Meditation 1. Of mans pilgrimage while he is in this life.

ALl the while we liue in this world, 2 Cor. 5, 6 wee are absent from the Lord, saith the Apostle Paul: Therefore thou art a pilgrime in this worlde, and trauellest to­ward heauen, in regard we haue here no Cittie durable or continuing, Heb. 13.14. but we seeke [Page] one to come. Hence is it that all trauaile is laborious, & so not stable or delightsom to thee, because thou art but a passenger through this worlde: and hence comes it, that the pilgrime suffers hunger, thirst, heat, colde, losses, molestations, infirmities, & many other miseries whereto wee are all subiect in this worldes pilgrimage. The trauel­ler goes farre from his countrey and family, yet is desirous to returne thither againe: Euen so wee as banished from this worlde, shoulde long for our returne to hea­uen, our true borne coun­trey. And like as pilgrims are cheerefully welcōmed into Innes or lodgings, yet [Page 2] ere their departing some account of expenses is made vnto them, so thogh wee haue a little shewe of pleasant entertaynment in this worlde, yet at our deathes we must render a seuere and stricte account for the same. Then since thou art a pilgrim seek not (fonde wretch) to buylde houses or vnfruitfull habi­tations in this world: ha­uing so rich a father, and a country so fertile, aboun­ding and stored with houses, that expecte thy comming. The Apostle Peter sayth,1 Pet. 2. I beseech ye as pilgrims & strangers that ye abstaine from carnall desires which fight against the soule: instructing vs hereby to lead our liues like pilgrims. [Page] What though they liue in afflictions, disgraces, meer strangers in the world, and haue no friendes to respect them: be thou in like man­ner as little mindfull of friends, whome thou shalt find preiudiciall and dan­gerous to thy soule, neither seeke after things pleasing to thy appetite, in regarde thou art a way fairing man & traueller, which if thou wilt but remember, thou shalt preuent many euils. Seest thou not what speed a Post makes on his iour­ney? hye thee then as fast from this worlde, so full of miseries. He that comes to a poore cottage or country sheepcoat, to take shelter there vnder while a storme of raine bee blowen ouer: [Page 3] for the small time he hath to abide there, neuer busies his brains to make it grea­ter, or to builde it in more beauty then it is: No other shelter, roome or harbour haue we on this earth, be­cause wee arriue heere to day, and departe againe hence to morrowe. Then neuer care to get honours, riches, & worldly bubbles of vanitie, in regarde tyme swiftly paceth on, and thou in a moment passest hence: therfore thou shalt not do amisse by example of that traueller, who on his iour­ney hath nothing els in his minde, but at what place or Cittie hee is to arriue, to remember continually the lande of the liuing, where the Saintes doo ioy [Page] in Christ: and when thou goest towarde thy fathers house, thinke with what minde thou oughtest to come thither, howe thou art to be entertayned, and forgette all thinges that would confine thee to this present life. Moreouer, seeing for halfe an houres tarrying in a country, thou wilt seeke neither house or Inne, excepte thou wert certain to bide ther long­er time: I cannot choose but meruail thē, why thou desirest to build high hou­ses and make such prouisi­on for many matters, thy life while being so shorte and vncertaine, the hower of death so doubtfull, as thou knowest not if thou shalt liue an houres space [Page 4] or no. How worthy then art thou of most sharpe reprehension, for laying such fast hold on this false and slippery worlde, as if thou wert to remayne here for euer? Thus ma­ny build houses, that ne­uer stay to dwell in them, and while the swifte houre of death coms stealing on, they make but a ieste of sounde approued trueth, thinking they runne away with a riche robbery of worldly vanities. Why doth the traueller beare so patiently a badde nightes lodging in his Inne, but that hee hopes to sleepe at better quiet y^e next night in his own house? This one consideration (me thinkes) might suffice to make [Page] thee patiently endure all the turmoils and troubles of this life, remembring how short a while they wil last, and forthwith thou must returne to thine own house in heauē, where thou shalt repose thy self quiet­ly for euer.

Blessed is that pilgrim, who at all times, and in all places of his abiding, for­gets not in this life his hea­uenly habitation, seeking there his perpetuall quiet­nesse, where the Saints re­ioyce with Christ in eter­nal glorie. Blessed likewise is that pilgrime, who seekes not his dwelling here in this worlde,Phil. 1.23 but desireth to bee loosed from this flesh, and be with Christ. And lastly, blessed is he, Apo. 19.9 that is called to [Page 5] to the Lambes supper: and though he bee not placed at his table, yet sighes and mournes for it here in this world. Haue therefore e­uer before thine eies these words of Dauid, thus spea­king to God, I am a stran­ger before thee, psa. 39, 12 and a pilgrim like all the rest of my fathers. Wherefore if thou well considerest how eternal & durable the life which wee seeke for is (for it shall ne­uer haue end) and compare it with this present transi­torie shaddow: albeit thou shouldest liue a thousande yeares in this world, yet e­quals it not half an hour in respect of the life to come. Thē cast both forwarde & backward thine accoūt, & thou shalt truely find, our [Page] whole life here is not a pointe in comparison of that should be desired.

This mooued the Apo­stle Paul, paciently to sup­port the paine and trauell of his peregrination, as hee writ to the Corinthians, Wee are afflicted, 2. Cor. 4 but not in distresse, wee are in pouertie, but want not: wee are cast down, but we perish not: I say wee want not, because our tribulatiō (for the present time) is but short & momē­tary, if wee liue not contē­plating those things which we see, but those w^c we see not. Thus was the Apostle Paule enforced hereto, re­membring the breuitie of present tribulation, & that he iourneyed to arriue at the heauenly Citty. If hee [Page 6] was such a pilgrim, let not like trauell seem laborious to thee: If when thou iour­nyest it fall out irksome to thee, and that men thinke scorne to knowe thee, re­pute it not to bee vile or molestious, because thy trauel wil soone be ended.

S. Paule speaking of the Saintes of the old Testa­ment, saith: That they con­fessed themselues to be stran­gers & pilgrims on the earth. Heb. 1. Therefore they remained in caues & poore cottages, neuer hauing any rest at al in this life, trauelling con­tinually, because they woulde not liue as deter­minate dwellers in this worlde. Caine first began to buylde a Cittie on the earth, and lost a better [Page] Cittie, the Cittie of hea­uen,Gene, 4 because hee was the first that would liue in this world, as a firme inhabi­tant, and not a stranger, & therefore he stood condē­ned by God. Peter the A­postle was reproued by many reasons, that being a pilgrime,Mat. 17. he would build a house (like an earthly dweller) vpon Mount Ta­bor. They that wander through forrain prouinces, returning home to their houses, buy not in their trauell any weightie things to carrie about them, ex­cept iewels, and other smal portable matters of some value, thou then that art a stranger and pilgrim, con­sider hereby thou canst ca­rie nothing at all with thee [Page 7] out of this life.

Then here must needes be left all thy honour and riches, onely thy iewels & precious stones, which are thy faith and good works, them dooe thy endeuour to carrie with thee. Poore miserable wretch, why then doest thou so busie thy selfe to gette and buy such thinges which thou must needes leaue by the way? why couetest thou to bee so rich, to ouerlode thy selfe, and trudge about so seriously, to liue poorely afterward, and die with fa­mine in the self same house where thou thought'st to liue for euer? Alter this fond & friuolous purpose, seeke no abiding here, but in the place thou wast [Page] borne, for let al other trash and trifles alone, ouerlode thy selfe with those iewels before named if thou canst, so shalt thou come rich [...]y home to thine owne house in heauen, there to liue honourably and bles­sed for euer.

Meditation 2. Of worldly riches.

Psal. 61. IF thy riches in­crease, set not thy heart vppon them, saith the prophet Dauid: therefore the seruant of Iesus Christ ought to abhorre all such things as would withdraw him from God. Seeme [Page 8] not these worldly riches vaine vnto thee, that haue their ending altogether vayne?Psal, 72 The rich men haue slept their sleepe, and nothing left to bee founde in their handes: Then doubt­lesse most vaine are all those thinges, that would hinder thee from an end so much to bee desired, I meane the true passage to thy heauenly habitati­on.

Those kingdoms & Cit­ties which the deuil shew­ed to our Sauiour Christ vpon the mountaine,Mat. 4 were not true riches, but fanta­stical & sightly in the eie: euē so all the riches, honor, and glorie of this world, are no perfecte goodes, but fained, dissembled, [Page] and (as Saint Iames saith) a vapour that appears a while and in a moment is dispersed. Iam. 4, Then set not thy affection on such transitorie thinges, which bring nothing else but a desire of them, be­cause few or none wrappe themselues vp among ri­ches, but their hartes are soundly attainted with the corruption of them.

Eccle, 31.8.9 Blessed is the riche man, that is founde without ble­mish, and hath not gone af­ter golde, nor hoped in money and treasure. Who is he, & we will commende him? If there bee not one, in what danger are they then that lincke and fasten them­selues to such folly? The way to heauen,Mat. 7. is narrowe & troublesome, not to be [Page 9] found without the especial fauour of God: then thou rich man whatsoeuer thou art, craue thou the mightie & wonderful assistance of Gods fauour to bee thy guide, & all little enough, yet the poore in spirit find the way readily, by the ve­ry least helpe of their Lord & maisters grace.

Then if the rich will be saued, the greatest and most excellent fauour of God is needfull for them, for their perill and danger of saluatiō being so great, the meanes to obtaine the same must bee much grea­ter: hence is it that riche men are called wicked, & the heires of euill, because they resemble the ful gor­ged Faulcon, that will not [Page] know her maister, & turne vnto him.

Luk. 15,The prodigall sonne no sooner became rich, but he forsooke both his father & his house [...] necessitie & mi­sery came & but pinched him, then he sorrowed and wold needs returne to his father: wherby we may gather that riches seperat [...] men from God, & pouert [...] bringeth them back agai [...] vnto him.Num. 32. The children o [...] Reuben and Gad desire [...] Moses that he wold leau [...] thē there in the country o [...] Iordane, where was goo [...] feeding for their cattel: neuer caring to go to the lan [...] of promise. In like mane [...] there are many that refus [...] the kingdome of heaue [...] promised them in perpet [...] al [Page 10] possession, for the loue of riches and corruptible goodes they enioy in this false world. If therefore thou wilt truely giue thy self to God, despoyle thee of all loue and affection to worldly thinges, because thou art busied and trou­bled about many matters,Luk. 10. and yet but one thing is one­ly necessary, and if thou haue that, giue present discharge to al other what­soeuer.

Whē our first parēts were in the state of innocencie, & busied onely with spiri­tuall consideratiō of God, [...]hey had so little minde of their bodies,Gen. 3. as they neuer saw themselues to bee na­ked: they had no sooner sinned, but they discerned [Page] their nakednes & misery, & presently sought means to couer themselues with­all. Paul the Apostle rapt vp to the thirde heauen, said himselfe, he knew not whether he were in bodie, or diuided from himselfe, therfore they make no rec­koning at all of their bo­dies, that are lifted vp to heauenly thinges, where they are so busied in spirit, that the bodie is quite for­gotten. This forgetfulnes is reputed a weightie con­sideration, and thus not to know our selues, is verie great wisedome.

The disciples of Christ being busied in the doc­trine of their diuine may­ster, gaue no regard to ex­teriour occasions, and so [Page 11] forgot to wash their hands when they sate downe to the table:Mat. 15 but the Phari­ses minding outwarde ce­remonies, woulde needes know of Christ, the cause why his disciples washed not their handes. Where­fore the seruantes of this worlde, troubled about base and slender matters, giue no attention to the great and higher: so that by trifling about bodily businesse, they want time to thinke on the affaires of the soule. Hence is it, that fruitles thoughtes are the children of riches, and the works they bring with them, doo nothing els but choake and confound the spirite. Therefore thou shalt do well in making no [Page] account of these corrupti­ble treasures, that thou mayest the more freely giue thy selfe to God: for thou canst not flie vppe to him, except first thou cut the corde which hanges at thy heart, and still pluckes thee backe to the worlde and vaine wealth, whereto thou art fastned with too much affection. Then not to seperate thee from the loue of Iesus Christ, seeke after his sweetnes, and de­spise this base worldes bit­ternes. Oftentimes in good and sauorie meates is poy­son receyued, and they that haue eaten thereof are forthwith ready for the graue: Sweete are the riches of this worlde to such as loue them, yet vn­der [Page 12] them is death hidden, because they make a man proude and vicious, and so he takes them with him to death eternall. We read in Ecclesiasticus: He that lo­ueth riches, Eccle. 1. shall receyue the rewarde of his loue: & what reward that is, the Apostle Paule declareth, They that will bee riche, 1, Tim. 1. fall into the snares and tentations of the Deuill: for all creatures are alike vnto man, as man is to himselfe. Therefore [...]he good mind cannot be contaminated or abused with thinges so farre diffe­rent from it, nor can the wicked man any way help himselfe by them. Tell mee, what helpe is aboun­dance of riches to this frail fleshe of ours, which is [Page] borne to die, and putrifie in the earth? they cannot defend it from the corrup­tion whereinto perforce it must fall, a constant and good minde is that, which is not subiected to riches. The Psalmist sayth, The proude and rich Lordes haue slept their sleep, Psal. 76. but he doth not call thē Lords of their riches, because they are seruants, slaues & drudges thereto, and not maysters or controulers of their ri­ches.

Gaine gotte with euill fame is reckoned for losse, and he is to dread it, that is affraide of pouertie. Ser­uants serue their maysters but to ease them of labor, cares & troubles: bad ser­uants then are money and goods [Page 13] that not onely doo not les­sen their maysters molesta­tions, but encrease and lay more heauie loade vppon them. What els is gold, but rust, & drosse of the earth? What is siluer and precious stones, but very froth of the selfe same earth? what are our finest Veluets and silks, but excrements of vile worms? what are your purest cloth, but wool of beastes? what are your richest and most esteemed furres, but cases of dead beasts? what are painted pallaces, and great populous Citties, but meere earth? what is honor, but a winde? and in briefe what thing soeuer els in the world, but dust? Canst thou then loue all these earthly thinges, which the worlde [Page] falsly cals goodes, when the very best of them is but a peece of vile earth? Seeke but to knowe the vanitie of those things the world pre­sentes thee withall, and thy hart will hate to be set vp­on such base matters. Aske but of the prophet Esay the worth of worldly thinges, and by this aunswere thou wilt somewhat be satisfied: All flesh is grasse, and all the glory thereof is as the flower of the field. Isa. 40.

Why then, if the very best thing in the vniuersall world be man, and all the glory of man (as the prophet sayth) is but like the fieldes flower: whereto may wee compare all the rest beside, which thy self wilt confesse [...]uch inferior to man. Now [Page 14] here maiest thou learne thē some knowledge of thy selfe, that thou being so ex­cellent a creature, created onely for the loue and ser­uice of God, wilt so much imbase thy selfe, and shewe such want of spirit, as to for­sake thy Creator, and dedi­cate all thy endeuours to such vile and worthlesse things. Do but seeme once to haue a holy pride in thee, thinke thy selfe to be made for reasō, know the nobility & excellency of thy birth, which thou hast receyued frō God, loue noble things, (I mean spiritual riches) ac­cording to y^e noble inclina­tiō, w^t God himself endued thy royal hart withall, when (after his owne image and likenes) he created thee.

Consider what the value of gold and precious stones is, when Salomon (accor­ding to the saying of our Sauiour) adorned with silks, iewels and precious stones, yea,Mat. 6 in all his glorie and royal­tie, coulde not come forth clo­thed like one poore flower of the fielde. And yet wee ac­count him a foole that ter­meth grasse to be richer thē golde, which made the Queene of Saba meruayle at the wealth & wisedome of Salomon,3. Reg. 10 but neuer a whit to wonder at the Lillie of the field.

Great is the fondnes and errour of men, that (like to thinges which onely seeme but faire) they iudge the beautie of them that are truely and really fayre in­deed: [Page 15] and this is the reason of our peeuish appetite, when wee fancy a gaudie shew, and make no account at all of the goodly sub­stance. Thus it happens stil with vs, who (like greedy and couetous desires of we know not what) would seem heere more beautiful in our garments of golde, then the Lillie growing in the fielde: But if with the eye of t [...]uth we wold wel regard the case wee shoulde find our selues more whipt for our golden and silken garmentes, euen at mens handes that make them for vs, then the Lillie is at Gods hand, who made it: and yet all our brauery not equalling that one flow­ers beautie. What is sayde of the Spouse in the Canti­cles. [Page] Like the Lillie among the thornes, Cant. 2 so is my loue a­mong the daughters. Loue then true beautie, and the rich celestiall treasures, and neuer set thy hearte on the filth of the earth.

Oh Christian brother, why doest thou heate thy blood, grow impacient and desperate about temporall treasures, whē thou art pro­mised heauenly & eternal? It is a matter too much in­conuenient, that thou being [...]o disciple of Iesus Christ, called and chosen for the i [...]y [...]s of heauen? shouldst e­steeme such thinges as were contemned, euen by the Philosophers of the Gen­ti [...] alas, alas, thou louest mony much, & it helps thee but little. Admit thou hadst [Page 16] in thy power all the trea­sures of the worlde, shalt thou thereby be made more young, more wise, more strong, or more fayre then now thou art? Thou wilt tel me that by riches thou shalt attaine to many pleasures: Doo then but consider how vaine, swift and short they are, for true pleasure▪ & de­light indeed is the onely re­pose and tranquillity of the mind. Thou wilt tell mee, that with riches thou canst purchase honours: remem­ber then withall [...] that men admire not at thee, or honour thy person, but the garmentes and riches thou wearest, so then that honour is none of thine, but thy clothings.

But could men (at that very instant) beholde the poore naked beggerlinesse of thy soule, they woulde hardly iudge any creature in the worlde to bee more misera­ble, because the true honor of man, is to be beloued of God, & not for vaine pomp, or to bee gazed on by men. Thou wilt say, that with riches thou canst gette thee friends▪ thinke then they be no true friends, but false, & thou gaynest nothing there­by but manifest losse. Poor wretch, that thy riches which loues thee not, but deludes thee, that they who giue thee fayrest lookes, & friendlike huggeth neerest thee, should desire thy spee­die departing, for nothing else but to enioy thy posses­sions.

Thou wilt say, that ha­uing riches, thou canst giue almes to the poore, and doe many other good deedes: indeede these are rich mens wordes, that promise most, and performe least: but if Christ were nowe on the earth and shoulde say to them, as he did to his Apo­stles, Leaue all and follow me, he were more like to walke without Apostles, then they in any hast to parte from their riches. Ah open thine eyes (deare brother) & look on the deceytfull labyrinth wherin thou liuest, is riches, dung & dirt of the world so precious to thee? why loue selleth the louer for the thing beloued, so that he is no more his owne, but quite [Page] giuen ouer to that he loues: so thou thy selfe valuing much more then this trashe which thou louest, commest to giue the better for the worse, and sellest away a precious iewell, for a matter of no estimation at all, euen thy hart which is Gods and none of thine, for mudde, drosse and filth, then which nothing is more base.

God commands, that we should loue him onely, not because he hath any need of our loue, but for our owne profit: Now if thou wilt sel thy selfe to God, loue him, thou shalt better thy self by the bargaine, giuing a trifle for that which is inestima­ble, & a thing scant precious for y^e which no price can cō­prehend. For true riches en­creaseth [Page 18] more by dimini­shing couetous desires, then greedy gathering wealth to­gether, which prooue often­times most daungerous to them that possesse them: & such as God hath chosen to liue with him, hee is wont to depriue of so maine a hinde­rance, lest their own folly o­uercomming them with ri­ches & vain prosperity, they should be blinded with the smoke of these friuolous ho­nors, and so loose the inesti­mable dignities & treasures laid vp for them in heauen. Cōsider withal in how smal esteeme God himself holds these earthly treasures, see­ing on a sudden, and at the instance of Sathan hi [...] enemy, he quite disposses­sed his seruan [...] Iob, being one whome h [...]e loued and [Page] not a little esteemed.

Lift vp thine eyes (deare brother) and consider howe vile and contemptible worldly riches shoulde bee to thee, fasten not thy affec­tion on such vanities, but on thy Sauiour Christ Iesus, pray him to change thy for­mer wretched purposes, & with him that intirely wi­sheth and desireth thy sal­uation, lay hold on that which neuer will de­ceiue thee.

Meditation 3. Of true riches.

LAy vppe (for your selues treasures) in heauen, Mat, 6. sayth our sauiour. For it is but folly to seeke preserua­tion of those thinges which are lost by preseruing, and found by loosing, or may be compared to the graine cast into the ground, which mul­tiplies by losse, and being saued perisheth. If our worldly goodes be giuen to the poore, they fructifie and bring profit: but being kept vp, and no way imployed, destroy both them selues & their couetous keepers. Loose thou thy money for thy [Page] brothers and neighbours sake, Ec [...]le. 29. and let it not rust vnder a stone to thine owne perdition. If the children of Israel had sa­ued their Manna, it would haue corrupted and beene filled with vermine. The like may wee say of this worldes vaine riches, which are no way sooner lost, then by too much sauing them. Truely a most wounderful way is it, to enrich our selues, by giuing and dis­persing abroad, yet wee re­pute it rather to hoording vppe, and gathering to­gether: but if in this world we distribute to the poore, we lay vp our riches in hea­uen, where it wil increase, & we shall bee assured to find it.

We see how men send [Page 20] out money to Cittyes and Prouinces farre off, and their safest way to doo so, is by letters of exchaunge: if then thou intende to sende thy treasure securely before thee, and to the cit­tie of heauenly Ierusalem: here are letters & exchaun­gers ready at hand for thee, euen no other thē the poor, which banckers & reanswe­rers of money, are different from those vsed now a daies in this worlde, who when thou wouldst haue thy mo­ney in a farre countrey, where thou hadst need of it, thou must perforce su­stain some losse, for they wil not pay thee so much there, as before thy iourney thou didst disburse out here. But if thou trafficke with [Page] the poore, they haue so cer­taine a banque in heauen, as thou shalt not loose the smallest myte by the bar­gayne, for not onely shalt thou truely receyue what thou layest out heere in earth, but an ouerplus: yea, much more then I am able to speak of. No man in this world will assure an others merchandise, except the owner wil endure some losse thereby: so that hee must pay a parte to him, who as­sures him but the remain­der. In this custome house for the poore, thou shalt be sure of a most especial sure­ty euē Iesus Christ himself, who without receyuing one peny for thy assurance, will warrant thee all, nay more, thou shalt find it double en­creased [Page 21] in his heauenly treasury. Make thy banque [...]hen in this vncorruptible storehouse of riches, where not any thing whatsoeuer can wast or impair it Hoord vppe in heauen, where thy treasure shall haue infinite multiplying: Send forth thy goods into thine owne pro­per countrey, among thyne owne friendes, and where thou art to abide for euer. Why shouldest thou put forth thy treasure here, the place being perillous, thy abyding vncertaine, and no profit but payne returning to thee for it? A wise mer­chant sendes his goods to that place, where hee hopes to make quickest dispatch, ha [...] best sale, and endure least losse.

Too ful of folly then are they, who not hauing to stay aboue two dayes in this worlde, but with the nexte post must away to the other: that they will lay vp any ri­ches here, where they are no otherwise then as pilgrims and strangers, and make no care at all to enrich them­selues in heauen, their natu­rall countrey and perpetual habitation. Send then thy treasure before thee by the hands of the poore, & there thou shal [...] finde it ready for thee againe in their trea­sury, all in currant [...]oyne, and none false or counter­feyte. As for brasse money, base and vile thinges are vsually bought therewith, but rich and great matters with golde and siluer. Let [Page 22] then thine almes bee in mo­ [...]ey of good mettall, euen in money of golde, when thou dost it on meere zeale [...]nd for the pure loue of God, then his diuine loue will double the value of it: [...]ut if in a brauery thou gi­ [...]est thine almes, or for vain glorie, it returnes to base [...]rasse mettall, and nothing [...]is can be bought therewith but worldly praise, proude opinion, and no such great matters as are the eternall ioyes of heauen. Iesus Christ our redeemer hath promised to him, who giues but a cuppe of colde water in his name, it shal not passe vnthought on: hee woulde haue the almes done onely for his sake, and commands into be done in such secrete [Page] manner, as thy left hand may not know what thy right hand doth. Mat. 6. He that enricheth himselfe, doth it in secrete, be­cause he wold not be robd, then rob not thou thy selfe of heauens inheritance, by Pharisaical pride and osten­tation, but giue thyne almes for Gods sake onely, and if they happē to be more pub­like then thou wouldst haue them, or they ought to bee, let yet thine intent be holy and secret: for those that giue to God, in his se­cret store hee layes it vp for them, and augmentes it a­gainst the time of their ne­cessitie.

