Sermons upon Deuteronomy

Seeing that God hath so greatly inhonoured the faithful under the Gospel, that he hath set then in equal degree with those which were Levites in the material tabernacle §10which was but a figure: it behooveth us well to consider what hath been said concerning the Priests of old time; and all of us from the highest to the lowest, ought to know that we cannot serve God without forgetting our father and mother, according to the forealledged saying of our Lord Jesus Christ, who speaketh there not of his disciples only. True it is that it behoved them to be the foreleaders, and by their example to induce the faithful to the restraining and §20dispatching of their own affection, and of all that ever they have of nature; but yet our Lord Jesus showeth that no man can follow him, nor come unto him to continue steadfastly in the Gospel, but with condition of forgetting his father and mother, and of forsaking his wife, and of giving over his own children. After what manner? Not that we do it of our own head, for every man ought to discharge his duty as much as he can. But if a man be called to forsake his §30wife and household for witnessing of the Gospel: he must be turned from them as if he had his bowels plucked from him; and yet for all that he must rather choose to have the one half of himself taken from him, than in any wise to shrink away or to estrange himself from Jesus Christ. That is the thing which we have to gather upon that text.

Seeing that God hath so greatly inhonoured the faithfull vnder the Gospell, that hee hath set then in equall degree with those which were Leuits in the materiall tabernacle §10which was but a figure: it behooueth vs well to consider what hath beene said concerning the Priests of old time; and all of vs from the highest to the lowest, ought to know that we cannot serue God without forgetting our father and mother, according to the forealledged saying of our Lorde Iesus Christ, who speaketh there not of his disciples onely. True it is that it behoued them to be the foreleaders, and by their example to induce the faithfull to the restreining and §20dispatching of their owne affection, and of all that euer they haue of nature; but yet our Lord Iesus sheweth that no man can followe him, nor come vnto him to continue stedfastly in ye Gospel, but with condition of forgetting his father and mother, and of forsaking his wife, and of giuing ouer his own children. After what manner? Not that we do it of our owne head, for euery man ought to discharge his dutie as much as he can. But if a man bee called to forsake his