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<DATE>2014-05-08</DATE>
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<NAME>Olivia Bottum</NAME>
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<P>A COMPLAINT again&s;t Securitie in the&s;e perillous times:</P>
<P><HI>VVritten by M.</HI> THO. KINGSMILL, <HI>&s;ome|time fellow of</HI> Mag|dalen <HI>College in</HI> Oxford:</P>
<P>And lately her Maie&s;ties publicke <HI>Profe&s;&s;our of the Hebrew</HI> tongue, in the &s;ame <HI>Vniuer&s;itie.</HI></P>
<P>LONDINI <HI>Impen&s;is</HI> GEOR. BISHOP. 1602.</P>
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<HEAD>TO THE READER.</HEAD>
<P>_WHen I thought to complain of mens &s;ecurity, as alwaies; &s;o in the&s;e perilous times, (good chri&s;tian Reader) I remembred our &s;inful body of death, as the be&s;t excu&s;e, expre&s;&s;ed in the&s;e two<NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg"><HI>Scripturae per Antono|ma&s;iam:</HI> for &s;ome &s;peciall writing taken out of the ca|nonical &s;crip|ture: as is this booke.</NOTE> &s;criptures; the fir&s;t, in the ninth of Wi&s;edome, which is this: <HI>Corpus quod corrumpitur, aggrauat animam: &amp; terrenum domicilium plenam curarum men|tem deprimit:</HI> A corruptible body is heauie to the &s;oule: and the earthly man&s;ion, kee|peth downe, that vnder&s;tanding, that mu|&s;eth vpon meane things. The &s;econd in the &s;euenth to the Romans where S. Paul &s;aith: <HI>Noui quod non habitet in me, hoc e&s;t, in carne mea bonum: Nam velle, ade&s;t mihi: &amp; vt fa|ciam bonum, non reperio.</HI> I know that in me, that is in my fle&s;h, dwelleth no good thing; for to will is pre&s;ent with mee, but I find no <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2 letters">anes, to performe that which is good:
<PB REF="3" MS="y"> as al&s;o that knowne ver&s;e of the Poet:
<Q>Sors tua mortalis, non e&s;t mortale, quod optas.</Q> Thy &s;tate is mortall, but the thing which thou &s;eeke&s;t is immortall: which although it be well aun&s;wered, by that godly father: S. <HI>Augu&s;tine,</HI> where he &s;aith: That the &s;oule is immortall, and therefore cannot, be &s;ati&s;|fied, but with immortality: yet becau&s;e con|cerning the bodie, wee are but fle&s;h, and earth, it is our excu&s;e (if wee haue any) for the &s;ecure minde, in heauenly matters: No maruaile, if earth minde earthly thinges, though faith, and &s;ence it &s;elfe may accu&s;e man of &s;o carefull &s;eeking of the earth, and &s;o carele&s;&s;e a minde towards the health of the &s;oule: which being iudges are again&s;t vs, in &s;eeking either of them aboue our reach, or mea&s;ure: But how not more forceably, when men are &s;ecure, concerning the better part of their creation, and become vnmea|&s;urable, or vn&s;atiable, to preferre the wor&s;e, before the better? which how euill it is the Apo&s;tle &s;heweth in the third to the Phillip. &s;aying: <HI>Many walke of whom, I haue told you often, and now tell you weeping, that they are the enemies of the cro&s;&s;e of Chri&s;t, who&s;e ende, is damnation, who&s;e god, is their belly, and glo|rie, to their &s;hame, which minde earthly things.</HI>
<PB REF="3" MS="y"> Now what may be more horrible, then that our ende &s;hould be damnation? what more abhominable, then that our bellie &s;hould be our god? what more intolerable, then that our glory &s;hould be our &s;hame? And what doth S. Paul lay as the efficient, or &s;ufficient cau&s;e, or cau&s;es of all the&s;e things? but one|ly this: for that mens mindes are &s;et vpon earthly things; from the which minde &s;et vpon earthly things, as a mo&s;t dangerous roote of &s;uch euils, wee are recouered and ray&s;ed by the Apo&s;tle in this place, &s;ay|ing: <HI>But our conuer&s;ation is in heauen, from whence al&s;o wee looke for the Sauiour the Lord Ie&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI> Secondly, by S. Paul in the third to the Collo&s;&s;ians, &s;aying: <HI>If ye be ri&s;en with Chri&s;t, &s;eeke tho&s;e things which are aboue, where Chri&s;t &s;itteth at the right hand of God the father.</HI> Thirdly, by S. Paul 1. Cor. 15. &s;aying: <HI>The glorie of the earthly, is one, and the glorie of the cele&s;tiall is another:</HI> As it is written: <HI>The fir&s;t man Adam was made a liuing &s;oule, and the la&s;t Adam was made a quickning &s;pirit, the fir&s;t man is of the earth, earthlie, the &s;econd man is the Lord from heauen: as wee haue borne the image of the earthie, &s;o wee &s;hall al&s;o beare the image of the heauenly: for yee are dead</HI> &s;aith the Apo&s;tle, <HI>and your life is hid
<PB REF="4" MS="y"> with Chri&s;t in God:</HI> And in &s;o much as wee are dead in Chri&s;t he concludeth, that wee &s;hould &s;et our affections on things aboue, and not on things vpon the earth.<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Colo&s;&s;.</HI> 3.</NOTE> This ought to be the &s;oules thir&s;t; as it appeareth in the Saints of God: but being cloathed with fle&s;h, clouded with the bodie, corrup|ted with &s;inne, our weakene&s;&s;e is offended at the vn&s;peakeable ble&s;&s;ednes, at the euer|la&s;ting time, at the glory, honour, ioy, peace, and immortalitie, which are too much, too high, &amp; too ine&s;timable for vs. As we looke not, nor hearken after that which is too farre off, to &s;ee, or heare, which may happily &s;o quench the &s;moking flaxe, and bru&s;e the broken reede, that not only of our manifold &s;innes &amp; wickednes, but al&s;o of the vnwor|thines of fle&s;h and bloud, du&s;t and a&s;hes, we may not &s;o much as looke towards it: the trea&s;ures whereof, if they were conferred from a mightie King of this world vpon a poore Lazar, or low &s;ubiect, I &s;hould adui&s;e him to be &s;ecure of the Kings fauour, nei|ther to &s;eek any mea&s;ure of &s;uch ine&s;timable felicities, but being betweene vs and the fa|ther of mercies, and God of all con&s;olati|ons, which hath vouch&s;afed vs to be parta|kers of his heauenly kingdome, and hath
<PB REF="4" MS="y"> not left vs vnprouided of mo&s;t gratious meanes to come vnto it, and withall, not without mo&s;t dreadfull comminations and threatnings, if we depart or diuert from this calling. As it is an euill thing when there is hope of any benefit, or feare of any danger to be &s;ecure; &s;o, how are we not pre&s;ently a&s;hamed? why &s;hould we not &s;tand in awe of vtter confu&s;ion? how &s;hould we e&s;cape that euerla&s;ting de&s;truction of hell? If ei|ther &s;trong vnbeliefe, as if there were no &s;uch matter, by the loue of this world, as though the whole world being compared with the lo&s;&s;e of the &s;oule, hath not bin waighed in the ballance, and is found too light; or if the care of fields, hou&s;es, wiues, and &s;uch like, whereof it is in the Go&s;pell, &s;hould cau&s;e vs to be found carele&s;&s;e of that heauenly kingdome. Wherefore, hauing a feruent de&s;ire (good Reader) to awake men out of this &s;ecuritie, according to S. <HI>Paul</HI> in the 5. to the Ephe&s;. <HI>Expergi&s;cere qui dormis, &amp; &s;urge a mortuis; &amp; illuce&s;cet tibi Chri&s;tus:</HI> Awake thou that &s;leepe&s;t, &amp; &s;tand vp from the dead, and Chri&s;t &s;hall giue thee light: I te&s;tifie, and that becau&s;e of the&s;e perilous times<NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">A true v&s;e of the word catholike for generall: as al&s;o page 110 agreable with our confe&s;&s;ion of catholike church, which Trent cate|chi&s;me canno-deny: though the papi&s;ts im|propriat <HI>orbem</HI> in <HI>vrbem:</HI> ca|tholike for Romane: that is generall for particular: therefore a wi&s;e and iu&s;t part to re&s;tore a word of that moment to the primitiue v&s;e.</NOTE> Catholike warres, forreine &amp; ciuill daungers, late &s;editions, and vprores; that
<PB REF="5" MS="y"> it is not a time to inioy vines or oliues, to re&s;t in chaires or foot&s;tooles; that <HI>Vli&s;&s;es</HI> chymney though long, would not &s;erue; that the boord or the bedde are but lawfull things; that it hinders not, to be poore, nor helps not, to be rich; that in all e&s;tates it hinders to be carele&s;&s;e; it helpes to be vigi|lant, and faithfull; that as it is too much to &s;ay: I am rich, and increa&s;ed with goods: Soule take thine ea&s;e: So it is not ynough to &s;ay, I am poore the Lord helpe me; As it is too much to &s;ay, I haue neede of nothing: &s;o it is not all to &s;ay: I am well contented with that, that I haue; becau&s;e we haue need of a &s;mach or ta&s;te <GAP DESC="foreign"> of the wheat of heauen: neither ought to be &s;atisfied with all that the world yeeldeth. In &s;o much that albeit great vertues, as con&s;tan|cie, grauitie, reuerence, di&s;cipline, regiment, authoritie be knowne as the contraries, and aduer&s;aries to confu&s;ion, di&s;order and euill; yet while the&s;e good guifts are vnchri&s;te|ned, euen our chri&s;tian catechi&s;me teacheth, that they are vnable to indue vs with the be&s;t ble&s;&s;edne&s;&s;e: according to that &s;aying of S. Hugh: who naming the&s;e or the like vertues <HI>lumino&s;as, &amp; validas;</HI> &s;trong and light&s;ome: &s;aith, that they &s;hould be per|&s;waded
<PB REF="5" MS="y"> to men: <HI>Non tantu~ propter i&s;tam vita~ hone&s;ti&s;&s;ime gerendam, nec tantum propter ciui|tatis terrenae concordi&s;&s;imam &s;ocietatem: verum etiam propter adipi&s;cendam &s;empiternam &s;alu|te~, diuinamque rempublica~: cui nos ciues a&s;ci&s;cit fides, &s;pes, charitas,</HI> continencie, loue, iu&s;tice, concord, pietie, and other vertues (&s;aith he) are per&s;waded, not onely for the leading of a mo&s;t orderly life, neither only for a peace|able &s;ocietie of an earthly citie, but al&s;o that we might obtaine euerla&s;ting &s;aluation, and that diuine common wealth, to the which faith, hope, and charitie doth gather vs as ci|tizens. And againe, <HI>Deus &s;ic o&s;tendit in opu|lenti&s;&s;imo, &amp; praeclaro imperio Romanorum quantum valerent ciuiles, etiam &s;ine vera reli|gione virtutes: vt intelligeretur hac addita, fie|ri homines, ciues alterius ciuitatis, cuius Rex veritas: cuius lex charitas: cuius modus aeter|nitas.</HI> God hath &s;o &s;hewed in the mo&s;t rich and famous Empire of <HI>Rome,</HI> how forcible ciuill vertues may be without true religion, that it might be con&s;idered, that true religi|on being adioyned, men become citizens of an other citie, the king whereof is Veritie; the law Charitie; the mea&s;ure Eternitie; the trea&s;ures therefore of this citie, are veritie, charitie, and aeternitie, euen the wheate of
<PB REF="6"> heauen, which before they are attained, our hunger and thir&s;t would not be &s;atisfied. And therefore neither the bodie of life, nei|ther the bodie of death, neither worldly worthine&s;&s;e, nor mortall weakene&s;&s;e, much le&s;&s;e &s;inne and euill, the glorie of this life, the cares of this world, voluptuous liuing, riches, and other &s;en&s;uall delights, ought to be re&s;pected otherwi&s;e, then as &s;tum|bling blocks in the way to life, and &s;teps to|wardes the way to death; and are to bee e&s;chewed as the nutriments of this &s;ecuritie, which we &s;eeke to remoue, being found to abound, to be ripe, and rife in this old age of the world, whereby the mo&s;t righteous, or be&s;t allowed are but offen&s;iue, and &s;can|dalous farre behinde hand, e&s;teeming the guifts, comforts, and ble&s;sings of this life ouermuch; and are &s;atisfied within them|&s;elues to become ciuill, courteous, gentle, vertuous, or not maligmant, iniurious, wrongfull, or tyrannous. Now they haue wells which they digged not, hou&s;es which they builded not, vineyards which they planted not, all which with the re&s;t, which digge, build, or plant with them, I awake out of this dead &s;leepe, and darke mi&s;t of &s;e|curitie, which is able to make euen the ho|lie&s;t
<PB REF="6" MS="y"> men, as when all are a&s;leepe, in the ho|lie&s;t reward, not to differ fro~ faithle&s;&s;e, idle, and vaine per&s;ons. In deed we cannot, but haue a good opinion of &s;uch as are &s;agely, &s;adly, or &s;eriou&s;ly occupied; a better of &s;uch as are &s;tudious, then of the laborious; a bet|ter of the laborious then of the carefull: yet what may be the reward of &s;tudie, but a forme of knowledge? what of labours but a &s;tate of re&s;t, and comfort? what of cares, but a ioy of life and &s;afetie: and might it not be an&s;wered, to euery of the&s;e from our Sauiour: <HI>Verilie I &s;ay vnto you, ye haue your reward?</HI> or from the Apo&s;tle: <HI>Ye haue whereof to reioice, but not with God.</HI> For &s;hall it be enough to be baptized a&s;&s;oone as we are borne? or to be catechi&s;ed a&s;&s;oone as we are able? <HI>Fiunt, non na&s;cuntur Chri&s;tiani,</HI> &s;aith <HI>Tertullian:</HI> Men are made in time, and are not borne Chri&s;tians. For behold, men, women and children, liuing as if a childe &s;hould liue, in the time of <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> vncircum|cized, or &s;ince Chri&s;tianitie, vnbaptized; beholde, men building, planting, plucking downe, &s;etting vp, rooting out, buying, &s;el|ling, marrying and giving in marriage, with|out re&s;pect of the life to come, without the eie of faith, without that fire wherewith
<PB REF="7" MS="y"> euerie man &s;hould bee &s;alted, and that &s;alt wherwith euery &s;acrifice &s;hould be &s;ea&s;oned. Now who? or where are they at this day to who~ the Lord &s;aith:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ho&s;ee 13.</NOTE> <HI>I did know thee in the wil|dernes in the land of drought:</HI> but when they were well fed, and had ynough, they waxed proud and forgat me: for &s;hall not onely Iacob but Iudah al&s;o be found well fedde, and proud, or rather among fornicators, vnbeleeuers, Idolaters? &s;hall they at any time be found among the vngodly or vn|righteous: or them&s;elues be vngodly and vnrighteous. <HI>Cae&s;ar,</HI> when his time was come to be &s;laine in the Senate of Rome, a&s;well by <HI>Brutus</HI> and <HI>Ca&s;&s;ius,</HI> as other con&s;piratours, &s;aith to <HI>Brutus: Etiam tu fili?</HI> what art thou al&s;o my &s;onne, among the&s;e con&s;piratours? euen &s;o our heauenly father, who&s;e onely begotten &s;onne we crucifie againe, by falling from the loue wherein we were fir&s;t e&s;tabli|&s;hed, &s;aith to euerie &s;uch: <HI>Etiam tu fili mi?</HI> what art thou al&s;o my child among con&s;pi|ratours? among wilfull and audatious per|&s;ons, among fornicators, among extortio|ners, louers of this world, vnbeleeuers, &s;ci&s;|matiks, &s;cribes, phari&s;ees, hypocrites. <HI>Bru|tus</HI> and <HI>Ca&s;&s;ius</HI> were &s;onnes in law to <HI>Cae&s;ar,</HI> and not his &s;onnes indeed: all I&s;raell as one
<PB REF="7"> &s;onne, is called the fir&s;t borne of God, but were not &s;o indeede: <HI>Reges in benevolentia Ioues &s;unt,</HI> &s;aith <HI>Homer.</HI> In like manner, the great and mightie withall that pro&s;per in this life, are &s;oone of opinion, that they are in high fauour with God; a philautie, a fili|ation, a fame, a name to &s;oone re&s;umed, pre&s;umed, and receiued:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iohn 2.</NOTE> verily S. Iohn &s;aith. <HI>They went out from vs, but they were not of vs, for if they had beene of vs:</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Tim. 2.</NOTE> <HI>they would no doubt haue continued with vs.</HI> Verily Saint Paul &s;aith: <HI>The &s;trong foundation of God &s;tan|deth &s;till, hauing this &s;eale: the Lord knoweth them that are his: and let euerie one that na|meth the name of Chri&s;t depart from iniquitie.</HI> Verily our Sauiour &s;aith: <HI>By their fruits yee &s;hall know them;</HI> this is all the &s;ight or know|ledge we haue, or ought to haue, one of a|nother in this life, after, God iudgeth, and how may any promi&s;e to them&s;elues other then heauie iudgement,<NOTE PLACE="marg">4. E&s;dras 9.</NOTE> if their fruits be e|uill, or if they depart not from iniquitie. <HI>They (&s;aith the Lord to</HI><NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg">Thus the di&s;creete de|uotion of this reuerend man maketh v&s;e of auncient mo|numents, but yet plainly di|&s;tingui&s;hing them from apo&s;tles and prophets page 70 79. 81.</NOTE> E&s;dras) <HI>that haue ab|horred my lawe, while they had yet freedome, and when they had yet open lei&s;ure of amend|ment, and conuer&s;ion, the &s;ame mu&s;t knowe it after death in paines.</HI> And therefore be thou no more carefull how the vngodly &s;hall be
<PB REF="8" MS="y"> puni&s;hed: but inquire how the righteous &s;hall be &s;aued, and who&s;e the world is? &amp; for who~ the world is; &amp; when? Vnder the name of <HI>E&s;dras,</HI> are not the mo&s;t righteous admo|ni&s;hed to inquire how they &s;hall be &s;aued? Shall the righteous be &s;aued? how? or when? for the promi&s;e is made to Abraham and his &s;eede,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 4.</NOTE> that he &s;hould be heire of the world. Of a truth (good Reader) heauen gate is &s;o &s;traight, the way &s;o full of dangers, the trou|bles &s;o manifold, the temptations &s;o &s;ubtile, the enemies &s;o mightie, the impediments &s;o hard to ouercome, the reward &s;o farre a|boue our reach, or mea&s;ure, that it may be feared, but that with Abraham we learne to hope beyond hope, that the be&s;t or mo&s;t righteous, &s;hall by the be&s;t they can doe, or at lea&s;t, by the be&s;t that they doe, inhe|rit but this world. All the I&s;raelites peri|&s;hed which came out of Egypt, and not one entred into the land of Canaan. Are there two or three excepted? for vnle&s;&s;e the prie&s;ts and Leuites carrie the Arke before the peo|ple more zealou&s;ly; vnle&s;&s;e the people be more vigilant to follow the cloud which lea|deth by day, or the pillar which lightneth by night, more deuoutly; vnle&s;&s;e &s;incerely we eate the pa&s;&s;eouer,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 12.</NOTE> as with vnleauened
<PB REF="8" MS="y"> bread, with our loines girded, with our &s;hooes on our feete, and with our &s;taues in our hands: how &s;hould we not dwell in this &s;ide of Iordan &s;till? how &s;hould we pa&s;&s;e the red-&s;ea? howe &s;hould wee ouercome the caues, dennes, mountaines, and wildernes of the earth?<NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;dras 7.</NOTE> doth not <HI>E&s;dras</HI> tell of a citie giuen to a man for an inheritance? and doth he not prote&s;t, that the entrance to it is like, as if there were a fire on the right hand, and a deepe water on the left, and but one onely &s;traight path betweene them both, between the fire, and the water, &s;o &s;mall, that there could but one man goe there at once: and is not mu&s;ed, by <HI>E&s;dras</HI> him&s;elfe how this man &s;hould receiue his inheritance? goe on therfore &s;traight: tread not awry: looke not a&s;ide: &s;traine out both camells and gnatts: e&s;pie both motes, and beames; giue both loaues and crummes, the honie, and the honie comb, to thy poore brethren. Do wee not know that when Nabuchadnezer, &s;hould be cha&s;ed from men, and his dwel|ling was to be with the bea&s;ts of the field: how it is an&s;wered by Daniell:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Daniel 4.</NOTE> <HI>wherefore receiue my coun&s;ell O king: breake of thy &s;ins by righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and thine iniquitie by mercie toward the poore.</HI> Now how long wil &s;chool|men
<PB REF="9" MS="y"> di&s;pute vpon this: whether righteou&s;|ne&s;&s;e, and mercie to the poore,<NOTE N="d" PLACE="marg">Thus this zealous man calleth men from di&s;pute to practi&s;e, le&s;t &s;ome vn|der pretence of plucking vp Popi&s;h merit, &s;hould plucke vp the wheat of good works.</NOTE> are meri|torius to &s;aluation, which as it was &s;poken fir&s;t, to Nebuchadnezar: &s;o is left for our ad|monition, vppon whom the endes of the world are come: that we al&s;o &s;hould breake our &s;innes by righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and our ini|quitie by mercy toward the poore. And are not the endes of the world come vpon vs? Is it not time to &s;tretch out both the right hand, and the left, to &s;uch friends, as may re|ceiue vs, into the euerla&s;ting tabernacles? wherefore then doe we not call vpon righ|teou&s;ne&s;&s;e and mercie, as materiall, and ne|ce&s;&s;ary cau&s;es <HI>&s;ine quibus non,</HI> (as the logician &s;peaketh) without which, mercy is &s;hut from vs: I deenie not (chri&s;tian Reader) but zeale &s;hould call vpon charitie, that it might be kindled; as al&s;o other good gifts, that they might be rai&s;ed: The <HI>Amalekites</HI> for vncha|ritablene&s;&s;e had warres for euer, with the Lord and his people: All our Lords labou|rers are to few, to fell the harue&s;t of iniqui|tie: yet I haue intituled this paper, <HI>A com|plaint again&s;t &s;ecuritie alone.</HI> All the world &s;itteth &s;till, and is carele&s;&s;e, <HI>Zach.</HI> 1. <GAP DESC="foreign"> The earth was without forme, and was void, and dark|ne&s;&s;e
<PB REF="9" MS="y"> was vpon the face of the deepe. The&s;e two &s;criptures, I commend to euery reader, &s;hewing with what contemplation, men may take a view of this latter age of the world. Beware (chri&s;tian reader) of this generall &s;ecuritie, beware of vnbeliefe, knowing for a &s;uretie, that it is mo&s;t vnadui&s;ed, to care for all things of this life, and to be carele&s;&s;e of Gods fauour, of the rewards re&s;erued in heauen, or the puni&s;hments remaining in hell, for vs. To God the father; God the &s;onne; and God the holy Gho&s;t; be all honor, glory, and dominion for euer.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Thine in Chri&s;t, THO. KINGSMILL.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
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<HEAD>A complaint again&s;t <HI>&s;ecuritie, in the&s;e peril|lous</HI> times.</HEAD>
<P>_IF the children of light were as wi&s;e in their generation as the childre~ of this world are in theirs, they would in the&s;e perillous times ad|uantage them&s;elues of hea|uenly lucre, as they &s;eeke their gaine of e|uery occa&s;ion that is offered: for in the&s;e times, &s;ounding nothing but warres and rumours of warres, remembring a&s;well kingdomes, nations, and cities, as priuate per&s;ons, of their latter end; we ought to vi&s;it our &s;elues, to &s;earch and &s;ee what oile there is in our lamps; that is, what faith, pietie, and feare of God there is among men. For what kingdome, nation or citie is there, ouer which we ought not to weep, as our Sauiour did ouer <HI>Hieru&s;alem,</HI> &s;ay|ing:
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<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luke 19.</NOTE> <HI>If thou had&s;t knowne tho&s;e things which belo~ged vnto thy peace, euen in this thy day: but now they are hid from thine eyes: for the dayes &s;hall come vpon thee, that thine enemies al&s;o &s;hall ca&s;t a banke a|bout thee, and compa&s;&s;e thee round, and keepe thee in on euerie &s;ide, and make thee euen with the ground, and the children which are in thee: and they &s;hall not leaue in thee, one &s;tone vpon another: becau&s;e thou knowe&s;t not the time of thy vi&s;itation.</HI> This beeing a truth through the &s;worde which our Lord draweth vpon the latter ende of the world; though not literally vp|on euery place or per&s;on to be determined; &s;hould mooue men, women, and children, to repent; and as S. <HI>Iohn Bapti&s;t</HI> &s;pea|keth, <HI>to &s;hew forth fruits, worthy of repen|tance and amendment of life.</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign"> wo vnto a nation that is &s;infull.<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;aie 1.</NOTE> I mu&s;t ea&s;e mee of mine enemies, and auenge mee of my aduer&s;aries, &s;aith the Lord. <HI>Concidit in plateis veritas:</HI> truth is fallen downe in the &s;treets: equitie can|not &s;hew forth it &s;elfe in the light.<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;aie 59.</NOTE> He that refrayneth from euill, maketh him&s;elfe a pray, when the Lord &s;aw this: &s;aith <HI>I&s;aie</HI> the prophet: in the <HI>59.</HI> Chapter. <HI>It di&s;plea|&s;ed
<PB REF="11" MS="y"> him &s;ore, that there was no equitie: he &s;aw al&s;o that there was no man righteous; and he wondred that there was no man to helpe him; wherefore he helde him by his owne power, and he &s;u&s;tained him by his owne righteou&s;nes: he put on wrath in the &s;tead of clothing, and tooke iealou&s;ie about him for a cloak;</HI> euen as when a man goeth forth wrothfully to reco~pence his enemies, to be auenged of his aduer&s;aries, he wil re|compence &amp; reward the Ilands. For who &s;eeth not y^e indignation is come forth from the Lord: who heareth not the trumpet, which the Lord &s;etteth to the mouth of the prophet,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ho&s;e 8.1.</NOTE> &s;aying <GAP DESC="foreign"> trumpet to y^e roofe of the mouth. Like an Eagle &s;hall the enemie come again&s;t the hou&s;e of the Lord, for they haue broken my couenant, and tran&s;gre&s;&s;ed my law: I&s;raell &s;hould haue &s;aid vnto me, thou art my God, we know thee; but he hath refu&s;ed the thing that is good, therfore &s;hall the enemie pur&s;ue him. Doth not our LORD cry, a&s;well by the prophet <HI>I&s;aie,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;aie 1.</NOTE> as if there were a prophet this day rai&s;ed among vs, &s;aying: <HI>If yee be willing and obedient, yee &s;hall eate the good of the land; but if ye be ob&s;tinate or rebellious, yee &s;hall be deuoured of the
