life in Christ and with him And hee that layes downe his life for Christ his Saviours sake shall take it up againe for his owne with immortality added to it Let no Man therefore either thinke or say that sufferings are the onely Salaries or the sole rewards that our Saviour Christ vouchsafeth to bestow upon his Souldiers and upon his Servants For never did any Souldier beare armes under the commands of a more Noble Captaine or more excellent Generall Nor can any man serve a better or more generous Master The Proto-Martyr was S. Steven Hee was the first that ever Dorotheus warred under the Banner of Christs Crosse to the losse of life The vaunt-gard was led on by him and hee himselfe did march in the very front to bid the enemy battell and was hee no way rewarded thinke yee Had hee nothing bestowed upon him but onely a volley of stones Did hee lose all salaries Acts 7. 59. with himselfe Oh no! Did hee not rather winne that life which is eternall by losing of his temporall life in that Bed of Honour And has hee not ever since beene invested with the Crowne of Martyrdome And has not that beene ever deemed As soone as he was ordained as though hee were appointed for this purpose stoned to death by them that slew the Lord and for this cause as the first triumphing Martyr of Christ according to his Name hee beareth a Crowne Eusebius l. 2. 1. Acts 7. 55 56. a Crowne of Glory Who ever called that first Brigade of holy Martyrs a forlorne-Hope that was carryed on by his Christian Gallantry and valiant Christianity Yet it was the first Party that faced the foe and gave the Onset Did not the very Heavens open to give Quarter to his Soule when it was beaten from the littler Garison of his Body by a charge of stones They are happy losers that are so beate into Heaven S. Paul was an other valiant Champion for the Lord of Hosts He fought with Beasts at Ephesus after the manner of Men and 1 Cor. 15. 32. Linus Epis de Passione Pauli Dorotheus Eusebius Hist Eccl. l. 2. c. 22. overcame them And was there no reward bestowed upon him for fighting his good fight but onely the Romane Axe sharpened with Neronian cruelty Yes hee knew there was laid up for him a Crowne of Righteousnesse which the Lord the righteous Judge would give unto him Or had Gods humble servant holy Job no better wages then a Dung-hill and a Pot-sheard for serving in such Paines to such Job 2. 7 8. Poverty with such Patience Pained hee was in his flesh till pined unto skin and bones And poore hee was to a very Proverb Job 2. 10. yet patient to a Miracle And had hee no remuneration Yee shall finde hee had and that a large one too if yee shall consult the vouchee of his sacred and authentick story towards the Job 42. 10 12. conclusion of it God was as free to him as hee had beene faithfull to God Job was not long in Misery before the Lord did manifest his bounty to him through the abundant riches of his Mercy The Crowne of Thornes was put upon our Saviours Head but was soone pulled off againe And his tender Limmes were fastened to the Crosse but could not be made so fast unto it but that they were soon loosed from it The Misery of the Crosse was quickly changed into the Majesty of a Crowne And the Paine of the Thornes into the Pleasure of a Throne The Soule of our Saviour was not left in the Hell of Sufferings Nor shall the Sufferings of Hell be left in any Soule that is our Saviours His Soule was soone translated with His Body unto Blisse and Acts 1. 9. Glory and so shall all the Soules and Bodies that belong to him Hee hath Coronets of Happinesse to Nobilitate the Heads of all his faithfull followers And hee hath Palmes of Victory to Honestate the Hands of all I doe not say the Martyred Army of Nobles But the Noble Army of Martyrs and hath stoles of Holinesse to compleate even all the Host of Heaven Cap aâ—pe The Saints on Earth are all but Viatores way-faring-Men wandering Pilgrims farre from home But the Saints in Heaven are Comprehensores safely arrived at the end of their journey All wee here present for the present are but meere strangers in the midst of danger wee are losing our selves and losing our lives in the Land of the dying But ere long wee may finde our lives and our selves againe in Heaven with the Lord of life being found of him in the Land of the Living If when wee die we be in the Lord of Life our soules are sure to be bound up in the bundle of Life that so when wee live againe we may be sure to finde them in the life of the Lord. Now we have but a dram but a scruple but a graine of happinesse to an ounce to a pound to a thousand weight of heavinesse Now wee have but a drop of joy to an Ocean of sorrow But a moment of ease to an Age of S. August l. solil cap. 35. Paine But then as S. Austine very sweetly in his Soliloquies wee shall have endlesse ease without any paine true happinesse without any heavinesse the greatest measure of felicity without the least of misery the fullest measure of joy that may be without any mixture of griefe Here therefore as S. Gregory the Nazianz. in funere patris Divine adviseth us let us ease our heaviest loads of sufferings and sweeten our bitterest cups of sorrows with the continuall Meditation and constant expectation of the fulnesse of joy in the presence of God and of the pleasure at his right Hand for evermore And thus by this vast circumference of the Suburbs yee may easily gesse that this Text is a City of more then one whole dayes journey Yet can I make but halfe one Sabbath-dayes-journey into the Parts and thorow the Passages of the same And therefore I cannot stand as otherwise I should to shew you all the Remarkables in it I shall only point at the chiefest When that antient Pillar of the Church S. Augustine the Ornament of Hippo had enlarged his City of God into 22 Books hee then confest that all that he had written was but stilla de mari scintilla de fâ—co as a drop to the Ocean or the smallest sparkle to the heape of fire upon the Harth What an unequall proportion then must one Sermon needs hold with such a copious subject as this Ezechiel the Prophet drew forth a lively Portraiture Ezech. 4. 1. of the Earthly Jerusalem within the small compasse of a Tile But this Prophetick Swan of Jordan this unfabled Muse of Syon this Hebrew Syren holy David a Musicall Prophet a Propheticall Musician an inspired Songster the sweete singer of Israel yea Israels sweetest Orpheus hath both sung the Prayses and penned the Portraiture of the
Heavenly Jerusalem within the smaller compasse of my Text. For this Text is a very true Map of Heaven though it be a very small one It is a very full description of that endlesse that boundlesse Kingdome A very lively representation of that holy Land of Promise that promised Land of true holinesse whereof the Earthly Canaan was but an Adumbration That great favorite to the God of Israel meeke spirited Moses the first Governour of all the Israel of God before his departure out of this life which was before the Host of Israel had marched thorow the Wildernesse into the promised Land was vouchsafed Deut. 34. 1 2 3 4. a view of it from the top of Pisga And that his view of Palestina at that distance was to shew unto us that a spirituall Israelite may sometimes obtaine a Pisga sight or Glimpse of Heaven before his entrance there or that hee hath quite passed thorow the Wildernesse of this transitory World Here therefore if the Worldly cares of this Earthly Kingdome of England deemed by many to be a second Palestina have not wholy possessed your mindes and left no roome for any Contemplations of the Kingdome of Heaven give mee leave for a little time to remove this Earthly Kingdome from your Mindes by removing your Mindes from this Earthly Kingdome And let mee carry your soules to the Heaven of joyes by bringing the joyes of Heaven to your soules Surely there cannot bee a more pleasing way nor a neerer to bring Mens soules to the fulnesse of joy in the Presence of God then to bring the fulnesse of joy in the Presence of God unto Mens soules If there be any Heaven to be enjoyed upon Earth it is in the Contemplations Speculatio veritatis est ipsa Felicitas Aristot l. 10. Ethic. of the joyes of Heaven And they that open their Soules to let the Pleasures of Heaven into them by meditating of them What doe they but open Heaven it selfe to let in their soules unto those Pleasures If there be any true Pleasures to be expected in this life of sorrowes they must needs be in the constant Expectation of the fulnesse of joy in the Presence of God and of the Pleasure at his right Hand for evermore In thy Presence is the fullnesse of joy and at thy right Hand there is c. In the Text upon the first view of the words we may discoverer two Remarkables 1 The Consummation of true felicity 2 Continuation In thy Presence is the fullnesse of joy there 's the Consummation of true Felicity And aâ— thy right Hand there is Pleasure for evermore there 's the Continuation of that true Felicity to all Eternity First of the Consummation of true Felicity And if we but review the words as they doe discover the same unto us we may plainely see how true Felicity ascendeth as it were by steps unto its Consummation The first step is joy The second fullnesse of joy The third the fullnesse of joy The fourth the fullnesse of joy in the Presence of God The fifth the Present constant and incessant Emanation of the fullnesse of joy in the Presence of God from the Presence of God In thy Presence is c. there it is not there it was nor there it may be nor there it will be but there it is there it is without cessation or intercision there it allwayes hath beene and is and must be It is an assertion â—ternâ— veritatis that is alwayes true it may at any time be said that there it is In thy presence is the fullnesse of joy And herein consists the Consummation of Felicity For what does any Man here present wish for more