Sermons on Deuteronomy, Sermons · Sermon 1
On Wednesday the xx. of March. 1555. The first Sermon vponupon the first Chapter.
HEre followe the wordes which Moses spake to all Israell beyond Iordan, in the wildernesse, in the plaine against the red sea, betweene Pharan and Tophell, and Laban, and Hazerot, and Dizahab.
2 There are eleuen iourneyes from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir, to Cades barne.
3 And it came to passe, that in the fortith yeere, the first day of the eleuenth monethmonth, Moses spake to the children of Israell, according to all that euer the Lorde had commanded him to say vntounto them.
WHen GOD caused his lawe to be publisht in mount Horeb, after his cōueying of the people out of the thraldome of Egypt, there by he shewed to what ende and purpose he had had pitie of his people in deliuering them: that is to wit, to be glorifyed thereby, as the marke whereunto we also must referre all the gracious giftes which he bestoweth vponupon vsus. Zacharie the father of S. Iohn Baptist, speaking of the great and souereigne deliuerance that was made in the person of our Lord Iesus Christ,Luke. 1.74. saith, that Gods discharging of vsus from the hand and tyranny of our enemies, was to the end what we should serue him in holinesse and righteousnesse all our life long. And this is a doctrine very common throughout the whole holy scripture. And for the same cause also is it sayd by the prophet Esay,Esai. 43.31. that God hath created a people to set foorth his prayse. Seeing then that the Lawe was giuen to the people, to make them perceiue why they had bin deliuered from the bondage of Egypt: it was good reason that they should yeelde themselues to the obeying of God, which had shewed himselfe their redeemer in such wise. Neuerthelesse the people were vntowarde, and could not finde in their hartes to yeelde themselues plyable, in hearkening to the things that were tolde them in the name of their God. Yet ought they of right to hauehave done it, seeing they had receiued so great & so inestimable a benefit. For God had vttered the mightie strength of his arme in deliuering the people. Therefore ought they to hauehave considered thus: Behold, our God hath magnified himselfe towardes vsus after a wonderfull fashion, we hauehave had as it were a visible presence of his maiestie, if the heauens had opened and God had shewed himselfe to our eyes, we should not hauehave had a greater and more vndoubted assurance of his neerenesse vntounto vsus, to warrant vsus that he was our leader. Seeing then that God is so come downe vntounto vsus, and that it hath pleased him to impart his goodnesse in such wise vntounto vsus: is it not reason that we should be wholy his? And seeing he hath reached out his hand to redeem vsus, ought we not to be his heritage, inasmuch as he hath gotten vsus by his owne mightie power? Had the people had one drop of wisedome, they should hauehave yeelded themselues with all humilitie, to receiue the doctrine that was preached to them by Moses. Yea and what authoritie deserued the Law, which was so confirmed with such store of miracles? For when God had chosen Moses to be his prophet: he not onelyonly commaunded him to speake, but also tooke him vp into the mountaine, and separated him from the companie of men, to the ende that when he should come to set forth his Law, the people should accept him as an Angell, and not as a mortal creature. He was there fortie daies without eating or drinking, to shewe that he was exempted from the common sort of men, and that God had taken him vp as it were into his heauenly glorie. And when he came downe againe, his face shone as bright as it had beene another sunne. Where as men attribute hornes vntounto him, it is saide that he had sunne beames rounde about him, that is to say, he had such a brightnesse as he was faine to weare a veyle before his face. And whereto serued that, but to ratifie and confirme the lawe which God had giuen and committed vntounto him, and to make it knowen that it was not a doctrine deuised by a mortall man? Besides this, there was thundering and lightning and trumpets sounding [in the aire,] so as it seemed that all the worlde shoulde hauehave gone to wracke: and there was not any place either high or lowe, which did not shake & tremble when God went about to vtter his voice.
Seeing then that the lawe was so well sealed and with such maiestie: must it not needs be that the people were worse than blockes, when they hearkened not to their God speaking with such force? Yet for all that, the lawe was despised, & euen while God was preparing of his seruaunt Moses to set it forth, behold, the people coulde not abide to tarie the bringing of Gods wil vntounto them, but made them a Calfe of golde, and fell flatly to setting vp of new superstitions, euen in spite of God, of whose power and fauour they had so often had experience. Againe, when the law was once giuen, the people trembled & quaked for a while, insomuch that they were inforced to say, if God speake any more vntounto vsus we be vtterly vndone: there is no way wt vsus but death: and therwithal they stood aloofe from ye mountaine, according also as they were commanded. It shoulde seeme then that there was some reuerence. But the issue shewed that all was but hypocrisie, and it appeared well that they were not rightly touched in their hearts, nor had taken liuely root to profit in the doctrine. We see then in effect, that when God did first of al publish his law, it had verie skant & slender hearing, & the people were not yet disposed to submit thēselues to it as they should hauehave done. By reason wherof God was faine to return to it againe, notwithstanding that the people deserued not that God shoulde cause Moses to serue still in that office. For was it not reason that they which had so despised the liuing God, should thenceforth hauehave ben left destitute of all truth? that ye diuel might hauehave taken possession of them? that hee might hauehave made them starke blinde? that they might hauehave starued for want of liuely foode? and that they should hauehave ben poysoned with all the deceites and errors of Satan? Of a truth, ye people were well worthy of such reward. But God had not an eye to the deserts of that wretched people. For he surmounted their sinnes with his infinite goodnes, & proceeded in teaching of thē still, euen when they had shewed thēselues most stubborne & rebellious, and had matched their vnthankfulnes with such wilfulnes, as there seemed to bee no way to come neere them to doe them good: & yet did God euē then vse his merciemercy, and vouchsafed to assay whether the people would suffer themselues to be brought backe againe or no. And that is the cause why Moses did not onelyonly set forth the Law in Horeb, but also vsed vehement exhortations therwithall, because he saw the lightnes and vnconstancy of the people, indeuoring and streining himselfe by all meanes to bring them backe againe vntounto God.
Yet notwithstanding, God vouchsafed still, that in the end there should be an abridgement of the law, & that the same should be confirmed as it is conteined in this booke. And that is the cause why it is intituled Deuteronomie, which is as much to say as the Law repeated. Not that God bringeth in any newe thing here: but for that he blameth the people for their foresaid lewdnes, shewing that his doctrine had ben ill obserued, like as when children do not profit wel at schole, but play the grosse Asses, when they hauehave spent a whole yeare and are neuer the further forewarde, they must bee faine to returne againe to their Apcie. And why? For notwithstanding that they hauehave heard their schoolemaister, yet they be as ignorant as they were before, insomuch that insteede of learning any thing, a man shall see them continue still alwayes at one staye. So then, our Lorde vpbraideth the people of Israel with their brutish dulnesse, in repeating his lawe vntounto them the second time. As if hee should say, Ye be verie ill scholers: for I hauehave trained you sufficiently in my Lawe. The doctrine comprehended in the ten commandements conteineth the full perfection of all wisedome. Yet hath not all this beene ynough for you, because yee hauehave no eares at all, or else they be too long, so that of all this while nothing is entered into your harts, or rather yee hauehave not hearde what I saide vntounto you. And therefore you must bee faine to turne back againe to your first lesson, and to your Apcie: I must be faine to open my Lawe againe vntounto you, and to chawe your meate vntounto you, that you may digest it the better. And because yee be so dull vponupon the spurre, I must be faine to prick you forward, and to vse greater force to waken you, that the hardnes of heart which I see in you may be amended.
Thus we see in effect, what the ground worke of this Booke is: that is to wit, that God hauing erst alreadie giuen his law to the people of Israel, and warranted it as much as was requisite: vouchsafed because of their hard hartednesse & sturbornesse, to giuegive a larger declaration therof, than Moses had put in writing as yet. And hee hath not only opened the meaning of the Law, but also exhorted the people to keepe it better than they had done before, vpbraiding them with their lewdnesse in that they had beene so vnrulie and so ill disposed, to receiue the instruction of their maker and redeemer at the first time. Nowe, all the thinges that wee see in this people, belong vntounto vsus. And would GOD wee resembled not the Iewes in any thing, I meane as in these pointes. But if euer there were too much hardenesse of hearte in them, howe much more is it to bee founde in vsus nowadayes? For our Lorde hath spoken more than once vntounto vsus. If the law were well warranted in the hand of Moses: hath the gospel bin lesse confirmed vntounto vsus in these daies? If the earth were shaken then, if the trumpets sounded, if the lightenings flewe abroade, if thunderclappes were heard: the Gospel also shaketh both heauen and earth as now, as it is saide by the Prophet Aggeus, and alleaged by the Apostle in the Epistle to the Hebrues.Agge 2.7. Heb. 12.26.Also we heare what S. Paul speaketh of it in the third Chapter of the second Epistle to the Corinthians.2. Cor. 3.7. The message of life and saluation (saith he) which is conteined in the Gospel, must needes bee glorified as much or more than the doctrine of the Lawe, which was dead of it selfe and coulde not giuegive men life.
