Works, Part 4 · Religious instruction · Chapter 3 – Chapter 4
CHAP. III. Of Adulterie and youthfull Affections.
IF that after often fals in the sinne of Adulterie, the Lord giuegive a man the sight of the grieuousnes and greatnes of this sinne, and fill a man with the feares of his iudgements, and then this feare cause the power of this sinneFeare. to abate in him, and cause him to feare all occasions, and to louelove chaste persons, then such a man may be well comforted, the Lord will giuegive himGriefe for sin Remedies against vncleane lusts. the victory of that sin. But yet remember to proceed, & in affectiō let that vnclean life be as loath some vntounto thee as it hath bin pleasant, & to the end that thou maist know how to keepe and possesse thy vessell in holines and honour, begin to delight in the Lord Christ, & to vse with feare & reuerence the meanes of thy saluatiō, the Word, Prayer and Sacraments; & then the Lord will seale vntounto thine heart the pardon of this sin: for this is not obtained before we hauehave thus repented. And when thou hast found these effects of Gods grace in thee, thou maist reasō thus against Sathā: If the Lord would hauehave destroyedNote. me for this sin, he would not hauehave giuen me a sorrowe or ha…red of this sin, therefore I am now well assured he doth, and will accept me for his adopted sonne, in his true sonne Iesus Christ. That a man may doe this, and learne this sinne with repentance, hee is first to consider,1 2 I say, the merciemercy of God, which striueth with vsus till we be brought so farre as is aforesaid. Secondly, wee must consider the iustice of God, which will confound those that will resist. The merciemercy of God appeares in fearing thee, and punishing others, in giuing thee the meanes, and not others, in punishing thee lightly, and confounding others. This wil greatly commend the greatnes of Gods mercies, especially, seeing hee giueth merciemercy when he might punish, and doth as it were hire thee from thy sinnes. Thus will the spirituall man gather of the great merciemercy of God: Shall then prouoke him, & adde rebellion vntounto sin? Shall I vtterly denie him, and become the slaue of sathan? So then, thus the meditation of the mercies of God in Iesus Christ leades vsus to the hatred of this & all other sins, Luk. 16. But contrariwise, Sathan, and the flesh conclude: If the Lord had hated this sin, hee would hauehave punished it before this time in me. In old time he destroyed many for sinne, but now vnderunder grace he is more mercifull. O cursed flesh that doth reason so much against reasonThe reason of our corruption for sinne. and grace: for there is now a secret curse of GOD vponupon eueryevery sinner, which will consume a man if it be not preuented; for the word gone out of Gods mouth, will hauehave his effect, and shall not be changed because God cannot be changed.
2 Manie thinke youth as the flower of our age, to hauehave a priuiledge aboue other ages. But alas, it is an age of great confidence; All this hauehave I done, saith the young man in theAgainst the vnbrideled affection of youth. Simile. Gospell. So dangerous is their case, that they must not do things indifferent, for feare they make them sad; and we know, that ordinary things denied, argue an extraordinarie perill. The prodigall sonne did walke his foure stations, and as Ambrose saith, hee had foure prouocations: first, his portion; secondly, his fathers indulgencie; thirdly, ill company, but youth more than all; Psalme 119. 19. Dauid abruptly with an Apostrophe breaketh off his meditation into this: Wherewithall shall a young man cleanse his wayes? VponUpon which place all the Fathers agree, that the accent is vponupon a young man; for he hath fewest means. The word which Dauid vseth for clensing, is verie effectuall; by clensing, signifying the clensing of glasse, and therefore compareth he young men to glasse, which though it be verieSimile. cleane, yet it will gather filth, euen in the Sunne-beames, and of it selfe, which noteth the great corruption of this age: Prou. 22. 13. he hath a būdle of folly bound close in his hart, Eccles. 11. Children and youth are vanitie: vanity is not in them, but the age it selfe is vanitie. Such is the streame of affections in them, as the heathen thought it best policie to let them hauehave their course a little. But let vsus consider their corruption in one measure further.Youth how dangerous an age. Not onelyonly the common sort, but the best wit, who is thought to be of an excellent disposition. 2. King. 22. And not only the best in ciuill gifts, but those that are best in spiritual graces, finde it hard, as Timothie, who brought downe his bodie, that Paul was faine to write to him to drinke wine, and for all that hee wrote Flee new-fangled lusts. This Timothie was such a one, as that saith Bernard, GiueGive me one Timothie in these dayes, and if he will eatePheûge tàs neo…erikàs epi thumias. h…n phil…i Theòs, apothnés kei néos. gold he shall hauehave it. This maketh me that I cannot subscribe to that saying: Whom God loueth, he taketh away in tēder yeares. For I tell you it is a dāgerous thing to die in youth: and surely, except the Lord worke marueilously it is dangerous. And why? Surely in yong men there is a double pronenesse: First, their naturall corruption: and then their age in which their affections be grounded, but their reasons be raw. Besides these, the diuell hath a speciall affection to this age. And it is a Prouerbe, chapt. 22. Set a young man in his way, and he will not depart from it when he is olde. If you stampe garlike in a new morter, it will alwayesNe…phyta. smell of it.
