Sermons upon Deuteronomy

Verily Moses showeth that all that ever God promiseth to his people for keeping of his Law, springeth from the same fountain, rather than from any bond. And that is it which he meaneth by saying, As God promised to thy Fathers. As if he should say, my friends, serve God and he will be good master unto you: and think not that ye shall have lost your time when ye shall have kept his Law: for ye shall have the large reward that is behighted you. But yet for all that, consider from whence the same cometh. The fountain thereof (saith he) is, that before ye were borne into the world, God promised your fathers to bring them into a land that floweth with milk and honey. Moses by bringing the people thus back to the promise that had been made to the Patriarchs, showeth sufficiently that God promised not any thing anew, but only that he performeth the thing that he had promised afore. And why so? Was it for that he, was bound to them, which were not yet borne into the world?¹ No: but because he loved their fathers as is said heretofore. It is true that here Moses showeth that the people should be partakers of that promise, so they kept Gods Law. But what for that? Yet behoved it them to come back still to this point, that men are utterly undone if they set themselves against God, and that if they allege any worthiness, they shall abide still in their condemnation, and find themselves all accursed. Therefore they must have none other refuge but to Gods mercy, & they must understand that when they have enforced themselves never so much to live according to Gods Law yet shall God owe them nothing at all, nevertheless he will not fail to perform his promise to them even of his own mere and freebestowed goodness. And so ye see how this text is to be understood. Now forasmuch as here is mention made of the Land that was promised to the Jews: let us mark that we nowadays ought to be much more provoked to serve God,² seeing he hath dedicated the whole earth to himself, & will have his name to be called upon every where. For the bloodshed of our Lord Jesus Christ, hath sanctified the whole world which was then in uncleanness. For we know there were no moe lands but this, which God reserved to himself, and wherein he would reign till the coming of his son. But when our Lord Jesus Christ was once come:

Verily Moses sheweth that all that euer God promiseth to his people for keeping of his Law, springeth from the same fountaine, rather than from any bond. And that is it which he meaneth by saying, As God promised to thy Fathers. As if he should say, my friendes, serue God and hee will be good maister vnto you: and thinke not that ye shall haue lost your time when yee shall haue kept his Lawe: for ye shall haue the large rewarde that is behighted you. But yet for all that, consider from whence the same commeth. The fountaine thereof (sayth he) is, that before yee were borne into the worlde, God promised your fathers to bring them into a lande that floweth with milke and honnie. Moses by bringing the people thus backe to the promise that had beene made to the Patriarkes, sheweth sufficiently that God promised not any thing anewe, but onely that he performeth the thing that hee had promised afore. And why so? Was it for that hee, was bounde to them, which were not yet borne into the worlde?