Sermons on Deuteronomy, Sermons · Sermon 76
On Tewseday the xxiiij of September. 1555. The Lxxvi. Sermon, which is the third vponupon the eleuenth Chapter.
8 Therefore keepe all &c.
9 And that yee may prolong your daies in the lande which the Lorde sware to your fathers to giuegive to them and to their seede, euen a lande that floweth with milke and honnie.
10 For the land which thou goest vntounto to possesse it, is not as the lande of Egypt whence thou camest: where thou diddest sow thy seede and water it with thy feete as a garden of herbes:
11 But the Lande which thou goest vntounto to possesse, is a land wherin are hilles and plaines, and it drinketh raine water from the skie.
12 It is a land which the Lord thy God regardeth: the eyes of the Lorde thy God are continually vppon it, from the beginning of the yeere to the end of the yeere.
13 And if ye be diligent in obeying my commaundementes which I commaunde you this day, so as ye louelove the Lorde your God, and serue him with all your hart and with all your soule:
14 Then will I giuegive the foreraine and the afterraine in season vppon your lande, that thou mayest gather vp thy Corne, thy Wine, and thyne Oyle.
15 Also I will giuegive thee grasse vponupon the feeld for thy Cattell. So shalt thou eate and hauehave thy fill.
AFter that Moses hath warned the people to keepe Gods commaundements, now hee harteneth them by setting Gods promises before them, as if GOD should tell them, that his will was they should not serue him but for good wages. And in deede, God perceiuing how loth & slowe we be to follow him, allureth vsus to it, by promising vsus that wee shall not lose our labor in so doing. Not that he is bound to doe it, or that he intendeth to hauehave vsus as hirelings, or that we can deserue or earne any thing at his hand: wee must rid away all such imaginations. It is meete yt wee should yeeld obedience vntounto God, though no reward at al were behighted vsus. For we ought to louelove him for his owne sake, & not for any recompence that can be looked for. Againe on ye other side, our affection must be francke & free, and not lyke theirs that wil doe nothing, except their profite be alwayes before them. We must louelove God wt a free heart. Thirdly, we can deserue nothing at all by our doings: doe what we can, God is neuer yt more bound vntounto vsus for it. For we be his already, & what can we bring▪ which is not due to him already by nature? Yet is he contented to apply himselfe to our rawnesse, in saying yt if we serue him, there is a reward ready for vsus, so as we shall not neede to be afraid yt our Labor in honoring him shoulde be vnprofitable to vsus if we indeuour so to honor him. Now we see what a fondnesse it is for men to conclude, that because God promiseth rewarde to such as keepe his Lawe, therfore men can deserue at his hand: For that is not his meaning: but it is done for our infirmities sake because God seeth that wee hauehave nede to bee quickened vp. And therefore all the promises of the lawe are as strokes with ye spurre. Besides this, we must also come backe to the doctrine of S. Paul, which is, that whatsoeuer promise with condition God doe make vsus in his lawe,Gal. 3.… 12. it standes vsus in no stead. For wee on our side, in steade of performing the thinges yt God commaundeth vsus, doe goe cleane backe from them, and by that meanes are farre off frō all ye benefit yt is behighted vsus there.Rom. 7.… And whereas the Lawe sayth, hee that doth these thinges shall liue in them:… that booteth vsus nothing at all vntill God of his owne free goodnesse be at one with vsus againe. For then writeth he his lawe in our heartes,Rom. 7.22 23. and we learne to obey him: which thing we cannot doe by nature. And yet for all that,Phil. 3.1…. we doe it not then perfectly, but there is still some blemish in our doings, so as God might iustly reiect our workes, because they be altogether sinfull. Neuerthelesse hee taketh them in good woorth, and yeeldeth vsus reward, not as of duetie, but of his owne good will.
