A Key Opening Mysterious Texts of Scripture, Collection of sermons 5 · Sermon 43
THE HIEW OF A SINNER. THE XLIII. SERMON.
ROM. 6.21.
Whereof ye are now aſhamed.
Right Honourable, &c.
I Have long dwelt upon this text of Scripture, becauſe I finde it richly ſtored with ſpirituall armour, and all neceſſary proviſion for our Chriſtian warfare againſt ſinne and Satan. Here wee may furniſh our ſelves with thoſe weapons againſt our ghoſtly enemies, that will pierce the ſtrongeſt proofe of impudency, and draw blood even from a ſeared conſcience. There is none ſo hardy and inſenſible, whom the loſſe of invaluable treaſures will not touch to the quicke: preſent ſhame and future infamy wound at the heart, but eternall death kils outright. In compariſon of theſe all the weapons which Philoſophy forgeth upon the anvile of reaſon, are but like arrowes with blunt heads, or blades with a ſoft edge, Irrita tela cadunt. Cic. de Off. c. lib. 3.The Stoicks deviſed many witty arguments to prove that profit and honeſty could not bee ſevered, and that diſhoneſty was alwayes joyned with diſadvantage: but they were never able to maintaine them againſt infinite examples and inſtances every where occurring of ſundry ſorts of men enriched by ſpoiling, relieved by oppreſſing, abſolved by calumniating, advanced by depreſſing, raiſed by undermining others: in a word, building their fortunes upon the ruines of other mens eſtates and their owne fidelity and honeſty. Howbeit it is true that in their morall conſiderations they glanced at thoſe very Topickes from whence the Apoſtle draweth his arguments, the unprofitableneſſe of diſhoneſt courſes, and the ill ends of wicked perſons. For the more to ſcare and deterre their hearers from by-wayes to honour and wealth, they ſet before their eyes the penalty of humane lawes, loſſe of goods and life, with ſhame and infamy, the perill whereof they incurred, if they ſwerved any whit in their actions from the faire and ſtraight path of vertue, and morall honeſty: and the conſideration of theſe things might bee ſome reſtraint of outward acts, and open crimes; but no way of ſuch wickedneſſe as is brought forth in ſecret, or rather not brought forth at all, but onelyonly conceived in the heart. Mutinous or murmuring thoughts, unchaſte luſts of the heart, ambitious deſires, execrable projects and purpoſes, treaſonable plots, and the like, ſtood in no awe of mans juſtice, or feare of ignominy and ſhame: the light reproveth thoſe things only that are brought to it, juſtice muſt proceed ſecundum allegata & probata; they are but few offences that come within the Magistrates walk, & all that come are not taken: of thoſe that are taken hold of, the greater part either breake away by force, or eſcape by favour. If Anacharſis were alive, hee would ſpyeb1 Plut. Apopth. Leges dixit aranearum telis ſimiles. cobwebbe lawes in every Court of juſtice, in which the leſſer flyes are ſtrangled, but the greater eaſily breake through them. And bee the lawes of any Commonwealth or Kingdome never ſo exact, yet Seneca his obſervation will bee true, Anguſta eſt juſtitia ad legem justum eſſe; it is but narrow and ſcanty juſtice which extendeth no further than mans law. A man may be ill enough, and yet keepe out of the danger of the lawes of men, which are many wayes imperfect and defective: but the law of God is no way ſubject to this imputation; it is perfect, and, as the Prophet David ſpeaketh,cPſal. 119.96 exceeding broad: it reacheth to all the actions, words, and imaginations of all the ſonnes of Adam; not a by ſyllable can paſſe, not a thought ſtray, not a deſire ſwerve from the right way, but it falleth within the danger, and is lyable to the penalties annexed to it, which are moſt certaine and moſt grievous:
1 Externall, in the world.
2 Internall, in the conſcience.
3 Eternall, in hell.
The arguments that are hence drawne to deterre men from ſinne and wickedneſſe, are of a ſtronger metall, and have another manner of edge than reaſon can ſet upon them:dHeb. 4 12. For the word of God is quick and powerfull, & ſharper than any two-edged ſword, piercing even to the dividing aſunder of ſoul and ſpirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a diſcerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. The Hyperbolicall commendation which theeCic. de orat. l. 1. Fremant licet omnes, dicam quod ſentio, bibliothecas omnes Philoſophorum unus mihi videtur duodecim tabularum libellus, ſi quis legum fontes; & capita viderit, & autoritatis pondere, & utilitatis ubertate ſuperare. Orator giveth of the Romane lawes, publiſhed in twelve Tables, of right belongeth to this member of the Apoſtles exhortation: it hath more weight of reaſon, and forcible arguments of perſwaſion to holineſſe of life, and deteſtation of vice in it, than all the diſcourſes of morall Philoſophers extant in the world. Hence we learn, that their loſſes who trade with Satan are ineſtimable and irrecoverable: that wicked and ungodly courſes and means to gain & thrive by, not onelyonly deprive us of the comfortable fruition of all earthly, but alſo of the poſſeſſion of all heavenly bleſſings: that even ſmall offences when they come to light are ſufficient to cover the ſinner with ſhame and confuſion: that all the filthineſſe that lyeth in the skirts of the ſoule, ſhall be diſcovered in the face of the ſun, before men & Angels: that not only outward acts, but inward motions and intentions; not only loud & crying ſins, but alſo ſtill and quiet, that lye aſleep as it were in the lap of our conſcience; not only hainous crimes, and tranſgreſſions of an high nature, but alſo thoſe ſeeming good actions that have any ſecret filthineſſe or ſtaine in them, if it bee not waſhed away with the teares of our repentance, and blood of our Redeemer, ſhall bee brought into judgement againſt us, and wee for them condemned to death both of body and ſoule in hell. No tragicall vociferation, nor the howling and ſhricking of damned ghoſts can ſufficiently expreſſe the horrour and torments of that endleſſe death, which is the end of ſinne.
What ſinne hath proved for the time paſt, yee have heard; wee are at this preſent to conſider what it is for the preſent: it hath beene unfruitfull, what fruit had yee? it is ſhamefull, whereof ye are now aſhamed.
Shame is defined byfL. 2. Rhet. c. 6. foreign. Ariſtotle, Agriefe and trouble of minde, ariſing from ſuch evils as ſeeme to tend to our infamy and diſgrace: ſomewhat more fully it may bee deſcribed, A checke of conſcience condemning us for ſome intention, ſpeech, or action, whereby wee have defiled our conſcience before God, or ſtained our credits before men. This affection is in all men, even in thoſe that are ſhameleſſe and impudent; who are not ſo called becauſe they are without this irkeſome paſsion, but becauſe they ſhew no ſigne thereof in their countenance, nor effects in their lives. As impoſsible it is that in the conſcience of a ſinnergRom. 2.15. thoughts ſhould not ariſe accuſing him, as that there ſhould bee a fire kindled and no ſparks flye up. To pollute the conſcience with foule ſin, and not to be aſhamed, is all one as to prick the tendereſt part of the body, and to feele no paine.hSuet. in Tib. Tiberius, who let looſe the raines to all licentiouſneſſe, yet when hee gave himſelfe to his impure pleaſures, cauſed all the pictures to bee removed out of the roome: and Alexander Phereus that cruell tyrant, when hee beheld a bloody Tragedy in the Theater, and therein the ugly and monſtrous image of his barbarous cruelty drawne to the life, was ſo confounded therewith, that hee could no longer diſſemble his terrour of minde, nor expect the end of that diſmall Scene.
Now how deepe an impreſsion ſhame and infamy make in the ſoule, wee may perceive by thoſe who preferred death before it.iXen. l. 7. Cyr. Paed. foreign. Panthea ſolemnly wiſhed that ſhee might bee buried alive, rather than conſtrained to ſtaine her blood and good name, by keeping company with any, how great ſoever hee were, contrary to her vow to her deareſt Abradatus. AndkOvid. Epiſt. Phillis Demophoonti. Phillis having loſt her honour, voweth to make amends for it by her voluntary death. Stat necis electu tenerum penſare pudorem. Which Lucretia alſo practiſed, flying out of the world to ſhun the ſhame thereof, and ſpilling her blood which the tyrant had a little before ſtayned: and Europa thought one death too light a revenge for wronged chaſtity;
Levis una mors eſt
Virginum culpae.
