GREGORIE ob­serues in his Lib. 27. cap. 5. Mo­rals, that those ver­tues which GOD hath taught vs, at the last, by an vni­ted Example in the New, hee had taught vs before, by seuerall Exam­ples in the Old Testament. To shew vnto vs, that, as Claudian sayd of Stilicon,

Those veines of Vertues distinguish't [Page 2] in the Patriarckes, as in seuerall members Incarnatus e­nim Dominus in semetipso, om­ne quod nobis im­peravit ostendit; ut quod praecep­to diceret, Ex­emplo suaderet. Greg. Mor. lib. 1. cap. 5. are conioyned in Christ, as the common head, and what Christ teacheth in the New Testament by one whole, & vnited, the Patriarckes preach vnto vs in the Old, by many broken, and diuided examples. Hence we are taught (before the Law writ­ten) but one lesson, for the most part, from any one man. As Innocencie onely from 1. Iohan. 3. 12. Abel, Religion from Genes. 5. 22. E­noch, Hope from Genes. 7. 5. Noah, Obedience from Genes. 22. 3. Abraham, Wedlocke-keeping from Genes. 26. 7. Isaack, doing good for euill from Gen. 42 24. & 25. Joseph, Meekenesse from Num. 12. 3. Moses, Cou­rage from Ioshuah. 1. 5. & 6. Iosuah, and Patience in Ca­lamities from holy Iob. And this most Christian Vertue of Patience, in great afflictions, though we heare of it, in all this Booke, yet doe wee learne to follow it in this Chapter onely. For as this holy Man, Si non flagellaretur, non agnosceretur, (as Moral. l. 2. c. 2. Aperta namque alijs virtutis ex­empla non daret, si ipse sine tenta­tione remane­ret, Gregory notes) had neuer beene knowne, if he had not beene afflicted in the body of the [Page 3] Booke; so say I, that hee had neuer beene taken vp for imitation by any man, encompassed with flesh and blood, if he had not been rewar­ded in the end of the Booke. It is not the loue of Affliction, (a [...] . Naz. Epist. 69. Naturale est, mali sui fine gaudere. Senec. most vn­welcome guest to this Nature of of ours) but the [...] , and issue of a godly mans Affliction, to wit, a Blessing vpon the latter end, which teacheth vs to fast, and pray in time of Affliction. And so (say the Gram­marians) that a Reward is called Pre­tium, quasi Praeitium, it must goe be­fore, at least in our [...] . Naz, Orat. 42. faith, and beliefe, or else our Patience in Afflictions ne­uer comes after.

ANd vpon this consideration, was this Booke first translated by Interpretata autem sunt (ex Sytorum lin­guâ) à viro illo magno, Mose, &c. Origen. l. 1. in Iob; Quâ Idumaea regio utitur, & quam Iobus Idumae­us loquutus est. Hier. in Prolog. Moses out of Syriacke in­to Hebrew, not to teach the Chil­dren of Israel (who were yet in In Aegypto scil. illum Mo­ses ex [...]yro in Hebraeū tran­stulit. Orig. l. 1. in Iob. Aegypt) to suffer Afflictions, but to teach them Et ut bonam rem, remunera­tionem Domini, quam Iobo post tolerantiam lar­gitus est, audi­entes etium ipsi liberationem spe­rarent, & bene­ficentìam beatae mercedis labo­rium suorum spe­ctarent. Orig. ib. comfort, and hope of [Page 4] deliuerance from their Afflictions. And afterward, this very selfe same Booke was read to the Christians, in the Primitiue Church, not onely in this time of Similiter & in conventu Ec­clesiae, in diebus sanctis legitur Passio Iob, in diebus Iejunij, in diebus Absti­nentiae &c. in diebus, in qui­bus in Iejunio, & Abstinentiâ sanctam Iesu Christi Passio­nem sectantur, &c. Ibid. Iob enim inter­pretatur dolens. Greg. Mor. lib. 1. c. 5. & Mor. 17. c. 1. Lent, and publique Sor­row, but withall, vpon each seuerall occasion of any sudden mishap, or priuate sorrow, Pro consolatione, & spe liberationis, for their praesent com­fort, and hope of deliuerance, as O­rigen writes.

ANd this is the reason, that I haue also, according to the Praesidents of Antiquitie, cho­sen a peice of the same Booke, for my Text, at this time. It is a time of Lent, or publique Sorrow, ouer all, or the greatest part of the [...] . Ignat. Epist. 5. ad Philippens. Christian World, wherein men doe vse to humble themselues, by Fasting, Pray­er, Repentance, and all manner of De­uotion, for their sinnes against God.

[Page 5] ANd surely if we consider (with Saint Iejunia autem, & congregatio­nes inter dies, propter eos, à viris prudenti­bus constitutos, qui magis saeculo vacant, quam Deo: nec possunt, immo nolunt to­to vitae suae tem­pore, in Ecclesiâ congregari, &c. Hieron. lib. 2. in 4. c. ad Galat. Hierome) the infinite number of those men, of all sorts, and callings, qui saeculo magis vacant, quam Deo, who spend more time in the seruice of the World, then in the seruice of their God, and neuer dreame of Fasting, and Prayer, but when this Season of the yeare doth call vpon them, wee shall finde, that this standing Fast was most profita­bly instituted by the Church, Exam: Concil. Trident: parte 4. Ordinis, & commone factio­nis gratiâ insti­tuta est Qua­dragesima. Commo­nefactionis gratiâ, to call vpon the backward, as Chemnitius; Stata tempora, ut tardos, & cessantes tan­quam calcaribus, & stimulis ad abstinentiam excitarent. G. Cassand defens: libelli de officio pij viri. Ad cessa­tores excitandos, to spurre them on­ward, that lagge behinde, as Cassan­der writes.

BEing therefore to offer vp vn­to God, in sorrow, and repen­tance, these 36. dayes ( Quadrage si­ma propriè di­cta. Bellarm. l. 2. de bon. oper. c. 16. rat. 6. 36. dies Decimae sunt, & 4. dies additi pro Pri­mitijs. Alar­dus Gazaeus Annot. in Cas­sian. the whole time of our cleane Lent) either as the Tyth of our dayes, as S. De Iejunio serm. 3. Ber­nard, or as the Tyth of the yeare, as [Page 6] Dum enim per 360 dies Annus ducitur, nos au­tem per 36. dies affligimur, qui sunt jejunabiles in 6. Septimanis Quadragesimae, quasi anni nostri Decimas Deo damus. Aquin. 2 ^a. 2ae. q. 147. Art. 5. ex Gregor. Aquinas, or as the Tyth of our life, as Gers. Hom. 1. in Quadrages: & Bellarm de bon. oper. l. 2. c. 16. Gerson, or as the Tole, and Tri­bute of all that wee are, as Fortasse ipsa Decimatio re­ctè, quasi ab usu telonei, Quadra­gesimae nomen accepit. Ita enim illa publica vul­gò vocabatur Exactio; Ex qua tanta lucri por­tio Regis com­modis deputa­tur, quantū & à nobis à Rege om­nium saeculo­rum, pro usu vitae nostrae le­gitimum Qua­dragesimae ve­ctigal exigitur. Cassian. Col­lat. 21. Cassianus thinkes; Wee cannot doe it in better tuned meditations, then in these Sor­rowes, and Comforts of the Booke of Iob.

AGaine, it is a time of our Pri­uate, or Nationall Sorrow, wherein this little world of ours, the Church, and State of this Kingdome doe cast themselues downe before their God, in true Compunction, and contrition of heart, because of their departing from their God, in life, and Conuersation, and of Gods departing from them, in his wonted Benediction.

