A Key Opening Mysterious Texts of Scripture, Collection of sermons 5 · Sermon 48
THE LOT OF THE GODLY. THE XLVIII. SERMON.
APOC. 3.19.
As many as I love, I rebuke and chaſten.
Right Honourable, &c.
I Have diſcovered unto you in the opening of this Text foure ſprings of the rivers of Paradiſe, for the comfort and refreſhing of all that are heavie laden, and wearied in their travell to the celeſtiall Canaan, and often ſcorched with the heat of heart-burning ſorrowes and griefe:
The firſt ariſing from the authour of afflictions.
The ſecond from the nature of afflictions.
The third from the ſubject of afflictions.
The fourth from the end of afflictions.
1. God ſendeth afflictions, I.
2. Afflictions are chaſtenings, chaſten.
3. Chaſtenings are the lot of all his children, as many.
4. All his children thus chaſtened are beloved, as I love.
1. God hath a hand in the ſcourging his children, I. Let us therefore
1. Submit under his mighty hand in patience.
2. Lay our hand on our mouth in ſilence.
3. Lift up our hands to him, and in prayer turne to him that ſmiteth us.
2. All our ſufferings are chaſtenings of our heavenly Father for our amendment. Let us therefore
1. Be inſtructed by them.
2. Take comfort in them.
3. Be thankfull for them.
3. Chaſtenings are the lot of all Gods children: therefore let
1. None repine at them,
2. All looke and prepare for them.
4. God ſtriketh his children not in anger, but in love: therefore let us
1. Seeke to be of the number of his children,
2. Embrace his love,
3. In like manner chaſten thoſe whom we love.
The water of the two former ſprings we have taſted heretofore; let us now draw out of the third, which is ſo great and ſpacious that all Gods children may bathe in it together.
As many. God ſcourgeth every ſonne whom he receiveth, not exempting his beſt beloved and only begotten Sonne. For the *Eſay 53.5.chastiſement of our peace was laid upon him; he was chaſtened for our ſinnes, but wee for our amendment. In every part of Gods floore there is ſome chaffe, affliction is the fanne to cleanſe it: in all the gold of the Sanctuary there is ſome droſſe, affliction is the fire that purgeth it: in all the branches of the true Vine there are ſome ſuperfluous ſtems, affliction is the pruning knife to cut them off: in all the members of the myſticall body there are ſome peccant humours, affliction is the pill to purge them. We are all too greedy of the ſweet milke of worldly pleaſures, therefore God weaneth us from them by annointing the teat with wormwood. When the Angel in theaApoc. 14.17. Apocalypſe had recorded all the troubles, and calamities, and miſeries that ſhould fall in the laſt times, he cloſeth up all with this epiphonema, Here is the patience of the Saints: as if the Saints were to beare them all, who certainly beare the greater part. For beſides common evills, in which moſt men (if not all) have their part, though uſually Benjamins portion is the greateſt, I meane, loſſe of goods, deceaſe of friends, captivity, baniſhment, impriſonment, ſickneſſe, and death; there are many heavie croſſes laid upon the Saints of God, which the children of the world never ſee, and much leſſe feele the weight of them. Many have written learnedly of the divers ſorts and formes of materiall croſſes, wherewith the bodies of Gods children have been tortured by perſecuting Tyrants; but none yet hath, or (as I am perſwaded) can deſcribe the ſpirituall croſſes, wherewith many of them have been, and are daily martyred in minde. I will ſet five before you, and let every one adde his owne particular croſſe unto them: they are
1. Deriſion.
2. Indignation.
3. Compaſſion.
4. Spirituall deſertions.
5. Godly ſorrow.
1. Deriſion: for as Iſmael derided Iſaac, and as Michol ſcoffed at David, ſo they that are bGal. 4.29.borne of the fleſh, mocke at them that are borne of the ſpirit; and this ſcorne and deriſion ſo grievouſly afflicted many of Gods children, that it is called in ScripturecHeb. 11.36. perſecution, and a great triall. Others had triall of cruell mockings; and as he that was borne of the fleſh perſecuted him that was borne of the ſpirit, ſo it is now.