If there were one, who had his handes of such ver­tue, that by touching things putrified and corrupted in [Page 23] our handes, coulde make them sounde, and returne to their former good estate, as also to encrease their per­fection more and more: were it not great wisdome in vs, to labor for the touch of such powerfull handes? yea & vpon our knees hour­ly to intreat it. Such and no other are the hands of God, as of them in the scripture it is thus spoken, His handes are full of all goodnes, Cant. 5 adorned with rings of gold and Chriso­lites: Then for our least deed of almes, if wee put it into Gods handes, in a mo­ment will he conuert it into a great peece of fine golde, adorned with pure Chriso­lites, like the colour of hea­uen, where likewise for vs they shalbe made celestiall.

And as in a treasury, they vse to mingle no false mony which outwardly hath a lit­tle golde, and seemes to bee good, yet inwardly is a mix­ture of most base mettalles: euen so, & no otherwise are the workes & almes deedes of hipocrites, who outward­ly wil appeare iust, as if they were no sinners, but inward­ly haue seared and foule de­formed consciences: no mo­ney of theirs comes into this high treasury, this is no banque for them, they traf­ficke quite contrary.

And when our Sauiour said,Mat, 6. Lay vp treasure for your selues in heauen: presently he named hypocrisie, aduising vs to flie from it, to the end we should send no false mo­ney to heauens treasury, but [Page 24] be aware howe wee medled with such counterfait coin. Herevpon God will haue our alms giuen in the estate of grace, that our inwarde hart be as good as our out­ward worke. Therefore he that will giue almes accep­table to God, must first make a free gift of himselfe. The Apostle Paule writing to the Corinthians, but speaking of the Philippians sayth,2, Cor. 10 They first gaue themselues to God, and afterward [...] distributed to vs▪ And wee read in Eccles.Eccles. 10. Haue mercy on thine own soul, by pleasing god▪

He that taketh compassion on his neighbour, hath it of himselfe first, & on his own soule, because the mercie that is extended to others, is to take originall from [Page] a mans owne selfe. Then how can hee haue compassi­on on his neighbour, that hath none on himselfe? and he that is wicked to himself how can he be good to ano­ther?Eccle. 14. Who giueth his almes not in due time, giues the almes to God, but to himselfe it is sinne, saith Iob, who was clothed with iustice, adding after­ward,Iob. 29, I was an eye to the blind, and a foote to the lame. Here it appeareth Iob had mercy first on himselfe, hauing put on iustice & sanctitie, then came hee to remember his neighbours necessity. Then seeing God regardes more the hart then the gift, make cleane thy heart from all corruption and hypocrisie, if thou wilt haue thy almes to bee acceptable in his [Page 25] sight, and thus shalt thou send good money (and not counterfait) into his treasu­rie, if thou vse mercy to thy selfe, & art the same within, wherof thou makest an out­ward shew.

Now that thou mayest the better knowe the true value of this money, poyze it with the weight of diuine loue: because then shall it be more ponderous, of bet­ter reckoning and account, when it counteruayles the iust weight of loue and cha­ritie. Diuine loue is that weight of the Sanctuary, whereof God sayth, Euery peece must bee poyzed by the weight of the sanctuary. And with those scales must wee weigh the money which we offer to God, thereby to [Page] try if it be light, or how ma­ny graynes it wants. In this case then, if wee cloath the naked, wee must trie the worke by the Sanctuaries weight: if we feed the hun­gry, or doo any of the other deedes of mercy, all must bee censured by the weight of the Sanctuary, for auoy­ding of ostentation, and worldly singularity. There­fore if our charity shall bee founde too light by the weight of Gods loue, it is no coyne for his treasury, but reputed as base & counter­feyte money: then my dear & Christian brother, what­soeuer sinfull escapes haue past thee heretofore, begin now at length this holy and christian purpose, to make no hoorde heere on earth, [Page 26] where it is subiect to all ca­sualties, but send good mo­ney before thee to heauen, where thou shalt finde it double and treble encrea­sed.

Meditation. 4. Of worldly wisedome.

THat which be­fore God is foo­lishnes, 1. Cor. 2 in mens iudgemēt is re­puted wisdome, sayth the Apostle. The world accountes him wise, that (dissembling his vices) practiseth howe to come by honor and dignity: condem­ning him likewise for a fool, who despiseth & maketh no reckoning of such vani­ties. The wise man speaking [Page] [...] [Page 26] [...] [Page] in the person of worldly men, sayth: We held his life to be foolish, Sap. 5. and his end with­out honour. Contrariwise the world calles him wise, who cloaking his false faculties, labors with all his thoughts and study, to become weal­thy and pompous, where­as they that hate to followe such courses, doe find such worldly wisedome meere death vnto them. And ther­fore the worldlinges dooe make a scorne of them, as people (in their opinion) deuoide of wit: whereas themselues, (not discerning the worldes foolishnes, that the seruants of Iesus Christ are kindled lampes,Iob. 3. this worlde but a wind (as Iob sayth) both to kindle and extinguish) thus seemely [Page 27] sooth themselues, while heauen condemneth and laugheth them to scorne. Therefore they that are wise indeed, euen for their owne security, doo hyde themselues not caring to be regarded by any but God onely, whom they most de­sire to please, as hauing more minde of the inward parte, then the outwarde pleasing.

From hence it proceedeth that the wisedome of God, and this other of the world are so contrary: for as the one is despised by him, so is the other condemned by men, and thus they that haue no iudgement at all, bande their wits against the Lorde of all knowledge and [...]udgement. When Samuel [Page] went to annoint (as king) one of Ishai his sonnes,1. Sam. 16 hee left al them that the father most esteemed, and annointed Dauid, who was in no repu­tation at all among men, & those other sonnes of Ishai, whom men so much regar­ded and made account of, were refused by God, as vn­meet for such dignity: thus they whom the world held to be wise, God reputed as fooles, and him whome the world despised, God chose to be a king. Balaam, albeit he was a wicked man, (the holy Ghost making him the instrument) spake by his mouth, when hee sawe the tents, & fields of the people of Israel:Num. 24. Oh how goodly are thy tents O Iacob, & thy habi­tations O Israel? And when. [Page 28] Balaam spake this, fortie yeares were ouerpast since the people of Israel went out of Egipte, and then their tents must needes bee very olde. Hereby it ap­peareth, that the world ne­uer prayseth but by out­ward beautie, and exteriour paintinges: whereas God respecteth the inwarde one­ly, and what to the worlde seemes poore or opprobri­ous, is by God commended and exalted to the cloudes.

He that hath a plaint be­fore a learned man, that hath skill and knowes the course of iustice, neuer greatly cares to bee condemned by an ignorāt iudge, because hee can recall it before this man more learned, whose sē­tence is indeed worthy to be [Page] regarded. Iudges are many times worldly men, respec­ters of profite, and ver­tuous persons are some­time tryed before them by men of slender estimation: where they are accounted but as fooles, and so all their life time must they beare this sentence, till they come before him better learned, who will doo them better iustice. Euen so princes of this worlde haue reckoned holy Martyrs to bee fooles, seeing with what prompt will they gaue themselues to death: And many wise worldlings haue held euan­gelicall pouertie for foolish­nes, tearming them all fools and beggers that followed Christ Iesus.

A wise man of the world [Page 29] saide to the Apostle Paule: Thou art a foole Paule, Act. 26 much reading hath made thee loose thy sences: whereto Paule answered, I am not mad but speake the wordes of truth & sobernes. So Festus (not vn­derstanding the misteries of the Apostles doctrine) tooke him for a fool or mad man, like as the world now a dayes doth the very same, to such as knowes not, nor is acquainted with their cun­ning practises. And this is the censure which the worlde giues of good men, that they are ignorant and knowe nothing, but when this case shall bee tryed be­fore the great learned iudge which is God himself, then it wil fall out otherwise, hee will condemne the worldes [Page] sentence as vniust, deliue­ring an other, which shal be irreuocable, that worldly wise men, who florished in this life, were vaine fooles, sencelesse idiots, and bragd of that they had not. Then let it not offend thee, if the worlde condemne thy life, seeing thou hast such a iudge to appeale vnto, and who will speedily giue thee comfort. Moreouer, the day wil not be long ere it come, when this high & supreame Iusticer will approue that which the world reprou'd, & the most curious contri­ued policy, wil appear to be but bare & tottered folly, e­uen they that by wit labour most to despoil others, shal like fooles be shaken out of their rags, & sent away emp­ty. [Page 30] When this fleshe that swimmed in pleasures and delights, becomes food for worms: then wil this worlds goodly wisedome bee eui­dently discouered, and hee who by his witte lyes most richly entombed, a poore wretch shall passe by & say: there lies the wise man, that prou'de himself a foole: was not Christ our redeemer ac­counted as a foole? did the worlde reckon otherwise of him, when in Herods house they clothed him in a white garment? when the great & profound wisedom of God shall bee reprooued by the worlde: neuer let flesh and blood thinke to escape vn­touched: but thus resolue w^t thy self, howsoeuer thou see­mest in y^e eies of worldly mē [Page] bee it wise or foolish, thy purpose aymeth at a world excelling all worlds, there­to thou framest al thy hope, directest all thy endeuours, thou art not of this worlde, the other thy soule thirsteth and longeth after: thus pray with perseuerance, & God will blesse thy purpose.

Meditation 5. Of true wisedome.

IF any among you seeme to be wise in this world, 1. Cor. 3 let him be a foole, that he may become truely wise, sayth the Apostle: because the greatest, highest, and very profoundest wisedome that is, is to be a foole for Christ, [Page 31] because the worlde reputes as foolishnesse the true wise­dome of God, which consi­steth in true mortificatiō & denying of a mans own selfe. I am (saith Salomon) the ve­riest foole of all other, Pro. 30 and haue not the vnderstanding of a man in me. The children of this world pretende themselues to be more wise then the children of light, therefore the wise man saith, that the wisedome of men shall not dwel with him, but that on­ly which is of our Lorde Ie­su Christ, and by the world is tearmed folly. When a Captayne that hath learned such excellent knowledge, as thereby hee takes vppon him a meruellous and dan­gerous warlike enterpryse: shall they that vnderstande [Page] little or nothing in such af­faires, esteeme that Captain a vain man or a foole? Here­to answereth the wise man: Because the diuine wisedome exceedeth all our capacitie, Sap. 5. it is called follie, thus is it repli­ed vnto in the person of the worldly man. Moyses being in Egipt, was very wise and eloquent, but spea­king afterwarde with God, he confessed himselfe to be a stammerer, for the great­est wisedome of the worlde is dumbe and silent in the sight of God.Exod. 3.

Salomon was most wise, neuertheles, in comparison of the high wisedome of God, he said of himself, that he was the veryest foole of all men. And he only knows sufficient that despiseth the [Page 32] world for Gods sake, and he knowes enough, that knows how to humble himselfe: all other knowledge els in the world beside, is meere igno­raunce and follie. In true contemning thy self, consists the height of the knowledge of Christ, for no other knowledge may bee compared therwith. Admit thou didst perfectly know all the libe­rall artes, little or no profit canst thou get out of them, but such as appertaines to this world onely, for if thou knowest no parte of thy selfe, thou goest like a vagabonde, euen by bare knowledge of outwarde thinges, and yet of thy selfe thou knowest iust no­thing.

Blessed is the soule [Page] that is filled with the wis­dome of God, and blessed is hee, who learnes by him to know, and standes at defy­ance with the world in that pointe, for more worth is one droppe of diuine know­ledge, then high, full and deepe seas of worldly wise­dome.

In this Schole then hast thou to study both night & day, there maiest thou learn to be truely mortified: and looke how much thou didst know in this vallie of mise­ry, so much more shalt thou then be ignorant, and dead to this world.

Iacob, after he had wrast­led with the Angel, remay­ned lame of one legge, and was called Israel,Gen. 32. to wit the man that saw and preuailed [Page 33] with God: signifying there­by, that he who will see and know God, must quickly become lame to this world, and that hee may truely tast of God, let him emptie him selfe of al worldly cares and cogitations, then will God come dwell in him, & fill his soule with aboun­dance of all goodnesse, that he will be so strange to the world, as if hee had neuer knowen it.

Herehence it grows, that when thou beholdest word­ly men so earnest and dili­gent in getting temporal ri­ches together: thou won­drest that they bruise not their bones, breake their legges or armes with diuers perillous hazardes, which in their heat of greedie de­sire [Page] they wil put themselues vnto, wherein thou mayest bee very quickly answered, because they haue no know­ledge of God, and stande so farre out of his sight, as they neuer care whether they e­uer see him or no. But ho­ly and vertuous men, whose eyes waite on God, as the handmaids on her mistresse, in the Prophets comparison by Iacobs knowledge, that they haue him for their Lord and mayster: they halt downe right to worldly oc­casions, and their names are chaunged as Iaacobs was, yet still the worldly wise call them nothing but fooles, when themselues wil neuer appeare so wise in Gods sight.

When the superior part of [Page 34] thy soule shalbe filled with the wisedome of God, as is the face of the Moone tur­ned toward the sun, that her other parte which respectes the earth, remayneth voide and without light: in selfe same estate shall the infe­riour part of the soule be, when it is directed agaynst worldly affayres.Eccle. 27. The foole (sayth Ecclesi.) chaungeth as the Moone, because lea­uing the diuine light and brightnesse of the Sunne of iustice, hee is turned to­warde inferiour matters on the earth, so confused to heauenly wisedome seemes that of the world. Moises Serpent deuoured all Pha­raohs Magitians Serpents:Exod. 7- for the wisedom of God wil deuour, destroy & cōsume al [Page] worldly wisedome.

God in the olde law pro­mised riches, & other things whereof men are very desi­rous: yet for all that, there were but fewe conuerted to the Iewish, and true wor­shipping of him. Afterward whē the Sauior of the world came, and promised to men nothing but persecution, trouble and trauayle, well neere al the whole conuer­ted to him. The wisedome of God is so great, that hee electes the weakest thinges, making them to confounde & ouercome the stronger, whereby the simple shall vanquish and put down the great Clearke, for all things are subiect to the wisedome of God.

It is a manifest thing, that [Page 35] the wisdome of God hath ouercome the worlde, by poore, meane and vnlerned men. If thou shouldst see a fayre & excellent portray­ture, painted with liuely & perfect colours, if afterward there should likewise come a rare and most skilful pain­ter, who with a coale onely should drawe vpon a wal a­nother figure, that in beau­ty and excellence should go beyond the other: tel mee, wouldst thou not wonder at it? Why, the worlde con­quers a Cittie by huge for­ces and armies of men, and thus doe Princes get them­selues the victorie. But the wisedom of God euen with a coale, that is by poor fish­ermen, silly soules, and those of meanest degree, [Page] hath made a conquest of all the world as it were.

The wisedome of Iesus Christ, instruc [...]es vs to des­pise the world, & all thinges therein contayned, yet the world cals him blessed,Psal. 143 who is riche in possessions: but Christ in his high wisedom giues that felicity to pouer­tie, calling them blessed, which are poore in spirit: Mat. 5. what thing is further off from hu­mane wit, then to kil death by dying the death? or what case more strange, then to please and appease God by crucifying his onely begot­ten son? & who would think that the assurāce of al mens liues could not be had, but by one mans death first vpō the crosse? this in the worlds eye seemed impossible, and yet [Page 36] nothing more true and cer­taine. Learne then (deare brother) to haue this wise­dome with thee, and say with the Apostle Paule, I confesse, I knowe not any thing if not Christ crucified. 1, Cor. 2

Why are mens eyes pla­ced in their head, but onely that they shold haue cōtinu­al regard to their head, w^c is Iesus Christ: if thou look on thy feete, which is the world, thou hast no mind of thy head, & then thine eies auaile thee not. Look vppe then to thy Sauiour and re­deemer, feare no stumbling blockes that may lye in thy way: if thy purpose be on heauen and heauenly thinges, hating the world with all her vaine allure­mentes, hee wil leade thee [Page] by the hand, that thy feete shall not falter, he will put ioy in thy hearte, that no dread shall dismay thee, & comfort in thy soule, that hel shal not preuaile against thee.

Meditation 6. Of worldly strength and true strength both in one.

Esa. 13 I Wil bring down the arrogancie and pride of the strong, sayth God by the Prophet Esay: which the holy womā Iudeth remem­bring, said in her prayer to God: Humble them (O Lord) that presume on themselues, Iudit 6. vanting and glorying in their [Page 37] owne strength. What greater vanitie is there, then a man being so frayle and weake, to presume or think he hath any strength at all? Where­fore God is wont to abate this proud humor, by ouer­throwing the very strongest imagination, with some oc­casion which he least estee­meth.

The Apostle Peter pre­sumed on himselfe,Mat. [...]6▪ though all men else should bee offended, and forsake their mayster, yet he would dye for him, & neuer leaue him: but what became of this great brauado? he was no sooner askt a question by a simple seruant of the house, but then with oathes and protestations, he neuer knewe the man, here was [Page] proud strength quickly o­uerthrowen. This caused God,Exod. 8. that hee woulde not plague proud Pharaoh with Lyons, Tygers, and other such fierce beasts: but with Frogs, Grashoppers, Lo­custes, Flyes, Lice and such like small vermine, to the ende that hee might knowe howe vaine was all his strength and arrogancy. Benhadab Kinge of Syria, knowing no end of his own strength and valour,1, Reg. 20 went a­gainst Samaria with two and thirty kings, as also with a most powerfull armie, & to the K. of Israel hee sent this proud message. My gods doo so & so to me, if the dust of Sa­maria be enough to all the peo­ple that followe mee, for euery man an handfull. But God [Page 38] chastized the pride of this Gentile, ouerthrowing his huge armie, and by twoo hundred and thirty soldiers slewe an infinite number of them. Then Benhadad ga­thered a newe strength of men, & returned again with his former proude resoluti­on: but in one day there pe­rished of them an hundred thousand. Did not Goliah in like manner vaunt of his puissance & strength? yet God, by the hand of a poore yong shepheard, that neuer bare armes, tooke down his proud stomacke, & with his owne sword made his head be smittē off. With no lesse pride & arrogancy did Ho­lophernes,Iudit. 15. Lieutenant gene­ral to the K. of Assiria, be­siedge Bethulia w^t a mighty [Page] Armie: yet by the will of God, a woman cut off his head, and confounded the host of k. Nabuchadnezzer, as she (giuing thanks to God for her victorie) thus sing­eth.Iudit. 13. The high and proud tru­sters in their strength were not ouerthrown by the young men, but by Iudith the daughter of Merari, whom God made a­ble to do it. In like manner were Sisera. Senacherib, & the Gyantes of the lande of Canaan destroyed, and all those that vainly presumed on their strength, which made the Prophete Dauid say in his Psalme: The king is not saued by the multitude of his forces, Psal, 33 nor the mightie man deliuered by his great strength: for the strength of bodie fayleth very much if [Page 39] it be not holpen by reason and vnderstanding. Samp­son was a man strong and valiant,Iudit. 16, but being not go­uerned by the counsell of reason, he brought himselfe into miserable slauery, by falling into the handes of his enemies. Let no man then glory in the strength of his body, but rather let him desire the strength of the soule: because the certainty of strength, and valour con­sisteth in carrying an equall courage, as well in aduersi­tie, as in prosperity, & hee onely is valiant, that in pro­speritie is not puffed vppe, nor in aduetsitie pulled downe.

The diuine wisedome saith:Sap. 6. That knowledge is bet­ter then fortitude, and better [Page] is a wise man then a stronge man: for bodily strength God hath giuen to beastes, but strength of the mind is giuen onely to man, and this vertue appeareth in a well setled soul, that with strong hande can resist all mishaps whatsoeuer. How art thou valiant, if for euery little occasion thou suffer thy self to be ouercome with anger? wilt thou extoll thine owne valour, and yet threaten them that iniurie thee? If one contrary thee, and say thou a [...] not couragious: this presently is an especial wronge to thy reputation, and by no meanes it may be endured. Fonde foole, this [...]e declares indeed that thou hast no valour in thee, he told thee but truth, [Page 40] and thou art not angry, for manhoode consistes not in smiting, but sufferance. I pray thee tell me, what gal­lant man of strength art thou, that will bee wonne with a worde to bee an­gry, and wilt loose a whole senights sleepe for a little conceyued displeasure? Thou hast not one minutes assuraunce of thy life, thou mayest dye euen in this heate of thine anger: what helpes thee then all thy fiercenesse and threatnings? What is become of the strength and valour where­of thou madest thy brags? Can all nowe defende and keep thee from a little poor worme?

Oh vanitie of vanities, [Page] that a peece of clay, a mise­rable sinfull man, fraile, weake, subiect to all infir­mities, should presume and make such boast of his strength, that cannot resist a poor worme from feeding on him in his graue: while this lustre gallant liueth hee is offended, nay conquered by many of these smal crea­tures, as flies that sting his face, and hee cannot re­uenge it, Fleas that molest him in bed, and hee cannot helpe it, wormes that de­uoure his entrailes, and hee cannot redresse it: now when hee lyes in his graue, wormes must eate him, and he cannot withstande it, for it is written, VVhen a man is dead, he is but food for worms and serpents. Where nowe [Page 41] is this boaster of his strēgth? pull downe that loftie opi­nion of thy valour, and say, that sufferaunce is the best staffe of thy strength.

The lightning burneth and consumeth all thinges on the earth, excepte the Laurell tree, and that is no way hurt with the fires vio­lence, no more then the iust man is in the fire of tri­bulation: true vertue then is that godly Laurell tree, which is alwaies greene and neuer hurt or impayred by any affliction.

Nowe what is the chief­est pride of this strong mans strength? forsooth hee must pocket no wrong, endure no thwarting words, and with­all, hee will reuenge his in­iuries himselfe. There are [Page] three thinges which God onely reserueth to himselfe, and will haue no man be so bold as to meddle with any of them. The first, iudging the intention and thoughts of our neighbours, whereto his owne saying is agreable: Iudge not others, Mat. 7 and you shall not bee iudged: the Father hath giuen to the Sonne all power of iudgement. The second,Esay. 48. is honor and glory conformable to his own say­ing. To no one wil I giue my glory. Deut. 32. The third thing which he reserueth to himselfe, is vengeance, Ʋengeance is mine: let him then beware, that will take from him a­ny of these three. Then more then meere foolish­nesse is it to seeke reuenge, which alwayes bringeth [Page 42] with it y^e losse & hurt of our neighbour, beside, it is great vanitie to heale his owne wound, with drawing blood of another, for a reuengeful man seekes his owne helpe by anothers harme, and to assure his owne health, by another mans infirmity: which (in briefe) is nothing else, then seeking water in fire, sweet grapes on thorns, and figges on thistles, there­fore thinke thy selfe a very vayne man, and the matter altogether impossible for thee, by another mans griefe to allay thine owne anguish.

