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<DATE>2014-01-08</DATE>
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<NAME>Olivia Bottum</NAME>
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<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
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<P><HI>A Sermon</HI> preached at Paules cro&s;&s;e <HI>the fir&s;te Sunday after New</HI>-yeeres day, beeing the thirde day of Ianu|ary. 1580.</P>
<P>By William Fi&s;her <HI>Student of Diui|nitie.</HI></P>
<P><FIGURE>
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<P>&rindx; Imprinted at London, <HI>for Edwarde Aggas and</HI> Thomas Chare. 1580.</P>
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<DIV1 TYPE="sermon">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2" MS="y">
<EPIGRAPH>
<BIBL>MATH. 9. ver&s;. 11.</BIBL>
<Q><P>When the Phari&s;ees &s;aw that, they &s;aid vnto his di&s;ciples: why eateth your Mai&s;ter with Publicans &amp; &s;inners?</P>
<P>12 When Ie&s;us heard that, he &s;aid vn|to them: The whole neede not a Phi&s;ition, but they that are &s;icke.</P>
<P>13 But go ye and learne what this is: I will haue Mercie and not Sacri|fice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but &s;inners to repen|tance.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_IT may appeare by the&s;e woordes which I haue read vnto you (Right Honorable &amp; men &amp; brethren right dearely beloued in the&punc; Lorde) that Chri&s;t Ie&s;us the true Me&s;+&s;ias and redeemer of mankinde no &s;oner pre&s;ented him &s;elfe in the faithfulne&s;&s;e of his office among the lo&s;t &s;heepe of the hou&s;e of I&s;rael, but by and by he became as a &s;anctuarie to &s;ome of them, and as a &s;tumbling &s;tone and rocke to fall vppon, to other &s;ome. He was the only &s;anctuary
<PB REF="3" MS="y"> and refuge of mi&s;erable Publicanes and &s;inners, which had no righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e to accompt of, no good workes to tru&s;t vnto, but being condemned by the lawe, and oppre&s;&s;ed with the heauy waight of their &s;innes were in a maner confounded with the horror of their owne con&s;ciences, and terror of Gods mo&s;t dreadful iudgeme~ts, in &s;o much that if they had not take~ &s;anc|tuary and founde re&s;cue at his handes, which was wont to &s;ay, <HI>Come vnto me al</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 11.</NOTE> <HI>ye that be heauy loaden, &amp;c,</HI> Their deadly enemies the Lawe, Sinne, Death, and hell had deuoured their &s;oules like &s;o many raging Lyons. No marueile then if they folowed him into the wilderne&s;&s;e, if they made him glad to take a boate &amp; to preach vnto them on the &s;hoare, if they vntiled hou&s;es to haue acce&s;&s;e vnto him, if they left all and came after him, if it did them good to eate and drinke in his companie (as the text here witne&s;&s;eth) for he was their ble&s;&s;ed &s;anctuarie. And as he was to them, &s;o a&s;&s;uredly he will be vnto you (dearely beloued) if you flee vn|to him with like mea&s;ure of Faith: of what outrage &s;o euer the enemies bee
<PB REF="3" MS="y"> that cha&s;e you. For <HI>E&s;ay ca.</HI> 8. Speakes generally to all the faithfull: <HI>Sanctifie the</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;ay. 8.</NOTE> <HI>Lorde of ho&s;tes: let him be your feare: let him bee your dread, and hee &s;hall bee as a &s;anctuarie.</HI> But howe &s;hould we &s;anctifie the Lorde, that hee might bee our &s;anc|tuarie: Fir&s;t with Faith, tru&s;ting onely and a&s;&s;uredly in him: Secondly with prayer, calling vpon him in all perplexi|tie and extremitie: Thirdly with Pa|cience, wayting meckely for his helpe: Fourthly with Feare and Trembling, lea&s;t you &s;hould di&s;plea&s;e him. Thus &s;anctifie the Lord of ho&s;tes, and he neuer &s;hewed him &s;elfe &s;o ready or &s;o &s;afe a &s;anctuary to any Publicane as hee will bee to you.</P>
<P>Nowe as the Me&s;&s;ias was a Sanc|tuarie to &s;aue, &s;o contrariwi&s;e, he was a &s;tumbling &s;tone and a rocke to fall vpon vnto other &s;ome, as namely to the proude Phari&s;ees and &s;tately Iu&s;ticiaries: for God knowes they tooke many excep|tions again&s;t him and were marueylou&s;|ly offended at him. <MILESTONE N="1"> Fir&s;t they tooke of|fence at his Parentage, bicau&s;e hee was but a Carpenters &s;onne.
<PB REF="4" MS="y"> Then they mi&s;liked with his &s;tate, which was &s;o beggerly that hee had not a hou&s;e wherein to put his head. Thirdly they &s;nuft, and &s;narlde at his doctrine, and let|ted not to call it &s;editious. Fourthly, they found fault with his miracles. As when he ca&s;te out Deuils, they auouche that it was through Belzebub the chiefe of the Deuils, and when hee cured the man of the Pal&s;ey by forgiuing his &s;inne, they<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 9.</NOTE> made a muttering, as if it had beene bla|&s;phemy. But that which did mo&s;t of all nettle and &s;ting their malicious hearts, was his eating and drinking, and kee|ping companie with Publicanes and &s;in|ners. This was a marueilous heartbur|ning vnto them, and made them out of mea&s;ure repine again&s;t him: for in deede there can not bee a greater eye&s;ore to the deuill him &s;elfe (who&s;e in&s;trumentes they were) then too &s;ee Ie&s;us Chri&s;te in the company of wretched Publicanes and &s;inners: for then hee knowes there is no roume for him, and hee &s;ees that all his former temptations are too no purpo&s;e. And this made him to egge on the Pha|ri&s;ees in this place again&s;t our Sauiour
<PB REF="4"> Ie&s;us, the quarell being nothing els, but bicau&s;e hee did eate and drinke &amp;c. and their drifte, too di&s;credite our Sauiour Chri&s;t in the worlde, and &s;o con&s;equently too worke the decaye of his kingdome. Wherein you may &s;ee the fetching pol|licie of Satan. He knew that the Phari|&s;ees had it giuen in charge by Moy&s;es lawe, to auoyde the company of the wic|ked aboue all things: therefore none &s;o meete too &s;ette the matter abroche as they: and hee was not deceiued therein, for they did it ful cu~ningly, God knowes. Marke their &s;ubtiltie, to bring the <HI>Me&s;|&s;ias</HI> and &s;auiour of the world, in contempe with all the worlde, and &s;o too &s;upplant him for euer: they beginne with his owne Di&s;ciples, thinking that if they coulde po&s;&s;ibly bring it about, that they might mi&s;like with him once, it were no ma&s;te|rie to preuaile with the re&s;t.</P>
<P>And herevpon (dearely beloued) like &s;uttle foxes they came (as the ble&s;&s;ed E|uangeli&s;t recordeth) vnto his Di&s;ciples, and moued the matter, &s;aying, <HI>Why ea|teth your Mai&s;ter, &amp;c?</HI> But the di&s;ciples being but rawe in their mai&s;ters doings,
<PB REF="5" MS="y"> for that they had not beene long with him: and not well knowing howe to an|&s;were, &s;o odde a que&s;tion, our Sauiour Chri&s;t therefore framed them &s;uch an an&s;were as may very well be called the confu&s;ion of all malignant hypocrites, and the &s;weete comfort of all mi&s;erable &s;inners, and the very pith and marowe of the glorious Go&s;pel of Ie&s;us Chri&s;te. <HI>The whole neede not the Phi&s;ition &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>And thus you &s;ee howe orderly the&s;e wordes deuide them &s;elues into a que&s;tio~, and an an&s;were too the &s;ame: Nowe in what maner I am too &s;peake of them, may it plea&s;e you to vnder&s;tande.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t in the que&s;tion I wil note vnto you the qualities and properties of the &s;tum|bling aduer&s;aries of Chri&s;t and his Go|&s;pel. Secondly in the an&s;were I will doe the be&s;t I can by the a&s;&s;i&s;tance of Gods holy &s;pirite too &s;hewe the benefites and ble&s;&s;ed trea&s;ures which we enioy through Chri&s;t and his Go&s;pell. And this that I may the better perfourme, there are two thinges which I mo&s;t humbly de&s;ire you to graunt me. The one is your fauoura|ble
<PB REF="5"> and Chri&s;tian patience: for in trueth I haue not any wanton Eloquence too make you too wonder at: neither come I in any brauery of wordes to ama&s;e you withall: But only my drifte and de|&s;ire is, becau&s;e it hath plea&s;ed God to call me hether this fir&s;t Sunday of the newe yeere, to giue you &s;ome &s;pirituall gift, in &s;uch wi&s;e that you may be comforted, and God the Father of our Lorde Ie&s;us Chri&s;te glorifyed. And therefore it is that I craue an other thinge at your handes which is your a&s;&s;i&s;taunce by heartie and humble Prayer in this my weightie purpo&s;e, that I beeing enabled and imboldened through God the Fa|ther of our Lorde Ie&s;us Chri&s;te, may haue vtteraunce giuen mee from him to open my mouth truely while I publi&s;he vnto you the &s;ecrets of his Go&s;pell. And pray I be&s;eech you not onely for mee, but al&s;o for the whole Church which Ie|&s;us Chri&s;t hath bought and purcha&s;ed to him &s;elfe with his owne blood. That as &amp;c.</P>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<PB REF="6" MS="y">
<HEAD>The fir&s;t part of the properties of the aduer&s;aries.</HEAD>
<Q>When the Phari&s;es &s;awe that, they &s;aid to his Di&s;ciples: Why eate, &amp;c.</Q>
<P>In this que&s;tion how &s;hort or how &s;im|ple &s;o euer it &s;eemes, there is more mi&s;|chief compri&s;ed and pact together, then any man woulde take it at the fir&s;t hea|ring: therefore let vs examin &amp; throughly &s;ifte it to the bottome. <HI>Why eateth, &amp;c.</HI> Heere I finde foure thinges woorth the con&s;ideration. Fir&s;t that they doe back|bite our &s;auiour Chri&s;t. Secondly, that they di&s;courage his Di&s;ciples. Thirdly, that they iu&s;tifie them &s;elues, and la&s;tly, that they condemne their poore brethren the Publicanes. Into &s;o many notorious offences they fell while they &s;tumbled &amp; tooke offence at Chri&s;te, as may bee ga|thered very aparantly by this their que|&s;tion, <HI>Why eateth your mai&s;ter, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<DIV3 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>The fir&s;t propertie of the aduer&s;aries.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1"> Touching the fir&s;t, that they did back|bite our &s;auiour Chri&s;te, it is plaine in that they came priuily to his Di&s;ciples and a&s;ked them in &s;ecret, <HI>Why their mai&s;ter, &amp;c.</HI> They came not before his
<PB REF="6" MS="y"> face, but crept behinde his backe, and there &s;pake their plea&s;ures of him. And here you may note one of the qualities and properties of the aduer&s;aries of Chri&s;t, which is, a great delight that they haue to feede their malitious humours in deprauing Chri&s;t and his worde. The &s;wine delyte not more to wallowe in the myre, neither the dogge too returne too his vomite, neither the lyon to teare in pieces his pray, then the&s;e brute bea&s;tes, led with &s;en&s;ualitie, doe in backebiting Chri&s;t and his members. But what de|lite or plea&s;ure &s;o euer the aduer&s;arie takes in it, it is one of the bittere&s;t cro&s;|&s;es that followes the profe&s;&s;ion of the Go&s;pel: euen a malitious deprauing tongue. <MILESTONE N="1"> For why? Doth it not mo&s;t vio|lently teare in pieces the fame and good name of the godly. An olde writer vppon the P&s;alme, &s;aieth that the tongues of<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ca&s;&s;iodorus.</NOTE> backbiters may rather bee called teeth then tongues? <HI>Quia &s;icut dentes ciborum partes demunt, ita detractores famam ho|minum corrodunt.</HI></P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2"> Doth it not vexe and tormente the minde euen as the flames of hell fyre.
