follow Gods vocation of man Every child of God can speak as soon as hee is new born Hee can and will ask his heavenly Fathers blessing Better wee had never been born into the World than to go still-born out of the world Hee that makes Religion his businesse will pray daily as for daily bread so for daily grace A man of much prayer is a man of much grace commonly if you observe it prayerlesse Families are gracelesse families Sin will bring down duty or duty will bring down sin By Prayer the course of Nature hath been stopped the waters of the Sea have been divided burning flames have been quenched Devils have been ejected dispossessed Luther with others of Heavens Favourites being in prayer as I once heard from a judicious Doctor Dr. Hill of Cambr. and since have read the Story recovered a young man out of Satans Jaws who had given his soul to him and sealed the indenture with his own blood The Indenture sealed was thrown into the house at the window as they were in prayer Luther vincit invincibilem ligat omni potentem By it journies have been shortned mountains have been levelled temptations repulsed diseases removed Psal 50.15 2 Chron. 26.5 The prayer of Faith shall save the sick the sick person or Nation most proper therefore for you and you are like to bee most prosperous As long as hee viz. Uzziah a King a man of quality sought the Lord God made him to prosper Solus est Deus qui nunquam frustra quaeri potest nec cum invenire non potest melius est Deum non â—nvenisse quam non quaesivisse Bern de Consider ad Engen lib. 5. I have lately hinted yea handled this more fully from another Subject Ephes 6.18 In which to say no more was opened the Christians daily task of Praying alwaies why alwaies How in the Spirit alwaies but to hint because wee are needing alwaies they who have tasted most have had but some tastes at most of the Lords graciousnesse in his Ordinances Providences Promises c. The world is alluring alwaies Satan is tempting alwaies as the Lord waits that hee may be gracious so the Devil watches to destroy because he is malicious and wee are sinning alwaies his people love him alwaies and it is not a principle of pure need but of pure love that draws the Saints in whose hearts the Love of God is planted to the Throne of grace and which is the sum of all Our God is giving alwaies when wee are not at leisure to ask Compare Gen. 18.32 with Jer. 5.1 hee is at leisure to give hee doth not suspend and cease bestowing when wee cease begging First Abraham ceased to ask then God ceased to grant Hee that came from fifty to ten 't is ten to one would have come from ten to one had Abraham still continued though some of the learned say otherwise Deus cohibuit mentem animumque Abrahae ne pergeret ulterius deprecari pro Sodomitis Tostat Perer. in Gen. 18. pag. 603. O pray pray then you have greater mercies than others greater opportunities than others greater ingagements upon you than others all which are obligatory distresses are renewed from Heaven to renew your humble addresses to Heaven In their afflictions they will seek mee early and earnestly A child of God would not for a world bee a meer stranger to the power of and comfort in this great Ordinance the most and best good is got upon the knee the Scholar studies well that prayes well the Magistrate rules well that prayes well Bene oâ—asse est bene studuisse Luther Doctor Ames got his learning by praying and Solomon his wisdome Bonaventura that Doctor Seraphicus being asked by Aquinas from what books and helps hee derived such holy and divine expressions and contemplations hee pointed to a Crucifix and said Iste est liber c. prostrate in prayer at the feet of this image my soul receiveth greater light from Heaven than from all study and disputation of this Monkish tradition and superstitious fiction some use may bee made The souldier fights well that prayes well and therefore Constantine commanded that his Effigies or Portraicture should bee drawn not as other Emperours in their Armour leaning but as in a praying posture kneeling O pray again Christ must ask if that hee would have Can wee expect to have especially mercies in mercy and yet not ask Hee is good but to the soul that seeks him Bonus quaerentibus said the Father Hee is good to all that seek him better to them that finde him best of all to them that have full fruition of him Lâ—m. 3.25 Take heed how and for what you pray you may ask and miss if you ask amiss strive more for fervency than for fluency you may know if you pray in and by the Spirit if you have the Spirits assistance you shall bee sure of the Fathers acceptance The Spirit if it help you to pray it will help you to practise it will help you with working affections as well as with winning expressions it will humble you in by and after duty if it help in duty Thirdly Do your indeavour to set on foot that precious Ordinance of the Supper amongst us Peter observes in his Epistles that there are four things very precious they are the most precious things in the World non patiuntur hyperbolen Precious Faith 2 Pet. 1.1 a dram or grain of this is better than a tun of gold Precious Promises 2 Pet. 1.4 without which were not the Saints of all creatures most miserable Precious Christ 1 Pet. 2.4.7 and also Precious Blood 1 Pet. 1.19 O the vertue in it the value of it through this Red Sea you must pass to Heaven May you have and injoy this Sacrament sometimes abroad why not at home in our solemn Assembly who is contented though hee finde bread in his neighbours house to bee without in his own who can sit down at his own Table and not think of Christs How can wee expect good by the Word of Christ while wee are without the blood of Christ The Albigenses despised Sacraments defaced the Bible with their urine and excrements Aug. Ep. 5â— but the vengeance of God followed them an hundred thousand of them were slain at one time by the sword of men on earth and by fire from the God of Heaven Julian was so met with Calvin in Act. 20.7 Aug. in Joan. Tr. 26. 'T was anciently had every Seventh day yea every day of the seven not now in many places once in seven years Who can forbear smiling at the School-mens seven Sacraments or weeping at our one alone Woe not to it that is alone but to us that suffer it to go alone is the necessity of them and vertue in them Vide Aq. p. 3. qu. 60. 62. de Numero Absque dubitatione tenendum est Sacramenta Novae Legis septem esse nec plura nec
I doubt whether that man can be saved by Christ Qui dicit hominem salvari posse sine Christo dubito an ille per Christum salvari potest Hee is all in all to them who see they are nothing can do nothing and have nothing at all without him but of this you have lately heard so much now therefore no more Sixthly Commune with your own hearts allow mee the least skill in divinity and I will say a great deal of true Christianity consists in this and our sincerity is much discovered by this In Psal 49. Revel 4.8 It is the holy Counsel of Augustine and the Saints daily practice Ascende tribunal mentis tuae esto tibi judex dic Deo tuo c. Vide Marlora tum in locum In the Apocalyps you read of four living creatures full of eyes before and behinde and within The first was like a Lion The second like a Calf The third had the face of a man The fourth like a flying Eagle Various are the glosses on that Text some understand and say they betoken Christ who was born of the Virgin as a man suffered death as a Calf rose again like a Lion mounted up as an Eagle Others thus the four Creatures hold forth the four sorts of Officers in the Church Mr. Cotton The Lion the ruling Elder the Oxe the Pastor the Man the Deacon and the Eagle the Teacher But they were Angels and are said to bee full of eyes because of the vastnesse and clearnesse of their knowledge Tom. ad Qu. 58. Artic. 6 7. p. 1. q. 106. Ar. 1. Vasquez speaks much of their Matutin and vespertin Knowledge and Aquinas of their light of Nature Grace and Glory of their concreated revealed and experimental knowledge Gregory compares holy men on earth to those blessed Angels in Heaven The Saints are now Evangelical anon they shall bee Angelical they are full of eyes within they look within and without above and about but they fix chiefly on Christ and their own consciences It is sad to see near and dear relations as Husband and Wife sit down together rise up together walk out together come in together and yet never change word with each other but O how sad to see a man and his heart such strangers one to another Hoc Hoc nos pessimos facit said Seneca Epist 83. this is it that makes us so vile and therefore prescribes in another Epistle Vide Senec. Ep. 28. 80. Quantum potes teipsum coargue inquire in te accusatoris primum partibus fungere deinde Judicis c. Franc. Suar. Nullum majus nullum melius negotium est quam ire in interiora mentis Secretaria cordis Aug. in Psal 33. Conc. 2. The little time which that acute and profound man spent every day in the search and examination of his own heart and conference with his own conscience was more dear to him as I have read of him and beleeve it would bee found most true would wee bee perswaded to try than all the rest of the day which hee spent in controversals It was Constantines constant practise as Eusebius reports of him to shut up himself in a secret place of his Palace where hee had his Soliloquies You are persons of quality look upon him and do likewise It was the practise of one better and greater than hee is that writes or reads this Psal 77.6 In the night I commune with mine own heart and my spirit makes diligent search how sutable savoury seasonable how sweet advantagious and profitable this may bee to you in your present condition I cannot tell you before but do it and you will tell mee hereafter On this day read and ponder Psal 143. ult Psal 36 7,8 87.2,5 133.3 â— Cor. 5.4 Ezek. 46.4 Sixthly Continue your constant attendance upon Gods Ordinances in our solemn Assemblies on the Lords dayes and exercise dayes whilst others of the Gentry as well as others like Owles not able to indure the light and power of Gospel Truths forsake the assembling of themselves together Offer you unto the Lord the Lambs and the Rams without blemish it is the Lords command Vide Calvinum in Psal 27.8 Seek yee my face i.e. seek yee God among his people in his Ordinances there is Gods face Whilst others prize one day elsewhere above a thousand in the Courts of God you give us demonstrations that you prize one day in his Courts above thousands elsewhere There hee shews himself most beautiful and most bountiful There hee puts that upon his people which makes them lovely and that into his people which makes them lively Never did General so much delight to see his souldiers together marching orderly or fighting valiantly as the Lord doth to see his servants together praying fervently and hearing attentively Psal 50.5 then his heart is inlarged and hand opened towards them yea ravished with them Cant. 4.9 when the dead and drie bones lay in the field dispersed they were not all that while enlivened Ezek. 37. when they were congregated breath and life came in when on other daies persons are scattered they are in great measure deaded but on the Lords day and in the Lords way assembled how are their drooping spirits revived their languishing souls refreshed Excellent is that passage of Chrysostome 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. If you step into Courts of Judicature as at the last Assizes what pleading pocketting swearing c. if into the Market-place nothing but buying selling lying couzening cheating plain dealing is a Jewel and they will tell us hee that useth it shall dye a Beggar but may not wee tell them they that do not use it live fools and dye knaves 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Step into private families nothing but cares as the Epigrammatist well expesseth it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 If into Princes Palaces the discourse runs smoothly of honour and majesty 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. and terrene glory 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not a word of God or Heaven Enter now saith the Father into the house of God and there you shall hear something of God of Heaven the bliss and felicity of separate souls of such things as eye hath not seen nor ear heard Here is the most comfortable meeting and cordial closing of Gods Spirit and our spirits In the Turkish History I read of Huniaâ—es a valiant Captain now a dying man who said It was fitter for the servant to go to the house of his Lord than for the Lord to come to the house of his servant How few persons of quality especially under such weaknesse and maladies are so observant of the Lords day a day separated from all other daies a day elevated above all other daies Oratio Dominica est omnibus aliis excellentior in 16. Vide Tostatum in Mat. 6. Q. 121. pag. 78. As there is no prayer like the Lords