then joy And what measure of joy can any Man wish for more then fullnesse of joy And what kinde of fullnesse would any Man wish for rather then thiâ— fullnesse the fullnesse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And where would any Man wish to enjoy this fullnesse of joy rather then in the presence of God which is the ever-flowing and the over-flowing Fountaine of joy And when would any Man wish for this enjoyment of the fullnesse of joy in the very Fountaine of joy rather then presently constantly and incessantly Now all these desirables are incircled within the compasse of the first Remarkable to make up the Consummation of true Felicity In thy Presence is the fullnesse of joy The second Remarkable was the Continuation of true Felicity to all Eternity In these words At thy right Hand there is pleasure for evermore â— And if wee bestow a serious Review upon these words wee may finde these foure Considerables in them which are as so many Retainers to true Felicity The first is Pleasure which is indeed the second selfe of Heavens Happinesse The second is a Variety of Pleasures as it is in our last and best translation Pleasures in the Plurall Number Delectatioâ—â—s so St. Jerome Jocunditates so Montanus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so the Originall All Pluralls And this Plurality or Variety of Pleasures must needs add much pleasure to every one of all those Pleasures whereof there is Variety The third is the Height of all those severall Pleasures Dâ—lectationes in dextrâ tuâ Pleasures at thy right Hand i. e. Pleasures at the height for that 's the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the apex the very Commencement or accomplishment of the highest Degree of Pleasure The fourth is the Length of all those Pleasures at that height for evermore Now what can be thought of to be added more Can any Degree of Pleasure be higher then that at Gods right Hand Or can any pleasures be more lasting then those that are for everlasting or lasting for evermore What câ—â— any Man wish for more Can any man desire any more then to enjoy as complete a fullnesse of joy as it is possible for any to desire to enjoy and to enjoy that fullnesse of joy as long as it is possible for any Man to desire to enjoy it Now this Text asserteth and ascertaineth all this to be in the Heavenly presence of God In thy Presence is the fullnesse c. There is pleasure so the former translation There are pleasures so the latter The latter is the better but both are best together Wee may observe them both to speake that fully which either of both speaketh truely Here on Earth Men seeme sometimes to take great pleasure in things that neither are true pleasures in themselves nor have true pleasure in them And they have true pleasures sometimes offered to them and they take no pleasure in them But in the presence of God there are true pleasures and there is true pleasure in them to the enjoyers of them True pleasures in themselves they are and so shall be for evermore And they are true pleasures also unto those that have them and unto them they shall for evermore be so The longest Duration of them shall not diminish their Delectation in them pleasures at the height they are and
your calling in Christianity are both to Peace Your generall calling as Yee are Christians is to seeke peace for your selves And your speciall calling as yee are Jurors is to make peace for others Let that Peace of God Coloss 3. 15. then rule in your hearts to the which also yee are called in one Body It is the businesse of honest Juries to end differences and to make peace and so it is of holy Christians There is nothing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Jam. 3. 18. more proper to a Christian saith S. Basil 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 then to pacifie Dissentients The fruit of Righteousnesse is sowne in peace of them which make peace saith S. James And blessed are the Peace-makers saith our Saviour for they shall be called the Sonnes of God Mat. 5. 9. If they be the Sonnes of God that make peace certainely saith S. Gregory they are the Sonnes of the Devill that marre peace or that hinder it from making That yee may be sure to make it yee must be sure to follow 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the things that make for peace follow Rom. 14. 19. after Charity that makes for peace and that if any thing will make it follow after it towards Plaintiffs and follow after it towards Defendants And yee Plaintiffs and yee Defendants leave following of one another in vexatious Sutes and follow after Charity It was a strange thing to Salvian in his dayes to see One place his greatest Happinesse in the great Unhappinesse of an other Why should it be a thing so common as it is in these dayes The Inhabitants of Japan would needs salute by pulling Hey'yns Geograp Orientall Islands off their Shoes because that they of China did use to salute by pulling of their Hats Thus many love to live in opposition And to be like meere Antipodes in all their wayes to their next Neighbours They are easie to be provoked and hard to be intreated which is quite contrary to Christian Charity for Charity is not easily provoked it suffereth long 1 Cor. 13. 4 5. Jam. 3. 17. 1 Cor. 13. 7. and is kinde saith S. Paul But it is easily intreated saith S. James It beareth all things it endureth all things saith S. Paul It envyeth not it seeketh not her owne not usque ad apicem juris To the utmost punctilio of right for summum jus summa discordia sayes Martin Luther The extremity of Right causeth the extremity of Wrangling Ye Plaintiffs then be perswaded to remit something of right for Charity sake and for Quiet sake which followes after Charity And yee Defendants follow after Charity and if it bee possible as much as lieth in you live peaceably with all Men. Rom 12. 18 19 21. Avenge not your selves but rather give place unto wrath Bee not overcome of evill but overcome evill with good 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith S. Paul follow after peace when the Plaintiff Heb. 12. 14. hath taken it from you doe yee follow after it untill yee have overtaken it follow after it with the Plaintiffe and follow after it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 even with all Men and follow after it with an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 if it be possible to overtake it and follow after it with a quantum in vobis est as much as lieth in you to recover it Be of one minde and live in peace and the God of love and peace shall be with you 2 Cor. 13. 11. And Yee that are Juris periti yee that follow the practice of the Lawes of this Kingdome 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 follow the practice of this Law of Christs Kingdome follow after Charity follow after it towards your Clients and follow after it towards their Antagonists Plead this Law of Christs Kingdome to them as well as the Lawes of this Kingdome for them Perswade them to value the Authority of this Law of Christs Kingdome by the credit of the Author The greatest Lawyers and Law-givers amongst the Heathen did ever father their Lawes upon the Gods of greatest credit amongst them that men might give the greater reverence to them Those Lawes which Lycurgus made for the Lacedemonians Plutar. in vit â—yâ—ur Diodorus Sâ—culus were fathered upon Apollo Those Lawes which Minos made for the Cretians were fathered upon Jupiter And those which were made by Anacharsis for the Scythians were fathered Herodot in Melpoâ— Ludoviâ— Vives in S. Aug. de civ Dei Plutar. in vit Num. Poâ—p upon Zamolxis And those that had no Fathers for their Lawes did finde out Mothers for them Numa Pompilius that made Lawes for the Romanes ascribed them to the Goddesse Egeria And Zaleucus that made Lawes for the Locrians ascribed them unto Minerva These Gods and Goddesses had all beene Men and Women amongst the Heathens But the Authour of this Law of Love is none other but the great God of Heaven and Earth The God of Gods and Lord of all Lords And it is hee himselfe that urges the practice of it For his sake men ought to follow it and in speciall manner towards himselfe That Noble Arimathean that plaid the Mat. 27. 57 58 59 60. Sextons part to in-grave our Saviours Body in a Stone was one of your profession a worthy Counsellour Bee yee of his Mark 15. 43 46. profession towards Christ Hee shewed Charity towards the humane Body of Christ when it was crucified Doe yee shew Charity towards the mysticall body of Christ the Church which is almost crucified Hee did his best to take that Body of our Saviour from the Crosse and hee did it Do but yee Luke 23. 53. your best to take the Crosse from this Body of our Saviour it may be yee may doe it doe something towards it The Law of Charity was from our Saviour And the Charity of this Law should bee chiefely for him For his sake then follow after Charity And yee that undertake for others in their Law-cases undertake also in this Gospell-case for Christ be his Attorneyes He is the Prince of Peace be yee all for the Peace of this Prince Bee Isaia 9. 6. yee for Christ that Christ may be for you Labour to make peace on Earth for your Christian Clients that Christ as your Advocate may make peace for you with God in Heaven Let 1 John 2. 1. no one here of your Profession be a Lachesis to spin out the thread of controversie when the Judge would be an Atropos to cut it off And when the Judge would be an Oedipus to unty the knots of doubt betweene Party and Party Let no one be a Sphinx to entangle them more and more When the Judge hath put the old and tyred quarrells to their Squatts let no one start them againe to be hunted from Court to Court Let nothing Philip. 2. 3. be done through strife or vaine glory But let all your things be done with Charity And so let the things of all 1 Cor. 16. 14.
