A04480:77
Seven godly and learned sermons preachedSeuen godly and learned sermons preached
Seven godly and learned sermons preached by the Reverend Father in God John Ivel, late bishop of Salisbury. Never before imprintedSeuen godly and learned sermons preached by the Reuerend Father in God Iohn Iuel, late bishop of Salisburie. Neuer before imprinted
London : Impensis G. Bishop, 1607
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
If men will not turn, he hath whet his sword, and hath bent his bow and made it ready: He hath prepared him the weapons of death, and ordained his arrows to destroy. So mighty, so omnipotent is God, that he can punish, and so righteous a judge is he, that he will punish when it best pleaseth him. But some man would here peradventure say, if God be thus able to punish, and will indeed punish when he is offended, why then doth he it not by and by, why is not he revenged out of hand? because (saith the Prophet) he is merciful, patient, 1and of long sufferance. Therefore he proceedeth not to revenge his anger, therefore he hasteth not to wreak himself on us, so soon as we offend him, and transgress his will: but tarrieth, and maketh long delays to see whether we will repent and return unto him. But yet (saith David, forasmuch as he is abused, for as much as ye have left and forsaken him, notwithstanding he be merciful, notwithstanding he be patient ⟨image 56⟩cient and of long sufferance, He hath now whet his sword, he hath bent his bow, and made it ready, he hath prepared him the weapons of death, and ordained his arrows to destroy: and this will he do out of hand, he will make no longer delay at all. Here must we not fancy, that God will strike us with a sword of Iron, that he hath a bow bent and arrows to destroy withal: for every creature on the earth, what ever it be, be it never so vile, never so simple, never so weak and abject, but is able at Gods commandment to be an instrument to plague and punish withal. And therefore consider what is so weak as water, so simple as flies, so vile as lice and frogs: and yet it pleased almighty God, by these weak, by these simple, by these vile things, to punish and strike the Egyptians, yea, and so much thereby to plague them, that never before they felt the like, never erst they heard of the like punishment. It pleased God to turn their water into blood,2 so that in the whole country no water could be found to drink, no liquor ⟨image 56⟩of water to refresh their Bodies. This was a great plague, and yet was this wrought by want of water, which was but a weak and simple creature. A fly, you know, is a simple thing, a thing of little strength and no force: