when vnder colour of religion as hearing reading religious talking c. they intend to effect some mischiefe at least to couer their prophanenesse couetousnesse reuenge c. So Absolon vnder colour of a vow conspired against his Father The Pharises vnder pretence of long prayers deuoured widdowes houses they crucified Christ also vnder many pretences So the Iewes fasted Isai 58. 4. Such a fast was Iezebels to murther Naboth Such like were the Preachers of Corinth and they that preached of enuie to increase Pauls afflictions Phil. 1. 15. 16. And it is to be feared that such like abominable ones are plentifull in these dayes For as all things are pure to the pure so hypocrites defile the purest and holiest things Verse 2. Be not rash with thy mouth and let not thy heart bee hasty to vtter any thing before God for God is in heauen and thou vpon earth therefore let thy words be few AN amplification of the former instruction by the specials or particulars to wit of prayer vowes to verse 8. but negatiuely or dehortatorily to declare also the vanities incident to these religious exercises as I said before Here he teacheth how we ought to pray or to keepe our foote or heart in prayer Be not rash with thy mouth That is when thou art about to aske any thing of God or to giue him thankes by prayer let not thy tongue runne before thy wit let not thy minde be carried away with rowling imaginations of many broken matters and confused apprehensions nor yet thy affections vnpurged from the scent of sensuality pride presumption boasting like the Pharises babble not forth ignorant heartlesse formall speeches in the eares of God as hypocrites doe which thinke to be heard for the loudnesse of their noyse and multitude of their words Mat. 6. 5. And let not thine heart be hasty to vtter a thing before God Be not vnaduised in thy thoughts and intent thereof in Gods presence to aske or promise what thou thinkest good according to thine owne lust or liking Iam. 4. 2. 3. 4. to giue and take as pleaseth thy selfe as if thou thy selfe be pleased God should be pleased also to doubt of Gods goodnesse and promise of giuing and to limit his power Let not thy counsels or thoughts proceed from an vnpurged and ill disposed heart nor thy words from vncomposed vnconstant wandring wauering thoughts For God is in heauen and thou vpon earth These words are an argument or motiue inforcing the former dehortation by a comparison of things vnlike to wit Gods glorious Maiesty and mans weakenesse basenesse vnworthinesse argued by the difference and distance of the places where God most sheweth forth his glory in heauen and man hath his habitation on earth As the highest heauen which is the throne of God is more glorious and greater then the earth which is but his foot-stoole and how farre the one is distant from the other so is God much more excellent and powerfull than man as the Lord saith My thoughts are not as your thoughts nor my wayes as your wayes Therefore let thy words be few that is to say dread that glorious and fearefull Name The Lord thy God Deut. 28. 28. Come before him in humility feare and reuerence vtter no foolish speeches make no vaine repetitions but aske with an earnest desire in knowledge according to his will and for his glory For he knoweth before what thou neâ—dest he vnderstandeth thy secret thoughts and can giue thee what and when it pleaseth him without thy prayer But this meanes hath God ordained that he might be glorified by thee by thy reuerend seare submission thankefulnesse that acknowledging of whom thou art and from whom all that thou hast commeth thou maist returne thy selfe and all that thou hast receiued to him euen to the praise of his glorious name Few words are here opposed to ethnicall pharisaicall heartlesse crying and babling 1 King 18. 28. not to the often praying nor long prayers nor feruent repetitions of the sanctified heart Luc. 2. 37. Matth. 26. 44. Ioh. 17. 14. 16. Our Sauiour Christ spent whole nights in prayer and the Apostle saith Pray continually And Christ by the parable of the vniust Iudge and the poore widdow exhorts vs to frequent and vehement praying Euery particular blessing requireth a particular prayer and thankesgiuing The Lords prayer containeth the substance of all prayers as the twelue articles doe the Gospell and the tenne Commandements the whole Law The disciples made a generall request of prayer in generall Lord teach vs to pray Luke 11. 1. not particularizing any subiect or matter but as Iohn taught his disciples The prayer of Iohn was doubtles as Caluinâ— saith some certaine forme gathered from diuers Scriptures agreeable to the time of the comming of Christ and his spirituall kingdome And the prayer of Christ containeth the whole substance of his kingdome which is Gods wisedome and glory in mans saluation the three former petitions respecting Gods glory and the three latter those things that are profitable to mans saluation So also the commandements are diuided into two tables the former containing duties of piety towards God the other duties of charitie towards men So the twelue articles teach vs what to beleeue concerning God Father Sonne and Holy Ghost and what concerning the Church The disciples being yet but children and of confused knowledge vsed this prayer onely I thinke in solemne praying as children and ignorant people are first taught the articles of faith the commandements and this prayer But they that hold it enough to say the Lords prayer onely namely this forme of words may as well lay it is enough to faith and obedience onely to beleeue the Creede and doe the commandements refusing the particulars of the Law and the Prophets the Prouerbes of Solomon c. the writings of the Euangelists and Apostles and all expositions and applications as indeed they doe But when the Apostles were indued with full measure of the spirit they could frame prayers according to all circumstances exigence of times and occasions as Act. 4. 24. c. Act. 20. 36. Which Pauls also in all his Epistles testifie after the example of Christ Ioh. 17. and Chapter 11. 22. 42. c. and many other places Therefore I conclude as a mans knowledge of the truth is so let him pray generally or particularly yea both according to the direction of the Lords prayer and that is according to the doctrine of the whole Scripture of Christs kingdome Euery right prayer is a branch of the Lords prayer so euery doctrine a branch of the Creed and euery worke of the ten Commandements Aske beleeue doe If these seeds be within vs they must branch forth all ouer as veines doe from the liuer and sinews from the braine yea if their branches fill the world it is but the perfection and plerophorie or fulnes of prayer faith obedience As a man abounds in knowledge so may he abound in all prayer and