<PB REF="7" MS="y"> <HI>S. Iames</HI> in the 3. chapter &s;aith painly.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iames 3.</NOTE> <HI>The tongue is fire and a world of wic|kednes, &s;o is the tounge &s;ette among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and &s;ets on fire the cour&s;e of nature, and is &s;et on fire of hel.</HI> <MILESTONE N="3"> To be &s;hort, doth not a &s;pitefull tounge cut &amp; wound the &s;oule of the Godly as it were a &s;woord. <HI>Dauid, P&s;alme. 57.</HI> complay|ning<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>P&s;al.</HI> 57.</NOTE> of the inhabitants of the De&s;ert of <HI>Zeph &s;ayth. Their tounge is a &s;harpe &s;word:</HI> and in the 62. p&s;alme bewayleth<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 62.</NOTE> the de&s;truction of <HI>Abimelech</HI> and the re&s;t of the Prie&s;tes, which was wrought by the priuie &s;launder of <HI>Achitophel</HI> and others, &s;ayth, <HI>They haue whet their tongues like a &s;woord,</HI> whereby it may appeere y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> the per&s;ecution of an il toung is a &s;ore per&s;ecution, euen becau&s;e it woundeth the godly like a &s;word.</P>
<P>The Catholike Phari&s;ees of Rome &s;aye, that their holy Father hath and ought to haue two &s;woordes, by rea&s;on that the di&s;ciples &s;ayd to Chri&s;t, <HI>Behold Lord heere are two &s;words. Luke, 22.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Luke 22.</NOTE> In deede I am of that opinion, that the Pope hath now, and long hath had twoo &s;woords: The &s;word of Tyranny and the
<PB REF="7"> &s;word of Infamy. His &s;word of Tiranny wherwith he diuides the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ead from the &s;houlders was bequeathed vntoo him by his ance&s;ters <HI>Caine E&s;au, Pharao, He|rod, Nero, Iulian. &amp;c.</HI> with this &s;worde he hath had hi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">full &s;troke at the Saintes of God heere in England, and would e|uen now l<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">t driue at vs again, if by Gods good prouidence we were not to farr out of his reach. The Lorde &s;o keepe vs: The lord for his name &s;ake &s;o keepe vs. His other &s;word of Infamy, wherewith he wounds the godly by deprauing their good names, came to him by the like di&s;|cent: For after that <HI>Semei, Doeg, Achi|tophel</HI> &amp; others had played their partes with it again&s;t <HI>Dauid,</HI> the Scribes and Phari&s;ees had it in their v&s;e, &amp; what depe wounds they gaue with it to Chri&s;t &amp; his Di&s;ciples you can not be ignorant. Now out of their hands Antichri&s;t at his com|ming &s;natch it, and euer &s;ince hath hol|den it fa&s;t as the &s;cepter of his kingdom. With this &s;word euen now hee layes a|bout him in England &amp; &s;trikes more de&s;|perately at all e&s;tates then euer hee did: for al our hold Recu&s;ants, al our quonda~ prie&s;ts, al our harpers vpon a change, all our
<PB REF="8"> lookers for a golden daye, all our priuie whi&s;perers, and &s;ubtile &s;urmi&s;ers which we haue in Englande, what els are they but the Popes &s;ouldiers, and their tongs his &s;wordes wherewith hee &s;trikes mo&s;t fier&s;ly, though priuily, at her Maie&s;tie, at her mo&s;t honourable Coun&s;aile, at her faithfull people, yea and at Chri&s;te him &s;elfe as the&s;e Phari&s;ees did. Chri&s;t him &s;elfe I &s;ay, they backbite and bla&s;pheme in two re&s;pectes, in his worde, and in the me&s;&s;engers of the &s;ame woorde. In his worde, when they tell the people in their eares vnder the colour of friendly coun|&s;ayle, that the worde of God is hard and ob&s;cure, that it is a dumb &s;choolmai&s;ter, and a dead letter, that it is a no&s;e of waxe and a &s;hipmans ho&s;e, &s;eruing too euery purpo&s;e, and therefore adui&s;e them in no ca&s;e to reade it. Doe they not mo&s;t di&s;pitefully di&s;credit and &s;launder Chri&s;t him &s;elfe? doe they not matche the&s;e in bla&s;phemy tho&s;e proude Iewes which called the Go&s;pell in contempt <HI>Ouangi|lion.</HI> that is, Reueled &s;inne, or <HI>Ougelion,</HI> that is, The reuelation of vanity.</P>
<P>Nowe in the me&s;&s;engers of the &s;ame
<PB REF="8"> worde they backebite Chri&s;t whiles they reuile vs in their &s;leues, and call vs He|retikes, Hypocrites, Apo&s;tataes, Bla&s;|phemers, Vowebreakers, Peacebrea|kers, Filthy lecherers, accur&s;ed hel|houndes, &amp;c. which bitter reproches and reuilinges, when they come too our eares, woulde wounde vs as it were a &s;worde, were it not for the &s;ame ble&s;&s;ed &s;hield which Ie&s;us Chri&s;t him &s;elfe hath giuen vs: <HI>Mat. 5. Ble&s;&s;ed are you, &amp;c.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Matt. 5.</NOTE> Therefore let them &s;pue out their repro|ches vntill their heartes bur&s;t in pieces, and &s;trike at vs with their cankred &s;worde of &s;launder vntill their tongues cleaue to the roofe of their mouthes, they &s;hall not di&s;courage, but rather make vs the more dutifull. For eue~ as the enemy of <HI>Ia&s;on Phileus</HI> thought to wounde him with his &s;worde, but in deede healed him by opening his impo&s;tume, &s;o they &s;hall finde that when they haue &s;aide the wor&s;t they can, they doe but lanche our impo|&s;tumes of negligence and &s;ecuritie, and &s;o make vs the more diligent in our cal|ling, which God graunt. And thus much of the fir&s;t note.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="section">
<PB REF="9">
<HEAD>The &s;econd propertie of the aduer&s;aries.</HEAD>
<P>Once againe let vs looke into this que&s;tion of theirs, and wee &s;hall &s;ee that which &s;econdly I noted. I meane howe &s;ubtely they began to di&s;courage the di&s;|ciples. <HI>Why eateth, &amp;c.</HI> As if they had &s;aid in flat and plaine &s;peeches: you &s;illy Di&s;ciples, doe you not perceiue and &s;ee what a one your Mai&s;ter is, for who&s;e &s;ake you haue left all that you had: he for|beares not too eate and drinke with the wicked, euen Publicans and &s;inners: An hone&s;t man I warrant you, and you haue made a faire hand too betake your &s;elues to &s;uch a Mai&s;ter. Marke well I be|&s;eech you their profound &s;ubtletie. They would faine di&s;courage the Di&s;ciples. And why? To make them for&s;ake their mai&s;ter. And what then? The~ would the people leaue him, &amp; &s;o he &s;hould be as an abiect &amp; as one forlorne, you haue no like|lihoode of a more cunning deui&s;e at any time, then to v&s;e the Di&s;ciple as an in|&s;trument to confounde the mai&s;ter, and yet you may note it for an other of the accu&s;tomary qualities of the aduer&s;aries of the Go&s;pell. For how had the&s;e Pha|ri&s;ees
<PB REF="9"> knowne which had bin Chri&s;te, if they had not made <HI>Iudas</HI> for money too giue them a &s;igne? And if you reade the 14. of <HI>Actes,</HI> you &s;hall finde the very &s;elfe<NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 14.</NOTE> &s;ame practi&s;e put in vre by the Iewes, which to &s;upplant the Di&s;ciples in their laboures, corrupted the minds of certain Gentiles, which had bin their auditors, &amp; &s;o did much harme. Againe &s;ince Chri&s;t <HI>An. 178.</HI> in that &s;ame famous per&s;ecuti|on which was then in <HI>Fraunce,</HI> as ap|peereth in the Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall hi&s;tory, the<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eu&s;ebius.</NOTE> per&s;ecutors v&s;ed the like tretchery to|wards <HI>Atalus</HI> &amp; <HI>Alexander,</HI> twoo noble profe&s;&s;ors of the Go&s;pel, for their owne &s;eruants which had bin <HI>Ethnikes</HI> were &s;ubuerted to auouch ope~ly that their mai|&s;ters liued by mans fle&s;h: that they offred infants to the deuil: that they committed ince&s;t, with other &s;uch like bla&s;phemies, more bitter then death it &s;elf. And <HI>Iulian</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ruffinus. lib. 1. cap. 32.</NOTE> the Apo&s;tata to pluck vp by the rootes al that euer <HI>Athana&s;ius</HI> that good old father of <HI>Alexandria,</HI> had planted in the Lords vinyard, called the Chri&s;tia~s, which were his hearers, &amp; heaped kindnes vpo~ them, &amp; gaue them libertie at wil, becau&s;e they &s;hould &s;hrink fro~ their pa&s;tor &amp; profe&s;&s;io~.</P>
<PB REF="10" MS="y">
<P>And what thinke you ot Antichri&s;te that Archenemie of the Go&s;pel: hath the Deuil him &s;elfe a ca&s;t beyond him to vn|dermine Ie&s;us Chri&s;te: One while hee thundreth and lightneth again&s;t vs, with Bell, Booke, and Candle: and an other while he &s;miles &amp; fawnes vppon vs with his Bulles, Pardons, and Indulgences, and all to withdrawe vs from our Lorde and mai&s;ter Ie&s;us Chri&s;t. So that thus you &s;ee that this &s;ubtile deui&s;e of the&s;e Phari&s;ees is an ordinary practi&s;e of the Aduer&s;aryes, and dooth no &s;mall harme in the Church of God, and therefore I thought good too make you acquainted with it, becau&s;e you may the &s;ooner e&s;|chewe it, if at any time it &s;hall be practi|&s;ed towards you.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>The third propertie of the aduer&s;aries.</HEAD>
<P>But returne to the Phari&s;ees, Chird|ly in their que&s;tion they iu&s;tifie the~&s;elues: that is, they doe beare the Di&s;ciples in hand that they are men of &s;uch &s;ingular hone&s;tie and perfecte holines, that they abhorre al Publicanes and &s;inners, yea and cannot abide tho&s;e which kepe them company, and all to bring their purpo&s;e
<PB REF="10" MS="y"> the &s;ooner about. A notable point of hy|pocri&s;ie, vnder the vi&s;ard of hone&s;tie and holine&s;&s;e to worke mi&s;chiefe and villany. and a familiar practi&s;e of the aduer&s;aries of the Go&s;pel, which hath made vs great Shepheards of the word of God, no one thing the like: for whil&s;t they couer their inwarde villany with the faire Cloke of hone&s;tie and good meaning, who can e&s;|cape their &s;nares? &s;urely very fewe at al. For albeit that experience hath giuen forth the&s;e rules: That all is not Golde that gli&s;ters: That a ru&s;ty blade may haue a painted &s;heath: That none talkes more of hone&s;t dealing, then a common Cou&s;oner: That none offers fayrer play, then a fal&s;e Iugler: that many a one too haue his purpo&s;e, will light a candle be|fore the Deuil. And albeit that the &s;crip|ture hath giuen forth the&s;e notes, that hy|pocrites are like painted Sepulchres, full of deade mens bones: that they are Wolues in Sheepes clothing: Welles without water: and Cloudes without raine, &amp; that the greate&s;t grace and glory of an Hypocrite is, too &s;eeme that hee is not, and that Satan can chaunge, &amp;c.
