How most and without all be read. forbare not to read, for fear he should fall into error; but he diligently read, lest he should remain in ignorance, and through ignorance in error. And if you will not know the truth of God (a thing most necessary for you) lest you fall into error; by the same reason you may then lie still, and never go, lest, if you go, you fall into the mire"; nor eat any good meat, lest you take a surfeit; nor sow your corn, nor labour in your occupation, nor use your merchandise, for fear you lose your seed, your labour, your stock, and so by that reason it should be best for you to live idly, and never to take in hand to do any manner of good thing, lest peradventure some evil thing may chance thereof. And if you be afraid to fall into error by reading of holy scripture, I shall shew you how you may read it without danger of error. Read it humbly with a meek commodiously, and lowly heart, to the intent you may gloriy God, and peril the holy not yourself, with the knowledge of it: and read it not scripture is to without daily praying to God, that he would direct your reading to good effect; and take upon you to expound it no further than you can plainly understand it. For, as St. Augustin saith, the knowledge of holy scripture is a great, large, and a high placer; but the door is very low, so that the high and arrogant man cannot run in; but he must stoop low, and humble himself, that shall enter into it. Presumption and arrogancy is the mother of all error; and humility needeth to fear no error. For humility will only search to know the truth; it will search, and will bring togetherr one place with another, and where it cannot find out the meanings, it will pray, it will ask of other that know, and will not presumptuously and rashly define any thing which it knoweth not. Therefore the humble man may search any truth boldly in the scripture, without any danger of error. And if he be ignorant, he ought the more to read and to search holy scripture, to bring him out of ignorance. I say not nay, but a man may prosper with only hearing; but he may much more prosper with both hearing and reading. This have I said as touching the fear to read, through ignorance of the person. And concerning the hardness of some places is scripture; he that is so weak that he is not able to brook strong meat, yet he may suck the sweet and tender milk, Scripture in easy, and in some places t derstood. that hath good and defer the rest until he wax stronger, and come to hard to be unmore knowledge. For God receiveth the learned and unlearned, and casteth away none, but is indifferent unto all. And the scripture is full, as well of low valleys, plain ways, and easy for every man to use and to walk in; as also of high hills and mountains, which few men can climb unto. And whosoever giveth his mind to holy God leaveth no scriptures with diligent study and burningy desire, it man untaught, cannot be, saith St. Chrysostom2, that he should be left will to know without help. For either God Almighty will send him his word. some godly doctor to teach him, as he did to instruct Eunuchus, a nobleman of Ethiope, and treasurer unto queen Candace, who having affection to read the scripture, (although he understood it not,) yet for the desire that he had unto God's word, God sent his apostle Philip to declare unto him the true sense of the scripture that he read; or else, if we lack a learned man to instruct and teach us, yet God himself from above will give light unto our minds, and teach us those things which are necessary for us, and wherein we be ignorant. And in another How the knowplace Chrysostom saith, that man's human and worldly ledge of the wisdom or science needeth not to the understanding of be attained scripture, but the revelation of the Holy Ghost, who in- unto. spireth the true meaningd unto them, that with humility and diligence do search therefore. He that asketh shall Matt. 7. [7, 8.] have, and he that seeketh shall find, and he that knocketh shall have the door open. If we read once, twice, or A good rule for thrice, and understand not, let us not cease so, but still the understandcontinue reading, praying, asking of other, and so by still knocking, at the last the door shall be opened; as St. Augustin saith, Although many things in the scripture be spoken in obscure mysteries, yet there is nothing spoken under dark mysteries in one place, but the selfsame thing in other places is spoken more familiarly and plainly, to the capacity both of learned and unlearned. And those things in the scriptures that be plain to under- No man is exstand, and necessary for salvation, every man's duty is to cepted from learn them, to print them in memory, and effectually to of God's will. exercise them. And as for the dark mysteries, to be contented to be ignorant in them, until such time as it shall please God to open those things unto him. In the mean scripture may ing of scripture. the knowledge would have ignorance to continue. season, if he lack either aptness or opportunity, God will not impute it to his folly but yet it behoveth not, that such as be apt should set aside reading, because some other be unapt to read; nevertheless, for the hardness of such places, the reading of the whole ought not to be set What persons apart. And briefly to conclude, as St. Augustin saith, by the scripture all men. be amended, weak men be strengthened, and strong men be comforted. So that surely none be enemies to the reading of God's word, but such as either be so ignorant, that they know not how wholesome a thing it is; or else be so sick, that they hate the most comfortable medicine that should heal them; or so ungodly, that they would wish the people still to continue in blindness and ignorance of God. The holy scripture is one of God's chief benefits. The right read ing, use, and fruitful study ing in holy Thus we have briefly touched some part of the commodities of God's holy