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complained of and impeached that reverend man Master Knox of high treason against imperial dignity, insomuch that he was banished from the city and driven from his congregation. Oh, what a sad thing is this, that the spirit of papists should live in protestants; that the spirit of the horns should live in the carpenters; that the spirit of prelates should live in those that are risen up to fray them away and cast them out! I say no more, but when we have done all, cast out the gentiles and frayed away the horns; if then we shall turn and gore and cast out our brethren and one another, God will find it out, and will not put it up at England's hands. Wherefore, my beloved, in the fear of God let us all remember this caution: oh, take heed that the spirit of the horns do not dwell in the carpenters. And so I come to the third vision, "A man with a measuring-line in his hand," and the third doctrine, which is this:

When God shall raise up his carpenters against his church's enemies, then, and then especially, reformation is to be laid unto the line. You see how these three visions are knit together, one following immediately upon another, shewing not the coherence of the words only, but of the matter. The doctrine therefore falleth asunder into two propositions :

1. Stones of reformation are to be laid with most exactness.

2. When God raiseth up his carpenters against his church's enemies, then, and then especially, this exact reformation is to be much endeavoured.

1. Stones of reformation are to be laid with most exactness. Temple-work is a great work and of great consequence. When the matter that a man is to work upon is precious, the eye curious and exact that he is to work unto, and the work itself of infinite consequence, there exactness is much required, especially when a miscarriage can hardly be mended but with much difficulty. Now so it is in the work of reformation: the matter to be wrought upon are the souls of men and women, the most precious matter in the world; the eye that we are to work unto is God's, is Christ's, who walketh between the golden candlesticks; and the business itself is of infinite consequence, yours and mine and thousands' eternities lying at the stake; and if there be a miscarriage, it will be a hard thing to bring the whole nation unto the work

upon the rope, he

again. You see that when man walketh a carrieth a pole in his hand to sway him, and he looks diligently to his feet, quia non licei bis peccare, because if he do fail he cannot mend his miscarriage. And I say, that in this work of reformation, if there be the least slip, it will be a hard thing to recover it, when once a nation is settled in that miscarriage. Surely therefore the work is to be done with the most exactness.

It is only exactness that doth cause conviction in those that do behold. There is no national reformation, but the eyes of nations are upon it. Give me leave to tell you what I have read in a letter written from a learned professor of divinity in an university beyond the seas, who writes thus to England:* Upon your reformation, saith he, if happily performed, doth depend the reformation of all the churches in christendom, as upon a rule and exemplar. So that I say, there is no reformation on foot in any nation, but the eyes of other nations are upon it. If it be done exactly, the beholding nations will also come in and say, We will take hold of your skirt, and your God shall be our God. When Judah shineth, and God's glory resteth upon them, then nations come in and join themselves unto them, Isa. lx. 1, 2, 3. It is only beauty that doth take the eye; when there is no beauty, there is no allurement; Kaλos, beautiful, comes from Kay, which signifies to call, because beauty calls forth the eye and holds it in its beams. Now four things must concur to beauty. There must be all the parts; all in their proportion; all in their due place; all laid over with a sweet and lively colour. So it is in the beauty of God's house; there must be all the ordinances; all in their place; all in due proportion; and laid over with the power of godliness. When these meet in any church, there is beauty; but meet they cannot, unless there be exactness in reforming. Surely therefore stones of reformation are to be laid with nost exactness.

2. But what reason is there of the second proposition, which is, that then this exact reformation is especially to be endeavoured, when God shall raise up his carpenters against

* A vestra reformatione, siquidem fæliciter peracta, pendebit reformatio omnium aliarum ecclesiarum in christianismo, tanquam a norma et exemplari.

D. Voet.

the church's enemies? for when the carpenters do arise the times are troublous.

True, they are indeed; but God chooseth troublous times to build in both his house and walls of the city. The churches have always lost most in times of peace, and gained most in times of trouble. Whilst the ten persecutions continued, the integrity of the churches was best preserved. The psalmist saith, "Send out thy light and thy truth, O Lord, and let them lead me unto thine altar," Psalm xliii. 4. There is no going unto God's altar with worship, without the leading hand of truth; and there is no building God's house for an altar without light. When God made the world, he first made light on the first day, as an example unto us in all our works to work by light. Now light and truth do break forth much in troublous times.

Troublous times are praying times, and praying times are knowing times. "If thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God," Prov. ii. 3, 4, 5.