Deo Durand Manutenentiâ divinâ conservantur Deus est ubique essentia sed non suo tam singulari favore quo in Judaea sic etiam dicitur esse ubique sed habitaro in sanctis Pet. Baron in Jonam Praelect 7. Beings by participation And the Universall Presence of his uncreated Being does continually create their Beings for his conserving of them constantly is a creating of them continually His being present at all times in all places does give being to all men and to all things Doe not I fill Heaven and Earth saith the Lord Jerem. 23. 24. Both are filled with his Presence But not both alike Nor is hee alike in all the places of the Earth Hee is present with those that are in joyfull Prosperity and so hee is with those in sorrowfull Adversity But not alike with both not so with these as hee is with those His being present with both doth give being unto both but not true joy much lesse the fulnesse of joy It must be his speciall Presence that must doe that and that speciall Presence of his is twofold 1. Gratious 2. Glorious The Militant Saints enjoy the first The Saints Triumphant enjoy the second Those have the Presence of his Grace and the Grace of his See Dr. Donnes 3. Sermon on the Nativity upon Gal 4. 4. Presence filling them as full of joy as their estate Militant does render them capable in this vally of Teares But alas their greatest measure of joy here must needs fall short of the fullness of joy But these have the Presence of his Glory and the glory of that Presence glorifying of them to the fullnesse of joy and gracing of them with the Perfection of all Glory and the glory of all Perfection The Inchoation of glory is here in the Kingdome of grace And the Consummation of grace is there in the Kingdome of glory Grace is the beginning of glory and glory the perfection of grace The joy of the Saints beginnes with their glory and the glory of the Saints is the fullnesse of their joy No joy without glory and no glory without grace The Temple of Honour and the Temple of Vertue â— ivi lib. 27. Plutarch in vit Marcelli Vâ—ler Max. l. 1. c. 1. Rosin Antiquit. Roman l. 2. 18. Gloria virtutem sequitur ut corpus umbra Beroaldus in Tusculan Quâ—st were so situated at Rome of old that no man could enter the Temple of Honour unlesse hee passed thorow the Temple of Vertue to signifie unto the Romanes that the way to Honour was only by Vertue In like manner the Kingdome of Grace and the Kingdome of Glory are so Ordered that no Man can enter into the kingdome of glory but first hee must passe thorow the kingdome of grace By grace man comes to glory And by glory to the fullnesse of Joy When the Lord of glory shall appeare to us in Mat. 13. 43. Felix qui potuit boni fontem visere lucidum Boetius de consolat Philosoph lib. 3. Met. 12. Quanta erit selicitas ubi nullum erit malum nullâ— deerit bonum S. August l. 22. de Civit. Dei Equidem beatos existimo qui â—int in bonis nullo adjuncto malo Cicero l 5. Tusc Quaest glory and make us appeare in glory to himselfe and cause that glory of the Lord to appeare in us amongst the glorious Saints and Angels in Heaven then saith S. Jerome and not till then shall wee enjoy the fullnesse of Joy It is his glorious presence onely that affords the fulnesse of joy And this fullnesse of joy consisteth in two things 1. In the Absence of all detestable things 2. In the Presence of all delectable things In a perfect freedome from all evill things And in a perfect freedome in all good things First a perfect freedome from all evill things Now evill things are of two sorts 1. Sinnefull 2. Sorrowfull Mala turpia and Mala tristia as the Moralists call them or Mala culpae and Mala paenae as the Schoole Divines and others Evills of Sinne And evills of suffering for sinne These evills are both amongst Men on Earth but both are excluded from amongst the Saints in Heaven there is neither wickednesse nor yet wretchednesse amongst them Those that enjoy the glorious presence of God can neither meete with wickednesse nor be met with by any wretchednesse They can neither finde the evill of sinne nor can they be found by the evill of sufferings But shall be for ever freed from both First they shall for ever be free from sinne free from the condemning power and free from the commanding power of it free from all guilt of sinne and free from every Act of sinne There is a freedome in the glorious presence of God both à peccato regnante from sinne reigning and à peccato habitante too from sinne dwelling In this present World sinne raigneth over the worst and remaineth in the best But in Heaven there is neither any dominion of sinne nor dwelling for sinne There is an absolute Immunity from all sin and from all occasions of it and temptations to it And as there is a freedome from all sinne so from all suffering for sinne All Teares are there wiped quite away from all Revel 7. 17. 21. 4. eyes They that enjoy the glorious presence of God shall weepe no more unlesse it be for joy that they shall weepe no more for griefe All cause of griefe is farre removed from Non est ibi mors non est ibi luctus non est ibi lassitudo non est infirmitas non est sames milla sitis nullus aestus nulla corruptio nulla indigentia uâ—lla maestitia nulla tristitia Aâ—gust lib. 3. de Symbol that presence They that enjoy it enjoy with it an absolute enfranchisment from all incombrances and inconveniences They are free from want And free from War And free from death And free from Devills They are free from want They can want nothing there unlesse it be want it selfe They may finde the want of evill but never feele the evill of want Evill is but the want of good and the want of evill is but the absence of want God is good and no want of good can be in God What want then can be endured in that presence of God where no evill is but all good that the fullnesse of joy may be enjoyed Here some Men eate their meate without any hunger whilest others hunger without any meate to eate And some Men drinke extremely without any thirst whilest others thirst extremely without any drinke But in the glorious presence of God not any one can be pampered with too much nor any one be pined with too little They that gather much of the Heavenly Manna have nothing â—ver And they that gather little have no lack They that are once possessed of that presence of God are so possessed with it that they can never feele the misery of thirst or hunger And as they
any of it Every soule shall enjoy as much good Quicquid enim amabile aderit nec desiderabitur quod non aderit S. Zegedin loc Commun In caelesti beatitudine veraciter sine sine gaudium est sine aliquo taedio manens aeternitas inspectio sola divinitatis efficia ut beatius nil esse possit Cassio epist lib. 2. in that presence by the presence of that good as it shall be able to receive or to desire to receive As much as shall make it fully happy Every one shall bee filled so proportionably full And every desire in any soule shall bee fullfilled so perfectly in that presence of glory with the glory of that presence that no one shall ever wish for any more or ever be weary of that it has or bee willing to change it for any other Indeed the fullnesse of any evill is an evill fullnesse for it ever causeth wearinesse and bringeth wishings of exchanges But the fullnesse of joy in the presence of God does never create any wearinesse nor any beginnings of discontentednesse There is a fullnesse unto loathing And there is a fullnesse unto liking A fullnesse that causeth dislike And a fullnesse that causeth delight The lustfull desires of any sinners are quickly satiate unto nothing But the longing desires of every saint in the presence of God are for ever satisfied unto liking and delight All the desires of the Saints and Angells in the presence of God are satisfied by their enjoying of his presence yet are they never satisfied with the enjoying of his presence as Dionysius Carthusianus very wittily They are alwayes satisfied Dionys Carthu de quat hom Nov. Art 65. Quid enim aliud est Dei Opt. Max. cognitio atque amor ex ea quam inexplebilis appetitus ad haerâ—ndi illius infinitati Jul. Caes Scalig. de subtil with it according to their owne desires and alwayes have desires to be satisfied with it as they are They ever enjoy it without any loathing of it and they desire ever to enjoy it without any languishing of it Indeed they can never be wearyed with having of it but you by this time may with hearing of it It is better by farre to have it then heare of it This discourse about the fulnesse of joy in the presence of God and the pleasures of his right hand for evermore may not be like them here it may not be for evermore The Course of all those pleasures may not cannot be cut off but this discourse about them may and must Yet here lest all this long contexture should unravell at this end by being thus cut off I cannot but presume to turne it in and make an hem or overcast it at the least that you may make some further uses of it And in the first place because there is the fulnesse of joy in the presence of God and pleasure at his right hand for evermore therefore let us deeme it rightly as it is a meere madnesse in any man to dote upon these empty Shadowes of Earthly joyes and these vanishing Seemes of worldly pleasure which are but for the present None but the meerest Naturall lack-wits will preferre a worthlesse pebble to a matchlesse Pearle And surely they can be no other but meere Naturalls which postpone the fulnesse or joy in the glorious presence of God and the pleasures at his right hand for evermore unto the joyes and pleasures of this present world He