Seeing then that God hath vttered so great maiestie in the Gospel, and his preaching of it vntounto vsus hath not bin for once and away, but wee hauehave our eares beaten with it eueryevery day: let vsus see if we be good scholers, and whether we beare in minde the things that hauehave beene tolde vsus, so as God is honoured at our hands. Are we linked vntounto him? Alas, it is nothing so. For continue God neuer so much in setting forth his doctrine vntounto vsus, wherin we do as it were see his heart laid open vntounto vsus: yet are we locked vp on our part, and we giuegive him no entrance, but rather wee be gadding and ful of vanitie, and we be so farre off from being touched with the doctrine, and from receiuing it to holde our selues wholly to it, & to set our minds vponupon it, and to be setled in right obedience to it; that rather the cleane contrarie is to be seene. And so we see that the Iewes are as a loking glasse wherein we may behold our owne rudenesse, frowardnesse, vnthankfulnesse, & wilful stubbornnesse against God.
Yea and we be more blame worthie than the Iewes for giuing so slender eare to our God. For as I hauehave tolde you already, the people of olde time ought to hauehave thought themselues bounde vntounto God, and to hauehave yeelded and giuen ouer themselues wholy to his seruice, bicause he had deliuered them from ye thraldome of Egypt. And what is it that God hath rid vsus from now at this time? Is it but from the tyranny of a mortal man, or of some earthly people? No, but we know that he hath ransomed vsus from the cheins of sin and of the diuel, he hath pulled vsus out of the gulfe of death, he hath drawne vsus out of the dungeon of hel, and he hath not onelyonly promised vsus the land of Chanaan for an inheritance, but also opened the heauens vntounto vsus in the person of our Lord Iesus Christ, who hath taken possession thereof for vsus, to the end we might be sure that our abiding place & euerlasting rest is made ready for vsus there. Seeing then that God hath bound vsus in such wise vntounto him, is not our vnthankefulnes double, yea or rather an hundredfolde more shamefull, than the vnthankfulnesse of the people of olde time?
Furthermore, whereas God hath vouchsafed to hold on in the office of instructing, to teache y• people which was so rude & rebellious: let vsus assure ourselues that he doeth the like towards vsus nowadaies. Yea & it is requisite for vsus yt he should so doe (as I hauehave saide already): or else what would become of it? But sith we see that God is so gracious as not to bee weary of teaching vsus, though it boote vsus not at the first day, nor at the first yeare: let vsus assure our selues yt his dealing wt vsus after that sorte from day to day, is no more than needeth. And it is a point well worth the marking. For men hauehave itching eares, and be desirous to heare alwaies new things: & if the doctrine of God be preached and set forth to them eueryevery day, it becōmeth irksome to them & they wax weary of it. For to their seeming it is inough to speake of it once or twise, and they consider not how they forget the things which they ought to hauehave borne away. So then, to the end we wax not weary of the doctrine that is preached vntounto vsus: let vsus marke that it is needful for vsus that God should put vsus still in minde of the things that he hath taught vsus already: for our wits are short towardes him. And therefore let vsus bethinke our selues well, & whensoeuer it is told vsus that there is but one God in whom we be, & that he is not only our maker, but also our father, & hath adopted vsus to be his children, and more ouer tied vsus to him by a much streiter band, in that he hath redeemed vsus with the bloud of his owne sonne: whensoeuer we be put in minde of these things: although we hauehave heard of them before, yet let vsus not say, tush, these thinges hauehave beene preached to vsus long ago: but let eueryevery of vsus enter into himselfe, & examine himselfe, & see whether ye things yt we hauehave heard heretofore, be wel printed in our harts. Let vsus then enter into accompt after yt sort. And why? For if we remembred wel, yt we be set in this world to the end to glorifie our god: would we not be more mindful to discharge our dutie towards him? If we considered the fatherly kindenesse that hee vseth in calling vsus his children, and which he hath shewed towards vsus once alredy