CHRIST saith, Suffer little ones to come vntounto me: If they can sing but Hosannah, and knowYouth. not the meaning. It is a good thing to doe as Marie did, betimes to lay vp in our hearts such things out of the word, as we doe not know, while as yet thou art …ude (saith Hillary) least then, thou begin, when thou shouldest ende.
The seruice of youth how greatly it pleaseth GOD, may appeare. Moses and Aarons rod was of an Almond tree: what this figure meant, is taught, Ierem. 1. I am but a childe: It is no matter saith God: What seest thou? an Almond tree, which in those countreys (where it groweth) is the first that doth blossome. Him that God will hauehave his rod, must bee a branch of the trees that first blossome. The first fruites, and the first borne are due vntounto GOD. And this is the difference betweene the sacrifice of Cain and of Abel▪ Cain offered he cared not what, but Abel offered the first fruites, and the best: and this is the best note to know a Cains heart from an Abels.
5 Consider Gods liking of Timothie, Dauid, Samuel, the Prophet of Prophets, who serued…um…a…es …te…. God when hee was a childe, and so the good King Iosiah. These were not trees which blossome when others hauehave done. Let men be neuer so soundly come home, it were betterTake heed of lusts of youth they had neuer beene so, both for the Churches and themselues, for they carrie the smell of the garlike morter still where euer they goe.
6 Old men which hauehave liued loosely in youth, hauehave great diffidence in themselues, for they dare not reprehend so sharply, as others; nor punish so seuerely as they should, for that the sinnes of their youth are so in their foreheads, and all men see them. Many of theseSins of youth Dauid and Salomon no Proctors for sinnes. Youth dissolute. Salomons example. are rockes of offence. They make Dauid and Salomon proctors of their sinnes, which I am perswaded grieueth those soules at this day, if there be any sorrow in heauen, to heare men alleage them for their sinnes.
7 We be taught Esai. 9. 17. that when the Lord intendeth to destroy a Common-wealth, a speciall note thereof is this: He taketh no delight in their youth: therefore where young men be dissolute, it is a heauie note of Gods wrath to fall vponupon his people.
8 Such as doe take libertie by Salomons example, let them consider it well. He was in the prime of his youth well disposed and wise, but hauing past to riper yeeres, he grew vaine and dissolute Then by Gods free merciemercy, he became a sorrowfull man in his age. And he made himselfe a publike penitentarie, leauing his Ecclesiastes as a monument of his follie: and it may well be called his booke of Retractations. This is Salomons experimentall conclusion: All is vanitie and vexation of minde. This he tried, when he had goneTria bonorum genera. through all things he was fame to returne to that wherewith he began. His booke confuteth all Pagans best morall wisedome. He wanted nothing, he had experience of all kinds of blessings that may be found on earth. Yet after long experience he found no true ioy in any thing on earth. The wise men of this age would say: he was too sad, or of a melancholike humour, and could not vse things well. But himselfe answereth the follie of such, chap 6 None could hauehave more ioy, nor so much pleasure in them, as he had: yet he found in conclusion nothing in them but vanitie and vexation of minde.
9 Iob was neuer adulterer, yet made he a couenant with his eyes, because he being cleaneAdulterie▪ She called to the men of her house. Gen. 39. 14. Carnall louelove in heart, would giuegive no occasion outwardly. When Putiphers wife could not preuaile because of Iosephs constancie, she was not moued to repentance as she ought, considering that her seruant was so faithfull to her husband, much more she ought to hauehave been: but contrarily s…e vseth a desperate remedie, worse than the fault it selfe: namely, to seeke his life. And this is the end of all vnbridled and carnall louelove, that in the end it turneth to extreame hatred: yea and that more bitter than of them, who neuer bare them good will: as2. Sam. 13. 15. appeared in that incestuous louelove of Ammon to his sister Thamar, who afterward hated her exceedingly. Let vsus learne to feare these vnbridled affections; and if we will not hauehave this issue to come of them, let vsus make our bond in the Lord, that one may draw another neerer to him thereby. And this is not onelyonly in this lusting louelove, but in all other familiarities of men whatsoeuer, without the Lord, whether it be for gaine or fauour, &c, for when they cannot enioy the things they looke for, their louelove is turned to hatred.
10 Ioseph in his prosperitie would not forsake the Lord to cleaue to his Mistris, and nowPerseuerāce in that he seeth present danger, yet he standeth fast: Thus on eueryevery side the Lord trieth his children, and giueth grace withall to perseuere. Out of this we may learne, that we neuer know whether we louelove righteousnesse and holinesse for Gods cause, so well as when we endure some trouble for it. Ioseph might hauehave done this secretly that it should not hauehave bin knowne, yet the louelove of God constrained him, and the feare of the Lord caused him to refraine from euill. Albeit he saw present danger of his life and good name: yet because he knew that the Lord which seeth secrets he rewardeth openly, therefore he committeth himselfe to the Lord, and had rather hazard his good name before men, than keep an euill conscience before God. And he beleeued withall, that the Lord at the last would make his righteousnes as cleere as the noone day.
11 Many will not fight or murder openly; but if their enemies were secretly deliuered into their hands, they would be farre from Dauid, who would not hurt the Lords annoynted:1. Sam. 24. in the meane time they deuise euill amongst themselues, and when they come abroad they vtter it. Many doe abstaine from fornication for feare of lawes and such like; but they consider not that the Lord seeth their vnchaste mindes, and will recompence them. Many would be religious, but yet vnlike to Sidrach, Misac, and Abednago, who would not forDa…. 3. 16. feare of the King so much as consult of the worshipping of the Image. But they would seeme to bee more than they are, as Ananias and Sap…ira: therefore they shall hauehave the same reward with them for their tempting of God. So long then as our hearts doe deceiue vsus; and these euill desires ouercome vsus, and we vse vn…odly meanes, wee shall neuerAct. 5. stand to suffer any triall. We may learne also by Iosephs example, euen for the least part of godly life, or good religion to suffer persecution: and not onelyonly for the chiefe points and parts thereof. And as great a signe of a good heart is it: for if we should denie the faith, orNote. God, or Christ; all the world would crie out, whereas in lesser matters they would hold their peace: and therefore so much the greater triall is it, if we stand.
12 The end of adulterie is beggerie: besides that, oft such can hauehave no children, by lawfull and chaste wiues. Hence it is often, that euen great men want children, and their houses decay: againe the wife requireth it with like whoredome. This sinne of all others leaues a brand in mens consciences: as theeues at Sizes conuicted of theft, and confessing it, yet doth it not oft so much trouble them, as this of adulterie. They crie out of this, O adultery brought me to this miserie.
CHAP. IIII. Of Affection.
IT is a great merciemercy of God to hauehave a large affection of well doing, when wee hauehave good occasion thereof. The Lord ceaseth not to offer occasions, but wee often cease to hauehaveGood affections. good affections.
2 We must as well see what is against vsus, as those things that our affections leade vsus to: therefore must we pray, that our hearts may be vpright, that wee be not like …alaam, and the Elders that aske counsel of Ieremy. So long as we hauehave to deale with men, we set a glosse vponupon the matter, but when wee knowe that wee hauehave to deale with God, before whom no wickednesse will stand, this will humble vsus.
3 The people of Israel would not heare Moses, though hee did sharply rebuke them:Headstrong affections. wherein we learne to pray that our affections be mas…red betime, for many are so heady in their affections, that they will giuegive no eare to admonitions: and as it is said of the belly to hauehave no eares, so it is of such headstrong affectiōs. Some giuegive so much place to their grief, that they will not receiue comfort of the promises, no… be rebuked by the threatnings of God in his word. This griefe is carnal and dangerous, and therefore eueryevery man is to search his heart to see how such corruption is setled in him, & let him in time st…iue against it, suffering himselfe to be rebuked by the word, and so grace assisting him, he shal ouercome it.
4 Many see Gods workes with Moses, but cannot profit by them, because the LordPray for good affections. hath not giuen them the affections of Moses. According to our affections so wee profit both by workes and word of God: let vsus therefore euer pray vntounto God to fill our hearts with good affections.