Remember Lots Wife, Title page – Dedication
¶ Remember Lots wife.
Two godly and fruitfull Sermons verie conuenient for this our time: lately preached on a Sunday in the Cathedral Church of S. Peters in Exceſter: the one, in the forenoone: the other, in the afternoone the ſame day.
By Iohn C.
Math. 24.
He that endureth to the end, the ſame ſhall be ſaued.
AT LONDON, Printed by Thomas Orwin, and are to be ſolde by Edward White at the litle North-doore of S. Paules, at the ſigne of the Gunne. 1588.
TO THE RIGHT VVorſhipfull and vertuous Matrone, Miſtris Mary Woolton, wife to the Right Reuerend Father in Chriſt, Iohn, Lord Biſhop of Exceſter, Grace, faith and felicitie in the Lord.
I Am not ignorant (Right worſhipful) that worldly wittes doe deſire to heare rather Eliphas, Iob. 2.Bildad and Zophar, the Themanite, the Suhite and the Naamathite, to paynt forth a bad matter eloquently: than patient Iob, to handle a very good cauſe with playnneſſe and ſimplicitie. To whoſe curious heads and itching eares, mine harriſh harmonie deuoyd of learned method, vtterance & grace, may ſeeme altogether vnpleaſant. Howbeit, I am not, for all that, all vnwilling (vponupon iuſt occaſions) now to publiſh that, which before I neuer ment to make publicke, otherwiſe then by worde only. For I perſwade my ſelfe of the goodneſſe of my cauſe, and aduenture to promiſe it, both profitable and godly. Beſides that, the candle once lightened is not for the Buſhell, but for the Table: the talent taken in hand, is not to be hidden, but to be employed. And the light that a Chriſtian man hath in him, muſt ſo ſhine on eueryevery part, as thereby the name of God may be glorified, and the godly edified. Neither ought a Chriſtian to bee aſhamed of Chriſt and of his word, ſeeme it vntounto worldlings neuer ſo contemptible. Finally, to commit that thing to perpetuitie, which is for the benefite of the brethren any way, is as commendable as it is profitable, and oftentimes commaunded to bee done in the word of God, as an eſpeciall helpe for mans minde, which (being as water that ſodainly loſeth any impreſsion) without ſuch memorandums, doth very quickly forget things memorable and moſt neceſſary. Therefore the Lord doth not only write his commandements in two tables of ſtone: but alſo commaundeth Moſes, and after him the Prophets, and laſtly his ſeruāt Iohn, to write the things which they had ſeene, and heard, being (as Dauid ſayth) profitable for the poſteritie, and (as Paule confirmeth) for our learning, that we which be the Lords, may therby be the ſooner furniſhed and prepared to eueryevery vertue. Theſe things conſidered, might ſufficiently hauehave perſwaded the penning of theſe two Sermons, touching that notable memorandum, which our Sauiour gaue to the Iewes, Remember Lots wife: yet calling to minde with what a diligent eare and attentiuenes your ſelfe liſtened to the matter vttered (by your owne confeſſion) with the good liking and ſemblable commendations, wherewith ye beautified the ſame at that time, (beſides ſome deſires of others, thereunto, eſteeming the argument and matter right requiſite for this time) it prouok…d me to reſume my pen with the more dexteritie & readines, to gather vp (as it were,) into a ſtore baſket the fragmēts of that ſpirituall banquet, which were ſcattered abroad, as iuſtly as I could, to bee and remayne to and for the vſe of them that had before taſted of the ſame: hoping that they which liked it before, will not loath it now: & nothing doubting by the grace of God, but that it will be to his glorie and the benefite of his Church, the only marke which I hauehave aymed vntounto. In reſpect whereof wee may not ſticke (if wee bee the Lords) to hazard all the credit that wee hauehave, yea and rather wiſh with Moſes and Paule, to be as Anathema among them of this world, then that we ſhould hold backe, or thruſt to obliuiō any thing that maie be to the aduauncement of the one, or profite of the other. Hauing therefore preſerued by pen, & noted theſe words in a Booke, I both commit and commend them to the Church of Chriſt, and among the true members of the ſame, eſpecially to your Worſhip, by whoſe often courteſies to me, I am moued to thankfulnes, and by whoſe happie choyce of good Mary her lot, I am ſtirred vp to gladneſſe: the