Part 6
lusts to violate his righteousness, and to break the order which he
has established among us: and when he sees our lusts to be so
inordinate which are thieves and robbers: he arms his people and
substitutes which be the diseases that are here spoken of, and other
sorts. Let us therefore learn, that whatever diseases we suffer in our
bodies, the same be all messages of GOD to make us to feel his wrath,
because we have offended him: but especially the extraordinary
diseases, as when GOD sends upon us the sicknesses that are not
usual amongst men, for the curing whereof they can hardly find any
mean, or else it is altogether impossible to do it, by reason of the
strangeness of the things: then means GOD to make us to feel his
anger toward us double, and to show us that we have provoked him
too too much. But we think very slenderly of this. For contrariwise
concerning the common diseases, the ordinary having of them makes
us to think that they proceed not from God. They say: there is a man
that has a fever: and there is another that has the murre & the pox, or
some such other disease. Well, these be things wherein we be
hardened. As how? By custom. And must God in the meanwhile lose
the possession of his right? If he does still show himself a Judge
towards us, in chastising us: is that a reason why we should forget
him, and have no regard of his hand? But however the case stands,
such is our blockishness. I would God that the examples thereof were
not so notorious as they be. But let every one look to himself, and see
if the customableness of sicknesses cause us not to turn our back
upon God, & to have the less regard of his judgments and of our own
sins, so as none of us finds any fault with himself. Thus much
touching the common and usual sicknesses. And as for the
extraordinary diseases, we see how men are hardened by them also. I
pray you have we not seen that God within these fifty years has
brought up new diseases, against whoredom? Whence comes the
pocks and all these other filthy diseases, which are not to be
reckoned up at this time? Whence come all these things but from
GOD, who utters such vengeance as erst was never known? The
world wondered at it, and for a time, men were greatly afraid of it:
but yet of all this while they have had no consideration of the hand of
God. And at this day it is become so ordinary a matter, that the
despisers of GOD, I mean the lecherous sort and the whore hunters,
which give over themselves to all lewdness, do but wring their groins
at it. Though GOD smite them with that kind of leprosy (for it is a
kind of leprosy in very deed) so as they be eaten with the fretting
thereof and with other filthiness; yet they cease not to follow their
trade still and to mock at it: and truly it seems a very strange case,
that such a punishment of GOD should be so turned to a scoff. What
a jesting make they nowadays of their bawdry when they be thus
punished at the hand of God? How comes it to pass, that they
themselves do make a jesting and scoffing at it, as it were in spite of
God, and that whereas he calls them to humble themselves in
sackcloth and ashes, they do but blurt out their tongues at him, and
are so far from being ashamed of their doings, that even as it were in
spite, they make a sport of their own filthiness and miseries. We see
then how froward men be, seeing that they can profit no better in
God's school. I mean not in the school of his doctrine, where he
speaks unto them, but when he smites with heavy strokes, and also
raises up wars and troubles, which ought to make men besides
themselves for fear: but yet in the meanwhile this is not written in
vain. Let us therefore be better advised: and when GOD sends us any
strange diseases; let us understand that our sins be multiplied and
that GOD must therefore be more moved than ever he was.
Wherefore let the same bring us to repentance, and let us not double
our iniquities: for in the end, we shall find the thing by experience,
which we saw even now; namely, that when the evil shall stick to us,
yea even in our marrow and in our bones, until we be utterly
consumed. Besides this God has other manner of means to punish
us, and when he perceives that the usual means prevail not, then has
he other rods laid up in his storehouses; as it is said in the Canticle.
Yea and we shall see what it is to walk at all adventures against him:
namely that in the end he will overtake those folk overthwartly with a
crooked measure, which play the ignorant fools after that fashion,
and do nothing but scoff and shake their ears, when he has punished
them one way or other. Let us not tarry therefore till GOD use such
extremity towards us: but being warned beforehand by that which is
mentioned here, let us look to it, and consider that look how many
sorts of diseases he sends us, so many witnesses he sends to prove
that we have sinned against him: that we might think thereon and
turn to him again with all lowliness.
I said erewhile, that the very uttermost of all, is this which Moses
adds in the end: to wit, That GOD will smite us with astonishment,
and that we shall be blind groping at full midday, as the blind in the
dark, and that our heart shall be amazed. Hitherto we have seen that
God shows a singular favor towards men, in afflicting them in their
bodies, when they have their minds still in quiet, that they may be
patient. For they feel their sins and bewail them, and they cease not
to call upon him that chastises them. And in very deed it is
sometimes seen, that the grace of GOD is much more manifested
towards such people, than if they had no such great afflictions. As for
example: If GOD spares a man, and he serve God: we see that God
blesses him. When we see a sound and holy life in one, we will say,
here is a man that serves GOD, and God also shows himself gracious
towards him. Again we see another that is visited with great diseases,
every man has pity and compassion on him; he pines continually,
and has vehement pains, he is vexed with diverse maladies, and the
very remedies that are given him are so grievous that nothing can be
more: yet notwithstanding this man ceases not to hold himself in
quiet, confessing his sins and craving pardon of GOD: we see such a
patience as moves us to glorify God; and the party continues still in
prayers and supplications. When a man is thus mortified, and GOD
holds his heart still in awe, so as the party continues in obedience
under his hand; then perceive we a great grace of GOD in the midst
of those chastisements. But when we be without reason in our
sickness, and play the mad bedlams, and stand chewing upon the
bridle and wot not which way to turn us; and of all the while never
make any countenance of fleeing unto God for relief, it is even the
full measure of all misery.
Therefore it is not without cause, that Moses having spoken of the
sicknesses and griefs that GOD sends upon men's bodies, and
likewise of extraordinary chastisements, which constrain men in
spite of their beards, to feel their sins, adds here; God will strike thee
with blindness, yea and he will so strike thee, that thy wits shall be
amazed: thou shalt grope at noondays as in the dark: thou shalt have
no more sense or feeling in thy heart: but thou shalt be altogether
blockish. And here we be warned again, that the chastisements which
happen to us in our minds should be more dreadful unto us, than all
that we can suffer in our bodies. It is true that our nature draws us
clean contrary; for we be so tender and nice in our bodies, that as
soon as we feel any grief, by and by we cry out, and lose our patience;
and therein we see a part of our brutishness. For if we had any drop
of stayed understanding, we would a hundred times be more afraid
of the chastisements that God threatens to our souls, than of all that
ever we can endure in our bodies. In what case is a man, when he is
forsaken of GOD, so as he seeks him not any more, but endeavors by
all means to hide himself from his presence? Surely when we come to
that point, if we could pluck God out of his seat, we would gladly do
it. He that seeks such hiding-holes to convey himself from coming
unto God; does what he can to rob him of his majesty, and he is loath
to come to present himself before such a Judge.
