Plato. Death the Lord's somner. it did cost the dear heart blood of the only begot ten Son of God, our Saviour and Redeemer, to purge us from it? Plato doth in a certain place write, that, if virtue could be seen with bodily eyes, all men would wonderfully be inflamed and kindled with the love of it. Even so on the contrary, if we might with our bodily eyes behold the filthiness of sin and the uncleanness thereof, we could in no wise abide it, but, as most present and deadly poison, hate and eschew it. We have a common experience of the same in them which, when they have committed any heinous offence or some filthy and abominable sin, if it once come to light, or if they chance to have a through feeling of it, they be so ashamed, their own conscience putting before their eyes the filthiness of their act, that they dare look no man on the face, much less that they should be able to stand in the sight of God. Fourthly, the uncertainty and brittleness of our own lives which is such, that we cannot assure ourselves that we shall live one hour or one half quarter of it. Which by experience we do find daily to be true in them that, being now merry and lusty, and sometimes feasting and banquetting with their friends, do fall suddenly dead in the streets, and otherwhiles under the board, when they are yet at meat. These daily examples, as they are most terrible and dreadful, so ought they to move us to seek for to be at one with our heavenly Judge; that we may with a good conscience appear before him, whensoever it shall please him. for to call us, whether it be suddenly or otherwise. For we have no more charter of our life than they have but, as we are most certain that we shall die, so are we most uncertain when we shall die. For our life doth lie in the hand of God, who will take it away when it pleaseth him. And verily, when the highest somner of all, which is death, shall come, he will not be said nay, but we must forthwith be packing, to be presented before the judgment seat of God, as he doth find us; according as it is written, Where as the tree falleth, whe- Eccles. xi. 3. ther it be toward the south, or toward the north, there it shall lie. Whereunto agreeth the saying of the holy Martyr of God, St. Cyprian, saying, " As Contra DeGod doth find thee when he doth call, so doth he metrianum. judge thee." Let us therefore follow the counsel of the Wise Man, where he saith, Make no tarrying Ecclus. v. 7. to turn unto the Lord, and put not off from day to day; for suddenly shall the wrath of the Lord break forth, and in thy security thou shalt be destroyed, and thou shalt perish in time of vengeance. Which words I desire you to mark diligently, because they do most lively put before our eyes the fondness of many men, which, abusing the longsuffering and goodness of God, do never think on repentance or amendment of life. Follow not, saith he, thine own Ibid. 2-6. mind and thy strength, to walk in the ways of thy heart; neither say thou, Who will bring me under for my works? For God the revenger will revenge the wrong done by thee. And say not, I have sinned, and what evil hath come unto me? For the Almighty is a patient rewarder, but he will not leave thee unpunished. Because thy sins are forgiven thee, be not without fear to heap sin upon sin. Say not neither, The mercy of God is great, he will forgive my manifold sins. For mercy and wrath come from him, and his indignation cometh upon unrepentant sinners. As if he should say, Art thou strong and mighty? art thou lusty and young? hast thou the wealth and riches of the world? or, when thou hast sinned, hast thou received no punishment for it? let none of all these things make thee to be the slower to repent, and to return with speed unto the Lord; for in the day of punishment and of his sudden vengeance they shall not be able to help thee. And specially, when thou art, either by the preaching of God's word, or by some inward motion of his Holy Spirit, or else by some other means, called unto repentance, neglect not the good occasion that is ministered unto thee; lest, when Jer. xxiv. 9, 10. Jonah iii. 8. 9. thou wouldest repent, thou have not the grace for to do it. For to repent is a good gift of God, which he will never grant unto them which, living in carnal security, do make a mock of his threatenings, or seek to rule his Spirit as they list, as though his working and gifts were tied unto their will. Fifthly, the avoiding of the plagues of God and the utter destruction that by his righteous judg ment do hang over the heads of them all that will in no wise return unto the Lord. I will, saith the Lord, give them for a terrible plague to all the kingdoms of the earth, and for a reproach, and for a proverb, and for a curse in all places where I shall cast them, and will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence among them, till they be consumed out of the land. And wherefore is this? Because they hardened their hearts, and would in no wise return from their evil ways, nor yet forsake the wickedness that was in their own hands, that the fierceness of the Lord's fury might depart from them. But yet this is nothing in comparison of the intolerable and endless torments of hell fire, which they shall be fain to suffer who after their hardness of heart, that cannot repent, do heap unto themselves wrath against the day of anger and of the declaration of the just judgment of God. Whereas, if we will repent and be earnestly sorry for our sins, and with a full purpose of amendment of life flee unto the mercy of our God, and, taking sure hold thereupon Matt. ii. 8. through faith in our Saviour Jesu Christ, do bring forth fruits worthy of repentance, he will not only pour his manifold blessings upon us here in this world, but also at the last, after the painful travails of this life, reward us with the inheritance of his children, which is the kingdom of heaven, purchased unto us with the death of his Son Jesu Christ our Lord. To whom with the Father and the Holy Ghost be all praise, glory, and honour world without end. Amen. Rom. ii. 5. AN HOMILY AGAINST DISOBEDIENCE AND WILFUL REBELLION. THE FIRST PART. all so and ciii. 20; cxlviii. 2: Three Holy Children 37;1 Matt. xxvi. Heb. i. 4, 14: Rev. xix. 10. As God the Creator and Lord of all things ap- Ps xlvii. 7; pointed his angels and heavenly creatures in obedience to serve and to honour his Majesty, was it his will that man, his chief creature upon the earth, should live under the obedience of him his Creator and Lord; and for that cause God, as soon as he had created man, gave unto him a certain precept and law, which he, being yet in the state of innocency and remaining in Paradise, should observe as a pledge and token of his due and bounden obedience, with denunciation of death if he did transgress and break the said law and commandment. And, as God would have man to be his obedient subject, so did he make all earthly Gen. i. 28. creatures subject unto man; who kept their due obedience unto man so long as man remained in his obedience unto God. In the which obedience if man had continued still, there had been no poverty, no diseases, no sickness, no death, nor other miseries, wherewith mankind is now infinitely and most miserably afflicted and oppressed. So here appeareth the original kingdom of God over angels and man and universally over all things, and of man over earthly creatures, which God had made subject unto him; and withal the felicity and blessed state which angels, man, and all creatures had remained in, had they continued XXV. 41: John viii. 44: in due obedience unto God their King. For, as long as in this first kingdom the subjects continued in due obedience to God their King, so long did God embrace all his subjects with his love, favour, and grace; which to enjoy is perfect felicity. Whereby it is evident that obedience is the principal virtue of all virtues, and indeed the very root of all virtues, and the cause of all felicity. But, as all felicity and blessedness should have continued with the continuance of obedience, so with the breach of obedience, and breaking in of rebellion, all vices and miseries did withal break Matt. iv. 9: in, and overwhelm the world. The first author of which rebellion, (the root of all vices and mother of all mischiefs,) was Lucifer, first God's most excellent creature and most bounden subject; who, by rebelling against the Majesty of God, of the brightest and most glorious angel is become the blackest and most foulest fiend and devil, and from the height of heaven is fallen into the pit and bottom of hell. Here you may see the first author and founder of rebellion and the reward thereof. Here you may see the grand captain and father of all rebels: who, persuading the following of his rebellion against God, their Creator and Lord, unto our first parents Adam and Eve, Gen. iii. 8, 9, brought them in high displeasure with God; &c, 17,23,24 wrought their exile and banishment out of Paradise, a place of all pleasure and goodness, into this wretched earth and vale of all misery; procured unto them sorrows of their minds, mischiefs, sickness, diseases, death of their bodies; and, which is far more horrible than all worldly and bodily mischiefs, he had wrought thereby their eternal Rom. v. 12, and everlasting death and damnation, had not God by the obedience of his Son Jesus Christ repaired that which man by disobedience and rebellion had destroyed, and so of his mercy had pardoned and forgiven him: of which all and singular the premises the holy Scriptures do bear record in Gen. iii. 1, &c: Wisd. ii. 24. &c, 19, &c. |