2. Indignation at the proſperity of the wicked, which was a great eyeſore, as wee heard before, todJob 21.7, 8, 9.10.11, 12, 13. Job, ePſal. 73.3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12.David, andfJer. 12.2. Jeremy.
3 Compaſſion for the miſeries of Gods choſen, 2 Cor. 11.28, 29.
4 The ſtate of ſpirituall deſertion, when God ſeemeth for a time to withdraw the comforts of the Spirit from them, Pſal. 22.1, 2.
5 Godly ſorrow, when they are caſt downe to the ground with the weight of their ſinne, and have a quicke ſenſe and feeling of the diſpleaſure of their heavenly Father. The three former ſcourges draw many teares from their eyes; but the two latter life-blood from their hearts: and if God ſtayed not his hand, and in the depth of their ſorrowes refreſhed them with comforts, they could not but be ſwallowed up in the gulfe of deſpaire. For the more a man feareth God, and is ſenſible of his love, the more tender hee is to beare his wrath; and the tenderer hee is, the arrowes of God pierce deeper, and ſticke faſter in the ſoule, which none can plucke out but hee that ſhot them.
gOvid. de triſt. l 1.—Qui vulnera fecit
Solus Achilleo tollere more poteſt.
The reprobate, as Calvin rightly obſerveth, though God lay often upon them many heavie ſtroakes, yet becauſe they weigh not the cauſe, nor are pricked in heart for their ſinnes, by their careleſneſſe gather hardneſſe; and becauſe they murmure and kicke againſt God, and make an uproare againſt his proceedings, their rage tranſporteth them into madneſſe, and their madneſſe breeds in them an inſenſible ſtupidity: but the faithfull being admoniſhed by God his correction, preſently deſcend into the conſideration of their owne ſinnes, and being ſtricken with griefe and horrour, flye to him by humble prayer for pardon; and unleſſe God in mercy ſhould aſſwage theſe ſorrowes, wherewith their ſoules are heavie unto death, they would buckle under ſo great a burden, and languiſh in deſpaire. The manner of thehPlin. nat. hiſt. l. 28. Pſylli ſi arbitrantur ſuppoſititium eſſe aliquem in ſtirpe, admovent ei ut pungant colubra; ſi non ſit de gente, mori cum pupugerint; ſi de gente ſit, vivere. Pſilli (which are a kinde of people of that temper and conſtitution that no venome will hurt them) is, that if they ſuſpect any childe to be none of their owne, they ſet an adder upon it to ſting it; and if it cry and the fleſh ſwell, they caſt it away for ſpurious: but if it never quatch nor be the worſe after it, they account it their owne, and make very much of it. In like manner Almighty God tyres his children by enduring croſſes and afflictions: he ſuffereth the old Serpent to ſting them, and bring troubles and ſorrowes upon them; and if they patiently endure them and make good uſe of them, hee offereth himſelfe unto them as to children, and will make them heires of his kingdome: but if they roare, and cry, and ſtorme, and fret, and can no wayes abide the paine, hee accounteth them foriHeb. 12.8. baſtards and no children. God commanded the Altar, and Table, and Candleſtickes, and veſſels, and inſtruments in the Sanctuary to bee made of pure and beaten gold: and accordingly all they that hope or deſire to bee made veſſels of honour and golden inſtruments of Gods glory, muſt make account to bee tryed in Gods furnace, and beat with his hammer. Wee may not looke to finde God in the pleaſant gardens of Egypt, whom Moſes found in the thorny buſh. The Spouſe in the Canticles met not with him whom her ſoule loved in the day of proſperity, but in the night of adverſity.
