man, <HI>Wi&s;d.</HI> 4.10.14. that hee walked with God, that is, that he plea&s;ed him, &amp; was beloued of him: &s;o that wher|as he liued among &s;inners, God tran&s;la|ted him, and tooke him vp into heauen, lea&s;t wickedne&s;&s;e &s;hould alter his vnder|&s;tanding. For his &s;oule plea&s;ed God, and therefore God ha&s;ted to take him away from wickedne&s;&s;e, lea&s;t he &s;hould giue his con&s;ent vnto &s;inners, and fal into the &s;elf&s;ame condemnation with them. But becau&s;e wee haue grieuou&s;ly offended his maie&s;ty, therfore &s;hal we be brought before his iudgement &s;eat. <HI>For righteou&s;|ne&s;&s;e is immortall, but vnrighteou&s;nes brin|geth death.</HI> Thus then through the bane of &s;in, wee are &s;ubiect vnto Gods wrath and heauy iudgeme~t, which in the end of the world, &amp; at the &s;econd comming of Chri&s;t, &s;hall bee pronounced again&s;t vs. According to that we read, <HI>Eccle.</HI> 11.9. <HI>Reioyce &ocirc; yoong man in thy youth, &amp; let thy heart cheare thee in the dayes of thy youth, and walk in the waies of thy heart, &amp; in the &s;ight of thine eies. But know, that for al the&s;e things, God will bring thee to iudgement.</HI>
<PB N="7" REF="6">But here many of vs follow the cour&s;e of the &s;tream, with all other <HI>Athei&s;ts</HI> &amp; vn|godly per&s;ons, who becau&s;e they &s;ee, that God delayeth the time of his comming to iudgement, therfore they think there &s;halbe no iudgeme~t at all. Of whom the holy Apo&s;tle S. <HI>Peter,</HI> doth thus prophe|cie in his 2. Epi&s;tle, Chap. 3.3.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Some mock at y^e iudge|ment day, as though it &s;hould not be.</NOTE> <HI>This fir&s;t vnder&s;tand</HI> &s;aith he, <HI>that there &s;hal come in the la&s;t dayes mockers, which will walke af|ter their lu&s;ts: And &s;ay, where is the promi&s;e of his comming? For &s;ince the fathers died, all things continue alike from the beginning of the creation.</HI> Seed time &amp; harue&s;t, &s;om|mer and winter, one generation decay|eth, and an other commeth in place thereof. And becau&s;e they &s;ee the &s;ame cour&s;e of the world to continue, that was from the beginning, they are ready to &s;ay as tho&s;e of whom I made mention, when I opened vnto you the doctrine of re&s;urrection; Our life &s;ay they is but a breath, and &s;o forth; and when we are dead, there &s;hall be no more remem|brance of vs: and therefore we will doo thus and thus, euen what we li&s;t. Which is a token of Gods iudgement vpon the~,
<PB N="8" REF="7">who &s;ometime &s;uffereth the ob&s;tinate offender, to do in a maner what hee li&s;t, as we read, <HI>P&s;.</HI> 81. <HI>v.</HI> 11.12. <HI>So I gaue them vp to the hardne&s;&s;e of their heart, and they haue walked in their owne coun&s;els.</HI> Where we mu&s;t not imagine, that they can doo any thing again&s;t Gods will, who doth &s;o bridle and re&s;traine them, that they &s;hall do no more, then that which hee will &s;uffer them. God doth not onely re&s;traine and bridle them, but further|more, &s;ends his fearefull iudgements vp-them oftentimes, to ouertake them, that they may knowe there is a God that iudgeth the earth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gods iudge+ments in this world.</NOTE> and that &s;uch male|factors, are further re&s;erued vnto the day of iudgement. And therefore we &s;ee &s;o many &s;trange and wonderfull exam|ples of Gods wrath daily before our eies. Which &s;trange examples, we cannot &s;ay are wrought by me~ or by cha~ce, becau&s;e they pa&s;&s;e the compa&s;&s;e of mans rea&s;on, how they &s;huld be wrought, &amp; how they &s;huld come to pa&s;&s;e: but that we may &s;ay as <HI>Pharaohs</HI> enchaunters &s;aid, <HI>This is the finger of God:</HI> that is to &s;ay, this is the worke and puni&s;hment of God, when he bringeth vpon men and women, &s;ore
<PB N="9" REF="7">plagues, &s;udden death, and &s;trange ends; &s;o that we cannot otherwi&s;e chu&s;e, but confe&s;&s;e it to be &s;o. The&s;e puni&s;hments God doth &s;end, not onely to feare vs from the like offences that they haue committed, vpon whom God hath ex|erci&s;ed and executed his iu&s;t iudge|ment: but al&s;o that wee may bee put in minde, that there is a iudgeme~t to come, and that hee hath begun the anger and wrath of his fierce iudgement here vp|on earth. Which plagues and puni&s;h|ments, are fore-tokens, and as it were manife&s;t &s;ignes of the iudgement to come.<NOTE PLACE="marg">The feeling of this iudgement, engraffed in vs by nature.</NOTE> Yea there is an inward feeling of this iudgement, engraffed in vs by na|ture. For they that commit any &s;inne, as murder, fornication, adultery, bla&s;phemie, and many other the like; albeit they can &s;o conceale the matter, that none a|liue do know it, or be priuy vnto it, yet oftentimes they haue a griping in their con&s;cience, and they feele as it were the very fla&s;hings of hell fire within them. Which is a &s;trong rea&s;on to &s;hewe that there is a God, before who&s;e iudge|ment &s;eate, they mu&s;t an&s;were for their &s;innes, offences and mi&s;deeds.</P>
<PB N="10" REF="8">
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Some &s;up|pre&s;&s;e the knowledge of the latter iudgement.</NOTE>Yet &s;uch there are, who being po&s;&s;e&s;|&s;ed with an euill humor, and ouercome of their naughtie &amp; wicked de&s;ires, that the co~&s;ideration of Gods heauy iudge|ment to come, cannot preuaile to moue them to rel<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">nt, or to haue any remor&s;e of their euill life, but rather they endeuour to &s;uppre&s;&s;e the feeling of that which by nature, and by the light of rea&s;on is en|graffed within the~, and are de&s;irous wil|lingly to forget it. As S. <HI>Peter</HI> &s;peaketh of them, 2. <HI>Pet.</HI> 3.5. <HI>This</HI> &s;aith he <HI>they wil|lingly know not, that the heauens and earth are re&s;erued vnto fire, again&s;t the day of iudgement, and of the de&s;truction of vngodly men, they willingly know not.</HI> So when it comes into mens con&s;ciences, that there is a iudgement to come, and when they feele an inward feare within them, for their mi&s;deeds, they doo not take profit by this inward feeling of Gods iudge|ment; whereby it plea&s;eth God to call them to the knowledge of them&s;elues, to be humbled in his &s;ight, to call for mercy &amp; forgiuene&s;&s;e of &s;innes, to turne to God in newne&s;&s;e of life, that &s;o they might preue~t Gods iudgement &amp; be &s;a|ued. But they are &s;o mightily ouercome
<PB N="11" REF="8">of &s;inne, and of their euill de&s;ires, which rule and raigne within them, that they turn this inward feeling, and this inward calling of God, to their owne hurt. And as the fa&s;hion of the world is, they de&s;ire to put away &s;uch &s;ad thoughts, &amp; betake them&s;elues to merry co~pany, and plea|&s;ant conceits, or el&s;e to other pa&s;times, of carding, dicing, bowling, &amp; &s;uch like. So that the diuel through their owne co~|&s;ent, holdeth him &s;till in his chaines, whereas they might &s;eeke meanes to be deliuered from the &s;ubiection, whereby the diuell retaineth them in his &s;eruice, and keepeth them within his power, if they them&s;elues were any thing willing to be deliuered and &s;et free. <HI>By a &s;ad looke</HI> &s;aith the wi&s;e man, <HI>Eccle.</HI> 7.4.5. <HI>the heart is made the better. And it is better to be in the hou&s;e of mourning, the~ in the hou&s;e of laugh|ter.</HI> When the holy Apo&s;tle S. <HI>Paul, Act.</HI> 24.26. in the pre&s;ence of <HI>Felix</HI> the go|uernour, <HI>di&s;puted of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, &amp; tem|perance, and of the iudgement to come. Fe|lix trembled;</HI> &amp; therwithall did &s;uppre&s;&s;e this matter, by betaking him&s;elfe to o|ther bu&s;ine&s;&s;e. <HI>Go thy way &s;aith he for this time, and when I haue conuenient time, I
<PB N="12" REF="9">will call for thee.</HI> Hee v&s;ed not this in|ward feeling of the knowledge of Gods iudgement to the be&s;t, that is to repent and to turne to God, but as a worldly minded man, hee would haue no &s;uch dumps to daunt his minde, and to hin|der him from his vain plea&s;ures, althogh then and at that time, he were full deep|ly toucht in con&s;cience.</P>
<P>Well, although &s;ome do mock at the iudgement day, as though it &s;hould not come, or el&s;e &s;uppre&s;&s;e the knowledge thereof within them&s;elues, that they may follow their lu&s;ts, eate, and drinke, and ri&s;e vp to play; that they may enioy the vanities and plea&s;ures of this tran&s;i|tory world, &s;o long as they liue in the world; yet they, and we together with them, may learne two profitable le&s;|&s;ons. Fir&s;t becau&s;e as wee thinke it is long before God doo come to iudge|ment (although oftentimes he begin|neth his iudgement here vpon earth, by &s;trange examples, which as I haue &s;aid, are the forerunners of his la&s;t iudge|ment) we may learne I &s;ay, that with God, a thou&s;and yeares, which we count a whole world, is but as ye&s;terday that is
<PB N="13" REF="9">pa&s;t; and therefore that it is not long, though it &s;eeme &s;o vnto vs. Secondly, that God hereby &s;heweth his patience and long &s;uffering, his great compa&s;&s;ion and mercy, in that hee would not the death of a &s;inner, but waiteth for our re|pentance and amendment; and thinketh that in good time, we will hate and a|uoyde our wicked and &s;hamefull life, and turne to him, that we may be &s;aued; for hee would haue all men to come to repentance. And therefore the holy A|po&s;tle S. <HI>Paul. Ro.</HI> 2.4. doth greatly re|buke and &s;peake again&s;t them, who ey|ther make little account, or de&s;pi&s;e the riches of Gods bountifulne&s;&s;e, and pati|ence, and long &s;uffering, not knowing that the bountifulne&s;&s;e of God, leadeth to repe~tance. But we after our hardnes, and hearts, which either cannot or will not repent, heape vnto our &s;elues wrath again&s;t the day of wrath; and of the de|claration of the iu&s;t iudgement of God. For indeede it is like to be with vs as it was in the dayes of <HI>Noah,</HI> they cared not for <HI>Noahs</HI> warning and preaching vnto them, and rather made a mocke of it, they followed their owne hearts de&s;ire,
<PB N="14" REF="10">and did what&s;oeuer, &s;eemed good in their owne eyes. So &s;hall not we in this la&s;t Iron age of the world, regard any warning, nor re&s;pect the coun&s;ell of the~ that wi&s;h vs good: neither thinke of iudgement, nor what &s;hall befall vs, be|ing greatly doted vpon the plea&s;ure of &s;in, which at the la&s;t &s;hall vani&s;h, and in time to come, &s;hal haue a bitter reward. Wheras if we forethink with our &s;elues, of the&s;e heauy matters, &amp; of the wrath of God, which &s;hall be perceiued by his iudgement, which we mu&s;t of force en|dure, if we repent not; I &s;ay, if we &s;hould forethink the&s;e matters, we &s;hould learn truly to fear God, &amp; to forgo our &s;elues, that is, deny our naughty de&s;ires &amp; &s;ins, and plea&s;ures, that &s;o Gods wrath might be dimini&s;hed toward vs, and that hee might not enter into iudgeme~t with vs. As &s;aith the Prophet, <HI>P&s;.</HI> 90.11. <HI>Who re|gardeth the power of thy wrath? for euen as a man feareth, &s;o is thy di&s;plea&s;ure.</HI></P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">How y^e god|ly ought to be affected, &s;eeing the &s;in, and the flouri&s;hing e&s;tate of the wicked.</NOTE>Here al&s;o the mindes of the faithfull and godly, are to be prepared to patie~ce, that although they &s;ee many vngodly minded men, to make a mocke of the iudgement to come, and &s;o to continue
<PB N="15" REF="10">in their &s;infull liues, and doo what they li&s;t, &amp; that they are not puni&s;hed in this world, by Gods iudgeme~ts, plagues and puni&s;hments; yet let vs per&s;wade our &s;elues, that they &s;hal not e&s;cape, though God &s;uffer long, and though we in our weake mindes think it too long. For al|thogh the wicked may &s;ay within them|&s;elues vauntingly and yet full vainely, as the Prophet <HI>E&s;ay.</HI> Chap. 28.15. reciteth their &s;peeches; <HI>We haue made a couenant</HI> &s;ay they, <HI>with death: and with hell, are we at agreement: though a &s;courge runne ouer and pa&s;&s;e through, it &s;hall not come at vs. Yet their couenant with death &s;halbe di&s;a|nulled: and their agreement with hell, &s;hall not &s;tand.</HI> And when a &s;courge runneth ouer and pa&s;&s;eth through, are they not &s;ometime trode downe by it, and taken away, when they make litle or no reckoning of any &s;uch matter? The holy Apo&s;tle doth giue the rea&s;on, of the certaintie of their puni&s;hment, if not in this world, yet in an other. 2. <HI>Pet.</HI> 2.4. <HI>For if god &s;pared not the Angels that had &s;inned, but ca&s;t them downe into hell: Nay if Gods iudgement begin at his owne hou&s;e, and if God doo puni&s;h his owne people;
<PB N="16" REF="11">And if the righteous &s;carcely bee &s;aued, where &s;hall the vngodly and &s;inner appeare&punc;</HI> 1. <HI>Pet.</HI> 4.17.18. Wherefore let vs not be as they were of whom the Prophet <HI>Malachy</HI> &s;peaketh, Chap. 3.15. <HI>Wee count the proud ble&s;&s;ed; euen they that worke wickedne&s;&s;e are &s;et vp, and they that tempt God, yea they are deliuered from all daungers. So that it is in vaine to &s;erue God, and what profit is it that we haue kept his commandements, and that we walked hum|bly before the Lord of ho&s;ts?</HI> The&s;e are the &s;peeches, of many weake and di&s;conten|ted and decaied mindes, becau&s;e they &s;ee the flouri&s;hing e&s;tate of the wicked. But as it is &s;aid in the <HI>Reue. Chap.</HI> 22.11. <HI>They that be filthy, and will &s;o continue without amendment, let them &s;ee what &s;hall be the end, and let them be filthy &s;till; Hee that is vniust, let him be vniu&s;t &s;till.</HI> So al|&s;o it is &s;aid on the contrary part, <HI>They that are iu&s;t and righteous, let them bee righteous &s;till; and they that are holy, let them be holy &s;till;</HI> let them not faint in the cour&s;e that they haue taken in hand, but remember what is written in the &s;elfe&s;ame Chapter. The comming of the Lord to iudgement is at hand; <HI>Sure|ly</HI>
<PB N="17" REF="11">&s;aith he, <HI>I come quickly,</HI> and let vs wi&s;h, <HI>Euen &s;o come Lord Ie&s;us.</HI> And as for the re&s;t, let vs per&s;wade our &s;elues thus, as we reade, 2. <HI>Pet.</HI> 2.9. <HI>The Lord knoweth how to deliuer the godly out of temptation; and to re&s;erue the vniu&s;t vnto the day of iudgeme~t to be puni&s;hed.</HI> The Lord know|eth his be&s;t time, and when it is mo&s;t expedient that we &s;hould be deliuered: In the meane time, let vs not faint, and vtterly ca&s;t away our hope, if God doo not pre&s;ently puni&s;h the wicked. For God doth &s;o order his puni&s;hments and his iudgements, that although he &s;uffer the wicked for a time (which indeede if we do rightly con&s;ider, is but a moment of time) yet he will not leaue them vn|puni&s;hed at the la&s;t; as we v&s;e to &s;ay, It is neuer too late that comes once. A|gaine, &s;eeing that God hath appointed a day of iudgement, they &s;hall not e&s;cape, though his iudgement doo not pre&s;ently take hold on them. They can|not &s;lip from God, or auoyd him, but are bound as it were with &s;ecret chaines, &s;o that in time to come they &s;hall bee drawne do iudgement; who are kept vn|till that time to be puni&s;hed, euen as the
<PB N="18" REF="12">oxe which is fed &amp; fatted to the &s;laugh|ter. So that, it behoueth vs to wayt vp|on the time of the la&s;t iudgement, which God hath appointed, and &s;o to continue in hope and patience, vnto the ende of our liues: and not to be offended, thogh the wicked be not puni&s;hed. But euery one of vs, ought to haue re&s;pect to our owne wayes, to keepe our &s;elues within the compa&s;&s;e of Gods feare, lea&s;t that fall vpon vs, which we thinke and looke &s;hould fal vpon other, and wonder with our &s;elues why it is not &s;o.</P>
<P>Againe, as the word of God dooth in&s;truct vs, let vs co~&s;ider the&s;e two prin|cipall cau&s;es, why God delayeth this day of iudgement. One is, that the day of iudgement &s;hall not come, vntill the number of the elect be fulfilled: as we may reade, <HI>Reu.</HI> 7.2. <HI>And I &s;aw another Angel come vp from the Ea&s;t, which had the &s;eale of the liuing God, and he cried with a loud voyce, to the foure Angels, to whom power was giuen, to hurt the earth and the &s;ea, &s;aying: Hurt ye not the earth, neither the &s;ea, neither the trees, till we haue &s;ealed the &s;eruants of our God in their foreheade.</HI> And then &s;hall the iudgement be, as we
<PB N="19" REF="12">reade, <HI>Math.</HI> 24.22. <HI>Except tho&s;e daies &s;hould be &s;hortned, there &s;hould no fle&s;h be &s;aued, but for the elects &s;ake tho&s;e dayes &s;halbe &s;hortned.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, this Iudgement is delaied, that the &s;tubborne and vngodly may be thereby without excu&s;e. For they haue warning inough, exhortations &amp; threat|nings at all times, what their &s;innes de|&s;erue, and what they are to looke for, &s;o that they cannot be ignorant of the iudgeme~t day, neither can they &s;ay, that they are oppre&s;&s;ed at vnawares.</P>
<P>And this may &s;uffice to proue, not onely that &s;inne and our offences is and &s;halbe the cau&s;e of iudgement: but al&s;o they that &s;in of &s;et purpo&s;e, &amp; in &s;coffing and mocking &s;ort, think that there &s;hall be no iudgement, or rather do &s;uppre&s;&s;e and bury within the~&s;elues, if it might be, the inward feeling &amp; knowledge of the &s;ame, &amp; that to their great hurt, &s;hal not e&s;cape y^t heauy ve~geance of God, thogh yet they be forborn. Al&s;o that the minds of the godly be not troubled, although they do not pre&s;ently &s;ee that god doth exerci&s;e his iudgments &amp; puni&s;hments vpon them: and that they faint not in
<PB N="20" REF="13">wel doing, but &s;till hold on their cour&s;e, remembring that God hath appointed a day of iudgement, vpon the which they mu&s;t &s;tay and depend, and vnto the which they mu&s;t referre all matters, and then &s;hall all their cau&s;es be heard, and all their griefes ea&s;ed.</P>
<P>Notorious &s;innes, procure notorious puni&s;hments in this world: but e&s;peci|ally at the iudgement day, &s;hall the full mea&s;ure of all plagues and puni&s;hments be fulfilled. And &s;o much the more, be|cau&s;e that in this world, many rule and raigne in their wickedne&s;&s;e, and are as it were &s;cotfree: and as the Prophet &s;aith, <HI>They come in no mi&s;fortune like other men, neither are they plagued according to their de&s;erts.</HI> But the latter day, the day of doome and iudgement, is and &s;hall bee their day of a&s;&s;i&s;es, and of their perpetu|all execution. Wherefore let none of vs all &s;uppre&s;&s;e and bani&s;h the inward fee|ling and knowledge of this iudgement day, &s;eeing that by nature, it is engraffed into our hearts and &s;ecret knowledge: but rather let in haue that effect in vs, that of right it ought to haue. We &s;ee it true in worldly matters, and I would