man to be separated from the presence and protection of Mammon When he and his Idoll are parted then he falleth into desperation This we see verified by the practise of those who being yet aliue and likely to liue long make away themselues yea oft times for a small losse but their feare is great for they haue now none other God to trust on or to flâ—e vnto for succour Therefore how much soeuer a man is addicted to any other sinne how great soeuer his desire his loue delight be in any vice yet for this onely is he termed an Idolater And this is the cause why the Scriptures impute this common condition of man with all creatures to the rich for a speciall miserie Psal 49. 17. And as a mans desire ioy loue and confidence in his goods is the greater so much greater is his miserie Otherwise he that trusteth in the liuing God who hath life in himselfe and by himselfe and giueth life to all is poore in his abundance Math. 5. 3. and rich in his pouerty For in vsing of this World he vseth it not for his heart is in heauen because his treasure is there But hee that hath his treasure here liueth in feare and dyeth in despaire O death how bitter is the remembrance of thee to a man that liueth at rest in his possessions vnto the man that hath nothing in outward appearance at least to vexe him and that hath prosperity in all things for a little while as Craesus had yea vnto him that is yet able to eate meate that is young lusty and strong c. Ecclus 41. 1. Verse 16. And this also is a sore euill that in all points as he came so shall he goe and what profit hath he that hath laboured for the winde AN amplification of the vnprofitablenesse of riches lost by a comparison of the common condition of man leauing his riches For a man by death to leaue all behinde him is a misery But it is a greater misery for riches to leaue a man before death Commonly riches accompany the rich to the graue and there giue him his farewell which indeed is a misery to goe as he came but this man hauing gotten them with excessiue toyle is depriued of them before his death so that in all points he goeth as he came This is a double misery Diues his misery was great in that hee must part from his wealth yet he was honoured with a pompous funerall but Iobs was greater that being bestripped of all hee should die before his death and be buried before his graue was open as yet hee knew nothing to the contrary For first his whole state was dissolued all his ornaments all his necessaries vtterly dispersed dead in his estate dead in his children the World was a dead thing to him and hee a dead thing to the World as the Prouerbe is Who is so woe begoue as first a man since none Againe he was buried in the graue of sorrow and couered with the moulde of obliuion and contempt Therefore said Dauid in his deiection also I am a worme and no man I am as a dead man out of minde and Elias 1 Kings 19. 4. I am not better then my Fathers were This then is also a sore euill These words are an illustration of this misery by a comparison with the former verse 13. from the Equals in this word also As it is a grieuous euill for a man to perish by occasion of his riches so is it also as grieuous an euill that his riches should perish from him For his life standeth in his riches And as Dauid in his mourning for Absolon wished that he had died for him 2 Sam. 18. 33. So the rich man in his mourning for the losse of his goods wisheth himselfe dead or that he had beene dead when by such or such a folly he incurred such an incurable damage How many a man hazardeth yea looseth his life to saue his goods This deuoted seruitor will also die for the honour of his god Mammon He is a Martyr also What profit hath hee that hath laboured for the winde A conclusion amplified by a comparison to illustrate the vnprofitablenesse and vanity of vncertaine and perishing riches Euen as hee that laboureth for the winde wearyeth himselfe but getteth naught so this man gathering goods enioyeth naught The wind-gatherer feeleth the winde but graspeth naught so this man imbraceth sweetly his goods but holdeth naught Verse 17. All his dayes also he eateth in darkenesse and he hath much sorrow and wrath in his sicknesse AN hypotyposis or liuely description of his misery that is despoyled of his possessions which I called before the death and buriall of a man in respect of his worldly estate All his dayes he eateth a synecdoche of the speciall in darkenesse a metaphor As prosperity is compared to the shining of the Sunne and brightnesse of the Moone Iob 31. 26. so is aduersity to obscurity and darknesse Esai 58. 10. The earth into the which the euill spirits were cast downe is a death and an hell to them in comparison of the glory of heauen and this earth is proportionably an heauen to the damned So in some proportion pouerty and want is a graue a death an hell to the wicked rich in comparison of the splendour and glory of his wealthy state from which he is fallen When Diues would haue beene glad of one drop of water how glorious and beautifull was the reuiew of his earthly state yea the thought that for a man to behold the light of the Sun to haue his abiding among the creatures of God to liue among men and to be in the Church of God though otherwise he licked the dust with the Serpent and drunke water and were filled with all the temporall afflictions of this life was an heauen Now as this vale of misery was to Diues in torments an heauen without misery so are vaine riches a paradise of pleasure to the godlesse rich being now in pouerty He counteth the rich happy and himselfe when hee was rich but now he is in despaire and hateth himselfe hee hath no comfort in himselfe For then he loued himselfe for his goods sake but they being lost he is perished Hee wandereth in solitarinesse like to an ignis fatuus vndone deboshed he auoydeth mans company he delighteth in nothing all things are turned into bitternesse hee is a Pellican in the Wildernesse an Owle in the Desert He hath much sorrow sicklinesse and anger An amplification of the former generall speech by the specials Sorrow in Hebrew Cagnas signifieth indignation wrathfulnesse fretting grudging repining making euery thing a prouocation of griefe as Prou. 21. 19. It is better to dwell in the wildernesse then with a woman of contentions and indignation vacagnas sicklinesse and anger In the Hebrew and sicklinesse or languor and fury Indignation mourning fretting causeth sicklinesse consuming and languishing it dryeth and maketh bitter the humours which againe causeth
that I might exhibite it to you as a New yeares gift the best that I haue in token of my sincere loue and duty and earnest desire of your prosperous and happie welfare who as you were studious your selfe when once you were Fellow of Queenes Colledge in Cambridge so were you a speciall fauourer and furtherer of the Studious whereby you purchased speciall loue both in your owne Colledge and abroad also and the same through your perseuerance and prudent gouernement is still continued amongst vs that liue vnder your Iurisdiction Another cause is that it might finde the better passage vnder your patronage and kinder entertainement vnder your name that though it be defectiue in selfe-desert yet for your sake the indifferent beneuolous and generous eye respecting the strong might ingenuously passe by the weâ—ke Moreouer being desirous to shew forth some testimony of my thankefull minde for your Lordships great fauour towards me I thought good to offer that which onely I am able to giue and which I know you are most ready and willing to receiue euen the fruits of my Ministeriall labours to you a speciall fauourer of faithfull Ministers Lastly as tokens of small weight but of great value are more acceptable then great Summes I trust that this small gaine of my one Talent which I present to your Lordship as a token of my sincere affection obedience and seruice shall counteruaile a ponderous volume And what I am lesse able this way to performe I shall recompence with my continuall and hearty prayers for your temporall and eternall happinesse London 1. Ian. 1621. Your Lordships in all humble obseruance TH. GR. TO THE RIGHT VVorshipfull and worthy-minded