Great folly is it beside, that a man will reuenge himselfe to his owne losse: for hee cannot doe the least harme to his neigh­bours [Page] bodie, but hee doeth much more to his own soul and conscience. It is written in the Prouerbs, Say not thou, I wil render euill for euil, but trust in the Lord, Prov. 20. and hee will deliuer thee, from perill of body and soule in hel fire, whereof thou art assured to taste, if thou take the Lords office out of his hand. Stand not on thine owne defence, sayth the Apostle, but giue way to anger, not prohibi­ting lawfull defence of a mans owne self, but forbid­ding reuenge, vnderstand­ing this place reuenge by the worde defence, as in the booke of Iudith it is writ­ten, that Nabuchadnezzar sware to defende himselfe against al nations,Iudit. 1. where the holy scripture vnderstan­deth [Page 43] by defending him self, reuenging himselfe. There­fore such as reuenge them­selues on their enemies, fall into Gods reuenge, & shall be punished as mightie sin­ners. Hath another man offended thee, and art thou angry at it? How often hast thou offended God and ne­uer beene sory for it? if our pittifull God shold reuenge one weeks offences of thine, long since hadst thou beene where there is no redemp­tion.

Hearst thou not that what measure you mete to other,Luk. 6. the very same shall be mete to you agayne? and as yee handle others, so will God handle you? Remember, that in the same place,2. Reg. 11 wher the dogs lickt the blood of [Page] innocent Naboth, they like­wise lickt the blood of guil­tie Achab. The sonnes of Iacob, because they were cruell to their brother, were afterwarde afflicted in E­gipt, as themselues confes­sed,Gen. 42. saying, Wee iustly suffer this, because we sinned against our brothers bloode, and when he intreated vs, wee woulde not heare him. Exod, 1. Pharaoh woulde needes drowne the children of Israel in his waters: God paide him againe with the selfe same coyne drowning him afterward in the redde sea:Exod, 14. The serpent that broght man into the state of misery had his punishment to creep w^t his bellie on the earth:Gen. 3 & because out of his mouth came the deceit, he had no other foode but earth assig­ned [Page 44] him, which before was cursed for the sin of mā. The womā likewise who had ea­ten of the forbidden fruite, had her punishment also ap­pointed by fruit, That the fruit of her wombe shoulde be brought forth in pain & heaui­nes. Gen. 3. And because the man sinned eating, God limited his penalty by eating, say­ing: Thou shalt eat thy breade in the sweate of thy browes.

Thus as the offēce is made God will haue the chastise­ment answerable thereto, & he y^t wil haue no compassion on his neighbour, God will deny compassion to him: thē reuenge thou thy self on thy neighbour, God will reuenge himselfe on thee, but if thou be benigne and mercifull to him, God wilbe much more [Page] benigne and mercifull to thee, for he that cannot lie, said:Mat. 5 Blessed are the merciful, for they shal find mercie: leaue al reuenge then to the hand of God, because hee shall cōmit high treason against his king, that shall vsurpe the kingly authority & com­mande through his iurisdic­tion what is forbidden him. Then trust not to thy strength, take not thy Lord and maysters office from him, humble thy pur­pose both in the one and o­ther to him: so shal he make thy foes thy friendes, thy hurt thy help, thy mindes former disquiet, thy soules eternall pacification, al shal goe well with thee, euery thing comfort thee, & God thy God dwell euermore [Page 45] with thee.

Meditation 7. Of worldly beautie.

BEautie is vanitie, Prou. 31: sayth the wise man in the Pro­uerbs: therefore if all vanitie ought to haue no account made thereof, bodily beautie (as the very vainest thing of all) ought least to bee regarded. For among al the idle affections in men of this worlde, and which thou (as a faithfull seruante of Iesus Christ) shouldst flie from: is this bo­dily beautie, wherewith many men are besotted, & they that haue it are made [Page] proude, themselues knowe not of what. The fair beau­tifull lockes of Absolon, to what ende did they serue him, but to bee the instru­ment of his owne vnhappie death? For whatsoeuer beau­ty God hath endued vs withall, is (by looking ther­on) to consider him the bet­ter, that hee is more faire then all fayrenesse whatsoe­uer:Rom. 1. because the inuisible thinges of God (according to the Apostle Paule) are knowne by the visible, and knowledge of the creature, bringes vs to vnderstande what the creator is. As when a man in trauelling on the way findes a vayne of water in the water: and by following his course, comes at length to the [Page 46] mayne heade or spring: so when we meete with any beautifull bodie wee should followe the perfect regarde thereof so farre, till wee are arriued at the especial point and ground worke which is God himselfe, for from him all beautie hath originall. And as a silly childe, behol­ding gilded letters and gau­ [...]y pictures in a booke, by instinct of nature delightes [...]o gaze thereon, being not [...]le to reade what good [...]octrine is else contayned therein: (so in all respectes) [...] wold not haue thee follow [...]is example, because there [...] great difference between [...]ee and a child. Thou y^t art [...] man capable, when thou [...]okest on the booke of [...]orporall beautie, reade, [Page] and consider well what is written therein, thou shalt finde one or other sentence there, which plainely com­mands thee, to loue and re­uerence the maker of that beautie, & in all Gods crea­tures beside thou shalt finde the like sentence.

For the creatures of God are as spectacles to man, not seruing to see himselfe in them, but to behold other things of more weyght: then set not a creature before thine eyes, to regard eyther it or thy selfe therein, but learne in that glasse, to see, know and loue the maker of thee, and all creatures whatsoeuer. Wo to you (saith the Prophet Esay) that won­der not at what God hath done, Esay. 5. nor consider the workes [Page 47] of his hands: for not dooing this, the roundnesse of the earth hath fought against fooles, because their vnder­standing hath been but ima­gination. With iudgement we looke vppon a creature, by the knowledge of whose stature and beautie, we may come to the knowledge & excellencie of the creator. For what can wee discerne in one creature, that is not in another? perhaps some one is more faire, and there­fore draws thy affection the more thereto: the more e­specially (if thou wert wise) wouldst thou bee enflamed with loue to y^e creator ther­of. Because if thou delight­est in beautie, without re­ferring it to God, thou shew­est thy selfe a vaine foole: [Page] for the beautie of all the creatures in the worlde, is not like one drop of water to the maine Sea, in respect of his incomparable beauty that made them, and this were more vanitie, then if thou shouldst fall in loue with thine owne fayrenesse. Tell mee one thing, doth not thy beautie proceede from thy soule? Take thy soule from the body, and all thy beautie hath soone lost his splendour, because the soule is that which giues life to the beautie of the body: then if thy body seem faire, so much the more oughtst thou to loue thy soul, for be­ing the cause of thy bodies beauty. If the presēce of the soul, be y^e reason of thy fair­nes, thou maiest firmly then [Page 48] beleeue, that the same soule hath in it more excellent beautie, then thou art able to conceiue: for in the soule consistes the absolute beau­tie, to which all other is but a shadow, and fadeth in a moment. Then neuer stand vppon the shell or rinde of beautie, nor wonder at the exteriour apparaunce: but passe on a little further, fixe thine eies and thoughts vp­on the pith or mayne mat­ter, and loue the beginner of so goodly a forme, as the onely foundation, and most worthy to bee beloued. Trust not to that beautie, which is soone altred with euery small infirmitie, for our dayes run on, nay swift­ly flie, youth quickly steals away, and death or old age [Page] layes present hold on vs: & then who will regarde our glittering lookes, or the ve­ry purest beauty that can be seene in our faces?

When our bodies shall looke yellowe, meagre and leaden coloured, our eyes fearefully shronke into the head, and euery parte hard fauoured, that seemed be­fore so fayre: then our out­warde trueth of beautie wil appeare to bee but counter­feytly couered, and false deceite hid that which was no deceit, so that it may ve­ry well bee tearmed a fayre fraude discouered. Fyre burns none but them it tou­cheth, yet beautie enflames them that stand aloof frō it, pride is her companion, and in very short time she lear­neth [Page 49] to tyrannize: blinding mens eyes with a vayle, sna­ring their feet, and clipping their wings, that they shold not know truth, follow after vertue, flie vp with their mindes to regard chiefe oc­casions: whereby may be gathered, that corporall beautie is forgetfull of rea­son, and very seldome doo beautie and true vertue a­gree together. The Prophet Esay compares bodily beau­tie to grasse, saying,Esay. 40. All flesh is grasse, & all the glory there­of like to the flower of the field. The grasse being mowen downe, the flower falleth, to day beautiful and green, to morrow barren, dried vp and withered. In the mor­ning the flower is fragrant, at night robde of all sweet­nesse: [Page] with like speedinesse passeth on youths freshnes, and his glory is as soon gon, as the great meddows beau­ty is changed.

The Prophet Dauid spea­king of mans life,Psal, 90 sayth, He groweth like the grasse: it grows vppe and florisheth in the mor­ning, but in the euening it is cut down & withereth. Won­der not then at this false worlde, which at the first sight seemes so fayre and goodly: but proceede on further and consider more highly: when thou lookest on a goodly man or woman, think but what dust, ashes & filth is hidden vnder that painted prospectiue, in what estate it is now, and what it will be when b [...]eath is gone out of his nostrilles. If thou [Page 50] purpose to haue any portion with him, that is true beau­ty indeed, & without whom there is no other: Cast off al conceit of this worlds beau­tie, adorne and decorate thy soule with that which is not vayne, corruptible, false and transitorie, altred by the ayre, chaungde with euery ague fitte, and in deede nothing to bee lesse esteemed: but cleaue to this resolution, that heauen is thine inheritaunce, there is the beautie of the Cheru­bines, there the bright face of glory, and there and no where else is any beautie: purpose this in thy soul, per­form it to thy vttermost, & more will not God exact at thy handes, because hee res­pects y^e wil, not the work, the [Page] harts zeale & loue, not the lippes labour, thus is hee to be pleased, and thy owne soule profited.

Meditation. 8. Of true beautie.

Cant. 4. THou art al fair, saith Christ to the soul redee­med by his blood: for the beautie of the soule is that which neuer fayleth, but continueth the same in hea­uen, and this is true beauty, which by infirmity or death can neuer be impayred. The bodies beautie short, mo­mentary and corruptible, but the soules euerlasting, & such is this true beauty: [Page 51] that it exceedeth all beau­ty the world can afford, and by how much heauen is fay­rer then the earth, by so much is the soules beauty beyonde all other thinges whatsoeuer.

If we could beholde this beautie with our bodily eies, wee woulde despise all other beauty vnder hea­uen: for so exceeding great is this beautie of the soule, that it is in grace and fauor with God. This was one of the reasons, why God woulde not permitte vs to see the beautie of our soules, least we shold there­by growe full of pride and vaine glorie, when wee did beholde such admirable beautie: and this was the selfe same sin, for which the [Page] Angelles were cast downe from heauen, wherein wee offending, should likewise be deiected, when we shold see our souls so fayre, so sur­passing all thinges else, wee would grow enamored with our selues, & waxe so proud & haughty, as we wold scantly afforde our bodies neces­sary nutrimēt. Contrariwise when thou beholdest the ouglines of thy soule, being defiled and polluted with deadly sinnes: I think thou canst take small pride in it, being in such a pittiful & la­mentable estate: for nothing makes a man so foule & de­formed, as ougly sin doth, were the body neuer so fair, blacke sin doth disgrace it: if then thou louest so much vayne bodily beautie, then [Page 52] learn a little somwhat to re­spect thy soule, which being faire of it selfe, makes al the body beautiful, and giues it that glory in heauen, which thou canst neuer attain vnto here in earth.

If there were a water of such vertue to bee founde, that if a man washed him selfe therein, for three daies onely wold make him most lothsome, and afterward to be more young, freshe and fayre then hart could desire: What woman is there but would gladly wash her selfe with such a water? wil­lingly yeelding to bee fowle for three dayes, that for euer after shee might bee so beautifull: Wouldst thou then be true­ly fayre for euer? Washe [Page] thy soule with the water of teares and vnfeyned repen­tance, humble thy proude body with abstinence, fa­sting & prayer: what though for three dayes space in this brittle life thou be infirme, sickly and weake? for euer after thou shalt bee a most glorious Angell in heauen, thy three dayes deformity heere shall make thee per­petually blessed there, that which darkened and obscu­red thy beauty in this life, shall make thee there like the Sun to shine with most true radiance, as no eye hath seene, nor no tongue can tell the perfect excellence ther­of. What though thou be now old, withered, lame & mishapen? if thou wilt here adorne thy soule with ver­tue, [Page 53] thou shalt arise young, fayre, white, and coloured like an Angell: Where on the contrary, how fayre soe­uer thou seemest in this life: if brutishly thou doest de­fyle thy soule with sin, thou shalt arise to the generall iudgement in such ougly & monstrous forme, as there is no painter in the worlde can portrayte a thing more lothsom, then the sight-kil­ling presence of thy wretch­ed bodie.

Busie then thy wittes to beautifie thy soule with sanctified vertues, and get the beautie thou shouldst most of all long after, which is of more value then thou canst imagine: for such a glorious body is so perfect­ly cleare and beautiful, that [Page] if God woulde permit our sinfull eyes but to beholde such a bodie, we should bee so abashed & amazed there­at, as wee should mind ney­ther eating, drinking, slee­ping, or any thing else be­longing to this life, but alto­gether stand rauished with contemplating such a glori­ous spectacle.

Art thou then such a lo­uer of beautie? bestow that affection on vertue, which makes both the body and soule seeme so excellente. Thou art ennamored on this outward beauty, which beares but the bare name, and hath none of the true nature: Wert thou yester­day young, delicate, fresh and fayre? to day thou art olde, gray hayred, grimme [Page 54] and toothlesse, then whe­ther is thy fresh youth gon? euen nipt off like a flower, borne away with the wind, aches & diseases laye hand­fast on thee, then death sweepes away altogether, & this becomes of the body which was earst so beauti­ful. Bodily beauty is vayne, and a manifest deceit neuer knowen but by the foolish, & condemned by the wise. The beauty of the forbid­den tree made our first mo­ther Eue offend:Gen. 3. The beau­tie of the daughters of [...]ne caused the destruc­tion of the world by the de­luge: Bersabaes beautie made King Dauid sinne haynously:Gen. 6. Thamars beau­tie likewise procured Am­mon to bee slaine after hee2 Sam. 11 [Page] had sinned, whereon ensued great war and much harme.2 Sam. 13 How did Holofernes loose his head, and the powerfull Army of the Assirians ouer­throwen, but by the excee­ding beautie of Iudith? For as the scripture speaketh of her; Holofernes was ensnared with her godly beauty. The luxurious olde Iudges peri­shed by the beauty of Su­sanna, and Dinaes faire face caused the ruine of Sichem.Iudit. 13.

Sundry euils & mishaps, as we reade in many places of the Bible, haue ensued through this regard of cor­porall beautie: Neuerthe­lesse, this false shaddowe is stil so respected by men, as they care not to infect their soules with foule leaprous staynes, which takes his ori­ginall [Page 55] onely from this pain­ted infection. Then deare Christian brother, by so ma­ny forepassed examples, learn thou to be more wary, couet thou for the eternall beautie of the soule, and let this wind of vanitie passe on vnregarded: if this diuine purpose be entirely embra­ced, all other beautie will seeme foule deformitie in thine eyes, and this bee the onely obiecte of thy vertuous de­sires.

Meditation 9. Of worldly honour.

SEeke no soue­raignety ouer men, Eccles. 7. neyther procure to thy selfe honour, or the seat Regall, councelleth Ecclesiasticus. They that seeke to flie higher then their wings wil beare them, endaunger themselues very much, and they had neede to haue their heads not gid­dy, but wel setled, least they fall to the earth, and bruse themselues in peeces: there­fore if thou be angry with worldly honors, it were re­quisite thou shouldest haue [Page 56] great vnderstanding, and e­specially to make God thy friende in all thine affaires, least thou slip beside thine honor into hell fire, for such high places are perillous, therfore beware of them.Psal. 91. A thousand (saith Dauid) shall fall at thy left hand, and tenne thousand at thy right hande: Wherefore more are they that perish at the right hand of vaine honour and world­ly felicitie, then they that dye in humilitie and lowe estate. The felicitie of worldly men is a curse with out chastisement, and a stroke of God neuer vnder­stoode: then lift not vp thy selfe to sitte in honors seat, because more perilles at­tend theron thē thou canst iudge of.

The madde man hath a world of imaginations in his head, and if they should not weare away of themselues, they would bring him into infinite dangers: leaue then the idle thoughts of honour, which builds Castels in thy brayne, because if thou rid not thy self of them, the life of thy soule will be in dan­ger of perishing: cast from forth thy mind (I say) those too high presuming opini­ons, which sucke thy blood, and make thee too much hart sicke, for thou canst ne­uer be throughly sound, till thou bee free frō that ougly monster of imaginations.Ioh. 6. Our Sauiour Christ fled a­way, when they would haue made him a King: yet who could better rule & gouerne [Page 57] men, then he that had crea­ted them? Notwithstand­ing, he tooke humane fleshe vpon him, not onely to re­deeme men, but beside to teach them, howe to flie frō worldly honors, after his ex­ample and instruction, in refusing to be made a King, whereby he gaue to vnder­stand, that many perils are hidden vnder worldly pre­ferments.

Saul first hid himselfe be­ [...]ause he wold not bee king;1, Sam. 10 2. Sam. 15 [...]ut being installed, hee [...]orthwith waxed proude, & [...]ould be honoured by the Prophet Samuel: so that it [...] a dangerous thing to deal [...]ith honor, as hath euident­ [...] beene discerned by the [...]ll of many. When King Dauid was in the heyght of [Page] honor, reposing himselfe at pleasure in his pallace, then did hee offende most gree­uously: whereby wee may perceyue, that when men mount to loftie honours, then present perill attend­eth on them. There are ma­ny men lifted to honor, who to maintaine the good con­ceit they haue thereof, will not feare to displease God, & defame their neyghbour: yea rather then to repayre their neighbors fame again, with any vayling of their owne aspired promotion, they will aduenture body & soule to the deuil, such is their affectiō to this worlds vain honor. Among the chief Rulers (saith S. Iohn) were many that beleeued in Christ: Ioh. 12. but because of the Phariseis [Page 58] they durst not confesse him, lest they shoulde bee cast out of the Sinagogue. For they loued the glory of men more then the glo­ry of God. Such an estate (in mine opinion) is most la­mentable, when men are so ouercome with regarde of worldly honour, that they will rather loose their owne souls, then one inch of their height in this worlde. Py­late condemned the Sauior of the whole world,Mat. 17. althogh hee knewe him to bee most innocent, yet hee must not loose a iotte of the honour wherein hee was installed. Full well did Pilate knowe, that through mallice and enuie they deliuered him vppe into his power, and though in outward shew he pretended and sought his [Page] deliuery, yet he heard them no sooner say: If thou let him go, thou art not Caesars friend, but Pilate would be friend both to honor & himselfe, for such an office he thoght was wel worth the holding. Thus the onely Lord of life must be sentenced to death, for feare of Caesars displea­sure, all iniustice must bee committed, yea, God him­selfe highly wronged, rather then worldly pompe must be lost, or great mens fauor diminished.

1. Reg. 12Ieroboam king of Israel, to maintayne himselfe in the honour hee had gotten, made golden calues, and drewe the people to idola­trie:Mat. 12. Euen as Herode cau­sed the innocent young in­fants to be murthered, thin­king [Page 59] among them to kill Christ, so to bee assured of his owne honour and king­dome. The like did Caiphas the high Priest, with those of his councell, concluding on Christes death, for pre­seruation of their owne au­thorities: neuer fearing the comming of the Romanes, who despoiled them of all the worldly dignities they had. If thou didst truly knowe in what hell of life they liue, who are preferred to worldly honours: most gladly wouldst thou hate such a vaine & idle dreame, which bringes care and mo­lestation, but nothing else that may be tearmed good.

Hast thou not seene in some triumph or solemne showe, a statue or image of a [Page] man or woman, represent­ing (by memory of some former predecessor) the pre­sent action then to bee spo­ken of. How curious is the deuiser in furnishing this Antique? of this freende borrowing a veluet gowne, of another a chaine of gold, & so of diuers persons sup­plying his sundry necessi­ties? No sooner is the shew ended and the beholders gon, but the puppet is stript out of all his brauerie: and whereas he seemed goodly before, now stands he naked and of no account at all. No fitter comparison can bee made of this worlds honor, thē by this image or statue, for when a man is once pos­sest of that vaine-breathing word, & while the shewe or [Page 60] enterlude of this life la­steth: of the excrements of the poore silke worme hee borroweth his veluet gowne and braue apparell, of the earth it selfe his chaine of gold, and iewelles, so when the shewe is ended, that is, when life is once past ouer, his wretched carkasse lyes like that despoyled statue, robde of all his gaye attyre, and no more remembred, then as if it had neuer beene.

When Adam was in so great honour in Paradise,Gen. 3. then fell hee to sinne high­ly: Contrariwise, after that Iob had beene buffeted with many tribulations, and afflictions,Iob. 1. euen to the meere losse of patience and offending of God, yet for [Page] all these mightie disturban­ces, he woulde not sinne a­gainst his own soule. Adam in his great dignitie was o­beyed of all: but Iob sate on a dunghill of filth, and for­saken of euery one: yet the ones loftie estate shewed him but the way to sinne, where the others humiliati­on preserued him in safetie. Hee that standes on a high tower, if his foote but slippe is in danger of a shrewd fall: so consequently in greater perill are they that stand on the bridges of loftie build­inges, then they that sit in se [...]uritie vppon the plaine ground, for in the low estate is no cause of dread, which makes that sloth (the father of all wickednesse) raignes more amongst the great & [Page 61] mightie men of this world, then in them that are poore and so deiected. Great men cōsume their time idlely, in sports and sensuall delights, liuing as they list, and fee­ding delicately: which is more displeasing in the sight of God, thē the course of their life, who liue by their labour & dayly sweat, therefore they that desire to liue eternally, abase them felues in this worlde, that they may be exalted in the world to come.

The Merchant man that trauels for his dayly mayn­tenance, buyes his wares at the best hande, where hee may haue most choyse, and selles deere afterwarde, to make his most benefite. If thou wouldst trauaile to [Page] heauen, which is thy best way for traffique, goe the directe way that leadeth thee thither, and mind not such wares here, as will re­turne thee little or no profit at all. In heauen is greatest aboundance of honors, pro­speritie, riches and pleasure, then take mine aduice, store thy selfe with such commo­dities as fitteth that coun­trey, there thou shalt be wel paide, and sell at thine owne pleasure, fayth, hope, cha­ritie, persecution, teares, almes deedes, fasting, pray­er and repentance, these are the merchandise thou must bring with thee thether, for there is no vent for o­ther worldly vanities.

If thou come well proui­ded of these commodities, [Page 62] thou shalt bee a welcome man to that countrey, thy store will there encrease, & thou wilt quickly be hono­rable. But if thou labour in vayne, loading thy selfe with a fardle of follies, a huge heape of honors, and this worldes felicities: thou canst haue no landing there, there are none of thy minde to barter withall, not a pe­nie profite canst thou make of all thy trumpery, trusse vppe and bee gonne, for there they will not knowe thee. Thus hast thou heard the perill of world­ly honour, now a little of the shortnesse and breui­tie thereof, and then wee will proceede to our other purposes.

The honour of the vngodly [Page] (saith Salomon) shalbe dryed vp like a riuer, & it shall make a sound like a great thunder in the raine: Eccles. 40. When we behold lightning, hear a great thun­der, and see the cloudes so blacke, as threatning a won­derfull flood of water: sud­denly coms a furious storm of rayne, but in halfe an hower after no memory is discerned of the tempest, the ayre being as calme and fayre as at the first it was. Such is the vayne and short honour of this worlde, it bears a shew for a while, the noyse thereof is heard some halfe howres space, but af­terward, not a signe of it left to be discerned. How many Kings and Princes haue we seene, with infinit numbers of people, Knights and sol­diers [Page 63] for guard of their per­sons, which haue euen filde vp the way as they went, e­uery one wondring at their powr & authority: but what memory now at this day re­maynes of them? Death came, he cut them off in two daies, leauing al their pomp dignity and greatnesse, hid ouer heade and eares in a little earth: Go but to their graues, ye shall see nothing but poore duste, and the wormes that deuoured their delicate bodies, crawling o­uer them like Monarches, that in their life time mo­narchised ouer men.