<PB N="21" REF="13">to God, it were as true in heauenly mat|ters. For que&s;tionle&s;&s;e, the forethought of the a&s;&s;i&s;es, and of the execution, doth feare many from their wicked purpo&s;es, and makes them take an other cour&s;e. And &s;o no doubt, would the remem|brance of the iudgement day preuaile with vs, but that wee are carele&s;ly per|&s;waded, that it is farre hence, and that we &s;hall neuer &s;ee it: nay more then that, many thinke it &s;hall neuer be. Well, how far off the iudgement day is, God knowes, and wee may euery day looke for: but by the way, take this for thy learning, that thy dying day, is and &s;hall be thy iudgement day: and a&s;&s;ure thy &s;elfe, that thou &s;halt &s;o find it. For when thy &s;oule is parted from thy body, then &s;halt thou pre&s;ently appeare before Gods iudgement &s;eate, to giue thy ac|count, and pray that it may be to thy comfort, and not to thy de&s;truction. <HI>Heb.</HI> 9.27.</P>
<P N="2">2 Now for the de&s;cription and declara|tion of this generall iudgement, which is the &s;econd principal matter in this text, that both they which either mocke or doubt of the iudgement to come, and
<PB N="22" REF="14">they al&s;o which are well neare per&s;wa|ded thereof, might be throughly, per|fectly, and certainly enformed: there|fore the order and maner of this iudge|ment is &s;et downe, in the &s;criptures and word of God, principally and e&s;pecial|ly in the 25. Chap. of <HI>Mat. ver&s;.</HI> 31. and &s;o forth, in the&s;e words. <HI>And when the Sonne of man commeth in his glory, and all the holy Angels with him, then &s;hall hee &s;it vpon the throne of his glory. And before him &s;hall be gathered all Nations; and hee &s;hall &s;eparate them one from an other, as a &s;hepheard &s;eparateth the &s;heepe from the goates. And he &s;hall &s;et the &s;heep on his right hand, and the goates on the left. Then &s;hall the King &s;ay to them on his right hand; Come ye ble&s;&s;ed of my father, inherite the kingdome prepared for you, from the foun|dations of the world. Vnto them on the left hand he &s;hall &s;ay: Depart fro me ye cur|&s;ed, into euerla&s;ting fire, which is prepared for the diuel and his Angels. And the&s;e &s;hall go into euerla&s;ting paine, and the righ|teous into life eternall.</HI></P>
<P>Which de&s;cription and declaration, cannot be more plainely, euidently, and briefly &s;et downe, &s;etting forth vnto vs;
<PB N="23" REF="14">Fir&s;t the comming of the Iudge, with his company, that is, al the holy Angels: Secondly, the general appearance of all the people of the world: Thirdly, the of|fice of the Iudge, in &s;eparating the good from the bad. And la&s;tly, the pronoun|cing of iudgeme~t, by definitiue &s;entence without all reuocatio~. Al which matters, God willing &s;hall be handled, when I come to entreate of the Iudge; &s;o that I need not to &s;tand vpon this point, but to referre you thither, where in a more fit place it may be con&s;idered.</P>
<P>And as here the order of the iudge|ment is expre&s;&s;ed, &s;o in other places of &s;cripture, other matters are &s;pecified, which are very nece&s;&s;ary, to giue vs fur|ther vnder&s;tanding herein. As fir&s;t con|cerning the day when this iudgement &s;hall be; the &s;ignes that &s;hall go before this day; as al&s;o how &s;uddenly it &s;hall come vpo~ the world. Co~cerning the day the Prophets do foretell, how terrible it is likely to be.<NOTE PLACE="marg">The day.</NOTE> The day of the Lord &s;ay they, is a day of blacknes &amp; darknes; the earth &s;hal tremble before him; the hea|uens &s;hall &s;hake; the Sun &amp; the Moone &s;halbe dark, and the &s;tars &s;hal withdraw their &s;hining.</P>
<PB N="24" REF="15">
<P>This day is great and very terrible, and who can abide it? it commeth cruelly with wrath as fierce anger, and hee &s;hall de&s;troy the &s;inners out of the earth. And becau&s;e the world &s;hould haue &s;ome time to forethink them&s;elues, our Sauiour Chri&s;t hath giuen &s;ome war|ning, by the &s;ignes that &s;hall come be|fore this iudgement day. As that there &s;hall be fal&s;e reachers abroad in the world, who &s;hal deceiue, if it were po&s;&s;i|ble, the very elect and cho&s;e children of God, <HI>Math.</HI> 24.24. Warres and &s;e|ditions: Nation &s;hall ri&s;e again&s;t Nati|on, and Kingdome again&s;t Kingdome: the father in matters of religion &s;halbe again&s;t the &s;onne, and the &s;onne again&s;t the father: the mother again&s;t the daughter: one friend again&s;t an other: great earthquakes in diuers places: hun|ger, pe&s;tilence: bitter per&s;ecution of them that &s;hall profe&s;&s;e Chri&s;t and his Go&s;pell: Charitie &s;hall waxe cold a|mong men: men &s;hall leade a leaud and &s;infull life, altogether carele&s;&s;e of the Iudgement to come: The Go&s;pell &s;hall be publi&s;hed, and fewe &s;hal regard it: it &s;hall bee preached through the
<PB N="25" REF="15">whole world, for a witne&s;&s;e vnto all Na|tions, to make them without all excu&s;e, and then &s;hall the end come. Feareful things &s;hall be &s;eene: the &s;ea and the waters &s;hall roare, and mens hearts &s;hall faile them for feare, and for looking af|ter tho&s;e things which &s;hal come on the world. The Sunne &s;hall be darkened, and the Moone &s;hall not giue her light: the &s;tarres &s;hal fall from heauen, and the powers of heauen &s;hal be &s;haken, wher|by the horrible trembling of the world is meant, together with the alteration and ouerturning of the whole cour&s;e of nature. And after all the&s;e things, then &s;hall appeare the &s;igne of the Sunne of man in heauen.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">What ef|fects the &s;ignes of the latter day, &s;hal worke in y^e mindes of men.</NOTE> The con&s;ideration of which &s;ignes, &s;hall worke diuer&s;ly both in the godly and in the wicked. For the hearts of the wicked &s;hall be hardned &amp; made wor&s;e by the&s;e &s;ignes, as King Pharaohs hart, by Gods &s;trange puni&s;hme~ts, was more and more hardned, vntill the time of his de&s;tructio~, and that he was vtterly ouer|throwne in the red &s;ea. The&s;e &s;ignes, as they &s;hal moue the godly minded, partly to repentance, in con&s;ideration of theyr
<PB N="26" REF="16">&s;innes, and partly to comfort, in re&s;pect of ioyes to come: &s;o the wicked contra|riwi&s;e, &s;hall be giuen to di&s;paire, and to cur&s;e the houre that euer they were borne. And this is a &s;ecret iudgement vpon them, that they &s;hall be blinded euen vntill the very houre of their de|&s;truction, &s;o that when they would &s;eek for remedy, there &s;halbe none.</P>
<P>The godly they wi&s;h for the com|ming of the Lord: <HI>Come Lord Ie&s;us, come quickly:</HI> for they know that his comming &s;hall end their mi&s;eries, and begin their ioyes, as Chri&s;t him&s;elfe doth comfort them. <HI>Luk.</HI> 21.28. <HI>And when the&s;e things begin to come to pa&s;&s;e, then looke vp, and lift vp your heads: for your redemption</HI> (that is the full accom|pli&s;hment of the &s;ame) <HI>draweth neare.</HI> For then, as &s;aith the Apo&s;tle, 1. <HI>The&s;.</HI> 4.17. <HI>Shall wee bee caught in the cloudes, to meete the Lord in the aire: and &s;o &s;hall we be euer with the Lord.</HI></P>
<P>The la&s;t circum&s;tance of this iudge|ment is,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sudden.</NOTE> that it &s;hall come vpon the &s;ud|den, and that mo&s;t fearefully to the wic|ked. 1. <HI>The&s;.</HI> 5.3. <HI>For when they &s;hall &s;ay peace, peace, and all in &s;afetie, then &s;hal come
<PB N="27" REF="16">vpon them &s;udden de&s;truction, as the trauel vpon a woman with child: and they &s;hall not e&s;cape.</HI> As it fell out to the rich man in the Go&s;pell. <HI>Luk.</HI> 12.20. <HI>Soule</HI> &s;aith he, <HI>take thy ea&s;e, eat and drinke &amp; take thy pa|&s;time, for thou ha&s;t much good laid vp for many yeares.</HI> But he heard doleful words: <HI>O foole this night will they fetch away thy &s;oule from thee.</HI> Or as when <HI>Nabuchad|nezer,</HI> vaunted him&s;elfe of his &s;tately buildings, a fearefull voyce came &s;ud|denly vnto him: <HI>O King Nabuchadne|zer, to thee be it &s;poken, thy kingdome is de|parted from thee:</HI> Or as when his &s;onne King <HI>Bel&s;ha&s;ar, Dan.</HI> 5.6. <HI>fea&s;ting and hanquetting among his Concubines, &s;udden|ly there appeared a hand writing vpon a wall,</HI> declaring the end of his Kingdome and his death. This &s;udden de&s;truction &s;hall worthily fall vpon them, who haue made a mock of this iudgement: who then &s;hall feele the dint of Gods reuen|ging &s;word: and they that imboldned them&s;elues in all wicked waies, and euill naughtie practi&s;es, &s;hall then know how far they went a &s;tray. The wicked whom no lawe could refraine from their licen|tious life, and who haue died to the
<PB N="28" REF="17">&s;ight of men in peace; after they haue long enioyed their lu&s;ts and diuers plea|&s;ures, after much violence and wrong which they haue offered; after many mi&s;deeds which mans lawes &s;hould haue corrected and yet let pa&s;&s;e; although they haue e&s;caped the iudgement of man, yet then &s;hall they receiue accor|ding to their deedes. But to the good and well di&s;po&s;ed, it is a watch-word, when they heare that the Iudgement day &s;hall be vpon a &s;udden. Let vs there|fore with the fiue wi&s;e virgins, haue oyle in our Lampes, remembring Chri&s;t his forewarning, <HI>That which I &s;ay vnto you, I &s;ay vnto all men, watch.</HI> And &s;o much briefly for the &s;econd part of the diui&s;i|on of this Text, namely of the de&s;cripti|on and declaration of the latter Iudge|ment.</P>
<P N="3"><NOTE PLACE="marg">Who &s;hall be y^e Iudge.</NOTE> The third generall matter which I propo&s;ed vnto you, was concerning the Iudge, and who it &s;hould be. And as it was &s;aid of the Iudgement, that it &s;hould be &s;udden; &s;o al&s;o &s;hall the comming of the Iudge be. <HI>Mat.</HI> 24.27. <HI>For as the lightning commeth out of the Ea&s;t, and
<PB N="29" REF="17">&s;hineth into the We&s;t, &s;o &s;hall al&s;o the comming of the &s;onne of man be.</HI> He that was equall with God, and tooke vpon him the &s;hape of a &s;eruant, hee that was aba&s;ed, de&s;pi&s;ed, and per&s;ecuted of &s;in|full men: hee &s;hall come in power and great glory to iudge the world, and to be reuenged of his enemies. He whom God hath placed at his right hand, farre aboue all principallitie, power, might, domination, and euery name that is na|med, not in this world onely, but al&s;o in that that is to come: hee it is that is or|dained of God, a Iudge of quicke and dead. Who&s;e comming &s;hall not be as at the fir&s;t, poorely, and ba&s;ely, but with great maie&s;tie, and after a mo&s;t glorious, wonderfull, and mo&s;t dreadfull maner. He &s;hall de&s;cend from heauen, not to come downe on the earth, but to &s;it on the cloudes, as his tribunall &s;eate and throne of Iudgement, hee &s;hall come with a &s;hout, and a maruellous great noi&s;e, with the voyce of the Archangel, and with the &s;ound of the la&s;t Trum|pet. <HI>For the Trumpet &s;hall blowe, and the dead &s;hall be rai&s;ed</HI> (1. <HI>Cor.</HI> 15.) <HI>and hee &s;hall &s;hewe him&s;elfe with thou&s;ands of his
<PB N="30" REF="18">mighty Angels, and that in flaming fire, ren|dring vengeance vnto them that doo not know God, &amp; which obey not vnto the Go&s;|pell of our Lord Ie&s;us Chri&s;t. Which &s;hall be puni&s;hed with euerla&s;ting perdition, from the pre&s;ence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power. When he &s;hall come to be glo|rified in his Saints, and to bee made mar|uellous in all them that beleeue.</HI> 2. <HI>The&s;.</HI> 1.7.</P>
<P>Which glorious appearance of our Lord and Sauiour Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, this heauenly Iudge that &s;hall come in the latter end of the world, &s;hall be of the more maie&s;tie, if we &s;hall compare it to the deliuerie of the lawe, which then was both fearefull and terrible; where|of wee reade, <HI>Exod.</HI> 9.16. <HI>And the third day, when it was morning, there was thunders and lightnings, and a thicke cloude vpon the mount, and the &s;ounde of the trumpet louder and louder, euen ex|ceeding loude, &s;o that all the people that was in the campe was affraied. Then Mo&s;es brought the people out of the tents, to meete with God, and they &s;tood in the nether part of the mount. And mount</HI> Sinay <HI>was all on a &s;moke, becau&s;e the Lord came downe vp|on
<PB N="31" REF="18">it in fire, and the &s;moake thereof a&s;cen|ded as the &s;moake of a furnace, and all the mount trembled exceedingly.</HI> This appearing of the deliuery of the lawe, was to denounce a &s;harpe puni&s;hment and cur&s;e for &s;inne: but this &s;econd appearing at the ende of the world, &s;hall bee with greater maie&s;tie and more terrible, by rea&s;on of the ful exe|cution of this cur&s;e and puni&s;hment. And as <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> was admitted into Gods pre&s;ence, but the people trembled and would not come neare: &s;o &s;hall this &s;econd appearing, bee ioyfull to the godly, who &s;hall meete with the Lord in the cloudes; but as for the re&s;t they &s;hall mourne; and as the Prophet &s;aith, <HI>who &s;hall be able to abide it?</HI></P>
<P>Then was but the mount on fire, but now &s;hall the whole world bee on a flame: then onely the people of <HI>I&s;|rael</HI> were called and a&s;&s;embled toge|ther: now &s;hall all people, nations, and languages be gathered: then was there a cur&s;e onely denounced, if they, and wee by them al&s;o beeing vnder&s;tood, &s;hould tran&s;gre&s;&s;e and breake Gods law
<PB N="32" REF="19">and commaundements, but no pre&s;ent puni&s;hment followed: now &s;hall there be no delay, but they &s;hall in the &s;ame moment of time, receiue the &s;entence of condemnation, and &s;hall forthwith bee throwne into hell fire, to be tormented for euer. Therefore &s;hall this appea|ring be of greater glory, of greater ma|ie&s;ty, and more terrible.</P>
<P>The <HI>Sonne of man,</HI> as yee haue heard, he &s;hal be the Iudge of the whole world at the latter day: indeede no earthly man, but he that tooke vpon him the na|ture of man. Who al&s;o el&s;ewhere, is cal|led the &s;onne of God, and is the &s;econd per&s;on in the reuerent and mo&s;t holy trinitie: whom God hath not onely or|dained to this office, but al&s;o hath com|maunded the Apo&s;tles, to preach and to publi&s;h it throughout the whole world, that it might bee as &s;urely grafted into the mindes of men, as it is certainly de|creed by the determinate purpo&s;e of God. As we read, <HI>Iohn.</HI> 5.22. <HI>For the fa|ther iudgeth no man, but hath committed all iudgement vnto the &s;onne.</HI> Whereof the holy Apo&s;tle S. <HI>Paul</HI> al&s;o giueth wit|ne&s;&s;e, <HI>Acts</HI> 17.32. <HI>God</HI> &s;aith he, <HI>admoni|&s;heth
<PB N="33" REF="19">all men euerywhere to repent: Be|cau&s;e he hath appointed a day, in the which he will iudge the world in righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, by that man whom he hath appointed, whereof he hath giuen an a&s;&s;urance vnto all men, in that he hath rai&s;ed him from the dead.</HI> By the force of which certaine per&s;wa&s;ion, he chargeth <HI>Timothy</HI> to bee earne&s;t and carefull in his dutie, 2. <HI>Tim.</HI> 4.1. <HI>I charge thee therefore before God and before the Lord Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, who &s;hall iudge the quick and dead at his appearing preach the word, be in&s;tant in &s;ea&s;on and out of &s;ea&s;on, im|proue, rebuke, exhort, with all long &s;uffering and doctrine.</HI> Al&s;o the holy Apo&s;tle S. <HI>Peter,</HI> 2. Ep. 4.5. doth te&s;tifie the &s;elfe|&s;ame thing, when as he exhorted tho&s;e whom he writ vnto, to de&s;i&s;t and leaue off their vngodly life, &amp; to depart from the company of the wicked, and not to be daunted in mind, thogh they &s;hould be &s;coffed and mocked at their hands for &s;o doing Encouraging them with a mo&s;t forceable rea&s;on, that might throughly per&s;wade them: which is, that the wick|ed &s;hall be iudged: which iudgement they &s;hall e&s;cape, that go from them, and turn to God in time, for&s;aking the waies
<PB N="34" REF="20">and coun&s;els of the wicked. And be|cau&s;e the place of &s;cripture is notable, and worthy of great regard, I think good to &s;et it downe. <HI>It is &s;ufficient for vs</HI> &s;aith hee, <HI>that we haue &s;pent the time pa&s;t of the life, after the lu&s;t of the Gentiles, walking in wantonne&s;&s;e, lusts, drunkenne&s;&s;e, in glutto|nie, and in abhominable idolatries. Wherein it &s;eemeth to them &s;trange, that yee runne not with them vnto the &s;ame exce&s;&s;e of ryot,</HI> and continue in &s;o doing, <HI>therefore &s;peak they euill of you; which &s;hall giue accounts, to him that is ready to iudge quick &amp; dead;</HI> who is no other, but Ie&s;us Chri&s;t the Iu&s;t; as is manifect by tho&s;e places of Scripture, which I haue before alleaged.</P>
<P>Which proofes being &s;o &s;ub&s;tanciall, that Chri&s;t &s;hall be the Iudge, and the matter &s;o manife&s;t, as I think there is no man but doth &s;o beleeue, it &s;hall &s;uffice onely to haue touched it. And &s;o let vs go forward, that wee may vnder&s;tand how Chri&s;t &s;hall performe his Iudge|ment. Which e&s;pecially is laide downe in the&s;e three poynts. Fir&s;t, that all the Nations and people of the world that euer haue bene, &s;hall be gathered into his pre&s;ence, and the rea&s;on why they
<PB N="35" REF="20">&s;hall appeare is,<NOTE PLACE="marg">All people &s;hall ap|peare.</NOTE> that they &s;hall be called to their account: Secondly, after triall of their cau&s;e, how he &s;hall &s;eperate the one from the other, the iu&s;t from the vniu&s;t, and the godly from the wicked. Thirdly, the execution of this Iudge|me~t in pronouncing of &s;entence. All na|tions &amp; people &s;halbe gathered into his pre&s;ence: <HI>For he &s;hal &s;end forth his Angels, with a great &s;ound of trumpet, and they &s;hall gather together his elect fro~ the foure winds, and fro~ the one end of the heaue~ to the other; Math.</HI> 24.31. In the Parrable of the &s;eede, it is &s;et downe, <HI>Math.</HI> 13.30. that when harue&s;t comes, the reapers &s;hall gather the tares, and binde them in &s;heaues to burne them, and &s;o foorth. Which Parable Chri&s;t enterpreting to his Di&s;ciples, &s;aith that the harue&s;t is the end of the world, and the reapers be the Angels, whom the &s;onne of man &s;hall &s;end forth, and they &s;hall gather out of his kingdome all things that of|fend, and them which doo iniquitie. Whereby may be perceiued, that both the good and the bad &s;halbe gathered into the pre&s;ence of the Iudge, becau&s;e the Text hath the&s;e words in the &s;ame
<PB N="36" REF="21">place. <HI>Then &s;hall the iu&s;t men &s;hine as the Sunne. For we mu&s;t all appeare</HI> &s;aith the Apo&s;tle, 2. <HI>Cor.</HI> 5.10. <HI>before the Iudge|ment &s;eate of Chri&s;t; that euery man may receiue the things which are done in his bo|dy, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or euill.</HI> Whereof S. <HI>Iohn</HI> had a manife&s;t demon&s;tration, as we reade in his Reuelation, Chap. 20.11.12. <HI>And I &s;aw</HI> &s;aith he, <HI>a great white throne, and one that &s;ate on it, from who&s;e face fled away both the earth and the heauen, and there place was no more found. And I &s;awe the dead both great and &s;mal &s;tand before God;</HI> who &s;hall iudge both the quicke and the dead, euen all that euer haue beene, are and &s;hal be to the end of the world; as well tho&s;e that are dead and rotten in the earth, as tho&s;e which &s;hall be found aliue at his comming, who &s;halbe chan|ged in a moment, which change &s;halbe in &s;tead of death.</P>
<P>In iudgements that are practi&s;ed a|mong men, there are diuers conueiances v&s;ed, not to appeare in iudgement: and for fauour, feare, bribes, and &s;uch like matters, malefactors are bayled out of pri&s;on, and bonds forfeyted, and they