the German wars Vide Luth. in Isa 57.1 I can do nothing saith God till thou bee come thither Gen. 19.22 non posse se dixit quod sine dubio poterat per potentiam non poterat per justitiam saith one of the Ancients Aug. Sence Non posse praetenditur non velle in causa est No sooner was Lot in Zoar but the Lord rained down fire and brimstone upon Sodome Such stand in the gap to turn away the Lords wrath but when they are removed what remains to stop the current of divine vengeance when the precious fruits of the earth are gathered into the barn the hedges are broken down the beasts over-run all When the Jewels are taken out of the Trunk the courser things are thrown over-board when Noah is housed in the Ark his Pella the fountains of the deep are broken open Woe is mee saith the Prophet Micah The Good man the Great man is perished out of the Earth Psal 12.1 De contemptu mortis and David cries and praies Help Lord as if the Heavens had been falling on him Heinsius reports that the Sun with-drew its shine and was eclypsed when Joseph Scaliger dyed Darkness seizeth upon us in these parts wee have had many of quality lately taken from us it is well if the Lords wrath bee not comming upon us Secondly Because when they fall the persons with whom they conversed Jer. 48.25 Zech. 10.4 the places in which they lived are exceedingly weakened As in the Text And I am this day weak And are not wee this day weak Behold the Family is it not a weak Family a disconsolate Widdow tender sickly children A weak Town hee was under the most high our strength and munition our defence and protection Should wee unite our hearts and hands our power and policy Alas what can wee do Our strength is weaknesse our wisdome foolishnesse As Jehosaphat said so wee say O Lord wee know not what to do but our eyes are towards thee In uno Caesare multi insunt Marii There are many men in one Great man One Josiah in a Kingdome one Lot in a City one Paul in a Ship is of more value and vertue than many thousands Labans family fared the better for Jacobs sake Pharaohs Court and Kingdome fared better for Josephs sake and hath not this Town these parts of the Country fared much better for this great mans sake Every great man if hee bee a good man is a great blessing and strengthening to the place in which hee lives a blessing by his presence a blessing by his prayers a blessing by his example which is as a Looking-glasse for others to dress themselves by a blessing by his counsels The death of faithful Ministers weakens wonderfully the weapons of their warfare are mighty with God 2 King 2.12 and mighty through God The death of zealous Magistrates weakens infinitely but I must not expatiate See that notable Text Judges 18 7. when there was no Magistrate in Laish â—…n increased and ruine approached Thirdly Because when such fall sin commonly increaseth exceedingly Not only the Laws but the lives of great men it truly godly give a shrewd check to daring impieties and prophanesse many whose hands only were chained but their hearts not changed may break our and fall off returning with the dog to his vomit and the Sow to wallow in the mire again It is not unknown to hundreds of us within these walls that this great mans countenance had special influence upon all the vile wretches that came nigh unto him Hee could do very much with a look I could not in that compare him to any other but Luther De vita Lutheri p. 168 Melchior Adams reports of him that hee had such a Leonine aspect ut oculorum suorum intentionem rectâ aspiciendo non omnes ferre possunt How was the prophanation of the Lords day prevented Travellers according to Law punished drunkennesse subdued c. Tremble godly souls to think how the eye of Gods glory is like to bee provoked let rivers of waters run down your eyes Is there not matter of lamentation when the winds are rising the Sea swelling the Heavens lowring and the enemy approaching to behold the souldiers gasping the Pilots and Steers-men dead upon the deck How shall the little flock bee kept out of the jaws and paws of the wild boar and Beasts of prey O pray Lord remember thy Lilly amongst the Thorns thy Lambs amongst the Wolves thy love amongst the daughters The Saints are as speckled birds Jer. 12.9 Jerem. 12.9 All about them are enemies to them Fourthly Because otherwise they cannot make a right use and improvement of their death and dissolution It is the Lords will that wee should make a right good use of his rod upon others and of the fall of others Quest What use should wee that survive now make of this Princes dissolution Answer A threefold Use An Honourable Use An Charitable Use An Profitable Use An Honourable Vse in relation to God acknowledging his power and supremacy his soveraignty and authority over man to kill or make alive to deliver from death or to death A Charitable Vse in relation to them who are afflicted or taken away by death not concluding them the greatest sinners because they are the greatest sufferers or that it is for some notorious impiety that they are cut off in the midst of their daies Their death may bee in mercy to them in judgement to us A Profitable Vse in reference unto our selves wee should learn thence to walk humbly to put our hearts in order to see what the bitter fruit of sin is c. Though the occasion of our comming together this evening bee very sad yet the opportunity is sweet if wee can learn rightly to improve this great mans fall I remember Plotinus hath this passage Men should so live and so die that others might learn some good from them both living and dying Anatomists and Physitians advantage themselves by dissecting dead bodies and prying into the inward parts wee may spiritually profit our selves by a serious consideration and observation of his dispensations in the Fall of Princes and Great men Fifthly Not to take notice of not to lay to heart the death of such men is a God-provoking sin a fruit of sin and the cause of many horrid iniquities and grievous transgressions This inconsideratenesse is that which the Prophet checked and much lamented Isa 57.1 None considereth that they are taken away from the evil to come none pondered it in their hearts they did not search into it what should bee the minde and end of God in it God laies it to mens charge that they lay not those things unto their hearts as if personal mortality were not sometimes a presage of publick misery This is a direct violation of a divine injunction Eccles 7.3 The living shall lay it upon their hearts Is not the hand of God in this sad
heavenly Throne O bee to mine an help a friend a Mother Now Christ takes mee God give to thee another My dissolution I could better bear A lass than tidings of thy Death to hear Remove Deaths stroke O God accept a price Yea rather take mee for a Sacrifice And I had rather die than live to see Thee taken hence then comes my Misery Heavens keep thy soul my head shall bee a grave Ever to hold thee whilst an heart I have Revive my Dear can neither Skill nor Art Take deaths sad symptomes from thy tender heart Of all the Woes that ever mee befel None like to this my Joy my Dear Farewel Erubuit Facultas Extorsit amor Lugens posuit Bradleius Hayhurst AN Elegy upon the never sufficiently deplored Death of my noble Friend John Atherton of Atherton Esq High-Sheriffe of Lancashire ENvious Death what 's thy design t' undo Our Gentry Clergy and our Country too Lancashire's poor in one year there are gone Three Pillars Holland Ashurst Atherton Could Paracelsus men as birds revive Great John within one hour should bee alive Or in his room shouldst thou dispense would I Prepare for my accounts and gladly dye Could tears or prayers thee from the dead regain Who would not sigh and pray and weep amain There were in Caesar many Marii 'T is true in thee more both did live and die I dare avouch it contradict who can Each part of thee could make a perfect man Envious Death summe up thy gains and tell What hast thou got This body in this cell His noble soul was pure etherial fire His heart and thoughts did far above aspire The Crowns and Scepters of most potent Kings Hee held their Diadems inferiour things Thou could'st not such a soul surprize 'T is fled From Earth to Heaven where not one tear is shed There is no pain but pleasure there 's no trouble Life is eternal there here but a bubble No moans no groans now no complaints can come From him There 's joy and triumph in their room Blest soul thou art in peace and well dost know One hour in Heaven's worth thousands here below Another Epitaph on the Right Worshipful JOHN ATHERTON Anagram Ah no other in AH there 's no other in thy place Great Prince who can it so much grace Heaven's fill it and give to thy seed Age Virtue Honour with all speed This will repair our breach and grief In part abate and yeeld relief Ah there 's no other Magistrate With us to serve the Church or State Hee 's fal'n and enshrin'd here lies One noble valiant just and wise Give us an age to tell the rest Which may All cannot bee exprest Posuit Richardus Jolly Schola Athertoniensis praf Ad tumulum Principis illustrissimi viri honoratissimi Domini Joannis Athertoni Armigeri totius Comit. Lancastriensis praefecti Epitaphium ISte Athertoni tumulus tegit ossa Joannis quis qualis fuerit scit scio Magnus erat In vivis talis qualem vix Zoilus unquam dente Theonino carpere possit erat Esset Apellis opus te pingere Clare Joannes languentis patriae fida calumna tuae Pastorum tutela tuae decus Inelyte stirpis gloria Magnatum religionis honos An generis splendor nil non illustria prosint stemmata nec virtus bellica chara phalanx Nil tua te