But alas how may the afflicted soule say can his goodnesse extend to mee who am nothing but wormes and dust and woundes and sores and corruption Who can giue him no oblation but my sinnes no sacrifice but my sorrow What confidence now can I haue in this loue what strength in this mercy Who ever thou art that art thus and no better disposed to receiue the grace of thy God bring forth this small provision offer this sacrifice vpon the Alter Since thou hast nothing else to part with surrender vp thy sinnes yeeld him thy lusts renounce thy whole interest in thy sinfull delights in thy immoderate affections Nullius rei tantum in inferno est quantum ptopriae voluntatis Alsted and then thy sorrowfull spirit shall be a sacrifice to God thy wounded and broken heart hee will not despise I am with him saith the Lord who is of an humble spirit and that trembleth at my wordes Wee haue his owne word for his mercy wee haue his promise for it wee haue his oath for it He is faithfull saith the Apostle who hath promised hee is faithfull hee cannot deny himselfe The Apostle saith not hee cannot deny his mercy but hee cannot deny himselfe If hee were any thing but mercy then hee might deny his mercy though hee did not deny himselfe but now by not denying himselfe he giueth mercy who by not giuing mercy should deny himselfe And thus we see how God is faithfull and cannot deny himselfe Superare seipsum potest desertos miserando negaâ—e seipsum non potest misericordiam delerendo He may overcome himselfe by pittying the forsaken ones but he cannot deny himselfe by forsakeing his pitty For how can he deny himselfe to vs who hath given himselfe for vs How can he deny vs his mercy who hath given vs his life The end of the first booke THE SECOND BOOKE OF ETERNITY CHAP. I. Containing an Exhortation to holinesse grounded vpon the consideration of Eternity THE very soule and life of Christianity consists in the life of a Christian as for outward formalities they plausibly serue to shew forth a good man to the eye of the world but cannot make him such it 's true externall actions adorne our professions but it is where grace and goodnesse seasons them otherwise where the sappe and juyce and vigour of religion is not setled in the soule a man is but like a goodly heart-shaken Oake whose beauty will turne into rottennesse and his end will be the fire It was the saying of Machiavell that the appearance of vertue was more to be desired then vertue it selfe But Socrates a meere naturalist aduised better who said the good man is onely wise Certainely our glorious shewes and high applauses and exaltations amongst the sonnes of men will proue but miserable comforters in the close of our age when the daies of darknesse come O then as we respect the eternall welfare of our poore soules Qualis videri vis talis esse debes Gerb. Med. let vs bee what wee would seeme Let vs turne our words into actions our knowledge into affection and our speculation into practise Let vs not only in a generall and confused manner acknowledge God but rather labour to know him let vs not think it enough to beleeue that Christ came as a Saviour into the world but endeauour rather by a peculiar personall and applicatiue faith to make him our owne Alas what availes it my soule that Christ shed forth his blood for the sinnes of many if he died not for mee What ioy to my heart that Christ is risen for the iustification of sinners if hee be not my portion Non prodest Christi resurrectio nisi in te quoque Christus resurgat Gerb. Med. what comfort to my distressed conscience that Christ is come a light into the world if I sit in darknesse and in the shadow of death What confidence of protection can I haue from hence that Christ is a carefull sheapheard ouer his flock if I am none of that sheepfold O then let it be the chiefe desire of our soules Sit scopus vitae Christus quem sequaris in via vt assequaris in patria and the vtmost extent of our endeauours not onely to confesse Christ but to bring him home to our hearts to feele him to affect him to liue in him to depend on him to be coÌ„formable to him let vs willingly heare cheerfully follow the voice of that sweet guid who is both the way the iournies end that louing Physitian who comes to our wounded consciences with healing in his wings that meeke and tender Lambe who powred forth for vs teares of anguish teares of loue teares of anguish to redeeme our soules and teares of loue to compassionate our miseries Now what a pressing perswasion haue we here to liue vnto him who thus died for vs to make him our ioy who hath borne our sorrowes to fix him in our hearts who for our sakes was fixed to the Crosse Totus tibi figatur in corde qui totus prote figebatur in cruce How should wee mourne in our soules and weepe in secret for him quem totus mundus tota elementa lugebant at whose sufferings the graues opened the Sunne shut in his light the earth trembled and the whole frame of heauen in his nature and kinde expressed its sorrow One of the Rabins when hee read what bitter torments the Messias should suffer when he came into the world cried out veniat Messias at ego non videam Let the Messias come but let me not see him Did his torments seeme so dismall to the spectator what were they then in the sufferer If so gastly to the sight what were they in the sustaining But what should we doe now Shall we raile on Iudas that betrayed him or on Peter that denied him or the Iewes that pierced him or the