<PB N="37" REF="21">kept from the barre, and from the pre|&s;ence of the Iudge, and quitte by Pro|clamation. But here the mini&s;ters of this heauenly iudgement, to wit, the An|gels, &s;hall not be blinded by any earth|ly con&s;iderations. There &s;hall be no entreaty no way to auoyd, no other re|medy, but that they &s;hall and mu&s;t ap|peare. It is a &s;traunge matter, and not to be &s;eene, that any Emperour, King, Prince, or any &s;uch mightie Potentate, &s;hould be called to iudgement, or &s;huld bee &s;ubiect vnto the &s;entence of the Iudge. For why? as they &s;ay the Prince is aboue his law, and not to be cen&s;ured by any. Subiects are vnder the penal|ty of lawes, and iudgement may pa&s;&s;e vpon them: but as for the Prince and the highe&s;t in a Realme, who dare con|troll him if he do ill? But from this iudge|ment of this mighty &amp; heauenly Iudge, whom no power can re&s;i&s;t, &s;hall neither Emperour, King, Prince, nor mighty Potentate be exempted, neither can they be di&s;penced withall, but that of force and nece&s;&s;itie, they mu&s;t make their per&s;onnall appearance. There &s;halbe no re&s;pect of per&s;ons, high and
<PB N="38" REF="22">and lowe, rich and poore: all &s;hall ap|peare. Yea then it &s;halbe far better with the poore&s;t begger, that hath liued in the feare of God, then with the migh|tie&s;t Emperour, that in his life time hath had little or no regard to &s;erue God. For true it is, that the mighty &s;hall be migh|tily puni&s;hed.</P>
<P>All prophane per&s;ons, leaud liuers, Athei&s;ts, per&s;ecutors, which haue beene enemies to God, to his word, and to his mini&s;ters, who haue wi&s;hed in their hearts, there were no God, nor any iudgement, who haue made a &s;coffe and contempt of all goodne&s;&s;e, and of the profe&s;&s;ours and Mini&s;ters thereof, they &s;hall of force bee brought to this Iudgement. But what? To &s;peake in theyr owne behalfe? No, they &s;hall not bee able. For at that time and there, they &s;hall confe&s;&s;e theyr faultes and haynous offences, and make bitter lamentation, but all too late, and there &s;hall they waight in trembling &s;ort, to heare their iudge|ment.</P>
<P>And who is it among&s;t vs,<NOTE PLACE="marg">No excu&s;es &s;hall &s;erue.</NOTE> that knowes him&s;elf guiltie, that will declare
<PB N="39" REF="22">the truth, being called before a Iudge? but rather our mindes runne vpon de|uices and excu&s;es; how wee may blinde the Iudge, and defend our &s;elues, and auoyd that which is toward vs. And &s;o long as wee haue to deale with mortall men, it may &s;o fall out, that our excu&s;es may &s;erue the turne, and &s;et vs cleare.</P>
<P>But when our cau&s;e commeth to be tried before GOD, from whom no|thing is or can be hidde, and vnto whom nothing can bee &s;ecrete: then no excu&s;es can preuaile, neither &s;hall any deuices helpe vs or blinde the Iudge. Our fir&s;t parents, when God called them to their tryall, for tran&s;gre&s;|&s;ing his commaundement, and when the fled from God and his them&s;elues, (although they were &s;till in Gods pre|&s;ence, but fooli&s;hly they thought o|therwi&s;e) how did they aun&s;were for them&s;elues, but by excu&s;es&punc; <HI>Adam</HI> hee &s;peakes for him&s;elfe, <HI>Gene.</HI> 3.12. and &s;aith, <HI>The Woman which thou ga|ue&s;t to be with me, &s;he gaue me of the tree, and I did eate.</HI> The woman likewi&s;e &s;he thinkes to e&s;cape by that meanes;
<PB N="40" REF="23"><HI>Eue,</HI> &s;aith, <HI>The Serpent beguiled me, and I did eate.</HI> When King <HI>Saul</HI> had di&s;obei|ed Gods commaundement, running <HI>af|ter the pray,</HI> being called to an account, he deui&s;eth a currant excu&s;e, and &s;aith, <HI>Yea, I haue obeyed the voyce of the Lord, and haue gone the way which the Lord &s;ent me, and haue brought</HI> Agag <HI>the King of</HI> Amelek, <HI>and haue destroyed the Amale|kites. But the people tooke of the &s;poyle, &s;heep and oxen, &amp; the chiefe&s;t of the things, which &s;hould haue bene destroyed, to offer vnto the Lord.</HI></P>
<P>Among&s;t the&s;e, may <HI>Pilat</HI> be recko|ned, who again&s;t his owne con&s;cience, condemned Chri&s;t to death, and yet would excu&s;e him&s;elfe, as though he were innocent in the cau&s;e <HI>Math.</HI> 27.24. <HI>When</HI> Pilat <HI>&s;awe that hee auailed no|thing, but that more tumult was made, hee tooke water and wa&s;hed his hands, &s;haying? I am innocent of the blood of this iust mum</HI> In the de&s;cription of the latter iudge|ment, <HI>Math,</HI> 25.44. wee read that &s;ome began to excu&s;e them&s;elues, &s;aying: <HI>Lord when &s;awe we thee an hungred, or a thir&s;t, or a &s;traunger, or naked, or &s;ick, or in pri&s;on, and did not mini&s;ter vnto thee.</HI> Ne|uerthele&s;&s;e
<PB N="41" REF="23">all this &s;erued not, but vnto them it was &s;aid: <HI>Depart from me ye cur|&s;ed into euer lasting fire.</HI> And &s;uch part is <HI>Pilat</HI> like to receiue, for all his excu&s;e. King <HI>Saul</HI> his excu&s;e was not taken, our fir&s;t parents e&s;caped not for all their ex|cu&s;es, but dyed the death: and &s;hall wee thinke our ca&s;e to be better then theirse how&s;oeuer wee thinke, we &s;hall not &s;o finde it. There &s;hall we appeare, when as no friend, nor and body &s;hal be &s;uffered to &s;peake for vs, and in our defence, and when a faire glo&s;ing tale &s;hall not bee heard, for the plaine and naked truth mu&s;t then come in place, and we &s;halbe enforced to giue our account, euery one of vs by our &s;elues.</P>
<P>This is the principall matter that mu&s;t be done before the Iudge,<NOTE PLACE="marg">We mu&s;t giue accou~t</NOTE> that we mu&s;t giue account of our &s;elues, and of our deedes done in this life. And mo&s;t &s;hall haue &s;orrowfull hearts, becau&s;e they &s;halbe called to their accounts. As it was &s;aid to the euill &s;teward, <HI>Come giue account of thy &s;tewar&s;hip:</HI> &s;o &s;hall e|uery one of vs be called to our account, haue v&s;ed tho&s;e benefites, gifts and gra|ces
<PB N="42" REF="24">which God hath endued vs withall; whether to Gods glory, and to the be|nefit of other, or after our owne plea|&s;ures, and to the hurt of others. In the E|pi&s;tle to the Romaines, Chap. 14.10.12 <HI>We &s;hall all appeare before the iudgement &s;eate of Christ; and then euery one of us, &s;hall giue accounts of him&s;elfe to God.</HI> The wicked which lightly ca~not be brought to any accounts, they &s;hal giue accounts to him that is ready to iudge quick and dead. 1. <HI>Pet.</HI> 4.5. Not only mo&s;t notori|ous and wicked deedes &s;halbe called to account, but we &s;hall giue a reckoning for euery idle word. So we read, <HI>Math.</HI> 12.36. <HI>Out of the good trea&s;ure of the heart, we bring forth good. But I &s;ay vnto you</HI> &s;aith Chri&s;t, <HI>that of euery idle word, that men &s;hall &s;peake, they &s;tall giue account thereof, at the day of Iudgement.</HI> When as wee &s;hall aun&s;were for our &s;elues, beeing altogether vnable to aun&s;were one for a thou&s;and. Yea &s;o much the more grieuous it &s;hall bee, be|cau&s;e wee &s;hall open all the &s;ecrets of our heart, and bee enforced to con|fe&s;&s;e our mi&s;deeds, and to keepe backe nothing, all mu&s;t bee manife&s;t.</P>
<PB N="43" REF="24">
<P>And not as it is in this world, when vp|on the humble confe&s;&s;ion of our &s;innes to God, wee may cry for pardon; and hope to be forgiuen; but then &s;hall but confe&s;&s;ion be; to our open &s;hame, confu&s;ion, and endle&s;&s;e de&s;truction. Wherefore this day of iudgement, may well bee called the day of Reuelation, when as all things that are now hid, &s;hall then be reuealed and made known.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Secrets opened.</NOTE> Here on earth, many things are kept clo&s;e, hid and hudled vp <HI>But God &s;hall tigh|ten</HI> faith the Apo&s;tle, <HI>things that are hid in darkne&s;&s;e:</HI> 1. <HI>Cor.</HI> 4.5. <HI>and make the coun&s;els of the heart manifest. And at that day; Ro.</HI> 2.16. <HI>God &s;hall iudge the &s;ecrets of men by Ie&s;us Christ.</HI> In this life, many great and &s;infull deedes are not puni&s;hed, but remaine hid and vnknowne, and the parties pa&s;&s;e as guilole&s;&s;e, and without all faulte, who thinke them&s;elues cleare inough, &s;o long as they can keepe their owne coun&s;ell. But our Sauiour Chri&s;t, <HI>Luke.</HI> 8.17. &s;heweth the matter to be cleane contrary. <HI>Nothing is &s;ecret that &s;hall not bee euident; neyther any
<PB N="44" REF="25">thing hid, that &s;hall not be knowne and come to light.</HI> The which in <HI>Eccle.</HI> 12.14. is more manife&s;t&punc; <HI>God will bring eue|ry worke vnto iudgement, with euery &s;ecret thing, whether it be good or euill.</HI> Which is not &s;et downe to driue vs to di&s;paire: although no doubt we are priuie to ma|ny hainous &s;innes the which we would not for all the worlds good, &s;hould bee knowne abroade, and in euery mans mouth: yea &amp; &s;uch &s;in that are forcible inough, to driue vs to di&s;paire yet &s;eeing at the iudgement day, they &s;hall be re|uealed, be they neuer &s;o &s;ecret, wee are moued hereby, to call for mercy, while God doth graunt vs life; and to pray with the Prophet: <HI>O Lord deliuer mee from my &s;ecret faults, from my &s;ecret &s;innes, from my &s;ecret offences.</HI> This therefore that our &s;ecret hidden faults, &s;hall come to light &amp; iudgement, is a very profita|ble le&s;&s;on for vs, whereby we may learn to feare what we do, although wee may keepe it clo&s;e from men: as al&s;o that we may bethinke our &s;elues of that which is pa&s;t, and pray for forgiuene&s;&s;e, and be more warie and circum&s;pect in time to come: &s;o that it keepeth vs in the feare
<PB N="75" REF="25">of God, &s;o long as we liue: and let this be vnto vs, in &s;tead of <HI>Auricular confe&s;|&s;ion,</HI> in remembrance whereof, in euery time and place, wee may flye and auoyd all &s;inne, whether it be &s;ecret or open, whereof if we take not heed, we may in|curre the daunger of Gods wrath and heauy iudgement. And at the day of iudgement, &s;hall God bring all matters to light, as we may read, <HI>Reue.</HI> 20.12. <HI>And I &s;awe the dead both great and &s;mall &s;tand before God: and the bookes were ope|ned,</HI> (that is their con&s;cience) <HI>and ano|ther booke was opened, which is the booke of life. And the dead were iudged of tho&s;e things which were written in the bookes, ac|cording to their workes.</HI></P>
<P>It is not onely God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Con&s;cience</NOTE> that &s;hall bring our &s;ecret &s;innes to light, but euen our owne con&s;ciences &s;hall bewray vs, as the la&s;t place of Scripture alleadged. <HI>Reue.</HI> 20.12. dooth te&s;tifie, where by the bookes that were opened, our owne con&s;ciences are vnder&s;tood, which &s;hall be mo&s;t ready to reueale all things. Ac|cording to that in the Epi&s;tle to the Ro|maines, Chap. 2.15. <HI>Which &s;hew the effect of the law written in their hearts, their con|&s;cience
<PB N="46" REF="26">al&s;o bearing witne&s;&s;e, and theyr thoughts accu&s;ing one another, or excu|&s;ing, at that day, when God &s;hall iudge the &s;ecrets of men by Ie&s;us Christ.</HI> And full truly is it &s;poken, that a mans con|&s;cience is in &s;teed of a thou&s;and wit|ne&s;&s;es. For when time &s;hall &s;erue, there &s;hall not neede many accu&s;ers, or &s;tore of euidences to be giuen vp a|gain&s;t vs, &s;eeing that our con&s;cience which is our &s;ecret &s;torehoue, &s;hall declare all, although it bee neuer &s;o much again&s;t our will; and that with|out any co~&s;traint or compari&s;on. Wher|of we haue a &s;ufficient and manife&s;t try|all, euen in this life.</P>
<P>For tell me, who is it among vs, but mu&s;t of force confe&s;&s;e, and dooth perceiue &s;o much in him&s;elfe, that hee cannot, no nor may not forget his &s;innes and mi&s;deedes, for our con|&s;cience will not &s;uffer it; and e&s;peci|ally the more notorious, bad and wic|ked, our deedes haue beene, the more fre&s;h and fre&s;h they are, and will bee in our remembrance. They will come into our mindes, when wee little thinke of any &s;uch matter: and
<PB N="47" REF="26">if wee would neuer &s;o faine, wee cannot put them away from vs, and when they come into our mindes and remem|brance, they bring dumps and &s;orrow inough. Which is a token and a mo&s;t apparant &s;igne and proofe, of the iudge|ment day, vnto the which time all our &s;innes are re&s;erued to bee iudged. Be|fore we commit any wicked or notori|ous deed, our con&s;cience within vs doth grudge again&s;t it, and would full faine bridle and re&s;traine vs from it, if it were po&s;&s;ible: but after wee haue done the deed, it is a torment vnto vs, and that more grieuous inwardly to our mindes, then any whip or &s;courge to the body can bee, becau&s;e the one is but for a time, the other la&s;teth long and &s;hall endure. By which inward griefe con|ceiued, and &s;orrowe of con&s;cience, many are driuen to di&s;paire, and doo thinke &s;o bad of them&s;elues, for theyr wicked, vnlawful, &amp; vngodly deeds, that they are de&s;irous to reuenge the matter vpon them&s;elues, and to be their owne tormenters, before the iudgement day come. But if there be any that can &s;ay, their con&s;cience is cleare, let the~ reioyce,
<PB N="48" REF="27">and giue God the prai&s;e and thankes, who hath preuented them with his grace, and pre&s;erued them from euill. And as a guiltie con&s;cience is his owne tormenter, &s;o a good con&s;cience is a continuall fea&s;t. He or &s;hee that is not charged, or rather ouercharged by their owne con&s;cience, they haue a continuall ioy within them: &s;o if our owne hearts condemne vs, God is greater then our hearts, and knoweth all things. And what mi&s;erie trowe we, doo the wicked of the world liue in? For the Lord hath &s;aid, <HI>There is no peace vnto the wicked;</HI> when in all their life, is feare and terror; carrying in their brea&s;ts tormenting fu|ries, to hold them day &amp; night, in feare of endle&s;&s;e de&s;truction. And what &s;hould tho&s;e heauy dumps and inward feares &s;ignifie, but that there is a iudge|ment, and that there is a hell, as well as a heauen. Their hearts doo droope, and their con&s;ciences are affrighted, and God by his &s;ecret power dooth worke this feare: and no doubt they feele that there is giuen to them a &s;pirit of bon|dage and feare, through which they tremble at their owne e&s;tate. They are
<PB N="49" REF="27">in mount <HI>Sinay:</HI> where is the burning fire, blackne&s;&s;e, darkne&s;&s;e, tempe&s;t, and the &s;ound of a Trumpet, in con&s;iderati|on whereof, they tremble and are in|wardly tormented.</P>
<P>But thou wilt &s;ay, the wicked pro&s;per, and reioyce in their dayes, they are bound in no &s;uch bondage, nor feare no &s;uch feare. Thou can&s;t not tell, neither doe&s;t thou know, the heart of wicked man, how&s;oeuer hee boa&s;t in his &s;ub|&s;tance and outward pro&s;peritie, and &s;ee|meth to haue peace, peraduenture there is a bitter remembrance within him, of the iudgement to come. He may delight and &s;port him&s;elfe, but in that laughing the heart is &s;orrowfull, and that myrth doth end in heauine&s;&s;e. And albeit they &s;triue maruellou&s;ly, to ca&s;t out this feare, yet if they could ca&s;t it out from them, as out of a cannon and field|peece, yet would it euermore returne vnto them againe, and vexe their heart, that &s;o flyeth from it. If they would full faine &s;eare vp their con&s;ciences, as with a hot and glowing Iron, yet &s;ometime it will awake them, as out of a &s;leepe, &s;o <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">aht vpon a &s;udden, they &s;hall &s;ee a fear|full
<PB N="40" REF="28">&s;ight of death and iudgement. And as we read, <HI>Rom.</HI> 8.19. <HI>That the feruent de&s;ire of the creature wayteth, when the &s;onnes of God &s;hall be reuealed:</HI> &s;o al&s;o we may well &s;ay, that the con&s;ciences of men, do groane as it were, vnder the burthen of &s;inne, and earne&s;tly de&s;ire to be di<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">burthened, and yet they &s;hall not. For at the iudgement day, when all the creatures of the earth &s;hall haue their de&s;ire, then &s;hall the con&s;ciences of the wicked torment them a fre&s;h, and that more fiercely then euer they did before. For then &s;hall the time be, that we &s;hall giue account, and God &s;hall bring all our &s;ecret &s;innes to light, our con&s;cien|ces bearing witne&s;&s;e again&s;t vs.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The diuell &s;hall accu&s;e</NOTE>And yet there remaineth an other accu&s;er, be&s;ide God and our owne con|&s;cience, and that is the diuell, who al|wayes &s;ought our de&s;truction, and brought vs vnto it, by diuers temptati|ons and &s;ugered baytes. The diuel &s;hal|be at hand to accu&s;e vs, to call for iudge|ment again&s;t vs, who after our iudge|ment is giuen, and the &s;entence pa&s;t, &s;halbe ready mo&s;t terribly to torment vs, world without end. And to bring
<PB N="51" REF="28">this to pa&s;&s;e, then &s;hall he lay deeply to our charge, and call for iudgement a|gain&s;t vs, reioycing and triumphing that he hath &s;o good a cau&s;e before &s;o righ|teous a Iudge, earne&s;tly crauing that hee will iudge vprightly, becau&s;e iu&s;tice and iudgement is the preparation of his &s;eat, and his throne is e&s;tabli&s;hed by it. I pray thee therefore, will this accu&s;er &s;ay, giue &s;entence with me, and iudge him to bee mine, which while hee liued would be none of thine: mine he or &s;he who&s;oe|uer is by right, and they haue de&s;e<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">erued to &s;uffer torments with me: and &s;eeing they haue followed my wayes in theyr liues, now let them be partakers of my puni&s;hments. And &s;hall not the Iudge of the world doo right &s;aith <HI>Abraham,</HI> and mini&s;ter righteous iudgement? yea doubtle&s;&s;e, as the Apo&s;tle S. <HI>Iude ver&s;.</HI> 14. hath &s;et it downe. <HI>Behold the Lord commeth with thou&s;ands of Saints, to giue iudgement again&s;t all men, and to rebuke all the vngodly among them, of all their wicked deeds which they haue vngodly committed, and of all their cruell &s;peakings, which wic|ked &s;inners haue &s;poken again&s;t him.</HI></P>
<P>When all matters are thus made ma|nife&s;t,
<PB N="52" REF="29">all &s;hall be iudged, partly accor|ding to the confe&s;&s;ion of their owne guiltie con&s;cience, and partly by the word of God, which they haue hard, and which they haue either neglected or de|&s;pi&s;ed: euen by the &s;elfe&s;ame word &s;hal they be iudged. For by that &s;hall they be made without excu&s;e, and the more culpable before Gods iudgement &s;eate. As we may reade in the Go&s;pell of S. <HI>Iohn,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Word.</NOTE> Chap. 12.48. <HI>He that refu&s;eth me, and receiueth not my words, hath one that iudgeth him: the word that I haue &s;poken, it &s;hall iudge him in the la&s;t day.</HI> Where by the way we are taught, to haue the more regard of the word of God, and with re|uerence to heare it, with remembrance to keepe it in our hearts, and with care to expre&s;&s;e it in our liues and conuer&s;a|tion, that it may be a helpe to our &s;alua|tion, whereas otherwi&s;e it is like to bee our Iudge to our condemnation. Which is further declared by that which is &s;et downe; <HI>Acts</HI> 13.40.41. <HI>Beware there|fore lea&s;t that come vpon you, which is &s;po|ken of in the Prophets: Behold the de&s;pi|&s;ers and wonder, and vani&s;h away: For I worke a worke in their dayes, a work which
