Sermons on Deuteronomy, Sermons · Sermon 125
On Thursday the ij. of Ianuarie, 1556. The Cxxv. Sermon, which is the first vponupon the two & twentith Chapter.
THou shalt not see thy brothers Oxe or his sheepe goe astray, and withdrawe thy selfe from them: but thou shalt bring them home to thy brother.
2 And if thy brother be not neere thee, or that thou knowe him not: then shalt thou take them home to thine owne house, and they shalbe with thee till thy brother require them, and then shalt thou deliuer him them againe.
3 Likewise shalt thou doe to his Asse, and likewise to his rayment, and also to all other thinges which thy brother shall hauehave lost and thou found: Thou shalt not hide it away from him.
4 Thou shalt not see thy brothers Asse or Oxe sinke vnderunder their burthen in the way, and withdrawe thy selfe from them: but thou shalt helpe him vppe with them againe.
FOr asmuch as wee restraine the commaundement of the law too much, wherby theft is forbidden; therefore ye warning yt is giuen vsus heere is very needeful. It seemeth to vsus that if we hauehave not taken away another mans goods or substance, we be cleere before God, & can not bee accused of theft: But God hath a further respect, to wit, that eueryevery man shoulde worke his brothers welfare. For we be bound therto, & he that maketh none account therof is condemned as a theefe before God, though he can not be blamed before men. If I abstaine (say I) from doing any man harme, and keepe my handes vndefiled from robberie, and extorsiō: yet am I not discharged for al this. For if I hauehave seene my brothers good perishe, and suffered it to goe to destruction through my negligence: GOD condemneth mee for it.
Therfore let vsus mark wel, yt ye law in forbidding theft hath also bound vsus al to procure ye welfare & profit one of another. And in deede it is a rule to be obserued of vsus in all cases, yt God in forbidding any euill, doth therewith command vsus to do the good that is contrarie therto. Thou shall not steale, sayth he. And why? For he that doeth his neighbour any hurt or harme, is abhominable before God. Then is it to be concluded, that as I would hauehave mine owne goods preserued, so must I be charie of other mens also, & eueryevery mā must do the like on his owne behalfe. And therof we hauehave an example heere: namely that if I see my neighbours Oxe or cowe or any other cattell of his straying in the fieldes, I am bounde to driue them home to his house, and to say vntounto him, I hauehave founde thine Oxe straying, looke better to him. Yea and if I finde a be…st which I knowe not and see it straying abroade, I am bounde to keepe it till the owner thereof come, I must not hide it, to make mine owne gaine of it, but I must declare it abroade that I hauehave founde stray cattle, that the owner may come to require it, and I must bee readie to deliuer it him againe. And Moses addeth that the like is to be done in all thinges that are lost, whether it be rayment, money, or any other thing, that ye list. Then if I finde any lost thing, I am bound to keepe it safe, and to restore it to the owner. And truely euen vprightnesse doth sufficiently leade vsus thereunto: For if a man hauehave lost either money or anie other thing, and can not finde it, hee will make mone for it, and that iustly. Nowe the more wee be inclyned to our owne profite, the more let vsus looke to bee condemned, when any body hath susteined losse by our spitefulnesse or negligence. I my selfe will blame others if they restore me not mine owne when I hauehave lost it. And why shoulde not I be condemned in the like case? And so we see now that it is not ynough for vsus to knowe the tenne commaundementes which are conteined in the Lawe: vnlesse wee hauehave the exposition of them also, so as we knowe what God ment and intended by thē. For if I take this saying, Thou shalt not steale, and thinke it ynough for mee to hauehave absteined frō taking away of other mens goods: it is an ouer slender exposition. And if I flatter my selfe and bost of my purenesse and innocencie, it shall nothing boote mee. For GOD sheweth that he had yet a further meaning; namely yt eueryevery man should hauehave a care of his neighbor, that being knit and vnited together, we must labour to maintaine our neighbours right as wel as our owne, and be so faithfull one towardes another, and on both sides be so vprightly minded, as we might say, as I would not yt an other man should suffer my goods to perish, but that he should preserue them for me: so must I do the like to al those with whom I am conuersant, that is to say all men, as shalbe declared more fully hereafter.
