THE NURSE'S BOSOM. A SERMON WITHIN THE GREENE-YARD in NORWICH. On the Guild-day when their Mayor takes his Oath. On Tuesday june 18. 1616. Preached by the Parson of Southwalsham. Hereunto is added, JUDAH'S Penance, the Sermon preached at Thetford before the judges in Lent. MAR. 10. 1616.  Non legem vereor nocens, sed fortunam innocens. 
At London printed by JOHN BEALE. 1617.   

TO THE RIGHT WORSHIPFUL Sr. THOMAS HYRNE Knight; Mayor of the City of Norwich: Health on earth; in heaven happiness.  
SIR, to give you some Testimony of my good will, I shall hazard to do I know not what. Infinite are the books in this age: and of the greater number, we may say with Socrates, I he paper is more worth than the matter. Of Sermons, how many are extant? For who almost preacheth, that printeth not: In so much as the Press may say unto the Pulpit, in the words of Esau to his brother jacob; Plurima habeo, sint tua tibi: 
Gen. 32.9.  Keep that which thou hast, I have enough. Yet haply, it may be the will of God, in these last and sinful times, that our visions should be written, 
Hab. 2.2.  and made plain upon Tables. In so great a multitude, mine, I confess, might have well stood out. But when I considered, it was not so much mine, as yours, for whom it was preached: nor so much yours as theirs, before whom it was delivered, I was at length, not unwilling, (if it got forth in the crowd,) 
Mal. 3.16.  that it might be a Book of remembrance unto You, and the rest who shall succeed: wherein you may be admonished how weighty that office is which you bear; and what affections ought to possess you in the course of your Government. Let me say therefore in the words of the Prophet: This commandment is for you, and for those that come after you, 
Mal. 2.1.  in that place of Magistracy, even this Precept of God to Moses; Carry them in thy Bosom. I once sent it to the care, now I present it to the eye, that one way or other it may get to the heart. Unto this, I have added one more, to bear it company: that these two, as the Twins of Hypocrates, may far alike abroad in the world, either to laugh or mourn together. Both these I send and commend unto you, and you unto the word of his grace, 
Act. 20.32.  who is able to build you further, and to give you an inheritance amongst them which are sanctified. Southwalsham, june 1. 1617.  
Your Worship's well-willer, W. YOUNGER.   

THE TEXTS.  NUMB. 11.12. 
Carry them in thy Bosom.  GEN. 38.26. 
So he lay with her no more.   

THE NURSE'S BOSOM.  TEXT. NUMB. 11.12. Carry them in thy Bosom. 
THESE words are very few, but very weighty: a short precept, yet contains much matter: like a little Box full of sweet and precious Ointment, which being opened and powered out, 
Mat. 26.7. joh. 12.3.  as that of Maries, upon the head of Christ, the savour and perfume thereof fills the whole house. The Diamond though but a spark, yet it is of great lustre and virtue; the Violet a little Flower, yet it far surpasseth the Lily in smell; the Bee, saith the son of Syrach, a small creature, 
Ecclus. 11.3.  yet is her fruit surpassing excellent in sweetness: So this Text, though but short, and the words of it gleaned out, as a few choice Ears from the whole Sheafe; yet is here Epitomized and wrapped up, the whole duty of the Magistrate unto his people, teaching him all tender affection, in relieving their distresses, in redressing their wrongs: I say not to carry them upon his Wing, as the Eagle doth her Young, but in his Bosom, as the Nurse her Infant, 
Exod. 19.4.  and in a word, to bend his best endeavours for the purchase of their peace and welfare.  
As Government is GOds ordinance not man's; So we know that himself first established that Superiority in the Creation: that even amongst the lights of heaven, as some are lesser and subordinate, so other some of special eminency and magnitude, as the Sun and the Moon. Luminaria magna, 
Gen. 1.16.  Great lights: and of these two, the Sun, Luminare maius, a greater light: and as the greater for light, so the greater for honour, for it was made in Dominium Diei, for the government of the Day; which, in the execution of that ordinance which God laid upon it, standeth not immovable as the North-pole, or as a Diamond fixed in a socket of Gold, but is in continual motion and labour, fetching his course and conpasse about always in business and employment. I his Prince of the lights of heaven, gives this light unto the Princes and Magistrates of the earth, who are Luminaria magna, great Lights, that they must not be as Stars fixed in their several Orbs, but they must be in motion, always looking about them, standing in the gates, watching upon the Towers, evermore studying and devising for their people's welfare.  
This we find also in the rest of the Creatures, which the Lord God created, which as they are the more honourable, so the more operative & working. I may reduce them all into four Degrees, and begin at the lowest, whence the rest fetch their beginning. First the four Elements, Fire, Air, Water, Earth: These have but only a being without Life, Sense or Reason. Yet of these we know, some are more noble than other, some more pure, some more in operation and working; as the Fire more than the Air, the Air more than the Water, the Water more than the Earth. Of the second sort are things which over and beside their being, have life, as Trees, Plants, Herbs and Flowers; and these are distinguished into their ranks, as the Cedar in Lebanon far more noble than the Poplar in the Forest, and the Rose plant of jericho, of better esteem than the Woodbine of the Plain. Proceed to a third sort, and these besides being, and life, have also sense and motion, able to move from place to place, as Beasts, Birds, and Fishes; and these are more or less in regard: for what is the Mouse to the Elephant, or the Dog to the Lion, or the Fly to the Eagle, or the Kite to the Ostrich? Lastly, besides all these before mentioned, are they, who having sense, life, and motion, have also Reason: and in this degree are, 1. Angels, the Legates and Messengers of Heaven; and amongst these, there should seem to be degrees of Sovereignty, 
Jude vers. 7.  else why should Michael be an Archangel, and Gabriel none? yea and some more employed than others too, 
Luk. 1 26.  else why should Gabriel be God's Ambassador to the Virgin Mary, more than Raphael or any other? 2. Men: and these are the wonders of Nature if they wrong it not; for besides that goodly shape which they bear, there are two singular privileges they are endued with beyond all earthly creatures, ratio, & oratio, Reason and Speech, And though I will not speak according to the Philosopher's Fancy, 
Plato.  that some are of base metal than others, the Prince of a more golden temperature than the Vassal: Yet we know there is Potestas supereminentior, an higher power, Romans the 13.1. 
Rom. 13.1.  And as Saul was higher than the people, 
1. Sam. 10.23.  from the shoulders upward, 
Hesiod. in Theog. ut suprà.  so Princes and Magistrates are appointed to be above others, and to overlook them. Ex jove sunt Reges, said the Heathen Poet; There is no Power but of God, said the divine Apostle: unde spiritus, inde potestas, 
Tertul. Cedunt iovis omnia reguo. Metam lib. 10.  saith an ancient Father; he that first gave them life and being, gave unto them also this prerogative of governing. He it is that establisheth Thrones, Sceptres, Orders and Degrees of men, some to govern, others to be governed.  
Indeed I grant that Adam in the estate of his innocency, 
Gen. 1.26.  should have had no Lordship over reasonable creatures of the like Image and shape with himself: For man's sovereignty and Lordship was over creatures unreasonable, Beasts, Birds and Fishes: this servitude and slaucrie therefore whereby a man becomes subject unto man, came first from sin. Canaan was borne a son, as well as Sem or japhet: Yet cursed be Canaan, 
Gen. 9.25.  a servant of servants shall he be. 
August.  And this, Culpâ meruit non naturâ, saith S. Augustine, it fell to him by nature, not by transgression. Man after his fall became a Thorn, he could bear no Grapes; he became a Thistle, he could bear no Figs. Neither the Adder, or Viper, breedeth but after their own kind: that rebellious corruption that was in Adam, corrupted us all, and made us rebellious. The leaven of Iniquity that was in him, 
Ex impiis egreditur impietas. Pro. 1. Sam. 24.14.  soured the whole lump of mankind: For into how great disorders and confusions, did not his posterity run? What sword could restrain, or what authority bridle their rage? Therefore God in singular wisdom, used a means to repress their violences; else reasonable men had been far worse than unreasonable beasts, for never were the natures of other creatures more cruel, fell, savage one to another, than the nature of man unto man: had not God put an hook into his nostrils, and a bridle into his lips, who though he bore himself up with insolency and eagerness of spirit, yet he might be curbed and bridled by them of his own kind, that whereas he had shaken off the yoke of obedience unto God, was therefore enforced obedience unto man, and of him to stand in awe. And thus through sin came one man to have power over another, that some might know how to rule, and others to obey.  
Hence comes it to pass, that in regard of the stubbornness and insolency of man's nature the disorder and unruliness of his affections, so many wiles, crafts, subtleties and escapes, through corruption engendered and festered in him, that nothing is of greater difficulty then to govern and rule man. It requires much art, skill, courage, and an high measure of wisdom, to keep him in awe; Qui inter omnes animantes, 
Gregor. Nazian.  maxim est & moribus varius & voluntate diversus, saith a Father, who amongst all the creatures of the world beside, is most stubbornly obliged and wedded to his will, and most exorbitant in the manners of his life. And surely, though we need not marvel at his providence in greater matters, when the least things that are, are not governed without his providence; yet herein it doth wonderfully appear, that there should be such a fear put into the hearts of a multitude, to submit and subject themselves to the yoke of one man, even so many thousands to his power and command. Yet we see it by Art: For the horse of noblest courage is made to obey with a slender bit: and a Ship though never so great, and driven with fierce winds, 
jam. 3.9.  yet is guided and turned about with a small rudder. Again, we see it in Nature too. The fight of the eye, a very small thing: and the heart of man, but an handful: yet is the one the light, and the other the life of the whole body. This amongst other, is a special argument of the providence of God, 
Psal 68.7. Secundum vulg. Transl.  who causeth men to be of one mind, even so many thousands, and bindeth them together in duty and allegiance, that one rule all, and all are ruled by that one.  
Hence also ariseth that Civil order amongst the societies of men, which notwithstanding the sins of men, God hath been very careful to preserve and keep; and therefore hath his Deputies and Lieutenants upon the earth, and under them subordinate rulers and governors, who have the administration of justice and judgement. That as in the Frame and composure of the great World, he hath set the Fire above the Air, the Air above the Water, the Water above the Earth: and as in the structure and building of the little World, he hath set the Knees above the Feet, the Arms above the Knees, the Eyes above the Arms; so in bodies politic he hath set and placed one calling over another. Again, as the Celestial Bodies have a double motion, one common with the whole body of the heavens, the other proper and particular, according to the nature of every several Star; and in our bodies a double motion also: one whereof depends upon the whole body, and therefore is universal: the other particular, according to the inbred nature and disposition of every several member: So over and beside that universal command, that the Supreme Magistrate upon earth hath; whereby the whole body of a Kingdom moveth, and subjecteth itself, there is a subordinate and a derived power, whereby, as through an inferior motion: all parts and members of the body, even unto the Foot are ordered and governed; as of several Counties in that Kingdom, of several Cities in those Counties, of several Families in those Cities, and of every several person in those Families. Hence appears not only the necessity of Laws, but also their variety, and those to be ordered, altered, and renewed as new corruptions shall arise, or the times require.  
Now for their Execution, without which the commonwealth is breathless: on whom lies the Burden and care but upon the Magistrate? What use is there of that Boat, which hath neither Oars nor Sails? or of that book which lies by a man and is never read on? or what pleasure of music affords that Instrument, which is never touched? So what use or benefit is there of Laws, when they lie as dead as their first makers, or as if they were cast into a perpetual sleep, as jupiter served Endymion? As the counterfeit therefore is discerned from the pure gold by the touch: so is the good Magistrate known by this, when he shows; 
1. Courage.  First Courage; Secondly, Knowledge: Thirdly, Diligence, in the execution of Laws. For the first he should be a courageous and stout Nehemiah: 
Nehem. 6.11.  Should such a man as I fly? Laws that lie dead he must put life into them, 
2. Kin. 4.32.  as Elisha did into the Shunamites son, and set them upon their feet. It was the commendation of jeroboam, 
1. King. 11.29. 1. King. 15.23.  that he was strong and courageous: This man jeroboam was a man of strength and courage. And surely, he that is set over others, as jeroboam was set over salomon's works, he had not need be gouty in his feet, as Asa was, but he must have ability of body to manage his affairs without check. He must not sit still, or be as a dumb Image, or Statue; no, he is lex loquens, a speaking Law. And though he be a God on the earth, 
Psal. 82.6.  yet he must not be like the gods of the Heathen, who have eyes and see not, ears and hear not, mouths and yet could not speak. Such are but Idol. Magistrates, 
Psal 115.6.7. Gen. 31.30.  like Laban's gods; for so indeed he called them, and yet were very blocks; or like Bell in the Story, Brass without, but clay within: 
Historia Bell, verse 3.  and if they deserve any worship, it is because they spend so much upon their Tables: so many Measures of fine Flower, so many Sheep, and so many pots of Wine every day. A shame it is, they should sit in their places for fashion sake, as Tradesmen wear swords, or like a George on horseback terrible only in view, and that is all. No they must deal roundly and use that severity against offenders which is meet; that because Evils are many and rife, and the wicked have an insatiable appetite to do wickedly, like the wind ever in motion, like the Sea ever working, therefore to break off the arms of wickedness betimes, to do it manfully and courageously. He that spares the Wolf, hazards the whole Flock; and all go to ruin, where there is not a resolute, and yet a conscionable severitle. For I would not have a Magistrate like Aristides, who for his over much justice, (whether justly or no) was banished out of Athens, or like Cassius a Praetor in Rome, 
Valer. Maximus.  whose judgement seat was said to be Scopulus reorum, where there was as little favour for an offender to be had, as the Ship hath that dasheth, or rusheth upon a Rock: these turn justice into cruelty, and equity into revenge, and are fit to govern, where Minos and Radamanthus bear office, then to be set over the people of God. Woe be unto such. 
Amos 4.1.  For they shall be taken away with Thorns, and their posterity with Fishhooks. There severity therefore must be moderate and Christian, and to their Courage they must join Knowledge too: First to know their own strength, that is, the authority and power that is committed unto them, from whence it is given, and for what end. Secondly, to judge aright, how evils and misdemeanours grow, from what causes, and how to proceed in them, and so shall they be the better able to remove them. As I remember Heraclitus when he was sick, he examined his Physicians, concerning the cause of his sickness; and for that they were ignorant, and could not resolve him, he sent them away, and would have none of their Physic; For (saith he) if ye be not able to show me the cause of my disease, much less are ye able to take the cause away. And surely many disorders get head, through the unskilfulness of Magistrates in their places: for though they mean well, and are desirous in a godly care to reform abuses, yet such is the nature of evil, like the Devil himself, that it will grow too subtle and cunning for the Magistrate. 
1. Kings 14. Hierome.  Evil will disguise itself like jeroboams wife, ye shall not know it to be evil: Ignorantia judicis, plerunque est calamitas innocentis, saith a Father, & so it is very true. For joseph was punished with imprisonment by Putiphar: 
Gen. 39.20. 2. Sam. 16.4.  and mephiboseth's lands were all given away by David: and yet both proved mere innocents: and so many times, the innocent smart for it, when there is no cause; and the nocent & guilty escape free & untouched. Sinister informations and want of due judgement in the Magistrate, is not only a cause of much disorder amongst wicked men, but even of much injustice against good men. Add hereunto Diligence, 
3. Diligence.  which is the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the only substantial thing, even all in all, as one spoke of perfection, The only thing in every thing. 
Dr. Pl.  For he must not be like Polyphemus, who had but one eye, and a bad one too; but he had need have an hundred eyes, as the Poet feigns of Argus, I mean much vigilancy in his government. 
Centum luminibus cinctii caput Argus babebat. ovid. Metam. Homer.  He must be oculatus, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, a front & à tergo, he must look before him, behind him, he must be every way vigilant; & in this respect is that apothegm just and true, that one good Magistrate is worth twenty good Laws. And if a man did rightly judge aforehand, what diligence and pains-taking, this Office requires, I think he would scarce have the honour, to bear the Burden. He must stand Sentinel, and have his eye every where, that as the heart sendeth forth spirit and vigour into all parts and members of the body, and yet is not present in every part or member: So though not his Person, yet the presence of his Power should be every where, in all parts of his commonweal and government. And as it was said of the gods of the Pagans, other gods were limited and tied to their several places, as jupiter to Elis, Diana to Ephesus, Apollo to Delos: But Esculapius, whose skill and knowledge in Physic was admirable, he had his Temples and Altars every where, in Corinth, in Thebes, in Athens, in Lacedaemon, in Arcadia, etc. So I say, though private men, neither can nor aught to range beyond their proper and particular stations: yet the Magistrate, the great Physician of the weal public, must be every where, in all places, as the beams of the Sun, striking into every house; in every part or disordered place, ought his power to be, for rereformation and amendment. And as nothing paineth the Physician more, than the difficulty and hardness of the cure; so nothing should be a greater grief unto his heart, then when disorders shall grow above his strength to reform, and evils and abuses overmaster him. Hence no doubt is that of the Son of Syrach, 
Ecclus. 7.7.  Seek not to be made a judge or a Magistrate, lest thou be'st not able to take away iniquity.  
By all which it is manifest, what a Burden and weight lieth upon the shoulders of the Magistrate: and therefore it is no fair play, in your Elections to this purpose, so often to lay this Burden upon one man. For I am out of doubt, that principle of Plato is undoubtedly true: 
Plato.  Every good Magistrate taketh his office upon him unwillingly. Moses, a man rarely qualified, yet he groved under the Burden and weight of it. Who am I? Exod. 3.11. 
Exod. 3.11. Exod. 18.  and jethro tells him, the thing was too heavy for him, Exod. 18. and in the fourth of Exod. 13. he shifts it off to another, 
Exod. 4.13.  send by the hand of him, whom thou shouldest send: every way disabling himself; sometime by casting doubts, that they would not believe, nor hearken unto him, Exod. 4.1. 
Exod. 4.1.  sometime by excusing himself, that he had no plausible tongue, Exod. 4.10. and yet a notable bold Magistrate, 
Exod. 4.10.  and full of courage in the cause of God against King Pharaoh and a notable minister of justice unto all his people. Steven gave this Testimony of him, 
Act. 7.22.  that he was learned in all the learning of the Egyptians, and was mighty in deeds and in words. He slew an Egyptian, 
Exod. 2.11.  and presently after he reproved an Hebrew; and though he was assured by an holy instinct, that God had designed him for Magistracy and government, and yet loath, loath ye see he was, to take this charge and Burden upon him.  
To wind up this point, (lest myself also should be a Burden.) 
Esay 9.6.  it was said of Christ, that the government of the Church lay upon his shoulders: Sure I am, the Burden of the common weal lieth upon the shoulders of the Magistrate: and the carriage thereof not easily borne. A matter not of ease, though of honour, and they find it most, who are best governors.  
And the consideration of this, Use 1 challengeth from the hearts and hands of You the people; love, duty, reverence, obedience, and all good services of respect unto your Magistrate; whom God hath set over you, and upon whom God hath laid so great a weight and burden for your good: 
Mar. 12.17. Rom. 13.1.7  therefore to give Caesar his due, and every soul to submit itself to this Ordinance of God, whether supreme or subordinate; which whosoever resisteth, shall receive to themselves damnation. 
Venerandos esse Principes antiqua lex. Euripid.  This condemns saucy and malapert fellows, who will contest with the Magistrate, and brave him to his face, whose impudent demeanour bewrays that if Law were not, they would pluck the sword out of His hand, 
Rom. ubi supra.  who beareth not the sword for nought.  
Secondly, because Government is so Burdensome of itself, therefore every man in his particular place and calling, is to ease the Magistrate what he can: I mean so to conform and demean himself, that he may be a comfort to the Magistrate, not a Burden. Which he shall do, if religiously and conscionably he walketh in that calling wherein God hath placed him. And if it be true which Hypocrates saith, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sect. 2. Aphor. 51.  Any thing passng the bounds of moderation is an enemy to Nature; surely any thing that passeth the bounds of Religion & Piety, is an enemy to the peace of Christian government. He is not worthy to breathe under the benefit of Laws, who of himself is no better than Law makes him.  
Thirdly, is Government so Burdensome? Then it is the duty of the people for the Magistrate, and Magistrates for themselves, to commend their cause unto God by Prayer, that he would stand by them, and assist them with his grace, to fit and enable them for the discharge of their duty, that like josuah they may be filled, 
josuah 6.24.  and like Gedeon clothed with the Spirit: to desire with Solomon, 
judg. 6.34. 1. King 3.9.  understanding hearts: that according to the commendation of David, they may behave themselves wisely in all their ways. This is a special duty. 
1. Tim. 2.1.2.  I exhort (saith the Apostle) that prayers and supplications be made for all men, especially for Kings, and those that be put in authority under them, that we may lead a quiet and a peaceable life, in all godliness and honesty.  
Lastly, because Government is so Burdensome of itself, therefore should Magistrates be careful, not to load themselves with unnecessary Burdens and businesses, which come to pass, either first when matters are raised and raked out of the dust, upon former grudges and spleens, that being invested into their places, they say as Caesar did; when he got the sword into his hand: 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  Now I am where I would be. Now I am in place where I may revenge myself, where I may pay them home. I say all former grudge, hartburning, displeasures, are utterly to be crossed and razed out of your books, and not to take advantage of your public places, to avenge yourselves upon private wrongs. This will entangle you much, much encumber you, perhaps prove heavier to you than you are aware: that as Shebna built his Sepulchre in one country, 
Esay 12.18.  but was buried in another: and as Leander, to win his desire, adventured to cross the Hellespont, but was crossed by the Hellespont: so we may come short of that success which we look for. Secondly, you load and overcharge yourselves unnecessarily, when you are too much addicted to matters of the world, and to your own private respect, as many do, putting their hands almost into every Trade for gain and lucre. Thus as Abacuk speaks, 
Habac. 2.6.  they load themselves with thick clay, and stick fast in the mire of their own worldliness. Concupisti? haesists, saith Bernard, 
Bern.  Art thou covetous? then thou stickest fast, as the bird entangled in the Lime, the more she stirs the surer she is, the longer she strives the worse she fares. It was a good proviso therefore, 
Exod. 18.21.  that jethro gave to Moses, that He that should be designed for government should be a man hating covetousness. 
Psal. 119.36  David. prays directly against it. Incline mine heart O Lord unto thy Testimonies, and not unto covetousness. 
Ne praeeminentem virum thesauri possideant sui, & pecuniis seruiat qui praeest caeteris. Ambr. l. 2. Offic. cap. 14. 1. Tim. 6.9.  It il becomes him who is set aloft as a Lord over others, to be a drudge and a slave unto himself, wrapped up in his immoderate and earthly cares, which in the end will prove but snares unto him, nay so many harlots and lascivious Courtesans, as will woo him, and seek to win from him that love and tender regard, which he as a true husband unto the commonweal, aught to bear unto it. He had need be as strong as Issachar, 
Gen. 49.14.  who should couch down twixt two burdens.  

PART. 2.  
ANd this is a point no less considerable than the former, 
2. That Government is Sympathetic, or coaffectionate.  namely, that Government is Sympathetic, expressed in the word Bosom: to show that there is, or aught to be a natural reference, alliance, relation, commiscration, compassion, imprinted in the nature of the Magistrate towards the people: which this word Bosom very significantly lays forth, 
Pliny.  for therein we know are the affections shrined, and designed therefore very fitly for the place, of the people's welfare, comfort, and safety.  
Carry them in thy Bosom.) What? Carry them upon thine Head? No! For then he had humoured our Anabaptists well, who would set their feet upon the necks of their Governors, or rather smite off their heads, as Tarqvinius topped off the fairest Poppies in the Garden. 
Tarqu. superbus. Livius Decad. 18.1. Psal. 137.7. Luk. 19.14.  Their voice is as the voice of Edom, so speak they of authority, Down with it, down with it, even to the ground. Do they say, Nolumus hunc? We will not have this man? Nay we will not have any man to rule over us. Again, Carry them upon thy Back? No: the Magistrate must not expose himself to the reproaches of such as live under his government, so he may become oppressed of his own people. The plowers ploughed upon my back and made long furrows, 
Psal. 129.3. job 4.8.  saith David: But they that plough iniquity shall reap the same. job 4.8. Neither doth he say upon his fist, like a Faulknor to keep on, and let off, at his pleasure: but in his Bosom, the safest sweetest, inwardest, comfortablest place of refuge and defence. And how in his Bosom? The comparison lies within an hairs breadth: As a Nurse beareth her sucking Child, which as it argues the very necessary dependence of the people upon the Magistrate; for how can the sucking infant want or forbear the breast of the Nurse, and how pitiful were it that it should be left destitute, having none to care for it, 
Gen. 21.15.  as may appear in Hagars' child? Gen. 21.15. So what a confusion, what a mischief would their grow amongst people, 
judges 17.1.  that should have no governor, every man to do what seems good in his own eyes? whereas the herds of cattle have their leaders flocks of Sheep have their keepers, swarms of Bees have their King. I say, as it makes for the necessity of government; so on the other side, it implies, that never was the Bosom of a mother, more tender, open, safe comfortable to her little one; her sucking Babe, the latest or loveliest fruit of her womb: then the Bosom of the Magistrate to be opened, I mean his heart enlarged toward his people, to provide for their safety, to procure their welfare, right their wrongs, and in a word to give them speedy, and timely refreshment in all their distresses. Carry them in thy Bosom.  
This being so; observe from hence divers points. First we see here the prophet's phrase to be very consonant and agreeable to this of Moses, in that he calls Kings, and Princes, Nursing Fathers, and nursing Mothers. 
Esay 49.23.  Hence follows it necessarily, that above all things the Magistrate be thoroughly seasoned with Religion, and neither irreligious, or popish, but that he be truly and sound affected: For if it be so, which they faith is true in Nature, that what disease or infection the mother or nurse hath, the sucking child partaketh of it, and as the parent is affected, so for the most part are the children's inclination: surely so fares it in this; Give me a Magistrate that is godly, religious, forward in Christian duties, and for the most part the people will be so affected; that way which the master Bee flieth the rest will follow, and nothing is more forcible and persuasive with the vulgar, 
Confessor Papa Confessor Populus. Cyprian. josuah 24.32.  than the examples of their governors, which if they be godly, are notable means to draw them on to godliness and Religion. On the other side, let a Magistrate be profane, riotous, dissolute, lukewarm, making no conscience of frequenting the exercises of the Word, the public worship and service of God, in keeping the Lords Sabbath and the like; the people for the most part will be of his bent, being given over unto any wicked vice. O how woeful and dangerous is his example! These I say are bad Nurses, their breasts are infected, their milk poisoned, it were pity a thousand times, the people of God should come so near into their Bosoms. 