Apostles that forsooke him No no let vs looke into our owne hearts examine our owne waies Doe wee not make his wounds bleed afresh with our sinnes doe we not nayle him to the Crosse againe with our pollutions doe we not grind him in our oppressions and as it were massacre him in our murders What sinne haue we euer forsaken for his sake what inordinate affection haue we abandoned for his loue Can we say and say truly that wee euer spared a dish from our bellies or one houre from our sleepe or one fashion from our backs for his sake And doe wee thus requite our redeemer Deus tuus parvus factus est tu te magnificas exinaniuit se maiestas tu vermiculus intumescis Was Christ stretched on the Crosse and shall we stretch our selues on beds of doune Did Christ suck downe vineger for vs and shall we surfet with plenty Was Christ crowned with thornes and shall we crowne our selues with Rose buds O let it shame vs to beare so dainty a body vnder so dolefull a head but
whereof make glad the heartes of men And how earnestly are wee invited to these delights come buy wine and oyle without mony Heaven is at sale Coelum venale est nec multum exaestues propter pretij magnitudinē teipsum da habebis illud Aug. and thou maist buy it if thou wilt and shrug not at the greatnesse of the price giue but thy selfe to God and thou shalt haue it And who would not abandon his honours his pride his credit his friends nay himselfe Who would not be willing to passe through the gates of Hell and indure infernall torments for a season so he might bee certaine of so glorious and eternall an inheritance hereafter Let all the divells in hell saith Saint Austine beset me round Bone Iesu qui parcendo saepius nos à te abijcis feriendo effice vt ad te redeamus Ger. med let fastings macerate my body let sorrowes oppresse my minde let paines consume my flesh let watchings dry me or heat scorch me or cold freeze and contract me let all these and what can come more happen vnto mee so I may injoy my Sauiour For how excellent shall the glory of the iust be how great their ioy when euery face shall shine as the sunne When or Saviour shall martiall the Saints in their distinct orders and shall render to every one according to his workes O were thy affections rightly setled on these heauenly mansions how abiect vnderneath thee wouldest thou esteeme those things which before thou setst an high price vpon As he which ascends an high mountaine when he cometh to the top thereof findes the middle steppes low beneath him which seemed to be high to him while he stood in the bottome so hee which sends his thoughts to heauen however hee esteemed of the vanishing pleasures of the world when his heart lay groueling on the earth below now in this his transcendency he sees them vnder him vilifies thē all in regard of heauenly treasures Let vs therefore cheerfully follow that advise of a Reverend Father Quod aliquandô per necessitatem amittendum est pro aeterna remuneratio ne sponte est distribuendum Let vs here willingly part with that for heauen which we must first or last necessarily leaue vpon earth and let all the strength of our studies and the very height of our endeauours bee dispended for the attainment of eternity For certaine it is howsoeuer wee liue here like secure people of a secure age and howeuer we lavish out the strength and flowre of our daies as if wee should neuer account for it yet our iudgement is most sure and shall not bee avoided The sentence of the Iudge will be one day most assuredly published and shall not be revoked Wee must all appeare saith Saint Paul before the iudgement seat of Christ that euery one may receaue the things done in his body according to that he hath done whether it be good or bad Then shall our wickednesse be brought to light which now lies hid in darknesse I saw the dead saith S. Iohn Rev. 20.12 both great and small stand before God and the books were opened and another booke was opened which is the booke of life and the dead were iudged of those things which were written in the bookes according to their workes and whosoeuer was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire Thus it is evident every man shall giue vp his account euery soule shall first or last come to his reckning Multorum vocatio paucorum electio omnium retributio many are called few chosen but al rewarded according to their deeds Oh then let vs prepare our selues to meet our God let vs come before him with feare and tremble at his iudgements Feare not him saith our Sauiour who when he hath killed the body can doe no more but feare him who can cast both soule and body to hell I say him feare Oh how many of the Saints of God trembled and quaked when they haue meditated vpon the last iudgement Hierome saith as oft as I thinke of that day how doth my whole body quake and my heart within me tremble Quoties diem illum cogito toto corpore contremisco Timeo Gehen nam quippe interminatam Cyrill saith I am afraid of Hell because the worme there dies not A dentibus bestiae infernalis contremisco quis dabit oculis meis fontem lachrymarum vt praeveniam fletibus fletū stridotem dentium and the fire neuer goeth out I horribly tremble saith Bernard at the teeth of that infernall beast Who will giue to mine eyes saith he a fountaine of teares that by my weeping here I may prevent weeping and gnashing of teeth hereafter Let the examples of these Saints of God stirre vp in our hearts the like affections Let it be the pitch of