Of the Fleshe.

THe first enimie (as I sayde) is the flesh: that is to say, the corruptnesse or naugh­tinesse that remaineth in man through origi­nal sinne by the fall of our first fathers, which is as a certaine firewood (as diuines terme it) by reason whereof all of vs are forewarde to sinne and vice, some more, and some lesse, ac­cording to the state and disposition of euerye mans bodie, as the serchers of natural causes teache vs. For the affections of mens mindes doe follow the temperature of the humors in the body, which thing as the Philosophers do affirme, so doeth experience playnely proue it. Heereby we see, that they in whome bloud ouerruleth, are commonly prone to lecherie and royot: they in whom choler aboūdeth, are giuen to anger and pride: nother doth melan­cholike and flewmatike persons want their vices, whervnto they be proner by nature than other men are. And therewithall it is not to be denyed, that a great part of this pronenesse [Page 6] vnto sinne, commeth of the euil trayning and bringing vp of children, through vntoward nuzzeling aud misnurturing of them, and by suffering them to haue companie and famili­aritie with leude folke. For so it is auouched by Maro in his husbandry, saying: So great a thing it is, to be inured from the shel. And al­so by Aristotle in his Ethiks, where he sayth, Not a little, but very greatly doth it skil, whi­ther we inure our selues one way or other frō our childhood. Howe great strength the ac­quaintance and companie of yll disposed per­sones hath to corrupte mens natures, Seneca sheweth in a certaine place, saying: manners are taken vp of conuersation, and like as cer­taine diseases passe from one bodie into ano­ther by touching, so dothe the minde conuey ouer his vices too such as are neerest about it. The drunkard draweth his companiō too the loue of wine. The companie of vnchast folke effeminateth an honest man, though he be ne­uer so constante. Couetousnesse sheddeth his poyson into suche as are next about him. In like case is it with vertues on the contrarie part, and so foorth. But yet for al that, neither good bringing vp & nurture be it neuer so du­ly ministred, nor the study & instruction of the best sciences, nor y^e continual companie w^t the best mē, can bring to passe or attain, that y^e vi­ces [Page 7] whereto eche man is naturally most in­clyned, should be so vtterly rooted vp, as no inclyng of his owne disposition may remaine behinde. For rightly doth Lucretius say:

Nowe although the vices that are planted in vs by nature bee not vtterly taken awaye by the meanes aforesaide: yet are they repres­sed by them, and as it were restrayned with a brydle▪ so as they doe not easly burst out into acte: Accordingly as it is reported of Stilpo, that wheras he was naturally giuen to wine and women, yet he did so subdue and bridle his vicious nature by learning, as no man e­uer sawe him delight in wine, nor perceiued any inclyng of lecherie in him, as Cicero wri­teth of him. The like is reported of Socrates if my memorie fayle mee not. But now let vs come to the reckening vp of the vices and faultes of the flesh.

First & formost our inward & homebred eni­my which is called y^e flesh, neuer cesseth to in­tice vs to foule & vnhonest lustes, to filthy ple­sures, to whordom, wātonnesse, malapartnes & all other suche things. Greeuous vndoub­tedly & paynful in this case is y^e incounter of a [Page 8] Christian man against the fleshe, insomuche that he is fayne to fight after a sorte with him selfe, by reason that the flesh lusteth against the spirite, and the spirite against the flesh. For the man that feareth God, knoweth that whore­dome is to be eschewed, as Paule, or rather as the holy ghost teacheth by Paule. He know­eth that he ought to liue chastely and honestly as God biddeth in the ten commaundments. Therefore his desire is to followe Gods wil and commaundements as heauenly hestes. But the infirmitie of the flesh being ouerfore­warde to shamefull voluptuousnesse, carry­eth him another way against his will, doe what he can. What should the wretche do in this case? or whither may he turne him selfe in this temptation and assault of the fleshe which withstandeth the spirite? Truely if he be wise he wil without delay flee to y^e heauenly father for helpe, and by godly studyes, ho­nest exercises, and often (howbeit moderate) fastings, endeuer to bridle the rage of his flesh by some meane or other, and to suppresse and subdue the wantonnesse of it with con­tinuall temperaunce of life. For I take that to bee both an excellent and an helthfull re­medie aboue others to keepe lust in awe. And for this cause doeth our sauiour among other [Page 9] things, will vs to beware that our hartes be not ouerloden with surfetting & drunkēnesse, commaunding vs also to watche and praye, lest we fall into temptation. The apostles likewise exhort men to sobrietie and stay of themselues, forbidding them gluttonie and drunkennesse. Yet are not those the only mea­nes to coole and quench lust: it must be mat­ched with the help and ayde of the holy ghost, and specially with earnest mindefulnesse of Gods word, with faith, aud with prayer. For first of all in our temptations God muste bee called vpon, and that feruently and hartilye. Gods threatenings must be set before the eyes of our minde, to fray vs from sin. We must forthinke what euil may insue vpon the com­mitting of wickednesse. Wee muste call to minde the examples of Gods wrath, whereof there is store in the holie scriptures. Then is not the ouerlustinesse of the fleshe restrayned allonly by fasting and spare dyet, but muche rather (as I saide afore) by indeueriug to sub­due, or (as the apostle termeth it) to mortifye the lustes & sinfulnesse of the flesh, by arming our selues with Gods worde, faith, & prayer, and with the rest of the spirituall weapons wherof saint Paule speketh to the Ephesians. And if all these meanes boote thee not, (how­beit [Page 10] that thou must not leaue off though thou speede not at the first,) the last shote anker that remaineth forthee to flee vnto, is honest & lau­full mariage graūted of God to such as haue not stay of themselues, according to this say­ing. For auoyding of whoredome let euery man haue his wife, and againe, It is better to marrye than to burne. But what if the fleshe be stil inclyned & prone to aduoutrie e­uen in mariage, as sometimes it hapeneth? God almightie shielde vs of his mercie from so greate mischiefe, and from so cursed and ougly wickednesse. For surely that were not nowe a simple prouocation of the fleshe, whose infirmitie wedlocke might remedie: but rather a temptatiō of the diuel, inforcing to wicked and abhominable lecherie. And therefore with great stoutnesse must that eni­mie be withstoode, so as we must neuer giue him leaue to find vs idle or weltring in sloth full ease, but be alwayes occupyed in godly exercises and labours. And in especially wee must take diligent heede, that we out of hand discharge our mindes of all filthye thoughts and of what so euer else the diuel prompteth vs withall and putteth in our heades, so as we feede not our owne humor with them, ne stand long musing vpon thē, but flee apace to [Page 11] Gods helpe, pouring out our prayers before him, and dryuing out those euill thoughtes, with better thoughtes, as one nayle is dri­uen oute with another. Call to mynde the shortenesse of this life, the approching of death euery minute of an houre, the Iudgemente seate of the Lorde, the paynes of hell, the fyre that shall neuer bee quenched: And contrary­wyse, the innumerable benefites of God, the crosse of Christe, the dwelling of the holie Ghost in vs, and the Angels that are appoyn­ted of God to shield vs, the shame and reue­rence of whom ought too restrayne thee al­waies from wickednesse, for asmuche as they are euer present with thee, hauing a continuall care of thee, and furthering thee vnto al good­nesse. Also bethinke thee of the sayings of holy writ, whiche do threaten Gods wrathe too whoremongers, aduouterers, & al others that are defiled with like wickednesse. For what meaneth the sixth cōmaundement, by saying, Thou shalt not commit aduoutrie? Uerily it forbiddeth all vncleannesse and vnhonest lustes, and it requireth honestie and chaste­nesse, and therewithall temperance and so­brietie, whereby this cleannesse bothe of minde and bodie is maynteyned. What sayeth Paule? Nother whoremongers, nor [Page] aduouterers, nor nycelings, shall inherite the kingdome of God: againe, ye knowe that no whoremonger or vncleane persone, hath anye inheritance in the kingdome of Christ and of God. Hereunto also belongeth this saying: It is the wil of God that you should be holy and absteine from al fornication. And this, Eschewe whoredome: what so euer other sin a man committeth, it is without his bodye: but he that committeth whoredome, sinneth against his owne body. Hereunto perteyneth this saying to the Hebrewes. Honorable a­mong all men is wedlocke; [...] y^e vndefyled bed: but whoremongers & aduouterers God will iudge. Remember what that chast and shamefast yongman Iacobs sonne answered to his mistresse, when she wold haue had him to be naught with hir. How may I (quod he) do this so great wickednesse, and not sinne a­gainst God: Ye see how the feare of GOD calleth Ioseph from naughtinesse. And anon after, when his mistresse would haue compel­led him, he fled away from hir & left his cloke in hir hande. Likewise Susanna being led by y^e feare of God, choze rather to dy a sham­full death, than to consent to aduoutrie. And Sophronia of whom Eusebius writeth, strake hir selfe through w^t a knife, to the intent shee [Page 13] would not bedefiled with whordome. Cal too minde how greuously God punished Dauid for aduouterie. Remembre howe the tribe of Beniamin was slayne almost euery mothers sonne, for defyling a Leuits wife: and here I omit a thousand other mo, bycause I wil not be to long. Here peraduēture y^• wilt answer, that thou callest all these things to minde, and yet art not able to withstande thy flesh, or to brydle thy lusts, that thy continuall praying vnto god doth not gretly auayle thee, that thy paynefull studying, thine honest exercises, and thy godly occupying of thy selfe, do nothing profit thee, & finally that thine often abstinēce, fasting, & watching, thy sobernesse, aduised­nesse, and continual keeping of companie w^t good men that loue god, do boote thee nothing at al. Wretch that I am therefore, what shall I do, sayest thou? I see brother, I see whoso­euer thou art, that thou bearest with thy selfe too much: surely thou art too fleshly mynded, sith y^t not euen wedlocke the wholsomest re­medie of all others, and ordeyned of God for the redresse of suche diseases: (as the A­postle declareth) can quenche thy lust and call thee backe from whoredome.

