John Welch

“ But alas! our hearts are frail and wicked, full of deceit, nay, there are many of them that pretend and profess the most purity, love, godliness and true religion, that do and will the soonest of all, betray you with a Judas kiss, speak you fair to the face, and cut your throat. Upon which crew of infidels our Saviour Christ cries out, Wo unto you Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because ye shut up the kingdom of heaven before men ”

“ A man may better want all things than that one thing needful; and yet we desire all things, and we neglect that one thing which is so needful. This one thing hath Mary chosen, and therefore hath chosen the better part; Martha's part is good, because it provideth for this present life; but Mary's part is better, because it leadeth unto eternal life. It is good to be occupied about our calling to get our living ; but it is better to be occupied in hearing the word, which is able to save our souls. ”

“ May not God soon bereave us of our wits, and make us as beasts, as he did Nebuchadnezzar? And these two works that have fallen out this week, one in the night, and another in the noon-tide of the day, he will have all these to cry to you, that ye should cry to the Lord, and say, Lord keep me and my children, that we get not a doleful wakening! Thou mayest rise in the morning, but who can tell with how holeful a heart thou mayest lie down in the evening, that ye may know what need ye have of a protection. ”

“ But the true ministers, in these our days, have no cities of refuge for others because they have none for themselves, they have not to relieve the wants of others, for they have not to relieve their own necessities.
Now when Martha had once entertained Christ as he was man, into her house, Mary began to entertain him as he was God into her heart: she sat at his feet to hear his preaching. For no sooner came Christ into the house, but he took occasion to teach and instruct the family, and instead of bodily food which they bestowed on him, he bestowed upon them the food of the soul. ”

“ Let us, with devotion and piety, make use of the holy Scriptures for the help and nourishment of our souls, in which we shall find the life of our Saviour Jesus Christ to be most pure and holy, we fall find him lowly, meeck, humble, courteous, wise, prudent, profitable, charitable, and indeed with a million more of special graces and virtues, in which he doth strengthen the weak, comfort the afflicted, heal the lame, cure the blind, make the dumb to speak, the deaf to hear, and the dead to walk, and the infernal devils to tremble. ”

“ Amongst us, if there be any that be more forward in religion than others be, or more diligent to hear the word, as Mary was, they shall not want some one or other to censure them at their pleasure; yea, to find fault, and also condemn them for so doing. Yet are not the godly hereby to be discouraged, or to desist from their godly exercise the templative life, which consisteth in the meditation of heavenly things wherein man fhews himself to be like to the angels, for they who labour in their temporal vocations do but live like men; but they who labour in spiritual matters, live like angels. ”

“ Whosoever believes, shall not perish. Then it is certain, that there is a perdition, there is a hell, wherein is endless perdition, Whosoever believes, shall not perish. There is life after this, there is a hell and a heaven: and however it be that the god of this world has blinded the most part, and the devil has bewitched men and women, yet it is certain that there is a God, that there is a hell, and a perdition: So it is certain that there is everlasting life. The generation before, if ye could hear them, they would all tell you this; some in endless pleasure, some in endless torment ”

“ Let us leave off pride and envy, covetousness and drunkenness, swearing and whoredom, and let our daily practice be in the divine worship of God with pure devotion and unfeigned piety, let us relieve the poor without grudging, for charity is the brightest glory both in heaven and earth. ”

“ If we should be invited to some man's table, and kindly entertained thereat, it would be unkindly taken, if we should find fault with any misorder: But for as much as all Christ's actions are the only instructions of christians, therefore every christian man, but especially preacher, to whom it more particularly appertaineth, must learn by this example, how to behave themselves when they are invited to great feasts, namely to speak to the conscience freely, when they shall see a fault. ”

“ As often therefore as we come to hear the word of God, we must not come with distracted minds, we must not trouble ourselves with the cares of this life, which, to our Saviour faith, are but thorns to choak the Lord, Luke viii. ”

“ Now, let us see how Mary is excused and commended for her godly care: One thing is necessary, faith our Saviour. And what is that one thing? Even to hear the word preached, which is the power of God unto salvation, to every one that believeth. ”

“ Secondly, Christ Jesus, our blessed Redeemer, is charity, for he thought it no shame nor scorn, being equal to God, exalted above the sacred quire of angels, to become man, and undergo the persecution of the tyrannical Jews, at last to suffer his precious blood to be shed, and his flesh nailed to the cross, and all this to save his people from the punishment of eternal death. Thirdly, The Holy Ghost is charity, for whosoever hath the faith of Christ, hath the Holy Ghost to be his comforter. ”

“ While Mary was careful for the food of the soul, Martha was curious to provide food for the body; her greatest care was to entertain Christ, and to make him good cheer to testify her thankful mind unto him, that had done so great things for them; he had raised her brother Lazarus from death to life: therefore he was worthy to be well entertained. ”

