Page images
PDF
EPUB

Ifa. 1.

and mild Lord, compared for his meeknefs to a sheep fuf- Ifa. liii. fering with filence his fleece to be fhorn from him, and Acts viii. to a lamb led without refiftance to the flaughter, which Matt. . gave his body to them that did fmite him, anfwered not him that reviled, nor turned away his face from them that did reproach him and fpit upon him, and, according to his own example, gave precepts of mildness and sufferance to his difciples: yet when he feeth the temple and holy houfe of his heavenly Father mifordered, polluted, and profaned, ufeth great feverity and fharpnefs, overturneth the tables of the exchangers, fubverteth the feats. of them that fold doves, maketh a whip of cords, and fcourgeth out thofe wicked abufers and profaners of the temple of God, faying, My boufe fhall be called the house of prayer; but ye bave made it a den of thieves. And in the fecond of John, Do not ye make the boufe of my Father the John ii. boufe of merchandize? For as it is the houfe of God, when God's fervice is duly done in it; fo when we wickedly abufe it with wicked talk or covetous bargaining, we make it a den of thieves, or an houfe of merchandize. Yea, and fuch reverence would Chrift fhould be therein, that he would not fuffer any veffel to be carried through the temple. And whereas our Saviour Chrift (as is be- Mark xi. fore mentioned out of St. Luke) could be found no where (when he was fought) but only in the temple amongst the doctors; and now again he exercifeth his authority and jurifdiction, not in caftles and princely palaces amongst foldiers, but in the temple: ye may hereby understand in what place his fpiritual kingdom (which he denieth to be of this world) is fooneft to be found, and beft to be* The people's fault known of all places in this world. And according to this was moft example of our Saviour Chrift in the primitive Church, grievous. which was moft holy and godly, and in the which due The fendifcipline with severity was ufed against the wicked, open cuted otheroffenders were not fuffered once to enter into the house of wife and the Lord, nor admitted to common prayer, and the ufe of more cruel the holy facraments, with other true Chriftians, until than it they had done open penance before the whole church. And this was practifed not only upon mean perfons, but only dealfo upon the rich, noble, and mighty perfons, yea, upon horted from Theodofius, that puiffant and mighty emperor, whom, the facra for committing a grievous and wilful murder, St. Am- ment, unbrofe, bishop of Milan, reproved fharply, and † did alfo til by reexcommunicate the faid emperor, and brought him to he might open penance. And they that were fo juftly exempted be better and banished, as it were, from the houfe of the Lord, prepared.

were

tence exe

fhould.

+He was

receiving

pentance

Chryj.

1 Cor. v.

were taken (as they be indeed) for men divided and separated from Chrift's church, and in moft dangerous eftate, yea, as St. Paul faith, even given unto Satan the Devil for a time; and their company was fhunned and avoided of all godly men and women, until fuch time as they by repentance and public penance were reconciled. Such was the honour of the Lord's houfe in men's hearts, and outward reverence alio at that time, and fo horrible a thing was it to be shut out of the church and houfe of the Lord in thofe days, when religion was most pure, and nothing to corrupt as it hath been of late days. And yet we willingly, either by abfenting ourselves from the house of the Lord, do, as it were, excommunicate ourfelves from the church and fellowship of the faints of God; or else coming thither, by uncomely and unreverent behaviour there, by hafty, rafh, yea, unclean and wicked thoughts and words before the Lord our God, horribly dishonour his holy houfe, the church of God, and his holy name and majefty, to the great danger of our fouls, yea, and certain damnation alfo, if we do not speedily and earnestly repent us of this wickednefs.

Thus ye have heard, dearly beloved, out of God's word, what reverence is due to the holy houfe of the Lord, how all godly perfons ought with diligence at times appointed thither to repair, how they ought to behave themselves there, with reverence and dread before the Lord, what plagues and punishments, as well temporal as eternal, the Lord in his holy word threateneth, as well to fuch as neglect to come to his holy houfe, as alfo to fuch who, coming thither, do unreverently by gefture or talk there behave themfelves. Wherefore if we defire to have feafonable weather, and thereby to enjoy the good fruits of the earth; if we will avoid drought and barrennefs, thirst and hunger, which are plagues threatened unto fuch as make hatte to go to their own houfes, to alehoufes and taverns, and leave the houfe of the Lord empty and defolate; if we abhor to be fcourged, not with whips made of cords, out of the material temple only, (as our Saviour Chrift ferved the defilers of the houfe of God in Jerufalem) but also to be beaten and driven out of the eternal Ephef. iii. temple and houfe of the Lord (which is his heavenly kingdom) with the iron rod of everlafting damnation, and caft into utter darknefs, where is weeping and gnashing of teeth; if we fear, dread, and abhor this, I fay, as we have moft juft caufe to do, then let us amend this our negligence and contempt in coming to the house of the

Lord,

Lord, this our unreverent behaviour in the house of the Lord; and reforting thither diligently together, let us there with reverent hearing of the Lord's holy word, calling on the Lord's holy name, giving of hearty thanks unto the Lord for his manifold and ineftimable benefits daily and hourly bestowed upon us, celebrating alfo reverently the Lord's holy facraments, ferve the Lord in his holy house, as becometh the fervants of the Lord, in holinefs and righteoufnefs before him all the days of our life; and then we fhall be affured after this life to reft in his holy hill, and to dwell in his tabernacle, there to praife and magnify his holy name in the congregation of his faints, in the holy houfe of his eternal kingdom of heaven, which he hath purchased for us by the death and fhedding of the precious blood of his Son our Saviour Jefus Chrift, to whom, with the Father and the Holy Ghoft, one immortal God, be all honour, glory, praife, and thanksgiving, world without end. Amen.

AN

AN

HOMILY

AGAINST

Peril of Idolatry, and fuperfluous Decking of Churches.

[ocr errors]

THE FIRST PART.

N what points the true ornaments of the church or temple of God do confift and ftand, hath been declared in the two laft Homilies, treating of the right ufe of the temple or house of God, and of the due reverence that all true Chriftian people are bound to give unto the fame. The fum whereof is, that the church or house of God is a place appointed by the holy Scriptures, where the lively word of God ought to be read, taught, and heard, the Lord's holy name called upon by public prayer, hearty thanks given to his Majefty for his infinite and unspeakable benefits bestowed upon us, his holy facraments duly and reverently miniftered; and that therefore all that be godly indeed ought both with diligence, at times appointed, to repair together to the faid church, and there with all reverence to use and behave themselves before the Lord. And that the faid church thus godly ufed by the fervants of the Lord, in the Lord's true service, for the effectual prefence of God's grace, wherewith he doth by his holy word and promifes endue his people there prefent and affembled, to the attainment, as well of commodities worldly, neceffary for us, as also of all heavenly gifts, and life everlafting, is called by the word of God (as it is indeed) the Temple of the Lord, and the House of God, and that therefore the due reverence thereof is stirred up in the hearts of the godly, by the confideration

of

of thefe true ornaments of the faid house of God, and not by any outward ceremonies or coftly and glorious decking of the faid houfe or temple of the Lord, contrary to the which most manifeft doctrine of the Scriptures, and contrary to the ufage of the primitive church, which was moft pure and uncorrupt, and contrary to the fentences and judgments of the most ancient, learned, and godly doctors of the church, (as hereafter fhall appear) the corruption of thefe latter days hath brought into the church infinite multitudes of images, and the fame, with other parts of the temple alfo, have decked with gold and filver, painted with colours, fet them with ftone and pearl, clothed them with filks and precious veftures, fancying untruly that to be the chief decking and adorning of the temple or house of God, and that all people fhould be the more moved to the due reverence of the fame, if all corners thereof were glorious, and glittering with gold and precious ftones. Whereas indeed they by the faid images, and fuch glorious decking of the temple, have nothing at all profited fuch as were wife and of underftanding; but have thereby greatly hurt the fimple and unwife, occafioning them thereby to commit moft horrible idolatry. And the covetous perfons, by the fame occafion, feeming to worship, and peradventure worthipping indeed, not only the images, but alfo the matter of them, gold and filver, as that vice is of all others in the Scriptures peculiarly called idolatry, or worshipping of Ephef. v. images. Against the which foul abufes and great enormities fhall be alleged unto you; firft, the authority of God's holy word, as well out of the Old Teftament, as of the New. And fecondly, the teftimonies of the holy and ancient learned fathers and doctors, out of their own works and ancient hiftories ecclefiaftical, both that you may at once know their judgments, and withal underftand what manner of ornaments were in the temples in the primitive church, in thofe times which were moft pure and fincere. Thirdly, the reafons and arguments made for the defence of images or idols, and the outrageous decking of temples and churches with gold, filver, pearl, and precious ftones, fhall be confuted, and fo this whole matter concluded. But left any fhould take occafion by the way, of doubting by words or names, it is thought good here to note firft of all, that although in common fpeech we ufe to call the likenefs or fimilitudes of men or other things, images, and not idols: yet the Scriptures use the faid two words (idols and images) indifferently

L

Coloff. i.

« PreviousContinue »