Therefore suche cowardlynesse and nyce­nesse of minde must be put awaye, and thou [Page 14] must wrestle lustily against the motions of the flesh, with inuincible courage of Gospel­like minde, and not foade thy selfe in thine owne feeblenesse. Streyne thy selfe, not only to beare the brunt and assault of a short time, but also to beare out the lingering tedious­nesse of long continuyng temptation: neither fainting as ouercome or tyred with the diuels long holding out in assayling thee, nor des­payring of Gods helpe, who doubtlesse will succour thee in tyme conuenient, as sayeth the Psalmist. He is too tender a carpetknight, which will needes haue victorie of his enimie, without putting of himselfe too any stresse or labour. No man is crowned (sayeth the A­postle) except he performe his chalenge law­fully. And truly I confesse that mans weak­nesse is ouer great too withstand the flesh and the Diuell, if hee haue an eye too his owne strength: but yet (as sayeth the Apostle) wee bee able too doo all things through Iesus Christe, who strengtheneth vs. Therefore let vs leane to the help and defence of Christ, let vs humbly pray to Christ for his assistāce, let vs continually and incessantly beseeche God the father for our Lorde Iesus Christes sake, that he suffer vs not too bee ouercome of temptation, but rather that hee deliuer vs [Page 15] from euill, that is to say from the Diuell, for his sonne our sauiours sake, according as Christe commaunded his disciples to pray. And let vs not doubt but that when we aske so according too his will, God will heare vs, and that he is able to doo abundantly aboue all that we can craue or wishe. Remember that when thou wa [...]t baptized, thou diddest enter thy name into the musterbooke of thy captayne Christ, and wart sworne vnto him: that thou promisedst to serue him in his warrs all thy life long, and that thou forsokest the worlde and the Diuell. Now therefore sticke stoutly to thy tackling, and shewe thy selfe a man, whensoeuer the cace requireth it at thy hande, in this so greate incounter agaynst the Diuell. Thinkest thou that thou shalt bee crowned without getting the victorie? Or that thou shalt get the victorie without bat­tell? Or that thou shalt fight without eni­mies to assayle thee? And what else is theyr chalenge in the end, but ground of euerlasting glory, if thou buckle thy self to the battel with a stoute and princely courage, vpon trust of Gods help? Go too thē, be valiāt in the Lord, and in the mightinesse of his strength, as the Apostle counsayleth the Ephesians to be. Put on the whole complet armour of God, that [Page 16] thou mayest be able to stande against the de­uils assaultes. Take to thee the shield of faith, wherewith thou mayst warde all fiery dartes of that wicked finde. Take to thee y^e spirituall sword, whiche is Gods word, as the same a­postle teacheth vs: and in resisting the Deuil, looke not alonely to humane weakenesse, but looke for Gods helpe with great assurednesse. How effeminate is he which can not brydle his lust and refrayne from aduoutrie, hauing entred into wedlocke, which the apostle coun­selleth for auoyding of fornicatiō? But surely he can, yea ver [...]ly can he, so he bee vnfeynedly minded, and do earnestly indeuer it, neither cockering his own nycenesse, nor discoraging himself through despayre of the heauēly helpe, which neuer fayleth such as pray hartily and continually for it. For God helpeth our in­firmity, so we shake off cowardlynesse & sloth, and fight manfully and with stout corage a­gainst Satan: neither doth God at any time suffer vs to be tempted aboue our power, but tempereth the successe of the temptation in such wise, as we may be able to beare it out, (as saith Paule:) nay rather he giueth vs vic­torie of our enimies by our lord Iesus Christ if we flee to him for succor, and call vpon him trustfully for helpe, without any doubting at [Page 17] all, as sayth saint Iames.

But let vs proceed to the rest of the vices a­mong which the first that incount ereth vs is the vice of the bellie and the mouth, which is called gluttonie or ryot. Wonderfully in good soothe is the fleshe prone thereto, and is verye loth to be brydeled of it. She loueth to liue delicately, tenderly, ryotously, feastingly, and not sparely, stayedly, and soberly. But the man that is rightly wel disposed and fea­reth GOD, perswadeth himselfe that Gods will is to be followed, rather than the flesh to be pampered, and thervpon indeuoreth to re­presse gluttonie and surfetting, with the con­trarie vertues of sobrietie▪ stayednesse, & tem­perance of dyet. And in deed if we may be­leue Phisitions, contraries are comonly hea­led by contraries. Therefore he layeth before him this saying of our God and Lord Iesus Christ. Beware that your hartes be not ouer loden with surfetting. And likewise this of y^e Apostles. Ouercharge not your selues with wine wherein is superfluitie. Again, Drun­kardes and Gluttons shal not inherite Gods kingdome. And this saying of saint Peters: Be sober and watch, for your aduersarie the Diuell goeth about lyke a roaring Lyon, seeking whom to deuoure, &c. And again this [Page 18] of Esay: Wo be to you that rise early to fall to bibbing and to drunkennesse vntil night, y^t yee may boyle in wine. And the godly man bateth and abhorreth these vices of the belly & the mouth so much y^e more, bycause they pro­uoke the Flesh (which is to vnruly alredy of it owne accorde) to whoredome, aduoutrie, & such other shamefull deeds, according to this saying of the olde Poet, VVhere wine is not, there is no lecherie. Neyther did Terence say amisse,

For this cause Valerius Maximus witnes­seth, that in olde time the Romane womē were not acquaynted with wine, verily least they might fall into any dishonestie, bycause the next steppe of intemperance from wine, is woonte to be to vnlawfull lecherie. Also in that trifler of Africa, Venus termeth sobrietie hir enimie, threatening that she will vse hir seruice to disarme Cupid withal. And in the Epistle to the Romans, Paule hauing made mention of feasting and drunkennesse, dothe by and by (without putting any other words betwixt) adde wantonnesse and vnchastitie, poynting as it were with his finger, that these do cōmonly followe of the other. And that is euen the very cause, why the holy men were woont to fast so often & so long in olde time: [Page] namely to the intent they might by any mea­nes the easilyer withstand the ouerlustinesse of their fleshe, represse the rage of it, brydle the lust of it, kepe y^e filthy desires of it in awe, and finally weaken and subdue y^e force of it. And notw^tstanding this their seking of remedie a­gainst y^e vnrulines of their flesh by abstinēce & fasting & theyr indeuoring to liue after a sort out of y^e Flesh being styl in y^e flesh, & in manner to ouermayster nature: yet neuerthe­lesse they resorted humbly vnto God for helpe and succour in that harde incounter, & prayed vnto him continually, reposing more hope & trust in gods defēce thā in their own fasting. The same do I counsell thee to do whosoe­uer thou beest.

Now let vs speake of ydlenesse whervnto our Flesh is very prone likwise, as which fin­deth nothing sweter thā slothfulnesse, sleping, lasinesse, vnlustinesse, loytering, drowsinesse, & lithernesse. It liketh hir wel do nothing, & to be cumbred w^t no businesse, but to rest frō all care & toyle. But y^e man y^t is godly & no lesse a christian in deede than in name, beareth in minde y^• idlenesse is cause of al noughtinesse, & specially y^t filthy lusts are nurrished w^t ryot and ydlenesse, as one witnesseth in a trage­die. And therefore rightly doeth the wittie [Page 20] Poet say in the Remedie of loue.

Hereto belongeth that which followeth a­none after in the same place.

Ful trimme doth Lucian shewe in his dia­loge of Venus and Cupid, that loue and filthy lust can take no place in them that neuer rest from labour, but are alwayes occupied about some businesse and woorke. For any manne may easily see, that y^t is the mark which y^e di­aloge ameth at. Besides this, idlenesse dothe commonly cause vs to delight in feastings & fellowshippes, to follow ryot and fursetting, to spende whole dayes in playing at dice, too seke to make ourselues merry with fond talke, ribaudly iesting, and wanton and scoffing speeches, to delight ourselues with gaudes & shewes, and with such dities, notes, and play­ing vppon instruments, as are filthie both in wordes, deedes, and gestures: and more ouer in dauncing, frisking, and al manner of leaping, [Page 21] and finally to runne headlong into al kind of voluptuousenesse, and vnrulynesse, as dayly experience teacheth, and the matter it selfe be­wrayeth openly. Therefore thou shalt do wel and rightly, if thou be alwayes occupyed a­about some honest businesse, as in studying, in reading, in following lustily the doinge of thy vocation, and there withal poure out thy prayers oftentimes vnto God, and crye vnto him for helpe: likewise if thou thanke God for his benefits, and if thy minde runne continually vpon the shortnesse & vncertaine­tie of this life, vppon the looking for death al­most euery minute, vpon Gods iudgement-seate vpon the paynes of hell, and vppon the ioyes of the heauenly kingdome. Again, if thy minde bee occupyed in often musing vppon Christes comming in the fleshe, vppon hys suffering of death for our saluatiō, vpō his ry­sing again vnto life, & vpon his ascēding into heauen. And finally, if thou be not idle at any time, but alwayes occupyed in some exercise. And if thou haue nothing to occupie thy selfe vpon at home, (and yet how can that be?) get thee to some Churche, bee at the hearing of some sermon, bee at the cōmon prayers eyther mornings or euenings, sing Psalmes & hym­nes to God in the congregation of the godly, [Page 22] be present at the christning of children, & ioine with others in praying, followe some corse to burial, and cal to minde thine owne frayl­tie, talke with thy godly acquaintance con­cerning diuine things, call the poore to thy table, visite the sicke, comfort them incorage them to death, or do some other thing besee­ming a christian man. And so thou shalt not be in perill of yeelding to the temptations of the fleshe or the Diuel. For I am afrayd lest the getting of thee into the countrie, thy wal­king about thine owne groundes, the doing of some handworke, the going abroad a hau­king, hunting, & fishyng, the tending of gar­dines, & such other things wil helpe the mat­ter very little. But yet are not those things al­so without their cōmodities: & it is better to do those things than to doe nothing. For in doing nothing men learne to doe euil, accor­ding to Catoes oracle: Euery ydle body is ful of conceyts, sayth the holy man: & (as I sayd) the vnmeasurable desire of feasting and ga­ming, with gluttonie & surfetting, do spring of ydlenesse. And out of them flowe whore­dome, aduoutrye, and other synnes worthy of euerlasting punishment, as witnesseth holy writ. Therefore by al meanes eschewe ydle­nesse, and assuring thy selfe of Gods helpe, re­siste [Page 23] the fleshe which is foreward of it selfe to ydlenesse, lazinesse, and slothfulnesse, and al­lureth thee sweetly therunto.