IT is true indeed, that as the Lent of a Christian man, should take vp non 40. tantùm, sed singulos, & vniuer sos dies hominis, as S. Serm. 3. de Iejunio. Bernard, not 40. onely, but all the daies, and [Page 7] minutes of a Christian man: So sure­ly this Generall Fast for the sinnes of the Nation, in-steed of taking vp this one short day, should not leaue one day vntaken vp, of the whole Lent of an English-man. But the wisedome of the State, finding the weakenesse of our flesh, and bloud, [...] (as Orat. in sacr. Baptism. Naz. speakes in the like case) hath proportion'd our humilia­tion to our power, and strength to endure the same, making this one so­lemne day to be non solum partem, sed & sacramentum (to vse the words of S. Serm. 3. de Ieiunio. Bernard) not a portion onely, but a Symbole, and repraesentation of a whole Lent, and therefore to be so­lemnized, with no Theme more con­ueniently, then the Sorrowes, and Comforts of this Meritò etiam nunc in diebus Passionis, in di­ebus Sanctifica­tionis, in diebus Iejunij Beati Iob Passio legi­tur, meditatur, a [...] (que), scrutatur. Origen. l. 1. in Iob. Booke of Job.

NOw all the Comfort of this Booke (for vpon the Com­fort I principally insist) is put off to this Chapter, and all the Com­forts [Page 8] of this Chapter Epitomiz'd in this Verse, and all the quint-essence of this Verse couched in the beginning of the Verse, which I haue read vnto you. Where, notwithstanding the mi­series, which Iob endured, yet when his Faith was once discerned, his latter end became more blessed; The Lord blessed the latter end of Iob, more then his beginning.

I Haue heretofore, some yeares si­thence, dealt with this Verse, as God did with Iob in this verse, giuen some blessing vpon the latter end thereof, but none as yet on the beginning, which shall be the Subiect of this praesent Discourse. The be­ginning of this verse I may fitly terme the Reward of an afflicted Christi­an; For that Iob was ante Euangelia Euangelicus, as O virum ante Euangelia E­ungelicum, & Apostolorum an­te Apostolica praecepta Disci­pulum. Iulian. Celan. Ep. l. ad Demetriadem virg. de instit. virg. Salme­ron, & others make S. Hie­rome Authour of the Booke, but vniustly. Iulian the Pelagian doth wittily terme him, a Chri­stian man long before Christ, is ac­knowledged by all the Chrys. tom. 1. Hom. de Iob, & Abraham. O­rigen. l. 1. in Iob. Hieron. in epist. In eo diuinitùs proui­sum, vt alios in­ter Gentes scire­mus Fideles. Aug. de Cin. Dei, l. 18. c. 47. Fathers. And [Page 9] that Christian vertues are really re­warded, ex promisso, though not ex commisso, by way of promise, though not of contract, is truely taught by Sed, vt mihi videtur, hoc verbum, De­bet, verenum habet; Multi­plicom enim, & inuolutam con­tinct intelligen­tiam, nec Deo propriè compe­tit, qui non est Debitor nobis, nisi fortè ex Promisso, nos verò ei Debito­res sumus ex Commisso. Lem. l. 1 dist. 43 Habent prae­mia spiritualia, & corporalia in hâc vitâ, & post hanc vitam, id­que ex gratuitâ Promissione di­uinâ, &c. lit in hanc senten­tiam Nostri etiam à vocabu­lo Meriti non abhorrent. Chemnit. Ex­am. Conc. Trid. c. de Me­ritis Operum. Peter Lombard, and the Schoolemen. Heere then haue you the Reward of Christian patience in Aduersity, inue­sted with foure seuerall Circumstan­ces.

FIrst, the Efficient cause, or the Rise of this Reward, which is the Lords Blessing, The Lord Bles­sed; Secondly, the Materiall cause, or Subiect of this Reward, double in this place; The first points out the person, Iob; the second reflects vpon his dis­position, The later end of Iob; The Lord blessed the later end of Iob. Fourthly, and lastly, the Portion and quantity of this Reward, which is very am­ple, more then the greatest man in the East is held to be worth; for so Iob was in the beginning, Job. 1. 3. verse; But now hee is more then in [Page 10] the beginning. The Lord blessed the lat­ter end of Iob, more then the beginning. So haue you the Efficient of this Re­ward of a Christian mans Patience in time of affliction, the Lords bles­sing, the Subiect, generally, Iob, parti­cularly, the latter end of Iob, the Por­tion, more then his beginning. The Lord blessed, &c. Of these parts by Gods assistance, and your Lordships ho­nourable patience, I shall speake plainely, briefly, and orderly.

BEginne we therefore with the Efficient cause, and let vs take our rise at the Magazin, and Treasury, where Christian Patience, and forbearance is vsually rewar­ded, which is the Lords blessing; The Lord Blessed. Dicere Dei est facere, saith S. Libr. Expos. Ep. ad Rom. im­perfect. Sic Mol­ler. in Ps. 3. 9. quia Dicto ab­soluit negotium. Ambros. 1. Hex­am. Augustine, Gods saying is o­peration, and doing; For Dixit, & factum est, hee spoke but the word, and it was done, as it is in the Ps. 32. 9. Psalm. And as his saying is his doing: so his [Page 11] Benediction, or saying of some good, is his doing of some good; or (to speake properly) his augmenting, & superadding of some good; For as the first blessing, that euer fell from God, was a Crescite, & multiplicami­ni, a kinde of increasing, and multi­plying, Gen. 1. 22: So euer since, Cum Dominus nobis Benedicit, nos cresci­mus, Gods Blessing of vs, is an en­creasing of vs, saith Vt abundare ab vndis, ita Berecha, i. afflu­entia à Bereca, fonte, seu pisci­na. Lorin. in ps. 20. v. s. S. Augustine in his Commentary vpon the 66. Psalme. And so the Apud Chem­nit. in Harm. Rabbins define Gods Blessings to be [...] an Addition of some good. And Chemnitius notes, that temporall Blessings are euer ex­pressed in the old Testament, by the Verbe [...] which signifies to Adde, or as our Sauiour translates it [...] , to adde ouer and aboue, Mat. 6. 33. And so in this place, ouer and aboue the Diuitias Cor­dis. Aug. in ps. 103. treasures of the spirit, wherewith the mind of this holy man was high­ly enriched, the Lord heaped vpon him, and added vnto him, these tem­porall [Page 12] Blessings; The Lord Blessed. From the nature therefore of the Lords Blessing in this place, I will borrow some fiue seuerall Obseruati­ons, which I hope your Lordships shall not hold impertinent to this portion of Scripture.

FIrst, if Gods blessing be an ouer­adding, it is neither pietie, nor policie (for there is a kinde of po­licie euen in Pietie) for In dilunio a­quarum multa­rum ad cum non approximabunt. Ps. 31. 6. i. ad­uersitatum. Lo­rinus in loc. any Nation whatsoeuer, to forbeare her humbling, and bowing of her selfe before her God, vntill the last cast, as it were, of her fortunes, That is, vntill the vt­most period of her Calamities bee come, vntill all Gods Graces be quite spent out, vntill that Nation bee set­tled vpon the lees, and dregges, as it were, of Desperation. For that bles­sing, which crownes this humbling, is not alwaies a creating, or restoring, but many times a praeuenting, & su­per-adding of blessing vpon blessing, [Page 13] as in this place, The Lord blessed. Be a Nation neuer so happy in many Circumstances; in a Prince all made of vertues; in a people full of pietie, and deuotion; in a Religion well esta­blished; in a Gouernement politiquely founded; in a Land that floweth with milke, and honey; yet hath it not quite drawne dry all the Treasu­rie of Gods blessings, Hee hath still some in store: For, if God goe not in, and out with their Ps. 43. 10. Armies, if Cad­mus teeth be sowne in their land, and the Apples of Contention throwne in among them, if Esay. 9. 21. Ephraim bee set a­gainst Manasses, Manasses against E­phraim, both against Iuda; if the Prince be iealous of the People, the People suspicious of the Prince, and Achitophels practising vp, and down, and putting ends vpon both, then surely there is great cause of humbling, because there is great need of blessing, that is, of increasing, & super-adding new blessings still to those in the begin­ning, [Page 14] as in this place, The Lord blessed the latter end of Job, more then the be­ginning. And so much of the first Ob­seruation.