that swops away Heaven for Earth makes a worse bargaine for himselfe then Glancus made with Diomedes when he exchanged 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 As the Prince of poets Homer Iliad writes it Golden weapons for weapons of brasse Armes worth an hundred Oxen fit for Sacrifices for Armes not worth more then nine What are the Joyes and pleasures of his present world unto the fulnesse of joy in the presence of God and the pleasures at Gods right hand for evermore Alas they are all as nothing How firme and faire so ever they are in seeme yet indeed they are but like the Joseph de Bell. Judaic lib. 5. Apples which Josephus writes of neer unto the lake Asphaltites which perish if they be but touched I have seene a witty fancy portraied on a Table where Justice was Seated holding a paire of Scales to weigh the Religions of the Protestants and of the Papists one against the other The Protestants put nothing but verbum dei scriptum the written word of God into the Scale But the Papists adde and heape their Trentalls and all their Decretalls the Papall Chaire and the Triple Crowne their Beades and all their Bead-rolls of Tradition Their Holy-waterpots and all their Magazines of holy reliques with all their Trinckets Trash and Trumperie into their Scale and under neath their scale that grande Impostour the Devill is portraied hanging and adding all the weight he can unto that fide yet all will not doe all cannot counterpoise the weight and worth of the written word of God alone And should we take the Balance of the Sanctuary and put the joyes and pleasures of this present World into one Scale and the joyes of Heaven or the fulnesse of joy in the presence of God and the pleasures at his right hand for evermore into the other and weigh them one against the other wee should find all worldly joyes and pleasures to be but as the dust Isaiah 40. 15. Psal 62. 9. of the Balance yea lighter then vanity it selfe Solomon was as wise as any Man of this World yet could 1 Kings 4. 29. 30. Eccles 2. he never finde out any reall joyes or pleasures in this World Onely by his wisdome he could finde that there are none here to bee found let not us bee so unwise then as to seeke them here where Solomon himselfe could never finde them He could not finde them under the sunne let us then seeke above it S. Chrys Hom. 151 for them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith S. Chrysostom 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 let us not let our thoughts fall downwards to the Earth but fly to Heaven upwards Let us seeke those things Colos 3. 1. which are above Let us seeke the fulnesse of joy in the presence of God and the pleasures at his right hand for evermore And in the second place because there is the fulnesse of joy in the presence of God and pleasure c. Therefore let us seriously consider what they lose that are excluded and exiled from that glorious presence of God for ever Alas for them their losse is beyond expression beyond imagination No mortall man can either fathome the depth or measure the greatnesse of their miseries that are for ever deprived of that felicity The miseries of this world are a world of miseries yet are they all as nothing to the miseries of hell for hell is nothing else but miseries And the miseries of hell are either in poena damni or in poena sensus In the
11. time but grievous And no time in affliction seemeth short but tedious unlesse with Paul we be perswaded that our light 2 Cor. 4. 17. affliction lasting but a moment shall worke for us a farre more exceeding and eternall weight of glory The Lord does make the bitternes of this life of sorrowes to seeme the more imbittered to his servants that the sweetness of the life of joyes may seeme the sweeter to them when they come to the enjoyment of it Yet that the bitterest sorrowes of this life may be the better relished the sweetest joyes of life are promised to them that in their sorrowes wait for joyes with patience And to perswade to patience in the midst of sorrowes we must observe them to be common What Militant Saint did ever beare the Ensigne of a Mortall life without some Crosse or Crosselet in it Who could ever blazon the Escocheon of his Militancy or Mortality and not finde the Field of his life to be charged with Crosses Gules or Crosses Sable The first Adam could not nor could the second And who indeed can wish for the heaven of happinesse or the happinesse of heaven here where the King of heaven went through an hell of miseries There can be no greater unhappinesse Nihil infelicius co cui nihil unquam evenit adversi Seneca Fortuna quem nimium fovet stultum facit Prov. 1. 32. Vexatio dat intellectum in this life than never in this life to have unhappinesse Perpetuall prosperity does make a foole so sayes one that was no foole And Prosperity perpetuall does marre a foole so sayes another and he the wisest of wise men Prosperity may sometimes foole a wise man unto folly and Adversity may sometimes tutour a foole to wisdome 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Many instructions are taught by afflictions God sendeth Crosses in stead of Blessings unto those he hateth but he often blesseth those with crosses which he loveth It is well for them Psal 119. 67. 71 that they are afflicted It is very true that Oppression makes the wise man mad for so sayes the wise man himselfe in his Booke of the Preacher Eccles 7. 7. And it is as true if we Preach it that oppression makes some madd men wise But who is willing to be Schooled by so curst a Pedagoge But volenter nolenter whether men will or no it must sometimes be so and better so then worse for ever Too much it is for one man to enjoy two Heavens And as great pitty it is that any one should endure two Hells And therefore I may truly say that God of his goodnesse and his wisdome hath appointed one of each for every man There is not onely an Heaven or an Hell for any one but an Heaven and an Hell for every one This present world is both but unto severall Men It is the Sinners Heaven but Hell it is unto the Saints on Earth The sinfull worldling takes his pleasure here he hath all his happinesse here that he is ever like to have here are all his joyes and all his hopes of joy He wishes for no other Heaven he lookes not after any other He thinketh not of that to be enjoyed hereafter Here would he live for ever if he might But alas It may not be This world must not last alwayes and though it might yet might not his life in it his life is but of few dayes It soone must have an end What wise man then would wish to live his best life first seeing that it must so soone be lost Who would wish to have his heaven here where he can stay but a few dayes Yea where he cannot assure himselfe to stay one day or houre Againe this present world is a kind of Hell to others or in stead of Hell unto them It is a Place of Trouble a Place of Suffering But their stay here is short Now who would not rather endure the Hell of a few dayes miseries here and enjoy the Heaven of Eternall happinesse hereafter then enjoy the Heaven of a few dayes pleasure here and endure the Eternall miseries of Hell hereafter Temporall Pleasures are dearly bought with the losse of Eternall And temporall sufferings are well requited with eternall Pleasures That is a miserable happinesse that must end in such miseries as must never end And those are happie miseries that shall soone end in endlesse happinesse This life is but a journey towards Death and but a short one And Death is yet a shorter passage to a longer and a better life Indeed no Mortall Pilgrim can be wearie of the longest journey of life if by the way he does but well remember the endlesse joys that he shall enjoy at his journeys end But yet the shorter that his journey be the sooner shall he be at home possessed of those joyes And who would wish a long and tedious journey to himselfe to keepe him long from the enjoyment of them That life of joyes is worth the wishing that shall never have an End And that End of life is full as worthy of our wishes that shall begin the Joyes of that endlesse life And that end Theophra must be ere long for Vita brevis life is short Man that is borne of a woman is but of a few dayes and full of trouble saith holy Job Job 14. 1. He is of few dayes that he may not live too long in trouble And his dayes are full of trouble that he may not long for more of them then a few Mans dayes are full of trouble that a few may serve his turne and make him weary of them And his dayes of trouble are but few that he may not be too much wearied with them It is mans great Misery that his few dayes are full of trouble And it is Gods great Mercy that mans dayes of trouble are but few for if the Dayes of Mans life be full of trouble it is well for Man that his life of trouble is not full of Dayes It is ill for Man that the troubles of his few dayes are so many And it is well for Man that his dayes of trouble are so few The few dayes of Mans life are full of trouble that Man may dayly be minded of his duty in seeking 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 S. Chrysost Hom. 6. Corcydas for another life better then this present And Mans Dayes of Trouble are but few that Man may not be wearied so as to leave seeking for that other life before that this doth leave him Then let the Miseries which accompany Mortality weane us from all fondnesse towards this life present And let the felicity of life eternall win us to long after that The thoughts of the Elysian happinesse did so encourage a poore Grecian a meere Pagan at the instant of his death that he rejoyced much to think of going to Pythagoras and other learned Philosophers to Olympus and other skilfull Musicians to Hecataeus and other Hecataeus Misesius Historicus
