fin: there is none righteous, no not one: There is none that underftandeth, there is none that feeketh after God: they are all gone out of the way, they are all unprofitable; there is none that doth good, no not one: Their throat is an open fepulcbre, with their tongues they have used craft and deceit, the poison of ferpents is under their lips, their mouth is full of curfing and bitterness, their feet are fewift to shed blood, deftruction and wretchedness are in their ways, and the way of peace bave they not known: there is no fear of God before their eyes. And in another place, St. Paul writeth thus, Rom. xi. God bath wrapped all nations in unbelief, that be might bave mercy on all. The Scripture fhutteth up all under Gal. iii. fin, that the promife by the faith of Jefus Chrift fhould be given unto them that believe. St. Paul in many places painteth us out in our colours, calling us the chil- Ephef. ii. dren of the wrath of God, when we be born: faying alfo, that we cannot think a good thought of ourselves, much lefs can we fay well, or do well of ourfelves. And the wife. man faith in the Book of Proverbs, The just man falleth Prov. xxiv. feven times a day. The moft tried and approved man Job feared all his works. St. John the Baptift being Luke i. fanctified in his mother's womb, and praifed before he was born, being called an angel, and great before the Lord, filled even from his birth with the Holy Ghoft, the preparer of the way for our Saviour Chrift, and commended of our Saviour Chrift to be more than a prophet, and the Matth. iii. greatest that ever was born of a woman: yet he plainly granteth, that he had need to be washed of Chrift: he worthily extolleth and glorifieth his Lord and Mafter Chrift, and humbleth himself as unworthy to unbuckle his fhoes, and giveth all honour and glory to God. So doth St. Paul both oft and evidently confefs himself, what he was of himself, ever giving (as a moft faithful fervant) all praife to his Mafter and Saviour. So doth bleffed St. John the Evangelift, in the name of himself, and of all other holy men (be they never so just) make this open confeffion: If we fay we have no fin, we deceive ourselves, 1 John i, and the truth is not in us: if we acknowledge our fins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our fins, and to cleanfe us from all unrighteoufnefs. If we fay we have not finned, we make bim a liar, and his word is not in us. Wherefore the

Wife Man, in the book called Ecclefiaftes, maketh this true and general confeffion, There is not one juft man upon Ecclef. vii. the earth, that doth good, and finneth not. And David is Pfalm li. afhamed of his fin, but not to confefs his fin. How oft,

how

how earnestly, and lamentably doth he defire God's great mercy for his great offences, and that God fhould not Pfalm exiii. enter into judgment with him? And again, how well weigheth this holy man his fins, which he confeffeth, that they be fo many in number, and jo hid, and hard to Pfalm xix. understand, that it is in a manner impoffible to know, utter, or number them? Wherefore, he having a true, earneft, and deep contemplation and confideration of his fins, and yet not coming to the bottom of them, he maketh fupplication to God to forgive him his privy, fecret, bid fins: the knowledge of which he cannot attain unto. "He weigheth rightly his fins from the original root and fpring-head, perceiving inclinations, provocations, ftirrings, ftingings, buds, branches, dregs, infections, tastes, feelings, and fcents of them to continue in him ftill. Wherefore he faith, Mark, and behold, I was conceived in fins: he faith not fin, but in the plural number, fins, forafmuch as out of one, as a fountain, fpring all the reft. Our Saviour Chrift faith, There is none good but Luke xviii. God: and that we can do nothing that is good without him, nor can any man come to the Father but by him. He Luke xvii. commandeth us alfo to fay, that we be unprofitable fer

Pfalm li.

Mark x.

John xv.

vants, when we have done all that we can do. He preferLuke xviii. reth the penitent Publican, before the proud, holy, and Matth. ix. glorious Pharifee. He calleth himself a Physician, but

not to them that be whole, but to them that be fick, and have need of his falve for their fore. He teacheth us in our prayers to acknowledge ourfelves finners, and to afk righteoufnefs, and deliverance from all evils, at our heavenly Father's hand. He declareth that the fins of our

own hearts do defile our own felves. He teacheth that an evil word or thought deferveth condemnation, affirmMatth. xii. ing, that we shall give account for every idle word. He Matth. xv. faith, He came not to fave, but the sheep that were utterly loft and call away. Therefore few of the proud, juft, learned, wife, perfect, and holy Pharifees were faved by him, because they juftified themfelves by their counterfeit holiness before men. Wherefore, good people, let us beware of fuch hypocrify, vain glory, and justifying of ourselves.

The

The Second Part of the Sermon of the Mifery of Man.

'ORASMUCH as the true knowledge of ourselves is

F very neceflary to come to the right knowledge of

God; ye have heard in the laft reading, how humbly all good men always have thought of themfelves; and fo to think and judge of themfelves, are taught of God their creator, by his holy word. For of ourfelves we be crab-trees, that can bring forth no apples. We be of ourfelves of fuch earth, as can but bring forth weeds, nettles, brambles, briers, cockle, and darnel. Our fruits be declared in the fifth chapter to the Galatians. We have Gal. ▼. neither faith, charity, hope, patience, chastity, nor any thing else that good is, but of God; and therefore thefe virtues be called there the fruits of the Holy Ghost, and not the fruits of man. Let us therefore acknowledge ourselves before God (as we be indeed) miferable and wretched finners. And let us earnestly repent, and humble ourselves heartily, and cry to God for mercy. Let us all confefs with mouth and heart, that we be full of imperfections: let us know our own works, of what imperfection they be, and then we shall not stand foolishly and arrogantly in our own conceits, nor challenge any part of juftification by our merits or works. For truly there be imperfections in our beft works: we do not love God fo much as we are bound to do, with all our heart, mind, and power: we do not fear God fo much as we ought to do: we do not pray to God, but with great and many imperfections: we give, forgive, believe, live, and hope imperfectly: we fpeak, think, and do imperfectly: we fight against the devil, the world, and the flesh imperfectly: let us therefore not be afhamed to confefs plainly our ftate of imperfection: yea, let us not be afhamed to confefs imperfection, even in all our bett works. Let none of us be ashamed to fay with the holy Saint Peter, I am a finful man. Let us fay with the holy Prophet Luke David, We have finned with our fathers; we have done Pfalm cvi. amifs, and dealt wickedly. Let us all make open confeffion with the prodigal fon, to our Father, and fay with him, We have finned against heaven, and before thee, O Fa- Luke xv. ther: que are not worthy to be called thy jons. Let us all fay with holy Baruch, O Lord our God, to us is worthily Baruch i afcribed shame and confufion, and to thee righteoujnefs: we