Now let vs come to the vice which also is reckened of the Apostle among the workes of the flesh, namely to wrathfulnesse or desire of reuenge, wherwith there is no, man but he is sometime, yea & that very often cumbered, some man more and some man lesse, accor­ding as euery mannes nature is. For partly al men, but specially those in whom choler aboundeth, are most of al subiect to that vice. Therfore let euery man endeuor with al ear­nestnesse, to represse that affection as much as he can And bycause (as one saith) the minde is commonly ouertaken of anger, before rea­son can prouide to disapoint it, let euery man reclayme him selfe long afore, & continually bethinke himselfe how to resist y^e affection, & not to doe any thing in anger. Let him cal to minde this saying to y^e Romans▪ Derely be­loued, auēge not your selues, but brydle your anger. And this to the Ephesians: Be angrie and sin not, let not the sun go downe vppon your wrath. And sith we reade that many of the heathen men of old time, were woont to brydle their anger w^t incredible modestie and grauity: were it not a shamefull & vnseemely thing for vs christians, if Gods will should [Page 24] not winne y^t thing at our hands which reason wonne at theirs, namely y^t we shuld not yeld to that incumberāce of minde. For although this affection cannot bee plucked vp by the roote, and quite and cleane taken away, it is so depely planted in vs: yet must such rage be e­uer restrayned & as it were brydeled, and not let loode. And that lyeth (partly) euen in a certaine willingnesse & inforcing of the minde by earnest indeuer and diligent heedetaking, (for exercise, myndfulnesse, and custome, and much rather reason and discretion, doe great­ly preuayle in this behalfe) but specially in Gods: helpe and grace, if a man craue them humbly with earnest supplicatiō and prayer. And anger is to be restrayned and with stood at the first brunt: so much the more, bycause o­ther euils do breed: and grow of it, as hatred, enimitie, and stryfe, which fyght ful butte a­gainst the christian profession, and wherewith the sonne of God would haue his to be vtter­ly vnacquainted, teaching them almost euery where to mayntaine mutuall loue & charitie.

There are yet other vices of the flesh, wher­of I will treate in their due place: and speci­ally, carelesnesse, & ouerlustinesse in prosperity, whereby it commeth to passe, that our harts forget God, so as we indeuor not, neither to [Page 25] call hartily vpon him, nor to giue him thanks for his benefits, nor finally feele his wrath to­wards vs for sinne, ne giue our selues to the furthering of our saluatiō in feare and trem­bling, by minding the amendmēt of our life. In this case the godly man must strayne him­selfe, both to shake off that carelesnesse which accompanieth, prosperitie, and also to retaine modestie, and to represse his ouerlustinesse, by considering with him selfe that all things may be turned vpside down in the twinckling of an eye if God list. And bycause that like as the fleshe becommeth proude of prosperitie, so it droupeth in aduersity, or else taketh it vnpa­tiently. Let the mā y^t feareth God, kepe some measure in that behalfe also & not shrinke in hart, nor pyne away with sorrow & heauines, nor yet storme and chafe against God. But let him euer behight himselfe amendment of his state, vppon trust of Gods goodnesse, & cal vppon God with greate assurednesse through the mediator Iesus Christ.

Among the vices or rather (as the Apostle termeth thē) works of the flesh, we must chief­ly recken couetousnesse, which is a lusting af­ter another mans goods & not after his owne. For the flesh doth willingly seke hir own ad­uauntage, and couet other mens goods. Hence spring wylinesse, crafte, deceitfulnesse, couse­nage, [Page 29] extortion, theuerie, & such other naugh­tinesse. But the godly man beareth in minde how it is forbidden in the ten commaunde­mentes, that he shoulde not couete any other mans goods, neither house, nor wife, nor man seruaunt, nor maydseruant, nor Oxe, nor asse, nor aught els y^t is his neyghbours. Neither is he ignoraunt howe the Apostle saith, that couetousnesse is the roote of all mischiefe. And therefore be laboureth by al meanes to keepe downe his affection & lust of the fleshe, & so hee haue meate & drink, & cloth to couer his body, he is fully perswaded that he ought to holde himselfe contented w^t them. Thus much con­cerning y^e Fleshe, which is woont to stir men vp, and to thrust thē forewarde to followe & enioye al manner of pleasures, to deale vn­honestly & naughtily, and finally to giue thē ­selues to ouercome all vices and leudnesse. Whose vntameable pronenesse to concupi­scence whosoeuer hath ouercome, hath dout­lesse attained the greatest and most glorious victorie that can be: concerning which matter one of y^e ancient diuines writeth thus: There is no greater victorie (saith he) thā that which is gotten of a mans owne lustes. He y^t hathe ouercome his enimie▪ is stronger, howbeit thā another man, but he y^t hath ouermaystred hys own lusts, is stronger than himselfe, He that [Page 25] ouerthrown his enimie, hath vanquished but a forrayner: but he y^t hath tamed his owne lust, hath subdued a houshold enimy. It is easier to ouercome any mischief than voluptuousnesse. For al other are terrible, but this is fayre spo­ken. He y^t vanquisheth his lustes, triumpheth ouer sin &c. The Apostle willeth to mortifye the deeds of y^e Flesh by the spirite, that is too say, to fight with all our harte and with all earnestnesse of minde, against the sinfull lusts wherevnto our Flesh is naturally foreward, so as we indeuer to bridle the fleshe whiche is prone to all vices, and runneth headlong to al sensualitie, and after a sorte offer violence to our owne nature, in crucifying the Fleshe with the affections & lustes therof, as the same Apostle saith. For if ye liue after the Fleshe (sayth hee) yee shall dye: but if ye mortify the deedes of the flesh through the spirite, ye shall liue: For they that are gods childrē, are led by Gods spirit. Wherby he sheweth, that such as follow wicked lusts, & restraine not their sin­ful motions with the feare & dread of God as it were by bridling them, shal be in danger of gods wrath & of endlesse death. For we must fight fiercely against the motiōs of the flesh, & not do any thing against consciēce. For y^t do they which witingly & willingly rush forth [Page 28] of set purpose into sin & wickednesse, breaking Gods cōmaundementes, shrinking through faynthartednesse, & driuing away & (as saith y^e Apostle) discoraging the holy spirite of God. Hereto belongeth this saying of the same A­postle, let not sinne reign in your mortal bo­die, that you should obey it in the lustes ther­of: nother yeelde yee your members to sinne, as weapons of vnrightuousnesse: But giue ouer your selues to god, as raised from death and gyue ouer your members as weapons of rightuousnesse vnto God. And again. They that are after the fleshe (sayth he) do minde the things that belong to the Flesh: & they that are after the spirite, do mind spiritual things. Surely to be fleshly minded is death, but to be ghostly minded is life & peace: bycause that Fleshlymindednesse is enmitie against God: for it is not obedient: to Gods law, neither can be. They therefore that are in the Flesh cannot please God. The same Apostle, to the Galathians sayth thus: Walke in the spirite & yee shal not fulfil the lustes of the flesh. For y^e Flesh lusteth against the spirite, & the spirit a­gainst y^e flesh. And those two are at strife one against another, so as yee cannot do what yee woulde. And again: They that are Christes, haue crucified the Fleshe with the affections & [Page 29] lusts therof, To be short, the Apostle warneth vs almost euery where, to kepe cōtinual battel against the Flesh when we be once regenera­ted, and to stryue with al earnestnesse to holde downe and subdue the sinfulnesse and cor­ruption of our nature sticking still in our Flesh by the spirite of God, to crucifie that old man of ours with Christ, to clenze away the olde leuen dayly more and more, and (that I may vse the Apostles owne words) to morti­fye our earthly members, as lecherie, vncloa­nesse, nycenesse, and euil concupisence. Ther­fore let vs not promise ourselues rist & safetie in this life: we must stand always as it were in battelray, so long as wee carrye the olde man about vs and we must fyght against the Fleshe without ceassing, that the bodye of sin may be done away and perish, as the Apostle saith to the Romans: And they that are sanc­tifyed by the spirite, must not in any wise so deale, as sinne may raigne and beare swaye in them: but they must with all force with­stande the sinfulnesse and forewarde inclina­tion to offend, which is bred in them: and (as S. Peter sayeth) they must absteyne frō flesh­ly lustes, which mayntaine warre against the spirit▪ and they must not abandon their mem­bers as seruants too vncleannesse & vnrighte­ousnesse, [Page 30] from leaudnesse to leaudnesse, but as seruants of rightuousnesse vnto holines. No­ther must they runne forwarde with blinde brayde whither so euer the flesh driueth them, nor heape sinne vppon sinne: but they muste fight (I say) continually against the fleshe as long as they liue. They must subdue theyr naughtie affectiōs, and not cocker themselues in their ouertēdernesse, nor giue head to their lustes. Finally we must by al meanes ende­uor, to put off y^e old man according to y^t for­mer cōuersatiō which is corrupted w^e deceit­full lustes: & to be renued in the spirit of our mind, so as we put on the new man, which is created to Godward in true holinesse & righ­tuousnesse, (as Paule saith to the Ephesians) I say, to put off the olde man with his deeds, and to put on the newe, which is renewed to the knowledge and image of him that made him, as the same Apostle sayth to the Colossi­ans, and lastly to forsake all vngodlynesse & worldly lustes and to liue soberly, vprightly, and godlily in this present worlde, wayting for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of the great God and sauiour Iesus Christ, who gaue him selfe for vs to redeeme vs frō all vnrightuousenesse, and to clenze vs for a peculiar people to himselfe, that we myght [Page 31] be followers of good workes, as the same A­postle writeth to Titus.

