A SERMON PREACHED AT TRAFFORD IN LANCASHIRE AT THE MARRIAGE OF A DAUGHTER OF THE right Worshipful Sir EDMOND TRAFFORDE Knight, the 6. of September Anno. 1586. By WILLIAM MASSY bachelor in divinity, and fellow of Brasennose College in Oxford. prover. 19.14. House and riches are the inheritance of the fathers, but a godly wife cometh of the Lord. AT OXFORD. Printed by JOSEPH BARNES, and are 〈◊〉 be sold in Paul's Churchyard at the sign of the Tigers head, 1586. TO THE RIGHT WORSHIPFUL HIS VERY GOOD PATRON SIR EDMUND TRAFFORD KNIGHT W. M. wisheth health and long life in this world, and in the next to come aeternal felicity. I Having (right Worshipful) received by your good means, great courtesies both in the country & at my study in Oxford, and as not able any way to requite the like, I have yet and will still keep the same in a grateful memory. In the mean time at a good testimony hereof I dedicate this Sermon to your Worship, which at your request I preached at your house before the right honourable the most noble Earl of Derby, and the right reverend father in God the B. of Chester with diverse Knights and Esquires of great Worship at the solemn marriage of your daughter, a modest and virtuous Gentlewoman, married to a young Gentleman of great worship and good education. The which holy marriage God bless even as he blessed joseph, Gen. 48.20. that it may be said of their issue as it was said of his children, God make them as Ephraim and Manasse●. For yourself as you have long been a principal protector of God's truth and a great countenance and credit to the Preachers thereof in those quarters, and have hunted out and unkenneled those sly and subtle foxes the Jesuits and seminary Priests out of their calls & caves, 〈◊〉 the uttermost of your 〈◊〉, with the great ill will of many both open and private enemies to the prince and the Church, but your reward it with the Lord: and as you have maintained still yo●● house with great hospitality in no point dimpling the glory of your worthy predecessors, but rather adding to it: So I pray God still continue your zeal, your liberality, your loyalty and fidelity to your prince, Church and common wealth, that here you may line long with increase of worship, and after the race of your life welr●●●e here you may be partaker of chose unspeakable joys in the kingdom of Heaven which be prepared for all the elect children of God, unto whose blessed protection I recommend you and all yours. Amen. Yours to command in Christ jesus. WILLIAM massy. The text, Psal. 128. 1 BLessed is every one that feareth the Lord and walketh in his ways etc. 2 When thou eatest the labours of thine hands thou shalt be blessed, and it shallbe well with thee. 3 Thy wife shall be as the fruitful vine on the sides of thine house, 4 And thy children like the olive plants round about thy table. 4 Lo surely thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord. 5 The Lord out of Zion bless thee, that thou see the wealth of Jerusalem all the days of thy life. 6 Yea that thou see thy children's, etc. THE fit opportunity of this time, this great concourse of all sorts have moved me to take this text, and to undertake to entreat of the honourable estate of marriage before this honourable and worshipful assembly: wherein if you cousider the antiquity thereof, God appointed it before the fall of Adam in paradise: if you respect the necessity, it is natural, and therefore agreeable to all estates: if you seek after comfort, then virtus unita fortior, it is not good, man should be alone. If you care for delectation in an honest matter, then of all bonds and loves none is so delectable, none is so inviolable as is the bond & love betwixt the husband & the wife. Lastly if you mark the continuation thereof from elder times to these our present days, then behold our Saviour did honour marriage with his honourable presence; joh. cap. 2. and with his first most glorious miracle. The godly learned in all ages of all degrees at all times both princes the nobility and gentility the state ecclesiastical, the people, as Moses, Aaron, David, Eli, Samuel, Esay, Zachary, and all the Apostles but john, the ancient fathers, and reverend bishops in the pure and primitive times, as Tertullian, Hilary, Nazianzen, Spiridion, with others have commended, allowed and practised the same, neither to the hindrance of their functions nor detriment of the common wealth, nor the derogation of the glory of God. juelapol. All which have been by our men both by pen, and in the pulpit proved substantially by scriptures, sufficiently by fathers, & perspicuously by ancient histories, whereof to discourse more fully I cannot, but will content myself with a short compendious enarration and explication of this text, wherein I note these two things. First a description of the husband, the wife and children with their several and singular duties. Secondly a petition or prayer for them. First in the