In troublous times men's hearts are most low and humbled, and so more apt and ready to receive and to be led into any truth. You read in Isa. xi., that God promiseth that in the latter times "the whole earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord;" and in the verses a little before, it is said of the lion and the young lion," that a child shall lead them :" these two go well together; but the stout lionlike spirit will never be led by the hand of a sucking child, until it be brought down and low by troublous times.

In troublous times God is pleased to communicate himself more freely to his people. God is not unto his in affliction as at other times; he is most sweet when the world is most bitter. It is with a nation, church and people, in their reformation, as with a person in his first conversion: because of those many temptations that a converting person is to conflict withal, God doth more abundantly reveal and communicate himself unto him at his first conversion; so with a reforming people, because of those many oppositions that they shall

* Ecclesia tunc semper fuit optima quando agebat inter pessimos.-Luther. VOL. IV.

meet withal in that work, God doth then more than ordinarily communicate him self unto them. Thus troublous times do bring forth light and truth. God loveth to have a sacrifice from the hands of the children of Abraham out of the thickets and briars. Opposition commendeth reformation: in troublous times there is much opposition, and therefore in those times reformation is very beautiful. The doctrine is clear then, the application easy. Thus :

Hence we may all see and know what is the work of the times, even to measure the temple. Now for a long while we have had experience of the first vision, and we have felt the horns; the rising of the carpenters we have seen also; and who may not say, "I have lifted up mine eyes, and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand?" Blessed be God that we have lived to see this day, to see a man stand with a measuring line in his hand in England. And whoever you are that hear me this day, you are either such as have this measuring line in your hand, or else such as are to be measured.

If you have the measuring line in your hands, then remember this doctrine, the first proposition: stones of reformation are to be laid with most exactness. Herein, if you be exact, you shall be like unto Jesus Christ, who, as Salmeron observeth,* when he came to purge the temple, did not only admonish, chide, reprove the money-changers, or whip them away, but did overthrow their very tables, ne impium opus facile repeterent, lest they should recover their trade again. In other things you are very exact: men are exact in their trades, exact in their accounts, exact in their reckonings, exact in their diet, exact in their sleep, exact in their hair both of head and face; in small things you are exact, and will you not be exact in this greatest? You know what other reformed churches have done; the reformation of all other churches are round about you, you have their writings before you, their books, their practices, their examples, and this for many years: can you think that God hath set us now for an hundred years upon their shoulders, to see no further into reformation than they have done? If two men be to do the same work, the one first and the other after; he

* Sacerdotes in templo offendentes sunt flagellorum dignissimi.-Salmeron in

Joan. 3.

that doth it first, though he doth it never so well, yet will excuse himself and say, I never saw the work done before me, I was fain to invent my very tools and instruments; and you will excuse him though there be some failing in him: but when the second man cometh to the same work that hath a former example, and all his tools to help him, you expect more exactness from him. You know my meaning, I need not apply this; oh, that our God would make England the praise of the whole earth; nothing will do it but our exactness in reformation. Certainly this reformation that is now on foot, hath, as I may speak with reverence, cost our God very dear, the liberties, the estates, the lives and blood of many of his dear children, "of whom the world was not worthy." Do you think God will lay out all this for an imperfect, unexact, poor and low reformation? Let me present. you with the prophecy of Bishop Hooper, who when he was in prison called his printer to him, and said, You shall outlive these Marian times, and see the alteration of the present religion, when the gospel shall be freely preached; wherefore remember me to my brethren, as well in exile as others, and bid them be circumspect in displacing of popish priests, and put good ministers in churches, or else their end will be worse than ours. He said, be circumspect; I say, be exact: and though I do not wish that every morning there might be a boy crying at your doors, as once at Philip's, Mortalis es, Thou art mortal, thou art mortal; for that the drum doth sufficiently every morning; yet I could wish that this sentence might be sounding in your hearts every morning and night, that it might lie down with you and rise with you: Stones of reformation are to be laid with most exactness. But how shall that be?

Thus be sure of this that you take the right line into your hands. God's word it is our line, able to reach unto all particular affairs of the churches.

Mistake me not, I pray. A church is considered two ways; as a meeting of people, men and women; or as a church meeting, a meeting of saints, apparent believers, cœtus fidelium. I do not say that the word is to be the only line and rule to the church in the first respect, so reason may be a rule to men as men; but in the second respect it is, the word is able to reach unto all things belonging unto a church

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