If ſhame and infamy were not the ſharpeſt corraſives to a guilty conſcience, the Prophet David would not ſo oft uſe theſe and the like imprecations againſt the enemies of God: Let them be confounded and periſh that are lPſal. 71.11. & 83.17.againſt my ſoule: and, let them bee counfounded and vexed evermore, let them bee put to ſhame and periſh, let mine adverſaries bee clothed with ſhame, and let them cover themſelves with their owne confuſion as with a cloake.
Yea but if ſhame and confuſion are the very gall and wormewood of Gods vengeance againſt the wicked, moſt bitter to the taſte of the ſoule; what conſtruction are wee to make of thoſe words of the Prophet,mEzek. 36.32 O yee houſe of Iſrael, bee aſhamed and confounded for your owne wayes? doth the Prophet here give them counſell to pull down Gods vengeance upon themſelves? Nothing leſſe. To cleare this point therefore wee muſt diſtinguiſh of ſhame; which is taken
1 Sometimes for a vertuous habit and diſpoſition of the minde, conſiſting in a mediocrity betweene two extremes; impudency in the defect, reproved in the Jewes by the ProphetnJer. 8.12. Jeremy (were they aſhamed when they committed abominations? nay they were not aſhamed, neither could they bluſh:) and baſhfulneſſe, or rather cowardiſe, in the exceſſe, reproved by our Saviour in white livered profeſſors;oLuk. 9.26. Whoſoever ſhall be aſhamed of me and of my words, of him ſhall the ſonne of man bee aſhamed when hee ſhall come in his owne glory, and in his fathers, and of the holy Angels.
2 Sometimes for a perturbation of the minde, or irkſome paſſion, when our hearts ſmite us for ſome grievous ſinne, wherewith wee are confounded within our ſelves; and with holypJob 42.6. Wherefore I abhorre my ſelfe, and repent in duſt and aſhes. Job, even abhorre our ſelves for the time.
3 Sometimes it is taken for infamy and publike diſgrace, when a man is madeqZeph. 3.19. a ſpectacle of ſhame and deriſion to others.
According to the firſt ſignification, men are ſaid to be modeſt or ſhamefac'd; according to the ſecond, aſhamed and confounded in themſelves; according to the third, ſhamed, or put to ſhame, or branded with a note of infamy and ſhame. Shame in the firſt acception is the curbe of ſinne, in the ſecond the ſenſe and ſmart of ſinne, in the third the ſcourge of ſinne: ſhame in the firſt ſenſe is in us by nature, and groweth more and more by cuſtome, and is improved by the grace of humility: in the ſecond it is brought to us by ſinne; for as ſmoake ſutteth, ſo ſinne blacketh, ſoyleth, and ſhameth the ſoule: in the third ſenſe men are brought to it by juſtice, according to the words of therPſal. 40.14. Pſalmiſt, Let them bee brought to ſhame. When the Apoſtle ſaith, thatſEph. 5.12. it is a ſhame to name thoſe things that are done by impure perſons in ſecret, hee taketh ſhame in the firſt ſenſe, and his meaning is, the things they doe in ſecret are ſo foule, ſo unnaturall, ſo abominable, that a modeſt or ſhamefaced man cannot endure to heare of them, much leſſe to rip them up and relate them, with all their odious circumſtances. But when Ezra prayeth in theſe words,tEzra 9.6. O my God, I am aſhamed and bluſh to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are encreaſed over our heads, and our treſpaſſes are growne up to the heavens; hee taketh ſhame in the ſecond ſenſe. Laſtly, when the Prophets threaten ſinners with ſhame, or by imprecations wiſh it unto them, they take ſhame in the third acception:uHab. 2.10.11 Thou haſt conſulted ſhame to thine owne houſe, by cutting off many people, and haſt ſinned againſt thy ſoule: for the ſtone ſhall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber ſhall anſwer it; that is, thou haſt taken a courſe, and adviſedly ſtudied how to bring ruine, ſhame, and diſgrace upon thy ſelfe.*Nah. 3.5. Behold, I come upon thee, ſaith the Lord of hostes, and I will diſcover thy skirts upon thy face, and I will ſhew the nations thy nakedneſſe, and the kingdomes thy ſhame: that is, I will expoſe thee unto ignominy and diſgrace, as the Prophet there expoundeth himſelfe;xVerſ 6. I will cast abominable filth upon thee, and make thee vile, and ſet thee at a gazing ſtocke.