Dan. ix.

Pfal. 1.

■ Pet. ii.

have finned, we have done wickedly, we have behaved ourfelves ungodly in all thy righteoufnefs. Let us all fay with the holy Prophet Daniel, O Lord, righteoufness belongeth to thee, unto us belongeth confufion. We have finned, we have been naughty, we have offended, we have fled from thee, we have gone back from all thy precepts and judgments. So we learn of all good men in holy Scriptures, to humble ourfelves, and to exalt, extol, praise, magnify, and glorify God.

Thus we have heard how evil we be of ourselves, how of ourselves, and by ourfelves, we have no goodness, help or falvation, but contrariwife, fin, damnation, and death everlafting which if we deeply weigh and confider, we fhall the better understand the great mercy of God, and a Cor. iii. how our falvation cometh only by Chrift. For in ourfelves (as of ourfelves) we find nothing, whereby we may be delivered from this miferable captivity, into the which we are caft, through the envy of the devil, by breaking of God's commandment in our first parent Adam. We are all become unclean: but we all are not able to cleanfe ourselves, nor make one another of us clean. We are by Ephef. ii. nature the children of God's wrath: but we are not able to make ourselves the children and inheritors of God's glory. We are beep that run aftray: but we cannot of our own power come again to the theepfold, fo great is our imperfection and weakness. In ourfelves therefore may we not glory, which, of ourselves, are nothing but finful: neither may we rejoice in any works that we do, all which be fo imperfect and impure, that they are not able to ftand before the righteous judgment-feat of God, as the Pfal. cxliii. holy Prophet David faith, Enter not into judgment with thy fervant, O Lord: for no man that liveth shall be found righteous in thy fight. To God therefore muft we flee, or elfe thall we never find peace, reft, and quietnefs of confcience in our hearts. For he is the Father of mercies, Pfal. cxxx. and God of all confolation. He is the Lord, with whom is plenteous redemption: he is the God, which of his own mercy faveth us, and fetteth out his charity and exceeding love towards us, in that of his own voluntary goodness, when we were perifhing, he faved us, and provided an everlasting kingdom for us. And all thefe heavenly treasures are given us, not for our own deferts, merits, or good deeds, (which of ourfelves we have none) but of his mere mercy freely. And for whofe fake? Truly for Jefus Chrift's fake, that pure and undefiled Lamb of God. He is that dearly beloved Son, for whofe fake God is fully

2 Cor. i.

pacified,

pacified, fatisfied, and fet at one with man. He is the Lamb of God, which taketh away the fins of the world; John i. of whom only it may be truly fpoken, that he did all 1 Pet. ii. things well, and in his mouth was found no craft nor fubtilty. None but he alone may lay, The prince of the world came, and in me be bath nothing. And he alone may alfo fay, Which of you fall reprove me of any fault? 'n viii. He is the high and everlasting Prieft, which hath offered bimself once for all upon the altar of the crofs, and with Heb. vii. that one oblation bath made perfect for evermore them that are fanctified. He is the alone Mediator between God 1 John ii. and man, which paid our ranfom to God with his own blood, and with that hath he cleanfed us all from fin. He is the Phyfician, which healeth all our difeafes. He is that Saviour, which faveth his people from all their fins: Matth. to be short, he is that flowing and moft plenteous fountain, of whofe fulness all we have received. For in him alone are all the treasures of the wisdom and knowledge of God bidden. And in him, and by him, have we from God the Father all good things, pertaining either to the body or to the foul. O how much are we bound to this our heavenly Father for his great mercies, which he hath for plenteously declared unto us in Chrift Jefus our Lord. and Saviour! What thanks worthy and fufficient can we give to him? Let us all with one accord burft out with joyful voice, ever praifing and magnifying this Lord of mercy, for his tender kindnefs thewed unto us in his dearly beloved Son Jefus Chrift our Lord.

Hitherto we have heard what we are of ourfelves; very finful, wretched, and damnable. Again, we have heard how that of ourselves, and by ourfelves, we are not able either to think a good thought, or work a good deed, fo that we can find in ourfelves no hope of falvation, but rather whatsoever maketh unto our deftruction. Again, we have heard the tender kindness and great mercy of God the Father towards us, and how beneficial he is to us for Chrift's fake, without our merits or deferts, even of his own mere mercy and tender goodnefs. Now, how thefe exceeding great mercies of God, fet abroad in Chrift Jefus for us, be obtained, and how we be delivered from the captivity of fin, death, and hell, fhall more at large. (with God's help) be declared in the next fermon. In the mean feafon, yea, and at all times, let us learn to know ourselves, our frailty and weaknefs, without any cracking or boafting of our own good deeds and merits.

Let