then grace should not be grace, saith he, if it were not thus freely given. If God should choose us for any goodness in us, then he should but do one good turn for another, and freely without reward do nothing; which is most against his nature, that doeth good for evil, yea, and where he seeth no possibility of goodness or reward to be looked for. "Who Rom. xi. hath given him any thing first, and he shall be recompensed again?" saith St Paul; as though he should say, No. "I John xiii. have chosen you, and ye have not chosen me," said Christ to his disciples and apostles. And as he thus chose them, so he chooses all which be chosen: and so he will declare his free grace, love, and mercy, to all which be his, freely, even because it pleased him to choose them, and they deserved not to be chosen of him, but rather to be cast away from him. When God promised to deliver his people in like distress by his prophet, he said, "For mine own sake, for Isai. xlviii. mine own sake I will do it." And not only thus in bodily deliverance, but in forgiveness of sins he says likewise, “It Isai. xliii. is I, it is I, which forgiveth thy sins for mine own sake." Thus freely God our heavenly Father, for the love which he beareth to us in his Son Christ, in whom he had chosen us from the beginning, and for whose sake he continueth his favour to us,-he, I say, bestows all his blessings freely on us both in body and soul, in this life and after.

God's will

cause of all.

The will of God is the first cause of doing all good is the first things and when he will, all things work and obey him; and when he will not, they stay and cease. So because his choosing of us cometh of his free will and mercy, it is the first and chiefest cause of our salvation. If he should be stirred to choose us for our goodness, which he foresees in us, that is ever imperfect; or if for any other cause within us or without us, then he should not be the first cause and mover of all things. But St Luke saith, "In him we live, Acts xvii. be, and are moved." That which moves another thing is in nature afore that which is moved; and also it is better, stronger, and wiser: but to say that anything is stronger, wiser, or better than God, is treason and blasphemy to his majesty therefore his will is the first cause of all our goodness.

Thus our good God teaches us, and comforts his people,

his people out of all dangers.

Acts vii.

Dan. v.

that all things shall turn to the best to them which love him, be the troubles never so many and great, that man's wit cannot tell how to escape. Let kings and princes fall together by the ears; kill, murder, shew what cruelty they God delivers can; get or lose kingdoms; war, fight, or what they can devise: God will save and deliver his people, if it please him, out of all their hands. When Pharao persecuted the Jews through the Red Sea, God saved his people and Num. xxi. drowned the Egyptians. In the wilderness when Seon and Og, two mighty kings, denied them victuals and passage, God destroyed them both, and gave their lands to his people. After they came to the land promised, he drove out seven mighty people, and dealt it to the Jews: and when all the heathen people, which dwelt round about them, made war against his people, he destroyed them all. In Babylon, when they were prisoners under Balthazar, king within the city, and Darius, king of the Medes, with Cyrus, the king of the Persians, besieging the city round about, that none should escape; when the city was taken, God did not only deliver his people from all the cruel hands of these three mighty kings; but gave them such favour in the sight of Cyrus, that he not only hurt them not, but set them at liberty, sent them home to their country, gave them licence to build this temple, restored their jewels, which Nebuchadnezer took away, and gave free licence to every man to help them with money as much as they would. Who could have thought God's people should have been now delivered out of the hands of three heathen kings, being all their enemies, and might have slain them like sheep? When Haman had gotten licence of the king to destroy the Jews, and made a gallows for Mardocheus; God sent queen Ester Esther vii. to save his people, and Haman was hanged on his own gallows. When Darius was slain by Alexander, and the kingdom brought to the Grecians; Alexander coming to destroy Jerusalem, because they denied him tribute, God so turned his heart, that he entreated them well, submitted himself to the high priest, meeting him with the other priests in their priestly apparel, and confessed their God to be the true God. When the Romans conquered the Grecians, and the Jews were under the rule of the Romans, they did

not greatly harm them, until they crucified Christ and de

nied him to be their God, saying, "His blood be upon us Matt. xxvii. and upon our children!" In the cruel persecutions after

wards, the more sorrow that was laid on God's people, the

more they increased.

