Sermons on Deuteronomy, Sermons · Sermon 77
On Wednesday the xxv of September. 1555. The Lxxvij Sermon which is the fourth vppon the eleuenth Chapter.
16 Beware that your heart bee not beguyled, and that yee turne not away to serue other Gods, and to bowe downe before them,
17 Least the wrath of your God bee kindled against you, and hee shut vp the heauen that it raine not, and the earth yeeld not her fruit, and least ye perish sodenly from of the good Land which the Lord giueth you.
18 Therefore lay vp these wordes in your heartes and in your mindes, and tye them for a token to your hands, & let thē be as frontlets written between your eys.
19 And teach thē to your childrē, talking of thē when thou art at home in thine house, & when thou goest abroad, and when thou lyest down, & when thou risest.
20 See thou write them vppon the portals and gates of thy house,
21 That your dayes & the dayes of your children, may be increased in the Land which the Lord sware to your fathers to giuegive you, as lōg as ye skyes are ouer ye earth.
WHen as Moses sayth here, that men must beware that they ouershoote not themselues: thereby he doth vsus to vnderstand, howe frail we be, & how inclined vntounto euill, if we be not diligently restreined by the feare of God, & by continuall minding of ye doctrine whereby he guideth and gouerneth vsus. To our seeming it had bin enough to hauehave sayd; Keep the cōmandements of your God. Yee see what he requireth of you: sith yee know his will, holde your selues to it. But forasmuch as men are vnconstant, & a small thing or nothing will make them start out of ye right way: he addeth yet further this warning, that they should beware; As if he should say; Syrs, keepe good watch. Why so? For wee shall be surprised by and by, if we watch not to withstand Satans temptations & wiles. Specially when ye case cō cerneth ye seruing of God, wee bee streightwayes turned aside, and we need none other bodie to tempt vsus, for eueryevery man shall finde continually some seede of superstition in his owne heart, and the minde of man is a warehouse of Idolatrie, so as euen without schooling, eueryevery of vsus will forge idols, & ouerthrow the seruice of God. For ye diuell sleepes not,1. Pet. 5.8. ne ceaseth to intangle vsus in many fond & wicked fancies. Hereby therefore we may iudge how needefull this warning is for vsus, where we be willed to be watchfull. Yea and wee know ye frailetie of our minde to be such, yt if wee be not well fenced to wtstand Satans tēptations constantly, he wil soon hauehave turned vsus out of the way of saluation, & from ye pure doctrine of God. And therefore let vsus vnderstand at a word, yt we hauehave need to stand continually vponupon our garde, as long as we liue in this mortall lyfe. For why? On the one side ye diuell tempteth vsus, & hath an infinite number of wiles to winde about vsus eueryevery minute of an howre: & although his tēptations were not so great as they be; yet are we so weake of our selues, yt eueryevery thing of nothing is able to ouerthrowe vsus. Sith it is so with vsus, let vsus watch, specially seeing yt the spirit of God warneth vsus so to doe. But what? It is well seene how we be takē vnwares & vnprouided, and God punisheth our negligence in falling so asleepe, as though wee were at peace & rest here. Nay our life must bee kept occupyed here as though there were continuall warre, & the diuell faileth not to put vsus to infinite assaultes & skirmishes on all sides. And therefore seeing we on our side be so sleepie, and our enemie on ye other side is so watching to cut our throates: it is good reason yt we should so be ouercome. For seeing yt God warneth vsus to stand at our defence, & we voutsafe not to be mindeful of it, & to cal vponupon him & to refer our selues vntounto his protectiō; must he not needes shew vsus by experience, yt his warning of vsus is not wtout cause? Yes; & therefore let vsus beare this exhortation in mind, & specially when God is to be serued (as I said afore), let vsus assure our selues there needeth nothing to dazle our eies, as appeareth by experience. As soone as ye true & pure religion is stablished in any place; by & by mē fal to imbacing of it; for their very nature affordeth it. And therfore so much ye more behoueth it vsus to hold our selues as imprisoned, and not to swarue one way nor other, yt we may hold our selues continually in ye pure simplicitie of Gods word. Againe let vsus not be out of quiet though neuer so many mē do turne out of ye right way: for it is their kinde so to do. Wherfore let vsus strengthē our selues against such stumbling blocks, when we see corruptions creepe in againe, & that such as were in a good trade doe disgrace themselues. Sith it is so yt men doe easily fall asleepe, & take no heede to themselues: let vsus not maruell though eueryevery thing of nothing do corrupt them. Thus ye see how this sentence may serue vsus to dubble purpose.