<PB REF="11" MS="y"> yet &s;uch is their cunning in cou~terfait|ting, and &s;uch are their conueiaunces in canuei&s;ing, that they are neuer almo&s;te for&s;eene til it be to late and pa&s;t remedy. Wherfore hypocrites may be compared to the trick&s;ie minion mentioned in the <HI>Pro. 5. Her lips</HI> (&s;aith the wi&s;e man) <HI>drop as an hony combe, and her mouth is more &s;oft then oyle, but the end of her is as bitter as wormewood, and &s;harpe as a two edged &s;worde.</HI> And &s;urely &s;o it fareth with an hypocrite mo&s;t co~monly: his golden pretence is neuer lightly with out a bloody end. <HI>Potolome</HI> had a gol|den pretence, when hee inuited olde <HI>Si|mon</HI> &amp; his two &s;onnes to a fea&s;te but his drift was too di&s;patch them, and &s;o hee did.</P>
<P><HI>Herod</HI> had a golden pretence when hee willed the wy&s;e men too bring him woorde where the Childe was, that hee might come and wor&s;hippe, but his ende was to kil him.</P>
<P><HI>Iudas</HI> had a golden pretence when he came to his Mai&s;ter Ie&s;us Chri&s;t &amp; &s;a|luted him, and embraced him, and ki&s;&s;ed
<PB REF="11" MS="y"> him, but his ende was to betray him.</P>
<P>The&s;e Phari&s;ees had a golden pre|tence when they curried fauour with the Di&s;ciples, and a&s;ked them by way of friend&s;hip, <HI>why eateth, &amp;c.</HI> but their end and purpo&s;e was to &s;educe them.</P>
<P>Let al <HI>Symons</HI> bee adui&s;ed how they come too <HI>Ptolomaeus</HI> fea&s;t: Let all wy&s;e men fore&s;ee <HI>Herods</HI> deuotion: Let all<NOTE PLACE="marg">Machab.</NOTE> mai&s;ters reuoke <HI>Iudas</HI> ki&s;&s;e: Let all di&s;ciples take heede of the Phari&s;ees driftes: and let all good and godly men haue an eye too hypocri&s;ie, the beautye and continuance of the aduer&s;aries of the Go&s;pel, which can &s;eeme a &s;ainct, and be a Diuel, and in toungue profe&s;&s;e a good woord, but in harte hatch and harboure a mi&s;chiefe, and &s;o much of the thirde note.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>The fourth property of the aduer&s;aries.</HEAD>
<P>The fourth thing which I haue no|ted in this que&s;tion is, that they did ra&s;hely condemne their poore brethren, calling them Publicanes and &s;inners,
<PB REF="12"> pronouncing &s;entence vppon them, as it they had beene then as they were before. That is, &s;uch catchpoules and cutthrotes as none could be wor&s;e: where as they poore &s;oules were at vtter defiance with their former wayes, and &s;ought by all meanes to become regenerate in Chri&s;te Ie&s;us. Heere I am to put you in minde of a fourth qualitie of the aduer&s;aries of the Go&s;pel which is, <HI>Ra&s;he iudgement,</HI> forbidden by our Sauiour Ie&s;us. <HI>Mat. 7. Iudge not and ye &s;hall not be iudged, condemne not, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>This ra&s;h iudgement goeth hedlong to work and condemnes a man without regarde of circum&s;taunce or perfect vn|der&s;tanding of the matter, whereof there is a notable example, Actes 28. <HI>When Paule hadde gathered a number of &s;tickes, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Backbiting and priuy &s;launder is a greeuous cro&s;&s;e, heare it who &s;hall. The &s;ubtile &s;upplanting of the head by the foote is a Diuili&s;h pollicie, who euer doth practice it. The counterfaite com|pa&s;&s;es of Hypocri&s;ie are alwayes mi&s;|chieuous, how beautifull &s;oeuer they ap|peere:
<PB REF="12"> but yet ra&s;h iudgement is wor&s;t of all. And therefore bylike the charitable Phari&s;ees of Rome wil &s;eeme to bee far from this que&s;tion, and euen for S. <HI>Cha|rities</HI> &s;ake not to iudge the wor&s;t one of<NOTE PLACE="marg">Decret.</NOTE> an other. Pope <HI>Leo</HI> the fourth, made a decree, that if the Pope him &s;elfe were &s;eene committing murther, it &s;hould bee excu&s;ed as the murthers of <HI>Samp&s;on:</HI> and if hee were &s;eene playing the adulterer, it &s;hall be cloked as the Adultery of <HI>Ia|cob:</HI> and if hee were &s;eene dooing a rob|bery, it &s;hould be couloured as the rob|bing of the <HI>Egiptians,</HI> and all to auoyde ra&s;h iudgement. The &s;ame holy father made an other decree to the &s;ame ende in the behalfe of his clergie: that if one of the Cleargie were &s;eene imbracing a woman, it &s;hould be &s;aide that hee did it to ble&s;&s;e her. And be&s;ides the charitable decrees, their Legends &s;etting forth the wonderfull charitie of S. <HI>Frauncis:</HI> re|corde that when hee &s;awe twoo wantons dallying and ki&s;&s;ing togither, hee fell down vpo~ his knees &amp; held vp his hands and pray&s;ed God that there was &s;ome charitie to be &s;eene in the worlde. Haue
<PB REF="13"> you heard of the lyke charitie? woulde you wi&s;he more adui&s;ed iudgement, and yet none liuing more headle&s;&s;e or head|long in iudgement: For if you marke this geare wel, you &s;hal perceiue that all was becau&s;e they woulde not haue the worlde too iudge of them, as they were indeede: For let them &s;ee a mote in our eyes, and they will not let too condemne vs for very firebrandes of Hell.</P>
<P>Our di&s;corde about Cappe and Sur|ple&s;&s;e is but a mote, in compari&s;on of their great beames about the principall articles of Chri&s;tian fayth: and yet they condemne vs for <HI>Schi&s;matickes.</HI></P>
<P>Our Chri&s;tian liberty too take &s;uche meate in woorth as comes before vs, with thankes too GOD and without grudge of con&s;cience: what is it to their bea&s;tly licentiou&s;ne&s;&s;e, too doo what they li&s;t without remor&s;e of con&s;cience? and yet they condemne vs for <HI>Liber|tines.</HI></P>
<P>Our godly loue too prouide hone&s;tly for Wife and Children, is nothing in
<PB REF="13"> compary&s;on of their vn&s;atiable greedi|ne&s;&s;e too &s;crape togither for their Strumpetes and Ba&s;tardes, and yet they doe condemne vs for couetous Go&s;|pellers.</P>
<P>Our brotherly compa&s;&s;ion to pardon &s;ometimes &s;mall offences, is but a very Mite in regarde of their mon&s;trous Ca|mell of Bla&s;phemie to pardon alwayes what&s;oeuer offences, and yet they con|demne vs for Anabapti&s;ts.</P>
<P>Good GOD then where is their Charitie become, whereof they make&s;o greate boa&s;te? belike they keepe it all to the~&s;elues: for to vs they &s;hew nothing el&s;e but Buchery crueltie, and tyranny, behauing them &s;elues like the Souldi|ers of that Captaine who&s;e badge they beare.</P>
<P>Our infirmities they lay open to the worlde, as damnable enormityes: their owne Bla&s;phemyes and dete&s;table he|re&s;ies, they cloke and couer with the backe&s;lydinges of the godly Patriarks. My conclu&s;ion is therefore, howe dain|tily and howe nice &s;o euer they &s;eeme too
<PB REF="14" MS="y"> make it to iudge one another, be the mat|ter neuer &s;o euident: yet they are mo&s;te de&s;pytefull in condemning vs, bee the cryme neuer &s;o vnlikely. And thus in the Phari&s;ees you haue heere the qua|lities and conditions of the aduer&s;aries of Chri&s;t his Go&s;pel.</P>
<P>But nowe it may bee that &s;ome one or other will beginne too doubte becau&s;e of this the Phari&s;ees que&s;tion, whither it be lawful to keepe company or too enter into familiarity with the wicked, yea or no. For the re&s;olution wherof this I &s;ay: It is not onely lawful, but al&s;o behouefull for the good mini&s;ter of Chri&s;t too keepe company and too haue familiarity with tho&s;e wicked ones in whom ther is good hope of amendement. For the&s;e are too bee brought home as &s;tray &s;heepe vppon their &s;houlders, and the wor&s;te that can come of it is but the repining of a mali|tious Phari&s;ee &s;aying, <HI>Lo hee is a friend too Publicans and &s;inners.</HI></P>
<P>But for any man that feares God and profe&s;&s;eth the Go&s;pel, to ioyne in entire amitie with the aduer&s;aryes of the &s;ame, that is impo&s;&s;ible, it is vngodly, it is dan|gerous.
<PB REF="14" MS="y">
<MILESTONE N="1"> It is impo&s;&s;ible, becau&s;e twoo contraryes can not agree togither, yee cannot drinke of the Cup of the Lorde, and of the cup of Diuels: yee cannot be partakers of the table of the Lorde, and of the table of Diuels. Bee not vnequally yoaked with Infidels. And why? For what fellow&s;hip hath righteou&s;nes with<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 10.</NOTE> vnrighteou&s;nes? Or what co~munion hath light with darkne&s;&s;e? what concord hath Chri&s;t w^t Belial? Or what part hath the beleeuer with the infidell? Or what a|greement<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor. 6.</NOTE> hath the Temple of God with Idols? Once for all. It cannot be that the aduer&s;aryes of the go&s;pel, &s;houlde be freendes vnfaigned with the true profe&s;|&s;ors of the &s;ame: For &s;o longe as their hearts re&s;t on this pinne, that a &s;olemne vowe is not to be performed vnto a Go&s;|pelle<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">, let vs neuer looke but for patched and botched amitie at their hands. And as it is impo&s;&s;ible to finde freend&s;hip at their hands, &s;o it is vngodly too &s;eeke it: <MILESTONE N="2"> for Gods word doth forbid it. <HI>Take hede</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Exod.</HI> 33. 3<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"></NOTE> <HI>too thy &s;elfe that thou make no com|pact with the aduer&s;aryes of the land whither thou goe&s;t, le&s;t they bee the</HI>
<PB REF="15" MS="y"> cau&s;e of ruine among you.</P>
<P>And heere is the danger to be noted to, <HI>lea&s;t they be the cau&s;e &amp;c.</HI> Heereby wee may &s;ee that ruine and de&s;truction hang ouer their heads which are in ami|tie with Gods profe&s;&s;ed enemyes. <HI>Io&s;a|phat</HI> did but goe with <HI>Achab</HI> for com|pany, It had almo&s;te beene his ouer|throwe. And that the Prophet told him at his comming back. The &s;ame ac|count let euery one of vs make, when&s;o|euer wee &s;hake handes with Gods ene|myes. So that thus the ca&s;e &s;tands: If there be hope of amendment, then keepe company with the wicked: But if their harts be indurate, and their necks &s;tiffe|ned, then beware le&s;t they becau&s;e of ru|ine. So farre of the fir&s;t parte.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>The &s;econd parte of the benefite of Chri&s;t and his Go&s;pel.</HEAD>
<Q>When Ie&s;us heard that, &amp;c.</Q>
<P>Now I come to &s;peake of the an&s;were, and &s;o of the benefites which wee inioy through Chri&s;t and his word. Had our Sauiour Ie&s;us framed his an&s;were ac|cording to their vaines &amp; affectio~s which
<PB REF="15"> moued the Que&s;tion, neither had their mouths bin &s;o &s;oone &s;topt, nor our &s;oules &s;o happely furni&s;ht with the ble&s;&s;ed ri|ches of &s;aluation: For in this his aun|&s;were hee dooth confounde all proude mindes, and comfortal &s;orowful heartes, euen as it were with one breath. For hee an&s;wereth that one que&s;tion three maner of wayes. Fir&s;t according to their known prouerbe: <HI>The whole neede not &amp;c.</HI> Secondly, according to the Scripture: <HI>Go learne what &amp;c.</HI> Thirdly, according to his owne office and dewly: <HI>I am not to call. &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Good God howe dolti&s;he and howe &s;otti&s;he is mans wy&s;edome when it will &s;eeme too contende with Gods. The fir&s;t aun&s;weare &s;hewes that they were ig|norant of common &s;en&s;e and rea&s;on. The &s;econde that they were ignorant of the Scriptures. The thirde that they were ignorant of the Me&s;&s;ias his office and dewty: and euery one of them doeth fully &s;ati&s;fie the que&s;tion and &s;hew vs be&s;ides what benefites we haue through Chri&s;te our Sauiour as you &s;hall vnder&s;tand.</P>
<DIV3 TYPE="section">
<PB REF="16" MS="y">
<HEAD>The fir&s;t Aun&s;were.</HEAD>
<Q>The whole neede not &amp;c:</Q>
<P>Fir&s;t he &s;aith, <HI>The whole neede not &amp;c.</HI> As if hee had &s;ayd, I am like vnto a Phi&s;itio~, you are like vnto whole men: The&s;e Publicans are like vnto &s;ick men. Nowe you knowe by common &s;en&s;e and rea&s;on, that the whole neede not the Phi|&s;ition, but the &s;ick, therefore I eate with them and not with you. In which &s;aying we haue to note the compari&s;on, and to con&s;ider how fitly they are made. Fir&s;te he compareth him &s;elfe vnto a Phi&s;ition: &s;econdly, the Phari&s;ees vnto whole and &s;ound men: Thirdly the Publicanes vn|to &s;ick per&s;ons.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>The fir&s;t Compari&s;on.</HEAD>
<Q>Chri&s;te is like a Phi&s;ition.</Q>
<P>Two thinges are e&s;pecially requi&s;ite in euery good Phi&s;ition: Fir&s;t that hee be able to cure his patient: next that hee be willing: otherwi&s;e he is no perfecte Phi&s;ition.</P>
<P>That Chri&s;t Ie&s;us can heale our de&s;pe|rate di&s;ea&s;es of &s;in: What better proofe is there then the notable cures which he
<PB REF="16" MS="y"> hath already doone. Reade no more but the Chapter wherehence the&s;e woordes are taken, and you &s;hall finde that hee cured <HI>Matthew</HI> a &s;infull Publicane: He cured the Rulers daughter: Hee cured the woman of her bloody i&s;&s;ue of twelue yeeres continuance: He cured two blinde men: Hee cured the dumbe man which was po&s;&s;e&s;t with a Deuill: In &s;o much that the ble&s;&s;ed Euangeli&s;t concluds the chapter with this te&s;timonie: <HI>Ie&s;us went about all Cities and townes, teaching in their Sinagogues and preaching the Go&s;pel of the kingdome, and healing euery &s;ickne&s;&s;e and euery di&s;ea&s;e a|mong the people.</HI> Yea, and his com|ming is &s;o greate that it &s;urpa&s;&s;eth the &s;kill of all other Phi&s;itions what &s;o euer. For whome (hee onely excepted) can take away the principall cau&s;e of all di|&s;ea&s;es, I meane <HI>Sinne?</HI> Did not he heale the Pal&s;ey man by forgiuing his &s;inne. It is a common rule among Phi&s;itions: <HI>Ce&s;&s;ante cau&s;a ce&s;&s;et &amp; effectus.</HI> Sinne is the originall and fountaine of all di|&s;ea&s;es in man: therfore he that was able to remoue that, cannot chu&s;e but haue
<PB REF="17" MS="y"> power ouer all the effectes thereof.</P>
<P>It is a worlde to &s;ee, howe faire the Pope would be thought to be a cunnyng Phi&s;ition, and of abilitie to cure the di&s;|ea&s;e of &s;inne: He made our Churches his Apoticary &s;hoppes, wherein he &s;olde all maner of Drugges, Salt, Creame, and Oyle for one purpo&s;e: Ma&s;&s;e &amp; Dirige for an other: Tapers and Torches for an other: Bulles and Pardons for an other: Reliques and Shrines for an other: and yet all would not &s;erue to purge the lea&s;t &s;inne that is: Therefore more Antichri&s;t he to pretende it. No, no, it is the blood of Chri&s;t which purgeth all &s;inne, and cu|reth all maner of wickednes. Who was euer &s;o di&s;ea&s;ed through mi&s;chieuous thoughtes as <HI>Paule,</HI> which breathed out threatninges and &s;laughters again&s;t the Di&s;ciples of Chri&s;t, and yet the blood of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t healed him? Who was euer &s;o di&s;ea&s;ed in word, as <HI>Peter</HI> which deni|ed his Mai&s;ter with an othe, &amp; yet Chri&s;t healed him? Who was euer &s;o di&s;ea&s;ed in villainous deedes, as the thiefe vppon the Cro&s;&s;e, which was hanged for his robberyes, and yet Chri&s;t healed him?