Iob sayth, that the princes and great men of this worlde rose vp in pride and mightines: Iob. 33 but in the end they came to no­thing. The Euangelist Luke [Page] saith, that the Deuill shew­ed to our Sauiour Christ on the mountain,Luk. 4. all the riches and glory of this world (in a moment) to shewe thereby, how momentarie and tran­sitorie the honour and glory of this world is: For as the Iuie windes about an olde dry tree to make it saplesse, so doth honour circle thee to leaue thee accountlesse: and as to daye thou art a fauourite to a prince or great Lorde, so to morrowe (like an outcast) art thou quite abandoned. Howe vain then is worldly honor? how vain the fauor of great men? nothing more vncer­taine, nothing sooner gon.

Paul the Apostle & Bar­nabas comming to Listra,Act. 14. the people at the first sight [Page 64] did them such honour, that they receyued thē as Gods, and woulde haue sacrificed to them, calling Barnabas Iupiter, and Paule Mercu­rie: but see howe small a while this worldly honour lasted, in shorte time after ignominiously they thrust Paule forth of the cittie: & throwing stones at him, they left him there for dead. The very like hapned to our sauiour Christ,Luk. 4. in Na­zareth they commended his doctrine, and honored him very much: on a suddē they were altred, grewe in hatred against him, & thrust him out. The Prophet Esay likeneth the honours of this world, to the shaddow of E­gipt, saying:Esay 30. Your confidence is in the shaddowe of Egipt: [Page] For as there is nothing flyes away more speedily then a shaddowe: so is there not any thing more vnconstant then honour, which hath no firmenesse or perpetuitie: Why should we then couet with such desire & earnest­nes, for a thing that is more vayne then a shadow?

If there were one, who being extreame thirsty, and hauing found a cleare foun­taine, whose water ran tho­rowe pipes of gold: if he (I say) shoulde embrace the shaddow or golden pipes of the fountaine, as thinking to coole his thirst thereby, woulde not wee repute him to be a very foole? How vn­wise then ought wee to rec­kon him, who leauing the diuine & durable fountain, [Page 65] which only can quench the thirst of our souls, euery way furnishing them with what they may or can desire: will seeke to allay his heate with the shaddowe and no sub­stance of waters? thinking to carrowse off whole cups of honors, dignities, and I knowe not what follies be­side, when alas (poore soule) he is meerely deceyued, and drinkes nothing but the dregs of sinne and corrupti­on.

The figure of this worlde (saith Saint Paule) passeth as way, tearming it a figure,1. Cor. 7. which is nothing else but an imagination: so the world may bee termed not a thing of substance, but an acci­dent or figure of a substāce, and euen so are the honours [Page] and dignities thereof, ima­ginations only without any true being. Wee see some­times painted in a Carde or Mappe fixed on a wall, cit­ties, Castels, Kingdomes, seas, Riuers and mountains: let vs throwe but one drop or more of very water as if into one of these imaginary seas or riuers, and we shal go neere to deface the whole painting. The worlde is as this curious table or draught, which very quick­ly may be spoylde and defa­ced, The hart of man swoln bigge with pride and Iostie preferments, what is it else but a mappe of the worlde, wherin (as in a sheet of large compasse) the whole frame is fashioned? Cast but one droppe of affliction, misery, [Page 66] or any little disease whatso­euer on this gay painting, he [...]s forthwith depriued of life, yea, all his glory gon & vtterly vanished.

Seek not then (dear chri­stian brother) such painted riches and false honors, but [...]end thy purpose, and aime [...]t them, which time cannot deface, age consume or any occasion dispossesse thee of them. Miserable men, who (to vpholde this dreame & glimse of honor) trauaile & take such paynes both by day and night, leauing their houses and families, oppo­sing their liues to imminent daungers, nay (which is worse) rather then to bee defeated of their purpose, [...]heyr goodes, limbes and [...]ife shall not bee spared: [Page] What vanity is this in mor­tall men, and how disagree­ing is this with our Christi­an profession?Galat. 6 The honour of a christian man or woman is onely Christ Iesus cruci­fied, their especiall glory to suffer for his sake trauayle, persecution, and what infa­mie soeuer: but we madde men are of contrary opini­on, wee desire nothing but temporal goodes, honours, pleasures, delights and such like vanities, neuer conside­ring of our selues as indeed we ought to do.

True honour is vertue of the minde, a gift not to bee giuen by any earthly King, nor gotten by flattery, or bought with money: for that wh [...]ch may bee obtay­ned by any of these, is farre [Page 67] from the matter of true ho­nor indeed. The viper (as is said) being burnt to ashes, is good to heale the biting of a viper: if then thou beest bitten with worldly honors and vanities, desiring like­wise to be healed thereof: remember that thou must returne to ashes, the very corruptible matter wherof thou wast made, no other medicine in the worlde can sooner helpe thee of this di­sease, if thou apply it dayly to thy wound, and as thou oughtst to do.

Naaman the Assirian re­quested of the Prophete E­lisha a quantity of earth to carrie with him,2. Reg, 5 because he woulde not honor the Idols of the Gentiles, but giuing ouer all vayne superstition, [Page] worship the only true God. deale thou in like case, least thou shouldest adore the I­doll of this worldes honour: Consider that thou must be­come earth agayne, let it ne­uer be out of thy memory, and say with the wise man: Oh earth and ashes, wherof shouldst thou be proude? Eccles. 10.

Looke with the Peacock downe to thy foul feet, and think all thy vpward braue­rie to be no better: it must haue an ende, and thou art not certaine when, perhaps this day & not to morrowe, then purpose with thy selfe to bee prepared for it, and thinke no honor compara­ble to thy lowly humilia­tion.

Meditation. 10. Of true honour, and howe to come by it, both in this world and in the worlde to come.

I Seeke not mine own glory, Ioh. 9 said Iesus Chryst our Sauiour, although ther want not enow that doo. If there were two trauellers that were to arriue at one appoynted place, & one of thē going about by a wind­ing way, shoulde come the­ther before the other that went the direct path, wee coulde not choose but mer­uell at it. So they who in this world doe leuell at honour, think the direct way thither [Page] is by riches and publike ap­plause: whereas they that trauaile the contrary path, I meane, through hard trials of their faith, and perseue­rance therein, attain there­to much sooner then the o­ther doo. The ready way in this world to bee great in name and same, is eyther by learning, worthy deedes of armes, or compassing great possessions, wherein many of the noble Romanes pre­uayled, as also other nations of no lesse esteeme: but who euer purchased to the world so great and exceeding ho­nour, as did our Lorde and redeemer Iesus Christ?

To no one howe honou­rable or famous soeuer, did the worlde at any time giue so great honour, as to reue­rence [Page 69] him ouer the face of [...]he whole earth for verye God: which dignity (where­ [...]n none euer was or shall be his equall) onely Christ had [...]et by a very contrary way [...]nd means, for he got it not [...]y riches, slaughtering his [...]nemies, or by force of Ar­mies: but by flying from ho­ [...]our, by pouerty and humi­ [...]itie, by shedding of his most precious bloude, and [...]his is he which sayth, I seeke [...]ot mine owne glorie: Ioh. 9 thus not [...]eeking honour, but by fly­ [...]ng from it, hee obtayned more honour then all they can that trauayle to finde it. Nor did he by his exhorta­ [...]ions, preachinges and mi­ [...]acles attaine to this honor, [...]t onely by his passion & death vppon the Crosse, [Page] according as the Apostle saith: Wee see Christ Iesus by his death and passion crowned with honour and glory, Heb. 2, yea the very ignomie of the Crosse was the cause of his exce­ding honour. And in ano­ther place,phil. 2. He humbled him­selfe, and became obedient vn­to the death, euen the death of the Crosse: wherfore God hath also highly exalted him, and hath giuen him a name aboue euery other name. There is no name then so famous as our Lord & sauiours name is, which fame and honour he gayned through his pati­ence, by being beatē, whip­ped, scorned and crucified.

When the fame and memory of all the greate Princes of the worlde sha [...]l be ended, & neuer thought [Page 70] on at the day of iudgement: [...]hen shall the glory and ho­ [...]our of Christ Iesus shine [...]ost splendently, then shall [...]e bee seene come in great [...]ompe and maiestie, ac­ [...]ompanied with Angelles [...]n a cloude of brightest glo­ [...]y,Luk. 21. Act. 1. there to sitte in iudge­ment both of the quick and dead: therefore the memo­ [...]y and frayle names of mor­ [...]all men shall cease, but for euer shall endure the glory of Christ, and those that [...]e [...] his seruantes, being at­chieued (as yee haue heard by despising himselfe fly­ [...]ng from worldly honor, [...]nd milde embracing of his Crosse.

This is true Christian P [...]losophie, and that which Christ teacheth in his owne [Page] schoole: albeit there are many Christians in th [...] world, that more willingly followe the doctrine of the auncient Romaynes & gen­tils who to celebrate their names in earth, seeke to be renowmed by dignitie and riches, then which there neither is or can bee any greater vanitie. Christ was borne in wonderfull meane estate and pouertie,Luk. 2. and yet as he lay in the maunger: the Angels sung his glorie, the Shepheardes published his birth,Mat. 2 and the kinges of the East came to worship him: nay more, like vnto other men hee was baptized by Iohn Baptist, and yet being in this admirable humiliati­on, his fathers voyce w [...]s hearde to manifest him for [Page 71] his Sonne, and the holy Ghost descended on him in [...]he likenes of a Doue,Mat. 3. one­ [...]y to beare witnesse of his [...]potlesse innocency. Hee was condemned to death as [...] malefactor,Mat. 27. and yet in the [...]euerence, honour, loue and compassion of his cause: the Sun and Moone were dark­ned, all the whole globe of the earth trembled, and the Centurion confessed him to be the very Sonne of God: See here, the more hee fled from honor, the faster stil it followed him.

The first man thought to haue honour by pursuing & following it,Gen. 3 and by that meanes vtterly lost it: but the seconde Adam taught a [...]erward, that honour can­not be founde or come by, [Page] but in contemning it and flying from it, which lesson the holy Saintes learnde of their maister, and therefore are now pertakers with him in glory, hauing left behind them likewise most memo­rable fame on earth.Exod, 2. Moises despised Kinge Pharaohs sumptuous pallace,Exod, 3. with all the riches & honors therof, rather choosing to keepe sheepe in the desarte: in re­garde of which humbling himselfe,Heb. 11. God mightily rai­sed him, making him a great Prince, and conductor of his people of Israel.Exod. 7. This honour gotte hee ouer the worlde, which the worlde could not giue him, being a greater dignitie to com­mand ouer Pharaoh, then to be the sonne to Pharaohs [Page 72] daughter. Did not the very same befall to Dauid?1 Sam. 16 who keeping sheepe in the wil­dernesse, as one forgotten by his father, and not had in remembrance: yet God called him from the sheep­fold, making him king ouer Israel, and the most famous prince on all the earth. In the desart Iohn Baptist hid himselfe as one not knowen of the world,Luk. 3 Luk. 1. or had in any regarde: but when the will of God preuayled vppon him, commanding him to come forth and bee a prea­cher, hee obeyed and ma­nifested himselfe immediat­ly. The blessed virgine Ma­ry kept her self in Nazareth & (in humility of spirite) li­ued not known or esteemed of any: yet it pleased God to [Page] salute her by an Angell his messenger and make her the mother of his onely begot­ten sonne.

By these examples wee may learne, that honour at­tendeth on humble mindes, and flyes from them that so greedily follow it: therfore such earnest seekers doe but vaynely loose their labour, & they soonest find it, that most doo eschew it, for ho­nor is the reward of vertue, & only by vertue it must be obtayned.

He declares most palpa­ble & very grosse folly, who hearing himself praysed by one that is blind, to be a ve­ry comely and gallant per­sonage, that therevpon hee should be proude, and shew himselfe vayne glorious. If [Page 73] the worlde say thou art ho­norable, it is the voyce but of a blind iudge, & therfore beleeue it not: marry if thy vertues and humble life as­sure thy soule thereof, neuer feare to beleeue it, for it is most certaine. Then as the Iron must first bee well hea­ted in the fire, ere it can be wrought by the hammer, & driuen out on the Anuile: so cannot thy fame and name be honourably enlar­ged, till they haue first suf­fered the strokes of holy tentations, & past through the fire of piercing trialles. Thus the Saintes and mar­tirs wonne their crownes of honour, and thus must thou purpose to attaine honor if e [...]r thou wilt haue it: The worldes way is a bye way, [Page] then neuer trust to it, this is the right way indeed, God enable thee to keepe it.

Meditation. 11. Of worldly nobilitie by birth, discent and great paren­tage.

I Will say to cor­ruption (sayth Iob) thou art my father, Iob. 17 and to the worme, thou art my mother and sister: then whence (vaine man) wilt thou deriue thy discent and parentage, thy noble birth and lineage, but from the graue? Is it not a won­derfull thing, that a silly [Page 74] worme, the sonne of Adam shoulde boast & brag of his great discent & parentage? Wel said a wise father, what shall we do with loftie titles and nobilitie? to what end serue Armes and royall pe­digrees? What though all the dores and walles of thy house were adorned with the images of thy predeces­sors? all this makes thee ne­uer the more noble: it were better thy father had beene Thersites, who was a man of base condition, and thou proue an Achilles, then thy father being Achilles, thou to proue a Thersites: for he that giues nobilitie to thy house and kindred, is a man extolled for his ve [...]tues, reputed wise and honest, and hence thou [Page] mayst deriue nobilitie in deed.

If thou be vertuous, no­bilitie beginnes in thee, and from thy house (although thy state be not noble) shal noblenes take his original: but if thy auncestors haue beene vertuous, and thou tainted with all leaprous fil­thines and lewd behauiour, the nobilitie of their bloud takes ending in thee: ther­fore it is better to be the be­ginning of nobilitie, then the end therof, and to rayse thy house by vertue, then o­uerthrow it by wickednes. Wee see that brutishe cu­stomes comfoundes any li­neage whatsoeuer, as the sight of the eye is obscured by any thing that hinde [...] it: what then can aduantage [Page 75] thee the splendor of ano­thers nobilitie, if in thee be engrafted all vnseemely de­meanor? it is better for thee to be noble thy selfe, then issued and descended of a noble stocke, as it is better to be vertuous, then borne of vertuous parents. Hee that goes about begging o­thers vertues apparantly shewes himselfe to be vici­ous, & resembles him, who because he would be estee­med noble, adornes him selfe with others titles, which by further examina­tion appertayne nothing at all to him. It is the worst pouertie of all to inrich thy self by others: for the deeds of our forefathers doo not a [...]ot ennoble vs, but the works which our selues per­forme [Page] in our persons, and if they be good, there begins the nobilitie of our house, but if they be euill, there is the ouerthrow of all toge­ther. For they that vaunte of their noble kindred, and doo themselues no noble deedes, are like him that couers others blemishes, & euidently shewes his owne defects.

To those Iews that bragd of their discent from Abra­ham, our Sauiour said, If yee be the sonnes of Abraham, Ioh. 6 doo the works of Abraham, thine owne deedes are they that make thee noble & illustri­ous: for faith is very rich, but without workes,Iam. 2 quite deade, so nobilitie is good, but if not accompanyed with vertue, most base and [Page 76] infamous. He that is borne of poore parentage, and be­commeth vertuous by his deedes, is not onely noble, but likewise doeth highly exalte his discent. Dauid was a mightie Prince, and gaue beginning to his race, onely by his noble and ver­tuous deeds, making there­by all his successors famous, though Ishai his father was not noble borne, and in scorne of Dauids lineage, Saule vsed to say: Where is the sonne of Ishai? 1 Sam. 20 When the people despysed Re­hoboam, Salomons sonne, they said:1. Reg, 12 VVe haue no inhe­ritaunce in the sonne of Ishai. And though they blamed Dauid for being the sonne o [...] him hee was, yet coulde they not thereby obscure [Page] the noblenesse of his race, ennobling it onely by his laudable behauiour. Nor can the nobilitie of Christ and his blessed mother bee impayred, by being descen­ded of Ruth the Moabite,Ruth. 2. and Boaz of Canaan that came of Chams lineage,Mat. 1. Gen. 9. the cursed sonne of Noah: be­cause the manners are one­ly they that nobilitate the person.

For as of one root springeth both the Rose and the bry­er: so of one mother may discend both a bad sonne & a good, for a man may bee born of noble birth, and yet himselfe become vile and dishonorable. Caine, Cham and Esau came of noble, fa­thers, their brethren lik [...] wise were famous & noble: [Page 77] yet they three had foule of­fences, and blemished their parentage. What auailes it a riuer or current to issue from a cleare or fair spring, if it be afterward troubled with mud and lothsome fil­thinesse? In fertile earth grows the Hemlock, which is a venemous and deadly hearbe, and in the barren growes the pure golde. To certaine noble Ismaelites which were in captiuitie, said the Prophet Ezechiel: Your father was an Amorite, Ezech. 16 and your mother an Hittite: comparing them thereby to the Gentiles: not because they proceeded (according to the flesh) of the Gentiles, but in regarde they follow­ed [...]eir euil customes, for nobilitie dyes in him, that [Page] onely boastes of his discent. He should shew himselfe a foole, who hauing no beau­tie at all in him, will neuer­thelesse extol his own beau­tie and perfection: euen so as foolish is he that belieues himself to be noble, not ha­uing any part of nobilitie in him.

Paule the Apostle wry­ting to Timothie, sayth, I besought thee to remayne still in Ephesus, 1, Tim. 1. when I departed in­to Macedonia, to the end thou mightst aduertise some, that they shoulde giue no heede to fables, nor busie themselues in Genealogies. And to Ty­tus likewise:Tit, 3. Flie vaine que­stions and genealogies, for they are vnprofitable. Are wee not all the sonnes of on f [...] ­ther? if hee was base, so are [Page 78] wee, if noble, then are wee the like: what greater no­bility can there bee, then to be the sonnes of God, and to hold this noblenes with­all, to bee true Christians? Therefore our Sauiour said in his diuine prayer: O our father, and not O my father,Mat. 7. because one should not glo­rie more then another of such a fathers nobility, who is the common father to all. If thou come of the worste branch of the tree of thy pa­rentage, the root being bad, thou art not bad alone: but proceeding of the best, and hauing no vertue, then all all the euil is properly thine owne.

Moreouer, it is not in vs to m [...]e election of our paren­tage, where either for their [Page] simplenes we shall be dispi­sed, or for their noblenesse applauded and honoured: such power onely consistes in vice and vertue, the one preseruing vs from all dead­ly infirmities, the other sub­iecting vs to all miseries, which the sinne of Adam hath made vs heires of. The noble men and great estates of this world are vnder the yoke of greefes, diseases and death, euen as wel as the ve­ry poore & meanest person: How small account then is to be made of such nobility that frees not kinges, prin­ces and high estates from common mens infirmities, but makes al alike, both the noble and vnnoble? Our Sauiour Christ sayth [...] his Gospell: The kingdome of [Page 79] heauen is like vnto a man that was a king. Mat. 18. Wherefore it is an euident case, that who­soeuer is a king, is but a man also, and by this comparison of the kingdome of heauen, to a King a man, is giuen to vnderstand, that all Kinges are men, and as subiect to corruption as the poorest wretch they gouerne ouer: The Prophet Esay sayeth: Great men and mightie haue made a couenant with infirmi­tie, death and hel, Esay 28. not to be mo­lested or troubled in their loftie titles. Haue they then seene death, and made a league with him? or haue they made some experiment of the infernall torments, and now woulde shift them off [...] some subtile bargaine? not to beguile thy self with [Page] such a sillie imagination, consider, if thou wert a king thou art but a man also, and that to morrowe thou mayst bee foode for the wormes.

Psal, 30 What profite is in my blood (saith the Prophet Dauid) when I go downe into the pit? Many because they are borne of noble fathers, take occasion to bee the more vaine, proude and arrogant. But Ephraim, Their glorie (saith the Prophete Osea) shalt flie away like a bird, Ose. 9. from the birth, and from the womb, & from the conception, so that such a discent shall bee but vanitie vnto them, & those thinges which ought to pro­uoke and bind them to bee most vertuous, shall t [...]e [...], take occasion by of more [Page 80] loosenesse and negligence. For the right nobilitie of bloode, is as a spurre to no­ble mindes, to make them follow the vertues of their predecessors, and as an he­reditarie obligation; bynd­ing them still to the loue of vertue, whereby they come to bee naturall branches of the true tree, and not base sprigs or boughs to be hew­ed off for the fire, then vant not of thy houses gentrie, least thou appeare a note of follie in their eares that heare thee.

Wilt thou see what small account God makes of such birth & parentage?1 Sam. 9. remem­ber then howe hee made Saule King of Israel, be­ing of an ignoble family, and the least Trybe of the [Page] people. God likewise made choise of Ieptah, to deliuer his people from the Am­monites,Iudg. 11. who because hee was a bastarde, and came of a base mother, was by his brethren cast forth of his fa­thers house: when Christ made his election in the world, he did it not of noble persons, but poor sinners & fisher men: And though him self was Lord and king of heauen and earth, yet to confound them that stande vpon vaine titles he saide: I am a shephearde, and I will giue my life for my sheepe, Luk. 10. re­proouing hereby the follie of them, that boast of sir­names and bladder-blowen titles. Then deare brother set farre from thy though [...]es this dreame, shaddowe and [Page 81] vanitie, remember thou art dust and ashes, as thy fo [...]efathers were, the worms haue not spared them in their graues, from whome thou deriuest thy descent, nor will they shew thee ere a iot of more fauour: the in­heritaunce thou hast from thy father, is death and cor­ruption, which armes thou shouldst onely giue in thy scutcheon, and paint about thy house in euery place: This purpose would far bet­ter beseeme thee, then thy worldly affecttaion, & this glasse will truely tell thee the glory of thy an­cestors.

Meditation 12. Of true nobilitie, birth and parentage.

I Will honor thē (sayth God) that honor me, 1. Sam. 2 and they that despise me, shall be despised: If thou being a wretched sinner wilt despise thy Lord and maker, he shal quickly dispossesse thee of honour and nobilitie. God (speaking to Heli the priest by one of his Prophetes) saith:1. Reg. 5. True nobilitie is vertue which despiseth not God but loues him aboue all thinges: why then it appeares thou [Page 82] shouldst make more especi­all account of thy mindes nobilitie, then that which vainely adorneth thy body, because thou art chiefly made noble by good beha­uiour. What honour were it for the sonne of a slaue to repute himself a noble man, albeit his mother be a free woman and noble? If then thy soule (which is the best parte of thee) bee a slaue to sinne: what boast canst thou make of thy body to be no­ble which is so fraile and in­sufficient? Therefore, to the mind that is not adorned with vertuous and laudable qualities, little or nothing at all auayleth nobility by bloude: because without [...]he soule be beautified, the bodies estate is perillous, [Page] in regarde that ignorance of thy selfe engendreth pride & many other euils. Why then (according to the opi­nion of the wise) the markes and witnesses of true nobi­litie are liberalitie, thanke­fulnes for benefites recey­ued, and clemencie in par­doning: Next these in a true noble spirite are to bee dis­cerned, a bolde, yet pacient sufferaunce of any tribulati­on, and a heart not dispay­ring, but in all afflictions comforted.

Knowest thou not, that bodily nobilitie is not thine but commeth from others? Marrie what noblenes thou hast wonne by vertue, that is absolutely thine own, and no man can depriue th [...] of it. Tell me what merit hast [Page 83] thou by another mans de­seruing? & who in reason can prayse thee, for that which thou hadst from thy father? nobilitie of lineage then doth come from generati­on, and that of vertue is de­riued of our owne deedes, then what thou gaynest by vertue is the gift of God infused into the act, & pro­perly may bee tearmed thy owne nobility. Of a bitter roote many tymes comes sweete and pleasant fruit, so from a poore race may issue some to be famous and no­ble, by the vertuous beha­uiour which afterwarde shal renowne them: for that is the best nobilitie, which make mē the sons of God, and heires of the kingdome of heauen.