our desires and the highest straine of all our endeauours to attaine those heauēly mansions which our Saviour hath prouided for vs Momentaneum est quod delectat aeternum quod cruciat and to avoid those endlesse easelesse flames which God hath prepared for the Diuell and his Angels Who would gaine the purchase of a short and transient pleasure at so high a rate as the heavy price of eternall fire Besides how shall our tender bodies which so shrinke at the prick of a pin or flame of a candle endure those lasting pressures Who can dwell saith the Prophet with eternall fire who can abide with euerlasting burnings Oh let vs set before our eyes the judgement to come and whatsoeuer we finde our selues worthy to be condemned for Cessat vindicta divina fi conversio praecurrat humana by the just Iudge at that day Let vs first condemne our selues for where mans conuersion begins there Gods displeasure maketh his period Excellent is that aduise of S. Gregory weigh saith he and consider the errors of thy life while thy time serues Tremble at that strict judgement to come while thou hast health Culpam tuam dum vacat pēsa districtionem futuri iudicii dum vales exhorresce ne tunc amaram sen tentiam audi as cum nullis fletibus evada◠least thou heare that bitter sentence Goe yee cursed goe forth against thee when it is too late Did man knowe what time he should leaue the world hee might proportion his time some to pleasure some to repentance But hee that hath promised pardon to the penitent hath not assured the sinner of an houres life Since therefore we can neither preuent nor foresee death let vs alwaies expect it and prouide for it Let vs dye to our sinnes here that wee may liue to Christ hereafter and let vs suffer with Christ in this world that we may reioyce and raigne with him in the world to come Recusat esse in corpore qui non vult odium sustinere cum capite When we depart this life we goe to an eternity to an eternity I say which shall neuer end to an eternity quae facit omne bonum infinitè melius et omne malum infinité molestius which maketh euery good action infinitely better and euery evill action infinitely worse Oh the vnhappinesse and everlasting woe of those men who preferre the small and trifling things of this life before the eternall weight of glory hereafter who to enioy the short comfort of a miserable life here are content to loose the presence of God and society of Angells hereafter A PRAYER O Mercifull God thou that art the eternall truth the true charity and long eternity so illuminate the blindnesse of our vnderstandings that the serious consideration of our short and transitory miseries which wee run through in this life may driue vs to a more feeling apprehension of those eternall paines which abide vs in the world to come Settle our hearts vpon the true ioy teach vs so to possesse these transient things that we loose not the enduring substance so to lament our sinnes that we may escape the punishment so to proceed in the way that we fayle not of our iournies end Amen Amen FINIS These faults are to be corrected in some Copies Pag. 9. line 2. read breathlesse p. 12 l. 1. r perspicuous p. 34. l 6 r run p. 52. l. 6. r. vndertakings
this world will procure thee an eternall compensation in the world to come That sweete speech of Saint Iohn is worth observation blessed are those that dye in the Lord they rest from their labours and their workes follow them When our dearest friends our sweetest pleasures our most glorious titles of honour the world it selfe yea even our life it selfe shall glide away like a river and turne to dust then shall our good workes follow vs non transeunt opera nostra saith one Sicut transire videntur sed velut aeternitatis semina iaciuntur our good deeds die not with vs but they are sowne in earth and spring in heauen they are an inexhaustible fountaine that shall never bee dried vp a durable spring that shall never faile They are acts of time short in their performance yet eternall in their recompence they build vp for vs through the mercies of our God an everlasting foundation for the time to come Loe then here wee haue set before vs viam ad regnum the way to our eternity let vs goe on herein without intermission presse forward with violence and striue to attaine the crowne Opulentia nimis multa est aeternitas sed nisi perseveranter quaefita nunquam in venitur Bernard Eternity is an abundant treasure an everlasting wealth but it is not given saue to them that seeke it yea that seeke it with their whole hearts Certainty did we as truely know as wee shall one day vndoubtedly feele the bitter fruite that our luke-warme profession our grosse stupidity and vtter neglect of our everlasting state will produce and procure vs in the end all our thoughts and language all our affections and inclinations would be more eagerly imployed and more faithfully exercised in the pursuite of eternity illud propter quod peccamus amittimus et peccatum ipsum retinemus Oh how senselesse are wee how stupid in our selues and wickedly injurious to our owne wellfare who for a small gaine a fading pleasure a fugitiue honour wound our consciences and hazard our soules to stand as it were on the brinke of hell The whole world promised for a reward cannot perswade vs to endure one momentary torment in fire And yet in the accustomed course of our liues we dread not wee quake not at everlasting burnings But ô thou delitious and dainty soule who cherishest thy selfe in the ioy of thy heart the delight of thine eyes whose belly is thy God the world thy Parradise ô bethinke thy selfe betimes before that gloomy day that day of clouds and thicke darknesse that day of desolation and confusion approach when all the inhabitants of the earth shall mourne and lament and all faces as the Prophet Ioel speakes shall gather blacknesse because the time of their judgement is come Alas with what a dolefull heart and weeping eye and drooping countenance trembling loynes wilt thou at that last and great Assise looke vpon Christ Iesus when hee shall most gloriously appeare with innumerable Angells in flaming fire to render vengeance on them that know him not What a cold dampe will seize vpon thy soule when thou shalt behold him whom thou hast all thy life long neglected in his ordinance despised in his members reiected in his loue when thou shalt see the judgement seat the Fiet apertio librorum scilicet conscientiarum quibus merita demerita vniuersorum sibi ipsis caeteris innotescent bookes opened thy sinnes discouered yea all the secret counsells of thy heart after a wonderfull manner manifested and laid open to the eye of the whole world what horrour perplexity of spirit will possesse thee to view and behold but the very solemnities and circumstances which accompany this Iudgement when thou shalt see the heavens burne the Elements melt the earth tremble the sea roare the sun turne into darknesse and the moone into blood And now what shall be thy refuge where shall be thy succour shalt thou raigne because thou cloathest thy selfe in Cedar shalt thou bee safe because with the Eagle thou hast set thy neast on high O no it is not now the greatnesse of thy state nor the abundance of thy wealth nor the priviledge of thy place nor the eminency of thy worth or wit or learning that can availe thee ought either to avoide thy doome or prorogue thy judgement All states and conditions of men are alike when they appeare at this Barre There the prince must lay downe his crowne and the Peare his Robes the iudge his purple and the Captaine his banner All must promiscuously attend to giue in their accounts and to receiue according to that they haue done whether it bee good or whether it be evill Here on earth great men and glorious in the eye of the world so long as they can hold their habitations in the earth haue both countenance to defend and power to protect them from the iniuries of the times but when the dismall face of that terrible day shall shew it selfe then shall they finde no eye to pitty nor arme to helpe nor palace to defend nor rockes to shelter nor Mountaines to cover them from the presence of him that sits vpon the throne and from the wrath of the lambe Giue me the most insolent spirit the most vndaunted soule that now breathes vnder the cope of Heauen who now feares not any created nature noe not God himselfe yet when he shall heare that terrible sound Arise yee dead and come to iudgement how will his heart even melt and his bowells quiver within him when hee shall haue his severe judge aboue him and hell beneath him and his worme within him and fire round about him O then whosoever thou art die vnto thy sinnes and vnto thy pleasures here that thou maist liue to God herafter Sic tibi cave vt caveas teipsu◠goe out of thy selfe judge condemne thine owne soule for thy sinnes against God in this world that so thou maist comfortably receiue thy sentence of absolution in the world to come Let vs learne to be wise in time let our sorrow for sinne anticipate and prevent our punishment satius est suavius fonte purgari quà m igne Hee that grieues not heartily for his transgressions here shall woefully smart for them hereafter in inferno exomologesis non est nec paenitentia tunc tribul potest consumpto tēpore paenitendi In hell there is no redemption for the time past no confession no repentance but a sad and heavy exchange and most vncomfortable translation from a short and passing ioy to an endlesse easelesse punishment The serious and advised consideration of this eternall being in the life to come was the ground of that ancient custome in the Romane Church vpon the consecration of their Bishops at which time these words were recited with a loud voice Annos aeternos in mente habe i. e. remember that eternall yeare the date whereof will never expire So likewise when the
condition of our times how short doe wee fall euen of the perfection of Heathens what man is there amongst vs that casteth forth so much as a thought vpon Eternity wee liue here as if there were no life hereafter Our Earth is our Heauen and our pleasures our Paradice we crowne our heads with rose buds wee eate of the fat and drinke of the sweet and say in our hearts no euill shall happen to vs yet when we haue done all Omnes humanae consolationes sunt desolationes Hearts ease will not growe in this earthly garden the true rest will not be found but in the true place the eternall Hierusalem sound and entire contentment hath no rooting in this world For as one hath it excellently * Dispone ordina omnia secundum tuum velle videre non invenies nisi semper a liquid pati debere autsponte aut invite ita crucem semper invenies dispose marshall all things to thine own hearts desire yet shalt thou doe what thou canst still meet with some crosse or presure in the way Since it is so let vs not then determinate our affections in these earthly things which are of no continuance but let vs send our hearts before