Gentlemen Sir Iames Fowlerton Sir Dauid Murray Sir Peter Osburne Knights Mr. Iohn Murray Mr. William Carâ—e Mr. Henry Gibbe of his Maiesties Bed-Chamber Mr. Emmanuel Giffard one of the Gentlemen of his Maiesties Priuy-chamber Esq Mr. James Douglasse Mr. Richard Jones Mr. Endymion Porter Mr. John Heron and Mr. John Parker Esquires Grace and Peace be multiplyed RIGHT WORSIPFVLL and worthy minded Gentlemen Hauing in the first place elected the diuine learned iudicious enriched with wisedome and piety for the patronage of this worke I haue also further bestowed the same on you nil minuit de lumine lumen to the end that being shielded with reuerend and pious grauity in the Van and guarded by generous and vnblemishable vertue in the Rere I may be safely protected from the snarling detraction of enuie on the one side and receiue a fauourable construction of what may be amisse on the other The vniuersality and excellency of the subiect hath enlarged my dedication It is Solomons Ethiks his tractate de summo bono of the chiefe and compleat felicity and the worlds vanity and therefore the very roote seede or kernell of all happy knowledge both of good and euill in all things naturall politicall ecclesiasticall Contraria iuxta se posita magis illucescunt say the Phylosophers and saith a Father Qui malum non nouit perfecte bonum non intelligit He that hath not knowne euill doth not perfectly vnderstand good As the earth so the Arts haue their weeds from which they are purged by their Physicion Truth is like Gold in the Mine Vprightnesse is sur rounded and clouded with calumnies Wisedome is darkened with sophistry Impurus spiritus se immiscit in omnibus The vncleane spirit intrudes himselfe into euery thing Solomon therefore doth not onely 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 id est astruere positiuely auouch and lay downe the grounds of true felicitie but also 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 id est destruere destroy the false and counterfeit felicities of mans darke heart and that by euident arguments drawne from such grounds as the wise-men of the world could not finde groping like the Sodomites for Lots doore but could not finde it not so quicke-sighted as hee that saw men walking like trees For as they say Nullum elementum ponderat suo loco No element is ponderous in his place so they being in corruption felt no weight of corruption no more then the Fishes in the Sea and wormes of the Earth feele the weight of either Worldly wisedome is wearinesse both to the body and minde and a vexation of spirit For being it selfe crooked it cannot rectifie things crooked Mirth is madnesse Royall magnificence is transitorie and mâ—table The sagest aduisements depend on vncertaine issues Prosperitie and aduersitie are set one against another as hill against dale The restlesse Pole is immoueably fixed in his place as the grinding milstone so is the earth in her centre a masse of mutabilities Of the heauens there is a constant reuolution vp and downe to and fro they neuer haue the same face neuer hold the same countenance at least from the first motion till the end of times Here is the difficulty of prognostication Omnia versantur in perpetuo ascensu descensu There is a perpetuall ascending and descending of life and state Euery man euery state euery thing is a Planet whose sphericall reuolutions are some of longer some of shorter continuance Vulgar iudgements are variable their counsels groundlesse Scinditur incertum studia in contraria vulgus but the prudent designes of sage States are firme euen so are the imaginations of the wisest worldlings in all their wayes and enterprizes but the foundation of God remaineth sure Their wise sayings are applauded when they doe but dreame waking and raue like men in sicknesse thinking themselues to be in Dothan when they are in the middest of Samaria 2 Kings 6. When they are on the surest ground they walke on pinnacles againe when they are naked in the middest of their enemies Campâ— they are armed in the strongest fort For the hand of God doth all that men might feare before him and not leane to their owne wisedome Yet vaine man would be wise seeing he is but a wild Asses Colt saith Iob. He would be happy being but a masse of mortalities For being the most compound and vniuersall nature as concerning his plasme and so the most excellent by creation he is the most miserable by degeneration Nam bonum optimum corruptum fit pessimum And how much greater then is the corruption of his spirit That is to be seene by the corruption of the most excellent spirit Both haue their restraints and limitations yet hath not God left man in desperation but in his eternall wisedome prouided meanes of restauration which here is begun and there finished whence the Authour of corruption fell This restauration is first the renouation or change of the centre the roote of man I meane his heart or spirit of his minde then of his spirits vessell I meane the brutall nature or inferiour part which I take to be the sperme or quintessence of the vniuerse and then are all things renued with him 2 Cor. 5. 17. Felicity therefore is here to be had and by the holy endeauours of renewed wisedome to be obtained But this
winde without all resolution The case is common A foole hath alwayes a knaue attending on him hee heareth his friend truely counselling and carefully admonishing he knoweth him to be without deceit yet the knaue whom he suspecteth and feareth carrieth him away A foole is bound to his lust the diuell and the knaue worke vpon the lust which hee calleth humouring and so catch the foole Verse 4. One generation passeth away and another generation commeth but the earth abideth for euer THe vnprofitablenesse of all the studies endeauours and labours of man whereby he enquireth and searcheth deuiseth and plotteth continually to finde out a felicity or happy rest is argued by the instable transitorie variable vncertaine condition and circular course both of mankinde and of the world with all the creatures their effects and euents The World with all his creatures is Gods engine for his owne vse created in perfection of beauty wherein God shewed forth his incomprehensible wisedome goodnesse to the view of Angels and men But through the disobedience of man for whose seruice vnder God all things were made the curse was layd vpon him as a iust iudgement and vpon all creatures with him For in that it is said Thou shalt surely dye Gen. 2. 17. There is the curse or corruption of the Soule And where it is said Cursed be the earth for thy sake Genes 3. 