<PB REF="12" MS="y"> &s;word; for the mouth of the Lord hath &s;po|ken it.</HI> Doth not euery one &s;ee in the per|&s;on of <HI>Ieremie,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Iere. 1.</NOTE> the Almonde rodde, and the &s;eething pott, looking out of the north, wherein is &s;ignified, that a plague is com|ming; as mo&s;t &s;euerely, as al&s;o, mo&s;t &s;wiftly vpon the dwellers of the earth? who &s;eeth not with the prophet <HI>I&s;aie, Ieremie,</HI> and <HI>Ezechiel,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;aie 34. Iere. 47. Ezech. 2.</NOTE> the &s;word of the Lord drawne out, whetted, &s;harpned, &s;koured, to cut off the righteous with the wicked? and &s;eeing the Lord &s;hall cut off the righteous and the wicked, the righteou&s;nes of the righteous &s;hall not deliuer him in the day of the vi&s;i|tation of the Lord: wherfore what remai|neth, but that wee &s;hould mourne, if not with <HI>Ezechiel</HI> to the breaking of our loins, and the melting of our hearts, yet with all his &s;eruants to the~ fruit of repentance? the &s;word is &s;harpned, and well furbi&s;hed, &s;harpned it is to make a great &s;laughter, and furbi&s;hed that it may glitter: &s;hall we then make mirth? cry and houle &s;aith the Lord by <HI>Ezechiel,</HI> mourning &s;hall be in all &s;treets:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Amos 5.</NOTE> &s;aith the Lord by the prophet <HI>A|mos, <HI>Et in omnibus vicis, dicent heu, heu,</HI> and they &s;hal &s;ay, in all the high waies, woe, woe, and they &s;hall call the husbandmen, to la|mentation,
<PB REF="12" MS="y"> and &s;uch as can mourne, to mourning: and in all the vines &s;hall be la|mentation; for I will pa&s;&s;e through thee &s;aith the Lord.</HI> And &s;hall not the Lord pa&s;&s;e a&s;well through one place, as another? all places a&s;well as <HI>I&s;raell</HI> or <HI>Iudah?</HI> And is it not the &s;ame Lord which hauing let out his vineyard to hu&s;bandmen, tarrieth the time wherin he may &s;end his &s;eruants, to receiue the fruits? and what &s;hal become of our fruits, or the fruits of our vineyards? where offences and mi&s;deeds haue multi|plyed, and haue preuailed; what other fruit may be reapt, but repentance? and where our Lord giueth &s;pace to repent and we re|pent not, what &s;halbe found? but in &s;tead of true repentance euen melting of hearts, colli&s;ion of knees, &s;orrow of loines,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Nahum. 2.</NOTE> black|ne&s;&s;e of faces, houling, and weeping. If &s;ecular men like nothing wor&s;e in their children, or &s;eruants than weeping and &s;obbing, leauing the worke vndone: &s;hall our mourning and teares wroong out with mo&s;t extreme coercions, and thral|domes, become our be&s;t fruit? or &s;hall that be a thing acceptable, or a day that plea|&s;eth the Lord?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 25.</NOTE> verily our Lord and heauen|ly king, both for his tale~ts vnoccupied, and
<PB REF="13" MS="y"> his vineyard vnfruitful let out to hu&s;band|men, doth adiudge them to mo&s;t mi&s;era|ble de&s;truction, wherefore if it were firme|ly beleeued, that our euerla&s;ting king at his comming to iudge the quicke and the dead, &s;hall &s;it in his tribunall &s;eat, before whom wee mu&s;t appeare to an&s;were the things that hath bin done: as it is known that an earthly king departed into a &s;trange coun|trey, at his returne will take account with his &s;eruants: How &s;hould it be that wee the &s;eruants and &s;ubiects of Chri&s;t &s;hould become more carele&s;&s;e or fruitle&s;&s;e then all others? Should it not be remem|bred, that our Lord and King a&s;well as earthly Lords and kings, &s;hall call for his fruits in due &s;ea&s;on? and &s;hall take his kingdome from a fruitle&s;&s;e people, and giue it to a nation, yeelding the fruits of it? for indeed what kind of men are &s;o idle, or vn|fruitfull in their vocations, as the &s;eruants or &s;ubiects of Chri&s;t are in theirs? Other men though their barns be full, their cof|fers full, and their hou&s;es full; yet they la|bour &s;till, to get, to keepe, to &s;aue: As for our Lords plough, it &s;tandes &s;till, his field is vntilled, his harue&s;t vnfilled, and the penny wherewith he hyreth vs, to worke
<PB REF="13" MS="y"> by the day, houre, or yeere, is vtterly refu|&s;ed. Now what may become of this, but that our Lord as he threatneth by the pro|phet <HI>I&s;aie,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;aie 5.</NOTE> &s;hould take his raine from that vineyard: <HI>Iudge</HI> (&s;aith the Lord) <HI>betweene me, and my vineyard: I looked for grapes, and behold it brought forth thornes.</HI> As for the vineyard of the Lord of ho&s;tes, it is the hou&s;e of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> and the man of <HI>Iudah,</HI> his fayre planting of the&s;e he looketh for, <GAP DESC="foreign"> equitie, but &s;ee, there is oppre&s;&s;ion, for righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and loe, there is crying: woe vnto them that ioyne one hou&s;e to a|nother, and bring one land &s;o nigh vnto a|nother, till ye can get no more ground, will ye dwell vpon the earth alone? the Lord of ho&s;ts roundeth me thus in the eare: &s;hal not many greater and more gorgious hou|&s;es be &s;o wa&s;t, that no man &s;hall dwell in them? and ten acres of vines &s;hall giue but one bath, and thirtie bu&s;hels of &s;eede, &s;hall giue but one ephat: the&s;e wilde grapes of extortion, and couetou&s;ne&s;&s;e are puni&s;hed with de&s;olation, and famine; with de&s;ola|tion, for great &amp; gorgious hou&s;es, &s;hall be|come wa&s;ted with famine; for many acres &amp; great mea&s;ures of &s;eed, &s;hal yeeld but haths
<PB REF="14" MS="y"> and ephats; the puni&s;hments are not &s;o great, as the offences, and therefore vnle&s;&s;e it be preuented by repentance, they call for &s;orer iudgement. How &s;aye&s;t thou I am not vncleane: <HI>Looke vpon thine owne wayes</HI> (&s;aith the Lord vy the prophet <HI>Iere|mie) thine owne wickednes &s;hall reprooue thee,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Iere. 2.</NOTE> <HI>and thy turning away condemne thee: that thou maye&s;t knowe, and vnder&s;tand, how euill and hurtful a thing it is, that thou ha&s;t for&s;aken the Lord thy God, and ha&s;t not feared me &s;aith the Lord God of ho&s;ts: I planted thee a noble vine, and wholy right; &s;ee how art thou turned then, into a bitter, vnfruitfull, and &s;trange grape? yea and that &s;o &s;ore, that though thou wa&s;h thee with Nitrus, and make thy &s;elfe to &s;auour of Borith, yet in my &s;ight, thou art &s;tayned with thy wickedne&s;&s;e, &s;aith the Lord thy God.</HI> There is no doubt but by this noble vine the hou&s;e of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> and the man of <HI>Iu|dah</HI> is meant, as <HI>I&s;ay</HI> him&s;elf doth interpret it: and as <HI>Tertullian</HI> &s;peaketh, <HI>Quod I&s;raeli dicitur, id omni genti preiudicat.</HI> What is &s;po|ken to I&s;rael, is preiudicial to euery natio~: In&s;omuch that euery nation or kingdome; yea euery <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2 letters">y, and priuate per&s;on, are to be vi&s;ited, with famine and de&s;olation or &s;orer
<PB REF="14" MS="y"> iudgments of the Lord at his time: if in the day of their vi&s;itation, they be found fruitle&s;&s;e. Securitie is our euill, whereof commeth blindne&s;&s;e of hart, with an alienation from the life of God, through a continuall dark|ne&s;&s;e, taking hold in &s;ecure men, which car|ry their &s;oules in their bodies, as buryed in their graues: And euen as the blind man in the Go&s;pel, &s;aw men like trees; &s;o let vs but awake, and we may &s;ee men a|liue indeede; but behold they are dead, as walking, &s;peaking, and doing; but behold they are deafe and dumbe; as crowned with glory and libertie; but ru&s;tie by cor|ruption; &s;lowe, by nature; rawe, by &s;ecuritie; and hauing no light or life re|maining in them, haue &s;moothered vp their &s;oules in their bodies, as it were in &s;epulchers, and pri&s;ons; vndone of well doing for lacke of v&s;e; withered at winter, bearing leaues in the &s;ommer; but at fruit gathering, failing and yeelding nothing. Now as peace is the breeder of &s;ecuritie; &s;o warres of the contrary which ought to rai&s;e men, not onely from their re&s;tie, and carele&s;&s;e minds; but al&s;o from their mo&s;t vrgent and be&s;t actions. And therefore we reade of <HI>Augu&s;tus</HI> the &s;econd Emperour of
<PB REF="15" MS="y"> <HI>Rome,</HI> that when he was &s;acrificing in <HI>Octauia</HI> to <HI>Mars,</HI> who was then taken to be the god of <HI>Armes;</HI> and hearing of inua|&s;ion of the enemie, that he tooke <HI>&s;emi-cruda exta:</HI> the entrails of the &s;acrificed bea&s;tes halfe rawe, and &s;o entred the field, and re|turned victor: whereby it was after ob&s;er|ued, that &s;uch &s;acrificed bea&s;ts &s;hould bee offered rawe, by a very lawe and cu&s;tome among them, whereof if we gather that the good things men haue in hand, ought to be left vndone, or rawly done, when the &s;word approcheth; &s;o the very noi&s;e, and fame of warres, though not &s;o neere, yet not &s;o farre of, as belike it is taken, ought to &s;tirre men at the lea&s;t from their &s;ecuri|tie, and to become more warie to looke bet|ter to them&s;elues, to their bodies what &s;afetie they are in; to their &s;oules in what perill they are, le&s;t with <HI>Iulius Cae&s;ar,</HI> our &s;acrifices be found vnoffred again&s;t death; or with <HI>Octauius Cae&s;ar,</HI> wee offer them rawly, as vnawares, when the forreine enemies &s;hall indeed inuade, and come vp|on vs. A &s;louthfull body, at all times, and in all callings is abhorred: who is com|pared by <HI>Eccle&s;ia&s;ticus:</HI> to a bemired &s;tone, of whom euery one will &s;peake to his di&s;|prai&s;e,
<PB REF="15" MS="y"> <HI>lapidi con&s;purcato comparandus e&s;t pi|ger; conferendus fimo &s;terquilinij, quod quicun&abque; contigerit manus &s;uas excutiat:</HI> A &s;louthfull body is compared to the dung of Oxen; e|uery one that toucheth him, mu&s;t wa&s;h his hands: wee all wa&s;h our hands from the idle, as from clay and myre, the rather, if there be bu&s;ine&s;&s;e, the more, if there bee daunger: the reward wherof, by it &s;elfe, is di&s;prai&s;e, &s;hame, a generall mi&s;like, and a hatred. Neuerthele&s;&s;e, how may it bee that one &s;hould bee idle, and not euill; or that euill &s;hould not come of it? <HI>I went</HI> (&s;aith Solomon) <HI>by the field of the &s;louthfull, and by the vineyard of the fooli&s;h man, and loe, it was all couered with nettles, and &s;tood full of thornes, and the &s;tone wall was broken downe: this I &s;awe, and con&s;idered it well, I looked vpon it, and tooke it for a warning; yea &s;leepe on &s;till a little; &s;lumber a little; fold thine hands to|gether a little. <HI>Argos foris: talpa domi:</HI></HI> we haue moats and beames in our eies, when we &s;hould &s;ee the thornes and nettles that grow in our owne fields, we are quicker of &s;ight then <HI>Solomon,</HI> when we looke vpon other mens euils: <HI>charitas incipit a &s;eip&s;a.</HI> Godly wi&s;edome and charitie begins at it
<PB REF="16" MS="y"> &s;elfe; enfourming thee to looke to thine owne field, thine owne familie, thine owne bodie, thine owne &s;oule. A man loues not another, &s;aith S. <HI>Barnard:</HI> that loues not him&s;elfe; a man loues not him&s;elfe, that loues not his &s;oule. Be &s;ecure of thy body, and behold &s;undry deformities, di&s;ea&s;es, infirmities: be &s;ecure of thy &s;oule, and be|hold it is couered with nettles, it &s;tands full of thornes, the &s;tone wall is broken downe, it lies to bee wa&s;ted of the wilde boare out of the wood, and of all the bea&s;ts of the field; whereas the &s;oule &s;hould flow, of wine, not vnlike the wine-pre&s;&s;e, and vineyards of the old time, and &s;hould haue no le&s;&s;e then a tower and watch, out of a mo&s;t &s;ure and high place kept in it: how|beit, it is humilitie, and not height, that is the watch, and tower of this vineyard, without the which, deuotion will become &s;uper&s;tition; hone&s;tie, hypocri&s;ie; know|ledge, <HI>^x</HI> inflation; ciuilitie, &s;ubtiltie; friend|&s;hip, fal&s;hood; here &s;aith euery one that hath but an vnder&s;tanding heart, in the per&s;on of <HI>Solomon, <HI>vidi, &amp; eruditionem coe|pi:</HI></HI> I &s;aw and tooke it for a warning, And &s;hall we looke vpon another mans field? another man vpon ours? &s;hall a &s;tranger
<PB REF="16" MS="y"> &s;ee it, con&s;ider it, looke vpon it, take it for a warning? And &s;hal not one &s;ee, rather for him&s;elfe, con&s;ider it better, take it too him&s;elfe for a better warning? What, yet &s;l&eacute;epe on &s;till? yet &s;lumber a little? yet fol|ding thine hands together? How long &s;hal we be behind hand with &s;ecular men, in e|uery care, labour, and worke that belon|geth vnto vs? doe they that haue fieldes, &s;lumber, or &s;l&eacute;ep? doe they fold their hands together? doe they not gather vp the &s;tones, grubbe vp the bu&s;hes, weed out the net|tles, hedge it or wall it? And &s;hall there not be a watch in the mid&s;t of our fieldes? &s;hall there not be a wine-pre&s;&s;e, or the be&s;t grapes, or &s;eeds in them? &s;hall grapes be looked for, and behold wild grapes? &s;hall wee &s;uffer them like the good pa&s;tures, mentioned by <HI>Ezechiel,</HI> to be trampled vn|der the feet of wild bea&s;ts? &s;hall they lie wa&s;t? &s;hall they be neither digged nor pru|ned, but beare euen thornes and bryars? what may this threaten, but that pouerty that <HI>Solomon</HI> mentioneth? or that which is gho&s;tly and &s;pirituall, which comes vp|on that &s;ecure &s;oule; like one that trauai|leth by the way, and as an armed man. More feareful is that &s;aying of the Apo&s;tle,
<PB REF="17" MS="y"> which notwith&s;tanding carrieth both ble&s;&s;e and cur&s;e with it. <HI>The earth which hath drunken in the rain that commeth ofte~ vp|on it, &amp; bringeth forth hearbs meet for them by whom al&s;o it is tilled, receiueth ble&s;sing of God, but that ground which beareth thornes and bryars, is reproued, and nigh vnto cur&s;ing, who&s;e end is to bee burned.</HI> This good &s;entence hath fire and water, ble&s;&s;ing and cur&s;ing, life and death with it. And as it may haue allu&s;ion to &s;ome grounds, which are &s;et on fire being too thicke of brambles and bryars, and ouer|growne too much for the hand of man to manure; &s;o by the eye of faith, it hath bet|ter relation to the fire meant by S. <HI>Iohn</HI> the Bapti&s;t, &s;aying: <HI>Now is the axe put vn|to the roote of the trees: therefore euery tree that bringeth not forth good fruite, is hewen downe and ca&s;t into the fire:</HI> or the parable of the tares in the <HI>13.</HI> of S. <HI>Mat|thew:</HI> where our Sauiour teacheth, that euen as the tares are gathered and burnt in the fire; &s;o the &s;onne of man &s;hall &s;end forth his Angels, and they &s;hall gather out of his kingdome all things that offend, and them which doe iniquitie, and &s;hall ca&s;t them into a furnace of fire: there &s;hall be
<PB REF="17" MS="y"> w&eacute;eping, and gna&s;hing of t&eacute;eth. Then &s;aith he, &s;hall the righteous &s;hine, as the &s;onne in the kingdome of their father. Where|upon he addeth: <HI>He that eares to heare, let him heare:</HI> for let all learne of our Saui|our to require and y&eacute;eld vpon mo&s;t &s;erious matter, their be&s;t and h&eacute;edfull attention; for what &s;hall men doe with their eares, if they hearken not to the&s;e things? S&eacute;e therefore heare, and vnder&s;tand, le&s;t we be in the number of &s;uch as haue eies and &s;&eacute;e not, eares, and heare not, hearts, and vn|der&s;tand not the importance of this fire, which our almightie God and Sauiour hath &s;et downe for euer in the church to be taught, heard and bel&eacute;eued: if a wheat|field &s;hould be &s;et on fire, which was per|formed by <HI>Samp&s;on</HI> again&s;t the Phili|&s;tines: if thy hou&s;e &s;hould be burned, as we haue &s;&eacute;ene and heard of many in our time: if a mans child &s;hould be ca&s;t into the fire; for we haue read, that a woman being burnt for a martyr, when her childe &s;prang from her, that the childe was throwen into the fire for an hereticke. If this were thine owne childe, if this childe were to be pre&s;erued by our helps, who would be &s;ecure? and to omit fields and
<PB REF="18" MS="y"> hou&s;es: what man, what woman, who&s;e wife, who&s;e child, who&s;e body, who&s;e &s;oule is not ready to be deliuered into the fur|nace of fire, where there &s;hall be weeping and gna&s;hing of t&eacute;eth? And who is there that is not &s;ecure? for O dull and &s;lowe of heart to bel&eacute;eue all that is written in the lawe and the pro|phets? Are we &s;ecure, and carele&s;&s;e, or ra|ther are we not vnbel&eacute;euing, and faith|le&s;&s;e? is there not fire, as well as water: is there not death, as well as life: is there not hell, as well as heauen? &s;hall all goe to heauen, that haue not thought of hell? <HI>Deus nouit, qui &s;ui &s;unt:</HI> God knoweth, who be his: in the meane &s;ea&s;on, there is nei|ther man, woman, or childe, but ought to be enformed by it: <HI>malum no~ vitatur ni&s;i cog|nitum:</HI> A man well warned, is halfe ar|med: for herein we recommend our &s;elues to the church of Chri&s;t, and do te&s;tifie and prote&s;t, to the children of men, and to all the world, that no youth, or age, no na|ture, no ingenuitie, vertue, beautie, dexte|ritie, except chri&s;tianed, &s;anctified, or refor|med through faith and repentance, with the accompli&s;hment of right and iudge|ment, for any thing we haue learned &s;hall
<PB REF="18"> be able to deliuer them from the lake that burneth with fire and brim&s;tone for euer. H&eacute;e that hath eares to heare, let him heare. May it be imagined, that Antichri&s;t alone, or that woman &s;itting vpon a &s;car|let coloured bea&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Apoc. 11.</NOTE> hauing &s;euen heads and ten hornes; or the dragon which draweth the &s;tarres from heauen, to throw them on the earth, &s;tanding ready to deuoure children, a&s;&s;oone as they be borne: or gog and magog, as gathered to fight again&s;t the tents of the &s;aints and beloued citie; or euen the diuell, the bea&s;t, and fal&s;e-pro|phet, &s;hall be tormented in that lake of fire, and none of tho&s;e men and women, which for their ingenuitie, actiuitie, vertue, as &s;ome count vertue, are prai&s;ed on the earth. <HI>Nos adhuc pueri &s;umus, &s;aith &s;aint Chry&s;o&s;tom:</HI> we are children all this while? for we &s;oone addict and adiudge all that is foule, euill &s;haped, mi&s;ca&s;ually abiected, the aged, the deformed, to death and hell fire: againe, what is ingenuous, vertuous, as it is called, faire, &s;mooth, in good e&s;tate, plau&s;ible, pliable, affable, e&s;timable, beau|tifull like children, we can not thinke hea|uen good ynough for them. This is the &s;i|ni&s;ter iudgement of the world which think
<PB REF="19"> not of hel fire, but for &s;uch as are ca&s;t a&s;ide of the world. Whereas they are to take con&s;olation in Chri&s;t Ie&s;us, which &s;uffer with him: and euen they which &s;till abide &s;ome cro&s;&s;e or other, as ignominy, reproch, calamitie. And contrariwi&s;e, all &s;uch haue to mi&s;like, mi&s;d&eacute;eme, and mi&s;tru&s;t, which enioy prai&s;es, felicities, aduauncements without interruption, whereof &s;aint <HI>Hie|rom</HI> &s;aith: <HI>nimis delicatus es frater, &s;i vis gau|dere cum mundo, &amp; laetari cum Chri&s;to,</HI> ye are nice brother (&s;aith &s;aint <HI>Hierom</HI>) if y&eacute;e thinke to enioy Chri&s;t and the world. S. <HI>Ambro&s;e</HI> &s;aith, <HI>inde incipit beatitudo iudicio diuino; vbi aerumna ae&s;timatur humana:</HI> what is e&s;t&eacute;emed of men, as mi&s;erable; the~ce be|ginneth ble&s;&s;edne&s;&s;e by diuine iudgement. <HI>fauos po&s;t fella gu&s;tauit Chri&s;tus:</HI> &s;aith <HI>Ter|tullian:</HI> Chri&s;t ta&s;ted not hony, before he had &s;matched of the bitterne&s;&s;e of gall. <HI>Sci|unt &s;ancti &s;e, temporalibus &s;upplicijs, vitare aeterna,</HI> &s;aith &s;aint <HI>Gregorie:</HI> The &s;aints know (&s;aith he) that by temporall puni&s;h|ments, they e&s;cape eternall. Wherefore the children of God, ought to appeale from earthly coun&s;ellers to the prophets and apo&s;tles: which prouiding for this bodie of &s;inne, procure nutriments, aides, &s;taies,
<PB REF="19"> aduauncements, lucers for the &s;ame, gi|uing comfort to others to do the like; wher|as them&s;elues are the &s;eruants of corrup|tion, in that they &s;ee not the &s;oule, but tho|rough a vaile or cloud, &amp; as a pearle buri|ed and hid, thinking all is &s;afe and well, ca&s;t no perill, and much le&s;&s;e are carefull, how the &s;oule &s;hould &s;ubdue all earthly things till it may leade them, rule them, ble&s;&s;e them, as it &s;elfe is the &s;eed and ear|ne&s;t of ble&s;&s;edne&s;&s;e: &s;hall the&s;e take up|on them to giue coun&s;ell to others? &s;hall the&s;e bee our leaders and rulers &s;till? &s;hall the&s;e be our friends &s;till? preiudici|ally to &s;uch &s;aint <HI>Paul</HI> entreth into jealou|&s;ie and boa&s;ting him&s;elfe, &s;aith:<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 11.</NOTE> <HI>yee &s;uffer fooles gladly, &s;eeing your &s;elves are wi&s;e: yee &s;uffer, if a man bring you into bondage, if a man deuour, if a man take, if a man ex|alt him&s;elfe, if a man &s;mite you on the face:</HI></P>
<P>It is plaine that &s;aint <HI>Paul</HI> entreth inlo a compari&s;on betw&eacute;ene him&s;elfe and fal&s;e Apo&s;tles: and yet it is maruellous, that the Corinths &s;hould &s;uffer &s;uch fal&s;e Apo|&s;tles, not onely to exalt them&s;elues, but to bring them into bondage, to deuour them, to take away, and to &s;mite them on
<PB REF="20" MS="y"> the face: But that it is more woonderfull, to &s;&eacute;e the wi&s;edome of this world beare with all the&s;e things, in their &s;ecular lea|ders and rulers, as long as peace, agr&eacute;e|ment, loue, and (which is enimitie with God) as long as the friend&s;hip and lucre of the world raigneth and linketh them to|gether. With what ob&s;eruation, obedi|ence, &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion, humilitie, are all magi|&s;trates, ma&s;ters and rulers receiued, &s;aue Gods mini&s;ters, which bring the &s;pirit of truth, &s;hewing obedience onely to the faith, which is in Chri&s;t. Was there a lawfull compari&s;on betw&eacute;ene &s;aint <HI>Paul</HI> and tho&s;e fal&s;e Apo&s;tles? the one bringing the abundant ble&s;&s;ings of the Go&s;pell of peace: the other exalting, deuouring, ta|king, &s;miting: is the nature of man &s;o re|&s;tie with the world? &s;o ru&s;tie to well doo|ing; &s;o rebellious to all that is of God; that euen in this latter age of the world, nothing &s;&eacute;emes more bitter or grieuous, than &s;pirituall rebukes: doe we tempt God? are we &s;tronger than he? are men &s;o &s;trong that they may abide the truth, but not his truth; wi&s;edome, but not god|ly wi&s;edome; lawes and ordinances; but not the lawes and &s;tatutes of the holy one
<PB REF="20" MS="y"> of <HI>I&s;raell;</HI> cro&s;&s;es and troubles; but not the cro&s;&s;e of Chri&s;t, or the tribulation whereby we may enter into the kingdome of heauen. Doth not the merchant &s;end his complices through the danger of the &s;eas; and are they not at commaunde|ment? doth not the hu&s;bandman &s;et his hou&s;hold to labours and works; and are they not contented? doth not a captaine fet foorth his &s;ouldiers to fight; and are they not obedient? rich men di&s;place, di&s;|grace, deuour; and they are though not plea&s;antly, yet patiently abidden: &s;er|uants though they be buffeted of their ma|&s;ters, and kept in bondage, take it &s;ubmi&s;|&s;iuely and are quiet; though one friend de|ceiue another, yet the bonds of friend&s;hip are not broken; though cen&s;ors abu&s;e pa|rents in their children, yet they are friends &s;till: A yoong &s;choller is pitifully corrected of his &s;choolema&s;ter (a mo&s;t dete&s;table cor|ruption as is it v&s;ed) &amp; honors him as cor|rected for his fault. A handmaid abides mo&s;t &s;hamefull &s;miting and &s;tripes of her yoong mi&s;tre&s;&s;e (a mo&s;t abominable in&s;o|lencie, and mo&s;t apparant dotage to &s;uffer it) and the handmaid is obedient &s;till. A great ouer&s;ight in magi&s;trats, parents