in adopting of vsus in the person of his own sonne: & if we mark how dearly we cost our Lord Iesus Christ whē he did set vsus free frō endlesse death: should we not be desirous to giuegive our selues wholy to our God? Should we not be moued to yeelde him another maner of reuerence than we do? Now therfore, whensoeuer we be vnruly, so as ye world carieth vsus away, & we be intāgled in earthly lusts & affections: let vsus assure our selues it is because we hauehave not giuen good eare to our God, when he spake to vsus, nor taken heede to it when he warned vsus of our duties. And therfore it is good for vsus to be put in minde of it, and to hauehave God come backe againe to vsus & to say vntounto vsus, yee wretched folke, what meane yee? When I hauehave once taught you: the doctrine that is conteined in my word ought to soke throughly into you, and yet notwithstanding you be still like little babes. This is it (say I) which we hauehave to doe, to the end we may finde sauour in Gods worde, and be nourished therewith as with our ordinarie foode. We must assure our selues, that the appointing of this order that we should be preached vntounto all the time of our life, and that wee shoulde hauehave ou… eares beaten continually with the things, which we ought to vnderstande in one or two monethes, is not in vaine.
Furthermore, if we doe not so, if we subdue not our selues to the hearing of our God, & suffer our selues to be taught by him all the time of our life: let vsus be afraide least he execute the vengeance vppon vsus, which he threatned once to the people of Israell by his Prophet Esay, saying that his lawe should be to them as a booke shut vp and sealed,Esa. 29.11. so as if it were offered to men of skill, they should say, the letters are not to be seene, there is a scale vponupon then, I cannot tell what is within it: And if it were offered to ignorant and vnlearned men: they shoulde answere, we be not booke learned, we neuer went to schoole, we cannot reade. Loe how God punisheth all such as walke on in their brutishnesse, and wil neuer submit themselues vntounto him. True it is, that God beareth with vsus for a time, and that (as I said afore) although we be worthy to be cut of from his house, & to be bereft of his truth, so as he should giuegive vsus vp into Sathans handes, to bee blinded with lies and to bee poysoned by him: yet notwithstanding, our God hauing pitie vppon vsus, assayeth still to winne vsus to himselfe. But if we continue still in refusing the good doctrine, and become neuer the better for it at the yeares ende, than we were at the first day: at length this threat must needes light vponupon vsus, namely that we shall take the holy scripture into our hands, and hauehave it preached vntounto vsus, and yet wee shall vnderstande neuer a whitte of it, though we be neuer so witty: and that when as the vnlearned shall say, I wote not what it meaneth, it shall also bee as a letter folded vp and fast sealed, euen to them that are skilfullest and sharpest witted. Wherefore let vsus stande in feare of such threatnings: and least our light bee turned into darkenesse, let vsus take holde of the opportunitie which God offereth vsus nowadaies, that wee may fare the better by his continuall speaking to vsus after that sort.
True it is that the thinges which are conteined here were spoken to the people of Israel, and might hauehave profited them in their time: but yet doe they also belong vntounto vsus at this day, and they be as a common treasure whereof God will hauehave vsus to bee partakers. For as wee shall see hereafter, the Lawe was not onelyonly giuen as a rule whereby to liue well: but also grounded vponupon the couenaunt which God had made with Abraham and his ofspring. And by vertue of that couenant, wee are become heires of the heauenly kingdome,Gal. 3.29. as sheweth Saint Paul. To seeke our saluation, wee must resort to the promise that was made to our father Abraham: and to bee of the householde of Gods Church and members of our Lorde Iesus Christ, we must be of Abraham spirituall linage. Hereby then wee see, that this doctrine not onelyonly serued till the comming of the sonne of God: but also serueth still to our behoofe, and shall doe so still to the worlds ende. For it is a building that is founded vponupon the euerlasting couenant, from whence as from the true fountaine thereof, our saluation springeth as I said afore.
