lieve the truth of God's holy word; and the everlasting pain prepared in hell for idolaters, hypocrites, for falfe and vain fwearers, for perjured men, for falfe witness bearers, for falfe condemners of innocent and guiltless men, and for them which for favour hide the crimes of evil-doers, that they should not be punished. So that whofoever wilfully forfwear themfelves upon Chrift's holy Evangely, they utterly forfake God's mercy, goodness, and truth, the merits of our Saviour Chrift's nativity, life, paffion, death, refurrection, and afcenfion; they refuse the forgiveness of fins, promifed to all penitent finners, the joys of heaven, the company with angels and faints for ever all which benefits and comforts are promised unto true Chriftian perfons in the Gofpel. And they, fo being forfworn upon the Gofpel, do betake themselves to the Devil's fervice, the mafter of all lies, falfehood, deceit, and perjury, provoking the great indignation and curfe of God against them in this life, and the terrible wrath and judgment of our Saviour Chrift, at the great day of the laft judgment, when he fhall juftly judge both the quick and the dead, according to their works. For whofoever forfaketh the truth, for love or displeasure of any man, or for lucre and profit to himself, doth forfake Chrift, and with Judas betray him. And although fuch perjured Though men's falfehood be now kept fecret, yet it fhall be opened perjury do escape here at the last day, when the fecrets of all men's hearts fhall unfpied and be manifeft to all the world: and then the truth fhall ap- unpunishpear, and accuse them; and their own confcience, with ed, it shall all the bleffed company of heaven, fhall bear witness truly ever. against them and Chrift, the righteous judge, fhall then juftly condemn them to everlafting fhame and death. This fin of perjury Almighty God, by the Prophet Malachy, doth threaten to punifh fore; faying unto the Jews, I will Malac. iii. come to you in judgment, and I will be a fwift witness and a Sharp judge upon forcerers, adulterers, and perjured perfons. Which thing to the Prophet Zachary God declareth in a vifion; wherein the Prophet faw a book flying, which was twenty cubits long, and ten cubits broad; God faying then unto him, This is the curfe that fhall go forth upon Zech. v. the face of the earth, for falsehood, falfe fwearing, and perjury: and this curfe fhall enter into the houfe of the falfe man, and into the houfe of the perjured man, and it fhall remain in the midftof his houfe, and confume him, and the timber and flones of his houfe. Thus you fee, how much God doth hate perjury, and what punishment God hath prepared for falfe fwearers and perjured perfons. : not do fo Thus Thus you have heard how and in what causes it is lawful for a Chriftian man to swear: ye have heard what properties and conditions a lawful oath must have, and alfo how fuch lawful oaths are both godly and neceffary to be observed: ye have heard, that it is not lawful to fwear vainly, that is, other ways than in fuch causes, and after fuch fort, as is declared. And finally, ye have heard how damnable a thing it is, either to forfwear ourselves, or to keep an unlawful and an unadvised oath. Wherefore let us earnestly call for grace, that, all vain fwearing and perjury fet apart, we may only use fuch oaths as be lawful and godly, and that we may truly without all fraud keep the fame, according to God's will and pleafure. To whom, with the Son, and the Holy Ghost, be all honour and glory. Amen. A SER A SERMON, How dangerous a thing it is to fall from God." Of our going from God, the Wife Man saith, that pride was the first beginning: for by it man's heart was turned from God his maker. For pride, faith he, is Ecclus. x. the fountain of all fin: he that hath it fhall be full of curfings, and at the end it fhall overthrow him. And as by pride and fin we go from God, fo fhall God and all goodness with him go from us. And the Prophet Hofea doth plainly affirm, that they which go away ftill from God Hofea v. by vicious living, and yet would go about to pacify him otherwife by facrifice, and entertain him thereby, they labour in vain. For, notwithstanding all their facrifice, yet he goeth ftill away from them. Forfomuch, faith the Prophet, as they do not apply their minds to return to God, although they go about with whole flocks and herds to feek the Lord, yet they fhall not find him; for he is gone away from them. But as touching our turning to God, or from God, you fhall understand that it may be done divers ways. Sometimes directly by idolatry, as Ifrael and Judah then did: fometimes men go from God by lack of faith, and miftrufting of God; whereof Ifaiah fpeaketh on this wife, Woe to them that go down into E-Ifa. xxxi. gypt to feek for help, trufting in horfes, and having confidence in the number of chariots, and puiffance or power of horsemen. They have no confidence in the holy God of Ifrael, nor jeek for the Lord. But what followeth? The Lord Shall let his hand fall upon them, and down fhall come both the helper and he that is holpen; they shall be destroyed all together. Sometimes men go from God by the neglecting of his