<PB REF="21" MS="y"> and gouernors, to iudge this not a hey|nous offence, to &s;&eacute;e lu&s;t ioyned with pride and crueltie, to the detriment of fle&s;h and blood which in the realme is cared for too much, and herein being well &s;&eacute;ene, that a mi&s;tre&s;&s;e hath her will vpon her hand|maid or maid-&s;eruant, hauing no right of regiment, but hou&s;es and marriages: that likewi&s;e a yoong &s;choolema&s;ter hath his will vpon his &s;choller, who&s;e voluptuou&s;|nes or anger is the childs vndoing: and to &s;uffer it, as though it were a trifle, being ind&eacute;ed a pernicious euill cloaked with hy|pocri&s;ie, tending to the maintenance of in|&s;olencie and lu&s;t in yoong rulers, ma&s;ters, and &s;choolema&s;ters, and to the bondage and thraldomes of youth: for I may not &s;ay to the preiudice and detriment of any common-wealth which &s;hould grow or be builded among men. It is a wrong don to innocent children, and to the youth of the realme, that this inordinate affection in yoong &s;choolema&s;ters, yoong ma&s;ters and mi&s;tre&s;&s;es (as though lu&s;t is not the rod that beats the di&s;ciple, handmaid &amp; pren|ti&s;e, which neuerthele&s;&s;e are not alwaies children) is not e&s;pied, and with &s;ome or|der vi&s;ited, as al&s;o being found, condignly
<PB REF="21" MS="y"> and competently puni&s;hed. It is pitie but &s;uch &s;choolema&s;ters &s;hould haue good wiues; it is pitie but &s;uch ma&s;ters &s;hould be well puni&s;hed. Is it enough for aged &amp; &s;age men to e&s;pie &s;uch folly in youth, &s;uch &s;implicitie in the vulgar &s;ort? how is it that ye doe not re&s;cue it, or winke at it? how is it that the &s;ting of a &s;corpion is mi|&s;taken for drinke and &s;choole-butter, of you that are old and ancient? for as the &s;tay of great matters, lightly re&s;teth vpon few and not vpon the multitude; &s;o &s;ome few hath our God and Lord cho&s;en to in&s;truct to with&s;tand the re&s;t, that if they al&s;o faile, the fall is the greater: <HI>Paucorum virtus cuncta Romae patrauit:</HI> it was the vertue of &s;ome few that did all at <HI>Rome:</HI> is it not our Lords ordinance, that the number of men, that youth, that women and children &s;hould be left vnto them&s;elues; but (as S. <HI>Bernard</HI> noteth) old men, Apo&s;tles, magi|&s;trats, fathers, &s;cribes, &amp;c. are ordained with a priuate charge of them&s;elues, to looke to the well doing or &s;auing health of others: if the&s;e be found in their beds with their children, that nothing may awake them but ouermuch noi&s;e; if the clamors of the fatherle&s;&s;e orphanes and widowes,
<PB REF="22" MS="y"> with which, withall other righteou&s;nes a&s;cend to heauen, may not be heard of the&s;e but by verie importunitie, as we are threatned by a parable of the wicked Iudge:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ierm. 5.</NOTE> then will be fulfilled the &s;aying of <HI>Ieremie: Thou ha&s;t &s;courged, but they take no repentance, thou ha&s;t corrected them for amendment, but they refu&s;ed thy correction. Therefore I thought in my &s;elfe; peraduenture they are &s;o &s;imple, that they vnder&s;tand nothing of the Lords way and iudgements of their God: therefore will I go to their heads and rulers, and talke with them, if they know the way of the Lord and iudgements of their God: but the&s;e haue broken the yoke, and bur&s;t the bands in &s;under: wherefore a lion out of the wood hath hurt them, and a woolfe in the euening &s;hall de&s;troy them: the leopard doth lie lurking by their &s;treets, to teare in pieces all them that come thereout.</HI> The age of this world doth not beare, that either a lion out of the wood, or a woulfe in the euening, or a leopard lurking in cities &s;hould de&s;troy, or teare men in pieces, which thr&eacute;e bea&s;ts are threatned by the prophet: but by the&s;e we are to iudge of the like, or as great iudge|ments; for is it not of verie vnbeliefe, as
<PB REF="22" MS="y"> though faith in more abuundance is not expected in this age that makes men not to feare, either lion, woulfe or leopard: that is, any &s;ubtiltie that may deceiue vs; any &s;trength that may vanqui&s;h vs; any violence that may deuour vs: for though we &s;hould actually (as <HI>Ieremie</HI> &s;peaketh) go from the lowe&s;t to the highe&s;t, might it not be &s;aid vniuer&s;ally, and of all together? they vnder&s;tand nothing of the Lords way and iudgements of their God; they haue broken the yoke and bur&s;t the bands in &s;under. This being &s;o, or if this be &s;o, then may we inwardly cry again&s;t our &s;elues out of the fourth of <HI>Ieremie,</HI> &s;aying: <HI>Woe vnto vs for we are de&s;troied: O Hie|ru&s;alem, wa&s;h thine heart from wickedne&s;&s;e, that thou maie&s;t be helped; how long &s;hall thy vaine thoughts remaine with thee? for a voice from Dan and from the hill of E|phraim &s;peaketh out and telleth of de&s;tru|ction: there commeth a &s;trong wind &s;aith the Lord through the way of my people; neither to fan nor to clean&s;e, for thus hath the Lord &s;aid; the whole land &s;hall be de|&s;olate, the earth &s;hall mourne; for the thing that I have &s;poken to the prophets, purpo|&s;ed and taken upon me to do, it &s;hall not re|pent
<PB REF="23" MS="y"> me, I will not goe from it: the whole land &s;hall flee for the noi&s;e of hor&s;emen and bowmen: they &s;hall runne into dens and into woods, and climbe vp the &s;tonie rockes: all the cities &s;hall be voide, and no man dwelling therein. What wilt thou now do thou being de&s;troied? for though thou cloathe&s;t thy &s;elfe with &s;carlet, and decke&s;t thee with gold, though thou painte&s;t thy face with colours now, yet &s;halt thou trim thy &s;elfe in vaine, for tho&s;e that hitherto haue beene thy louers, &s;hall abhor thee, and goe about to &s;ley thee.</HI> H&eacute;ere, though we may do well to thinke our owne land threatned vnder the name of Hieru&s;alem: yet if England &s;et out armies into forrein lands, as well as forreiners &s;end out their armies into England; if we be&s;iege their cities as well as they be&s;iege ours; then the name of Hieru&s;alem, the men of Iu|dah or the people of God, is indifferent, and lighteth be&s;t vpon that kingdome peo|ple or citie, where the holine&s;&s;e of God and his hope and feare dwelleth, and who&s;e pre&s;ent danger is &s;uch, that they may &s;ay with y^e prophet,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ierm. 4.</NOTE> <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>vi&s;cera mea, vi|&s;cera mea.</HI> I can not be &s;til, for I haue heard the crying of the trumpets and peales of
<PB REF="23"> wars: and againe <GAP DESC="foreign">: <HI>contritio &s;uper contritione~:</HI> de&s;truction vpon de&s;tructi|on: How long &s;hal I &s;ee the tokens of war, &amp; heare the noi&s;e of the trumpets? neuer|thele&s;&s;e this &s;hall come vpon them, becau&s;e my people is become fooli&s;h, and hath not knowne me, they are the children of foo|li&s;hne&s;&s;e, and without any di&s;cretion: <GAP DESC="foreign"> <HI>non intelligentes,</HI> not vnder&s;ta~ding: to doe euill, wi&s;e they are; but to doe well, they haue no wi&s;edome, this is the &s;ame that the Apo&s;tle vrgeth: <HI>I would haue you &s;imple to euill, and wi&s;e to that which is good:</HI> and againe, <HI>be children in malice, but in &s;en&s;e and vnder&s;tanding, be of a ripe and perfect age.</HI> For what an infatuation? what a darknes? what a blindnes is this? to beare with nature, age, crueltie, coerci|ons, and puni&s;hments, as long as affinity, alliaunce, worldly lucer endureth; and &s;o much to be &s;candalized at Gods profe&s;&s;ed &s;eruants, as euery worde they &s;ay is a blow; euery touch a torment; euery &s;par|kle of that fire, whereof our Sauiour &s;aith, <HI>I haue brought fire into the world, and what remaineth, but that it &s;hould be kind|led,</HI> as a lightning or thunderbolt, as it were leuelled to vndoo vs. Here the Pro|phet
<PB REF="24" MS="y"> and the apo&s;tle may &s;eeme to contend: the one counting all the children of fooli&s;h|ne&s;&s;e, that are ripe and of a perfect age in maliciou&s;nes, but &s;imple in &s;en&s;e, and vn|der&s;tanding: the other touching euen chil|dren, and women, or effeminate per&s;ons, which by clothing them&s;elues with &s;carlet, decking them&s;elues with gold, painting their faces with colours, and otherwi&s;e trimming them&s;elues, &s;&eacute;e not their owne &s;hame, &s;tand in awe of no daunger, and haue hope to inioy this glory of their world &s;till.<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;aie 47.</NOTE> Vnto them wee may &s;ay with <HI>I&s;aie,</HI> (vnder the name of <HI>Babilon:</HI> vnder&s;tan|ding by <HI>Babilon,</HI> men and women giuen to exce&s;&s;iue meats, and ve&s;tures:) <HI>As for thee O daughter, thou virgin Babilon, &s;it thou downe in the du&s;t, &s;it vpon the ground O thou daughter of Chaldaea; for thou &s;halt no more be called tender and plea&s;ant: Bring foorth the querne, and grind meale, loo&s;e thy broidred haire, &amp;c.</HI> and againe, <HI>Sit &s;till, hold thy tongue, get thee into &s;ome dark corner, O daughter Chaldaea, For thou &s;halt no more be called Lady of kingdomes.</HI> To this may be laid that complaint out of the fourth of <HI>Lam. The children of Sion that were alwaies in honour, and clothed with
<PB REF="24" MS="y"> the mo&s;t precious gold; how are they now become like the earthen ve&s;&s;els, which be made with the potters hand? they that were wont to fare delicately, peri&s;h in the &s;treets; they that afore were brought vp in purple, make now much of foule cloathes.</HI> Heere &s;hould I not digre&s;&s;e, to &s;peak of &s;ome enor|mious euils, hauing neither wi&s;edome nor rea&s;on in them: and e&s;pecially of the exce&s;&s;es or riots of women, and that at large; but there be thr&eacute;e puni&s;hments left here, and to be induced by wars more for|cible to them then death, and hell it &s;elfe. Wherof the fir&s;t is; that they are to be ab|horred of &s;uch as haue b&eacute;ene their louers, and that they &s;hall goe about to &s;lay them: The &s;econd, that they &s;hall &s;it downe in the du&s;t, and &s;it vpon the ground; that they &s;hall bring foorth the quearne,<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;aie 47.</NOTE> and grind meale; and that they &s;hall no longer be called Ladies, tender or delicate; The third that &s;uch as are cloathed in gold, &amp; brought vp in purple, &s;hall either peri&s;h in the &s;treets, or make much of dung, (that is to &s;ay) of dungie or euill &s;auoring garments.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Lam 4</NOTE> This mo&s;t pernicious euill, again&s;t which we may mo&s;t ominou&s;ly cry out with our Sauiour: <HI>vae mundo a&s;candalis:</HI> woe be vn|to
<PB REF="25" MS="y"> the world becau&s;e of offences, nece&s;&s;ary it is that offences come: neuerthele&s;&s;e wo vnto him or her by whom it commeth. As it is at all times mo&s;t &s;candalous, &s;o is it at the time of warres mo&s;t dete&s;table, and vnadui&s;ed which calleth all to fa&s;ting, w&eacute;e|ping, and mourning, and both to &s;ackcloth &amp; a&s;hes, I &s;peake of &s;candall or offence, offe|ring venom, or rather a &s;ilken halter to the mode&s;t and innocent; a &s;ower grape in &s;tead of a &s;w&eacute;et, whereof the mothers haue eaten, and the childrens teeth are &s;et on edge: which &s;&eacute;emeth faire and plea&s;ant, but ind&eacute;ed is mo&s;t tyrannous and cruell. For be it well di&s;cerned, and it will be found, that the ioyes ri&s;ing betw&eacute;ene men and women, of meats, and garments, en|ioying &s;tately behauiour, and the pride of life and beautie, doth ca&s;t &s;uch a preiudice vpon the rude and euill fauoured, that none appeare to great men and women greater &s;inners, then &s;uch as lacke the&s;e wedding garments. A faire garment couers many a foule euil; enwalled they are, from death, impri&s;onments, ignominies, and rebukes, to all which they are di&s;aduantaged, and ha&s;tened which lacke them, as men that are without dores. For of &s;tately men and
<PB REF="25"> women they cannot be enioyed, which wil be faine to execute iu&s;tice vpon &s;uch as are rough and rude in the out &s;ide, bru&s;ed with labors, wa&s;ted with mi&s;eries, which could neuer weare &s;oft raiment, becau&s;e of their hard burdens: whereby magi&s;trats are faine to &s;pare, as <HI>Saul</HI> did <HI>Agag,</HI> and <HI>A|hab Benhadad;</HI> &s;o the mightie&s;t, as al|&s;o the mo&s;t ciuill and comlie&s;t, as &s;uch as are delighted to raigne, or rule with them. Now this is a betraying, and tra|ducing of the poore helple&s;&s;e man, who is taken as a flie in the &s;piders webb, where the mightie bur&s;t through it: wherein the heroicall minds of captains, as generall captaines, captaines of <HI>1000.</HI> of <HI>100.</HI> of <HI>50.</HI> is to bee doubted of, which &s;tanding too much vpon honour, or iu&s;tice by law of armes, or wi&s;edome in militarie di&s;cipline, will be faine to proc&eacute;ed again&s;t defamed, maimed, wearied, or aba&s;hed &s;ouldiers, and that in rigorous maner; whereas if the comfort of his nature had not beene &s;pent, if he had neuer fallen into the hands of his enemies, and according to that Iro|nie, (if he were aliue, as he is dead,) he would haue b&eacute;ene found as vnguiltie as his fellow &s;ouldiers; it is for <HI>Catelines</HI> and
<PB REF="26" MS="y"> not for chri&s;tian &s;ouldiers, where they haue once &s;et their foote to fight, there to o|uercome or die: <HI>Homo fugiens denuo. pugna|bit:</HI> A man fights twi&s;e, that flies at his time. Shal he that putteth on his harne&s;&s;e, boa&s;t him&s;elfe as he that putteth it off? are not the ends of the warrs vncertaine? is there &s;uch difference betw&eacute;ene man and man? againe if the Lord goe not foorth with our armies, how can the victorie be ours? were the <HI>Romanes</HI> victorers &s;till? were the <HI>I&s;raelits?</HI> was <HI>Pompei?</HI> was <HI>Cae|&s;ar?</HI> for the couetou&s;nes of many captaines and &s;ouldiers, their ambition and hope of felicities (not vnlike <HI>Publius Lentulus</HI> dreame, that hee was the third <HI>Corneli|us</HI> to whom the Empire of <HI>Rome</HI> &s;hould be deuolued) is to be with&s;tood a&s;well by ordinary rea&s;on,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Thus this ho|ly man chari|tably concei|ueth of them, that in general who though the pitch of Rome haue defiled them in diuers &s;u|per&s;tions, do yet hold one faith with vs, as not hauing ta&s;ted of the depth of Sa|than in the popi&s;h idola+trie.</NOTE> the cour&s;e of nature, as al&s;o by the intere&s;t we haue in the &s;ame in|heritance, the equality in the &s;ame redemp|tion, the faith which makes vs all but one in Chri&s;t Ie&s;us: whereby as we acknow|ledge that they are our brethren, with whom we fight, heires of eternall ble&s;&s;ed|ne&s;&s;e a&s;well as we: So we ought to con|fe&s;&s;e, that we may make &s;hipwracke, or be drowned in the Seas, a&s;well as they bee
<PB REF="26" MS="y"> &s;laine in the &s;iege or field, a&s;well as they &s;uffer perpetuall exile, captiuitie, vtter vn|doings, and the extreame things which men are afraid of, a&s;well as they. Now this being weighed as it ought to be of all chri&s;tian &s;ouldiers, that men are going a&s;|&s;oone to ruine as to victorie; to mi&s;erie as to felicitie; to bad as to good; &s;hall it bee commended in a Chri&s;tian to &s;ay with <HI>Turnus?</HI> I care not for him, <HI>Etiam &s;i prae&s;tet Achillem:</HI> Though he were as valiant as <HI>Achilles:</HI> or &s;hal not that chri&s;tian be acou~|ted for the be&s;t &s;ouldier, which fights with <HI>Aeneas</HI> again&s;t his will, and &s;tands and liues harne&s;&s;ed: <HI>Vt qui putet extremum &s;em|per ade&s;&s;e diem.</HI> As one that thinks his la&s;t day and the latter end of his life is come: for were there any care in men to further the Soules bli&s;&s;e, as there is of worldly lucre; it would not be thought, that the &s;ouldier alone &s;hould take aduantage of euery bat|tell, &s;kirmi&s;h or fight, to thinke that the day of his vi&s;itation draweth n&eacute;ere: but e|uen we which are at peace, and (as the pro|phet &s;peaketh) <HI>&s;it vnder the vine and figge tree,</HI> ought by the contemplation of the&s;e warrs en&s;uing vpon the world, awake out of &s;l&eacute;ep; and by thinking of our Lords day,
<PB REF="27" MS="y"> or our day to approch, to become more vi|gilant, h&eacute;edfull, zealous, to denie our &s;elues in this life, and to liue a continuall brea|thing and meditacion of the life to come; for is this a time to &s;it vnder vines &amp; fig-tr&eacute;es, to enioy them, to enioy wiues, hou|&s;es, vineyards, and (as <HI>Per&s;eus</HI> &s;aith) <HI>vn|cta patina viuere:</HI> to liue to our nointed di|&s;hes: it had no &s;ucce&s;&s;e, but it was a mo&s;t ab&s;tinent fact and an&s;wer of <HI>Vriah</HI> to king <HI>Dauid,</HI> when he was threatned to goe to his hou&s;e and <HI>Beer&s;heba:</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Reg. 11.</NOTE> <HI>The Arke of I&s;|rael and Iudah (&s;aith he) dwell in pauilions, and my Lord Ioab, and the &s;eruants of my Lord &s;it in tents vpon the flat earth, and &s;hal I then goe into mine hou&s;e to eate and to drinke, and to lie with my wife? By thy life, &amp; as &s;ure as thy &s;oule liueth, I wil not do the thing. Vriah</HI> ind&eacute;ed was to returne as a &s;oldiour, and therefore returned and was &s;laine with the &s;word of the children of <HI>Ammon.</HI> S&eacute;e the pietie, fortitude, and zeale of <HI>Vriah: Vriah</HI> would not goe to his hou&s;e (though di&s;charged of the king) to eat and to drinke, and to lie with his wife, while the Arke of <HI>Iudah</HI> dwelled in tents, and while the men of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> were pitching their tents vpon the face of the field. We
<PB REF="27" MS="y"> haue to follow, though not the fortitude, yet the zeale that was in <HI>Vriah</HI> to the Ark of God. And as for our brethren, which do <HI>ca&s;tramentari &s;uperficie campi,</HI> which do pitch their tents vpon the face of the earth: we ought to condole and &s;uffer with them; they fight; fight we &s;hould again&s;t fle&s;h, &s;inne and &s;athan, and the corruptions of the world: walking in the fle&s;h, yet we do not warre according to the fle&s;h: <HI>for the weapons of our warfare are not carnall,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor. 10.</NOTE> <HI>but mightie through God. Ye haue not yet re|&s;i&s;ted vnto blood, &s;triuing again&s;t &s;inne,</HI> &s;aith the Author to the Hebrewes:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 12.</NOTE> <HI>ca&s;t all your care vpon God, for he careth for you; re&s;i&s;t your aduer&s;arie the diuell; be &s;tedfa&s;t in faith</HI> (&s;aith &s;aint <HI>Peter) knowing that the &s;ame aflictions are accompli&s;hed in your brethren that are in the world.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Pet. 5.</NOTE> We haue n&eacute;ed therfore that liue in peace to arme our &s;elues with the &s;hield of faith, the brea&s;t-plate of righteou&s;nes, the helmet of &s;aluati|on, &amp; not to be of &s;uch vnbeliefe, as though the&s;e &s;pirituall armors were not of might, through our God to vanqui&s;h our earthly and gho&s;tly, deadly and mortall, vi&s;ible and inui&s;ible enemies; we haue al&s;o after the example of <HI>Vriah</HI> to fight for the arke
<PB REF="28" MS="y"> of God: <HI>pro aris &amp; focis;</HI> as well for our temples and churches, as for our fields and hou&s;es. It is written in the <HI>79.</HI> P&s;al. <GAP DESC="foreign">. <HI>The heathen are come into thine inheritance, thy holy tem|ple haue they defiled, and made Hieru&s;a|lem an heape of &s;tones; the dead bodies of thy &s;eruants, &amp;c.</HI> When the arke of God was taken, as it was once of the Phili|&s;tines: we reade that <HI>Eli</HI> the high prie&s;t fell backward, broke his necke and died. And how &s;hall not the prie&s;ts of God, though not to the breaking of their neckes, and death it &s;elfe fall backward, and fall vpon the face of the earth, when they &s;hall &s;ee the Arke of God, that is their temples and churches inuaded of mo&s;t cruell enemies? wherefore then do they not before the ene|mies inua&s;ion, and before the &s;ight and fee- of &s;uch tyrannous de&s;olation and propha|nation, cry out betw&eacute;ene the proch and the altar? wherefore do not they and we, and all men by them, and with them, lift vp pure hands, not as the prophet &s;peaketh in the porches or at the altars: but (as the A|po&s;tle vrgeth) in all places. Wherefore do they not offer the Corinthians, that is the people or the charges committed vnto
<PB REF="28" MS="y"> them, as liuing &s;acrifices vnto God, with|out &s;pot and blamele&s;&s;e before him? wher|fore &s;hould there not be &s;ome aduenture gi|uen in the battell that is &s;et before vs, as captaines and &s;ouldiers are faine to giue aduenture in the time of warre? whether we may po&s;&s;ibly attaine to that mo&s;t ab|&s;tinent life, a rule or forme whereof is &s;et downe where the apo&s;tle &s;aith: <HI>But that I &s;ay brethren, becau&s;e the time is &s;hort: It remaineth that they al&s;o which haue wiues, be as though they had none; and they that weep, as though they wept not; &amp; they that reioice, as though they reioiced not; &amp; they that buy, as though they po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed not; and they that v&s;e this world, as not abu&s;ing it, for the fa&s;hion of this world goeth away.</HI> Giue we an adue~ture or attempt to y^e high|e&s;t ab&s;tinence, &amp; happily we may attaine to &s;ome mea&s;ure, or which is as much as is wi&s;ht for our own mea&s;ure in chri&s;tianity. It is written: <HI>Let no man appeare emptie before the Lord.</HI> Now what is it at this day not to appeare empty before y^e Lord? y^e prie&s;t to bring a &s;ermo~, y^e people to pre&s;ent them&s;elues at a &s;acrame~t, to honor maria|ges &amp; burials? they are readie to an&s;were with y^e rich man, all the&s;e things we haue
<PB REF="29" MS="y"> ob&s;erued from our youth; the &s;ermon more zealous, y^e &s;acrament more ble&s;&s;ed, y^e mari|age more holy, the burial more contempla|tiue, euery &s;pirituall action more deuoute is <GAP DESC="foreign">: that is the fr&eacute;e will offering to make attonement betw&eacute;ene God and vs: for is there not feare le&s;t we &s;hall be bereaued, euen of the&s;e holy things of <HI>Da|uid</HI> which are faithfull within a &s;hort time, of &s;ome of our prie&s;ts, and many holy men and women? Are not our churches and temples &s;pecified plainely enough by the name of the Lords temple; when it is &s;aid? <HI>thy holy temple haue they defiled, and made Hieru&s;alem an heape of &s;tones:</HI> Are not our prie&s;ts and euen our holie&s;t men, too plainely &s;pecified when it is &s;aid, the dead bodies of thy &s;eruants haue they giuen to the foules of the aire, and the fle&s;h of thy &s;aints vnto the bea&s;ts of the field. The tyranny of armed &s;ouldiers, full of wrath and reuengfull, leaues no hope for men or women to e&s;cape, being al&s;o &s;peci|fied in the <HI>74.</HI> P&s;alme, that &s;uch heathe|ni&s;h warriers had &s;hedde the blood of his &s;aints like water in euery &s;ide of Hie|ru&s;alem, and there was no man to burie them; we may learne it of <HI>Adam.</HI> But it
<PB REF="29"> is not the &s;afe&s;t way in matter of &s;inne or danger, which &s;ome godly per&s;ons and de|uout women, or perhaps &s;ome carele&s;&s;e per&s;ons and godle&s;&s;e women do, to deriue all that is naught, fearefull and dangerous vpon others from our &s;elues? doth not our Lord threaten by the prophet, that in the extirpation of a citie, realme or kingdome, he &s;hall de&s;troy the iu&s;t with the vniu&s;t, the righteous with the wicked?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eze. 22.</NOTE> And yet it is not <HI>Noah, Iob</HI> and <HI>Daniel</HI> &s;et vpon the wal, te&s;tifying; that if it be any thing, it is they that &s;hall defend it. Now albeit, how farre we differ from <HI>Noah, Iob</HI> and <HI>Daniel,</HI> all the world &s;&eacute;eth: yet as king <HI>A&s;huerus</HI> &s;tretched out his rod to him that approched: &s;o the Lord &s;tretching out the rod of mercy, looketh that &s;ome or other &s;hould with <HI>Elias</HI> &s;tretch out ha~ds, or with <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> &s;tand in the gap, as finding that wrath is going from the almightie, le&s;t the voice of the Lord by the prophet be ful|filled: <HI>The day of vengeance is a&s;&s;igned in my heart, and the yeere when my people &s;hall be deliuered, is come. I looked about, and there was no man to &s;hew me any help. I maruelled that no man held me vp: then I held me by mine owne arme, and my fer|uentnes