In this place the Apoſtle evidently taketh the word in the ſecond ſenſe: What fruit had yee in thoſe things whereof yee are now aſhamed? that is, for which you now condemne your ſelves, and ſeeme filthy and abominable in your owne eyes. This ſhame, though it come alwayes from evill, yet good may come of it, if wee ſeriouſly conſider what brought this ſhame and confuſion upon us, and turne our anger upon it which ſet us at oddes with our ſelves: and to this end the Prophet Ezekiel endevoureth to ſtirre up this perturbation, or troublous paſſion in the Jewes;yEzek. 36.32. O yee houſe of Iſrael, be aſhamed and confounded for your wayes; that is, conſider your owne follies, give glory to God, and take ſhame to your ſelves; abhorre your ſelves for thoſe ſinnes, for which yee have made God to abhorre you. Shame in this ſenſe may bee a meanes to keepe us from ſhame in the third ſignification, and everlaſting confuſion: for though ſhame bee alwayes a ſigne of evill paſt or preſent, yet it is not alwayes an evill ſigne, but oftentimes a ſigne of grace. I cannot hold altogether with him in the Poet, who ſeeing a young man dye his cheekes with the tincture of vertue, ſaid, zTerent.Erubuit, ſalva res eſt: he hath bluſhed, all is well; yet with a little alteration the ſpeech may paſſe, Erubuit, ſalutis ſpes eſt; hee hath bluſhed, therefore there is hope all may bee well. For ſo it commeth to paſſe in our inward conflicts with ſinne, as in the skirmiſhes with outward enemies in the field; though the battell goe ſore againſt us, and we loſe both ground and men, yet till the colours and enſignes be taken by the enemy, the fight holdeth out, and there may be hope of better ſucceſſe: but when the colours and enſignes are loſt, wee give the battell for gone. Now the colours of vertue diſplayed by nature in the countenance, appeare in the bluſhes of ſhame and modeſty: while theſe are to bee ſeene, though wee give ground to Satan, and loſe many other gifts and graces, yet there may bee ſome hope of victory; but when Satan hath taken our colours, and cuſtome of ſinning hath taken away all ſenſe of ſinne, and bluſh of ſhame, our caſe groweth deſperate, and without new aides and ſupply of graces from heaven, it is impoſſible to keepe our ſtanding, much leſſe recover our loſſes. As nothing is more to bee grieved for than for this, that wee cannot grieve for ſinne; ſo ought wee to be aſhamed of nothing more than of this, that wee are not aſhamed of all finfull and ſhamefull actions. Shame is the ſtrongeſt barre which nature hath ſet before our unruly luſts and deſires, and if it bee removed, nothing can keep them within compaſſe.
Yee are aſhamed. The godly and wicked are both aſhamed, ſin affecteth them both with the like malady, but they both apply not the like remedy: the godly ſeeke to plucke out the ſting, that is, ſinne in the conſcience, which cauſeth all their anguiſh and paine; but the ungodly and wicked liver endeavoureth onelyonly to dead the fleſh, and thereby aſſwage the paine for the preſent, leaving the ſting of death in their ſoule, ſinne feſtring in their conſcience. The one abſtaineth from ſinne, that hee may avoid the ſhame of it; the other accuſtometh himſelfe to it, that hee may be leſſe ſenſible of it: hee hardeneth his brow, and maketh it in the end of that metall, that it will not yeeld, or change hiew. Hee is like to him, that going into the water, and finding it extreme cold by lightly touching it with the ſoles of his feet, caſteth himſelfe ſuddenly into the river, and plungeth himſelfe over head and eares, that hee may be leſſe ſenſible of the frigiditie of that element: ſo this hardy ſinner finding himſelfe confounded at leſſer ſinnes, throweth himſelfe headlong into greater, that he may be the ſooner paſt all ſhame.