And if we be bound to sende home our neighbours Oxe or Asse that is lost, let vsus see whether wee may take away an other mans goods by extortion & leaude dealing. For there are manie which think it no offence before God, to conuey to thēselues by suttle meanes the thinges yt belong not to them. And wherefore is that? Bycause they shall not bee impleaded for it at the Lawe. Yea, but who is he that acquitteth them? Thinke they to dally so with God? But as I hauehave declared before, the Lawe sayeth, not only that we must absteine from all robbery, but also preserue the goods of our neighbours. For if I lay waite to finger to my selfe and to inrich my selfe by impouerishing them that hauehave wherewith to serue my turne, seeking mine owne profit by my neighbours losse: I must not thinke yt God liketh of my suttle dealings, craftines, & shifting. When we hauehave washed our hands neuer so clean before men, what shal it boote vsus, if the heauenly Iudge condemne vsus? Thus yee see yt the way for vsus to put this text in vre, is to consider Gods intent in condemning theft in his Lawe: which is, yt he will hauehave vsus to indeuour to benefite our neighbours to the vttermost of our power, so as eueryevery man may peaceably inioy his owne, and ech of vsus helpe other, eschewing all hurt & hinderance of our neighbours, and doing to all men as we would be done vntounto. That is the effect of the thing which we hauehave to beare in minde.
We see that euen in the beastlines of Popery, some tracke of his doctrine was reteined still. True it is yt those shauelinges being as gulfs, and spreading out their nets to drawe in the pray to thē from all sides, willed folke to make offerings of the thinges yt they had found, bearing thē in hand yt if the owner were not found, those things were excheated to God, meaning to their owne purse. Yet notwithstanding, this stoode euer as a rule, yt vnderunder peine of theeuery it was not lawfull to conceale any thing that was found, being knowen to be lost, but that all meanes possible should be wrought to finde out the owner. Now seeing the blind wretches which were so brutish knew this: what excuse will there be for vsus? Nay, we see what libertie many folke do take noweadayes: insomuch that euen they which pretend to hauehave the Gospel, do play the theeues for eueryevery trifle, so as there is nothing but pilling & polling wt them. But in very deed the most nūber of thē neuer tasted what Gods truth is. But how so euer the cafe stande, this saying of God ringeth shirle heere, & our eares are continually beaten with this lesson, yt we ought to procure the welfare of other men. Yet notwithstanding, let a man go into ye fields, & he shal finde nothing but robbing and filching. And what shall he finde in townes & cities? much worse. A man shall see snatching and catching eueryevery where, & al mens indeuour is to fleece one an other. Wo worth vsus therefore if we bethinke vsus not better of yt thing that is tolde vsus heere, which is yt God commandeth vsus to procure the welfare of other men, and to looke to the doing of it in such sort, as no man may be hindered by our default, and not only yt we be cleere from all euill dealing, but also from all negligence or slothfulnesse. For God inioyneth vsus, yt as we thinke vponupon our owne profite, so we must not forget the weldoing of our neighbours. But as we would hauehave others to looke about for vsus, when we had lost any thing: so must we be likeminded towardes all such as wee can succour in their neede.
Now if it be sayde that we must bring againe our neighbours Oxe or Asse: what is to be done to his owne proper person? Or to his children and houshouldefolke? I see a housholde out of order, and the maister thereof deceiued: If I warne him not thereof, I am to blame. So then we must proceede so farre by degrees, that if wee must hauehave a care of beastes, much more must wee hauehave it of humaine creatures. If I ought to bring home a mannes Oxe when I finde him straying, for feare he shoulde bee lost: what ought I to doe to his children that are readie to perishe, and runne a straye like brute beastes? Shal I not thinke vppon them to bring them into the right way? Againe in generall, if I see my neighbour goe to decay and destruction, I ought to reclaime him, accordingly as S. Iames warneth vsus saying: If any of you bring backe his neighbour into the right way,Iam. 1.