Therefore to come againe to the first matter, let vsus note yt God prouoketh vsus to the keping of his commaundements, by such meanes as he knoweth to be most conuenient for vsus.Ge… 15… Exod. ….…. Psal. ….… 144.15. Rom. ….… And that is the cause why he sayth, that if wee be wholy his, he also is ours: and yt if wee draw neere vntounto him he will drawe ny vntounto vsus: & will blesse vsus, & he wil not only prosper vsus in this transitorie lyfe: but we may wel hope for a far greater reward in ye kingdome of heauen. All these thinges are told vsus: and to what end? Not to puffe vsus vp with any vaine presumption, as though wee were able to deserue aught at Gods hand, but to incorage vsus the more to doe well, seeing that our God which might well exact the performance of all that is conteined in his Lawe, without allowing vsus any rewarde all, doth neuerthelesse voutsafe to binde himselfe freely of his owne accord. Marke that for the first point. For we see here, yt Gods promising of all these thinges to that people, was not for any obedience that they had yelded vntounto him; for the land had bin promised to their fathers, yea euen by othe, long before they were borne. And if a man speake of the time that was to come: we see that God had no respect of that, he looketh not that the people should behaue themselues so well as to receiue reward of him for it: but he sayth; I hauehave already promised you the land, yea I hauehave promised it you for your inheritance, to the intent ye should not thinke ye hauehave gotten it by your owne purchase. And for proofe thereof, I assured it vntounto you by free gift before you were begotten: but yet if yee intend to inioy it, take heede that yee giuegive your selues to me. Here yee see how God preuenteth all deseruing: he regardeth not what wee hauehave deserued, but whereas he seeth vsus to be wretched and destitute of all goodnesse, so as he findeth nothing but sinne in vsus, whereby we deserue to be reiected: yet neuerthelesse he of his owne infinite merciemercy bindeth himselfe vntounto vsus, & telleth vsus he will doe vsus good, as though we had serued him according to his law. Marke yt for one point.
And thereupon he ceaseth not to say, Do the thinges that I hauehave commaunded you, that ye may inioy the benefites that I hauehave promised you. The reason is, that he will not hauehave his goodnesse dalyed withall. If he be liberall, he will not hauehave men to abuse it as they commonly doe. When it is told vsus that all that euer we hauehave at Gods hand, is of his onelyonly free gift: wee beare our selues in hand, that we hauehave leaue to doe euill, and to li…e eueryevery man after his owne lyking, and that it is no matter what we doe. But God will not hauehave his gratious goodnes so disgrace. For his shewing of himselfe fauorable vntounto vsus, is to another end and purpose: namely to prouoke vsus to louelove him againe; and that because wee finde him so good a father, we should be lykeminded againe towardes him, & behaue our selues as his children. That is the thing which Moses telleth vsus here when hee sayth. Looke that yee obey your God, if ye minde to possesse the land which he promised to your fathers. For on the one side hee sheweth that the land of Chanaan was an heritage of free gift: and yet hee forbeareth not to tell them, that they must not dallie wt God in abusing yt liberalitie of his, but so much the rather both louelove him & feare him. And when they see that God hath powred out the great riches of his merciemercy so vponupon them; the same ought to inflame them to say, let vsus giuegive ouer our selues wholy to our God: Seeing that hee hath sought vsus out of such time as wee were gone from him, & preuented vsus wt his goodnesse, not respecting our vnworthinesse, but taking occasiō of himself to doe vsus good: let it kindle ye greater desire in vsus to submit out selues to his power and will.