Yee. To whom doth Saint Paul addreſſe his ſpeech? to thoſe whoſe loathſome ſores were upon them, or to thoſe who had waſhed them in the laver of regeneration, and now were cleane and ſound? Surely to the latter, as appeareth by the words enſuing: But now yee have your fruit in holineſſe. Notwithſtanding theſe (though free from the guilt of ſinne, yet) are not freed from the ſhame of it: Whereof (ſaith he) yee are now aſhamed. For as in the fineſt cloth and ſtuffe, after the ſpot is taken out, there remaineth ſome ſtaine: and as in the fleſh of a man hurt, after the wound is cured, there remaines ſome ſcarre; ſo though the ſpot of our ſinnes be waſhed out, and the wounds of our conſcience cured, yet there remaines ſomewhat like a ſcarre or ſtaine, defacing the image of God in us, which when the ſoule beholdeth, ſhe is aſhamed of her ſelfe. All other evills which ſinne bringeth, are in ſome ſort curable: the fire of Gods wrath kindled againſt us may be quenched by the teares of our repentance: the anguiſh of conſcience may be aſſwaged by the balme of Gilead: the breach of charity may bee made up by ſatisfaction to the party whom we have wronged, and unfained reconciliation: only the ſhame of ſin, and the ſtaine of our reputation and credit, can never be got out: Haec macula nec ſanguine eluitur, our winding ſheet which covereth our bodies, covereth not our ſhame; neither is our infamy buried in our grave with us.
1. Now aſhamed. Now after the commiſſion of ſinne, or now after your converſion unto God. It is with all of us, as it was with our firſt Parent in Paradiſe; we firſt taſte the forbidden fruit of ſinne,Gen. 3.10. and then ſee our nakedneſſe, and are aſhamed. We are now aſhamed of thoſe ſinnes whereof we were not aſhamed when wee committed them. What? Doth ſinne then cleare the ſight of the mind, and enlighten it with knowledge, becauſe we ſee more in ſinne after we have committed it? Nay, rather ſinne darkneth the underſtanding, and putteth out the eyes of the minde. Surely Adam got no knowledge by eating the forbidden fruit, but loſt by it, as all we his poſterity find by our palpable ignorance in thoſe things which moſt concerne us. Why then was the tree of the fruit whereof he taſted, called the tree of knowledge of good and evill? Becauſe thereby Adam came to experience and feeling of the good hee loſt, and the evill hee brought upon himſelfe and his poſterity: as the horſe may bee ſaid to know the laſh or ſpurre, and a childe the rod, when they feele the ſmart and paine of them. If this be true, that ſinne rather infatuateth a ſinner, than any way inſtructeth him, or increaſeth his knowledge; how commeth it then to paſſe, that ſinne preſent ſhould not worke much more ſhame and confuſion upon us, than when it is paſt? that wee ſhould not diſcover the deformity and loathſomeneſſe of pleaſures as they are comming to us, but as they are going from us? Whence is that Latine Proverbe, Voluptates intuere abeuntes, non venientes? Why? doe they come unto us naked, and put off their maſques when they take their leave of us? Nay, rather our eyes are ſhut when they come to us, and they are open when they goe from us: or, to ſpeake more plainly, when they come towards us, and our deſires run to meet them, we contemplate only that which is amiable and lovely in them, we take no notice of the turpitude and deformity in them: not but that wee might ſee it alſo if we would, but that we are not willing to looke that way, leſt the ſight of that which is filthy and naſty in them, ſhould marre our mirth, and interrupt our pleaſure. The ignorance of an incontinent man is not like the blindneſſe of Regulus, which was forced; but of Oedipus, who pulled out his owne eyes. Ariſtotle in this point ſaw day-light as it were at a chinke, when propounding this queſtion, Utrum ſcientia ſit in incontinente? whether an incontinent man hath knowledge of what he doth? reſolveth it thus: An aAriſt Eth. lib. 7. c. 5.incontinent man hath a generall knowledge, and a confuſed notion, that incontinency is many waies hurtfull and prejudiciall to him; but not a particular knowledge, that the action or pleaſure wherewith he is then taken is of that nature. Why may not the particular be deduced out of the generall? It may, but he will not deduce it; he is not at leiſure to