<PB REF="30"> &s;u&s;tained me: And thus I wil tread downe my people in my wrath, and bathe them in my di&s;plea&s;ure.</HI> This is the &s;ame that the Lord te&s;tifieth againe by <HI>Eze|kiel,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;ai 63.</NOTE> &s;aying: The people in the land v&s;eth wickednes, extortion and robery; they vexe the poore and n&eacute;edie, and oppre&s;&s;e the &s;tranger again&s;t right: And I &s;ought a|mong them for a man that would make vp the hedge, and &s;et him&s;elfe in the gap be|fore me,<NOTE PLACE="marg">zek. 22.</NOTE> in the lands behalfe, that I &s;hould not de&s;troy it. But I could finde none; therefore haue I powred out my di&s;plea|&s;ure vpon them, con&s;umed them in the fire of my wrath; their owne waies will I re|compence vpon their owne heads, &s;aith the Lord God. This is &s;o &s;poken as if our Lord would not con&s;ume vs in his wrath, if there were but one found, that might &s;et him&s;elfe in the gappe before him: verely there was <HI>Lot</HI> in Sodom, <HI>Rahab</HI> in Ieri|cho, <HI>Iudith</HI> in Bethuel: for if there be no hope that in all our land, none may re&s;em|ble <HI>Iob,</HI> of whom it is: that in the land of Hus, there was a man, who&s;e name was <HI>Iob,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 word">. 11.</NOTE> the &s;ame was a perfit and iu&s;t man, one that feared God, and e&s;chewed euill: yet as penitent &s;inners, with <HI>Rahab, Lot</HI>
<PB REF="30" MS="y"> and <HI>Iudith,</HI> or euen with publicans and &s;inners, we holding of his mercies, may crie for mercie to our God, who hath pro|mi&s;ed, &s;aying: thou di&s;obedient I&s;raell, turne againe, and I will not bring my wrath vpon you, for I am mercifull; and I will not alwaies beare di&s;plea&s;ure a|gain&s;t th&eacute;e. And againe,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ierem. 3.</NOTE> O ye di&s;obedient children, turne againe &s;aith the Lord and I will be maried with you: for I wil take out one of the citie, &amp; two out of one gene|ration from among you, &amp; bring you into Syon. How &s;hould we not be a&s;tonied, afraid and aba&s;hed at this? for if one of a citie, two of a generation &s;hall be brought into Sion, as meant of that euerla&s;ting Sion: what &s;hall become of the re&s;t that are counted thy people, and haue thy name giuen vnto them: Call me father, and &s;hrinke not from me &s;aith the Lord: the voice of the children of I&s;raell was heard w&eacute;eping &amp; wailing, for that they haue defi|led their way, &amp; forgotten God their Lord. O y&eacute;e di&s;obedient children, turne againe, &amp; &s;o &s;hall I heale your back-turnings. Loe we come vnto th&eacute;e, for thou art y^e Lord our God; confu&s;ion hath deuoured our fathers; for we and our fathers from our youth vp
<PB REF="31" MS="y"> vnto this day,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iere. 3.</NOTE> haue &s;inned again&s;t the Lord our God, and haue not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God. Repentance therfore it is, acknowledging that we and our fathers haue &s;inned, y^t &s;topped vp the gap betw&eacute;ene the Lord and vs, <GAP DESC="foreign"> a conuer&s;ion of e|uill that is fruitfull, and hath amendment of life with it. And who &s;eeth not that wars with other &s;courges and plagues, are &s;ent for fruite of our repentance? for if we were of a ripe and perfect age in the &s;choole of Chri&s;t, knowing that repentance is not an affection or a &s;igh and &s;ob of the heart: but a very dereliction of euill, with a new life and doings, entred and &s;u&s;tained: wee would di&s;cerne betw&eacute;ene time and time, betw&eacute;ene cau&s;e and cau&s;e, wherein both the clergie and the people may learne of <HI>Vriah,</HI> though a &s;ouldier, that when the arke of God is readie to be taken, when <HI>Ioab</HI> the captaine &amp; whole armies abide in the open field; as he thought it not his time to goe to his hou&s;e to eate and drinke, and to lie with his wife; &s;o we, becau&s;e of the time proclaming warrs, a&s;well to <HI>England</HI> as to the world, we &s;ue a diuorcement of euill, we become &s;orrowful for our repleti|ons and &s;atieties in meats and drinks, we
<PB REF="31" MS="y"> rue our &s;urfets taken of women; to con|clude, we for&s;ake our owne vnrighteou&s;|ne&s;&s;e, and lay hold on eternall life, we &s;et onely vpon things lawfull and &s;&eacute;emely, ta|king reconciliations, re&s;titutions, di&s;tribu|tions, as the fir&s;t &s;teps towards a new life; then as men that haue farre to goe, haue not to re&s;t; &s;o we couet the better gifts, pro|c&eacute;eding to lawfull d&eacute;edes from vnlawfull; from lawfull things, to that, that is expe|dient, from the expedient, to things edify|ing, and exemplifying towards others; that as we read of <HI>Croe&s;us</HI> who was dumb before, when his father &s;hould be &s;laine, cryeth out notwith&s;tanding, <HI>O homo ne in|terficias patrem.</HI> O man &s;laie not my fa|ther: &s;o though dumbe to this day, yet &s;ee|ing our churches like to become heapes of &s;tones, our daily &s;acrifice like to be aboli|&s;hed, the bloud of the &s;aints and &s;eruants of God &s;hed like water vpon the earth, their carka&s;e lying vnburied, no age, no &s;exe, no per&s;on &s;pared, all which we are &s;ubiect vnto a&s;well as all others; that we bur&s;t out into cries, teares, and prayers, become more fruitfull in our &s;teward&s;hips; more zealous to di&s;charge that fiue, two or one talent receiued, we &s;&eacute;eke to adioyne to ho|line&s;&s;e,
<PB REF="32" MS="y"> integritie and &s;incere affection; to faith, vertue; to knowledge, temperance; aboue all things induing our &s;elues with brotherly loue, and humilitie: we &s;u&s;taine the orphan and widow, the comfortle&s;&s;e and n&eacute;edie, we helpe them to right, that &s;uffer wrong; that either by our amend|ment and &s;uch &s;acrifice, the&s;e pre&s;ent dan|gers may be auoided; or if they mu&s;t n&eacute;eds come vpon vs, wee may liue and die in Gods fauour, which from the day of our birth to the day of our death, is all the bli&s;&s;e we ought to &s;&eacute;eke for. Our life is but a me|ditation of death; we are to thinke of life and death as mortall men; of euerla&s;ting life and euerla&s;ting death as chri&s;tian men, whereof if we bee &s;till to be remem|bred becau&s;e of mortalitie, howe much more when our mortalitie is augmented with mi&s;erie? Suffer me (good reader) to pa&s;&s;e ouer with &s;ilence the&s;e pitifull times, &s;&eacute;eing they be no more pitifull then mani|fe&s;t and generall, as who is there that &s;&eacute;es them not, or hath not his part in them? and wherefore &s;hould the euill that is &s;uffred be reported? or wherefore &s;hould the thing that is foretold, more rather then the thing which we haue felt? the i&s;&s;ues whereof are
<PB REF="32" MS="y"> dangerous and fearefull: &s;till all that are &s;ecure, &s;tanding like the parts of a hou&s;e, yet vntouched, which by liklihood mu&s;t be pluct downe a&s;well as the re&s;t. Shall the pen of a writer prophetically warne of e|uils to come, where men are but to &s;hut their doores again&s;t them? The day is come the daie is come alreadie, the morning hath appeared of euils: it is not (good Rea|der) a comet or an ecclips that we &s;tand vpon: we haue &s;&eacute;ene a morning, or rather a day euill; and onely is not of tho&s;e of whom it is in the prophecy: <HI>we haue made a couenant with death and with hell; or we are at agreement, and though there goe forth a &s;ore plague, it &s;hall not come vnto vs:</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 28.</NOTE> <HI>for we haue made fal&s;hood our re|fuge, and vnder vanitie are we hid,</HI> whereof it followeth: <HI>the couenant yee made with death &s;hall be di&s;anulled, and your agree|ment with hell &s;hall not &s;tand; yea when the &s;ore plague goeth foorth, it &s;hall take you away:</HI> for early in the morning euerie day, yea both day and night &s;hall it goe through, and when the noice therof is per|ceiued, it &s;hall gender vexation; for the bed is narrow and not large, and the co|uering &s;mall, that a man may not winde
<PB REF="33" MS="y"> him&s;elfe therein: this &s;traight bed and co|uering is thought to be a prouerb &s;ignify|ing the &s;traight &s;iege of Hieru&s;alem, which is al&s;o threatned by the prophet <HI>I&s;ai</HI> in the chapter following, in the&s;e words: <HI>woe vnto thee Ariel, Ariel, thou city that Dauid dwelt in; I will lay &s;iege vnto Ariel, &s;o that there &s;hall be heauines and &s;orrow in it, and it &s;hall be vnto me,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 29.</NOTE> <HI>euen as an altar of &s;laughter.</HI> This word <GAP DESC="foreign"> is as much as the altar or the lion of God; wherof we may ob&s;erue, if that Sion it &s;elfe, the &s;tronge&s;t as the lion, if the altar of the ci|tie that <HI>Dauid</HI> dwelt in as the holie&s;t, could not e&s;cape; then it is not our holi|nes, and much le&s;&s;e fal&s;hood and deceitful|ne&s;&s;e, that &s;hall be able to hide vs from &s;o &s;ore a plague. And whereas we haue &s;&eacute;ene &s;ore plagues publikly and per&s;onally, light vpon others on the right &s;ide and on the left, and they haue not come n&eacute;ere vs; it becomes not chri&s;tian men to thinke that it is either their &s;infulnes or our righteou&s;|ne&s;&s;e that made them to &s;uffer vs to e&s;cape &s;uch horrible and vnexpected troubles, and that con&s;idering the &s;ea&s;on: becau&s;e this old age of the world, by warres, &s;editions, vproares and tumults, threatneth di&s;tur|bances,
<PB REF="33" MS="y"> ouerthrowes of realmes, cities, and kingdomes. And how &s;hould priuate men of all &s;orts, with women and children e&s;cape the &s;word, or &s;undry kinds of death, as al&s;o the preparatiues, as exiles, incarce|rations, captiuities, the hands of their e|nemies, &amp;c. <HI>Xerxes</HI> king of Per&s;ia, &s;&eacute;eing a huge companie of his people and &s;ubiects about him, fell a weeping; and being a&s;|ked wherefore he wept, hauing cau&s;e ra|ther to reioice for the multitude of his &s;ub|iects: I w&eacute;epe (&s;aith he) that within a &s;hort time there will not be one of the&s;e left aliue: &s;o he that &s;hall confer the ruines of thou&s;ands that haue peri&s;hed within the&s;e twentie yeeres by the &s;word, &s;hip|wracke, &s;udden deaths, and that di&s;ea&s;e which is commonly called the plague or pe&s;tilence, with &s;uch as within a &s;hort time are like to peri&s;h of the &s;aid calami|ties, as al&s;o of hunger and famine, one of the &s;ignes of the figge-tr&eacute;e, budding vpon the later end of the world, may weep with <HI>Xerxes,</HI> or rather exclaime with the pro|phet <HI>Ieremie,</HI> &s;aying: <HI>O who will giue my head water enough, and a well of teares to mine eies, that I may weepe night and day for the &s;laughter of my people?</HI> Doe we
<PB REF="34" MS="y"> thinke that our Lords iudgements haue an end in them that haue felt them alrea|die; or doe we thinke that greater are to come, and yet we which liue in peace &s;hal e&s;cape them for euer? And what if w&eacute;e e&s;cape euils that are mortall for euer? <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>in aevum, &s;eculum:</HI> that is for our euer, or age or time. Well men may &s;it vn|der their vines and fig trees, liue in their hou&s;es, die in their beds: but neither may the&s;e ble&s;&s;ings per&s;wade our hearts, that Gods ble&s;&s;e is vpon vs, neither is it eui|dent, who&s;e torment &s;hall be greater at the hower of death. And as for iudgement after this life; &s;hall we bel&eacute;eue that wee a|&s;cend to heauen, and they de&s;cend to hell, becau&s;e they died in the field, and we in our beds? or becau&s;e they made &s;hipwrack in the &s;eas, or fell into the handes of their enemies, or lie vnburied in the &s;tr&eacute;ets, and we pa&s;&s;e our life in quietnes without care, feare or danger, liue at home, and haue no doubt, but we &s;hal be honorably or hone&s;t|ly buried (as our fathers were) in the chur|ches or church-yeards, or graues and &s;e|pulchers builded for vs? This &s;ini&s;ter iudgement of the world (which bequeaths a ble&s;&s;ed end to &s;uch as haue liued quietly,
<PB REF="34" MS="y"> and &s;o die; and is afraid what doth be|come of them which abide &s;ome cruell or extraordinarie end, is to be corrected and controlled. <HI>Noli timere, pror&s;us confirmo,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Aug. de di&s;c. Chri&s;tia. cap. <HI>2.</HI> to. <HI>9.</HI></NOTE> <HI>au|deo dicere, credidi, propter quod loquutus &s;um: Non potest male mori, qui bene vixerit.</HI> Feare not (&s;aith &s;aint <HI>Augu&s;tine</HI>) I auouch it to the vttermo&s;t, I am bold to &s;ay it; I bel&eacute;e|ued, and therefore I &s;pake. He can not die ill, that hath liued well. <HI>Iam tu dices tibi; num multi iusti naufragio perierunt? cert&egrave; non potest male mori, qui bene vixerit:</HI> Now thou &s;aie&s;t to thy &s;elfe; haue many righteous men peri&s;hed by &s;hipwrack? <HI>certe non po|test male mori, qui bene vixerit:</HI> &s;urely h&eacute;e can not die ill that hath liued well. <HI>Num multos iu&s;tos gladius peremit ho&s;tilis? num multos iu&s;tos latrones occiderunt? num multos iu&s;tos be&s;tiae deuorauerunt.</HI> Hath the &s;word of the enemy &s;laine many a righteous man? haue many iu&s;t men fallen amo~g th&eacute;eues? haue many righteous men b&eacute;ene deuoured of bea&s;ts? To all the&s;e S. <HI>Augu&s;tine</HI> &s;til an|&s;wereth: <HI>certe non potest male mori, qui be|ne vixerit:</HI> Of a truth he can not die ill, that hath liued well. <HI>Nonne has mortes martyres &s;ubierunt, quorum Natalitia celebramus:</HI> did not the martyres &s;uffer the&s;e kindes of
<PB REF="35" MS="y"> deaths, who&s;e birth-daies we celebrate? <HI>Quid proderat diuiti &s;epulchrum marmore|um, &s;itienti apud inferos? Quid oberat paupe|ri, panni cum &s;anie vlcerum eius, requie&s;centi in &s;inu Abrahae?</HI> what was the rich man the better for a graue of marble &s;tone, lying a|thir&s;t in hell? what was the poore man the wor&s;e for his poore clothes araied with the noy&s;ome matter of boiles, re&s;ting in <HI>Abra|hams</HI> bo&s;ome: <HI>Dic mihi quis bene mortuus est, quis male?</HI> Tell me who died well, who ill? <HI>An vis aromatibus &s;epeliri &amp; apud in|feros &s;itire? di&s;ces ergo bene mori, &s;i didiceris bene viuere:</HI> wilt thou be buried in &s;w&eacute;ete odours, and lie thir&s;ting in hell fire? thou &s;halt learne therefore to die well, if thou &s;halt learne to liue well. Now this age inuites to a reformed life, &amp; bids men put them&s;elues in order to liue well, that they may die well. And as warres, tumults, &s;editions, plagues, famines, according to <HI>E&s;dras,</HI> are &s;ent for amendment; &s;o it is prophecied as wel by <HI>E&s;dras,</HI> as by the pro|phets and apo&s;tles: that they &s;hall pro|tend and fore&s;hew the latter ende of the world, which is &s;o manife&s;t, that in &s;tead of alleaging the places, I had rather the pro|phet <HI>E&s;aie</HI> &s;hould be heard, crying for mee,
<PB REF="35" MS="y"> and &s;aying:<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;ai 41.</NOTE> <HI>O &s;tubburne and faithle&s;&s;e ge|neration, that haue not &s;et their hearts a|right; heare this yee that be called by the name of I&s;raell, which are freemen of the holy citie, and looke for comfort in God, who&s;e name is the Lord of Ho&s;tes, the things that I haue &s;hewed you euer &s;ince the beginning; haue I not brought them to pa&s;&s;e immediately as they came out of my mouth, and declared them and they are come? Howbeit I know that thou art ob&s;ti|nate, and that thy necke hath an iron vaine, and that thy brow is of bra&s;&s;e:</HI> this the pro|phet crieth out vpon I&s;raell. But is it not our necks that hath an iron vaine? is it not our brow that is of bra&s;&s;e? Are not we euen wor&s;e than tho&s;e hipocrites mentio|ned by our Sauiour in the <HI>16.</HI> of <HI>Matth.</HI> which go not &s;o much as out of our doores, to &s;&eacute;e whether the &s;kie be red or lowring, whether the weather wil be faire or foule? doth our Sauiour mention the&s;e times without caution &amp; conte&s;tacion of watch|fulne&s;&s;e &amp; repentance? for the heauine&s;&s;e and perplexities of them, &s;earch and &s;&eacute;e, y&eacute;e that be called by the name of <HI>I&s;raell,</HI> whe|ther the&s;e comminations be fulfilled in our &s;ight, or whether the my&s;tery of the~ be not
<PB REF="36" MS="y"> working alreadie? <GAP DESC="foreign">: haue vn|der&s;tanding &amp; make others vnder&s;tand the times &amp; &s;ea&s;ons of times, that are &s;til behol|ding the &s;kie of the &s;cripture, y&eacute;e that conti|nually heare the voice or voices of the Lord by the prophet and the apo&s;tle; beware of too much honie; di&s;cend with <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> from mount <HI>Sinai</HI> to the people; abide not &s;till with <HI>Adam</HI> in <HI>Paradi&s;e;</HI> cloake not &s;ecuri|tie with the title of holine&s;&s;e; neither tran&s;|mit faults from your &s;elues by agrauating other mens &s;innes: for what will y&eacute;e doe? will y&eacute;e heare the voice of God walking in the garden (as it is written) in the coole of day, and hide your &s;elues among the tr&eacute;es of the orchard, &amp; &s;ay with <HI>Adam: the wo|man that thou gaue&s;t me, &amp;c.</HI> &s;hall the wo|man &s;ay, the hu&s;band that thou gaue&s;t me? &s;hall men and women that be hallowed in the &s;criptures, but doing nothing, &s;ay: the brothers or &s;i&s;ters that thou gaue&s;t me haue beguiled me, and I did eat. And did not the Lords iudgements light as well vpon the man as the woman, and the wo|man as the &s;erpent? doe we not in deed looke vpon the &s;kie, and &s;ay: it is red, we &s;hall haue faire weather; it is lowring, we &s;hall haue foule weather; and behold it is
<PB REF="36" MS="y"> blood-red, &amp; can it not be di&s;cerned, what weather we &s;hall haue? wherefore &s;hould the voice of the preacher, or the pen of the writer, alledge the prophe&s;ying of our Sa|uiour, as namely in the <HI>24.</HI> of <HI>Matthew,</HI> and the re&s;t of the Euangeli&s;ts, rather than refer them to the meditation of god|lie men and women: it will &s;oone be found that &s;uch fortunes both in warre and in peace as we &s;&eacute;e and heare, haue b&eacute;ene fore|&s;hewed for this latter age of the world by the apo&s;tles; as the old age of men were woont to be forewarned by the prophets; and that what&s;oeuer things haue b&eacute;ene fore&s;hewed of old, haue euer come to pa&s;&s;e, euen as they came from the mouth of the Lord; I haue referred the godly to the conference of the &s;criptures: I call vpon them with &s;aint <HI>Chri&s;o&s;tome: <HI>Comparate vobis biblia &s;altem noua te&s;tamenta:</HI></HI> get you Bibles, at the lea&s;t the new Te&s;tament. It is time to re&s;ort to them to reade them, to contemplate, to fight with them and for them: haue y&eacute;e not read of a time where|in the people of God with one hand did the work, with the other held their weapons?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Neh. 4.</NOTE> and how that euery one that builded had his &s;word girded by his &s;ide, and &s;o buil|ded,
<PB REF="37" MS="y"> and the trumpetters &s;tanding be&s;ide them? where of we &s;ay: this ought y&eacute;e to do, and not to leaue the other vndone, that is, the&s;e warlike times cals vpon men to turne mattocks into &s;peares, and &s;ickles into &s;words, and yet not to leaue the work vndone: for albeit there be &s;ome difference betwixt the idle and voluptuous, and them that are &s;till bu&s;ie about &s;ome worke or other: yet in an age, wherein we are all readie from our Sauiour to &s;ay one to an|other: &s;ell thy coat and buy thee a &s;word: wilt thou hold thy &s;elfe excu&s;ed, if thou worke &s;till? In the meane &s;ea&s;on we ex|hort you according to the example of <HI>Ne|hemiaes</HI> &s;ouldiers, to take in &s;tead of &s;words, bookes in one hand, and your worke in another. Is there any hou&s;e without a &s;word, harne&s;&s;e, or other furni|ture fit for warres? euen &s;o, is there any hou&s;e without a Bible, a new Te&s;tament, and other holy and godly writings: the prophet &s;aith, <GAP DESC="foreign">: <HI>they haue made the hou&s;e of God the hou&s;e of vanitie:</HI> &s;hould not euery hou&s;e be charged with a Bible? for wor&s;e were that hou&s;e than the hou&s;e of vanitie, where Gods booke or no part of it dwelleth: make ther|fore
<PB REF="37" MS="y"> your hou&s;es of the hou&s;e of vanities, or rather of darkene&s;&s;e, Gods hou&s;e <GAP DESC="foreign">: wherein by his word and following there|of, his honour dwelleth. <HI>Where two or three be gathered together in my name</HI> (&s;aith our Sauiour) <HI>I am in the midde&s;t of them.</HI> S&eacute;e how gratious a promi&s;e there is annexed to men and women, be they few or many that &s;hall a&s;&s;emble them|&s;elues in the name of Chri&s;t Ie&s;us. Wher|fore if there be but fower or fiue, if but two or thr&eacute;e in a hou&s;e, yet let them come toge|ther in his name; or if they lacke number, what aileth vs, that as in all other things we &s;&eacute;eke not a&s;&s;i&s;tance of neighbours and brethren, were there faith and hope in vs, were there dreadfulne&s;&s;e and the feare of God in vs, would we not &s;&eacute;eke to beare one anothers burden in &s;oule matters as well as in all other things? Our Lord of|fereth &s;pace of repentance: the whole di&s;|plea&s;ure of the almightie is not yet ri&s;en to come vpon men: &s;nares, fire and brim&s;ton hath not yet b&eacute;ene our portion to drinke; the enemy hath not yet done his vtter|mo&s;t violence; yet our cities, hou&s;es and churches &s;tand as they haue done: we ex|hort you therefore to bring the Arke of
<PB REF="38" MS="y"> God into your hou&s;es while ye may: may y&eacute;e not reade that where it was, the hou&s;e was ble&s;t with it? we exhort you to fall to praier, to the hearing, reading, meditating and following of the Scriptures. If a man hath drawen his &s;word, wherefore do y&eacute;e not re&s;i&s;t him? but if it be the almightie that hath drawen his &s;word, what &s;hould we doe but take &s;anctuarie and fl&eacute;e to the aultar? Ind&eacute;ed exception may be taken, as not &s;urely &s;poken to vs, or any other nation now, which was once threatned to <HI>Egypt, Babylon</HI> or <HI>Hieru&s;alem.</HI> But that as S. <HI>Hierom</HI> mooueth &s;ome by the exam|ple of the Niniuites; &s;o by the burden of <HI>Egypt, Babylon</HI> and <HI>Hieru&s;alem,</HI> we may be &s;tirred to repentance: yet there is no eua&s;ion from the prophecie of <HI>Ieremie</HI> mo&s;t vniuer&s;ally and generally &s;ent vnto al na|tions, where the Lord &s;aith: <HI>If I take to root out, to de&s;troy, or to wa&s;te any people or kingdome, if the people again&s;t whom I haue this deui&s;ed, conuert from their wic|kedne&s;&s;e, I repent of the plague that I haue deui&s;ed to bring vpon them.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Leuit. 18.</NOTE> Againe: <HI>When I take in hand to build or to plant a people or kingdome, if the &s;ame people doe euill before me, and heare not my voice; I
<PB REF="38" MS="y"> repent of the good that I haue deui&s;ed for them.</HI> This being pronounced from the Lord, he commaundeth the prophet, &s;ay|ing: <HI>Speake vnto whole Iudah, and to them that dwell at Hieru&s;alem: Thus &s;aith the Lord; Behold I am deui&s;ing a plague for you, and am taking a thing in hand again&s;t you; therfore let euerie man turne from his euill way, &amp; take vpon you the thing that is good and right: But they &s;aid, no more of this; we wil follow our owne imaginations, and doe euery man according to the wilful|ne&s;&s;e of his owne mind.</HI> Now who is there &s;o vnadui&s;ed, that &s;&eacute;es not our &s;elues called vpon vnder the names of <HI>Iudah</HI> or <HI>Hieru|&s;alem?</HI> what &s;hall we &s;ay then? that our Lord takes in hand to roote out, wa&s;t and de&s;troy vs: I affirme it not, but to &s;ay that which we &s;ee: feare I doe, that the Lords &s;word is drawne, whetted &amp; &s;harpned; and wherfore not again&s;t <HI>England,</HI> a&s;&s;oon as a|gain&s;t any nation or kingdome? therfore it is time that we take example, the <HI>Aegypti|ans</HI> and the <HI>A&s;sirians,</HI> or rather the <HI>I&s;raelits</HI> or <HI>Niniuits;</HI> it is time we repent and turne from our euil waies, that the almighty may repent and turne from the plague he hath deui&s;ed again&s;t vs; time it is that euerie