I will adde this one thing more, before I make an ende. There hath bin some stryfe in our dayes, who are rightly to bee taken for fleshly, and who for ghostly. I wil touch the matter shortly. He therefore is sayde to bee Fleshly, whiche strayneth not himselfe to the vttermost of his power, to keepe downe the corruption and naughtie affections that are in the fleshe, and as it were to purge away y^e old leuen: but is caried by them into al kind of leaudenesse and wickednesse, and rusheth wittingly and willingly against the precepts of the ten commaundements: and shaking off the force of god, beareth too muche with him selfe, being a seruant to his bodie, and (that I may vse y^e words of y^e apostle Iude) walking after his own lusts Contrariwise he is spiri­tuall, which being stirred vp by Gods spirite, endeuoreth with all his harte to liue a holye life, to obey Gods commaundements, to kepe himselfe vndefyled of the world, to put off y^e old mā, to subdue y^e sinfulnes y^t is bredin him & (as saith the Apostle) to kil y^e deeds of y^e bo­dy, thorow y^e spirit and which feeling his f [...]esh striuing ther against, doeth yet after a sorte offer violēce to his owne nature, and suffereth not him self willingly to be ouercome of his [Page 32] owne lustes, in so muche that if he can doo no more, at leastwise he suffereth not sinne to reigne in him, but vpon trust of Gods hope, indeuoreth to liue out of the flesh being in the flesh: in the meane while bewayling his own infirmitie and weakenesse, and bicause he can­not put away the renants of sinne that sticke fast in his flesh, he prayeth too haue them par­doned for Christes sake. For let no man looke too plucke vp quite and cleane, or too remoue whole away the inbred corruption whiche is as the roote of all sins. Alwayes there remains some behind, vntill the flesh be brought again into dust and consumed to nothing. For on­ly death is it that dispatcheth that mischiefe. In respect whereof Augustine sayeth thus: there is alwayes a fighting in the bodie of this death, bicause the cōcupiscence wherwith we be borne, cannot be ended as long as wee liue. It may dayly be diminished, but ended it cannot bee: Concerning this difference be­tween the fleshly & the spiritual man, I will cyte a few things out of Irenaeus, who in his fifth booke against the Heresies of Valentine writeth in maner thus: They that haue the pledge of the spirit, & serue not the lusts of the flesh, but submit thēselues to the spirit, & leade their life in all poynts agreingly too reason, [Page 33] them doth the Apostle rightly call spirituall, bicause Gods spirite dwelleth in them. And after a few other words, the vnion of the soule and bodie (saith hee) taking Gods spirit vntoo it, maketh a man spirituall. But as for them that reiect and forsake the counsell of the holy Ghost, & serue the lustes of the flesh, & liue not according too reason, but are caried headlong into all sensualitie, and being vtterly destitute of the breath of Gods spirit, doe liue after the maner of Swine and Dogges: them doeth the Apostle iustly call Fleshely, bicause they mynd nothing but Fleshly things, & so foorth.

The same Authour anon after sayth thus: For they that are such, doe beare men in hande that they beleeue in the father and the sonne, but yet doe they neuer set their myndes vppon Gods woord, as they should doe, neyther are they bewtifyed with the workes of righteous­nesse: but (as I sayd afore) they liue like swine and dogges, giuing themselues to vnclean­nesse, gluttome, and all other vyces. Iustly therefore doth the Apostle terme all such men fleshly and sensual, forasmuch as [...]ey take not holde of Gods spirite by reason of their vnbe­liefe and sensualitie, but walke vnreasonably after their own lustes. And y^e prophets call thē cattell & wyld beastes: & common custom ter­meth [Page 34] them brute beastes without reason, and in all the Lawe it selfe calleth them vncleane. And anon after: For the same cause (sayth he) the Lorde termeth them dead men. For hee biddeth them let the dead bury their dead, bi­cause they haue not the spirite in them that quickeneth the man. Contrarywise, as many as feare God and hope for the comming of his sonne, and settle the holie Ghost in their hartes by fayth, shall iustly be called men, and cleane, and spirituall, and ghostly, and alyue to God: bicause they haue the spirit of the fa­ther which maketh a man cleane, and rayseth him vp to the lyfe of God.

Many things doth Irenaeus alledge there cōcerning this matter, which are in deed wor­thie to be red, but yet am I compelled to omit them for auoyding of tediousnesse. Neuer­thelesse I thought it good to set downe some parte of them, for the better vnderstanding of the things that I haue alledged out of Paule concerning the Flesh & the spirit, only so farre forth as belongeth to the present purpose.

Of the VVorld.

NOw followeth y^t we treat of y^e World, which prouoketh men to many euils, and [Page 35] cōmonly ministreth occasions & opportunities of all kynds of sin, corrupting mē by example, & vndoing thē by stūbling blockes. First of all therfore y^e World stirreth vp y^e Fleshe (which of it self rūneth a main as is said) to vainglo­ry, prid [...], & ouerweening. For wheras all of vs are naturally desirous of glorie, more or lesse according to euery mans dispositiō: y^• World quickneth vp pricketh forward, and as it were wakeneth y^t affection by innumerable wayes. No man can willingly finde in his hart to be vnnoble & vnrenoumed, & much lesse to be vt­terly despized as a rascall: there is no man but he coueteth to place & put him self foorth before others. And there bee a great sort, who loking to be alonly magnified & honored of all men, not only despize other mens meanenesse in comparison of themselues, and make no recke­ning of them: but also doe alwayes, eyther by open resistance, or by priuie vndermyning, malice, and guile, bite their equalles and mat­ches, for very spyte and cankred euill will, by­cause they enuy their vertue, prayse, and glory: as in maner dayly examples shewe. And of­tentymes it falleth out, that when wee see other men in honour, authoritie, and credite, wee also stryue to bee equall with them, and whatsoeuer it bee whereby renowme, [Page 36] authoritie, or dignitie may be gotten, we giue our selues to it with might and mayne to at­teyne the same, and enuy other men for them. For commonly Pryde is accompanyed with spitefulnesse. But it cannot be said how great a vice Ambition or Pryde is, nor howe many mischiefes spring of it. Therfore that the god­ly man may eschew pride let him bethink him of this saying of our Sauiour in the Gospel: He that exalteth himself shal be brought low. And of this in the Apostle Sainct Peter: See that ye haue lowlinesse of mynd setled in you, for good withstandeth the loftie, & giueth grace to the lowely. Therefore humble your selues vnder gods mightie hand, that he may lift you vp when time serueth. Saint Iames as it were poynting with his finger to this saying of S. Peters, sayth: Humble your selues in the sight of the lord, & he wil exalt you. There are other textes of scripture besides these, which are able to scare men from pryde. And certesse it is very hard for a man to asswage and represse this loftinesse of mynd, & to think lowly & humbly of himself. For the roote of it is fastened deepe in mans brest, springing out of the blynd self-loue which is ingraffed in all men by nature: Hereof commeth the estimation and trust of our owne vertues, power, and wisdome, and [Page 37] the misknowing of mans weaknesse and in­firmitie. This doth oftentymes breede the de­spizing and oppressing of others. A braunche hereof is that vyce whereof the Diuell rather than the world is the breeder, namely the hy­pocriticall pryde & pharisaicall ouerweening, where through men doe not only conceyue some singular opinion of their owne: righte­ousnesse, but also despize other men as vngod­ly, in comparison of themselues. Of the which matter there is a parable in S. Luke, wherein Christ speaking of the praying of the pharisie and of the Publicane, addeth this after speeche in y^e end of it, that whosoeuer exalteth himself shalbe brought low, and whosoeuer humbleth him self shalbe exalted. Heerewithall agreeth the saying of the blessed virgin and mother of God, that god lifteth vp and exalteth the low­lie, and pulleth downe the mightie from their seates. But now let vs proceed to the rest.

Lyke as the Fleshe is naturally giuen to ryot, vnrulinesse, & wantonnesse: euen so the world ministreth sundrie furtherances of lust, nurrishments of vnstayednesse, and firebronds of lecherie to the Fleshe, adding fyre to fyre, and oyle to the flame. It setteth all kyndes of pleasures before it, and whereas of it owne accord it gapeth to greedily after such things: [Page 38] it not only quickeneth it vp with the smoothe enticementes of them, but also tolleth it on, and holdeth it snared in captiuitie to them. Whatsoeuer the Fleshe lyketh, of what sorte soeuer it bee, bee it right or wrong, the world doth in all poyntes feede the humor of it, most perniciously soothing, following, smoothing, and commending all things, and suffering it to be caryed headlong into all mischiefe, by foading the vyces and leaudnesse of it. And verily the World is to the Flesh as a fit couer for such a potte, as the prouerbe saith: so iump doe they agree togither in all poyntes, as I will shewe more playnly in due place. Of­tentymes also the World yeldeth both causes and occasions of spiting, of backebiting, of ha­tred, of reuenge, of hartburning, of malice, of anger, of impatience, of enmitie, of quarel­lyng, of slaunderyng, of scoldyng, of ray­lyng, and of innumerable other sinnes. And this is so true and manifeste, as it can neyther bee denyed, nor ought to be set foorth with moe woordes. Therefore let vs bee euer in a readinesse as it were to some bat­tell, whensoeuer wee, intende to set foote out of doores and to goe abroade [...]. Let vs alwayes set sure watche vppon our selues and vp­pon our owne myndes, and when wee shall [Page 39] haue to doe with other men, let vs looke well aboute vs vppon all our sayinges and dooyngs, as though wee were among the thickeste of our enemyes. Let vs es­chewe Stages, Gamyngs, Syghtes, Daun­cing schooles, and throngs of people, least anye thyng happen to come in our syghte, whych maye eyther corrupte vs by exam­ple, or hurte vs by giuyng vs offence. Thou meetest a woman of verye good fauour and bewtie: beware thou fasten not thyne eyes vppon hir. For hee that looketh vppon a woman to luste after hir, is an aduouterer alreadye in hys harte, sayth our Sauyour. Thou meetest with a rayler and a slaunde­rer: beware that thou neyther say nor doe a­ny thing vnbeseeming a Christen mā through anger, nor stryue with him in scoldyng and brawlyng. Unto these and suche other lyke thyngs the mynde must alwayes bee armed aforehande, that nothing may seeme straunge to vs, nor any thyng happen vnthought of or vnprouided for. For (as one sayth) a sodeyne storme abassheth men more than the storme that is forescene. For the auoyding of these and suche other things: bycause the shun­nyng of them in the open worlde seemed verye harde: The godlye in tymes paste [Page 40] did shet vp themselues in some solitarie place, wher ther might be no roome for so many oc­casions and causes of sinning, nor for so many corruptions and stumbling blockes. Not vn­wisely certesse nor vnwarely did they deale, in myne opinion: but yet if all other men should doe the lyke, who should gouern the common weale? who should ouersee the Churche of God? who should trayne vp youth in godli­nesse, nurture, and learning? who should in­corage men to vertue by example? Howsoe­uer the case standeth, yet must thou wrestle with the world wheresoeuer thou becommest, vnlesse thou intend to liue altogither among the dennes of wyld beastes, as the men that lo­ued God did, in the noble dayes of the aunci­ent tymes. Whom though thou imitate ne­uer so neerly, yet am I afrayd that thou shalt fynde a world euen without the world, & that the very solitarinesse shall comber thee more, than if thou leddest thy lyfe where as is most stirring, and soughtest the common commo­ditie of others. What remaineth then, but that we liue in the world as out of the world? that is to say, y^t we kepe our selues vndefiled of the world, (as sayth S. Iames) & neyther loue the world, nor the things in y^e world, as saith S. Iohn. And as y^e same Apostle addeth immedi­atly, [Page 41] The things that are in the world are such as these, namely y^e lust of the flesh, the likings of y^e eyes, and the pride of life. And by those are meant all manner of lewde desires that fight against Gods law, al inticements of pleasure, all kindes of lusts and likings, all couetouse­nesse, ambition, straungenesse, all pride full of a certayne statelinesse and vayne brauerie, and all troublesomnesse of life. And these in very deede are the things that wee haue professed our selues to renounce in our Baptim, and from the whiche all men must flee, and keepe them selues pure and vndefiled, at leastwise if they minde to be taken for Christians, and to be so in deede. For the loue of the worlde and the loue of God cānot agree togither, bycause (as sayth Sainte Iames) the frendship of the worlde is enmitie against God: so that whosoeuer will be frende to the worlde, is made an vnfrende to God. Now for the auoyding of the seuerall sinnes, wherof bothe the causes and occasions doe spring of the worlde, let e­uery man beare in mynde the sayings of the Scripture: as for example, against hatred and hartburning towards our neybor, this saying of Saint Iohn: Whosoeuer hateth his bro­ther is a manslear, and you knowe that no māslear hath euerlasting life abiding in him. [Page 42] And if any man say, I loue God, and hateth his brother, he is a lyar. Against wrath, thys saying of our Sauiors: Whosoeuer is angry with his brother vnaduisedly, shall be in dan­ger of iudgement. Against rayling and mis­speaking: Whosoeuer calleth his brother foole, shall bee in daunger of Hell fire. And this of Paules. Euill speakers shall not possesse the kingdome of God. Against impatiēce and de­sire of reuenge, this saying of Christes: Loue your enimies, wishe well to them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that hurt you and persecute you, that ye may be the sonnes of your father which is in heauen. And agayne: if ye forgiue not men their misdeedes, neyther will your father for­giue you your misdeedes. I will not pursew these things any further.