And it is sayde expresly, that our heartes should not be beguiled. For it is not enough for a man to absteine from doing of euill wilfully: but also all fond deuotiōs are lykewise condemned, because our Lord wil not hauehave men to be selfewise, but to obey simply whatsoeuer God commandeth thē. Men thinke it to be a reasonable excuse before God, when they can say, I meant to doe wel: but that meant is but a mockerie, as Moses sheweth here. And for proof thereof, although our harts be beguiled, so as men perceiue not their owne euil doings and destruction, but make their reckoning that God will take their doinges in good worth: yet are they condemned here (as ye see) with all their good intentes, and they faile not to offend God neuerthelesse, and in offending him they faile not also to heape vp vengeance vppon their owne heads. And why so? Euen because they walke not in obedience vntounto him. Now then, let vsus learne, not to sheeld or shrowd our selues any more vnderunder deuotions after the foolishe maner that hath reigned too much in the world: but let vsus vnderstand that our Lord will hauehave vsus to fetch light at his word, and to rule our liues by that. And sith he is so good to vsus as to teach vsus what is good, to the intent that Satan may not hauehave any entrance into vsus, but that hee may bee put backe though hee goe prying about vsus and indeuour to vndermine vsus, and seeke neuer so many by wayes to creepe into vsus: let vsus assure our selues throughly, yt we hauehave but only one way, from ye which it is not lawful for vsus to step aside in any wise. And when we stand so vponupon our gard, let vsus not doubt but yt God will reach vsus his hand, & so fence vsus on all sides, as Satan may well practise what he listeth, but hee shal neuer win any thing at our handes. For otherwise this exhortation were to no purpose. If God should say vntounto vsus, beware, & in the meane while we had no meanes to beware, hee might seeme to mocke vsus. But inasmuch as when wee resorte vntounto him, he voutsafeth to guide vsus, by giuing vsus ye spirit of wisedome & discretion, to ye end we should not be deceiued: surely whatsoeuer the deuill practise, yet shall he not preuaile, but we shall euer ouercome his temptations, at leastwise if wee suffer our selues to be gouerned by Gods pure word, so as wee forsake our owne fansies, & trust not to our own wit, but pray God to inlighten vsus, and to shew vsus by his holy spirit, what is acceptable vntounto him. When wee goe to worke after that fashion, so as our warinesse is matched with humilitie, it is certeine yt God will alwayes reach vsus out his mightie hand. Thus ye see that the thing which we hauehave to put in vre, is first of all to be vigilant & to keepe good watch: and secōdly that forasmuch as we know we may quickly be deceiued, we must pray God to defēd vsus, & vtterly distrusting our selues, leane onelyonly vntounto him. These two thinges wil so preserue vsus, that we shall continually keepe ye right way, euē in the middest of darknesse. For why? God himselfe will serue vsus both for Sunne and Moone,Esa. 60 19.20. as it is sayd in the Prophet Esay.