And truly, although a man have no further harm than this
blockishness, so as he feels not his own misery; is it not a token that
God has already given him over to a reprobate mind? Yes: for there is
not a more evident sign of reprobation, than to be without remorse
or scruple of conscience. Moreover, when a man is frightened and
out of his right wits, in such wise as he knows not which way to turn
him, and has no more taste or feeling of God, nor can any skill to
lament for his sins, or to ask forgiveness of them, and to repent of
them: but gnashes his teeth, and bites the bridle like a Mule: is not
that a dreadful thing? When we behold such glass, our hairs stand
upright, and even nature forces us to it. And yet for all that, if we
think not upon it, that we may stand in awe, and walk in fear and
humility, is it not a tempting of God? Let us learn therefore not to
harden ourselves in such wise as God should be forced to fall to this
rigor, wherewith he does here threaten his people: namely, that he
will make them grope as the blind in the dark, and that they shall
have neither understanding in them nor discretion: that he will make
them to fall in such a fear, as they shall not know whether they be
living creatures or not: nor perceive whether there be a God that will
receive them to mercy, and whether they shall prevail in calling upon
his name, or not. Let us not tarry till such evil does come upon us.
For it is a deep pit, out of which very few can get forth. Indeed God
will sometimes bring his people to that point that they shall not know
where they be, and they shall be so greatly afraid and so troubled
therewith, that they shall become dull and blockish: this is well seen.
But he lifts them up again after that he has brought them low.
However, for as much as this example is very rare, let us not tempt
our God; but when he afflicts us in our bodies, let us understand that
he spares us greatly, and that he mitigates the rigor of his wrath, and
let us be no more so impatient as we have been wonted to be. Albeit
that the grief be hard and bitter to us, yet let us confess: alas: but yet
God has not touched me in my soul. Let this come always in our
remembrance, to the end that we, acknowledging the goodness of
our God in that he forbears us, may return unto him; and not doubt,
but that he is ready to take pity upon us, when we seek unto him
unfeignedly. Let that serve for one point which we have to remember
in this lesson, where mention is made of the said blockishness.
Now Moses says expressly, that the transgressors of God's law, shall
grope at noonday. As if he should say: notwithstanding that God give
them many occasions to rejoice, yet shall they be frightened in such
sort, as they shall not take hold of any grace, but be as blind
wretches. Seeing it is so, let us mark farther that although God does
mitigate our griefs, and comforts us; yet does that serve us to no
purpose, if he give us not the wisdom to understand his goodness.
And we must understand, that we are not able to enjoy the good that
God offers unto us, when we be destitute of his holy Spirit. And this
is one execution of that threatening that is here mentioned. True it is
that we should always return to this point, that our Lord desires not
the utter confusion of sinners: but that for so much as such miseries
do happen oftentimes, we should not tarry till they light upon our
heads; but rather seek the remedy, to the end that God have not
occasion to withdraw himself from us. However the case stands, let
us first of all mark, that God directs this doctrine to such as have
been trained in his word, as we have already said. It is certain that he
is Judge of the world: yet notwithstanding we well deserve to be
chastised, after a more boisterous fashion, when we have been taught
at his mouth, and have rejected his will, and be so far forth corrupted
that we make but a jest of his word: and that whereas he sought to
retain us as his people; we have despised him. It is very meet
therefore that we should be grievously punished, and therefore let us
think, that seeing God does us the favor to let us have the pure
doctrine of the holy scripture, the same serves to bereave us of all
excuses, and also to quicken us up to walk so much the more in fear.
But herewithal let us mark farther, that God does not only use
threatenings towards us, but also daily exhort and allure us unto
him, to reconcile us to him: showing that for his part, he is ready to
come to atonement, so we condemn our sins, and return to his
mercy. What else is the Gospel, that we hear every day, but a
message of reconciliation, as Saint Paul calls it in the second to the
Corinthians?* Seeing then that God sends us a herald to declare
peace unto us, and to show that he is ready to do away all our
offenses, let us take heed, that we use this time of our salvation, to
receive the grace that is offered unto us in due season, as the Prophet
Isaiah tells us, and as Saint Paul says,* using the same testimony.
Again when we have been overmuch hardened, and that God has
patiently waited for us, and we still continue in our sins: let us not
think that he in the end has either given over or forgotten his office.
We must needs yield an account of such unthankfulness. When we
forsake the salvation whereunto he called us, and despise him out of
measure: such willful stubbornness must of necessity come to
reckoning. Then let us stand in fear: and as often as we hear speaking
of the grace of God which is offered unto us in our Lord Jesus Christ,
let our hearts be inclined to receive it: and let us give way unto God
to come in. And when we go unto him, let it be done with bewailing
our sins, and with yielding ourselves guilty, not only in word of
mouth, but also with such grief of heart, as may prove that the evil
displeases us. And when we thus dislike of ourselves, let us not abide
till our Lord put in execution the threatenings that he sets forth here,
but let us turn them to our commodity. And when we hear the
promises of the Gospel, let us remember the threatenings also: that
we may be so much the more provoked, and every man make haste to
receive the good which is offered unto us to enjoy and to possess,
unless the fault be in ourselves.
Now let us cast down ourselves before the majesty of our good God,
with acknowledgment of our sins: beseeching him to make us to feel
them yet better, until we be utterly beaten down in ourselves, and
seek for the remedy whereunto he calls us: namely, that being guided
by his holy spirit, we may increase and profit more and more in all
holiness and righteousness, and that we may endeavor so to glorify
him in all our whole life; as in the end we may attain to that same
everlasting glory, unto which he calls us: And so let us all say:
Almighty God heavenly father, etc.
On Monday the 23rd of March, 1556.
The 158th Sermon,
which is the sixth upon the twenty-eighth Chapter.
29 And thou shalt always suffer injury and oppression, and no
man shall deliver thee.
30 Thou shalt marry a wife, and another man shall lie with her:
thou shalt build a house, but thou shalt not dwell in it: thou
shalt plant a vine, but thou shalt not gather the fruit thereof.
31 Thine ox shall be killed before thine eyes, but thou shalt not
eat of it: thine ass shall be taken away before thy face, and it
shall not be restored unto thee: thy sheep shall be delivered to
thine enemies, and there shall be nobody to save them.
32 Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given to another people,
thine eyes shall see it, and dazzle at it all the day long, and thy
hand shall have no strength.
33 And a people which thou hast not known, shall eat the fruit of
thy land, and all thy labor: and thou shalt do nothing but suffer
revilings and oppressions always.
34 And thou shalt be amazed at the sight of those things which
thine eyes shall behold.
35 The Lord will smite thee with a sore swelling in the knees,
and in the legs, of which thou shalt not be healed from the sole
of thy foot to the crown of thy head.
WE ought well to remember the meaning of Moses, whereof we have
spoken heretofore; namely, wherefore he continues in uttering so
many curses. For we are slow to be moved: when our Lord does
threaten us, we make a game of it: and albeit we confess that we
should think thereon, yet it escapes us. And furthermore, we suppose
that we shall always find starting holes, and that if God does follow
us one way, we by flying another way shall be able to avoid his blows.
Thus do men deceive themselves, and thereupon wax hardhearted.
Now Moses (or rather the spirit of God speaking by his mouth)
perceiving that men be so careless, and that they shrink not at the
first, when the judgment of God is set before them, continues his
matter still and adds threatenings upon threatenings. Again, on the
other side, perceiving also that men seek starting holes, and thereby
deceive themselves, bearing themselves in hand, that they can save
themselves by flinging over the Fence (as they say:) he shows that
God has infinite means to punish us with all, both above and
beneath, before and behind, on the right hand and the left, and that
we shall be so hemmed in on all sides, that it shall not be possible for
us to escape his hand.
Now after the threatenings, which we have seen here before, he
presently adds that they who so resist God shall be afflicted and
tormented, so as men shall spoil them, and they shall be laid open to
all violence forever, and no man shall deliver them. We see here that
God serves his own turn by the wicked, and that although their intent
be nothing so, yet does he apply them to a good use, when he listeth
to punish us. Whereas there be thieves and robbers, albeit that they
be given over to Satan, yet fail they not to serve God's purpose; yea
truly, for we see in this text that our Lord leaves them not at random,
to rob and to spoil, whether he will or no: but he threatens his
people, saying, They that disobey me, shall be vexed and robbed. And
whence proceeds that? It must needs come from him.
Now albeit that God suffers oppressions, robberies, and violence to
be done, he can very well condemn them, according as he is
righteous, and must needs hate Injustice: yet notwithstanding, by his
wonderful wisdom which to us is incomprehensible, he turns those
things to his own service: so that when we have offended him, he
must needs punish us by the hand of the most wicked: which is the
more to our reproach. For if he himself should have punished us, and
we saw before our eyes, that he revenges himself of our iniquities,
well would we say, seeing that we have offended him, it is good
reason that we should come to account for it. But when he stirs up
lewd folk, and despisers of his majesty, and such as are given to all
naughtiness, and makes them our Judges: it is to make us so much
the more ashamed. Let us therefore consider, that whencesoever the
evil comes, we have evermore to deal with GOD: and we must think
that there is nothing done in this world but by his direction. And
thereupon let us enter into the examination of our faults. For it is not
enough to know that God rules all things: but every one of us must
also make his own indictment, and consider that all afflictions and
adversities are tokens of God's wrath. Now when we speak of his
wrath, we must in like wise remember his justice; and thereupon
conclude that we very well deserve to be punished. But yet he
threatens us before he strikes, to the end that we should not stand
gaping till the things were come to pass; but rather prevent them
beforehand, as Saint Paul also does admonish us. Whilst God spares
us, let us be advised, so to walk in his fear, that we provoke him not
to stir up thieves to torment and vex us: but that rather (if men
attempt such injuries against us) we may stand in his protection,
according as he promises to uphold all them that walk in his
obedience. Then let us see that we do so; and let us remember that
which is spoken by the Prophet Isaiah, to wit, that they which have
robbed, must be served with the same sauce. And that is the cause
why violences and extortions do so continue in the world.
Men wonder to see that the mischief grows worse and worse: but
they should note the cause thereof. For they that bear chief sway and
preeminence, do let themselves loose, seeking nothing but to enrich
themselves, and to swallow up other men's substance. But have they
robbed? God must send a revolution, so as other robbers shall come
and bereave these of their booties: and afterward, a third sort must
step up to spoil them again. And so there is never any end. And why?
Because the world never ceases to provoke the wrath of God. And for
so much as we be headstrong, it is reason, that our Lord should
continue to show himself our Judge. But (as I said even now) let us
be well aware to walk in such wise, as innocent blood cries not out
for vengeance against us. Let us not do injury or outrage to any
person, that our Lord may bless us for so doing, and not pay us with
like measure, according as we see how our Lord Jesus Christ says,
that it shall come so to pass. Let every of us therefore bridle himself
in such wise, as this curse come not upon us, to be robbed for using
of robbery and extortion against the innocents. But for as much as
men imagine that their adversity shall be short, and that they shall be
soon rid of it: Moses adds, That it shall be forever, and that when the
hand of God is against us, no man shall be able to save us.
It is certain, that like as God is slow to anger, so is he soon pacified;
but that is but towards the faithful. As for the wicked, he must hold
on with them, and they must feel their burden every day heavier than
other. And wherefore? According as they harden their hearts against
God, they must in like wise feel him the harder against them. And
albeit that this is not always, yet do we see it often come to pass, God
will at some times withdraw his hand after he has menaced the
wicked; or else when he has given them some stripes with his rod, he
will let them go again: and that is, as it were a respite, that they may
have leisure to turn to repentance. Notwithstanding, because he
knows them to be unreformable: that dealing of his must of necessity
be turned to their sorer condemnation. If GOD then do spare the
despisers of his law, and them that be obstinate in malice, it does not
therefore follow, that they shall be saved: but it is to the end that the
plague shall come double upon their heads, for their abusing of his
patience after that manner. For when he has waited for them, and
they proceed still from evil to worse: he must needs put to his hand
at the last. Howsoever the case stands, it is not in vain that Moses
tells us here, that when GOD is our enemy, our life shall not be
miserable only for a day, or yet for a little while; we must not limit
ourselves any term in that case: but we must look for one mischief to
draw another, and that there shall be none end, until he has laid us
quite under foot, unless we turn to him to obtain mercy. Wherefore
let us weigh well this word which Moses adds, where he says, that if
GOD do begin to smite us for despising of his justice: it shall not
continue for a little while, but we must be miserable forever. And
why? For in as much as the majesty of God is everlasting, he must
needs take endless vengeance of them that despise his justice.