pietas nil te veneranda potest as Juvit heu flecti mors truculenta nequit Occubuit magnus princeps florentibus annis lilia ceu saevo frigore verna cadunt Proh dolor hic jacet exanimis quis talia fando Temperet a lachrymis proh dolor ut cecidit Marte cadit non Morte cadit fatalia Parcae stamina ruperunt non reparanda manu Pulvis umbra sumus quassum vas somnus aura Ros spectrum ventus vita caduca vapor Te vivo suavis vita est moriente peracris Dulce mihi tecum vivere dulce mori Non longum praeclare vale vir fidus Achates Tu mihi pro multis millibus unus eras Tros Anchisiades amissum morte parentem flevit ut occisum Pergama maesta ducem Nos ita te miseros longa O dignissima vita sedulus extinctum flere coeget amor Flere jubet Pietas suadet Spes gaudia Nomen tua ad extremum stent monumenta diem Molliter ossa premat tellus clementia servet alma dei sobolem teque Maria tuam Macte tua virtute puer clarissime tandem Solamen nostrum est surculus arbor erit Vive Deo precor quod patri fata negarunt producant vitae tempora longa tuae Ita precatur lugens J. L. Vpon the much lamented Death of the honoured and truly honourable John Atherton of Atherton Esq High-Sheriff of Lancashire HAd'st thou grave Plutarch or Laertius Or Trajans Pliny or Hesychius Had'st thou Callisthenes to write thine acts As Alexander had his noble facts Had'st thou Achilles fate great Homers Pen To draw thy portraicture or Nazianzen To limne thee to the lire or Melchiors quill Or quaint Protogenes with his pencil Rare Phaenix of our age then might thy glory Remain on record in eternal story The Babes unborn should ask whose is this Herse And wee 'l our tribute pay in moanful verse But thy Renown is such thy Name more graceth The verse then they can it who ere thee praiseth Only Seraphick tongues due laud can give To thee great John too good with us to live If to admire were to commend then wee Thy worth could tell with more facility Thy vertues thee commend to after ages Without the help of Elegiack pages Each tongue could tell and every eye did see An impetus heroical in thee Thy Grave deportment on the Bench was such Though young that Myriads did admire it much Just Aristides like concord and peace Heavens legacy 't was thy design t' increase A parallel Husband Father Friend or Brother Justice or Sheriffe where can you discover Eyes to the blinde legs to the lame an Harbour To the afflicted and the poor mans succour Humble when Highest of Man-hood the Mirrour Noble to Friends to Foes a mighty terrour Each wrinkle in thy brow nay credit mee Earle Nevils-like a Princes Tombe might bee Thine eye like Luthers Leonine and fierce Or as the Basilisks so would it peirce When they beheld thee march they thought another Caesar was there or Alexanders Brother In war thy prowesse policy and skill Scanderbegs like ever appeared still True to thy trust none in our Memory Abhorred turn-coats more or treachery Such was thy temperance and sobriety Thy patience prudence and dexterity Great Atherton the style of Parasite I need not fear while in thy praise I write Thy care to curb prophanenesse and to keep The Wolves from preying on Christ's tender Sheep Thy pains about the Clergy Helicon Wee may exhaust in lamentation Better enough than All such rare perfections Center'd in thee as transcend my expressions As Croesus's son dumb and appal'd I 'd
pauciora Est lib. 4. Dist 1. Paragr 13. Biel. lib. 4. Dist 2. Quest 1. So great with them and of none with us Precious in the sight of the Lord is the blood and death of his Saints and truly precious in the sight of true Saints is the blood and death of their Lord Jesus Shall I transcribe the passages of two learned men an ancient and a modern writer Gabriel Albaspin Observat lib. 1. Observatio 17.20 p. 146. Quanti debet esse hominibus sanguis crux Domini nostri Iesu Christi cum Deus in hoc altero saeculo tantam mercedem reponat iis martyribus qui vel unius sanguinis guttam profuderint c. Etsi gratia Dei non est alligata Sacramentis ea tamen cum offeruntur non sunt respuenda negligenda sed inquirenda c. P. Martyr in Sam. p. 128. By this grace is increased comforts are inlarged experiences are acquired the Covenant is sealed the infinite love and free grace of God is discovered the sufferings of Christ manifested life eternal assured c. The damned spirits in Hell know now in great measure the preciousness of Christ whom they contemned the usefulness of this high and holy Ordinance which they sleighted and prophaned the nobleness and transcendent excellency of their souls which they have eternally damned this they know and the knowledge hereof increaseth their anguish and horror Let us now in this day of grace labour for this and improve all means of grace change but the word and I may say THEN shall wee not bee ashamed when wee are fitted for are partakers of have due respect unto and make good improvement of all his Sacraments Alluditur ad Psal 119.6 Estius in Sen. lib. 2. Distinct 16. 17. Fourthly Meditate frequently of the superlative excellency of your precious souls and diligently labour to secure and assure the salvation of them to your selves A rational soul is of more worth than all the world they are great losers who gain that with the losse of this It were easy to demonstrate the transcendent preciousness of our souls but to convince or to perswade men to walk up to this conviction especially persons of quality hic labor hoc opus est I hope and know better things of you though I thus speak I crave your consideration however that Heb. 12.9 Zach. 12.1 Vide Photii Epist 133. Tarasâ—o Patricio Aug. Steuch Eugub de perenni Philosophia lib. 9 cap. 10 11. Zenophon Memorab lib. 4. pag. 634. Plotin Enneâ— ad 4. lib. 7. c. 10 The most high challengeth a more peculiar relation to them and interest in them Therefore hee is stiled the Father of Spirits and hee is the Physitian of Spirits and hee accounts it a special part of his glory to form the spirit of man within him the soul it is the breath of God the beauty of man the wonder of Angels the envy of Devils It is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Plato calls it a coelestial plant and of a divine Off-spring 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith Zenophon speaking of the nobility of the soul I shall pass by what Plotinus hath in his Enneads all along besides the soul of the world at which hee once and again hints how excellently doth hee pourtray the Origen and discover the nature of mans immortal spirit It is a Deo though not de Deo as the Gnosticks thought and taught To this adde The soul is under the command of none but God alone In conscientiam dominari creaturae non est competibile this speaks out the excellency of it The soul is in a capacity to injoy communion with God and to receive the communications of those divine excellencies which hee hath to communicate Dan. Heins Exercit. Sacr. in cap. 4. ad Ephes It may bee said of man as Jerome doth of Pauls Epistle to the Ephesians It is Epistola media homo est creatura media As Jesus Christ stands 'twixt God and man so man stands twixt God and the creatures Fecisti nos Domine prote c. Again the soul cannot bee satisfied with any thing or saved by any thing God excepted there is in every gracious soul a holy pride most pleasing to the God of Heaven to scorn all the world in point of satisfaction or salvation or consider them in relation to the Angels souls are of an Angellick nature most true is that of Comineus In his Philosoph repurg Ange lus est homo nudatus homo Angelus vestitus An Angel is a man stripped a man is an Angel cloathed with clay Again weigh well the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the incomparable price which the Son of God payed for the redemption of the soul 't was not the spoil of richest Provinces not the price of Cleopatra's draught not silver or gold but the precious blood of Jesus Christ Vide Plot. ubi supra Vossium de anima separata The immortality and immateriality of it speaks forth the transcendent excellency of it as also the rich and rare endowments and noble operations of it The excellency of the case or cabinet viz. the body intimates a more than ordinary excellency of this watch or jewel though in some respects the body of man bee called a vile body as being subject to vile diseases to vile abuses in comparison of what it was in its primitive constitution and of what it shall bee at the great day of the resurrection yet is the body of all materials the most excellent as Pererius well observes Perer. in Gen. 2.7 pag. 128. Cal. lib. 12. de usu partium lib. 9. de plac Hip. Plat. When Galen saw the Anatomy of a body hee cryed out The God of Nature Abdala the Saracen and Phavorinus of whom wee read in A. Gellius admired at nothing in the world but man at nothing in man but only his soul This is said Augustine a greater miracle in man than all the miracles wrought amongst men the body is comparatively vile it is Jumentum animae sperma faetidum saccus stercorum esca vermium c. but the soul is a demi-semi-God dwelling in an house of clay Senec. Ep. 31. 41. Anima vero vicina est substantiae Dei c. Aug. in Psal 144. as Augustine excellently asserts the nobility of it from its operations But once more it is the measure of all other excellencies as thus every thing is accounted so far forth excellent as it is subservient to the soul and conduceth to the felicitating of it Now who will cast Pearls and Jewels as chips at his heels who dare consideratis considerandis curare cutem magis quam animam minde his bag his back his belly his body his house and horse neglecting his immortal soul which is by nature incomparably more noble of our cares fears prayers tears means and pains the greater part should bee for and about the better part Merito
had in his library five hundred thousand books or Xenophon that great scholar how hee conducted ten thousand Greeks over the Fords of fifty Rivers and through the midst of an hundred thousand enemies from Persia into Greece Solon was used to say 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Melchior Adams relates of D. Chytraeus that as hee lay upon his death-bed Jucundiorem sibi decessum sore si moribundus etiam aliquid didicisset pag. 694. hearing some disputing by him with a low voice lest they should disturb him lifted up his head and desired them to speak up for hee should die the more chearfully if hee died learning somewhat Sigismund the Emperour at the Counsel of Constance lamented this that neither hee nor any of his great Courtiers and Counsellors were able to answer a forraign Embassador in the Latine Tongue and told his Nobles that had no learning that hee preferred before them some of obscure Parentage meerly for their polite learning saying that hee had good reason to honour scholars above all men as those that wer singularly graced and gifted of God Knights and Lords I can make in a day as many as I please but scholars God only can make Vide Corn. Agr. de vanit Sci. Calvin in 1 Cor. 13.8,9 It is not great estates and places but great parts and graces that makes truly noble Augustin Bishop of little Hippo by his learning became more famous infinitely than Cecilius Bishop of great Carthage Yet I make bold to minde you of a common saying of your grave Father it is better to bee an honest man without learning than learned without honesty As Agrippa the noble Counsellor and Favourite of Octavian told him Vertue makes men equal to the gods 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Let us not for the tree of Knowledge lose the tree of Life Surgunâ— indocti rapiunt coelum nos cum doctrina nostra detrudimur in Gehennam I cannot but tremble to read that of Augustin The unlearned arise and take Heaven by force when we with all our learning are turned into Hell Accomplished and accoutred with learning and grace you may serve your own Generation by the will of God before you fall asleep bee laid unto your Fathers and see corruption Non potest esse verus Christianus nec recitare orationem dominicam Ninthly Bee fitting and preparing your selves every day for your dissolution Looking for longing after and hastening to the comming of the day of God Hee cannot said Luther bee a sincere Christian Ioh. Gerard. Vossius de Extr. Jud. nor can hee pray over the Lords Prayer who with all his heart desires not this dayes approach It were very profitable could wee hear each hour what they say Jerome did though learned Vossius say's it is not found in his works Arise yee dead and come to judgement Death is strong it conquers all the grave is cruel it spaâ—…s none Hannibal never slept in the camp without his armour wee dwell in houses of clay our foundation is in the dust thrice happy are wee if wee bee ready for the grave Job 17.8 by that time the grave is ready for us I shall not praedict yet I humbly conceive if some of you live long I shall not My care shall bee as Seneca said his was now being young how to live well and if old age come then how to dye well Once more Psal 31.19 Heb. 11.2 2 Cor. 4.17 2 Tim. 4 8 Meditate frequently of the greatness of those good things and the goodness of those great things reserved for such as fear and love God Our Lord Jesus had them in his eye so had Moses Paul and others This will help you to walk more thankfully work more chearfully suffer more patiently fight more valiantly repulse temptations more strongly lay out your selves more freely live with what providence hath cut out more contentedly An mercedis intuitu Deo servire liceat Vide Estium in Sent. lib. 1. Dist 1. parag 3. lit D. E. F. to leave the world more willingly to imbrace death joyfully it is too large to dispute that question and weigh those school-distinctions Set some part of every day apart to admire the Lords graciousness not only in present protections of us but future provisions for us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Epict. Enchir. cap. 65. No more That of Isocrates shall bee my Apology for this boldnesse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Freedome of discovery what bee our thoughts is the greatest signe of true affection Vide Plut. in Cat. Uti I shall not transcribe Cato's grave advice to his son it may bee worth perusal you have it in Plutarch to whom I referre you When God bestowed on Abram a new name hee gave him a new blessing bee it so with you When the time of your Shrevalty is expired and your health perfectly restored if you shall bee reinvested with magisterial power and authority I humbly beseech you and the God of Heaven for you not to bear the sword in vain put on Righteousnesse let it cloath you Let judgement bee your Robe and Diadem bee eyes unto the blind legs unto the lame the blessing of him who is ready to perish shall come upon you The Lord who brought you together blesse you together and fit you for Heaven in life and admit you and your hopeful progeny after you to Heaven at death This shall bee the prayer and breathings of his soul whose all is but to serve you in the Gospel of Christ J. Livesey August 24. 1655. Jehosaphats Charge TO HIS JUDGES Opened in a Sermon preached ON 2 Chronicles 19. part of the 6. verse Take heed what yee do Take up and read verse 5 6. 7. And hee set Judges in the Land thorough the fenced Cities City by City And said to the Judges take heed what yee do for yee judge not for man but for the Lord who is with you in the Judgement Wherefore now let the fear of the Lord bee upon you take heed and do it for there is no iniquity with the Lord our God nor respect of persons nor taking of gifts ZEnophon reports of Socrates Memorab lib. 4. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Hee was so pious that hee would do nothing till hee had asked counsel of the gods Zenoph Hist lib. 1. p. 19 20 and so just that hee never did wrong to any person no not in matters of trivial concernment the like hee relates of Cyrus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A. Gellius observes Zenoph de Institutione Cyri. that Publius Scipio Africanus was accustomed before hee set himself about any business of great consequence and importance before the dawning of the day to enter the Capitol and there to stay alone a season A. Gel. N. Attic lib. 7. cap. 1. pag. 187. Plin. Paneg. Trajano Augusto in principio consulting as it were with Jupiter there hee submitted his projects to the judgements of
Ratio 1 First That Authority may bee preserved The Authority of God and his Officers the Authority of God in his Officers hereby it is kept in its viridity and splendour in its fragrancy and beauty Should Justice lie long dormant and malefactors passe without condigne punishment wicked men would vilifie and scorn all Magistrates and Magistracy You read of some in Judes Epistle who despised disdained and contemned the Magistrates and desired that dominion i.e. Magisterial power and authority were extinct and disanulled Vide Calv. in locum vers 8. who were those persons but carnal men seducers and impostors such there bee amongst us therefore do it Three things you should especially uphold The fundamental Laws Dan. 7.25 The Peoples liberty Act. 22.28 Your own Authority Prov. 20.8 Secondly That the most holy may bee eased therefore must justice bee administred When oppression blasphemies murthers and robberies are acted the eye of his glory is provoked and God blessed for ever is pressed Amos 2.13 Sub foeni onere Aridere est pondera iniquitates peccantium cum querela tolerare Behold I am pressed under you as a Cart is pressed that is laden with sheaves Behold rem novam inopinatam atque mirabilem de signat saith Lorinus it designeth and pointeth out unto us something new and admirable and is not this such such were the iniquities of the old world so universal in respect of persons so universal in respect of places so abominable and intollerable was their wickednesse that it repented the Lord that hee had made man not that hee had made the Fish in the Sea nor the fouls of the air nor the damned spirits in Hell but alas that hee had made man with what abhorrency doth hee look upon men thus sinning who took so much delight and complacency in man standing It grieved him at the very heart the heart even of God is broken with a peoples wickednesse his soul is grieved with their iniquities pressed with their impieties how doth the Lord complain there a Father will suffer much and bear long before he complain of his child Tam Pater nemo tam pius nemo but no sheaves can presse as sin and Sinners do Angels and men the whole Creation yea the Creator himself groans under them but the punishing of the offender is an easing of the Creator and therefore the Lord saith Ah! I will ease mee of mine Adversaries I will comfort I will satisfie my self by taking vengeance Indeed when his children are corrected he himself is afflicted no sooner hath hee stricken but hee repents as it were that the blow was given the Rod no sooner falls on their head Judg. 10.16 but hee feels it at his heart But when hee by his heirs of restraint his Ministers of Justice makes evil doers smart he easeth himself hee speaks as if while they are punishing them they were unloading him and who will not in his station indeavour this for his Maker and Master Reason 3. Thirdly That evil doers may be reformed and others by due execution of justice deterred and restrained When the Thunder-bolt kills one the clap affrights many Paena ad unum terror ad omneâ— Notable is that of Seneca pereant impii non ut pereant sed ut alios pereundo proficiant When Justice is faithfully executed Aul. Gel. N. Atr. lib. 6. cap. 14. God hath the Praise of his Justice and men have the Profit of his Judgements Deut. 13.10,11 Thou shalt stone him with stones till hee die thou shalt surely kill him that All Israel may hear and fear and do no more any such wickednesse A parallel Text you have chap. 17.13 Aquinas upon that question whether it be lawful to put malefactors to death concludes it not only lawful but necessary As wee cut off a putrid corruptive member a leg or an arm 2. 2. Quest 64. Artic. 2. when the more principal and vital parts are hazarded Laudabiliter salubriter abscinditur and in answer to another utrum he asserts that Princes and Judges may take away the lives of flagitious malefactors 2. 2. Quest 64. Artic. 3. 4. in quantum ordinatur ad salutem totius communitatis If their death may conduce to the tranquility and prosperity of the Commonwealth Wee will shut up this Argument with that of an Ancient pertinet ad innocentis Magistratus officium non solum nemini malum inferre verum etiam a peccato cohibere punire peccatum aut ut ipse qui plectitur corrigatur experimento aut alii terreantur exemplo Reason 4. Fourthly That peace and love may be preserved This peace is a costly choice and comprehensive mercy Pax una triumphis innumeris potior pacem te poscimus omnes Vide Naz de pace 1. Orat. 3 it is earths joy and heavens glory a blessing which we have sought for and fought for prayed for and payed for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith Nazianzen speaking of peace war is the worst of all Gods â—our sore judgements it is the plague of plagues when God gave David leave to chuse the Rod wherewith hee should be whipt a favour very seldome vouchsafed to the godly and never that I remember to any wicked and put him to that Trilemma in 2 Sam. 24. he cast by the sword at first sight that judgement seldome comes alone Cicero de Repub lib. 2. Aug. de C. D. lib. 2. cap. 21. Now Tully tells you sine justitia pax nulla est c. And wee by experience and observation cannot but know that the execution of Justice is a sure pure a special and speedy way and mean for the prevention of that and the conservation of this Memorable is that of the Prophet Isaiah 32.17 the work of Justice whether distributive or commutative shall bee Peace This is the fruit that grows upon that root the product of due execution of Justice Distributive Justice hath stocks for Vagrants See Dr. Halls True Peace-maker whips for Harlots ropes for Felons stakes for blasphemous Hereticks Gallows for Murtherers and the Garland of Peace hangs upon all these Engines of Justice Psal 72.2,3 Hee shall judge thy people with Righteousness Vide Panormitani Judic proces Fol. 2. and thy poor with judgement and what shall follow thereupon Then the Mountains shall bring peace to the people and the little Hills by Righteousnesse When Joram asked Jehu is it Peace is all well at Ramoth Jehu answers him peremptorily yet prudently what Peace that is there can bee no solid setled well-grounded peace expected till Justice bee executed Idolatry exterpated Jezabel deposed 1 King 15. Reason 5 Fifthly That Judgements may bee prevented if threatned removed if inflicted This is the way to divert the Judgements of God from your persons from your posterity from the whole Nation My Lords if you bear the sword in vain God will not You read in Samuel of old Eli a grave and reverend Judge You
make him busy in the world 1 Pet. 5.8 his design this morning is mainly upon you My Lords as the Panther hates the Effigies and portraicture of a man so the Devil hates the very picture of a good Magistrate and of a good Minister hee will indeavour to dis-swade you from your duty distract and disturb you while you are doing your duty yea and hee will if hee can discourage you when you have done your duty As God standeth in the Congregation of the mighty Job 1.6 judging amongst the Gods So the Devil standeth in the Congregation of the mighty tempting and corrupting those mortal gods As God stands at the right hand of his servants Psal 110.5 so Satan also stands at the right hand of Gods servants Zech. 3.1 if God assist from Heaven the Devil will resist from Hell the left hand is the lazy hand there hee stands where hee can do most mischief Hee is an evil spirit Metaphysically good indeed but Morally and Theologically evil therefore called as Maldonate and our Anotators in the Lords Prayer Evil Deliver us from Evil Cum hostem cernimus aliquid agere quod plane videatur imprudenter actum abhorrere a ratione suspicari dolum aliquem subesse debemus Mach. Disput de Repub. lib. 3. cap. 48. from Satan If ever hee move to any thing that is good observe it and it is either from a bad principle in an evil manner or to a bad end at a wrong time to an improper work c. And therefore as Machiavel counsels in another case suspect him hee intends you no good Take heed then what you do There are special seasons in which Satans Temptations are most seen by discerning Christians a hint or two I shall but give or shoot an arrow or two friendly to admonish you when there is most danger and need to look about you 1 In times of great pressures and afflictions felt or feared when God is afflicting Satan is plotting to put the Saints on indirect waies and means to bee delivered or to repine against God 2 In times of spiritual desertion when the Lord hides his face Satan puts out his head and troubles greatly 3 In times of great discoveries of divine assistance and manifestations of his loving kindnesse which is better and sweeter than life unto a sincere convert after extraordinary inlargement of heart in duty c. 4 At the day of death and dissolution if hee cannot keep the soul from going to Heaven yet hee will indeavour to keep Heaven from comming into his soul I mean the joys and come forts of the Spirit hee is the Prince that hath power in the air the souls that go to Heaven passe through his territories by his very nose how doth hee snarle think you or hath hee done when the Saint is newly dead and his soul taken up to Heaven 5 At such times and upon such occasions as this when some great peece of work is upon the Loom some notable enterprize for Gods glory is upon the Anvile Satan chops in retards the work the instance is pregnant Zech. 3. begin you are now fore-warned take heed therefore what yee do Reason 9 Ninthly The eyes of many are upon you this day and therefore you are obliged to Take heed what you do Notable is that of Seneca Custos te tuus sequitur Senec. Fragm p. 1271. put as tibi contigisse ut oculos omnium effugias Demens quid tibi prodest non habere conscium habenti conscientiam what if thou vain man couldest escape the view of mortal men go further Suppose the holy Angels and the immortal God did not behold thee what if thou hadst no other conscious or privy to thy transactions when as thy conscience which is in stead of a thousand witnesses is guilty but wee have supposed what is not what ought not to be asserted Hear that Heathen again Magnum nescio quid majusque quam cogitati potest numen est cui vivende operam damus Huis nos approhemus nihil prodest inclusam esse conscientiam Deo patemus The eye of God is upon you apposite is that of Elihu in Job 36.7 He withdraweth not his eyes from the Righteous but with Kings are they on the Thrine Hee is totus oculus All eye to see you what ever you do All Ear to hear whatever you say Angels are knowing Creatures De scientia Angelorum plurima notavit Estius lib. 2. Distinct 7. Parag. 11 12 but they know not the thoughts and imaginations of our hearts si signo non prodantur externo as they speak they are not within the ken of men nor within the walk of humane Justice nor subject to the censures of terrene Courts or Consistories But God sets them in the light of his countenance Lips de Const lib. 2. cap. 13 15 Aug. Soliloq cap. 14 Nobis ergo as Lipsius speaks magna est indita necessitas juste agendi recteque vivendi qui cuncta facimus ante oculos Judicis cuncta cernentis The eyes of the glorious Angels are this day upon you as they inform you of Gods Will so they inform God of your wayes Zech. 1.11 and works they tell him what is done here amongst men The eyes of many honourable Gentlemen are upon you Aliquis vir bonus nobis eligendus est ac semper ante oculos habendus ut sic tanquam illo spectante vivamus omnia tanquam illo vidente faciamus c. Sen. Ep. 11. ad finem And it was Seneca's councel to his Lucilius ever to have in his eye either Cato or Laelius or some good man This hee thought would over-awe his Spirit Certainly whoever judgeth and pleadeth as in his eye who is to bee feared will in short time come himself to bee feared to say no more the eye of those trembling Prisoners at the Bar will bee upon you All which considered It will appear of great concernment that you Take heed what you do Once more Tenthly The lives liberties the rights and priviledges the estates and interests of persons are sacred choice and precious things therefore it concerns you My Lords to take heed what you do O let not the line of Justice bee made crooked let not the course of equity bee perverted Life is precious silver and gold are dull and dead commodities to THIS Job 2.4 How did that unparrellel'd Queen beg for her life Esther 7.3 like a Creeple on a bridge Let my life bee given mee at my petition not riches nor honours Stemmata quid prosunt Incomparable was the love which God manifested to the world in giving his Son Jesus Christ So So God loved the World That is such a Sic as never had a Sicut Iohn 3.16 Non unum e multis sed unigenitum Vnigenitum in quo omnem suum amorem collocaverat non quoquo modo dedit sed dedit ut tanquam serpens in deserto exaltaretur i.e.
magnus esse saith the Father incipe ab imo would you be great and do great things for God begin low lay the foundation deep Wee have our Kingdome broken our Countries broken our comforts broken and all because our hearts are not yet broken This may be thought improper for this Auditory To proceed then 2 Vse Exhor The second Use is of Exhortation I shall look upon you under a double Notion or Consideration And First As Men as Christians and so it highly concerns you to Take heed what you do You have noble immortal souls to be saved as well as others 2 Argum. and therefore it concerns you to Take heed what you do 1 They have noble souls to bee saved Ergo If you consider the subtilty and enmity of Satan The miscarriages of so many who have been fair for Heaven and yet have fallen short if you consider that Temptations without you are many corruptions within you mighty and the exactnesse of the way to Heaven You 'l say with them who then can be saved or that there is great cause why yee should take heed what yee do Your souls are choice and precious things Deificatur anima saith one of the Ancients if the soul be considered in her essentiality it is enough to make a man heavenly proud to contemplate of how noble a nature quality and essence it is Coelum Dei sunt animae sanctae Aug. in Psa 97 of all losses in the world this is the saddest loss To thousands it is an unexpected loss and it is to many a wilful loss Nothing shall be had in lieu of this loss they who lose their souls shall have nothing of that for which they did adventure their souls In many it is a losse for a little matter a little pelf a little dross These once lost and you have no more to lose it was the opinion of the Manichees as the Schoolmen tell us that every man had two souls I shall not now stay to tell you what Zabarel and other Philosophers say of that subject This is sure if a man lose one hee loses all Are not your souls My Lords eternally and irrecoverably lost Blesse you God for Jesus Christ who shed his precious blood for the redemption of them and Take heed in the fear of God for the future what you do 2 There is a great God to be served Ergo Again There is a great God to bee feared loved served hee is so high and holy that hee far transcends the highest Titles wee can give to him the holiest conceptions wee can frame of him There is none of you too great or too good to serve God God is too good and too great rather to bee served by you if hee imploy you it is not because hee wants servants but because you want service Remember Pauls not many mighty not many noble are called The flesh of Kings and Counsellors of Magistrates and Ministers is venison in Heaven very rare Few Kings and great men come there as Bucanan told the King K. James of all miracles it will bee the greatest to see a great man past all the shelves and rocks here and safely lodged in the haven of Heaven When the fulnesse of time was come then God sent his Son and when God sent his Son the fulnesse of time was come to save his people not all from their sins not in their sins nor with their sins How few great ones especially take Christ for their Soveraign as well as for their Saviour Their Nobles put not their necks to the work of their Lord Nehemiah 3.5 Did any of the Rulers beleeve in him Chrysostome propounds the Question who ever saw a bad Minister a repenting man Ezek. 22.30 It is very rare I sought for a man among Them but found None Is not this true of wicked Gentlemen Take heed then what you do Secondly Ad Polyb. cap. 26. As you are Christian Magistrates and in short I may now speak in Seneca's language Multa vobis non licent quae humillimis in angulo jacentibus licent An errour committed in Navigation is easily corrected by observing the Elevation of the Pole Many errours and mistakes in judging may bee prevented or amended if you bee observant of your high station and this Caution in the Text I am now to exhort you to close with your duties Inward principles will more sweetly work you to a due execution of the Law and administration of Justice than external Motives yet to discharge my trust I shall humbly offer these animating and encouraging Considerations To execute Justice exactly c. 1 It is a very glorious and honourable act no servile sordid work it is work for Princes yea for Angels they are this way imployed they execute the Judgements of God upon wicked men they fetched Geheunam de coelo Dan. 10.20 Psal 78.49 Act. 12.23 Isa 37.36 as Salvian phrased it Hell from Heaven and destroyed Sodome it was an Angel an holy Angel who smote Herod Though Lorinus thinks it was the Devil Zech. 1.8 Those red horses speckled and white which stood behinde the man riding on the red horse who was Christ were Angels the red were appointed for Judgement the white for Mercy the speckled for mixt actions It is Angels work to shield and deliver the Innocent Consult those Scriptures at more leisure Rev. 7.1,2,3 Psal 34.7 Gen. 32.1,2 2 King 6.14,15,16,17 Psal 91.11 Rev. 21.12 Act. 5.8,9 Rev. 12.7 c. Nothing can more conduce to the glory of God or your own eternal honour and renown than this which I am pressing your Lord-ships to Agesilaus hearing one calling the King of Persia a Great King asked wherein is hee Greater than I except in this that hee is more just than I. Nothing saith Plutarch makes men truly Great but Justice Solomon was never more glorious than when hee executed Justice between the two Harlots 1 King 3. ult calling for the sword to divide the childe and so decide the controversy When Phineas executed Justice on Prince Zimri and the Lady Cosby how glorious was hee in the eye of God and in the hearts of the godly that Heroick act was by God well rewarded by good men much admired You are now honourable Lords in your Scarlet Robes honourably attended and strongly guardded but it is not your rich attire or royal vestments that makes you so venerable and formidable as will the due execution of Justice those are shallow badges very empty marks and Ensignes of dignity This brings lasting honour and raises to your posterity Juris aequitatis quae virum principem ornant eram studiosissimus Vatab. in Job 29.14 monumentum are perennius Notable is that of Seneca Pietate Justitia Principes Dii fiunt My Judgement was as a Robe and Diadem saith Job There are many Ornaments for men Eloquence is an Ornament to an Oratour Humility is an Ornament to a Christian Magnanimity is
Plutarch 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Velvet Slip-shooe is sometimes molested with the Gout the Diadem cures not an aching head nor the chain of gold the tooth-ach And are not these Symbola or singultus morientis naturae But I proceed to the Application of this momentous Truth mine eye is most on that but how to apply it to persons of quality I am yet to learn I may say of this subject Epist ad Francisc Sfort. as Bellarmin did of his book de Arte bene moriendi non allicit ad audiendum absterret potius praesertim viros magnos sive principatu politico sive sacro c. but as Augustin called on his so shall I on my godly hearers Enar. in Psal 39.4,5 orate pro nobis fratres ut quod videndum est bene videamus quod dicendum est bene dicamus I shall reduce what is in my thoughts to two heads Some practical Inferences and an use of comfort I begin with practical Inferences Are not Princes priviledged from falling Must they dye Then First Let this bee your greatest care and most earnest prayer that your souls may live Then life nothing is more desired Then the life of the soul nothing is lesse regarded It was Davids humble petition Psal 119 175. Let my soul live and it shall praise thee What if your bodies fall what though you dye If your souls live you shall do well O bee more solicitous about the lives of your souls with what Arguments shall I excite and quicken you Right Worshipful and Beloved hereunto bee pleased solemnly and seriously to consider That you never more indeavour the prolonging of the lives of your bodies than when you are most studious and solicitous about the lives of your souls Vide Photii Epist 133. de nobilitate animae E Coelo terra omnibusque thesauris suis pro ejusdem fabric◠quod molius ac praestantius desumit ex ipsa terra carnem oss◠ab aqua humorem ab aere anhelitum flatum ab igne temperamentum calorem a lunamotum c. d◠contemptu mundi lib. 1. pag. ◠That there is nothing below Heaven so precious and noble as your souls I confesse your bodies in some respects are very precious quid invenire potest majori magisterio erectum fabricatum quam corpus humanum Consumitur quasi natura in fabrica operis tam excellentis as Bartholdus excellently But speaking of the soul saith hee quid est Deus nisi anima increata quid est anima hominis nisi Deus creatus c. The preciousnesse of it will appear if you consider three things 1 Satan is most busy about your souls he hath an envious eye and aching Tooth at them Non nisi magnum bonum a Nerone damnatur 2 God principally requires the soul My Son give mee thy heart 3 Soul-murther is the greatest next to the blood of Christ the blood of souls is most precious 3 There is no life like to the life of the soul The life of grace is the grace of life it is the sweetest life it is the securest life it is the most honourable comfortable and durable life 4 The life or death of the body follows the fate and state of the soul to all eternity and therefore it concerns you much to look after the lives of your souls 5 Till your souls bee enlivened they cannot bee saved 6 Till your souls bee enlivened no duty shall be accepted they are all dumb and dead services 7 Till your souls bee enlivened the Lord cannot bee praised or glorified Psal 119.175 8 Till your souls live indeed you do not live the Father of the Prodigal dated his sons life from his return This my Son was dead and is alive If my words be of any weight with you if your own souls bee of any worth with you Honoured and Beloved then let this bee your care and prayer Your bodies shall fall I dare not undertake to tell you precisely where nor how nor when Utiliter Deus latere voluit illum diem ut semper sit paratum cor ad expectandum quod esse venturum scit quando venturum scit nescit saith Augustin Enar. in Psal 36 but this is certain fall you must Thrice happy are you if your souls bee transported into Heaven before your bodies bee laid in the bowels of the earth Secondly Learn hence the vastnesse of that distance and infinitenesse of that disproportion twixt God and you who can measure the disproportion twixt an ever-living God Isa 40.15 and an ever-dying creature The Nations are as a drop of a bucket and are counted when duly estimated as the small dust of the ballance All Nations before him are as nothing lesse than nothing and vanity Hee cannot dye nor lye Alas wee are all lying and dying creatures and cannot live When Moses desired to know what was his name Vide Aug. Enar in Psal 102 hee only receives this answer I am that I am i.e. I am a being of my self and truly wee cannot say so of any creature The Angels cannot say so nor men hee is an eternal being wee are all of yesterday hee is the Alpha and Omega wee are neither Before the world was hee was what now hee is and shall bee to eternity wee all fade as a leaf Isa 64.6 are shaken as a reed Matth. 11.7 wither as a Rush Job 8.11,12 Fade as a Rose which is blasted almost as soon as budded our lives like winds Job 7.7 or fomes Hos 10,7 Hee is an unchangeable being with him there is no 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 no parallax no revolution no declination nor shadow of turning 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 How variable and changeable is frail man we dwell in houses of clay our foundation is in the dust no food no physick can keep us long from washing and wasting away Thirdly Whatever your hands finde to do do it with all your might Serve your Generation according to the will of God remembring that you must fall and that there is no knowledge nor wisdome nor working in the grave whither you are hastening Reges non creantur ut in otio vitam agant Kings and Princes are not created to live unprofitably It is not for you who are persons of quality to spend your lives your strength and estates in doing what is worse than nothing there are generous ingenuous liberal imployments sutable to your high births and educations Your noble Ancestors and renowned Progenitours rais'd their families to this pitch of Gentility not by tipling carding dicing hawking c. Delay not the doing of that which if once done all is done and if not done you are for ever undone Speedy indeavours are very necessary where delay is full of danger Some live as if this life should never have end the other no beginning I am now going to dye and yet have not begun to live was the doleful lamentation of Carolus King
if any thing would work in you an holy fear of offending God in any thing an holy care to please God in every thing Hee is a sinner in grain that will sin and look death in the face It was saith one a wild meditation of one but proved well in the conclusion Suppose said hee I should thus say with my self I le drink and bee drunk I le swear and roar I le cheat and do what I list and what then I le quarrel and kill and care for no man and what then Ah! Could I say I le go to Heaven then and bee saved too Vide Carthus de 4. Nov. I le have bliss and happiness after all this This were something but then I must die I must come to Judgement and hold up my hand at the bar of Gods Tribunal and afterwards pay dear for all my short and momentany pleasures such a meditation by the blessing of God might in the conclusion free you from confusion The Text is Apocryphal but the Truth is Canonical Remember thy latter end and thou shalt never do amiss Let every Tombe bee your Teacher and every Monument your Monitour Let not the thoughts of your latter end bee put off to the latter end of your thoughts Thus Jerusalem sinned for this shee suffered Nauta nec in frontispicio nec in medio sed in fine navim dirigit Barthold Lam. 1.9 They who guide or steer the ship stand in the hinder part of it They who would order their conversation aright should think of the up-shot and heel of it viz. Death I remember Jerome reports of Plato hee left that famous City of Athens and chose to live in a little ancient village almost overturned with Tempests and Earthquakes Hieronym contra Jovinian lib. 2 that by being often minded therein of his approaching dissolution hee might get more power over his strong lusts and learn to live more vertuously When you sit down at your boards think on death let the creatures provided for you which even now were living but now dead put you in minde that you shall dye anon Ante senectutem curavi bene vivere in Senectute bene mori Senec. though now alive This will not hasten but sweeten your dissolution This may procure an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an easier nay it will procure an happier passage and egresse out of this world Augustin dictates and pens his Enarrations on the 39. Psalm at St. Cyprians Table in Carthage and it is an excellent Psalm For Items of our Mortality and Vanity I shall not stay to tell you how Severus the Emperour caused a Marble Urne to bee set at the gates of his Palace Quod saepe fieri non potest fiat diu Senec to remember him of his mortality nor of Philips boy with his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 on certain daies and at certain times there was one appointed to salute Ferdinandus Caesar a Roman Emperour with a vive memor lethi Ferdinande When Pausanias asked Simonides to deliver some grave Apophthegm by which he might apprehend his great wisdome for which hee was so famed and renowned Simonides smiling at him Esse te hominem ne exciderit tibi delivered this do not forget thy self to bee a man Pausanius puffs at this but suddenly after being almost pined to death with famine