vs to those heavenly mansions where they shall be crowned with fulnesse of happinesse and shall swimme in streames of pleasures for evermore Certainely there is no true rest but that which is eternall the sweetest refreshment our soules can finde in this world consists in the serious meditation of the ioyes to come in devoting our selues and all we haue to his seruice from whom wee haue them in trusting to him and relying on him for out of God the soule findes no resting place to set her foot on but every where stormes and waues death hell abide her when we haue improued our contentments to the very height of our desires when we haue attained as much happinesse as the world can giue vs yet then may we be cut off perchance in the midst of our daies when our breasts are full of milke and our bones full of marrow or suppose we spinne the thred of our life to a longer day and God crowne vs here with the blessings of his left hand the comforts of this life and length of yeares yea though all things favour our longer continuance in this world yet in the end time and age will ruine vs. Wee shall bring our yeares to an end like a tale that is told and shall vanish away like a shadow though we liue many yeares and in them all we reioice yet in the end we shall remember the daies of darknesse saith Solomon and the time shall come that the eye which saw vs shall see vs no more Soles occidere redire possunt nobis cum occidet semel brevis lux nox est perpetuo vna dormienda Cat. The Sunne sets and riseth againe but we alas when our glasse is runne and the short gleame of our sommers day is spent shall neuer returne till our last summons when the dead shall heare the voice of the sonne of God and they that heare it shall liue and come forth of their graues they that haue done good to the resurrection of life and they that haue done evill to the resurrection of condemnation both to Eternitie and then shall follow that large day that shall never shut in that infinite continuation of time that shall neuer end that vnlimited Eternitie which ever hath beene and is and will be the same for euer when the Sunne shall no more yeeld her light by day nor the Moone her brightnesse by night but God shall be our light and the Lord our glory But oh the vnhappy condition of our age who is there that ponders these things with a digested meditation that lookes into the state of his soule with a serious eye that examines his conscience vnvaileth his heart and considereth his waies That endeauours to lay a good foundation for the time to come wee stand at the doore of Eternitie and while we liue we are euery day entring into it it 's but a stroake of death we are gone even in a moment and whether from our short and fading delights to an endlesse easelesse gulfe where our worme shall never die nor our fire shall neuer out Now let all those who swim in the streames of their voluptuousnesse putting far from them the evill day who labour to expell from their hearts and to stifle in the bud the sad consideration of their approaching infelicities let them I say knowe that they may fall into this vast gulfe of Eternitie when they least suspect it into which when once they haue vnhappily plunged themselues they may desire redemption but shall not finde it Postqaum istinc excessū fuerit nullus poenitentiae locus nullus satisfactionis effectus Cyp. It shall be one of their torments to know they shall never be out of torment All the gold of Opher cannot purchase them one minute of reliefe from their vnexpressible miseries But now euen now is the jubile now is the accepted time now is the promulgation of pardon there remaines nothing for our parts but to sue it forth we need not many hundred of yeares or number of daies to redeeme our mispent time and to wash out our contracted pollutions no one day may through Gods gratious favour and loving indulgence procure more mercy here then Eternitie of time may obtaine hereafter one sigh from a true sorrowfull heart here shall prevaile to discharge more debts then infinite ages shall acquit or satisfie for hereafter Here God with patience expects our repentance but if we abuse his forbearance and come not in hereafter with trembling wee shall abide his judgement Let vs therefore be wise in time and remember our creator in the daies of our youth before the evill daies come and the yeares approach wherein wee shall say we haue no pleasure in them before our dust returne into the wombe from whence it came and our lungs be locked vp into the brestlesse earth before that black and gloomy day the day of death and dissolution appeare to vs the which if our timely repentance here prevent not our doome will seale vp our soules to eternall darknesse Let vs consider that wheresoeuer we are whatsoeuer wee goe about wee stand euery minute of our time in the glorious presence of an Immanifestus omnia autem manifestans per omnia apparet in omnibus incomprehensible maiestie whose bright and most piercing eye is ten thousand times clearer then the Sunne who knows all hearts sees all actions vnderstands all councells viewes all persons there 's not a word in the tongue not a thought in the heart not a sparke of lust in the flesh though neuer so softly blowne and secretly kindled but he beholds it altogether he is all eare to heare all hand to punish when and where he please all power to