celeberrimus Volateran Anthropol Homeri duo fuerunt Volateran Anthropol l. 17. approved Historiographers to Homer the Prince of Poets and other famous Wits that were his followers That Poeticall Paradise the Elysian Field could make a Pagan give his longum vale to this present world with notable resolution And shall not the reall pleasures of the Celestiall Paradise the fulnesse of joy in the glorious presence of God encourage a Christian at his death to depart as comfortably as a faithless Grecian Why should Fantasie in a Heathen be more powerful than Faith in a Christian Is not that company as good which we beleeve to be in the glorious presence of God as that which he imagined to be in Elysio Campo And are not the joyes as many and as great Why then should not every true Beleever cheare up himselfe at his departure by thinking of his going to S. Peter S. Paul S. James S. John and to all that glorious Company of Apostles in that presence of God And of his going to Elias and Elisha and Isaiah and Ezechiel and to Daniel and all that goodly fellowship of the Prophets And of his going to S. Steven the Proto-Martyr and to Ignatius and to Justinus and to our Cranmer and our Ridly and our Hooper and our Taylor and all that Noble Army of Martyrs And of his going to that Reverend Patriarch Abraham the Father of the faithfull and to Isaac and to Jacob and to all the holy Patriarchs in the Kingdome of God And of his going to the holy Angels and Arch-Angels and Thrones and Powers and Principalities and to the Spirits of all just Men made perfect Who can thinke of Hebr. 12. 23. being thus transported and not be transported with the very thought of it Surely it must needs be a very Consolatory Viaticum to the soule of a dying Christian to thinke of exchanging Earth for Heaven and the sordid Company of Sinners for the sweet society of Saints Who can thinke of Reigning with holy David and good Quae dementia est amare pressuras poenas lacrymas mundi S. Cypr. de Mortal Egredere anima mâ—a S. Hieron in vit Hilar. Luke 2. 29. 30. Octogenarius ille ceciâ—it â—lor Draxel Zodiac Christian Josias and with Christ Jesus himselfe in his Kingdome of Glory and still desire to bee subject to his owne corruptions and the corruptions of others Hee that thinkes upon the fullnesse of joy in the presence of God and the pleasures at his right Hand for evermore can never wonder that old Hilarion should entreate his owne soule to be packing thither When Swan like Simeon had but seene his Saviour in his state of Humiliation hee could not chuse but sing his nunc Dimittis Lord now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace according to thy word When his Saviour and ours was come into this World and hee had taken him into his Armes hee desired leave then of the Lord to take his leave of the World that so he might leave his soul in the Armes of his Saviour And they that have seen their Saviour by the eye of Faith as now hee is to be seen in his state of Exaltation and have embraced him in Augu. de Civit. Dei l. 19. Psal 39. 12. Et ideo â—anquam peregrinus ad illam Sanctorum omnium patriam â—estinabat S. Ambros de â—on Mort. the Armes of their afffections can never be unwilling to depart in peace that with the God of Peace and Prince of Peace they may have peace in life eternall and eternall life in peace as S. Augustine turnes it very wittily Are we not all Pilgrimes here and are wee not allmost lost in dangerous wayes and desperate Times Who then can chuse but wish himselfe at home Caelum Patria Christus via vita nostra deambulacrum Heaven is our Home Christ is our Way thither and this life is our Walke Our Home is pleasant our Way perfect but our Walke painefull Yet there is a necessity of our Walke and there is Adversity in our Way But there is Felicity at our Home Wee are all here upon our Walke And wee all have heard of our onely Way and who does not John 14. 6. Heb. 10. 20. wish with all his heart that he were at home I 'le speak even all your Errands in a word and send you homeward Remember whither yee are going and stay not by the way for feare it be too late ere yee get home Remember your Way and stray not from it for feare yee lose your selves and never come neere home But be sure to keepe your Way and be content to travell hard and yee may be sure ere long yee shall reach home and receive a wellcome home by all the Saints in Glory and a Crowne of Glory by Christ our Saviour and the fullnesse of joy in the Presence of God and pleasures at his right Hand for evermore Amen Amen * ⎠* FINIS A SERMON OF THE WORLDS VANITY AND THE SOVLS EXCELLENCY Preached in the Cathedral Church of Saint Paul in the fore-noone Octob. 9. 1642. By Edw. Willan M. A. C. C. C. in Ca. Homer Iliad 10. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 LONDON Printed for RICHARD ROYSTON at the Angel in Ivie-lane 1651. TO The Worshipfull Robert Style Esquire his ever honored Patron AND To the Right Worshipfull Robert Aylet Dr. of Law and one of the Masters of the CHANCERY Gentlemen THis Sermon was appointed for the Crosse But I hope there is no crosse appointed for this Sermon It came not at the Crosse when it was preached And I hope no crosse shall come at that when it is printed It took sanctuary in the Quire and so was delivered to an extraodinary multitude of Hearers But iâ— now requires another kinde of sanctuary to be delivered from the multitude of ordinary Censurers Your kinder countenances may prove such a sanctuary to it It is a Sermon of Merchant-Adventurers and it hath made me a Venturer though no Merchant And in this Paper-bottome I have made a twofold Adventure The first is of this Tendry of Respect and Service to your Worships for the gaining of your favours for the Protection of the other And that other is not an adventure of a Soule for the gaining of the World but of a Sermon about the World and the Soule into the World for the gaining of Soules And your joynt favours as I conjecture may prove a very safe Convoy to it thorow the World Caeptis aspirate It was the one of your good Worships which called it then unto the Pulpit or caused it to be called thither And it is the other that hath now called it unto the Presse or occasioned the Printing of it And now whose shall I call it It might sometimes have been called mine But it hath been miscalled I know not whose I remember well I heard the Character of a
Merchandize it self or the Negotiating oâ— the Trade which is notably set forth unto us by a strange Paradoxe of gaining and losing by the same bargain yâ—â— of gaining the whole World and losing by the bargain gain the whole world and lose his own soule Fourthly The Ballance of Trade which in the Dialect of Merchants is nothing else but an exact Computation oâ— the casting up of a just Account thereby to know what iâ— S'r Ralph Maddâ—son in his Englands looking in and out lost or gained by the Merchandize What is a man profited as much as to say Ballance the Trade compute the worth of the Ware exported with that of the Ware imported and then tell me What is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soule These Minutes of the Text shall be the Measures of my Time and your Patience First of the Merchant Man What is a man profited By â— man here our Saviour meaneth any man whatever He speaketh here not only of such as compasse Sea and Land to gather the Riches of this World together as Ferdinandus Magellanes did Ferdin Magâ—llan Portuga rei nauticae peritissimus impetrata classe 5 navinm à Caesare an Dom. 1519. 10 die August ex Hispali solvit Canarâ—as adit ab iis rectè Brasiliam navigavit Navis ejus à sociis in Hispaniam ducitur 6 Septem 1524. Haec prima suit Navigatio Drake Id. Decemb. 1577. ex Anglia solvit toto terrarum orbe circumnavigato domum redit 4 Kal. Octob. 1580. Tho. Cavendish ex Anglia solvit Jul. 21. 1586. totum terrae ambitum circumnavigavit rediit Sept. 15. 1588. and as our Drake and Cavendish after him with other Circum-Navigaters Nor speaks he only of such as adventure to some special or particular Ports or Places of Merchandise such as Alexandria and Aleppo the Graâ—â— Caire and both the Indies are as thâ—â— Royal Merchant King Solomon did who sent forth ships from Ezion-Gebâ— for the transfretation of Gold froâ— Ophir And as that neighbouring Prince of ours that sâ—â— 1 King 9. 26. 