Wherefore let vsus marke, that whensoeuer God shall hencefoorth speake to the Iewes, the same is spoken also vntounto vsus: and wee must receiue it in such wise, as wee must vnderstande that God hath shed forth his grace through the whole worlde by the comming of his onelyonly sonne, and builded vp the heauenly Ierusalem, to the ende that we shoulde all be linked together in one holy brotherhood, to cal vpō him as our father all with one mouth. Sith it is so then, let vsus vnderstand that it is good reason that wee shoulde giuegive ouer our selues vntounto him, and that he should hold vsus in awe, and enioy vsus, & that like as he hath vouchsafed to giuegive himselfe vntounto vsus, so we on our side shoulde bee wholly his, to yeelde him the duetie which children owe to their father: and that when we be negligent and slowe therein, we should at least wise be moued with the exhortations that are conteined in this booke… and that seeing God calleth vponupon vsus soearnestly, we shold not stop our eares against him but euerie man awake, and one of vsus rebuke another: Yea and that if we were wise, we should nottarie till God quickened vsus vp so sharpely, but rather preuent him, howbeit that we ought to be moued to bee ashamed of our lewdnesse and to returne againe vntounto God, at leastwise when hee falleth to correcting of vsus by thundering out his threatnings against vsus, and by vpbrayding of vsus with our sinnes. Thus yee see what wee hauehave to marke in generall vponupon this booke.
Nowe let vsus come to the text that I hauehave rehearsed afore. These are the wordes which Moses spake vntounto the people in the wildernesse, in the plaine (or champion grounds) beyong Iordan, euen from Horeb vntounto the places here before rehearsed. Herein we hauehave to note, that God intended to rebuke the people for their not keeping of the lawe, which had not onelyonly bin preached to them by mouth, but also set downe in writing: as if a man should make an instrument or conueyance of some bargaine betweene two parties. And God himselfe vouchsafed to ingraue his Lawe at leastwise the ten commaundements) in two tables, to the intent they might be remembred the better. For albeit that the doctrin was cleere ynough of itself, & god had prouided to preserue it from forgetting: yet did not the people receiue it. Therefore as nowe he casteth them in the teeth, as if it should be saide vntounto vsus, Behold, the Gospell of our Lorde Iesus Christ hauing bin preached with such power and maiestie, is also left in writing. Wee hauehave had the Gospel preached vntounto vsus nowe a long time, euen the same Gospel which is set downe vntounto vsus in Bookes. Therefore are we too vnexcusable, if we cannot tell what God saith to vsus there. If a man shoulde speake after that maner, it were a blaming of vsus for our beastlinesse. Againe, if it shoulde be saide that where as wee were baptised in the name of the sonne of God, when we were babes, yet wee knowe him not: that being come to mans estate, we bee so brutish that after so often hearing of Gods truth, yet we be still but nouices in it: and that we can scarsly tell what it is, or at leastwise hauehave neuer taken any tast of if at al: such maner of opening of the gospel vntounto vsus, how it hath bin offered vsus of long time & after diuers fashions, were as a framing of an inditement against vsus. So now likewise Moses, to witnesse openly to the people that they had shewed themselues too vnthankefull towardes God, saieth expressely: These are the wordes that I vttered and preached vntounto you from time to time, not for a day or two, but euer since the publishing of the Lawe in the mountaine of Horeb. And because you shewed your selues so ill disposed, I hauehave not ceassed to put you still in remembraunce of the things that you had heard before. Now let vsus learne hereby, to bee the better quickened vp, and sith wee see it hath bin Gods will, that euen from the beginning of the worlde, his trueth should hauehave some certaine record among men, and that he hath not ceassed to set it forth still, and to raise it vp againe when men hauehave gone about to burie it by their spitefulnesse: let vsus acknowledge his wonderfull goodnes in so doing, and be moued to receiue the things that shall be spoken vntounto vsus. Marke that for one poynt.