Let vs remember that the occasions, and (as yee woulde say,) the handles whereby to take hold of these sinnes, are giuen vs of y^e world: but the roote of them all is fastned deepely in the flesh: and that the world doth oftentimes cause the vices to brust out, whiche lie hidden within in the flesh. Dung (sayth one) doth not alwayes cast an ill sent: but stirre it, and thou shalt smell it. Euen so wee whiche seeme to our selues to bee meeke, gentle, godly, and [Page 43] christianly in deed, do by and by bewray what wee bee, as soone as the worlde ministreth oc­casion,

That is to say, the naughtynesse and sin­fulnesse which cleaueth fast to the bowels and maree of vs, bursteth out whensoeuer occasion is giuen, and bewrayeth it selfe, so as the secret vices that lay hid in the innermost nookes of the mind appeare, and the priuie thoughtes of the hart whiche lay wrapped vp in darknesse (as sayth y^e Apostle) are brought to opē light, so as a man may nowe in manner feele with his handes the faultinesse, stayning, and cor­ruption that is bred within vs by nature. The world sheweth foorth riches, welth, glory, ho­nor, and pleasure. These stirre vp the inward lurking couetousnesse, ambition, sensualitie, and other lustes and affections, and bewray a man to be farre otherwise than hee pretended to be. A man is at a deyntie, fyne and sumptu­ous feast, wher there wanteth neyther pleasant meate, nor most excellent and noble wine. In this cace perchance he that tooke himselfe to be very sober and well stayd by nature, shal finde in him some pronenesse and forwardnesse of [Page 44] his flesh, to riot and surfetting. For the vice that lay lurking within, indeuoureth to burst foorth into act, vnlesse ye meete it by the way, and resist it and fight against it with all your power, as the wel disposed sort & such as feare God haue bin wont to do. So likewise (that I may alledge another example) the behol­ding of a fayre and welfauored woman, shall peraduenture cause a man (which douted no­thing lesse before) to feele some filthy incli­nation of his flesh vnto wickednesse, whyche eyther he was vtterly ignorant of before, or at leastwise beleeued it not to be of so great force to set him on fire. Therefore let no man, let no man (I say) trust too much to him selfe, but let euery man suspect himselfe, and acknow­ledge both the wonderfull forwardnesse of the flesh vnto all sin and wickednesse, and also the weakenesse and frailtie of man to withstande it: and to the intente he may eschue the sinnes them selues, let him (according to the commō saying) eschue the occasions of sin: but yet let him in any wise call always vppon God for help and succour, and so liuing in a cleane body, let him labour and trauel towards hea­nenly things in his mind. And inespecially, looke what vices euery man is most giuē vnto by nature, let him diligently shun both the [Page 45] causes and occasiōs of them in the world. Let him forbeare the felowship, familiaritie, and company of vnthrifts, let him not willingly be at any sumptuous and excessiue bankets, feasts, or meetings, vnlesse hee bee in manner compelled. And if he must needes be at them, let him be well ware of himselfe, that he ney­ther do, nor say any thing there, whiche may iustly as ill become a Christian, as it may per­haps well become the libertie of feasting. At a word, let the godly man indeuer this at all times, and all places, that (as sayeth Sainte Iames) he may keepe him selfe vndefyled of the world. Although this be easier to be spo­ken than to be done, yet may it be done in part by the help of Gods grace. Let vs streyne our selues earnestly to the vttermost of our power, and out of al doubt God wil further our in­deuour. Let vs remember how Saint Iohn sayeth, that the worlde passeth away with the lust thereof: but hee whiche doeth the will of God, indureth for euer. Wherefore let vs not loue the worlde, nor the things that are in the world, though they seeme neuer so fayre and full of all kind of sweetenesse. Of which forte are these things wherewith the world is wōt to intrappe men vnwares: filthy pleasures, shamefull lecherie, glittering and sumptuous [Page 46] furniture of feastes, deyntinesse of meates, ri­ches, welth, dominion, power, honor, great­nesse, glory, dignitie, and (to knit vp the mat­ter in fewe wordes,) the delightes of the flesh, the pleasurings of the senses, the allurementes of the eyes, and the pride and pomp of life. As for all these things, the wel disposed man that feareth God, deemeth them not to be true and substantiall goodes as they be commonly ta­ken to be, but emptie images of good things, or rather some iuggling trickes, and euen as a poysoned and deadly hony, or else a deathfull draught of methe, as the Prouerbe sayth: and therefore he refuseth, forsaketh, and skorneth them, and (as Saint Iames counselleth) kee­peth him selfe vnstayned of the world, and (as sayth Saint Peter) fleeth from the corruption of lustes that is in the world. He knoweth that all the world is set vpon naughtinesse, as Iohn witnesseth. Therefore according to Saint Paules doctrine, he seeketh the thyngs that are aboue, hee careth for the things that are aboue: he passeth not for earthly thyngs, nor for the things that are put to him by the world, whiche he is not ignorant that hee re­nounced in baptim, togither with all the pompes, allurementes and pleasures thereof. And all these things dothe the wel disposed [Page 47] man streyne him selfe to doe, vppon trust of Gods help. But yet for all that, it is a thing of great difficultie and labor, by reason of the naughtinesse and sinfulnesse that is through­ly settled and rooted in his corrupt nature: wherethrough it commeth to passe, that looke what leawdnesse and wickednesse so euer the Worlde occasioneth and offereth, the Fleshe dothe greedily catche holde of them out of hande without sticking at it. For the senses and thoughts of mans hart are forwarde to naughtinesse euen from his childhoode: and all the imaginations of his minde are bent at all tymes vnto euill, as that graue Authour Moyses witnesseth in Genesis. Great there­fore and paynefull alwayes is the godlye mans fyghting agaynste the pronenesse of his owne fleshe vnto sinne, whiche is vtterly in­credible, and against his owne weakenesse in withstanding the allurements of the worlde, by reason of the vnweeldie and vnbrideled moodes of y^e flesh, which willingly followeth, (I will not say outrunneth) whithersoeuer y^e world calleth it, & giueth no eare eyther to the souereintie of the minde, or to the commaun­dementes of God: in so muche that Paule sayde truely, I knowe there dwelleth no good in me, that is to say, in my flesh: for, to be [Page 48] willing is present with me, but I find no abi­litie to doe thee good: for I doe not the good which I am willing to do, but I do the euill which I am loth to do. And a little after: I agree to Gods lawe (sayth he) as in respect of mine inward man: but I see another law in my members, which warreth against the law of my minde, and leadeth me prisoner to the law of sinne that is in my members. Wret­ched man that I am, who shall set me free from this body of sin? I thanke God through Iesus Christ our Lord. Thus much hitherto.