<PB REF="39" MS="y"> one conuert from his wickednes, and take vpon him the thing that is good and right. Wherefore bee it curious and aboue our mea&s;ure, to &s;&eacute;eke whether the almigh|tie wa&s;teth or planteth, or rooteth out <HI>England,</HI> or any other nation; and be it ob&s;erued, a&s;wel vpon rebellions, vproares, di&s;&s;entions, as other plagues, that vpon euery of the&s;e euery where, in the bookes of the prophets we are called vpon to repent, and turne from our euill waies. And ther|fore in the eight of <HI>Ieremie,</HI> where it is &s;aid that the bones of the kings of <HI>Iudah,</HI> the bones of the princes, of the prie&s;ts, and prophets; yea the bones of the citizens of <HI>Hieru&s;alem,</HI> &s;hould be brought out of their graues, and laid again&s;t the Sunne, the Moone, and all the ho&s;t of heauen: it fol|loweth, <HI>Thus &s;aith the Lord, doe men fall &s;o that they ri&s;e not again, or if I&s;rael repent, will not God turne againe to them? where|fore then is the people gone &s;o farre backe, that they turne not againe? they are euer the longer the more ob&s;tinate, and will not be conuerted, for I haue looked and con&s;i|dered, but there is no man that &s;peaketh a good word, there is no man that taketh re|pentance for his &s;inne, that will &s;o much as
<PB REF="39"> &s;ay, what haue I done?</HI> A complant it is both per&s;onall, and vniuer&s;all; vniuer&s;ally whole <HI>I&s;rael</HI> is complained of, that they haue turned &s;o farre backe, that they ri&s;e not againe: then euery one is vi&s;ited, to &s;&eacute;e whether any would &s;o much as &s;ay be|tw&eacute;ene God and him&s;elfe, <HI>Quid feci?</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign"> What haue I done? which is none other thing, but as if any &s;hould lament by him&s;elfe crying; O wretched man that I am, my &s;in is euer before me; mine owne heart condemneth me for &s;uch or &s;uch euill; and God is greater then the heart, and knoweth all things: <HI>heu quanta de &s;pe decidi</HI> from what hope am I fallen? how &s;hall I doe? this remor&s;e or f&eacute;eling would preuaile to newne&s;&s;e of life, for lack whereof euery one is accu&s;ed to runne like a fierce hor&s;e headlong to the battell.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iere, 8.</NOTE> <HI>The &s;torke in the ayre knoweth his appointed time, the turtle-doue, the &s;wallow, and the crane con&s;ider the time of their trauell; but my people wil not know the time of the pu|ni&s;hment of the Lord.</HI> Our Lord leaueth here, that we as the people of God &s;hould know the time of the puni&s;hments of the Lord: To which ende wee are &s;ent to the &s;torke, turtle-doue, &s;wallow, and crane,
<PB REF="40"> for comparing with that people of God, or rather thinking our &s;elues as Gods peo|ple, wee haue to con&s;ider of the&s;e daies as the time of our trauell, or at lea&s;t as a time of trauell, for though it be not the time wherein the voice of the mill, or the light of the candle &s;hal cea&s;e: yet it is a time, wher|in the voice of the bride, and bridegroome cea&s;eth, wherein laughter is turned into w&eacute;eping, and fea&s;ting into fa&s;ting. O that our w&eacute;eping were turned into repentance for &s;inne, and our fa&s;ting into ab&s;taining from euill, in the <HI>5.</HI> of the <HI>4.</HI> of <HI>E&s;dras, Con|cerning the tokens</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>there &s;hall be confu&s;ion in many places, and the fire &s;hall be oft &s;ent out againe; and the wild bea&s;ts &s;hall change their places; and mon&s;trous women &s;hall beare mon&s;ters: and &s;alt water &s;halbe found in the &s;weet; and all friends &s;hall fight one again&s;t another; then &s;hall all wit &amp; vnder&s;tanding be hidden, and put a&s;ide in their &s;ecret places; then &s;hal vnrigh|teou&s;ne&s;&s;e and voluptuou&s;nes haue the vp|per hand vpon the earth; one land &s;hall aske another, and &s;ay: is righteou&s;nes gone through thee? and it &s;hall &s;ay, No: To &s;hew thee &s;uch tokens I haue leaue, and if thou wilt pray, weep againe, and fa&s;t &s;euen daies,
<PB REF="40"> thou &s;halt heare greater things.</HI> This being &s;poken of the world it &s;elfe, for <HI>E&s;dras</HI> in the <HI>3.</HI> and <HI>4.</HI> booke, mo&s;t plainly falleth in with y^e <HI>Euangeli&s;ts</HI> touching the wars, famines, and other &s;courges threatned to the ende of the world, the preachers voice, or &s;cribes pen, doth not pre&s;cribe to any people or kingdome; doth not pronounce that it is we or they, this or that nation, which the author prophetically threatneth, or which the Lord &s;hall plant or build, roote out or de&s;troy; but being &s;o &s;infull men as all o|thers, we do not ami&s;&s;e to gather the &s;ence of the &s;criptures, to conferre them with our owne times, and natiue countrey, wher|in we may mo&s;t firmely conclude; that we ought not to excu&s;e our &s;elues, our countri|men, or countrey, as if an Engli&s;h man &s;hould thinke that <HI>England,</HI> or an Iri&s;h man that <HI>Ireland</HI> &s;halbe pre&s;erued, though warres, &s;editions, and tumults be mena|ced to the world, for prote&s;ting and pro|nouncing this to be a mo&s;t dete&s;table &s;ecu|ritie, a mo&s;t inexcu&s;able folly, a mo&s;t dan|gerous &s;infulne&s;&s;e: <HI>Tormenta quaedam adhi|bemus:</HI> we do as it were torment men be|fore their time, becau&s;e we tel of their dan|gers before they come: ob&s;eruing, &s;ear|ching,
<PB REF="41"> vrging, a&s;king, applying, as name|ly: whether any &s;uch confu&s;ion, or mon|&s;trous tokens mentioned by <HI>E&s;dras,</HI> whe|ther any &s;uch fire and water, any &s;uch figh|ting &amp; tumults, as wherin one friend hath b&eacute;ene faine to fight again&s;t another: or whether as in &s;editions and &s;udden vp|roares, all wit and vnder&s;tanding hath failed, as &s;hut vp in their &s;ecret places; or whether as in warres and rebellions, vn|righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and voluptuou&s;ne&s;&s;e haue not had the vpper hand; or whether w&eacute;e haue &s;&eacute;ene any of the&s;e things, and &s;hould not take them as &s;parkles kindling a fire, as &s;&eacute;eds growing vp towards a harue&s;t, and as the beginnings of &s;orrowes, and the forerunners of the la&s;t and vttermo&s;t euils?<NOTE PLACE="marg">4. E&s;dr. 16.</NOTE> This <HI>E&s;dras</HI> would be entertayned (and not altogether as a &s;tranger) with the Prophets and the Apo&s;tles: <HI>A &s;word</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>is &s;ent among you, and who will turne it backe? A fire is &s;ent among you, and who will quench it? plagues are &s;ent vnto you, and what is he that will driue them away? may any man driue away an hungry Lion in the wood? or may any man quench the fire in &s;tubble, when it hath begun to burne? may one turne againe the
<PB REF="41" MS="y"> arrow that is &s;hort of a &s;trong archer? the mighty Lord &s;endeth the plagues, and what is he that will driue them away? behold, hunger, and plague, trouble, and angui&s;h, are &s;ent as &s;courges for our amendment: But for all the&s;e things, they &s;hall not turne from their wickednes, nor be alwaie mind|full of their &s;courges.</HI> Who is this angrie lyon, or &s;trong archer? <HI>E&s;dras</HI> him&s;elfe in|terpreteth, what may driue away the &s;word that is drawne, the fire that is kind|led, the arrow that is &s;hott; he te&s;tifieth with all the Prophets and the Apo&s;tles, which as they all cry for our conuer&s;ion, &s;o they wonder, that plagues and &s;courges &s;ent of the Lord &s;hould not either <HI>volentes</HI> or <HI>nolentes</HI> either voluntary or violently re&s;traine vs of euill, which is mo&s;t &s;trong|ly and mo&s;t expre&s;&s;edly exemplified by the prophet <HI>Amos,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Amos 4.</NOTE> where it it &s;o often vpbrai|ded, &s;aying: <HI>I haue giuen you cleanne&s;&s;e of teeth, and &s;carcene&s;&s;e of bread in all your cities; yet haue ye not returned to me &s;aith the Lord, I haue withholden the raine from you, when there were yet three moneths to the harue&s;t, and haue cau&s;ed it to raine vp|on one citie, and haue not cau&s;ed it to raine vpon another; yet haue ye not returned to
<PB REF="42" MS="y"> me &s;aith the Lord: I haue &s;mitten you with bla&s;ting, and mildew; your gardens, vine|yards, fig-trees, and oliues did the palm-worme deuoure; yet haue ye not returned to me &s;aith the Lord: pe&s;tilence haue I &s;ent among you after the maner of Aegypt; your yong men haue I &s;laine with the &s;word, yet haue ye not returned to me &s;aith the Lord: I haue ouerthrowne you as Sodome and Gomorrah, &amp; ye were as a fire-brand pluct out of the burning; yet haue ye not returned to me &s;aith the Lord:</HI> Here as we are not &s;o much giuen to the letter, as though we had fuffred all the&s;e things, yet we may maruel with the prophet, that whereas the Lord hath tried our cities, townes, and villages, with famine and &s;carcene&s;&s;e of bread, with no raine, or much raine <HI>intempe&s;tiue;</HI> with the pe&s;tilence, though not altogether after the maner of <HI>Egypt,</HI> with the death of our yong men &s;laine with the &s;word; that yet we haue not returned to the Lord: there is hardly any parcell of &s;cripture rather to be waighed, then the whole prophecie of <HI>A|mos</HI> for this our age, whereunto le&s;t the reader &s;hould be referred in vaine, I haue thought good to heape tho&s;e few &s;ayings to|gether: <HI>Thus &s;aith the Lord for three wic|kedne&s;&s;es
<PB REF="42"> of Iudah, and for foure I will not &s;pare him, becau&s;e they haue ca&s;t away the law of the Lord, and their lies cau&s;ed them to erre, after the which their fathers walked; Therfore I will &s;end a fire into Iudah, which &s;hall con&s;ume the pallaces of Hieru&s;alem. Thus &s;aith the Lord, for three wickedne&s;&s;es of I&s;rael, and for foure I will not &s;pare him: becau&s;e they &s;old the righteous for &s;iluer, and the poore for a paire of &s;hooes; they gape for breath ouer the head of the poore, &amp;c.</HI> and againe, <HI>Heare yee this word which I lift vp vpon you: the virgin I&s;rael is fallen, and &s;hall no more ri&s;e; &s;hee is left vpon her land, and there is none to rai&s;e her vp, for thus &s;aith the Lord God:</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Amos 5.3.</NOTE> <HI>The citie which went out by a thou&s;and &s;hal leaue an 100. &amp; that which went forth by an hundred, &s;hall leaue ten, to the hou&s;e of I&s;rael:</HI> and againe,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Amos 6.1.</NOTE> <HI>Woe to them that are at ea&s;e in Syon; yee that put farre away the euill day, and aproch to the &s;eat of iniquitie; they lie vpon beds of Iuorie; they drinke wine in bowles; but no man is &s;ory for the affliction of Io&s;eph.</HI> and again, <HI>Behold a basket of &s;ommer fruit:</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Amos 8.2.</NOTE> <HI>The end is come vpon my people: all the &s;ongs of the temple &s;halbe howlings in that day, &s;aith the Lord God: many dead bodies
<PB REF="43" MS="y"> &s;halbe in euerie place; they &s;hall ca&s;t them forth with &s;ilence.</HI> and againe, <HI>I &s;awe the Lord &s;tanding vpon the altar, and he &s;aid: &s;mite the dore, that the po&s;ts may &s;hake, cut them in pieces, and I will &s;laie the la&s;t of them with the &s;word;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Amos 9.<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE> <HI>he that fleeth of them &s;hall not flee away; and he that e&s;capeth &s;hal not be deliuered: Behold the eyes of God are vpon the &s;infull kingdome; and I will de&s;troy it cleane out of the earth: Neuer|thele&s;&s;e, I will not vtterly de&s;troy the hou&s;e of Iacob, &s;aith the Lord: but all the &s;inners of my people &s;hall die with the &s;word, which &s;ay the euill &s;hall not come nor ha&s;ten for vs.</HI> Here is threatned to the hou&s;e of <HI>Iudah,</HI> fire, and that for thr&eacute;e or foure wickedne&s;|&s;es the Lord &s;hould not &s;pare it: againe, it is threatned to the hou&s;e of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> that for a thou&s;a~d, there &s;hould be left but a hundred, and for a hundred but ten in their cities: Likewi&s;e is threatned, woe for ea&s;e; for &s;ongs, howlings; dead bodies, for liuing &s;oules; for life and peace, death and de&s;tru|ction, which euils, if we haue partly &s;&eacute;ene with our eies already, and partly &s;&eacute;e them as cloudes boading mo&s;t tempe&s;tuous weather: Let vs acknowledge that w&eacute;e haue &s;inned; and &s;ay with the Prophet:
<PB REF="43" MS="y"> <HI>Come let vs turne againe to the Lord, for he hath &s;mitten vs, and he &s;hall heale vs; he hath wounded vs, and he &s;hal bind vs vp againe.</HI> We ought not to forget the &s;mi|tings and wounds, which we haue &s;uffred in the&s;e latter yeares; &s;ome liue in peace yet that heare of them; &s;ome in trouble, that haue &s;&eacute;en them; many dead, that haue felt them; it remaineth, that men &s;hould change their minds, refourme their ende|uours, and both inwardly and outwardly, flee to the holy one of <HI>I&s;rael:</HI> inwardly, by &s;p&eacute;edie &s;obbing and &s;ighing; outwardly, by a&s;&s;emblies, humble proc&eacute;edings, compa&s;|&s;tions extended, faith te&s;tified, the holy things of <HI>Dauid</HI> faithfully and lowly fre|quented: according to that good &s;peach and act of <HI>Chri&s;o&s;tome</HI> to the people of <HI>Anti|och; <HI>Vt mari ae&s;tuante,</HI></HI> As when the &s;ea is trouble&s;ome, feare doth compell all men to fl&eacute;e to the hauen; &s;o the &s;torme (&s;aith he) of our publike place, hath driuen all men to take the church: Let vs thanke God ther|fore for the&s;e things, in&s;omuch as w&eacute;e haue gathered &s;o great fruit of our trou|bles. <HI>S. Chri&s;o&s;tome</HI> and the people of <HI>An|tioch</HI> &s;hew what ought to be done in a pub|like vexation or trouble; as to fl&eacute;e to the
<PB REF="44" MS="y"> temple as Gods hou&s;e, or hou&s;e of prayer: that as <HI>Adoniah</HI> tooke hold of the hornes of the altar being per&s;ecuted by king <HI>Solo|mon;</HI> and as in the old time the fathers had cities of refuge, or &s;anctuaries to be re&s;cued from their aduer&s;aries; &s;o we both publik|ly and per&s;onally re&s;ort euery where, as to our very church or churches, as our &s;ure&s;t hauens and be&s;t defences mo&s;t oportunely fled too, and frequented in publike troubles and dangers; wherein who&s;oeuer &s;hall &s;&eacute;eke mens well doing with &s;incere affecti|on, may doubt, whether he &s;hould re&s;ort to the mini&s;ter or to the magi&s;trate, to know, whether me~ liuing in peace (be there ble&s;&s;e or cur&s;e, good or bad) will doe &s;till as they did before? as namly in &s;uch great troubles as many haue &s;uffred, and they belike haue heard of of late; wherein we ought to &s;ay with the prophet: <HI>Thou ha&s;t giuen vs teares to drinke, and ha&s;t mingled our bread with weeping;</HI> al but fierce yong me~ &amp; &s;ouldiers, &s;halbe &s;uffred to lie as &s;ecure and carele&s;&s;e; al which I could wi&s;h &s;hould liue at church for the time; leauing their hou&s;es to eate and drink in, till they learne that the &s;word of the &s;pirit, and the &s;hield of faith, are al&s;o weapons for chri&s;tian &s;ouldiers; and till
<PB REF="44" MS="y"> they may &s;&eacute;e them&s;elues vnworthie&s;t and mo&s;t vnadui&s;ed of all others: if they, vntill their hou&s;es be &s;et on fire, or till the euils what&s;oeuer light vpon their owne heads, are not mooued with any thing; I demand of the&s;e men whether they mind to &s;it &s;till, a&s;well at one time as at another, and that with gold rings, gay clothing, in good pla|ces, as though, when poore men are in poore raiment, and in penurie; ye &s;ay not to one &s;it thou here, &s;tand thou there: for doe not the rich find the~&s;elues touched by the Apo|&s;tle, &s;aying: <HI>If a brother or &s;i&s;ter be naked &amp; de&s;titute of daily food, and one of you &s;ay to them, depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled: notwith&s;tanding, ye giue them not the things which are needfull for the bodie, what &s;hall it profit?</HI> For what if men &s;ay not this according to the letter or the hand writing of <HI>S. Iames:</HI> yet as long as you can &s;&eacute;e poore men in vile rayment, your &s;i&s;ters and brothers naked and de&s;titute of daily foode, and giue them not: both the Apo&s;tle pronounceth, that your faith &s;tarues for lacke of works, and the time doth require to put off gold rings, gay clothing, forbea|ring high places at fea&s;ts, and good &s;eats in in churches, being no time to fea&s;t or enioy
<PB REF="45" MS="y"> at all, much le&s;&s;e to be lifted vp, aduanced aboue your brethren, as al&s;o inwald, im|pald, inhedgd, to the intent ye may &s;&eacute;e few or none of the people, but euen your &s;elues and yours; by the which aduancing or in|clo&s;ing, not only <HI>Nabuchadnezzar,</HI> but <HI>Da|uid</HI> al&s;o was brought into a&s;ound and mo&s;t vnmercifull inflation: but that as men who&s;e hearts are not aduanced aboue their brethren, ye refu&s;e not to come into the light; and not onely to frequent publike a&s;|&s;emblies a&s;well as others; but al&s;o to vi&s;it the orphan, fatherle&s;&s;e and widow in their aduer&s;ity; and &s;&eacute;eing the poore in their vile raimentye may cloth them; your brothers and &s;i&s;ters de&s;titute of daily foode, ye may f&eacute;ede them; that wheras ye haue not done it hitherto, it may be thought ye did it not for lack of opportunity; and that ye waigh|ed the time wherein ye might &s;hew your &s;elues, a&s;well fruitfull, as faithfull: for as <HI>Nabuchadnezzar</HI> became proud, <HI>Dauid</HI> too &s;ecure by re&s;ting in their pallaces; &s;o what may come of &s;uch fruition of parlors and &s;&eacute;eld hou&s;es, but pride, laciuiou&s;ne&s;&s;e, couetou&s;ne&s;&s;e, oblectation of children and women, obliuion of God and his &s;eruants? whereby little or nothing proc&eacute;eds from
<PB REF="45"> them, but crueltie as lu&s;t and vncharitable doings; as though the linke of our com|mon faith, the &s;ame calling, the equall in|heritance, doth not exact a mutuall con&s;o|lation betw&eacute;ene Chri&s;ts &s;eruants: which the apo&s;tle &s;&eacute;eing more d&eacute;epely aduerti&s;eth; <HI>That the brother of low degree, &s;hould re|ioyce in that he is exalted,</HI> againe, <HI>the rich in that he is made low.</HI> Charitie, fraternitie, the vnitie of the &s;pirit, the bond of peace, makes all the &s;ame, and but one in Chri&s;t Ie&s;us; according to that prophecie of <HI>I&s;aie:</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;aie 11.</NOTE> <HI>The woulfe and the lambe, the Leopard and the goate, lyons and cattell company toge|ther; the cow and the beare &s;hal feede toge|ther; the lyon &s;hall eate &s;traw with the oxe, and the child while he &s;ucketh, &s;hall haue a de&s;ire to the &s;erpents ne&s;t, and when he is weaned, he &s;hall put his hand into the coka|trice den.</HI> For this may well be imputed to the force of chri&s;tianity, to the &s;ame hope and faith, whereby a&s;well the highe&s;t as the lowe&s;t, the riche&s;t as the poore&s;t, men, women, and children of all &s;orts, &s;tates, &amp; affects, as the valiante&s;t, &s;tronge&s;t, &s;euere&s;t, may with the lowlie&s;t, childi&s;he&s;t, and wo|mani&s;he&s;t, well ioyne together. All which when they may m&eacute;ete in the vnitie of the
<PB REF="46" MS="y"> &s;pirit, and the bond of peace, actually and zealou&s;ly together, they doe as the aunci|ent writer <HI>Tertullian</HI> te&s;tifieth, <HI>Deum am|bire, haec vis deo grata e&s;t.</HI> They doe (gathe|ring a band as it were) compa&s;&s;e the al|mighty by violence; this violence (&s;aith he) is acceptable vnto God, in the <HI>65.</HI> of <HI>I&s;aie:</HI> where it is promi&s;ed, that or euer his &s;er|uants call, he &s;hall an&s;were: while they are yet yet but thinking how to &s;peake, he &s;hall heare them.</P>
<P>It likewi&s;e followeth, that the woulfe and the Lambe &s;hall f&eacute;ed together, and the lion &s;hall eate hay with the bullocke: but earth &s;hall be the &s;erpents meat; they &s;hall no more hurt or &s;lay one another, in all mine holy hill, &s;aith the Lord: Great ble&s;|&s;ings they are, that are there promi&s;ed to Gods people. Howbeit, as a mixt Scrip|ture as are &s;undrie others, it mingleth e|uerla&s;ting ioies with &s;uch con&s;olations as are attained to in this life, which to omit as impertinent, we feare not to con|clude: that if the woulfe and the lambe, the lion and the bullocke, that is if the highe&s;t and the lowe&s;t, the riche&s;t and the poore&s;t, might in the participation of prayer, in the admini&s;tration of the word and &s;acra|ments,
<PB REF="46" MS="y"> in the zeale of the holy and heauen|ly my&s;teries vnite them&s;elues: it were the &s;tronge&s;t hand or band we could make, either to reconcile vs vnto God, or to bring to pa&s;&s;e that one man &s;hould not &s;ight a|gain&s;t another; or to driue away the wrathful indignation of the almighty con|ceiued again&s;t the world of wickedne&s;&s;e. For when will men goe about to mu&s;ter this armie, wherein men, women and children, euen as many as are able to lift vp their hands and hearts to God, are able per&s;ons to fight again&s;t their enemies; to weaken the <HI>I&s;raelits:</HI> the children borne a|bout the birth of <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> of <HI>Phoraohs</HI> cruel|tie &s;uffred martyrdome: And what &s;hall our children &s;uffer <HI>Cum proximus vrbi Han|nibal?</HI> When <HI>Hanniball</HI> or <HI>Vli&s;&s;is</HI> &s;ouldier is come vpon vs? when <HI>Holifernus</HI> doth be&s;iedg our citie? but mo&s;t extreame cruel|tie; what &s;hould we do but fight or pray for them? what may make me~ or wome~ more zealous &amp; ferue~t? for as we know, or beleue that the bloud of <HI>Abell,</HI> &s;hed by <HI>Cain</HI> cryed to the Lord for vengeance: &s;o let vs know or bel&eacute;eue, that the crying of the bloud of li|tle children and our cries for them, may &s;tir the Lord of heauen to compa&s;&s;ion, euen le&s;t
<PB REF="47"> their bloud be &s;hed vpon the earth. Menti|on it therefore I doe, or motion it to pa|rents, that not onely when they are bapti|zed or catechized: but euen becau&s;e of a &s;iedge, becau&s;e of the inua&s;ion of the forrein enemie, when men are within gun-&s;hott, they vouch&s;afe them a part of our Lords armie and people. Let <HI>Zacharie</HI> and <HI>Eliza|beth, Io&s;eph</HI> and <HI>Marie</HI> carry them in their armes, bring their &s;ucking children to the church, and pre&s;ent them before the Lord in the Go&s;pel;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mar, 2.</NOTE> <HI>Ie&s;us</HI> &s;eeing their faith that laid down before him the &s;icke of the pal&s;ie by vncouering the hou&s;e, we reade that he had compa&s;&s;ion on them, and healed the &s;icke. <HI>Niniuie</HI> that great citie, ouer which it was proclamed that within fortie daies it &s;hould bee de&s;troyed, was defended by their children. <HI>Ionas</HI> was offended for the gourd which was eaten with wormes: the Lords an&s;were to <HI>Ionas</HI> was this: <HI>Doo&s;t thou well to be angry with thy &s;elfe for the gourd? and he &s;aid I doe well to bee an|gry euen vnto death: Then &s;aide the Lord thou ha&s;t had compas&s;ion on the gourd a|bout the which thou be&s;towed&s;t no labour, neither made&s;t it grow, which came vp in a night, &amp; peri&s;hed in a night: And &s;hal I not
<PB REF="47" MS="y"> &s;pare Niniuie that great citie, in the which are more then &s;ixe&s;core thou&s;and per&s;ons that know not their right hand &amp; their left, and al&s;o much cattell?</HI> Behold an armie in|ough to deliuer a citie, euen a greater citie then is vpon the earth, euen <HI>120000.</HI> chil|dren that know not y^e difference betw&eacute;ene the right hand and the left. Here the num|ber which in the Lords behalfe we reiect, are rebellious to his mightie hande: to whom it is as ea&s;ie to ouercome by few as by many, in the &s;laughtering of children is left as waighed, and found mo&s;t heauie: w&eacute;e as &s;infull men, are waighed in Gods ballance, and be we few or many are found too light.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 18.</NOTE> But were there fiftie iu&s;t men in a citie? if thirtie; if tenne; would not our God &s;pare that citie? Shall we &s;peake af|ter the example of <HI>Abraham,</HI> and comune with the highe&s;t, being but du&s;t and a&s;hes: If there be ten &s;ucking children in a citie or towne; if thirtie; if fiftie; &s;hall not our Lord God &s;pare a village, towne, or citie, for ten; thirtie; or fiftie &s;ucking children which &s;halbe found in it? the children with the number of impotent men and women, in &s;tead of iu&s;t and righteous men, is all we can &s;ay or doe in this &s;infull generati|on?