Therefore so soon as we see the blows come near us, let us be afraid,
and let every of us make haste to return unto him, whom we have
offended, to wit, our GOD, to obtain forgiveness of our trespasses.
That is the only remedy, without which there will be neither end nor
measure of our afflictions, except we take order to reconcile
ourselves to our God.
Now where he alleges that none shall save them: That is to cut off all
the vain hopes which men do forge to themselves in their own brains,
when he punishes them. They look hither and thither, and if they
find any comfort in this world, it seems to them that they shall make
a stoppage against God, and that they shall be able to win the goal in
the end. Indeed they will not say so; for it is a blasphemy which all of
us do hold accursed; but yet we be so doltish, that we hope to turn
away the hand of GOD when we find any help here: in so much that if
men bear us any favor, and we be supported in any thing, we arm
ourselves therewith against God. But Moses tells us here, that it is in
vain for men to seek diverse succors after that fashion, when GOD
wars upon them. For why? All creatures are in his hand, and without
him they can do nothing. Moreover, that which is for our benefit,
shall become our bane, and all things shall redound to our confusion.
Let us not therefore look to be saved by any means that may be,
when our Lord takes part against us: but let us return unto him,
seeing that there is none other remedy but that, and let us rid
ourselves of all such things as may hinder us to come to repentance.
Let us then be quickened up by these two sayings of Moses, that we
sleep no more in our vain fantasies, as we have been erst too much
accustomed. But what? There are very few which think upon that.
For every man martyrs himself, if his grief continue, and he find no
help in men. In all our afflictions, we can complain well enough: but
we consider not that GOD withholds men's help from us, when he
intends to punish us, in such wise that we shall (after a sort) be
utterly overwhelmed. And again, if our sorrow continue; it is,
because we have persisted too much in our stubbornness. We think
not a whit of all this. But yet are not these things written in vain. And
therefore let us learn to profit better thereby, than we have done in
times past.
Finally, Moses sets forth by this threatening, how we shall be vexed
and robbed, if we offend against the law of God. He says: Thou shalt
marry a wife and not lie with her: Thou shalt build a house, and not
dwell therein: Thou shalt plant a vineyard, and not gather the fruit
thereof. Yea, they shall take thy Beef, and thy Muttons and kill them,
and thou shalt continue still a hungered: and not only all thy cattle
shall be made a prey and a booty: but thy very children also shall be
delivered into the hands of thine enemies, and thou shalt yearn after
them, and thine eyes shall dazzle for very grief and sorrow, & in the
meanwhile, thy hand shall be without strength or power to recover
them. It had been enough to have said in one word, Thou shalt suffer
robberies, extortions, and wrongs: but because men are slow, it
behooves them to be so much the better touched, and to behold the
thing as it were before their eyes. That is the cause why Moses speaks
here of houses and vineyards, of wives and children, and of cattle. As
if he should say: Some shall bewail the taking away of their houses
which they had builded, the putting of them from their vineyards and
their other possessions, the spoiling of their goods, and the driving
away of their cattle: And some shall bewail the wrong that is done
unto them in their children, and in their very wives. But we be to
consider that all these things be the scourges of God, wherewith he
punishes us for our sins.
It is certain (as I have said already heretofore) that GOD at
sometimes, for the exercising of the faithful in patience, does send
them the very chastisements here mentioned, and yet punishes them
not for their offenses. For Job was not punished for his sins: Not that
GOD had not just cause so to do, but for that he had no respect to
that: however the case stand, surely it is an ordinary matter.
Indeed we may allege many examples of men that are tormented and
vexed by the wicked, so as they are driven from post to pillar, and
robbed of their goods: such examples do happen every day: but this
proves not, that this doctrine takes not place, and that it is not true in
itself, as an ordinary rule, to wit, that God punishes men's sins by
such means. Now when we have walked in the fear of God, and
endeavored to serve him: and yet notwithstanding, our substance is
taken away, and the robbers possess it: let us consider, that if this be
not done for our sins, our Lord gives us a great preeminence. For
first of all, of whom was it long that we offended him not? We were
preserved by his holy spirit. And moreover, notwithstanding any
good affection and zeal that we have had to live uprightly and
uncorruptly; yet we cease not to be guilty before God. But what for
that? He spares us, and yet he means to try our patience, for to
humble us. When it is his will that we shall bear the miseries, which
are punishments for them that despise his law, and that we must feel
them: well, we must stoop. And thereby he tries us, how pliable we
be under his hand to yield unto his government, as shall stand with
his good pleasure. Moreover, this always takes place, (as we have
said before) that our Lord punishes the offenses and transgressions
of his law, by the things that are specified here. So then, when a man
builds, let him take heed that he build not with extortion, pillaging,
and robbery, unless it be his meaning to have his house taken from
him, according as it is spoken by the Prophet Habakkuk. For the
Prophet brings in the walls singing and answering one another. For
inasmuch as men's palaces and houses, are often built with blood,
robbery, extortion, and wicked practices: and the very walls
themselves do cry out that they were builded with pillaging and
polling: it must needs awaken up God's wrath and vengeance against
such builders. Desire we then to be harbored in peace? Let us look
that we build without doing wrong to anybody, whatsoever he be.
And moreover let every of us in his dwelling, dedicate himself in such
wise to God, as he may dwell with us. For they that are driven out of
their dwellings, have commonly driven God out before: that is to say,
they have followed some lewd trade, so as GOD has not reigned
there. Is it then any wonder, if they be driven thence in the end? No:
For why? Shall GOD be thrust from his right; and we in the
meanwhile possess every man his dwelling in rest? Were that
reason? Therefore, when we see such changes to happen, as they are
to be seen in the world: let us understand that GOD drives them out,
which erst would give him no lodging: and let such examples
admonish us to stand in fear of the threatenings here specified. And
let us not tarry till our Lord banish us from the place where we be
harbored: but let us rather endeavor to serve him, so as he may
continue always with us to maintain us. And if it come to pass, that
we be driven out, let us understand that the same is for our sins: for
it is better late than never. Moreover, if we be driven out for any
other cause, as at this day we see the poor faithful people, in state
like a bird on the bough, as though the earth could not bear them: as
Saint Paul speaks of his time, and as it is known at this present time
that the children of God be as vagabonds, having not a hole to hide
themselves in: when we behold these things, let us understand, that
for as much as our Lord leads us this walk, he does us great favor
that the same is not because of our sins, but for his name's sake, and
for our better establishment in the hope of the heavenly inheritance,
seeing that there is nothing sure nor stable in this present world, but
that we must always aspire to the eternal life, and to the rest that is
prepared for us on high. Let us then acknowledge the good that he
does unto us in this point. But in any wise, let us take good heed that
we provoke not his wrath against us is such sort as I have said before.
Now, whereas he says: "Thou shalt marry a wife, and another shall
lie with her": let every man take heed to walk in such chastity, as he
draw not upon him this curse of God, in such wise as to be deprived
of the wife that he thinks to have: and the wives in like case of their
husbands. We see how men are given over to all unchastity, and God
must needs yield them their reward accordingly. David himself was
not spared in this case. We hear how it was said unto him: "Thou
hast done this in secret, but that shall be done openly." He was fain
to abide reproach before all the world, in having his wives ravished
openly. Since it is so then; let us take good heed, that we walk in such
chastity, that when men take wives, they may so live together as they
may feel the blessing of God, and that their marriages be not broken
through the committing of any offense. For, as I have said: it is no
wonder that there be so confused changes in the world at this day,
because men do more and more kindle the wrath and vengeance of
God. It is even in like case with adulteries. For what is the cause that
they reign so rife, and are come (as you would say) to their full pride?
It is because wedlock is so little regarded, and that there is no fear of
God: there is neither faith nor truth: and therefore must men needs
plunge themselves in all misfortune, so that in the end there will be
nothing but disorder. So much the more therefore ought we to take
warning to walk so in all cleanness of life, as every one may keep him
to his own wife, and the Lord bless their marriages and maintain
them in quietness.
Moreover, seeing that God is matched with us in the person of his
only son, and would have us to keep fast the faith of wedlock towards
him, according to the simplicity of his Gospel: let us stick thoroughly
to that which he has commanded us: and to be short, let us be
hallowed unto him, and follow his holy calling. For if we do so, our
Lord will grant unto husbands the grace to live quietly with their
wives and households, and unto the wives that they shall learn to live
in good agreement with their husbands. For we must mark, that if
man and wife do not join in one mind, there must needs be discord
in the whole house, and one shall bite and snatch at another like dogs
and cats, and the one would wish the other a hundred feet under the
ground, so as they shall live in continual misery and disquietness.
And why? Because that neither the one nor the other has any regard
to God, to yield themselves to his direction. Therefore let us learn,
not to provoke any more the vengeance of God in this case.
As concerning the lands and possessions he says: "That the
transgressors of the law of God shall plant vines, but they shall never
gather the fruit of them." Now we see that they who have thus
offended God, are the stoutest and boldest sort, bearing themselves
in hand that no harm can come near them. And that is the cause why
we see that the greatest getters, and the doers of greatest enterprises,
are those who willfully give themselves to pilling and polling by hook
and by crook, having no care what poll and extortion they commit,
and offending both God and man without end or measure. Such
persons as these, therefore, must afterward yield an account. They
bear themselves in hand that when they have planted vineyards, they
shall enjoy them without controversy: and that when they have built
houses, they shall dwell in them without putting out again. Thus do
men harden themselves against God. But Moses, contrariwise,
declares: That when they have planted vines, other men shall gather
the fruit of them. And indeed, whereas we see at this day so much
thievery in the world; let us understand, that it is because there are
so few that have clean hands, and are able to protest that they have
not encroached upon the goods of other men by unjust means. Truly,
there is so immeasurable disorder nowadays, that the children of
God are fleeced though they abstain from all manner of injuries. But
we must evermore have recourse to the ordinary course whereof I
have spoken, to wit, that our Lord will not fail to punish the sins that
break out after that fashion like a water flood. As for them that have
lands and possessions, they will not go to steal other folks' goods, nor
to pick a few grapes: it is for beggars to do so; and we see in these
days, that the most part of poor folks are pilferers, filching and
stealing all that ever they can finger. But yet they that have lands and
possessions, are the greatest thieves: for the things which they
possess, they get by unlawful means. It is no wonder then, if God do
requite them with the like; and that they be so vexed in their goods
and possessions. God therefore shows us by experience, that his
uttering of such speeches is not in vain; but we think not thereon.
Men can well enough complain, as I have said before: but they have
no regard to the principal point, which is; that GOD puts the things
in execution which he spoke by the mouth of Moses. Let us therefore
bethink ourselves; and whereas we see so much stealing, both of
vines, of corn, and of such other things; let us understand that our
Lord punishes the ravenousness and extortion that is committed
both in merchandise, and in all other trades of occupying: and let us
not tarry till GOD does punish us in very deed; but let us walk
uprightly, if we will have him to defend us. For although that all
places be never so full of thieves; yet will our Lord keep our goods in
safety, if we walk in his fear, and abstain from all manner of evil
doing. That is the thing whereunto we must have our recourse; and
we must not think to escape evil, by evil doing: but we must use the
remedy which our Lord sets forth in this text. As much is to be said of
our cattle, and also of our children. Yea, and Moses proceeds still
with enlarging, to the end that men should so much the better
perceive, what the effect is of this speech which he uses: namely, that
this shall be forever. As if he should say, that the hand of God shall
ever wax heavier and heavier. In so much that if a man who is driven
from his dwelling, does think to remove to his possessions, and to his
lands; GOD will persecute him even there: and if he think to cheer
himself with his wife, she shall be taken from him by force: and if he
think to find some comfort in his children, they shall be delivered
into the hands of his enemies; and if he think to have any recourse to
his cattle, they shall all be stolen or taken away by force. Moses
therefore besets us here on all sides, to the end we should learn to
resort unto our God; for as much as it is in vain, for us to labor to
escape by any other way. This is the matter in effect which we have to
bear in mind of this text.
Now, whereas he adds moreover, to the increase of the mischief,
That the fruits of the earth and the labor of our hands shall be eaten
by a people which we have not known: and that we ourselves shall be
distraughted by reason of the miseries which shall so light upon us.
That is to say, we shall be as out of our wits, beholding the mischief
before our eyes; and being amazed thereat, whereby we shall be
enforced to perceive that the hand of God is against us. That is, in
effect, the matter which he meant to say in this text.