<PB N="53" REF="29">yee &s;hall not beleeue, if a man would declare it vnto you.</HI> Which worke by the inter|pretation of the learned, is the vn&s;peak|able vengeance of God, vpon tho&s;e that contemne his word.</P>
<P>Thus then beeing in his pre&s;ence, and after the generall trial of our cau&s;e, and after we haue giuen our account, &s;hall Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, who is appointed to be the Iudge of quick and dead, proceed to Iudgement; in &s;eperating the iu&s;t from the vniu&s;t, the good from the bad, the wheat from the chaffe, the &s;heepe from the goates. For in this world they are mingled together, the good with bad, and God &s;uffereth his raine to fall, as well vpon the vniu&s;t as the iu&s;t; nei|ther is he ha&s;ty to &s;eparat them, the one from the other in this life: To the end that he may &s;hewe his patience toward the wicked, in giuing them time and &s;pace to repent; as al&s;o by their meanes, he exerci&s;eth his Church and people, to teach them patience, and to try whether they will &s;tand &s;tedfa&s;t vnto him, or fall away from him, with the re&s;t of the world. And as he rebuked his Di&s;ciples, becau&s;e they de&s;ired that fire &s;hould
<PB N="54" REF="30">come downe from heauen to con&s;ume the Samaritanes; &s;o al&s;o he findeth fault with them, that would haue a &s;eperation before the iu&s;t time come. According as we read in the Epi&s;tle to the Romans, Chap. 12.19. <HI>Vengeance is mine, I will re|pay it</HI> &s;aith the Lord. God knoweth his iu&s;t time: and his appointed time, is the end of the world. Which matter is very effectually &s;et downe in a Parable, <HI>Mat.</HI> 13.12. For after the good feede was &s;owne, and the blade &s;proong vp and brought forth fruite, then appeared al&s;o tares. <HI>Then came the &s;eruants of the hou&s;|holder, and &s;aid vnto the mai&s;ter: Mai&s;ter, &s;owed&s;t not thou good &s;eed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? And hee &s;aid to them, the enuious man hath done this. Then the &s;eruants &s;aid vnto him; Wilt thou then, that we goe and gather them vp? But hee &s;aid nay; lea&s;t while ye go about to gather the tares, yee pluck vp al&s;o with them the wheat. Let both grow together, vntill the harue&s;t, and in time of harue&s;t, I will &s;ay to the reapers, gather ye fir&s;t the tares, and bind them in &s;heaues to burne them, but ga|ther the wheat into my barne.</HI> The god|ly therefore may comfort them&s;elues
<PB N="55" REF="30">with this, that in time to come, though not pre&s;ently and out of hand, there &s;halbe a &s;eperation. The kingdome of heauen is likened vnto a drawe net, ca&s;t into the &s;ea, that gathereth of all kindes of things: <HI>which when it is full, men draw to land, and &s;it and gather the good into ve&s;|&s;els, and ca&s;t the bad away: So &s;hall it bee at the end of the world; the good and the bad &s;hall be parted:</HI> after that the trumpet hath blowne, and the dead bee rai|&s;ed. Againe the &s;eed &s;owne, is the word of God preached: <HI>The field wherein it is &s;owne, is the world; the good &s;eed are they which with an hone&s;t heart, heare the word and keep it, and bring forth fruite, and the&s;e be the children of the Kingdome: and the tares are the children of the wicked, and the enemie that &s;oweth them, is the diuell: and the harue&s;t is the end of the world, and the reapers be the Angels. As then the tares are gathered and brent in the fire, &s;o &s;hall it be in the end of the world. The &s;onne of man &s;hall &s;end forth his Angels, and they &s;hal ga|ther, and they &s;hall &s;eperate. Math.</HI> 13.39. When the regions and parts of the earth are white, then is the time of harue&s;t. As we read in the <HI>Reue.</HI> 14.15. <HI>That the
<PB N="56" REF="31">Angel cried with a loud voyce to him that &s;ate on the cloud; Thrust in thy &s;ickle and reape, for the time is come to reape, for the harue&s;t of the earth is ripe.</HI> As though he &s;aw the time when the number of Gods elect and cho&s;en children, &s;hould bee fulfilled, and the &s;innes of the vngodly and wicked, come to a full mea&s;ure. <HI>And the Angel thru&s;t in his &s;harpe &s;ickle on the earth, and cut downe the vines of the vine|yard of the earth, and cast them into the great Wine-pre&s;&s;e of the wrath of God.</HI> So &s;hall the bad bee &s;eperated from the good, as a &s;hepheard &s;eperateth the &s;heepe from the goates: and the Iudge, who is meant by the &s;hepheard, &s;hall commaund the &s;heepe to be &s;et on his right hand, and the goates on the left, the good and the bad. And then will hee addre&s;&s;e him&s;elfe to giue &s;ententence, and to take order for the execution of his iudgement.</P>
<P>And who &s;hall &s;tay or hinder this iudgement?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sentence.</NOTE> or who &s;hall auoyd the fiercene&s;&s;e &amp; furiou&s;ne&s;&s;e of his wrath? Shall the king be deliuered by the mul|titude of an ho&s;t? No, he &s;halbe but as one man, naked and vnarmed, and with|out
<PB N="57" REF="31">helpe; and hee that &s;hall come to iudge him, commeth with infinite thou|&s;ands of Angels. The &s;trength of the &s;trong man &s;hall then &s;tand him in no &s;tead, but in &s;tead of &s;trength, he &s;hall bee re&s;olued into feare and weakne&s;&s;e. The wealth of the rich man &s;hall not ran&s;ome him: for riches &s;hall not pre|uaile in the day of wrath. Before &s;o wi&s;e, &s;o vpright, &s;uch a Iudge, of that courage thou &s;halt &s;tand, whom neither feare &s;hall daunt, nor fauour &s;hall moue, nor gold &s;hal bribe and corrupt him, neither any entreaty or prayer, then at that time &s;hall per&s;wade him. There &s;halbe no re|&s;pect of per&s;ons, no fal&s;ifying of the cau&s;e, no colours nor excu&s;e to blinde him; no learning, no men of lawe &s;hall defend thee: no wit nor pollicie &s;hall go beyond this Iudge: no &s;peech nor flattery &s;hall preuaile with him: in a word, what &s;hall worldly helpes doo, when the world it &s;elf &s;hal vani&s;h awaye Nothing that &s;hall be deui&s;ed &s;hall turn his mind, nothing &s;hall alter or reuer&s;e his iudgement, it &s;hall pa&s;&s;e without de|niall, and without all reuocation. For then &s;hall hee come to iudge the world
<PB N="58" REF="32">righteou&s;ly, and to mini&s;ter true iudge|ment vnto the people.</P>
<P>And thus after that the &s;heepe be &s;e|perated from the goates, &s;hall iudge|ment be executed, and &s;entence &s;hall be giuen, in &s;uch &s;ort and order, as we read it &s;et down, <HI>Mat.</HI> 25.34. <HI>Then &s;hal the king, that is the Iudge &s;ay to the~ on his right ha~d; Come ye ble&s;&s;ed of my father inherit yee the kingdome prepared for you fro~ the fou~datio~s the world</HI> But to the~ on his left hand, he &s;hal &s;ay; <HI>Depart fro~ me ye cur&s;ed into euer|lasting fire, which is prepar&ecirc;d for the diuell and his angels. And the&s;e &s;hall go into euer|lasting pain, and the righteous into life eter|nall.</HI> By rea&s;on of which fearefull &s;en|tence, the wicked &s;hall haue good cau&s;e to &s;ay to the mountaines, and to the Rocks, <HI>Reue.</HI> 6.15. <HI>Fall on vs, and hide vs from the pre&s;ence of him that &s;itteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the lambe. For the great day of his wrath is come, and who can &s;tand?</HI> They &s;hall de&s;ire to hide the~&s;elues in dens, &amp; amo~g the Rocks and mou~tains, but yet &s;hal they not auoid his pre&s;ence: they &s;hal de&s;ire death, &amp; &s;hall not find it; &amp; &s;eeke after it, and yet &s;hall death fly fro~ them. And as the diuels (as
<PB N="59" REF="32">we read in the Go&s;pell) be&s;ought Chri&s;t that he would not torment them before their time, &s;o now &s;hal the time of y^e terri|ble wrath of God be, whe~ the diuels, to|gether with all the people, y^t haue either forgotten, or not regarded, and highly di&s;plea&s;ed God, to y^e vtter hazard of their &s;oules, &s;halbe ca&s;t into hell, and throwne into endle&s;&s;e torments. And therefore &s;hall his comming be in flaming fire, to render vengeance again&s;t the &s;inners of the earth: who not onely &s;hall be depri|ued from the pre&s;ence of God, and from the glory of his power, and fro~ the com|pany of the ble&s;&s;ed Angels, and redee|med &s;oules; but that which is far wor&s;e, and more grieuous and lamentable, they &s;hall be puni&s;hed with euerla&s;ting per|dition and de&s;truction. And the Angels that &s;eperat the good from the bad, &s;hal then gather out of his kingdome all things that offend, and them which do iniquitie, and &s;hall ca&s;t them into a fur|nace of fire, there &s;hall be wailing and gna&s;hing of teeth. <HI>When as the iust and godly &s;hall &s;hine as the Sunne in the King|dome of their father:</HI> and when the ac|cur&s;ed &s;ort &s;hall go downe by a by way.
<PB N="60" REF="33">a backe way and a blacke, with many a &s;igh and &s;ob from God, from the An|gel, from the Saints, from ioy, from glo|ry, from bli&s;&s;e: with the fiends of Hell, to &s;uppe in the pallace of darkne&s;&s;e with the princes of horror, at the table of ven|geance, in the chaire of calamitie, with the crowne of death vpon their head, hauing nothing before their eyes, but infinite torments prepared for them.</P>
<P N="4">4. By the &s;entence pronounced and la&s;t iudgement giuen,<NOTE PLACE="marg">How this iudgement pertaineth to the god|ly and to the wicked.</NOTE> an entrance is laid o|pen vnto me, to declare vnto you, how this iudgement pertaineth to the wicked and vnto the godly, which was the la&s;t thing, in this treati&s;e of the latter iudge|ment, that I purpo&s;ed to &s;peake vnto you of. Vnto the which, I haue thought good to adde an exhortation, that wee may be prepared again&s;t the time, ha|uing oyle in our lampes, with the fiue wi&s;e virgines, that waited for the com|ming of the bridegrome.</P>
<P>It is an article of our beliefe, and &s;ure|ly not without &s;ingular comfort and commoditie, that he that vouch&s;afed to take our nature vpon him, and to bee
<PB N="61" REF="33">cloathed with our fle&s;h; that &s;uffered and endured the &s;pitefull dealing of the wicked, and an accur&s;ed death for our &s;akes: that he that ro&s;e from death to bring vs to life; that he that a&s;cended into heauen to procure vs an entrance into his fathers Kingdome, and to make vs fellow heires with him&s;elfe: that he I &s;ay, would not for&s;ake vs, euen in the mo&s;t dreadfull time and greate&s;t nece&s;|&s;itie, when we had de&s;erued the heauy &s;entence of iudgement, and wofull con|demnation. That hee would &s;et vs free from all feare, and to haue that comfor|table and mo&s;t gracious regard of vs, as though we had neuer offended him, and to v&s;e this chearefull and ioyfull &s;peech vnto vs, <HI>Come ye ble&s;&s;ed.</HI> I &s;ay this ar|ticle is not without &s;ingular comfort, <HI>From thence &s;hall be come to iudge both the quicke and the dead.</HI> Which is not &s;poken to the wicked, to whom nothing is com|fortable, but onely the vanities and plea|&s;ures of this tran&s;itorie life, which &s;hall haue an end, and a &s;udden end, and a fi|nall and heauy recompence: but to the comfort of the godly, and to encourage them, which haue &s;ighed and groaned
<PB N="62" REF="34">vnder the burthen of their &s;innes, and who haue fledde vnto the throne of the grace of God, and holding out a godly cour&s;e, haue through hope and patience, looked for this deliuerance, which &s;hall be at the day of doome and iudgement. Which comming of Chri&s;t vnto iudge|ment, &s;halbe vnto them, as the appearing of the Angel was, after Chri&s;t his re&s;ur|rectio~ vnto the women, that is milde and gentle, <HI>Be not ye affraid, let not your hearts be troubled.</HI> But vnto the re&s;t, his coun|tenance &s;hall be like lightning, <HI>and hee &s;hal come in flaming fire, re~dring vengeance.</HI> So that they &s;hall not be onely a&s;tonied, and become as dead men, as were the &s;ouldiers, that were &s;et to keepe our Sa|uiour Chri&s;t in the graue: but further|more, they &s;hall be in horrible feare and trembling. And happy were they, if they might be partakers of their de&s;ire &s;o far, as not to be, &amp; to become as thogh they had neuer bene borne. But as the godly do pa&s;&s;e to ioyes, &s;o the other of force mu&s;t liue in eternall torments. In con&s;i|deration of which iudgement, and tor|ments to come, they leade a life conti|nually in feare, and tre~ble at the remem|brance
<PB N="63" REF="34">of their woful e&s;tate, which here|after &s;halbe.</P>
<P>The godly al&s;o haue good cau&s;e to feare the &s;elfe&s;ame feare of the la&s;t iudgement and eternall torments, in re|&s;pect of their manifold &s;innes and of|fences, whereby they haue prouoked the heauy wrath of God again&s;t them. But that they might be rai&s;ed vp againe and comforted, it plea&s;ed our Sauiour Chri&s;t to receiue the &s;entence of con|demnation him&s;elfe, and again&s;t his owne per&s;on (hee beeing altogether innocent and guiltle&s;&s;e) in the pre|&s;ence, and from the mouth of an earth|ly Iudge, <HI>Pontius Pilat</HI> by name; that wee might bee acquitted and &s;et free, at the terrible and fearefull day of iudgement, which in the ende of the world &s;hall come vpon all fle&s;h; that wee I &s;ay, might bee acquitted which are altogether full of &s;innes, and altogether guiltie. According to that we read. <HI>Ro.</HI> 8.1. <HI>Now then there is no co~de~|natio~ to them that are in Chri&s;t Ie&s;us.</HI> And what &s;hall we then &s;ay? <HI>If God be on our &s;ide, who ca~ be again&s;t vs? who &s;pared not his own &s;on, but gaue him for vs al to death: how
<PB N="64" REF="35">&s;hall he not with him giue vs all things al&s;o? who &s;hall lay any thing to the charge of Gods cho&s;en? It is God that iu&s;tifieth, who &s;hall condemne? It is Chri&s;t which is dead, yea or rather which is ri&s;en againe, who is al&s;o at the right hand of God, &amp; maketh requ~e&s;t al&s;o for vs.</HI> So that I may boldly &s;ay to them, who feele the inward comfort of Gods &s;pirit within their hearts, by the forgiuene&s;&s;e of their &s;innes through Chri&s;t his death: Feare not this feare, nor tremble as the wicked doo at this iudgement. For &s;eeing ye are led by the good &s;pirit of God, it is a token that yee are the children of God, and that yee haue not receiued the &s;pirit of bondage to feare againe; but ye haue receiued the &s;pirit of adoption, whereby we cry <HI>Ab|ba,</HI> which is as much as to &s;ay father, euen our father which art in heauen. And the &s;ame &s;pirit of God beareth witne&s;&s;e with our &s;pirit, that wee are the children of God: and if we be children, wee are al&s;o heires, euen the heires of God, and fellowe heires with Chri&s;t our elder brother. Wherefore there is no cau&s;e why the godly &s;hould feare this iudge|ment, as the wicked feare it. For as the
<PB N="65" REF="35">one &s;ort &s;hall at that day receiue the iudgement of condemnation, whereof they haue an inward feeling in this life, which makes them feare; &s;o the other &s;hall receiue the &s;entence of ab&s;olution, and &s;hall bee quit as it were by procla|mation, when Chri&s;t &s;hall &s;ay, <HI>Come yee ble&s;&s;ed.</HI> Which is the cau&s;e that moueth the holy Apo&s;tle S. <HI>Iohn,</HI> 1. <HI>Ep.</HI> 4.17. to breake forth into the&s;e words: <HI>Herein is the loue of God perfect toward vs, that we &s;hould haue boldne&s;&s;e at the day of iudge|ment.</HI> Therefore the godly make their prayers, and wi&s;h that this day might come &s;hortly, <HI>Reue.</HI> 22. <HI>Come Lord Ie&s;us come quickly.</HI> The wicked would not haue it come as yet: nay, if it were po&s;&s;i|ble, they could wi&s;h it &s;hould neuer be, and that it would neuer come to pa&s;&s;e. Torment vs not, &s;ay the diuels to Chri&s;t, before our time: Oh &s;ay the wicked, that this time might neuer be, or that af|ter death, wee might vani&s;h away and come to nothing. How greatly auaile|able &s;hall it be to the godly, when hee that is their Sauiour, and hath &s;head his mo&s;t precious bloud for their redempti|on: hee that is their elder brother, and
<PB N="66" REF="36">hath purcha&s;ed vnto them this libertie, as to be called the &s;onnes of God; when he that is their head, and hath made the~ his members, &s;halbe their Iudge to iu&s;ti|fie them, and to declare them righteous; and wh<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">n at that day hee &s;hall deliuer them from all &s;inne, feare of death, the diuell, hell, and all other mi&s;eries, where|with other &s;hall not onely be ouertaken but ouerwhelmed. For who &s;hall lay any thing to the charge of Gods chil|dren? and who &s;hall procure their de|&s;truction, who&s;e &s;aluation God hath wrought? But to the great terrour of the godle&s;&s;e and wicked, who feare not God, nor loue either Chri&s;t or his Go&s;|pell, hee &s;hall be their Iudge, to their fearefull and that mo&s;t iu&s;t de&s;tructi|on.</P>
<P>This al&s;o &s;hal not onely be an inward refre&s;hing, amo~g great mi&s;eries, wrongs, and per&s;ecutions, while wee liue heere on the earth, but al&s;o a great ioy in time to come, that al vnrighteous iudgement &s;hall be called to account, and that there &s;halbe a generall and mo&s;t ab&s;olute re|formation. For on earth, for the mo&s;t part, there is no true iudgement, as
<PB N="67" REF="36">though the iudgement &s;eate were ap|pointed for the defence and mainte|nance of them, not that are oppre&s;&s;ed, but that do oppre&s;&s;e: not for the reliefe and &s;uccour of them that are wronged, but to countenance and bol&s;ter them out, who as the Propher &s;aith, deui&s;e mi&s;chiefe vpon their beds, and practi&s;e it when they come abroad. Therefore <HI>Salomon, Eccle.</HI> 5.7. giueth in&s;truction to the godly, that they be not mooued, and that they may be confirmed in pa|tience, looking for a day of hea<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">ing. <HI>If in a countrey</HI> &s;aith he, <HI>thou &s;ee&s;t the oppre&s;&s;ion of the poore, &amp; the defrauding of iudgement and iustice, bee not astonied at the matter, and maruell not; for hee that is higher then the highe&s;t regardeth, and there bee higher then they.</HI> Whereby they are put in mind, both of a more vpright Iudge, then is no earth to be &s;eene; and of a more righteous iudgement, by the ver|tue and force whereof, they &s;halbe both righted and relieued. Concerning which matter, <HI>E&s;dras</HI> hath &s;poken very well, 2. <HI>E&s;d.</HI> 7.32. <HI>The earth &s;hall re&s;tore tho&s;e that haue &s;lept in her, and the most high &s;hall appeare vpon the &s;eate of iudgement;
<PB N="68" REF="37">and mi&s;eries &s;hall vani&s;h away, and long &s;uffering &s;hall haue an end: iustice onely &s;hal co~tinue; the truth &s;hall remain, and vnrigh|teou&s;ne&s;&s;e &s;hall beare no more rule.</HI> For the wicked thinketh not on the iudgement to come; nay the are inwardly blinded, and that by Gods &s;ecret appointment, being &s;o farre giuen vp to their owne lu&s;ts, that they care not what villanie or violence they put in practice. But the godly are willed to haue regard to this rightfull day, when true iudgement &s;hal onely haue the vpper hand: againe they mu&s;t take heed, that when they &s;uffer, they &s;uffer not as euill doers and male|factors; for then they cannot looke for redre&s;&s;e an other day, and then this earthly iudgement dooth lawfully take place again&s;t them. But in all well doo|ing, let euery one commend this &s;oule to God, and commit his cau&s;e to that righ|teous Iudge. This la&s;t iudgement there|fore is for the benefite of the godly, that it may go well with them, who&s;e cau&s;e in this life could not be heard, nor any iu&s;tice done them. Againe, that not onely they may be righted in their cau&s;e, but al&s;o that they may bee deliue|red