Now then that the world doth both marre with examples, and vndo with stumbling-blocks, for asmuch as it is out of all doubt, I neede not to vse many wordes to make it playne. A poore womā sees a ritch Lady glit­tering in golde and purple, and clad in appa­rell of sundry colours, and by and by she be­ing inflamed with desire of like gaynesse, stretcheth hir selfe beyonde hir abilitie, & hathe no measure of hir costlinesse and superfluitie. So great mischiefe is there in example, wher­of the world yeeldeth occasion. In the meane while there is no more regarde had of that which the Apostle Saint Peter sayth, than of the man in the Moone, as sayth the prouerbe. His will is that the attire of Christian wo­men [Page 49] shoulde not be outwarde, in brayding of their heare, in wearing of golde, and in appa­rel of costly rayment, but inwarde and secret, that the inner man whiche is in the harte, bee cleare from all corruptnesse, so as the minde bee mylde and quiet, &c. Also Paules minde in his Epistle to Timothie is, that wiues shoulde clad themselues in sobre apparel and attyre, with shamefastnesse and chastitie, not with curling of their heare, not with golde, not with pearle, nor with sumptuous ray­ment, but as becommeth women that shewe foorth godlynesse by good workes. Besides this, the vice, wickednes and leaudnesse wher­with the world doth alwayes swarme and o­uerflowe, do often hurte by example, castyng stumblingblockes in mens wayes, and mi­nistring occasion of falling, as, Lauish and ryotrous expences, dayly bellycheere, glory­ous and fine furniture of feasting, rauishing and deflowring of maydens, aduoutry, incest, Church robbing, blaspheming of God, and specially these, swerings, cursings, & bannings, by the crosse, woundes, and bloude of Christ, which alas are too too breeme and rife nowa­dayes. I omit howe the world inhonoreth vyces with the names of vertues, calling ryot liberalitie, vnshamefastnesse, valyant corage, stubornes, stoutnes: & crafty deceitfulnes, fynenesse [Page 50] of wit. Contrariwise they deface vertues with the names of vices: calling stayednesse, sturdinesse: thriftinesse, nigardlinesse: sham­fastnesse, sheepishnes: mildenes, cowardlynes: and warenesse, fearefulnesse. How manie bee there thinke you, which to eschewe the reporte of too much sparing and nigardship, doe after the example of other men, mayntayne prince­ly cheere, and fare for a Pope, with al sump­tuousnesse and royaltie? Thus the world mi­nystreth both cause & occasion, wherthrough, they that else woulde liue soberly, thriftily, and stayedly, do liue ouerdaintily, fynely, & sumptuously, too the intent too scape disprayse. So likewise ye shal finde other some, which to eschewe y^e reporte of cowardlynes & faynt­hartednesse, bycause it is coūted an vnseemely thing for a man to be so, wil rather reuenge iniurie than forgiue and forget it, and rather go to lawe than lose any peece of their right. For the world doth commonly terme patience by the leude name of cowardlynesse and lasi­nesse, and deeme the desire of reuenge to be a kinde of valiantnesse and stoutnesse meete for a man. To be shorte, after the same sort there are innumerable, who to eschewe the brute of pouertie, bycause they take that to be reproch­full, doe seeke goods by all meanes possible. [Page 51] whither it be by periurie, vsurie, or any other leude slightes, not passing at all howe they come by them, so they may haue them. For if any do heap vp riches by hooke and by crooke, and inforce themselues to the vttern o [...]t to get abundante of welth, those doth the world deeme to be men of forcast and pollicie, and it taketh almost them only to bee wise and on­ly worthie to be accounted of. As for honest pouerti [...], it despiseth it, making no reckening of such as eschew it not by al meanes possible. And so by inflaming mē with d [...]sire of welth and riches, it bringeth to passe and obteyneth, that like as in all other things, so also in this, men direct the doings and deuices of their whose life, cheefly by the iudgement of the world, and neglect the commaundementes & heauenly doctrine of God, running blyndly and madly into al sin, corrupted by example one of another. Looke what I haue sayde of riches, thinke the same to be spoken of power, dominion and authoritie: to the atteynment of which things whosoeuer do bēde thēselues with all their harte, them doth the world gape & gaze at aboue all others, as men of greatest corage. Whiche dealing when well dispozed men and such as feare God doe see, who else are woont to despize such things, and to make [Page 52] none account of them: they also are somwhat moued at it, and tickled with a certaine desire of the same things, the whiche (notwithstan­ding) they doe easily put away and shake off by and by, in respect of Gods will, which they labour to obey. To be short, which way so euer a man turne him in the worlde, vndoub­tedly he shall euery where meete with some­what, whereby the mindes of the godly may be sore offended, if they take not heede, and which may wonderfully defyle, atteynt, and mar them, with the foule infectiō of noysome example, bee they neuer so pure, sound, and cleere: so as a man may rightly say, that the worlde is (after a sort) the wide gate & broad way that leadeth to destruction, and is woont to be alwayes troden & haunted of most men, wherof our Sauiour maketh mention in the Gospel. But I will not stande any longer vpon these things.

Of the Diuell.

THen let vs come to y^e third enemy, which is at deadly foade with vs continually. Uerily he is y^e old serpēt, which is called Sa­tan and the Diuel, as Iohn writeth in the A­pocalips. This is hee that raungeth continu­ally vp and downe in Christes sheepefolde, [Page] as an hungerstaruen Lyon seeking whom to deuour: whom Peter willeth vs to withstād stoutly by fayth. This is he that seduceth the whole worlde. This is the author of sinne, which allured the first father of mankinde in­to deceyt. This is he whō our sauior witnes­seth in a certaine place, bothe to haue bene a murtherer from the beginning, and also to be a lyer, and the father of Lyes. This is hee of whome Iohn saith, The diuell sinneth from the beginning. This is bothe the prince of the world, as Christ termeth him in Iohn: & also the euill, wherefro we desire in the Lords prayer to be deliuered. He therefore (to come to the matter) not only tempteth vs to the meane vices and wicked doings, suche as I haue rehersed alredy, and wherevnto both the fleshe of it owne accord is foreward, and the world ministreth innumerable causes and oc­casions: but also laboreth to driue and inforce vs to some greater sinnes and horribler wic­kednesse, as Epicurish contempt of God, the neglecting of gods woord, vnbeleefe, distrust, often despayre, false perswasion of ourselues, trust of our owne strength, wilfull stuborn­nesse in euill, blaspheming of God, the w^tstan­ding of the knowen truthe, hypocrisie, super­stition, Idolatrie, periurie, treason, aduou­trie, inceste, murther, kylling of a mannes [Page 54] owne father or mother impoysonyng, witch­craft, and other infinite sinnes, & such wicked and vngodly deedes, as cannot be conteyned within any number. He laboreth to infeeble our trust in God, and also to weaken or ra­ther to take quite away the hope of our salua­tion, and to quenche our loue towardes God, and our charitie towardes our neybour. To bee shorte, hee neuer leaues assaulting of vs both within and without: hee preasseth, and pursueth vs, and neuer giues vs any respite at all. And whome he cannot ouercome by sodaine assault, them he indeuoreth to tyre w^t long continuance and with holding on stil. He prompteth our mindes with filthy, sham­ful, and wicked thoughtes, and inflameth vs with sundrie heates of lustes within: and af­terward he trumpeth such things in our way outwardly, as may easily eyther corrupt vs by example, or offend vs vnwares eyther in word or deede. Finally he trieth al the ways to the woode, that looke to what vice a man is most prone by nature and custome, hee may throwe him headlong into it, and so finally destroy him. And not that onely, but more­ouer he laboureth by all meanes to coniecture and knowe what euery man thinketh in his owne minde by some outwarde signes and [Page 55] tokens. Therefore of all things it is the har­dest for a man to resist his so sundry & greate temptations, vnlesse god helpe our infirmity. And the diuel assalteth vs not only in respect of the minde, that is to witte, by prouoking vs to innumerable sinnes, and by thrusting vs headlong oftentimes into most horrible wic­ked deeds: but also indeuoreth to y^e vttermost of his power, to hurt our bodies, to appaire & hinder our helth, to procure sicknesses, to infect the ayre, to rayse noysome tempestes to stirre vp deadly warres, great vprores, and trouble­some seditions, and to minister causes and oc­casions of hatred, hartburning and enimitie both publique & priuate, wherof diuers times doe rise very great slaughters. And he is not more to be feared when he assaulteth vs open­ly, than when he stealeth vpon vs as it were by vndermining: neither is be more to be dreaded when hee sheweth himselfe as he is, than when he transformeth himselfe (as sayth the a­postle) into an angel of light. He dealeth with vs openly, when he goeth about to driue vs to outwarde sinnes and wicked deedes, as rape, aduoutrie, incest, manslaughter, witch­crafte, and such like. And he stealeth vppon vs by vndermyning, when he assayleth vs vn­wares by secrete traynes, making vs negli­gent [Page 56] and in manner carelesse in hearing of gods woorde, and slowe and slouthfull in trew godlynesse and honest dooings, as in the deedes of charitie, in praying to God, in giuing him thankes, and in executing euery man the dueties of his owne vocation, and so oppresseth vs as it were in a sleepe. And trewly Satans wylinesse in assaulting vs is woonderfull. For one while in temp­ting vs to sinne, he speaketh vs faire and smi­leth vpon vs, lessing y^e heynousnesse of the of­fence, and taking away the feeling of Gods wrath for sinne, by remouing his grecuous threatnings out of our remembrance, and not suffering vs to minde the punishmentes that God hath executed vpon sinners in old time. To bee shorte, hee maketh the sinner care­lesse on all sides, and (as sayeth Cyprian) hee sootheth to deceiue, smileth to smite, and allureth to kill. Otherwhiles on the con­trarie part, he woonderfully inhaunceth our sinnes beyond all measure, and driueth vs al­moste to dispaire by the feeling of Gods dis­pleasure: he setteth before our eyes the exam­ples and punishmentes of other men. & ther­vpon he biddeth vs gather what we our sel­ues ought to looke for, indeuering in cōclusiō to bereue vs of all hope of forgiuenesse, & to [Page 57] draw vs to endles destructiō Those vndou­tedly be y^e diuels fyrie darts, which S. Paule speaketh of in the Epistle too the Ephesians.