<PB REF="17" MS="y"> And all this is too teach vs that whether we be &s;ick in thought, word or deede, hee is a Phi&s;ition able to heale vs. And what a &s;hielde is this again&s;t the terrible a&s;|&s;aultes of De&s;peration. Shall the mur|ther of <HI>Caine</HI> force men to &s;ay, <HI>My &s;inne is greater then that it can be forgiuen:</HI> Or &s;hall the trechery of <HI>Iudas,</HI> &s;wallowe vp all hope of &s;aluation in me: Or &s;hall my &s;inne &s;eeme &s;o incurable to mee, that Chri&s;te cannot heale it, no I am bolde: I cannot be &s;o &s;icke, but he can make mee whole.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2"> The other propertie of a good Phi|&s;ition is, that he be willing to heale his patient: For vnle&s;&s;e he be willing to doe good, it &s;killeth not what his abilitie is. But that Chri&s;t Ie&s;us was at any time vnwilling too &s;aue &s;inners it can by no meanes appeare. For did he not mo&s;te louingly call vs vnto him, <HI>Come vntoo me,</HI> and promi&s;e vs &s;aying, <HI>I will re|fre&s;h you?</HI> And did hee not weepe ouer <HI>Ieru&s;alem,</HI> and all becau&s;e he came wil|lingly to vi&s;ite her, &amp; &s;he would not know the time of her vi&s;itation. But &s;ee and be|holde a plaine te&s;timony of his goodwill
<PB REF="18" MS="y"> to heale &s;inners. <MILESTONE N="3"> He was well a&s;&s;ured that the &s;alue wherewith he was too cure the mo&s;t deadly di&s;ea&s;es of &s;inne, coulde not be made to any purpo&s;e without the &s;hedding of his mo&s;te pretious blood, and the lo&s;&s;e of his life: and yet hee neuer grudged at the matter, but was well con|tent it &s;hould be &s;o.</P>
<P>Oh Compa&s;&s;ion without Compari|&s;on! What Phari&s;ee woulde euer haue doone that for his patient, which Chri&s;te Ie&s;us hath mo&s;t willingly doone for vs. They are willing too finger our money, and they can make vs beleeue well: But they will not launce their lea&s;t finger if one drop of blood woulde &s;aue our liues. But Chri&s;t Ie&s;us taketh nothing of vs, and yet he hath &s;uffred his owne hearte bloode too bee launched, that it might gu&s;he out to heale vs. Canne you tell mee of a Phari&s;ee that was &s;o wil|ling too cure his Patient, that he re|fu&s;ed not too bee beaten and buffeted while&s;t hee made the medicine. And the Prophet <HI>E&s;ay</HI> in the 53. Chapter tels<NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;ay. 53.</NOTE> you that Chri&s;te Ie&s;us was wounded for our tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions, and broken for our
<PB REF="18" MS="y"> iniquities.</P>
<P>They tell you that the thinges which they mini&s;ter vnto you, are deere and co&s;tely: Noe, Noe, deerely beloued, that is a deere Salue too the Phi&s;ition which co&s;tes him his life, with many a heauy grone, with many a deepe &s;igh&punc; with many a bloody teare, and many a bitter pangue be&s;ides.</P>
<P>And heere you haue a mightie Bul|warke again&s;te the roaring &s;tormes of your gho&s;tely enemyes, The Lawe, Sinne, Death, and Hell. For what if they draw togither and con&s;pyre a|gain&s;te thy &s;oule, and proue vntoo thee by recorde of thine owne Con&s;cience, that thy &s;innes are in coulour as red as Scarlet, or in number as the &s;andes of the Sea, or in waight as the ma&s;&s;e of the whole Earth, and therefore beare thee in hand that thy di&s;ea&s;e is &s;o rotten and fe&s;tered in thy bones, that Chri&s;te Ie&s;us thy Phi&s;ition will not once &s;eeme too meddle or haue any thing to do with thee, nor &s;eeke any meanes too cure thy malady or &s;ende remedy to any &s;uch as thou art?
<PB REF="19" MS="y"> What hope, what comfort ha&s;t thou the~? Euen this, that he that was willing too purcha&s;e a medicine to heale &s;inne with the lo&s;&s;e of his life, will at all times bee willing to mini&s;ter the &s;ame to the glory of his name. Therefore, oh my &s;oule, be of good comfort, and cheere thy &s;elfe in the Lord, for if thou mai&s;t but touch the hemme of his ve&s;ture by faith, thou &s;halt be whole. And this deerely beloued, is one of the benefites and ble&s;&s;ed Try|umphes which we inioy through Chri&s;te and his Go&s;pel. That he is our Phi&s;iti|on, which is bothe willing and able too heale all our di&s;ea&s;es of &s;inne, be they ne|uer &s;o greeuous, which indeede is a bene|fite without compari&s;on: The Lorde make vs thankfull for it, and open our eyes that wee may &s;ee it cleerely in the cloudy dayes of de&s;peration.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>The &s;econde compari&s;on.</HEAD>
<Q>The whole neede not, &amp;c.</Q>
<P>The &s;econde compari&s;on heere to bee noted, is that the Phari&s;ees be lykened to whole men: which kinde of compari|&s;on we mu&s;t &s;o much the more diligently
<PB REF="19" MS="y"> marke how much the more &s;traungely it is made. For he calles them whole, not becau&s;e they were &s;o indeede, but in deri|&s;ion, becau&s;e they were &s;o per&s;waded of them &s;elues: &s;moothing vp their foule faultes with &s;elfe loue and &s;elfe lyking.</P>
<P>In the like &s;en&s;e <HI>Elias</HI> called the ab|hominable Idol <HI>Baal</HI> God, not that hee was &s;o, but becau&s;e his Prie&s;tes did &s;o account of him. Likewi&s;e <HI>Paule</HI> calleth Satan the God of this worlde, not that he either made, or redeemed, or ruled the worlde, but becau&s;e worldlings &s;erue him more duely then the liuing God.</P>
<P>After the &s;ame manner our Sauiour in the third an&s;were calles the Phari&s;ees righteous, euen becau&s;e they were &s;o be|witched with the workes of their owne hands, that they made no accounte of the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of God. There cannot be a more e&s;peciall token of reprobation, then when the Lorde falles to laughing and &s;corning his enemyes, as you &s;hall finde in peru&s;ing the 2. P&s;alme.</P>
<P>A man that had &s;eene the&s;e Phari&s;ees outwardly, woulde haue thought that our Sauiour had beene in good earne&s;t when
<PB REF="20"> he co~pareth them to whole or &s;ound men. For none had more regarde of <HI>Moy&s;es</HI> law then they, they would not abrogate one ceremony there commaunded. None fa&s;ted more then they, twi&s;e in the weeke was the lea&s;t. None prayed more then they: in euery &s;treet they went babling &amp; mumbling their prayers. None gaue almes more then they: they &s;ou~ded trum|pets to haue the greater re&s;ort of y^e pore. None payd tithes better then they: they left nether Mint ne Cu~min vntiched: yea if you looked in their handes you &s;houlde &s;ee &s;crowles wherein the lawe was writ|ten. If you looked in their forheads you might &s;ee the law written. If you looked vpon their doore po&s;tes, ye might &s;ee the Lawe written. If you looked in their garments, you might finde thornes and needles, too make them remember the the Lawe written, They had alwayes in their mouthes, <HI>Templum Domini, Templum Domini.</HI> You coulde no &s;oo|ner a&s;ke them of their Proginie, but they would be ready to an&s;were <HI>Pater no&s;ter Abraham.</HI> And when any inquired of their inheritance, they would tel him. <HI>Nos
<PB REF="20" MS="y"> haeredes terrae promis&s;ionis.</HI> What a won|derfull matter was this? were not the&s;e men whole and &s;ounde? Indeede to the outward appeera~ce they were: but what they were inwardly tho&s;e manifold woes which our &s;auiour Chri&s;te pronounced a|gain&s;t the~. <HI>Mat. 22.</HI> may at large te&s;tifie. And now you may &s;ee that it is one thing for a man to be whole in the &s;ight of God, &amp; an other thing in the &s;ight of the world. He is whole in the &s;ight of god which be|leeueth that Ie&s;us Chri&s;t is able &amp; wil|ling to heale his di&s;ea&s;e of &s;in: But he is whole in the &s;ight of the worlde, which thinks that the works of his owne hands do make him &s;ound. And this is &s;uch a kind of health, as I pray God neuer any good chri&s;tian haue: &s;et the Pope neuer &s;o greate &s;tore by it, a&s;&s;uredly it is farre wor&s;e then any &s;ickne&s;&s;e in the worlde: If the rules of Phi&s;icke be true: That there is no di&s;ea&s;e like too that, when a man thinkes him &s;elfe whole, and yet is hearte &s;icke.</P>
<P>I might heere &s;tande in compari&s;on betweene the Pope and the Phari&s;ees, and &s;hewe you that they bothe are alike
<PB REF="21"> whole &s;ound, but it is no matter of &s;uch importaunce as I haue to &s;peake: there|fore to the thirde compari&s;on.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>The thirde compari&s;on.</HEAD>
<Q>The &s;icke neede. &amp;c,</Q>
<P>The third compari&s;on is, of the Pub|licanes and &s;inners vnto &s;ick men, which haue neede of the Phi&s;ition. The&s;e Pub|licanes had beene as very cut<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">hrotes and Catchpoules as euer lyued: But as he goes farre that neuer returnes, &s;o they at the length, hearing our &s;auiour preach repentance and remi&s;&s;ion of remi&s;&s;ion of &s;in, had remor&s;e of con&s;cience, in &s;o much that their di&s;ea&s;e had cleaued fa&s;te vnto their bones, had they not hearde of a Phi&s;ition, which was bothe willing and ready to helpe them. The panges of &s;inne pricking the con&s;cience, are euen as the fittes of &s;ickne&s;&s;e gryping the heart: cau&s;ing many a deepe &s;igh and many a pitious grone. <HI>Dauid</HI> beeing in the ago|nie of &s;inne, bemones him &s;elfe after this manner: <HI>Haue mercie vppon mee, O Lorde for I am weake: O Lorde heale</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 6.</NOTE> <HI>me for my bones are vexed. My &s;oule