Hee cannot bee called a vile man, who doth no deed of vilenesse, make then no vant of thy noble lineage, but rather reproue and blame thy selfe, if thy pa­rentes were truely noble, that thou inheritest not their vertues: for as grosse cloudes couer the Sunne, Moone and Starres, and robbes men of their cele­stiall splendor, so the vices of them that are vertuously discended, obscure the wor­thy actions of their famous foregoers: for Christian religion respectes not thy bodyes honour, but thy soules dignitie, and would rather haue thee pure in vertue, then polluted with vices.

Were it not a most vn­sightly [Page 84] thing, that a Kinges sonne shoulde bee so basely minded, as to sitte keeping swine, or in trauelling by the way shoulde defile his goodly garmentes with durt and filth? How much more vnsightly thē is it, that thou being sonne to the king of heauen, shouldst affect the worldes lothsomnesse, and abhominations of the flesh? beastlike seruing swine, which are thy corrupted sen­ces, and feeding them with all grossenes, thou being created onely for the ioyes of thy fathers kingdome, to be the sonne of God: What greater nobilitie, there is none in all the worlde can compare therewith:Psal. 82: I haue saide yee are Gods (sayth the Prophet Dauid) [Page] and sonnes of the most high yet shall ye die like men, yea princes shall fall like others: First Da­uid shewes the dignity of man, in being the adopted sonne of God, and then how little this dignity doth auail him liuing like a man, for so he must die. Wherefore if thou liuest as a man, as a mā shalt thou dye, and in that death perisheth all thy for­mer reputation: then dyest thou not like the son of the most high, whose hope is in a blessed and glorious life to come, but rather dost fal like the Prince, who with his mighty host (most sump­tuously adorned with gol­den shining arms) perisheth in the fielde: in like manner shall the sonnes of God fal, if they liue not like the [Page 85] chil­dren of so great and good a father.

If it be a great matter to bee the adopted sonne of God, much more then (with out comparison) is it, to bee the naturall sonne of God, as Iesus Christ our Sauiour was, who would not bee ac­counted the sonne of God, except he did the worke of his father, saying: If I doo not the work of my father, be­leeue mee not. If Christ then would not be reckoned the sonne of God, till hee had doone the deedes confor­mable to such a title and dignitie: then ill will it be­seeme thee in the sight of God to stande as his adop­ted sonne, not liuing or dooing any thing there­after. And if to bee the [Page] adopted son of God (which is the highest nobilitie that euer man can haue) import so little, liuing wickedly: how much inferiour is it to discend of mortal men, who are but the sonnes of death and corruption?

Labour then to get the tytle of nobility by vertue, euen the nobilitie that may make thee the adopted son of God, and an heyre of his celestiall kingdome, let this bee thy purpose both dayly and hourely, then which thou canst haue no better determination. See howe the glorie of the world pas­seth away like a smoke, or as a ships passage in the sea, whose way is not remem­bred: to make any assurance of vanitie, were an apparant [Page 86] signe of follie, to builde on an assured ground, declares the purpose of a perfecte Christian, then contemne all nobilitie here that may corrupt thy soule, and pray for it onely there, where is the fulnes of al fe­licitie.

Meditation 13. Of worldly friendes and friendshippe.

THe friende of thy table conti­nueth not in the day of thine af­fliction: Eccles. 6. sayth Salomon: then very vaine headed fooles are they that dare aduenture to displease God, to satisfie the humors of any man whatsoeuer, and the worlde requiteth such kinde of men with the selfe same payment. Therefore God suffers it for thy great good, that thou shalt finde no friendes firme and loy­all to thee in this worlde, [Page 87] to the ende thou mightest make thy onely certayne friende of thy blessed Lord and redeemer.

Of strange nature and very rare is this worldes friendshippe, euery one befriending himselfe espe­cially, for if any one de­clare himselfe to bee thy friende, vsing ceremonies of kindnesse and affable protestations: hee doeth it but to serue his owne turne with thee, expecting some fauoure or benefite from thee, because thou art rich, and in the worlds high reputation. But if thou fall into decaye or want, he will be sure to bee the first that shall forsake thee: and they whom thou most of all diddest repose [Page] thy trust in, like trencher flies will be gonne, leauing thee like a blind man, with­out any staffe to leane vn­to, euen they who shewed themselues thy nearest and dearest friendes, here their loue and kindnesse makes their full period. Poore deceyued man, they beare no loue to thee but to the goodes and possessions thou hast, for all their out­warde diligence is but to profite themselues withall, not regarding thee for that thou art, but for that thou hast, and so long as thou shalt bee able to giue them, so long will they bee frend­ly to thee.

Gen. 8The Rauen which Noah sent forth of the Arke, be­cause the waters were not [Page 88] fallen, returned to her for­mer habitation: but when [...]he floode was wel shronke, [...]nd she coulde finde some­what else where to feed on, [...]he made no longer recko­ning of Noah, who had sa­ued her from death, and maintained her in the Arke one hundred & fiftie dayes,Gen. 7. in all which time the floode continued, and so the Ra­uen returned no more to Noah, because shee had no more neede of his friend­ship.

In like manner, many now doo esteeme, delight, prayse and often visit thee, because they woulde sup­ply some of their present necessities by thee, which being compassed, they are no longer for thee: not vn­like [Page] to the Rauen, friendes of the worlde to day, but such as so seeme are no true friendes indeed, they are louers of themselues, ser­uers of their owne turnes, and abide with thee no lon­ger then thou canst bene­fite them. Aduersitie, af­fliction, and tribulation are the tryalles (in Salomons o­pinion) to make true friends knowen: for in prosperitie they cannot bee discerned, because the enemie is best manifested in the time of trouble.

Hence ensues it, that while the tree beares faire and pleasing fruit, it wantes no visiting, nor needs more store of gatherers: but when it fayles of fruite, and bringes not the wonted en­crease, [Page 89] then euery one de­ [...]piseth it, and no one cares [...]or any more looking on it. So and no otherwise standes the case with thee, while thou hast riches, credite, and art in prosperitie, thou shalt be sure to be beloued, honoured, and visited: but if thy state impayre, neede catch thee by the backe, & the worlde no longer smiles vpon thee, farewell poore forsaken man, no more fruit no more friendes.

When the Citty of Ieru­salem was rich and prospe­rous, as in the tymes of Da­uid, Salomon, and other po­tent and mighty Kinges which reigned therein, then all [...]er friendes made her solemne Iubilies, and not a neighbouring Kinge but [Page] offred her league & friend­shippe:2. Reg, 10 but when the Chal­deans had destroyed and made her desolate,Iere. 52. they all fled from her, as the Pro­phet Ieremy, bemoning the calamitie and great misery of the goodly Cittie, and crying out in agonie of spi­rite saith:Lamen. 1 Among all her louers, she hath none to com­fort her, all her friendes haue dealt vnfaithfully with her, & are become her enemies. Here may ye behold, that those fauorers of Ierusalem were not true friendes, because they left her alone in her trouble and aduersitie, and not contented to forsake her, but withall became her vtter enemies.

Prou. 17: A true friend (sayth Salo­mon) loueth at all times, and [Page 90] a good brother is borne for ad­uersitie. Iob. 2 When Iob percey­ued that his wife was so contrary to him, it fell out [...]o bee one of the greatest crosses hee had: Likewise his friendes to vexe and a­buse him, afflicted him be­yond compasse of common sufferance. For they com­ming to visite him, and hee expecting kind consolation from them: they fell to re­proouing, scorning and con­temning him, wherevpon he turning himselfe to God onely, said: My friendes are parablers and talkers onely. Then we reade in Ecclesia­sticus: Take heede of those friends that haue but only the name of friendes.

Great conformitie and vnion is betweene gold and [Page] quicksiluer, yea such and so much, as when the Golde is purified in the furnace, the quicksiluer (being conuer­ted into smoke) is sought of the Golde in what parte soeuer of the fire it bee, to vnite it selfe therewith: yet notwithstanding all this af­fection and friendshippe, whensoeuer the golde is ta­ken foorth of the fire, it forsakes & leaues the quick­siluer there behinde, con­uerted into smoke, & there endes the kindnesse. Af­ter this example, at what tyme thou shalt enter into the fire of tribulation, the friendship thou hadst with many will bee turned into smoke, and so shalt thou be left in the furnace of afflic­tion: therefore put no con­fidence [Page 91] in the world, make no reckoning of fair words, nor the smooth proffeted friendship, which men will make shew of.

Neuer thinke thou to bee better handled of the worlde then thy Lorde and redeemer was,Mat. 21. who on the day he entred Ierusalem, all the people came foorth to meete him, entertayning him with palmes and Oliue branches in their hands, ho­nouring him with Hosanna the sonne of Dauid, blessed is he that commeth in the name of the Lord, Hosanna, thou which art in the highest hea­uens, yet afterwarde cryed out to haue him crucified.

The disciple;Mar. 11. reioy­ced that they had such an honourable Mayster, [Page] and none of them left him till his last supper,Luk. 19. Ioh. 13 but when the worlde (in a momente) turnde his backe on Christ, the same night when he was taken, the same disciples that in prosperity had borne him company, shronk back & forsooke him, nay more, one of them tooke an oath in denial of his mayster,Mat. 26. Luk. 22 and swore that he knew him not. Therfore the Prophet Da­uid saide very well: Put not your trust in Princes, Psal. 146. nor in the sonnes of men, for there is no helpe in them. Wretched are you (saith the Prophete Esay) that repose your trust vp­on a broken reede. Esay 35.

Therefore if thou put a­ny confidence in a mightie man, or one that tearmes himselfe thy friende, who [Page 92] are no other then weake & [...]inde shaken reedes: they [...]ill but deceyue thy hope, [...]nd while thou trustest to [...]heir friendshippe, thy face fals to the grounde & quite disfigures thee: For the worlde is filled with a cer­taine kind of men, that en­rich themselues by their friendes losses, and make best benefite of other mens ingratitude: then vayne & foolish art thou, if thou re­posest any fidelitie in hu­mane friendship.

The cause why Christ our Sauiour commanded vs,Mat. 5. To loue our enemies, was to the end they might loue vs a­gaine. For as fire (in what place soeuer it be) euer wor­keth: so our wil neuer stands idle, neyther knowes howe [Page] to liue without louing. Now because the world affordes vs no true friends, it is Gods will, that we should loue our enemies, thereby to drawe like loue from them againe: for if thou wilt seeke any thing els in the world, which merites to bee beloued, thou shalt but loose thy la­bour, because euery one is a friende but for his owne profite. It is the worlds na­ture, to respect his owne be­nefite, yea, such is the gree­die auarice and couetous desire thereof, that children hunte after profite, more then theyr fathers coulde doo.

There are some that loue their enemies, yea, do good to diuers, whom they know to hate them and mortally [Page 93] mallice them: wherein they fulfill the Gospels precept, which commands vs to loue our enemies, though contra­r [...]wise, the others haue no care of such a charge. But wee goe an other way to worke, wee loue them that [...]ate, drinke and conuerse [...]ith vs, esteeming them to [...]e our friends: not looking [...]o heedfully into the mat­ [...]er, that indeede wee then [...]oue no other but our ene­mies: by which reason we [...]ooner attayne to the loue of our enemyes, then of our friendes, because while wee liue wee shall neuer [...]ayle of the one, nor vn­ [...]ill this life be finished, euer find the other. False then and fraudulent is all world­ly friendship, and a vanitie [Page] aboue vanities, to make a­ny account thereof: being nothing else but childrens gaudes and playing toyes, an idle labour, yeelding no profit, which thou hast no assurance of, for to morrow thou must die.

Tel me now in good sad­nes, what aduauntage hath all the yeares of thy life re­turned thee, which thou hast spent in soothing vppe mens affections? These houres, dayes, monthes and yeares, wherein thou hast so many wayes wounded thine owne soule with sins: where are they? of what worth are they? are they all able to deliuer thee from death? If by them there re­dounde no good at al vnto thee, consider then thyne [Page 94] owne miserable estate. God [...]h made the course of [...] life here to bee shorte, [...]ublesome and momenta­ [...] preparing another for [...]e, long and perpetuall, [...] thou darest runne into [...]ods displeasure, by being [...]ime-seruer and pleaser of [...]en, neuer considering [...]at strict account will be [...]manded of that time, lost [...]d throwen away in plea­ [...]g a creature, and no care [...] all had of the Creator.

Many are like to Herode [...]d Pilate,Mat. 27. Luk. 23 that wil become [...]endes in persecuting [...]hrist, making leagues, and [...]otting dayly deuises, to [...]ucifie him anewe, euen in [...]eir owne selues (as the A­ [...]stle Paule speaketh) with [...]l filthinesse & lewdnesse. [Page] Beware then thou offen [...] not God at any time, [...] the loue of thy suppos [...] friend, rather endure first [...] ny trauaile whatsoeuer f [...] his sake, then runne into t [...] daunger of the offence an [...] punishment together. Y [...] many bende themselu [...] to the contrary, becau [...] they are companions wit [...] their friendes in the fault [...] and so participate in the o [...] fence of God: yet loth [...] tast the punishment, woul [...] free themselues quite, an [...] leaue to their friendes th [...] whole burthen of it. Fo [...] Adam who stood with Eu [...] as companion of the faulte and offended God for the loue of her,Gen. 3. had no will af­terwarde to be pertaker of the punishment, but excu­sing [Page 95] himselfe, would haue [...]de the blame wholly vp­ [...] Eue, saying: The woman [...]ich thou gauest to bee with [...], she gaue me of the tree, and did eate.

But the Prophet Dauid [...]id otherwise, declaring [...]imselfe a true friende to [...]is followers, for hee saide [...]o God:2 Sam. 24 It is I (O Lorde) [...]hat haue sinned, I haue done [...]ickedly: but these sheep, what [...]aue they doone? Let thy [...]ande I pray thee bee onely a­ [...]aynst mee, and against my [...]athers house. There are many in the worlde, who will sinne daungerously for their friendes and kindreds sake, who seeing them af­terwardes in necessitie, will scant bestowe a cuppe of colde water on them: [Page] This cannot bee called tr [...] friendshippe, or can it p [...] siblie haue long conti [...] ance, because friendship neyther is or can be but b [...] tweene good men and good matters, for time d [...] solueth the friendshippe sinners.

1. Ioh. 5.Listen to the Scriptur [...] which sayeth: The wh [...] world lyeth in wickednesse. B [...] leeue then but few, and fl [...] from many, seeke to ha [...] friendship with Iesus Chr [...] onely, and his seruants: b [...] if thou finde any world friends to hinder thee fro [...] spirituall profite, flie fro [...] them, as from a cruell an [...] manifest pestilence. Pu [...] pose thus with thy self, th [...] seeing al the worldly frend­ship vnder heauen, is b [...] [Page 96] borrowed stuffe, frayle and momentary, whereof on a suddaine thou shalt bee de­priued: That therefore thou wilt not trust thereto any longer, but seeke for friendshippe there, where thou shalt be very certayne to find it, & which at no time wil euer faile thee.

Meditation. 14. Of true friendship.

HOwe deare [...] thy thought [...] vnto mee (O [...] God) how gre [...] is the summer them? Psal. 139. sayth the Prophete Dauid, as esteeming them his onely friendes in this world, and the very smoo­thest words of sinners, to be so vaine and friuolous, as there is no friendship but in God onely, and with them that loue & liue in his feare: for his friendship is true and faithfull, making friendes famous here in earth, and glorious in heauen. The [Page 97] worlde holds with him that is lifted a little aboue o­thers, pretending great loue to him in his prosperi­ty, but let him fall neuer so little, or tribulation but touch him, the worldes colours are quite wipte out, no moment or memorie of them left to bee founde. Therfore when a man is be­loued in the height of his happines, & doubts whether it be his person or prosperi­tie that is so affected, let him but feygne a suddayne fall, and make some shewe of the worlds disgrace, and hee shall finde his friendes flockt not so fast to him, as they will flie from him, and that this very colour of his will alter all their former countenance, then he which [Page] in necessitie wil dispise and forsake his neighbour, appa­rently prooues that he lou'd him not in prosperity, ther­fore times tell the troth, shewes the true friend from the counterfaite, but God is the sure frend, that stands stedfast at all times.

Gen. 41.God did not forget Io­seph when hee was in the dungeon,Dan. 13. nor poore Susanna in the midst of her miseries, neyther Dauid in the heate of all his persecutions:1. Reg, 26. God neuer forsakes his wel wil­lers in necessitie or tribula­tion, but till death and af­terwarde, his loue endu­reth when all worldly friendshippe shall bee vt­terly dissolued. Such and so great hath the loue of God euermore beene to his [Page 98] seruants, that when he wold haue chastised Salomon for his heynous sinnes, and ta­ken his kingdom from him, he qualified his iustice, be­cause Salomon was the son to his seruant Dauid lea­uing him two tribes to pre­serue the memory of Da­uid,1. Reg. 11 both of his house and name: yea, such reckoning hath God made of his cho­sen seruants, that he would rather haue his owne honor suffer, then theirs to be in­damaged. Therefore hee permitted the virgine Ma­ry to be espoused,Mat. [...]. because she shoulde not bring forth his son without a husbande,Luk. 2. and thereby haue her dig­nity impeached, whereby the Sauiour of the worlde was reputed as Iosephes son,Luk. 3. being conceyued by the [Page] holy Ghost, and so the true sonne of God, yet by her mariage to Ioseph he stopt the worlds mouth from de­faming her, leauing them rather to doubt of his eter­nall diuine birth, then of the sanctified puritie of the blessed virgine, thus God with peril of his own praise, was willing to defende the chaste virgines reputation. Euen so diuers wayes else hath Gods especiall care beene discerned of those that were his faithfull ser­uants, and their fame in this world.

Iohn Baptist sent his dis­ciples to Christ,Mat. 11 to demand what hee was, and this was done for the spiritual health of the said disciples:Luk. 7. because the people held him but for [Page 99] a light person, and there­fore demaunded what hee was, of whom hee had giuen testimonie: yet Christ (as his best friend) and to honour his seruant Iohn Baptist the more, commended him to the people, saying: Among them that are begotten of wo­men, there arose not a greater then Iohn Baptist. The like did God for his seruante Moyses, when Aaron his brother,Num. 12. and Miriam his si­ster had murmured against him. He defended likewise Mary Magdalen,Luk. 7. and spake in fauour of her, when the Pharises despised her,Mat. 26. and his own [...] disciples grudged at her. The like to Martha also,Luk. 10. when she was offended that shee had no helpe in the housholde businesse. God [Page] sought forth, and reuenged the bloode vniustly spilt of his seruants,Gen. 4. 2. Reg. 21 2. Chron. 24 as of Abell, of Naboth, of Zechariah the sonne of Iehoiada, and of all his other Prophetes beside.

The kindnesse and fauor of God is not like vnto the worldes friendship, where­of Iob speaketh thus: My friendes haue deceiued mee as a brooke, Iob. 6 and as the rising of the riuers, they passe away swiftly into the vallies. There are many currente Riuers, which in winter time are ful of water, when as there is no necessitie of water, yet in Sommer following are dryed vp, when euery one standeth most in neede of water, which dryed vppe Riuers helpe not the thirsty [Page 100] traueller, but when hee comes to drinke, and findes none, returneth thence de­ceyued. Like to such riuers are faygned and counterfait friends, who in time of pro­speritie, and when no neede is, promise much: but when time of aduersity commeth, and that there is manifest necessitie to bee seene, per­formance commeth short, all friendshippe is dryed vppe, not a droppe to be found.

Blessed was the Apostle who hearde these wordes from his Sauiours owne mouth:Ioh. 15 You are my friendes: this happy & blessed frend­ship of God, thou shalt as­su [...]edly haue if thou per­forme the rest of the a­forenamed verse, namely: [Page] If yee doo whatsoeuer I com­mande ye, this is firme and true friendship, perpetuall and euerlasting, but the worlde is wicked, and hath no date of continuance. For as the Marigold opens ear­ly in the morning, being fresh and fayre, but at night shuts vp again, as halfe dry­ed and withered. Euen so the worlds friendship soon fayles and withereth: the Sunnes heate perisheth the flower, and afflictions triall putteth downe all loue and friendshippe, so that as wee may say, it was a flower, so likewise wee may say, hee seemed a friend, whervpon the Prophete Dauid saide:Psal. 88. My louers and friendes hast thou put away from mee, and mine acquaintance hid them­selues.

Abraham the patriarche dealte louingly with his friend Lot,Gen. 14. succouring him so soone as he was in prison, & deliuering him from all his paine and miserie. Seeke thou then for friendshippe at Gods hands onely, to ob­tayne pardon for thine of­fences, and the place prepa­red for thee in his heauenly habitation: for hee is thy best friend, in honour or dis­honour, life or death, thou shalt be most certaine and assured of his loue. When he was vpon the hard wood of his Grosse, his speech neere fayling him, the cruel nayles smoten thorow him, yet prayed he for vs to his heauenly father, desired pardon for vs, and he ob­tayned [Page] it.

All other conuersation and friendship in this world, is vain and of no account, Heb. 5. excepte it haue foundation from God, saith the Apostle Paule, not condemning societie and conuersation with good mē, who by their holy examples shall kindle in our heartes, the fire of charitie and loue towarde God: for such may truely be tearmed our friendes, as loue the health of our soules, and seeke not to flatter and sooth vs vp with vayne and pleasing perswasions. He is a true friend indeed, that lamen­teth our euill doings, prayes to God for vs, exhorting vs christianly, and admonish­ing vs charitably: such a friende is vndoubtedly sent [Page 102] vs of God, in whome is perfecte trust to bee repo­sed, because the loue and fauour of God makes him faythfull to vs, and as our ioyes or crosses are, euen so hee equally pertaketh with vs.

In election and choyse of a friend, to proue and know him wel is held most requi­site: because nothing is a­ble to purchase a true faith­full friende: And he that findeth such a one, Eccles. 6. findeth a treasure: Talk with thy friend about thine affaires, Prov. 25. but reueal not thy secreates to him thou knowest not well. Such thinges as thou wouldest not haue knowen, disclose not to a friende before thou hast tryed him, least otherwyse thou chaunce to [Page] find thy self deceiued, espe­cially if thy neyghbour bee more familiar with thee, thē he is with himselfe.

Perhaps thou mayest im­magine, that hee loues thee better then thou canst doo thy selfe, & that thou may­est bury thy secrets in him in more effectuall manner, then within thine owne bo­some, such an opinion is ve­ry rare, but to finde such a friend, is a thousande times [...]arer. If thou wilt followe mine aduice, reueale such secrets, as thou carest not who knowes them, but no one that may detecte and shame thee: for whosoeuer knowes not how to hold his peace, can neuer bee skilfull in preseruing his friende, therefore it is reckoned for [Page 103] a great gift of God, to know [...]hen to be silent, and when [...] speake.

Labor then to haue friend­ [...]ippe with good and ver­ [...]uous men, because they [...]aue euermore the lawes of God before their eyes, that [...]eacheth them howe to re­ [...]ain and hide secrets, which [...]n conscience they stande [...]ounde no way to discouer, for he that knows not thos [...] [...]awes, cares very little for [...]ransgressing them. Wee reade in Ecclesiasticus: He that is wicked to himselfe, Eccles. 14. to whom can he be good? for he that hath no rule of himself, shall hardly obtayne it ouer any othe [...] and he that foo­lishly reueales his owne se­crets, can neuer haue power to hide any others.

A vertuous man then will be thy meetest friende, and in his hart thou mayest boldly bury thy secreates: for he louing God, will let thee lacke nothing, hee will be thy best neyghbour, and Christianly instruct thee in al the true courses of friend­ship, whereof I haue briefly here laide thee downe the substantiall foundation, de­siring thee to abandon all other of the world, which serues for no better vse, thē to leade thee the high way to vtter perdition. Follow then this blessed path, which guydes thee to hea­uen, all purposes beside this are of no validitie. God himselfe hath promised to bee thy friend, and wil raise vp good men for thee to [Page 104] conuerse withall, say thus [...]en in thy soule, I haue [...]t downe my determinate [...]urpose, and (by Gods assi­ [...]ance) weake fleshe and bloode shall neuer al­ter mee from it.