SEcondly, if Gods outward bles­sings bee onely an ouer-adding, though our heauenly Father should (as sometimes he doth) close vp his hands, and adde none of these outward blessings, yet were our Pati­ence in time of Istaec interpre­tatio non insinu­at ambiguita­tem, vel incerti­tudinē promis­sionis, sed quia Deus his modis, & sua bona vo­luntate, sol [...]t suos consolari, liberando, initi­gando, confir­mando, salvan­do. Chemnic. in Harm. Adversity sufficiently rewarded in its owne selfe. So this holy man in my Text, before this out­ward blessing, Intus dives erat, was rich enough with his inward bles­sings, as In Cantic. O diuitiae interio­res, quò fur non accedit. Aug. in Ps. 55. Saint Bernard writes. And had hee receiued no other wreath at all, yet Patientiae munere coronabatur, He was sufficiently adorned with his Crowne of Patience, saith S. In Moral. Gre­gorie. And yet euery Patience will not serue our turne; for to haue a carelesse, and brawnie soule, relying wholy vpon imaginarie suppositi­ons, [Page 15] as that there is no providence at all, as the Epicures in De natura Deorum, l 3. Ita Plinius. Irri­dendum verò, a­gere curam re­rum humana­rum illud, quic­quid est, sum­mum. Anne tam tristi, atque mul­tiplici mysterio non pollui creda­mus, dubite­musque? Plin. hist. nat. l. 2. c 7. Tullie, or if it be, that it fall no lower then the Sphaere of the Moone, as Aristotle in Aduersus hae­res. Ita eius Commentator in 12. Metaph. & quidam apud I­sid. Pelusiot. [...] . l. 4. ep. 99. Epiphanius, or if it vouchsafe to de­scend to the Earth, it relates vnto none but two or three Fauorites, as some in [...] . Is. Pelus: l. 4. ep. 99. Non simus tam fatui adulatores Dei, vt dum pro­uidentiam eius ad ima detru­dimus, in nos ipsos iniuriosi simus, &c. Hier. in Hab. obelisconotatus à Danaeo in 1. Sent. dist. 39. Non tamen numerus vel apum, vel culicum, vel eiusmodi est per se praeordinatus à Deo. Tho. p. 1. q. 7. Isidorus Pelusiota are of opi­nion, would prooue but a raw, and naked blessing: So likewise that Pa­per-patience of the Philosophers, be­gotten either by former praemeditati­ons, or by a continuall habite of suf­fering, or some opinion of fatall ne­cessitie, or lastly by an abandoning of all naturall affections, is but a thinne, and bare shelter, for a man to repose himselfe, in the stormes of Aduersitie. But that patient enduring of the child of God, we now speake of, when the faithfull soule staies her selfe vpon Gods Prouidentia inter Christianos, vt ia­nua in domo, quam nemo, nisi ebrius ignorat. Lyta, seu Glossat. in Repli. ad Burg. in fine Gloss. Interlin. prouidence, and [Page 16] vpon an assured resolution of an happy issue in his good time, passeth in the meane while, in all securitie through the sharpe pikes of woes, and miseries, is such an admirable endowment, and portion of the spirit, as that it was reward, and blessing e­nough, though the Lord had no o­therwise blessed the end of Iob.

ANd many times, when God hath beene bountifull and magnificent in the inward, hee spares the Foris pauper es, sed intus di­ues. Diuitias tecum portas, quas non amit­teres, etiamsi de naufragio nudus exires. Aug. in Ps. c. 6. Nostrae enim facultates, & aurum Chri­stus est; Ad hunc accedito, & veris diuilijs abundobis. Ba­ron. Lippel. tom. 2. super-addition of these outward Blessings. So as wee finde whole Kingdomes, & Nations, where the Gospell is planted, and the true Religion generally embraced, not to abound for all that, as plentifully, as the heathen, which know not God, or the people which haue not called vpon his Name, in these outward, and Ergo tales, quando humili­antur, nolite putare miseros. Erratis, nesci­entes, quid intus habeant. Ex vo­bis conijcitis, qui mundum diligi­tis, quia vos, cum talia perdi­tis, miseri rema­nelis, Prorsus nolite hoc puta­re; Habent in­tus quo gaude. ant. Aug. in Ps. 30. exter­nall blessings. And I would to God, we were to fetch a larger compasse to finde some instances hereof, and had [Page 17] not so many so neere vnto vs, a­mongst our distressed Brethren of the Reformed Churches. But passages of this nature God suffereth to come to passe (saith S. In Ps. 30. Augustine) for two seuerall reasons. First, lest the wic­ked should thinke, Ob has colendum Deum, That God is worshipped by people vpon this ticket only, for out­ward blessings only Secondly, lest the Godly should bee euer expecting of these blessings, by the mercenary way of compact, and [...] . Chrys. ad pop. Antioc. Hom. 1. Salarie, Dices, feram mala, & reddet mihi Deus, vt Iob; Iam non est Patientia, sed Auaritia. Aug. ad Catech. l. 1. Quae non Patientia foret, sed Auaritia, which would amount, not to Chri­stian Patience, but to a kinde of car­nall concupiscence, saith S. Augu­stine. And this is Gods ordinary course with vs now adayes, that liue vnder the Gospell. For as before the comming of Christ, and the manife­station of his spirituall Kingdome, corporal blessings were for the most part, tendred vnder the law: So now sithence the incarnation of our Saui­our, [Page 18] and the erection of his spirituall Scepter, Spiritualia bona [...]uimus d [...]rae, sinistrae vero carnalia—Haec va­ra Philosophia. Haec deni (que) gra­tia, & miseri­cordia Dei in servos suos, & respectus in E­lectos, vt in illo­rum sinistram quidem velut dissimulans dex­trae semper stu­diosus Protector assistat. Bern. serm. 7 in Ps. Qui habitat. spirituall blessings are euery where proposed to vs in the Gospell; So as Gods children, that endure their afflictions, sent by him, as they ought to doe, are still one way, or other rewarded; Sometimes spiritu­ally, sometimes corporally, alwaies certainely. And this Dominus dedit, Domi­nus abstulit. Vide te foris paupeiem, intus divitem. Aug. in Ps. 30. spirituall reward had here sufficed, though the Lord had no otherwise blessed this Holy man Iob. And so much of the second Obseruation.

THirdly, when wee consider this blessing to bee a super-ad­ding, wee may obserue, that God sometimes, besides these in­ward Sit nomen Domini benedi­ctum. Istae gemmae laudis Dei vn­de sunt? Aug. in Psal. 30. Patrimonium Fidei in corde. Id. in Psal. 123. Jewels of the minde, Faith, Hope, Patience, and the like, which wee suruaied but euen now, doth heape vpon his seruants (euen in the time of the Gospell) these outward fa­uours, and blessings also, and that for [Page 19] many reasons. First, Ne Diuitiae ne malae putentur, dantur bonis, ne summae, malis, Aug. in Ps. 123. malae puten­tur, lest Riches otherwise, and the like outward Blessings of God, may be thought to bee euill; Euill in them­selues, saith S. Augustine in his Com­mentaries vpon the 66. Psalme. Se­condly, lest the Godly, compassed with flesh, and blood, should boggle at the Religion, Worship, and Seruice of God, if these outward blessings were thus monopolized to the wic­ked onely, saith the same Ne infirmos animos ob dila­tionem merce­dis subeat poeni­tentia, contemp­sisse praesentia. Ambros. de A­braham. l. 5. c. 3 [...] tales laudant, & ad­mirantur, qui­bus Deus bene­dicit. Isidor. Pelus. l. 4. Ep. 161. Father in his 1. B. ad Catechumenos. Thirdly, Qu. Nam quaero abs te, si tibi persuadea­tur aliter cum multis charissi­mis tuis te in studio sapientiae non posse viue­re, nisi amplares aliqua familia­rìs, necessitates nostras sustinore posset, nonne de­siderabis diuiti­as, & optabis? Resp. Assenti­or. Aug. soliloq. lib. 1. because these temporall blessings are expedient, and necessary to set many of the Vertues a going, as Charitie, Almes-giuing, and the like. In which consideration Aristotle is not so iust­ly taxed by S. [...] . &c. Naz. ep. 64. Gregory Nazianzen, for making riches necessary for some of the Vertues, Because they are out [Page 20] of all quaestion, Bonum vnde facias bo­num, a Good without which we can­not doe good, saith S. Augustine in his 5. Sermon De verbis Domini. Fourthly, God many times addes these temporall, because men are not able to take such exact notice, as they should, of those spirituall blessings, wherewith the Elect are Quia aliàs vi­dere non potera­mus occultam e­ius coronam. Aug. l. 1. ad Ca­tech. Boni latent, quia bonum ip­sorum in occulto est. Et tam me­rita eorum sunt in abscondito constituta, quam praemia. Aug. Sentent. 201. inward­ly adorned; As here, what God did for Job, Fecit haec Do­minus, vt osten­deret homini­bus, nam ipse seruo suo maiora in coelo seruauit. Idem ib. fecit vt ostenderet hominibus, hee did it onely that men might ob­serue it, saith S. Augustine in his 1. B. ad Catechumenos. For these reasons, and the like, Almighty God (besides the riches of the Spirit) rewards ma­ny times the long suffering of his Seruants, with an Amalthaea's horne, of these outward blessings; especial­ly those, that hee knowes will Audiant haec diuites, audiant haec pauperes, quem admodum hic beatus vi [...] in di­uitijs suis, & foelicitate benignus dispensator extuit diuitiarum, & in tentatione pauper [...]atis patientèr, & fortitèr tolerauit. Aug. de Temp. serm. 225. [...] , &c. Chrys. in Gen. Hom. 66. vse [Page 21] them aright. Those, that (with Iob. 31. 17. & 31. 20. Job) can neuer eate their morsels alone, but must haue the Fatherlesse taste thereof. Those, that cannot endure the poore without couering, but warme them con­tinually with the fleece of their sheepe. Those, who suffer not the Strangers to lodge in the streete, but open their doores to the Trauailers, &c. These, beside these spirituall, shall be crowned also with temporall blessings, as the Lord here blessed the end of Iob. And so much of the third Obseruation.