And now by the way he sheweth that if ye children of Israel continued not in ye seruing of God and in his pure religion, they were lesse to bee excused than all the infidels of the world: for it is said vntounto them, turne not away. Men that hauehave neuer had any good instruction, are by nature as brute beates; but when God hath called vsus and shewed vsus the true foundenesse, then if we faile afterward, it is not with vsus as with the sillie infidels that hauehave euer bin blinde and ignorant, but it is a rebellious turning away vntounto wickednes, as though we meant to spite our God by separating our selues from him, by renouncing the couenant which he had made wt vsus, to hold vsus vnderunder his subiection. This saying therefore ought to be well weyed, & specially of vsus in these dayes which hauehave the pure trueth of ye Gospel, whereas wee see how all our neighbours round about vsus runne headlong on still in blindnesse. In deede it is pitie yt they hauehave not knowen Gods trueth; but yet shal not yt excuse them. But what is to be sayd to vsus in comparison of them, seeing that our God hath shewed himselfe to vsus,1. Tim. 3.16 & hath layd the matter so playne before vsus, as we cānot misse but knowe how to obey him? Wherefore let vsus take heede yt we keepe on our course, when God shall hauehave set vsus in ye way of his obedience, & taught vsus how to do it. Let vsus beware (I say) that we step not aside in any wise, vnlesse we intēd to be worthie of dubble blame. Let vsus bethinke vsus of this saying,Luk. 12.47. that ye seruant which knoweth his maisters will, shal hauehave dubble punishment if he doe it not. And yt we may so doe, let vsus seeke to settle our selues ye more by Gods word. When he hath once told vsus what he would hauehave vsus to doe, let vsus profite therein, & let vsus be so strēgthened thereby, yt the diuel (doe what he can, and inforce hee himselfe neuersomuch against vsus) may not bee able to turne vsus out of the way.
Now he speaketh afterward of strange Gods. For the welspring of all euil, is the not knowing what God we should serue. If men bee to seeke in that point, needes must all the rest of their lyfe be vtterly vncerteine, & wrapped vp altogether in error. And therefore it is not for naught yt God stā deth vponupon this point, yt men should know him, & serue & worship onelyonly him alone. For when wee say we must serue no strange Gods: it importeth two thinges. The first is that we should be able to discern who is our God, so as we ground not our selues vponupon false opinion or fansie, but vponupon substantial certeintie: which thing cannot be if we giuegive way to our own mother wit. For yt is ye roote whence all the superstitions in the worlde hauehave sprong. And the very cause of ye huge confusion yt is still in the world at this day, is that men take leaue continually to imagin whatsoeuer comes in their heads. O (say they) I trow God will lyke wel of this: & to my seeming, such a thing is good Now if men behaue themselues so after their owne imagination, all things must needes be out of order. Ye see it is euen a very seagulfe. Therefore let vsus learne to giuegive eare to God when hee speakes to vsus, & let vsus not take leaue to cōceiue any thing of him, otherwise than is shewed vsus by his worde. This then is the first point, that we should learne to discerne our God from all the Idols which the world forgeth to it selfe: & therewithall yt we should not attempt any thing, but that which he alloweth. For ye Papistes can welenough protest, yt their intent is to serue ye God yt made both heauen & earth; & so also doe the Iewes & Turkes: ye case is common to them all. But yet for al yt, ye see how ye Turks hauehave wounde themselues into a maze of superstitions, through ye deceitfulnesse of their Mahomet who hath bewitched them. Again ye Iewes on their parte are growen out of kinde, & hauehave mingled ye Lawe wt their owne inuentions, refusing ye redeemer that had bin promised them, who is the very foundation of all ye religiō which they should hauehave held. And as for ye Papists, ye world sees how they hauehave corrupted all trueth, & turned it vtterly into lying. Therefore let vsus learne, yt if we will not worship straunge Gods▪ we must so holde our selues in awe, as we attempt not any thing, vnlesse we be sure yt it is according to Gods will. For whensoeuer we fal to worshipping him after our owne deuice; we doe set vp an idoll in our owne braine: & that is a thing which he vtterly mislyketh, reiecteth, and abhorreth. Thus ye see yt the thing which we hauehave to remember vponupon this place is, yt seeing God hath graunted vsus ye grace to hauehave his word to be our guide, we ought to be ye more watchfull: & sith we be so weake as we neede not any thing to thrust vsus out of the way; we ought to take so much ye moore heede, yt we may profit dayly by his word. And besides yt, let vsus assure our selues throughly, that it is not enough for vsus to weene we doe well: for we win nothing by being deceiued, our case is neuer a whit amended by it before God: & therefore let vsus learn to pray him to inlighten vsus. And therewithall let vsus knowe, yt whē God hath shewed vsus his wil, we must hold vsus to it without adding aught thereto. Thus yee see in effect what we hauehave to remēber vponupon this text of Moseses.