token & ſignification whereof my good-will vttereth vntounto you in this my preſent, which (though ſo ſimple in ſhewe) is for the matter as pretious as pure gold tryed in the fire. Therefore I pray you to accept it gladly, to reade it at your conuenient leiſure, and repoſe the profite thereof in your breaſt, that therby ye may both be comforted your ſelf with Mary: and alſo may the rather (as otherwiſe ye are well able) (God be thanked) perſwade others, not only women, but alſo men, to follow Chriſt in faithfull zeale, godlineſſe and vertue, without wearines or fainting. The Lord God graunt, that the hearers and readers of this Booke, may not only thereby the ſooner tend to the right vſe of memorie therein taught them: but alſo learne to go foorth from Sodom, to proceed, and to hold on with iuſt Lot, towards the goale of euerlaſting life: & on the other ſide, with wiſdome to eſchew the horrible ſinnes and faults of Lots wife, by the conſideration of the fearefull iudgements of God on that vnhappie woman. And euen thus, I commend both my good Lord and your ſelfe to the Almightie Lord, who bleſſe, preſerue and keepe you vnderunder the wings of his mightie protection.
From London the 28. day of Iune. 1588. Your Worſhips to my power in Chriſt. Iohn Carpenter.
O Lord open thou my lippes, and my mouth ſhall ſhew foorth thy prayſe. Open the cares of thy people, that they may heare: and encline all our hearts to beleeue and followe thoſe things that be taught vsus in thy holie Word, through Ieſus Chriſt thy deere Sonne our Lord, Amen. Luke. 17. Verſe. 32.
Remember Lots Wife.
ALthough the Lord God be ſo holie, and glorious,Ezech. 1. that no man can behold him, and the verie Angels be vnable to ſuſteine the brightnes of his face: And on the other ſide, man is ſo vncleane, and ignominious,Ier. 17.19. Geneſ. 6. ſo ſtiffe-necked, and ſtubborne hearted, ſo wicked, and abhominable, that he is forced with the Publican to hang downe his head in great confuſion: with Daniel, Dani. 9.4. Pſal. 8.4. Hebr. 2.6.to graunt the due deſert of open ſhame: with Dauid, to admire that euer God would vouchſafe either to regard or remember man: and that all men from the higheſt of them to the loweſt, can not but confeſſe with bluſhing faces, that all men be not onelyonly conceiued and borne in ſinne, but alſo bred and brought vp in the ſame, being méere lyers, and lighter than vanitie.Pſal. 116. verſe. 11. Dan 9.11 Ezech. 18. verſe. 21. Pſal. 51.9. Yet becauſe that to the Lord belongeth merciemercy and forgiuenes, he turneth away his face from mans ſinnes, being euer mindfull of mercies. He foretelleth men of his iudgements prouoked, and giueth them timely warning to eſchewe the plagues deſerued, with a ſweete prouocation of ſinnes to fruitfull repentance, either by comfortable arguments of his bounties to his obedient children,Sap. 10. or by ſtrange and fearefull examples of his iudgements executed on the rebellious and vngodly ſinners. In like manner, our Lord Ieſus Chriſt, that true foreign, and friend to mankinde, imitating in this (as in all other things) his heauenly Father, who of his louelove to man, according to the purport and effect of the auntient promiſe made to Adam, and confirmed to Abraham, Dauid, and other godly Fathers in his mercy, ſent him into the world to bring all true beleeuers vntounto life euerlaſting, doth not only by perfitting the worke of mans ſaluation, which none could do but himſelfe, ſhewe great mercies vntounto his beloued: but alſo foreſheweth both to them, and all others, a moſt miſerable deſtruction imminent and ready to fall, firſt on the Iewes, and then, on all others, who after their ſtubbornes, faithleſſe ingratitude, and Apoſtaſie, do deſpiſe the goodnes of God: and he leaueth not vnwarned in the ſame all men, to take heed of thoſe future miſeries that horrible ſinners do purchaſe to themſelues, by producing this notable memorandum of the terrible iudgements of God euen on the wife of that righteous man Lot, ſhe going about to ſaue her life, loſt it, and looking backe in her heart to ſinfull Sodom, from whence, the Lord in mercy had drawne her with charge to proceede without retire,God foreſheweth his iudgements. ſhe periſhed from the right way betweene Sodom and Zoar, in that great wrath kindled againſt her.