description of the hitsband the first and chiefest quality wherewith he must be adorned and furnished is, 1. Part. to fear god, to serve him aright, to have a right & a righteous faith, which must be grounded on the word of God. Let me speak as I have read, and I do believe as I speak: I would have this husband whom I describe to be a protestant, & to marry a protestant. I would have them both to be of one religion, and to be of a sound religion, which I am persuaded is not the stubborn obstinacy of the jew nor the Godless impiety of the Turk, nor the vain superstition of the Papist, but is the ancient catholic & apostolic faith which is now both preached by us & professed by you, that is to believe rightly, to live uprightly, to offer the sweetincense of our prayers to god above, steadfastly to believe to be saved only by Christ's death without any merit of ours, to frequent the church, to receive the Lords supper in both kinds, to honour & obey Rings & Princes as the most noble and excellent in their dominions, and in a word to fear God Such a reverend and religious fear had Abraham over his son Isaac to marry him not to a profane gentile or heathenish woman, Gen. 2.3. but one of his own stock and lineal descent, that served & worshipped the same true God that he did: Thus doth the blessed Apostle teach, Cor. 6.14. we must not draw the yoke with infidels. For betwixt this godly husband and virtuous wife, there must be an equality in years and in virtues, both young or both old, and no mean love soon hot soon cold, but a most ardent and fervent love which cannot be quenched with a flood of waters, which cannot be without this fear of God, and except they be of the same religion, Ambrose. for so defendeth Ambrose: Inter quos est diversareligio, inter eos non est firma amicitia. Those that be of a contrary religion, the love betwixt them is not sincere nor cannot be of any long continuance. Many err notoriously in their marriages through their careless contempt of this fear of God. Some marrow in their nonage and minority, some respect only beauty, others hearken after lands, others after gold and silver, following the Poet: O cives cives quarenda pecunia primum, virtus post 〈◊〉. And many one for land takes a fool by the hand. Others are not ashamed to hold this vile and villainous opinion, as profane Atheists, A good marriage if the wife were away. But are we stronger than Samson, wiser than Solomon, greater than Achab to tempt the Lord, who all most grievously offended in this point? Samson was thereby dishonoured, Solomon brought so far through idolatrous women from this fear of God, that some of the ancient father's doubt of his salvation. Ring Achab of himself was sold to all mischief, but was made the worse through the wicked counsel of his ungracious wife jesabel: 1 King ●. 22. but they both had their tragical ends and well deserved: a terrible spectacle for the like to all posterity. These worldly marriages are justly refuted by him who said, Mallem virum pecunia, quàm pecuniam viro indigentem. Themist. office 2. Better is an honest poor man than a wicked rich man. And those foolish marriages are forbid by the wise man in his book Ecclesiasticus, Marry thy Daughter, Cap. 7.25. and so shalt thou perform a weighty matter: but give her unto a man of understanding. Glaucus in Homer preferred copper before goold, Hom. Iliad. ●. whereby he showed his folly. Martha chose the worser part, Luk. 10.41. whereby she showed her woorldelinesse. Esau preferred a mess of delicate broth before his birthright, for the which he is called of the Apostle a profane man. Heb. 12.16. So many prefer beauty before bounty, riches before virtue, gold and silver before shamefastness and godliness, lands and inheritances before honesty and discretion. But this our religious husband must fear the Lord with a Godly fear, Ios. 24.15. like the good son of josua who hath this blessed testimony that he feared the lord with his whole family. Pro. 1.7. For this fear of the Lord is the beginning of all wisdom. Luk. 18.2. As for those men that resemble the rigorous judge, that neither fear God, nor good man, that never think of the salvation of their sinful seduced souls, that either be Atheists or Libertines or Machivelians or Spendthriftes or covetous Nabals or great Gamesters or Luxurious and Riotous persons or seditious and traitorous papists, are no fit men to be such a husband as I propose. But such I commend as here out Prince and Prophet, in royalty a Prince, in learning a Prophet, Mat. 10.28. doth, who fear not men that can kill the body, but fear the Lord who can kill both body and soul, and cast both into hell fire, even such a one as walks not in the ways of the wicked or in his own ways, but in the ways of the Lord, which is the second quality and duty of a good & Godly busband. 2 And walks in his ways. The second quality of this husband is to walk in the water of the Lord, wherein I may decipher unto you the wit and wisdom of a godly and religious husband. 