But to the end wee may bee the better disposed: we must also weigh this saying which Moses addeth, Euen according to all that God had commaunded him. Nowe by this preface he sheweth, that he brought not any thing of his owne, ne meant to subdue the people to his owne dotages, nor to any thing that he could hauehave deuised of his owne reason and wisedome as in respect of men, but that he did simply obey God, as a faithfull & trustie messenger, without swaruing aside either to the right hand or to the left. Nowe if Moses who had so excellent a record as wee see,Deut. 34.10. insomuch that God neuer raised vp any Prophet equall or like vntounto him: If Moses ye prince of all Prophets next vntounto Iesus Christ, and the chiefe of all vnderunder the olde Lawe, doe neuerthelesse protest that he putteth not forth any thing of his owne head: I pray you what shall others do? May they compare themselues with him? No: but put the case that they be as highly aduanced and placed as he: yet notwithstanding, the furthest that they ought to goe, is but to set forth the things that God hath commaunded them. And therefore let vsus learne, that here all mens traditions are shut out of doores. And hereby it appeareth, that the Pope hath marred and corrupted the whole order of the Church, by his taking vpō him to be a Lawmaker, to deuise lawes & to lay them vponupon mens necks at his owne pleasure, to forge & contriue newe articles of faith, and to inforce men to receiue his inuentions as the holy scriptures. Was not this a turning of all things vpside downe? Yes: for God neuer ment that men should hauehave such libertie and sway in the Church, as to set forth any of their owne inuentions there, but he himselfe onelyonly will be heard there. Marke that for one point.
But there is yet more in it: for it is not onelyonly saide that Moses spake according to the charge that was giuen him: but according to all that euer the Lord had commaunded him. He sheweth then, yt he did not as it were make a medlie, or seeke by any meanes to bring in what he himselfe thought good, or to separate himself from Gods worde: but that he followed Gods will from point to point to the vttermost. Ye see then that there was a great singlenesse of heart in Moses, insomuch as he not only gaue forth the things that he had receiued at Gods hand: but also continued throughout in the same singlenes of keeping himselfe within his boundes, so as he raunged not abroade to say, this is good, or that is good, thus or thus doe I thinke of this matter. No: but in all points he ruled himselfe according to the charge of his commission, vttering his message according as he had heard God speake it. Marke that for the second point.
Nowe herewithall wee be warned to receiue the doctrine here conteined, not as comming from a mortall man. In speaking vntounto vsus, Moses protesteth that he himselfe is not our schoolemaister though he rehearseth our lesson vntounto vsus; but that must alwayes be God and his holy spirit, that must be euen our Lord Iesus Christ, in whose hand the Lawe was giuen,Gal. 3.19. as S. Paul speaketh of him. For he was the gouernour of ye Church at all times. Ye see then that the thing which we hauehave to consider here, is that we must reuerently and carefully receiue the things that were giuē vsus by the hand of Moses. Not that wee may think that any thing came of himselfe: but that God sent him and ordeined him to be his instrument, so that when we receiue any thing that was spoken by Moses, wee may warrant our selues that God guideth and gouerneth vsus by his owne pure trueth, and that our faith resteth not vponupon men nor vponupon any mortall creature, but that the liuing God is the author, and will also be the warranter thereof.
Now after he hath spoken so, he saith, That his rehearsing of all these things was in the fortith yeere, the eleuenth monethmonth, and the first day of the monethmonth. As if it had bene saide, when the people drewe nigh to the land of promise and were readie to enter into it: then did he repeate the Lawe of God, and make an abridgement of it, and rehearse all the exhortations and warnings which he had made to them before. Not that Moses had helde his peace and kept silence euer since [the giuing of the Lawe in] Horeb: for as I hauehave tolde you alreadie, he ceassed not to call vponupon the people continually, bicause he sawe them so wilfull and stubborne, and so stiffenecked and hard to be bowed. But in the end, forasmuch as he drewe neere to his long home, and had as good as finished his race and should anon after depart out of this world, (as wee shall see that he did in the end of this booke:) he made a rehearsall of all the doctrine that he had preached by the space of fortie yeeres, of purpose to ratifie & confirme it in such wise to the people, as their successours might bee edified by it after his decease, and the profit thereof redound vntounto vsus at this day, and wee be taught all the lessons conteyned therein. Neuerthelesse, we see moreouer, that the people ought ere that time to hauehave bin throughly subdued, and to hauehave submitted themselues better vntounto God than they did. For fortie yeeres are a good reasonable time to dispose a man to goodnesse if euer he will be good. When we see a man hath bin let chawe vponupon the bridle by the space of fortie yeeres, and yet will giuegive eare to no counsell nor reason: it is then high time or neuer for him to bethinke himself, and to fall to better disposition and ripenesse of discretion than he hath done afore, if he be told of his fault. God therefore perceiuing his people to be so wilde, gaue them time and respit to become tame, & led them about by ye space of fortie yeeres, which thing he did to thē for their stubbornnesse sake, as we shall see hereafter. But ye thing that we hauehave to marke at this present, is no more but that the cause why Moses spake now vntounto the people, was for that he drew neere his ende, and God was at the point to take him out of the worlde, and also for that the people should be as it were renewed at that time. For it had bin saide to them that had refused to enter into the land [of Chanaan,] Your carkesses shall rotte here in the wildernesse, you be not worthy to possesse the inheritance which your God promised to his seruaunt Abraham. Ye see then that when the people were after a sort renewed at the ende of fortie yeeres, then did Moses set foorth the Lawe againe, and speake to them according to Gods commaundement. Nowe must we also apply this to our instruction. That is to say, when soeuer we hauehave bin so farre ouerseene, as not to profit in Gods schoole, so as we continue Asses still, or at leastwise hauehave but pickled vponupon the doctrine, without suffering it to worke any true liuelinesse in vsus: if God subdue vsus and prepare vsus better by continuance of time to hearkē vntounto him: let vsus aduise our selues to make our profit therof, & let vsus not be vnamendable. For what shal wee win by it in the end if we continue still vnruly, and be so stubborne that God cannot ouermaister vsus? Shall it not turne to our confusion? Therefore as well publikely as priuately, let vsus bethinke vsus to profite our selues by this warning, & if wee hauehave ill receiued the doctrine that hath bin long preached vntounto vsus heretofore: let vsus consider that inasmuch as God doth not yet giuegive vsus ouer, but vseth such mercy towardes vsus: his desire is to drawe vsus still vntounto him, and therefore let vsus prepare our selues, that we become not stubborne against him, but rather let vsus learne to bee meeke, and let vsus giuegive way to the doctrine, that it may enter into our mindes and heartes. Thus ye see how we ought to behaue our selues.
Furthermore when God visiteth vsus and sendeth vsus any corrections, to humble vsus and to abate our ouergreat vnthankfulnes and frowardnes: let vsus turne ouer a newe leafe and returne againe vntounto him. And when wee hauehave done so generally for the whole body of the Church: let eueryevery of vsus do the like priuately on his owne behalfe. If any man hauehave runne astray, and neuer knowen God aright, nor neuer submitted himselfe fully to the wholesome doctrine: if God visit him by sicknes, pouertie, or otherwise howsoeuer it bee: let him bethinke himselfe and say, Alas, the Gospell hath bene preached vntounto me, but howe hauehave I receiued it of all this while? I knew not my God, and although I professed my selfe to bee one of his nombers, yet did it not touche me at the heart. Howe shall I nowe doe therefore? Sith it is Gods will to hauehave me to bee his scholler, it is good reason that I yeelde my selfe wholly to him, and that I reuerence him as I ought to doe my souereigne maister and teacher. Thus ye see that the thing whereof wee be warned in this text, is that when we see how our Lorde indeuoureth by all meanes to bring vsus backe, and is minded to beate downe the rebelliousnesse that is in vsus, by rebuking our vices: & that he gathereth vsus home to him when he sees vsus go astry, to the intent to reforme vsus: we must not kicke against the spurre as I saide, but rather meekely and mildely seeke to bee gouerned by him, & to profit more and more in his word.
Now let vsus cast our selues downe in the presence of our good God, with acknowledgement of the innumerable faultes which we ceasse not to commit dayly against his Maiestie: praying him to vouchsafe to wipe them out through his free goodnes, and therewithall to bring vsus home againe to him, and to worke so in vsus by his holy spirit, as our consciences may be mortified from day to day, vntill we be ridde quite and cleane of all the corruptions of our flesh, to be clothed againe with his righteousnes. And so let vsus all say, Almightie God heauenly father, &c.