Meditation 15. Of worldly fauour and regard among men.

KInge Ahasuerus (sayth the Scrip­ture) promoted Has man, Hest. 3, the sonne of Hammedatha the Agagite, and exalted him, & set his seat aboue all the princes that were with him, &c. But what a­uayled this great fauour & familiaritie which hee had with the king? they became afterward the instrumentes of his perdition▪ casting him from the height of common regard, into as ge­nerall infamie and publique [Page 105] contempt: such is the ende of worldly fauours and pro­motions, which Kings, prin­ces, and other potentates of the world bestow vpō men. If among the blessinges and fauours, which God giues to his seruantes, there hap­pen some small shew of pe­rill and tribulation: yet they bring with them the benefit of thy soules health, which the other of this worlde do continually fight against: and hence proceeds it, that the weakenes of our nature is such, as Gods bountifull fauours are like bitter wormwood to vs, but those that this vaine life af­fordeth, sweeter then hony, or any thing else whatsoe­uer.

After that our Sauiour [Page] had commended Peter the Apostle, saying: Blessed art thou Simon the sonne of Ionas, Mat. 16. for flesh and blood hath not re­uealed that vnto thee, but my father which is in heauen: pre­sently hee became so hot & forwarde vpon this fauour, as quickly after hee woulde needes seeke to hinder our Redeemer from his passion, presuming to say, Mayster pittie thy selfe, this shall not be vnto thee: But Christ repro­ued him immediately for this boldenesse, saying: Get thee behind mee Sathan, thou art an offence vnto me: here was a speedy chaunge of so great fauour before.

When Moyses sawe, that it pleased God to talke familiarly with him,Exod. 33. hee coulde not containe him [Page 106] self frō further presumption but enters into these words: [...] beseech thee shew me thy glo­ry: But God returned him [...]his present answere: Thou canst not see my face, for there shall no man see mee and liue. The two sonnes of Zebede­us because they were highly fauoured by our Sauiour,Mat. 20. and (according to the flesh) were of his kindred: there was request very quickly made, that the one might sit on his right hande, and the o­ther on the lefte in his king­dome: as deeming and thinking themselues more worthy of preferment then any of the other Apo­stles. So the spouse in the Canticles hearing her beloued praise her, as being the fayrest among women: [Page] forthwith she sayth: Shewe me (O thou) whome my soule loueth, Cant. 1. where thou feedest, where thou liest at noon, &c. But all these had answeres to their ouermuch presu­ming: My backeparts (said God to Moyses) thou shalt see, but my face shall not bee seene.

To the Apostles Iames & Ioh. he said, ye know not what ye aske, are ye able to drinke of the cuppe that I shall drink of? And to the Spouse: If thou know not, get thee forth by the stocke, and feede thy kiddes by the tentes of the shepheardes.

If then we vse the fauour of God in such ill sorte, that wee growe proude, and en­danger the losse of our selues thereby: what good­nesse can the worlds fauour [Page 107] procure or rayse in vs? The regarde and fauour which Ioseph receyued of his mi­strisse in Egypt,Gen. 39 was to dis­please God, & sinne against his owne soule: the kindnes and fauour of men and wo­men in these dayes doo sel­dome differ from so bad a president. The purest wine gets soonest into the head: which makes a wise Lord or ruler of seruantes, when hee sees any of his followers seek to disorder themselues with drinking of the best wine, that they shall abate the strength thereof with water. Euen so is the will of God, when fauour of men & worldly regarde do trouble the s [...]nces, and ouermayster our wittes, that they should be qualified with the water [Page] of more prouident respect, namely those blames and defectes which depende vp­on them: and they woulde keepe vs from loftie hu­mors, vainely presuming on the fauours of Princes, Lordes and such like, or hunting after any worldly prefermentes. And because we shoulde not bee swolne bigge, or puft vp with much praise and idle commenda­tion, the diuine prouidence doth permit vs to be bitten by detractors: that when the extolling tongue liftes vppe our conceytes proud­ly, the detractors mur­muring might humble vs agayne, and so both to­gether might bring vs to the true knowledge of our selues.

When Antiochus entred the Temple,2. Mac. 2. he tooke away the lightes and the candle­stickes: euen so worldly fa­uour no sooner enters into our thoughtes, but it extin­guisheth all light of know­ledge of our selues. A man that is fauoured and estee­med, knowes not himselfe, but is knowen of many: whereas the disfauoured & abiect person knowes what himselfe is, though hee bee regarded by no other. The knowledge of a mans owne selfe is much more woorth, then hauing knowledge in all other matters beside, to bee vtterly voyde there­of: for more daunger at­tendeth on fauour then dis­fauour, & greater preiudice followeth affection, then [Page] hatred, because hatred may pursue thee as a persecuter, and persecution is good to humble & make thee know thy selfe: where contrari­wise, affection doeth but blind thee, and will neither let thee see or knowe thy selfe, therefore it is bet­ter to be persecuted, then fauored, because in the one we finde God, and in the o­ther we loose him: Neuer imagine, that because thou art fauoured of men, and prosperest well in this worlde, therefore thou art the better, or more accep­table in Gods fight, but call to memory what is written in the holy Gospel: Remem­ber sonne, that thou in thy life time receiuedst thy pleasures, Mar. 16. and likewise Lazarus paynes: [Page 109] now therefore is he comforted, and thou art tormented.

As if the holy Ghost (in this place) did now speake to one of our present world­ly fauoured men, saying, Thou that swimmest in all store and aboundaunce of pleasure, thou that hast gay howses, fayre landes and Tenementes, a beautiful wife and goodly children: thou that art become migh­tie by great mens fauours, buying and purchasing thy neighbours howses ouer their heades, making waste grounde where stood some­tyme prettie Townes and villages: thou that wilt haue, and nothing parte with Seest thou thy naked poore brother go­ing by thee, seest thou thy [Page] selfe in thy roabes, and him in his ragges, thou with thy belly belching and too full, his almost growen to his back with hunger and emp­tinesse. I tell thee (proude fauorite of the worlde) his soule cost his sauiour as deere as thine did, there went not a peny, nay not a mite more to thy ransome, then did to his, hee is thy brother, notwithstanding al thy brauerie, he lookes for as great a portion in our cō­mon fathers kingdome as thou, or hee that is thy bet­ter can do, thou hast beene pampered while hee hath been starued, thou hast had thy choice of garmentes, while he hath gon starke na­ked, thou hast had all plea­sure, while he hath tasted all [Page 110] kindes of anguish: there­fore thou must haue the re­warde of thy worldly pomp and felicitie, and hee of the worldes disgrace, contempt and scorning: thou must to pleasures purchase, hee to paynes paradise, in playner tearmes, thou like rich Di­ues to hell, he like poore de­spised Lazarus to heauen: these are the iust propor­tioned recompences, both to the worldes smiling fa­uoures, and frowning despi­singes, to the lordly mans superfluitie, and the disday­ned mans dignitie, although (neuer so poore or contem­ned) if he be truely conten­ted in hi [...] necessitie.

If then in this life thou hast great fauours and gay honoures, the more peril­lous [Page] and dangerous are they to thy soules expectation, and a most perfecte argu­ment, that thou makest no account to bee an heyre of heauen. The law al­lowes not,Gal. 4. that any bastard sonne shall possesse his fa­thers inheritaunce. Abra­ham gaue giftes to Ismael, and to the other sonnes of his Concubines, Gen. 25. but hee made I­saacke heyre of all his goods, and he succeeded in his fathers house. Euen so dealeth God to such as by their sinne & wickednes do degenerat frō their true father, he permits the possession of goodes, landes and great reuenews, because by displeasing him, they delight in this world, and are the onely fauourites therof: but then he excludes [Page 111] them from the inheritance of his glory, which he one­ly reserueth in store for his right children, euen they (that despising this worldes vaine fauours) expect (like legittimate sons) their pa­trimony in heauen.

With giftes and fauours men of this worlde are soo­nest contented, neuer ma­king account of any other goodes or inheritance: then neuer meruaile when thou seest so many bad men liue in such flourishing estate, for they care not how great they be here, so they be no­thing at all else where, and a blase of vayne glory is bet­ter to them in this life, then perpetuall remembrance in the life to come, for badde men haue no goods at all in [Page] heauen, and the humble spirited care for none heere on earth.

God sendeth trouble & afflictions to such as hee lo­ueth, because they shoulde not busie their thoughtes with worldly occasions, but still bee labouring on their iourney towarde heauen. It comes to passe many times that a traueller, who in the sommer season hath a iour­ney to some place or other, being ouer hot and sweatie, finding a shady place, where the grasse is pleasant, and the ayre very coole, sits downe there to rest himself, and delights so long in that idle recreation, that all the rest of his day-labour is vt­terly lost. According to this similitude dealeth God [Page 112] with his chosen children, making the trauaile of this life seeme sweatie, painefull and laborious to them, that they should make the more haste to finish their iourney without loytring in the fresh aire and shaddowes of this world, and so loose the day light to go stumbling in the darke: For the Sunnes heate and toyling on the way discourageth not a wise traueller, or makes him slacke his pace, but to vse the more haste, and rest himselfe in his Inne, least being shut out by late com­ming thether, he lies in the street, & haue none to com­fort him.

It is our Lords wil there­fore that to such as loue him, and seeke after his [Page] glory, the passage of this life shoulde bee full of an­guish, trouble and molesta­tion: least being deceyued with the worldes vayne al­lurings, their eternal hopes might be altred, & he loose them, whome hee maketh dearest account of. To draw the children of Israel out of Egypte,Exod. 15, and make them long and desire the more to see their promised coun­trey: God permitted Pha­raoh so many wayes to af­flict them. When Iaacob was kindly vsed in Labans house, hee had no minde at all of his own countrey: but when hee perceyued Laban and his sonnes deale hardly with him, thē he called Ra­chel & Leah to him, saying: I will no longer tarry from the Gen. 13. [Page 113] land of my fathers, because I see your fathers countenance is not towarde me as it was wont to be.

And as it is a thing most ho­nourable for any Knight or Souldier, to beare the armes of his king and Captaine: e­uen as honourable is it to a true Christian man, to suf­fer trauayle & persecution, as his fore-guyde & leader Iesus Christ did. Seeke not then (dear brother) for mens fauours and regarde in this worlde because they serue for no other vse, but to ly in thy way like stumbling blocks, & so to hinder thee from the kingdome of hea­uen. Then like the true ser­uant of Christ Iesus, enter­tayne this holye purpose, wade through all calamities [Page] whatsoeuer they bee, and expect & looke for with pa­tience that most glorious & bright day, which shal enriche thee with eternal happi­nesse.

Meditation 16. Of worldly prosperitie and be­nefiting our selues by our neighbours preiu­dice.

THe prosperitie of fooles (saith the wise man) is their own de­struction: Prou. 1 ther­fore this giues vs occasion to feare, when we finde our selues ouerlodē with world­ly prosperitie, howe the hu­militie of our Lord & may­ster Christ Iesus, may like­wise be kept in our heartes,1. Sam. 9. and not displaced, Saul was [Page] a holy man, and so humble, that hee hid himselfe in his house,1. Sam. 24 because hee woulde not be king: yet he saw him selfe no sooner exalted, and in the height of prosperitie, but then he became a most proude king. When Dauid was persecuted, hee gaue his life to his enemie Saule: but comming afterwarde to prosperity,2. Sam. 11 he caused his seruant Vriah to be slaine. They that in persecution yeelde their liues ready to death, afterward in prospe­ritie are readiest to murther the liuing. The state of prosperity is very doubtful, for though it affoordeth worldly felicitie, yet is it combred with many cares and inconueniences: there­fore the peril is the greater, [Page 115] where the spoyle may bee made the richer. That part of our life which is past with most slothfull securitie, and freest from trouble or mo­ [...]estation, is alwaies the most daungerous, because in ad­uersitie there is no crosse or affliction, for all are impri­ [...]oned in the sweetnesse of prosperitie, it is therefore a great vertue to wrastle and contend against prosperity, and the felicitie is not little not to suffer our selues to [...]e conquered thereby.

When a man that is in [...]rosperity is beloued, it is [...]ot discerned, whether his [...]erson is affected, or his pro­ [...]perous estate: but let the [...]raudulent glory of y^e world [...]ippe away a little, then the [...]uth is made manifest, be­cause [Page] prosperitie can not shew a friend, nor aduersity hide an enemie. The pro­speritie of this worlde doth not onely delude men, but slippes away from them ere they are aware of it: there­fore the Psalmist said well: It is the enemie to the proud & exalted, Psal. 56. and vanisheth away as if it were a smoake: Smoke mounted on high, the sight thereof is quickly lost: euen such is prosperitie, it beares a shewe for a while, and at length comes to nothing: Vppon the mountayne of Gilboa perished the noble and great men of Israel:2. Sam. 1. so doth prosperitie leade men vp as it were to a mountain, and suddenly thence tum­bles them headlong downe, for it vtterly forgets God, [Page 116] and therefore is worthely the destruction of it selfe.

When Ioseph had inter­preted King Pharaohs But­lers dreame to him, that he should be restored to his of­fice, and all shoulde go well with him, he intreated him in this manner:Gen. 40. But haue me in remembraunce with thee, when thou art in good case, & shewe mercy vnto mee I pray thee, and make mention of me to Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring me out of this house. But the Butler being deliuered from prison, and in as good estate as he was before: for­got poor Ioseph in the dun­geon, prosperitie had nowe made him proude agayne, such beggers as Ioseph were not then to bee thought on, whereby wee may well per­ceyue, [Page] that prosperitie is a state of no remembraunce, Pharaoh king of Egypt, in the pride of his prosperity, said: I knowe not the Lorde, neyther wil I let Israel go: Exod, 5 But in his tribulation afterward then he knew God, and en­treated Moyses and Aaron to pray vnto the Lorde for him. The Apostle Peter, when hee sawe his Lordes glory on the Mount Ta­bor, presently said: Maister it is good for vs to bee heere, Math. 17. therefore if thou wilt, let vs make here three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moy­ses, and one for Elias, Pe­ter neuer remembring him­selfe, nor his other compa­nions.Iohn 1. Andrew the Apostle, and brother to Peter, when he had brought his said bro­ther [Page 117] to the knowledge of Christ, & that Peter was so highly fauoured by his mai­ster, as to bee present with him at his glorious transfigu­ration: hee neuer thought on his brother Andrewe, who had brought him to this aduauncement and in­comparable blessednesse.

But in vayne is it to mer­uayle hereat, because this worlds glory & gaudy pros­peritie, will not let men knowe themselues, much [...]esse any one to whom they [...]aue beene beholding. The [...]ke wee see oftentimes to [...]appen in the pallaces of [...]ighty princes, that a mean [...]erson hath been the occa­ [...]on of a mans preferment [...] a place of great account: [...]d who is the first that hee [Page] hath soonest forgotten? e­uen he that was the meanes of his loftie aduauncement, such is the wondrous defect wayting on worldly prospe­ritie, that it will neuer let a man remember his especial benefactor. And because God knew that mens pros­peritie brought t [...]ē to such forgetfulnesse: When his people of Israel were in the desart, trauelling towarde the land of Promise: Beware (quoth hee) that thou forget not the Lord thy God, not kee­ping his commandementes, Deut. 8. and his lawes, and his ordinances which I commaunde thee this day. Least when thou hast ea­ten and filled thy selfe, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein. And thy beastes and thy sheepe are encreased, and [Page 118] thy siluer and gold is multiply­ed, and all that thou hast is in­creased: Then thine heart be lifted vp, and thou forgette the Lorde thy God, which brought thee out of the lande of Egypte, from the house of bondage.

Therefore wee may well perceyue, that in prosperity we liue in far greater perill, then whē we are tossed with continuall tribulations, and the danger is more to be fea­red, when we saile on a fresh and sweet water, then when we are at liberty on the bit­ter salt seas: all which suf­ficiently doo approue, that our life i [...] beleagerde with mightier enemies, when we passe through the smooth streames of worldly prospe­ritie, then when wee are en­forced [Page] [...] [Page 118] [...] [Page] to hard and narrowe shiftes, among the rockes and quick sands of troubles and afflictions. Let vs bee wise thē in time, for though prosperitie seeme to be our very best friend, and holds the highest place in our houses: yet trust it not too farre, for it hath a greater fauourite to countenaunce it, then wee easily consider of, and that is our frayle fleshe, which puffes vp the soule with the winde of prosperities bellowes, one­ly to make it proude and forgetful of God, neuer per­mitting vs to remember, that this high floode of iol­litie may haue as lowe an obbe of aduersitie, and that this loftie tytle of prospe­ritie, is onely but lent vs: [Page 119] Whereas on the contrary side, if wee consider the be­nefite of tribulation, howe it hath no proude eye, no ambitious aspiring humour, but endures all crosses pa­ciently, knowing that it can haue no long time of con­tinuance, and therefore car­ryes an euen sayle better contented with passage the through bitter stormy seas of affliction, then daun­cing at pleasure on the calm streames of vanitie: wee would flie from prosperitie as from the pestilence, and think our selues in best case, when it is furthest of vs.

Heere it shall not bee a­misse, to [...]nter a little in con­sideration of this worldly prosperity, and what means are often vsed for attay­ning [Page] thereto: some by the preiudice and hinderance of their neighbour, others by seeking to support them selues on the countenaunce of the wicked, so to get vp on the ladder of foolishe proude vanitie.

Eccles. 27. Who so casteth a stone on high (saith the wiseman) casteth it vpon his owne head. If then thou wilt needes be great & no way will serue thy turne in attayning it, except thou wade through the blood of thy neyghbour, and that his vndooing must bee thy step to mount by, thou castest vp this stone, and the fall thereof will bee vpon thine owne heade. He [...] addeth further in the same place: Hee that smiteth with guile, maketh a great wound. Who so [Page 120] diggeth a pit shall fall therein, and hee that layeth a stone in his neyghbours way, shal stum­ble thereon: And hee that spreadeth a snare for another, shall be taken therein himselfe. Iust is the iudgement of God, and therefore he per­mitteth, that such as seeke to sayle and commande, by the hinderance and ouer­throwe of their neighbour: that the same harme they wish them, shall returne on themselues, and though the worlde reputes their begin­ning to be good, yet dange­rous shall bee their end, and euil. An excellent president hereof, haue wee in proude Haman▪ who could find no way else to vpholde his ho­nour and prosperitie,Hest. 7 then by seeking to shedde the blood [Page] of Gods innocent people: but what ensued thereof, on the same gallows hee made for Mardocheus, himselfe was hanged very soon after.

The men of Babilon ima­gined, that by procuring the death of Daniell, they should bee the more highly fauoured of King Darius wherevpon they wrought s [...] with the King,Dan. 6 that Daniel was throwen into the denne of Lyons. But the successe thereof fell out quite con­trary to their expectatio [...] for God deliuered his s [...] uaunt from death, and th [...] complotters of his destru [...] tion, were themselues d [...] uoured of the hungry Lyo [...] Achitophel, to compas [...] the good liking of Abs [...] lon,1. Sam. 17 whom he held as kin [...] [Page 121] & therfore gaue euill coun­sell against his lawfull Lord Dauid: did nothing else [...]ut procure his owne death [...]hereby, for when hee sawe [...]hat his counsel was not ac­ [...]epted, he went and hanged [...]imselfe in his owne house. [...]alaam to get the gifts and [...]uour of Balaac King of the Moabites,Numb. 24 gaue wicked [...]ounsell against the people [...]f Israell, but God so per­ [...]itted, that thinges got­ [...]n by euill meanes, should [...]e as bad an end, and Ba­ [...]am weening to make him­ [...]lfe great by the losse and [...]mage of his neighbour, [...]as afterward slain in a bat­ [...]ile.

Then couer not to pros­ [...]r by badde and wicked [...]eanes, because God will [Page] not suffer thee to enioy the goodes so gotten any long while, but will depriue thee of them by one way or o­ther, yea such as shall re­dounde to thine owne paine and perplexitie. Make no bargaines, seeke no possessi­ons, nether reach at offices or dignities by sinister cour­ses: for goodes euill gotten haue no continuaunce, and their felicitie is as little, as their purchasing was lewde. If thou haue right and true title to any thing, alleadge then thy lawfull interest without preiudice to the contrary partie, or offering the very least wrong to thy neighbour: This way shalt thou bee assured of Gods help & furtherāce, yea euery thing shal prosper & go well [Page 122] with thee. A hard consciēce is neuer in quiet, and prefer­mente badly come by hath as brittle abiding: for there are many that labour and gape after offices, high seats, spirituall promotions, and such like, some bringing let­ters in fauour, other Ringes as tokens, and diuers come backt with friends for their better countenance: & yet notwithstanding all these busy proceedings, God (not blessing their endeuours) they misse the markes they aymed at, and other lesse thought on, & not so inqui­sitiue doe many times enioy thē. But some (to further thē­selue [...] [...]e more in these aspi­ring affaires) wil stand much vpon their owne worthines, and defame any competitor [Page] that labours in the sam [...] sute, nay, rather then they will faile of their purpose, i [...] the impayring of the other good name will not seru [...] the price of his bloode sha [...] yeeld a more certaine ass [...] rance: & yet God in iustic [...] doth so frustrate their endeuours, that if any perish, [...] is the practiser himselfe, an [...] looke what he prepared fo [...] an other, falles out in th [...] end to be his own paymen [...]

God sent an euill spirit betweene the men of S [...] chem,Iud. 9 and Abimelech wh [...] they had elected for the [...] Lorde, and it was a spirit of diuision and hatred, which brought an euill ende both on the one and other: for Abimelech slow his brethre [...] to make himselfe King, an [...] [Page 123] the Sichimites perished for [...]iding him in this wicked [...]ractise. For as the sea in his [...]welling makes the adioy­ [...]ing riuers muddie, thereby [...]o cleare himselfe: so fares [...] with them that woulde [...]leanse their owne infirmi­ [...]es, by polluting others [...]ith foule spots of infamie.

The mother of the sonnes [...]o Zebedeus made a request [...]or her children,Math. 20. without of­ [...]ending or maligning o­ [...]hers, for in commending [...]er owne sonnes, she spake [...]o euill of the other Apo­ [...]tles, nor did shee will our [...]ord to shew any iot lesse of [...]auour to the rest: therefore [...]er desire extended not to [...]re [...]dice a neighbour, or to [...]tand as an offence to any o [...]er, for though she labour­ed [Page] for the honour of her owne children, yet shee iniured not the rest, or any way defamed them. When one scale of the ballance as­cendes vp, the other sinke downe: Such is the condi­tion of very many that knowe no way howe to lift themselues aloft, without the casting of others head-long downe, If but the pin­nion of an Eagle touch the feather of any other meaner birde, it disables it of any helpe, and vtterly spoiles it: euen such is the power of Princes and great Poten­tates fauours, they vtterly ouerthrowe them that want abilitie, that they may seem the more munificent where their owne opinion leades them, for a promise made, [Page 124] is not a deed performde, & [...] consent can quickly bee [...]eckt, when it had no will [...] supply the request.

Others there are, that [...]inke to prosper and come [...] account in the world by [...]attering, praysing, and [...]othing the sinnes and ini­ [...]uities of great persons, [...]hich in the ende lyes very [...]eauie on eythers consci­ [...]uce: Take heede then of [...]eeking after such vayne [...]rosperitie, which bringes [...]ith it the hazarde of thy [...]eighbours soule and thine [...]wne.