<PB REF="48" MS="y"> Shall the righteous be &s;laine? &s;hall women great with child? &s;hall the aged and the grayheaded? &s;hall not the poore be left in the land to till the ground? &s;hall fire and &s;word deuoure a&s;&s;oone the &s;icke and maymed, as the re&s;t? doth not wars drink bloud in &s;tead of wine or water; euen the bloud of &s;ouldiers, armies, captains, men, women, and children? <HI>Quis talia fando Mirmidonum Dolopumue autdiri miles Vli&s;&s;is, temperet a lachrimis?</HI> Who can pitie or pon|der of the&s;e things without teares? <HI>Venit &s;umma dies, &amp; ineuitabile tempus Dardanidis:</HI> Is there but one citie that may &s;ay, our la&s;t day and not able to be lamented inough is come vpon vs? it is not the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e or wi&s;edome of man; it is not our bowe or &s;hield, that may deliuer vs; a hor&s;e is but a vaine thing to &s;aue a man; our arme is but fle&s;h, our gold is but clay; may we alledge with <HI>Ezechias,</HI> all our burnt offrings and &s;acrifices? let vs alledge our &s;ucking chil|dren, women with child, the aged, the im|potent, the innocent. <HI>Palamides</HI> when <HI>V|li&s;&s;es</HI> fained that he was be&s;ides him&s;elfe, that he might not be pre&s;&s;ed to the warrs, &s;et his child before his plow-&s;hare, to &s;&eacute;e whether there was nature or pitie left in
<PB REF="48" MS="y"> him towards his owne child; whereby he preuailed and ouercame him. In like ma|ner, whereas through our great and ma|nifold tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions, as al&s;o, through &s;un|dry and condigne coercions for the &s;ame, we &s;&eacute;e not but that the heauie wrath of the almighty, again&s;t our natio~, cities, towns, is inkindled to their vtter extirpation and ruine. Let vs not onely &s;et <HI>Chri&s;t Ie&s;us</HI> our onely mediatour and aduocate; his onely begotten &s;onne, betw&eacute;ene our &s;innes and his wrathfull di&s;plea&s;ure: but al&s;o as his creatures clouded and cladded with fle&s;h and bloud, buried and darkned with earth and a&s;hes, offer our babes and &s;ucklings, as liuing &s;acrifices to our almigtie &amp; mo&s;t mercifull father, not like our fathers in the old time, which killed lambes, goats and heiffors; nor y^e heatheni&s;h idolaters, which offred their children to <HI>Moloch,</HI> as other|wi&s;e, &s;o vpon the approching of their war|like enemies: but as &s;infull men red&eacute;emed by thy deare &s;onne, e&s;t&eacute;eming babes and children more righteous then our &s;elues; we be&s;&eacute;ech th&eacute;e, that as thou once &s;pared&s;t <HI>Niniuie</HI> that great citie, for the thou&s;ands of children which were in it: &s;o for the &s;pa|ring of children, be they few or many that
<PB REF="49" MS="y"> are in cities townes and villages, it may plea&s;e th&eacute;e of thy fatherly goodne&s;&s;e, to &s;tay the rage of tyrants, to &s;till the furiou&s;ne&s;&s;e of &s;ouldiers, to a&s;wage the madnes of peo|ple: that the young ones with the dams may not be choaked together; that the kidd be not &s;odde in her mothers milke; that hearts hardned like the adamant may b&eacute;e &s;oftened, not by the bloud of goats, but by the bloud, though vn&s;hed, of &s;ucking chil|dren; that yong and old, the children with the parents, if it be thy holy will, may in|ioy to prai&s;e and magnifie thy holy name together. <HI>The dead prai&s;e not thee, nor all they that goe into &s;ilence; I will not die but liue (&s;aith the prophet) and declare the works of the Lord.</HI> Neuerthele&s;&s;e, w&eacute;e as groning to the augmentation of &s;infulnes, and heaping to our &s;elues daily the wrath of God for a trea&s;ure, vnder&s;tand not, whe|ther we &s;hal doe better, to liue or to die, only be it doubtfull, whether the &s;ufficient num|ber &s;et out for an armie, able men, worthy captaines, with competent &s;trength and coun&s;ell, (for gold may not be counted able to deliuer vs from the hands of our ene|mies) rather than an armie mu&s;tred of women and children, of the f&eacute;eble, &s;illy,
<PB REF="49" MS="y"> halt, blind, maimed, aged, impotent, fre|quenting the church or churches, giuing them&s;elues ouer to all holines, fighting by prayer, and both inwardly and outwardly vniting, and gathering together in <HI>Chri&s;t Ie&s;us</HI> our Sauiour. <HI>Leonidas</HI> &s;aid it was better to goe into the field with an armie of harts, a lyon being their captain, then ha|uing but a hart to be their captaine, though all the armie were of lyons. Againe the &s;ame <HI>Leonidas</HI> again&s;t the <HI>Per&s;ians,</HI> &s;&eacute;eing his &s;ouldiers inioying their dinners ouer|much: <HI>Sic inquit prandete milites, tanquam apud inferos coenaturi.</HI> I pray my &s;ouldiers, (&s;aith he) &s;o take your dinners, as they which are to &s;upp in their graues. For let not any thinke it a friuolous compari&s;on; betw&eacute;ene this f&eacute;eble ho&s;t gathering to prai|er at home, and a mighty armie euen law|fully &s;et out again&s;t forreine enemies. For if <HI>Leonidas</HI> iudgment be allowed, that the hope of the victorie re&s;teth in the captaine, and that &s;ouldiers &s;hould eate and drinke as beholding death before the eies: Let vs protect our &s;elues,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Apoc. 19.</NOTE> with that captaine that goeth out conquering, and to ouercome, who&s;e eyes are as a flame of fire, on who&s;e head are many crownes; who&s;e ve&s;ture is
<PB REF="50" MS="y"> dipt in bloud; who&s;e name is called <HI>the word of God;</HI> out of who&s;e mouth goeth a &s;harpe &s;word, who treadeth the wine fatt of the fiercene&s;&s;e and wrath of al|mightie God; who hath on his ve&s;ture, and on his thigh a name written, <HI>King of kings, and Lord of Lords;</HI> vnder this cap|taine we &s;hall obtaine a corruptible crown or incorruptible; if after <HI>Leonidas</HI> coun|&s;ell we dine and &s;up: that is, if we liue as men &s;till &s;ubiect to death: according to that &s;aying of the Apo&s;tle:<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 15.10.</NOTE> <HI>Why &s;tand wee in ieopardie euery houre? by our reioycing which I haue in Chri&s;t Ie&s;us our Lord, I die daily: If I haue fought with bea&s;ts at Ephe|&s;us after the manner of men, what aduanta|geth it me if the dead ri&s;e not? let vs eat and drinke, for to morrow we &s;hall die.</HI> In the&s;e words by the way, all Athei&s;me and Epi|curi&s;me are condemned: in the meane &s;ea|&s;on &s;&eacute;e in <HI>S. Paul</HI> a patterne of a good &s;er|uant and &s;ouldier of <HI>Ie&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> he &s;tan|deth in ieopardie euery houre; he dyeth daily; he fighteth with the bea&s;ts, either in d&eacute;ed by way of puni&s;hment, or &s;piritu|ally with vnrea&s;onable men, <HI>quorum non e&s;t fides:</HI> for &s;o he calleth &s;uch as had no faith in them. Our very life is a warfare vpon
<PB REF="50" MS="y"> the earth, our chri&s;tian life a double war|farre and extreame danger: A thr&eacute;efold knott is not ea&s;ily broken; the <HI>Per&s;ians,</HI> (that is our deadlie&s;t enemies) are com|ming vpon vs: it is not <HI>Cales</HI> or <HI>Callis,</HI> or &s;ome few townes in <HI>England, Spaine,</HI> or <HI>Ireland,</HI> &s;acked or ruinated, that are all the mi&s;eries we haue to expect in the&s;e bitter warrs, threatned to all the world. If it be too much to be intangled with the affaires of this life at any time? if we be not crow|ned at any time vnle&s;&s;e we &s;triue lawfully? if we may at no time eate or drinke with|out mea&s;ure? if alwaies we mu&s;t looke to our meats and drinks, that they be within mea&s;ure of health and ab&s;tinent behauior? How much rather &s;hould men beware of &s;candalous implications, vnlawfull &s;tri|uings, inordinate diets, and become mo&s;t temperate in our meats, mo&s;t mode&s;t in our behauiour; but aboue all things mo&s;t innocent in our doings, mo&s;t penitent for our offences, and mo&s;t readie for amend|ment of life; when &s;eeing death approcheth, if not to night or to morrow, (yet as it is commonly &s;aid) within a day or two, or (as it may be truely &s;aid, (within a moneth or two, or a yeare or two: Becau&s;e deaths
<PB REF="51" MS="y"> that are &s;odaine, are in warrs mo&s;t dread|fully, and mo&s;t ineuitably to be looked for; if this iudgement of death were according to the wi&s;edome of chri&s;tian men receiued, I might &s;&eacute;eke to arme our &s;ouldiers, (figh|ting only vnder the banner of <HI>Chri&s;t Ie&s;us</HI>) again&s;t the feare of death; as al&s;o again&s;t &s;inne and &s;athan, with all other gho&s;tly and inui&s;ible temptations: but now I haue, on|ly with the bitter remembrance of death, to bring if I could, men &s;eeking re&s;t and comfort in their &s;ub&s;tance and riches, ha|uing nothing to vexe them, hauing pro&s;pe|ritie, and which are well able to receiue their meats, and to thinke better of their mortallitie and &s;infull natures, and there|by to ioine with the godly and poore &s;aints, &s;triuing in all &s;upplications and prayers a|gain&s;t &s;inne, death, and &s;athan; knowing them&s;elues to bee &s;ubiect to death, with all other temptations a&s;well as all others. Death is the iudgement ouer all fle&s;h, &amp; as it a&s;keth not how long one hath liued,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eccle. 41.</NOTE> as whether <HI>10.</HI> or a <HI>100.</HI> or a <HI>1000.</HI> y&eacute;eres: &s;o it a&s;keth not whether one haue hundreds or thou&s;ands of riches, or how much he hath? I doe not &s;&eacute;e but this time is more dread|full to &s;uch, then to the poore and n&eacute;edie, and
<PB REF="51" MS="y"> therefore they might be armed the rather again&s;t the lo&s;&s;e of this life, but that they neither thinke of death, neither can they &s;ee that their dayes are &s;hort and euill; wher|in they are found not onely vnarmed, but al&s;o vnclothed of all holy wi&s;edome; &s;ome nice or curious armour, as them&s;elues, &s;o other men wi&s;h to them, not vnlike <HI>Vul|canes</HI> harne&s;&s;e which <HI>Homer</HI> faineth to be deui&s;ed for <HI>Achilles:</HI> For touching his own harne&s;&s;e, <HI>Patroclus</HI> lo&s;t it when he fought with <HI>Hector:</HI> for euen &s;o the fir&s;t or &s;econd time they fought in fle&s;h and bloud, &s;inne and the world, they lo&s;t their harne&s;&s;e. <HI>Qui non potuit primas partes prudentiae, re|cipiat &s;ecundas poenitentiae.</HI> &s;aith <HI>S. Augu&s;tine.</HI> Hee that could not with&s;tand at fir&s;t by wi&s;edome, let him &s;tand at la&s;t by repen|tance. We cal you from fle&s;hly and world|ly wi&s;edome, to godly wi&s;edome, repen|tance, prayer, with all other holine&s;&s;e, a&s;|well as your poore brethren: for wee haue no other wedding garment, no other clo|thing, no other armour for you, but the &s;ame which we name. S&eacute;eke not with <HI>A|lexander</HI> for <HI>Ari&s;totle;</HI> with <HI>Cae&s;ar</HI> for <HI>Se|neca;</HI> with <HI>Pau&s;anias</HI> for <HI>Simonides.</HI> Re|member that <HI>Abraham</HI> &s;aith to the rich
<PB REF="52"> man in the parable: <HI>They haue Mo&s;es and the Prophets. If they heare not them, though one came from dead, they would not beleeue.</HI> Be humble and m&eacute;eke with <HI>Dauid;</HI> appeare not &s;till with <HI>Saul,</HI> as though ye were by the head and &s;houlders higher then all your brethren. <HI>S. Paul</HI> doth arme a chri&s;tian &s;ouldier, <HI>Ephe&s;ians 6.</HI> reade the place, con&s;ider it, put on the ar|mour with your brethren, they are your fellow &s;ouldiers and fellowe &s;eruants in Chri&s;t Ie&s;us. <HI>S. Augu&s;tine</HI> writing to <HI>S. Ierome,</HI> alleadgeth this place of &s;cripture, and layeth to him &s;ome others out of the bookes of the Kings, P&s;almes, and Chro|nicles which are materiall and incident to the thing we &s;&eacute;eke for, which I thought good to cite at large, his words bee the&s;e: <HI>No&s;tra armatura Christi e&s;t, &amp; Apo&s;toli Pauli in&s;titutio. A&s;&s;umite armaturam Dei, vt po&s;&s;itis re&s;i&s;tere in die malo; &amp; rur&s;us &s;tate &s;uc|cincti lumbos ve&s;tros in veritate, &amp; induti lo|ricam iu&s;titiae, &amp; calceati pedes in praeparatio|nem Euangelij pacis; &s;uper omnia accipien|tes &s;cutum fidei, in quo po&s;&s;itis vniuer&s;a tela maligni ignita extinguere; &amp; galeam &s;alutis accipite, &amp; gladium &s;piritus, quod e&s;t verbum Dei: His quondam telis, Rex Dauid armatus
<PB REF="52"> procedebat ad praelium, &amp; quinque lapides de torrente accipiens leuigatos, nihil a&s;peritatis, &amp; &s;ordium inter huius &s;aeculi turbines in &s;en&s;i|bus &s;uis e&s;&s;e mon&s;trabat; bibens de torrente in via, &amp; ideirco exaltatus caput, &s;uperbi&s;&s;i|mum Goliah &s;uo poti&s;&s;imum mucrone trun|cauit: percutiens in fronte bla&s;phemum &amp; in ea parte corporis vulneratus, in qua, &amp; pre|&s;umptor &s;acerdotij Ozias lepra percutitur, &amp; &s;anctus gloriatur in domino, dicens; &s;ignatum e&s;t &s;uper nos lumen vultus tui domine. Dicamus igitur &amp; nos, Paratum e&s;t cor meum, Deus pa|ratum cor meum, cantabo, &amp; p&s;allam in glo|ria mea; exurge P&s;alterium, &amp; cithara, exur|gam diluculo: vt in nobis po&s;&s;it impleri: Aperi os tuum, &amp; ego adimplebo illud, &amp; dominus dabit verbum Euangelizantibus virtute mul|ta:</HI> and againe after a few &s;entences, con|teining familiar matter betw&eacute;ene <HI>S. Ie|rome</HI> and him&s;elfe, he addeth: <HI>Et in Para|lipomenon libro legimus quod filij I&s;rael, ad pugnandum proce&s;&s;erint mente pacifica, inter ip&s;os quoque gladios, &amp; effu&s;iones &s;anguinis, &amp; cadauera pro&s;tratorum, non &s;uam &s;ed pacis victoriam cogitantes.</HI> Our armour is Chri&s;t &s;aith <HI>S. Augu&s;tine,</HI> and the Apo&s;tles infor|mation in the &s;ixt of the <HI>Ephe&s;ians: Take vnto you the armour of God, that yee may
<PB REF="53"> be able to re&s;i&s;t in the euill day;</HI> and again, <HI>&s;tand therefore, hauing your loynes girt a|bout with the truth, and hauing on the bre&s;tplate of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and your feete &s;hod to the preparation of the Go&s;pel of peace: aboue all, taking the &s;hield of faith, wherwith ye may quench al the firie darts of the wicked; &amp; take the helmet of &s;aluation, and the &s;word of the &s;pirit which is the word of God.</HI> With the&s;e weapons king <HI>Dauid</HI> being armed went to the battell, and ta|king &s;moth &s;tones out of the riuer, &s;hewed there was no roughne&s;&s;e, or myre of this world in his &s;en&s;es; drinking of the riuer in the way, and therefore hauing lift vp his head, &s;lew the mo&s;t proud <HI>Golias</HI> with his owne &s;word, &s;triking the bla&s;phemer in the browe, and wounding him in that part of the body, in the which <HI>Ozias</HI> pre|&s;uming the Prie&s;ts office, was &s;tricken with a lepro&s;ie, and the holy one glorieth in the Lord, &s;aying: <HI>The light of thy coun|tenance is &s;ealed vpon vs. Let vs therefore &s;ay al&s;o, my heart is fixed O God, my heart is fixed, I will &s;ing and giue prai&s;e; Awake lute and harpe, I my &s;elfe will awake right early; that it may be fulfilled in vs, (open thy mouth, and I will fill it:) God gaue
<PB REF="53" MS="y"> the word, great was the number of prea|chers.</HI> And al&s;o we reade in the Chroni|cles, that the children went out to fight with a peaceable minde, in the midde&s;t of &s;words, and effu&s;ions of bloud, and car|ka&s;&s;es of men lying on the ground, not minding their owne, but the victorie of peace. The&s;e &s;criptures <HI>S. Augu&s;tin</HI> wrigh|teth to <HI>Saint Ierome,</HI> to no other intent, but that their contention about certaine que&s;tions, and writings might proc&eacute;ede without bitterne&s;&s;e: This armour allead|ged by <HI>S. Augu&s;tine</HI> out of the <HI>6.</HI> of the <HI>E|phe&s;ians</HI> is well knowne, as al&s;o the hi&s;to|rie of <HI>Goliah</HI> in the fir&s;t and &s;euent&eacute;ene of <HI>Samuell:</HI> likewi&s;e the lepro&s;ie of <HI>Ozias</HI> the king for v&s;urping the prie&s;ts office, <HI>2. Chr, 26.</HI> Now wheras <HI>S. Augu&s;tine</HI> vpon this, that the lepro&s;ie &s;prang in the kings fore|heade, compares it with <HI>Dauids</HI> &s;tone, which &s;unck into <HI>Goliahs</HI> forehead, allead|ging al&s;o out of the <HI>P&s;almes. <HI>Signatu~ lumen vultus tui. &amp;c.</HI></HI> As the conceit is both from his matter and ours: &s;o wee may ob&s;erue his &s;uper&s;titious ob&s;eruation of the letter, as though the brow were any p&eacute;ece of the matter, either in <HI>Ozias</HI> or <HI>Goliah,</HI> more then y^t their fal was more &s;hameful and ap|parant.
<PB REF="54" MS="y"> We n&eacute;ed not feare to affirme that there were many &s;uper&s;titions, defects and errours in the auncient fathers, which as we reuerence notwith&s;tanding, &s;o we haue good cau&s;e to marueile that the weakne&s;&s;e of godly preachers, and writers is not better borne in this age: <HI>Errare po&s;&s;um, hae|reticus e&s;&s;e nolo.</HI> So long as men are found neither erronious or hereticall, wherefore &s;hould not our truth ouerpoy&s;e our defects: whereas they, notwith&s;tanding their &s;u|per&s;titions (for I will not &s;ay here&s;ies) are allowed, and honored. But le&s;t I &s;hould enter vpon new matter: <HI>S. Augu&s;tine</HI> ci|ting the whole booke of the <HI>Chronicles,</HI> for the victorie of peace, &s;ought for in the time of warrs; alleadgeth as though at &s;omtime the children of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> went into the fielde with a mind, minding peace, which peace among the carka&s;&s;es of dead men and effu|&s;ion of bloud, they retayned; within that &s;ence &s;o much to his purpo&s;e and ours, to &s;ay the truth, I find not in all the booke of <HI>Chronicles:</HI> in &s;t&eacute;ede whereof, we may al|leadge for our examples, the hi&s;tories of king <HI>A&s;a, Io&s;aphat, Ezekias,</HI> which by prai|ers rather than by arms, preuailed again&s;t their enemies. So were the <HI>Egyptians,</HI> the
<PB REF="54" MS="y"> <HI>Moabites,</HI> and <HI>Amonites, Zenacherib</HI> and the <HI>A&s;sirians</HI> deliuered into the hands of the king of <HI>Iudah,</HI> the manner of which kings, in their going out to battell, the forme of their prayers, with the re&s;t that belonged to the &s;anctifying of the warres would not be omitted: But that for the in|&s;truction of godly captaines, armies, and &s;ouldiers, the whole bookes of the Kings, &s;hould rather with <HI>S. Augu&s;tine</HI> be allead|ged, then an act or two. As though they ex|c&eacute;eded that &s;hould doe it; or as though it were le&s;&s;e then dutiful, to performe the like feare of God; or as though it were mo&s;t &s;hamefull and perilous to aduenture king|domes, peoples, armies, cities, townes, villages, and the liues of men, vpon mens witts or &s;tratagemes. As one therfore who may not doubt, but our captaines, with their armies performe this pietie and feare of God, in their attempts and enterpri&s;es, I mu&s;t call vpon per&s;ons addicted to their home and peace, to ioyne in prayer with their brethren, that are in the field. Thinke not (dearely beloued in our Sauiour <HI>Ie&s;us Chri&s;t</HI>) but that faith with prayer, and true holine&s;&s;e, is of greate&s;t &s;trength to &s;ubdue all our vi&s;ible or inui&s;ible, our gho&s;tly or
<PB REF="55" MS="y"> mortal enemies. Giue me leaue to borrow word for word, that famous &s;aying of the authour to the <HI>Hebrewes,</HI> &s;peaking in this wi&s;e:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 11.</NOTE> <HI>What &s;hall I &s;ay more? For the time would faile me to rehear&s;e of Gideon, Ba|ruch and of Samp&s;on, and of Iephtah, of Dauid al&s;o, and Samuel, and of the pro|phets, which through faith &s;ubdued king|domes, wrought righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, obteyned the promi&s;es, &s;topped the mouthes of lyons quenched the violence of fire, e&s;caped the edge of the &s;word, out of weakene&s;&s;e were made valiant in fight, turned to flight the ar|mies of the aliants.</HI> Hereof we &s;&eacute;e, that faith whereunto wee are recommended by the Apo&s;tle, as it is neuer intempe&s;tiue, &s;o is it as I had almo&s;t alleadged, be&s;t in &s;ea&s;on, when kings or aliaunts offer violence by warres: for is it not faith which maketh vs to approch and draw n&eacute;ere to our Lord God: who maketh warres to cea&s;e in all the world? is it not he that breaketh the bowe and knappeth the &s;peare in &s;under? Is there any king that can be &s;aued by the multitude of an ho&s;t; or is there any man deliuered, by much &s;trength? &s;hall it bee doubted to whom it is &s;aide at this day; <HI>I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee
<PB REF="55"> out of the land of Egypt,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 33.</NOTE> <HI>Open thy mouth wide, and I &s;hall fill it:</HI> and, <HI>Oh that my peo|ple would haue hearkened vnto me; for if I&s;rael had walked in my waies I &s;hould &s;oon haue put downe their enemies,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 81.</NOTE> <HI>and turned my hand again&s;t their aduer&s;aries; the ha|ters of the Lord &s;hould haue beene found lyars, but their time &s;hould haue indured for euer: he &s;hould haue fedde them al&s;o with the fine&s;t wheat flower, and with honie out of the &s;tony rock &s;hold I haue &s;atisfied thee.</HI> But in &s;teed of al y^t might &s;hew the Lord to giue victorie to whom it plea&s;eth him, and that which is not denyed in d&eacute;ede, but would bee better waighed, before menns &s;tratagems be intended or atchiued, that the Lord of ho&s;ts is the mightie&s;t captaine, of greate&s;t coun&s;ell and &s;trength; let the godly often meditate in the <HI>28.</HI> of <HI>Deutero|nomie,</HI> the comminations and con&s;olati|ons by <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> contemplating, to whom with all the re&s;t, this is threatned. <HI>If thou hearken not vnto the voyce of the Lord thy God, to keepe and doe all his commande|ments and his ordinances which I com|maund thee: cur&s;ed &s;halt thou bee, when thou goe&s;t out, and cur&s;ed when thou com|me&s;t in: the Lord &s;hall cau&s;e thee to fall be|fore
<PB REF="56"> thine enemies; thou &s;halt come out one way again&s;t them, and flee &s;euen waies be|fore them, and &s;halt be &s;cattered among all kingdomes of the earth; thy carka&s;&s;es &s;halbe meat, &amp;c.</HI> again, <HI>If thou &s;halt hearke~ dilige~t|ly vnto the voice of the Lord thy God, and ob&s;erue and doe all his commaundements which I commaund thee this day: ble&s;&s;ed &s;halt thou be in the citie, and ble&s;&s;ed in the field; the Lord &s;hall giue ouer thine ene|mies that ri&s;e again&s;t thee, that they may fall before thy face, they &s;hall come out again&s;t thee one way, and flee before thee &s;euen ways.</HI> The&s;e promi&s;es and puni&s;hments being outwardly conceiued; are to be read <HI>con&s;olabilit&egrave;r,</HI> not <HI>certitudinalit&egrave;r:</HI> that is, not as certaine, but by way of con&s;olation: for the &s;tate of chri&s;tianite, and the very age of the world, doth promi&s;e rather ru|ines and troubles, then victories or other glorie to the children of God. For &s;hall w&eacute;e put you in hope, that (if in a citie or towne readie to be &s;acked and be&s;ieged, men har|ken at that in&s;tant more diligently to the voyce of God, and ob&s;erue his commaun|dements, and re&s;ort to publike prayer, namely on the Sabboth dayes, wedne&s;|daies, and Fridaies; than at al other times,
<PB REF="56" MS="y"> with better mind, and deuotions) God &s;hal &s;pare that towne or citie? No, but prote|&s;ting that conque&s;ts and ruines, felicities and mi&s;eries, depend of the Lord of ho&s;tes: wee will that his angell &s;hould find &s;ome bloud &s;princkled, either vpon the po&s;tes of our hou&s;es, or the me&s;&s;enger hauing on li|nen rayment, and (as it is in the eight of <HI>Ezekiel</HI>) a writers horne by his &s;ide, going through our cities, &s;hould &s;et a mark in our foreheads, le&s;t not being found to bee of tho&s;e which mourne and are &s;orie, for all the abhominations that are done in that citie, the heauie&s;t wrath light vpon vs. B&eacute;e not like the <HI>I&s;raelits,</HI> which e&s;t&eacute;emed <HI>Mannah</HI> too little, and the quailes too much: For it is written: that while the quailes were in their mouthes, the Lord &s;lew the wealthie&s;t of them. Be not like <HI>E&s;au,</HI> who e&s;t&eacute;emed his porridg and hunting too much, and his birthright too little: For it is left written, that by hunting, and for a me&s;&s;e of porridge, he lo&s;t his birthright: It is wel known, that faith, prayers, with other ho|ly exerci&s;es, are loathed as light bread. Are ye not in this like <HI>Naaman,</HI> that great man and captaine of the ho&s;t of the king of <HI>Syria,</HI> who when <HI>Elizeus</HI> had &s;aid: <HI>Wa&s;h thee &s;e|uen
<PB REF="57" MS="y"> times in Iordan, and thou &s;halt be clen|&s;ed:</HI> he became wroth, and &s;aid: <HI>Behold, I thought he will &s;urely come out, and &s;tand and call vppon the name of the Lord his God, and put his hands on the place, that he may heale the lepro&s;ie. Are not Abana and Pharphar, riuers of Dama&s;co, better than all the waters of I&s;rael: If I wa&s;h me al|&s;o in them, &s;hall I not be clean&s;ed?</HI> And is not this the arrogant and pre&s;umptuous mindes of the worldly, which preferreth <HI>Abanah</HI> and <HI>Pharphar,</HI> that is, the riuers of <HI>Dama&s;co,</HI> euen the coun&s;els, and the &s;trengths of the world, before the waters of <HI>Iordan;</HI> that is, before the coun&s;els and &s;trength of the Lord. And where is it that <HI>Naaman</HI> thinks, that the Prophet &s;hould &s;tand forth and pray to his God for him? whence had <HI>Pharaoh</HI> to wi&s;h <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> and <HI>Aaron</HI> to pray, that &s;uch and &s;uch things &s;hould not light vpon him?<NOTE PLACE="marg">3. Reg. 12.</NOTE> whence had <HI>Ie|roboam</HI> to &s;ay to the man of God: <HI>pray that my hand may be re&s;tored:</HI> For though it may doe wel, and there is &s;ome difference; yet the delight is not good. Ought yee not to pray for your &s;elues? no altars, no &s;acri|fices of your owne? vnder&s;tand ye not that yeare a royall prie&s;thood, a cho&s;en genera|tion?
<PB REF="57" MS="y"> or vnde&s;tand it we feare ye doe, but <HI>doctrinaliter</HI> not <HI>di&s;ciplinaliter:</HI> by way of do|ctrine, to improue an here&s;ie; but not by way of di&s;cipline to enforme your &s;elues: y&eacute;e &s;ay we are no prie&s;ts; we &s;ay ye are no kings; yet ioyning both together we &s;ay, both by way of doctrine, as al&s;o by way of di&s;cipline, that yee are both kings and prie&s;ts. <HI>Vnu&s;quisque regem gerit in pectore,</HI> Euery man is a king in his owne conceit. In this &s;ence they are kings,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Pet. 2.</NOTE> or as <HI>S. Peter</HI> &s;peaketh. <HI>Pre&s;umptuous they are, and &s;tand in their owne conceite, and being led with &s;en&s;ualitie, &s;peake out &s;welling words of va|nitie, making vp their kingdomes with ra|ging and &s;welling:</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;aie 57.</NOTE> <HI>foming out</HI> as S. Iude &s;peaketh <HI>their owne &s;hame. The wicked haue no peace,</HI> &s;aith the prophet, <HI>but are like the raging &s;ea that cannot re&s;t, who&s;e water fometh with myre and grauell.</HI> It is in the eight of <HI>E&s;ay: Fora&s;much as this peo|ple refu&s;eth the &s;till running water of Silo, and put their delight in Razin and Romeli|as &s;onne: Behold the Lord &s;hall bring migh|ty &amp; great flouds of water vpon the~, namely the king of the A&s;&s;yrians with all his power, which &s;hall clime vp vpon all his flouds, and run ouer all his banks; and &s;hall breake in
<PB REF="58"> vpon Iudah, he &s;hal flow &amp; pa&s;&s;e through, til he come vp to the necke; he &s;hal fill al&s;o the widene&s;&s;e of thy land with his winges.</HI> If it be lawful to compare <HI>England</HI> with <HI>Iudah,</HI> and our enemies with the <HI>A&s;sirians?</HI> Are there not two or thr&eacute;e &s;moking firebrands: (for &s;o are the two kings of <HI>Ephraim</HI> and <HI>A&s;syria,</HI> named in the &s;euenth of <HI>I&s;aie</HI>) at who&s;e rage and furiou&s;nes our hearts may quake, yea and the hearts of all the people; like as the tr&eacute;es of the wood are moued with the wind? may we not to &s;uch end, cite that mi&s;ticall birth and name of <HI>I&s;aie</HI> the Pro|phets &s;onne, who was commaunded of the Lord at his conception to call him <GAP DESC="foreign"> which word for word is as much as, Make &s;p&eacute;ed to the pray, make ha&s;t to the &s;poile. And wherefore this name &s;hould bee giuen to the child, it followeth. <HI>Or euer the child &s;hall haue knowledge to cry my father and mother, &s;hall the riches of Dama&s;cus, and the &s;poile of Samaria be taken away,</HI> or as we may otherwi&s;e reade: <HI>The &s;ouldier &s;hall take away the riches of Dama&s;cus, and the people of Samaria, from the face of the king of the A&s;sirians.</HI> Inden|ted therefore it was and regi&s;tred, in the name of the child, that <HI>Dama&s;cus, Samaria</HI>
<PB REF="58" MS="y"> and <HI>Iudah</HI> which followeth, were within a &s;hort time, as within a yeare or two, to ex|pect the greate&s;t inua&s;ion from <HI>Rezin</HI> king of <HI>A&s;hur,</HI> which inua&s;ion or inua&s;ions, are compared to great floudes of water: ac|cording to the interpretation in the <HI>Apo|calips, <HI>Aquae multae; tribulationes multae:</HI></HI> Many waters, many troubles. Nowe &s;hould <HI>England</HI> &s;ay with the prophet, <HI>Indi|ca nos domine, de terra non &s;ancta.</HI> Iudge O Lord betweene vs and an vnholy nation: for wee may not &s;till, eyther compare our &s;elues with <HI>I&s;rael</HI> or <HI>Iudah</HI> or forreine ene|mies, with the <HI>Aegyptians,</HI> or the <HI>A&s;&s;irians;</HI> but onely that this mo&s;t propheticall and mi&s;ticall name of the child, may remem|ber vs, in what &s;tate or daunger we are in, from our enemies, who are &s;o neare to <HI>England,</HI> e&s;pecially &s;ome of them, that they are to &s;ay one to another; Make ha&s;t to the pray, make &s;p&eacute;ede to the &s;poile. And as <HI>Cato</HI> that ancient <HI>Romain,</HI> &s;hewed a gr&eacute;en figge from <HI>Carthage</HI> in the <HI>Senat</HI> of <HI>Rome;</HI> &s;hewing that the citie of <HI>Carthage</HI> was too n&eacute;ere <HI>Rome</HI> for the <HI>Romaines</HI> to bee &s;ecure of them: So <HI>England</HI> is to be remembred, how neare our enemies are, howe readie lacking but opportunitie, to offer both <HI>Bel|lum
<PB REF="59" MS="y"> &amp; latrocinium,</HI> or (if it hath bin pre&s;u|med, for it is too late to pre&s;ume it nowe) that they are not able to offer iu&s;t warrs: yet wherefore &s;hould not wa&s;ting and &s;poi|ling be feared, as menacing detriment and de&s;truction to the innocent &s;ubiect, in &s;o much as that or euer the childe that is new borne, haue knowledge to cry: My father, and my mother, the riches of our regions, or &s;poyle of our cities, or at lea&s;t our villa|ges, and euen the hou&s;es, wiues, children, with other goods and cattels, of our fellow &s;ubiects, lie open to extreame ruin and dan|ger. Here I haue nothing to doe with <HI>Ver|res</HI> and <HI>Lucullus,</HI> two <HI>Roman</HI> captaines, of whom complaint was made; that their comming into the <HI>Roman</HI> prouinces, were &s;o burdenous to their confederats, that the detriments from them, differed not much from the depopulations or extortions of true enemies: according to that &s;aying. <HI>Cur ho&s;tis Hannibal, &s;i tu ciuis?</HI> Wherefore &s;hould <HI>Hannibal</HI> be counted an aduer&s;ary? if he be a true citizen that extorteth, oppre&s;|&s;eth, or wa&s;teth, either the &s;ubiect or confe|derate. Whereof our Lord doth prote&s;t and te&s;tifie by <HI>Ieremie,</HI> &s;aying: <HI>Amend your waies and your coun&s;els; oppre&s;&s;e not the
<PB REF="59"> &s;tranger, the fatherle&s;&s;e, &amp; widow, and then will I let you dwell in this place. But take heed ye tru&s;t not in lying tales, that beguile you, and doe you no good; for when yee haue &s;tollen, murthered, committed adul|tery and periury, &s;hall yee be vnpuni&s;hed? yet then come yee &amp; &s;tand before me in this hou&s;e, which hath my name giuen vnto it, and &s;ay: tu&s;h, we are ab&s;olued quite, al|though we haue committed all the&s;e abho|minations. Goe to my place in Siloe; and &s;eeing yee haue done all the&s;e deeds, (&s;aith the Lord) therefore as I haue done vnto Si|loe, &s;o will I doe with this hou&s;e, and I &s;hall thru&s;t you out of my &s;ight.</HI> In this place the Prophet te&s;tifieth, that it is vaine to hold of the temple of the Lord, to offer &s;a|crifices, to k&eacute;epe his &s;abboths, vnle&s;&s;e the oppre&s;&s;our cea&s;e from his tyrannie, the &s;wearer from periurie, the murtherer from bloud, the theefe from &s;tealing, the adulte|rer from fornication; by the which wee may vnder&s;tand (a&s;well as if they were &s;pecified) all other euils and abhominati|ons. I haue not cho&s;en to crie out of the&s;e things, but vpon the carele&s;&s;e and &s;ecure, though giltle&s;&s;e of the&s;e notorious abhomi|nations; to the&s;e notwith&s;tanding, becau&s;e
<PB REF="60"> charitie hopeth all things, and indureth all things.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cor. 13.</NOTE> I &s;end two or three Scriptures wherein they may examine them&s;elues, whether &s;uch enormities as are regi&s;tred there, be found within them&s;elues. In the <HI>58.</HI> of <HI>E&s;ay: They &s;eeke me daily, and will know my waies, euen as it were a people that did right.</HI> Of whom it is demaunded in the <HI>58. P&s;alme: Are your mindes &s;et vpon righteou&s;nes O ye congregation, or do yee iudge the thing that is right, O ye &s;onnes of men? Yea, yee imagine mi&s;chiefe in your hearts vpon the earth, and your hands deale with wickedne&s;&s;e.</HI> In the fift of Ieremie, <HI>This people</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>hath a fal&s;e and ob&s;ti|nate heart, they are departed and gone a|way from me, they think not in their hearts: Oh let vs feare the Lord our God, that gi|ueth vs raine early and late, which keepeth &s;till the harue&s;t yearely: Neuerthele&s;&s;e your mi&s;deedes haue turned the&s;e things from you, from among my people are found wic|ked per&s;ons, that priuily lay &s;nares and wait for men to take them, and de&s;troy them; and like as a net is full of birdes, &s;o are their hou&s;es full of that which they haue gotten, with fal&s;hood and deceit. Hereof com|meth their great &s;ub&s;tance and riches;
<PB REF="60"> heereof are they fatte and wealthy, and runne away from me with &s;hameful bla&s;phe|mies; they mini&s;ter not the law, they make no ende of the fatherle&s;&s;e cau&s;e, they iudge not the poore according to equitie. Should I not puni&s;h for the&s;e things &s;aith the Lord, or &s;hould not my &s;oule be auenged of &s;uch a nation as this?</HI></P>
<P>A very gla&s;&s;e it is, a&s;well for priuate per&s;ons, as al&s;o for whole congregati|ons, townes, cities and countries, which is left in the <HI>22.</HI> of <HI>Ezechiel</HI> concer|ning <HI>Ieru&s;alem: Thus &s;aith the Lord: O thou citie that &s;hedde&s;t bloud in the mid&s;t of thee, that thy time may come al&s;o when thou ha&s;t cau&s;ed thy day to draw nigh, and made the time of thy yeares to come, there|fore the Lord wil make thee to be confoun|ded among the heathen, and to be de&s;pi&s;ed in all the lands. In thee haue they oppre&s;|&s;ed the &s;traunger; in thee haue they vexed the widdowe, and fatherle&s;&s;e; in thee haue they di&s;pi&s;ed father and mother; thou ha&s;t de&s;pi&s;ed my holy things, and defiled my &s;abboths; tale-tellers are there in thee to &s;hed bloud; in thee are &s;uch as eate vppon the hills, and in thee they commit fornicati|on; in thee they di&s;couer their fathers &s;hame;
<PB REF="61"> in thee they haue humbled her that was &s;et a part for pollution: euery man hath dealt &s;hamefully with his neighbours wife, and abhominable defiled his daughter in lawe; in thee hath euery man forced his owne &s;i|&s;ter, euen his fathers daughter: thou ha&s;t taken v&s;urie and encrea&s;e, thou ha&s;t oppre&s;|&s;ed thy neighbours by extortion, and for|gotten me (&s;aith the Lord God) Behold I haue &s;mitten my hands, vpon thy couetou&s;|nes that thou ha&s;t v&s;ed, and vpon the bloud which hath beene &s;hedde in thee: Is thine heart able to endure? or may thy hands be &s;trengthened, in the daies that I &s;hall haue to doe with thee?</HI> To the&s;e two &s;criptures I referre thee; the one in the <HI>22.</HI> of <HI>Ezekiel,</HI> the other in the &s;euenth of <HI>Ieremie,</HI> for ex|horting all &s;orts to zealous prayer, to the k&eacute;eping of the Lords Sabboths, to heartie and true repentance, and (to &s;peake all at once) to awake men out of that deadly &s;l&eacute;ep of &s;ecuritie, becau&s;e of the&s;e mo&s;t perilous times; I &s;hould but flatter, and men &s;hould but flatter them&s;elues, if they &s;hould think by fa&s;ting or prayer, w&eacute;eping and mour|ning, or any other oblation or &s;acrifice, they might either turne the wrath of God from them to cea&s;e from puni&s;hing, or become
<PB REF="61" MS="y"> reconciled vnto his mercifull fauour and kindne&s;&s;e: vnle&s;&s;e where there is a fire of euill, as of enuie and maliciou&s;ne&s;&s;e, wee &s;&eacute;eke to extingui&s;h it; where there is a &s;ink of euill, as of vncharitablene&s;&s;e and coue|tou&s;ne&s;&s;e, wee &s;eeke to exhau&s;t it; where there is a roote of euill, as of pride and am|bition, we &s;&eacute;eke to extirpate it; where there is a &s;torme of euill, as of crueltie and ty|rannie, wee &s;eeke to a&s;wadge it; where there is a bu&s;h-downe of euil, full of bram|bles and bryars, as of frowardne&s;&s;e, wil|fulne&s;&s;e, wrong and vngratiou&s;ne&s;&s;e, w&eacute;e &s;&eacute;eke to grubbe it vp, w&eacute;ede it out, and vt|terly to exile it. Of the&s;e things the pen of the writer, as well as the voyce of the pro|phet, hath exclamed in all ages: But as water is poured out vpon the out&s;ide of a ve&s;&s;ell; as a fire is kindled when no man warmes him&s;elfe at it; as a dinner ordey|ned, when all inuited refu&s;e to come; as when a deafe man is taught, &amp; a dead man is cured: &s;o we are offended: and as <HI>Saint Paul</HI> &s;peaketh, we burne, and are &s;canda|lized, &s;&eacute;eing the indignation and heauie wrath of the almightie, and thereby be&s;ee|ching your e&s;cape, or amendement: for as the prophet &s;aith: <HI>Are your hearts able to
<PB REF="62" MS="y"> endure? are your hands able to &s;trengthen you, in the time which the Lord &s;hall bring vpon you.</HI> Our words or hand-writings what&s;oeuer, take no place in you; &s;hould we therefore cea&s;e to exclaime, that &s;inne and wickednes is the extirpation of cities, townes, armies, realmes, peoples, and kingdomes? &s;hall men, women and chil|dren &s;ay; <HI>in cinere vrbis;</HI> that is, when the citie is become towardes du&s;t and a&s;hes- <HI>Nonne prae&s;ci&s;&s;e oportuit nos antea? Nonne communicatos oportuit?</HI> Should not we haue b&eacute;ene told of the&s;e things before? &s;hould not wee haue b&eacute;ene participated in the&s;e things before? wee are readie therefore to pronounce with <HI>Ionas: <HI>Adhuc</HI> 40. <HI>dies &amp; de&s;truetur Niniueh:</HI></HI> yet fortie dayes and <HI>Niniueh</HI> &s;hall be de&s;troyed; wee are rea|die to vpbraide townes, and cities with our Sauiour, <HI>vae tibi Corazin; vae tibi Beth&s;aida:</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Matt. 11.</NOTE> woe to th&eacute;e <HI>Corazin;</HI> wo to th&eacute;e <HI>Beth&s;aida:</HI> And thou <HI>Capernaum</HI> which art lifted vp to heauen, &s;halt bee throwne downe to hell. But wee challenge the hea|rers and readers patience and kindne&s;&s;e; for mu&s;t wee n&eacute;edes name the cities or townes of our owne natiue countrey? How? for we knowe not which, or which;
<PB REF="62" MS="y"> whether it be this or that towne, citie or village, which the Lord &s;hall vi&s;it; onely let not the day of the Lords vi&s;itation come vpon th&eacute;e vnawares: w&eacute;e turne therefore from multitudes, incorporations, and all dumbe things to &s;uch as haue eares to heare, or eyes to &s;ee, or hearts to vnder|&s;tand, to all which, we &s;ay with our Saui|our: <HI>Walke while yee haue light, the night will come, when no man can walke.</HI> There are but twelue houres of the day: it is al|mo&s;t night, if the be&s;t A&s;tronomers b&eacute;e not deceiued: whether it be &s;o or not; as e|uery man hath a day, &s;o euery mans night commeth vpon him: be it, that the day of our life be twelue houres, or twelue y&eacute;eres of continuance; what man, woman, or childe, may expect twelue yeares of life, where the &s;word deuoureth? Doe we looke for <HI>Ahaz</HI> his dyall, that the degr&eacute;es may goe backward? or many &s;uch daies as <HI>Io|&s;hua</HI> had? For wee reade that one was as long as two, till he might bee auenged of his enemies: or for <HI>Hezechias,</HI> that fift&eacute;ene yeers &s;hould be added to our ages, becau&s;e of all our burnt offerings and &s;acrifices; I know not, but this is all that may be found of the prorogation of mens daies in the
<PB REF="63" MS="y"> &s;criptures: but touching the &s;hortning of the daies of the world in the Go&s;pel; of &s;hortning our owne dayes in the P&s;alms; &s;hould the &s;criptures be alleadged? <HI>praxim mundi allegamus:</HI> mens liues are &s;hortned at all times, and in all places. Who would euer haue thought, that they &s;hould not haue had eagles dayes, who&s;e daies not|with&s;tanding haue b&eacute;ene &s;hortned in our eyes. Death comming, neuer a&s;keth how long we haue liued, or how long we &s;hall liue; but cuts off the threed. The iudgment likewi&s;e of death is all one to few &amp; to ma|ny; for who would euer haue thought that our hundreds and thou&s;ands, which haue peri&s;hed by &s;hipwracks, warrs, &s;trange &s;ickne&s;&s;es, &s;hould to &s;o great a number haue b&eacute;ene &s;hortned of their daies? what is to be thought of hou&s;es, townes, and cities that are yet &s;tanding? <HI>Moenia &s;tant vt &s;ole|bant, plu&s;que re iam ip&s;a, extremam ruinam metuentia.</HI> The walles &s;tand yet as they did before, looking when they &s;hall be bea|ten to the ground. Neither the kings of the earth, nor all the inhabitants of the world, (&s;aith <HI>Ieremie</HI>) would haue beleeued, that the enemie and aduer&s;arie, &s;hould haue come in at the gates of the citie of <HI>Ieru&s;a|lem;</HI>
<PB REF="63"> which neuerthele&s;&s;e is come to pa&s;&s;e for the &s;in of her prophets, and for the wic|kedne&s;&s;e of the prie&s;ts. Here, by example of <HI>Ieru&s;alem,</HI> the prophet &s;heweth that there is no kingdome, citie or &s;tate, though the kings of the earth, and all the inhabitants of the world, would neuer bel&eacute;eue, that it &s;hould be be&s;ieged, vanqui&s;hed or &s;ubdued: yet that it is &s;ubiect to exci&s;ion, extinction and vtter ruine; which drownfall (tou|ching the &s;tates yet permanent) were bet|ter wi&s;edome to doubt of, then fortitude to liue without feare ca&s;ting no perill; for the &s;haking off of &s;uch &s;ecurity, I appeale now to the mini&s;terie: for euen <HI>Ieremie</HI> in this place doth impute it to the &s;inne of her pro|phets, and to the wickednes of her prie&s;ts, that the enemies and aduer&s;aries entred the gates of the citie of <HI>Ieru&s;alem;</HI> then are prie&s;ts al&s;o &amp; prophets as &s;inners a part, matter, and cau&s;e of inua&s;ions, extinctions, and extirpations by warres, or other iudg|ments of the Lord. The prophet ioyning prie&s;ts, prophets, and people together, fin|deth, that horrible and grieuous things were done in the land: whereof he crieth out as he doth often: <HI>Should I not puni&s;h for the&s;e things (&s;aith the Lord?) or &s;hould
<PB REF="64" MS="y"> not my &s;oule be avenged of &s;uch a nation as this?</HI> Neuerthele&s;&s;e, I complaine not of horrible things done, but of holy things left vndone, as well of the prie&s;t as of the people. Yea I complaine that there hath b&eacute;ene nothing done of you in mo&s;t tempe|&s;tuous &s;tormes, by rea&s;on of warres, rebel|lions, and other troubles, more than at all other times; for wherefore doe not the prie&s;ts mourne betw&eacute;ene the temple and the altar? accu&s;ing our doomb and &s;en&s;les incredulitie, taking cau&s;e of the&s;e pitifull times, that they, with the people haue done nothing woorthy, of the Go&s;pell which hath b&eacute;en &s;o many y&eacute;eres preached among vs. Hath the people b&eacute;ene excited and brought to walke woorthy of &s;o heauenly a calling? hath the prie&s;ts re&s;embled the liues of the prophets, Leuits or Nazarits? haue they borne <GAP DESC="foreign">, that is light and integriie in their brea&s;ts? You haue heard of the patience of <HI>Iob</HI> (&s;aith the Apo&s;tle) in imitation whereof; I &s;ay y&eacute;e haue heard, &s;eene, and read of the faith, pa|tience, pietie, and holine&s;&s;e of all the patri|arkes and prophets, wherunto your &s;elues and we all are pre&s;cribed; and what good hath come of it? haue we repented with
<PB REF="64"> the <HI>Niniuits?</HI> haue we fa&s;ted with <HI>Io&s;a|phat?</HI> haue we kept our pa&s;&s;eouer like <HI>Io|&s;ias?</HI> is there any that hath humbled him|&s;elfe with <HI>Mana&s;&s;es?</HI> To conclude, is there any that hath &s;tept forth like <HI>Zacheus,</HI> &s;ay|ing: <HI>Behold I giue halfe that I haue to the poore; and if I haue taken any thing from any man by forged cavillation, I re&s;tore him foure fold.</HI> The&s;e are the fruits of &s;tormes and tempe&s;ts in a common-wealth, or church reformed, or reformable; howbeit, men obliuious through wealthine&s;&s;e, care|le&s;&s;e by cu&s;tome, voide of feare through their long peace and &s;afetie, are not aware of their very dutie to God-ward; neither do they f&eacute;ele the thir&s;t of the &s;oule, whereof the prie&s;ts of God may not be &s;ilent; as if the &s;oule were no theame, whereas it be|hooueth all Chri&s;tians to contemplate ra|ther the &s;oules, than the bodies of a thou|&s;and or a hundred, which haue b&eacute;ene &s;laine in the field, or haue b&eacute;ene buried in the &s;ea; or haue &s;uffered vnprouided death at a &s;kirmi&s;h, &s;iege, vprore, tumult, or violence what&s;oeuer. <HI>I would not haue you igno|rant brethren</HI> (&s;aith &s;aint <HI>Paul) concerning them which &s;leepe, &amp;c.</HI> the whole place of Scripture condemneth, as vtter infidelity;
<PB REF="65" MS="y"> &s;o our incredulitie which &s;&eacute;e, heare, and make report, of &s;acking, razing, &s;hipwrack, and lo&s;&s;e of men: as how three or foure hundreth men (&s;kilful of nauigation) were drowned at &s;uch a time, that foure or fiue thou&s;and verie good &s;ouldiers were flaine at that &s;iege, or at &s;uch a &s;kirmi&s;h; that <HI>flos &amp; robur Italiae,</HI> the &s;lower and &s;trength of <HI>England</HI> is decayed, without remor&s;e, &s;ight, or mention made of the &s;oule. Al|though y^e &s;oule wherof we &s;hould haue ble&s;|&s;ed remembrance, felt no detriment; I &s;ay not in catholike &s;laughters, but euen when the chri&s;tian is faine to put off his gowne, &amp; put on the harnes; in &s;tead of the church, to enter a ca&s;tell; in &s;tead of praying, to fall a fighting: mu&s;t not the &s;oule be &s;till &s;ilent and laid vp for the time, inui&s;ible in the bodie? Doe not men goe forth to warres with their bodies, as though they had no &s;oules? as though in the effu&s;ions of blood, we are not (as it were) taught of the pro|phet,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Amos 6.</NOTE> to &s;ay one to another: <HI>Hold thy toong for we may not remember the name of the Lord.</HI> Therefore among all other calami|ties; what may be compared, with wars, vproars and tumults? which with mo&s;t certaine damage to mens bodies, goods,
<PB REF="65" MS="y"> and liues, inferreth mo&s;t horrible corrup|tions to the &s;oule? for what place or time may there be for the prie&s;t or prophet? for the &s;tatutes, ceremonies, or the v&s;uall &s;a|craments, which with all reuerence ought to be alwaies admini&s;tred and &s;olemni|zed; and therefore how long will it be, or we which are yet in peace, &s;hall fight after the example of <HI>Iudas Machabeus</HI> and his people; rather for the holy citie, &s;anctuarie and temple, then for our kin&s;folkes, wiues, and children? wherein as I referre the Reader to the la&s;t chapter of the <HI>Macha|bees:</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Machab. 15</NOTE> &s;o in this holines a&s;&s;igned to <HI>Iudas Machabeus</HI> I wi&s;h ob&s;erued, the coniuncti|on &s;ought for in this treati&s;e, betw&eacute;ene the &s;ouldiers abroad, and the people at home, for &s;o it followeth in the &s;ame place: <HI>Againe, they that were in the citie, were mo&s;t carefull for tho&s;e which were to fight.</HI> They (&s;aith he) that were in the citie (that is) in peace to vs, but I follow not this as mentioned before. Shortly therefore drawing to an end, Vniuer&s;ities, &s;chooles, the &s;piritualtie or cleargie, as al&s;o citizens, as not the be&s;t &s;ouldiers, I recommend to their gownes or cloaks, &amp; to fall to prayer. As for the cleargie, of whom I haue begun
<PB REF="66" MS="y"> to &s;peake, though per&s;waded of them that they are as &s;aint <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aith of the Ro|manes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 15.</NOTE> <HI>filled with knowledge, able al&s;o to exhort one another:</HI> yet I haue &s;omewhat more boldly to write vnto them in the&s;e words following; as putting them in re|membrance, through the grace that is gi|uen me of God, to what de&s;olation, death and darkenes, the feare of God, true holi|nes and godly knowledge is &s;ubiect: vn|le&s;&s;e if not with <HI>Atlas</HI> they carrie heauen; yet vnle&s;&s;e with the <HI>Leuits</HI> they carrie the Arke of God as it were on their &s;houlders into y^e land of <HI>Canaan.</HI> And fir&s;t, to giue the~ the quicker ta&s;te of the &s;tate, which warres bringeth vpon learned men and church|men: Let it be accepted from &s;aint <HI>Hie|rom,</HI> who writing to &s;aint <HI>Augu&s;tin</HI> in the&s;e words, &s;aith: <HI>Ezechielis volumen, olim ne gredi volui, &amp; &s;pon&s;ionem creberrimam &s;tu|dio&s;is lectoribus reddere, &s;ed in ip&s;o dictandi ex|ordio, ita animus meus, occidentalium provin|ciarum, &amp; maxime vrbis Romanae vasta&s;ione confu&s;us est, vt iuxta vulgare proverbium, proprium quoque ignorare vocabulum, diuque tacui, &s;ciens tempus e&s;&s;e lachrimarum: hoc au|tem animo, cum tres explica&s;&s;em libros, &s;ubi|tus impetus Barbarorum, de quibus tuus di|cit
<PB REF="66" MS="y"> Virgilius: late&abque; vagantes Barb. &amp; &s;ancta &s;criptura de I&s;mahel: contra faciem omnium fratrum &s;uorum habitabit, &s;ic Egypti limitem, Palae&s;tinae Phaenices, Syriae praecurrit in&s;tar tor|rentis, cuncta &s;ecum trahens, vt vix manus eo|rum, mi&s;ericordia Christi potuerimus euadere. Quod &s;i iuxta inclytum oratorem, &s;ilent inter arma leges, quanto magis &s;tudiu~ &s;cripturarum, quod, &amp;c.</HI> which may be this Engli&s;hed. I would once haue &s;et downe the volumne of <HI>Ezechiel,</HI> and pay that which I had of|ten promi&s;ed to &s;tudious Readers: but euen in the beginning whe~ it &s;hould be &s;et downe, my mind was &s;o con&s;ounded with the wa&s;ting of the we&s;t prouinces, and e&s;|pecially of the citie of <HI>Rome,</HI> that after the common prouerb, I al&s;o forget mine owne name, &amp; long I held my peace knowing it to be a time of teares. But this y&eacute;ere when I had explaind <HI>3.</HI> books, the &s;udde~ inua&s;ion of the Barbarians (of whom your <HI>Virgil</HI> &s;aith: <HI>the Barbarians di&s;per&s;ing them&s;elues far &amp; wide:</HI> &amp; the holy Scripture, of <HI>I&s;mael: He &s;hal dwell again&s;t the face of all his bre|thren</HI>) hath &s;o runne ouer the bound of <HI>E|gypt,</HI> of <HI>Pale&s;tine,</HI> of <HI>Phaenices,</HI> of <HI>Syria,</HI> like a full &s;treame drawing all with it, that we were &s;carce able by the mercie of <HI>Chri&s;t,</HI> to
<PB REF="67" MS="y"> e&s;cape their hands. And if it be &s;o, that lawes haue no place in the time of warrs: according to that entire orator, how much more the &s;tudies of the Scriptures? which &amp;c. In vaine it were though I write to the learned, to rip up hi&s;tories concerning <HI>Rome</HI> or other occidentall prouinces, or to &s;hew a re&s;emblance betweene this time, and the &s;tate of the <HI>Aegyptians, Phaenici|ans, Palae&s;tines, Syrians</HI> intended by &s;aint <HI>Hierom:</HI> we may not fall to our bookes when we &s;hall fall a w&eacute;eping, fir&s;t for our owne &s;ins, then for the &s;ins of the people: <HI>&s;cientes e&s;&s;e tempus lachrimarum.</HI> This I in|timate, con&s;idering which I learne of the Apo&s;tle: chiefly the &s;ea&s;on, the daies are euill:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 13.</NOTE> the day of the Lord or the day of our vi&s;itation is at hand: it is time that w&eacute;e &s;hould now awake out of &s;l&eacute;epe: euery day is an expen&s;e of our life towards death; the houre-gla&s;&s;e doth runne &s;till; our clock doth &s;trike &s;till; the figge-tr&eacute;e with all o|ther trees doth budde more and more; the world is &s;icke and like to die: <HI>Aegritudo mundi est fames,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Amb. in Luc. 21. ho. 10</NOTE> <HI>aegritudo mundi e&s;t pe&s;tilentia, aegritudo mundi e&s;t per&s;equutio.</HI> The &s;icknes of the world (&s;aith &s;aint <HI>Ambro&s;e</HI>) is fa|mine; the &s;icknes of the world is the di&s;ea&s;e