…9. when hee was gone astray: he hath wonne a soule to God. Now if our Lorde extend his louelove euē vntounto Oxen and Asses; what ought we to do to those whome he hath created after his owne image, & which are like our selues, & to whome we be linked by a kinde of brotherhood, not onelyonly in respect of our bodies, but also in respect of our soules? Shall we see them run astray & go to destruction, & not reach them our hand nor do our indeuor to bring them backe againe to the way of saluation? Therefore when we see menssoules in daunger to bee lost, let vsus learne to reclaime them, & let vsus apply our selues thereto asmuch as we can possibly. For if we be slacke in that behalf, there needeth none other witnes against vsus than ye bruit beasts. For if we suffer their owners to lose them, we shalbe condemned before God. So must our inditement be made and framed against vsus by the brute beasts, when we shal hauehave held skorne after that fashion, to bring back the wretched creatures that are gone astray, to cause them to be reduced againe vntounto God: For if we be bound to maintain mortal men in their right: I pray you, be we not double, yea a hundredfold more bound to do it vntounto God? Behold, God telleth vsus that we belong to him, & that we bee his heritage. Now, I see a poore man goe astray like a beast that is lost, and shal I suffer God to be bereft of his right, or to hauehave his possessions diminished? True it is, that we cannot inrich him: but yet doeth he shewe howe deerely he looueth vsus, in yt he hath purchased vsus with the bloud of our Lorde Iesus Christ. I see Gods possession go to hauocke, and make no account of it, and so is it lost from him through my defaulte: and how shall I excuse my selfe? Wherefore let vsus marke well, that if wee ought to mayntaine the welfare of mortall men, because God hath ordeyned that there shoulde be faithfulnesse among vsus one towardes another: wee ought much more to indeuour and procure that God may abide vnimpeached in his state, and that those which be of his house (that is to say of his Church) may not miscarie, but that they may all be preserued vntounto him. That is the thing which wee hauehave to remember vponupon this text.
Nowe Moses addeth, that men must doe it, though it be the more to their owne paine. For although I be vnknowen to the partie that hath a beast so strayed; and he be not my neighbour: yet must not his beast be lost by my negligence, but I must bring it backe least it fall into euill handes: and my so doing must bee of purpose to restore it to the owner. Here wee see (as I hauehave saide afore) that it is not enough for vsus to absteyne from all misdealing, but wee must also doe our neighbours seruice, as wee woulde they shoulde doe for vsus. The taking of payne or care for an other mans benefite, must not make vsus shrinke from the doing of our duetie. If wee alleadge. What am I bound to him? What hath he doone for me? It is not for vsus to regard the doinges of men, whether they hauehave done vsus any pleasure or no, and there after to requite them, as who would say, I should shew a man no friendship, vnlesse he had first befriended mee before. No, It must suffice mee, that God wil be acknowledged in all those things. And therfore we must not hauehave an eye to mens persons to say we know them not: but it must suffice vsus that God saith vntounto vsus, Although the parties bee vnknowen vntounto you, yet must you doe your indeuour to saue their goods and substance: for it is my will that there shoulde be that bonde among men, and that by meane thereof they shoulde bee knit together, and eueryevery man willingly become detter to other. Although men can not bring ye before earthly Iudges to compell you thereto, yet ought euerie man of himselfe to yeelde vntounto it and to beare in minde that I will hauehave you to exercise such charitablenes amōg yourselues. Thus much concerning that point where it is said, that although the partie bee not our neighbour, no nor knowen vntounto vsus: yet wee must not forebeate to keepe his beast for him, or any other thing that he hath lost.
There is also an other point, namely yt if we light vponupon our Neighbors Oxe or his Asse falne downe by the way by reason of some disease or tyring vnderunder his burthen: wee must helpe to get him vp. And this sheweth vsus yet better, that all they which procure not the benefit of other mē, are esteemed as theeues. For we commit not any offence, but the same is a breaking of the Law of God. It behoueth vsus to marke that. Now what is said in Gods law? Thou shalt not steale. It is but one word. But we must hauehave an eye to the lawe-makers meaning. And so we must conclude, that if we see our neighbor stand in neede of our succour before our eyes, and faile him: if wee perceiue he is like to sustein losse, & we remedy not the matter, hauing the meane to do it▪ we be cō demned of felonie before God. It is a hard case, men may well dispute of it, yea & imagine yt they shal get ye vpper hand: but al replying must be laid downe: for asmuch as God hath spoken it, his saying is an vnreuocable sentence. Therefore let it content vsus yt the law telleth vsus that if we saue not our neighbors goods to ye vttermost of our power God condemneth vsus and taketh vsus for theeues. Indeed if wee were to bee called before worldlie Iudges, we might alledge, he neuer bound me to do so much for him, I am not beholdē vntounto him. I hauehave not promised him any thing, what couenant is there betwixt vsus? & such other like things But whē we come before God, we must shut our mouthes, & acknowledge yt if we hauehave bin negligent when we hauehave seene the losse or hinderāce of any mans goods, so as wee hauehave not helped to saue them, but hauehave shut our eyes at it, and not vouchsafed to put forth our finger to ye succouring of them: it is all one with theft or robberie, before God.