Thus in all ages God delivered his out of trouble; or else taketh them to himself by some glorious death. In these our days, when the mightiest princes of the world strive and fight cruelly who shall be the greatest, rather than godliest, God provideth always some corner for his to flee into, where they may serve him. And if they be persecuted from one place, he prepares another to receive them. And although persecution was great amongst us, yet God shewed himself more glorious, mighty, and merciful in strengthening so many weak ones to die for him, than in so mercifully providing for them which were abroad; although both be wonderful. What glorious cracks made proud persecutors, that they would make God's poor banished people to eat their fingers for hunger! but they had plenty for all the others' cruelty: God's holy name be praised therefore! What a mercy of God is this, that where we deserved to be cast from him for ever because of our wickedness, he now corrected us gently, and called us to this honour, that he punished us not so much for our own sins, as that he called us to the promotion of bearing his cross, witnessing to the world his truth, and vouchedsafe to prove, teach and confirm others in this his truth by our witness bearing. He called us to the same honour that he called his own Son Christ Jesus, in suffering for his name's sake; that "whereas we suffer with Rom. viii. him, we shall be glorified" and reign with him.

Let the cruel papists consider therefore, how God hath delivered his people out of their hands, fulfilled this his promise, and kept us safely, like his privy signet, in these miserable days of their persecution. Let the bloody bishops, void of all religion, and changing with the world to fill their filthy bellies, (although they would now make men believe they would be constant, and stoutly confute that which afore they proved God's true by oaths and doctrine,) let them, I say, consider whether the victory they, or the simple souls which they tormented, have gotten the victory. The simple soul offered himself to die, rather.

people have

by suffering.

than to offend God by superstition or idolatry: the proud Caiphas threatened fire and fagot, if he forsook not his true faith. Thus whilst they strive for religion, and not for life, the poor members of Christ hold fast their faith; and the proud prelate with his torments cannot overcome God's simple sheep. They strive not for life; but the simple man offers it willingly, rather than forsake the truth: and so God ever confounds the wisdom of the world, and is glorified in the fools and abjects. God for his mercy's sake grant all his like boldness to withstand their cruelty, whensoever God shall try us!

A PRAYER.

Most righteous Judge and merciful Father, which of love did punish sharply thy people, being negligent in building thy house, that by such sharp correction they might be stirred up to do their duty, and so have pleased thee: we acknowledge and confess before the world and thy divine majesty, that we have no less offended thee in this behalf than they have done, and that, for all the sharp plagues which thou laid upon us, we could not awake out of our deadly sleep and forgetting the earnest promotion of thy glory and true religion; but rather consented to the persecution of our brother, thy true and faithful people, until now that of thy infinite goodness, by giving us a gracious Queen and restoring the light of thy word, thou hast let us taste the treasures of thy mercies in our extreme and desperate miseries, when for our wickedness we durst not, and for the great power of thy enemies we could not, hope nor look for any such help or redress at all. We fall down flat therefore before the throne of grace, desiring pardon of this great negligence and of all our former offences; and pray thee, that thou will not deal with us as we have deserved: but as of thy own free will thou promised thy people, falling earnestly to thy work and restoring of thy temple, that from thenceforward thou

would bless all their work and fruits, overthrow their enemies, and save thy people; that thou wouldest make that house also more glorious than the first, by the preaching of thy gospel; so we desire thee for Christ's sake, thy Son and our Saviour, to be no less good and gracious, Lord, unto us, yet once again going about to restore thy true religion, trodden down and defaced by the cruel papists. Send forth, O Lord, many such faithful preachers, as will set out thy glory unfeignedly: open the hearts of thy people, that they may see how far more acceptable unto thee is the lively preaching of thy holy word, than all the glittering ceremonies of popery deliver us, we beseech thee, from all our enemies: save and preserve our gracious Queen as thine own signet; endue her and her council with such reverent fear of thee and thy word, that, all policy which is contrary to thy word set apart, they may uprightly seek and earnestly maintain thy true glory, minister justice, punish sin, and defend the right. Confound, most mighty God, and bring to nought all the devices of such as go about to overthrow thy word and true worship: open our eyes, that we may see how dearly thou hast loved us in Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord. Hold us fast, O Lord of hosts, that we fall no more from thee grant us thankful and obedient hearts, that we may increase daily in the love, knowledge, and fear of thee: increase our faith, and help our unbelief, that we, being provided for and relieved in all our needs by thy fatherly care and providence, as thou shalt think good, may live a godly life to the praise and good example of thy people, and after this life may reign with thee for ever, through Christ our Saviour; to whom with thee and the Holy Ghost, three persons and one God, be praise and thanksgiving in all congregations, for ever and ever. Amen.

Here endeth the prophet Aggeus.