FOurthly, if these temporall bles­sings are blessings of the Lord, those Cloister conceits of the Monckes, and Fryers, are meerely ri­diculous, Sed ait mihi quis (que) Mendi­ [...]us, debilitate fessus, pan [...]s obsitus, fa [...]e languidus, Mi­hi debetur reg­num Coelorum, Ego enim simi­lis sumilli La­zaro, Nostrum genus est, cui debetur regnum Coelorum, non illi gene [...], qui induuntur pur­purâ, & bysso. Audi ergo me de hoc, quod propo­suisti, Dom [...] Pauper. Noli contemnere di­uites mis [...] ric [...]r­des, diuites hu­miles, & vt ci­tius d [...]cam, quod paulo ante dixi, diuites pauperos noli contemnere O Pauper. Aug. serm. de Temp. 110. that God loues none, but the poore, & needy, & hath praepared the Kingdome of heauen for the beg­gar onely, as some Maison de Dieu, or great Hospital. Salomon tels vs another Story, that the rich, and the poore meet [Page 22] together, and the Lord is the maker of them all. Prou. 22. 2. verse. And S. Serm. 110. de Temp. in Ps. 66. Augustine, together with S. Ju 16. Luc. l. 1. de Abrah. & alibi. Ambrose, obserue, in many passages of their writings, that the Holy Ghost hath plac't, of purpose, Lazarus, that was so poore, in the bosome of Abraham, that was so rich, Luc. 16. 22. to teach vs, that both rich, and poore, noble, and ignoble, if they be indenizon'd by faith in the Kingdome of Grace, haue an aequall interest in the king­dome of Glory. I will conclude this point with that passage in In Ps 30. Di­ues, qui talis est, vt contemnat in se, quicquid illud est, unde instari superbia solet, pauper est Dei. Aug. sent. 149. Da mihi Za­chaeum haben­tem magnas di­uitias, staturâ breuem, animo breuiorem. Aug. serm. 110. de Temp. Si enim diues factus est humi­lis, quantò ma­gis pauper debet esse humilis? Idem ib. Cassiodo­rus, Si pauper superbiat, non est Dei pauper, & si locuples humilitatem dili­gat, non est saeculi diues: voluntates enim talium sunt inspiciendae, non Nomi­na, If a poore man bee sturdie, and stubborne, he is none of Gods poore men, and if the rich man, bee lowly, and humble, hee is no worldly rich man, for in such you must not marke so much their outward styles, and de­nominations, as their inward habits, [Page 23] and dispositions. And so much for this fourth Obseruation.

FIfthly, and lastly, if these out­ward blessings come from the Lord; Sapient. 8. 1. Qui disponit omnia sua vi­ter, who linckes vp all his businesses in a decent, and comely method, it behooves vs to obserue, by what Pipes, and Conduits they are vsually deriued from so remote a fountaine. This wee are taught by this little Particle in the front of my Text, So, So the Lord blessed. So. These blessings are deriued from God to men, so, and so; By such meanes, and convey­ances, as are most beseeming the wis­dome of God, and most correspon­ding with the nature of men. Deus enim sic administrat omnia, quae creavit, ut ea proprios quoque motus exercere sinat; It is a saying of Saint Aug. saepius in libris de Civ. Dei. Augu­stin, quoted by all the In 2. sent. dist. 23. Schoolemen, God doth so moderate, and reigle all his creatures, as hee followeth the [Page 24] bent, and inclination of his creatures. If a people be to be blessed, God doth it by the goodnesse, sweetnesse, and gratiousnesse of the King. If a King bee to be blessed, he doth it by the affecti­on, loue, zeale, and cheerefull supplie of the People. And in this last sense, the learned Interpreters expound this place. This greatest man of all the East, not beggar'd (which In locum. Pellican fitly termes a beggarly exposition) but as Apud Mer­cerum. Adde quod Rabbi Se­lamoh suprà a­licubi non ita ad inopiam fuisse redactum, vt vulgò putatur, Iobum scribit, ex veterum He­braeorum sen­tentiâ. Pecora quidem, & bo­na, quae erant in agris amisisse e­um tradit Scrip­tura, sed num­morum cum, & [...]et [...]rarum facul­tatum non fecisse alioqui iacturam; Nec id Scriptura memorat. Mercerus. Shelamo Ben Iarchi prooues out of the Ancient Rabbins, impaired onely in his state, and fortunes, comes now to be supplied per modum subuentionis, as Aquinas tearmes it, by Adhibuerunt subuentionis remedium. Aquinas in Iob. 42. lection. 1. Dona­ria in eum collata credimus, vt saepe divitibus, & amicis munera donari solent, non tam ad ditandum, quam ad [...]s demerendes. Vti magnus vir & Oriente toto celeber­rimus erat. Merc [...]rus ex Rabbin. Tanquam Xenia. Augustinus Steuchus. Tanquam obsequij Symbola. Franc. Iunius. way of sup­port, and subsidie. And so, according to the lawes, and customes of those an­cient times, and Easterne Countries, euery man, as it followeth immedi­ately before my Text, gaue him a [Page 25] [...] A peice of mo­ney, or a lamb. [...] , Act. 7. 16. but cen­tum agni. Gen. 33. 19. It sig­nifieth both. A peece of money stamp't with the image of a Lambe. Pecunia à pecore siue pecude. Plin. hist. nat. lib. 18. c. 3. Varro de l. La­tin. l. 4. Gellius de noctib. Att. l. 11. summe of money, and euery man an Vsque hodie inter caetera or­namenta mulie­rum solent aurei c [...]culi in os ex fronte pendere, & imminere naribus. Hier. in Ezech. 16. 12. ea­ring of gold, and so in this very sort, and manner, The Lord blessed his latter end, more then his beginning. And so much of the first part of my Text, the Efficient cause, or fountaine of this reward of our Patience in Affli­ctions, and humiliation vnder the same, which is the Lords blessing; The Lord blessed.