28 forth sumptuous Plate-Fleets for the importation of hâ—â— Perulania But he speaks of any Man that adventures thâ— losse of his Soule by any way of Traffiquing for this present World For thus an indefinite Interrogation may veâ—â— well the universal in the Interpretation And this French Title Merchant as Ambrose Calepine asserteth may be given Diction Hexag to any man that any way deales or chaffers for any thing in this World whether it be for his own use or to trade away again to others And surely such as adventure the losse of an Eternal estate in Heaven for the gaining or the increasing of a Temporal one on Earth are very Merchants indeed Now of such and unto such this Question is most fitly propounded What is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soule Thus we have found out the Merchant Man any man Now let us look upon the Wares and they are as you have heard of two sorts The first Imported the second Exported First of the Ware imported concernig which two Circumstances are to be considered 1. A Variety 2. A Monopoly First of the Variety The World Now the World may be considered two wayes 1. Philosophically 2. Theologically First Philosophically and so indeed the World is nothing Conimbâ— lib. 1. de Coelo cap. 1. else but a Variety of things in a beautiful Order Th◠〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or beautiful Order in that Variety hath given the Appeâ—â—ations to it both in Greek and Latine It is ordinata compages rerâ—â— omnium a well-disposed Pack of all kinds of War s. Omnia Corpora simul sumpta dicâ—â—tir Mundus All Physical Bâ—dâ—s taken and compact together are called the World But there are no Merchants as I conjecture that trade for this World in this Philosophical sense And therefore secondly the World may be considered in a Theological sense and so it must be in this place In a Theological sense by the World is meant the Honours Bâ—ll de Gâ—mit Columbae lib. 3. cap. 10. Riches and Pleasures of this present World He that gains a Variety of thâ—se is sometimes said to gain a World of Riches and Honours and Pleasures It is much for a man to gain all theâ—â— but it is more for him to gain as much as the Text doth speak of For here 's not onely the Variety in the World but the Monopoly of all these and of all of all these in the whole World gain the whole world Could one Merchant but engrosse the Artificial Wares of Archb. Abbots Dâ—scription of the World Dr. Hey Geogra all Qâ—insaio or all the Alexandrian Warcs or all the rich Perfumes or costly Drugs or fragrant Spices of Arabia felix it were enough and more then enough to tympanize his heart with the proudest thoughts of the Wealthy And yet alas all these All 's together can amount to no more then a little Packet or a worthlesse Fardle in compare with that Ingrossment in the Text the gaining of the whole World Yet see the Saviour of the World does question this great gain whether it may be rightly called Profit or no yea rather He puts it out of question by putting forth of this question What is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soule Indeed these words are not only one but two Questions the first is Absolute the second Hypothetical The first is in these words What is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world The second in these added to the former by way of condition And lose his own soule First of the first But first observe that it is but a meer supposition that is the foundation of both Our Saviour speaketh only 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by way of supposition 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 If he shall gain the whole world i. e. suppose it were possible for him so to do and that he should do so I say suppose it But suppositio nihil ponit The bare supposing of a thing to be is no proving of that thing to be as it is supposed That may be supposed to be which never was and that which never shall be yea that which never can be Such is this thing supposed by our Saviour the gaining of all this present World For alas it is not all the plodding in the World nor all the projecting for it that can gain it all Oh no! It is not all the griping Usury nor all the pinching Misery that can draw so much as ilia terrae the Guts and Garbage of the Earth into one mans Coffers no not so much as the white or yellow Intrails of the Indian-Earth Suppose that a man could have a mind more covetous Ovid. metam lib. 11. then Midas had or be more dunghilly-minded then Crassus or Hortensius And suppose that such a man
of Glory for it Those that are now lifted up to the Excellency of Honor and to the Honor of Excellency by the men of voice may soon have all their Honors laid in the dust by the voices of men And yet that the voice of the Common-people Matth. 7. 13. is the voice of God is the common voice of the people and that the Multitude cannot erre in judgement is the judgement of the multitude but a judgement full of errour for the greatest multiâ—udes are wont to wander in the broadest wayes of Errour and they that run with the multitude to seek for Worldly Honours may lose their Honours by the Multitudes in this World and themselves with the Multitudes in the World to come In the last place let us see the vanity of Worldly Riches When Solomon had viewed and reviewed all the Works that he had wrought and all the labours that he had laboured to do he audited this account of them all that they were all but vanity and vexation of spirit and that there was no profit under the Sun Eccles 2. 11. Be then perswaded by St Paul and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. St Chrys Hom. â— trust not in uncertain Riches There is nothing more uncertain nothing more unfaithfull 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith S. Chrisostome to day with thee to morrow against thee Let us not make Riches our God and Poverty our Devil lâ—st our Riches do part us from God and pack us to the Devil The Devil is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The god of this World as the Apostle calls him 2 Cor. 4. 4. from Worldly Riches was he called Pluto or from his name 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 were they called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Thus did the Greeks of old entitle him to Worldly Riches and entail their Worldly Riches upon him Let us not entitle our selves to them by him nor him unto our selves by them Let us never place our Heaven in them seeing Hell it selfe is so near unto them and seeing that we may not place our Happinesse in them let us never set our hearts upon them Nothing should have Mans heart but that which is his Heaven or does relate unto it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith Saint Chrysostome The Riches that are truly everlasting Chrysos Hom. 2. are all in Heaven and all the Riches that are in Heaven are truly everlasting Let not us then seek for In comparatione aeternorum honorum vana sunt omnia etiam bona temporalia S. Greg. Mag. in Prim. Sam. cap. 12. Riches here on Earth as for our Heaven But let us seek for Heaven that may be more then Riches to us for ever hereafter Alas these Worldly riches in compare with those of Heaven as S. Gregory tells us are altogether vain yea vanity it self as Solomon speaks them in the same sense But here let us advance the Supposition one step higher Let us suppose the Riches of the World to be neither vanity nor vain but to have reality and worth in them yet still the Question may be asked What is a man profited For what profit can it be to a man to gain such things as he may not think his own when he has gained them nor use them as his own They that get these Worldly Riches by ungodly means are by those means indebted to the God of this World for them And he will be paid by all his Debtors 2 Cor. 4. 4. They may all look to be arrested at his Suit and cast into the prison of Hell but may not look to get out thence untill they have paid the uttermost farthing And as for such as use the lawfullest means to get them they may not use them as they list or will themselves when they have got them For why they are but Servants in receiving of them but Trustees in keeping of them and but as meer Stewards they must be in accounting for them Now it is very requisite in Stewards to be found faithfull Faithfull in all Imbursements 1 Cor. 4. 2. faithfull in all Disbursements faithfull in all Intrustments God himself was the Maker of all this World And he himself is the Master of it He is the Author of all good in the World And he is the Owner of all the goods of all the World Man must ever therefore have respect to him and to his pleasure in the using of his goods There must at last be a generall Audit and man must reckon for all And woe unto him if he makes not an even Reckoning An even Reckoning is hard to be made though never so small but the greatest Reckonings are hardest to be made even There is no Euge to be expected from the Master without an even Reckoning from the Servant Nor can the Servant make his Reckoning even then unlesse he be now fidelis in minimis faithful in the smallest driblets faithfull to the utmost farthing careful not to waste the very minutes of his Masters goods by mispending of them He is said to waste his Masters goods that does mispend those goods by riotous courses which are entrusted in his hands And for his wasting of them so he is soon to be discarded from all Entrustments by his Master Redde rationem villicationis tuae saith his Master to him Luke 16. 1. Come give an account of thy stewardship for thou mayest be no longer steward Durus est hic sermo This is an hard saying But it it said and it must be so There must an Account be given And now doth not this great Rich Worldling begin to wish that he had ever been a Lazarus rather then a Dives That he had never Luk. 16. 19 c. been entrusted with so much of this Worlds goods that so he might not now have had so much to reckon for But to whom much is given of him there is much to be required He Luk. 12. 48. must now answer for all He had a great Trust committed to him and now he distrusts his Reckoning the more The Reckoning is so great that he is to make that he makes no reckoning to save himself when he hath made it By the Divitiarum acquisitio magni laboris est possessio magni timoris amissio magni doloris Idiotae Contemplat de amore divino c. 33. very Summons to the Audit he hears an Exauctoration decreed against him He may be no longer Steward For mis-spending that part which he had he must now part with all that he hath But all that will not serve the turn For what he hath is none of his but his Masters and it will not satisfie for that he hath mis-spent of his Masters And therefore what he is Soul and Body must be sold that payment may be made Now tell me where is his profit He willingly lost that other that better World for this and now hath lost both this and himself with that other But let us put the Supposition one step higher