Now he addeth immediately, that men shoulde lay vp the things in their heartes which he telleth thē, & that they shoulde make a continuall monument of them: as if it were of bracelets about their wristes, or of attyres on their heades, or of deuices in writing at the entrace of their dores: so the intent they might occasion them to thinke vppon the lawe of God; so as at their rysing in the morning, & as their going to bed at night, men should talke & conferre of it, that their children might learne thereby. Hereby Moses sheweth yet better, yt vnlesse men be held as it were by force, they will soone start away frō God: Lyke as whē a man thinkes he hath made a Foxe tame, if he let him alone but one halfe day, he returnes againe to his kinde by and by. Euen so is it with vsus. We be so wilde, yt although it may seeme for a time that we be throughly brought home vntounto God, & very wel reformed: yet in ye turning of a hand all is quite forgotten. And therefore our Lord is faine to put vsus in remēbrance, (as hee doth in this text) & to quicken vsus vp to inforce our selues to seeke al the means and helps yt may be, to hold our selues in awe vnderunder his obediēce. That is the cause why he saith, yt folke shoulde make thē frontlets as ornaments of their heads. Whereas men doe commonly weare brooches, buttons, & such other thinges, & women weare billiments of gold and other costly attyres vponupon their heades: the attire of the faithful must be to hauehave some remembrāce of Gods law. In stead of bracelets & other fine toyes to apparell & deck our selues wtal; we must vse such an attyre as may teach vsus to garnish our soules, yea & to giuegive our selues wholy to God, & to submit our selues altogether to his word. In stead of the hauing of gay things to furnish our houses withal for delight, we must hauehave some such thing as may put vsus in minde to say, These are the things that our God calleth vsus vntounto, he will neuer hauehave vsus to forget him. And if we hauehave ouershot our selues, so as our minds do wander abrode, he calleth vsus home againe, & telleth vsus yt we must not raunge so after our own vaine fansies. Thus we see ye summe of that which is contained here. We hauehave had the like saying in the sixth Chapter.D…. 6.7.… But yet this sheweth vsus more expresly, that it is not ynough for vsus to hauehave withdrawen our selues for once frō our vain and wandering imaginations: but God must bee faine to bring vsus to that point againe, by putting vsus in minde of our flouth and negligence, or else we shall dwel in it continually, and he must be faine also to shewe vsus the weaknesse & feeblenesse of our spirites. And in deede, very experience shewes it: for the whisking of a flye before our eyes, is ynough to make vsus run after it, & to do what we can to stop her. Wee builde castles in ye aire, & by and by al vanisheth away. Now then seeing there are so many vanities in our braine, do we wonder yt we doe very quickly start away from God? What a nomber of occasions are there in this world, to turne vsus this way & that way, so as we shal be led & caried quite away ere euer we thinke on it? Again, Satan is such a suttle Sire, that if we be not wel armed against him, we shal neuer continue in ye obeying of our God. This repetition therfore is not superfluous, where God telleth vsus again, y• it is good for vsus to hauehave his law written eueriwhere, so as we might reade his cōmandements vponupon our fingers. And he hath disposed them into ten sentences, to the end they should be ye better knowen vntounto vsus. For looke how many fingers there are vpō our hāds, so many are ye commandements of God, to ye intent they should be ye easier to beare in remēberāce: so as there needeth no lōg registers, (which were hard to carie away,) forasmuch as he hath giuen vsus so short a rule, yt if we be long in learning of it, we proue our selues to be wilful. To be short, if we shut not our eyes wilfully, we cānot say but yt we may soon hauehave lerned ye things which our god sheweth vsus. Againe sith it is his wil yt in stead of ye deckings wherunto both men & women are too much giuen through fond desire of vainglorie, wee should hauehave wherewith to put our selues in mind of his lawe, yt we might be held in awe by it: what excuse wil there be for vsus, if we fal to going astray, or if we bee wedded to this world, or giuegive our selues to wickednesse? Thus much concerning this text.