Now I have told you that the misery is so much the more grievous to
bear, when a people unknown comes to ransack all. Truly if we be
robbed by our own neighbors, and by them that should be at amity
with us: the same is very hard to bear. But if there come a strange
people, there is less mercy. For when men be so separated one from
the other, and have no intercommuning at all: there is the less
likelihood of any means of safety. And we see how this repetition
here is often found in the Prophets: insomuch as it is said sometimes,
that the people which shall persecute us, shall be a barbarous people
without language whereby to have any take with us: by reason
whereof, when we shall ask them mercy, and cry alas, it shall seem
unto them that we curse them; and that shall be an increase of their
cruelty. So then let us mark, that his speaking thus of a strange
people, is to make us to understand, that GOD will send us such
chastisers as will have no pity nor compassion of us, until they have
quite and clean rooted us out.
And now, by the way, we are warned, that although the plague be not
yet come near us, we must not therefore fall asleep. For we always
measure God's threatening, by our own conceiving of them, and by
the things that offer themselves to our sight. When men speak of
war, and do threaten us with the Turk, But how can he come at us,
say we? He is too far off. Again, can such a Prince invade us? Tush,
he shall be letted by such a means: the plague cannot come that way,
by reason of such a cause. He may be dealt with by such a means; it
cannot be. When we have such kind of worldly shifts to defend
ourselves with, thereupon we despise GOD, not in word, but in deed,
for we continue unreformable and froward, and fear not that the
plague can come at us. Therefore says God, that he will stir up
strange people against us, even people of far countries. When men
doubt it least, then shall they wonder to see how GOD will come in
upon them on that side which they never thought of, and bring them
enemies to spoil them. Let us then mark by this text, that God's
scourges lie sometimes hidden, and break upon us on a sudden, so as
men are taken tardy by them, according to this saying, that they be
like to a woman that is childbearing. For a woman that is with child,
is utterly abashed when her hour is come; even so fares it with them
that are puffed up with their iniquities, and delight in them: they
forecast not that the hand of God is near them. It comes upon them
like a tempest; when they say, Peace and all is safe, then comes their
ruin and utter destruction. Therefore whereas we be told of strange
people, let us learn to look far before us when GOD does threaten us;
for like as faith must advance itself above the world to take hold of
God's promises, that it may rest altogether upon them: so likewise
when GOD threatens us, our faith must look further off than we can
see with our eyes, and we mistrust the thing which we see not at all:
like as we may perceive that Noah tarried not till the flood broke out,
and that GOD did unlock the Rain of heaven, and opened the
watersprings of the earth: but as soon as he heard the word, he did
nothing but think upon the vengeance of GOD: and by virtue of that
word, he beheld the flood as if it had been present: and he lived in
such fear and carefulness, as if he had seen the rain both evening and
morning to destroy all things before his eyes. Even so should we do:
and we be warned thereof by this saying, where God speaks of far
countries.
Moreover, we are therewithal warned to live in peace and concord.
For seeing that GOD hath associated us and we be intermingled
together: we must learn to live in such unity, as our Lord need not to
bring strange enemies to chastise our churlishness in resembling cats
and dogs. For when men who ought to agree together, do vex one
another; it causes GOD to stir up strangers to be their enemies;
because the nearer that our Lord comes unto us, the more would he
have us given to do good one to another. And if we do the contrary,
then must GOD stir up a people to come to spoil us, because we have
not lived in peace like brethren, nor knit ourselves together like
fingers of one hand. This is the thing which we have to bear in mind
concerning this text.
Now where he says, "And you shall be amazed at the sights which
you shall see:" it is according to that which was said before; namely:
that men should be distraughted, and grope at noonday, as does the
blind in the dark. For if we are borne with so far as to gather and
pluck up our spirits to call upon GOD, and to be patient in our
afflictions; it is a great grace, and such a one as cannot be sufficiently
esteemed. But if our Lord encourages us not to repentance, nor gives
us wherewith to assuage and diminish our sorrows, but all hope is
taken away, and we are as folk already forlorn, so as we are besides
our wits to see the naked sword continually before us, having no
means of remedy or succor at all: that is a dreadful threatening.
Nevertheless, it is not sent without cause, considering the hardness
of heart which is to be seen in all men. For until GOD have brought
us to this distraughtedness, we are altogether blockish, and we have
the contrary vice, which is, that we can very well complain when
anything does trouble us: yea, and sometimes we lie as beaten down,
but yet does not that make us come again to God: for we see how
every man takes the bridle in his teeth, so as they shake off all fear,
and never think upon that which is set down here. And so we see how
men become blockish. Now our Lord would fain draw them to
repentance, at leastwise if they were teachable, that is to say, if they
were not willful stubborn. For he tries all manner of ways to draw us
unto him. This is the cause why he does correct us gently, and as it
were within compass, as with his little finger. But when he sees that
that will nothing prevail; then must he bring us to this kind of
woodness. For until he has lessened us as men distraughted, we will
never have our minds peaceable and obedient, we will never be won.
Therefore let us mark well that this threatening is directed to such as
stoop not at the first blow when GOD hath warned them, but go on
from evil to worse: for then must they of necessity come to this
woodness. Now he speaks expressly concerning the sights of the eyes.
For men do blind themselves (as I have said heretofore) persuading
with themselves that they can escape by some mean: in so much that
although we see the evil at hand, yet you would wonder to see how
we hold on our course, and care not for it, according as the prophet
Isaiah speaks of the wicked: saying that when the scourge passes
over the whole earth, and the storm overtakes them all, they are not
any whit moved thereat. After that manner do the despisers of GOD
speak, and the number of them is infinite. So then, when men do
thus blind their eyes, and have no respect at all to the plagues
whereunto they be subject: but notwithstanding that they fall into
infinite troubles out of which they cannot get out again, yet they hold
on still: forasmuch as they be so froward, Moses says expressly in
this text: "You shall have a sight before your eyes:" that is to say,
after that you have been a long while hardened in your vain fantasies,
and have flattered yourselves in your sins, imagining that GOD
should spare you and that you be (as it were his mates, and have
made a league with death and with the grave, according as the
Prophet speaks of it: when as you have been thus a long while
untouched with any awe, and have deceived yourselves in bearing
yourselves in hand that your plague shall not last: There shall come a
sight that shall make your eyes to dazzle in beholding the infinite
mischiefs which you must be fain to endure: and whichever way you
turn your eyes, whether it be upward or downward, forward or
backward, you shall see God's hand continually pursuing you; by
reason whereof you shall be driven into a madness. Let us learn
therefore to convert this text to our benefit: and while GOD does
forbear us, or at the least so moderate his plagues that we be not
thereby altogether overthrown; let us fear him, and let us bethink
ourselves how sundry ways we have offended GOD: insomuch that if
he listed to deal rigorously with us, we should then perish every
minute of an hour. And therewithal let us not tarry till he thunder
down upon us, and pour out his curses upon us in such sort as they
may sink into our very bones: but let us return to him and to his
goodness. And above all things when he gives us the grace to foresee
his plagues afar off, so as we may say that others be punished for our
instruction: let us take warning by their example, and in such wise by
faith receive God's corrections wherewith he threatens us, as it may
preserve us from that sight whereof Moses speaks here: to the intent
that our Lord strike us not with such fear, as we can not in any wise
think to receive any record of his goodness by reason of our sins. Nay
rather, that by putting this lesson of obeying him and of submitting
ourselves unto him in ure, we may eschew this foresaid amazedness,
and not be so oppressed as we should become like folk that were out
of their wits. Let us not come to such an extremity, neither let us
compel GOD to execute such Threatenings against us.