None ought to bee extraordinarily affected in ordinary accidents, nor impropriate to himſelfe the common afflictions of all Gods children. The Poet ſaid truely, Solamen miſeris ſocios habuiſſe doloris. Therefore Socrates profeſſed that hee was the more willing to drinke off his fatall potion prepared by the State, becauſe after his death hee ſhould meet with Palamedes, whoſe lot it was to bee unjuſtly condemned, as hee was. If there bee any vertue in this drugge, any comfort in the ſociety of ſufferers, if griefe bee diminiſhed by dividing it among many, wee have as many partners in our afflictions as God hath children in the world: wee beare not alone Chriſts whole croſſe, as Simon Cyreneus once did; all the Saints of God beare a part with us. May wee not in this reſpect take great comfort in affliction, that by them we are made free of Chriſts ſchool, and partakers of the nurture & diſcipline of all Gods children, and in it every day more and more conformed to the image of our Saviour? which the more it was defaced, the more fair and beautifull it maketh us; the more pitifull it was to behold, the more powerfull to move compaſſion, and purchaſe to us freedome from all miſery and woe. The ſtretching of his joints added to our ſtature, and the blackneſſe and wanneſſe of his ſtripes proved the beauty of our ſoules: the wider his wounds were torne, the more anguiſh ran out of our ſores; the more blood hee ſhed out of his heart, the more hee powred into our veines, and the abundance of his teares was the overflowing of our waters of comfort. Therefore the Spouſe of Chriſt contemplating the image of her husband, by ſo much the more amiable, by how much the more disfigured for her ſake, bluſheth not to proclaime her ſelfe blacke;kCant. 1.5. Bernard. in Cant. Non erubeſcit nigredinem quam ſcit prcaeeſſiſſe in ſponſo, nihil glorioſius putat, quam Chriſti portare opprobrium. I am blacke, O ye daughters of Jeruſalem. Becauſe it was the colour of her huſband, ſhee taketh a glory in bearing his ſhame; a holy pride in reſembling the colours of his ſtripes: Nigredo eſt, ſed ſponſi ſimilitudo est; ſeeme it a deformity, yet it is a conformity to her husband Chriſt Jeſus.
Yea, but CardinalllBell. l. 4. de not. eccleſ. c. 18. Bellarmine laboureth to wreſt out of our hands the ſtrong weapons wee finde in my text againſt impatiency, and repining at afflictions: for hee maketh temporall felicity an inſeparable note of true beleevers, and conſequently temporall infelicity, and outward calamities the markes of heretickes and reprobates, living and dying without the Church, as being aliens from the Commonwealth of Iſrael. If this were ſo, all the balme of Gilead would not cure the wounds and ſores of Chriſts afflicted members: if to loſſes, diſgraces, baniſhment, impriſonment, and all outward evils which they often endure, you adde the note of a reprobate, and a fearefull expectation of everlaſting paines to ſucceed theſe which put their patience daily to the teſt; how can they but condemne their eyes to everlaſting teares, who have no hope of a better life hereafter, and are here made a ſpectacle to the world, and Angels, and men, who are killed all the day long, and therefore dye daily?