But according to ye fashion of ye world, which is alwaies giuen to hypocrisie, & to shamefull mocking at al Gods ordinances, ye Iewes made them frontlets of certaine sentences of Gods law, and they obserued the law very well as in respect of ye words yt are set down here. For they had bracelets of them, & rolles, & attires on their heads, so as it might seeme yt there was nothing but holinesse in them. Also they had the commaundementes written in their houses. All this (say I) was well done. But they surmised that they serued God by these outward shewes: and that was nothing so. We also for our part should come to the same point lykewise, if wee considered not what the will of our God is, to submit our selues thereto. For as I said afore) hypocrisie is so rooted in mans nature, that they would alwayes be dalying with God, & content him with counterfeitings, so as there might be nothing but dissimulation: & yet for all that, they beare thēselues in hand, yt he ought to hold thē discharged. But we must marke that God will not bee serued by the wryting of some sentence of his Lawe vponupon a post or a doore, or at the entrie of a house; his meaning is nothing so. But what? Forasmuch as he seeth that we be short witted, & that although we hauehave bin taught his word duely, yet we bee easily turned away frō it; it is not without cause yt he will hauehave vsus to seeke all the helpes that can be, yt we may hauehave the better stay of our selues, & learne the remedies of our frailetie, sith wee need none other thing to turne vsus out of ye way. And sith we know yt vice to be in vsus; let vsus bee the diligenter in seeking God, & let vsus say: How is it possible yt I should hold my selfe in ye feare of my God? If I should passe but one day wtout thinking vponupon him & vponupon his cōmaundements: I should forget him by & by. What is to be done then? As soone as I rise in the morning, the diuell offereth me ye many lettes. Now it standeth me in hand to resist him, & that I tary not till mine enemie giuegive me ye assault: but I must think vponupon my God who calleth me to him. Againe at night when I goe to bed, forasmuch as a nighttimes the diuel ceaseth not to put many fond fancies in my head, and a man is not able to restreine his own minde from conceiuing some vaine thoughtes or other: it behoueth me to be stil fenced by being mindful of my God, & by referring my selfe vntounto him & by resting wholy there. For if I tary long, I shall be so wtdrawen from him, yt I shall not finde the way thither againe, lyke as when a man taketh no heed, but runs galloping on wtout minding of his way whether he be right or no; ye longer he traueleth, the further he is from his way; yea & if there be folke to set him in the way, & he regardeth not to take the right way againe, then is hee well woorthie to wander still out of his way. If one say to him, Sir, you must take on that hande, and yet he will needes goe the contrary way, as though his wits were rouing in the aire, & so goeth on stil: in the ende hee shall find himselfe farre off from the right way. And therefore let vsus beware that we be not so headstrong in our vanities, as not to indeuour to amend our selues. For (as I said afore) we may easily wander out of ye way eueryevery minute of houre, so as we need not any thing to make vsus stray frō ye right way. But if wee bee out of it, let vsus seeke to come in againe by & by & to be reformed. For our God is not far frō vsus, he promiseth by his Prophet Esay,…sa. 30.21. that he wilbe at our backs, as a scholemaster is at the back of a yong scholer. And like as ye mother yt hath her eye alwayes vponupon ye childe yt she bringeth vp, wil alwayes be at hand by it: so God sheweth by a familiar example, yt he wil be at our elbowe, if so be that wee seeke him & suffer him to reforme vsus. And therefore let vsus learne to exercise our selues in yt studie all the time of our life. And specially sith we see there is so vrgent necessitie, let eueryevery of vsus quicken vp himselfe, & let vsus not tarie til ye diuel hauehave caried vsus so farre astray, yt we can no more return into ye way; but as soone as we set but one step awry, or swarue neuer so litle aside, let vsus bethink our selues againe by & by. Nay let vsus not tarie so long; but let vsus be aforehand, & let vsus call so much ye more earnestly vponupon our