Now let us fall down before the majesty of our good God, with
acknowledgement of our sins: beseeching him to vouchsafe to make
us so to understand them, as every one of us may be his own judge,
and turn to him, before we be thereunto constrained: and that having
willingly condemned ourselves & bewailed out sins, we may seek to
return to his obedience in such wise, as the same may be to dedicate
us wholly unto him. And that in the meantime it may please him that
like as he has sent us the message of reconciliation by his gospel, he
will also give us that grace to obtain mercy of him, & forgiveness of
all our sins in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: and that resting
thereupon, we sail not to walk always in fear: and that his bearing
with us through his fatherly goodness may not cause us to sleep in
our sins, and to flatter ourselves in them: but that every of us may
quicken up himself, until we be quite and clean rid of them. And that
forasmuch as we are to pass through so much filthiness in this world,
we may be taught to amend our misdoings continually until that we
be thoroughly rid of them, for the full uniting of us to himself, and to
make us partakers of his heavenly glory. That it may please him to
grant this grace, not only to us but also to all people and nations of
the earth, etc.
On Tuesday the 24th of March, 1556.
The 159th. Sermon,
which is the seventh upon the twenty-eighth Chapter.
36 The Lord will carry thee and thy king which thou shalt have
set over thee, to a people which thou hast not known, neither
thou nor thy fathers: and there shalt thou serve other gods, of
wood and of stone.
37 And there shalt thou be a gazing stock, a scoffing stock, and a
byword to all people, to whom the Lord shall bring thee.
38 Thou shalt lay much seed in the ground, and shalt gather
little: for the grasshoppers shall devour it.
39 Thou shalt plant a vineyard and dress it: but thou shalt not
drink the wine of it, nor gather any fruit of it: for the worms
shall eat it.
40 Thou shalt have Olive trees in all thy coasts, but thou shalt
not anoint thyself with the oil of it: for all thine Olives shall be
shaken off.
41 Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but not for thyself: for
they shall go into Captivity.
42 The worm shall destroy all thy trees, and the fruit of thy land.
43 The stranger which dwelleth with thee, shall rise above thee
very high: and thou shalt stoop under him very low.
44 He shall lend unto thee, and not thou unto him: he shall be
the head, and thou shalt be the tail.
45 And all these curses shall come upon thee and follow thee
and take hold of thee, until thou be utterly rooted out, because
thou hast not obeyed the voice of the Lord thy God, by keeping
his commandments and ordinances which he hath commanded
thee.
WE know when the people of Israel chose themselves a king, with
what affection they were led; even of pride, for that they would not
be inferiors to their neighbours. Moreover, they thought to be very
sure, by having a head over them, that should have the whole
authority. And so you see that the children of Abraham could not
content themselves with their liberty, but desired to have a king.
Because they saw the Egyptians, the Syrians, the Moabites, yea and
the Tyrians, and other like people to have kings: they bore
themselves in hand, that if they also might have a head, all would go
well with them. Now like as pride and ambition was the cause that
they chose a king in Israel: even so became they hard-hearted
thereupon, supposing themselves to be out of all perils, by having
such a defense: by means whereof we see that they despised the
prophets, under pretense that they thought themselves well fenced.
The spirit of God foreseeing this (albeit that it was not yet come to
pass) said in this Text, That the king which they shall appoint should
be led captive into a strange country: As if God should have said that
they might well seek starting holes to save themselves: but they
should stand them in no stead at all against his hand. This is the
thing that we touched yesterday; namely, that when God is our
adversary, we may not think to maintain ourselves against him by
the means of creatures, knowing that he will surely apply them to our
destruction. Therefore let none of us deceive himself, neither let us
make our defense of that which is nothing but smoke and leasing. It
is true that the king which was first chosen by the people of Israel,
namely King Saul, was not brought to captivity: however, that he
died in battle: but the successors of David were handled cruelly and
with great reproach, notwithstanding that God had ordained them,
yea and that they were a figure and Image of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And it is a horrible thing, that the kingdom which God had dedicated
unto himself, (as witnessed the anointing) should be laid forth to
such a reproach. You see how the successors of David which had
received the promise that their seat should be everlasting, and in the
meanwhile were as the figures of our Lord Jesus Christ: were
handled in such a sort that they were led prisoners in chains, were
arraigned as offenders, had their eyes put out, had their children's
throats cut in their own presence, were cast into a deep dungeon,
there to rot or to be eaten to death with vermin: and that, as you see
is a very strange matter. But the vengeance of God was to extend so
far even of necessity, because of the frowardness of the people,
whereof was none other remedy. And the more that God had suffered
them and patiently waited for them, the more were they to be
brought to the extremity of all confusion, for despising so great
goodness, and for being so froward and hard-hearted against it. Now
we may hereby gather a good warning, to wit, that (as was declared
yesterday) albeit that according to the world, we seem to stand in no
peril: yet does it behoove us to seek to have God's favor: for if he be
not on our side, and we under his safeguard, cursed are all the helps
which we suppose to have of creatures; for they serve rather to
overthrow us. And therefore let us take heed that we put not our
confidence in the greatness of Princes, or in any other defenses; for
we see how they be but means to blind such as might else turn to
God, and obtain forgiveness of him: and that in the end it shall
overthrow them utterly. Let us then be better advised, and though we
seem to be never so well guarded to the world: yet let not that be a let
to us to walk always in the fear of God, knowing that all the favor
which we are able to purchase in the world is nothing at all; and that
if God does but blow upon it all vanishes away in the minute of an
hour. That is the thing which we have to mark upon this text.
Now it is said expressly, That as well the king as the subjects shall
serve strange Gods yea even of stone and of wood, that is to say,
puppets and Idols. No doubt but that God by these words meant to
utter how dreadful punishment was to come upon the Jews. For
albeit that the nourishment that God gives us, and in like wise, all the
Testimonies of his fatherly love and goodness appertaining to this
transitory life, are to be highly esteemed: yet the most singular
benefit that we receive as long as we live in the world, is that we have
Religion well ordered, that his service be pure amongst us, that we
call upon him, and that it be lawful for us to claim him as our GOD,
and that we be not betrayed and defiled with superstition and
Idolatry. That (say I) is the principal good thing whereunto the
faithful should aspire: and we be very blocks and beasts, if we prefer
not the same before all manner of riches and pleasures, and before
all our ease and commodities. Now then on the contrary part, the
plague which ought to be most dreadful to us, and the horriblest
calamity that can fall upon us, is to be deprived of God's service, and
to have our mouth shut, so as we can not call upon him: and not only
that, but also through Tyranny to be compelled to honor Idols, and to
defile ourselves with their abominations, and to pervert that which
GOD has ordained for the magnifying of his name amongst us. When
things be thus confounded, let us understand that GOD is departed
from us, and declares himself to be our mortal enemy, and has quite
forsaken and refused us, and is loath that we should thenceforth
have any token or inkling at all, either of his presence or of his favor.
And so, whereas Moses says in this Text, That the Jews shall serve
strange Gods, he means to threaten them more dreadfully than
before. As if he should say; Right grievous will it be unto you when
you shall be famished and want bread to eat, and water to drink,
when your enemies shall rob you of all your substance, and make
havoc of all your possessions, when you shall pine away in grief and
sorrow, without any mean to help you: surely these will be very hard
things for you, specially when you can obtain no favor of your
enemies, who shall be as wild beasts against you: but yet is all this
nothing in comparison of the other curse, that whereas in stead of
honoring the living GOD, and of confessing that he has chosen you to
be his people, (which is an immeasurable blessing) in stead of such
things I say, you should serve Idols, and be conversant amongst the
superstitions of the Pagans, and have no more prayers neither
Psalms nor Sacrifices, but be dispersed and forlorn.
Now seeing that we perceive the natural sense of Moses, let us
understand that amongst all the blessings of GOD which we enjoy in
this present life, this ought to be preferred above all the rest: namely,
to have liberty to serve our GOD, and to make confession of our faith,
and to declare that we are his people, of his Church and of his flock.
Truly it is slenderly known: howbeit, it is not in vain that we be
admonished thereof. Seeing then, that it has been the will of God to
plant his Church amongst us, and that we should have his word and
his sacraments, by which he declares that he dwells amongst us: let
us accept such a blessing according as it is worthy. It will serve us to
a double use. First of all, when we fare the better by the doctrine that
is preached unto us every day, such a treasure perishes not but
through our own unthankfulness: as we see that many folk think it
enough to be at sermons, and it seems unto them, that God has his
due, so they have used some ceremony. But in the meantime the seed
of life does perish without yielding any fruit. To the end therefore
that we may apply the blessing that GOD bestows on us, to this use:
when as we have liberty to hear his doctrine, and to be trained
therein, and have the Sacraments for an establishment of our faith,
and may declare that it is the living God whom we worship and that
he governs us: I say, let the same profit us: and so will it, if we
acknowledge that our Lord cannot bestow on us any greater blessing
than that is. And in the meantime we will take it patiently if other
things do fail us: as where many want their commodities, let them
not be grieved at the children of this world, which have their delights,
and do triumph, weltering themselves in their earthly pleasures, if
the children of God have not the same, let them know that they enjoy
a thing which recompenses double, yea an hundredfold: that is, that
they can serve God. For to what purpose is it, that these wretched
people which dwell in papistry may lie slumbering in their nests, and
in the meantime be banished from the kingdom of GOD, and that
Christ Jesus himself and his word be banished from the country
wherein they dwell? What avails it, that they be served in their
houses, and in the meantime be not suffered to serve GOD? What
avails it, that they have whereof to eat and drink till they burst, and
in the meantime be starved for want of ghostly food? What avails it,
that they be in honor and credit, and in the meantime be constrained
to defile themselves with these treacherous dealings whereby GOD is
despised, and his honor spoiled, and conveyed over to Idols, and they
be guilty thereof? Alas: is not this a cursed state? Let us therefore
take it patiently, albeit that we be had in contempt toward the
worldward, and counted as underlings and castaways, not having our
ease, nor that which our flesh desires: seeing that GOD gives us this
special liberty, that we may purely worship him and serve him, and
be delivered from this cursed servitude of Idols; let us be contented,
and esteem this said benefit, according as it is worthy, so as we be
not grieved toward them that enjoy the goods of this world, and in
the meantime are destitute of the grace of God, which remains
amongst us.
Besides this, here is a warning that seeing God has put us in
possession and fruition of this liberty, we must take good heed that
we are not deprived thereof through our own lewdness: for this
threatening which was made to the Jews, is likewise directed unto us.
Let us understand therefore, that seeing we have the Gospel
preached unto us, if it prevail not with us, God must deliver us into
the hands of other teachers when we shall have refused to obey him.
And in very deed, we may not think that the horrible confusion
which is in the Papadome, befalls for any other cause, than that
whereas they have been taught the pure doctrine of the Gospel, yet
they have been rebels to God, and have not bound their necks to bear
his yoke; and therefore GOD could not otherwise do, than deliver
them over to such tyranny as we see. And truly the same was told
them beforehand by Saint Paul: "It is good reason (saith he) that the
world, seeing that it will not believe the truth, should obey lies: and
that they which would not be subject to the living God, should be
obedient to the creature, even to the Idols, which be nothing."
Beholding therefore the examples before our eyes, and hearing the
threatening as it yet here: let us learn, while GOD does keep us in his
school, so to walk in his fear, and awe, as we may not be bereft of the
welfare which we now enjoy; but that God may rather augment it,
and cause it to prevail. Moreover, let us mark that they who do serve
Idols, shall not be excused therefore, although the same be a