<PB N="69" REF="37">from that infamy, and from tho&s;e &s;pitefull and approbrious &s;peeches, which the world hath giuen out again&s;t them: dooing them more hurt and wrong, and inward griefe thereby, then by fal&s;e iudgement which hath pa&s;&s;ed again&s;t them, and whereby they haue had their willes of them, and haue pre|uailed. And as the re&s;toring of theyr righteous cau&s;e, and of their credit and good name, which the world hath la|boured to depriue them of, &s;hall be an occa&s;ion of Chri&s;t his co~ming to iudge|ment, &s;o al&s;o is the condemnatio~ of the wicked. For in this life their co~demnati|on is begun, their con&s;cience witne&s;&s;ing again&s;t them, which then, and at the iudgement day, &s;hall fully and perfectly be declared; which is not &s;poken, that the godly are cleare from iudge|ment by their de&s;ert: for they are &s;in|ners and offenders, as others, though not perhaps in the &s;ame degree. Who through repentance and a liuely faith, taking hold of the mercies of God, haue no need to feare this iudgement, becau&s;e God doth not impute their &s;innes vnto them; and al&s;o their con&s;ciences do in
<PB N="70" REF="38">this &s;ort declare them free: although in re&s;pect of them&s;elues, they are greatly guilty. So that Chri&s;t &s;hal &s;tand on their &s;ide, and their con&s;cience &s;hall witne&s;&s;e vnto them, the exceeding loue of God and his gracious meercies, which &s;halbe the breath of life vnto the~, &amp; an a&s;&s;ura~ce of heaue~ly ioyes. But the wicked becau&s;e they haue their co~&s;ciences accu&s;ing and conde~ning the~; the fierce cou~tenance of the Iudge to daunt them, and fearful|ly to di&s;may them; the diuel pleading a|gain&s;t them, and calling for iudgement to be done vpon the~: therefore are they to look for nothing el&s;e, but euen the &s;e|uerity of iudgeme~t, &amp; the fearful &s;ente~ce of co~demnation: which &s;hal make them as it were to fall in peeces, through qua|king &amp; trembling, and to be re&s;olued to nothing: but that by Gods appointment they are re&s;erued to euerla&s;ting puni&s;h|ment, together with the diuell &amp; his an|gels. Who al&s;o I mean the diuell and his angels &s;halbe co~demned by the &s;entence of Gods &s;euere iudgement, not only be|cau&s;e they haue highly offe~ded god, but al&s;o becau&s;e they haue bene the authors of the ruine &amp; downfall of all mankind,
<PB N="71" REF="38">in prouoking and tempting them to all di&s;obedience, &s;in &amp; mi&s;chiefe. When as the righteous &s;hall liue for euer, &amp; &s;hall receiue a glorious kingdome, &amp; a bewti|full crowne at the Lords hand. Chri&s;t &s;hall come again the &s;econd time, as it is <HI>Iohn.</HI> 14.3. and &s;hal receiue vs vnto him|&s;elf, that where he is, there may we be al|&s;o. And as it is &s;aid of our Sauiour Chri&s;t, to the manife&s;tation of his great glory, that they &s;hall then &s;ee him, whom they haue pierced through: who&s;e pre&s;ence, &s;hall be to the greater confu&s;ion of the wicked &amp; his enemies, who &s;halbe con|&s;trained to behold him to be their iudge, and to abide his iudgement, whom they haue in this life &s;o greatly de&s;pi&s;ed, &amp; &s;o cruelly handled: &s;o al&s;o &s;hal Chri&s;t make his me~bers the godly, repentant, &amp; faith|full partakers of this his glory, as he him|&s;elf hath promi&s;ed. <HI>Mat.</HI> 19.28. <HI>That they &s;hal &s;it vpon twelue thrones, and iudge the twelue Tribes of</HI> I&s;rael: not that they &s;hal|be Iudges, but that they &s;hal approue his iudgement. A &s;hadow wherof, we haue in the&s;e our earthly iudgements, whereas you &s;ee the iu&s;tices &amp; men of account, &s;it with the Iudge, not that they haue to do with pronouncing &s;entence, or with
<PB N="72" REF="39">the iudgement, but that among&s;t the re&s;t, it is a token vnto them, of honour and dignitie, in the &s;ight of the people. According to the which meaning, wee read, <HI>Luk.</HI> 13.28. <HI>That there &s;halbe wee|ping and gna&s;hing of teeth, when the vngod|ly &s;hall &s;ee</HI> Abraham, I&s;aac, and Iacob: (meaning thereby, they godly and faith|full) <HI>and all the prophets in the kingdome of God, and them&s;elues thru&s;t out at doores,</HI> and heauen gates &s;hut again&s;t them: be|ing in that taking as the rich man was, &s;poken of in the Go&s;pell, who being in hell, beheld <HI>Lazarus</HI> in <HI>Abrahams</HI> bo|&s;ome, him&s;elfe crying out but for one drop of cold water, to allay that bur|ning and vnquenchable heate, which he found him&s;elfe to be in, and could not haue it. Then &s;hall they begin to &s;ay with them&s;elues, when they &s;hall &s;ee the righteous &s;tand in great boldne&s;&s;e, &s;o that they &s;hall be vexed with horrible feare, and wonderfully amazed, then &s;hall they chaunge their mindes, and &s;igh with inward gitefe, and &s;ay within them&s;elues; <HI>Wi&s;d.</HI> 5. <HI>The&s;e are they, whom &s;ometime we had in deri&s;ion,</HI> (as indeede who are more derided and contemned
<PB N="73" REF="39">in the world, then they that be well di&s;|po&s;ed, and to their power liue after the feare of God) <HI>The&s;e are they, whom wee had in deri&s;ion, &amp; in a parable of reproach. We fooles thought their liues madne&s;&s;e, and their end without honor. But now how is it, that they are counted among the children of God, and that their proui&s;ion is among the the Saints:</HI> and that they are &s;o highly in Gods fauour? <HI>Therefore we haue erred from the way of truth, and the light of righ|teou&s;ne&s;&s;e hath not &s;hined vnto vs: and the Sunne of vnder&s;tanding ro&s;e not vpon vs. We haue wearied our &s;elues in the way of wickedne&s;&s;e and de&s;truction, and we haue gone through daungerous wayes, but wee haue not knowne the way of the Lord,</HI> nor liued in his feare.</P>
<P>And now hauing heard the chiefe&s;t matters concerning the day of doome, and the generall and la&s;t day of iudge|ment; that wee may the better bee prepared vnto it, let vs heare what coun|&s;ell is giuen vs, in holy &s;criptures. And fir&s;t, that of the Apo&s;tle S. <HI>Paul,</HI> may take place, and &s;eemeth greatly to tend to this purpo&s;e. Which coun&s;ell wee read, 1. <HI>Cor.</HI> 11.13. in this &s;ort. If wee
<PB N="74" REF="40">would iudge our &s;elues, we &s;hould not be iudged: and this profit wee &s;hould reape thereby, that in time to come, we &s;hould not be conde~ned with the world. But as a matter full of terror and pen|&s;iuene&s;&s;e, wee will not enter into &s;o deepe a con&s;ideration, nor trouble our con&s;ciences &s;o farre; as to iudge our &s;elues, or to fall into examinati|on of our owne wayes. Whereas no doubt if wee &s;hould &s;o doo, it would fall out mo&s;t happily on our &s;ide. For if vpon due try all and exa|mination, without all partiallitie and affection, wee &s;hould pronounce &s;en|tence of iudgement again&s;t our &s;elues, according to our de&s;erts, it would bee no otherwi&s;e, nor no better then con|demnation. And yet not that con|demnation which woorketh di&s;paire, but &s;uch a condemnation whereby wee might bee acquitted from euerla&s;ting condemnation. As the &s;ame Apo&s;tle writing to the Corinthians, 2. <HI>Cor. 7.9. I now reioyce</HI> &s;aith he, <HI>not that yee were &s;ory, but that yee &s;orrowed to repen|tance. For yee &s;orrowed godly, &s;o that in nothing ye were hurt by vs. For
<PB N="75" REF="40">godly &s;orrowe cau&s;eth repentance vnto &s;aluation, not to bee repented of; but the worldly &s;orrowe, cau&s;eth death.</HI> So verily, if wee would enter into iudge|ment with our &s;elues, it would pro|cure a griefe and &s;orrowe; but &s;uch a &s;orrowe (e&s;pecially if it came from a well meaning minde) that &s;hould not be vnto death. For by iudging of our &s;elues, we &s;hould take a viewe of that death, and of tho&s;e torments, which by rea&s;on of our &s;innes we de&s;erue. And by this meane, we &s;hould be driuen to re|pentance, and to &s;eeke after God; to bee reconciled vnto God, &amp; to returne into his fauour: that our con&s;ciences might be disburthened of &s;o great feare, which the &s;euerity of the la&s;t iudgeme~t of god, might work within vs, &amp; that we might haue boldne&s;&s;e and comfort in that day. But if we walke on &s;ecurely &amp; carele&s;ly, and wil not once vouch&s;afe to enter into iudgement with our &s;elues, then may we a while be merry in this world, but our mirth &s;hal hereafter be turned into mour|ning. As the wi&s;e ma~ doth put &s;uch care|le&s;&s;e per&s;ons in remembrance, that in their iollitie, they might not too much forget them&s;elues.</P>
<PB N="76" REF="41">
<P>Reioyce &s;aith he, if &s;o be, it &s;eeme good in thine eyes, but remember therewith|all, that thou &s;halt be called to account and to iudgement. <HI>Eccle.</HI> 11.9. and 12.14. And therefore he giueth this coun|&s;ell, Chap. 7.14. <HI>It is better to go to the hou&s;e of mourning, then to the hou&s;e of fea|&s;ting. Anger is better then laughter; for by a &s;ad looke the heart is made the better.</HI> Better it is to be in the hou&s;e of mour|ning, and to weepe for our &s;innes, wher|by we are in daunger of Gods iudge|ment, then to be in the hou&s;e of fea&s;ting and forgetfulne&s;&s;e, to enioy &s;ome plea|&s;ure with the world for a &s;mall time, &s;ee|ing our life is but as a &s;pan long, &amp; that here onely, and in this life, is the time of forgiuene&s;&s;e, that we may be pardoned. Better it is to be angry with our &s;elues, then to plea&s;e our &s;elues in &s;uch &s;ort: and a &s;ad minde is a meane and a great help to further our repentance. And how &s;hall we obtaine &s;o godly a purpo&s;e as to bee &s;et free from Gods heauy anger, which we haue mo&s;t iu&s;tly de&s;erued, if we doo not v&s;e the meanes which tend therevnto? Commonly where iudge|ment is, there followeth condemnation:
<PB N="77" REF="41">but heare how &s;weete and comfortable it is, that in iudging of our &s;elues after this order, which I haue &s;et downe vnto you, we &s;hall find a way to be quit from euerla&s;ting condemnation. Which we can no way e&s;cape, if in this life wee doo not iudge our &s;elues and condemne our &s;elues, by true repentance; calling for mercie and forgiuene&s;&s;e, that wee may be receiued into Gods fauour, and not in time to come, to be condemned with the world. For in &s;o iudging of our &s;elues, it is not a meanes to cau&s;e vs to di&s;paire, but to haue a better hope, and an enduring, and a reioycing comfort: which comfort, &s;hall neuer bee taken from vs, if &s;till wee be mindfull to call our &s;elues to iudgement, and haue an eye to our wayes, that wee do not of|fend God.</P>
<P>Wherefore let euery one of vs pray, that our hearts may bee &s;o prepared a|gain&s;t this iudgement day, that we may be mo&s;t willing to call our &s;elues to ac|count, and to iudgement. So that ha|uing thus humbled our &s;elues, after a while all feare &s;hall pa&s;&s;e away from vs, and our hearts &s;hall be filled with ioy;
<PB N="78" REF="42">and whereas heretofore we haue wi&s;hed that this day &s;hould not bee, now wee &s;hall de&s;ire in heart to haue it come to pa&s;&s;e. And &s;o much the more, becau&s;e our con&s;ciences &s;hall a&s;&s;ure vs, (our &s;ins being forgiuen) that we &s;hall not bee a|mong the number of them, that &s;hall be condemned, but among them to whom it &s;hall be &s;aid, <HI>Come yee ble&s;|&s;ed, inherit the kingdome prepared for you.</HI> Which comfortable words, God graunt we may then heare, to our euerla&s;ting comfort.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Spend the time in an hone&s;t vo|cation.</NOTE>An other remedy to auoyd the &s;eue|ritie of this puni&s;hment is, to &s;eeke to plea&s;e God in this world, in an hone&s;t vocation and trade of life. For as idle|ne&s;&s;e is the cau&s;e of many &s;innes and vi|ces, &s;o godly painfulne&s;&s;e is the mother of all vertues: and which doth breede a great comfort to our co~&s;ciences, again&s;t the time when we &s;hall be called to our account, how we haue &s;pent our time, and imployed tho&s;e good gifts, where|with God hath inabled vs.</P>
<P>Therefore in the Go&s;pell, before the declaration of the latter day of iudge|ment, there is mention made of the ta|lents
<PB N="79" REF="42">that were be&s;towed, &amp; they that receiued them, were called to the recko|ning, how they employed them: the &s;lothfull being bound hand and foote, and ca&s;t into vtter darkne&s;&s;e, and the painfull highly aduanced. So that there is a way offered to auoyd iudgement, and they that are therein negligent and carele&s;&s;e, &s;hall be guilty of iudgement: and &s;hall fall into diuers mi&s;chiefes and &s;ins, which &s;hal make them more faulty, and worthy of greater condemnation. The life of man &s;omewhere is compa|red to a warfare, becau&s;e wee ought to fight with it, and to re&s;i&s;t all euill tentations. So al&s;o is it wel compared to marchandi&s;e, becau&s;e we ought alwayes to be painfull, according as God hath ap|pointed. The marchant increa&s;eth the wealth and honor of the co~mon-weale, and hath wherwithal he may be liberal vnto others, &amp; rich vnto him&s;elf. In like &s;ort, hath God created vs to his honour, and that by that vocation, whervnto he hath called vs, we &s;huld &s;et forth his glo|ry: &amp; as we are borne to the benefit one of an other, &s;o in our vocation, ought we to do good to al, as much as lyeth in our power.</P>
<PB N="80" REF="43">
<P>And by the performance of our dutie, according to Gods commaundement, we &s;hall be able to a&s;&s;ure our &s;elues of Gods fauour and ble&s;&s;ing towards vs. Let vs redeeme the time &s;aith the Apo|&s;tle, for no dout we haue &s;pent much of our time euilly. And &s;o redeeming the time, that is granted vs in hone&s;t, vertu|ous, and godly affaires and exerci&s;es, we &s;halbe kept from wicked rhoughts, ydle words, and &s;hamefull deedes, whereby we are made guiltie of Gods wrath and heauy iudgement.</P>
<P>A wonder it is to &s;ee, that many to whom God hath giuen excellent gifts, do lea&s;t v&s;e them, eyther to Geds glory, or the benefite of their countrey. Yea ra|ther they are giuen to abu&s;e them, tur|ning them to the di&s;honour of God, and to the hurt of others, and to the &s;hame of them&s;elues. And I would to God, this might come into their mindes, that vn|to whom, and vpon whom, God hath be&s;towed much, much al&s;o of them &s;hal be required. Many I &s;ay, withdrawe them&s;elues from doing good, and &s;up|pre&s;&s;e the good gifts of GOD within them, and con&s;ume their yeares in ydle|ne&s;&s;e,
<PB N="81" REF="43">and vanitie, as though it &s;hould neuer be &s;aid: <HI>Stand foorth, and giue ac|count of thy Steward&s;hip.</HI> And as there is no kind of life, more commendable in the &s;ight of GOD and men, then that which doth &s;hewe forth in practi&s;e, the goood graces that God hath be&s;towed, to the comfort, encouragement, and fur|therance of others: &s;o is there nothing more to bee di&s;prai&s;ed, then to &s;uffer Gods gifts to lie hid, and as it were to be buried within vs, and to wrap vp that ta|lent in a napkin, as the Go&s;pell &s;pea|keth, which was put into our hands to v&s;e, to great commoditie &amp; aduantage. The more our time is idly &s;pent, the more we haue to an&s;were: and the more that we haue &s;pent the time in good en|deuours, the le&s;&s;e we haue to feare. Nay when the latter day of iudgement &s;hall come, happy &s;hall they be, of what de|gree or calling &s;oeuer; happy &s;hall that &s;eruant be, that is founde to bee &s;o painefull. For vnto him it &s;hall bee giuen, and from him that had a a talent and v&s;ed it not well, it &s;halbe taken. And this &s;hall be their glory and crowne of reioycing, when it &s;halbe &s;aid
<PB N="82" REF="44">in the pre&s;ence of all the people of the world, then a&s;&s;embled; <HI>It is wel done good &s;eruant and faithfull, thou ha&s;t bene faith|full in a little, I will make thee ruler ouer much, enter in, into thy mai&s;ters ioy. It is wel done good &s;eruant and faithfull.</HI> As I would the contrary &s;entence might fear them, that are vnmindful and carele&s;&s;e, to &s;pend the time wel, which &s;halbe pro|nounced then, and at that day again&s;t them. <HI>Cast that vnprofitable &s;eruant into vtter darkene&s;&s;e, there &s;hall bee weeping and gna&s;hing of teeth; Cast that vn|profitable &s;eruant into vtter darke|ne&s;&s;e.</HI></P>
<P>Now mo&s;t fitly to this warning,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Watch.</NOTE> to &s;pend our time well, is this coun&s;ell gi|uen vs to watch. For this iudgement &s;hall come as a &s;nare vpon the whole earth, and &s;hall come at vnawares, to the ydle, wicked, and carele&s;&s;e. And better watching there cannot be, then to &s;pend the time well. For &s;o wee &s;hall bee &s;ure, that whether wee &s;leepe or wake, wee bee the Lords: come death, come life, it cannot fall out ami&s;&s;e vnto vs. It is &s;aid, that the la&s;t iudgement &s;hall come as a theefe in
<PB N="83" REF="44">the night: and al&s;o, that the inhabitants of the world, &s;hall for the mo&s;t part, if not all of them, be giuen to their plea|&s;ures, and all licenciou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and loo&s;e|ne&s;&s;e of liuing; as it was in the dayes of <HI>Lot,</HI> when <HI>Sodome</HI> and <HI>Gomorra</HI> were burnt with fire and brim&s;tone from hea|uen: and as it was in the dayes of <HI>Noah,</HI> when the windowes of heauen were opened, and when the floud came and ouerwhelmed them all. That &s;o iudgement may proceed mo&s;t iu&s;tly a|gain&s;t them, that &s;hall then be ouerta|ken in &s;uch filthy and vngodly kinde of liuing. Well are we counfelled by the E|uangeli&s;ts, &amp; by the Apo&s;tles, if at lea&s;t|wi&s;e we can &s;uffer their coun&s;ell to take deepe roote in our hearts. <HI>Now the end of all things</HI> &s;aith the Apo&s;tle S. <HI>Peter, is at hand, be ye therefore &s;ober and watching in prayer.</HI> Likewi&s;e al&s;o his fellow Apo&s;tle, <HI>Let vs not &s;leepe as do other</HI> (where &s;leepe is taken for a carele&s;&s;e and lewde life) but in all godly and vertuous exerci|&s;es, <HI>let vs watch and bee &s;ober. For God</HI> &s;aith hee, <HI>hath not appoynted vs vnto wrath, but to obtaine &s;aluation, by the meanes of our Lord Ie&s;us Christ,
<PB N="84" REF="45">which dyed for vs: that whether wee wake or &s;leepe, we &s;hould liue together with him. Take heed therefore</HI> &s;aith the Euangeli&s;t S. Luke. 21.34. <HI>vnto your &s;elues, lea&s;t at any time, your hearts be oppre&s;&s;ed, with &s;ur|fetting and drunkenne&s;&s;e, and cares of this life,</HI> (which matters, the Apo&s;tle mea|neth by &s;leeping) <HI>and lea&s;t that day come on you at vnawares. Watch and pray conti|nually, that yee may bee counted worthy to e&s;cape all the&s;e things that &s;hall come to pa&s;&s;e, and that ye may &s;tand before the &s;onne of man.</HI> And becau&s;e we know not when this iudgement &s;hall be, neither as the <HI>Euangelist, Mar.</HI> 13. &s;aith, <HI>Do wee know when the mai&s;ter of the hou&s;e will come, to call his &s;eruants</HI> to their reckoning, whe|ther it will be at <HI>euen, or at midnight; at the cock-crowning, or in the dawning; lea&s;t if he come &s;uddenly,</HI> hee &s;hould find vs &s;lee|ping and ill occupied: therefore let vs al&s;o harken to the coun&s;ell of our Saui|our Chri&s;t, which doth iumpe and agree with the former. <HI>Take heed</HI> &s;aith hee, <HI>watch and pray, for ye know not when the time is,</HI> or &s;hall bee, when the trumpet &s;hall blowe, to call you to iudgement. <HI>And the&s;e things which I &s;ay vnto you, I