<PB REF="21"> is al&s;o &s;oretroubled, but Lorde howe long wilt thou delay?</HI> And <HI>Paule</HI> was no &s;ooner griped at the hart with the re|membraunce of his &s;inne: but hee cryed mainly out &s;aying, <HI>O mi&s;erable ma~. &amp;c</HI> Yea and all the godly, con&s;idering howe many wayes God hath ble&s;&s;ed them, and howe vnthankfully they haue behaued them&s;elues: con&s;idering againe their dayly tre&s;pa&s;&s;es and offences, and howe long the Lorde hath looked for their a|mendment, and how often he called them to repentance: by and by they fall &s;icke, &amp; grone &s;o rufully that you would lament too heare them. O my tender Father whome I haue di&s;plea&s;ed: O my &s;weete redeemer Chri&s;te Ie&s;us whome I haue crucified againe: O my &s;oueraigne com|forte, the holy Gho&s;te whome I haue greeued: O the time that I haue mi&s;|pent: O the grace that I haue di&s;pi&s;ed: O the creatures of God that I haue a|bu&s;ed: Wo worth my vncleaue thoughts: Woe worth my idle wordes: Wo worth my damnable workes: O howe bitter is the cur&s;&s;e of the lawe? Howe heauy is the burthen of my &s;inne? Howe horrible
<PB REF="22"> is y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;ight of death. How intollerable are the paines of hel. Ah my &s;oule begins to faint, therfore help me to a phi&s;itio~, or els I peri&s;h, I dye. Do you not think deerly beloued, that a Phi&s;itio~ &s;hould not be wel|come, &amp; well intreated among &s;uch &s;icke &s;oules as the&s;e? yes, neuer hart &s;o thri&s;ted after the Riuers of waters, as they long after Ie&s;us Chri&s;t. Such men haue nede of the Phi&s;ition, and therefore they will &s;eeke vnto him, as the&s;e Publicanes did, yea and becau&s;e of their nece&s;&s;itie, they will honor him likewi&s;e in calling him to their hou&s;es, &amp; biding him to their fea&s;ts: they are &s;o de&s;irous of health &amp; &s;aluation. In whome wee haue a notable pre&s;ident how to behaue our &s;elues in our &s;ickne&s;&s;e of &s;in. Fir&s;t that we mu&s;t &s;eeke our Phi|&s;ition. Secondly, we mu&s;t honor him the be&s;t we can. This pre&s;ident is but mean|ly followed in mo&s;t places in England, God knowes? For &s;o far foorth as Chri&s;t will feede their bellyes, they will fol|lowe him through thicke and thinne: And they are &s;o farre from honouring him, at their fea&s;tes, that they will not &s;tick too &s;ay, they cannot be mery at their meate,
<PB REF="22"> when a Preacher is at their Table. But there is good cau&s;e, the Citie of <HI>London</HI> &s;hould become an other <HI>The&s;&s;alonica,</HI> in &s;eeking and honouring our Phi&s;ition Chri&s;t Ie&s;us. There is &s;o much Prea|ching, and &s;o diligent hearing, that needs there mu&s;t be &s;ome following. If <HI>Lon|don</HI> haue &s;topped her eares, and &s;hutte her doores again&s;t Chri&s;te and his me&s;|&s;engers, there were iu&s;t cau&s;e why &s;hee &s;hould tremble and quake in the guilti|ne&s;&s;e of her owne con&s;cience: But if &s;hee haue played the &s;icke Publicane in &s;ee|king and honouring Chri&s;te her Phi&s;iti|on, let her not faint, but in the te&s;timony of a good con&s;cience pluck vp her harte, in the&s;e dreadfull times and dayes of pe|rill: <HI>For the Lorde will be founde of tho&s;e that &s;eeke him, &amp; he wil not for|&s;ake tho&s;e that feare him.</HI> If <HI>Sodom,</HI> or <HI>Gomorrha,</HI> or <HI>Samaria,</HI> or <HI>Ieru&s;alem,</HI> or <HI>Antwerpe</HI> could haue pleaded for them|&s;elues no more but that they &s;ought the Lord, &amp; honored his Chri&s;t, euen as &s;icke men do their Phi&s;ition, I am &s;ure their confu&s;ion had beene farther from them, then the Ea&s;te is from the we&s;t.</P>
<PB REF="23">
<P>Therfore, <HI>London,</HI> &s;eek thou thy Phi|&s;ition Chri&s;t Ie&s;us, beleeue in him, pray to him, &s;erue him in &s;inglene&s;&s;e of heart, as thou oughte&s;t to do, and he wil not de|liuer his power into captiuitie, nor his beautie, I meane his Go&s;pell, into the enemyes hand.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>The &s;econd part of the An&s;were.</HEAD>
<Q>Goe learne what that is, I will haue mercie. &amp;c.</Q>
<P>A good Lawyar perceiuing the &s;ubtletie of his aduer&s;ary, will &s;peake to the ca&s;e, and bee earne&s;t in the matter: And commonly a &s;kilfull Chirurgian, &s;eeing the rotten fle&s;h begin to fe&s;ter and corrupt the &s;ound, will launch it too the quick. Much after the &s;ame manner doth our Sauiour Chri&s;te &s;hewe him &s;elfe in his &s;econd an&s;were, <HI>Go learne what &amp;c.</HI> As if he &s;hould &s;ay in &s;harpe and rounde &s;peech. Doe you make your &s;elues &s;o per|fect in the Scripture, and yet doe you finde faulte with him which &s;heweth mercie to the mi&s;erable and comfortles, <HI>Goe learne,</HI> goe learne of the Prophet who in the per&s;on of God him &s;elfe &s;aith,
<PB REF="23"> <HI>I will haue mercie. &amp;c.</HI> Then &s;hall you &s;ee that I doe nothing again&s;t the will of God I warrant you. <HI>I will haue mercie and not &s;acrifice, &amp;c.</HI> When the Lord maketh choi&s;e of mercie rather then &s;acrifice, we haue to vnder&s;tand that his will is, that we &s;houlde bee pittifull one tending an others di&s;tre&s;&s;e, and not bleare his eyes with an outward &s;hew of godline&s;&s;e. Now for your better in&s;truc|tion in the will of God, it &s;hall be expe|dient that I &s;peak &s;euerally. Fir&s;te of Mercie, then of Sacrifice.</P>
<P><HI>I will haue mercie, &amp;c.</HI> It &s;hould bee of no &s;mall force to make vs &s;hewe mer|cie and compa&s;&s;ion one towardes ano|ther, When the Lorde &s;ayeth, <HI>I will haue mercie. &amp;c.</HI> For if wee bee &s;er|uaunts, we mu&s;t doe the will of our mai|&s;ter. And if we be children, we mu&s;t obay the will of our father. But alas it fareth with vs as often times with young Chil|dren: the more the father doth cocker and dandle them, the le&s;&s;e they care for him: and if he &s;ay vnto them, I will haue this or that doone, none &s;o ready too bid him commaunde and doe it him &s;elfe, as his
<PB REF="24"> owne Children. So it falleth out with vs: God our heauenly Father hath ble&s;&s;ed vs, and ble&s;&s;ed vs again, and yet when he &s;ayth: I wil haue you to be mercifull and pittiful to your needy brethren, like &s;tub|burne children, we &s;it &s;til &amp; &s;top our eares as if we heard not. There is no one thing &s;o much called vpon and commended vn|to vs in Scripture as mercy, &amp; yet on our partes there is no one thing &s;o little re|garded. <HI>He that is merciful</HI> (&s;aith the<NOTE PLACE="marg">Prou. 11.</NOTE> wi&s;eman) <HI>rewardeth his own &s;oule.</HI> And <HI>Micheas</HI> &s;heweth <HI>I&s;rael</HI> what it was that<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mich. 6.</NOTE> the Lord required at their hands indeed, bidde them fir&s;t doe iu&s;tly, and next loue mercie, &amp;c. In the fifte of <HI>Matt. Ble&s;&s;ed</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 5.</NOTE> <HI>are the merciful for they &s;hall &amp;c.</HI> In the 6 of <HI>Luke. Be ye therfore mercifull</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Luke. 6.</NOTE> <HI>as your heauenly father is merciful. S. Iames</HI> al&s;o in his 2. Chapter &s;aieth in<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iames. 2.</NOTE> plaine words, that there &s;hall be iudge|ment without Mercie too him that will &s;hewe no mercie. And all this is to &s;tirre vs vppe and to pluck vs forewarde too &s;hewe mercie and compa&s;&s;ion one to|wardes an other. And &s;urely happy is that Chri&s;tian who&s;e faith is exerci&s;ed
<PB REF="24"> in mercie: For as the wi&s;eman &s;ayth.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Prou. 20.</NOTE> <HI>Mercie &amp; truth pre&s;erue the king, &amp;c. His throne &s;halbe e&s;tabli&s;hed with mer+cie.</HI> So al e&s;tates may be &s;ure that mercy is one of the &s;tronge&s;t Pillers of their health &amp; &s;afetie. And therefore I be&s;eech you right honourable &amp; deerely beloued, haue due regard of your health &amp; welfare, which partly co~&s;i&s;teth in mercy. For this your noble citie of <HI>Lond</HI> is builded &amp; &s;cituate vpon foure Golden pillers, Iu|&s;tice, Concorde, Sobrietie, and Mercie: the Foundation beeing Ie&s;us Chri&s;te. And &s;o long as the&s;e &s;tand and flori&s;h in <HI>London,</HI> &s;hee is &s;afe and &s;ure, by the grace of God: But if they &s;houlde by any meanes decay, then great and woe|full &s;hould bee your downefall. There|fore it &s;tands you vpon &s;o much the more heedefully to looke about you, and to pre|uent the wor&s;t: For you haue not &s;o many pillers to vpholde your welfare and &s;afe|tie, but there be as many wayes too vn|dermine them, if that they be not the bet|ter for&s;eene.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t Ie&s;us, which vpholdeth right and &s;uppre&s;&s;eth wro~g w^tout re&s;pect of per&s;ons
<PB REF="25"> may bee vndermyned and ouerthrowne through bribery: For hold you the &s;word, right honorable, neuer &s;o vpright in your hands, yet if your &s;ub&s;titutes, who~e you put in tru&s;t, haue their handes ful of brybes, they mu&s;t needes wincke at &s;cant mea&s;ures, and iu&s;tifie the bagge of de|ceitful waigh<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">es, and alowe of the wyne which is mixed with water and &s;o bleare your eyes with <HI>omnia ben<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">:</HI> and &s;o &s;hall Iu&s;tice bee vndermyned and fall too the ground. Therefore it behoueth your Honor to be the more circum&s;pect in ap|pointing your Sub&s;titutes, and too haue an eye too their dealing vnder you, for feare of the wor&s;t.</P>
<P>Secondly, Concorde which is the bond and &s;inewes of euery well ordered Citie may be vndermined by the roote of bitter di&s;centio~, which maketh the mem|bers of the &s;elfe &s;ame body too iarre an<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;narle one with an other, &amp; is commonly found by Pickthanks and talebearers, which carry &s;peeches and reportes from partie to party, of what&s;oeuer they heare or &s;ee, and all to feede the humors of &s;uch cancred natures as delight in debate.