NOw I come to the Second part of my Text, the common, and generall subiect of this reward, which relates to a person, by name Iob; The Lord blessed Iob. Of him I will say, as De Mithri­dat. Hist. lib. 1. Velleius Paterculus did of another, Neque nihil, neque omnia dicenda sunt, somewhat I must, and all I may not here speake; For those ordinary Quaestions, concerning Iob; as whether he was descended from R. Shelamo Ben Iarchi a­pud Tostatum in Gen. 22. Ph. Presbyter in Iob. Co­mest. Hist. scho­last. c. 58. in Genes. Cain, Scripturae quintum ab A­braham facit ipsum. Chrys. Hom. 2. de patientia Iob. & Orig. l. 1. in Iob. Abraham, Hebraei narrant eum de Nachor stirpe generatum. Hieron. ep. 126. Nachor, or Communis opinio, praecipuè Patrum, & Scriptorum Ecclesiast. Pererius in Genes. 36. Disp. 2. Esau, [Page 26] whether he liued in the time of Atqualem Iacobo probant ex Philone Rupertus in Gen. l. 8. & Tostatus in 1. Pa [...]al. c. 1. Ia­cob, or of Synthronon Mosi facit Sul. Senerus Hist. Sacr. l. 1. Hier. in Tradit. Heb. in c. 22. Gen. Moses, or of the Gregor. in Iob in princi­pio. Iudges or of the Anabaptist. apud Sixt. Se­nens. & alij Rabbini apud Mercerum Praefat. in Iob. Babylonian, or the Adrich. in Chronic. Anno 2235. Genebr. in Chron. An. 2239 Aegypti­an Captiuity; whether this Booke was penn'd by one of his Quidam ap. Author. Catonae in Iob. Friends, or one of the Isidor. 6. E­tym. c. 2. Prophets, or some Rabbini ap. Mercer. Prae­fat. in Iob. Naz. Orat. ad Iulian. & Nice­tas in eum loc. Rabbin of Babylon, or by Salomon, or by his Gregor. in princ. Suidas in verbo Iob. Sen­tentia verissima. Albert. M. ap. Pinedam. owne selfe, or by Orig. l. 1. in Iob. Hoc autem, sicut & caetera de Creatione, Moses à Deo accepit. Moses, or by both, (as Initio l. 1. in Iob. Origen thinkes) these doubts are no more interessed in this peice of Scrip­ture, then in any other part of the whole Booke.; and to passe, in de­spight of all Logicque, the whole hi­story of Iob through one little Text, like a Camell through the eye of a Needle, were to driue out Myndo's once more, at one of her gates, as Diogenes was wont to say. I will only touch the two ordinary Quaesti­ons in all Artes, and Sciences, An fu­it? Quis fuit? First, whether Iob was a man, and, if that appeare, what kinde of man hee was, that was so blessed. [Page 27] For the first, as Lucian sayas in Dion Chrysostomus, and our late Chronolo­gers write of the Troians, that they fought 10. yeares in defence of Hecuba aeta­te aequalem. Lu­cian. lib. 2. de vera Histor. Raptam ante initium regni Thesei. Scalig. l. 3. Canon Isag. ob longaeuitatem, dicta, Immorta­lem Helenam. Seruius in 2. Aeneid. Troiae fuisse fictio Ho­merica, [...] . Herod. in Enterp. Me­nelaus vero, [...] . Dion Chry­sost. orat. 11. Cuius amplexus [...] . Lyco­phr. in Cassan­dra. See Hi­story of the World. lib 2. c. 14. par. 3. He­len, when then they had no more but her withered Carcasse, or bare picture, her selfe being in Aegypt, or dead long before: So the R. Moses Ben Maymon. Iob tantum parabolam esse putat, ad exponendum opiniones hominum de prouidentia. Mercer. praefat. in Iob. Rabbins of old, and many Tragico comaedia Hebraeorum. Anabaptistae apud Sixtum Senens. lib. 8. haeres. 10. Est veluti fabulae argumentum, ad proponendum patientiae Exemplum. Luth. lib. de libris Vet. & Neu. Testam. vt citatur à Bellarm. l. 1. de verbo Dei. c. 5. Liber iste Lutheri supposititius est, Franc. Junius in 1. Tom. Bellarm. writers of latter times, will haue here nothing, but the pi­cture of Iob, A lesson, an Idea, a Pat­terne, a Repraesentation, and a perfect example of the reward of Patience, and of true magnanimitie in great afflictions; But this phantasie, and Chy­maera is easily refuted, out of bookes Canonicall, Ecclesiasticall, prophane, and reason it selfe. For the first, Ezech. 14. 14. Though Noah, Iob, and Daniel were in it, &c. Now Noah, and Dani­el were no Phantasies, Repraesentati­ons, [Page 28] or imaginations of men, and therefore no more was Iob. Againe, Iames 5. 10. 11. we are turn'd ouer to the Prophets, and Iob, to take out les­sons, and patternes [...] of Patience, and long suffering in those aduersities, which it shall please God to send vpon vs; Now the Pro­phets were no Idea's, conceptions, or Repraesentations of men, and conse­quently, no more was Iob. Second­ly, for Ecclesiasticall historie, we will take the booke of Tobias, commen­ded for antiquitie by S. Praef. in Iob. Ierome, and S. Dom. 15. post. Trin. serm. 1. Augustine, Where in the second Chapter, and the fifteenth verse in the Latine, though not in any Greeke Co­pie, that euer I saw, or (I beleeue) is extant, Tobias is compared to holy Iob; Now Tobias is there set out for a reall, and an Indiuiduall man, and consequently, so was Iob. Thirdly, for prophane histories, we haue Ari­staeus a Iew, that brings Iob for a Patterne [...] , of long suffering, [Page 29] and patience, as Eusebius cites him in his [...] Booke de praeparatione E­uangelica: And Citatus ab Au­gustino S [...]eucho praefatione in Iob, & à Pere­rio in 16. Gen. Auerroes that famous Philosopher, and Iobs owne Country­man, that points him out, for a Pat­terne of magnanimity, in his Com­mentaries vpon the fourth Booke of Aristotles Ethiques. Lastly, for Rea­son, I will goe no further then the first words of this Iob. 1. 1. Booke. Erat vir, saith the Holy Ghost, Hee was a man, and therefore I cannot beleeue that he was no man, but a Morall vertue, or a Lecture of the same, which is likewise the Collection of L. 1. in Iob. Origen, and Hom. 1. de Abraham. & Iob. S. Chrysostome.

NOw how great a man hee was, I haue had occasion hereto­fore to speake at large in a Preached at Abthorp before K. Iames of blessed memo­ry, in the yeere 1617. whole Sermon, but hold it not so pertinent for this praesent purpose, vnlesse your Lordships will be plea­sed to heare him a little Si priuatus esset, cur publicè loqueretur? Ta­cit. hist. l. 4. de Muciano. speake forth him selfe in the 29. Chapter of [Page 30] this Booke. Vers. 6. 7. 8. I washed my steps in but­ter, and the Rockes poured out Riuers of Oyle. The young men saw mee, and hidde themselues, and the aged arose, and stood vp. The Princes refrained talking, and laid their hands on their mouth. The Nobles held their peace, and their tongues cleaued to the roofe of their mouth. I broke the iawes of the wicked, and pluck't the spoyles out of their teeth &c. Surely Iob, in these passages, and the like, doth Plus quàm civilia agitare, as Plus quàm ciuilia agitare. Annal. 3. Id est maiora, quàm Ciuem decet. L. D'Orleans in 1. Annal. Tacitus would describe it, speake in a higher phrase, then the language of a Subiect; I make no quaestion, but hee was as great, as the greatest of you all, and yet humbled himselfe in repentance, and deuotion, vnder the hand of God, and by his Prius in mul­tis, & districtis percunctationi­bus humiliari curauit, & sic parare vitam benedictioni. Bern. sup. Can­tic. serm. 34. humbling obteined this blessing; For so the Lord blessed the latter end of Iob.