But bee of good comfort all yee who ſigh and groane under the burden of your afflictions, or weight of your croſſes: he who excludeth you out of the true Church by reaſon of your manifold afflictions in this life, excludeth with you the holy Prophets and men of God, before Chriſts comming, and ſince;mHeb. 11.36, 37, 38. Who were tryed with mockings, and ſcourgings; yea moreover with bonds and impriſonment, were ſtoned, were hewen aſunder, were ſlain with the ſword, wandered up and downe in ſheepes skins, and goats skinnes, deſtitute, afflicted, and tormented, of whom the world was not worthy. Hee excludeth the glorious company of the Apoſtles, and noble army of Martyrs, and Chriſt himſelfe from the true Church. All the Jeſuiticall ſleights which this cunning Sophiſter uſeth, cannot avoid the evident abſurdity lighting upon his erroneous aſſertion, unleſſe hee can impeach the ſacred records; where wee finde the Church butchered in Abel, floating in the Arke, going on pilgrimage in the dayes of the Patriarchs, taken captive in Egypt, after wandering in the wilderneſſe, flying to ſave her life, and hiding her ſelfe in the time of idolatrous Kings: and after Chriſts comming into the fleſh cruelly perſecuted, firſt by Heathen, after by Arrian and hereticall Emperours, and laſt of all by Antichriſt and his adherents. Yee ſee by this Epitomy of her ſtory the reaſon of her complaints,nCant. 1.6. Regard mee not becauſe I am blacke, for the ſunne hath looked upon mee, the ſonnes of my mother were angry againſt mee. oCant. 5.7.The watchmen that went about the City found me, they ſmote mee, and wounded mee, and tooke away my vaile from me. Stay me with flaggons, and comfort me with apples, for I am ſick for love. Hereby alſo you may give a fit motto to thoſe emblemes in holy Scripture, A lilly among thornes, A dove whoſe note is mourning, A vine ſpoyled by little foxes, and partly rooted out by the wild bore of the forreſt, A woman great with childe, and a fiery dragon purſuing her. According to which patternes Saint Jerome frameth his,pRubus ardens eſt figura eccleſiae, quae flammis perſecutionum non conſumitur, ſed viret magis. Hier. in verb. Exod. 3.2. A buſh burning, yet not conſuming; and as fitly Saint Gregory draweth her with Chriſts croſſe in her hand, with her challenge there unto, Eccleſia haeres crucis, The Church is an inheretrix of the croſſe. And it appeareth by all records hitherto that ſhe hath poſſeſſed it; and if wee examine the matter well, wee ſhall finde that Chriſt had nothing elſe to leave her at his death. For goods and lands upon earth hee never had;qMat. 8.20. The foxes, ſaith hee, have holes, and the birds neſts, but the ſonne of man hath not where to lay his head. His ſoule hee bequeathed to his father, his body was begged by Joſeph of Arimathea, his garments the ſouldiers tooke for their fee, and caſt lots upon his veſtments: onelyonly the croſſe, together with the nailes, and gall and vinegar beſtowed upon him at his death, hee left her as a Heriot. For theſe, withall the appurtenances, ſcourges, cryes, ſighes, groanes, ſtripes, and wounds, hee bequeathed to her by his life time, in thoſe words,rJoh. 16.33. Mat. 10.17, 18. & 24.9, 10, 11. Joh. 16.10. In the world yee ſhall have troubles, they ſhall perſecute you in their Synagogues, and ſcourge you, and yee ſhall bee hated of all men for my names ſake; inſomuch that they that kill you, ſhall thinke they doe God good ſervice. Yee ſhall weepe and mourne, but the world ſhall rejoice. Upon which wordsſLib. de ſpectac. c. 28. Vicibus res diſpoſita eſt, lugeamus ergò dum ethnici gaudēt, ut cum lugere coeperint gaudeamus, ne paritèr nunc gaudentes, cum quoque paritèr lugeamus: delicatus es, Chriſtiane, ſi & in ſeculo voluptatem concupiſcis; imò ni…i…is ſtultus ſi hoc exiſtimas voluptatem. Tertullian inferreth, God hath diſpoſed of joyes and ſorrowes by turnes; let us mourne when worldlings rejoice, that when they mourne wee may rejoice. Thou art too dainty and choice, O Chriſtian, if beſides the joyes of heaven laid up for thee, thou lookeſt for a liberall portion of delights and pleaſures in this world; nay thou art too fooliſh if thou counteſt there is any true pleaſure in ſuch things wherein they place their happineſſe. I need not preſſe many texts of Scripture which yeeld this ſharp juice: as,tPſal. 