enter ſo farre into the point, his heart is poſſeſſed with the preſent pleaſure, which his ſenſe thirſteth after, and all his thoughts and affections are ſet upon it; ſo that for the preſent he cannot, or will not withdraw his mind from the delightfull object before him, to look behind him, & conſider the danger he incurreth: like beaſts that are drawne by the ſweet ſmell of the Panther, but never take notice of his ougly head, before he turne upon them and devoure them: But after the intemperate perſon hath taken his fill of ſinfull pleaſure, hee is at leiſure to bethinke himſelfe what he hath done. Reaſon in the naturall man, and the Spirit of God in the regenerate Chriſtian, bloweth the coale of knowledge within him, which lay hid under the aſhes; and by the light thereof he ſeeth what manner of gueſts he hath entertained, and how they have ſoyled & ſlubbered his inward rooms, & made them moſt filthy and loathſome. ThebPlin. nat. hiſt. l. 10. c. 4. Aquilae cum Cervis praelia ſunt, multum pulve rem volutatu collectum, inſidens cornibus ex… utit in oculos pennis ora verberans, donec praecipitet in rupes, &c. Eagle, before he ſetteth upon the Hart, rolleth himſelfe in the ſand, and then flyeth at the Stagges head, and by fluttering his wings ſo duſtieth his eyes that he can ſee nothing, and then ſtriketh him with his talons where he liſteth. Beloved, yee have heard of the uncleane ſpirit in the Goſpel, which led the poſſeſſed man intocMat. 12.43. dry places: the ſand and duſt, with which this Eagle filleth his wings, are earthly deſires and ſenſuall pleaſures, wherewith after he hath put out the eyes of the carnall man, he dealeth with him as he liſteth. Mercury could not kill Argus till he had caſt him into a ſleep, and with an inchanted rod cloſed his hundred eyes. The Divell ſo tempereth the poyſoned cup, which hee offereth to the voluptuous perſon, that hee feeleth nothing in the going downe of it but ſweetneſſe: but after he hath ſwallowed downe his draught, he feeleth a fire kindled within his bowels, and unleſſe he take ſuddenly a great quantity of heavenly balſamum, it proveth the bane of his ſoule.
2 Now yee are aſhamed. After your converſion & renovation, now God hath annointed your eyes with thedApoc. 3.18. eye-ſalve of the Spirit, and yee diſcover the workes of darkneſſe, and cleerly ſee the filthineſſe of your former unregenerate eſtate, ye are now aſhamed. For now ye have ſome ſenſe of the wrath of God, ye have ſome remorſe of conſcience, ye perceive what ye have loſt, ye ſee the marke of infamy burnt into your name and credit by the hot iron that hath ſcared your conſciences.
To proceed from farther explication to a ſeaſonable uſe and application. The Apothecaries draw an oyle out of the Scorpion which overcommeth the poyſon of that Serpent, and applyed to the part that is ſtung, giveth preſent eaſe. Let us imitate them, and of that which iſſueth from ſin, make a ſoveraigne antidote againſt it. Let us lay open and naked before the eies of our mind the loathſome filthineſſe and ougly deformity thereof, that being agaſhed and confounded thereat, we may turn away from it with greateſt deteſtation. Let us apprehend thoroughly, as heretofore the unfruitfulneſſe, ſo now the odiouſneſſe, loathſomeneſſe, turpitude, and ſhame of ſinne. A lewd conceit is an unconceivable pollution, a profane or impure ſpeech an unſpeakable wrong to God, a ſudden joy a laſting griefe, a tickling of the ſenſe for a moment a perpetuall torment, with a ſcar in the conſcience, and ſtaine in our good name, never to be fetched out. The advice whicheEpiſt. 11. Aliquis vir bonus nobis eligendus eſt, & ſemper ante oculos habendus, ut ſic tanquam illo ſpectante vivamus, &c. Seneca giveth to Lucilius, very ſage and good: Whereſover thou art, and whatſoever thou art about, ſuppoſe that Cato or Socrates is with thee, or ſome ſuch other reverend or grave perſonage, before whom thou wouldest be aſhamed to doe any thing that were unſeemly. Beloved Chriſtians, wee need not feigne to our ſelves, or make in our thoughts an imaginary preſence of any mortall man, were he never ſo venerable, grave, or auſtere: for we are alwayes in the preſence of our Judge.fHeſiod. op. & dies l. 1. foreign. Whereſoever we are, whatſoever we goe about, we have a thouſand witneſſes thereof within