[Page 31] ANd surely the person of a mea­ner, or of a more An Rex fue­rit, solum inue­nio Caietanum de re non valdè dubiá dubitan­tem. Pineda in c. 1. v. 1. [...] . Septu­agint. in fine cap. 42. Rex Idumae o­rum. Isid. l. de vitâ, & morte Sanctorum. Praeerat solus Regioni Vssita­rum cum impe­rio. Caesar, Di­al. 3. Rex Ara­biae. Gaud. Brixianus prae­fat. in script. Dux de genere Esau. Prosp. de Promiss. p. 1. c. 2 [...]. priuate man, could neuer haue afforded so remarkable a Patterne, either of such Patience, and Christian magnani­mitie in the Sufferer, or of such boun­tie, and vnspeakeable magnificence, in the rewarder, or blesser in this place; For (as Moral. 1. Gregory well ob­serues) Ad maiorem dolorem, damna maiora, The losses of Princes, Realmes, and States, require the more Fortitèr col­luctatus est Diabolus, sed fortiss. Athletam Dei superare non potuit. Aug. serm. 225. de Temp. [...] . Isid. Pelus l. 4. ep. 114. [...] . Suidas in verbo Iob. Forti­titude (for so indeed it is) and Pati­ence; and their recompencing againe, the more magnificence. God was de­sirous to leaue an example to all, that should come after, how that, Pro ma­ioribus plagis, maior Corona, as Hom. de patient. Iob. Chry­sostome speakes, wheresoeuer, and [Page 32] whomsoeuer hee visited the more heauily, there, if he found Diabolus pa­rieiem perfo [...]a­ [...]tt, sed thesau­rum auferre non potuit, thesau­rum dico non auri, & argen­ti, sed Fidem iusti. Aug. serm. 225. de Temp. Faith, Patience, Repentance, Humiliation, and the Concomitant Graces of the same, he would reward againe, the more bountifully; Now no fortunes, but the fortunes of a Prince, and a whole Estate; no Patience, and Humi­liation, but the patience, and humilia­tion of a Prince, and a whole Estate, was able to fetch off, either the deepe Cup of Gods afflictions, or that bot­tomlesse Sea of his outward consola­tions. When God is dispos'd to hang vp a Pretiosa in conspectu Domi­ni mors sancto­rum eius. Psalm. 115. 15. Preti­osa, quòd non p [...]mittat illo­rum vitam, at (que) salutem inimicis quasi flocci ve­nalem, nisi pro ingenti quodam pretio, & bono sua Ecclesiae: sic sanè ne (que) vult suum iustum af­fligi, nisi ingens quoddam, & publicum bonum suae Ecclesiae iu­de eliciat. Illud aut: est patien­tiae exemplum. Pineda praefat. in Iob. c. 6. picture in his Church, to bee well observ'd of all, that shall come after, that the People, which shall be borne, may praise the Lord, hee doth it not by limming, and painting, but by the Art of Cutting, and Em­broydering. For the Painter, as your Lordships knowe, deales but in co­lours, ordinary colours, which, ac­cording to the strength of his imagi­nation, he tempers, and layes out to [Page 33] the view of the Eye; But the Em­broyderer deales in more costly matter, takes his cloth of Gold, and Siluer, which hee mangles into a thousand pieces, bittes, and fragments, to frame, and set out his curious yma­gerie: So Almighty God, being to adorne his Church, not with blockes, and stones, but with some rare Hanc tenta­tionem ideo per­misu Dominus eu [...]ni [...]e ill [...], vt posteris daretur Exemplum pa­tientiae eius. Tob. 2. 15. P [...]etatis exem­pla sunt v [...]d [...] (que) nobis proposita, & tanta multi­tudo, vt [...] densitate exae­quent. Theo­dor. in Hebr. 12. 1. Super ill. [...] . Imo & Christus passus est, [...] . 1. Pet. 2. 21. Et Christus factus est homo, vt exhiberetur homini, & qui videretur ab homine, & quem homo sequeretur. Aug. pic­tures of Christian vertues, workes not these in ordinary colours, but in gold, and siluer, Princes, Nobles, and great Estates, whom he first mangles, and cuts into bits, and pieces, with Crosses, calamities, and deepe tempta­tions, but afterwards, when he findes them suppled, and humbled with sorrow, and Repentance, he makes vp againe into most heauenly, and An­gelicall formes, and images, to bee Aduersa latentem virtutem, & fortitudinem ostendunt, vt eam spectatares imitentur. Propter h [...]c Dominus accendit Iobum in­star facts, vt luceat omnibus in Othe [...]errarum. Caesarius dial. 3. [...] . Suidas in ver­bo Iob. look't on by vs in the Church Mili­tant, and to looke vpon him in the [Page 34] Church triumphant. So Abraham a great, rich, noble, and mighty Patri­arcke, was first tempted in his sonne, and then set vp for an example of Gen. 12. 12. [...] . Or. N: 12. Orat. 19. obedience. Moses another Prince, and Potentate, was first afflicted in Ae­gypt, and then erected in the Church, for an image of Num. 12. 3. meekenesse. Dauid a King, first persecuted by Saul, and then accounted a Statue of Ps. 88. 21. vpright­nesse. Lastly, Ne (que) enim solum peculiare Iobi bonum, sed commune suae Ecclesiae solati­um, & commo­dum Deus spe­ctat in affligendo quolibet iusto. Pineda Praefat. in Iob. c. 6. In hac virtute exemplar opinatissimum. Bern. serm. 2. de Conuers. Pauli. Athletam in certamen impellit erecta victori statua. Ar­migerum in praelium provocat decreta fortibus gloria. Quis autem tam strenuus, & fortis, ut beatus Iob? Chrys. serm. in Iob, & Abraham. this greatest man, in all the East, was first pull'd in pieces with a thousand miseries, and in the latter end blessed vp, for an aeternall praesident of the reward of Patience, and true courage in Princes, & great ones; For so the Lord blessed his latter end, more then his beginning. And so much of the second part of my Text, the common, and generall subiect of this reward, in this word Iob; The Lord blessed Iob.

[Page 35] NOw I come more closely to my Text againe, and fall vpon the proper, and praecise subiect of this reward of Patience, and Chri­stian humiliation, which is (to speake truely, and according to Logicque) not all Iob, but his latter end onely; The Lord blessed the latter end of Job. The latter end. It is obserued by S. L. 7. de insti­tut. Virg. Et ideò laudatio e­ius non in Exor­dio, sed in Fine est. Am­brose, that when God had created the heauen, the earth, the night, the day, the fowles of the Ayre, the fish of the Sea, and the beasts of the Land, hee gaue his approbation, that they were good, and commended them e­uery one in the beginning; But when he came to Man, he paws'd vpon the matter, and neuer grac't him with the least Commendations in the begin­ning; And why thinke yee? Because, saith In Christianis non laudantur initia, sed finis. Hier. in Regul. Monarch. cap. de Poenit. [...] . Chrys. in Illud, Saulus adhuc. serm. 47. S. Ambrose, prius probandus, quam laudandus, hee was first to bee tempted, and then respectiuely to bee commended. And this method wee [Page 36] finde obseru'd in this holy man Iob; For although God spoke kindely of him vnto others, Iob 1. 8. and suffe­red him to tast largely of his common blessings, in the very beginning, yet had he neuer as much as one Dignitas est Subiecti, affatus meruisse Domi­nantis. Cassiod. lib. 8. c. 4. word with Iob himselfe, or afforded him any extraordinary Blessing, that the Scripture takes notice of, before his temptations were all past, before his latter end of his Booke, and the latter end of his Patience, humiliation, and repentance; The Lord blessed the latter end of Iob.