1. Cor 9.24. Our life is aptly resembled to a race or course or a journey, in going whereof a man must have a wise and expert guide to direct him in his journey. This guide of our religion of our life of all our actions is the word of God. For so our Prophet erclaimeth with a zealous exclamation, using a rhetorical subtecon both playing the opponent & respondent himself. Psal. 119.9. O wherewith shall a young man learn to redress and reform his ways: Even by ruling himself according to thy word. This word is a rule to judge the strait from the crooked, a squire to direct our building by, a compass to guide our ship by, a Law to judge controversies by, and as a God in this world to decide and determine all matters which shall arise in the Churches of God, even to the end of the world. For our purpose the jews erred in marriage they would seek a divorce for every trifle, they would marry wives that were young, fair, & wealthy, and when they were either old or poor or deformed, they would put them away. They did also make the Church of God a denue of thieves by their profane selling and buying in it: but our saviour reforms these notorious errors by two principles: Mat. 19.8. the one is, It was not so from the beginning: Mat. 21.13. the other, It is writ, my house shallbe called the house of prayer. And certainly this husband shall show his wisdom in this, if he guide himself, his wife and family according to this rule, to walk in the ways of the Lord, which are fully and faithfully set down in the old and new Testament, jer. 8.9. for so the prophet thinketh, You think you are a wise people, but you reject the Law of God, and what wisdom can be in you? And Austen cities out of job, Enchirid. ad Laur. c. 2 this sentence, Hominis Sapientia est pietas. The Godly man is the wise man. This wise husband may learn in this word to love his wife entirely, Pro. 5.18. to be merry with her in the Lord, to abstain from too much bitterness, Col. 3.19. to dwell with her according to knowledge, not to be rigorous but courteous towardsher, for with the most, courteous persuasions prevail more than sharp reprehensions do. But chief his wisdom shall appear in this, to bring to his house no ill, naughty & defamed persons. So Menelaus did fondly in entertaining to his house friendly that lewd and lascivious Parts, whereby his wife fair Helena was defiled, as also he must be sufferable in the importunities of his wife. For as a little jar in music is not easily espied, so a little shrewdness in the wife may be colerated. 1. Pet. 3.7. For this cause Saint Peter would have house bands to honour their wives, which consists in this, in providing sufficiently for their necessities by a godly providence, & to bear with their infirmities in the Lord, Prou. 29.18 Eccle. 9 and in no wise, a wise husband may be jealous over the honesty of his wife, for that either needs not, or boots not. Only let him he as zealous in religion, as wise in his government of himself, his wife and family: so let him avoid idleness, and labour diligently in his vocation, which is the third quality of a good husband. 2 When thou eatest the labours of thine own hands thou shalt be blessed, and it shallbe well with thee. This good husband must not be idle and slothful, but labour faithfully & painfully in that vocation wherein God hath called him. Gen. 2.15. So Adam before his fall had this charge of God to dress the garden of Eden. Gen. 3.15. And after his fall this precept, In the sweat of thy brows thou shalt eat thy bread. The divine Philosopher Plato saw so much by the instinct of nature Nemo sibi nascitur, Cic. Offic. 1. we are borne to defend our Country to benefit and gratify our friends and neighbours. There be four parts in the common wealth. The Prince as the head, the honourable and worshipful, as arms and shoulders, the state ecclesiastical as eyes, the common multitude as the feet. O blessed and happy shall that realm be when these four parts agree in a sweet consort and melody in the amiable and blessed love of peace and unity, discharging their duties fully and faithfully in the fear of God. The Prince in appointing, the nobility and gentry in counseling, the preachers in feeding, and the people in being. 