Que semel est imbuta recens, seruavit odorem Testa diu. Horat.  The very soil and moisture will change the nature of that plant which it nourisheth: a new vessel will long sanour of that liquor which was first powered into it, and the young child receiveth not only the Milk, 
Laurentia was his Nurse, and called, Lupa, 〈◊〉 the wolf.  but therewith all the manners and disposition of the Nurse. He that sucks wolves Milk, shall have wolvish conditions, as Mithridates spoke of Romulus. It is said of jupiter, that in his infancy, he was nursed up with goats Milk; I am sure, if the Poets lie not he proved a wanton. In the choice of a Nurse, we aim at two things. First that she be of an whole me complexion: Secondly, that she be of an honest condition. What should I say? Magistrates are Nurses, let them take heed, they have no wicked vice predominant in them, the people who are to reside in their Bosoms will draw infection. Let such a one therefore, when he takes his place upon him, humble himself by prayer unto God, 
Melius est ciaitatem regià viro optimo, quàm à lege optimâ. Arist. lib. 1. Pol.  and labour by all means to purge and sanctify his conscience: so shall his milk, I mean his Government be wholesome and pure: God shall have the glory, and the people wonderful comfort and contentment. It is far better and more necessary, that a City be governed by a Magistrate that is a good man, then by a good Law.  
Again further, the Bosom of the Nurse or Mother is a defence or shelter for the child, where the poor infant shrouds itself from foreign injuries and wrongs. God hath appointed Magistrates that they should be defences for their people, their bosoms Sanctuaries; 
Archilus' dixit, judicem & Aram idem esse: pariter enim, etc. Eras. Apopth.  therefore it was fitly said of one, that a judge and an Altar were the same, Pariter enim ad utrumque confugunt qui iniuria afficiuntur: For alike to each of these have every man recourse, that suffer wrong. All the hope and comfort of the oppressed lies in the mercy of the Magistrate. To their Bosom comes the Fatherless, the Orphan, the poor Widow, there they hope to have succour and relief for the injuries and wrongs which they have sustained; and if they find it not under the shadow of their wings, where shall they seek it? Remember this point: the holy Ghost useth not words and phrases in vain: you show yourselves unnatural, when you shut up your Bosoms, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Luk. 1.78.  and have not as Zachary sang, even bowels of compassion to your people, to relieve them in their just causes in all you may. Note well the words of the Prophet Esay: Seek judgement, 
Esay 1.17.  relieve the Oppressed, comfort the Fatherless, Defend the Widow: When any, or all these, shall offer to shroud themselves under your wing, O be comfortable, be compassionate unto them,  
Again, to go yet further. We know the Mother or Nurse hath a Sympathy of the child's estate, and by a natural instinct; knows when it is sick, diseased, pained or any distemperature that it hath, and will accordingly apply herself to free it, or procure it any ease. So good Magistrates will be careful to preserve their people from disorders and corruptions arising, which in time will breed sicknesses and distemperatures in their States: For they shall have the government pestered with lewd and pernicious people, 
Atheist.  who like unto scabbed sheep will infect the whole flock. As first the Atheist most pestilent and dangerous, the Magistrate ought to repress him; in no case to grace and countenance a bad person, but rather to shake him off, as Paul shook off the Viper. 
Act. 28.3.  These are the very vermin of the earth, bred of the common sins of men, as Flies are bred of the dung of Beasts, full of all subtlety and mischief, 
Act 13.8.  children of the Devil, as Paul spoke of Elimas the Sorcerer, and enemies to all righteousness. Great care must be had to search out these, and even to banish them out of your City, 
1. King. 15.8.  as Asa put the Sodomites out of the land, or as Constantine did Dicers and Gamesters out of his Court, and called them Sorices Palatij, the Mice and Rats of his Palace. 
2 Idle fellows.  Secondly, the Idle Fellow, inordinate walkers, dissolute livers such as live in no calling, that are not in laboribus hominum, 
Bern.  but in laboribus Daemonum, that live not in the lawful vocations of men, but are in Trading with the Devil, lurking in their vile corners, as Adders in the nests, and are not only wicked themselves, but have even their Tabernacles of Wickedness: the eye of the Magistrate must find them out, break their brood, disperse them, 
Cato.  for in doing nothing, they soon learn to do ill, and so prove hurtful and pernicious. Christ thought them blameworthy, who were idle in the market place, yet they excused themselves, and a man might think their excuse tolerable, Nemo conduxit nos: Master, no man hath hired us: they stood idle that they might not be idle, but we have some idle, that they might be the more idle: they drink down idleness as Wine at a banquet, and sport themselves in their iniquities, 
2. Sam. 16.  as Absolom with his father's Concubines. 
2. Thes. 3.10.  The Apostles rule is, He that labours not, let him not eat; these cate and labour not unless in works of darkness for therein their idleness is a business, 
Otium negotium.  their very persons being the devils closerts, wherein he sits close studying and devising all villainy and mischief, and afterward puts it in execution. Search your City for these, even search it with lights, 
Zeph. 1.12.  fetch them out of their dark holes, and set them to their trades, that according to the Ordinance of God, 
Gen. 3.19.  In the sweat of their brows, they may eat their bread.  
Thirdly, 
3. Common Drunkards.  common drunkards, the unprofitable Burdens of the earth who sell the Kingdom of God for drink, as Esau his birth right for Pottage. 
Gen. 25.30.  Full sponges, funcke Ships: Their drunkenness stinks, as the Prophet speaks, Hosea 4.18. 
Hosea 4 18.  I know it was an abominable vice amongst the Grecians, with whom it was either peccatum originale, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  or accidens inseparabile: a proverb of theirs still lives amongst us, Either drink or be gone: 
Tolid. Virg.  but how the English comes thus bewitched, who in the days of old bare the bell for temperance and moderation, now approaching so near to the manners of the Sicilians, even dedicating Temples to Riot and Excess, I see not well the cause. It may be they have learned this practice of our Dutchmen, they get our wealth, we their vices: whether or no, I will not determine, but sure I am, we spoil ourselves here in our own country, with following the follies and fashions of other countries. It is said of Darius that in the wars betwixt him and Alexander, 
Quint. Curt.  he changed the scabbard of his sword, from the fashion of the Persians, to the manner of the Grecians: but we do more than change the scabbard of our swords, I mean our outward raiment and fashion of our apparel, to fashions foreign and outlandish: For we suit our bodies with their sins, and are easily drawn to imitate, not so much their novelties as their vices.  
Solomon had a Navy that went once in three years to Tharshish in Cilicia: 
1. Kin. 10.22.  and besides Gold and Silver and ivory, brought home saith the Text, Apes and Peacocks. The Merchants of our times, who fetch their commodities from a far, shall not need to freight their Ships with Apes and Peacocks, for we have store enough of them in our own Country: Nascuntur quotidiè, 
Lactantius.  as Lactantius spoke of the Pagan gods, we have a goodly breed of them in the land, who do nothing else but apishly imitate the exotic and misshapen fashions of foreign countries, and which is more abominable than that, their sins and vices. What our Imitation is of other matters, I will not speak: but this of Drunkenness, is too too odious. It is said of Tiberius the Emperor, 
Suctonius in vita Tiberij. Congius est mensura sexsextarionem.  that he made one Novellius Proconsul, because he drunk off three pottles of wine with one breath, and added further unto him a firname, and called him Tricongius, as noble Scipio had a Surname for his conquest in Africa. 
Scip. Africanus.  If the Drunkards of our time expect any reward or promotion, I know none they are like to have, 
Esay 5.7.  unless it be the woe of the Prophet Esay: Woe be to them that rise up early to follow drunkenness, and continue therein till night, that the Wine doth inflame them. That this sin increaseth daily, I will not rashly lay the fault upon the Magistrate, yet I think he is persuaded, that if he would do his best, he might repress it much. Infinite outrages and disorders grows upon it, especially in these Incorporations: (I perceive my Ship to rub upon your Sands, 
Multa ebrii faciunt, quibus sobrii erubescunt. Hier. Ep. 83.  but I hasten off.) Tarquin deflowered Lucrece, he was in drink: Alexander slew Clitus his dearest friend even right out, he was in drink: Let committed abominable Incest with his two daughters, he was thoroughly drenched and tippled with wine. 
Quid non ebrietas designat? Horat.  What villainy and outrage doth not drunkenness bring forth? which the ancient Romans wisely foresaw: therefore it was a long time ere they planted Vines. I say no more, look unto it you that are to give account of your Stewardships; pluck the Can from their mouths, and rouse them from their benches, where they sit and power in: 
Epist. 12.  Fundunt, infundunt, & infundendo confundunt; till they fall, as Seneca speaks, in voluntariam insaniam, into a voluntary madness. Many poor Artificers and Tradesmen in this City, spend their weekly earnings on the Sabbath day, in this kind of Riot and excess, to the great dishonour of Almighty God, and to the ruin and misery of their poor Families. The two Daughters of the Horseleech (on whom they dote) suck out all their thrift, the Flemish Hop, and the Indian weed. Nourish not these, but suppress them. Let them not come in your way, unless it be to punish them; they are abominable and loathsome, they will cast up all in your Bosoms.  
Lastly, 
4. Bufie-body.  what should I say of the busy-body, the Sycophant, and Flattering companion, who like unto the subtle Fish changeth himself into the colour of every stone for a booty, or for a meals meat at your tables? So likewise the Tale-hearer, and Slanderer, tongued like the Serpent black and piercing, Bribers, Brabblers, Forestallers, Extortioners, breeders of suits and actions, and many other besides these, who will think they have great injury, if they be not suffered to do injury. All all these, if they have grace and countenance at your hands, they will be Serpents in your Bosoms, and they are able to make any State or government wherein they live, no better than a Wilderness, as josuah made Ai, 
josuah 8.28. Esay 17.1.  or as a ruinous heap like the City of Damascus: they are as ill where they live as the Pestilence. These may seem small matters unto you, and happily I do but beat the air; but they are the breeders and leaders on of much mischief. 
Haec etiamsi minima videntur, tamen magnorum sunt causa malorum. Chrysost. Psal. 101.8.  Remember the natural Sympathy the Nurse hath with the distemperature of her child: and how readily she applies herself to give it ease and redress. Betimes (saith David) will I root out all the wicked in the land, that I may destroy all the workers of iniquity, from the City of the Lord; a course that well becomes a Magistrate, speedy, & stout: so must these naughtie-packes and vile persons be dealt with, else like the Viper's brood, they will tear in sunder the womb that bear them.  
Again yet further: the Magistrate must give his continual attendance upon his people, they must not be far from him, nor he from them, they must be in his Bosom. Shepherds we know are ever at hand with their Flock, and the Poet calls the King or the Prince, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Sic Homerus Agamemnonem.  the Shepherd of the people. The Nurse will not long absent herself from her child, if she do, her breasts ache, and she feels much distemper: so me thinks it should prick the conscience of a Magistrate, and his heart should ache within him to be dissolute, negligent, and careless in his place; 
Plutarch.  like Cleopatra's Ape, run after a Nut or an Apple, that is, pursue either profit or pleasure, and so neglect his duty, and leave his people at random. Ye hear the phrase of the Holy Ghost, the people must be in the Bosom of Moses.  
Again yet further: the Bosom is the seat of kindness: within, is the heart placed, which is the fountain of it. It is therefore as if God should say; Moses, be kind unto thy people, as they are near, so let them be dear unto thee; be cheerful and comfortable unto them in thy government. A special point, not to look upon your people sullenly, sourly, not to govern them with a discontented & unwilling mind. The child will many times be froward; now if the mother be as froward as the child, it will ask wisdom, and (by your leave) some patience too to quiet them both: seeing God therefore hath called thee out, and put his sword into thy hand to do his business, go on with cheerfulness and comfort, show thyself a Nurse, not a Tyrant, and govern them not in Passion, but in Compassion: look upon thy people, as the Nurse upon her Child, whiles it draws her breasts; who lovingly smiles upon it, and beholds it sweetly with an eye of pleasure, 
Suetonius in vita Calig.  and with all complacency of affection. Caligula that wicked man, was wont to view his face in a glass, framing and composing to himself the cruelest, and most tyrannous looks, with which he delighted to walk abroad, that he might be the more terrible unto his subjects: and we know such heathenish Princes, took pleasure in the very Titles of outrage and tyranny, as to be called Thunderbolts, Subduers, Citie-spoilers, Eagles, Hawks, Vultures, etc. These had no Bosoms for the comfort and refuge of their people; no, they had arms of Tyranny and Oppression. 
Rabanus in gloss. super illud Prou. 25. Aufer iniquitatem de vultu Regis, etc.  Excellently spoke one, Qui praesunt populis, si firmum volunt esse solium, semper hilaritate & gratia plenos vultus exhibeant, etc. They that will govern their people well; and will sit sure, and have their seat established, let them graciously and cheerfully look upon them, lest through their own arrogancy and sullenness, they fall into the hatred of the sturdy multitude. 
2. Sam. 15.5.6.  Absolom with a pleasant demeanour and countenance stole away the hearts of his Father's Subjects, 
1. Kings 12.13.  whereas Rehoboam with his rough words marred all. And yet, set me add this further, that because (as David saith) they are gods, 
Psol 82.6.  and in God's stead, (as jacob spoke to another purpose,) 
Gen. 30.2.  as his Lord Deputies upon the earth, therefore they must reserve a due state unto themselves, not to be slavishly or servilely courteous; as we read of Richard the third, (to omit other examples) who presently after his Coronation comes into Westminster hall, and fitting him down upon the king's-bench, espies one Fog a base fellow, against whom he had born an old grudge. He calls for him, rose out of his princely seat, took him (forsooth) by the hand, 
Dextram non omnibus esse porrigendam. Pythag. Grafton.  and made semblance of great love and friendship, and of receiving him into his favour. The common people (saith the Chronicle) highly rejoiced at it, but wise men held it a slavish vanity I never knew a lions skin did hurt, so it were not upon a lions back. And surely it is lawful and commendable for Princes and Magistrates to take that state upon them that is meet; Principatum quem geris ornes, 
Pythagoras.  a Principle fit for Princes; to adorn their places with their carriage, to show themselves as they are, not to be so slavishly dejected in mind, as that ungracious Richard was, nor yet so blasphemously exalted in spirit as that ambitious Herod was: 
Act. 12.25.  but as God hath honoured them with his own name, I have said ye are Gods; so they to honour him again, 
Psal. 29.1.2.  as David admonisheth, Give unto the Lord ye sons of the mighty, give unto the Lord the honour due unto his Name.  