word, which is one of God's chief and principal benefits, given and declared to mankind here in earth. Let us thank God heartily for this his great and special gift, beneficial favour, and fatherly providence; let us be glad to receive this precious gift of our heavenly father; let us hear, read, and know these holy rules, injunctions, and statutes of our Christian religion, and upon that we have made profession to God at our baptism; let us with fear and reverence lay up, in the chest of our hearts, these necessary and fruitful lessons; let us night and day muse, and have meditation and contemplation in them; let us ruminate, and, as it were, chew the cud, that we may have the sweet juice, spiritual effect, marrow, honey, kernel, taste, comfort, and consolation of them; let us stay, quiet, and certify our consciences, with the most infallible certainty, truth, and perpetual assurance of them: let us pray to God (the only author of these heavenly studies) that we may speak, think, believe, live, and depart hence, according to the wholesome doctrine and verities of them. And, by that means, in this world we shall have God's defencek, favour, and grace, with the unspeakable solace of peace, and quietness of conscience; and after this miserable life we shall enjoy the endless bliss and glory of heaven: which he grant us all, that died for us all, Jesus Christ, to whom, with the Father and the Holy Ghost', be all honour and glory, both now and everlastingly. Amen. g hardness] difficulty A.B. defence] protection A.B. 1 and the Holy Ghost] and Holy Ghost A.B. m Amen] omitted D. A SERMO Na OF THE Misery of all Mankind, and of his Condemnation to THE Holy Ghost, in writing the holy scripture, is in nothing more diligent than to pull down man's vainglory and pride, which of all vices is most universally grafted in all mankind, even from the first infection of our first father Adam. And therefore we read in many places of scripture many notable lessons against this old rooted vice, to teach us the most commendable virtue of humility, how to know ourselves, and to remember what we be of ourselves. In the book of Genesis, Almighty God giveth Gen. 3. [19.] us all a title and name in our great grandfather Adam, which ought to warn us all to consider what we be, whereof we be, from whence we came, and whither we shall go, saying thus, In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat thy bread, till thou be turned again into the ground: for out of it wast thou taken; in as much as thou art dust, into dusta shalt thou be turned again. Here (as it were in a glass) we may learn to know ourselves to be but ground, earth, and ashes, and that to earth and ashes we shall return. Also, the holy patriarch Abraham did well remember this name and title, dust, earth, and ashes, appointed and assigned by God to all mankind: and therefore he callethe himself by that name, when he maketh his earnest prayer for Sodom and Gomorrhe. And we read that Judith, Jud. 4. [10.] Esther, Job, Jeremy, with other holy men and women in & 9. [1.] the Old Testament, did use sackcloth, and to cast dust and & 16. 15.1 ashes upon their heads, when they bewailed their sinful Jer. 6 [26.] living. They called and cried to God for help and mercy, with such a ceremony of sackcloth, dust, and ashes, that A sermon] An homily A.B. b warn] admonish A.B. thy bread] bread A. d into dust] and into dust A.B.C. e he calleth] he called B. Job 13. [12. & 25. [34.] thereby they might declare to the whole world what an humble and lowly estimation they had of themselves, and how well they remembered their name and title aforesaid, their vile, corrupt, frail nature, dust, earth and ashes. Wisd. 7. [1] The book of Wisdom also, willing to pull down our proud stomachs, moveth us diligently to remember our mortal and earthly generation, which we have all of him that was first made: and that all men, as well kings as subjects, come into this world, and go out of the same, in like sort: that is, as of ourselves, full miserable, as we may daily see. And Almighty God commanded his prophet Esay to make a proclamation, and cry to the whole world: and Esay askIsa. 40. 6, [7.] ing, What shall I cry? the Lord answered, Cry, that all flesh is grass, and that all the glory thereof is but as the flower of the field: when the grass is withered, the flower falleth away, when the wind of the Lord bloweth upon it. The people surely is grass, the which drieth up, and the flower fadeth away. And the holy mans Job, having in himself great experience of the miserable and sinful estate of man, doth open the same to the world in these words: Job 14. [1-4] Man, saith he, that is born of a woman, living but a short time, is full of manifold miseries: he springeth up like a flower, and fadeth again; vanisheth away as it were a shadow, and never continueth in one state. And dost thou judge it meet, O Lord, to open thine eyes upon such a one, and to bring him to judgment with thee? Who can make him clean, that is conceived of an unclean seed? And all men of their evilness, and natural proneness, bei so universally given to sin, that, as the scripture saith, God repented that ever he made man. And by sin his indignation was so much provoked against the world, that he drowned Gen. 7. [17.] all the world with Noe's flood, except Noe himself, and his little household. It is not without great cause, that the scripture of God doth so many times call all men here in this world by this word, earth: 0 thou earth, earth, earth, saith Jeremy, hear the word of the Lord. This our right name*, calling, and title, earth, earth, earth, pronounced by the prophet, showeth what we be indeed, by whatsoever other style, title, or dignity, men do call us. Thus he plainly named us, who knoweth best, both what we be, and what we ought of right to be called. And thus he setteth Rom. 3. [9-18] us forth', speaking by his faithful apostle St. Paul: All Gen. 6. [6.] Jer. 22. [29.] |