<PB N="85" REF="45">&s;ay vnto all: Watch.</HI></P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Not to be curious.</NOTE>Becau&s;e we know not when this ge|nerall and la&s;t iudgement &s;hall be, wee are willed to watch, and to be in a rea|dine&s;&s;e again&s;t that time: but not to be curious to &s;earch Gods &s;ecrets. <HI>It is not for you,</HI> &s;aith our Sauiour Chri&s;t to his Di&s;ciples, <HI>to knowe the times and the &s;ea|&s;ons,</HI> of this waighty matter which God hath kept in his owne knowledge; and this is a mi&s;erie of all mi&s;eries. But the nature of man, as it is wholly de&s;irous of newes, &s;o is it wholly giuen to knowe tho&s;e things which are hidden, and mu&s;t be hidden: and yet are wee &s;o pre&s;ump|tuous, as to creepe and clime into Gods vn&s;earchable coun&s;ell, althogh it be de|nied vs. Wherefore let vs be content, to keepe our &s;elues within the bounds of mode&s;tie, and not to be curious, and de&s;irous to knowe more then the An|gels, who are altogether ignorant here|of; &amp; much le&s;&s;e &s;hal we be able to reach vnto it: but the more we de&s;ire to know it, the further off &s;hal we be from it.</P>
<P>Some haue bene &s;o bold, as to &s;et down the time, and haue fained heauenly re|uelations, for the certaintie and a&s;&s;u|rance
<PB N="86" REF="46">of their &s;peeches: yet their vani|tie hath beene di&s;prooued, when the time hath beene expired. How much better &s;hall it bee for vs, to lay a&s;ide all &s;uch vanitie, which &s;tands vpon vncer|taintie, and giue our &s;elues to &s;uch a carefull meditation, that wee may not bee vnprepared, when wee &s;hall bee called. Curious &s;earching can no|thing profit vs, but a wi&s;e and god|ly fore&s;ight and foreca&s;t, may &s;tand vs greatly in &s;tead; whereby wee &s;hall not bee taken at vnawares, as the vngodly are like to be, who foreca&s;ting no danger, &s;hall &s;uddenly fall into de|&s;truction.</P>
<P>If wee cannot &s;ufficiently make an|&s;were vnto the Iudge,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Prayer.</NOTE> before who&s;e iudgement &s;eate wee &s;hall &s;tand, as doubtle&s;&s;e wee &s;hall not bee able to an&s;were one for a thou&s;and, let vs prepare our hearts by confe&s;&s;ion of our &s;innes, and by prayer for forgiue|ne&s;&s;e of them, and let vs &s;ay with the Prophet; <HI>Enter not into iudgement with vs O Lord, for in thy &s;ight &s;hall no fle&s;h bee iustified.</HI> O Lord forgiue vs our &s;innes, and let not thy wrathfull di&s;plea&s;ure
<PB N="87" REF="46">light vpon vs. Who would be vnpre|pared again&s;t the time, that &s;hall come, and yet it is vncertaine, to teach vs to haue the more care: &s;eeing that after death hath arre&s;ted vs, we &s;halbe broght into the court of Gods iudgement, and then no other i&s;&s;ue, &amp; no other way, but either heauen or hell. And who would not haue a great regard to this matter? For the tryall of this iudgement &s;halbe &s;eene in the angui&s;h of death, and as it were at the la&s;t ga&s;pe, when our con|&s;ciences &s;hall bring heauy things to our remembrance; and the diuell by his accu&s;ations &s;hall put vs in great feare, and driue vs well-neare to di&s;paire. And the nearer wee begin to approach, to the tribunall &s;eate of Gods iudgement, the greater &s;hall bee our feare, and more grieuous vnto vs, then the bitter pangs of death it &s;elfe. Watch there|fore and pray, that thou maye&s;t be pre|pared again&s;t this time, and again&s;t this iudgement.</P>
<P>Wherefore the Lord in mercie,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Conclu&s;ion.</NOTE> graunt vs a godly and a peaceable pa&s;|&s;age, and that throgh his de&s;ert that dy|ed for vs, it would plea&s;e him to mitti|gate
<PB N="88" REF="47">and a&s;&s;wage all the&s;e terrorus and feares: and let vs with all &s;peede, ap|proach, to the throne of grace, to finde helpe in time of need. Whereas the wic|ked which are carele&s;&s;e in their lifetime, at the poynt of death, and at their la&s;t pa&s;&s;age out of the world, &s;halbe &s;o a&s;|&s;aulted on euery &s;ide, by their owne co~|&s;cience condemning them; and the di|uell accu&s;ing them; and the horrour of euerla&s;ting torments to come, ouer|whelming them; that they &s;hall bee driuen to crie out again&s;t that iudge|ment, that hangeth ouer their heads, and wayteth for them at the doore.</P>
<P>Such &s;hall the day of iudgement bee to vs, as is the la&s;t day of our life, and looke what the cour&s;e of our life is, when we are called vnto iudgement, (for af|ter our death, immediately commeth iudgement) and &s;o &s;hall our iudgement be. Neither are we therefore to thinke, that our la&s;t deedes onely &s;hall come to examination: but wee ought to be pre|pared euery moment, lea&s;t death doo take vs vnprouided. For they which in the angui&s;h of death, and in the vp&s;hot of their liues, &s;halbe found vnready, it is
<PB N="89" REF="47">hardly to be thought, that their re&s;ur|rection &s;halbe happy.</P>
<P>And therefore our Sauiour Chri&s;t hath &s;aid: He that per&s;euereth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Per&s;euere.</NOTE> and hol|deth out well to the end, he &s;hall be &s;a|ued. The which that we may do, let vs be prudent <HI>Noahs,</HI> to build the Arke of a good con&s;cience, before the floud of iudgement do ouerflowe: prouident <HI>Io|&s;ephs,</HI> to lay vp the graine of goline&s;&s;e, in the barns of our harts, before the dearth of mercy &s;halbe: like vnto painful ants, to prouide the food of the &s;oule, before the winter of iu&s;tice do approach: trac|table patients, to take the preparatiue of repentance, before the pangs of death doo come: wi&s;e virgines, to haue ready the lampe of faith, and the oyle of vertue, before the Bridgrome Chri&s;t Ie|&s;us &s;hut vp the doores: good &s;tewards to prouide for the tabernacle of heauen, before we loo&s;e the office of this life. And let vs not &s;traine curte&s;ie, to &s;ee who will go fir&s;t: but let vs remember, that euery one is to an&s;were for him&s;elf; and God hath many me&s;&s;engers. For either &s;ickne&s;&s;e will come, or age will come: nay death will come &s;uddenly
<PB N="90" REF="48">and &s;peedily; and after a while we &s;hall ri&s;e againe, and the Iudge will come; who will neither be led by fauour or re|que&s;t; nor blinded and &s;topped from proceeding, with bribes and money; nor then will allowe of too late repentance; becau&s;e then &s;hall be the time of execu|tion of his iu&s;tice. The day of iudge|ment &s;hall come, in the which, pure harts &s;hall more preuaile then faire words; and a good con&s;cience, then great trea|&s;ure. And though &s;ome may thinke, that that day is far off: yet let them be &s;ure, their la&s;t time will come on apace, and wee knowe not how &s;oone that houre &s;halbe, and when God wil appoint the time. Good it were, and mo&s;t happy for vs, if euery one of vs were &s;o affected and &s;o prepared, as it is reported of a ho|ly father S. <HI>Ierome,</HI> who&s;e words were the&s;e (euen the declaration of his heart: For out of the heart, &amp; out of the abun|dance thereof, the mouth &s;peaketh) <HI>Whether I eate</HI> &s;ath he, <HI>or drinke, or what|&s;oeuer I do, me think I heare this &s;ound al|wayes in my eares: Ari&s;e ye dead and come to iudgement: Ari&s;e ye dead and come to iudgement.</HI></P>
<PB N="91" REF="48">
<P>Let vs follow his example, confirmed by the Apo&s;tles coun&s;ell: <HI>Watch and pray withall per&s;euerance,</HI> that wee may keepe the garment of innocencie, and labour the worke of God, in the day of this life.</P>
<P>Wherefore &s;eeing that day &s;hall bee comfortable to the godly, which &s;halbe fearefull to the wicked: let vs endeuour before this iudgement come, to be a|mong the godly and the righteous: and that our co~&s;ciences may cleare vs &s;o wel, that wee may feele within our &s;elues, a de&s;ire of this &s;econd comming of Chri&s;t, rather then any tre~bling at the remem|bra~ce of it. The which let it not be done by any fained flattery of our &s;elues, but in &s;inceritie &amp; truth: knowing this a&s;&s;u|redly, that who&s;oeuer &s;hal not be found written in the booke of life, &s;halbe ca&s;t into the lake of fire: where their portion &s;halbe nothing el&s;e but weeping &amp; gna|&s;hing of teeth. That wee may not bee caught in the flaming fire, rendring ven|geance: but that we may be placed in the heauenly <HI>Ieru&s;alem,</HI> and reckoned amo~g the &s;aints of God: that the day of iudge|ment may not be a day of eternall con|demnation
<PB N="92" REF="49">vnto vs, but euen the per|fection of our &s;aluation and redempti|on, and the beginning of all ioy &amp; com|fort. While we liue here in this world, let vs be alwayes ready, by &s;pending the time well. For as we &s;owe, &s;o &s;hall we reape. As the holy Apo&s;tle doth put vs in minde. <HI>Gal.</HI> 6.7.8. <HI>Bee not deceiued, God is not mocked. For he that &s;oweth to the fle&s;h,</HI> by practi&s;ing the workes of the fle&s;h, <HI>&s;hall therefore reape corruption:</HI> or rather as if he had &s;aid, condemnation. <HI>But he that &s;oweth to the &s;pirit,</HI> by morti|fying the deeds of the fle&s;h, by the good motions of Gods &s;pirit, &s;hall there hence reape euerla&s;ting life. Which &s;entence I pray God print in all our hearts, and &s;o graciou&s;ly prepare vs vnto the day of iudgement. Now the very God of peace keepe vs in all well doing, and in all good workes, to do his will, working in vs, that which is plea&s;ant in his &s;ight, through Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, to whom be prai&s;e for euermore. <HI>Amen.</HI></P>
<PB N="77" REF="49">
<Q><BIBL>2. <HI>Pet.</HI> 36.</BIBL>
<P>The world that then was, peri&s;hed, ouerflowed with water.</P></Q>
<Q><BIBL><HI>2.</HI> Pet. <HI>3.7.</HI></BIBL>
<P>But the heauens and earth which are now, are kept by the &s;ame word in &s;tore, and re&s;erued vnto fire, against the day of iudgement, and of the de&s;truction of vngodly men. ver&s;. <HI>9.</HI> The Lord is not &s;lack but patient, ver&s;. <HI>10.</HI> Howbeit the day of the Lord will come as a theefe in the night, in the which, the heauens &s;hall pa&s;&s;e away with a noy&s;e, and the elements &s;hall melt with heate, and the earth with the workes therein, &s;hall be burnt vp. Seeing there|fore that all the&s;e things mu&s;t be di&s;&s;olued, what manner per&s;ons ought ye to be, in holy conuer&s;ation and godlyne&s;&s;e: Looking for, and ha&s;ting vnto the comming of the day of God, by the which, the heauens being on fire, &s;halbe di&s;&s;olued? But we looke for new hea|uens, and a new earth, according to his pro|mi&s;e, wherein dwelleth righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e. Wherefore beloued, &s;ince ye looke for &s;uch things, be diligent, that ye may be found of him in peace, without &s;pot, and blamele&s;&s;e. And &s;uppo&s;e, that the long &s;uffering of our Lord, is &s;aluation.</P></Q>
<PB N="94" REF="50">
<Q><BIBL><HI>1.</HI> Pet. <HI>4.7.</HI></BIBL>
<P>Now the end of all things is at hand. Be ye therefore &s;ober and watching in prayer.</P></Q>
<Q><BIBL>Luk. <HI>21.34.</HI></BIBL>
<P>Take heed to your &s;elues, lea&s;t at any time your hearts be oppre&s;|&s;ed with &s;urfetting and drunkenne&s;&s;e, and cares of this life: and lea&s;t that day come on you at vnawares. For as a &s;nare &s;hall it come on all them, that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore and pray continually, that ye may be counted worthy to e|&s;cape all the&s;e things that &s;hall come to pa&s;&s;e, and that ye may &s;tand before the Sonne of man.</P>
<P>Ari&s;e ye dead, and come to iudgement.</P></Q>
<TRAILER>The end of the fir&s;t Treati&s;e.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="treatise">
<PB REF="50">
<HEAD>A TREATISE OF the Ioyes of Heauen.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<BIBL>1. Cor. 2.9.</BIBL>
<Q><P><HI>But as it is written.</HI> The things which eye hath not &s;eene, neither eare hath heard, neither came into mans heart, are; which God hath prepared for them that loue him.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_IF the holy Apo&s;tle S. <HI>Paul,</HI> being taken vp into Paradice, heard &s;uch words which cannot bee &s;poken, and are not po&s;&s;ible for man to vtter, as he te&s;tifi|eth of him&s;elfe, 2. <HI>Cor.</HI> 12.3. How &s;hould I take vpon mee, to &s;hewe you tho&s;e Ioyes, which neither eye hath &s;cene, nor eare hath heard, nor euer en|tred into the heart of man.</P>
<PB N="96" REF="51">
<P>Herein I know mens mindes wil run vpon needle&s;&s;e curio&s;ities, which is no part of my dutie to &s;atisfie: as al&s;o to &s;hew you mine owne deuices and ima|ginations, were a thing to &s;et forth my owne folly. But &s;o far forth as <HI>mans rea|&s;on</HI> may &s;earch, but there we mu&s;t &s;tay, for mans rea&s;on in &s;pirituall affaires, is altogether fooli&s;hne&s;&s;e: nay rather &s;o far forth as Gods word doth in&s;truct vs, we may be de&s;irous to learne; as al&s;o to be content, although many things bee hid from vs. Let it therefore be &s;uffici|ent vnto vs, if wee may haue but a ta&s;te of tho&s;e Ioyes, and that it plea&s;eth God in a mea&s;ure to graunt vs &s;ome know|ledge of them. <HI>Adam</HI> beeing in the earthly paradice, knewe not all the &s;e|crets and commodities thereof: and how &s;hall wee thinke to attaine to the full knowledge of heauenly Paradice? But &s;eeing God doth graunt vs the vnder|&s;tanding of the&s;e matters but after a &s;ort, he doth it for our good; that &s;eeing tho&s;e ioyes that we can conceiue, are &s;ur|pa&s;&s;ing excellent, and yet the heauenly ioyes do &s;urmount our co~ceits, by many degrees further, we might the more be
<PB N="97" REF="51">drawne in loue with God him&s;elfe, who hath ordained &s;uch rare, vn&s;peakeable, incomprehen&s;ible, and endle&s;&s;e excel|lencies, for them that loue him, and liue in his obedience. As al&s;o con&s;idering our own great vnworthine&s;&s;e, we might with the Prophet <HI>Dauid</HI> breake foorth into the prai&s;es of God, 14.4.3. and &s;ay; <HI>Lord what is man that thou ha&s;t &s;uch re|&s;pect vnto him: or the &s;onne of man, that thou &s;o regarde&s;t him?</HI> Now as the Pro|phets doo &s;tir vp the peoples mindes, to &s;erue and honor God, by &s;etting before them the temporal ble&s;&s;ings of this life; and thereby giuing them an earne&s;t of greater ble&s;&s;ings to come: &s;o is the hap|pie e&s;tate of euerla&s;ting life, de&s;cribed vnto vs, by &s;uch earthly compari&s;ons, as our natural capacitie can conceiue. That we beholding in minde and contempla|tion, tho&s;e wonderfull Ioyes, which we can conceiue, we may grow into admi|ration of tho&s;e heauenly and incredible excellencies, which are altogether pa&s;t our conceit, and farre beyond our reach and vnder&s;tanding. For as &s;piritual ble&s;|&s;ings do far &s;urpa&s;&s;e corporall ble&s;&s;ings,
<PB N="98" REF="52">&s;o heauenly ioyes do far exceed al earth|ly glory. Yea and the&s;e &s;tately &s;ecrets of an other life, are &s;o much hidden from fle&s;h and bloud, that all the lear|ning of the wi&s;e men of the world, can come nothing neare them. That in this ca&s;e they may truly &s;ay with the A&s;trologers of King <HI>Nabuchadnezzer, Dan.</HI> 2. <HI>It is a rare thing, and there is no other that can declare them but God him&s;elfe, who&s;e dwelling is not with fle&s;h.</HI></P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The Tur|ki&s;h Para|dice.</NOTE>But let vs a little behold what fle&s;h and bloud hath &s;et downe, concerning the&s;e ioyes of heauen. In the Turki&s;h <HI>Alcoran,</HI> that is a booke which they v&s;e in &s;tead of a Bible, which Booke <HI>Maho|met</HI> their Prophet left vnto them, as the learned haue &s;earched out: thus the ioyes of heauen are &s;et downe. Their Prophet promi&s;eth them, garments of &s;ilke, of all &s;orts of colours; bracelets of gold and amber: parlours and banquet|ting hou&s;es vpon flouds and riuers; ve&s;|&s;els of gold and &s;iluer, Angels &s;eruing the~; bringing in gold, milk; in &s;iluer, wine; lodgings furni&s;hed, cu&s;hens, pillows and downe beds: mo&s;t bewtifull women to
<PB N="99" REF="52">accompany them: gardens and orchards, with harbors, fountains, &s;prings, and all manner of plea&s;ant fruits: riuers of milk, honey, and &s;piced wine: all manner of &s;weet odours, perfumes, &amp; fragrant &s;ents: and to be &s;hort, what&s;oeuer the fle&s;h &s;hall de&s;ire to eate. Thus fle&s;hly people, haue a fle&s;hly religion, and a fle&s;hly pa|radice to inhabit: and &s;en&s;ual men, haue imagined the ioyes the heauen, according to their &s;en&s;ual delights: &amp; yet to them that haue any &s;ence and rea&s;on, it canot chu&s;e, but &s;eeme to end all in a fable. The&s;e ioyes are &s;eene in Princes courts: the&s;e ioyes are &s;eene in the Turkis&s;h kingdome: but the ioyes of heauen are &s;uch, that no eye hath euer &s;eene them.</P>
<P>But to leaue the&s;e deceiued Turkes, to their fal&s;e and fained ioyes, let vs con|&s;ider what other haue imagined, not much vnlike to this. Which is ex|pre&s;&s;ed by way of co~pari&s;on, of a poore mans mi&s;erable e&s;tate, &s;uddenly chan|ged, into mo&s;t vnlooked for happine&s;&s;e; whereby the ioyes of an other life may appeare, by the mi&s;eries of this life. As if a poore man that were out of his way,
<PB N="100" REF="53">wandring alone vpon the mountaines, in the mid&s;t of a darke and tempe&s;tuous night, farre from company, de&s;titute of money, beaten with raine, terrified with thunder, &s;tiffe with colde, wearied out with labour, almo&s;t fami&s;hed with hun|ger and thir&s;t, and neare brought vnto di|&s;paire, with multitude of mi&s;eries; &s;huld vpon the &s;uddain, and in the twinckling of an eye,<NOTE PLACE="marg">This cha~ge is &s;udden and vnloo|ked for.</NOTE> be placed in a goodly large, and rich pallace, furni&s;hed with all kind of cleare lights, warme fire, &s;weet &s;mels, daintie meates, &s;oft beds, plea&s;ant mu|&s;icke, fine apparell, and honorable com|pany, all prepared for him, and atte~ding his co~ming, to &s;erue him, to honor him, and to annoynt &amp; crown him a king for euer. Behold y^t mi&s;eries of this life, &amp; the Ioyes of an other; yet is this but an ima|gination, and the wit and wi&s;edome of man, can deuice a great deale more: and yet all are farre inferiour in degree, to tho&s;e true ioyes, that hereafter &s;hall be found. See how the inue~tio~s of me~, blin|ded with their naturall conceits, run all vpon outward comforts, and &s;en&s;uall ioyes, all for the body, and as for the &s;oule, that is not once remembred. Now