THe latter end onely. For as S. Bern. libello, qui vocatur 8. puncta. Bernard wittily makes the Allusion, Patientia, & perseue­rantia, Patience in Affliction, Repen­tance, and perseuerance vnto the end, are fellow-partners indeed in the Lords haruest, and yet though the [...] . Chrys. in Illud, Saulus adhuc Serm. 47. former endure the burthen, the latter onely receiues the blessing; Because, as S. Augustin obserues in his [Page 37] seauenteenth Booke De Ciuitate Dei, and fifth Chapter, Non in quo medio, sed in quibus extremis, euery man, and euery Societie, and state of men, is cursed, or blessed, not as they suffer in the middle, but as they speed in the end; The Lord blessed the end of Job. The Schoolmen make of this Perseue­rance vnto the end (which some late Diuines had rather fasten with a rope of sands to the libertie of our will, then with a chaine of Adamant to Gods steddie, & immoueable Grace, and goodnesse) not any one particular vertue, but Perseveran­tia generalis [...] v [...] ­tutem. Gul. Pa­risiens. Sum [...]â de Virtutibus, parte 3. Tract. de Fortitud. c. 3. Vide Aquin. 1 ^a. 2 ^ae. Qu. 5 ^•. Art. 3. conditionem annexam cuilibet virtuti, saith Bonauenture vp­on the third of the sentences, a con­dition implied in euery vertue, this being Dei Donum, quo caetera seruan­tur dona, saith S. De bono Per­severantiae. l. 2. Hanc totius pro­bitatis unicam, fidamque custo­dem custod [...]i à vobis firmiter hortor. Bern. Ep. 129. Augustine, Gods rare, and speciall gift, which prae­serues, and maintaines his other gifts; For although (as the Apostle tels vs) [...] , the vertues, that adorne a Christian soule, Iam. 1. 17. doe euery [Page 38] one of them claime kindred of Al­mighty God, Metamorph. lib. 12. et Deus est in vtroque parente, and descend from him both in the one, and the other line, yet this perseuerance vnto the latter end, is Vnica filia, saith S. Perseveran­tia est summi Regis filia, vir­tutum (que) [...], & consumma­ti [...]. Bern. Ep. 129. Bernard, his one­ly daughter, and heire, which carries all away; Cum enim omnes virtutes cur­rant in stadio, sola perseuerantia accipit brauium, saith S. Lib. 2. de bo­no Persever. Multorum est incipere, pauco­rum finite; so­la tamen Perse­verantia corona­bitur, sola acci­piet bravium: nulla sine labore virtus, & ad magna praemia non pervenitur, nisi per magnos labores. Bern. [...]octo puncta. Augustine, when all the vertues, Patience, Repentance, and Humiliation haue run the race, none but this Perseuerance to the latter end, can get the Cuppe, I meane the Cuppe of the Lords blessings; The Lord blessed the latter end of Iob. Our Saui­our promised a table in heauen, not to those, that heard him, or to those, that followed him, saith S. Hom. 10. ad Pop. Antioch. Chrysost. but to those onely, Qui permanserunt, who continued with him. Luc. 22. 28. And he once prouided a Table on earth, to those onely, Qui perseuera­runt, who perseuered with him, Mat. 5. 32. to teach vs, that both these [Page 39] Tables, that is, the blessings of the Hea­uen, and the blessings of the Earth, are prouided for them, and them onely, which continue, and perseuere in their Repentance, & Deuotions, to the latter end. If a sacrifice be offered vn­to God, hee likes it not, vnlesse it come entire, cum cauda, with his lat­ter end, saith Caudam Ho­stiae in Altari offerre praecipi­mur, ut videl: omne bonum, quod incipimus, perseveranti si­ne compleamus. Benè igitur c [...]p­ta cunctis diebus agenda sunt, ut ipsa victoria manu Constan­tiae teneatur. Greg. 1. Mor. c. 40. Gregorie. If his Priests be annointed with holy oyle, it must be in extremis, in their outmost parts, and latter ends, saith S. Cyrill. If the Sonne of man appeare vnto Apoc. 1. 13. Iohn, he doth it vestitus podêre, in a long garment downe to his latter end, as Aquinas obserues; And all to teach vs, that if we looke for a blessing vp­on any of these Graces, which the holy Ghost hath stirred in vs, to wit, Faith, Repentance, sorrow for our sinnes, and the like, we must cherish, and praeserue them to the latter end, for of those the Lord blesseth onely the Tolle perse­verantiam, nec Obsequium mer­cedem habet, nec Beneficium gra­tiam, nec lau­dem Fortitudo. Bern. Ep. 129. latter end. Our great Assemblies, of late, haue begun very well with [Page 40] the Generall Deuotions of Fasting, and Prayer. Who so prophane as to deny it? But out alas, Lachrymâ nihil citiùs arescit, as Cic. ad He­ren. l. 2. the famous Orator was wont to say, Nothing dries vp faster then a publique teare; It seldome continues moist a whole day. [...] ; Liban. Declamat. 2. V­lyssi. Fa­ction, Ambition, and priuate ends, by separating a Good King from a Good people, a good People from a good King, and so both King, and People (for the time) from the wonted be­nedictions of a good, and gracious God, haue hitherto praeuented that world of blessings, which is readie to fall vpon a deuout perseuerance to the latter end; For, say what you will, of all our humbling, and Re­penting, the Lord blesseth but the Et nunc quid restat charissi­mi, nisi ut ad­mon [...]amini de perseverantia, quae sola meretur viris gloriam, c [...]ron [...] virtu­tibus. Bern. Ep. 129. latter end. And because these Bles­sings euer fall vpon the latter end, Sa­than is euer fighting against the latter end; For, as the K. of Syria comman­ded those 32. Captaines to fight a­gainst neither small, nor great, saue [Page 41] onely against the K. of Israel, 1 King. 22. 31: So the Deuill commands his leading, and master-Temptations, not to fight against any, small, or great vertue, not to fight against any of Gods Graces whatsoeuer, saue onely against this perseuerance in true Re­pentance, vnto the latter end, quam solam virtutum nouit coronari, saith S. Studete ita (que) perseuerantiae, quae sola virtutū [...]. Bern. ep 109 S [...]ens Diabo­lum soli semper perseuerantiae insidiari, quam sola [...] virtut [...]m [...] coronari. Bern. ep. 32. [...] cornua ad d [...]as coenas simul so­nantia, vtrà (que) f [...]datur. Prosp. libello. de d [...]no timo­ris. Bernard, vpon the which vertue onely, hee knoweth very well, the Crowne must fall, the Crowne of all Blessings temporall and [...] . Chrys. ad Pop Antioch. Hom. 1. aeternall, as here, The Lord blessed the latter end of Iob.

ANd indeed, if that conceit of the Fryars may passe for Gold, and will endure the Touch, no vertue whatsoeuer can expect those aeternall blessings, saue onely a perse­uerance in Repentance, and pietie vn­to the latter end; For nothing, but Aeternitie, can expect to be rewarded with Aeternitie; And if we looke for [Page 42] a Per hoc no­strum aeternum consequimur Dei aeternum. G [...]. [...] l. c. blessing aeternall, which shall con­tinue, as long as Gods beeing, wee ought to endure (not one daies Fast, and sorrow for sinne) but a Cum enim praem [...]um, quo prae [...]abuntur serm Dei, sit ae­ternum, id est, quamdiu est De­us: labor, quo homo seru [...] Deo, correspondens suo praemio de­bet esse perpetu­us, id est, quam­diu erit homo. Destruct. Vitior. parte 5. cap. 15. Nunquam vir iusius arbitra­tur se compre­hendisse; Nun­quam dicit satis est, sed semper [...]surit, sitit (que) iu­stitiam; Ita vt si semper viue­ret, semper, quan­tum inse est, iu­stior esse con­tenderet. Non enim ad annum, vel ad tempus, instar Mercena­rij, sed in aeternum diuino se mancipat famulatui Bern. epist. 253. sorrow, and a suffering aeternall, which is to continue, as long as our being; I meane our worldly, and mortall being. So that no vertue can lay claime to this Aeternitie of God, but Perseuerance vnto the End, which is the Aeterni­tie of man, As the Lord here blessed the latter end of Iob. You therefore that would climbe vp to blessings, by Ja­cobs Ladder, & beginning at the foote therof, the blessings here on earth, get vp to the top, the blessings in heauen, remember what you saw vpon that ladder, There were Angels descending, and Angels ascending, but not any sitting, or Videt enim sca­lam Iacob, & in illam Angelos, vbi nullus residens, nullusue subsistens apparuit, sed vel ascendere, vel descendere videbantur: quo palam daretur intelligi inter pro­fectum, & defectum in hoc statu mortalis vitae nihil medium inueniri, sed vt ip­sum corpus nostrum continuè crescere constat, aut decrescere; sic necesse sit & spiritum aut proficere semper, aut deficere. D. Bern. epist. 253. standing still; And there­fore, if you looke to haue your Fa­sting, [Page 43] your praying, your sorrow for sinne, and your other vertues rewar­ded by God, you must neuer rest then, but breath them in continuall motion, vntill the time of their Bles­sing come, which is onely the latter end, as here; The Lord blessed the latter end of Iob. And so much of the third part of my Text, the proper subiect of this reward of Christian Patience, Re­pentance, and Sorrow for sinne, which is the latter end thereof; The Lord bles­sed the latter end of Iob.

