A silver watch-bell. The sound wherof is able (by the grace of God) to win the most profane worldling, and carelesse liuer, if there be but the least sparke of grace remaining in him, to become a true Christian indeed, that in the end he may obtaine euerlasting saluation. Wherunto is annexed a treatise of the holy Sacrament of the Lords Supper.

CHAP. III. Concerning the generall day of Doome.

FOrsomuch as the feare of the Lord is the begin∣ning of wisedome, and al for the most part are re∣strayned from sinne and wickednes, by the feare of punishment & paines, and are brought to a good mind and purpose, they which exclude this feare out of their hearts, doe shut vp against themselues the true and wholesome repentance. For as the Scripture testifieth, the feare of the Lord ex∣pelleth sinne, and he which is without feare cannot he iustified. The which S^t. Augustine by a very proper similitude setteth foorth: If there be no feare, there is no entrance for loue: euē as we sée when a man soweth, the thréed is brought in with a néedle, the néedle first entereth, but except the néedle goe out also, the thréed followeth not: Euen so, feare first possesseth the minde, but feare remaineth not there alone, because it therefore entred to bring in loue. Wherefore to awake vs slée∣ping

in sinnes, and to ingender feare in our minds, the Lord doth oftentimes in the Gos∣pel threaten vtter darknes, gnashing of teeth, euerlasting fire, and other torments of hell, that at the leastwise for feare of paines and torments, we might bridle our mindes, our eyes, and our hands, from sinne and wic∣kednesse.

2 This feare is not onely probable, but also very necessarie. For if now after so ma∣ny threatnings of our Creator, so fearefull and so greeuous, we scarcely forsake our sins, what would we do if God did not threaten at all? Therefore I holde this, that the feare of the Lord is, as it were, the parent and kée∣per of righteousnesse, temperance, loue, and of all vertues.

3 But there is nothing that doeth more worke this feare in vs, then the remembrāce of that great day, wherein al the causes of al men are to be pleaded, and their matters de∣termined. Insomuch that Saint Augustine affirmeth, if Christian men should heare no other Gospel then that wherein the general iudgement is set foorth, that one might suffice both to reuoke sinnefull men from their wic∣kednesses, and also being reuoked, to cōteine them in their dutie.

4 Wherefore, in this Chapter wée will handle two notable points concerning the iudgement to come. The first shal be concer∣ning the greatnes & horror of that day, and of the fearefull signes that shall go before the same. The second shalbe concerning the rai∣sing vp of the dead bodies, and the comming of the Iudge.

5 The greatnesse and horror of that last day may be knowen hereby, that it is called in holy Scripture, a great day, and the day of the Lord. And shall it not indéede be a very great day, which shal cōprehend all the daies of all ages, aswell those that are past, as those that are to come? For in that day men shall render an account of all the dayes that are past. In that day God will poure out that in∣finite treasure of his wrath and indignation, which he hath heaped vp in the space of al the worlds that are past. In that day the moti∣ons of the heauens shall cease, the course of the starres, the reuolution of yéeres, the vicis∣situde or returne of moneths and dayes, the decay of mortal things, al the cogitations of men, al their studies, al their Artes, al their disciplines, all their affaires, shall rest in eter∣nall silence.

6 Also in that day it shal be decréed by

the sentence and irreuocable constitution of the most high and eternal Iudge, what state and condition euery one of vs shall haue and retaine in al eternitie of worlds.

7 And not without cause the holy scrip∣tures haue called it the day of the Lord. For as al the dayes of men going before, are cal∣led their dayes, because men watch in them, and do whatsoeuer they will: and God bea∣reth, suffereth, endureth, expecteth, and after a sort, sleepeth & resteth in them: Euen so then, the day of the Lorde shal shine, wherein hée shal be continually waking & shal do whatso∣euer he wil, and we (whether we wil or no) must suffer and endure.

8 Thou now doest adde sin vnto sinnes, and ceasest not to offend God dayly: & God is silent at al these things. And why so? Be∣cause this day is thy day: But the day shall come, beléeue me, the day of the Lorde shall come, which shal bring an ende to so long si∣lence, and wherein he wil take vengeaunce of all the iniuries that haue béene done vnto him.

9 Thus we sée that al Eternitie com∣prehendeth two dayes onely: The one of man, the other of God. In the one, men shal watch, and God shal sleepe; In the other,

men shal sleepe, and God shal watch.

10 How horrible this day shall bée, wée cannot plainly vnderstand, and yet we may gesse at it by the present calamities: For then the hoast of al punishments, which their con∣federate battel of al offences, shal assaile vs with maine force.

11 But as in the warres of men, before the last and general battel, there are many excursions, and short skirmishes: euen so, be∣fore that great and most fearefull conflict, which shalbe in the day of the Lorde, God is wont with his seueral bands to make cer∣taine excursions, and one while to send vpon vs famine, another while pestilence, another while warre, another while earth-quakes, another while floods of waters, and another while drougth, as it were his horsemen to in∣uade vs, who when they haue damnified vs, retire and abide in their tents. If therefore, we so greatly feare pestilence, warre, famine, earth-quakes, and such like, when as they are but the beginning of sorrowes and short excursions, what I pray you, wil wée doe, when the last and general conflict shal come? at what time al tribulations, extremities, ca∣lamities, and miseries, shal also fight against vs?

12 And if wée doe yet more fully desire to know the greatnes and horror of that last day, let vs consider those signes which shal a little while come before that day. Therefore before the comming of that great day, heauē and earth, and all the Elements, shall giue signes: For there shal be signes in the Sun, in the Moone, and in the stars, and vpon the earth, trouble among the nations, with per∣plexitie: the Sea and waters shal roare, and mens heartes shal faile them for feare, and for looking after those things which shal come vpon the world.

13 For as man (which is a litle worlde) when he draweth néere to his end, y^e humors in him, as certaine Elements are troubled, and his eyes, which are as the Sunne and Moone, are obscured & lose their light, and the rest of the sences, as the lesser Starres, do by little & little fall and faile, and yet his minde and reason, as the power of heauen is moo∣ued from his seate, wandereth & erreth: E∣uen so in the dissolution and fall of this whole frame, which is called the great worlde, the Sunne shal be turned into darknes, and the Moone into blood, and the Starres shal fall from heauen, the Ayer shall be full of whirle∣windes, stormes, corruscations, slashing me∣teors,

and thunders, the earth with fearefull tremblings, and swallowing gulphes: the floods of the sea shal swel so high, as if they would ouer flow the whole world: and the roaring and raging noyse of the fretting bil∣lowes and tossing waues, shal greatly ter∣rifie. Men therefore shal wither, and waxe pale with feare; and horror and trembling shal vexe them more and more, expecting what these new monsters wil bring foorth at the last, and what wil be the end of such hor∣rible beginnings.

14 When a tempest ariseth at the Sea, and the boisterous waues begin to tosse and beat the shippe, and the men which are in the same do beholde the horrible lightnings and fierie flashings in the ayre, and the furious winds also, making the sea to swel and rage, in such wise, that now they sée themselues tossed aloft, and then anon caried down into the déepe: they begin presently to cry, to feare, to tremble, to call for mercie, to multiplie their prayers, to craue time of repentance, to commend their saluation to almightie God: and to be short, they begin to thinke of the amendement of their manners, and to haue better purposes. Then thinke with thy selfe what manner of minde men wil haue, when

they shal sée heauen and earth, and all the e∣lementes, to haue their peculiar and proper tempestes; when the Sun shal strike a hor∣ror into mens harts with his fearful darke∣nesse, and the Moone being turned into blood, shal terrifie them that beholde it, and the starres with their falles shal threaten, for they shal fal so thicke, that the Firmament shal séeme to be quite without light, and the aire with continual fierie meteors shal séeme to burne, the sea shal swel excéedingly, and the most high mountaines being shakē with earthquakes, shal fal with excéeding great noise.

15 Who then wil take pleasure to eate? who wil take delight in drinke? who wil then haue any desire to sléep? Nay, who dare once then slumber, or take the least rest, a∣midst so many tempests and stormes? O mi∣serable and vnhappy sinners, ouer whose heads al these signes doe hang, and doe fore∣shew vnto them extreame calamitie. O hap∣pie men, yea thrise, four times, tenne times, yea a thousand times happie and blessed, whose conscience in that time wil make them merry and glad.

16 Thus farre we haue considered the greatnesse of the last day, & the signes going

before the same: now let vs cal to minde cer∣taine thinges concerning the resurrection of the dead, and the comming of the Iudge.

17 Therefore after those signes & won∣ders, which shal goe before the day of the Lord, an Archangel shal come downe from heauen, and with the feareful sounde of a Trumpette shal giue a signe to all that are dead, to rise againe, and to come to Gods iudgement. This is that Trumpet which Saint Hierome thought that hée euer heard sounding in his eares, whatsoeuer he were doing: and not without cause. For who can appeale from this citation? who can refuse this iudgemēt? who can pretend sicknes, bu∣sines, or any other excuse?

18 Then shal death be compelled to make surrender of al the spoiles in a momēt, which hée had taken away from the world: and she shalbe sent away into euerlasting ba∣nishment, beyond al lands and seas, and be∣yonde the world, and the borders of al liuing things. For as Saint Iohn sheweth in his Reuelation, then shal the sea yéelde vp her dead which it hath swallowed, and death and hel shal doe the like.

19 What a sight shal there bée then, when sea and land shal bring forth in al pla∣ces

so many bodies, so vnlike one to the o∣ther, so different, and so vnequal? And when as at one and the selfe same place, so many armies shal come together from all parts of the world? In that place, Adam the father of al the Nations of the earth, shal sée al his po∣steritie come together, and shal meruaile. There we shal sée Xerxes, Darius, Alexan∣der, Caesar, & other Monarches of the world, but yet hauing another forme, other maners, and other mindes, then they had when they liued here. For at the sound of the Trumpet kings and Nations, and all the worlde shal tremble, they shal strike their breastes, and mourne.

20 Moreouer, although all men shal be restored vnto life, yet neuerthelesse, there shalbe great difference betwéen those bodies which shal be restored to holy men, and those which the wicked and vngodly shal receiue. For they shal be more shining then the sun, and shal bee beautified with vnspeakeable brightnes: but the others most foule and vg∣ly, and more terrible then death it selfe.

21 What pleasure I pray you, shal the blessed soules haue, when they shalbe ioyned againe to their bodies, as to their most swéet brethren, after so long banishment, neuer to

feare any more a seperation? What I beséech you, shal flesh féele, when it shal be raysed from dust, and shal sée an vnwonted light, and when the soule shal come vnto it, and say, God saue thée my sister, and most swéete Spouse, the winter is now gone, the storme is past away, arise my beloued and come, the Lord hath fulfilled our desire, thou hast bene the companion of my trauels and laboures, thou hast for the Lordes sake suffered with me persecutions and iniuries, thou hast bene with me in watchings, in fastings, and vnder the crosse of repentance, thou hast liued with a temperate and spare diet, to féede the poore, thou hast not excéeded in apparrel, that thou mightst cloath the naked: Equitie therefore, and reason requireth, that the things which thou hast sowen with mée in teares, thou shouldest also reape with me in ioy: and that séeing thou hast bene a companion with mée in my labours, thou shouldst also be partaker with me of my pleasures, riches, and glorie. Then shal the soule swéetely imbrace the bo∣die, and the bodie ioyfully kisse the soule, and they shal be ioined together with most happy and indissoluble knots: And then with how great ioy and gladnesse shal they dwel toge∣ther in one: for from thencefoorth appetite

shal not contend with wil; nor sence with reason: but being ioined together in one with the league of amity, peace and concord, they shal enioy the delights and ioyes of heauen euerlastingly.

22 And contrariwise, with what an∣guish shal the soule of the sinner be tormen∣ted, whē that foule, il fauoured, deformed and feareful body is offered vnto him? With what words thinkest thou wil they salute one another? O vnhappy body wil the soule say; O the beginning and end of my calami∣ties; thou hast brought me to these torments with thy entisements: and now I am come, not as it were into a house to rest, but as it were into a prison to be tormented. I am compelled to enter into thée againe against my wil. Is this that fleshe for the which I haue committed so many fornications, so ma∣ny wickednesses? For the which I haue so many times giuen my selfe to gluttonie and carnal pleasures? Is this that face, which with so great care I haue kept from sunbur∣ning? O vnhappy pallace, for thy sake I haue wearied my selfe by land and by seas. O vn∣fortunate belly, how became I such a foole, that I would worship thée for God? Haue I lost the kingdome of heauen for this most ab∣iect

body, for this most foule stinke of al filthi∣nesse, and haue purchased to my selfe euerla∣sting torments? O ye furies, O ye spirits of hel, why doe ye stay, why teare ye me not in péeces? why doe ye not bring me to nothing? These & such like words shal the soule vtter against the flesh with excéeding rage and ha∣tred, the which notwithstanding, it liued so wel when it was here vppon earth, that it worshipped the same for a Lady and God: and to fulfil the lustes thereof, if feared not to violate and breake the lawe and commande∣ments of God.

23 And when all are risen againe, and are gathered together into the place which God hath appointed for this iudgement: then shal hée appeare in the clowdes of heauen, with power and great maiestie, whom God hath appointed to be the iudge of the quicke and dead. And he shal not come alone, but ac∣companied with an innumerable multitude of heauenly Princes.

24 The feare which shal come by reason of that maiestie, shal be so great, that the pro∣phet Isaias saith, They shall goe into the holes of rockes, & into the caues of the earth, from before the face of the Lord, and from the glo∣ry of his maiestie, when he shal arise to destroy

the earth. And the Apostle Saint Iohn ad∣deth, I sawe a great white throne, and one that sat on it, fron whose face fledde away both the earth and heauen: For as when the flood of the Ocean swelleth, they are wont to tremble which dwel vpon the shore, and yet can take no harme: euen so when the Lord beginneth to poure foorth his wrath and in∣dignation vpon wicked men, the Saints also and the Angels, and men which are in no pe∣ril, shal after a sort tremble and feare. If therefore the iust shal feare, and the pillers of heauen shal shake, what shal the wicked and vngodly doe?

25 And in very déed, so soone as the Lord shal appeare, there shal be heard immediatly a great cry and howling among the Nati∣ons: for then (as the Lord himselfe saith) shal al the kinreds of the earth mourne; and they shal sée him whom they pearced, and they shal lament for him, as one mourneth for his onely son, and he sorie for him, as one is sor∣ry for his first borne. O how many causes of wéeping & howling, shal miserable and vn∣happy men then haue? They shal wéepe, be∣cause they shal sée that their euils and mi∣series are past all remedy. They shal wéepe, because they shal sée that their repentance

is too late, and vnprofitable. They shal weepe, because they cannot appeale from Gods sentence, neither can flée the iudge∣ment at hand, and it shal séeme a thing in∣tollerable to bée at the iudgement, and to heare the sentence of euerlasting condem∣nation. They shal wéepe, because when they liued here on earth, they despised those which forewarned them. They shal wéepe, because the pleasures which are gone as a shadow, haue brought vpon them endlesse sorrowes and torments. To be briefe, as men beset on euery side, and brought into ineuitable straights, destitute of al coun∣saile and hope, they shal wéepe, because they shal sée that they cannot preuaile any thing at all, neither with wéeping, nor yet with scratching and tearing of themselues.

26 Neither wil the Iudge bée moued by any meanes with these cries and sor∣rowes, but wil rather seperate the wéepers from those that reioyce, that is to say, the wicked from the godly, euen as a Shepheard diuideth the Sheepe from the Goates, and shal set the godly on his right hand, and the wicked on his left.

27 And then hée wil beginne to discusse the cause of euery one, and hee wil not for∣get

any one offence. For wée shal sée all things registred in perfect bookes; by which bookes all men shal be iudged. I sawe (saith Saint Iohn) the dead both great and small stand before God: and the bookes were opened, and another booke was opened, which is the booke of life, & the dead were iudged of those things which were written in the bookes, ac∣cording to their workes. So that al our workes are written in those euerlasting bookes. Thou hast scarcely committed an a∣dulterous thought, but the same wickednesse is written in Gods booke.

28 And not onely Church-robbings and sacrileges, parricides, periuries and such like faults, but also impure thoughtes and idle wordes, the neglecting of good workes, or the same done to no good ende, shal bée brought into iudgement. For so great is the excellencie & estimation of Chri∣stian integritie & purity, that no one, or the ve∣ry least vice that may be, is not permitted to Christian men.

29 The cafe standing thus, whereof I beséech you commeth it, that there is in vs so great loosenesse, so great carelesnesse so great sloothfulnesse, and such securitie? Do we not flatter our selues, when so great iudgement

hangeth ouer our heades. Holy was the prophet Dauid, a man after Gods own hart, and yet he so feared this iudgement, that hée saide, Enter not into iudgement with thy seruant, O Lord, for no man liuing shal bée iustified in thy sight. Holy was the Apostle Paul, and yet he saith, I knowe nought by my selfe, and yet hereby I am not iustified, it is the Lord that iudgeth me: as if he should say, therefore I dare not pronounce my selfe iust, because he that iudgeth me is the Lord. For such are the eyes of the Lord, that the starres are not cleane in his sight: and ma∣ny times his eyes doe beholde wickednesse, where we sée nothing but holines. Holy al∣so was the friende of God, Iob, and yet he said, What shall I doe when God ariseth to iudgement? and when he maketh inquisiti∣on, what answere shal I giue him? Why doeth this man of God, so commended of Gods owne mouth, who was so iust and simple, that hee could say without lying, I was an eye to the blinde, and a foote to the lame: and againe. My heart doeth not re∣proue mee in all my life: why (I say) is a man of such singular innocencie, so afearde of Gods iudgement? namely, because he knoweth that God hath no eyes of flesh

and that he iudgeth far otherwhise then men doe.

30 Moreouer, when all mens causes are diligently discussed and examined, the Iudge wil pronounce against the wicked, the irreuocable sentence of eternall dam∣nation, Depart from me yee cursed, into e∣uerlasting fire, which is prepared for the di∣uell and his Angels. O bitter word, which wil make the eares of them that heare it, to tingle. O sentence intollerable, which de∣priueth sinners of all good things, and brin∣geth them to all woe. The Lord sometime accursed the Fig-trée, and immediately, not onely the leaues, but also the body and rootes were wholy withered: Euen so, that feare∣ful curse of the last day, shal be no lesse effe∣ctual. For on whomsoeuer it falleth, it shal so scortch them, and shal so make them de∣stitute of Gods grace, that they shal neuer more be able to doe, to speake, to thinke, or to hope for any good thing.

31 Then therefore the wicked being stricken with this thundering sentence, will lift vp their mouthes towards heauen; wil spue foorth their shamefull blasphemies a∣gainst God the Iudge; they will curse this day? and the houre wherein they were borne

and their Parents which begat them, and the wombs which bare them; the aier which gaue them breath; and the Earth which hath borne them: but they shal not be suffered any long time to speake these things against the Iudge.

32 For suddenly the Spirite of the Lord shal ouerwhelm them, and shal with great violence caste them downe headlong into the déepe, as in Saint Iohns Reuela∣tion appeareth in these wordes, Then a mightie, angell tooke vp a stone, like a great Milstone, and cast it into the Sea, saying, With such violence shall the Citie of Babi∣lon bee cast, and be found no more. And a∣gaine, Whosoeuer was not found written in the booke of life, was cast into the Lake of fire. And this déepe shal be shut vp with gates of brasse, and with yron barres, which cannot bee broken with any force, nor cut in sunder by any arte: and there they shal drinke of the cup of the Lords wrath, and the smoke of their torments shal ascend worlde w^tout end: & they shal not rest day nor night.

33 On the contrarie part, the iust be∣ing in the fruition of ful blessednesse, and of euerlasting glorie, shall haue in their mouthes the prayses of the Lorde, and gi∣uing

of thankes: and shal with singing and with mirth extol the name of their Lorde and God, with whom they shal reigne with∣out ende.

34 But although wée heare of those things often, yet neuerthelesse, wée are not awaked from the sléepe of sinne, before wee be ouerwhelmed with the night of death, and of darkenes: Why doe we which haue this time now, looke for another time, which peraduenture wée shal neuer haue? Now is the accepted time, now is the day of sal∣uation, There is nothing more profitable for a man, then to knowe his time, and there∣fore in our worldly businesse, wée obserue times and seasons: as a conuenient time to eare, a fitte time to sowe, to plant, and such like. Yea, the brute beast, by the instinct of nature, can make choyce of his time for be∣nefite. The Swallowe, when winter ap∣proacheth, prepareth himselfe to take his flight into a warmer Countrey. The Bée, and the Ant, in the time of summer prepare their foode against winter. And the Pro∣phet Ieremie saith, that the Storke know∣eth his appointed time. If brute beastes, de∣uoide of reason, haue this foresight to make choise of time for their good: and if man him

selfe, in a worldly regarde, can make choyse of a fitte and due time to gette earthly and transitorie things, how much more proui∣dent ought hee to bee for heauenly things, that to attaine these, hée lose not his fittest time to attaine saluation?

35 The olde worlde that liued in the dayes of Noah, knewe not their time, & that was the cause they then perished with the flood. The Cities of Sodome and Gomer, knew not their time, & that brought fire and brimstone from heauen vpon their heads to their destruction. The foolish Virgins knewe not their time, & therefore when their Lorde came, they (being altogether vnready) were shut out of the Lords ioy.

Let vs then knowe the season, how it is time now that wee should awake out of sleepe. Let vs watch and be sober for they that sleepe▪ sleepe in the night, and they that are drunken, are drunken in the night: But let vs which are of the day, be sober, least the darkenesse come vpon vs, wherein we can neither walke nor worke.

Let vs alwayes haue before our eyes that day and time, wherein we shall appeare before God, and his Angels, and before the whole worlde, to answere our cause: and ei∣ther

to receiue a Crown of glory, or else per∣petual shame and confusion.

Let vs know that we haue here a very short time limitted vnto vs. wherein wée must so endeuour our selues, that for short and transitory things, we lose not that which is eternall.

If wee haue this consideration of that great day of the Lorde, wée shal not only be the more secure in death, but also be the bet∣ter prepared to méet with our Lord and Sa∣uiour, when he shal come to iudgement.

Notes

• August. in Ioan. Tract. 9.
• Luke 21.
• Isay. 2.
• Apoc. 20.
• Mat. 24. Apoc. 1. Zach. 12.
• Iob. 31.
• Iob. 29.27
• Apoc. 18.
• Apoc. 20.
• Rom. 13.36 1. Thes. 5.