And whereas Moses speaketh here but onelyonly of the land of Chanaan, & of the fruites that the people should gather there for their finding and sustenance: it is not for that God meant not to leade the faithfull any further than so at yt time: for it is certeine that they had the promise of life after the same maner as it is conteined at this day in the Gospell. And therefore it is horrible blasphemie against God, to say yt God held the people of olde time lyke swine in a stye, and that they had no more but a certeine figure of ye spirituall good thinges which are giuen vsus presently in these dayes, as that wretched caytife sayd which was punished here, who turned all thinges vpside downe, & was so bold as to belke out this heresie, yt the olde testamēt was nothing else but a figure: insomuch yt euen Abraham the father of all the faithfull, had but a fantasticall faith and knew not God aright. And for proofe therof (quoth he,) he worshipped Angels in stead of God, & had no knowledge of the euerlasting lyfe. Loe what cursed stuffe here was: for we know (saith S. Paul) yt the fathers of old time were the childrē of God,Gal. 4.1. & heires of ye kingdome of heauē as well as we. There is but this difference, yt they were lyke young children: but yet for all yt ▪ they failed not to possesse ye benefite, howbeit yt they were stil vnderunder tutors and gouernours, according to ye similitude that S. Paul alledgeth there. The auncient fathers had the law & the ceremonies & such other lyke thinges: but yet they wanted not the substance & trueth also. Now then, Gods setting forth of the land of Chanaā to the Iewes was not to the intent they should stand poring vponupon yt, lyke swine that stand musling with their groyns in their swiltrough: but vnderunder the earthly inheritance which he had promised to their fathers, he gaue them a taste of the heauenly heritage, accordingly as we see yt in their sacrificing, although they offered brute beastes: yet were they made partakers of the redēption that is purchased for vsus by our Lord Iesus Christ; and their offering of ye brute beastes in sacrifice, directed thē to ye redemption yt was wrought by the sonne of God,Hebr. 9.23.28. & 11.13.14. when he sheaded his holy bloud to washe away our spottes and sinnes. And after the same maner was it wt the land of Chanaan. For such was their slender capacitie, yt it behoued thē to be guided that way. The land of Chanaan then, was to thē not onelyonly a pledge but also an earnest penny of the heauenly lyfe & endlesse welfare which the fathers hoped for as well as we, inasmuch as they had the sme faith that we hauehave. So then let vsus marke well, that whereas here is mentiō made of the land of Chanaan, and of Gods mainteining of his people there in wealth: it serueth not to the end that the Iewes should looke for nothing els but earthly things: but to the end that by tasting of Gods goodnes in this trāsitorie life, they should vnderstād that he had prepared thē another heritage in heauē, which was more worth than al the world.
But our Lord vseth no such maner of dealing with vsus nowadayes.1. Tim. 4.8. True it is that (as faith Saint Paul vntounto Timothie) if we walke as becommeth vsus, we hauehave promises both of this present life, & of ye life to come. God telleth vsus yt he wil not only receiue vsus into ye euerlasting life, but also yt he wil neuer forsake vsus so lōg as we be in this world and in this earthly pilgrimage, but will stil hauehave a care of vsus to doe vsus good, and to succor vsus and prouide for vsus in all our needes: howbeit the heauenly lyfe is the chiefe thing, and that is the place whereunto our Lord draweth vsus, notwithstanding that he ad this present lyfe to it as an accessorie. And that is done because wee hauehave a greater light nowadayes, than our forefathers had vnderunder the Lawe.Iohn 1.51. For Iesus Christ is come downe from heauen, and hath opened the euerlasting kingdome vntounto vsus: & he is gone vp thither as in our person: for he is risen againe in ye nature of man which he took of vsus. Ye see then yt heauen is now opened: and therefore it is not to be wondered at though God speake in a larger language now, thā he did in the time of the law. For it behoued the people of those dayes to bee led as we see little children are: & (as saith Saint Paule) we be come to mans estate,Gal. 4.4. in comparisō of them. Yet notwithstanding we may gather hereupon, that God intending to incourage his people to serue him with the better will, telleth them yt he will shewe himselfe a father towardes them, euen in respect of this world, howbeit not in all pointes, but onelyonly so farre forth as may giuegive them some taste and feeling of his fatherly louelove, that they may lift vp the eyes of their faith yet higher, and vnderstand that God hath reserued the true blessednesse and perfection of glorie for them, till they be taken out of this worlde and out of this corruptible lyfe. Thus ye see in effect what we hauehave to gather vppon that text: Yea and it behoueth vsus to marke wel this saying, That thou maist be strengthened.
Hereby Moses declareth that God for his parte is faithfull, and that when hee hath once spoken the worde, we may well assure our selues of it. But forasmuch as we drag our legges after vsus, and although he allure vsus to him so gently, and draw towards vsus of his owne accord: yet are we lazie & slow in comming vntounto him: we hauehave need to be strengthened. That is the very end yt al ye promises of the lawe do tend vntounto. It is not meant that God should binde himselfe vntounto vsus as our detter: it is not for that he looketh whether wee hauehave deserued any thing at all or no: neither is it of purpose to bargaine or indent with vsus, as though he should take vp hackeneies among vsus to serue his turne withall, by constraint: but forasmuch as he sees wee be feeble, and hauehave not so resolute a minde as were requisite, but are intangled in this world, and held backe with a number of vanities, and wicked affections, and (to be short) are not so liuely as to yeelde our selues vntounto his obedience: his purpose is to strengthen vsus, and to help vsus. He seeth our default, and he remedieth it. Be strōg therefore. And how? Euen by considering thus with your selues: Go to, Our Lord might commaund vsus peremptorily at one word: for he hath full souereintie ouer vsus, and we be his by nature. And when we hauehave all of vsus streined our selues to the vttermost of our power, yet can wee not doe as we ought to doe. Yet notwithstāding, he will not be serued at our handes wtout recompence, but he saith yt if we doe but a peece of that which is due to him, he bindeth himselfe to vsus for it. Sith we see this, are we not too leawd if wee bee not touched to the quick, & amend not all slothfulnesse, to go forth vntounto God lustily without stopping for any worldly impedimēt or hinderance? That is ye strength which Moses speakes of here.