Christ is our haven the world is our warfare but Christ is our rest The world is full of stormes but Christ is our peace Solus is charum non amittit cui ille charus est quinon amittitur in me you shall haue peace Hence it was that the Saints of God alwaies haue taken exceeding ioy in their tribulation because Christ was their comfort and peace hee sweetned all their sorrowes Hence it was that Saint Augustine so resolutely brake forth Hic vre hic seca modò in aeternum parcas he regarded not what pressures God laid vpon him So he vouchsafed him patience here and heaven hereafter What ever we doe or can suffer in this life the abundance of our eternall ioy shall infinitely recompence the weight of our sorrowes Our light afflictions which are but for a moment doe cause vnto vs a farre more excellent and exceeding weight of glory Our combat here is short but our triumph eternall And who would not endure a few crosses windings in his way when he knowes they will bring him to his journies end Who would not for a little season expose himselfe to the mercy of the waues to be tossed on the sea Impossibile est vt in vtroque seculo bearsu sis vt in caelo in terra appareas gloriosus Hier. when he is assured with St Paul to come safely to the shore Besides wee must not expect to establish our happinesse here and to enioy our heaven hereafter It is impossible a man should flow in his delights in this world and then drinke at the fountaine of everlasting blisse in the world to come O then let vs imbrace the conflict that we may obtaine the Crowne Melior est modica amaritudo in faucibus quà m aeternum tormentum in visceribus i. e. a little gall in the mouth is not so painefull as continuall torments in the bowels Farre better it is to Summe vp our reckonings here then to haue our debts vpon the score hereafter Vna hora erit gravior in paena quam centum anni in amarissima paenitentia Thomas de Kemp. farre better to vnloose our soules from the immoderate embracements of the comforts of this world and to endure the straits and pinchings of a more reserued homely course for sixty or seaventy yeares in this life then to suffer but one torment in the life to come farre better to be lightly afflicted here then eternally tormented hereafter Saint Chrysostome hath an excellent expression to this purpose Suppose a man saith he much desiring sleepe and in his perfect mind had an offer made him of one nights sweete rest vpon condition to be punished a hnndred yeares for it would he accept thinke you of his sleepe vpon such tearmes Now looke what one night is to an hundred yeares the same is the life present compared with that to come Nay looke what a drop of water is to the sea the same and no more is a thousand yeares to eternity Who then of sound judgement for the short fruition of a transitory contentment in this life would expose himselfe to the horror of eternall flames in the life to come And therefore whiles wee haue our abode in this vale of misery we should alwaies pray with Saint Bernard da domine vt sic possideamus temporalia vt non perdamus aeterna i.e. grant vs Lord that wee may so partake of temporall felicities that wee may not loose eternall All things vnder the Sunne haue their alterations and changings but things aboue are permanent and of an enduring substance Omnia ei salua sunt cui salva est beata aeternitas hee that can be secure and sure of the happinesse to come builds vp his house vpon a firme foundation How small a modell of time how short a period is the longest life when once it is finished Recollect with thy selfe saith Saint Augustine the yeares that are passed from Adams time vntill now run over the whole scripture and the time since the fall will seeme but as yesterday For what are the times past If thou hadst liued from Adams day till this houre thou wouldst easily haue judged that this life hath no perpetuity in it which flies away so swiftly For what is the life of any man suppose the longest age It is but like the morning dew like the twinkling of an eye in a trice it is gone I haue seene an end of all perfection saith David But here ô Christian let me deale more plainely with thee thou wilt readily acknowledge all things vnder the frame of Heaven are perishing and heauen is thy thought Eternity is thine ayme Now if it bee so why art thou then so dul in thy course of holinesse so frozen in thy zeale so inclinable to every motion of sinne so easily ouercome by euery incitement to wantonnesse never more calme and vnseasonably patient then when thy affections should be enflamed and thy heart kindled with a iust indignation in Gods cause and on the other side neuer more fretting whining and vnquiet then when thou shouldest be meeke and patient and cheerefully disposed vnder the burden of of afflictions How can it be that we should haue eternity in our mindes and yet liue no better in our manners Now that we may the easier discerne the deceitfulnesse of our hearts herein let vs examine our selues by the example of Iacob This Patriarch Iacob serued his vncle Laban seauen yeares for Rachell his daughter and the greatnesse of his affection towards her made that time seeme but as a few dayes to apply this Thou art a seruant as Iacob was but thou serues not such a Master as Iacob did thou serues not man but God thy maker and a faithfull rewarder thou serues not for a wife but for a kingdome not for an earthly contentation but for an heauenly habitation And yet behold the short affliction of one day can eneruate thy loue and vnlocke thy affections from God and heauen Euery