17. Here is the corruption of the whole engine with all the creatures Now this curse or corruption is want of created vigour and strength ataxie and anomie disorder iniquitie confusion and in one word Vanitie So that all this vniuerse is a masse of vanitie mortalitie And who can bring a cleane thing out of filthinesse saith Iob. Who can worke felicitie out of miserie blessednesse out of cursednesse profit out of losse constancie out of instabilitie strength out of weakenesse ioy out of sorrowe soundnesse out of corruption and rottennesse life out of death This thing all men striue to doe because they neither know the vanitie that is in themselues nor that which is in the creatures But they doe nothing else but heape vanitie vpon vanitie as hee that struggleth in the mire and medleth with pitch One generation passeth away c. The words are a Prosepilogisme or reason confirming the former drâ—wne from the fleeting and corruptible state of man and all worldly things according to Solomons common obseruation of all things in the world The reason may be framed thus Propos If both man and all things with man be inconstant transitorie vncertaine mutable corruptible then are all mens studies and labours vnprofitable and fruitlesse yeelding no sound contentation or quiet Assump But both man and all things with man are of this condition Conclus Therefore there remaynes nothing no contentation no sound or durable good wherein to rest to man of all his labours The Proposition is manifest The Assumption is confirmed by an Induction grounded on obseruation which is a reason by many particulars proouing and concluding an vniuersall against which there cannot any one particular be obiected This induction is of all superiour and inferiour parts of the world to wit of Man the centre of the world Verse 4. and of the circumference to wit of the Sunne Moone Starres Heauens verse 5. of the windes verse 6. of riuers verse 7. Nec in caeteris contrarium est videre and of all things verse 8. both simples and compounds vniuersall causes and their effects One generation passeth c. The first particular Not onely particular men doe vanish away through some extraordinary diseases or outward casualties and their states also but euen whole generations successiuely yea the most healthfull strong and sound are dissolued againe into their dust and so is the most firmely setled state dispersed and brought to nothing by an vnchangeable decree All things were created of the earth and to the earth they returne againe But the earth abideth for euer The vanitie of mankinde is illustrated by a comparison of the vnlike Man vanisheth away suddenly as a flower in the spring but the earth more vile than man lasteth euer The earth is as it were a Stage whereon euery man in his generation acteth his part and afterward departeth with all his pompe and crackle neuer to be seene againe nor remembred any more Abideth euer that is to say in comparison of the perishing generations of all things which rise and fall ebbe and flow continually Otherwise it selfe also shall melt with feruent heat and be purged with fire By euer is meant till the end of all things Earth is put for all the elements by the figure Synecdoche and for the heauens also The whole engine shall be changed Psal 102. 25. 26. 2 Pet. 3. 10. Therefore man hath no profit of all his labour the fruit of all his contentious endeauours is a meere nothing For by reason of this inconstancie and fluxibility of himselfe and all things he doth but lay his foundation on the floods He vanisheth away in his studies and perisheth in his labours as a Snayle His life is but a continuall dying or passage to death and his workes are like himselfe When we looke vpon the earth let vs remember our birth and buriall Our bodies names and workes shall be all alike euen as the dust blowne into the sea with the winde and as the smoake vanished in the ayre Finally we are more vile than the earth for it is permanent but we are most fraile and neuer abide in one stay but hasten like a Post-man to our end Verse 5. The Sunne also ariseth and the Sunne goeth downe and hasteth to the place where he arose THe second particular As the generations of man for whom all other things were made are not durable neyther are the things of man his counsels and acts durable but new generations differing from the former succeede so likewise the Heauens the Sunne and other Starres are restlesse in their motions and changeable in their courses so that when we looke vpon the Sunne or but open our eyes to behold the light we may cleerely see the Sunne acting before our eyes as it were on the stage of the firmament the vnstedfast condition and perishing state of man hauing his circular motion after the similitude of the heauens yea and also caused by the heauens which are second causes or vniuersall instruments of God for the foture of all things both elements and elementarie bodies and in that respect may well be called the basis or firmament of the world But contrarily by accident that is by reason of corruptibilitie weaknesse want of vigour in the creature and in man aboue the rest which is the effect of the curse denounced Gen. 3. they are the consumers and destroyers of all things For as the Sunne is the generall instrument or most remote cause of generation and preseruation Sol et homo generat hominem saith Aristotle so by accident it corrupteth and destroyeth all things and that
a man looke into the spirits of men in their dealings and dissemblings hee shall not onely see a forrest of beasts and serpents but an hell of wickednesse and miseries All is selfe-loue and hatred hence commeth such feare and snatching For otherwise men would not so much care in whose possession the goods of the world were seeing the reasonable wise liberall louing and right dispensation thereof according to the law of nature and of Christ Thus it was for a little while Acts 4. 34. 35. but that festiuall day lasted not long nay rather it lasteth still among the faithfull to the worlds end But that is another argument Here wee speake of the condition of the darke and euill world and the imaginarie deceitfull good thereof without Christ To conclude Hee that looketh on the frailty of man and all the creatures with him the interchangeable course of all things and states and considereth the depth of causes and reason of things shall be forced to seeke for felicitie durable rest or happy contentment somewhere else than in the confused disordered transitory World For all is vanitie nothing to none end like the actions of a foole and talke of a man in his dreame This secret God reuealeth to his secret ones As for the men of the world they will be wise great glorious and doe great matters they heare they see they listen they study and striue imagining that by a further and deeper reach they shall finde good For they are wilde asses colts As the Spartanes indigitating or deifying Alexander at his command contrary to their owne liking wrote Because Alexander will be a god let him be a god So I write Because these will be wise will be great will be glorious will be what they will be then let them be so But Alexander dyed like a man in the flower of his age euen so there is more hope of a foole than of one of these wise mad ones To conclude As the soule of man working especially by the organs of eye and eare cannot finde perfect contentation in things and times absent neither euer shall it doe in time to come for all things past and to come are the same in their kindes as the seasons of the yeere are the same for euer So that there is no possibility that the soule should be satisfied and filled with good in worldly things through the ministery of the chiefest senses but rather with irkesomnesse wearinesse and loathsomnesse Verse 9. The thing that hath beene it is that which shall be and that which is done is that which shall be done and there is no new thing vnder the Sunne AN amplification of the Argument or former Induction figured by a Prolepsis or preuention of an Obiection secretly framed in the foolish heart which is a wild roauing groundlesse imagination or euill suggestion of a possibilitie to obtaine a durable felicitie or happy rest in a full firme and solid state It is mans ignorance and presumption to striue for that which neuer any yet had and to doe that which neuer was done before Hee is all for nouelties and wonders