And he addeth hereunto, that it is not enough to be entred into the land: but wee must also abide and dwell there: for if wee hauehave once receiued the promise of saluation, and God hath blessed vsus & made vsus to prosper to ye worldward: we must not thereupon fall a sleepe, but wee must still folowe our cause. We know that this life is a way, and therefore wee must still goe on foreward.2. Cor. 5.6. And whither is it that God calleth vsus? Saith he to vsus, when ye hauehave gone on a little way, tary still intangled in the world? No: but we must trauel stil vpward to the heauenly lyfe. And that can not be done without forsaking the world continually more and more. Then let vsus marke well, how it is told vsus here, yt when God hath once put vsus in hope of saluation, so as he hath taken vsus into his Church and into his flocke, and begunne to doe vsus good: we must not fal asleepe vponupon it, but proceede on stil, assuring our selues yt al is to no purpose, vnlesse wee hold out to our liues end, without ceasing or failing in the middes of our way. This is it yt Moses meant, in saying yt when the people were once entered into ye lande, it behoued them to hauehave an eye to ye euerlasting inioying & possessing thereof which had bin promised them with the same. Hauing said so, he addeth that the land of Chanaā is not as the land of Egipt. And why? For your being in Egipt (saith he) was as it had bin in a garden. For men doe water their gardens, so as when they hauehave sowed or set their herbes, they wil hauehave water at hand to moysten thē wtal. After ye same maner was it with you in ye land of Egypt, which is watered partly by cunning, & partly by nature. For we must vnderstād, yt that land hath one propertie which all other landes hauehave not. We reade not yt any other coū trie of the world is vnmoystened with raine and showers frō aboue, saue only Egypt. For once a yeere ye riuer Nilus ouerfloweth his banckes, & according to ye growing therof, so doth it behight thē abundance of fruites. Insomuch yt if it ouerflowe not aboue fiue or sixe foote deep, it is a token of dearth, as who should say yt God threateneth famine to ye whole countrie. If it rise to twē tie foote or somewhat vpward, well, there will be some abundance. But if it increace to thirtie or fortie foote, then will there be much more: so as in Egypt they hauehave none other signe of a good yeere & a fruiteful haruest, than the ouerflowing of Nilus. Whereas all other riuers doe marre the landes where they ouerflowe: and although they be muddie, yet doe they much harme: This riuer, by his ouerflowing, causeth yt land to yeeld great abūdance. That is ye cause why it is said, yt at yt time ye Israelites had as it were eueryevery man his garden, & were faine to hauehave water to moistē thē wtall after ye maner of yt coūtrie, which is cut into many ditches & trēches to water the land wtall: & all this is according to ye ordinance which God hath set there. But here Moses telleth the Israelites, that it shall not be so with thē in the land of Chanaan. For why? There is small store of riuers in many of the countries, yea and in the most part of them. True it is that Iordan passeth through it, and there are certaine lakes also: but that is all, and yet one of them serues but to infect the land. For the lake where Sodom stood, did rather marre the countrie, than yeeld any commoditie. And therewithall wee see how the fathers had much adoe to digge pittes, and were in daunger to be vndone with drought: insomuch that they were driuen frō place to place for lacke of water. Ye see then that the land of Chanaan was not watered after the maner of Egypt, neither had it water at hand and at commandement as Egypt had. And therefore is it sayd vntounto them, See how God visiteth the land of Egypt but once a yere: and if the riuer flowe lustily ouer all the countrie, it is as good as if he had rayned neuer so much vponupon it, so as the Egyptians are sure of a good haruest, when the riuer hath increased after that fashion. But your God must be faine to send you raine and conuenient moysture from aboue, from the one end of the yeere to the other. When yee hauehave sowen your seede, ye must waite for raine from aboue, and thinke thus with your selues, Alas Lord, wilt not thou make the seede to increase which wee hauehave layd into the ground? Now must thou shew that thou regardest vsus, and that it is thy wil that our labour shal prosper. And when thou hast so giuē vsus raine, we must be faine to returne againe and looke vp still to heauen, that thou our God maist hauehave thine eyes cōtinually vponupon the land, to make it yeelde fruite. For it is not enough for you yt your God send you rayne once; but he must be faine to hold on still: for other way there is none to water ye land, except your God power out his blessing vppon you from heauen. Otherwise land must needes lye dry and vntilled. Thus doe we see how Moseses meaning is, to stirre vp the people to liue in awe and feare, and to prouoke them to call vppon God continually, and therewithall to submit themselues to his gouernment, and to consider how great need they hauehave of his help, so as they may say: Alas Lord, what will become of vsus if thou blesse vsus not?