God to guide vsus, & to preuent vsus with his goodnesse. Let vsus follow his word, which is ye true shooteanker, & the very lampe to giuegive vsus light. Let vsus open our eyes to behold the light that he sheweth vsus, & let vsus often call to minde ye things which we hauehave learned. Let eueryevery of vsus marke to what vice he is inclined, yt he may seeke the remedie of it, as some be giuen to one affection & some to another. And so when we once know our owne diseases, let vsus apply the fit medicines vntounto them. In Gods word we shall finde ynow of them wherewith to heale & cure vsus, so we be willing to vse the good yt is offered vsus there. Thus ye see in effect how we ought to practise this text. It consisteth not in the doing of a sort of Ceremonies, nor in pretending faire countenāces, by wearing texts of Gods law vponupon our apparell, or by writing vp of a nomber of goodly sentences without any other minding of them at al; al yt (say I) is nothing. What then? We must seeke the meanes to confirme our selues in ye feare of our God, and to recouer againe into the right way: & bicause wee bee so weake, wee must receiue such remedies as God appointeth vsus.
Aboue al things we must obserue that which is said here; Lay vp the commandements which I set before thee, in thy heart and in thy soule. To the intent then yt men should not stand poring vponupon ye outward fashion & figure; that is the chiefe poynt. The marke (say I) whereat hee shoores, and whereunto all this doctrine is to bee referred, is that Gods lawe should be in our hearts and in our soules. For though wee hauehave it euer before our eyes, & at our tongues end, so as wee seeme to set neuer so great store by it, and yet in the meane while our heart is locked vp, & wee hauehave no courage to serue God: truely we doe but deceiue men, & procure our selues the sorer condemnation before God. Now then let vsus hauehave Gods law written, let vsus hauehave the sayings of it painted vpō our walles as in tables, & let vsus hauehave thinges to put vsus in minde of it earely & late: but let not yt serue for our discharge, as though God were to be payed in such coyne. How then? Let vsus indeuer to hauehave it so grauen in our heartes, as it may neuer be wiped out againe, yea euen in our harts & in our soules, yt is to say, in such sort as it may possesse al our affectiōs. For that is ye place where Gods word is to bee kept. But what? The thing yt S. Iames speaketh of,Iames. 1.23. is seene more nowadayes than euer it was; namely that they which come to heare Gods word, take as much profite by it, as by looking vponupon themselues in a glasse: they be no sooner gone, but all is forgotten. What fareth a man the better by his seeing of himselfe in a glasse? As soone as he turneth away his face, his shape vanisheth away. Euen so is it with vsus. Whereas our comming to Gods word, should be to be transformed into ye lykenesse of God,…. Cor. 3.18. (as S. Paul teacheth vsus in the second to ye Corinthians,) & whereas it is the power & propertie of ye Gospel, to transforme vsus into the glory of God, by beholding him in the person of Iesus Christ: we come to it but to make a pastime of it, so as anon all slippeth away againe, & there remaineth no substance nor power of it with vsus. And by that meanes the precious seede of the Gospell perisheth. For it lighteth amōg stones, so as it can take no roote. A man may loose a good deale of corne, if he cast it vppon the drye ground,Matt. 13.19 or in a footepath, or vponupon stones: for the byrdes will picke it vp by and by. Euen so let vsus not maruel though Gods word enter not into vsus, for whereas our heartes ought to be tilled as when a plowgh hath eared a peece of land: they lye still vnopened & vnbroken vp at all. By reason whereof, Gods word may wel be giuen vsus as a seede, but it shall doe vsus no good, the diuell wil catche it away by and by, because it sinketh not into our heartes & our soules. That is the cause why I sayd yt al yt Moses hath spoken offrontlets, of bracelets, & of writings set vp in mens houses, must be referred altogether to this, yt wee shall fare neuerawhit ye better for ye vttering of ye Lawe vntounto vsus, nor vnderstand any thing at all by it, vntill it hauehave taken roote in vsus, & that wee hauehave receiued it with hartie affection to giuegive our selues vntounto God.