2. King. 18. For Princes, the imitation of David of Ezechias of josias is worth the imitation, who all were very diligent in appointing good laws for the religion of God, and also I may not forget the great zeal & learning of Alphred king of this land, Act. and Mon. who divided the day into three parts, some hours he took for his private study & service of god, some he reserved for the hearing of matters of state and the common wealth, and the rest he left for his rest, repast and recreation. For counsellors they may imitate joseph, who under king Pharaoh ruled the land of Egypt with great and singular wisdom and providence, Gen. 41.39. Dan. 44.5. & they must be as Daniel was to Darius, in whom the enemies could find no fault touching the government of his kingdom. For the Clergy to feed by preaching by hospitality by godliness of life, Humfred de vita jewel. to follow that reverend Bishop of Salisbury, who followed the noble emperor who said, O where should a captain die but in the field: so his poesy was, O where should a Bishop die but in the pulpit? For where preaching faileth there the people perisheth. Prou. 29.18 Rom. 13.12. For the common people they must be obedient to their Magistrate to love and honour their Prince, to bear that nature and affection to their sovereign as did the Israelites to David the king of Israel, who all made this noble protestation, It is better that a thousand of us die than David our king. God save David the king, if he die the great light of Israel is quenched: So let all faithful and loyal subjects bear this affection to our most noble and gracious Princess Elizabeth. 2 Sam. 18.3. It is better that a thousand of us die by the seditious treacheries of our false forsworn and fraudulent countrymen than Elizabeth our Queen. God protect and preserve Elizabeth: If she die and miscarry the great light of Israel shall be quenched. Now if our husband be any of these four, he hath something to do, he must be careful to provide for his house, to feed & clothe his family, to instruct his wife and children, to pay his servants their wages faithfully and truly, and to walk in that vocation with a good conscience whereto God hath called him. Ari. oecom. lib. 1. cap. 6. The office of the husband, is to get, the duty of the wife is to keep: the office of the husband is honeslly to maintain his livelihood, the duty of the wife is, prudently to govern the household. Such a noble care had the noble Emperor Valerianus of whom thus it is writ, Euseb. lib. 7. cap. 9 Aula Valeriani erat referta pijs viris, & Ecclesia Dei facta est. The court of Valerianus the Emperor was fraught and furnished with godly men, and made the Church of God. Such a noble Captain was Cornelius who hath this report to fear the Lord with his whole family. Act. 10.1.2. Thus if our husband labour in his vocation he shall have this blessing of the Lord to eat the fruits of his own labours. Eccles. 1. The most noble and learned King Solomon in those 12. Chapters of his book Ecclesiastes declares most largely and learnedly how all things under the cope of heaven are nothing but grief, sorrow, vexation & anguish, grief of body, sorrow of heart, ●ix●tion of brain, and anguish of mind: but yet this to be our part and portion and a blessing of God in this life, when we both sow and trap, when we both plant the vine and drink the vine, when we build houses and dwell therein, when we can be content to live of our own, for that is our own that doth us good, when we eat & drink without gluttony and drunkenness, in sobriety and modesty in the fear of God. This is a blessing, this is a great blessing, this is a great and gracious blessing of God himself, and such a blessing shall this religious and wise & politic husband enjoy, when I have described to you: wherein because I have been longer than either perhaps I should or you expected, I will be the shorter in the description of the wife and children. Which thus followeth in the Text. 3 Thy wife shall be as the fruitful vine on the sides of thine house, & thy children like the olive plants round about thy table. Among the trees that be fertile and fruitful the Olive is commended for his fatness, judge 9. 9● the fig tre for his sweetness, the vine for cheerfulness, for wine drives away sorrow, & is a sovereign restorative for an heavy and pensive heart: so among all creatures men and women be only commended for their learning, wisdom & godliness. The comparison of a woman to the vine I will not amplify largely but touch it briefly. First the vine is weak, Plin. lib. 4. & must be underset and underpropped by some sure and strong stay: so the wife is the weaker vessel more subject to infirmities, & a wise modest man will not disclose her infirmities, but tolerat the same with good discretion: 2. Sa. 11.1.7. so Bersabe was more beautiful than strong, when she defiled her body with David, broke her faith and love with her good husband Urias: which was the very occasion of his death. Eva the mother of all showed herself very weak when she was beguiled with an apple. Gen. 3.6. Gen. 19.26. Lot's wife was both weak & wicked, when she looked back in token she lusted after Sodoma and Gomorra against the commandment of God, but she was turned into a pillar of salt: a terrible spectacle & most horrible monument of wicked backsliders and sinful revolters, Pliny. l. 14. to all godly posterity. Secondly a vine is not only weak but low too, it grows near the earth: So a godly wife must not be proud and stately in her own conceits, but humble & modest in the presence of her