was King of Cyprus Titulo Rex insulae animo autem pecuniae miserabile mancipium He was in title the King of the Cyprian-Isle but in truth he was a miserable Bondslave to his Pelf Now what profit is it to gain and increase that mony which begetteth and increaseth misery And if it be so little profit simply to gain the World certainly there is lesse profit in the gaining of it if a man must pay his own Soule for it And this brings us to the second Querie that Hypothetical Question that includes the whole Text What is a man profited if he shall gain the whole World and lose his own Soule And this Question sets us to consider of the second sort of Wares the Ware Exported concerning which three Circumstances were proposed to be considered 1. The Nature or Quality 2. The Number or Quantity 3. The Relation or Propriety First for the Nature or Quality we may observe that it See Nemesius of the Nature of Man is a Soul Yet not a Vegitative Soule such as is in the Plants Nor yet a Sensitive Soule such as is in Birds and Beasts But a Reasonable Soule such as is in Man such a Soule as makes him to be a Man It is is his Soule his owne Soule I shall It is the soule of man that makes him to be a man See Philip of Mornay's Trunesse of Christian Religion translated by St Phil. Sidney chap. 14. not tell you what Aristotle sayes of the Soule of Man nor yet how other Philosophers use to define it But let me tell you thus much of it that it is an Heavenly Jewell in a Câ—binet of Earth and a Jewel of that worth it is that not all the Diamonds in the World though never so curiously cut and never so artificially set in the richest Rings of the most refined gold may be valued with it though it be cabined in the most deformed lump of Red Earth There be many Reasons in it to raise the estimate of it I 'le name some of them As first it is the Medal of the Almighty The lively Image of the living God Or the Tablet upon which that King of Kings and Lord of Lords hath drawn his owne likenesse Now shall the Image of a Mortall King stamped on the substance of the Earth or the Earthly substance of Gold or Silver make man so to esteem it as to become an Idolater towards it and shall not the Image of the Immortal King of Kings imprinted in his own Workmanship upon the Heavenly substance of Mans soule perswade him far more highly to value that And a second reason why this Merchant Man should inhaunce Dei insignita imagine decorata similitudine St Bern. Medita de digniâ— animae Mens nostra Dei similis c. Gregor Nyss disputat de anima Resurr the price of his Soul may be this because it is a spirit an Immateriall substance It is indeed within the substance of the body but yet without a bodily substance And the more that any substance be spiritualized the more puâ— and precious it is and the more ennobled And the further that any substance be distanced from the nature of a body the nearer it drawes to the Nature of God For 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 God is a Spirit And the spirituality of the Soule does far exalt it above the body as comming nearer to the purity of God who is a Spirit And therefore it is well asserted by St Bernard that the worst of soules in respect of substance is far more excellent then the best of bodies and ought to be valued far above them A third Reason to perswade this Merchant-man to value his Soul at a very dâ—ar rate may be the Immortality of it It is immortal as well as immaterial Indeed man dies at See the Immortality of the soul discoursed of largely and very learnedly by Philip of Mornay Lord of Plâ—ssie in the Truenesse of Christ Religion c. 14. 15. his appointed time but the soul of man does never die By death the whole man is dissolved but the whole of man is not destroyed by death The soul of man doth live when man is dead The soul is doomed at the instant of death either to enjoy everlasting felicity in Heaven or to endure everlasting misery in Hell And that endlesse misery is often called Mors secunda the second death Yet is it not so called that we should think that the Soul doth cease to live in hell but rather â—ecause it ceaseth to enjoy its life The damned Non enim quia solvitur compositum inde etiaÌ„ necessariò consequitur una cum composito dâ—ssolvi id quod compositum non est Greg. Nyssen disput de Anim. Resurr souls in Hell live not there to enjoy life but to endure grief And therefore their life there is said to be no life Simplex vita non est vivere sed valere meerly to live is no life but to live indeed is to enjoy life It is a kind of death for one to live in pain that hath lived at ease It is a kind of death for one to live in prison that hath lived at liberty A kind of death for one to live in penury that hath lived in plenty Those damned Souls that lie imprisoned in Hell do all live there in pain for living here in pleasure their joyes are turned into pains and their life now is worse then death Their Damnation in Hell is like to Death in four respects In damnatione novissima quaÌ„vis homo sentire non desinaâ— tamen quia sensus ipse nec voluptate suavis nec quiete salubris sed doâ—oâ—â— poenalis est non immeritò mors est potius appellaâ—a quam vita S. August and for its likenesse in each respect it is called Death First it is like it for Separation In temporal dâ—ath the Quamvis enim humana anima vâ—raciter immortalis perhibâ—tur habet tamen etiam ipsa mortem suam Soul which gave life to the Body is separated from it So in Damnation the Lord of life which gave life to the Soul is separated from that Mortâ—ae sunt animae hoc est à Deo desertâ— saith S. Austine The damned soules are dead that is forsaken of God For Sicut mors corporis est cum id deserit animâ— ita mors animae est cum eam deserit Deus As it is the death of S. Aug. de Civ Dei l. 13. c. 2. the body when it is forsaken of the soul so it is the death of the soul when it is forsaken of God Sicut enim anima discedente moritur corpus sic anima Deo dâ—sâ—rente mori credenda est Secondly Damnation is like to Death in respect of Place Hell is a place of Darknesse a place that is very disconsolate Primasius super Apocalyp cap. 18. so is the Grave And therefore 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sheol with the Hebrews signifiâ—s both Hell
the worth of the wares and then say What profit is it for a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soule I may not stand to recapitulate the several circumstances of both these Wares the whole World and a mans own soule and so compare them Let your Meditations ease me of that labour whilest I summe up the Uses that may be made of these Meditations Yet for the Ballancing of the Trade let me make a tendry to you of three or four Considerables 1. Consider That the gaining of the whole World can never make the Gainer of it happy But so will his saving of his own Soule 2. Consider that a man cannot be happy without his own Soule but without the World he may 3. Consider That a man must lose the World or leave it before he can be happy but if his Soule be lost when it must leave him he can never be happy 4. Consider That the Soul is infinite in duration and the World but finite This but temporal but that eternal à parte post as some distinguish The one a matchlesse treasure the other a worthlesse trifle in comparison Now ballance these Considerables What profit is it for a man to gain that which can never make him happy and lose that for it which would make him so for ever if he did not lose it Or what profit is it for a man to gaine that which he must lose again before he can be happy and for his gaining of it must lose that which can no more be gained nor happines without it Or what profit can it be to gain that which is but finite and lose that which is infinite Inter finitum infinitum nulla datur proportio There is no proportion between a thing that is finite and a thing that is infinite Is it so then that the whole World is not to be valued with one Soule What folly then doe those men shew to the world that adventure the losse of their Soules for the very Attoms of the world or the smallest gains that can be in the World for an Inch in an Ell for an Ounce in a Pound What lunacy what madnesse to hazard a Soule Si ergo homines totum mundum spernere oportet ne animarum damna patiantur propter suam salutem debet quispiam etiam sua lucra contemnere quà m infidelis est quà m insipiens est qui ut alium divitem faciat animam suam ipse condemnat Maximè cum ille non multum adipiscitur qui usum temporalium rerum accipit◠ille inaestimabilia damna praeferat qui fructum beatae aeternitatis amittit Salvianus ad Eccles Cathol lib. 3. for farthings or the Minutes of the World for a moment of Pleasure or a Puffe of applause Many think they bring their Souls to very good Markets if they can sell them with a Ziba for a Mephibosheths inheritance or with an Ahab for a Naboths Vineyard or with an Achan for a wedge of gold Many are willing to sell them as Esau did his Birth-right for a messe of Pottage yea for a peece of Bread some will transgresse Judas the Traitor valued his Master at thirty pence But how many are there that can be content to sell their Saviour and give their Souls into the bargain for the bare moitie of his reward of iniquity Ananias and Sapphira sold themselves for part of that