“ Her diligence and humility may serve to condemn our negligence and contempt of Christ and his word; we do not sit at Christ's feet, nay, we set Christ at our feet, when we are so careless in hearing of the word; we are as slow to come to the church, as the raven was to come to the ark of Noah, Gen. viii. and as loath are we to spend any time in the service of God, as Pharaoh was loath to let the Israelites go to serve the Lord. If a commodity were to be seen, out of which some profit or worldly gain may arise, how careful would we be to procure it? ”

“ Wo unto you Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye devour widows houses, even under a colour of long prayers, wherefore ye shall receive the greater damnation, Matth.xxiii. 13, 14. Then, since it is so, that hypocrites are so much hated of God, let us endeavour to love one another with an entire and sincere affection.
In the first place, Let our souls, hearts, and minds be to love God, and to fear God; as he is the great Judge both of heaven and earth. ”

“ If John the Baptist be temperate in his apparel and diet, they will say he hath a devil: if Paul answer discreetly for himself, he shall be charged to be mad with over-much learning; yes if our Saviour Christ himself frequent the company of sinners, to welcome them from sin, they will not stand to call him a friend and companion of publicans and sinners, Luke vii. ”

“ And for as much as many things are so troublesome, and one thing is so needful, let us ever be seeking that needful thing, even the end of all things, that is to learn to fear God, and to strive continually to keep his commandments. ”

“ If we make choice of any other thing besides, it must be taken from us, or we must be taken from it: But if we make choice of this one thing, it shall never be taken from us, neither in this life, nor the life to come. ”

“ But this is not all, the depriving of endless joy; (now, this should cause you know the necessity of believing:) but, besides this, there is an eternity of pain. To lose heaven, is no great matter; but to be cast into hell, is greater! To want the place is great, but to be flung into prison is greater. To lose the pleasure of heaven is great, but to be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the worm never dies, and the fire never goes out, into such a fire, that the violence thereof such, that there is no patience to bear it ”

“ I know no purer religion than this is, first to love God above all, and your neighbour as yourself, and according to the saying of our blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, for every one to do unto another, as he would they should do unto him. ”

“ When our minds are quiet, we are fit to deal in heavenly matters: therefore the doctors conferred sitting in the temple, and God delighteth to deal with us when we are most private! He appeared to Abraham sitting in the door of his tent Gen. xviii.; the Holy Ghost, came down upon the apostles, and filled all the 'house where they were sitting;' the eunuch, sitting in his chariot was called and converted, by the preaching of Philip, Acts viii. 27. Mary sat at Jesus' feet, yet she sat not sleeping as many sit at the preacher's feet; but she sat at Christ's feet, and heard his words ”

“ I know the Lord is merciful, and loth to destroy his own buildings, and to pluck up the plants which he has planted; so, if the word could have done it, the work had not been done? These things that are fallen out, are not only warnings to others, but they are warnings to make you believe. Therefore think not that they are greater sinners than ye ”

“ For such is the great mercy of God, that he is even content to admonish us as often of our duty; and again, such is the dullness and perverseness of our crooked naturcs, that we cannot be gained by our first admonitions, but the Lord must call us both often and earnestly, before we will hearken unto him. ”

“ The five foolish virgins, Marth. xxv. wasted their oil to no purpose, and when they went to buy, they were excluded the marriage; and these foolish men spend their time and day of grace, vainly and wantonly, as tho' after this life, there were no time of justice and vengeance to be feared. The day serveth for their pride, the night is spent in sport and pleasure, and no time is left to hear the word. When we are praying, they are playing; when we are preaching, they are eating and drinking, like the old world, that ate and drank, Gen vi. ”

“ If ye get not that former benefit, ye will not get the last; and when thou gettest the last, then thy faith shall cease: So, except the conjunction be made between thy soul and Christ, by the Holy Ghost, and unless thou gettest the Spirit of adoption, faith will never bring thee to the last point; and if it bring thee to the first, shall bring thee to the last. So faith begins in thee life, but it makəs nothing complete till the resurrection, when soul and body shall be caught within the clouds. So look what faith works in thy heart ”

“ And yet notwithstanding such is the corruption of this rusty age, that our greatest care is to provide for this present life, as did that rich man, Luke xii. that enlarged his barns, wherein to put store for many years; but we never, or very late, do provide for that life to come, like to that other man that never had thought of heaven till he was tormented in hell! ”

“ For God so loved the world, that be gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life. The Lord's love and care to us has declared itself many ways, and especially in this point, that this privy conference with Nicodemas, spoken at this time for our consolation, it hath pleased the Lord to put it up in register, that it may be the consolation of many ”

“ Martha is sore incumbered with much serving, when a little service had been sufficient; but Mary is attentive to hear the word of God, which never can be heard sufficiently. Mary sitteth, to hear the word, Matth. v. as Christ (illegible text) seth to sit, when he preached the word, Luke iv. to declare unto unto us, that the word is to be preached and heard with a quiet mind.—In a still night, every voice is heard; and when the body is quiet, the mind most commonly is quiet also. ”