<PB REF="25"> Therefore &s;uch Merchants are woorthy of &s;euere puni&s;hment, and to be thru&s;t out of the Citie as priuy con&s;piratours again&s;t the health and welfare of the &s;ame. As for them which delight in di&s;|corde, ruptures, breaches, and &s;allinges out for euery trifle, they are euil woorthy to inioy the freedome of Citizens, yea, the name of a Citizen doth not become any &s;uch: And if I may call them Citi|zens, they are the wor&s;tmembers of the Cittie. For as &s;he which would haue the Childe whom &s;he fal&s;ely claimed, to bee diuided, was therby known to be an vnna|tural mother: And as they who wold haue the vn&s;e<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">nied C<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ate of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t de|uided, were counted beryer theeues, then they that ca<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> lottes for it: euen &s;o if you cut out all the w<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;te members of the ci|tie and &s;et them togither, t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">o&s;e which de|light in de<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">&s;ions and di&s;&s;ention, rather then in vnitie and Concorde will ea&s;ely appeare in your &s;ight, to bee the wor&s;t of all. Try whom you will.</P>
<P>Thirdly Sobri<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e which is the beau|tie and comeline&s;&s;e of you all, may be vn|dermined and ouerthrowne many waies: But e&s;pecially through exce&s;&s;e of dye<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">,
<PB REF="26"> and exce&s;&s;e of apparel. For <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">uen the&s;e Epicures and Bellygods which eate them &s;elues a &s;leepe, and &s;leepe them &s;elues an hung<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ed: And tho&s;e aleknights which drinke out all the wit out of their heades, and all the money out of their pur&s;es, haue vowed them&s;elues con&s;pi|rators to bani&s;h all Sobrietie. Againe tho&s;e proude puppies, which think all too little they tal<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">ap and rende to hang vp|on them: which make no accounte what their behauiour he, &s;o their attire be fre&s;h and gallant which haue no other way to purcha&s;e credit, but only by weating out|ragi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">us apparell: which &s;trec<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">h their Armes farther then their &s;lee<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">es will reach, and all to ru<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">le it out: which are in their chaunge for to day, and to morrow, and the nexte day: which are in their fa|&s;hions, The Ga<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">kdine, the U<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">n<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">can, the French, the Spani&s;h&punc; the Dutch, &amp;c. The&s;e I &s;ay haue likewi&s;e &s;worne too confounde the beautifull Pilles of S<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">|brietie.</P>
<P>Therefore right Honourable and you all good Citizens of <HI>London,</HI> ha<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e an eye to them, and what ly<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> im<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">&s;t, preuent them, either by reformation, cor|rection,
<PB REF="26"> or expul&s;ion out of the Citie.</P>
<P>Fourthly and la&s;tly Mercie: the gol|den Piller of Mercie, which is the ex|erci&s;e of the rich, the lyfe of the poore, and the pre&s;eruation of you all: may bee vndermined and ouerthrowen &s;o many wayes, that I feare me it is downe alrea|die, and that I &s;hall warne you too late i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> fore&s;ee that that is pa&s;t.</P>
<P>For euery harde hearte, euery Chur|li&s;he Nigarde, euery pinchyng My|&s;er, euery greedy V&s;urer, is a mortall enemy to the goodly Piller of mercy: but e&s;pecially and principally the V&s;u|rer, for he hath &s;uch long Nayles, and &s;o &s;harpe teeth, that he wil &s;cratch &amp; gnaw it downe, rather then it &s;hould &s;tand. And if a man controule him for it, and byd leaue for &s;hame, and tell him that in the ende it &s;hall be too the ruine and de&s;truc|tion of the Ci<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">tie, he &s;hall finde that he hath an Iron &s;inewe in his necke, and a browe of Bra&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>For wil he not reply and &s;ay that &s;uch as he is doe good &s;eruice in the Citie, are very profitable members, and might ill be &s;pared. And yet if you take him and looke in his mouth, you &s;hall &s;ee his
<PB REF="27"> teeth all gore blood with eating and de+uouring his needy debtors. Then let a man take one of them a&s;ide, &amp; &s;hew him<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luke. 6.</NOTE> the words of our Sauiour Chri&s;t. <HI>Luke. 6 If you lende to them of whome you hope too receiue againe, what thanke haue you? For euen &s;inners lende too &s;inners in hope too receiue the like: Wherefore loue your enemyes, doe good, and lende, looking for nothing againe, and your rewarde &s;halbe great, &amp;c.</HI> And what &s;halbe his an&s;were: Tu&s;h, Tu&s;h, Scripture is &s;cripture; but for all the Scripture, a man mu&s;te liue by his owne, and I tell you my money is my Plough. Is it not a worlde too &s;ee that U&s;urers would be like Plowmen: &amp; yet nothing &s;o vnlike: for the paineful Plow|man gets his liuing by the &s;weate of his owne browes: but the U&s;urer liues by the &s;weate and &s;weete of other mens la|boures. Therefore they are &s;uch Plowe|men as the Prophet <HI>Dauid</HI> &s;peaketh of, <HI>P&s;al. 129.</HI> and their needie brethren may<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 129.</NOTE> complaine of them, as hee did of their predece&s;&s;ors &s;aying: <HI>The Plowers plow|ed vpon my back, and made long fur|rowes:</HI> And if they bee &s;uch Plowmen,
<PB REF="27"> they &s;hall bee as withered gra&s;&s;e on the hou&s;e toppes, as appeareth in the ende of the P&s;alme.</P>
<P>But be it &s;o, thy money is thy plough, and thou thy &s;elfe doo&s;t holde thy plough, &amp; couetou&s;ne&s;&s;e doth drawe thy Plough, and the Diuel dooth driue thy Plough, and &s;o thou plowe&s;t the furrowes of thine owne confu&s;ion, and doo&s;t &s;o we the &s;eedes of thine owne de&s;truction, and without &s;peedy repentance, &s;hal reape the fruites of thine owne damnation. And all be|cau&s;e S<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="3 letters">pture is Scripture, and thy money is thy Plough. For <HI>Who&s;o|&s;oeuer</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Prou. 22.</NOTE> <HI>ploweth Iniquitie &s;hall reape mi&s;chiefe. Prou. 22.</HI> And thus much of Mercie which the Lord willeth.</P>
<Q>And not Sacrifice.</Q>
<P>The &s;econde point to be noted. This generall inhibition of Sacrifice, is not &s;o to be vnder&s;toode, as if the Lord woulde haue all manner of Sacrifice vtterly a|boli&s;hed: but it is &s;poken by way of cor|rection, becau&s;e he coulde not abide this Sacrifice which &s;melt of Hypocri&s;ie. It is expedient, therfore that there be a di&s;|&s;tinctio~ made, what &s;acrifice the lord wil haue and what &s;acrifice he wil not haue.</P>
<PB REF="28">
<P>Sacrifices mentioned in Scripture are of three &s;undry &s;ortes. The Sa|crifice of the Iewes: The Sacrifice of Chri&s;te: The Sacrifice of Chri&s;tians. Now the&s;e woords are to be vnder&s;toode of the Sacrifice of the Iewes, which at the fir&s;t were appointed by God him &s;elfe to very good purpo&s;e: for after that man through di&s;obedience had defaced the liuely Image of God in him, he could not approch the &s;ight of GOD by any meanes, but needes hee mu&s;t appeare more ful&s;ome then vile &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">inck<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">g Cari|on. Wherefore it plea&s;ed the Lorde in his mercie to woorke the meanes of his reconciliation, which was by Sacrifice. And this Sacrifice thus ordayned was to be offred vppe as a witne&s;&s;e of mans &s;inne, and as a figure of the pretious &s;a|crifice of Ie&s;us Chri&s;te, which one day &s;hould be offred vppon the Aultar of the Cro&s;&s;e, for the full &s;ati&s;faction of all &s;inne.</P>
<P>Nowe if any Sacrifice were offred otherwi&s;e then thus: That is, to ac|knowledge &s;inne, and to fore&s;hewe an other Sacrifice to come, which was the Lambe of God Ie&s;us Chri&s;te, it was
<PB REF="28"> abhominable to the Lorde and he would not haue any &s;uch too come in his pre|&s;ence.</P>
<P>And verely this it was which made him abhorre their Sacrifice: for many times they offred &s;acrifice vpon cu&s;tome and for fa&s;hions &s;ake, neither re&s;pecting the true &s;acrifice Chri&s;te, nor re&s;pecting their &s;inne, but rather committing the more &s;inne, and v&s;ing Sacrifice as a Cloke to couer the &s;ame: Therefore the Lorde tolde them he woulde haue Mer|cie, and not &s;uch Hypocri&s;ie vnder the co|lour of Sacrifice.</P>
<P>Hee might v&s;e the like inhibition at this day again&s;t a number of go&s;pellers. For many fal&s;e Brethren abu&s;e the go&s;|pell and make it a common Cloake for their U&s;urie, Adulterie, and Crueltie. To them the Lord might &s;ay, I wil haue Mercie and not the Go&s;pell: Noe not the Go&s;pell &s;o profe&s;&s;ed as they pro|fe&s;&s;e it.</P>
<P>The &s;econde kinde of Sacrifice men|tioned in Scripture, is the Sacrifice of Chri&s;t, which the Lorde wil haue: For how&s;oeuer hee tollerated the bloode of Gotes, and the bloode of Calues, for the
<PB REF="29"> time, yet hee coul<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e not bee plea&s;ed with any other, but with this onely. As for al other Sacrifices<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">, they were but Sha|dowes, this was the body: They were but hu&s;kes, this was the Kernel: They were but Chaffe, this was the Wheate: They were but Leaues, this was the fruite: They were but &s;ignes, this was the thing &s;ignified, and the trueth it &s;elfe.</P>
<P>For Chri&s;te Ie&s;us beeing the bright|ne&s;&s;e of the fathers glory, and the ingra|ued forme of his per&s;on, humbled him|&s;elfe vpon the Cro&s;&s;e, and offred his body to affliction, &amp; his &s;oule to angui&s;h, &amp; all too purge our &s;innes, whereby hee hath wrought our atonement with God, and taken away the cur&s;&s;e of the Lawe, and de&s;troyed the woorkes of the Deuill, and tryumphed ouer hell it &s;elfe.</P>
<P>O ble&s;&s;ed Sacrifice, No &s;auour but this could perfume our &s;tincking &s;oules. No &s;acrifice but this coulde pacifie the wrath of God. And heere deerely be|loued we may &s;ee an other benefite, which we haue and inioy in Chri&s;te, who hath giuen him &s;elfe a Sacrifice of a &s;weet &s;melling &s;auour to God, that hee might purge our &s;innes. The Lorde make vs
<PB REF="29"> thankfull for this benefite, and faithfully to take holde of it in all the a&s;&s;aultes of Satan.</P>
<P>The thirde kinde of Sacrifice, is the Sacrifice of Chri&s;tians which S. <HI>Peter</HI> calleth an e&s;peciall &s;acrifice, acceptable to God for Chri&s;tes &s;ake, and this kinde of Sacrifice is manifolde as may be ga|thered in Scripture. The Sacrifice of a &s;orrowful heart. <HI>The Sacrifice of God,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 51.</NOTE> <HI>is a troubled &s;pirite: and a broken and contrite heart O God, &s;halt thou not de&s;pi&s;e.</HI> This &s;acrifice Chri&s;tians ought to offer vp as often as they call to minde their wicked and &s;infull wayes. Se|condly we haue the Sacrifice of Righ|teou&s;ne&s;&s;e, which is newne&s;&s;e of life, &amp; true godlines. This &s;acrifice Chri&s;tians are willed to offer by the prophet <HI>Dauid:</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 4.</NOTE> <HI>Offer to god the &s;acrifice of righteou&s;|nes, &amp; put your tru&s;t in the Lord,</HI> that is, walke in the light as Children of the light, haue no felow&s;hip with the vnfaith|full workes of darkene&s;&s;e: Re&s;i&s;t the fle&s;h &amp; liue in the &s;pirit: this is to offer &s;acri|fice of Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e. Thirdly we find in Scripture the &s;acrifice of Prai&s;e and thank&s;giuing, which is called the Calues