To be the onely one is euery mans desire and to this point doe all his soaring thoughts aspire Euery man will needs try his wit and strength in finding out the means to this worldly blisse that none euer yet felt himselfe entirely to enioy Such courses hee deuiseth to take so farre to trauaile such curious inuentions to finde out as neuer yet any did Euery man in his kinde and wayes striueth as it were to finde out the stone that shall turne iron into gold till all his wit and siluer be spent and at the last hee bringeth forth winde It was but the crackling of thornes vnder a pot Parturiunt montes exit ridiculus Mus. With these mountanous imaginations and windie thoughts Solomon here meeteth The thing that hath beene is that which shall be c. Both the things that haue beene and the deedes that haue beene done are euen the same that now are and are done and so shall be hereafter And there is no new thing vnder the Sunne An amplification by the contrary denyed to take away doubting and to inculcate the certaine truth thereof Vnder the Sunne That is worldly or humaine things or deeds There is a circular reuolution of all things counsels deeds euents as well as of the spheres of heauen windes and riuers There is a rising falling ascending descending appearance disparence of all things Let the profoundest speculatist or curious practitioner turne the edge of his wit which way he will to finde out some new thing the like whereof was neuer yet knowne nor heard yet sure it is the same things haue beene and the same deedes were done of old and they are nothing but the circular reuolutions of the former The heart of man is the same that it hath beene of old and produceth such effects good or euill it cannot alter it owne kinde but is wheeled about in it owne sphere Some haue sought for a felicity in the studies of Wisdome some in riches and sensuall pleasures some in Honour pompe and magnificence but no man euer yet found contentment in his present estate without mixture of griefe griefe accompanying it or sorrow following him hard at heeles Many haue thought and thinke others happy but none euer yet found himselfe happy Suos quisque patimur manes If none euer yet reaped profit of his endeauours and labours neither then shall euer any doe it now or hereafter Euery man complayneth of the present state of the world and saith it was neuer so bad but it is not worse nor yet better then it hath beene neither shall it be otherwise The same complaints and discontent hath beene and shall be in all generations If a man liue neuer so long hee shall neither see nor heare other things then heretofore haue beene neither is it in his power to alter or mend any thing for the world is nothing but an alteration of alterations in it selfe A man hath no more command of it than the Sea men hath of the windes Some violent and hautie spirits haue striuen forcibly for the full fruition of an earthly happinesse but hauing obtained their desires that seemed so beautifull a farre off they found themselues no whit the better but rather worse yea nearest to miserie whereof they thought to rid themselues for euer Therefore it is better to sit still than to rise and fall to liue in obscuritie than to be a publique spectacle of follie as the most subtile and violent workers of old haue beene and so shall they be still Euery man hath great hopes as of old neither can he be disswaded from this vanity till old age bring him to see by long experience this reuolution of all things and then beginnes he to dispaire and to be weary He is full of teastinesse anger and impatience when he seeth nothing but vanitie follie and madnesse in men It may be
signifieth order Psal 110. 4. and Barar signifieth to chuse to purge to declare whereof commeth Berurim choyce men set vp in dignity namely Princes Rulers Gouernours Officers ordained of God for peaceable honest and happy life which abusing themselues and their places are to mans reason as but stronger and more subtile beasts preying vpon the weaker and more simple harmelesse Againe they may be translated thus that they might cleere or iustifie God and see that they themselues are beasts and therefore vanity it selfe euen out of measure vaine Lastly thus that God had purged them id est created them pure holy and righteous in his owne image in the beginning yet to see to in this state of degeneration or corruption they are in themselues as beasts accordingly as he saith Chap. 7. 31. God hath made man righteous but they haue sought out many inuentions and Psal 49. 20. Man that is in honour and vnderstandeth not is like the beasts that perish Which of these interpretations is the most genuine and naturall I leaue to euery mans iudgement Verse 19. For that which befalleth the sonnes of men befalleth beasts euen one thing befalleth them all as the one dyeth so dyeth the other yea they haue all one breath so that a man hath no preheminence aboue a beast for all is vanity THe apt coherence of these three verses following with the former intimate that the last interpretation is the most proper For they are a reason prouing the corruption vanity vilenesse and misery of proud man by comparing him to beasts whose frailety corruption or vanity is Gods iudgement vpon man In them may hee behold his sinne and his corporall punishments for sinne before his eyes if otherwise he be insensible which are the fore-runners and beginning of eternal torments and sencelesnesse is a iudgement of God vpon the reprobate This like condition of man and beast to carnall iudgement is set downe in these three verses which similitude or likenesse made the Epicures to thinke that the estate and condition of them both was all one and consequently that to eate drinke and play was the chiefe good or onely felicity of man For wee see by daily experience that man and beast are subiect to the like casualties and misfortunes how men vexe deuoure lye in waite insnare kill c. one another as beasts doe how they die as beasts doe hauing the same causes of corruption in them with beasts They haue the same breath whereby they liue the same spirit whereby they moue the same senses the same inward and outward members and in bodily shape many beasts come neere vnto him and he is subiect to deformities and all infirmities in his kinde as much and more then they So that in outward state hee hath no preheminence aboue the beast For he cannot longer vse the things of this World nor carry any thing away with him more then the beast doth The reason is because all is vanity Therefore there is no difference Verse 20. All goe vnto one place all are of the dust and all turne to dust againe A Commoration All goe to one place that is both men and beast are dissolued againe into their elements For God created all things of the dust and all turne to dust againe There is the same matter of man and beast Some thinke that beast was made of the earth and man of the dust of the earth to wit either of mire or else of the dust that lyeth on the sur-face of the earth But that is an idle contention For mire and dust and earth are all one and the same in essence or substance When the raine falleth on the earth it is mire when the Sunne extracteth the moisture out of it it is dust So that the whole earth is nothing but dust or mire whether you will Therefore man was not made of baser matter then beast as some say but rather of better For Adam signifieth red earth or red dust or red mire All is one without any difference And Solomon saith here all are of the dust or earth which by the figure Synecdoche signifieth all the elements whereof earth in earthly things is predominant and water in the creatures thereof No element is simple or pure but it hath a mixture of other elements also to be the Chaos or nurse of their sundry creatures which in their purity they could not be So that earthly things are most earth especially the more particular or simpler creatures as mettals stones trees c. Yet water ayre and fire also with which the element of earth is mixed By vertue of which mixture man and beast are made of the other elements as well as of the earth Verse 21. Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth vpward and the spirit of a beast that goeth downe-ward to the earth A Continuance of the commoration figured by the preuention of an obiection thus There is great difference betweene man and beast For mans brutall nature and spirit is but the plasme or vessell of his soule which is not compound or mixed with it but onely vnited to it Therefore when this fraile vessell is broken or dissolued the immortall spirit or soule ascendeth to God that gaue it and the vessell againe is absumed into the elements whereof it was formed But the spirit of a beast is nothing but the quintessence the purest and prime of his body or his life which consisteth in the harmony or vnion of the elements and so not being another essence separable from the body it dyeth with the body Ans This is indeed the holy and diuine truth but now speaking of the worldly outward and miserable state of man as it appeareth to humaine senses and reason who can by any signe or token or skill of Anatomy find out any differing wayes of these spirits What man can shew me the ascending of mans spirit into heauen or the descending of the beasts spirit into the earth namely the dispersing thereof into the elements If a man say that the spirit of man ascends vpwards into the firmament how can he let me see that but if it doe then doth the beasts so also For the firmament is but the quintessence or prime of the elements as the spirit is of the body according to Plato And be it that by humaine reason a man may easily demonstrate the immortality of the soule as the learned heathen haue all done yet what is that to the outward worldly state of man liuing Man whiles hee is man and of man we onely speake not of spirits is no better then beast So that to conclude Seeing that it is with man as with beast there is no profit no contentment no rest no durable prosperity no happinesse at all in this cursed confused brutall world but all is vanity Verse 22. Wherefore I perceiue that there is nothing better then that a man should reioyce in his owne workes for that is his portion for who shall bring him
the spawne or beginning that hath ouer-spread all generations of the World Therefore God hath subiected all things to vanitie out of which a man can by no meanes extricate himselfe but rather by striuing runne further in But yet seeing that there is an happie state of man here begunne which a man is to desire and seeke for in God not in worldy things and euen that in this vaine life which in that respect is not vaine there are certaine salues for these sores and remedies for these vanities Solomon therefore that he might take away from men discontentment and dispaire of their estate doth here deliuer rules of direction and comfort that they may haue wherewith to arme themselues against the troubles and miseries of this vaine life and in some good measure be able to alay and mitigate the same which God laid vpon Adam and all his sonnes for a iust punishment of his fall The first rule or remedy is in this first verse A good man A good reputation or report being the testimony of good men of the vertuous life honest conuersation of a man is a speciallblessing of God arming the heart with great ioy and comfort against many yea all outward losses and want of bodily things The excellencie of a good name is illustrated by a comparison of the best and most delicious things signified by ointment by a Synecdoche of the Speciall The comparison is both of the qualitie and quantitie First concerning the qualitie euen as the pretious ointment hath a fragrant scent refreshing and delighting the spirits of the senses whereby the body and minde is cheered so a good name and deserued estimation is of all outward things the most pleasant possession comporting the heart in euery state of life For it originally proceedeth from a good conscience and is the perfume of a godly and faithfull heart yea hee that hauing a great measure of the annointing of God which is the graces of his spirit to be a patterne to the rude a light to the blinde a guide to them that know not the way doth also refresh encourage and cheare the spirits and hearts of all that loue God and his truth among the filthy sents of corrupt examples fleshly fashions and ethnicall behauiours that are noysome and grieuous to the eyes eares and mindes of men of gracious disposition and as a fresh gale of sweet ayre to him that laboureth in the earth that liueth among earthly men Concerning the quantity the argument is from the lesse to the greater A precious oyntment is of great value a chiefe treasure and esteemed with the most precious things but a good name is of more worth then it or any earthly substance For costly oyntments and other treasures are of times more plentifull among the wicked For the sensuall are all for their sences but this is peculiar to good men alone They may be bought for money but this is the gift of God not to be purchased with base mettall They are corruptible this is euerlasting They leaue a man in death and betake them to a new master but the praise of the iust man remaineth still and still his owne It both tarrieth behinde him on earth and goeth with him to heauen and will crowne him with glory at the last day For although it be darkened for a time amongst the goates as Naboth was as Pauls and Dauids yet shall it breake forth as the rayes of the Sunne from vnder a cloud It may be couered but it cannot be polluted with vnclean tongues yet it becommeth more bright as mettall rubbed with dust or myre Whereas contrarily the false and forced praise of sinners that are prone and ambitious turneth to their greater shame as that of Herod Senacherib and the Pharisees did And so shall Antichrists doe as did that of Antiochus And the day of death then the day of ones birth These words are a second rule to arme the man that feareth God against temporall miseries Concerning their dependence vpon the former they are an answere to an obiection framed thus A good report in this life affords little comfort seeing that death commeth after it which is the miserable end of all men Ans The day of death is better then the day that one is borne It is better then the time of life and the transitory things of life Yea it is better then a good report it selfe because it is a comfort to extenuate the afflictions of life but this vtterly abolisheth all vanities The birth-day is an entrance into all woe and misery but the day of death is a passage into life The body is but a prison and a racke to the soule but by death it is set at liberty For by death are all miseries ended all dangers paines aches diseases sorrowes teares and that grieuous warre and conflict of concupiscence or fleshly lusts 1 Pet. 2. 11. doubtings vnbeleefe feares pride ignorance couetousnesse ambition enuy hatred lust which fight against the soule are dead from which Paul so earnestly desired to be freed Romans 7. 