God commanded in the [...]ld law, saying,Exod. 23, thou shalt not [...]eeth a Kidde in his mothers milk [...]he Goats (saith our Sa­ [...]iour) in the day of iudgement [...]hall hee set on the left hande: Math. 25. [Page] whereby is vnderstoode th [...] name of sinners, who in despight of all their worldl [...] preferment and prosperity shall bee deliuered ouer t [...] the fire eternall: such th [...] are sodden in milke, as a [...] soothed and vphelde wit [...] prayses in their abhominable vices. The wiseman calleth milke flattery, and th [...] praise of sinners, when he [...] saith:Prou. 1 My sonne if sinner [...] offer thee milke, lende no ea [...] vnto them. Wretched man▪ why shouldst thou seeke th [...] neighbours harme? Why shouldst thou encourage [...] sinner in his wickednesse, be a deadly enemy to his soul, and all to helpe thy selfe to worldly prosperity? Ca [...] there be any greater vanity then this? Away with this [Page 125] dreame of prosperity, what­ [...]oeuer thou seekest or desi­ [...]est, let it bee doone by ho­nest, good & lawfull means, [...]hat thou maiest the longer enioy it, and with a pure and with an vnpolluted consci­ence.

Now for such as hunt af­ [...]er prosperitie by wicked occasions, as also for them that leane to such men, as deserue no regard at all: List what the Prophete Dauid sayth:Psal. 37. A small thing vnto the iust man is better, then great riches to the wicked & migh­tie. For wicked preferment must haue as wicked main­tenance, & nothing violent can bee permanent: there­for [...] great violence is it to nature, and a matter against all the course of reason, that [Page] dignitie should bee abused by any base vpstart, or hee that intendeth an honoura­ble race of life, to entertain or keepe a wicked person a­bout him. The Iuie is but a vile thing & of no account, yet is it aspyring, & encrea­seth onely by the walles fa­uour, that giues it leaue to mount on: euen so in this worlde, many men of vyle and base condition, sudden­ly leapes vp to promotion and great offices, because they clyme by the wall of great mens fauour, and in time growe in wickednesse vp to such height, that they dispise the meanes whereby they mounted, yea, and are the very formost ( [...]f oc­casion so serue) to teare out their harts, that so highly [Page 126] promoted them. And (here­ [...]f) the Iuie giues vs a good president, for albeit the wal welcomes it as a kind neigh­bour, and cares not though [...]t ouergo him in growth, yet [...]ike a vile traytor and most [...]ngrateful wretch, it rots & [...]uinates him quite in peeces. So happens it to them that giue grace & acceptance to vndeseruing wretches: they growe vp by little and little vnder their sufferance, til ei­ther they be tooo high to be taken downe, or haue suckt such strength out of their kinde tolleration, that they shal be able to stand no lon­ger.Eccles. 14 He that is wicked to him­selfe (sayth the Scripture) to wha [...] [...]n he be good? For who­soeuer loueth wickednes, ha­teth his owne soul, & not his [Page] soule onely, but his body al­so, procuring death eternall both of body and soule.

Nowe if the wicked are not good to their equalles, what can they bee to thee? so soone as they beholde themselues to haue no more neede of thee, they present­ly turne their backes, and become thy vtter enemies. Our sauiour sayth: Men ga­ther not grapes on thornes, nor figges on thistles: Math. 7 Deut. 33 Then neuer thinke, to sucke honye out of the stone, and oyle out of the hard rocke, as God did for his people of Israel. Mo­ses drewe water foorth of a rocke,Num. 20, but it was a miracle to draw vertue or gratitude out of a wicked man, who commonly leanes to the winning side, not caring [Page 127] whether truth bee there or [...]o, but so farre is he a frend, [...]s hee may prosper thereby. But whosoeuer thriueth by [...]uch wicked means, & hath no better foundation for his worldly fame and dignity: beleeue mee, hee doeth no­thing else but deceyue him­selfe, hee may haue a fayre morning, that is, a goodly beginning in shew, but ere night, that is, before hee partes hence, hee will finde it a rough, stormy and tem­pestuous euening.

The diuine wisedome (which is God himself) saith By me Kings raigne, & Prin­ces decree iustice: Prou. 8. If then all power and authoritie come of God, and nothing what­soeuer is done on the earth but by his prouidence and [Page] permission: howe thinkest thou that God will blesse and prosper thee in thine e­state, whē thou art vnthank­full to him that holpe thee to the same? And how canst thou think to profit or haue any successe at al, when thou persecutest the good, dea­lest vnmercifully with the poore, and oppressest euery one, as much as lyes in thee to do.

Thou fauourest the wic­ked, and treadest downe the godly, not knowing how the griefes which the good suf­fers, do pierce vp to the ears of the Almighty: & he who is the Lorde of iustice, aun­sweres for his chosen, and will defend them, eu [...] hee that sayth,Exod, 22 Yee shall not trou­ble any widdowe or fatherlesse [Page 128] child. If thou vexe or trouble [...]ny such, and so he call and cry [...]nto me, I will surely heare his [...]ry: Then shall my wrath bee [...]indled, and I wil kill yee with [...]he sworde. Pharaoh king of Egypt, to keepe himselfe in his throne and royal pompe, neuer fearing to loose his worldly kingdome, though the people of Israel were much more encreased, pur­sued continually the people of God. But the Lord heard the prayer and quarel of the iust, destroying the persecu­ter & his kingdom. The ve­ry like dost thou (O misera­ble man) after the manner of Pharaoh, to vpholde thine own worldly estate, thou gi­uest [...]untenaunce to lowd persons, and persecutest the vertuous, rather esteeming [Page] of dissolute wretches, then such as truely tell thee the way to perfect preferment, and thus thou wilfully see­kest thine owne destructi­on.

Hest. 5What ouerthrew proude Haman, but his persecution of Mardocheus, who was a iust man? Hee made too much rekoning of light hea­ded fellows and sinners, that would honor him as a God, and sooth him vp in all his wicked purposes. And ther­for [...] imagine not thy self to be any iot honored by him that hath no knowledge of honour in himselfe because no man can giue the thing which hee hath not▪ Seeke honour then of good men, who are neuer without it, & l [...]t none but the vertuous [Page 129] haue place about thee: for though the mouthes of the wicked are full of goodly wordes, yet (like a winde) they blow away, & to mor­row there wil be no remem­brance left of them. God saith by the Prophet Hosea: I will chaunge their glory into shame, Hosea, 4, meaning the glory of such as will support them­selues by the fauour of wic­ked persons. And by the Prophete Ezechiel:Ezech. 17. I will bring downe the high tree, & dry vp the gr [...]ene plant: All the trees of the field shall know that I the Lord haue doone it. So thou and all they whom thou regardest against rea­son and iustice, shal quickly bee [...]ewen downe, for the house which is builte on a badde foundation, cannot [Page] stand any long time, but must needes fall to the ground.Psal. 68. As the smoake vani­sheth (sayth Dauid) and as the waxe melteth before the fire, so shall the wicked perish at the presence of God. And as the salt floode quickly swels vp, and as quickly sinkes down again and turnes to nothing: euen so and such is the pros­peritie of the wicked. Wee see that thinges carryed a­loft by the winde, the winde no sooner ceaseth, but they fall to the grounde: So fares it with them, (who without deserte, and by the fa­uour of men) are highly promoted, when fauoure slacketh, downe falles their dignity, in a miserabl [...] case is hee that hath no better assuraunce, Thou takest me [Page 130] vp (saith Iob) and causest me to ride vpō the wind, Iob. 30 & makest my strength to fayl: Such men buylde their dwellinges vp­on the winde, as thinke to preserue their reputation by the endeuours of badde men, and their strength shal fayle that is so weakely vn­der propped.Prou. 26 As the Snowe in sommer (sayth Salomon) & as rayne in haruest are not meet: so is honour vnseemly for a foole. The Gentiles vaine­ly adored the Idole Mercu­ry each of them carrying a stone in honour of their Idoll: euen so they that ho­nor worldly prosperitie, steale the honor which is due to God, and bestow it on [...] a base Idoll, and the selfe same may be said of him, who honours [Page] a foole, and voide of vertue, that he commits a certayne kind of idolatry, in robbing the wise man of his honour, and giuing it to a foole, for they are like the Idoles which Dauid speaks of: They haue a mouth, Psal. 115 and speake not, they haue eyes and see not: they haue eares and heare not. &c.

So then to giue honour to the ignorant, promotion to the wicked, and dignity to the vndeseruer: is like him that throws a stone with a sling hee knowes not whe­ther, and huggeth a foole in his armes in stead of a wyse man.

A stone because it is hea­uie by nature descendeth downewarde, but being put into a sling, and holpen with the strength of the arme, it [Page 131] flies vp into the ayre like a birde, and falles where the caster can hardly guesse. So happens it with a wicked man and a foole, that cannot mount aloft, or soare of thē­selues, but by the help of o­thers, and against the course of all reason: thus are such stones and worthlesse wret­ches sent vp into the ayre of promotion, whereas rather they ought in equitie to lie still on the earth, and to bee trodē vnder wise mens feet, yet happening (by chaunce) to a good arme, and fauour in Court, or else where, they fly like birds of fairest wing, whereas neuer a feather is truel [...] their owne, all which is contrary to iustice, or any argument of reason.

Thus seest thou what this [Page] worldes prosperitie is, and what benefit ariseth of vn­lawfull attayning thereto: thou therefore being a true christian, canst direct thy course a quite contrary way, thy Lord and Maister him­selfe hath instructed thee how, when hee sayeth, If any man will come after me, Luk. 23 let him deny himselfe, and take vp his crosse dayly, and follow mee. Thy way then to heauen, is not by vaine prosperitye, high lookes, lofty aspiring, promotion to great offices and dignities, treading on thy neighbours necke, and contemning of the poore: but through persecutions, crosses, reuilings, sc [...]ffing, and all ignominies of this world, which patiently thou must endure and suffer for [Page 132] his sake. If thou purpose to raigne with him, seek not to raigne here, if thou wilt bee an heire of his kingdome, disdayne no embasing or de­iection here in this world, so he that sees thy hearts true humility, and thy contented sufferance for his loue and honor in thine afflictions wil giue thee cōfort in thy hea­uie burdens, his owne shoul­ders will support thee, and for thy death of body hee will rewarde thee with life both of body and soule in ioyes euerlasting such as no eye hath seene, no tongue can repeate, or any hearte in this world is able to con­ceiue.

Meditation 17. Of worldly care for food, ray­ment, and other mainte­nance in this life.

Mat, 6, BE not carefull for your life, what yee shall eate, or what yee shall drinke, nor yet for your bodies, what ye shall put on (sayth our Saui­our) for your heauenly father knoweth, that ye haue neede of all these thinges. Consider dear Christian brother, that God is not the fath [...] of the proud rich, but of the hum­ble poore, and it must needs bee so, according as Chryst [Page 133] affirmeth, when hee sayth, Reioyce then & be glad, when thou wantest any thing, or when thinges encrease not to thine owne desire. Here wee perceyue he saith not, that the Father knoweth ye haue need of alablaster houses, iewelles & precious stones, triumphall chariots, or such like vayne thinges: but one­ly that yee haue neede of meat, drinke and clothing, all which himselfe taketh care to prouide ye, and all which yee must receyue in moderate manner, because good men extend their care to nothing else. When wee haue foode and rayment (sayth Saint [...]aule) let vs bee there­with contented: 1 Tim, 6 therefore truely may it be saide, that God is the father of them [Page] onely, who with necessary maintenaunce and clothing is truely contented.

When the housholder sent the labourers to work in his vineyarde,Math. 20. he made each of them promise but of a peny for his paines, meaning eter­nall blessednes, and not any rewarde of meate, or drinke, therefore thus shoulde his liberal offer be vnderstood, nor will hee fayle therein to them that rightly seeke af­ter eternall felicitie, not respecting the bellies fee­ding, or the backs clothing, but only such maintenance as seemeth best in his di­uyne wisedome, whereby hee expresseth himselfe the Lorde and King ouer all. Labour then for the inheri­taunce of his blessed king­dome, [Page 132] and all thinges else beside shall bee giuen vnto thee: for he that is able to giue thee blessednes, can prouyde all other thinges needful for thee. Trust then in God onely, who will not faile to giue thee that which besemeth a sonne: and if it happen thee at any time to want for a while, yet slacke not thy hope, he will restore that want with ioy and spi­rituall consolation, so that thou wilt take more plea­sure in such a necessitie, then if thou hadst all world­ly things in greatest aboun­dance.

Bee not curious nor ouer­caref [...]ll in prouiding for this lyfe, eyther by meanes vnlawfull, or courses of extremitie: because the [Page] care and seeking after these temporall occasions, is such a heauy burthen and clog to the mind, as they hinder it from flying vp to contem­plate our eternall good. For God made man to the ende he shold respect the chiefest good onely, and by respec­ting it, to loue it, and louing it, to seeke for enioying the fruit thereof: which ioy is a­ble to withdrawe his carnall conceyte, and eleuate his hope to the mater hee was made for.

Hereto must be added an other persuasion, that thy life is not tyed to any ordi­nary mayntenance, because it is written: Man liueth not by bread onely, Math. 4 but by eue­ry word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. For if it [Page 135] pleased him, he can sustaine thee with any other thing, as in the desart he drew wa­ter out of a rocke,Numb. 20 and made the bitter waters of Marah to be sweet,Exod. 15, & 16, that his people might drinke thereof, and maintained them fortie yeares with Manna from heauen. Then neuer be thou so carefull, and afflicted for occasions belonging to this worlde: but principally seek the kingdome of heauen, which will enrich thee with all thinges thou canst neede beside.

If the people of Israel had thought on nothing else,Exod, 16 but eating and drinking, & clo­thing [...]hemselues in the wil­dernesse, they had neuer gone forth of Egypt, nor en­tred into the lande of pro­mise: [Page] If then thou wilt like­wyse enter into the promy­sed lande, disburthen thy selfe of all worldly cares, and cast not so much as one look to any transitory trash. Many of the Hebrewes,Numb. 12 af­ter (by Gods greate fauour) they were deliuered out of Egypte by being ouer care­ful, called for flesh, and ca­red not for Manna, & tho­rugh this murmuring, they neuer attayned the ende of their iournie, nor could com to see the fertile land of pro­mise. Our Lorde compared his disciples to lambs, when he sent them forth to preach commaunding them not to beare bagge,Luk. 10 scrip shoos, or any prouision with them: and the reason why he wold haue them goe in this naked [Page 134] manner, was because they shoulde bee troubled with no affaires of the world, but being free from temporall cogitations, they shoulde bee the apter for their mai­sters seruice. Wee knowe that the Lambe takes no care at all, the shephearde onely hath regard of it. God is our carefull shephearde, and fayth to vs as hee did to his Lambes: When I sent ye without bagge, and scrip, and shoos, lacked ye any thing? Luk, 22. And they answered, Nothing: If God haue such care of thee, why shouldst thou torment thy selfe with this worlds af­flictions? There is no maister (how rich or indiscreet soe­uer) but prouides for his ser­uauntes necessary nourish­mēt: thē thou that hast God [Page] for thy maister, what canst thou want? thou that hast the Lorde of all to respecte thee, how canst thou com­plaine of any need? What said the Prophete Dauid? The Lorde is my shephearde, Psal. 23. I shall not want: Followe thou his instruction, bee as confi­dent in thy maker, and say in thy soule, he that made al things will let me lacke no­thing.

They that hunt so greedi­ly after these visible things, and make no account of thē that are inuisible: seek plea­sure in this life, and euerla­sting payne in that which is to come. To such speaketh God by the Prophet Hag­gai: Because yee haue forsaken my house, Hag: 1 and with great care and diligence run to your owne [Page 137] houses: Therefore the heauen ouer you stayed it selfe from dewe, and the earth stayed her fruit. And it is no more then iustice, that they should lack all thinges that leaue their Lord and Creator, and haue no part in his inheritaunce, that desire no other but th [...] ioyes of this life. Our Saui­our likeneth the liues of the iust to the foules of the ayre, in regarde of the little rest they haue on the earth, and because their liues are ad­dicted vpwarde, and there­vpon, reproouing our busie thoughts and worldly cares, he vrgeth this example say­ing:Mat, 6, Behold the foules of the heauen, for they sowe not, ney­ther reape, nor carry into the barns, yet your heauenly father feedeth them.

Well mayst thou bee a­shamed then of thy greedy desires, seeking thine owne death for the dyrte of the world, when the fayr flowres of paradise offer themselues vnto thee. Truely it is a strange kinde of crueltie, to hazarde thy life, and breake thy limbes, onely for the vayne affection thou bear­est to this world, yet think­ing thou canst come to hea­uen with ease, whole, sound, and without any molestati­on. Indeed, by true honou­ring the father, that is the neerest way, wherefore in matters of this life, the ouer­much care of the sonne, is a reprehension of the fathers little regard concerning pro­uision of needfull occasions: and hence ensues it that the [Page 136] worldly sonne blames the carelesse father for neglect­ing the course of common maintenaunce: yet he is not so busie in compassing the vayne props of his pleasure, but he is as careles of offen­ding his heauenly father, e­uen he that would not haue him so vexe and toyle him­selfe, because he hath pro­uided all things needfull for him.

The byrd neither abides or restes her selfe on the ground, but while the time of necessitie compelles her: the remaynder of her lyfe is imployed in mounting toward heauen.

If then thou wilt escape from the perilles of this lyfe, thou must make no a­byding on the earth, but [Page] eleuate thy thoughts to hea­uen, mounte vpwarde with thy hourely cogitations, and flie from the worldes enty­sing allurementes, because they doo nothing else but seek to deceiue thee.Gen. 1 When God created the foules of the ayre,Math. 25. and the fishes in the sea, he blessed them and called them good: but hee gaue no blessing to the brute beastes which liue on the earth. Whosoeuer therfore wil haue part of his blessing, which hee will bestow vpon none but the good, must (like the fish) swim speedily through this worldes afflic­tions, and (as a bird) flie frō the vanities thereof with all celeritie, that they may es­cape the perils whereinto a number fall, because they li­ued [Page 139] but euen as brute beasts on the earth, affecting inor­dinately the trashe of the earth, whereto God neuer gaue blessing, but his heauy malediction.

Learne then (deare bro­ther) to liue like the birde, soaring aloft toward heauen in prayer and contemplati­on, committing all thy cares to God only, agreeing with that which the Apostle Pe­ter saith,1 Pet, 5 Cast all your care on him, for he careth for you: The holy King was of this mind, when he said: Though I bee poore and needie, Psal. 40, the Lorde is carefull for mee. If then the Lord himselfe be so carefull for thee hee would not haue thee troubled with worldly cogitations, because all thy busie seeking after these [Page] temporall affaires doo serue to no other ende, but to suf­focate the worde of God in thy hearte, according as our Sauiour saith in the Gospel: The Gentiles and vnbeleeuers, which deceyue themselues, Luk. 8, be­leeuing life to bee but fortune, it is no meruayle though they be so carefull. But thou that belieuest in the diuine pro­uidence, as becommeth a Chrystian, oughtest to bee carefull for spirituall goods onely, because thou very well knowest, that in doing but thy duetie, God will ne­uer let thee lacke whatsoe­uer thou needest: for if hee mayntains the birdes, which hee made for the loue of man, will hee suffer man to want whome hee made for his owne loue?

Make cleane then thy heart, washing all vayne sol­licitude and worldly care out of it, that thou mayest with the more ease lifte it vp to God: for distraction of the hearte cooleth the heate of loue, bringing a man into many temptations and snares of the enemy, be­cause nature and sensualitie are very mightie, & they go seeking one another in the vanities and delights of this worlde, whereby the vn­derstanding being darke­ned, the spirite wexeth in­sensible, and performes all spirituall and godly exerci­ses with little taste or fee­ling of any pleasure there­in.

Those affaires which bu­sie [Page] mens thoughts, (albeit in things lawfull) do yet bring with them a distemper and distraction of the minde, which in prayer prooueth to be much more hurtfull: be­cause they wil not suffer the very inferior strength of the soule to endure any quiet supporting of it selfe. Then wel may we say, that world­ly carke and care for exteri­or occasions (how lawful so­euer) do but blind the sight of memory, and obscure the splendour of the true light indeed: Therefore, if thou wilt giue thy selfe wholly to God, thou must bee disbur­thened of all worldly sollici­tude, and abasing thy mind to these seruile vanities.

It is a common rule among men, that when they are [Page 141] growen great in the worlde by extremity of cares, hoor­ding vp their treasures, and all meanes else which them­selues terme prouident: then they labour to make them­selues famous by feasting great Lordes, and banquet­ting their betters, whereby stil their mindes follow this expectatiō, that those feasts and banquets in that order bestowed, shall win fauor to encrease a further store, and friendes to tread down such as may contende with them. But what sayeth the wise man?Prou. 23 Eat not thou the bread of him that hath an euill eye, neither desire his dainty meats: for such as couet honours or goodes by feastes and ban­quettings, do rightly follow the schoole doctrine of the [Page] Epicures, reposing therein their onely felicitie.

When the Angell spake to olde Zacharias, concer­ning his sonne Iohn Baptist, hee saide: He shall be great in the sight of God: Luke. 1 and pre­sently added thereto: Hee shall neyther drinke wyne, nor strong drinke: Whereby he approoueth the greatnesse of Gods forerunner, in spea­king only of his abstinence, not saying hee shoulde be a feaster, a banquetter, a bibber or glutton, but (as yee haue hearde) and there­by he should become great in the sight of God.

At great feasts and mee­tinges is God many wayes offended, because in the heate of wine, and ouerchar­ging the stomacke, the tong [Page 140] grows too liberall of speech, abusing the name of God with oathes and idle talke, as also defaming our neigh­bour, by ouer rash reportes and friuolous suggestions. We read in the sacred scrip­ture, that in the feasts of the olde Lawe much humane bloode was shed.Gen. 40, For Pha­raoh at a greate feaste hee made to his seruantes, sud­denlye sent his Baker to bee hanged. Ammon was bidden to a banquet,2. Sam. 13 and there slayne by his brother Absalon.Iud. 13 So did Iudith beheade Holofernes at a feasting. Queene Hester solemnely inuyted Kinge Ahasu [...]rus to her Table,Hest. 7 and theene was Haman sent to the gallows.

Herode at a feasting which [Page] he made in Galilie,Marke 6, com­manded Iohn Baptists head to be cut off. Ptolome slew Simon, a greate Prince in Is­rael,1, Mac, 16 and his two sonnes at a banquet. And the children of Israel after they had ea­ten and drunk their fil,Exod, 32, 1 Cor. 10, com­mitted Idolatrie to the gol­den Calfe: These and such like accidentes haue happe­ned at worldly feastes and banquets.

The children of Iob vsed continuall banquettings, & their father offered sacrifice dayly to God for them say­ing: It may be that my sonnes haue sinned, Iob. 1, and blasphemed God in their harts. Full well he knew, that such celebra­tions could hardly be with­out sinne, and therefore hee laboured to appease Gods [Page 143] displeasure against them, by his heartie humilitie and dayly offerings. Of the rich glutton which fedde aboun­dantly, the Euangelist Luke writeth, that he was tormē­ [...]ed in hell,Luk. 16 and particularly [...]n his tongue, the nyce taster [...]f his delicates, and onely [...]riend to his bellie, that be­ [...]ame his plague for despy­ [...]ing poore Lazarus. There­ [...]ore they that liue in such [...]anner, are neuer respectiue [...]f the poores miseries, but [...]ccording as the Prophete Amos sayth: They drinke [...]ine in riche bowles, Amos. 6, and an [...] [...]oint themselues with the chief [...]intmentes, but no man is sorie [...]or the aff [...]ction of Ioseph.

Hee that is promoted to [...]ch an office, as to be Cook [...]o a great & mighty prince, [Page] makes no little reckoning of his dignity: but if he wold remember withall, that hee himselfe must (soone after) be cooke to the vile wormes of the earth, & that he must prepare his owne body for them to banquet on, I think the pride of his former of­fice woulde quickly be aba­ted.