crosse accident stops thee in thy course Euery little sorrow disquiets thy soule and lessens thy contentment Behold here measure by the example of Iacob the strength of thy loue Iacob could serue seauen yeares with chearefulnesse for a wife but thou canst hardly serue thy God so many dayes with a true affection for heauen For reckon vp all the nights thou hast spent in prayer summe vp all the dayes that thou hast worne out in religious exercises and canst thou then truly say to God as Iacob did to his vncle in thy seruice night and day haue I macerated my body with heat and cold and my sleep departed from mine eyes twenty yeares haue I laboured in thy seruice couldst thou say thus and say it truly ô then what would be the end of thy labour what would thy reward be not flocks and cattell not the daughters of Laban but God himselfe would be thy exceeding great reward thy life and happinesse Hee would be vnto thee every thing that
thy heart can desire or long for Thy soule should flowe and even melt in abundance of spirituall delights But now take a little view of thine owne vilenesse thy owne nakednesse thy vttter disability to any thing that may be truly called good Thy hands are feeble to Gods worke thy feete are slow to Gods temple thine eyes are seared or shut vp towards heaven But for the workes of flesh and Sathan thy heart is hot to envy thy minde prone to revenge thy tongue voluble to blaspheame thy affections even glued and incorporated as it were into the sensuall embracements And is this to serue God for heaven shall the blessednesse of the Saints and the glory of Angells and the ioy and fruition of God himselfe bee powred forth vpon such workes as these Dost thou thus requite thy maker O consider consider I say thy waies in time labour to serue God as Iacob did labour to approue thy selfe as faithfull to God as Iacob was to his vnckle Laban And if the weight of the labour discourage thee or adversity oppresse thee or prosperity seduce thee then lift vp thine eyes to heaven as Iacob did to his Rachell Let heauen be thy loue thy spouse the delight of thine eyes the ioy of thy heart Behold thy Rachell is faire and louely heaven is both beautifull and glorious Let thy desires goe before whither thou meanest to hasten after suffer for a season thy light affliction hauing an eye to the recompence of reward yet and but a little while Eò dirigendus est spiritus quo aliquando est itutus and thou shalt approach the haven where thou shalt enioy so much the more happinesse by how much the deeper thou hast drunke in sorrow and by how much the more ardent thy affections haue beene towards God in this life the more abundant shall thy reward be in the life to come then shall thy crosses proue thy gaines and that well-spring of ioy which shall ever rise in thy heart shall swallow vp all thy sorrowes CHAP. II. Shewing that there is no other way nor possible meanes to attaine to the true eternity but by a confident affiance vpon the mercy of God in Christ SVch and so deplorable is the condition of every man considered in his corrupted and degenerated state that albeit he bee able by that small sparke of naturall illumination which is left in his mind to see as in a glasse darkely and obscurely an eternity to come yet is hee vtterly ignorant of the true way therevnto neither hath he any possibility in nature to finde it out Hee is in no better state then the poore creeple at the poole of Bethesda who saw the waters that could heale him before his eyes but found no meanes to helpe him into them For that sound and perfect knowledge of the true way which man was adorned with in his first creation is wholely lost extinguished in him he is now a meere stranger from the life of God Eph. 4.18 dead in Trespasses and sinnes Eph. 1.2 reprobate to every good worke Tit. 1.16 his very minde is defiled Tit. 1.15 his wisdome is death Rom. 8.6 Nemo aliunde Deo placet nisi ex eo quod ipse donaverit He is no more able of himselfe to lead a holy life acceptable to God then a dead man is to performe the actions of one that is aliue Being thus disrobed of all spirituall endowments and sauing grace how shall hee attaine to that ioyfull Eternity which his soule as I haue said may long for but can no way reach Certainely there is no light to lead him but that Si Christum habes aeternitatem per Christum in te habes Alst light of the world no way for him to take to but that new liuing way even him who hath stiled himselfe the way the truth and the life no rocke to cleaue to but this strong foundation no name vnder heauen to be saued by but this euen this alone Iesus Christ yesterday and to day and the same foreuer Hee and he alone is the onely sure effectuall infallible meanes of our saluation Hee alone is the true High Priest who was once offered to take away sinnes and after that entred into the true sanctuary the very Heaven to appeare in the sight of God for vs where hee is able perfectly to saue them which come vnto God by him seeing he euer liueth to make intercession for them Heb. 7.26 He alone is the ground of our hope the crowne of our glory and the strength of our confidence Oculum tuum Domine non excludit cor clausum nec manum tuam repellit duritia hominum Aug. It 's he alone who by the sweet influence of his grace and by the secret working of his spirit can when he will and doth when hee please subdue and bring vnder the most obdurate gainesaying and rebellious heart to a cheerefull willing ready