We reade in Geneſis, that when all fleſh had corrupted his way on the earth,Gen. 6.23 and the Lord ſawe that the wickednes of man was great on the earth, and all the imaginations and thoughts of his heart were only euill, in ſo much that he repented him of mans creation, and was grieued in his mind: he would yet in merciemercy, though in the middeſt of wrath, both foreſhew the deſtruction following, vntounto his righteous ſeruant Noah whome he fauoured, and gaue him alſo commiſſion to diuulgate and publiſh the ſame to the world, whome, notwithſtanding this vnreaſonable ſorrow conceiued, he would in merciemercy ſpare for the ſpace of an hundred and twenty yeares. And moreouer, for a perpetuall inſtruction to the poſterities, the Lord (after that Noah had obteined reſt) made his Bowe in the Clowdes to be a token of the couenant thereon compacted, which alſo beareth manifeſt Arguments both of mercy and iudgement: to the comfort of the godly, for whoſe benefit the promiſe was giuen: to the confuſion of the wicked, for whome deſtruction waiteth. And there is the blew colour of water, to note for euer, wherewith the world was deſtroyed: and the red colour of fire, to ſhew wherewith it ſhall periſh,2. Peter. 3. according to the Propheſie of S. Peter.
Geneſ. 18.Afterward, when the ſinnes and abhominations of the filthy Sodomites had aſcended vp, and the loathſome cries of theſe execrable Sinners had pearced the Lords eares, he determined thereon a mightie Plague, which yet he threw not vponupon them, till time he had both warned them thereof, and deliuered from the ſame his Seruants Abraham and Lot.
In the Booke of the Iudges it is mentioned, that the Iſraelites oftentimes ſinned againſt the Lord, and incurred the plague of their tranſgreſſions: whereof likewiſe they were forewarned and admoniſhed to beware by Moſes, Ioſuah, Deut 28. verſe. 31. Ioſh. 24.and other the Seruants of God. And beſides that, ſuch deſtructions and miſeries as enſued intollerable ingratitude to their poſterities, were told of by the holie Prophets, and the perſons on whome the inconueniences fell had yet certaine ſignes and tokens left to be as continuall remembrances vntounto them.
The Prophet Samuel ſayd to King Saul, whiles he was yet King ouer Iſrael,1. Sam. 11 verſe. 23. and without feare of diſgrace: The Lord hath caſt thee off from being King ouer Iſrael. And this thing (ſayd he) was alſo ſignified by the renting of his garment.
And ſo the Prophet Ahia the Silonite, told Ieroboam, 1. Kin. 11. verſe. 31.that the Lord had rent the Kingdome of Iſrael into 12. parts, and this did he prognoſticate, by renting a newe Mantell into twelue péeces.
