A divine herbal together with a forrest of thorns In five sermons. ... By…A divine herball together with a forrest of thornes In five sermons. ... By…

IT is not forced, nor fetched, but comes of his own mere mercy, whose it is. Jam. 1.¹ So saith the Apostle: Every good gift, and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights. They that want it, have no merit of congruity to draw it to them: they that have it, have no merit of condignitie to keep it with them. It is the mercy and gratuitall favour of God, that this Gospel cometh to us. For, if ipsum minus be munus, how highly is this great gift to be praised! What deserve we more then other Nations? They have as pregnant wits, as proportionable bodies, as strong sinews as we: and perhaps would bring forth better fruits. Yet they want it: with us it is. We need not travel from Coast to coast, nor journey to it; it is come to us. Venit ad limina virtus: will you steppe over your thresholds, and gather Manna? When the Gospel was far off from our Fathers, yet in them Studium audiendi superabat taedium accedendi: the desire of hearing it beguiled the length of the way. But we will scarce put forth our hand to take this bread: and, as in some ignorant country towns, be more eager to catch the rain, that falls from the out-side of the Church in their buckets, then this rain of ⟨p. 19⟩grace preached in it, in their hearts. Oh you wrong us; we are fond of it; we call for preaching: yes, as your forefathers of the blind times would call apace for holy water; yet when the Sexton cast it on them, they would turn away their faces, and let it fall on their backs. Let God sow as thick as he will, you will come up thin. You will admit frequency of preaching, but you have taken an order with your selves of rare practising. You are content this Rain should come, as the next circumstance gives it,