Also this is a wonderfull wyle of the di­uel aboue all the rest. For like a craftsmay­ster and cunning forger of all mischeefe as hee is when, he cannot, ouercome vs by his owne feates, and by the vices that he prouo­keth vs vnto: then laboreth he to ouercome vs by our owne weldoings. O how dreadfull an enimie is hee, whiche maketh euen vertue an occasion of sinning? This wil become the playner by an example, When he tempteth a man to surfetting and drunkennesse, if the man yelde vnto him, then hath he woonne him to the fulfilling of his lust, whereof hee mini­stred matter vnto him to performe it withal. And if the partie withstand it, then doeth hee make him proude in his heart, for hauing so good stay of himselfe, And so the diuel ouer­commeth euen in being ouercome. Likewise when he goeth about to inflame a man with loue of mony, if the man take not good heede hee is like to fal into the crime of couetouse­nesse, whiche (as saieth the Apostle) is the seruing of Idolles. But if to spyte Sa­tan withall, hee become the bountyfuller and kynderharted to the poore, then shall [Page 58] he hardly shift from swelling vp with some secrete pride. Thus doth Satan cōmonly cut euery mannes throte with his owne sworde, (as they say▪) and like a wily and olde wrin­ger as he is, he maketh them to vse his owne trickes and suttle sleyghtes. In fleeing from the smoake men fall into the fyre. By reason whereof, he is no lesse to bee feared when hee is ouercome, than when hee ouercommeth. Diuers times he fayneth himselfe to be ouer­thrown and out of strength, to the intente to step vp againe the fiercer. He runnes away to drawe men into ambushe, and to giue them the counterbuffe vnwares. He giueth place openly, to vanquishe by stelth. To be shorte, whom he cannot catch with sweetenesse and delight, him he compasseth with the conceyte and wel lyking of his owne vertues. Hereof sprang this bosting of the pharisies: I am not a robber, a wrong dealer, nor an aduouterer, as other men are. I fast twice a weeke: I giue tithes of all that I haue. Rightly dothe Ambrose in a certaine place warne vs, that all other vices preuayle by euil deedes: but only pryde is to be taken heede of euen in wel do­ings. And surely there is not any man y^t can be ready ynough to beware of pride. Euen vertue it selfe (as I sayd) doth oftentimes mi­nister [Page 59] occasion to this vice, yea and it com­meth to passe diuers times, that we vaūt our selues to loftily in y^e ouerwening of our own myldenesse, and in the humbling of our harts by bearing a lowe sayle: insomuche that euen in mislykyng of oure pride, wee doe after a sorte swell secretely in oure selues for mis­lyking of oure pride. And so wee fall intoo the same vice y^t we shūned most of al. Ware­ly therfore must we worke, warely must we preuent Satans temptations, and we muste labour to espye the intent and drifte of our most wily enimie, yea and (as sayeth Sainct Paule) to knowe the very thoughtes and cō ­ceits of Satan. What then shal a christiā mā do in so many, so diuers, and so great assaults of his most merciles enimie? Soothly he must flee to the maiestie of God for helpe, he muste pray without ceassing, and he must with ear­nest and hartie supplication, beseeche the eter­nall God the father of our Lord and Saui­our Iesus Christ, to deliuer vs for his sonne our mediatour and high priestes sake from y^e euill, whiche neuer ceasseth one minute of an houre, but assaulteth vs continually: and not too suffer vs to fal or to quaile vnder tempta­tion. Also we ourselues putting from vs the ouertendernesse of our hartes, must with sin­gular [Page 60] stoutnesse resist the Diuel that assayleth vs, & maynteyning warre against him vpon assurance of gods helpe, beware of the ambus­shes y^t he hath layde redy for vs, and not giue him any occasion to set vppon vs vnwares. Moreouer, let vs call to minde y^e examples of the saints that haue w^tstood y^e Diuel manfully & the punishmēts, y^t haue bin executed vpō sin­ners, & the greeuous threatnings of the holye scriptures: y^t in so doing we may by the helpe of y^e holy ghost, be able to ouercome the tēp­tations of y^e Diuel the easelyer, & to vanquish our most suttle enemy, who assaulteth vs, not only by himselfe, but also by the worlde, and chiefly by our owne flesh, that is to say, by our own selues and in our owne selues.

Neither let vs hope for peace out of hande when we happen to haue gottē once y^e better hande of him. What then? We must (as yee would say) stand cōtinually in battell ray: for we cannot be discharged of y^e daunger of the diuels assaulting, vntill wee bee dispatched of our life. Of which matter I thinke it very ex­pedient to adde here y^e words of y^t holy man & martire of Christ, saint Cipryan. Simeon (sayth he) auoweth y^t Gods seruants are then at peace, & in free and quiet rest, when they be taken out of y^e turmoyles of this world, & are [Page 61] arriued in the hauen & dwelling place of the euerlasting safetie, & whē they haue put away this death & are come to immortalitie. For y^t is our peace, our sure rest, & our stable, firme, & continuing safety. But as for y^e world, what else do we in it than keepe continuall war a­gainst y^e diuel? than stand in cōtinual conflict against his darts & weapons? we haue to in­counter against couetousnes, against vnchast­nes, against anger, against vainglory, we haue a continual, endles, & combersome wrestling to indure against fleshly vices & worldly al­lurements, mans minde being beseeged & as it were trenched in w^t the noysomnes of y^e di­uel, is scarce able to incounter him & to with­stād him in al places. As soone as couetousnes is ouerthrowen. Lecherie steps vp: as soone as lecherie is suppressed, ambitiō takes his place: if ambition be shakē off, anger wexeth fyerce, pryde puffeth vp, tippling inticeth, enuie brea­keth concorde, & ielosie cutteth off friendship. Thou art compelled to speake euill, whiche the Lawe of God forbiddeth. Thou art dri­uen to sweare, which is not lawful. So many persecutiōs doth the mind dayly suffer, and w^t so many dangers is y^e hart distressed: and yet doth it delight thee to stand stil heere among y^e diuels swords, when thou shouldest rather [Page 62] wishe and desire to hye thee vnto Christe, by the helpe of speedie death? and so foorth.

Now like as thou muste not be proud, if thou haue at any time ouercome thine enimy through the helpe of God: so must thou not bee out of harte, though he ouerthrowe thee, & (as it were) dash thee against the ground but thou must ryse vp againe the lustilier against thine enimie, and not suffer him to go his way vnfoyled. And that shalt thou do, if thou praye often and hartily vnto God and craue the helpe of the holy ghost at God the fathers hand for Iesus Christs sake, & henceforth loke more neerly to thy self, walking circumspect­ly and warely in all things, and looking eue­ry way aduizedly about thee, that thou offend not vnwares, ne dash against any thing: if y^u be strong in the Lord, & by the power of his strength, as sayth the apostle: & finally if thou alwayes and aboue all things bee mindfull of mans frayltie, that wheras thou seemest to thy selfe to stande, thou loke throughly & sub­stantially to it that thou fall not, and imploy thy selfe to thy saluation with feare and trem­bling.

But to returne to our former matters, in the diuels tempting of vs, when he pricketh vs foorth to any of the things aforesaide, wee [Page 63] must first and formost take to vs the sword of the spirit, which is gods worde, after the ex­ample of our sauiour Iesus Christe, who be­ing tempted of the diuel, resorted to the mi­stical scripture, by meanes whereof he brought to passe y^t the diuel went away vanquished, and did let him alone, as the storie of the gos­pel witnesseth. The like must we do. As for example (therby to make the thing more ma­nifest) if he go about to bring a mā to y^e neg­lecting of Gods worde, & of holy assemblies, the man of God by and by fearing himself, must bethinke him of his saying to S. Iohn. He that is of God heareth gods worde. &c. My sheepe heare my voyce. If he goe about to driue vs to dispayre for the vnmeasurable number of our sinnes: Let vs call to remem­brance this saying of our Sauiour in Iohn: God so loued the worlde, as he gaue his on­ly begotten sonne, to the intent that whoso­euer trusteth in him should not perishe, but haue life euerlasting. And this saying of the same our sauiour in Mathew: Come vnto me all yee that are weerye and ouerloden, and I will refresh you. Also this whiche is written in the first Epistle of S. Iohn: If any of vs sinne, we haue an aduocate with the Father, euen Iesus Chryste the righteous, and he is [Page 64] the attonement for our sins. Again, herein ap­peared Gods loue towards vs, that God sent his onely begotten son into the world, too the ende that we might liue by him, &c. So like­wise, in all other of the Diuels temptations and suggestions, the godly man muste (as I sayde afore) take to him the spirituall sworde, to incounter his enimie withall, and he shall go away with victory in all cōflictes through the helpe of God. For without Gods grace, mans indeuor is vaine and to no purpose. For al our abilitie commeth of God, it is Gods e­uery whit of it, as saith that blissed man Cy­prian. Neither can wee hope for any vic­tory against the Diuel by reason of the feeble­nesse and infirmitie of our owne strength: vn­lesse God helpe vs. And that is the very cause why our Lord commaundeth vs to desire of God the father, that he should not leade vs into temptation, but as oft we flee vnto him, deliuer vs from that euil wyght, whiche suf­fereth vs not to be in rest and quiet one mi­nute of an houre. The same Lorde of ours exhorteth vs to watch and pray, least wee fall into temptation. Yea the Apostle Peter quic­keneth vs to sobrietie and watchfulnesse, by­cause of our aduersarie the Diuell, who go­eth about like a roring Lyon, secking whom to deuour.

[Page 65]But nowe to finish this part of the diuels temptation, I will breefly set downe what Tertullian sayth of that most sturdie enimie of mankinde. He neuer suffereth his malice to rest (saith he:) he matcheth, he assaulteth, he be­seegeth: if he may by any meanes eyther strike the eyes with fleshly concupiscēce, or snare the minde with worldly intycementes, or ouer­throwe fayth with feare of earthly authoritie, or writhe one from the sure way by vnto­warde traditions: he spareth no stumbling-blockes, he spareth no temptations. To the same purpose also maketh this of saint Cypri­an: Our aduersary with whō we be at war­res, is old, & on auncient enimie. It is ful sixe thousand yeeres ago since the diuell did first fight against man. He hath now learned all kinds of tempting, and al slights and trickes to ouerthrowe, euen by the long continuance of his practise. If he fynde Christes souldyer vnprepared, rawe, not heedful, nor watching with all his harte: he windeth about him vn­witting it, he beguyleth him vnwares, he de­ceyueth him for want of skill. But if a man that keepeth Gods commaundements & stic­keth stoutly vnto Christ do cope with him, he must needes be ouercome, bycause Christ whō the man confesseth is vnvanquishable. The [Page 66] same man in another place saith thus. Wee must keepe watch my deere brethren, and la­bour w^t al our power, that we may with all heedfulnesse and wakernesse withstande our enimie in his rage, who shooteth his dartes at vs to strike vs and wound vs in al parts of our body. He goeth prying about euery one of vs, and like an enimie that beseegeth the wal­les of a towne, hee spyeth and tryeth whither any part of our members he lesse stedie and assured than it shuld be, that he may breake in at it to the inner partes. He offereth the eyes alluring shapes and delightfull pleasures, to destroy chastitie by sight. He tempteth the eares with shirle musik, that the sweetnesse of the sounde may lozen and soften the corage of the Christian by heering. He prouoketh the tong to misspeaking, he pricketh foreward y^e hands to malapertnes of slaughter, through prouocation of wrongs. Too make a manne a deceyuer, he faceth him with vniust gayne. Too catch the soule with couetousnesse, hee thrusteth in hurtfull commoditie. To bereeue a man of the heauenly honour, he promiseth him worldly honour. To steale from him y^e true things, he sheweth him y^e false things. And when hee can not beguile couertly, hee threateneth openly and apertly, manacing w^t terror of troublesome persecution, as one y^t is [Page 67] alwayes enimie to Gods seruants, & always restles in seking to subdue them. In peace he is slye, & in persecution violent. Therfore my deerebeloued brethren, our minds must stande armed & weaponed, as wel against all the di­uels deceitfull slights, as against all his open manaces, as readie alwayes to fight against him, as our enimie is alwayes redie to assayle vs. Thus much sayeth saint Cyprian.