begun to think of Simonides his saying and cryes out Haec vita est 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 schola mortis O Cee hospes magnum quiddam erat oratio tua sed prae amentia esse nihil opinabar Death is like a Dial on which Sun never shines few look on that or this as if it were not best of all to bee with Christ who is all in all I could tell you of Philostrates who lived seven years in his Tombe before hee dyed that his bones might bee the better acquainted with the grave at his dissolution Dye daily and you shall not die eternally Sixthly Bee contented with what the Lord shall bestow on you It is better to bee poor by Gods appointment than to bee rich by the Devils advancement or cut out for you In the grave it is all one who hath had all and who had none you may make a good use of that expression of a vile wretch Behold I dye and what good will my birth-right do mee Were you Masters of all the Indian Mines and the gold of Ophir it could nothing advantage or avail you in the day of Gods wrath nor in the hour of your death What folly is it to lay up goods for many years when wee cannot lay up one day for the injoyment of our goods Christ who never mis-called any calls him fool who talked of enlarging his barns and building more when the building within was crazy and about to bee demolished Worthy Gentlemen Do not minde this earth as if there were no Heaven nor these things below as if they were more durable and profitable than those good things which God hath laid up for them that fear him Miser est emnis animus vinctus amicitia rerum mortalium Wee may seek the things below but in the least place and in the last place not more nor before the things of Jesus Christ Had you as much of the world in your hands as you could desire in your hearts one dram or grain of grace will afford you more comfort when you come to dye Aug Confes lib. 4 cap. 6 It is true wee may not trust in the strength of our graces nor rest on the worth of our graces for acceptance with God yet grace gotten in life will afford comfort at death when riches cannot Had you all the world never was any man so rich as to have all things and where is one so poor as hath nothing yet had you all the world Know this God that gives it to you can with-hold the comfort of it from you hee can suspend the vertue of the creatures and make that to bee a drie breast a barren womb to you which is full to others if hee lay his restraint upon the fire it shall not warm you on your food it shall not refresh you on your treasures they shall not enrich you Creatures beleeve it are better or worser to us according to the nature and vertue of Gods Warrant and Commission to them Had you the whole universe at your dispose if the Lord let one drop of his wrath fall or set the guilt of sin upon the conscience what good will the whole world do you I remember a speech of Augustins up on that speech of Dives desiring Abraham to let Lazarus give him a drop of water Tanta est duâ—cedo coelestis gaudii ut si una gutâ—ula deflueret in infernum Aug. totam amaritudinem inferni absorberet If one drop of Heavens joyes should be let fall into Hell it would swallow up all the bitterness and misery that is in Hell should one drop
them Ubi supra like a Tennis-ball tossed hither and thither from hazard to hazard and anon out of the Court Notable is that of Plutarch 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Let not your power your policy your command or magnanimity puffe you up Insitum est humanis ingeniis imperio insolenter uti De Const lib. 2. c. 25 said Lipsius as great men have been carried about in an Iron cage The blood which now is warm shall freeze anon in your veins the marrow shall drie up in your bones your sinewes shall shrink and eye-strings crack within a short space you shall not bee able to help your selves Let not your beauty or bravery make you ambitious supercilious or haughty Your bodies are vile bodies not God but sin hath made them so 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Elut ubi supra beauty is a thing desirable but it is not durable it is but skin deep a raise with a pin or a daies sicknesse may spoil you of it Let not your Rings your Ornaments raise your spirits they are but badges of your sin and shame It argues a vain frothy heart to bee so proud of such petty things a naughty heart to bee proud of any thing If thy out-side be thy best side thou art poor miserable wretched Worthy Gentlemen when God lifts up your heads let it be your care to keep down your hearts all the world cannot keep that man up that doth not keep down his spirit Remember the doleful Catastrophe of Herod the great of Agrippa the great of Alexander the great you are all in his hand who touches the mountains they smoak who bindes Kings in chains and Nobles in fetters of Iron you are in his hand who will bring you to death and to the house appointed for all the living I shall close up this with that of Bernard Quid prosunt Divitiae quid Honores Divitiae non liberant a morte nec delitiae a verme nec honores a faetore nam qui modo sedebat dives gloriosus in throno modo jacit pauper in tumulo qui prius delitiis oblectabatur modo a vermiculo consumitur qui paulo ante in aula principium honorandus efferebatur modo in sepulchro ignominiosus jacet Eighthly Labour to get sin pardoned No sooner did iniquity enter into your souls but mortality seized on your bodies The parcels of dust which were bound together in Adam by a bond of Innocency were shaken loose upon the commission of his first sin and are not you of his posterity Death like an Archer sometimes shoots over the mark and takes one away that was above you sometimes short of the mark and takes one away that was below you sometimes on the right hand there falls a friend anon on the left then dies a foe but the game is never done till you fall and therefore it concerns you to importune the sin-forgiving God to wash your souls in the blood of Jesus to free you from the guilt and filth of sin Notable is that of Job c. 7. ult And why dost thou not pardon my transgression and take away mine iniquity Observe the importunity of this holy man what 's the matter that Job so expostulates with God for the remission of his sin Bern. Peccare humanum est perseverare in peccato est diabolicum what need of so much speed and expedition hee gives you the ground and reason For now shall I sleep in the dust 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I shall go into the earth I shall die thou shalt seek mee in the morning but I shall not bee It was Chrysostomes complaint 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hom. in Mat. 22. c. it is in that excellent peece of his which Aquinas professed hee had rather have than to bee chief Lord of Paris Every mans care is and labour is about this present life but about pardon of sin Mallem habere opus imperfectum J. Chrys super Matthaeum quam esse dominus Civitatis Parisiensis Carthus de 4 Nov. p. 48 assurance of Gods love and things to come Death and Judgement Not a word is spoken O that the Lord would make his own discoveries unto you of the excellency and necessity of pardoning mercy without pardon of sin you can neither live well nor die well It is a mercy which God ever gives in mercy it is a mercy which makes way for the obtaining of eternal mercies it is a mercy which makes all other mercies to look like mercies taste like mercies and work like mercy it gives liberty to the soul in prison ease in bonds life in death sense of pardon takes away the sense of pain It is bonum comprehensivum in the bossome of it Jer. 33.24 all the riches of Heaven and Earth too are treasured up It is the souls Sanctuary as Augustin speaks The one thing necessary in the day of adversity then there is plus periculi and then it is suavius beneficium How few Princes and great men have you heard upon their knees confessing and praying with that man after Gods own heart For thy Name sake O Lord pardon our iniquities In hoc nomine vincam Luth. for they are great Most miserabley on will bee though now honourable wretched you will bee though now rich if you go out of the world as you come into the world with the guilt of sin upon your consciences Nulla satis magna securitas dum pericliâ—atur aeternitas It is not imaginable that your resurrections shall bee to glory if you die in your iniquity your graves shall bee but the suburbs of Hell You shall bee digged out of those burrows and dragged out of those nasty dens to answer for all your wicked pranks and practises done in your mortal bodies Petitions for pardon speak the Petitioners dependence on another great men will not close with this they would bee thought to have all others to depend on them themselves on none petitions for pardon suppose guilt and guilt the breach of a divine Law Princes and great men would bee reputed guiltlesse lawlesse Petitions for pardon intimate a power in God to punish delinquents penes quem facultas remittendi penes â—um potestas puniendi this is not much regarded The God who multiplies pardons as wee multiply provocations open our eyes to see the sinfulnesse of our sins and the dolefulnesse of our state Anon there will bee no place left for repentance nor remission neither in Christs heart nor ours Anon wee shall have no more comfort from that promise of pardon Prov. 28.13 if now wee neglect it then now the Devils have the gates of mercy shall bee shut eternally and neither Christ in a capacity to give nor your selves in a capacity to receive a pardon Remember O remember this lay not the greatest burden upon the weakest beast leave not the greatest work for your sick-bed It is no beginning to caulk the Ship when in a storm it is