husband. For a godly wife neither must nor will seek a sovereignty or superiority over her husband. Lomb. lib. 4 For the woman (as the master of the sentences doth allegorise) was made of the rib of man, that he should entreat her gently as his mate: she was neither made of the head, that she should usurp authority & power over him, nor yet of the feet that she should be abused as a slave & vile servant by him: And even as the lowest soils be commonly most battle and fertile, so those we men that be most modest & humble, are most filled & furnished with gods gifts & graces, jam. 4.6. even in the greatest measure. For as the holy scripture saith, god resisteth the proud, Plin. l. 14. & giveth grace to the humble. Thirdly the vine is fruitful, it beareth grapes plentifully, which well ripened, & mightily pressed, do yield great store of wine, Galen. de. Sa. 4. which cheereth the heart of man, refresheth the vital spirits, heateth the cold stomach, helpeth the rawness and crudity & many other infirmities of the same. There are many wives which are fruitful in children, and this is a corporal blessing: for so many godly children, so many blessings of God. In the old law sterrility and barrenness was deemed as a curse of God, and therefore many godly & religious women as Sara, Rachel, Rebecca, Gen. 3●. Anna with others heartily & humbly prayed of god, that he would give them children. Psal 127.5. O happy & blessed is the man that hath his quiver full of godly children brought up in the fear of the lord, they shall be a terror to the enemy, a stay to the country, & a comfort to their parents. But there is another spiritual blessing, Good religion. there is another fruitfulness better than this, that is, that the wife be invested & adorned with good qualities. First that she fear God religiously, & walk in his ways, for than shall God procure & purchase her favour & grace in the eyes of her husband. And therefore we find by experience that divers women not so fair being godly, are better liked and loved of their husbands, than others more amiable & beautiful, Pliny. and yet not so godly. For as the loadstone draweth hard iron to it: so this fear of god in the wife will easily move a wise husband: but it will force a wayward husband to entreat hit lovingly & gently. love. And as to season unsavoury meats, pleasant & delicate sauces be prepared: so to give a good relish to the sweet food of honest marriage it must be tempered & seasoned with a most ardent & fervent love. And good reason to love them to whom we have given our bodies and all, and chosen to be partakers of all joys and sorrows, of wealth and woe, of health & sickness, & for whom we forsake father, mother, brother, sister, friend, kif & kin & all, & that not for a time, but during the course of our life. I say it is good reason we should like & love them, & that with a most near & dear affection. We read of noble julia Pompey's wife, who expressed the sign of a most loving wife, for being with child, when she saw her husband's warlike coat brought into the city all imbrued with gored blood, fell into a sudden sound, scriching most ruefully and woefully crying out. O Pompey Pompey farewell, and so this noble lady with her untimely child presently died. The greatest maintainer of this honest love is shamefastness, Shamefast. 〈◊〉 which is such a virtue in a woman, that without it the rest are all disgraced. For this shamefastness is given to women, for a defence to keep their reputation, for a castle to preserve their chastity, for a fort to maintain their honour, and for a garland to advance their praise and commendation. 〈◊〉 Aristotle the famous philosopher requires in a maid to be mar●ed four things, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, riches, good parentage, beauty & virtue. Beauty is commendable, a good parentage is honourable, wealth, land & a good inheritance is not to be contemned: but the chiefest dowry, the best inheritance, the most precious jewel in a woman is virtue, & especially the virtue of obedience. So our Apostle teacheth, Wives obey your husbands. Ephes. 5 22. Obedience Man is fit for this soveraynty of rule & regunent than a woman, even by the law of nature, having greater skill to rule, experience to govern, capacity to comprehend, wisdom to understand, strength to execute, carefulness to prosecute, patience to suffer, and a greater courage and magnanimity to perform and perfect all purposes and practices whatsoever. Host. 1. 