And this enimie is so much more to be fea­red than y^e flesh or y^e world, not only bycause he almost neuer ceasseth to assault vs on al si­des al our life long, but also putteth vs to our plundge at y^e point of death, when we be rea­die to giue vp y^e ghost. At y^t which instant he laboreth to driue vs to dispayre, by setting our sinnes before our eyes, & by inhauncing them wonderfully aboue mesure. Moreouer, at the same time, he bringeth importunately to our remēbrance, the iudgment seate of y^e Lord, the tormēts of hell, the fire y^t shall neuer be quen­ched, & furthermore Gods rigour, & the exam­ples of Goddes dreadfull wrath in punishing of sinners, that he may driue the wretched ma to dispayre of his saluatiō. Also he casteth in a chokepeare to make him dout of gods mercie, and putteth perilous thoughtes in his heade, of predestination. To be short, he striueth to weaken the beleefe of the thynges that are [Page 86] to be beleued, and maketh to cal al the whole doctrine of our Religion into doubt: that he may so at length throwe him headlong into endlesse damnation. Or if he perceiue hym selfe to win nothing that way: then he trans­formeth himselfe into an Angel of light, and whom he could not perchaunce driue to dis­payre, him he stirreth vp to a certaine vngod­ly selftrust, and to a presuming vpon his own desertes, and so laboureth to oppresse him vn­wares with carelesnesse, yea and euen stan­ding in a fond conceyt of his own good deds. Of the whiche matter, forasmuch as I haue spokē sufficiently in my booke of the comfor­ting of the sick, I wil adde no more of it here.

These are almost al y^e things y^t came to my mind cōcerning the conflict of y^e Christen mā against the flesh, the world, & the diuel, which I thought good too put forth. Great vndoub­tedly is mannes vnabilitie to resist these eni­mies: but yet (as I sayde) wee bee able to doe al things through him that strengtheneth vs: and that is the sonne of God, our Lorde and sauiour Iesus Christ. Be of good cheere (saith be,) I haue ouercome the world. Therefore let vs be of good corage, and call continually vpon God for help, and (as our sauiour coun­selleth vs) let vs not be weery of praying, let vs [Page 69] eschew al occasions of sinning, let vs forthw^t stop the tēptations at their first enterance, & let vs neuer suffer them to gather strength. For when men stand or tarry any thing long vp­pon filthy thoughtes, they runne in daunger of being ouercome at the length. When we haue gotten the vpper hande, let vs buckle our selues new againe to the battell, and not imagine the conflict to be come yet to a finall end. For wee muste looke still for one temp­tation in anothers necke. And if we be ouer­come, let vs not be out of hart for it. For as it is true y^t one said, that is too wit, that the man which runnes away may fight againe: so is it as true, that the conquerour hath oftentimes bin ouercome of the vanquished. Let vs doe our indeuor, that whatsoeuer occasion our e­nemye giueth vs of sinning, wee may take holde of it to doe well, and (as the prouerb sayeth) lette vs cut his throte with his owne sworde. Right hard and difficult surely is the combate with our enimie, but yet is the vic­torie easie by the helpe of God. Only let vs withstand him manfully and with stoute co­rage, and God will helpe our indeuor, & (that I may vse the Apostles words) he wil treade downe Satan vnder our feete. When our enimie tempteth vs, let vs alwayes call to [Page 70] mynd the shortnesse and vncertaintie of this lyfe, the presentnesse of death at all times and in all places, the perill of vnrepentantnesse, & the endlesse punishments of hell, but special­ly and aboue all thinges, Gods being pre­sent euerywhere, and the presence of the An­gels whome our most mercifull father hathe appointed to keepe vs. Let vs beare in minde that we be the temple of God▪ and that Gods spirite dwelleth in vs. Therefore let vs not (I say) let vs not vnhallow Gods holie tem­ple, neither let vs (as sayth the Apostle) greeue the holy spirite of God by following our fil­thye lustes, and running foorth whithersoe­uer oure enemie the Diuel calleth vs. Let vs not driue away the Angels, whom God hath set to be our kepers for the mayntenaunce of welfare, the reuerence of whō ought of right to call vs backe from sin and wickednes. Let vs be ashamed to do those things in the s [...]ght of the angels, which we would be loth to doe in the sight of a man. Let the purenesse and holinesse of the Angels keepe vs somewhat in awe from sinning. Nay rather, let God himselfe who is present euery where, who is the searcher of mens raynes and hartes, and which looketh into the innermost conceyts of our mindes let him (say I) [...]ray vs not onely [Page 71] from al leude & wicked deedes, but also from thinking vpon any thing y^t is vnhonest, filthy, or vncleane, if wee be not vtterly godlesse & stark Epicures Finally, let vs indeuer to bee sobre, & beware y^t our harts be not ouercharged with surfeting and drunkennesse. But as the Church of God sing in hymnes,

Last of all, let vs assure ourselues, that in this harde and daungerous incounter against our inbred coruptiō & pronenes to sin against the innumerable inticements of the world, & against y^e prince of darknesse, and god of this world, whiche maintaineth vnreconcylable war against vs, the holy ghost helpeth not y^e cowards & hartles sort, nor y^e sluggards and slothful sort, nor such as sit loytring and ydle as it were w^t their armes folded one within another. Therefore let vs not soothe our selues in our owne weaknesse, neither let vs cocker our owne nycenesse: but being armed & wea­poned with the spirituall furniture that saint Paule maketh mention of in the Epistle too the Ephesians, lette vs ioyne battell [Page 22] cherefully, as valiant in the Lord, and by the mightines of his strength as saith the apostle. Let vs not giue brydle wilfully to our affec­tions, neither let vs at any time shrinke wyl­lingly from Gods grace. They that streyne themselues are helped from aboue as they say. God giueth his holy spirit for Christ the mea­diators sake, to them that craue it. Through whose ayde and helpe, mans infirmitie which else had bin vtterly vnable through the only powers of nature, is nowe inabled by power from heauen, if it submit it selfe thereto: at leastwise so wee fayle not ourselues, but be­ware in any wise that we receiue not Gods grace in vaine. For although wee cannot by any meanes vtterly roote out▪ & quite & cleane take awaye the corrupt naughtinesse that is bred in vs, nor plucke vp (as yee woulde say) all the rootestrings of it, so as nothing shoulde be lefte: yet surely we may be able by the fur­theraunce of Gods helpe, to keepe it downe and after a sort to subdue it, so as although we cannot vtterly ouerwhelme it & quench it that it might neuer rebell, yet we may kepe it, in the meane while from reigning & from ouermastring of vs. So likewise may we be able to refuse the inticements of the world if we indeuor it with al our power: & to wyth­stande [Page 25] Satan, if we put away the ouertender­nesse of our hartes: and finally to get the vp­per hande of our enimies, if we inforce our selues to it with all our harte and all our in­deuor: howbeit, not wee (as the Apostle saith) but the grace of God with vs. There­fore: lette vs euermore craue this grace at Gods hande trustfully and without doub­tyng: let vs flee thither for succour, vpon ac­knowledgment of our owne vnabilitie to resist: and let vs also yeeld our selues there­vnto. So will it come to passe, that the vic­torie which we could not atteyne by our own power, we shall atteyne by the helpe and fur­therance of this grace, and that through our Lorde Iesus Christ, vnder whose antsignes wee fyght in the camp of his Churche, and vnto whom we haue giuen our selues in bap­time, renouncing there the worlde and Satā the Lorde of the worlde, with all the pompes and pleasures thereof. Let vs followe this rightly noble, victorious, and triumphante Graund captaine, who both incorageth vs to fight, and inableth vs to win: and both relee­ueth them that faynt, and crowneth thē that ouercom. For this is he which saith in y^e Apo­calips, To him that ouercommeth, I will giue to eate of the tree of lyfe that is in the [Page 74] mids of y^e Paradise of my God. And againe Be faythfull vnto the death, and I wil giue thee a crowne of life. The same Lorde pro­miseth to him that getteth the vpper hande, both deliuerance from the second death▪ and hidden Manna, and the writing of his name in the booke of life, and the sitting by him in his throne, and the right of Gods children, & the possession & inherlting of all good things. Whom would not so greate rewardes inco­rage, were he neuer so ranke a cowarde? whō would they not thrust foreward, were be ne­uer so heauy a sluggarde? If we be christi­ans, let vs beleeue God the fetter foorth of such rewards for vs, and lette the same rewardes kindle our corages to deale lustily. For as for him that is not moued with suche rewardes, surely he is little better than an Epicure, and an vtter dispyzer of religion, and a mā whose saluation is wel neere past recouery. God the eternall father of our Lorde and Sauiour Iesus Christ, be euer our ayde and helpe in our continuall battell agaynst the Fleshe, the World, and the Diuel, and suffer vs not to sinke or giue ouer, but deliuer vs when wee flee vnto him, from that wicked wyght which leadeth away the whole worlde after hym. To be shorte, we beseech him to vouchsafe to [Page 75] make vs able by his grace, to ouercome the fraylty of our flesh, to eschew the inticements, corruptions and infections of the world, and to beware of the baytes, slightes, and deceytes of the diuell. And so, vnto him with the son and the holy Ghost, be all prayse, honor and glorie for euer and euer worlde without end. Amen. Amen.