price that should have been laid at the Apostles feet Acts 5. A very inconsiderable price But what if it had been all And what if that all had been as much as all the world what profit would it have been unto them if they must have lost their own Sacrilego poena est neque ei soli qui è sacro abstulerit sed etiam ei qui sacro commendatum quod nunc multis sit fanis Cicer. de leglb lib. 1. Souls for it Alas no profit at all For what is a man profited if he shall gaine the whole World and lose his own Soule And secondly is it so that the gaining of the whole World is not to be ballanced with the losse of one Soul What answer or account can those Factors make to their Principal What can such Malefactors answer unto God Almighty that have caused the losse of a World of Souls for the gaining of a little Worldly Pelf or a little vain Applause or a little vanishing Pleasure Cicer. Parad. lib. 3. The Stoicks thought as Cicero telleth us that all sinnes are equal And some Hereticks have thought that all sufferings shall be so in Hell But dantur gradus in Gloria there are degrees of Glory in Heaven amongst the Saints and there shall be degrees of Misery in Hell amongst the Sinners It hath been the judgment of many Orthodox Divines that the Authors and the Abettors of the Arrian Heresies had their Torments in Hell increased daily as the number of Soules increased which were daily lost by following of their Heresies Yet for a little applause amongst some people and for some small Benevolence from them the old Heresies are unraked out of their ashes and new ones are blown up daily into blazing-flames to the great disturbance of Israels peace and to the destruction of Sions prosperity The Pulpits are prophaned and the Presses are pestered and Myriads of Souls are seduced with the daring fancies of desperate Opinionists For small gains some have written and others have printed and divers have vended dangerous Pamphlets to corrupt mens judgments and poyson their affections and undo their soules Oh that the worth of Soules were better considered It was a pious Resolve in an English Gentleman an elegant Pen-man neither to write nor yet to read any prophane Pasquils He would not write any such lest his own condemnation should be increased by theirs that should be corrupted by his Pen nor would he read any such lest he should be corrupted and increase their condemnation that wrote them It is better to have a lame hand saith he then a lewd pen. Our Saviour paid very heartily to redeeme mens souls And must not those men pay very dearly for them that thus adventure to ruine them In the third place Is it so that our Saviour Christ the chief Pastor and Bishop of Souls hath such an estimate of Souls that he deems one Soul worth more then all the World Then let all Bishops and Spiritual Pastors take the greater heed unto those Souls committed by him to their Charges All others are Vicarii ejus but his Curates or his Vicars saith Omnes alii sunt Vicarii ejus quia ipse pascit oves proprias alii verò oves Christi Aquin. in Ep. ad Heb. c. 13. Aquinas and unto him they must answer for those entrusted to them It is reported of S. Austine that he wept when he entred into Holy Orders And some have thought those Tears prognosticks or forerunners of his following Troubles in his Office But surely the sight of his
mans condition is made worse and worse by his continuance in an evill condition The deferring of his amendment doth make the difficulty of amending double Qui non est hodie cras minus aptus erit He that is unfit to repent to day will be more unfit to morrow for he will have more sinnes to repent of and will be hardened more in his sinnes He will have a Day more to repent of and a Day lesse to repent in Every Day doth add a new Summe to the old Score yea every houre doth score up many smaller Debts to increase the Totall Summe So that he who is not able to dischage the debt of his Sins to Day will the lesse able to unscore a longer sum to Morrow The longer any sinner lets his scores run on the greater will his quantum be when it comes to be summed up And they must needs become non-solvent that score up sins too many dayes before they reckon Often reckoning doth make long friends And easie reckonings are made by often reckoning So it happens between man and man And so it happens also between God and man But many deale with God as some evill Debtors deale with their Creditors they study much how to get into debt but not at all how to get out They take great care to be trusted but little care to pay Whereas their first care should be to run as little as may be into Gods Debt by scoring up of Sins And their next care should be to get out of Debt as soon as may be It is the height of impiety to be hardened with impenitency To commit sin is to displease God but to continue in sin is to despise him when he is displeased or to sleight his displeasure And to go on in sin at such a time as this when God hath taken his Rod into his hand and such a Red as now he hath can be no lesse then a bidding of utter defiance to him It is a bidding of him to do his worst They go farre that never return farre be it from us to go on in sinne so farre or too farre to return Some Mariners have sailed so far to the Arctick-Pole-wards and staid so long in those Northern parts that their ships have been bewintered in the midst of congealed waters and they bennumed in their frozen ships Lots wife was turned into a Pillar of Salt for turning back so soon and they into Pillars of Ice for Gen. 19. 26. not returning sooner And many in the World are like such adventurous Mariners they go on and on and on in the wayes of sin which are the wayes of death so far that they can never return alive to the land of the living They are benummed by the winterly frosts of Icie Death before they be aware O beware that ye be not so surprized Repent speedily ye may die suddenly Take the counsel of Jesus the son of Sirach And make no tarrying to turn to the Lord. Put Ecclus 5. 7. not off from day to day for suddenly shall the wrath of the Lord come forth and in your security ye shall be destroyed and perish in the day of vengeance 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 So Demosthenes to the Athenians and so say Demosthen Olynthiac 3. I to you What Time or what opportunity doe ye look for better then the present 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 When will ye do what ye ought to doe if ye will not doe it now when will y◠repent and turn your selves if ye will not now 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Doe these things saith he whilest a propitious fortune leads the way And Haec sacite duce prospera fortuna Vit. Amerpach interpr whilest a faire opportunity does invite you do this thing which does so much concern you Repent in time They that deferre their repentance till it be too late to repent will repent when it is too late that they did so long deferre their repentance True repentance is seldome late and late repentance is seldome true Indeed the Authentick story as that famous Poet cals the Gospel doth tell us of one true Convert which returned Du-Bartas as far homewards in a few houres as he had wandred from home in many years The penitent Thiefe was far gone in that broad way which leadeth to destruction before he returned into Luke 23. 40 41 42. Matt. 7. 13 14. the narrow way which leadeth unto life He was gone to the very gate of Hell and yet returned But let no man presume to run on in his evill way in hope of his good return for he had an advantage which no man else is like to have for John 10. 7. the doore of Heaven was next unto him when he began to turn Christ is the way and the Gate and the Doore and the 14. 6. Guide and the Help to Heaven and the All in all in Heaven and he was as neer to the Penitent Thief as he could wish when he began to be a Penitent And it was a good turn for him that so it was or he might have come short of Heaven as farre as some other Theeves have done who never thought of turning themselves to Heaven-wards untill they were even ready to be turned off the Ladder O what an happy turn was this for that Penitent Theif This Turn did set him safe upon the Ladder of Life the true Hebr. 10. 20. Joh. 1. 51. Genes 28. 12. and living Ladder which reacheth up from Earth to Heaven The substance of Jacobs Ladder whose foot did stand upon the Earth and whose top did reach up unto Heaven That Symb. S. Athan. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 mystical vision was an adumbration of Christ his Humane nature was as the foot and his Divine nature was the top of the Ladder The top and foot made but one Ladder and God and Man make but one Christ as the onely Mediator between God and man the new and living way between Heaven and Earth the Ladder by which the penitent Thief Luk. 23. 42 43 Non dicit in die judicii cum justis ad dextram te locabo Non ait post aliquot annos Purgatorii ad refrigerium te perducā Non post aliquot menses vel dies te consolabor Sed hodie c. Bellar. de sept verb. ◠Christ in cru prolat Si quis vel historias legat vel cursus quotidianos observat inveniet profecto rarissimos fuisse qui de hoc mundo exierint cum per totum vitae suae cursum perdite vixerint Bellar. de sept verb. ◠Christo in cruce prolat lib. 5. cap. 5. Psal 9. 17. climbed up to Heaven There is no way for a Thief to steal into Heaven It was not by stealth that the penitent Thief got thither It was by turning from his theft that he got into the way It was by repenting of his former wayes of stealing that he got into the favour of Christ and by his