And yet is not all yt wee hauehave to doe, neither doth God thinke it enough yt eueryevery man shoulde indeuer to profite himselfe by it: but he will also hauehave the fathers to teach their children. Wherin he sheweth yt (as I hauehave sayd afore) it is not enough for vsus to serue our God during our owne liues; but we must also prouide yt the seede of religion may remaine after our decease. For we be transitorie, & our lyfe is but a shadow: & therefore inasmuch as Gods trueth is immortall, it is good reason yt it should continue for euer, & that it should be preserued frō hand to hand, & that men should put their indeuour thereunto. And specially whē God hath giuē them childrē, it behoueth them to know yt it is a treasure, and that they must yeeld an account thereof. For it is no small honor yt God doth to men & women, when he giueth them children. They be creatures fashioned after ye image of God, & we terme them ye seede of ye Church. Now then seeing that God committeth thē to our charge; it is good reason yt we should indeuour to bring thē vp in such wise as God may be serued by them, yt when religion shal hauehave continued her course all our lyfe long, it may also hold out and continue stil euen after our death. But here we see our owne negligence, or rather our leawdnesse. For wee bee not onelyonly slothfull; but we see how the most part of vsus doe shun & eschew (as much as we can) to be trained in Gods worde. If men bee spoken to of it, it is a corsie to them, & if they perceiue yt there shall be talke of any good doctrine, they hauehave no regard to come there. It is well seene yt a number are worse than ye Turkes, & are so bewitched wt their owne fond opinions, yt as soone as ye bell tolleth to call & prouoke vsus to come dayly to ye hearing of Gods worde, they goe another way. And for proofe thereof, what a number are there which wtdrawe thēselues from it as much as they can? Yea & when they come, they stoppe their eares wilfully, because they bee occupyed about their wicked affections, and the diuel hath so besotted them, as they finde not any sauor at all in any word that is spoken vntounto thē, but are weary of it as soone as there is any matter spoken concerning God.
As for ye bringing vp of children, ye world sees what it is. Fathers are loth to hauehave their childrē better than thēselues, for feare least they should put them to shame. Forasmuch as they themselues hauehave despised God all ye time of their lyfe, they be contented yt their children shall despise him full as much or dubble: & if they happen to hauehave any regard of ye doctrine, it is but for fashions sake, & by way of constreint. But wee bee so taught these thinges in this text, yt it shal cost vsus full deare to hauehave bin so warned by God, if we regard not the thinges yt he hath tolde vsus. Therefore let vsus bee alwayes carefull to beare Gods word in minde, assuring our selues yt although we hauehave profited neuer so wel; yet are we but in the way, & we must goe on still; so as the once knowing of things is not enough for vsus, but we must be faine to be put in remembrance of thē continually, & to be stirred vp by God; or else wee shall start away by and by. Now then let vsus think vppon it, & let eueryevery of vsus hauehave an eye to ye charge yt is committed vntounto him. Let such as hauehave children bring them vp in the feare of God, & let yt be their chiefe care; for it is the best inheritance yt they can leaue them. For otherwise, although they leaue them neuer so riche, and set them at neuer so good a stay; al must needes go to ruine. For God will curse all, if it bee not grounded vppon the pure religion. For whereas our Lorde speaketh of going to bed, and rising vp, of rest and labor: it is not for nought. For he sheweth vsus that wee hauehave neede of all the helpes that can bee, to put vsus in minde of his lawe. And therefore sith we see that by all manner of meanes we be turned away frō the remembring of God, if the helps that are shewed vsus here bee not set still before vsus: these occasions ought to quicken vsus and stirre vsus vp thereunto.