And herewithall let vsus marke wel, yt seeing it is said here yt we ought to succor the beasts whē they be falne downe vnderunder their burthen: howe much more ought we to do ye like to men? When an asse is falne down, what is yt to vsus? And yet for the louelove of my neighbor, I am bound to lift him vp againe if I can. A poore man yt hath toild himselfe to ye vttermost, standeth in need of my help, and I forsake him: is this cruelty excusable before God? Behold, I am condemned for not doing my dutie towards a brute beast: & what shal then become of me if I forsake mine owne image & the image of God, so as a poore man is borne downe & I succor him not, but wring my mouth at it as if I had done no fault at all? So then let vsus marke, yt in speaking of the brute beastes, God ment to induce vsus ye rather to the discharging of our owne dueties one towardes another: Like as when S. Paul alledgeth this text,1. Cor. 9.10. Thou shalt not musle the mouth of the oxe yt laboreth for thee, thinke we (saith hee) yt God hath no further respect than of the beasts? Nay verily, his speaking of it is for the louelove of men. As who should say, If we ought not to withdraw foode from the beast that laboreth vnderunder our hand & for our profite: ought wee not to giuegive sustenance to the handicrafts man, or to any other person when he doth vsus seruice? Indeede S. Paul speakes there of the ministers of Gods worde; but yet generally wee be led to this vprightnes of maintaining such as take paines for vsus, according to reason. For why? God hath spoken so of Oxen: And he hath spoken it to doe vsus the more shame, as if he shoulde say, The Oxe shall hauehave iust matter to condemn you. Indeed ye Oxe hath not speech as we hauehave: but yet wee cannot so scape but yt God will condemne vsus for cruell and vnkinde foolke, if we pitie not the brute beastes. It is saide in Salomons Prouerbs,Prou. 12.10. yt the righteous man hath in regarde, the bloud of his horses & of his beastes y• labour for him. Sith it is so, then if the poore soules that hauehave bestowed their labor & trauel, & spent their sweat & bloud for you, be not paid their wages as they ought to be, nor succored and susteyned by you as they should be: if they aske vengeance against you at Gods hand, who shalbe your spokes man or aduocate to rid you out of his handes? Now then▪ whereas here is mention made of the releeuing of Oxen & Asses when they bee falne downe vnderunder their burthens: let vsus learne thereby, that it is much more reason we should releeue our neighbors; when we see them vexed and ouermatched. Verily a beast cannot speake to moue vsus to pitie and compassion: and therefore we must go to him of our owne good wil, though we be not moued nor requested therunto. Hereby we be warned, that although a man crie not out at a murder, …e make any great bewailing: Yet his verie necessitie ought to suffice to make vsus to step to him aforehande, & not to suffer him to lie languishing to the last instant, that he bee constreined to say. Alas helpe me. We must not be so slow. For why? Although a beast cannot speake a word, yet doth God commaunde vsus to succour it. And therefore much more do we owe like duetie towards our neighbors.
Furthermore, if a man demaunde what those burthens are: S. Paul sheweth vsus them saying, Beare yee one an others burthens: as if hee had said, yt our infirmities are burthens, & wee hauehave need to be eased of them. Therfore we must exercise our charitie after that maner. I see a neighbor of mine that is weake, I meane this of al mē. For how perfect so euer men be, they hauehave euer some faultes in them, and they hauehave need to be borne with. And I for my part cannot away with it, vnles men hauehave pitie vponupon me: I hauehave my burthens as well as all other men. In respect hereof God saith vntounto vsus,Gal. ….…. Beare ye one an others burthens: for this is Christs lawe, saith S. Paul. And yet hath this law beene for euer. For if the brute beasts were to be releeued by the law of Moses: likewise were men to be releeued, as I said afore. But S. Paul telleth vsus that we hauehave more neede to doe it nowadayes than euer: For our Lord Iesus Christ telleth vsus that ye cheefe sacrifice which he requireth of vsus euen for God his father, is to hauehave a regarde wherein eueryevery of vsus may helpe his neighbors, & to indeuour to remedie infirmities where he sees thē to be. Indeed we ought not to foster vices. Neither is that S. Pauls meaning when hee exhorteth vsus to beare one anothers burthens. His intent is not that we shoulde dissemble, or that we should foade men in their naughtines by playing the blinkards when folke hauehave done amisse. For yt were rather a leauing of the wretched soules still in their straying, vntill they were tumbled downe into the pit of destruction. Then is not yt S. Paules meaning in commanding vsus to beare one an others burthēs: but rather, yt when we see an other man in sorrowe, we should comfort him: when we see him weake-minded, we should harten him; when we see him too much intangled in the cares of this worlde, we should labour to pul him backe, perswading him, to put his trust better in God, & not to bee so wedded to worldly thinges. When we labour after this fashion to remedy al vices: then do wee beare one anothers burthens. And to induce vsus thereunto, we must vnderstande yt there is none of vsus all, but hee hath neede to bee borne with. That is the thing which we hauehave to gather vponupon this place, where it is saide that we be bounde to helpe vp an Oxe or an Asse or any other beast yt is falne downe abrode, and that we ought to releeue it as much as may be.