<PB REF="67" MS="y"> commonly called, the plague or pe&s;tilence; the &s;icknes of the world, is per&s;equution of warres; which our time hath giuen me for a theam. S. <HI>Ambro&s;e</HI> had &s;poken before more at large, and thereby laieth to this, the &s;pirituall fight, which I &s;end to my brethren of the cleargie: not as a new, but as their owne battell in time of forreine warres: his words be the&s;e: <HI>Sunt &amp; alia bella, quae vir &s;u&s;tinet Chri&s;tianus: diuer&s;a|rum quoque proelia cupiditatum, &s;tudiorum|que conflictus, multoque grauiores dome&s;tici ho&s;tes, quam extranei. Nunc auaritia &s;timulat, nunc accendit libido, nunc metus terret, nunc iracundia exagitat, nunc ambitio mouet, nunc terrere tentant &s;piritualia nequitiae, quae &s;unt in coele&s;tibus, itaque qua&s;i quibu&s;dam vrget proelijs, &amp; quibu&s;dam terrae motibus, quatitur mobilis mutantis animi affectus, &s;ed fortior di|cit: &s;i con&s;tant aduer&s;um me ca&s;tra, non timebit, cor meum: &s;i exurget aduer&s;um me proelium, in hoc ego &s;perabo:</HI> In Engli&s;h. There are al&s;o other warres, which the Chri&s;tian man &s;u&s;taineth; the battels al&s;o of &s;undry affections and conflicts of indeuors and in|ward enemies, much more grieuous than outward. Now couetou&s;nes &s;purreth, now lu&s;t kindleth, now feare terrifieth, now an|ger
<PB REF="68" MS="y"> vexeth, now ambition mooueth, now &s;pirituall craftines in heauenly things tempteth: therefore the affect of the minde declining and mooueable, is forced (as it were) from certaine battell, and as it were from earthquakes, &s;haketh for feare: but the valiant &s;aith: though an ho&s;t of men ri&s;e again&s;t me, my heart &s;hall not be af|fraid: though warre ri&s;e up again&s;t me, I will put my tru&s;t in him: this warfare, though it be at all times, and of all Chri&s;ti|ans to be indured: yet &s;eeing your &s;euerall flockes and people are actually, &amp; not you, mu&s;tered, and pre&s;t ind&eacute;ed again&s;t the for|rein enemie: it is yours, both as men, and as mini&s;ters, mo&s;t vigilantly to looke to it for your &s;elues and others. But to exem|plifie as from &s;aint <HI>Ambro&s;e,</HI> as al&s;o from <HI>Chri&s;o&s;tom</HI> we reade: when the people of <HI>Antioch</HI> were in great feare of vexation, confi&s;cation, depopulation, for defacing the image of the Emperour <HI>Theodo&s;ius,</HI> how zealous, or rather how &s;edulous, hee was as under his bi&s;hop, which is mencioned by me, intending this to the popular mini|&s;ters, not to all, how indu&s;trious I &s;ay &s;aint <HI>Chri&s;o&s;tom</HI> was to performe &s;aint <HI>Pauls</HI> illation in the <HI>11.</HI> &amp; <HI>5. The&s;s.</HI> warne
<PB REF="68" MS="y"> them that are vnruly; comfort the f&eacute;eble minded; lift vp the weake; be patient to|wards al men; there followed after a great tempe&s;t, a great calme: for by the clemen|cie of the Emperour <HI>Theodo&s;ius,</HI> the citie was pardoned. Now we read al&s;o of &s;aint <HI>Augu&s;tine <HI>in Hipponen&s;i ob&s;idione</HI></HI> that h&eacute;e cried vnto God the Lord: <HI>aut vt ciuitatem ab ho&s;tibus circumdatam liberaret: aut vt &s;er|uos &s;uos, ad perferendam &s;uam voluntatem for|tes faceret, aut &s;e de hoc &s;aeculo, acciperet:</HI> That it might either plea&s;e him to deliuer the ci|tie of <HI>Hippo,</HI> being compa&s;&s;ed of enemies; or to make &s;trong his &s;eruans, to &s;uffer his good plea&s;ure; or to take him out of this world. S. <HI>Augu&s;tine</HI> lay in his death bed when the citie of <HI>Hippo</HI> whereof he was bi&s;hop was be&s;ieged;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Po&s;&s;ido. de vi|ta Aug.</NOTE> and died about the third moneth of the &s;iege. Doth not the&s;e fathers, and e&s;pecially &s;aint <HI>Hierom,</HI> and &s;aint <HI>Augu&s;tine</HI> teach vs at &s;uch a time, to water our couches with teares, and to thinke vpon our God when we are wa|king? &s;hall it be thought &s;o woonderfull, as though it were &s;aint <HI>Augu&s;tines</HI> horizon, that he onely in &s;o extreame a &s;iege &s;hould thinke of the &s;oules of men, as well as of their bodies? for thus it is written of him:
<PB REF="69" MS="y"> <HI>hanc feroci&s;&s;imam gra&s;&s;ationem, ille homo Dei &amp; factam fui&s;&s;e &amp; fieri, non vt caeteri homines &s;entiebat, &amp; cogitabat: &s;ed altius &amp; profundi|us, ea con&s;iderans, &amp; in his animarum preci|pue, vel pericula, vel mortes praeuidens: fue|runt ei lachrimae panis, die, ac nocte.</HI> This mo&s;t fierce robbing &amp; &s;laying, that man of God did not think, or take to be done, like other men; but con&s;idering of the&s;e things more profoundly and d&eacute;epely, and fore&s;&eacute;e|ing in the&s;e, either perils or deaths, chiefly of &s;oules, his bread was mingled with w&eacute;eping night and day: what is it then? &s;hould we do well to take our beds and fal a w&eacute;eping: No my brethren; for as &s;aint <HI>Hierom</HI> admoni&s;heth: that it is <HI>Tempus lachrimarum;</HI> &s;o &s;aint <HI>Ambro&s;e,</HI> that it is <HI>Tempus pugnarum:</HI> And as &s;aint <HI>Augu&s;tin</HI> tooke his bed, as one that was to die: So &s;aint <HI>Chri&s;o&s;tom</HI> became mo&s;t bu&s;ie and &s;tirring in the citie, as one that was to liue. Howbeit all the&s;e fathers doe &s;hew, and the thing it &s;elfe is mo&s;t euident, that in time of &s;editions, vproars, tumults, warres, men &s;hould not onely put on their harne&s;&s;e; but that Chri&s;tians, and e&s;peci|ally the annointed of the Lord, &s;hould fall a w&eacute;eping or working, &s;tudying or &s;tri|uing
<PB REF="69" MS="y"> wre&s;tling or fighting; not &s;o extra|ordinarily, as more &s;piritually, more fer|uently and zealou&s;ly, than at all other times. Be not di&s;comfited though yee be blamed, for violent or importunate, for in|tempe&s;tiue works are well allowed. You know what our Sauiour &s;aith of <HI>Iohn Bapti&s;ts</HI> time: <HI>The kingdome of heauen &s;uffereth violence, and the violent pluckt it vnto them.</HI> Y&eacute;e are derided for &s;tanding &s;o much vpon comelines in profe&s;&s;ion: learne of &s;ouldiers, mariners, phy&s;icians, and all other good members of the common|wealth, and you &s;hall find that they all v&s;e extreame remedies, in extreame dangers. Be there no other circum&s;tance euen for the weale of the &s;oule; how oft are yee cal|led vpon, to plant, to water, to build, to runne, to &s;triue, to wre&s;tle, to fight, in &s;tead of the re&s;t: Hearken (though not onely &s;poken to you) our Sauiour, &s;aying: <HI>&s;triue to enter in at the &s;traight gate: for many I &s;ay vnto you will &s;eeke to enter in and &s;hall not be able.</HI> S&eacute;e my brethren, he &s;aith not enter in, but &s;triue to enter in: <HI>contendite intrare:</HI> hee &s;aith not in the gate; but the &s;traight gate, <HI>arctam portam:</HI> he &s;aith not many &s;hall not enter in, but many &s;hall
<PB REF="70" MS="y"> &s;&eacute;eke to enter in, and &s;hall not be able: <HI>quae|rent intrare multi, &amp; non intrabunt.</HI> Incident to this, is that we haue in the third of <HI>Ie|remie: I will take one out of the citie, and two out of one generation from among you, and bring you into Sion.</HI> That fiction al&s;o of the poet &s;eruing better for this end, than for his owne imagination: <HI>de tot mo|do millibus vnum; de tot modo millibus vnam:</HI> for I may not to &s;uch end, alleadge that &s;aying of <HI>Eccle&s;ia&s;tes: Among a thou&s;and men, I haue found one: but not one wo|man among all.</HI> But to draw to an end: Poetrie and all other learning, our owne collections and rea&s;ons, our applies and replies, may faile vs, and will faile vs; the Go&s;pell cannot faile for euer. <HI>Ego quidem vellem, &amp; haec quae &s;cribo, &amp; illa quae antea in &s;enatu quae&s;tus &s;um, vana forent potius, quam mi&s;eria mea, fidem verbis faceret. <HI>Adherbal</HI></HI> king of <HI>Numidia,</HI> in a letter to the Senate of <HI>Rome,</HI> again&s;t <HI>Iugurth,</HI> &s;aith, or rather as it is in the hi&s;torie: I verily had leauer the things which I now write, and which before I complained of in the Senate, were found vntrue, rather than that my mi&s;erie &s;hould giue credit to the wordes which I haue &s;poken: euen &s;o it is not
<PB REF="70" MS="y"> thanke-worthy, that we wi&s;h the &s;euere &amp; mortall matters we write, or complaine of, were found vntrue. For was <HI>Niniuie</HI> de&s;troyed, after that <HI>Ionas</HI> had proclaimed: that within fortie dayes <HI>Niniuie</HI> &s;hould be de&s;troyed? <HI>Ionas</HI> the prie&s;t, the Prophet, the mini&s;ter, al that write or preach better things are put to &s;hame and &s;ilence, if yee hearken vnto them, repent and amende your euill wayes: but if yee repent not, if yee will not hearken to the whole&s;ome words of exhortation; if ye wil not amend your liues, it is the Lord that &s;aith. <HI>Till heauen and earth pa&s;&s;e, one iot or one tittle of the law &s;hall not &s;cape till all be fulfilled.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Jod</HI> is an Hebrewe letter, and the lea&s;t of the alphabet; a tittle is le&s;&s;e then a letter; not the lea&s;t letter therefore, or tittle of the lawe &s;hall peri&s;h: and yet latine, gr&eacute;eke, and Hebrew, with all other knowledges &s;hall vani&s;h away, <HI>&s;cientia abolebitur: <HI>1. Cor. 13.</HI></HI> Wherefore that oppo&s;ite or ad|uer&s;atiue difference, left by our Sauiour betw&eacute;ene heauen and earth, and the lawe, or word, is, that heauen and earth, with the elements &s;hall melt with heate, vtterly con&s;ume, and come to nothing:<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Not an anni|hilation: but a di&s;&s;olution of former frame and forme.</NOTE> but the law and the prophets, to the which may be
<PB REF="71" MS="y"> added the Euangeli&s;ts: and the Apo&s;tles &s;hall by priuation, make but a way to their perfection: in &s;o much as euery thing writ|ten in that booke, &s;hall not haue their con|&s;umption, but their con&s;ummation. And therefore our Sauiour addeth in the <HI>24.</HI> of <HI>Matthew: Till all the&s;e things be fulfilled:</HI> and in the <HI>5.</HI> of <HI>Matthew: Till all be fulfil|led;</HI> S&eacute;eing therefore all mu&s;t be fulfilled: that is, &s;&eacute;eing all the cur&s;es and ble&s;&s;es of the holie &s;criptures mu&s;t be accompli&s;hed; the que&s;tion not being whether they &s;hall be; but when they &s;hall be. No he&s;itation of the thing, but if there be any of the time; after lightning come thunder, after &s;moke fire; after a cloud a tempe&s;t; it remaineth, that as chri&s;tian men, ble&s;t a&s;well with faith, as with rea&s;on it &s;elfe: and thereby finding the mi&s;terie of fearefull troubles working alreadie, and the morning of euill gone forth: we wait, if not for the &s;treams, the flames, and vttermo&s;t indignations of the Lord: yet according to the &s;criptures, for the beginning of &s;orrowes, for the pre|paratiues, the temptations, anxieties, per|plexities, perils, and daungers, as conti|nuall lights, and lightnings, fore&s;hewing the thunder, which if we repent not, mu&s;t
<PB REF="71"> n&eacute;edes light vpon vs. It is written,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 18.</NOTE> that <HI>the earth trembled and quaked, becau&s;e he was wroth: that there went a &s;moke out of his pre&s;ence, and a con&s;uming fire out of his mouth, that at the brightne&s;&s;e of his pre|&s;ence, the cloudes rayned haile&s;tones, and coales of fire; that the foundations of the world were di&s;couered at his chyding at the bla&s;ting of the breath of his di&s;plea&s;ure.</HI> What fle&s;h, what witt, what rea&s;on is a|ble to heare the&s;e things? what heart &s;hall not faile to con&s;ider them? And yet where|as they &s;ound continually from Gods hou&s;e in the eares of his people, there is none that repenteth of his euil. Repe~tance, repentance is the thing that we crie for; which is the onely remedie whereby the&s;e horrible threatnings may be preuented &amp; auoyded. If we compare the wonderfull iudgments of God, as namely in the <HI>18. P&s;alme,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Apoc. 16.</NOTE> with the mo&s;t terrible temptati|ons, as in &s;undrie places; &s;o in y^e <HI>16.</HI> of y^e <HI>Apoc.</HI> with that great ob&s;eruation, what might be the force of repentance, that if y&eacute;e repent, or if yee doe not repent. I would thinke, that more then <HI>Io&s;ias, Mana&s;&s;es,</HI> and <HI>Hezechias</HI> &s;hould &s;hrinke, and hum|ble them&s;elues, or melt at it. In the <HI>16.</HI>
<PB REF="72" MS="y"> of the <HI>Apoc.</HI> when the vials of the wrath of God are powred vpon the earth, when the fourth Angell powreth his viall vpon the &s;unne: it is &s;aid, <HI>That power was giuen vn|to him, to vexe men with feruent heate of fire:</HI> in &s;o much as men boyled in great heat, &amp; bla&s;phemed y^e name of God, which hath power ouer the&s;e plagues, &amp; they re|pented not to giue him glorie. As likewi&s;e when the fift Angel powreth out his viall, vppon the &s;eat of the bea&s;t: it is written, <HI>That his kingdome waxed darke, and that they gnawed their tongues for &s;orrowe, and bla&s;phemed the God of heauen, for their &s;orrowes, and their &s;ores, and repented not of their deeds.</HI> Who &s;&eacute;eth not this fire and darkene&s;&s;e, this boyling and bla&s;pheming, this gnawing of tongues, very forerun|ners and preambles, of that feruent heate, vtter darkene&s;&s;e, boyling, bla&s;pheming, gnawing of tongues, as al&s;o weeping and gna&s;hing of teeth for euer? And &s;hall w&eacute;e not &s;&eacute;e howe repentance is in&s;erted and graft in this crab&s;tock, to ouergrow and o|uercome all the&s;e vnwonted &s;orrowes; And they &s;aith <HI>Iohn, Repented not to giue him glory,</HI> and againe, <HI>they bla&s;phemed the God of heauen for their &s;ores, and re|pented
<PB REF="72" MS="y"> not of their deeds:</HI> for it may not bee conceiued, that the fore&s;ight of vi&s;ible and inui&s;ible horrours; as al&s;o of hell it &s;elfe, &s;hould cau&s;e the preuention and fruit of repentance, for though the difference be|tw&eacute;ene loue and feare, be conceiued for an euident truth; in &s;o much as both <HI>Saint Augu&s;tine,</HI> and <HI>S. Gregorie</HI> are of iudge|ment: that they are but the enemies of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, which for feare, refraine from euill, according to that worthy &s;ay|ing, <HI>Qui Gehennam metuit,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Augu&s;t. ad Ana&s;ta. ep.</NOTE> <HI>non peccare me|tuit, &s;ed ardere: ille autem peccare metuit, qui peccatum ip&s;um, &s;icut Gehennam odit.</HI> He that is afraid of hell is not afraid to &s;inne, but to burne: And he it is that is afraid of &s;inne, that hates it, as if it were hell it &s;elf, <HI>Qui peccatum, &s;icut Gehennam odit.</HI> yet vn|le&s;&s;e the world were better, and &s;&eacute;eing hor|rible and fearefull things br&eacute;ede anxietie, and perplexitie in the mind of man, accor|ding to the &s;aying of our Sauiour, <HI>(mens hearts &s;hall faint them for feare, and for loo|king after tho&s;e things which are comming on the world,)</HI> wee may not expect till the penitent (as the logicians oppo&s;e) ob&s;erue <HI>omnes leges bonae definitionis, verae poenitentiae.</HI> till we ob&s;erue all the lawes of a good defi|nition,
<PB REF="73" MS="y"> of true repentance; but wee mu&s;t crie out with all y^e prophets, our Sauiour &amp; the apo&s;tles, that vnles we repent, all the plagues which are written in the booke of of God &s;hall come vpon vs. Heere wi&s;hing the&s;e plagues to be thought vpon better, bel&eacute;eued and contemplated, I may cea&s;e to &s;peak any more of wars, only referrring y^e Reader to the <HI>16.</HI> and the <HI>20.</HI> of the <HI>Apoc.</HI> for what can be more terrible, than that the way of the kings of the Ea&s;t &s;hould be prepared by the drought of the riuer <HI>Eu|phrates,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Apoc. 16.</NOTE> and that three vncleane &s;pirits like frogs &s;hould come out of the mouth of the dragon, the bea&s;t and the fal&s;e prophet, to gather into a place, called <HI>Armagedon,</HI> the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to the battell of that great day of God Al|mightie? Or that &s;athan being loo&s;ed out of pri&s;on, &s;hould deceiue the nations which are in the foure quarters of the earth?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Apoc. 20.</NOTE> Gog and Magog who&s;e number is as the &s;and of the &s;ea, to gather them to battell, to com|pa&s;&s;e the tents of the &s;aints about, and the beloued citie, till fire come downe from God out of heauen, to deuour them: wher|in ob&s;erue the&s;e two things: fir&s;t that &s;a|than is the author and &s;ower of warres in
<PB REF="73" MS="y"> the latter daies: then that enormious tu|mults, and other mo&s;t extraordinarie crimes, &s;trange from them that doe them, and vnexpected of all men, are much to be imputed to &s;athan Sathan deceiued Gog and Magog, and what are wee, that w&eacute;e may not be deceiued of &s;athan? And doe we not liue in that part of the time where|in the&s;e prophe&s;ies mu&s;t be fulfilled? Saint <HI>Iohn</HI> mencioneth a time, wherein &s;athan &s;hall be loo&s;ed out of pri&s;on: be&s;ides our &s;tate whereby &s;aint <HI>Paul</HI> te&s;tifieth: <HI>That we wre&s;tle not with fle&s;h and bloud, but with &s;pirituall craftines in heauenly things.</HI> And how &s;hould men profe&s;&s;ing nothing, but honour, dignitie, wor&s;hip, or fle&s;h and blood, be able to with&s;tand the craftines of &s;athan, whereas the be&s;t wre&s;tlers, &amp; mo&s;t vigilant watchmen of the Lord cannot do it. Is not &s;athan bu&s;ie &s;till? doth he not &s;eeke as well to deceiue, as to deuour? Should we not feare with S. <HI>Paul,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 11.</NOTE> le&s;t the &s;ame &s;erpent beguile wome~ &s;til, as well as <HI>Eue:</HI> men &s;til, as wel as the ince&s;tuous per|&s;on &s;wallowed vp with ouer much &s;orrow, or other Corinthians? <HI>Non enim cogitatio|nes eius ignoramus cogitationes</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign"> <HI>a&s;tuta con&s;ilia, vel machinationes:</HI> we are not
<PB REF="74" MS="y"> ignorant of his &s;ubtilties,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Cor. 2.</NOTE> deceits, or deui|ces, &s;aith the Apo&s;tle: let vs therefore ac|cording to that &s;hort and re&s;olute admoni|tion, giue no place to &s;athan; let vs not be found &s;ecure or vnprouided, le&s;t we al&s;o be tempted; but alwaies, as it were in complete harnes, again&s;t &s;o &s;ore an ene|mie. Not vnlike a &s;hip in the midde&s;t of the &s;ea, or euen as <HI>Noes</HI> Arke was com|maunded to be made of pine-tr&eacute;es: and to be pitched within and without, again&s;t the the floud &s;hould come vpon the world, and as it is fained of <HI>Achylles</HI> fle&s;h, that it was invulnerable, that is, &s;uch as might not be wounded: So again&s;t the lioni&s;h roaring, the &s;erpenti&s;h &s;ubtiltie, the draconi&s;h ty|rannie of the diuell, our &s;pirits may be full of &s;trength and re&s;i&s;tance, as pitched with|in and without, &s;tabli&s;hed, harne&s;&s;ed, &s;hut vp, that neither any doore, window nor think of this &s;hip, or arke lying open, may indanger vs of drowning in a &s;ea, where there is no water, of our downe fall into a pit where there is no bottom, finally of our pa&s;&s;age into that valley or &s;hadow of death, where there is not any life or light for euer. How long will it bee ere the&s;e things &s;inke into our hearts? How long
<PB REF="74" MS="y"> will men dally and delay: Shall we think that all other men, mu&s;t v&s;e the meanes and take the waies, which belong to their good and lucre? and that we &s;hould not likewi&s;e v&s;e the meanes, &amp; take the waies that belong to our heauenly good and lu|cre? for wherefore &s;hould we not be more bu&s;ie, than &s;ecular men to take euery ad|uantage, all opportunitie, the time, the place, the per&s;on, the thing whereby w&eacute;e may attaine heauen or e&s;cape hell? <HI>they that feare the Lord,</HI> &s;aith <HI>Eccle&s;ia&s;ticus, will &s;eeke out the things,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Eccle&s;. 2.</NOTE> <HI>that bee plea&s;ant vn|to him: they that feare the Lord, will pre|pare and humble their &s;oules in his &s;ight: they that feare the Lord keepe his comman|dements, and will be patient till they &s;ee him&s;elfe.</HI> The &s;ame <HI>Eccle&s;.</HI> in the &s;ame place pronounceth, that <HI>his mercie is as great as him&s;elfe.</HI> And &s;hould not the mer|cie of God make vs re&s;emble more rather the prodigall &s;onne, repenting, returning and &s;aying to his father: (<HI>Father I haue &s;in|ned again&s;t heauen and again&s;t thee: and am no more worthie to be called thy &s;onne.</HI> For was hee not receiued with a ring, a roabe, with killing, eating, and reioicing?) than the rich man in the Go&s;pell, who
<PB REF="75"> &s;aith to his &s;oule: <HI>take thine ea&s;e, eat, drink and be merrie:</HI> for it is receiued with this an&s;wer:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luc. 12.</NOTE> <HI>thou foole this night doe they re|quire againe thy &s;oule from thee: then who&s;e &s;hall tho&s;e things be, which thou ha&s;t prouided?</HI> Behold in this rich man, the verie &s;tate and per&s;on of this age. For this carele&s;&s;e, &s;ecure, &amp; faithles mind, is my of|fence in this cau&s;e: with whom if it were not denied, that I am more offended, than with malefactors &amp; euil doers; how &s;hould it be receiued? And yet hauing not to doe to iudge them which are without, and fea|ring that this gluttons dialogue, betw&eacute;ene the &s;oule, tongue or heart, is found in the hou&s;e of <HI>Iaacob,</HI> and euen in learned and godly men, I can e&s;t&eacute;eme no le&s;&s;e of them: and waighing, that <HI>Elias</HI> &s;inne might not be purged, with all burnt offerings and &s;a|crifices: that it was <HI>Dauids</HI> offence, and not the vulgar peoples, which called for warres, famine, or pe&s;tilence: and that it was <HI>Ionas</HI> tre&s;pa&s;&s;e that troubled the &s;ea: which could not bee calmed vntill <HI>Ionas</HI> was ca&s;t into the whales belly: and hoping that as our Sauiour &s;aith to Saint <HI>Peter: tu conuer&s;us confirma fratres:</HI> So the lear|ned with the mo&s;t vertuous and godly
<PB REF="75" MS="y"> might informe the re&s;t of &s;o dangerous a di&s;ea&s;e in &s;o dangerous a time; I thought it not be&s;t to commune too long with fle&s;h &amp; blood, and differ, as al&s;o be &s;ecure from day to day; but to publi&s;h a te&s;timonie of god|ly iealou&s;ie, whereunto I am rather inci|ted, than the re&s;t of our brethren: becau&s;e were it not for auoiding the arogancy of an affirmation, I were ready to prote&s;t &amp; te&s;tifie, not only that great wars, but al&s;o the &s;ame with our Sauiour prophecieth in the Go&s;pell, are comming vpon the whole world. As where he &s;aith:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luc. 21.</NOTE> <HI>when yee &s;hall heare of warres and &s;editions, be not affraid, for the&s;e things mu&s;t needs come to pa&s;&s;e, but the end followeth not by and by: Na|tion &s;hall ri&s;e again&s;t nation, and kingdome again&s;t kingdome. And great earth-quakes &s;hall be in diuers places, and hungers, and pe&s;tilences, and fearfull things.</HI> Now an|nexing,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Amos 7.</NOTE> to this the &s;aying of the prophet <HI>A|mos</HI> &s;hall I &s;ay? <HI>I was no prophet, neither was I a prophets &s;onne:</HI> and the Lord &s;aid unto me go, and prophe&s;ie, that &s;uch wars and &s;editions &s;hall be in <HI>England</HI> and <HI>Ire|land.</HI> I affirme no more but the &s;ame, which we all heare, &s;ay and &s;&eacute;e, the wars, &s;editions, and vproars, which haue b&eacute;ene
<PB REF="76" MS="y"> and are in <HI>England</HI> &amp; <HI>Ireland,</HI> are enough to awake men out of the dead &s;l&eacute;epe of &s;e|curitie.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 3.</NOTE> <HI>Take heed brethren,</HI> &s;aith the Apo|&s;tle: <HI>le&s;t at any time, there bee in any of you an euill heart of vnbeliefe to depart from the liuing God: but exhort yee one ano|ther daily, while it is called to day, le&s;t any of you be hardened through the deceitful|ne&s;&s;e of &s;inne.</HI> It is called to day yet, and wil bee euery day while the world &s;tan|deth: therefore we ought to remember and excite one another, le&s;t any depart from the liuing God, or le&s;t any &s;hould be har|dened through the deceitfulne&s;&s;e of &s;inne. Now if it be enough, while it is called to day to call one vpon another: becau&s;e the night commeth when no man can worke: and now <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> knocketh at the doore, and when there &s;hall be no more time, it wil be too late to knocke, becau&s;e the doore will be &s;hut. Then it is more than cau&s;e enough, and more than high time in this time of danger and trouble, not onely for &s;uch as haue receiued fiue, two or thr&eacute;e talents; but for all who haue receiued two, one, or any, to giue them forth to the exchangers: that both our &s;elues may be the better di&s;char|ged; our brethren the better pre&s;erued from
<PB REF="76" MS="y"> all euil; and la&s;tly, our heauenly Lord and king at his comming, may receiue his own with aduantage; which al&s;o we &s;hall per|forme by the example of our Sauiour, who after hee had pronounced the en&s;uing of warres, rumours of warres, and fearefull troubles; armeth the Apo&s;tle with faith, patience, godly wi&s;edome, watchfulne&s;&s;e, holines, prayer, &amp;c. as appeareth in the&s;e &s;hort, and quicke &s;ayings: <HI>Ne terreamini: po&s;&s;idete per patientiam, ammas ve&s;tras: At|tollite capita ve&s;tra: appropinquat enim re|demptio ve&s;tra: cauete vos, vobi&s;ip&s;is: ne gra|uentur corda ve&s;tra ebritate, &amp; crapula: ca|uete, vigilate, orate, parati estote:</HI> they are as &s;hort and quicke in Engli&s;h, as in Latin: <HI>See that yee be not troubled: po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e your &s;oules through patience: lift vp your heads, for your redemption draweth neere: take heed to your &s;elues: let not your hearts be made heauie, with &s;urfetting and drunknes: bee ready, beware, watch and pray:</HI> And this &s;hall be the end. To the euerla&s;ting &amp; euerliuing Trinitie, the Fa|ther, the Sonne, and the holy Gho&s;t, thr&eacute;e per&s;ons, and one God, be all honor, glory, prai&s;e and dominion, now and euer.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