Worthily may hee bee tearmed a foole, that will fatten a thiefe to day, which by the lawes sentence must be executed to morrow: ful well doe wee know, that the sentence of death is laid vp­on vs all, and wee are igno­rant when the writte of ex­ecution shall come, whe­ther this day or to morrow, then may not wee as de­seruedly be tearmed fooles, [Page 142] that by excesse of feeding make our bodies grosse, run from one feaste to another, and hunte after delicates, when the coffin standes rea­dy at the doore to carry vs away, and our full fedde [...]aunches must become foode for wormes and Ser­ [...]entes?Iudg. 10 When the Phili­stines were in their myrth and iollity at a feast, Samp­son puld downe the house where they were,1. Sam. 30 and so they dyed altogether. When [...]he Amalekites were at their eating, drinking and dancing, for ioy of the boo­ [...]ie they had gotten from Iudah, suddenly came Dauid armed vpon them, [...]nd making a great slaugh­ [...]er of them, tooke away [...]heyr spoyles: Such en­ding [Page] hath the feasts & ban­quets of this world, for whē the bodie is refreshed with the sauour of meat, the hart seems to taste some pleasure and contentment, but when hunger agayne approcheth, all that former felicitie is changed to nothing.

As a souldier ouercharg­ed with the weight of his ar­mour, can no way bee apt & ready for war: euen so that man whatsoeuer, whose bel­lie is too much bumbasted with varietie of victuailes, can hardly endure the com­bate that sinne will assault [...] him with: whereby we may easily gather, that in yeeld­ing to the bellies excesse & superfluitie, we liue not lik [...] men, but as brutish beaste [...] do, Martha was much troubled [Page 135] with prouiding a feast for our Sauior, but he there­fore reprehended her, say­ing: Martha, Martha, Luk, 1 [...], thou carest and art troubled about many things. As if he meant to haue further added: Busie not thy selfe in preparing much meate, because euery small thing to me is suffici­ent, I haue no neede but of one dishonely, and that suf­ficeth for the necessitie of this present life, what is o­uer and aboue, that is vayne & superfluous. Thou shoul­dest vse thy body, as the Phisitian doth his sicke pa­ [...]ient, who though he willes him to eate, yet hee forbids [...]im those thinges that are [...]urtfull and dangerous, and [...]inisters such foode as hee [...]hould haue, not those vain [Page] viandes which his appetite woulde haue: vse thou this Phisick in health, which the other doth in sicknesse, and thou shalt haue as sounde a soul, as he can desire to haue his pacients body.

Let me aske thee but this question, if a wise & skilfull Phisitian shoulde say vnto thee: Take heed my friend, drink not the iuyce of such an hearbe, because by drin­king thereof thou shalt sud­denly dye, wouldest thou not be very carefull of med­ling with that hearbe? Now when the onely wyse and true Phisitian both of our bodies and soules forbiddes vs this vayne hearbe of the worlde, to wit feasting, ban­quetting, carrowsing and surfeyting, telling vs it will [Page 136] bee the death both of body and soule, why are wee not more carefull of dealing with such dangers?

But in our common infir­mities, when the body is sicke and weakened, yet the soul continueth more strong and valiaunt, according to the Apostles saying: Al­though our outwarde man pe­rish, 2 Cor. 4 yet the inward man is re­nued dayly: But when glut­tony and excesse comes to infect the body and soule, the body is not onely weak­ned, but death likewise as­sayleth the soule, because they that are filled with too much meat & wine, haue no power at al of their souls di­rection. While Adam in paradise obserued the rule of abstinence, he continued [Page] in an estate both good and holy:Gen, 3 but when he transgrest and had eaten of the fruite, he lost all his former ioyes, and fell into many miseries. Lot by drinking too much wyne,Gen. 19, committed incest: which made Paule (writing to the Ephes.) to say: Be not drunk with wine, Ephes. 5 wherin is ex­cesse, but bee fulfilled with the spirit.

For as much water is the cause of moorish groundes, fennes, myres and muddie places, where nothing en­gendreth but Toads, Frogs, Snakes and such like fowle vermine: Euen so excesse of wine procureth brutish, wic­ked and beastly desires, ma­ny sensuall appetites, and o­ther sinfull qualities, farre worse then these in vnrea­sonable [Page 137] creatures and brute beastes, that neyther eate or drink more t [...]en they need; for when a beast hath drunk so much as sufficeth nature, immediately he returneth, and for that time will med­dle no more therewith, be­cause hee perceyueth his thirst to bee satisfied: But wretched men, not conten­ted with natures easie satis­faction, will both eate and drinke so superfluously, till Gods Maiesty is offended thereat, their owne soules endangered, and themselues brought into worse estate their brutishe beastes, that haue no reason to gouerne themselues.Eccles. 19, VVine and wo­men (saith Salomon) leadeth wise men out of the way, & se­perates them from God, and [Page] hereto the Apostle Paule addeth: That drunkardes, whooremongers, 1. Cor. 6 and such like, shal not inherit the kingdom of God.

Let vs not meruaile if the Gentiles and vnbeleeuers were infected with these vi­ces, in regarde they had no knowledge of the true li­uing God: but wee that are Christians, brought by God himself out of darknes, and led by the hande (as it were) to light and life, are not wee taught in the sacred Scrip­tures, to flie from gluttonie and beastly excesse, because we shoulde not therein imi­tate the Gentiles?

Drunkennesse is a sweete poison, and a pleasant decei­uing deuil, who hauing once taught holde on a man, hee [Page 138] makes him to haue no fee­ling of himselfe, & whatsoe­uer he doth, he is ignorant of, because hee feeles no action hee performeth, so that in briefe, he sets not a foot for­ward, but still it is to sinne. Therefore if this greedy ap­petite bee not brideled at the very first motion, it will lead thee to more euill then any of the other vices can do: for let desire of excesse haue but his libertie, in vain shalt thou striue against all other sins. By surfeyte (sayth the wise man) many haue pe­rished, Eccles. 37, but he that dyeteth him­selfe prolongeth his life.

Wee reade, that a fast­ing mans spetting, is poy­son agaynst a serpent: euen so abstinence is the bane of all vices whatsoeuer. For [Page] temptation can not kindle an abstinent body, & there­fore in the great fierie fur­nace of Babilon,Dan, 3, the three yong men were not burned, because they feared God, & were abstinent. Here hence it appeares, that fasting and the law of abstinence were commanded by God, and from the Deuill ensued the preuarication of the lawe: for sinne receyues his origi­nal from excesse, and health of the soule from perfect ab­stinence. God instituted fa­sting, when he commanded Adam that hee shoulde not eat,Gen, 3, and the Deuill deuised gluttony, when hee perswa­ded him to the contrary: Thus greedy appetite blin­deth man in terrestriall Pa­radise, but abstinence giues [Page 139] him sight, and guides him to heauen.

Now concerning the great hunger that feasters & bel­ly. Gods shall bee plagued withall, the Prophete Esay maketh some mention ther­of saying: And he shall snatch at the right hande and be hun­gry, Esay, 9 and he shall eat on the left hand, and shall not be satisfied, euery one shall eate the flesh of his owne arme. And he shall suffer such thirst, that when hee shall require but one droppe of water (as the rich man did of whome Saynte Luke wryteth) it shall not by any meanes be giuen vn­to him.Luke. 16, If then in the fire e­ternall there shall bee such hunger, such thirst & exces­siue want of meate, where wil the banquetters, feasters [Page] and gluttons finde their dy­et satisfied? because they scorned in this life to suffer hunger, thirst, or any lacke at all, they shal there (as the Prophete Dauid saith: Go to and fro, Psal. 59, and barke like dogs, they shal runne heere & there for meat and not be satisfied.

What greater folly or va­nitie can there be then for a reasonable creature, to op­pose himselfe against so ma­ny perils, onely for such a vile and wicked delight? excesse of feeding layes som plagues on him in this life, as gowtes, dropsies, and infi­nite other infirmities, eter­nal hunger and thirst is like­wise his inheritance, in the fiery lake from whence is no redemption. Do we read in the scriptures, that God at [Page 140] any time made feastes or banquettes to his seruants, but in poore, sparing and temperate manner? When Eliah fled from Iezabell,1. Reg. 10 & being very faint and weary, sate downe and slept vnder a Ginniper tree: he was wa­kened by an Angell, and commaunded to eate. But what found he there prepa­red for him? not varietie of dishes, or chois of delicates, no daintie foules or precious wines, but a poore cake bakte on the coales, and a pot of water to quench his thirst. Whē Elisha inuited y^e prophets childrē to eat with him he had no other prouisi­on,2, [...]eg. 4 but hearbes of the fielde soddē in an earthē pot, for he was not accustomed to feed on delicats: Neither would [Page] God nourish his seruant Daniel, with meat from the Kinges royall Table,Dan. 14, when he was in the den of Lyons, but sent his Angell to Ab­bacuk, and so brought him thither with his pot of pot­tage, which was prepared for the reapers in the field, and Daniel imagined no meate more excellent.

Trees which are planted or cutte in the full of the Moone, doe but engender wormes, loose their owne vertue, and perish: the like doeth excesse of eating or drinking, for when the bel­ly is full, it nothing but in­creaseth the worms of sine in the soule, consume the whole man, and cutting him off from God, makes him die & wither in wickednes. [Page 141] Our Sauiour in the Gospell compareth such men to trees, that are fit for nothing but the fire: And Dauid in the Psalmes saith, The iust man is like a tree planted by the Riuers side, a prospering tree and full of fruitfulnes. For as the walles of Babilon were ouerthrowne by Na­buchadnezzer, euen so doth surfeyting by meat or drink destroy all the vertues aby­ding in the soule. Then well may we tearme him a foole, that being engirt with ene­mies, wil neuerthelesse sleep securely, or enuiorned with a furious water, like a man on an vntamed horse, and without a bridle, will needs aduenture to plunge him­selfe therein: Euen as vain & sencelesse let vs account [Page] him, that will restraine his body within no compasse, nor laying holde on the bri­dle of abstinence, wil needs girde forwarde among a worlde of daungers. Deare Christian brother, leaue these worse then brutishe courses, abhorre these vile meats of Egipt,Exod, 16 & with a re­ligious purpose of absolute conuersion, come and feede on the precious Manna of heauen, which shall reple­nish thy body with all suffi­ciencie, & beauty thy soul with endlesse consolation.

Meditation. 18. How wee ought to despise the world, and all the vanities thereof, if wee purpose to liue and raygne with Christ eternally.

DOubtlesse (saith the Apostle Paule) I think all things but losse, Phil. [...]. for the excel­lent knowledge sake of Christ Iesus my Lorde, for whō I haue accounted all thinges losse, & doo iudge them to be but dung, that I might winne Christ. All the pleasures and delightes in this worlde, are vile, of no estimation, and to bee receyued as nothing: seeing the blessed Apostle repu­teth [Page] them to bee no better then dung, in regarde of the excellent knowledge of Christ Iesus crucified. Oh wonderfull peruersenes and blindenesse in the sonnes of Adam! Do ye not perceyne that yee forsake God, the fountain of all goodnes, the center of your soules, the true rest of your mindes, and the onely blessednes that a­ny hart can desire? What is this worlde, which ye so en­tirely loue and affect, but a prison to the liuing, a sepul­cher to the dead, a schoole of vices, a contempt of the vertuous, a torment to all reason which guydeth to God, an enemy to good deedes, a belyer of true life, a betrayer of the best, and the onely confounder of all [Page 143] godly actions?

Loue not the worlde then (saith Saint Iohn) neither the thinges that are in the worlde. 1. Iohn 2, If any man loue the world, the loue of the father is not in him. For all that is in the worlde (as the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of lyfe) is not of the father, but of the worlde. Therefore the world passeth away & the lusts there­of, but he that fulfilleth the will of God abideth for euer. Then tell me wretched man, whe­ther is it better for thee to affect these temporall occa­sions, and so passe away with their time, or to loue thy Lorde Christ Iesus, and liue with him for euer? A great error doubtlesse is it, not to leaue al things to enioy him that is truely all in all what­soeuer, [Page] and much better do I thinke it, to forsake the vaine allurementes of the worlde, then for vs to bee forsaken of them, because hee is not worthy of God, that will not despise the worlde for God. Despyse then riches, and thou shalt be rich: despise honours, and thou shalt be honoured: des­pise iniuries, and thou shalt haue victory against all thyne enemies: dispise rest here, and thou shalt haue e­ternall ioy and quietnesse: What foole then is hee that so esteemeth of the worlde, which makes no reckoning at all of him? and is careles of God, who takes care for euery one? No man (saith our Sauior) can serue two mai­sters, Mat, 6, which being most true, [Page 144] let vs thē serue him, y^t made [...]imself a seruant for our sakes, Phil. 2, & for y^e loue of that Lord, let [...]s account all thinges of this world but dung, Phil, 3, in regard of him. They that in the wil­dernesse did eat the bread of Christ Iesus, hee appointed to sit down on the grounde,Iohn 6, as hauing no such garmentes on their backes, which they shold more esteem then the basenes of the earth: Now if among those poore people, there happened to be a rich man, that perhappes might think scorne to sit so low, or defile his costly clothing: yet Christ gaue him there no better a seat then the poor­est, rich or poor, all must sit downe on the ground toge­ther, euen all that will taste the sweete delicates serued [Page] in at Christs table. There must bee no contending for roomes,Luk. 14 who shal sit highest, or who shall sit lowest: but if wee desire to feast with him, and haue continuall a­byding in his presence, wee must thinke our selues wor­thy of no better place, then sitting down on the humble earth, yea, though he should call thee from the throne royall and seate of dignitie, saying, sitte downe here vp­on the base grounde, thou must be obedient and do it willingly: For whosoeuer ex­alteth himselfe shal be brought low, Luk. 14, and he that humbleth him­selfe shall be exalted.

But the dainty stomacks of the worlde, imagine his prouision not delicate e­nough,Numb. 11. the Quayles and Cu­cumers [Page 145] of Egypt fittes their dyet, Manna from heauen [...]s too course for them: to such nyce worldlings let me thus speake, if they come only for belly fare, they are no guests for him, they must leaue their curious appetites behinde them, and choose Maries place, setting them­selues downe at his feete to heare his doctrine, so shall both their soules and bodies be truely fed indeed.

When a mans mind is ear­nestly busyed about some one especiall matter, it can­not at the same time per­fectly intend to another: e­uen so they that are trou­bled about worldly occasi­ons, can giue no eare or at­tention to heauenly mat­ters, and hence growes for­getfulnes [Page] of the life spiritu­all, as also the neglect and carefulnes of our own souls. The proofe hereof is dayly discerned in too many, who liue as if they shoulde for euer abide in this world, and not passe hence to any other, but worthely doeth the Prophet Dauid repre­hende them, saying, O ye sons of men, Psal. 4. how long will ye turne my glory into shame; louing va­nitie, and seeking lyes? Seeing we must passe hence like the flower of the fielde: see­ing wee must to a place, whence is no returning, see­ing our dayes and nightes are numbred, our howres flie faster away then the speediest Post, that in foure and twentie houres space dispatcheth many myles: [Page 146] why liue wee so securely? why are wee not more fear­full of falling into the terri­ble iudges hande, when we remember the Apostles wordes:Heb. 10 It is a feareful thing to fall into the handes of the liuing God: Why spend we this short and vnsubstantial life, in getting together a little drosse, and a manifest deceit of this worlde, which wee haue no sooner gotten, but are presently taken frō it? This worlde is but a dreame, and al the treasures thereof, but bare imaginati­tions:Psal. 76 The stoutest hearted haue slept their sleep, & all the men of strength haue not found their handes: As it happened to Sis [...]ra,Iudg. 4 who before hee slept drunke of the sweete mylke in Iaelles Bottle: [Page] but she awaked him after a­nother manner, by nayling his heade downe fast to the ground. Euen so do men sup vp the sweete milke of this worldes vanities, till they are suddenly ouertaken with death eternall, because they cannot awake from the drowsie sleep vvherein they are fast nayled downe by their own negligent follies. How did Holofernes awake from his drunken sleepe?Iud. 13 e­uen headlesse in hell fire, where he found farre worse the ruling of his souls head, plagued more with aboun­daunce of all his miseries, then the paine he felt by Iu­dithes strokes, or the peo­ples feare of Bethulia, when she shewed them his deade terrible countenance, a pro­fitable [Page 147] example for al proud men, that make an idoll of their pride and vanitie.

Tel me fond man, in what case wilt thou bee, when thou shalt hear these words saide vnto thee: Foole this night must thou die,Luke. 1 [...], and in despight of all thy worldly opinions, God shall sun­der thee from this fleshe, which thou didst loue so dearely? What wil the proud affecters of the worlde doo, when God shall say vnto them: Where are their Gods, Deut. 32 their mightie Gods in whome they trusted? Why doo they not rise in this needfull time, and befriende their worshippers? To ease thee in these extremities, thou shalt doo well to consi­der, what narrowe straites [Page] thou findest in this world, & what spacious largenesse is hoped for in heauē: because al the earth with the vniuer­sall roundnesse thereof, is iudged but as a point onely, whereof if wee shoulde thus imagine, that if in the starry heauen were contayned the whole earth, which God shoulde make to become as cleare as any of the other beautified with stars: there coulde no man make any iudgement thereof, it wold appeare in his sight so little. If then to compare the earth with the firmament seemeth to bee but as a point onely, how much more lesse would it appear, comparing it with the emperiall heauen? He therefore that delayes the time, and makes no haste to [Page 148] despise the vanities of this world, which is nothing else but a den of miseries, a little narrow nooke full of Toads and serpentes, in respect of the ample and magnificent pallaces in heauen: shall find it to his cost (be he ne­uer so great a Lord here, and endued with the mightiest possessions) that the maiesty of the one wil confound the basenesse of the other, and because hee delighted to s [...] imperiously here, he shalbe shut out altogether there.

If thou didst well consi­der what is promisde thee in heauen, thou woldst hate & contemne all the worldes possessions. Moyses might haue beene King Pharaohs successor,Exod, 2 reputed and estee­med the sonne of his daugh­ter, [Page] yet would not, for hee despised the titles of ho­nour and dignitie, and as the Apostle testifieth of him:Heb. 11, Chose rather to suffer aduersitie with the people of God, then to enioy the pleasures of sinne for a season. Thus did he abhorre honours, the Kinges fauour, & the migh­tie riches of Egypt, embra­cing the scornes and repro­chinges which Gods people did endure, for which the Lorde sayd vnto him: Be­holde, Exod, 7 I haue made thee Pha­raohs God: as Pharaohs stan­ding in feare of him did ma­nifestly witnes. If then thou wouldst bee honored of sin­ners, feared and reuerenced of kings & princes: grow in hatred of this world, make no account at all thereof, [Page 149] choose rather the afflic­tions of Christ Iesus cruci­fied, and all honours what­soeuer shall bee giuen vnto thee.

God commanded Ezechi­el,Ezech: [...]. to figure vppon a bricke the great City of Ierusalem, with the strong walles and high towers therof, say­ing withall: Lay siege against it, build a fort against it, cast a mount against it, set the Campe against it, lay engines of war against it round about, and all this but in portrature vpon a piece of clay. The strength and force of this world, with all the power and abilitie of the greatest and mightiest persons therein, doo aptly resemble this figured ex­ample, and apparantly pro­ueth to their owne faces, [Page] that the world with whatso­euer remayneth in it, is no­thing else but an earthen bricke, a lumpe of clay and dirte moulded vp together: for the bricke is made with earth, and defaced with wa­ter: euen such are the glori­ous buyldings of this world, they last while the earth is drie & solide, but when the water of destruction falleth on them, there is no memo­ry at al of them to be found. Such houses made the chil­dren of Israel by Pharaohs commaundement, during their time of seruitude in Egypt, & such houses make the men of this world, while (l [...]ke slaues) they liue in bondage to the pleasures of this life.Exod, 1 & 5,

If a man were apprehen­ded [Page 150] for some great and grie­uous offence, euen such as within an howre after shold censure him with death, to bee first hanged, and then quartered aliue in peeces: while yet he abideth in the prison, thinking on the peril imminent, and espying a rift or creuie, through which hee may get away to saue himselfe, woulde not euery one repute him as a foole, it slowing such an occasion of­fered, he did not strip him­selfe of dublet, hose, and all his other rayment, the easier to get away from the danger prepared? Truely in mine opinion a wise man woulde make no spare of his flesh & bloude, but wring himselfe through the hole, how strait or narrow so euer it were, if [Page] possibly hee coulde gette through and saue his lyfe. Then listen (O thou man of this worlde) what our Saui­our sayth vnto thee: Enter in at the strait gate, for very nar­rowe is the way that leadeth vnto life, Mat. 7. and very fewe there be that find it. In the prison of this worlde we stand con­demned to death, a worse death then hanging and dis­membring in peeces, for it is to eternall death both of body and soule: the writte remaines in Gods hand, and the houre is at his appoint­ment, when wee shall be de­liuered ouer to the quench­lesse fiery furnace: yet be­hold, there is one little hole in this prison for vs to escape out at, the deuill and the world would make it seeme [Page 151] little, but it is very large, wide and spacious, namely, the bitter death and suffe­ringes of Chryst Iesus. Off with thy doublet of world­ly deuyses, off with thy hose stuft with vain policies, yea, off with all thy rayment and hinderaunces whatsoeuer: let thy flesh and bloode re­mayne as a witnesse on the posts, that thou didst refuse no payne to shield thy soule from perishing, that the world had no power to hold thee from thy mayster, euen hee that past before thee, through the straite gate of his passion, and therefore (like a true seruaunt) thou wilt follow through all pe­rils whatsoeuer.

But alas, howe many are there that rather desire to [Page] preserue their garmentes sound, then aduenture thus for safety of their soules? They couet riches, & more gladly can endure the sen­tencè of eternall death, then parting with those vanities, to saue themselues naked, & liue for euer with Christ their redeemer. But holy Ioseph did not so,Gen, 39, he rather left his garment in the hand of his enamored mistresse, then to offend God by win­ning her fauour: garments, riches, honours, dignities, friends, wife, children, and al things whatsoeuer shold be vtterly forsaken and left, for the life eternal of the soule, and reygning with Christ. Eleuate thy looks thou man of this world, lift vp thy eies from the earth, & fixe them [Page 152] vpon Christ Iesus crucified, there shalt thou beholde, that hee passed from this world to his eternall father, with his most blessed bodie rent and torne in peeces, his innocent bloode streaming forth like the current of a riuer, and from the head to the foote, not one ioynt but was most cruelly tortured: yet through this harde and bitter passage, he conquered sinne, hell, death and dam­nation, making his victorie immortal and glorious. The Apostles likewise imita­ted their Lord and mayster, by opposing themselues to all the worldes tyrannies: so did infinite number of bles­sed Martyrs and holy con­fessors, some deuoured of Lyons & other fierce beasts, [Page] others burnt, beheaded, and with variable kindes of tor­mentes put to death: all be­cause they despised the world, kickt against the vain delightes thereof, made no reckoning of vile transitory riches, and held all the plea­sures of sinne to be abhomi­nable: they had learned true abstinence, and were no friendes to their bellies, they kept down the pride of the flesh, by leading a poore & austere life, in tears, sighes and sorrowing for the peo­ples sinnes, which afterward crowned them with glory in heauen. Is it possible then for a man of this worlde, la­den with offices, dignities & riches, his body swimming in pleasures, worldly pomps, gay garments & such like, to [Page 153] enter where these poor con­temned Saintes did before them? Why, they were de­spoyled of all this worldes affectation, royalties, pro­motions, & al such like were hateful to them, onely their felicitie was in Christ Iesus crucified, and with mild ta­king vp their crosses, lear­ned the better howe to fol­low him. Is this the true way indeede, & all other but by-paths? Why then my christi­an brother, despise the vani­ties wherin thou liuest, hate y^e best aduentures this world can afford thee, & make thy passage by the narow rifture of the rock, like as the serpēt doth, although she leaue her skin there behind her: euen so, vnskinne thy selfe of all euill behauiour, cast off the [Page] heauie clog of riches, & this miserable worldes honours, which if thou doest not of thy selfe to day, to morrowe they will leaue thee in de­spight of thy hart.

Thou mayest purpose many things, but one is one­ly necessary, and that is thy returne home to thy natiue countrey, thou art but a so­iourner here, thou stayest but till a stormy blast be o­uerblowen: Now shines the Sunne clearely, now girde vppe thy loynes cheerfully, and bid farewel to the world with al his vanities.