2● In the book of Hester we read of king Hasuerosh king of the Medes & Persians, he had a masterly and imperious shrew to his wife Queen Vasti, who would not obey him in a certain matter. Whereupon he called and convented his nobles and counsellors and by their counsel she was put away, and he married the noble and virtuous lady Queen Hester. But let this imperious Oueene go. Let us pass over Xanthippe Soccates wife. Exod. 4. Iob. 2.9. Let Sipora Moses wife, let jobs wife and good Tobias also, as most noble and notorious shrews go, and let every godly wife follow the good example of godly Sara, who obeyed her husband Abraham with all dutiful reverence and called him Lord in token of her singular humility. Good name. And as she must be obedient, so she must have an especial care of her good name. For a good name is as a sweet ointment and as a most delicious & precious perfume. Plutarch in Caesar. Cesar would have his wife Pompeia not only free from dishonesty, but also free from all suspicion both of dishonesty & disloyalty. There be many ways to preserve this good name, but I take this to be as one most chief and excellent in a maid or wife to be resident at home, as the snail, Tit. cap. 2.5. & not oft to range & run abroad as Dina did. To keep home. For by this means the house shall be better governed, her husband better pleased, all evil suspicions avoided, and great expenses saved. For few there be but they are great wasters in their gay and gorgeous apparel, which is the more increased by gossoping and gadding abroad as the manner is in some places. But our Apostle teacheth godly women not to delight in too gay and garish apparel, 1 Pet 3. 1 〈◊〉 2.9. but so to attire themselves as well becometh modest matrons, and as is fittest for the vocation of their husbands. And here our king and prophet Oavid in modesty a prophet, in majesty a king would have a godly wife to be as a side & part of the house, or as a wall to the house to defend it, not to be a ruin to pull it down, either by the pride of her fancies, or pomp of her train, or delicateness of her diet, or sumptuousness in jewels, or bravery in apparel, or lightness in conversation, to root up the walls of her house, to turn up all topsy-turvy, and not to leave one stone upon another. Now if the godly wife be as the fruitful vine, or fat flourishing olive, no marvel if her children be finely and fitly resembled to the branches of the vine or tender plants of the olive tree. The branch is tender, it will bend or bow at your pleasure, the young children be pliable as soft wax, they be flerible as tender olive branches, than a gentle rod will break no bones, Prou. cap. Ephe. 6.4. than he that spares the rod doth spill & spoil the child. For this is the exhortation of S. Paul, you Parents bring up your children in the faith and fear of the lord, get you schoolmasters both to instruce them by doctrine and reform them by discipline. For a child better unborn than untaught. Arist. pol. l. 8. cap. 3. The old Grecians (as the noble philosopher saith) were wont to teach their children 3. things 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. the which thus the fine & ingenious poet hath expressed, In Eunuch. Facpericulum in literis, in palaestra, in musica. They were trained up in the liberal & ingenious arts, as chiefly Grammar, Rhetoric, & Music, & in feats of activity, whereby their bodies were made the stronger to abide tough & long study the better. Pro. 22.6. And king Solomon who was diligently taught of Nathan the prophet gives forth this precept & profit, teach a child in his youth virtue & learning, & when he comes to years he will not forget it. Act 7.22. So Moses, so Dantel, so Samuel, so Paul, so Timothy, so Origen were trained up from their infancy both in divine learning, 2 Tim. 3. and most of them also in profane literature. The fruit shallbe this, as S. Ciril saith, Contra Iu. lib. 7. pueri sacris literis enutriti, postea fiunt religiosissimt, children nuzzled & nursed up from their tender years in reading and hearing holy Scriptures, they shall reap this fruit thereby not to be superstitious or heretical in opinions, or haughty and lofty in spiritens, but to be most religious, & as the king of Israel saw, They will remember such things as they learn in their youth, Pro. 2●. the better when they come to years of discretion. And as in battle it is a necessary point & polley for the getting of the victory & conquest ever our enemies, that when one soldier is slain, that another presently take his station and place & therein fight manfully and courageously so in the good geveinment of a common wealth, when a good father dieth some learned and wise men take it to be a necessary point & policy for the maintenance & preservation of peace & unity against eiull dissension & conspiracy, that the son take his place if he be able to weald & dicharge the like function & veretion. 