Moreouer hee putteth them in minde also, to consider what a fatherly care God had of ye land of Chanaan, sith it was his pleasure to raine so vponupon it, not for once a yeere onelyonly, but yerely from the beginning of the yere to the ende of it. That is the effect of the thinges that Moses intended to say here. And thereby wee be done to vnderstand, that Gods bringing of vsus into distresse and necessitie, is to prouoke vsus to repaire vntounto him, and to looke vp to his goodnesse, so as wee should not onelyonly hauehave cause to giuegive him thankes for his benefites; but also bee driuen to call vponupon him by being held at the staues end, and thereupon dayly resorte vntounto him. After the same maner, wee see nowadayes how wee hauehave neede of faire weather; and that not for fower or fiue dayes in a yeere: but as oftē as seed is to be layde into the ground, or the lande is to be tilled; or else we see men coulde not put the plough into the ground, nor sowe their corne: if they should, it would rotte immediately, and neuer take roote in the earth. Againe the grapes would rotte vppon the vines and neuer ripen. Neuerthelesse, when corne is layde into the ground, it requireth rayne; and it is mard if there followe an vnmeasurable drought. Afterward in sōmertime when haruest commeth, the time must be fit for it, and likewise for dressing of vines and for mowing of grasse. To be short, all the yeere long God calleth vsus to him, by making vsus to hauehave neede of him. And although wee were not prouoked at all; yet the very wit and vnderstanding that he giueth vsus by nature, may cause vsus to see that hee calleth vsus dayly to come vntounto him, and to put our whole trust in his goodnesse. This is the thing in effect which we hauehave to remember vppon this text.
But the chiefe point is to put this lesson well in practise. And therefore whensoeuer we see that our God hath looked vppon vsus throughout all the yeere; let vsus vnderstand that his intent was to shewe the more familiarly, what a fatherly care he hath ouer vsus. For if wee had any riuer lyke to Nilus which watered the land in stead of rayne: wee would thinke thus with our selues; well, now hath God done pitying of vsus for this yeere: & it would not touch vsus so wel, as when we see yt God not onelyonly regardeth vsus in the springtime, but also holdeth on all the yeere lōg, so as there is not any one day of all the yere, wherein we may not behold Gods wonderful goodnesse, in making ye earth to yeeld fruite for our sustenance, by considering how he is faine one while to hold ye raine lockt vp, & another while to opē the windowes & watergates of heauen, that wee may hauehave moysture in due season: How hee is faine to send heate, and to asswage it againe: & to send cold and to abate it againe; how hee is faine to send faire weather & fowle, and to temper the one with the other: so as finally, we hauehave neede of all these diuersities, in their due times and seasons. And sith we see that God prouideth vsus of all these thinges; ought wee not to be the better assured that he hath a continuall regard of vsus and neuer forgetteth vsus, and that hee is a father to vsus all the yeere long? Lyke as a man yt is mindful of his houshold, riseth betimes a morninges to goe to his businesse; & when hee hath done one thing, looketh about if there bee any thing els to set in order; forecasting in his minde how to dispose the thinges yt are giuen him, so as the benefite thereof may redound to his whole houshold: euen so God behaueth himselfe as a housholder towardes vsus, so as hee ceaseth not to watch for our benefite both earely and late; not that he is faine to toyle after the maner of men: but that howsoeuer the case stand, hee maketh vsus to feele that he is more than a fosterfather to vsus, & we be too blind & beastly if we consider it not. Thus ye see how the practising of this lesson of Moseses, consisteth in giuing thāks to our God, according to the varietie of ye time & weather which we perceiue in ye yere. And whē he hath prouided vsus for the whole yeere; let vsus assure our selues that hee hath had pitie of vsus, and regarded vsus, and neuer turned his eye from our benefite, to the end that we might be furnished and prouided thereof. Furthermore, it is not enough for vsus to thanke God when we hauehave so felt his goodnesse: but lyke as Moses sayth here, that his eyes are alwayes vponupon the landes yt are full of hils & dales, where hollow groūdes are not at commaundement to cut trenches in, nor streames at hand to water ye fields as it were gardens: so when we thinke vponupon those thinges, we must beare in minde that God hath his eyes continually vponupon vsus, to ye end that we also should lift vp our eyes vntounto him, to call vponupon him and to resorte to him for succor all ye yeere long, & that when he hath giuen vsus a good season, we should pray for the continuance thereof thereafter, as we should hauehave neede of it, and it ought to prouoke vsus to doc ye lyke from day to day. But contrariwise, we see our owne negligence. For when thinges fall out according to our minde, wee doe as it were despise God. If we see there hath bin a good seede time, then go to, let vsus make good cheere: seeing the seede time was so good, we are lyke to hauehave as good a haruest. And doe we wonder yt God disappointeth vsus of our desire, because of such vnthankefulnesse? What a leawdnesse is yt? God hath his eyes vponupon vsus, & yet we shut our eyes at him, & kicke & spurne against him, & mocke at him: and thinke we yt he either ought or can beare wt such beastlynesse? Nay rather, seeing yt he sayth first, My children, I looke vponupon you & hauehave a care of you, to prouide sustenance for you: it would become vsus to be answerable vntounto him. Seeing yt our Lord beginneth after ye fashion, what ought we to doe? Ought we not at leastwise to say, well Lord, and we likewise will hauehave an eye vntounto thee? Nay, contrariwise, when we hauehave receiued benefites at his hand, we fall to kicking against him. He would take vsus into his protection, & we fall to flinging away from him. Againe, where is ye care yt we ought to hauehave to cal vponupon him? It would become vsus to consider thus with our selues, Our Lord holdeth vsus as it were at ye staues end, to ye intent we should stand in awe of him: now therefore, let vsus not giuegive our lustes the head: as if a father shoulde say to his children, sirs, looke ye yee apply your selues wel, the one of you at his booke and the other at his worke, & then shall ye hauehave your dinners, & else ye shall hauehave nothing. If a father hold his childrē at that point, so as they knowe not wether they shall hauehave meate & drinke or no, except it appeare that they hauehave done some good, surely it will moue thē though they hauehave no reason nor vnderstanding. Behold, our God could well giuegive vsus at once all that euer we need: or else he could in one day shewe vsus yt the yere should be prosperous, so as there should bee both a good haruest and a good vintage: but he wil not doe it. When wee hauehave passed ouer one day, we must beginne againe the next day to pray to him: & God hath ordeined that it should be so, because he sees wel yt it is more thā requisite for vsus to be held in awe. And therefore let vsus learne to profite our selues by this lesson: & whensoeuer we want raine, let vsus beware yt we be patient, in waiting quietly till God open ye clowdes. And on ye other side, when he voutsafeth to water ye earth; let vsus vnderstand yt he giueth vsus sustenance wt his owne hand, and let vsus call vponupon him dayly: & sith wee perceiue yt he watcheth for vsus; let vsus lykewise hauehave our eyes vponupon him againe. Thus ye see in effect what Moses meant to declare here.