<PB REF="30"> of Chri&s;tian lips: <HI>Offer to God prai&s;e</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 50.</NOTE> <HI>&amp; pay thy vowes vnto the mo&s;t highe.</HI> That is, &s;hew thy &s;elf mindfull of Gods benefits by thank&s;giuing. Fourthly, we haue the &s;acrifice of almes, whereof the Apo&s;tle &s;peaketh, <HI>To doe good and to</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 13.</NOTE> <HI>di&s;tribute forget not: for with &s;uch &s;a|crifice God is plea&s;ed.</HI> And this &s;acrifi&s;e is to be offered of much plente<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">u&s;ly, and of little diligently, and it &s;hall be accep|ted according too that a man hath and not according to that he hath not. La&s;tly we haue the Sacrifice of obedience, or rea&s;onable &s;eruice of God, which Saint <HI>Paule</HI> commendeth. <HI>I be&s;eech you ther|fore</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 12.</NOTE> <HI>brethren by the mercies of God, that you giue your bodyes a liuing Sa|crifice, holy and acceptable too God, which is your rea&s;onable &s;eruice of God.</HI> This Sacrifice we are to offer as often as wee celebrate the Lordes Supper. For as the carnall Sacrifi|ces of the Iewes, were too fore&s;hewe the ble&s;&s;ed Sacrifice of Chri&s;t to come: So mu&s;te this liuely Sacrifice of our &s;oules and bodyes bee offred vp too te&s;ti|fie that it is already come: that his bo|dy is already broken, and his blood al|ready
<PB REF="30"> &s;hed for the remi&s;&s;ion of &s;innes.</P>
<P>Heerevppon it is that the Schoole|men &s;ay, that the Lordes Supper is a Sacramente and a Sacrifice. It is a Sacrament in that we receiue the bread and Wine in remembraunce that Chri&s;t his body was giuen, and his blood &s;hedd for the remi&s;&s;ion of &s;inne. It is a Sacri|fice, in that wee doe offer vpp our &s;elues, that is, our &s;oules and bodyes, too &s;hewe our thankfulne&s;&s;e for &s;o greate a bene|fite.</P>
<P>The&s;e are the Sacrifices which chri|&s;tians are of dutie to offer vnto God, who will haue them, and accept them for Ie|&s;us Chri&s;tes &s;ake. And in re&s;pect of the&s;e Sacrifices, Chri&s;tianitie is a Royall prie&s;thoode, and Chri&s;tians are Royall Prie&s;tes: Their heartes are royall Aul|tars: Their faith is Royall Incence: And their feruent loue towards God and man, is a Royall fire to make them haue a &s;weete &s;auour before God.</P>
<DIV3 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>The Sacrifice of the Ma&s;&s;e.</HEAD>
<P>But what &s;hall wee &s;ay of the Sa|crifice of the Ma&s;&s;e? Is not that holy &s;a|crifice
<PB REF="31"> to be numbred among tho&s;e which the Lord will haue? When the Church of Roome, and all her Catholike chil|dren make &s;o great accounte of it, which is of force to releace the tormented &s;oules in purgatory: and to chace away Deuils from the po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed in Earth: which who&s;o euer heareth, as long as he heareth, it he &s;hall neuer wax olde: which pre&s;erueth yong children in their mothers wombes, &amp; deliuereth both olde and young from al imminent perils and daungers.</P>
<P>No, I auouche and prote&s;t that the Lord will not haue it, &s;trugle the Catho|licks neuer &s;o mightely, &s;huffle they ne|uer &s;o cunningly, for the magnifying of their Idol: The Lorde will not haue it. It is a worlde to &s;ee how eue~ of late they began to &s;et vp their cre&s;ts, and to clapp their wings, as if they would crowe the Pope day againe into <HI>England:</HI> &amp; all be|cau&s;e they imagine that their golden day begins to &s;pring, wherein the ma&s;&s;e &s;hal &s;hine againe. Yea they begin to looke vpon vs, as if the Deuil &s;hould look ouer <HI>Lincolne:</HI> and doe account it halfe here|&s;ie to &s;peake to any man that is a known Go&s;peller: They pa&s;&s;e by vs humming &amp;
<PB REF="31"> mumming: and whether they wi&s;he out heads in their di&s;hes, or their &s;words in our bellyes wee cannot tell yea or noe: But let them knowe that their &s;acrifice of the Ma&s;&s;e is too full of Idolatrie, abo|mination and bla&s;phemie for the Lord to heare it. And doe they thinke that her maie&s;tie, the Lords annoynted, wil heare it? God be thanked by the &s;pace of one and twentie yeeres, &s;hee hath bin a nur|&s;ing and a naturall mother to the go&s;pel, and now will &s;hee become a &s;tepmother, and fancy the Ma&s;&s;e? No, it hath cau|&s;ed too many con&s;piracies and rebellions again&s;t her mo&s;t noble per&s;o~, for her ma|ie&s;tie euer to brooke it: euen in pollicie.</P>
<P>And whereunto &s;erue the Prayers of Gods children her faithfull &s;ubiects, but euen to be&s;eech God to continue her ma|ie&s;ties godly proceedings: that &s;hee may be &s;o farre from back&s;liding, as to growe from grace to grace, &amp; from faith to faith that as &s;hee hath planted &amp; nouri&s;hed the Go&s;pel, &s;o &s;he may not be a&s;hamed of the Go&s;pel, which is &s;aluation to euery one that beleueth. She had neuer more faith|ful &s;ubiectes, and I dare vndertake &s;hee neuer had more feruent Prayers, for her
<PB REF="32"> pro&s;peritie in gouernment &amp; con&s;tancie in Gods woorde. And as vile &s;inners as they note vs to be, we doubt not but God wil heare our Prayers in his good time.</P>
<P>And this I &s;ay to the confu&s;ion of all bloodthri&s;tie Ma&s;&s;emungers, that it was neuer &s;ene yet, but what rekoning &s;o euer the wicked made, the co~trary followed.</P>
<P><HI>Pharao</HI> thought him &s;elfe &s;ure of his pray vpon the <HI>I&s;raelites,</HI> when hee had them at the brinke of the red &s;ea, but the Sea &s;wallowed him vp ho&s;te and all.</P>
<P>What accounte made <HI>Achitophel</HI> of promotion and preferment, when he con|&s;pired again&s;t his mai&s;ter <HI>Dauid?</HI> but when he &s;awe it would not be, did hee not hang him &s;elfe?</P>
<P>Tho&s;e wicked Iudges which fal&s;ely accu&s;ed that cha&s;te matron <HI>Su&s;anna,</HI> litle thought that they &s;hould haue beene &s;to|ned to death them &s;elues.</P>
<P><HI>Haman</HI> made a paire of Gallowes, and there was no way but poore <HI>Mar|docheus</HI> mu&s;t be tru&s;ted vppe, but you knowe who had the fir&s;t ban&s;el.</P>
<P>Therefore let our aduer&s;aries know, that they cannot &s;o lay their &s;nares for vs, but they may be taken therein them
<PB REF="32"> &s;elues: They cannot &s;o digge their Pittes for vs, but they may fall there|in them &s;elues: The Roddes they make accounte &s;hall beate our tayles, maye &s;courge their owne: And their Golden day, their Dommes day. And this the Lorde can doe for his Church, yea this hee will doe, if wee pray vnto him, and repo&s;e our &s;elues vppon him: There|fore whiles our Aduer&s;aryes harpe and hope vppon our de&s;truction, let them quake and tremble for feare of their owne: For the Lorde is nigh vnto all tho&s;e that call vppon him. As for the &s;acrifice of the wicked, hee will not haue it come in his pre&s;ence. And thus farre of Sacrifice.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>The thirde aun&s;were.</HEAD>
<Q>I came not to call, &amp;c.</Q>
<P>As if hee &s;hould &s;ay, Why &s;houlde you mi&s;tyke becau&s;e I eate with Publi|canes and Sinners? I tell you truely I came not too call &s;uch holy men as you are, but mi&s;erable &s;inners as they bee to repentaunce. An excellent &s;aying&punc; and able too renewe and quicken any &s;innefull &s;oule, how longe &s;oeuer it hath beene deade in the graue of Sinne.
<PB REF="33"> All the world is not able to &s;hew the like Mithridate and &s;ouerain pre&s;eruatiue a|gain&s;t the bitter cur&s;e of the lawe. Hel it &s;elfe doth repine at this &s;aying, and mur|mure that euer man &s;hould haue &s;o great an aduantage again&s;t her. And I am ve|rely per&s;waded that if the deuil had fore|ca&s;t that &s;uch an an&s;wer &s;hould be giuen to the Phari&s;es, he would rather haue ca+ried them headlong into the &s;ea, and haue drowned the~ as he did the heard of &s;wine, then they &s;houlde once haue mooued the que&s;tion. For why? doth it not mo&s;t liuely &s;hew and &s;et forth vnto vs the benefite of al benefits, I meane our calling in chri&s;t which <HI>Paule</HI> tearmeth <HI>a holy calling,</HI> for that it was not for our merits, but of gods<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Tim. 1.</NOTE> te~der loue. There cannot be a greater en|courageme~t to a Chri&s;tia~ man to animate him in doing good works, the~ to con&s;ider that Chri&s;t came to cal him: &amp; therfore the Apo&s;tle telleth the~ that they are called in Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, that is, adopted in Chri&s;t.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 1.</NOTE> What a &s;ingular prerogatiue this benefit hath aboue al other, as <HI>S. Paule Ro.</HI> 8. <HI>We</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.</NOTE> <HI>know</HI> (&s;aith Paule) <HI>that al things work togither for the be&s;t vnto the~ that loue God, euen to them that are called of
<PB REF="33"> his purpo&s;e.</HI> And what a mightie proofe doth he bring to a&s;&s;ure and warrant the faythful, that it is true which he hath &s;po|ken to their comfort: <HI>For tho&s;e which he fore knewe, he al&s;o prede&s;tinate to bee made like to the Image of his &s;on, that he might be the fir&s;t borne among ma+ny. Moreouer whom he prede&s;tinate, them al&s;o he called, and whom he cal|led, them al&s;o he iu&s;tified, and whome he iu&s;tified, them al&s;o he glorified.</HI></P>
<P>Therfore he that wil become &s;trong &amp; inuincible again&s;t aduer&s;itie, let him bee mindful of his calling in Ie&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>This &s;oueraine benefit of our calling in Ie&s;us Chri&s;t wil appeare in your &s;ight to be the greater and more worthy benefit, if you marke wel the circum&s;tance wher|with our &s;auiour Chri&s;t doth &s;et it foorth. <HI>I come not to cal, &amp;c.</HI> In which words we are to note the circum&s;tances.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t the meanes of our calling, which is Chri&s;t comming. <HI>I come not, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly the parties which are called that is, &s;inners: <HI>I come not to call the righteous, but &s;inners.</HI> Thirdly the end and purpo&s;e wherevnto he calleth: <HI>To re|pantance.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="section">
<PB REF="34" MS="y">
<HEAD>The fir&s;t circum&s;tance.</HEAD>
<P>The more often I call to mind the mi|&s;erable plight of man through &s;inne and di&s;obedience, the le&s;&s;e able do I finde my &s;elfe to &s;hewe and &s;ee foorth vnto you the infinite goodne&s;&s;e of God, our heauenly Father, in appointing &s;o worthy a mean to call vs out of the bottomle&s;&s;e pit of de|&s;truction, as his owne onely &s;onne: who notwith&s;tanding he was of the very &s;ub|&s;tance, and God eternall with him: yet by the power of the holy Gho&s;te was made man, to the end that both natures ioyned togither in one, hee might in the fle&s;he take away the filthine&s;&s;e of the fle&s;he, and fulfill Gods lawe, which man had &s;o of|ten broken, and beare the wrath and hea|uie indignation of his Father again&s;t &s;inne, who&s;e comming was promi&s;ed at the fir&s;t by God him&s;elfe: hoped for by all the faithfull Patriarkes: Figured &amp; fore&s;hewed vnder the &s;acrifice of gods law: often foretold and prophecied by all the Prophets: &amp; at the length performed vnto our fathers and vs, vpon whom the ends of the world are come, and all to call vs to repentance and &s;o to bring vs to e|uerla&s;ting life. And this hath he him&s;elfe
<PB REF="34"> often beaten into our heads, if we had the grace to con&s;ider of it. <HI>This is the wil of</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Iohn. 6.</NOTE> <HI>him that &s;ent me, that euery ma~ which &s;eeth the &s;onne, and beleeueth in him, &s;hould haue euerla&s;ting life.</HI> Againe, <HI>So</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Iohn. 3.</NOTE> <HI>God loued the world. &amp;c.</HI> Al&s;o, <HI>I came to &s;eeke &amp; to &s;aue that which was lo&s;t.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 15.</NOTE> And <HI>I am not &s;ent, &amp;c.</HI> Nowe whether Chri&s;t by his comming doth cal vs to re|pentaunce, yea or no, &s;earche diligently &amp; you &s;hall ea&s;ily finde.</P>
<P>His birth in &s;uche ba&s;e and vyle ma|ner without harbour, without nece&s;&s;arie furniture, without reuerence or regarde, without fourme or &s;hape (as <HI>E&s;ay</HI> &s;ayth) and not without hatred and daunger of &s;pightfull <HI>Herode,</HI> doeth it not touche or mooue our haughtie &s;tomacks? doeth it not pull downe our Peacockes tayles? doeth it not make vs &s;orrie and a&s;ha|med that our &s;innes &s;hould make God to thru&s;t his onely and beloued &s;onne out of his bo&s;ome to &s;uch beggerly &s;tate of re|proch and mi&s;erie.</P>
<P>Then looke you vpon his life, which as it began in &s;uch perfect humility, &s;o it co~|tinued in true fa&s;ting, dayly prayer, often watching, wreping, &s;ighing, patience