34.19. Many are the troubles of the righteous: u2 Tim. 3.12.All that will live godly in Chriſt Jeſus muſt ſuffer perſecution: *1 Pet. 4.17.Judgment begins at the houſe of God; this verſe alone which I now handle is ſufficient to cleare Chriſts afflicted members from all note of hereſie, and imputation of reprobates. For if afflictions are chaſtiſements of Gods children, and tokens of his love (I rebuke and chaſten as many as I love) then are they not neceſſarily judgements for ſinne, meſſengers of wrath, much leſſe proper markes of heretickes and reprobates. The kingdome of heaven is not neceſſarily annexed to earthly crownes, nor is eternall glory any way an appendant to worldly pompe. To conclude, affluence of temporall bleſſings is no note of the true, becauſe ſtore of afflictions is no note of the falſe Church. Which truth is ſo apparent, that many Papiſts of note have expreſly delivered it in their annotations upon holy Scripture; asuStap. in verb Joh. In mundo preſſuras habebitis. Stapleton, the Rhemiſts, andxMald. in Mat. 5. Facit ſolem orire ſup…r bonos & malos: unde perſpicuum eſt hominum aut nationum proſperos ſucceſſus, nullum ſignum aut teſtimonium eſſe verioris aut purioris religionis. Maldonate: God cauſeth his Sunne to riſe upon the just and upon the unjuſt; whence (ſaith the Jeſuite) it is evident that the proſperity of men or nations is no certaine ſigne or argument of the truth or purity of religion which they profeſſe. Howbeit as Praxiteles drew Venus after the picture of Cratina his Miſtreſſe, and all the Painters of Thebes after the ſimilitude of Phryne a beautifull ſtrumpet: ſo Bellarmine being to paint and limme Chriſts Spouſe, took his notes from his own Miſtreſſe, the Romane Phryne, the whore of Babylon, and mother of fornications. Looke upon the picture of that ſtrumpet drawne to the life by Saint John (Apoc. 17.) and let your eyes bee Judges. I ſaw (ſaith hee) a woman ſit upon a ſcarlet coloured beaſt (verſ. 3.) full of names of blaſphemy, having ſeven heads and ten hornes (verſ. 4.) And the woman was arrayed in purple, and ſcarlet colour, and decked with gold, and pretious ſtones, and pearles, (what is this but Bellarmine his note of temporall felicity?) having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations; of which it ſeemeth the Cardinall dranke deepe, when he tooke the pencill in his hand to pourtray the true Church, elſe hee could not be ſo out in his draught, nor ſo utterly forget not only what others, but himſelfe alſo had formerly ſet downe in this point. For in his ſolution of an objection of Martin Luther, who ſtood in the oppoſite extreme, affirming afflictions to bee an inſeparable note of the Church, hee confeſſeth freely that the Church in the beginning and in the end was in great ſtraights: and for this purpoſe, to ſhew that perſecutions though they eclipſe the glory of the Church, yet can never utterly extinguiſh it, hee alledges ſuch remarkable paſſages out of the ancient Fathers as theſe:yJuſtin. Mart. in apolog. Perſecution is but the pruning of Chriſts vine: and,zTertul. in Apologet. the blood of Martyrs is as ſeed: and,*Leo Ser. 1. de Pet. & Paul. the graines that fall one by one and dye in the earth, riſe up againe in great numbers. If the Church runne into ſuperfluous ſtemmes without the pruning knife of afflictions: if the blood of martyrs turneth into ſeed to generate new Martyrs: if the Church in her nonage had many ſore conflicts, and ſhall have greater in her old age; certainly abundance, eaſe, pleaſure, and glory, which make up temporall felicity, are no notes of her: foraL. 1. de notis eccleſ. c. 2. Notae debem eſſe inſeparabiles, the notes of any thing cannot bee ſevered from it, as himſelfe affirmeth. By this I hope yee all perceive a great difference betweene the true lineaments of Chriſt his Spouſe, and Bellarmine his counterfeit draught; betweene the Queene of Solomon all glorious within, and the whore of Babylon all pompous without; betweene the manicles and fetters of the one, and the bracelets and chaines of the other; between the cup of affliction in her hand, and the cup of abominations in the hand of this; and yee are perſwaded that of all outward markes, next to her ſpeech, the language of Canaan, and her diet the bleſſed Sacrament, the ſureſt are ſome ſcars and cuts, together with the print of ſtripes upon her otherwayes moſt faire and unſpotted body.
Yet becauſe the law condemneth no man before hee hath beene heard, though perhaps hee hath nothing, or as good as nothing to ſay for himſelfe, I will propoſe unto you his allegations, which are principally the examples of Abraham, Moſes, David, Ezekiah, and Joſias; and by theſe hee will bee tried, whether temporall happineſſe bee not a note of true profeſſours. To which inſtances I anſwer in generall, that if theſe men had beene choſen out of God, upon whom hee will ſhew the riches of his goodneſſe in the bleſſings of this life, yet their ſpeciall priviledges were not to come into the account of common favours, nor their particular examples to make generall rules. The inward eſtate and life of the Church more dependeth upon the outward happineſſe of Princes, than the fortunes of private men; neither can wee judge of a Play by one Scene, nor of the happineſſe of a mans life by one act, or more, but the whole current thereof. But what if theſe Worthies of the world, whom he ſingleth out for paragons of happineſſe, had no temporall felicity at all? or none in compariſon with their troubles and adverſitie? or at leaſt in compariſon with the proſperity of the heathen Emperors, and perſecuting Tyrants, whoſe dominions were far larger, eſtate ſecurer, victories incomparably greater? Vouchſafe you a looke to his particulars.
Firſt, hee bringeth in Abraham as an example of the temporall felicity of true profeſsors, whom the Scripture rather propoſeth as a patterne of patience, and a ſpectacle of manifold adverſity: a pilgrim wandring from his owne countrey, afflicted with famine in Egypt, forced to forgoe his wife, and deny her to ſave his life, without any iſſue by her till his old age, and when God gave him a ſonne commanded to ſlay him with his owne hands. Yet may it bee pleaded for Bellarmine that Abraham got a notable victory, and wan the field of Kedarlaomer and other Kings, and reſcued his brother Lot. Admit this, but withall let it bee noted that in the ſelfe ſame ſtory Lot was taken priſoner by Kedarlaomer, and conſequently that victory in warre is no certaine argument of the truth of religion. Howſoever, will they conclude it to be ſummer by the flight of one ſwallow? or account it a faire day wherein the ſun once ſheweth himſelfe?
I need not ſpeake of Moſes, in whom hee ſecondly inſtanceth, the Scripture is plaine,bHeb. 11.25. That he choſe rather to ſuffer affliction with the children of God, than to enjoy the pleaſures of ſin for a ſeaſon. Who can be ignorant, except peradventure ſome Lay Papiſt prohibited to read the ſacred Scriptures, how Moſes was expoſed by his parents, put in an Ark of bulruſhes into the river, ſaved from drowning by Pharaohs daughter? how he fled to ſave his life, & kept cloſe forty yeers in the land of Madian? And after he had led the children of Iſrael through infinite difficulties & dangers, notwithout many murmurings and conſpiracies againſt his perſon, when hee came to the very borders of Canaan was forbid to enter in, and commanded by God himſelfe to dye upon Mount Nebo. What ſhall I ſpeake of David and the reſt? did not forraine warres, and home-bred ſeditions, the conſpiracy of his owne ſonne Abſolom againſt him, together with infinite other troubles, griefes and cares, conſtraine him oftentimes to mingle his drinke with his teares, and the ſongs of Sion with his ſighes? Was he a mirrour of temporall happineſſe, who complaineth in the bitterneſſe of his ſoule; I am weary of my groaning, every night waſh I my bed and water my couch with my teares: my beauty is gone for very trouble, and worne away becauſe of all my enemies. I am a worme and no man, the very ſcorne of men, and out-caſt of the people. One depth of ſorrow calleth upon another, all thy waves & ſtormes have gone over mee? As for Hezekiah, it cannot be denied that God richly rewarded his zeale, and crowned the calendar of his life with many feſtivals; yet Saint Bernards obſervation was verified in him, that no man ever had ſuch a proſperous courſe, but that he received a rub before his death: Fieri non potest ut in hoc ſeculo quiſquam non guſtet anguſtias. For in his time Sennacharib beſieged Jeruſalem, and put the good King in feare of his crowne and life: and after his miraculous delivery from that danger, he fell into a worſe. For he was ſmitten with a dangerous diſeaſe, thought to bee the plague: cEſay 38.1.the Text ſaith, he was ſicke unto death; and in the bitterneſſe of his paine, and feare of preſent death, he cryeth out, Ver. 17.Behold, for felicity I had bitter griefe and miſery. But moſt of all is the Cardinall out in his laſt inſtance of Joſiah, of whom after the commendation of his zeale in reformation of Religion, and taking away all abominations out of Iſrael and Judah, we reade little, but that fighting with Pharaoh Neco he was ſlaine at Megiddo, and all Judah and Jeruſalem mourned for him, and the Prophet Jeremy, and all ſinging men and ſinging women bewailed his death in their lamentations to this day.
Yee ſee how unhappy this great Advocate of Rome is in his inſtances of temporall happineſſe; yet had they been all happy whom he nameth, and drunke their fill of the rivers of pleaſure, and never taſted the waters of Marah, what are they to that greatdApoc. 7.9. multitude which no man can number, of all nations, and kinreds, and people, that ſtood before the Throne and the Lambe, arrayed with long white robes, having palmes in their hands? concerning whom when one of the Elders asked, what are theſe, and whence came they? and Saint John anſwered, Lord, thou knoweſt: the Elder replyeth, ſaying: Theſe are they that came out of great tribulation, and have waſhed their robes, and made them white in the bloud of the Lambe: therefore are they in the preſence of the Throne of God, and ſerve him day and night in his Temple, and he that fitteth on the Throne will dwell among them.
I will conclude this point with that grave determination of S.eLib. 1. de civit. Dei, c. 8. Placuit divinae providentiae praeparare inpoſterum bona juſtis, quibus non fruerentur injuſti; & mal… …mpiis, quibus non cruciabuntur juſti: iſta verò temporalia bona & mala utriſque voluit eſſe communia, ut nec bona c…ius appetantur, quae mali quoque habere cernuntur; nec mala turpiùs evitentur, quibus & boni plerunque af…iciuntur. Auſtine: It pleaſed divine providence to prepare hereafter good things for the righteous, wherein the wicked ſhall not partake with them; and evills for the wicked, wherewith the righteous ſhall never bee troubled: but as for theſe temporall good things and evill, hee would have them in ſome ſort common to both; that neither the bleſsings of this life ſhould be too greedily deſired, in which wicked men have a ſhare, neither croſſes and afflictions too fearfully avoided, which we ſee fall often to the lot of the righteous. In ſumme, neither proſperity, nor adverſity, nor affluence of earthly bleſſings, nor afflictions, are infallible demonſtrations of Gods love, nor certaine and inſeparable notes of Chriſts Church. Afflictions may be (though uſually they are not in them that feare God) judgements of wrath; and temporall bleſſings may be (though uſually in moſt men they are not) tokens of Gods love. Therefore let us not ſet our heart and affections upon worldly goods, becauſe they are often the portions of the wicked; neither yet let us ſet our hearts wholly againſt them, becauſe they may fall to the lot of the righteous, and do, when they may further and not hinder their eternall ſalvation. Let us not deſire the greateſt preferments of this world with Gods hatred, nor refuſe the greateſt croſſes with his love. Let us not repine at the temporall felicity of the wicked, which endeth in eternall miſery; nor be diſmayed at the temporall infelicity of the godly, becauſe it endeth in everlaſting felicity. Let proſperity commend our charity and temperance, and adverſity our courage and patience. Let us doe for Chriſt in the one, and ſuffer for him in the other, and in both eſtates admire his provident juſtice, and for both ſanctified unto us, praiſe his gracious goodneſſe. Cui, &c.