The Prophet Ieremy foreſhewing a deſtruction to come, proclaimeth thus in the Lords name:Iere. 35.5. Behold, I hauehave ſet pots of Wyne before the houſehold of the Rekabites, but they would not drinke, obeying therein their fathers commaundement, but as for you, ye hauehave not hearkened vntounto me, as they hearkened vntounto their father: therefore I will bring vponupon Iuda, and vponupon eueryevery inhabiter of Ieruſalem, all the trouble that I hauehave deuiſed againſt them. And this was certainly performed in his due time, when as the Iſraelites for their ſinnes were caried away captiue into Babylon, their Citie being deſtroyed, their Temple polluted, and all their glorie ſhadowed.1. Cor. 10. S. Paule hauing declared both the merciemercy and wrath of God: merciemercy, in bringing the auntient Iſraelites out of Egypt: wrath, in ouerthrowing the rebellious people in the wildernes, and turning (per apostrophen) to the Corinthians, to whome he committeth this example, warneth them thus: Wherefore, let him that thinketh he ſtandeth, take heede that he fall not. And thus did S. Peter, Iude, Iames and Iohn, admoniſh them to whome they wrote. Aboue all, our Sauiour Chriſt, willing to ſtirre vp not onelyonly the Iewes, but all men which reſt in careleſſe ſecuritie,Chriſt foreſhewed the deſtruction of the Iewes. and begin to bend backward, foreſéeing their ruine and miſerable thraldome, doth not only languiſh and powre foorth teares for the ſame, thereby mouing vsus (if poſſible,) to wéepe for our ſelues: but alſo propheſieth deſtructions, and many heauie lots to fall on men in the world. And to the ende they may the better be admoniſhed (ſéeing the conſideration of other mens hurts may moue them to take héede) he bringeth foorth the examples of the Niniuites, of Tyre and Sidon, of thoſe on whome the Towre in Silo fell, and of them whome Pilate ſlewe in the time of their Sacrifices, of them that were drowned in the generall Floud, and of the Sodomites. And therevnto he addeth ſemblable Parables: as of the Rich man, and poore Lazarus: of the vniuſt Steward, and the wicked Mammon: of the fiue fooliſh Virgins: of the diſobedient child: the wicked huſbandmen: the ingratefull gueſts, and ſuch like. Héere he ſetteth foorth vntounto them the fearefull iudgements of God on Lots Wife, willing them by her example to take heede of deſtruction, not to looke backe from the plough, but to hold on for feare of a greeuous and horrible deſtruction. Therefore ſayth he: Remember Lots Wife. A ſentence very briefe, yet a leſſon not for idle Scholers: fewe words, yet not for dull hearers: but as enough for a Sermon, ſo a meete memorandum for a man, during his life. The Oracles and graue ſayings of the wiſe men of yore, were very pithie, though briefe, as was that, foreign: Know thy ſelf: and that, Memento mori: Remember death. Many like ſentences wée hauehave in the diuine Scriptures. Iohn the Baptiſt preached, Repent, Repent. So counſailed Peter: Acts. 2.Repent, and be baptized. Salomons concluſion is,Eccleſ. 12. Feare God, and keep his commandements. So our Sauiour Chriſt in his preachings hath theſe ſentences, Watch and pray: Aske, ſeeke, giuegive, forgiue, iudge not, condemne not, hauehave faith in God: Remember Lots Wife, He that goeth to the plough, and looketh backward, is not meete for the kingdom of God. O ye Iewes, remember this, leaſt vnawares yee hauehave your lot with Lots Wife: Oh remember this, ye that forget God, leaſt he take you away, and there be none to reſcue. An excellent perſuaſion, to hauehave moued the Iewes to beware of their future miſeries, and a ſemblable inſtigation of all men to the due conſideration of the time of viſitation, and the things that belong to their peace. A leſſon both particular for eueryevery Chriſtian, and alſo generall for all perſons, people, kindreds and toongs whatſoeuer, to learne them faithfull perſeuerance: and the ſentence may well be diuided into two parts, namely:
1. The Action commaunded, which is,Two partes. Remember.
2. The matter or ſubiect, which is, Lots Wife.
By the former part, we be drawne to the right vſe of memorie. By the latter part, we be put in mind of two notable examples, the one, of Lot himſelfe, the other, of his Wife, in which two, there is found an excellent Antitheſis, both in life and lot. Héere is one example moſt comfortable, another example moſt fearefull, the one of merciemercy, the other of wrath: one profitable againſt deſpaire, another neceſſarie againſt preſumption: the conſideration of both which muſt ioyne in a true Chriſtian, to withſtand thoſe two fiery darts of Satan. The Lord God graunt, that we, beholding Gods mercies towards his choſen, may with faith and thankefull hearts, timely and fruitfully embrace the ſame: and ſéeing his terrible iudgements on the wicked world, now alſo threatned and readie to fall downe vponupon the people of this age for the like, may haſtely flye and eſchue them, by ſeruing the Lord in trembling and feare, for he is a conſuming fire.