4 Lo surely thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord. This religious fear of God which brings to the husband wife & children both temporal & spiritual blessings both in this life and in the life to come, doth consist in following virtues, & forsaking vices: which must be with all carefulness avoided. Now the noisome and poisonful weeds which will hurt both husband, wife & children, must with all diligence be grubbed out of the grounds of our hearts, lest the venomous & contagious weeds stifle & overgrow the good & pure corn. The weeds be the sin of Sodom & Bomorra, polygamy, incest, adultery, fornication, all uncleanness, common gaming, riotous & prodigal living, careless security in the parents, & stubborn contumacy in the children. These heinous & horrible vyees, consume our bodies, wast our goods, shorten our lives, discredit our good names, make our enemies to mock us, give occasion to the papists to blaspheme the name of god, & the religion which we profess, endanger the salvation of our sinful souls, and never escape the due & dreadful punishments of God either in this life, Eccles. 7.8. 2 Sam. 12.10 Gen. 9 Gen. 19 or in the life to come. Take example by David, the sword of God did never departed from his house. By Noah, he was mocked of his own son. By Lot, he committed incest with his own daughters: by Anacleon a noble poet, who was so famous a bibber of wine and strong drinks, that he was choked with a husk of a grape. Take example of Eli an old judge, 1 Sam. 2.22. an old priest, & an old father: & of his two rebellious sons Hophny & Phinees, in the end the wicked & luxurious sons were killed in battle, one of their wives died with child, Chap. 4. theold father Ely fell backward from a stool & broke his neck, the ark of God was taken of the barbarous Philistines, & the glory departed from Israel. For this purpose I have read this excellent history. There came once before wise Solon a father with his son, one accusing the other. The father complained of the disobedience of his son: & the son accused the father of his ill education, which was the cause of his disobedience. Solon well considering the cause, & perceiving a fault to be in both, did thus determine and decide the matter: because the father had not brought up his son in good instruction, & dutiful correction, therefore the father after his death should be deprived of his sepulchre: and the son for his disobedience should be disinherited. You will perhaps think this a sharp judgement of a wise & grave judge, but sore diseases need strong medecins, and if Solon's determination were put in ure in these our days, I fear me some fathers would lack the honour of their burial, & some sons would be put from their inheritance. But if the godly husband, wife & children do avoid these notorious vices, if the husband be religious, wise & laborious in his vocation, if the wife be chaste, modest, obedient & humble, if the children be well schooled and brought up in the faith and fear of the Lord: then they all shall be blessed both in the city and in the field, Deut. 24. in the fruit of their bodies, in the fruit of the ground, in their cattle, in their basket, in their coming in, & in their going out: their Oxen shallbe strong to labour, Psal. 144. their sheep shall bring forth ten thousand in the streets, they shall not go into captivity, they shallbe blessed in all the labours of their hands, even as the trees of the lord full of suck & sap, as the trees planted by the water's side, they shallbe planted in the house of the lord, they shall prosper and flourish in their young years, in their old age they shall be fatre, fat, and well liking, yea they shall see the church of God flourish, their children live long, & peace in the common wealth. For the which 3. hear our prophet and Prince David prateth, which petition of David I will shut up briefly thus in the conclusion. 5 The Lord out of Zion bless thee that thou mayst see the good of jerusalem all the days of thy life. 6 Yea that thou see thy children's children and peace upon Israel. In this prayer of David three circumstances are worth the due consideration. 1. who prayeth. A king and a prophet. 2. to whom he prayeth. To the Lord that dwells in Zion. 3. for what. For three things. 1 For the prosperity of the Church. 2 For the long lives of the married parties. 3 And for the peace of Israel, which I may well understand the common wealth. Great is the efficacity and force of prayer both in peace & war, in prosperity and adversity, in health and sickness at all times & in all estates. It is said, Orante Mose vicit populus, when Moses prayed for his people they vanquished their enemies. joh. 5. Io. 14.16.13. And this is our comfort that whatsoever we ask of the father in Christ's name if it be commedious & expedient for us, we shall be sure to obtain it. Then no marvel if here the prophet and king of Israel give himselie to prayer. O it is a great matter and of great importance when princes and nobles & men of great worship be religious and given to prayer & to the holy service of God. For this cause David was accounted a man after Gods own heart. 