Lastly, Carry them in thy Bosom: that is, do all good offices of love unto them. I would ever (saith one) have a Magistrate to remember three things: First, that they are men whom he governs, like unto himself. Secondly, these must be governed according to some Law. Thirdly, he shall not always govern, but as others gave place to him, so he to others. Now, as when the mother or nurse dieth, the child hanging on her breast: she desires another might be as loving and kind to it as herself: So godly and kind Magistrates when they must leave their places, will be desirous that they who succeed them in Government, might succeed also in the same care, and love unto the people: and whilst they govern, to cherish the good, to repress the evil, to encourage the virtuous, to punish the wicked. 
Platt.  The Philosopher saith the whole body of civil order, consisteth but of these two things: rewarding and punishing. For as they must hate the sins of wicked men, even with a perfect hatred, and chastise their persons: so, with as perfect a love they must embrace the virtues of good men, and countenance their persons. And this Burden of Magistracy they they may the better bear, they must permit God to bear a part with them, to have a room in their Counsels, as chair of Estate amongst them. They must follow his directions, and not the affections of their own hearts: they must not rule as they list, that were Tyranny; but they must rule as they ought, and that is Princely. If they listen unto his Word, renouncing their own devices, then shall they have much comfort in their government, and the judgements of their mouths shall be righteous judgements. David testifieth that where the people are thus governed, vice punished, virtue encouraged: 
Psal. 72 3.  The Mountains shall bring forth peace, and the little Hills plenteousness unto the people. No corner of the earth, no not the barrenest place, but shall be full, full of prosperity and happiness. Demosthenes' being demanded what preserved Athens so long, and made their Princes so honourable and famous, answered, The Citizen's delight in peace, the Orators are learned and wise, the Common people are fearful to transgress Laws, and the Magistrates delight in doing justice.  
I have now done. 
Conclusion.  Only give me leave a little in a word, or rather in a little word, to conclude all that I have spoken with use and application.  
Sentences that are short, are soon remembered, and a short nail is sooner driven home to the head then a long. There was written upon the Temple of Apollo, by the advice of a famous Assembly in Greece, short and small sentences the sooner and better to be kept in remembrance; as, 
1. Thes. 5.16, 17, 19, 20.  Envy no man: Use moderation: Know thyself: Beware of suretyship. Such we find in Paul. Rejoice evermore, Pray continually, Quench not the Spirit, Despise not Prophesying. And such we find in Peter. Honour all men, Love brotherly fellowship; 
2. Pet 2 17.  Fear God, Honour the King. Here is a sentence short with the rest, but as worthy as the rest to be kept in remembrance; Carry them in thy Bosom. God hath left it unto Moses, Moses hath left it unto you, as a Magistrates word, poesy, Scripture, call it what you will: and left it to be engraven, I say not in your Rings and Borders, but in your hearts; whence you may learn: First, that your places are not for ease and desidiousnesse, but weighty and of Burden: Secondly, what a Sympathy or natural affection you own unto your brethren, how tender to be over them, how kind to be unto them, 
Numb. 27.17.  to go in and out before them, to lead them forth, to bring them home, that the congregation of the Lord be not as sheep without a shepherd.  
Happy are the people that are in such a case, yea blessed are the people who have the Lord for their God. 
Psal. 144.15.  When himself taketh the sovereign and supreme care over you, then may you be assured, good Magistracy and government shall not be wanting unto you; your peace shall be like unto a flood, and your prosperities as showers of Gold, 
joshual: 3.15.  or like jordan filling her banks with her silver streams: your paving shall shine with Butter and honey, and oil shall distill down from your highest mountains. Peace and Plenty, 
Zach. 11.7.  like the two staves of Zacheries good Shepherd, Bands, and Beauty, shall possess your dwellings. Your sons shall grow up as the young plants, 
Psal. 144.12.  and your daughters shall be as the polished corners of the Temple. Your garners shall be full and plenteous with all manner of store, your presses shall run over, your sheep shall bring forth thousands, and ten thousands, your oxen shall be strong to labour, there shall be no leading into captivity, no complaining in your streets. Happy, O happy are the people that are in such a case, Blessed, O blessed is that people who have the Lord for their God  
Brethren, what shall I more speak unto you, and yet will I speak once more? All those hearty well-wishings, prosperities, happinesses, which the people of God at any time desired, or God himself ever vouchsafed to bestow upon jerusalem, fall upon this City. 
Norwich.  And the Lord for his mercy sake grant, that your Magistrate this day invested to rule, may be among the 70. ancients, like Eldad, 
Numb. 11.26.  or Medad; that as you are to rest in his Bosom, for your protection and welfare, so he may rest in the bosom of God, for his favour and blessing. That he may do worthily in Epratah, 
Ruth 4.11.  be famous in Bethleem, that judgement may praise him in the gate, and justice advance herself in the great Congregation. And finally, that all, not only the Magistrate, but You the Ministers of this City, painfully labouring with wholesome Doctrine, (for you are Nurses too, 
1 Thes. 2.7. 1. Pet. 2.1.  and the word is Milk) and all sorts and conditions of men, from the highest to the lowest, may so run through the several difficulties of your callings, with cheerfulness and comfort, that at the winding up of your days, when every one must render up his spirit unto God, 
Eccles. 12.7. Semper meditanda, semel dicenda. Aug.  you may then have in your mouths that speech of Paul, ever to be thought on, never to be uttered till our last gasp: I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the Faith. 
2. Tim. 4.7.  Henceforth is laid up for me a a crown of Righteousness, which God that righteous judge shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but to all that love his gracious and glorious appearing. This crown he crown us with for his mercy sake. Amen.   
FINIS.   

JUDAH'S PENANCE. A SERMON AT THETFORD BEFORE THE JUDGES at the Assizes in Lent. March 10. 1616. Preached by the Parson of Southwalsham.  Non legem verecr nocens, sed fortunam innocens. 
LONDON, Printed by JOHN BEALE. 1617.   

JUDAH'S PENANCE.  TEXT. GEN. 38.26. So he lay with her no more. 
IN these words the Holy Ghost makes report unto us of a fin committed, now forsaken and given over. And that our Discourse concerning this point may be the more profitable, these three points are very remarkable.  

1. A consideration of the Persons, who committed this sin: both noted in the Text, the one in the first word save one, the other in the last save two; he and her: judah and Thamar.  
2. A consideration of the nature and quality of the sin; not Fornication which is evil, nor Adultery which is worse, but Incest which is most abominable.  
3. A consideration of judah's Remorse, and that is the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, anima, the blood, life and soul of the Text, that his conscience being, I say, not checked, but even cuicted of the sin: he forbore her, with whom he had committed this evil, Malum hoc maximum, this great wickedness, as joseph spoke unto his wanton Mistress; and to speak in the natural, proper, and plain language of the Text, 
Gen. 39 7.  Lay with her no more.   
First for the Persons, who committed this sin: First, judah an honourable Patriarch, 
1. Persons. Gen. 29. vlt.  the son of jacob by Leah: Secondly, Thamar: this, some have thought to be the Daughter of Sem, who was the Highpriest Melehssedeck, and hence was it, say they, that judah adjudgeth her to be burnt, because it was a Law, that if the Daughter of a Priest did play the Harlot, she should be burnt. But this will appear to be but a vain surmise, for though Melchisedeck lived 600. years, yet he lived not to the days of jacob by ten years: and jacob being at this time an 100 years of age, it is not like, that Thamar being of Sem, or Melchisedeck should be now child bearing. Others are of opinion, which is the more probable, that she was a Cananitish woman, and forsook the Idolatry of her own country, to worship the true God.  
Now concerning this pair, thus met in this action, divers points are to be considered. 
1. judah.  First, that judah had given two of his sons in marriage to this Thamar, Er and Onan: the first of them being wicked in the sight of the Lord, (and yet his wickedness not expressed) therefore the Lord slew him; and by him she had no issue. Secondly, he gave his second son Onan unto her, that he might raise up seed unto his brother; which order was for the continuance and preservation of the stock and Family; and so the child begotten of the second brother should have the name and inheritance of the first; which we know was afterward confirmed by Moses: 
Deut. 25.1.  Hic mos fuit, crimen non fuit, 
August.  to use the words of Saint Augustine; this was then the manner, it was not holden for any fault. Now this second brother doing wickedly in the fight of the Lord, and his wickedness mentioned, verse 9 therefore the Lord slew him also, neither by him had she any issue.  
judah having thus lost two of his sons he dissembles with Thamar concerning the third, and here was the ground of all the future mischief: he wills her to remain a Widow till his third son Shelah were grown up, and yet had no purpose to give Shelah unto her: 
Hinc illae Lachrymae.  For he thought thus, ne forte moriatur etiam ipse; lest he die also as well as his other brethren, (for he supposed her to be the only cause of the death of his other two sons.) Now this seems to aggravate judah's sin, who persuades her to remain a Widow in hope of Shelah, and yet had no purpose to give Shelah unto her. So you see, all is not right with judah here at the very first.  
Come we nearer to the matter itself. There is a saying fathered upon Father Augustine: Malum est mulierem videre, peius alloqui, pessimum tangere. It is ill enough to look upon a woman, worse to talk with her, 
job 31.1. 1. Cor. 7.2.  but worst of all to do the worst of all. See here I pray, how judah treads every step, and how wonderfully he was infatuate, besotted, blinded in this action. For first he saw her, verse, 15. and judging her by the manner of her sitting to be an Harlot, he went and talked with her about the bargain: to which, there went more than a word. For ere he could strike it up, there was first the promise of a Kid. Secondly, 
Et vendit quod utrumque twat quod uterque peiebat. ovid. lib. 1. Eleg. 10.  the Pledge which she demanded for her better assurance, his Signet, his Cloak, his Staff; & notwithstanding all this conference & communication too & fro, betwixt them, yet he discerns her not. All which, being duly considered, we may see how wholly he was given over unto lust; and how great a measure of stupidity he was stricken into, turned into a very stone after he saw her, 
ovid. Metam.  as they were who beheld Medusa. When all his senses, the stars of this lesser world, were overcast with such a cloud, 
Prou. 6.32.  that his understanding could not say unto him, as the Shipmaster said unto jonah, 
jonah 1.6.  What meanest thou O sleeper? That neither his eye nor his ear, which he carried about with him as two secret Spies, could view or discern this jericho. It seems his lusts had bored out his eyes, as the Philistimes did Sampsons': 
judges 16.21.  or that for the time he had a spice of the Falling sickness; Plinio shows the nature of it, 
Plinius Nat. hist.  that the eye being wide open sees nothing. The ear haply spoke to the eye, as Abimelech to the folk that were with him; as thou seest me do, 
judges 9.49. 2. King. 25.1. Rom. 1.28.  do thou the like. I'll be deaf, be thou blind: and thus, as Zedekiah, blind, and bound, was carried perforce to Babel: So judah to a work of confusion, even to do the thing which was not seemly. How greatly (think you) was this man dulled & overborne by his affections? Which as it may be approved by many examples of the like nature, to set out man's nature in the like, so we cannot have a better precedent then from himself in another case. He took a wife, when he was very young; and notwithstanding to have affinity with the Canaanites, was condemned of God as abominable, yet he marries into their stock, and which is more, without consent of parents (which yet in his own children he required.) And as Caesar abridged the manner of his victories over Egypt, in three words, Venit, vidit, vicit; He came, he saw, he overcame; So in three words, judah huddles up his bargain with this Cananitish woman: Verse 2 Vidit, accepit, cognovit: He saw her, he took her, he went in unto her. Which shows how rash and reckless we are without our right guide, yea and even how shameless in our actions, when God turns us over to our lusts, and to the sinful affections of our own hearts. Neither was this unpunished in judah, thus matching himself into this accursed stock: for God blessed him not; he grew so infortunate in his posterity, that he might have wished with Augustus Caesar, 
Suetonius O utinam coelebs vixissem orbusque perissem.  he had had neither wife nor child. For even the fruits of this Marriage, Er and Onan were accursed of God. And thus will it ever come to pass, where God is neglected, and our carnal affections bears the sway.  
Thirdly, to come more near to the matter itself. The fact thus committed with Thamar, he labours to conceal it as much as he can. For when he had sent the Kid, to redeem the Pledge, and the Messenger could not find her, he satisfies himself without further inquiry, Accipiat sibi, Let her take it, saith he, without more ado, ne forte simus contemptui, lest if all come to light we be ashamed. Thus he fears man more than the God of Heaven that made man; and the shame of men he stands in more awe of, than the dreadful presence and Majesty of God. The credit and reputation of his name, he preserves, prefers, Omnia si perdat, if he lose all, yea even God himself, who is all in all; yet will he not incur shame and reproach at the hands of men; as if God did shut up his eyes in boxes, and were in a deep slumber, as if his allseeing eye were not present, yea, even with them who would avoid his presence; as if he took no account of man's iniquity, or that the holy One of Israel would not be revenged.  
Fourthly, to lay open the wound yet more. You heard before how he was overbeared with lust, with incontinency; you shall now see him as far over-gone with cruelty. I note it the rather, because they are vices which seldom do abandon one another, especially if it be true, which some hold for a Maxim: Every voluptuous Prince is cruel; and the more, if necessity constrain him: as here this great man, judah adjudgeth Thamar for this fact to be burnt; not for any such reason I rendered before, but hereby he thought to be rid of Thamar, and so his son Shelah might be at liberty to marry elsewhere. For no doubt had not this been his purpose, he would not have been so forward, so resolute. He would rather have expostulated with her concerning the Fact; For was there no orderly proceeding to be had? Doth he settle his judgement upon the first impression to have her dispatched? Had she been married to two of his sons, Er and Onan; and is his favour no better, nay are his words so bitter, the words of death? Surely yea: here is but a word and a blow. As peremptory was he, as ever was David; 
2. Sam. 11.5.  The man that hath done this shall surely die; and little thought it concerned him so near. Educite eam, Bring her forth, 
Verse 24.  he spoke imperatively, and this was generosum, and spoken like a King; but ut comburatur, that she may be burnt, and her complaint not entered, her cause not heard, this was scelerosum, and spoken like a Tyrant. Nay, here is one thing more, that fills up the measure of his iniquity, and makes him wicked above measure; for he would have had her dispatched being great with child. Here was nihil virtutis, besides the first syllable, nihil humanitatis besides the Name, Pietatis omni●o nihil. Nay rather Exceed pietas, Be gone piety, be gone. Though he had not regarded her, because she had offended, yet (me thinks) he should have respected the poor infant, who offended not: could it speak to any other, then to the bowels that bore it? Or plead at any Bar either for itself, or the Mother; being as yet imprisoned in the Womb, and not so soon enlarged, as it should have been enwrapped with the flames of Death? 
2. King. 8.  The tears in the eyes of Elisha I can scarce remember without tears; when so earnestly he eyed Hazael, knowing that amongst other villainies committed by him, he should rend in pieces women great with child: I pray, what answer made Hazael again, Is thy servant a Dog that he should do this thing? So brutish, so inhuman? 
Deut. 24.16.  How did God provide against this Rigour, when he made a Law, that the Child should not suffer for the Father, nor the Father for the Child? When judgement of death passeth upon a woman with child, the execution is deferred till she be delivered. This was practised amongst the Athenians and it was the Law of the ancient Romans: 
Aelianus lib. 5.  
Suetonius in vita Claudij Eras. in Paedagog.  Yet Suetonius (who wrote the lives of the twelve Caesars) and indeed he wrote (as Erasmus wittily, eàdem libertate quà ipsi vixerunt, even as freely as they lived,) reports of Claudius, that he spared not to put to death women great with child. 
General History of Spain. Pag. 420.  Such was that horrible outrage of the Sicilians upon the French, mentioned in the general History of Spain, who slew them with such cruelty that where they knew any women of their own Nation begotten with child of the French, they ripped open their wombs, and slew both women and children, because they would be sure to leave none of their French seed in the Country: answerable to this was the clemency of Q. 
Acts and Monuments. Pag. 129.  Mary's Bishops, who burning a woman great with child, her womb burst, and the Babe sprang forth, which labouring to avoid the flame; they took and cast into the fire again. I will say no more; but surely this was an hard doom for Thamar, 
Hexapla. in Gen. pag. 302.  and so much the more unjust, because this punishment was not arbitrary in judah, for he had no such authority; an honourable man he was indeed, but no Magistrate there, to command the execution of any such justice.  
judah is now at the highest. Concerning Thamar, 
2. Thamar.  if we pull off her vail, we may easily see, that though it covered her face, yet it could not cover her sin. For though judah knew her not to be Thamar; yet Thamar knew him well enough to be judah: and it is more than manifest, that she willingly committed this Incest. And say she did it not in any desire of inordinate lust, as it is like she did not, but rather successionis gratia, desiring only to have issue: Et ex ea familia quam delegerat, and of that Family and I rib too that she had chosen. Nay go further; say that she desired issue by judah, in hope of the Messiah, which could not be, for she was a Cananitish woman: and the Mystery that the Messiah should come of judah, 
Gen. 49.10.  was not as yet revealed: I say though her intention was never so good, yet doth it not make the action good. For it is not enough for a man to propound a good end, but the means whereby he is to accomplish it must be also good. The procreation of children, a thing lawful to be desired, and the blessing of God goeth along in the vigour and strength of it, and God hath set down a lawful order for the same, and that the generation of mankind should run in a right course; therefore it is wicked and abominable, by unlawful means to seek to compass it: 
Rom. 8.3.  We know the Apostles rule, Rom. 8.3. therefore that which of itself is lawful and good, it turns to sin in us, when it is compassed by unlawful means.  
Again, I doubt not but Thamar sinned even against her conscience: For she knew she did not well to put off her widows garment, and to disguise herself to deceive him. For she covered her face. Some say she coloured and painted her face; 
2. Kings 9.33.  which though it be a trick of Harlots, and thereby many a jezabel make themselves meat for Dogs; yet in Thamar there was no such matter, she only covered her face with a veil: yet is not that rendered for a reason, why judah thought her to be an Harlot, but why, he knew her not; which if he had, undoubtedly he would never have committed that evil with her. And this I think is the worst can be said of her: whatsoever the opinions of men are, 
Virro & mulier aequaliter peccant per luxuriam. Raim. Lullius. cap. 77.  it appears by many circumstances, that judah was the greater offender: he aiming principally at lust, she at issue. Nay ex ore suo, they are the words of his own mouth, justior me est: she is more righteous than I: as if he should say, she hath cause to condemn me, and not I her: and will you know the reason? Verse 26 I gave not unto her Shelah my son. And so much for the Persons.  
Now concerning the Nature and Quality of the sin, 
2. The nature of the sin.  Incest. It is the unlawful accompanying of man and woman within the Degrees forbidden. Against which, God set down a large Law, 
Leu. 18.15.  Leu. 18. and in the 15. verse is just judah's case: Thou shalt not discover the shame of thy Daughter in Law, Object. for she is thy sons wife. If it be objected that this Law was not extant in judah's time, and therefore could be no Rule for him; Answ. I answer, that even by the light of nature, 
Law of Nature.  judah had that written on the Table of his heart, which God afterward wrote in Tables of stone; whereby he knew he had not done well, and which might be some cause of his remorse, as afterward is declared. Again, the practice of the godly, in the times wherein he lived, and the faithful traditions of the Fathers might discover it to be a fault. The having of many wives was a sin. For God, for one Adam made but one Eve: 
Gen. 2 18. Gen. 7.1.  and God commanded there should go into the Ark no more women than men, no more men than women: Noah & his wife, his sons & their wives. The first that was known to have two wives was Lamech a wicked man, 
Gen. 4.19.  descended of that good Bird Cain. And even in the patriarchs, this Polygamy hath been diversly excused, as a matter of some necessity. And though custom for many Wives, 
August. lib. 22. contra Faustum. cap. 47.  yea and for Concubines too, might be pretended, yet to accompany, as judah here doth, with any so nearly allied, either in Consanguinity, or Affinity, 
Gen. 29.30. Leah. Rahel. Ephes. 5.3.  there was no such custom; even his Father jacob sinned, by going in to two Sisters. Concerning this sin, I will not speak any more, it is not to be named but with hatred and detestation. We ought to pray unto God that he would keep us from these sins; our Families, our Cities, our Nation. For though God through his singular providence can turn evil into good, and out of evil can produce good, as here of judah's incest with Thamar, who begat Phares, and Phares, Esrom, and Esrom, Aram; and so ye know the period of that line, Christ: Yet where these sins are committed, there can nothing be expected, but the dreadful vengeance of God to be powered out. And though we find in Scripture, as one well observeth, 
Musculus super Gen. cap. 19  that many virtuous women, accompanying with their husbands were barren, or at most, hardly conceived; as Sara, Rebecca, Rahel, Anna: Contrariwise divers others, saith he, uno illegitimo concubitu conceperunt, as Bethsheba with David, and here Thamar with judah; and not only uno, but primo, as Lot's daughters being virgins, with their own father: I say, though this comes to pass, yet doth it not argue, that God (who in this case blesseth nature, as it is his work, and not the unlawful action of the workers,) favoureth these unlawful commixtures any whit the more, but it shows rather, that he will reveal, discover, and bring such secret wickedness to light, which to the wicked and unrepentant, works confusion: to them, in whom the remainders of grace are not wholly extinguished, and whom God hath a purpose to reclaim, it works their conversion, and amendment of their naughty life; as in David was most apparent, and here in judah remaineth to be proved.  
The whole Scripture (saith the Apostle) is given by inspiration, and is profitable to teach and to instruct; 
2. Tim. 3.16.  and therefore not to be locked up in Coffers, as the books of the Sibyls in Rome; or as the sentences of Pythagoras, which no man might read; or as the jews in the time of josiah, kept the Book of Deuteronomie, closely in corners, where no man might find it; but Whatsoever is written, is written for our learning. Surely the holy Ghost, from whom every little sentence and parcel of it breatheth, was not diligent without cause, so fully to express this Incest, so foully committed. Amongst many other reasons, out of question these three were the principal.  
First, to lay open man's frailty, and the infirmity of his Nature; yea, even of those Grandfathers, the Beaupeeres of the world. Often we find in Scripture, men of eminent place, of great employment, of special favour with God, yet have fallen very dangerously; as here judah into Incest with his daughter in Law; 
Gen. 19.36. Gen. 9.21. Gen. 20.12. 2. Sam. 11.4. Mat. 26.24. 1. Cor. 10.12.  Let into the same sin with his own daughters; Noah, who saw two world's, into Drunkenness; Abraham into Lying; David into Murder and Adultery; Peter deny Christ and forswear him. The Apostles rule must here take place; Let him that thinketh he stand, 
Ambrose.  take heed lest he fall: Labi humanum, prolabi Diabolicum. We do freely confess and acknowledge the infirmities of holy men, to the shame of this flesh and blood that we bear about us, and to the glory of God. The Scripture hath not concealed them, and we ought to make a good use of them; as an ancient Father saith, Patriarchae nos instruunt, non solum docentes, sed etiam errantes: we may learn many good instructions, as well from their sins, as from their graces; as well from their faults, as from their virtues. Therefore if these holy men of God, these Worthies of the world fell so dangerously, it should be our daily prayer unto God, that he would hold us up, against all the temptations of the Devil, allurements of the world, and provocations of our Flesh whatsoever.  
A second reason why the Incest of these two is related, is this: ye know the manner of the jew was much to boast of his pedigree and descent; 
Inuenall.  Nil nisi Cecropides, I tell you he will be noble or nothing. In the 8. of john, they told Christ to his face, that they were not the children of fornication: 
john 8.41.  Now this serves to abate their pride and insolency, here may they see what manner of beginning they had; here is the Rock whence they were hewn, their generation is known to the world. Let them look back to their great Ancestor, the Prince of their Tribe, and they shall find sufficient matter of humiliation.  
Thirdly, the report of judah's Incest was yet for a further cause more than all the rest. We know that Christ came of the Tribe of judah; and in that golden Genealogy in the Gospel. 
Mat. 1.3.  judah is numbered amongst others in the series and Rank as Christ's Ancestor, who begat Phares and Zara, of Thamar. Now the holy Ghost, in reckoning up the progeny and descent of Christ, glanceth at the notorious sins of judah, as he doth the like of David; and therefore doth not only say, he begat Solomon, Verse 6 but addeth, of her who was the wife of Vriah: where David is detected for his Murder and Adultery. So Rahab the Harlot is also mentioned in that line, as an Ancestor of Christ, who was married to Salmon a Prince of the Tribe of judah.  
Truth seeks no corners, and the holy Ghost who is the author of truth, will not conceal these gross blemishes and stains, even in those, who according to the flesh were the ancestors of Christ. What should this mean? To have our line drawn from incestuous and adulterous commixtures, we hold it no small infamy and disparagement. It is noted for a dishonour unto Claudius Caesar, 
Suetonius,  that his Father Drusus was begotten in Adultery. 
judg. 11.1.  Jephtha the Giliadite was a valiant man, judg. 11.1. but he was the son of an Harlot, there is his blemish. judah honourably descended, the Praise of the Lord, according to the interpretation of his Name; he saved the life of his brother innocent joseph by his counsel, 
Gen 31.27.  moved no doubt even by God's Spirit so to do: yet (by your leave) he gave advice to sell him to the Ismaelites; he went from his brethren, joins himself with the Canaanites, marries into their stock, defrauds' Thamar of her husband, commits Incest with her, and cruelly adjudgeth her to be burnt. Hear is heaping of sin upon sin, as they which built Babel laid one brick upon another; and must he be the Tribe, even the very Prince of it, whence the Holy and blessed Redeemer of mankind should descend?  
Surely yea: for in him, that is, Christ, there was treasured up all riches of grace, 
Col. 2 9  and he indeed not to be made noble by his stock or parentage, neither did the gross infirmities of his progenitors any whit disparaged him; for he cleansed and purified all in his holy and unspotted Conception. He could have made choice of another race, but herein, herein appeared his wonderful humility, abasing himself in that, wherein men for the most part are wont to be proud of, I mean blood and parentage. The whole course of his life, 
Augustine.  witnessed his humility, Fecit te, fecit multa propter te; nay propter te fecit seipsum: He made thee, he made many things for thee; nay for thee he made himself; 
Phil. 2.7.  What? Of no reputation, saith Paul, Phil. 2.7. he took upon him the shape of a servant, and humbled himself unto the death, even unto the death of the cross. He humbled himself not only in his death, but in his life; not only in his life, but in his birth; not only in his birth, but even before his birth; in his race, in his descent,  qui pro peccatoribus moriturus erat, 
Muscul. in Mat.  per peccatores patres auceret generationem; saith Musculus, upon the first of Matthew, That he who was to die for sinners, derived his race from sinful men. Non liberaretur humanum genus, nisi Christus dignaretur esse humanus, 
August.  saith S. Augustine, he must become man, to deliver mankind: and he must pay the price of sin, 
Gregor in Moralibus.  who knew no sin. Nisi ipse indebitam mortem susciperet, nunquam nos â debita morte liberaret, saith Gregory in his Morals: Unless he had suffered a death not due, he could never have freed us from the death that was due; not due to him, but to us most due. Neither was it necessary that his purity and sanctity should depend upon his Ancestors, for he was holiness itself, and all their impurities were cleansed away in his purity; their sins of Crimson, 
Esay 1.18.  he made as white as Snow; and their sins of Scarlet, as white as Wool. So much for the second point.  
We had done with Thamar before. 
3. judah's remorse. ovid. Metamorph.  She conceives by judah, Conceptaque crimina portat; as the Poet spoke of Myrrah, and at the appointed time, her womb was eased of the Burden. 
Heb. 121.  judah for his part had a burden too, a burden of sin that pressed him down, and lay heavy at his heart; and now he goeth about to lighten himself of it. You have heard heretofore an hard discourse against judah; his sin discovered and laid open. Yet when I spoke hardest of him, I might have said unto you in the language of the Shunamite unto her husband, 
2. Kings 4.32.  or of Domitian's Crow, upon the Top of the Capitol, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, 
Suetonius.  All shall be well. For you shall now hear better of judah than you have heard. Blessed, O blessed is that man, who though he hath spent himself in perverse ways, displeasing unto God, can yet with judah remember himself, lay his hand upon his heart, be pricked in conscience with remorse for his sin; and say, Lord I have offended thee in this or that sin, and as near as I can (Lord) I will offend thee no more: I will be no more incontinent; no more unchaste; I will be no more covetous, contentious, no more proud; I will be no more false in my weights and measures; I will be no more riotous, drunk, profane. I say again, blessed is the man that hath this remorse, to renounce his pleasures, to abandon his vices, as judah here abandoned Thamar, and as the Text saith, lay with her no more. The fool, saith Solomon, makes but a sport of sin. 
Prou. 14.  Yet fares it with him as with the silly Fly, who pleaseth itself with the light and burneth itself with the flame: and I pray what folly is this, that a man should purchase a small delight, with an endless pain; a short pleasure, 
Brevis voluptas poena perpetua. Hierom.  with a perpetual punishment? Or that Nature's corruption should strike as great a hand with us, as the Devil doth with Citizens, when he gets them to leave their honest Trades, and turn Usurers? So, whereas the Apostle saith, God, hath not called us to uncleanness, 
1. Thes. 4.7 verse 8.  but unto holiness: we despising this, reject the calling of the Saints, holiness; and trade with that soul spirit in all uncleanness. But judah here in time bethinks and recalls himself. Though he was aversus and had done nought, yet would he not be perversus, and be worse than naughts though his bones had been defiled, yet would he not have them filled with the sins of his youth; no: 
job 20.11. Heb. 12 1.  he intends now to cast away that which presseth down, his sin which cleaved to him so fast, to run a new race, and to set up his rest with God. It is said of Sertorius, 
Plut. in vit. Sert.  that because in his life time he had been assailed with many misfortunes, therefore he resolved to live at the fortunate Hands: judah, I tell you, had rubbed out some in his children, in himself, and he thought this was not the way to run on still; therefore he will divert his course, 
Acts 27.8.  and arrive at the Cape, De bona esperance, as Paul at the fair Havens; so he at the mercies of the most highest. Now will he look up unto God, and say with the same spirit that David; did Now verily I trust yet (for all this) to see thy goodness, 
Psal. 27.15.  O Lord, in the land of the living.  
But I forget myself. Why do I stay so long in the porch, let me go up to the Altar. judah here tenders his Heart unto you to be sacrificed. For as David saith; A contrite heart is a sacrifice up to God. 
Psal. 51.17.  We will turn it up and down, view it a little, and if we can, search the very secrets of it. He resolves, no more to fall into this sin, his heart is touched, and touched with Remorse. Let us examine what might be the causes of this his remorse; and then judge of the likeliest, as we see cause.  
First of all, he might be touched in conscience with remorse, for that he had wronged Thamar by dissembling with her. A man were better be an open foe, than a dissembling friend, to wear a white garment lined with purple, as Alexander spoke of Antipater. A man should not be foris Cato, intus Nero, carry heaven in his Face, hell in his heart: But the tongue and the heart they should be Relatives. In men they are so, saith one; but they are not so in women. judah cannot be free of this fault, he had promised to Thamar, his third son Shelah, and it seems she was impatient of the wrong. For it is rendered for a reason, why she attempted this this thing; because Shelah was now grown up, and was not given unto her: he did but only, Verba dare, courtier's fashion, good words she had enough, and honourable usage, but he had no purpose in his heart to do her right. Now we know nothing galls a man more, than when he reaps the fruit of his own dissimulation, and feels the smart of it in his conscience; and if you think this was no cause of his remorse, we will go further.  
The consideration of her with whom he had committed this evil; his daughter in Law: Did he think it had not been sin enough, to have defiled himself with some other woman? But with her, who had been the wife of two of his sons; Er his first son, Onan his second? And with her to commit incest; was it not odious, was it not abominable? Those Roman lads shall be infamous to the latest generations of the earth, for their wickedness in this kind. Fandi, nefandi: 
Quis far posset principem per cuncta cava corporis libidinem recipientem cum ne billuem quidem talem quisquam ferat Romae. Lamprid. ad Const sup. De Heliog.  What say you to Heliog abalus that vessel of filthiness, as his successor Alexander Severus called him. Nero, that monster of nature, who knew his own mother. Tiberius, who erected an Office in Rome (never heard of before) called a Voluptatibus. Caligula, Commodus, and the rest. All these, the very Antesignani of this vice, some with their Sisters; some with their Nieces; some with their Daughters. And against one Emperor, I think I might set five Popes: those un- Holy Fathers, Fathers indeed. One wrote of Innocent the 8.  
Octo nocens pueros genuit totidemque puellas,  
Hunc meritò poterit dicere Roma patrem.  
Which I English thus.  
Eight boys, eight girls, bad Innocent begot:  
To call this man Father, Rome scorn it not.  
But for their notorious and incestuous viciousness in this kind, 
Monstra & portenta. Plat.  Platina calls them Prodigious monsters against kind. What should I say, silence is best in that which is so much abhorring to nature. And if you think this no cause of his remorse, we will go yet further.  
The consideration of the issue and birth itself, that it was incestuous. Phares and Zara, borne, I say not the children of Fornication, but even of Incest. How might it make him blush and hang down his head, when he could not look upon the fruit of his body, but he must behold the sin of his soul. He could not have seen a spot in his face, more plain in a glass, than this soul spot of incest in the faces of these little ones, borne unto him. Well, 
Bor●●as in hunc locum.  that they are thus, Non culpa est filiorum, sed sola parentum. It was no fault of the children's, but the sinful act of their parents. 
Wisd. 4.6.  And if it be true, that wisdom speaketh, That the children borne of the wicked bed, they shall be witnesses against the wickedness of their parents; for by reason of their sin, 
Ecclus 41.10.  they are in reproach. Ecclus. 41: surely this might touch the conscience of judah with some remorse. For what wrong do they to holy Marriage when they seek to compass the fruit of it, quite out of that order which God hath set down? 
Gen. 2.18.  For it is God's ordinance, and thereinto he secretly infuseth his grace, whereof he deprives Adulterine and spurious offspring. As appears especially in that they are forbidden entrance into the congregation of the Lord, 
Deut. 23.2.  even to the tenth generation; as if God should say, They shall never enter. Reason's may be these. First in regard of the ignominy and reproach of their birth, as that which comes forth with shame, and proceeds otherwise then that due course which God hath set down. Secondly, because these through want of God's blessing, seldom prove good: though I confess the rule holds not always; 
Heroum filii noxa Pro.  for God's mercy hath a prerogative, and God will have it appear, that goodness is his gift, and that it comes not by propagation, or ex traduce from our parents; but for the most part, such offspring, is vitiate and corrupt. We know the proverb; Malus coruus, malum onum; like bird, like egg. A third cause of this inhibition was to extol holy Marriage, and to advance the houses and Families of them that lived chaste, to encourage them to keep their vessels pure, that their posterity might not be rejected, or deprived of this blessing. For if the Adulterous brood should have had equal privilege of honour, and entrance into the congregation, with the righteous seed, holy wedlock should have grown into a contempt: but because God will stand by his own ordinance, therefore he will reject such adulterine commixtures with fastidiousness and disdain. Now the consideration of this, namely, the disaduantaging of his issue wronging the fruit of her womb, and bringing upon it that incestuous defilement and pollution, this might be a cause of some remorse. For though God forgave the offence, yet the blot of it, all the tears that ever he could shed, were never able to wash away. And if this were no cause, we will go yet further.  
judah was a Prince and an honourable man: and it is not unlike but his birth & his mind were of equal greatness. No doubt, his reputation and good name was precious unto him: Qua semel amissa postea nullus eris. 
ovidius.  Now his birth, his worth, his reputation, to be blemished with so foul a stain, so great a sin as Incest: a man of so high place, to fall into so base an action, to give so ill an example, so foul a scandal; this might touch him near, for such a one shall find dishonour, saith Solomon, 
Prou. 6.33.  and his reproach shall never be done away. Nothing more forcible and persuasive with the vulgar, than the examples of great men. The lives of such stand like looking glasses before the people's eyes; Validiora sunt exempla quam verba: 
Bern.  Their examples are of greater persuasion, than the persuasion of their words. A great man of a good life, Et carbo & lampas est: saith a Father; he is a Coal burning, and a Lamp shining, & sibi ardet, & aliis lucet, 
Gregor. super Ezech. Hom. 1.  he warms his own conscience, he heats himself well, and he shows a good light unto others also. 
Lib. de pastore. De consideratio: ad Eugenium.  Saint Augustine makes him a murderer, who lives aloft, and lives ill. Qui in conspectu populi male vivit, quantum in illo est, occidit: and Bernard: Sedes prima, & vita ima: The first and forwardest in esteem and place, the basest and beastliest in behaviour and life, Monstruosares: he cries out of it. This Incest in judah a foul blemish in so great a man: his ill example might do great hurt. It was bad enough that jeroboam sinned; but is far worse, that he made Israel to sin. 
Tantum est peccare Authoribus illis.  Great men's sins, are great maims to the commonwealth; and many base sellow will countenance himself with Vices, as well as with their coats of Arms, which as they presume to bear without right, so having such Authors, (who seem to sell sin upon warrantise,) are the bolder to offend without check. It is not so great an evil, that they are evil in regard of themselves; but that they draw evil men unto greater evil, by their evil example. The Prophet objected it to David, 
2. Sam. 12.  that by this foul sin he committed, he had caused the enemies of God to blaspheme: And if you think the consideration of this did not touch him with remorse, we will go yet further.  
To see himself so grossly overseen and overreached even by a woman. 
judg. 9.54.  Abimelech, judg. 9 had rather his Page should thrust him thorough, than it should be said, A woman slew him. 
Richard Plantag. D. of York. Henr. 6.  That most heroic spirit of York, chose rather with an handful of men, to issue out against the Queen's great Army; than it should be said, A woman cooped him up in his Castle. It goeth against the heart of greatness, to be overreached or kept under, either by inferior or equal. Honour is haughty, and dignity impatient of the least indignity; yet they who strive most to keep their minds from baseness, cannot always keep their fortunes from declining.  
Amongst all jacobs' sons, none sinned more grievously than Reuben and judah: 
Gen 35.22.  both in Incest. The one defiling his father's Concubine, the other his sons Wife: Yet when all the rest conspired to kill their innocent brother; Reuben saved him by his mercy, 
Gen. 37.21.27.  and judah by his wisdom. That judah was very politic and wise, appears in his speech to the rest of his Brothers, 
Hexapla. in Gen.  concerning joseph; What will it avail us (saith he) to kill our brother, though we keep his blood secret. I will tell you what we will do, sell him to the Ismaelites. Now by this, as one well observes, judah went about very politicly to avoid three inconveniences. First, the guilt of bloodshed, that was a main thing he would not be touched with; the spilling of blood. Secondly, whereas jacob was wonderfully affected towards him, because he was the son of his old age, his reach was, by selling of him to these Merchants, to work an impossibility that his Father might never see him. Thirdly, by his course, he thought to prevent the honour that joseph dreamt of; namely, that the Sun, the Moon, and the 11. Stars, did reverence unto him; which his Father interpreted of himself, his Mother, & the rest of his Brothers.  
Yet this man, as deep and as politic as he was, how grossly is he here overreached even by a silly woman; as a man may say catched in a fools trap. Imposturam fecit & passus est. Here was the deceiver himself deceived. Thamar had shorn his Fleece, and so for a time, 
judg. 16.19.  judah had lost his wit, as Samson lost his strength: For whiles he thought politicly to avoid one mischief, in regard of his son, he fell into a greater in respect of himself. And here is the fruit of all human policy, besides the sting it leaves behind, and the poor conscience set upon the Rack, they are many times circumvented in the plots and projects, caught in their own snares, and overthrown in their own devices. Our age have not wanted experience of such politicians, who having soared aloft in the highest pitch of favour with their Prince, and have been as stars fixed in that glorious or be of the state. They needed not have begged for honour, as Saul did of Samuel; Honour me before this people. 
1. Sam. 15.30. Gen. 32.9.  They might have said with Esau; I have enough my brother. Their height have been like the height of Cedars: yet because they were not upright in heart, but dissembled in their conscience with God and man; as Ahab in his repentance; 
1. Kings 21.27.  some of them subtly turning their outside to one Religion, their inside to another: Others seeking to compass their lusts through prodigious and disastrous courses; they have been catched in their own snares, God discovering their wisdom to be foolishness, and all their devices vanishing away, as the foam upon the waters. And as the Gibeonites got nothing by their craft, but perpetual slavery; so they dishonour and reproach; Dead flies, 
judges 9  causing the sweet ointment of their honourable reputation, to putrefy, and even stink upon the earth, as sometime the bowels of Antiochus did. But thus will it ever come to pass, that when greatness is not supported with goodness, Mole ruit suà; it overthrows itself with the own weight. So justly may it be said of all such politician's, as Paul spoke of the Gentiles to another purpose. Cum se prositeantur esse sapientes flulti facti sunt: 
Rom. 1.22.  When they profess themselves most wise, they prove themselves most fools.  
I will not precisely say, that either this, or any the former were causes of judah's remorse; but now we will come to the greatest and the last: The consideration of the sin itself as it was an offence against God. He knew he had not done well. The horror of the fact condemned him: 
Gen. 3.7.  the sin presented itself before him, as the sin of Adam; the eyes of his judgement and understanding were opened, which at the first were dimmed, and dammed up, that now he saw the foul error he had committed, and no doubt his sin lay at his door; 
Gen. 4.7.  his conscience pursues him, attaches him, condemns him. Great is the power of conscience. He sees, he sees the greatness of his sin, he knows God is displeased, and therefore is touched with remorse for it. I say again, Great is the power of conscience. Eadem est index, eadem torture, eadem Carcer. Ipsa judicat, ipsa accusat, ipsa damnat. It is both witness, judge, prison, jailor. It judgeth, accuseth, and damneth perpetually. We need no worse enemy than a guilty conscience; It is like an ill conditioned wife, it makes a man ever range abroad, he never loves to be at home; he desires not the company of it: we think it our enemy, as Ahab both thought and spoke of Elias. 
1. Kings 21.20.  The rubs and checks of conscience are full of restless terrors, as if it were vexed with furies. And surely little rest had judah, after sin had set up her rest. For when sin comes into the heart, 
Aut Caesar, aut nullus. Apoc. 18.7.  she will be Caesar or no body; I tell you she will reign alone, and say with Babylon, Sedeoregina; I sit as Queen.  
But judah here did by his sin, as Christ did by the evil spirit; 
Mat. 8.32.  he casteth it out; his lustful affections he sent packing, as Christ did the Devils into the Herd of swine; and said unto them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Be gone; his little pleasure with Thamar turns him to much displeasure, 
Nocet empta dolore voluptas. Horat.  and brings him out of favour with God, and all good men. Therefore here is his resolution, he breaks off his wickedness, and comes at her no more.  
Here is the first main part of Repentance to abandon sin, as the first step of the ladder to heaven. And I doubt not but judah ascended the next and the rest. For what can be more? Being truly touched for this offence, he resolves no more to touch Thamar. Repentance being nothing else but a transmutation and change of the mind: 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  a turning from sin, and a returning to God. Neither is it qualitas or habitus, but opus a work; and not every work neither, but a work of grace. In which, 
Terminus à qu●t Terminus ad quem.  there is something we must renounce, and utterly go from: Something we must recover, embrace, and have recourse unto. As Lot went from Sodom to Zoar: 
Gen. 19.18.  so must we go from the dotage of sin, to the knowledge of grace. We must kill and crucify the old man, with the lusts and concupiscences thereof, and we must quicken & raise up the new. If we have given over our members to uncleanness as judah had here done, we must (address ourselves to the contrary, 
Ephes. 4.24.  and) make them the servants of righteousness in holiness; as the Apostle speaketh. These are the passages to the gate of life. Abandon thy sin, and win heaven: renounce thy pleasures, 
Luke 16.25. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Psal. 16.12.  and thou shalt have pleasures for evermore. No kingdom of glory, if thou be'st not first in the kingdom of grace: no kingdom of grace, if thou hast not first abandoned the kingdom of sin. First, in this, we are null, borne; in the other, renati, borne again; but in the third, beati, blessed for ever. Happy is that man, whose second birth hath altered and changed the first, for he shall find peace and joy at the last.  
There must be a change of life in every man, else must we pay dearly for it at our change of death. I pray, what preserved Nineveh from destruction? Fasting and sackcloth: No, no, saith a Father, it was the Renovation and change of their lives. It is not ciborum abstinentia, 
Chrysost. Hom. 3. ad populum Antioch.  abstinence from meats, that God so much looks after; but peccatorum fuga, avoidance from sin. What profiteth it to take down the body by fasting, saith Jerome, & animus intumescit superbia, and the mind swollen and puffed up with pride? or to be nice forsooth, 
Jerome ad Caelantium.  and curious in drinking a cup of wine, and yet ira & odio incbriari, make themselves drunk with malice and contentions: or to whip, chastise, keep down their bodies by discipline, and yet stand in the defence of public Stews, and wallow in the profusion of insatiable lusts. It is the renovation and change of the mind, that is all in all: which ariseth, not so much from the wrath of God for the sin; as from the hatred and detestation of it, because it is sin.  
So much for the third point.  
I must now draw toward an end. 
Application in general.  What remains but that with your patience, I set an edge upon all that which I have spoken with use and application?  
When I first chose this Text, I intended not to use it as the Pope's porphyry Stool; or out of any singularity, affecting more to speak of this, then of any other: neither is it only this particular of judah that I may stand upon, but I may run through a Zodiac, an Alphabet of sins. 
Homo trium literarum. Plut. Ephes. 4.28.  And first I may say of the Thief in the words of Paul: Let him that stole, steal no more: to the Usurer let him oppress no more: to the swearer let him blaspheme no more: to the Drunkard, let him quaff no more: and so of the rest. 
Apoc. 3.18.  Here is eyesalve for every one. Every man's sin, even ea sola voluptas, is his Thamar; by which he must do as judah here doth, deal with it no more. And yet it may be I speak of this sin; because in these days, 
Non est flagitium mihi crede adolescentulum scortari. Ter. Adelph.  I see it so little looked after for punishment, as if it were but a light sin, or not a sin; as Mitio spoke in Terence. I know what I speak. The common Lawyers have a phrase; The eye of the Law. I am sure it is but a winking eye, it will see, and not see; for even Temporal Magistrates are much too blame for their lenity and conninencie in this kind. The unhappy Cynic said once, that Great thieves hang up little thieves; but this I am sure, the Law of Bastardy, and some others, are but as Spider's webs, as one spoke, the little flies are caught, and hang by the heels, but great ones burst through. Therefore Diogenes when he saw a boy play the idle pack, he went and beat the master; Talia doces, siccine instruis? So when we see these sins of Adultery, Fornication, Incest, fly about as fiery Serpents, and our lusts break forth as gusts in a Tempest. 
Nemo periculosius peccat quam qui peccata defendit.  When they are impudent audacious, seeking defences for themselves, and outfacing us with an whorish forehead: we must lay the fault upon the Magistrate, and say with the Prophet; 
Psal. 58.1.  It it true? Do ye judge the thing that is right, O ye sons of men? Do ye punish sin as ye ought, and execute Law with an upright heart? How then comes it to pass, that these sins are bolstered out, and that men are not afraid to commit such wickedness? But from the temporal power, let me come to the Spiritual. O tempora; 
Cic.  O mores: I am sorry so renowned and famous a Church as this of England, should have no sharper censure for Adultery then a white sheet. I will not be so bold as some reverend Divines, to make it a degree of Adultery, to appoint a light or a sheet punishment for it. 
Perk. Armilla aurea mandat. 7.  But I hold it much what like the friars chastisement; and yet the smart of it is so sore, that, forsooth, there may be a mitigation, by a Commutation of penance. 
Commutations.  Somewhat given in the nature of an Alms to redeem the sin; and given, it may be justly be feared in in- pios usus as in former times (I pray God it be not so now:) For in stead of reparations of Bridges, mending Sea-breakes, manuring Highways, maintenance of poor Scholars; the money went no man knows whether. Thus making gold to have the virtue that Charity hath, 

Where money comes in fight, justice is put to flight.  
judge Dodridge in his charge.  
In Anglia qui extra matrimonium mulieribuscommiscentur, deprehensi sacerdotis imperio, die festo in processu cleri, etc.  
Lib 1. de dictis & Fact. Alphonsi.   covering a multitude of sins. Vbipugnat pecunia, ibi expugnatur justitia. Money many times puts justice out of countenance, when the one comes in place, small grace hath the other. What; shall I say Dolendum? Immo vero tollendum hoc: For it is too intolerable in this sinful and vicious age. Aeneas Silvius many years since, gave this Church a scratch on the face, in his time for this corruption, declaring the manner of Penance then in use: saith he, Si quem poenae pudet, is auro noxam redimit: he that would not endure the shame, might buy it off with his money. And if this sheet punishment be but to fill the purses of corrupt men, it were better there were ordained no punishment at all; but deal by Adultery, as the Athenians by Perjury who though they made many severe Laws against other offences, yet made they none against that. Some say, it was because they thought no man so wicked as to forswear himself; but the reason is rendered to be: for that solum Deum existimabant, 
Merlin in job.  tanti sceleris, tantaeque nequitiae ultorem esse: They thought God only fittest and no man else, to be the revenger of so great impiety. And surely though the lenity and mercy of the Magistrate be so great, that whatsoever punishment of right be due unto it, yet it passeth away from it disguised: and though corruption in some bad men bear sway against the due execution of Law, yet that heavenly and uncorrupt judge, who never yet commuted or dispensed with any sin: who, of such great wickedness is both judex and vindex, 
Gen. 39.7.  the searcher of it out, and the punisher of it; as a severior magister, he will send an unquenchable fire into their bones, to burn up their lusts as the flame devours stubble. And though haply they avoid temporal plagues in this life, yet God reserves them under judgement, for the life to come, and their damnation sleepeth not. 
Gen. 19.4.  The Sodomites who burned with unnatural lust, God destroyed with unnatural fire; and according to the several species and kinds of this sin, God hath several plagues and punishments, varia vitia, 
August.  varia etiam & supplicia. Men drown themselves in their pleasures, 
Facilis descensus Auerni. Virg.  as Leander in the Hellespont, and they shall be drowned indeed in a flood of fire and brimstone. It is an easy way to Hell: and these go the easiest of any. For in they ere are they be aware: 
Prudentius.  as Prudently the Poet sang.  
Tu praeceps ad mortis iter, tu janua Lethi  
Corpora commaculans, animas in Tartara mergis;  
And so it is true, and so will be found; when ignobly and basely they defile their bodies, & satiate themselves in the sea of their brinish lusts, they plunge themselves headlong into these black, hellish, and infernal deeps.  
Well, 
Application in Particular.  let the use of this concern, First, Great men; Secondly, All men. Of the first sort if there be any amongst us, upon whose heads I may justly heap the coals of this present discourse, be their state and condition what it will, let them here take a fair Precedent from judah; let them repent and be grieved, turn from their iniquity, and be sorry for it. Yea let them lay before them the judgements of God, as iron scourges to drive them from this sin. I will not here show how it hath been punished: I am sure here is an example of one that repent. judah lay in this sin but three months, David an whole year, but being wounded in conscience with remorse, how doth he beseek God, and humbly entreat, to wash him from his wickedness, 
Psal. 51.2.  and cleanse him from his sin? Those two sins of his, Murder and Adultery, had they not been repent of, O they would have been unto his soul, as the two Serpents at the breast of Cleopatra; 
Plutarch.  they would have stung him to death. How was his body heat with lusts, as a Baker's oven with flames? yet did he quench and extinguish all with the tears of his unfeigned repentance. judah being here touched in conscience with like remorse, he renounceth this sin, and gives it quite over. Alas, how do we cover our sin, as Thamar her face, wiping our mouths after our wickedness with the Strumpet in the Proverbs, bathing ourselves in our vices, are Poppea in the milk of Asses; 
Pliny. Suetonius in vita Neronis.  and fishing after our sensual pleasures with Nero's nets, even with nets of gold and purple, buying the basest sins at the highest price: omitting no invention, contention, art, study, cost, to compass the unclean desires of our own hearts? He that created the eye, shall not he see? 
Psal. 94.10.  And he that teacheth man knowledge, to leave this, shall not he punish? God hath ordained that his Church should be increased by an holy and pure seed, borne of lawful matrimony: 
Mal. 2.15.  yet Lord; how impudent are the Adulteries of this effeminate, this wanton and womanish age? Like Absoloms, upon the tops of their houses, open & known to the world, to the high displeasure of Almighty God, abuse of holy Marriage, as if it were but a painted chain, and to the shame and scandal of the whole Nation. Plutarch tells us of a plague, that began at Ethiopia, from thence filled Athens, killed Pericles, vexed Thueydides, and spread far. I cannot tell what to say of plagues; but this I will be bold to speak, that as our sins spread, so the judgements of God will spread likewise: If we lengthen out our sins like cart-ropes, his judgements shall be like Cables; if we multiply our iniquities as the molehills of the earth, plagues and judgements shall be as the mountains of God, of incomparable weight to fall upon us, and to crush us in pieces. O consider this, ye that forget God in the breach of holy Marriage, the blessing of Paradise, the gate of life, the entrance into living, the seed-plot of heaven: I say not the bands to knit, but the bounds to limit, restrain, confine man's posterity in a right and a due course. Shall nobleness, mightiness, Greatness protect and bear thee out? Say thou be'st the greatest Gentleman in the country, or in the Court, as joseph in his master's house; 
Gen. 39.9.  None is greater in the house than I: And that through excellency of wit, or eminency of place, thou canst husband the favours of Princes, for thy greatest advantage; shall this protect thee in evil, shall it challenge any immunity, or privilege to sin? Nay, the greater the wickeder, as one spoke of a Dice player, Quanto peritior, tanto nequior; the cunninger, the lewder: and as the wormwood stalk, the bigger it groweth, the bitterer it is; so the greater men are in place, the more distasteful and fowl are their voluptuous actions.  
Look upon this great man judah, though he had committed a sin, yet he dwelled not upon it, he kept not Thamar imparkt, nor did he hurry her up and down the country in his Coach, he gave her none annuity, granted her no lease in Fee-farm: He went to her but once, and his conscience smarted for it: haply he knew that by how much the greater his person was, the greater was the sin; and the greater sin, the greater vengeance.  
Secondly, all men must be touched in conscience with the consideration of these particulars. First, that the examples and practices of great men must be no warrant to be are them our in sin. The soul that sinneth (saith God) shall die the death: and every one must answer for his own self, for his own sin; neither will it be any plea for us, the following of great men in their evil.  
Secondly, if we must needs imitate them, as the Apostle saith, I will show you a more excellent way. 
1. Cor. 12.31.  Observe their virtues, and imitate them in their good examples: these, let us approve, and approving, let us practise. In julius Caesar's time, every one praised the hook nose, because he had one; and in the days of Commodus the long nose bore it away: most men would be Mathematicians under the reign of Ptolomey: brave soldiers were in account under Xerxes, and Musicians under Nero; because these Princes were accomplished in these several delights. When did virtue, and good Arts more flourish, then under trajan the Emperor; in whose time they say no poor man did ever beg, no learned man did ever want? Mean men are stirred up for the most part to follow and to apply themselves to that which most pleaseth their Princes: if it be but to wear a garment, or tell a tale after them, or their fashion. Now if we applaud or imitate them in matters of indifferency, how much better were it, in matters of piety and virtue? nay, how much worse is it, if in vice and sin? Imitate not Peter in his perjury; but in his repentance and tears: nor David in his Adultery; nor judah in his Incest; but imitate them in their sorrow and contrition: labour to be stricken with the like remorse: quench thy lusts, abandon thy sin, renounce thy pleasure, as joseph withstood his lascivious Mistress, and God will receive thee into favour again.  
Thirdly, judah ye see had fallen into a grievous and detestable sin, yet he hath true remorse of conscience, and God in his mercy doth not cast him off: 
Rom. 11.29.  The gifts and calling of God are without repentance: and whatsoever he hath decreed concerning any man's salvation shall stand; for his Election changeth not. The seal is surely fixed, 
2. Tim. 2.19.  The Lord knoweth who are his; and those which are once his, are his for ever: though they fall, yet shall they rise again: and David notwithstanding his Adultery, shall be continued in his kingdom; and Peter notwithstanding his perjury, shall be confirmed in his Apostleship: and judah notwithstanding his Incest, shall be established in his Patriarchal dignity, and remain the famous and renowned ancestor of Christ. Yet hence observe two caveats. First, not to be secure or presumptuous, but rather work out our salvation with fear and trembling. Secondly, when we have seriously repent of any sin, we must with judaeh never fall into the same again.  
Fourthly, learn from hence, ye adulterers and adulteresses, 
jam. 4.4.  as the Apostle speaks, who choose to be at enmity with God, that ye might be at amity with the world: and are ready enough to fall into sin as judah was, but never to have his remorse in conscience to leave it: who have eyes full of Adultery, 
2. Pet. 2.14.  and cannot cease to sin, hearts full of uncleanness, 
jer. 4.14.  and will not be washed; how long think you, shall God forbear, without punishment? how long shall your faces be covered, your sins unexamined? Do ye scoff at God, 
1. Kings 13.  as Elias did at Baal? Do ye think he sleeps and must be awaked? Consider first the greatness of this sin; which appears firstin that it is made the punishment of another sin, 
Rom. 1.23. Gravitas supplicij gravitatem denotat peccati. Aug.  that is, of Idolatry. Secondly of all other sins it makes a man most inexcusable, because God hath ordained a remedy against it. Consider secondly, how wonderful God hath been in his judgements against this sin, How fearful was the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrha, 
Gen. 19.24. Gehennam misit è coelo.  when God reigned down upon them hell from heaven, fire and brimstone, being the materials of their subversion? Zimrs together with Cosbi his Midianitish woman, how suddenly and fearfully were they slain, 
Numb. 25.8.  whiles they were about this sinful act? How did God make David's heart to smart, nay, even the heart of his whole kingdom? What a strange and extraordinary birth had Thamar, even prodigious, monstrous, and with the wonderful hazard and peril of her life? God no doubt intending hereby to have judah & her admonished of the greatness of the sin, and that for the same they might be truly humbled. 
Gen. 3.10.  What a grievous punishment laid God upon Adam, but for once eating of an Apple, which a man would think to be no great sin? Upon Lot's wife, but for once looking back upon Sodom, 
Gen. 19.26.  which might be thought but a small offence? Yet the one, God cast him out of Paradise, attainted his whole blood, which could never be restored but by the blood of Christ: the other suddenly turned in, to a pillar of salt: Vbi respexit, tbi remansit; where her fault was, 
August.  there was her fall, where she offended there was she punished where her offence was committed, there God made her a monument of his vengeance before she went further. If God will deal thus roundly with us, and take us in our traps, for sins but once committed, and in some respect of a lighter nature, Lord what shall we think will he do, for our whoredoms and adulteries? so often threatened against by God, so much detested and accursed of God, as that which brings a man to a morsel of bread, like a fire devours him to destruction, roots out all his increase, destroys the soul, shortens the life, brings a perpetual infamy and blot upon our name, and these not once committed, as judah's here was and no more, but often, more and more; nourished with rewards, countenanced with favours, born out with greatness: Are they ashamed, saith the Prophet? No, 
jer. 6.15.  they are not ashamed: but still go on with an appetite as insatiable as hell itself. I demand with jeremy, 
jer. 5.31.  What will they then do in the end thereof? Again, look here but with half an eye, and see what an infinite measuer of vengeance as a full cloud, hangs over the church of Rome, as a full cloud black and fearful; where occasions of Adultery are daily maintained, as the vow of single life in men and women: The toleration of private Concubines, and public Stews: The permission of marriages within the degrees forbidden, both by the Law of Nature, and the word of God. Nay the Palace of the Pope himself; 
Luitpr. lib. 6. cap. 6.  Sanctorum quondam hospitium, nunc prostibulum meritricum, sometimes the arbour and harbour of Saints, now far otherwise.  
Lastly, how acceptable and pleasing unto God is an holy and chaste life: not that forced chastity of the Papists; For ubi necessitas imponitur castitati, autoritas datur libideni, saith Augustine: 
August. de Virg.  but when it pleaseth God to conser that gift to a single life, or in wedlock, when the holy and pure use thereof is observed. How highly hath it been accounted of even amongst the Heathen? Valerius Maximus reports of a delicate and beautiful young man, 
Spurina. Hippon. in marese abtecit, ut morte pudicitiam tueretur Val. Max. lib. 6. cap 58●. Fulgos. l. 6. cap 1.  that all becut and mangled his face, because he would not be desired of women. One of the fairest dames in Greece threw herself into the Sea, to save her chastity. Fifty virgins of the Spartans killed themselves, because they would not be deflowered of the Messenians. Lucretia of Rome, forced by Tarqvinius, for very sorrow slew herself: Hippolytus shall ever be famous in the Tragedy, for withstanding the unlawful lust of Phaedra his stepmother; who being falsely accused by her, and thereupon pursued by his own Father, the Chariot broke wherein he fled, and his delicate body amongst the sharppointed flints was rend in pieces. What should I speak of Bellerophon, Pelius, and others? joseph in Holy writ is renowned for this, and admired as a glorious star in that beautiful Sphere of the patriarchs: Pulchrior in luce cordis, quàm in fancy corporis, 
August.  fairer in the light of his soul, then in the face of his body, saith a Father. 
Gen. 39.6.  He was a fair person, and well favoured, saith Moses; and therefore his chastity was the more conspicuous, eminent, 
Gratior est pulchro veniens è corpore virtus.  amiable: as a Ring better becomes a fair hand, than a foul fist; or as the Diamond hath a greater grace fixed in Gold then in Iron. When we affect this beauty of the soul, (a beam of divine goodness shed into it) whereby our sensual appetites are subdued to reason, we may be said to be more than men: for to live chastely is to live the life of Angels; the difference is but only in felicitate, 
Bernard in Epist.  non in virtute; we walk in the one here, the other we shall enjoy hereafter. It is ornamentum totius ornamenti, it is the Beauty of Beauties, 
Gen. 29.30.  the greatest ornament of all, and it shall endure, when all corporal beauty shall be eaten up of worms. 
Bonam navem habes, sed malum gubernatorem. Isoc-Psal. 119.37.  Let us affect this virtue of chastity, as jacob affected Rahel: The text saith, jacob loved Rahel, and it well appeared he loved her indeed. If thou hast never so beautiful a body, yet if thy soul be foul and unchaste, I may say thou hast a beautiful ship, but a bad Pilot. Auerte oculos tuos, turn away thine eyes lest they behold vanity. 
Impudicus oculus impudici cordis est nuntius. Aug. job. 31.1.  An unchaste eye is the messenger of an unchaste heart: A subtle Spy, wanton and lascivious. job was feign to make a covenant with it, and it was to the peril of his soul if he broke it. Let me speak once for all, and speak in the words of the Apostle: This is the will of God, even your holiness, and that you abstain from Fornication. 
1. Thes. 4.3 Col. 3.5.  Mortify therefore your earthly members, Fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affections, evil concupiscence. This is no age licentiously to wantonnize. This is the day of grace, and ought not to be made the night of sin. Walk honestly therefore, 
Rom. 13.13.  as in the day, not in chambering and wantonness. But put ye on the Lord jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to fulfil the lusts of it. S. Augustine reading this very place, was converted by it. Let us think upon this; and upon the day of our common appearance. For as death leaves us, 
Qualem te inveniet Deus talem te judicet. Aug. job. 20.12 Apoc. 21.27. Apoc. 22.17.  so the day of judgement shall find us. If we die sinful and unclean, Christ at his coming shall so find us, when all the sins of our youth, which have been sweet in our mouth, will be as bitter to our soul as Aloes to our taste, and will be as eager & fierce upon us, as the wolves in the evening. We know no unclean thing shall enter into the new jerusalem: Heaven is no Inn to entertain all comers. Without shall be dogs, enchanters, whoremongers. Labour then for true remorse, and for unfeigned repentance: Wash thy heart from wickedness. Make thy body the Temple of the holy Ghost, and let thy soul be the Holy of holiest, 
jer. 4.11. 1. Cor. 6.19. Heb. 9.12. 2. Cor. 6.38. jer. 31.1. 2 Cor. 7.1. Psal. 67.7.  where Christ may enter in once for all. If we touch no unclean thing, we shall be the sons and daughters of God. Wherefore (saith the Apostle) having such promises, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of our flesh, and finish our sanctification in the fear of God. So God, even our own God, shall give us his blessing; God shall bless us, and our race and posterity after us and make it an holy seed. He will give us a long life in this life, and eternity of days, in the life to come. He will marry us unto him for ever, in righteousness, 
Hos. 2.19.  in judgement, in mercy and compassion. 
Cant. 1.1.  He will kiss us with the kisses of his own mouth, and give unto us eternal pledges and testimonies of his love. 
Cant. 5.12.  We shall hear the voice of our well-beloved; saying, Open unto me my Sister, my Love, my Dove, mine undefiled. He will set us by his own side; Nay, he will set us as a seal upon his heart. 
Cant. 8.8.  We shall be the pleasure of his eye, the very joy of his soul, he will cause his blessed Angels to keep us company, and to solace themselves with us. Never, never was the eye of any man, more pleased in the sweetness and beauty of a face, than God is delighted in the soul of that man, which truly repenteth.  
Now holy Brethren; 
Conclusion.  Right Worshipful, and you Honourable judges: judah in the end of your circuit this Lent time, hath done his Penance before you; His shame is past, his offence pardoned, his resolution for amendment apparent to accompany with Thamar no more. What remains, but that you clear him in your private judgements, and account him as an honourable Patriarch, a famous & renowned Ancestor of Christ? When jacob his father lay upon his deathbed, he prophesied thus of him: 
Gen. 49.10. Gal. 4.4.  The sceptre shall not departed from judah till Shiloh come. Shilo came at the fullness of time; when the Sceptre departed, that is, the civil policy and government of the jews was dissolved, and transferred to the Romans: The line and stock of judah so exactly recorded, so highly accounted, now disregarded and confounded amongst the rest: and Shilo shall come again, 
Apoc. 1.7. Mat. 25.31  when he shall come with clouds, and every eye shall see him, and they that pierced him through shall behold him. when this judah shall stand before him as pure, as if he had never been defiled, and this offence of His, this great offence shall be blotted out, when he shall be honoured with everlasting honour, and be clothed with a garment of righteousness down to his feet, when both He, and we shall stand at the right hand of Christ, 
Mat. 25.33  and all our iniquities shall be done away, when we shall go up with him into heaven, and behold the glory of his blessed Saints and Angels, and we ourselves overjoyed in glory: 
1. Thes. 5.23.  Even so Lord jesus, (fit us for thine own self, and then) come quickly. I conclude with the prayer of the Apostle: Now the very God of Peace sanctify you throughout, and and I pray God, that all our hearts and souls may be kept pure and blameless, until the coming of our Lord jesus Christ. Amen.  
FINIS.