s Corn t.', OfHope,Prefumptíon, a:?d Defpair, Chap. ro.. r39 he that is faithful in that which is leaf', is faithful alto in much. God exerciteth our Luke .6.to faith inheavenly things by a faith in earthly things ; fo it [hay be laidof hope, if a man can hope for Heavenly things, can he nothope for cart hly ? And he that will not hope inGod forthe lets, will not hope for the more. Our Saviour argueth from thegreater to the lets. God having given us a Soul, providing food ro preferve life, mutt, ,6: howmuch more will heprovide food and raiment. for our bodies ; and if he caufe his Sbn to thine, and the rain to fall upon the wicked andungodly, will he not pro- vide for his Servants ? Zia páfcit contemnentes, non pafeet colentes? He that feeds . them that defpife him, wilt he not feed them th1 Clove him ? and ourSaviour pro feçuteth his Argument,that if God provide for the Fowls of the Air, and the Lillies 34 òf the field, (hall he not do it much more for man, for whore ufe all things are made and preferved ? Therefore mull we cart our felves upon God, and no: truft to the Pfalm4o.q: proud, and inch as go about with lies. Etai.zs.. 5. The care for temporalthings is lawful, fo it be reftrained within its limits, thatis,' within the lawful means and ways which God alloweth. For, terrena benean-asnur, nil male agendocontra illa ; fa bene cohtemnnntur, nil male agenda propter illa ; we are careful enough for the things of this life, if we do not walle them, and carclefs e- noughof them, if we ufe no ill means to get them. We come now to that which is forbidden. The objet of hope is bonum, and-not every bonitos neither, but that good which we fee not, as theApoftle fpeaks, it muff befuturam. Spes qua videtur non eft ffses, as it is in faith ; and befides, that it is Ps- Rom .8.,5. turnia, it muff alto be poffibile, andarduum, poffible to be had, yet not with cafe, but with force difficulty, to make us the better to efteem of it for if we could obtain it prefently,we need not hope for it. And out of thcte two arife two extremes of hope, which are here forbidden. r. Prefumption. 2. Defpair. Whereas eternal life is propounded as a thingpoffible, arduum taken, not to be at- tainedwithout difficulty, there.arifeth inour minde an affe&ion, called Prefumption, whereby we apprehend it as poffible and ealie, and fo negle( to labour forir, as a thing of difficulty, and thus prefumption hopeth without hope. But to avoid this Pfalm 147.11, we muleknow, that the Lords delight is in them that fearhim and hope in his mer- cie. Thishope mutt bemixed with fear, inregard of the hardnefs of attaining, ne s Corr Z. i =. fortereprobi jamaos, as St. Paul, though he had been taken up into the third Heaven, yet feared afterward, left he fhould becomea cart-way. So then, as there ought to be hope in regard" of the poffibilitÿ, fo in refpe& ofthe difficulty we muff not prefume, wearenot to prefume of ourfelves, or ofothers. n. Not of our felves. For we are to know thatof our felves we candanöthing, unlefs there be, Gratia prrveniens, & fubfeq,ens, preventing and following Grace, which is Divinnm auxilium, the Divine aid: if thefe be wanting, our hope is meer prefumption and folly. Sinemenihil poteffisfacere, without me ye can do nothing, isfufiicient to corret this humour : and St. Bernard faith of the firft, Qaerererncaat.frm.s Deum non poteft anima, mill preveniaturutTwat. `The Soul cannot feek Godwith- out this preventingGrace. And for the last, the Pfalmift faith, Thy loving kind- Pfal.s3,6. nefs and mercy shall follow meall the days of my life. So that whatfoever we do, all muffbe attributed to Gods Grace. Gratin diving afcribitur omnequad prlere a nreg,ia Reg . nobisgeritur, faith Sr. Gregory, whatfoever is well done of us is all and wholly áfcri- bed to Gods Grace. 2. Weare not to prefume upon the helpof others, our hope and truft mull not be put in man. Put not your truft in Princes (faith the Pfalmift) nor in any Childe of man; and why ? Becaufe there is no help in them. Not in Abraham or Ifrael, for they knownot; nor in Saints or Angels, for they are not clean in his fight." And Pfatr4640 thereforeSt. Augufiine faith, Solusftdnciam præßat homini spud Deans, Deseo how, it Efai.63. 16, is only God the man that gives man confidence with God; for he is only Clypeus jab 15 15° fperantiuns inearn, a Buckler to all them that truft in him. God hath his Axe in his hand ready to ftrike us, no Creature is able toward offtheblow, it is only this Deau,Pfal. t 8,3o. homo, Chrift jefusGod and man that isable to bear it offfrom us. 3. Asa man may notprefume of himfelf nor others, foneither may he prefume . upon God further thanhis word gives warrant. The Word ofGod begetteth faith, and faith hope, fo that there can be no hope without faith, nor faith without a promife in theWord whereupon to build. David went no further, Remember S 2 the
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