us, and the bleſſed Angels without us; and, which wee are to take ſpeciall notice of, malignant ſpirits our ghoſtly enemies, obſervers and noters thereof. They who tender their credit and eſtimation, ſaith thegAriſt. l. 2. Rhetor. Oracle of reaſon, if they imbarke themſelves into any dangerous or queſtionable action, moſt of all ſhunne and avoid the company of Poets, Stage-players, Libellers, Regiſters, Notaries, Promoters, and the like: becauſe if any thing ſhould bee done amiſſe, theſe kind of men were like to blab it out, act it upon the ſtage, or make a by-word of it to their utter diſgrace. Such we have alwaies about us, when we are about any wickedneſſe, I meane the accuſers of the brethren, fiends of Hell, who keep a regiſter of all our ſecret and open ſins, wherewith they will often upbraid us in our life, grievouſly burthen us with them at our death, and which is worſt of all, rip them up all at the day of judgement, and inſult upon us for them. No women among the Romanes might under a great penalty proſtitute their bodies for gaine, except they firſt made open profeſſion thereof before the Aediles: and the reaſon of this law was, becauſe they thought the very ſhame of making open profeſſion of ſuch lewdneſſe, would deterre and keep back all of that ſexe from ſuch infamous courſes of life. Likewiſe I reade in the ancient Greek ſtories of the Mileſian women, that upon ſome diſcontent, divers of them laid violent hands upon themſelves, and could not bee reſtrained from this deſperate practice, till a law was made, that all they that in ſuch ſort made away themſelves, ſhould bee carried naked with a halter about their neckes, before the reſt of their ſexe: after which law none were ſound to attempt the like villany. Thoſe with whom neither love of life, nor feare of death could prevaile, ſhame yet manicled, and kept perforce from that unnaturall and execrable crime of felony de ſe, or ſelfe-homicide.
Deare Chriſtians, were Adam and Eve ſo aſhamed to ſee the nakedneſſe of their bodies, and the Mileſian women to behold the naked carkaſſes of their ſexe? how then ſhall we be confounded with ſhame, when our ſoules and conſciences ſhall be laid open & naked to the eyes of the whole world? that all may ſee all our deformities, ſores, markes, botches, blanes, gaſhes, ſcarres, ſpots, and abominable pollutions and uncleanneſſes? When a godly father amplifying upon that Text of the Apoſtle, We muſt all appeare before the judgement ſeat of Chriſt, pricked the veines of his auditory in this manner: How many things are there which we know by our ſelves, but would not for all the world, that two or three ſhould know as much beſides? how then ſhall we looke? how ſhall wee be covered with ſhame and confuſion, when all theſe things ſhall be laid out before the eyes of all men? At theſe words obſerving divers of his hearers to bluſh, and hide their faces, he thus growes upon them, Nunquid? nunc erubeſcitit? What? and doe yee now bluſh? are ye now aſhamed at the hearing of theſe things? what will ye be when ye ſee them? how will ye bluſh and hang downe your heads, when the bookes of your conſciences ſhall be opened, and men and Angels ſhall ſee and reade what is written in them? Men and brethren, what ſhall we do to avoid the terrour and horrour, the ſhame and confuſion of that day? Let us now be aſhamed of our ſins, that we may not then be: for as Dolor eſt medicina doloris, So Pudor eſt medicina pudoris. O let us not caſt more blots upon the booke of our conſcience, but rather fetch out thoſe which are there with the aqua fortis of our teares: let us open our wounds and ſores full of corruption to our heavenly Chirurgian, by confeſſion of our ſinnes, that he may heale them: let us make unceſſant prayers to our Saviour,hPſal. 32.1. to cover all our imperfections with the robes of his righteouſneſſe; ſo ſhall we be truly bleſſed. For bleſſed are they whoſe unrighteouſneſſe is forgiven, and whoſe ſinnes are covered from the ſight of the world, that they ſhame them not; from the ſight of their conſciences, that they confound them not; from the eyes of God, that they condemne them not. God the Father make us all ſo bleſſed, for the merits of his Sonne, through the powerfull operation of the Spirit; to whom, three perſons, and one God, be aſcribed, &c. Amen.