bee amongst us no strife nor contention unlesse which shall bee furthest from strife and contention is there any heart-burnings let them bee turned into heart-breakings Let all emnities and animosities if any amongst you bee laid aside and not resumed till you have another Lord of Atherton who can as this could reconcile or remove them with a word Remember how legions of Devils have agreed in one man Shall not the Christians of and in one Town when sheep But much one against another a storm is approaching Divisions are dangerous disadvantagious and scandalous the windes are very high when the armes of a tree knock one against another Vide Aug. in Psal 133.1 O how good and pleasant a thing is it for brethren to live together in unity so sweet is this saith Augustin that those who could never read the Psalter yet can sing this verse Bee of one minde Psal 24. conc 1. live in peace and though this Worthy bee taken from you the God of love and peace shall bee with you Preserve the Ministry of the Word amongst you Drus in Amos 8.11 it is anima pabulum ad vitam aeternam it is vita victus virtus custodia Luther could live better in hell as hee thought with it than in paradice without it You have done much no Town in England I am perswaded more for it repent not of your good works as Pharaoh did In all places where I record my name Exod. 20.24 I will come unto my people and I will blesse them Precious Promises Hear and your souls shall live There is not so much of duty in the Precept but there is as much of bounty and mercy in the Promise The Ministry of the Word is bonum inestimabile a good never enough prized I would not have you know the worth of it as many do by the want of it I might say of its excellency and necessity as the Rabbines say of liberty If the Heavens were Parchment the Sea Ink and every pile of grasse a pen the praises of it could not bee comprized or expressed There are some things which for their transcendent worth and usefulnesse are said to surpasse all humane understanding As The Love of God Ephes 3.19 The Peace of God Phil. 4.7 The knowledge of Christ Phil. 3.8 The Joyes of Heaven If the joy of Faith bee unspeakable and full of glory 1 Pet. 1,8 what then shall the joy of fruition bee without the Ministry of the Word how can you come to know Jesus Christ and him crucified O lay not violent hands upon your own souls Turn not your backs upon the Lords Ordinances they are of divine institution not of humane invention Expect not mercy without respect had to duty lest you perish eternally some say they are above Gods Ordinances the truth is Gods Ordinances are above them these are spiritual they are sensual carnal c. I know better things of you though I thus speak were ever premonitions prejudicial I give you this advice My Beloved for no by or base ends My trust is in that God who never failed his poor servant If I live Exiguo pane halece contentus erat Luth. Melch. Ad. in vita Luth. p. 166 some place may need mee though an unprofitable despicable obscure creature If I dye I shall need no place My Son God will provide should uphold this base unbeleeving heart A little served Luther can I look for much But this is my fear Brethren this is my fear the removal of the Ministry from you and others too Magistracy and Ministry commonly fall together they are like Hippocrates his twins See Isa 3.2 Lam. 2.6,7 Lam. 4.20 Our sins have provoked the Lord to remove our Magistrates the breath of our nostrils and they will remove Ministers too if not timely and truly repented of It is for the peoples sins that God sometimes strikes their faithful Ministers dumb and dead too Ezek. 3.26 I shall leave one Scripture with you and then commit you to God It is that of Salomon the Master of the sentences where there is no vision Prov. 29.18 the people perish 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 this is inter loca tremenda Some render it thus Feriabitur populus the people will keep holy-day they will have nothing to do but weep and wail or they will do nothing that is good Others thus Nudabitur populus The people shall bee stripped naked left as a City without walls exposed to the fury of the enemy as a body without cloathes open to wind and weather And some Manifestabitur populus The people shall bee discovered it will then appear what is within grace or sin what paintings breathings after God in his Ordinances c. Rebellis erit populus Pagnin thus The people will grow barbarous rebellious and doth not experience and observation prove it Others thus Contemptibilis erit populus The people shall bee of no esteem or repute others may pitty them but few prize them And some Dissipabitur populus The people shall bee dispersed scattered and are not families strangely and sadly shivered and shattered Congregations broken in minutula frustula And others Abstrahetur populus They shall bee drawn away with errours either starved or poisoned Once more Desolabitur populus The people shall bee destroyed or perish All conclude it shall go ill very ill with that people FINIS A Postscript to the READER THis is an age in which many are more forward to drink in new opinions and belch out aspersions than pay their old debts Praise and publick honour is a debt owing to every good man yea as Nazianzen speaks it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a debt that of all debts is most due and just Orat. Funeb pro Caesario fratre Commemorative Orations are not uselesse when the persons interred were very useful why should wee not embalme the memories of our Worthies I remembred that saying of Nicias an exquisite Painter Artis pingendi non minimam partem in eo esse positam ut argumentumâ— eligatur pingi dignum quod spectantium oculos idoneum sit tenere Benignitas quae exeretur â—rga mortuos est benignitas veritatis quia nâ—n expectatur retributio and that other of R. Sal. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and therefore I was the more copious in the commendation of this deceased Gentleman and yet not so full as others might and would have been had they been the Oratours That some snarled I was informed while I was transcribing this short Sermon cannot much bee admired nor is it at all regarded 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Truth is tart and unpleasant to fools c. I see the Arabick proverb verified Justus in patria sua est tanquam aurum in fodina sua nullius fere pretii aut valoris and that of Tacitus Non minus periculum ex magna fama quam ex mala a great fame is not lesse
of wrath from an incensed Majesty fall upon thy soul I may say Tautus paucissimorum jugerum pascuis impletur una sylva Elephantis pluribus sufficit homo terra pascitur mari quid ergo tam insatiabilem nobis natura alvum dedit c. Senec. Ep. 68 it would swallow up all the sweetnesse thou expectest in or from thy creature-comforts Worthy Gentlemen You are the men who have the world in a string swim in rivers of pleasures and rowe in Treasures but know how much soever you have of the world in your hands it is not good to have any of the world in your hearts Know that men of most wealth are not alwaies men of most worth I mean not the most worthy men Have not some said had they never been so happy they had never been so unhappy Beatus qui post illa non abiit quae possessa onerant amata inquinant amissa cruciant Bern. These things below were they the best things Jesus Christ had had more of them and the Devil would not so freely have offered them All these things will I give thee c. These things below they are more deceitful than delightful si aliqua hujus saeculi prosperitas arriserit nonne deceptoria est Enarrat in Psal 40 nonne fluxa caduca est nonne plus habent deceptionis quam delectationis saith holy Augustin If you make the world your God while you are in the world what wil you do for a God when you go out of the world Vide Bellarm. de A. B. morieâ— di cap. 2 O love the world my Brethren as if you were ever about to leave the world Make not your portion your God let God bee your portion The world is like water the more eagerly you grasp at it the lesse you hold of it Riches like witches are most hurtful to them who are most conversant with them or as sands in your hands the faster you gripe Senec. Nat. Qu. lib. 7. c. 31 Aug. Ep. 82 ad Laâ—gum the faster it goes If you have the whole world pusilla res mundus est c. God and all that a man hath is no more than God and nothing that a man hath God is all in all doth all by all and is All without all Remember I beseech you that you are dying men you live in dying times in dying places you have dying relations get dying affections Remember you must die and when you die you shall carry nothing away Psal 49.17 on which words Augustin excellently vides viventem cogita morientem quid hic habeat attendis quid secum tollat attende Quid secum tollit multum auri habet multum argenti multum praediorum multum mancipiorum moritur remanent illa nescio quibus Wee bring nothing with us into this world saith that blessed Apostle 1 Tim. 6.7,8 Nothing of the world comes with us into the world wee are not born with gold rings on our fingers nor with silver-spoons in our mouthes nothing but sorrow and sin and it is certain wee can carry nothing out In that question propounded to the Rich man Luk. 12.19,20 Whose shall these things bee it is implyed that his they shall not bee Hee had the provision of them but can no longer have the possession of them your works may and will your wealth cannot follow you when you flit hence A bundle of staves will hinder a man in his journey one helps him Vide Plotin Ennead lib. 2. cap. 15 A little of the world will serve to bring thee to thy bed Let not the Heathens shame us Elurus could say Da mihi popicentam aquam Aquin. in Phil. 4.13 Dictum illud Epicuri habetur in Senec. Ep. 110. ipsi Jovi de faelicitate controversiam faciamus and Seneca excellently in his eighty and sixty eight Epistles speaks to this purpose but I must pass those passages Chrysostome propounds the question and gives the answer Was Job miserable when hee had lost all that God had given him No hee had still that God who gave him all this is enough I shall conclude this with that of Cardinal Barbarinus Chrys Hom. 4. de patientia Job Vide Barbarini poemata p. 165 Mitte super vacuum cultum curisque solutus Eripe te rerum strepitu sibi vivere dulce est Vive deo tibi sic vives te sola sequentur Post cinerem bene facta rapit reliqua omnia lethum Seventhly Let this Meditation teach you a lesson of Humility Though you bee Elohims yet you shall die like men and fall as this great man this day in Israel Oh what frail mortal sickly sinful bodies do you and I carry about us Our bodies are the Anviles of pains and diseases our mindes the Hives of innumerable cares and sorrows and when wee are extolled highest wee are but those painted spots against which envy and death direct their fatal darts Let not your hearts swell at the thoughts of your honourable pedigree or that you are the progeny of Noble Ancestors Remember that you are all base born till born again Juvenal could say of Moral vertue Prov. 12.26 Lib. de Educandis liberis Nobilitas sola est atque unica virtus It is grace alone that makes you noble it is the righteous man that 's the excellent man Psal 16,2,3 Plutarch could tell the great ones of his age 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and give mee leave to tell you that how nobly soever you are descended unlesse you bee virtuous your selves you disparage your Ancestors discredit your selves and shame your posterity Let not your Honours cause you to look high the lofty looks of man shall bee humbled and the haughtinesse of man shall bee bowed down the Lord of Hosts hath purposed to stain the pride of all glory and to bring into contempt all the honourable ones of the earth and shall not his counsel stand 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Vide Carthus de 4. Novissim p. 22 Heu qui finis fortunae quam stultum est gaudere de loco sublimi praecipiti Inquit Mago frater Hannibalis saith Plutarch in his book de Educandis liberis 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 glory and honour is venerable but not stable are you high in worth bee humble in heart the way to bee truly honoured is to bee thoroughly humbled Let not your vast estates or great riches make you proud it was Absoloms saying What are all these to mee except I see the Kings face say you unto your souls what are all these to mee except I have saving grace The whole Turkish Empire is but a crust that God casts to a dogge as Luther said Nugas King of Scythia asked the messenger who brought him those rich presents and Ornaments from the Emperour of Constantinople whether those things could drive away calamities diseases or death if not those were not worth thanking for they are Dei ludibria as a Heathen calls