Now he addeth thereunto; If ye keepe the commaundements which I set before you, so as ye louelove your God, & serue him with all your heart, in the land… which I will giuegive you. Here Moses putteth ye people in minde againe what ye true seruice of God is: namely yt we learne to obey him. This hath bin sufficiently layd forth alreadie: but yet is it not wtout cause yt the holy Ghost speaketh of it so often. For it standeth vsus in hand to hauehave such warnings set before vsus, as it were eueryevery minute of an howre. And for proofe thereof, how serue wee God, but by force & constreint? We hauehave no willingnesse nor desire at all to it. But our Lord telleth vsus yt he accepteth no seruice yt is done vntounto him, except it come from the heart, & that wee louelove him as our father,Psal. 13….….9. according as it is sayd in ye psalme yt we cannot feare God but because he sheweth himselfe mercifull vntounto vsus. For so long as we cōceiue nothing in God but rigor; we can doe nothing else but shun him, & shrinke away from him as farre as is possible: & although wee be constreined to looke vntounto him, yet shall hee drawe nothing yt is aughtworth frō vsus. Therfore ye first step to serue God wel & to louelove him, is to knowe his fauorablenesse, that we may rest vponupon it, & looke for merciemercy & fauor at his hand. For lyke as in ye sayd hundred & thirtie psalme: so also here, mention is made of obediēce after louelove, to shew vsus yt it is not enough to pretend ye seruice of God; but that we must so submit our selues to him, as we may say, Lord thou hast giuen vsus the grace to rule our lyfe aright; & therefore voutsafe to gouern vsus in such sort, as none of vsus may take leaue to doe what he list, but all of vsus may harkē simply to thy voyce, to submit our selues thereunto.
Now let vsus come to ye word yt Moses addeth; which is, I will giuegive. Here he speaketh in the person of God. He had sayd afore, looke yt yee obey the cōmandements which I set before you, & the Lord your God will blesse you. And now he sayth: I wil giuegive, as though he himself were god. It is not wtout cause yt he chaungeth the person after that fashion: for it serueth to giuegive the greater authoritie to his doctrine, & to make it to be the better receiued. For we be inclined to such contempt & skornefulnesse, yt when God speaketh vntounto vsus by men, we make no account of it, because his worde is preached vntounto vsus by mortall men. Behold, a man speaketh in the pulpit, & we bee not touched with his doctrine as were requisite. It ought to hauehave there a heauenly maiestie; and we be so dull and grosse, that we perceiue not how it is God that speaketh there. In this respect Moses saith here; I will giuegive thee: and yet for al ye, he was not able to giuegive them one drop of raine. And what is his giuing then? Verily hee sheweth that his speaking is not of himselfe, but of God, and therefore that wee must receiue it as if God had spoken it with his owne mouth, and had shewed himselfe in visible shape, and vttered his glorie to the eye. Let vsus marke well then that in this text we be done to vnderstand, that when we come to the hearing of a sermon or to the reading of the holy scripture, wee must not bring deafe eares with vsus to bee no whit moued at the wordes, nor to bee quickened vp by the commaundementes and exhortations that are giuen vsus there: but wee must yeelde our selues vntounto our God, assuring our selues that although he serue his turne by men as his instrumentes, yet is it hee himselfe that sendeth the message and authoriseth the word, according to this saying of our Lord Iesus Christ:L…ke. 10.16. Hee that heareth you heareth me, and he that receiueth you receiueth mee. And whosoeuer reiecteth you, reiecteth mee also, and lykewise my father that sent me. Ye see then how it is an open rebelling against God, when wee disdayne to heare his word that is preached vntounto vsus by men, and to heare it with as much humilitie as if he himselfe came downe vntounto vsus, or as if he sent it vsus by the Angels of heauen. That is the matter which Moses meant to shewe here.