But here is no mentiō made of any other thā a brother. It is said, yt if thy brothers asse or anie other thing of his be lost: or if ye Oxe or horse of thy brother be falne down by ye way, thou must help him vp againe. Who be the brothers of whō God speaketh here! The word Brother is to be extended further than a number do extend it, who alwaies excusing thēselues, do pluck their heads out of ye coller as easily as they can, whē they see Gods cōmandements to be too hard & difficult yea & vtterly vnpossible for them to do; they slip ye coller by such fond shifts as this: I am bounde (say they) to do this for my brother, yt is to say, for such a one as I am acquainted with, or to whō I am linked by any familiaritie, neighborhoode, or friendship: those indeed are our brothers. Yea. But what if we hauehave to do with the furthest strā gers in ye world? should we account them for our brothers? To what purpose were yt? Lo how ye hypocrites would dally with God, & breake ye bond which he hath made betwixt vsus, vnderunder pretence of this word Brother. But the exposition therof is giuen vsus in ye three & twentith of Exodus, where it is saide, If the Oxe or the Asse of thine enemie be falne downe, thou shalt helpe him vp agayne: thou shalt do good to him yt hateth thee, and to him that seeketh to hurt or hinder thee. Ye see then who are our brethren, namely euen our very enemies, such as persecute vsus, & such as could find in their hearts to eat vsus vp. And yet for all that, euen with them must we maintaine brotherhood. As how? Verily it seemeth a right hard case at the first sight: for hauehave not they alreadie broken the bond of brotherhood? What though there were an vnion among al mankind? Yet as touching those which are so malicious & froward, and despise God by doing leawdly, are not they worthy to be shaken off, & to be barred from the companie of other men, seeing they hauehave sundred themselues from them? Truth it is that if we shoulde hauehave respect to their persons, we might wel say, shal such a one be my brother, hauing set himself after that fashion against me? Were he a member of my bodie, would he hauehave cut off himselfe from me? Seeing then that hee hath forsaken me, I will hauehave no acquaintaunce wt him in any maner of wise. The alliance which I had with him was of god, God made it betwixt vsus: but he hath vtterly withdrawen himself from it, & therfore may I likewise forsake him. So long as we plead against the person, such excuses may well take place: but as for before God, they wil not go for paymēt. For his planting of neighborhood among vsus was with condition, that although a man make himselfe vnworthie thereof yet we must not faile to do him all the good we can. And so the bond of kinred ordeined by god, cannot in any wise be defeated. Were a man become the veriest naughtipacke that could be; yet ought we to intreat him as our neighbour.
Truth it is that there are cases wherefore we ought to forsake men, & to giuegive them vtterly ouer. But yet for all that, we must not cease in the meane while to procure their worldly welfare, and much more the health of their soules, yea euen of such as are excommunicated & cast out of the Church,1. Cor. 5.11. as saith S. Paul. We must not seek them, for that were ye way to infect vsus with their defilements, & to make vsus their partakers. Nay, we must rather mislike them & abhorre them, as it is expresly cōmaunded vsus. But yet in ye meane season, we be bound alwaies to succour them in their need, & to forbeare to hurt or hinder thē. That is the thing which our Lorde compelleth vsus vntounto. And therefore let vsus marke well that it was neuer lawfull vnderunder the law to beare enmity against any man: yea & although a man had enimies: yet was it not lawfull for him to seeke reuēge. And if I be bound to succor mine enemies Asse or horse: what ought I to do to his own person? Shall I be exempted from himselfe, when I am bound vntounto his cattell? It is well knowen no. And herein we see the beastlines that hath been & yet still is in the Popedome. For the suttle doctors say, that to do good to ones enemie is not a commaundement of God, but a counsell giuen by our Lord Iesus Christ. And marke I pray you wherupon they groūd thēselues. What say they? It is too hard a thing for vsus to hauehave ye heart to do good to such as hate vsus & persecute vsus. And therfore it is to be concluded, yt God hath not commanded vsus to do it: for that were too great rigor. If Iesus Christ counsel vsus, verily then is it a point of perfectiō: but yet are we not bound to it. And thereupon they hold opinion yt none are bound to it but only ye Monks, whose state is angelical, & yet notwithstanding, of al mē in ye world they be fullest of reuenge. Neuertheles, it is for none but Monkes to hauehave such perfection; & as for vsus that are lay people, they say that for vsus to become Christians it is enough to take it as a coū sell, and to tend ye way, howbeit without thinking our selues guiltie of deadly sinne, though we doe it not. True it is that they can find in their harts to say, that we ought not to hate anie body; but to say that we be bound to louelove our enemies, and to do good to such as seeke to hurt or hinder vsus; no no, they cannot digest that worde. And why? For they be forepossessed with this diuelish opinion, that God cōmandeth not any thing which is not possible for men to doe. And thereupon they make as it were a counterpeise or euen balance, of freewill & of all Gods cōmandements: insomuch that they stand scanning thus: Cannot we doe this or that? God then hath not commā ded it, neither ought it to be done: & if a man did it, it were more than needed. As who should say that God had forgone his right, because we bee so corrupted and vntowarde as not to be able to performe yt which he hath ordeyned. And what a dealing were that? If a man owe me monie, & hauehave wasted all away by his leawd behauiour, is hee therefore cleerely quit and discharged, because he hath so mispent both his owne & mine? No surelie. Whence commeth it then that wee cannot louelove our enemies, and that wee be so reuendgefull: but of our owne corruption & of the sinfulnesse of our nature? Yet notwithstanding, we cease not therefore to owe still vntounto God the things yt he hath inioyned vsus. And therefore wee conclude that our Lord hath bewrayed ye blindnesse of the Papistes, in making them to spewe out such blasphemies as these, namely, yt to doe good to our enemies is not a commandement of the law, but a counsell of our Lord Iesus: For we see what was inioined by the law of Moses. And again on the otherside, a man may wel say there is great oddes betweene the perfection of Christians, and the conuersation of the fathers: yea verily, & the hardest part of all our life, is to louelove our enemies & to doe good to such as persecute vsus. But the fathers that liued vnderunder the law were bound to that as well as we. And therefore wee must not imagine that our Lord Iesus brought any new rule as the Papists auouch blasphemously against Gods lawe, saying that it was but an Apsie & an entrance: and that there is nowe a true holines and perfection, in the things which the Gospell sheweth vsus. But we see ye cleane cō trary, namely yt euen vnderunder the law God did expresly forbid men to auenge themselues: & againe on the otherside cōmanded them to doe good to their enemies, & to indeuor to ouercom euill by doing good, which is the perfection of ye gospel as S. Paul sheweth in ye twelfth to the Romanes. And it is the verie same thing that is cō teined in the Sermon which our lord Iesus made frō the fifth chapter of S. Matthew to ye seuenth. Also ye same thing is brought to our remēbrance by the thinges which Iesus Christ saith, in the similitude of the man that was wounded in his way by theeues, as he went from Iericho to Ierusalem. There he taunteth the Iewes, who came of the linage of Abraham, and ceased not to vaunt themselues of that holy pedigree. And yet he saith to them, I cānot tel what kinred or brotherhoode there is among you. For if a man bee falne behinde hande▪ and hauehave neede of helpe, I see not that ye succour him: ye