1 King. 20 For this cause jostas that young king is so highly commended. For this cause Ezechias his days were prolonged 15 years longer. This makes the church of god to grow up lustily as the palm tree and to flourish as the tall Cedar of Libanus, the people every man to sit quietly and peaceably under his own vine, and the common wealth to have peace & plenty as in the happy days of Solomon. Ciril in an epistle to Cheodosius even in the beginning thus saith, Citil. Epist. ad I heod. p●etas in Deum est fundamentum regijs honoribies. O noble emperor the state of your common wealth hangs of your religion towards God. If you serve him aright your kingdom shall flourish, one of your royal seed shall always sit on your royal seat: but if you forsake God he will forsake you, he will raze and root out your memories from the face of the earth, he will trample your name and fame under his feet, he will east your honours in the dust, and this is a curse of all curses. The 2 circumstance is, to whom he prayeth: even to the lord of Zion. Our prophet & prince prayeth not to Abraham, to Isaac, to jacob, or to any archangel or angel in heaven, but to the lord which dwelled in Zion. Mat. 9 joh. 16. We have a plain commandment to pray to him alone, we have a firm promise that so praying our prayers shall be hard: we have the examples of all godly men so to pray both in the old & new testament. Cicero reports of Cesar thus, qui ad te non audent accedere Caesar, Orat. pro Deiotar. tuam humanitatem ignorant. They that be afraid to speak to thee o Cesar, they know not thy singular humanity: so I say they that allege either their own indignity or the severity of god against sinners, & so dare not come to jesus alone by hearty prayer, they know not his singular humanity & humility. The 3 circumstance is the matter for the which our prophet prayeth, which is threefold: for the church, the long lives of the married persons, for the peace of the common wealth. There be 2 deadly & mortal enemies to the common wealth and church of god. Heresy, & treachery. The subtle serpent in Genesis did move Adam and Eva to taste of the forbidden tree, Gen. 3.4. & said, you shall not die: so the cruel and subtle serpent of Rome eggeth forward & encourageth his sworn vassals of Spain, France & Italy & our desperate devilish English rebels to assay to touch the Lords anointed and alms them with fair golden promises, you shall not by, you shall get you a name, you shall be men of great renown. It is an heroical designment and meritorius before God and good catholics. jewel in a 〈◊〉 of letie. A famous and most learned Bishop of this land, doth hold there be four ordinary means to keep heresy from our church, & treason from our common wealth. 1 Learning. The first is to maintain universities & free schools. 2 Preaching. The second is to appoint learned preachers in every parish Church to catechize the youth, to teach the people obedience. 3 Thankfulness. The third to be thankful to god for all his benefits. 4 Discipline. The fourth discipline to reward the godly and punish the wicked. The execution of these things will make our church & common wealth to flourish; the contempt of these will make our court as Zion the holy hill of the Lord, our church as jerusalem the holy city of the lord, Luk. 19 our land as judea the holy land. Zion was, jerusalem was, judea was, but now Sion is utterly razed, jerusalem is utterly ransacked. Therefore let not Rome brag of any prerogative of her place for antiquity, or palace for royalty. That which happened to jerusalem may hap to Rome great controversy there is betwixt the jesuits & us where antichrist should sit, and who he is. Ad Did. I will say nothing of S. jerom, only I will cite one sentence of Bernard which shall make the matter clear. Ep. 125. Bestia illa in apocalypsi cu● datumest os loquens blasphemias, & bellu gerere cum sanctis, Be. ad Gau. de lorator. petre cathedram occupat tanquam Leo paratus ad pradam. The beast spoken of in the Apocalyps to whom is given a mouth to speak blasphemies and to make war with saines, doth now occupy the seat of Peter as a Lion prepared to his prey. The place then for Antichrist is the great city Babylon, Roma. Septicollis. sited on seven hills. The names of the hills he Palatinus, 2 Thes. 2. Capitolinus, Aùentinus, Caelius, Esquilinus, Viminalis, Quirinalis. Then for the person who is that great Antichrist (if ye tie him to one person) than it must either be the Turk, or the jew, or the heathen emperor, or the Pope. But if Antichrist even the great antichrist must sit in the temple of god as god, if antichrist must deceive by false and frandulent miracles, Apoc. 18. if antichrist must be a false and foolish prophet as Balaam, if antichrist must have the name of mystery written in his forehead as once the hypriest of the jews had in his Lamina, sanctit as sehovae Holiness to the lord, if antichrist must overcome by flattery, by sweet & sugared speeches as harlots do, not by arms & dint of sword as cruel tyrants do: them where antichrist shall sit & who antichrist is, I refer it to the iudgemets of the learned & consciences of the godly that hear me this present day. To God the father. c&.