Jer. vii. Jer. vii. commandments concerning their neighbours, which command them to exprefs hearty love towards every man, as Zeeh. vii. Zachary said unto the people in God's behalf. Give true judgment, fhew mercy and compaffion every one to his brother, imagine no deceit towards widows, or children fatherless and motherless, towards frangers, or the poor; let no man forge evil in his heart against his brother. But these things they paffed not of; they turned their backs, and went their way; they stopped their ears, that they might not hear; they hardened their hearts as an adamant ftone, that they might not liften to the Law, and the words that the Lord had fent through his holy Spirit, by his ancient Prophets. Wherefore the Lord fhewed his great indignation upon them. It came to pass, faith the Prophet, even as I told them as they would not hear, fo when they cried, they were not heard, but were scattered into all kingdoms which they never knew, and their land was made defolate. And, to be short, all they that may not abide the word of God, but following the perfuafions and ftubbornness of their own hearts, go backward and not forward, as it is faid in Jeremy, They go and turn away from God. Infomuch that Origen faith, He that with mind, with ftudy, with deeds, with thought and care, applieth and giveth himself to God's word, and thinketh upon his laws day and night, giveth himself wholly to God, and in his precepts and commandments is exercised; this is he that is turned to God. And on the other part he faith, Whofoever is oc cupied with fables and tales, when the word of God is rehearsed, he is turned from God. Whofoever in time of reading God's word is careful in his mind of worldly bufinefs, of money, or of lucre, he is turned from God, Whofoever is entangled with the cares of poffeffions, filled with covetoufnefs of riches, whofoever ftudieth for the glory and honour of this world, he is turned from God. So that after his mind, whofoever hath not a special mind to that thing that is commanded or taught of God, he that doth not liften unto it, embrace, and print it in his heart, to the intent that he may duly fashion his life thereafter, he is plainly turned from God, although he do other things of his own devotion and mind, which to him feem better, and more to God's honour. Which thing to be true, we be taught and admonished in the holy 1 Sam. xv. Scripture, by the example of king Saul; who being com. manded of God by Samuel, that he thould kill all the Amalekites, and deftroy them clearly, with their goods and cattle; yet he, being moved partly with pity, and partly partly (as he thought) with devotion unto God, faved Agag the king, and all the chief of their cattle, therewith to make facrifice unto God. Wherewithal God being difpleafed highly, faid unto the Prophet Samuel, I repent that ever I made Saul king; for he hath forfaken me, and not followed my words: and fo he commanded Samuel to fhew him. And when Samuel afked wherefore (contrary to God's word) he had faved the cattle, he excufed the matter partly by fear, faying, he durft do none other, for that the people would have it fo; partly, for that they were goodly beasts, he thought God would be content, feeing it was done of a good intent and devotion, to honour God with the facrifice of them. But Samuel, reproving all fuch intents and devotions, (feem they never fo much to God's honour, if they stand not with his word, whereby we may be affured of his pleasure,) said in this wife, Would God have facrifices and offerings, or rather that his word should be obeyed? To obey him is better than offerings, and to liften to him is better than to offer the fat of rams: yea, to repugn against his voice is as evil as the fin of foothfaying: and not to agree to it is like abominable idolatry. And now, forafmuch as thou haft caft away the word of the Lord, he hath caft away thee, that thou shouldeft not be king. from man. By all these examples of holy Scripture, we may know, The turnthat as we forfake God, so fhall he ever forfake us. And ing of God what miferable ftate doth confequently and neceffarily follow thereupon, a man may eafily confider by the terri ble threatenings of God. And although he confider not all the faid mifery to the uttermoft, being fo great that it paffeth any man's capacity in this life fufficiently to confider the fame; yet he fhall foon perceive fo much thereof, that if his heart be not more than ftony, or harder than the adamant, he fhall fear, tremble, and quake, to call the fame to his remembrance. First, the difpleasure of God towards us is commonly expreffed in the Scripture by thefe two things: by fhewing his fearful countenance upon us, and by turning his face, or hiding it from us. By fhewing his dreadful countenance is fignified his great wrath: but by turning his face, or hiding thereof, is many times more fignified, that is to fay, that he clearly forfaketh us, and giveth us over. The which fignifications be taken of the properties of men's manners. For men towards them whom they favour commonly bear a good, a cheerful, and a loving countenance: fo that by the face or countenance of a man, it F 2 doth |