24. 2 Cor. 12. 8. Againe by death a man is freed from euils to come Esay 57. 1. He is deliuered from the wearisome company of petulcus goates Psal 120. 5. 1 King 19. 4. and from the assaults of Sathan yea from all fightings within and without to rest and raigne in glory with Christ and the blessed company of heauen This of the rule or remedy principally aymed at Now for the sequele or collection concerning vanity the argument from hence is thus If the day of death which to carnall reason is miserable be better then the day of birth surely this life is a thing most vaine But so it is Verse 2. It is better to goe to the house of mourning then to goe to the house of feasting for that is the end of all men and the liuing will lay it to heart A Second rule or remedy whereby a man is armed against the vanities of life is mortification which is the suppressing of sinne and curbing of the motions of sinne in the heart simply because it displeaseth God and is the onely thing whereby he is dishonoured Other mortifications are but either philosophicall or ciuill or subtle the first whereof is of naturall conscience the second of vaine glorious disposition the third of a diuellish heart But this is wrought onely by the Spirit of God who is a purifying fire and purging soape Mal. 3. 2. 3. not onely restraining and bridling but consuming sinne This consumption beginneth at the heart Ier. 4. 4. Breake vp your fallow grounds circumcise the fore-skinne of your heart If mortification beginne not here it is guilefull Psal 32. 2. He is blessed whose spirit is not guilefull though he be subiect to many infirmities Now that this rule may be operatiue and of force Solomon setteth downe the meanes and courses that are to be taken whereby to produce and nourish it for the comfort of the soule in this vale of misery The
How long thou shalt enioy thy goods thou knowest not and what need thou or thine may come to thou knowest nor Surely with what measure a man meateth to him it shall be measured againe Blessed is he sayth Dauid that prouideth for the sicke and needy the Lord shall deliuer him in time of trouble Diues prouided for his owne belly but nothing for the poore but aft rward he stood in need of Lazarus helpe but in vaine So shall it be wiâ—h euery rich glutton that loueth himselfe and hateth the poore When the rich mans soule is in hell then shall his goods be dispersed on the earth and his children vagabonds begging their bread and sometimes hanged for their leudnesse As the diuels fetched away the soule of the couetous rich man Luk. 12. so commonly doâ—vsurers whores and other miscreants carry away their goods Surely if Diues could haue risen from the dead he would haue done good but the Apostle sayth While we haue time let vs doâ—good while we are liuing and haue goods to bestow For while we are liuing they are ours afterwards they are none of ours we are now the stewards of them let vs now make friends of the vnrighteous Mammon let vs worke while we haue the instrument in our hands and do good while God giueth power to do it For riches are for the time our gift or talent to be layd out and vsed for our Lords aduantage It is a folly not to do good in time of life but to deferre till death as many brute heads do seruing God as they list and how and when they list seruing themselues first and if ought leaue then shall God haue something contrary to the practise of the faithfull widow of Sarepta as though God were a begger that stood need at all times and so nothing could come amisse nor at any time amisse and that he must depend on vs and be thankfull to vs. Thou foole and mad man God biddeth thee doe good in time of strength not at thy last end he respecteth thy faith and obedience to his commandement not thy gift which is his owne not thine Hast thou his grace at command Thou that wilt not now do good shalt not then For he will cut thee off suddenly thou shalt die in thy sinne nay in stead of doing good thou shalt haply end thy dayes in cursing and blaspheming God and in fearfull desperation Againe thou wilt giue to the poore at thy last end c. How many are suddenly taken as one arrested by the Sergeant and as thou hast bene vnfaithfull to the poore so may thy executors be to thee and them But iâ— the poore be partakers thereof that is no good to thee but thy faith and obedience should haue bene rewarded The commandement is giuen to men liuing not to men dying Thou hast alwayes bene a theefe and art so still for this is but a small part of that which thou hast vniustly withheld from the poore and wrongfully gotten Therefore thou art but as one going to the execution for theft and restoring some small part of his stollen goods to the poore as he goeth which cannot free him from the gallowes and leauing the rest to his babes which shall be taken yea stollen from them againe or wither away they cannot tell how For the curse of the poore is vpon their patrimony though themselues be safe Verse 3. If the clouds be full of raine they emptie themselues vpon the earth and if the tree fall toward the South or toward the North in the place where the tree falleth there it shall be A Confirmation drawne from the creatures or law of nature whereof two are specified full clouds and fruitfull trees Or they are an illustration of the rich mans duty or stewardship and vse of worldly goods by the similitudes or examples of clouds and trees vegetables and meteors euen all the creatures As the clouds being full doe not withhold their raine but powre it downe vpon the earth so the rich man must not hoord vp his treasures or goods from others When the merchants of Tyre repented they left off to hoord vp riches and gaine according to their old manner and dedicated them to holy vses Our Sauiour sayth Giue almes and lay vp treasure in heauen Thus did Iob and the faithfull in the Primitiue Church sold their possessions to communicate to the needy Moreouer the clouds do not raine vpon certaine mens grounds certaine fields and woods but vpon all places and all things where they are caried with the windes So the truly mercifull namely he that is receiued to mercy sheweth mercy on all his compassion is extended to all which generall extent is a print or stampe of Gods mercy set in his heart to wit that he is receiued to mercy and is againe truly mercifull a fruite of the former Christ sayth Be yee mercifull as your heauenly Father is mercifull Now he sheweth mercy on all as Paul saith He is the Sauiour of all men especially of them that beleeue Rich mens houses are Gods store-houses His gold siluer corne wine oyle c. is not layd vp in euery house nor the charge and dispensation thereof committed to euery one but to certaine persons and places where it must not lye as a talent hid in the ground but be dispersed abroad among other men For â—e that hath giuen power right and a commandement to gather his frui es hath also giuen a commandement how to dispose them As the clouds so all creatures haue their fulnesse which is not for themselues but for the earth and they enuy their raine to no man The rich mansfulnesse is not for himselfe but for all and he must enuy the same to no man for that is hatefull to God and man For the earth is the Lords with the fulnesse thereof and the creatures with the fulnesse thereof euery fulnesse is for man and euery man hath a fulnesse to be rained vpon all to be distributed and communicated to all and that is his gift or talent All creatures haue not one kind of fulnesse nor all members one office nor all men in a corporation one trade But euery one distributeth his fulnesse and is serued of the fulnesse of others that there may be a supply of all necessaries to euery man and an equality He that retaineth his fulnesse to rot within him is worthily hated For he is a drone and a theefe Therefore Saint Iames threatneth iudgment mourning and woe to them Iam. 5. 1. 2. 3. The rottennesse of their riches the mothes of their garments the canker and rust of their gold and siluer shall be a witnesse against them and eate vp their flesh as fire And if the tree falleth c. The trees bring forth fruite for man so must man do for man They are fruitfull on euery side and where their fruite falleth there it lyeth for all that need it so must euery man be fruitfull of good workes as he hath