I Hasten now to the last part of my Text, which is the Quantitie of this Reward, and is drawne from a Comparison with those blessings, which this great man had in com­mon with other Princes of the East, before his Affliction, and from the beginning; and these blessings of his lat­ter end, being duely weighed, beare down the scales, & proue more then those of his beginning; The Lord blessed the latter end of Iob, more then his be­ginning. [Page 44] And this in many respects, which to auoid taediousnesse in this honourable Assembly, I will run ouer very briefly. First, all the Blessings in the beginning made Iob but vnum ex multis, one of Gods Children at large, amongst whom the euill, and vniust are also reckoned, Mat. 5 45. But this Chastisement, and correction toward the latter end made him Gods speciall Quantum v [...]sus superior est auditu, tanto di [...]ert ab eo quod prius exti­tit & hoc quod post modum per flagella prosecit. Greg. Mor. lib. 35. c. 4. Apertè quan­tum de verbere [...]r [...]uerit indica­tur. Ibid. cap. 6 Minion, and darling, as it were, for he chastiseth euery sonne, whom he receiueth, Heb. 12. 6. whom he receiueth, that is, Quem approbat, whom hee makes his white Boy, as Theophylact interprets that place; For indeed the word, Prou. 3. 11. from whence the Apostle takes it, is [...] quem vnicè diligit, whom he cockers aboue the rest of his Children, and may bee interpreted [...] , that Sonne, in whom hee is well pleased, as Mercerus, that great Linguist, makes the Obseruation. You see then what height of fauour, and pri­uacie [Page 45] Job by this Correction, and due humiliation vnder the same, is got vnto, and all this sithence his beginning, and therefore, The Lord blessed the latter end of Iob, more then his beginning.

SEcondly, in the beginning, I doe beleeue he was a great man, but I doe not reade he was a Vo [...]atur Mi­l [...]s Dei, à Gre­gor. Hom. 19. in Ezech. [...] ▪ Chrys ad pop. Antioch. Hom. 4. [...] . Chrys. ad pop. Antioch. Hom. [...]. b [...]ob. 19. 25▪ 26 Knight, your Lordships will pardon the lightnesse of the Notion, which I chose of purpose, that the Thing may be the better remembred▪ But in the latter end he had this honour ad­ded to be made a Knight, a Knight of the Order, I meane, Christs own Or­der, a Knight of the Crosse, that when he should rise againe out of the Earth in the last day, and bee couered with his skinne, and see God in his flesh, he might accompanie his Redeemer vnto Iudgement in a fitting aequipage, a­dorned with his Passions, like a Collar [Page 46] of Pearle, and couered with his Af­flictions, the Robes of the Martyrs. Now to this Addition of Honour hee was aduanced in his latter end, and not in his beginning, and there­fore, The Lord blessed the latter end of Iob, more then his beginning.

THirdly, [...] . Isidor. Pelus. lib. 3. ep. 11. Nisi enim pas­sus fuisset, for­tasse veluti vir­tutus non landaretur. Chrysost. hom. 4. de patientia Iob. [...] . Id. ad Pop. Ant. hom. 1 [...] &c. Chrys. [...]b. In Iconib. His Fame, and Re­nowne, which in honourable Persons, no man, without im­pudency, can deny for one of Gods blessings, is now much enlarged in his latter end; For, as Philostratus saith very well, that one Iupiter, set o [...]t by Homer the Poet, was worth tenne Iupiters set out by Phidias the Caruer, because the former flew a­broad through all the world, where­as the latter neuer budg'd from his pedistall at Athens: So the Fame of Iob in his latter end, which is cum so­le, & luna, as hee speakes, as farre spread, as the beames of the Sunne, [Page 47] and the influence of the Moone, ex­tinguisheth the Fame of his beginning, confined to Husse, and a little corner of Arabia. The Deuill in the begin­ning was faine perambulare, Iob 1. 7. to compasse the world, before hee could finde him, but euer sithence, hee cannot tempt the least of Gods children, but instantly hee heares of him, saith Saint Serm. 3. de patientia Iob. Chrysostome. I confesse he was from the beginning notus Deo, knowne vnto God, but now hee is become notus nobis, knowne also vnto vs, and a praesi­dent for all men that expect deliue­rance from great afflictions, saith S. Vir ille san­ctus in prosperis interrogatur aduersis, vt qui notus erat om­nipotenti Do­mino, notus per flagella fieret & nobis. Greg. in Ezech. lib. 2. Hom. 20. Gregory. In the beginning the Holy Ghost could say no more, but Erat vir, there was such a man; In the lat­ter end he might haue said, Erat [...] . Chrys. ad pop. Antioch. Ho [...] Orig. lib. 1. in Iob. Phi­losophus, there was such a Philoso­pher, and notable Christian, saith O­rigen. So that the Lord blessed the latter end of Iob, more then his beginning.

[Page 48] LAstly, his learning, and know­ledge in the way of Godlinesse, was nothing so praegnant in his beginning, as in his latter end. Do­ctrina viri per patientiam noscitur, Pro: 19. 11. Patience is the best teacher of true Intelligence. The Schoole-men, Hales. part. 3. q 62. m. 1. & 3 Aquin. 2 ^a. [...] [...]. q. 69. art. 3. ad [...]. 2 ^a. 2. [...]. q 9. art 4. in Matt. 5 Biel in 3. s [...]nt. d, 34. Hales, Aquinas, Biel, and others, when they suite the Beatitudes (The Gospell appointed for this solemne Fast) to the fruits (as they call them) of the holy Ghost, doe ioyne that of Sorrow, and weeping for sinne, to Science, and knowledge, Because (say they) this Sorrow for sinne can issue from no other Fountaine, then the true faith, & knowledge of God, nor is it euer found in any man, sun­dred, or diuided from the same. Qui addit scientiam, addit dolorem, He that encreaseth his knowledge of the faith of Christ, shall euer encrease the sorrow for his sin, as In Ps. 34. O lach [...]ma humi­lis, Tu [...] est po­tentia, tuum reg­num.—a­peris coe [...]um, su­g [...] Diabolum. Iustinian in ligno vitae. cap. 9 Da mihi grati­am lach [...]ma­rum, &c. Aug. lib. Med. c. 36. Flere debes, sed recor­dando Sion. Au­gust. in ps. 136 S. Augustine [Page 49] applies that of Ecclesiastes, the 1. and the 18. verse, and so say I, è conuerso, Hee that encreaseth his sorrow for sinne, shall prooue a great Clerke in the Schoole of Christ. It was the Gall of the Fish, that restored Tobias to his seeing, Tob. 11. 14. verse, and it is onely the Gall, and bitternesse of the Crosse, which restores a Christian to his perfect vnderstanding, Vbi mul­tum Crucis, multum lucis, as Apud Ge­rard. in l. c. Luther was wont to say, A Christian Soule is best instructed, when it is most scourged, and Non poenas damus, sed [...]ru­dimur. Chrys. Hom. 28. in 1. Cor. Saepe Dei fit providentia, ut qui non cog­noverunt Deum in prosperis, cog­noscant in ad­versis, & qui di­vitijs male sint abusi, ad virtu­tes penuria cor­rigantur. Hie­ron. in▪ 1. Io. 1. afflicted. For as Io­seph entertain'd his Brethren rough­ly, before hee was pleas'd to be dis­couer'd by them, Gen. 45. 1: So God will haue his Children exercised with roughnesse, before hee will bee perfectly knowne vnto them. Iob (it seemes) was no young man in the beginning, but sure hee was a young Scholar, and neuer put to his Christs Crosse (the reall Alphabet of true Chri­stianity, [Page 50] which wee spell out by suf­fering, not by reading) vntill his lat­ter end; And so the Lord blessed the latter end of Iob, more then his begin­ning. And so much of my Text.

For the vse thus in a word, both for the Generall, and the particular Ap­plication.