<PB REF="35" MS="y"> righteou&s;nes, innoce~cie, &amp; holines: which becau&s;e it is a liuely patterne for all chri|&s;tians to follow, doth likewi&s;e call vs to repentance and amendment of life. La&s;tly his death con&s;pired by his owne di&s;ciple, pur&s;ued by his owne nation, purpo&s;ed by his owne father, &amp; purcha&s;ed by our &s;ins, without any de&s;ert of his own: doth it not &s;trike our hearts, and wound our con&s;ci|ences with remor&s;e? Tho&s;e bloody tears: tho&s;e piteous grones, tho&s;e cruell &s;cour|gings, tho&s;e reprochfull buffetings, tho&s;e bitter tauntings and raylings which hee put vp in al patience as the due rewards for our &s;ins: &s;hal they not make vs morne and lament, when they made the vayle of the temple to rent in &s;under: the gates to open the dead bodies to ari&s;e: the earth to quake and tremble, and the &s;unne to waxe darke? If an earthly prince &s;huld puni&s;h euery rebellion, trea&s;on, con&s;pira|cy, contempt, offence and default, which his &s;ubiects make, vpon his beloued &s;on: would they not in pitie be a&s;hamed, &amp; &s;o|ry too? Our heauenly father puni&s;hed the &s;innes of the whole worlde vppon Ie&s;us Chri&s;t his only begotten &s;onne, hanging him vpon the cro&s;&s;e. Oh then, where is
<PB REF="35"> our &s;orrowe? why are we not a&s;hamed to heape &s;inne vpon &s;inne? and to nayle him to the cro&s;&s;e againe? Thus is Chri&s;tes co~ming the meanes of our calling, wher|in are included other more &s;pecial means, as ye &s;hal heare in the next circum&s;tance.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>The &s;econd circumstance.</HEAD>
<P>Moreouer in the&s;e wordes we are gi|uen to vnder&s;tande: who they are which Chri&s;t came purpo&s;ely to cal. <HI>I come not to cal the righteus, but &s;inners, &amp;c</HI> Yea and this circum&s;tance may &s;tirre vs vp to magnifie the benefite of our calling as much as any. For here we &s;ee plainly that he renounceth al tho&s;e which think better of them&s;elues then &s;inners: as the&s;e Pha|ri&s;es who dreamed that their owne righ|teou&s;nes was &s;ufficient to fulfill the lawe without Chri&s;t. But what is the matter that he doth &s;o flatly deny that hee came to cal the righteous? It is wel worth the noting. For whom doth he cal righteous, but tho&s;e which tru&s;t onely in their owne righteou&s;nes and make no account of the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of Chri&s;t. Nowe the&s;e he doth renounce. Fir&s;t becau&s;e it was the determinate wil &amp; purpo&s;e of his father which &s;ent him, that who&s;oeuer wil make
<PB REF="36"> him&s;elf righteous, &amp; is his owne Chri&s;t, &amp; his own Ie&s;us, &s;hal lye &s;til in blindnes, &amp; &s;leep in his own co~fu&s;ion. An other cau&s;e may be, that for&s;omuch as he came pur|po&s;ely to &s;eeke &amp; to &s;aue that which was lo&s;t: &amp; the righteous imagin that they ne|u<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">r went a&s;tray: therefore he lets them be as they are. An other rea&s;on may yet be taken of the &s;etting forth his fathers glo|ry: for that there &s;halbe more ioy in hea|uen ouer one &s;inner that repenteth, then ouer ninety and nine iu&s;t per&s;ons, which need no repentance. And no doubt if hee had offred to cal them, he had but lo&s;t his labour: For had he &s;aid to them, as he did to <HI>Matthewe, <HI>Come &amp; folow me:</HI></HI> they would haue an&s;wered by and by, We fo|low <HI>Abraham</HI> our father: we folow <HI>Mo+&s;es</HI> our Prophete: wee followe the lawe of God: we haue ceremonies: we haue traditions: wee haue pre&s;criptions: wee haue our inuentions to followe: we looke for another maner of <HI>Me&s;&s;ias</HI> to followe then &s;uch a beggerly outca&s;t as thou art: Therefore go where thou wilt, we will not follow thee.</P>
<P>Wherfore dearely beloued, beware howe you &s;tand vpon your owne righteou&s;nes,
<PB REF="36"> becau&s;e of a few good workes: &s;urely you haue no more portion in Chri&s;t then the verie&s;t Phari&s;ie that euer was: For if our Sauiour Ie&s;us will be found faithfull in his Me&s;&s;ia&s;hip, he mu&s;t renou~ce you and &s;ay: <HI>I came not to call the righteous:</HI> Not the righteous? whom then? &s;inners? &s;inners. Beholde dearely beloued, if you thinke to reape the benefites of Chri&s;tes comming, you mu&s;t humble your &s;elues, and become &s;inners: But how, or in what maner doeth he call &s;inners? The callyng of Chri&s;t is of two &s;orts: the one is co~mo~ wherwith we are in deed &s;tirred vp after a &s;ort, but not effectually bou~d &amp; brought to the purpo&s;e, for that they are not plea|&s;ed with the meanes: as Gods worde, the Sacraments, Sermons, &amp;c: and this is common to the reprobate &amp; righteous, as wel as to y^e elect &amp; &s;inners. Now the other is a conuenient and a mightie calling, wherby the minds of &s;inners are touched and thorowly charged: For in this very manner hee doeth call &s;inners to repen|tance.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t hee &s;oundeth in their eares by the voyce of his Lawe the greate daunger of death and dampnation wherein they
<PB REF="37"> &s;tand becau&s;e they haue &s;o wilfully tran&s;|gre&s;&s;ed his co~mandements: &amp; this &s;triks them in &s;uch horror of their &s;innes &amp; feare of his vengeance, that they would be glad to be reconciled to God the father, le&s;t he &s;huld poure vpon them their de&s;erued pu|ni&s;hment. Then he &s;ends them the &s;weete comfort of the go&s;pel, which &s;hews them, that Ie&s;us Chri&s;t is become their medi|ator &amp; aduocate: &amp; if they beleeue in him, they &s;halbe &s;afe &amp; &s;ure: whervpo~ he giues the~ faith, &amp; plants it &s;o fa&s;t in the~, that no|thing can drawe them from Chri&s;t. And le&s;t this faith &s;huld be Idle &amp; frutle&s;&s;e, he &s;ends them the holy gho&s;t: the &s;pirit of a|doptio~ to work in their hearts according to their calling. And thus you &s;ee how Ie|&s;us Chri&s;t calleth &s;inners to repentance. If you &s;hould que&s;tion farther with me &amp; enquire of the time when hee calleth &s;in|ners: That is coun&s;aile to vs. For there is no time excepted: there is no time to be in this world. Therefore let no man di&s;pair: For hee cannot bee called &s;o late into the Lords vineyard, but he &s;hal haue his pe|ny wel &amp; truely paide him. La&s;tly if you yet que&s;tion further with me, and enquire the cau&s;e why he calleth &s;inners and not
<PB REF="37"> righteous: I mu&s;t either hold my peace, or els with <HI>Paule</HI> exclaime, &s;aying: <HI>O the deepnes of the riches both of the wi&s;|dome</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 11.</NOTE> <HI>&amp; knowledge of God. How vn|&s;earchable are his Iudgements, and his wayes pa&s;t finding out? Who hath kno+wen the mind of the lord? or who was his coun&s;ailor? &amp;c.</HI> For dearly beloued, be it knowen vnto you, &amp; heauen &amp; earth &s;hal beare me witnes that the Lord in his doings is neither vniu&s;t, nor vnmerciful: No, he is mo&s;t iu&s;t and mo&s;t merciful. Is not hee mo&s;t iu&s;t which hath puni&s;hed w^t extreme rigor the offences of al tho&s;e &s;in|ners whom he calleth, vpon his own dear &s;on Ie&s;us Chri&s;t: yea and wil no: vou<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;afe to receiue them into his glory, vntill hee hath perfectly iu&s;tified and &s;anctified the~ in Chri&s;t? &amp; is he not mo&s;t mercifull, who hath elected and called tho&s;e which had neither worke nor meat, but onely a liue|ly faith in the blood of Chri&s;t which hee him&s;elf had giuen them? Therefore let al &s;inners reioice in the Lord againe and a|gaine, for Chri&s;t came to cal them, &amp;c.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>The third circum&s;tance.</HEAD>
<P>La&s;tly we &s;ee here to what end &amp; pur|po&s;e we are called in Chri&s;t to repe~tance.
<PB REF="38"> To call &s;inners to repentance, is to work two things in them: that is, to make the~ knowe their owne mi&s;erie, and too giue them faith whereby they may &s;ee their great felicitie in Ie&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>Repentaunce is tearmed <HI>Vinum An|gelorum,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Augu&s;t ad. Romanos.</NOTE> the wine of Angels, for that the teares of a &s;inner more reioyce the An|gels in Heauen, then any Wine doth the heart of man. To repent, as &s;ayth <HI>Au|gu&s;tine,</HI> is to bee &s;ory for &s;innes commit|ted, &amp; not to commit the like againe. In deede Repentance hath the rod of &s;orowe in one hand, wherwith &s;he &s;courgeth her &s;elfe when &s;he calles to minde her former &s;innes: But in the other &s;he hath the An|cour of Faith, wherewith &s;he taketh &s;ure holde fa&s;t in the rock Ie&s;us Chri&s;t: other|wi&s;e her owne teares would drowne her in the Seas of de&s;peration.</P>
<P>Repentaunce in this place includeth Iu&s;tification, and is indeede the true and direct meanes to Iu&s;tification: For when the &s;inner is called to an inwarde &s;orrow for his &s;innes, once Ie&s;us Chri&s;t for his co~fort giues him faith, which faith brin|geth to him by a heauenly violence al the merits of Chri&s;t, &amp; applyeth them to the
<PB REF="38"> &s;inful &s;oule. And this it is deerly beloued, which makes repentance of that prero|gatiue, that <HI>At what time &s;oeuer a &s;in|ner repenteth, the Lord will put al his wickednes out of his reme~bra~ce, &amp; that there &s;halbe more ioy in heauen, &amp;c.</HI> O Lord Ie&s;us Chri&s;t make vs partakers of this priuiledge, &amp; cal vs to repentance that we die not in our &s;ins. It is hie time, it is hie time I &s;ay, dearely beloued, for England to pray for the priuiledge of re|pe~tance &amp; pardon in Ie&s;us chri&s;t. For let England make the be&s;t of her &s;elf &s;he can deui&s;e, &s;he is but like a &s;peckled leopard, which hath fiue black &s;pots, for one whit. And to &s;peake generally and truly, what wickednes is there from which England may wa&s;h her hands &amp; &s;ay: I am not defi|led with any &s;uch.</P>
<P>The glorious go&s;pel of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, which &s;hould be our &s;hield in al extremi|ties, we tread it vnder our feete, as a vile thing. Prayer which &s;hould be our &s;word of defence alwayes, lieth ru&s;ting in the &s;caberde of &s;ecuritie. The olde &s;inne of <HI>Dama&s;cus</HI> is renued in Englande. She thre&s;hed <HI>Gilead</HI> with iron flayles: we thre&s;h the poore with the &s;iluer flayles of V&s;urie, which is al one.</P>
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<PB REF="40"> The wickednes of I&s;rael is now twi&s;e done and committed in England. Shee &s;olde the <HI>R.</HI> for olde &s;hoes, we &s;ell iu|&s;tice for rewards which is all one.</P>
<P>In I&s;rael a man and his father would go in vnto one woma~: which is, the father defloureth a maid, &amp; to make her amends marieth her to his owne &s;onne, which is all one. Yea euen the abominations of Sodome are multiplied in our dayes. Pride, Fulnes of Breade, Idlene&s;&s;e and Contempte of the poore: For the which the plague of Sodome hanges ouer our heades, &amp; would out of hand con&s;ume vs, were it not for tho&s;e tenne righteous ones, which God be thanked we haue a|mong vs, for who&s;e &s;akes the mercie of God entreateth his iu&s;tice to &s;pare the whole Realme. Therfore it is high time I &s;ay once againe for vs to praye for the priuiledge of Repentaunce: That &s;o wee may weepe bitterly with <HI>Peter:</HI> &amp; wa&s;he our &s;auiours feet with the vnfained tears of Repentance with <HI>Mary Magdaline.</HI></P>
<P>Wherefore we be&s;eeche thee, O hea|uenly father, be merciful vnto vs, &amp; bout|&s;afe vs thy deare &s;onne Ie&s;us Chri&s;t too cal vs from the danger of thy di&s;plea&s;ure,
<PB REF="40"> and the vncleanne&s;&s;e of our &s;innes, vnto vnfained repentance, that &s;o in &s;orrow of heart and liueline&s;&s;e of faith, we may re|ceiue the &s;pirit of Adoption: wherby we cry <HI>Abba Father.</HI> And that the &s;ame &s;pi|rit may certifie our &s;pirit, that we are the &s;onnes of God, albeit called, iu&s;tified, and glorified in Ie&s;us Chri&s;t our onely Lord and Sauiour in whom grant vs the frui|tion of thy glorious plea&s;ure, with Aun|gels and Archangels in thine euerla&s;ting kingdom: where thou raign<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;t in al Ma|ie&s;tie, with Ie&s;us Chri&s;t &s;itting at thy right hand, and the holy gho&s;t the &s;pirite of grace. To whom three per&s;ons and one God be all glory and ho|nour, now and for euer, Amen.</P>
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<P>&para; IMPRINTED <HI>at London at the three</HI> Cranes in the Vintree, by <HI>Thomas Daw&s;on, for Edward</HI> Aggas, and Thomas Charde, 1580.</P>
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