vanitie though the blind world seek for felicitie and meanes of blisse in any thing and in euery thing besides this Verse 14. For God shall bring euery worke into iudgement with euery secret thing whether it be good or whether it be euill AN argument of confirmation drawn from the last iudgment whether the generall or the particular tending to terrifie the wicked and comfort the godly For God shal bring into iudgement The Iudge is God most mightie not to be resisted by strength most iust not to be corrupted with bribes most wise not to be blinded with cauils Euery worke with euery secret thing A declaration of the iudgement by the obiects viz. things knowne whether words or workes publicke or priuate and things vnknowne not onely done and spoken in secret but the thoughts and imaginations of the heart with the affections and dispositions thereof All which are amplified by a diuision in respect of their qualities good or euill As euery person since the creation till the last consummation shall be summoned and not one escape so shall euery deed word thought be iudged not one shal escape For the bookes shall be opened and euery secret thing shall be reuealed the booke of Gods omniscience and the booke of mans conscience That which is now forgotten as a thing in sleepe shall then be brought to remembrance as a thing to a man awaked which is as fresh in memory and more fresh then it was before As the roote lying buried in the earth in Winter sheweth forth it selfe in the Spring so shall all things now buried in forgetfulnesse be then made manifest vnto vs as if they were layd before our eyes All hearts shall be layd open to the discouery and terror of the wicked and to the manifestation of the godly whose faith and truth shall now appeare and these shall enter into euerlasting rest and ioy but the other shall go into euerlasting fire FINIS A TABLE The number sheweth the Page the Letters b begining m middle e end or thereabouts A. ADam what it signifieth 90. e. Administration diuine vnserchable 220. 222. Admonition what 333. m. Adultry with a mans owne wife how 232. e. Aire food of liuing creatures 15. e. Alexander 43. b. Ambition and curiositie how punished 81b 82. Anger Effects thereof 168. e. 169. b. Appetites of the Creatures 139. Appetite of man vniuersall 139. The vniuerse and obiect therof 139 Appetite of man infinite 141. 142. e. Alexanders personall appetite 141. Heliogabalus his bodily appetite 141. Appetites 4. sorts as of men 143. m. Assurance search for the same 218. e. Aprarrell vse and abuse thereof 231. b. B. BEhold what it signifieth 41. b. 197. e. Beast spirit of beast what 91. m. Behauiour before great men 203. 204. Beleeue 3 sorts of men to be beleeued 4. b. Blood ingendred how 325. m. Bloodgate or hollow veine 325. e. Body or vessell what 139. b. Braine without sence 324. b. Books opened what 344. m. Bribe and Briber 166. Bribe how the wicked wold bribe God 285. m. C. CArdplay and Diceplay what 20. e Circle al things Circular 24. b. Chance 240. m. Charity excellencie thereof 282. m. Charitable heart the signes 283. Charity of churles 284. m. Charity of thieues 213. e. 285. Charitable workes not to be deferred 292. m. Charity Churles excuses 295. 296. e. 5 old mens answeres to a motion of godly charity 290. m. Community of life 104. the benifite thereof 103. Coheleth what it signifieth 2. b. Common people inconstant 107. m. 108. e. Christian profession what 60. b. Cheeke turning of the cheeke what it meaneth 78. b. Conscience submonitious thereof 29 e. Coueteous rich a martyr 130 m. Creatures a booke sealed 40. b. Craesus his demand of Selon 145. e. Crookednes of all things 42 Curse or corruptioÌ„ what 10. b. D. DAuid why so called 2 m. Democritus allwayes laughed 50. b. Death the benefite thereof 154. b. Deuotion in things indifferent 229. m. Diceplay and Cardplay what 20. e. Diligence fruites thereof 235. e. Drunckard who 275. b. Dust of the earth what 90. e. 91. b. E. EArth of magnetical nature 14. m. Earths breath 15. m. Earth an hell to deuills an heauen to the daÌ„ned 130. m. 131. b. Enuy the obiect thereof 95. Eunuch why so called 324. b. Exhortation what 333. m. Eye a wise and foolish eye 62. e. 63. F. FEast vses thereof 274. e. 275. b. Feare what it meaneth 338. b. 5 sorts of feare 338. Sonlike feare described 339. e. 340. 4. degrees thereof 340. Feare of God two fould 216. e. Felicities of the world many 5. m. Satan a perswader maintainer of such opinions 6. It is a false shew 7. who only seeke it 8. e Felicity to be obtained of the poorest 222. e. Felicity where to be knowne 109. m Fishes their wisdome 241. b. Sea-fish why not salt 14. e. Flora. 43. b. Folly what it meaneth 57. e. 61. e. Flesh and spirit partly what 59. e. Foole who is a foole 275. m. Foole described 264. m. Foole 's ' their conuersation 162. m. 163 Foole who his companion 9 Fooles 2 sorts 58. b Fooles naturall 2 sorts 58 Foolishnes spirituall 58 e Foolish rulers a iudgmeÌ„t 269. m Foote what it signifieth 110. m. Forget what it meaneth 310. b. G. GIft In gifts works what God respecteth â—89 m Good chiefe good what 3. m Good name commendation thereof 1â—2 153 God needeth not our gifts and workes 289. m Good world of common papists confuted 170 171 Gospell a burthen to whoÌ„ 32. m Greedy getters how punnished e 2 9. b H. HHarlot described 196 Hands the office thereof 319. b Heauens the basis or firmaÌ„ent 12. m HeaueÌ„s an vniuersal vessel 140 Heart a sphere 24. e Heraeclitus allwayes wept 50. b Hypocrites sacrifice described 3. m Hypocrites their maners 335 I. IDlenes euills thereof 96 m Idlenes effects thereof 97. e Idle persons described 96. e there excuses 98. m Impatience what 1â—5 b Indifferent things 263. e 277. e 278. b. Instruction what 313. m Influence of starres in the aire 322. b. Iust men perishing 18. m. 218. Iust too Iust who 182 K. KIng termed a child when 269. e L. LAbouringmans happines 123. e. 124. b Law of God the extent 2â—2 m Lawes of Princes alterable 202 Law of God the Kings law how 203 b Lawes iron-chaynes 22 b Laughter the obiect 49 e. 50. m Christ neuer laughed 50. b It procedeth of corruptioÌ„ 50. m Democritus allwayes laughed 50 b Learning twofould 39. e Lending for increase not alwayes vsurie 287. b Light why first created 140. b Liuer described 325. b Libertines described 332. m Loue coniugall loue 233. m how it is maintained 233. Epicurish loue 234. b M. MAn vegetable man 99. e described 100 Man most sociable 101 e MaÌ„ the sperne of the world 140 The centre of the world 140. 16 Man How Gods image 140. e Men more miserable thaÌ„ beasts how 135 Mankind a double motion of it