acknowledge none other brotherhoode than that which is of the fleshe. And if yee see any gaine to be had by allying your selues with any man: he shalbe your brother and your great cousen. But if yee see no profite to bee had by him, farewell he, he is no more your kinseman. Hereby hee inferreth a similitude, how a Priest looking vponupon a poore mā that was wounded and sore hurt, and in daunger of death; passed by him and tooke no heede of him: and likewise a Leuite, and also a common Iew. Then came a Samaritane, (ye Samaritanes were hatefull to the Iewes, as they who indeede had nothing but apes toyes and meere superstition in their Church) & yet our Lord saith there that the Samaritane had pitie vponupon ye Iew which was so sore wounded, and succored him. Was not this man the Iewes neighbor? Ye cannot denie but that he was so. Hereupō Iesus Christ concludeth, that when the law speaketh of neighbors, it meaneth not those which are allied vntounto vsus, or which are of our owne bloud and kinred: neither meaneth it those neighbors onelyonly with whome we be conuersant and familiar: but generally all men, yea euen the furthest strangers vntounto vsus. Although we may say y• such a one belonges not to vsus, yet are we his neighbors as in respect of god. For our Lord could wel hauehave vsed another word: but hee intended of set purpose to touch vsus to ye quick in saying, Looke how many men are in the world, so many neighbors hauehave we. And wheras in this text ye word is a Brother, indeed it had respect to the linage of Abraham. But nowadaies wee hauehave all one father,1. Tim. 2.4. who is called vponupon in al languages and in all countries. He hath not chosen the race of any one man, nor shut vp his seruice within any one certaine countrie: For the partition wal is broken downe,… ….16. so as there is not now any difference of Iew and Gentile, accordingly as is told vsus that we bee all one body in our lord Iesus Christ, and y• seeing God is proclaimed by the Gospell to be our Sauiour & father, we must maintaine a brotherhood among vsus. And as touching the word Neighbour, the law hath vsed it of purpose to shew mē yt they may well shrink away one frō another, but yet they be all of one knowē kinde, according to this saying of the Prophet Esay,Esa. …8.7. Thou shalt not despise thine owne flesh. If I can say, This man is of a far countrie, there was neuer any acquaintāce betwixt vsus, one of vsus can not speake a word yt the other can vnderstande: what is all this to the purpose? Let me looke vppon him & beholde him throughly, & I shal find the same nature in him that is in my selfe: I shall see that God hath made him so like me, as if we were but one fleshe. And all mankind is of such shape and fashion, that wee hauehave good cause to louelove one another, and to know yt we ought to be all one. Although there bee some difference as touching this present life: yet ought we to consider that we spring al out of one roote, & therefore that we should tend all to one end, euen vntounto God who is the father of vsus all. And therefore it is not without cause that in steede of saying, thou shalt doe so to al men, our Lorde saith, thou shalt do so to thy neighbors. And albeit we fall to disputing of the matter, and would slippe our heades out of the coler, seeking to shift off y• matter by alledging that we bee straungers one to an other: yet can we not bring to passe that all men should not be our neighbors, because we are al of one selfe same nature, wherby God hath knit vsus & linked vsus all together. The thing then which we hauehave to mark in this part of the texte vponupon y• word Brother, is yt whereas God speaketh after that maner to the Iewes, because hee had adopted the linage of Abraham: it sheweth vsus nowadaies that we must al be as brothers, forasmuch as our Lord Iesus Christ hath proclaimed peace through the whole worlde, and God is at one agayne with all nations & all men. Seeing it is so, it behoueth vsus to maintaine the brotherhood which was procured by Christs bloudshed, & whereunto God calleth vsus. And although many spiteful persōs go about to violate it by their vnkindnes in shrinking away from the Church, and become our enemies, by guing vsus occasion to do them harme: yet notwithstanding let vsus striue against their naughtines, & labour to procure the saluation of their soules, and ye welfare of their bodies so far as we can. And whē we see yt we on our side are weak, & cānot frame our affections to ye obeying of God so wel as were to be wished▪ let vsus pray our good God to strēgthen vsus by his holy spirit, yt we may outstand all assaults y• are put vntounto vsus, so as we may hauehave ye vpper hand of them, when hee hath once rid vsus of our flesh.
Now let vsus kneele downe before the maiestie of our good God with acknowledgement of our sins, praying him to make vsus so to feele thē more & more, as yt being cast downe in our selues, wee may be lifted vp again by his hand, & yt being so lifted vp & vpheld by him, we may follow his example towards our neighbors, indeuoring to cō tinue in good peace & concord, & bearing with ye weaklings, so as we may al with one cōmon cō sent keep our way vntounto him, & attaine thither by his grace. That it may please him to graunt this grace, &c.