<PB N="101" REF="53">from the deuice<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">, inuentions, and imagi|nations of men, all which come nothing neare, to the effect of this matter, let vs now come to the Reuelation of the Scripture, and if any where this ble&s;&s;ed e&s;tate be to be found, we &s;hall read it in the Booke of the Reuelation. Wherein although many things bee hard and in|tricate, and pa&s;&s;ing mans vnder&s;tan|ding, yet is this matter liuely de&s;cribed after a mea&s;ure, and in a &s;ort, vnder the name of the citie of God, and the hea|uenly <HI>Ieru&s;ale~.</HI> And &s;tra~ge it is, that tho&s;e matters, that neither eye hath &s;eene, nor eare hath heard, nor euer entred into the heart of man, &s;hould &s;o much bee opened and reuealed, as there we may read. <HI>Reue.</HI> 21.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t the~ let vs &s;peak co~cerning the place,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The de|&s;cription of the place where the&s;e ioyes are to be found, vnder the name of Ie|ru&s;alem.</NOTE> then concerning the commodities ther|to appertaining. The place is heauenly <HI>Ieru&s;alem:</HI> the citie of God, the land of the elect: which the Apo&s;tle de&s;cribeth after this &s;ort. And I <HI>Iohn</HI> &s;aith he, &s;awe the holy citie, new <HI>Ieru&s;alem,</HI> come downe from God, out of heauen, prepa|red as a bride, trimmed for her husband. Whereof the Prophet <HI>I&s;ay</HI> &s;peaketh in
<PB N="102" REF="54">the per&s;on of God, Chap. 65.17. <HI>For loe&punc; I will create new heauens, and a new earth, and the former &s;hall not be remembred, nor come into minde. But bee you glad and reioyce for euer, in the things that I &s;hall create. For I, behold, I will create</HI> Ieru&s;alem, <HI>as a reioycing, and her people as a ioy. And I will reioyce in</HI> Ieru&s;alem, <HI>and ioy in my people, and the voyce of weeping &s;hall be no more heard in her, nor the voyce of crying.</HI> Likewi&s;e in the Epi&s;tle to the Heb. 12.22. we may behold the ble&s;&s;ed e&s;tate of tho&s;e that &s;hall enioy the life to come. <HI>Ye are come to the mount</HI> Sion, <HI>and to the Citie of the liuing God, the cele&s;tiall</HI> Ie|ru&s;alem, <HI>and to the company of innumera|ble Angels: and to the congregation of the fir&s;t borne, which are written in heauen, and to God the Iudge of all, and to the &s;pi|rits of iu&s;t and perfect men, and to Ie&s;us the mediator of the new testament.</HI> And how this heauenly Citie, and new <HI>Ieru&s;alem</HI> is de&s;cribed, we may read it notably &s;et downe in the <HI>Reue.</HI> 21. Where by diuers earthly &s;imilitudes, the glory thereof is &s;hadowed: &s;etting foorth the &s;ame by tho&s;e things, which make earthly Cities
<PB N="103" REF="54">famous and admirable: as the compa&s;&s;e and height of the walles, and &s;tately building: the gorgious furniture there|of, Iewels, and precious &s;tones, plea&s;ant riuers, and the tree of life in the mid&s;t thereof: no night in the Citie. But let vs behold the order and frame of this citie, as we may read in the afore&s;aid 21. chap. of the Reuelation, whither &s;till I referre you. The matter declared is as follow|eth, beginning at the 12. ver&s;e of the Chapter. <HI>This Citie</HI> Ieru&s;alem <HI>had a great wall, and a high, and had twelue gates,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">The Church di&s;perced through the wordld. Therefore the gates, Ea&s;t, We&s;t, North, South.</NOTE> <HI>and at the gates twelue Angels, and the names written, which are the twelue Tribes of the children of</HI> I&s;rael. <HI>On the East part, there were three gates: and on the North &s;ide, three gates: and on the South &s;ide, three gates: and on the We&s;t &s;ide, three gates. And the wall of the Citie had twelue foundati|ons, and in them, the names of the lambes,</HI> 12. <HI>Apo&s;tles. And the citie lay foure &s;quare, and the length is as large as the bredth of it: and the length and the breadth and the height of it, are equall. And the building of the wall of it, was of Ia&s;per: and the foundations of the wall of the Citie, were garni&s;hed with all maner of precious &s;tones.</HI>
<PB N="104" REF="55">And the twelue gates were 12. pearles, and euery gate is of one pearle, and the &s;treete of the citie is pure gold, as &s;hi|ning gla&s;&s;e. The names of the precious &s;tones are further there recited.</P>
<P>You &s;ee in the&s;e words, how glorious this citie of God is: the walles of Ia&s;per: the foundations, of precious &s;tones: the gates of Pearles: the pauement of pure gold. And if the walles, &s;treetes, and gates bee &s;uch, how much more ioyfull, comfortable, and incredible, are tho&s;e things within the citie? for wee mu&s;t per&s;wade our &s;elues, that there are ma|ny hidden trea&s;ures, and matters of farre more account. Many things &s;poken of the outward place, but tho&s;e things which are within are vn&s;earchable. Ac|cording to that we read, <HI>Reue.</HI> 2.17. <HI>To him that ouercommeth,</HI> will I giue to eate of the Manna that is hid, and will giue him a white &s;tone, and in the &s;tone, a new name written: which no man knoweth, &s;auing he that receiueth it. So &s;ecret and hidden are the things within the citie.</P>
<P>This <HI>Ieru&s;ale~</HI> is al&s;o called a kingdome, <HI>Luk.</HI> 22.29. <HI>Therefore</HI> &s;aith Chri&s;t, <HI>I ap|poynt
<PB N="105" REF="55">to you a kingdome, as my father hath appointed vnto me, that ye may eate and drinke at my table, in my kingdome, and &s;it on &s;eates, and iudge the</HI> 12. <HI>Tribes of</HI> I&s;ra|el. And to co~fort the godly in all wants, di&s;tre&s;&s;es, and nece&s;&s;ities in this world, Chri&s;t &s;aith vnto them, <HI>Luk.</HI> 12.31. <HI>Feare not litle flocke, for it is your fathers plea&s;ure to giue you the kingdome, and what greater preferment can they looke for?</HI> Yea, which is more, that which but one can haue in a Realme, here euery one &s;hall be as a king. El&s;e how &s;hould it be true, which wee read, <HI>Reue.</HI> 3.11. <HI>Behold, I come &s;hortly, hold that which thou hast, that no man take thy crowne.</HI> And that which the Apo&s;tle &s;peaketh of him&s;elf, 2. <HI>Tim.</HI> 4.7. <HI>I haue fought a good fight, and haue fini&s;hed my cour&s;e. For henceforth is laid vp for me, the crowne of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e. And the</HI> 24. <HI>Elders ca&s;t down their crowns before the throne of God. Reue.</HI> 4.10. Earthly Princes want no worldly ioyes: and they that weare crowns in heauen, &s;hall far more abound in all happine&s;&s;e. Tho&s;e ioies which are highe&s;t on earth, are of lea&s;t account in heauen, for all &s;hall be crowned. According to the
<PB N="106" REF="56">&s;peech of the Apo&s;tle. 2. <HI>Tim.</HI> 4. <HI>Hence|forth is laid vp for me the crowne of righ|teou&s;ne&s;&s;e, which the Lord the righteous iudge &s;hall giue, not to mee onely, but vnto all them al&s;o that loue his appea|ring.</HI></P>
<P>The place of <HI>Ieru&s;alem,</HI> where God would be wor&s;hipped, which was in king <HI>Salomons</HI> time, is now there, which we do call the holy land, which in times pa&s;t, was &s;o famous, that all nations had recour&s;e thither. And becau&s;e of Gods wor&s;hip and &s;eruice, and his manifold gracious ble&s;&s;ings, powred vpon that place, therefore is the kingdome of heauen compared to this, and called the new <HI>Ieru&s;alem.</HI></P>
<P>Likewi&s;e al&s;o <HI>Canaan,</HI> that plenti|full land, which flowed with milke and honey, which was the land that was promi&s;ed to the people of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> is compared to this heauenly habitati|on. But as many dyed &s;hort of it, and neuer entred into the land of <HI>Canaan,</HI> &s;ome for murmuring, &s;ome for whoredome, &s;ome for idolatrie, &s;ome for one offence, &s;ome for an other: So although wee heare of the ioyes of
<PB N="107" REF="56">heauen, and of this new Cittie, and ma|ny would enter therein, yet for their manifold offences in this time of our life, in this time of our triall, many are debarred from thence, and fewe there are, that are made the citizens of hea|uen. Thus much for the place: now for the commodities.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The hea|uenly ioyes of the &s;oule.</NOTE>The commodities which belong to this heauenly <HI>Ieru&s;alem,</HI> are fir&s;t concer|ning the &s;oule, beeing the principall part of man. Secondarily, as touching the body: for the body beeing ioyned vnto the &s;oule, &s;halbe partaker of this ine&s;timable happine&s;&s;e: that both in bo|dy and in &s;oule, the whole man may re|ceiue his full perfection. And where|as it is the chiefe&s;t delight of a god|ly minde, to &s;erue GOD, e&s;pe|cially in the Church, and in the con|gregation, in this cele&s;tiall <HI>Ieru&s;alem,</HI> there &s;hall bee no Temple, no Church. <HI>And I &s;awe no Temple therein.</HI> How then? why the pre&s;ence of GOD him&s;elfe, &s;hall bee vnto them in &s;tead of a Temple and Church. <HI>For the Lord God Almightie, &amp; the lambe, are the Temple of it.</HI></P>
<PB N="108" REF="57">
<P>Thus in the pre&s;ence of God &s;halbe all happine&s;&s;e, and at his right hand there are plea&s;ures for euermore. And as it is &s;aid, that the 24. Elders fel down before him, that fate on the throne, and wor|&s;hipped him that liueth for euermore, and ca&s;t their crowns before the throne, &s;o &s;hall the Saints in heauen, continually &s;ing forth Gods prai&s;es, <HI>Reue.</HI> 4.10. and 14.1. The hundred fortie and foure thou&s;and, which had the name of God in their foreheads, did &s;ing a new &s;ong before the throne, and no man could learne that &s;ong, but the hundred fortie and foure thou&s;and, which were redeemed from the earth. <HI>Reue.</HI> 7. And there were that were cloathed in long white garments, hauing palmes in theyr hands, which cryed with a loud<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter"> voyce, &s;aying: <HI>Saluation be a&s;cribed to him, that fitteth vpon the &s;eate of our God.</HI> And all the Angels &s;tood in the compa&s;&s;e of the &s;eate, which fell before the &s;eate on their faces, and wor&s;hipped God, &s;aying <HI>A|men. Ble&s;&s;ing, and glory, and wi&s;edome, and thankes, and honour, and power, and might, be vnto our God for euermore.</HI> Now &s;hall the minde, heart, thought, and imagina|tion,
<PB N="109" REF="57">of tho&s;e that are thus ble&s;&s;ed, bee filled with all aboundance of &s;pirituall comfort. For now wee &s;ee as it were, through a gla&s;&s;e, but then &s;hall wee &s;ee face to face, <HI>Reue.</HI> 22.4 Then &s;hall all errour and darkne&s;&s;e of ignorance, bee vtterly taken away: then &s;hall wee not de&s;ire as now we doo in this life, to &s;ee God, as the Prophet <HI>Dauid</HI> &s;peaketh. <HI>My &s;oule thir&s;teth after thee. Like <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> Hart de&s;ireth the water brookes, &s;o <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> my &s;oule after thee O God. My &s;oule <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> a|thir&s;t for God, yea euen for the liuing God: when &s;hall I come to appeare before the pre&s;ence of God?</HI> At that time &s;hall all our de&s;ires be fully &s;atisfied. And that which was denied the Prophet <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> to &s;ee the glory of God in this life, <HI>Exo.</HI> 33.20. &s;hall then be graunted to euery one, that there &s;halbe placed.</P>
<P>The griefe of minde, and &s;orrowe of heart, &s;hall then be vtterly remoued: no weeping, no mourning, no lamentation to be heard, throghout that holy moun|taine. <HI>Behold</HI> &s;aith the Prophet <HI>E&s;ay,</HI> in the per&s;on of God, Chap. 65.13. <HI>My &s;eruants &s;hall reioyce, and &s;ing for ioy of heart: I will ioy in my people, and the voyce
<PB N="110" REF="58">of weeping &s;hall be no more heard, nor the voyce of crying. Reue.</HI> 21.4. <HI>For God &s;hall wipe away all teares from their eyes, and there &s;halbe no &s;orrowe, nor any more paine, for the fir&s;t things are pa&s;t:</HI> that is, tho&s;e things which wee &s;uffred in this life, &s;hall not mole&s;t any more. Then &s;hall &s;orrow be neuer felt: complaint &s;hall neuer be heard: matter of &s;adne&s;&s;e &s;hall neuer be &s;eene: neither &s;hall euill &s;ucce&s;&s;e at any time be feared. No cau&s;e of feare, no cau&s;e of griefe, for that they &s;hal po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e thee O Lord, which art the perfection of their felicitie. In him &s;hall wee finde all knowledge, all wi&s;edome, all bewtie, all riches, all no|bilitie, all goodne&s;&s;e, all delight, and wha&s;oeuer be&s;ides, eyther de&s;erueth loue and admiration, or worketh plea|&s;ure and contentation. All the powers of the minde, &s;hall be filled with the &s;ight and pre&s;ence, and fruition of GOD: all the &s;ences of our body &s;hall bee &s;atisfied. GOD &s;hall bee the vniuer&s;all felicitie of all his Saints, containing in him&s;elfe all particular fe|licities, without ende, number, or mea|&s;ure.
<PB N="111" REF="58">He &s;halbe a gla&s;&s;e to our eyes, mu&s;icke to our eares, hony to our mouthes, mo&s;t &s;weete and plea&s;ant balme to our &s;mell: hee &s;hall be light to our vnder&s;tanding, contentation to our will, continuation of eternitie to our memory. In him &s;hall we enioy al the varietie of times, that de|light vs here, and all the plea&s;ures and ioyes that content vs here. Finally, the &s;oule &s;hall bee re&s;tored to the Image of of God, in full mea&s;ure: and be throgh|ly adorned, with all righteou&s;nes &amp; ho|line&s;&s;e, all heauenly and &s;piritual gra|ces.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The hea|uenly ioyes of the body.</NOTE>The commodities and priuiledges of the body al&s;o, thus vnited to the &s;oule, &s;hall bee many. And fir&s;t to begin with that which I finde &s;et downe in the Text. <HI>And the citie hath no need of the Sun or the Moone to &s;hine in it: that is, there &s;halbe &s;eene no earthly wants.</HI> For what a great temporall ble&s;&s;ing, is the bene|fite of the Sunne, mo&s;t comfortable to man and bea&s;t, which bringeth forth the fruites of the earth, for mans foode, and without the which, al things &s;eeme to be &s;ad &amp; lowring. But the~ &s;hal we not need this benefite, for the pre&s;ence of God
<PB N="112" REF="59">&s;hall be more comfortable, and the glo|ry of God &s;hall &s;upply the want of Sun and Moone.</P>
<P>All things then &s;hall bee mini&s;tred vnto vs &s;o aboundantly, that wee &s;hall not &s;o much as once think of any want, whether it be foode, or cloathing, or any comfort of this life what&s;oeuer. As the Prophet <HI>I&s;ay</HI> doth worthily expre&s;&s;e it, Chap. 49.10. <HI>They &s;hall not be hungry, neither &s;hall they be thir&s;ty, neither &s;hal the heate &s;mite them, nor the Sun. For he that hath compa&s;&s;ion on them, &s;hall lead them e|uen to the &s;prings of waters.</HI> Here the body hath need of re&s;t, but there &s;halbe no night, neither &s;hall there be any need of re&s;t: heere for feare of theeues and enemies, our hou&s;es and the gates of our cities are &s;hut, but there the gates &s;hall not be &s;hut, but alwayes open, becau&s;e there &s;halbe no feare of enemies, no feare of future hurts and dangers. They that are oppre&s;&s;ed here, had need of de|fence, of helpe, and comfort, and hardly it is to be had in this world. <HI>Eccle&s;.</HI> 5.7. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 10. <HI>But there &s;hall violence no more be heard of. E&s;ay.</HI> 60.18. <HI>There &s;hall eue|ry ones cau&s;e be heard, and euery wrong
<PB N="113" REF="59">&s;hall be righted. For there &s;hall be no cur&s;e;</HI> for not onely the cour&s;e of &s;in &s;hall bee cut off, but all oca&s;ions of &s;inne &s;hall far be remoued from vs, and we &s;hall bee throughly reconciled vnto our God, and we &s;hall enioy perfect peace. As no griefe of minde, &s;o no di&s;ea&s;e of body &s;hall mole&s;t vs, neither &s;hall there be a|ny v&s;e or need of Phi&s;icke. All infir|mities &s;hall be turned into perfections, and all deformitie &s;hall haue an end. That which is now the mighty conque|rour of mankinde, that is death, &s;hall then be trode vnder foote: for death &s;halbe &s;wallowed vp into victory, that with comfort we may &s;ay: O death where is thy &s;ting? O graue where is thy victory? 1. <HI>Cor.</HI> 15. And that which our fir&s;t parents could not ta&s;te of, nor &s;o much as touch, that is of the tree of life, (for though they ta&s;ted of the tree of knowledge of good and euill, yet they were &s;oone ca&s;t out of Paradice, lea&s;t they &s;hould put forth their hand, and take of the tree of life al&s;o, and eate and liue for euer, <HI>Gene.</HI> 3.22.) in this <HI>Ie|ru&s;alem,</HI> euen in the mid&s;t of the &s;treete of it, &s;halbe the tree of life, and a com|mon
<PB N="114" REF="60">pa&s;&s;age vnto it, <HI>Reue.</HI> 22.2. For this corruptible, &s;hall put on incorrupti|on; and this mortal, &s;hall put on immor|talitie. Thus &s;hall there be mirth with|out &s;adne&s;&s;e, health without &s;ickne&s;&s;e, &s;trength without weakene&s;&s;e, life with|out labour, light without darkne&s;&s;e, fe|licitie without abatement, al goodne&s;&s;e without any euill. Where youth flouri|&s;heth, that neuer waxeth olde: life that knoweth no end, beautie that neuer fa|deth, loue that neuer cooleth, health that neuer dimini&s;heth, ioy that neuer cea&s;eth: there &s;hall be plea&s;ure without paine, and all happine&s;&s;e without any change, and life without the reach and gun&s;hot of death. The godly in this life, are as wares, then &s;hall they come to their own po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion: now they are in the skirmi&s;h, then &s;hal they be crowned co~|querors: now they are in the te~pe&s;tuous &s;ea, then &s;hal they be in the quiet hauen: now in the heat of the day, the~ &s;hal they be in the re&s;t of the euening. Now in place they are ab&s;ent fro~ Chri&s;t, thogh in affec|tion they be pre&s;ent with him: then &s;hal they follow him, whither &s;oeuer he go|eth: now they &s;uffer trouble with Chri&s;t,
<PB N="115" REF="60">though their life be hid in Chri&s;t: but when Chri&s;t &s;hal appeare, they al&s;o &s;hal appeare with him in glory, <HI>Col.</HI> 3.3. and then al&s;o &s;hal they receiue an incorrup|tible crowne of glory. According to that warrant which was pronou~ced by a voice fro~ heauen. <HI>Re.</HI> 14.13. <HI>Write, Ble&s;&s;ed are the dead, which hereafter die in the Lord. Euen &s;o &s;aith the &s;pirit, for they re&s;t from their la|bors, &amp; their works follow the~.</HI> And what ioy wil thy &s;oule receiue at that day, whe~ &s;he &s;halbe pre&s;ented before &s;o honora|ble and infirnite a multitude, before the &s;eat and maie&s;tie of the ble&s;&s;ed Trinitie, with recital &amp; declaratio~ of all thy good works &amp; trauels, &s;uffred for the loue and &s;eruice of God, whe~ there &s;hall be laide down in that honorable co~&s;i&s;tory, all thy vertuous deeds, all the laborys y^t thou ha&s;t taken in thy calling, all thy almes, all thy praiers, all thy fa&s;ting, all thy innoce~cie of life, all thy patience in iniuries all thy con&s;tancie in aduer&s;ities? And for their further comfort, and in a maner, woon|derful a&s;toni&s;hment: as the wicked &s;hal be vexed with horrible fear, when they &s;hal &s;ee the righteous &s;ta~d in great blod|nes, &amp; they &s;hal cur&s;e their fooli&s;hnes &amp;