First of al then, whereas it is saide; when ye goe to bed at night, and when ye rise a mornings: it sheweth vsus that wee may well take our rest, and thinke vppon all our bodily needes, so as a man may wel seeke his ease when hee is weary of trauelling & of following his busines al day long: but if we be so careful to seeke the rest of our bodies▪ is it not said also yt the rest of our souls is to heare ye voice of god?M…. 11.… If a man say, I hauehave no leasure: hast thou no leasure to rise in the morning? Againe, when thou commest to the table to take thy repast, hast thou not time ynough to edifie thy selfe in the feare of God? Moreouer, when thou art about thy businesse all the day, or when thou art going a iourney; must God needs be forgotten all the while? No: but yet doe men alwayes finde lettes to keepe them from comming vntounto God. Indeede we may easily finde trifling excuses to content men withall: but when God saith vntounto vsus, Go to, what hauehave you to doe all your life long? are yee so sore troubled that yee cannot spare a little time to exercise your selues in my worde? I giuegive you time ynough to followe your owne businesses: and yet so as yee may bestowe some time in the studie of my doctrine: but you thinke not vponupon it: Nay rather you take occasion to turne away from it at eueryevery small let that can happen. And by that meanes you bee hardened in all euill, so as a man cannot reclaime yee, but ye become worse than wilde beasts. Thus ye see of what contempt and vngodlines we be conuicted, when we benefit not our selues by Gods doctrine, wherein we ought to keepe our selues occupied at all times.
Furthermore whereas he speaketh of talking of it; it is a rebuking of the wicked corruption yt is among men, who neuer make an ende of their foolish talk: but when they should speake of god, the matter must be cut off by & by by the waste, and they thinke it to be but matter of griefe. Yea and they be not contented to vse fond and foolish talke; but they do also vse ribaldrie & leawd talke, such as tendeth to the poysoning one of another. And therefore it is good reason, that God should tel vsus that the thinges which wee hauehave heard to day, had neede to bee brought oftentimes to our rememberance: and that God had neede to quicken vsus vp, so as wee may bee made to bethink our selues; And that forasmuch as we be pulled backe with such sloth, and we see ourselues are caried away with so great and vrgent necessitie, that our mindes are giuen altogether to euill; insomuch that whensoeuer God allureth them to good, by and by they shrinke away vntounto euill: we perceiuing the same, shoulde take the helpes yt God setteth down for vsus, in telling vsus that we must think vponupon his lawe both at our vprising a mornings, and at our going to bed a nights, & that we must talk of them all the day long. Let vsus assure our selues it is not without cause that God spake so to his owne people; but that it is a generall lesson for all men in all ages, and hee speaketh not onelyonly to the rude and vnskilfull, that they shoulde take those helpes to refresh their rememberance: but he saith All of you, doe it euerie one of you. Hee speaketh to those that weene themselues wisest. And therefore let no man thinke himselfe excepted here. Let such as hauehave the charge of teaching others, vnderstande that this is not spoken onelyonly to the rude and ignorant; but also to the intent that euen they themselues shoulde learne to rouse vp themselues, and yt all of vsus together should shew our selues so desirous to profite in Gods word; as we may seeke to be put continually in mind of it. And let vsus assure our selues, that it is the chiefe thing wherein we ought to occupie our selues, so long as we be in this world.
And nowe let vsus cast our selues downe before the maiestie of our good God with acknowledgment of our faultes, praying him to bring vsus to such repentance; yt being ashamed of our selues, our only seeking may be to win his fauor by fleeing to his mercy, and that we may attaine thereunto by meanes of our lord Iesus Christ, praying him not only to forgiue our offences past, but also to correct them after such sort in vsus, as our whole seeking may be to obey him. And that in ye meane while it may please him to guide vsus by his holy spirite, vntill hee hauehave brought vsus to the full fruition of the glorie whereunto we be nowe going. That it may please him to graunt this grace, not onelyonly to vsus, but also to all people and Nations of the earth &c.