Now in the end he sayth, that they shall hauehave their fill, and be well maintained, when they shall hauehave kept Gods commaundements after that fashion. Wee hauehave two points to marke in this text for a conclusion. The first is, that our Lord telleth his people, that hee wil not barely giuegive them whatsoeuer is needefull for them: but also giuegive them their fil of his benefits, so as they shal be throughly satisfyed with them. That is for the one. The second is a comming backe to that which hath bin touched alreadie: namely, that although God speake but of temporall goods, such as concerne but this transitorie lyfe; yet hee leadeth them further thereby. First, therefore let vsus vnderstand, that God not onelyonly giueth and bestoweth vppon vsus, such thinges as hee knoweth to be needefull for vsus; but also in largeth and extendeth his riches yet further, by vsing a kinde of ouermeasure. And in very deede wee see it to be so. For as in respect of naturall necessitie, what needed wee more than bread and water? But God addeth wine to cōfort and glad mans heart,… 104.15. as is sayd in the psalme. Againe wee see he voutsafeth to pleasure vsus after all sortes, by sending vsus so many thinges as are in the worlde to delight vsus withall, which are all witnesses of his liberalitie towardes vsus, in that he not onelyonly prouideth vsus of all the thinges which we coulde not forbeare; but also addeth as an ouerplus, a great number of good thinges that serue for our pleasure: Whereby wee ought to bee the more prouoked to louelove him, and they ought to bee as winges to vsus, wherewith to fly vntounto him. But contrariwise, if God giuegive vsus store, wee cannot forbeare to pamper our selues lyke brute beasts, insomuch that wee be wedded to this world. I speake not only of drunkards and Gluttons that cram themselues till they be without wit & reason: but also of all such as are in louelove with their delicates and delightes, so as if they hauehave abundance more than ordinarie, they cannot holde themselues within any measure, but thereupon doe fall asleepe, and in stead of being prouoked to resort vntounto God, doe runne away from him, or rather lye weltring and bathing of thēselues in their pleasures, and forget themselues I wote not how. Wherefore let vsus marke wel, that whē God giueth vsus abundance, it is not to minister occasion of disorder, but to make vsus the more in louelove with him, forasmuch as he handleth vsus not as seruantes or hirelinges, but as his owne children, from whom he withholdeth nothing. Now then, sith we see this; let vsus learne to fare ye better by it. Thus much concerning ye word Fill. But yet let vsus marke, yt although God giuegive vsus not our fill; yet faileth he not to shewe his freegoodnesse in so dooing, insomuch that there was neuer yet so great a famin, but that our Lord hath alwayes shewed himselfe a father, yea and more than a father towardes men: but ill is that considered of vsus. And that is a cause also why hee bestoweth not so much as were requisite. Because Gods benefites hauehave so ill intertainment at our handes, he also is faine to shut his blessings from vsus, and to lette vsus alone in want and penurie. Thus much concerning the first poynt.
And touching the second, let vsus marke that when God feedeth and maintaineth vsus in this world euen to our owne contentation; the same must be a prouocation to vsus to consider by faith, the infinite riches that are reserued for vsus aboue in heauen. It is sayd in the psalme,Psal. 16.11. I shal hauehave my fill of the abundance of thy goodnesse. And in an other place it is saide, Lorde howe greate is the abundance of thy goodnes,Psal. 17.15. which thou hast layd vp for them that louelove thee? True it is that God maketh vsus to feele the abundance of his goodnesse, partly euen in this world: but yet shall we neuer hauehave our fill of it, (as is said in the sixteenth psalme) vntill our Lord hauehave taken vsus vp to himself, & rid vsus quite out of this world. And so let vsus marke, that the full measure of the good things that are promised vsus, & which we looke to inioy, is not to be found here beneath, it is enough that we see some part of them. Yea and although our Lord bestow but as much vppon vsus as he seeth requisite for our infirmitie: Let vsus alwayes be led vp higher therby, so as it may make vsus to consider, yt when the time commeth wherein God wil shewe himselfe vntounto vsus face to face, then shall we be linked much neerer to him, than we be now: and (to be short,) that whē we be gathered vp into his heauenly kingdome, then we shall hauehave our fill of all thinges. Ye see then that we must so passe through this world, as we must not take our fill, contentation, and rest in the thinges that are here, but bee drawen euer higher and higher to the spirituall good thinges: and that if we linger in penurie heere beneath, we must consider that by that meane God prouoketh vsus to come vntounto him, vntill wee bee perfectly vnited vntounto him, as the vnion shalbe at the last day.
Now let vsus kneele downe in the presence of our good GOD with acknowledgement of our faultes, praying him to make vsus feele thē better than we hauehave done, so as it may cause vsus to hū ble our selues continually, and to mislyke of our selues, and to aske him forgiuenesse of the great number of sinnes and iniquities which we hauehave committed; and that in the meane while it may please him to beare with vsus in our weakenesse, vntill he hauehave clothed vsus againe with his owne righteousnesse, and also taken vsus vp into his endlesse glorie. That it may please him to graunt this grace, not onelyonly to vsus but also to all, &c.