<PB N="116" REF="61">madne&s;&s;e, for tormenting &s;uch vniu&s;tly, whom they thought nothing worthy of honour, and yet now &s;ee them among the Saints of God. <HI>Wi&s;d.</HI> 5. So &s;hall the righteous in their place, go forth and looke vpon the carka&s;&s;es of the men, that haue tran&s;gre&s;&s;ed Gods will and holy lawe, <HI>E&s;ay.</HI> 66.24. And looking backe vpon the daungers which they haue pa&s;&s;ed, and wherein other men are yet in hazard, their ioy &s;hall &s;o much the more be encrea&s;ed. For they &s;hall euidently &s;ee, how infinite times they were to peri&s;h in this their mortall life, if God had not held his &s;peciall hand o|uer them. They &s;hall &s;ee and behold the daungers wherein other men are plunged, and the death and damnation whereinto many of their friends and ac|quaintance haue fallen: the eternall paines of hell incurred, by many that v|&s;ed to laugh and be merry with them in the world: when as they &s;hall &s;hine as &s;tars, which haue conuerted many vnto God. <HI>Dan.</HI> 12. As contrariwi&s;e, they that by their euill example, and mani|fold offences, haue bene the cau&s;e of the downfall of many, &s;hall &s;uffer intolle|rable
<PB N="117" REF="61">griefe.</P>
<P>In earth, no ioy, plea&s;ure, or com|fort, &s;o &s;urpa&s;&s;ing, &s;o &s;trange, &amp; &s;o won|derfull, but will breed a &s;acietie, and we &s;hall after a while waxe aweary thereof, either de&s;iring greater, or el&s;e longing after varietie; as mans nature is giuen to nothing &s;o much, as to newne&s;&s;e and no|ueltie: but behold, the ioyes of this new <HI>Ieru&s;alem,</HI> &s;hall be &s;o diuers, &s;o &s;traunge, and &s;o incredible, that we &s;hal neuer be &s;atisfied therewith. Which in the <HI>Reue.</HI> 21.2. is expre&s;&s;ed in the&s;e words: that the tree of life bare 12. maner of fruites, and gaue fruite euery moneth. <HI>Twelue manner of fruites:</HI> there is the diuer&s;ities of their ioyes. <HI>Giuing fruit euery moneth:</HI> there is the continual change. Stil plea|&s;ing thy minde with varietie, and raui&s;hing thy &s;ences with infinite de|light.</P>
<P>And this may make vs more eager after tho&s;e ioyes, becau&s;e we &s;hall not be long without them. For the time of this life is but &s;hort: and the time of this thy tryall in this world, is but in a manner a moment. If our time here &s;hould be a thou&s;and yeares, what is it to one day in
<PB N="118" REF="62">the world, which hath no night: which be it, that it hath a &s;un-ri&s;ing, yet &s;hall it neuer haue a &s;un-&s;etting: an entrance and beginning there is into the&s;e ioyes, but the termes and date thereof cannot be tolde. And as the torments of hell, whereof I haue heretofore &s;poken, are endle&s;&s;e, &s;o are the ioyes of heauen be|yond all time: as they are remedile&s;&s;e, for out of hell there is no redemption, &s;o are the&s;e ioyes without all change &amp; al|teration: as they are co~fortle&s;&s;e, &s;o the&s;e exceed in al maner of co~forts, al without reach, without nu~ber, without mea&s;ure.</P>
<P>Thus haue I &s;hewed you the ioyes of the kingdome of heauen, and yet haue I not &s;hewed them: for neither can I vt|ter them, nor yet can you co~ceiue them. But that which I haue already &s;poken is &s;ufficie~t, though not for the worthines of the cau&s;e: or for the &s;atisfying of our in|finit de&s;ires: yet for edifying, co~fort, and in&s;tructio~. And if I &s;hould lead you alo~g with my owne deuices &amp; imaginatio~s, it were but a matter to delude you: againe neither be you de&s;irous to knowe more then is fit and conuenient. For when we haue &s;poken all, or the learned&s;t in the
<PB N="119" REF="62">world expre&s;&s;ed al, yet al mu&s;t fal &s;hort of this marke, to vtter the truth of tho&s;e ioyes. For if no eye hath euer &s;een them, not hart of man can co~ceiue them, how is it po&s;&s;ible, I &s;ay not for me to declare them, but for any tongue to vtter them? But that which we doo know, let vs ga|ther to our good, &amp; to our nece&s;&s;ary in|&s;tructio~, leauing off to &s;earch, where god wil giue no vnder&s;tanding. Hidden they are and vnknowne, that wee might the more earne&s;tly de&s;ire them. For knowne things growe out of loue. The con&s;ide|ratio~ of the&s;e ioyes already recited, may be &s;ufficient to e&s;tabli&s;h vs, &amp; to co~firme vs, that there bee not in any of vs an vn|faithful heart, to depart way fro~ the li|uing God. And who wold depriue him|&s;elf of tho&s;e ioyes, if they were no other, but &s;uch as euen our owne minds might imagine, or our own hearts conceiue. In this ca&s;e let vs be content, there to make a &s;top, where Gods word hath &s;et a full poynt. And ble&s;&s;ed be God, who to in|courage vs in the way of godline&s;&s;e, hath graunted vs thus to behold the&s;e incre|dible ioyes, thogh it be but in a &s;hadow, and as it were vnder a vaile.</P>
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<P>Howbeit to &s;hew you all the&s;e ioyes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Application</NOTE> and not to apply them, &s;eemeth altogi|ther without v&s;e, and without life. The profitable in&s;tructions therefore that herehence may ari&s;e, are more then I can vtter: yet giue mee leaue to recite &s;ome. And thinke not hardly, though I &s;tay you a litle longer. For to heare the di&s;cour&s;e of tho&s;e things which per|taine to the kingdome of heauen, I my &s;elfe which haue &s;earched more then a|ny of you, &s;hould in this re&s;pect for&s;ake my dyet, and forget to heare how the Clocke goes, or the day pa&s;&s;es. Suppo&s;e we are now bu&s;ie in the field at harue&s;t, vnmindfull to come euen to our owne hou&s;es, and &s;urely this is a farre better harue&s;t, and a better graine and commo|ditie, then we can gather in. When it plea&s;ed God I &s;huld deui&s;e this for your good, it was with comfort: and now I vtter it, it is with comfort: and therefore I doubt not, but that you that heare it, heare it al&s;o with comfort.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">To growe out of loue with the world.</NOTE> The fir&s;t in&s;truction for our v&s;e, may be this, to learne to growe out of loue with this pre&s;ent world, and with the tran&s;itory plea&s;ures and profites of the
<PB N="121" REF="63">&s;ame: that &s;o we may prepare our iour|ney to our long home, and to our wi&s;hed home, and to tho&s;e hou&s;es and heauenly habitations, who&s;e lea&s;es &s;hall neuer be expired: to our heauenly <HI>Canaan,</HI> and to his newe and mo&s;t bewtifull <HI>Ieru&s;alem.</HI> Howbeit for the mo&s;t part, wee are &s;o doted and bewitched with the gli&s;tring ioyes of this pre&s;ent fading world, that no exhortation or per&s;wa&s;ion &s;hal light|ly preuaile, to withdrawe our mindes from thence. Which thing may liuely be &s;et forth to your viewe, by reciting of a Parable of the cu&s;tome of a certaine Common-wealth, people, and Nation, which were woont to chu&s;e their king from among the poore&s;t &s;ort of the peo|ple, to aduance him to great honour, wealth, and plea&s;ures for a time. But af|ter a while, when they were aweary of him, their fa&s;hion was to ri&s;e again&s;t him, and to de&s;poyle him of all his felici|tie: yea the very cloathes off his backe, and &s;o to bani&s;h him naked into an I|land of a far countrey, where bringing nothing with him, hee &s;hould liue in great mi&s;erie, and be put to great &s;laue|ry for euer. Which practi&s;e, one King
<PB N="122" REF="64">at a certaine time con&s;idering by good aduice, (for all the other, though they knew that fa&s;hion, yet through negli|gence, and plea&s;ures of their pre&s;ent fe|licitie, cared not for it) tooke re&s;olute order with him&s;elfe, how to preuent this mi&s;ery. Which was by this meanes; he &s;aued euery day great &s;ums of mony from his &s;uperfluities and idle expen|ces: and &s;o &s;ecretly made ouer before|hand, a great trea&s;ure into that Iland, whereinto he was in danger daily to bee &s;ent. And when the time came, that indeede they depo&s;ed him from his kingdome, and turned him away naked, as they had done the other before: he went to that Iland with ioy and confi|dence, where his trea&s;ure lay, and was re|ceiued there with exceeding great try|umph, and placed pre&s;ently in greater glory then euer he was before.</P>
<P>This citie, or common-wealth, is this pre&s;ent world, which aduanceth to au|thoritie poore men; that is, &s;uch as come naked into this life, and vpon the &s;udden when they looke be&s;t for it, doth it pull them downe againe, and turneth them naked into their graues, and &s;o &s;endeth
<PB N="123" REF="64">them into an other world, where brin|ging no trea&s;ure with them, they are like to finde litle fauor, and rather eter|nall mi&s;erie. The wi&s;e King that pre|uenteth this calamity, is euery one which in this life, according to the coun&s;ell of Chri&s;t, dooth &s;eeke to lay vp trea|&s;ure in heauen, again&s;t the day of theyr death, when they mu&s;t bee bani&s;hed hence naked, as all the Princes of that Citie were. At which time, if their good deedes doo followe them, as God pro|mi&s;eth, then &s;hall they be happy men, and placed in much more glory, then euer this world was able to giue them. But if they come without Oyle in theyr Lampes, then is there nothing for them to ex&s;pect but this, I knowe you not.</P>
<P>This &s;um of mony, is not &s;o much our good deeds, as the forgiuenes of our ma|nifold offences, the ame~dme~t of our &s;in|full liues, y^t godly &amp; religious care of the life to come. That which we are &s;o great|ly in loue withall, the Apo&s;tle giues vs coun&s;el to the quite contrary. Loue not the world, neither the things that are in the world, 1. <HI>Ioh.</HI> 2, he addeth the rea&s;on:
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<PB N="124" REF="66">becau&s;e the world pa&s;&s;eth away. But he that fulfilleth the will of God, abideth for euer. Heauen is not in this life, and we mu&s;t looke to bee weaned from this world, if euer we wil looke to be in hea|uen.</P>
<P>The ioyes of heauen, and the de&s;ires of the world are quite contrary: for they are too heauy a burthen, and doo hinder vs from mounting vp &s;o high. And here|in for the mo&s;t part, wee may be re&s;em|bled vnto the Gra&s;hopper, which is borne and bred, liueth and dyeth in the &s;ame ground.</P>
<P>The Gra&s;hopper hath wings and hoppeth vp a litle, but pre&s;ently falleth downe againe. So many of vs haue of|ten good motions vnto godline&s;&s;e, and the life to come: and againe all is gone in a moment, and we returne to our olde affections in this world, as though all our portion were onely in this life.</P>
<P>Tho&s;e foules that feede gro&s;ly, ne|uer flye high: and they which feed their hearts with things belowe, cannot haue their affections in heauen. The ioyes of heauen being &s;o rare and excellent, and &s;o &s;urpa&s;&s;ing woonderfull, that they
<PB N="125" REF="66">might remoue the&s;e heauy, lumpi&s;h, and grouelling de&s;ires of this world. The carele&s;&s;e, earthly, and worldly minde, hath no &s;ight, nor &s;ence, nor feeling of the&s;e ioyes. But as the oxe is fatted in the pa&s;ture, and the byrd &s;ingeth &s;weet|ly, and feedeth without feare: and &s;ud|denly the one is driuen to the &s;laughter, and the other is taken in the &s;nare: So they that are giuen to the world, are lulled a &s;leep in &s;ecuritie, vntil the time that death &s;triketh with his dart, and endle&s;&s;e de&s;truction ouerwhelmeth the~. But where is that man or woman, which can &s;ay with the Apo&s;tle, <HI>I de&s;ire to bee di&s;&s;olued, and to be with Chri&s;t which is be&s;t of all? Phil.</HI> 1. For they that &s;ay &s;uch things, declare plainely, that they &s;eeke a countrey, <HI>Heb.</HI> 11.14. De&s;iring a bet|ter counttey then is to be found in this world; that is, a heauenly: and for them hath God prepared a Citie. <HI>Heb.</HI> 13.14. For here we haue no continuing Citie, no continuing habitation: let vs there|fore &s;eeke a better habitation to come, which is of longer continuance, and free from all mi&s;eries.</P>
<P>The next fruite is, that the remem|brance
<PB N="126" REF="67">of the&s;e ioyes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The&s;e ioyes teach vs patience.</NOTE> teacheth vs pati|ence in affictions, in troubles and di|di&s;tre&s;&s;es. For how trouble&s;ome &s;oeuer this life is here, yet there &s;hal al troubles, mi&s;eries and wrongs, be aboundantly re|compenced. And the Apo&s;tle &s;pea|keth truly. <HI>Rom.</HI> 8.18. The afflicti|ons of this pre&s;ent time, are not wor|thy of the glory, which &s;hall bee &s;hewed vnto vs. In the 126. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> They that &s;owe in teares &s;aith the Prophet, &s;hall reape in ioy. And hee that now goeth on his way wee|ping, and beareth foorth good &s;eed, &s;hall doubtle&s;&s;e come againe with ioy, and bring his &s;heaues with him. <HI>Woe bee to you</HI> &s;aith Chri&s;t, <HI>that now laugh, for you &s;hall waile and weepe. Luke.</HI> 6.25. And therefore happy &s;hall they bee in an other worlde, who haue in good cau&s;es &s;uffered wrongs, committing them&s;elues vnto God.</P>
<P>This time of heauenly ioyes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heauenly ioyes com|pared to a harue&s;t.</NOTE> is compared vnto harue&s;t, and what care dooth euery one take to pro|uide good and choi&s;e &s;eede, that theyr harue&s;t may fall out accordingly.
<PB N="127" REF="67">Thy &s;eede, is thy thoughts, thy words, thy deedes, and conuer&s;ati|on. Therefore let mee exhort you as the Apo&s;tle dooth, <HI>Galla.</HI> 6.7. <HI>Bee not deceiued,</HI> GOD is not moc|ked; for what&s;oeuer a man &s;oweth, that &s;hall hee al&s;o reape. For hee that &s;oweth to his fle&s;h, &s;hall of the fle&s;h reape corruption: but hee that &s;oweth to the &s;pirit, &s;hall of the &s;pi|rit reape life euerla&s;ting. Looke how wee &s;owe, &s;o &s;hall wee reape: &s;uch as our &s;eede is, &s;uch al&s;o &s;hall bee our har|ue&s;t. The date of this our life, is but &s;hort, but the remembrance of a life well ledde, &s;hall bee comfortable for euer; and this &s;hall for euer and e|uer bee our endle&s;&s;e harue&s;t: &s;till ga|thering, &s;till encrea&s;ing, and neuer pay|ring.</P>
<P>The la&s;t thing in the afore&s;aid 21.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Holine&s;&s;e.</NOTE> Chapter, of the Reuelation is, that there &s;hall enter into this heauenly <HI>Ie|ru&s;alem, no vncleane thing.</HI> And as it is in the Prophecie of <HI>Zechariah,</HI> Chap. 14.21. In that day, there &s;hall bee no more the <HI>Canaanite</HI> in the hou&s;e of the Lord of Ho&s;tes.</P>
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<P>The <HI>Canaanites</HI> were a lewde people, and for the &s;ame, were driuen out of the land: and if they were not worthy to dwell on earth, much le&s;&s;e &s;hall they be worthy to be receiued in heauen. <HI>Deare|ly beloued</HI> &s;aith the Apo&s;tle <HI>S. Peter.</HI> 1. <HI>Epist.</HI> 2.11. <HI>Abstaine from fle&s;hly lusts,</HI> bridle them, keepe them vnder, for they fight again&s;t the &s;oule. <HI>Collo.</HI> 3.1. <HI>If ye be ri&s;en with Christ, &s;eeke tho&s;e things which are aboue, where Christ &s;itteth at the right hand of God. Set your affections on things which are aboue, and not on things which are on earth: and mortifie your im|moderate affection, and euill concupi&s;cence.</HI> Remember this peremptory word: <HI>No vncleane thing &s;hall enter there. Mat.</HI> 5.8. <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed are the pure in heart, for they &s;hall &s;ee God. Heb.</HI> 12.14. <HI>Follow holy|ne&s;&s;e, without the which, no man can &s;ee God.</HI></P>
<P>And God graunt vs this wedding garment of holyne&s;&s;e, that we may goe in with the bridegroome: for we know what befell to him that wanted it, <HI>Mat.</HI> 22.11. Let vs worke our owne &s;aluati|on with feare and trembling: being de|&s;irous to receiue a kingdome, which can|not
<PB N="129" REF="68">bee &s;haken: let vs pray for grace, whereby we may &s;o &s;erue God, that we may plea&s;e him with reuerence &amp; feare. And &s;eeing we haue precious promi&s;es, 2. <HI>Cor.</HI> 7.1.2. <HI>Pet.</HI> 1.4. and that more &s;u|rer, then the heauen and the earth, <HI>Heb.</HI> 6.13.18. let vs clean&s;e our &s;elues from all filthine&s;&s;e of the fle&s;h &amp; &s;pirit, and grow vp into ful holine&s;&s;e in the fear of God. For as they that thus do his will, &s;hal en|ter in through the gates into the Cittie, and their right &s;halbe in the tree of life: So without, &s;halbe dogs, and all vnclean per&s;ons. <HI>Reu.</HI> 22.14. Let not my la&s;t ex|hortation be forgotten among you. <HI>En|ter in at the &s;trait gate:</HI> for it is the wide gate and broad way, that leadeth to de|&s;truction, and many there be which goe in thereat. Becau&s;e the gate is &s;traight and the way narrow, that leadeth vnto life, fewe there be that finde it.</P>
<P>To adde vnto the&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gods mer|cie, one of the greate&s;t ioyes.</NOTE> one of the grea|te&s;t ioyes among all, is Gods mercie: whereof wee haue a &s;weete ta&s;te in this life. For were it not for that, none of vs all &s;hould enter into that place, where tho&s;se ioyes are to be found. For as our
<PB N="130" REF="69">fir&s;t parents, by Gods iu&s;t anger accor|ding to their due de&s;ert, were ca&s;t out of Paradice, and an Angel &s;et with a &s;word drawne, to keepe the way, that no fle&s;h &s;hould return thither; &s;o the onely gate to let vs in again, is Gods mercy. Wher|of, as the godly and mo&s;t righteous that are, &s;tand in great need, &s;o let none of vs all, either abu&s;e Gods mercy, or pre&s;ume of his mercy, lea&s;t we mi&s;&s;e of the &s;ame. This mercy, is called the rich mercy of God, for no trea&s;ure is comparable vnto it: and as it pa&s;&s;eth all vnder&s;tanding, &s;o cannot the deepe&s;t reach of man, con|ceiue any part of the depth or height therof: the compa&s;&s;e, the largene&s;&s;e, the widene&s;&s;e and breadth of it is &s;uch, that it cannot bee mea&s;ured: and therefore may it well be called, as it is indeed, both infinit, and incomprehen&s;ible. And be|cau&s;e no tongue of man can &s;peake it, let Angels bring the me&s;&s;age. As we reade <HI>Luk.</HI> 2.14. <HI>Glory be to God in the high hea|uens, and peace in earth, and towards men good will.</HI> The Lord of his goodne&s;&s;e, di|rect our &s;teppes to this throne of mercy, and cloath vs with the garment of mer|cy.
<PB N="131" REF="69">And the Lord this day &s;et his print and &s;eale vpon you.</P>
<P>Thus I per&s;wade my &s;elf, I haue now wonne &s;ome, and whom I haue wonne, the Lord in mercy keepe: and &s;o I di&s;|charge my &s;elfe. For we are all by our owne di&s;po&s;ition, like vnto tottering walles, &s;till readie to &s;lide, &s;till readie to fall. And therefore I would I might &s;ay, as it was &s;aide to him that &s;uffered with Chri&s;t; This day &s;hall ye be in Paradice. And if this day your hatts be throughly conuerted, &s;urely this day you are in Pa|radice. It was no comfort to <HI>Adam</HI> and <HI>Eue,</HI> to remember they wer in Paradice, &s;eeing them&s;elues now ca&s;t out. And if we be once placed in Paradice, then let vs looke to our &s;tanding, that we fal not. For as we are mortal, &s;o are we mutable: and nothing &s;o familiar with vs, as to chaunge. <HI>Deu.</HI> 5.29. Vncon&s;tant God knowes we are, the Lord make vs &s;ted|fa&s;t. And the remembrance of the&s;e heauenly ioyes, which wee haue now heard, let that make vs &s;tedfa&s;t euen to the end. </P>
<LG>
<L><HI>Deo &s;oli omnis laus fit &amp; gloria</HI></L>
<L><HI> Et gratia in &s;eculum.</HI></L>
</LG>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