obedience to his heavenly will O the infinite in expressible tendernesse of our louing Sauiour towards vs When we like sheepe had gone astray his mercy reduced vs When we lay wallowing in our blood his pitty refresht vs When we were dead in our sinnes his death did reuiue vs and here we may truely say with David his mercy reacheth to the heauens From the heauens came the price of our redemption We were not neither could we be redeemed by the blood of bulls and goats by thousands of riuers of oyle by the cattle that are vpon a thousand mountaines It was not the treasures of the world the power of men or Angels could purchase this freedome nothing could cleanse vs but the blood of the Lambe He was that fountaine opened for sinne and for vncleanesse He was that Sonne of righteousnes that came with healing in his wings His were the wounds that healed our sores his was the backe that bare our sorrowes his was the price that quit our skores he assumed our flesh to redeeme vs here and he raignes as a king to crowne vs hereafter Now what remaines after all this to be done on our parts Let vs rest on this Anchor let vs fly to this hold and build on this foundation For no other foundation can any man lay then that which is laid Iesus Christ Let vs cast our soules into the armes of our Saviour In brachijs Salvatoris mei vivere volo et mori cupio saith S. Bernard O let this bee our desire Now the gate is open let vs not deferre the time of entrance Now is the acceptable time let vs not procrastinate the feason Now he offers his mercy he shewes his long sufferance let vs not turne his grace into wantonnesse let vs follow the counsell of the sonne of Sirach Ecclus the 5. Make no long tarrying to turne to the Lord and put not off from day to day For suddainly shall the wrath of the Lord breake forth and in thy security thou shalt bee destroyed and thou shalt
let vs conforme our selues to his life and let our conuersation bee answerable to his doctrine Let vs fix our eie on this true Serpent and fasten our hold on this sure anker Let vs looke vp vnto Iesus the author and finisher of our faith Where our treasure is there let our hearts be also We haue an inestimable price a glorious inheritance set before vs let vs carefully embrace all those meanes that may further our progresse as the hearing of the word receaving of the Sacraments earnest and constant prayer to Almighty God Let vs striue as we ought presse forward with all violence The woman in the Gospell which was so long visited with her bloudy issue it was her holy Victa est ad violentiam quia violenta ad victoriam violence and pressing our Saviour that procured her health for her body and pardon for her soule Let this be our endeauour let vs neuer thinke our selues farre enough in the way to heauen but prepare our hearts still and lay hold on euery aduantage that may further vs in our iourney Behold now is the acceptable time now is the day of saluation whilst you haue time then doe good vnto all whilst you haue the light walke as children of the light Iudge thy selfe here that thou bee not iudged of the Lord hereafter Let not thy eies slumber nor thy temples take any rest till thou hast found out an habitation in thy heart for the mighty God of Iacob Remember him as David did in thy bed and thinke vpon him when thou art waking God said of the Church of Thyatira I gaue her time to repent of her fornication and she repented not O let vs not giue our good God the like occasion to second the same complaint against vs. Behold God now graciously calls vs and offers vs his mercy Behold the spouse comes let vs goe forth to meet him He stands at the doore and knocks let vs arise and open speedily to our beloued to day while it is called to day let vs heare his voice let vs not put off our time as Felix did St Paul goe for this present time whē I haue a convenient leasure I will heare thee as if the time present were not the fittest Let vs not stifle the checks of our consciences or say as Festus to Agrippa to morrow thou shalt heare him Non quaerit Deus dilationem in voce corvina sed confessionem in gemitu Columbino All procrastinations in this case are dangerous Let vs therefore take hold of saluation whilst occasion serues vs. If we shut out our welbeloued he will be gone Therefore let our hearts euen melt within vs whilst he speakes to vs in his word if we answer not when he calls vs then shall we call and he will not answer The Storke and the Crane and the Swallow in the ayre know their seasons and obserue their appointed times how much more should man especially since times moments how long we shall enioy them are not in our owne power but in the power of God The Angell in the Revelation swore by him that liueth foreuer that time should be no more the time past can neuer be recalled let vs therefore take the present time For the time past was and is not the time present is but shall not be and of the future wee can promise to our selues no fruition But alas such is our blindnesse such an obduration is growne over our hearts that wee vnderstand these things but feele them not wee haue them swimming in our minds but imbrace them not in our affections The best of vs may take vp that complaint of Saint Augustine Teneo in memoria scribo in charta sed non habeo in vita Aug. who averred of himselfe that his desires were better then his practise our vowes are in heauen but our hearts on earth our desires are towards our home but our endeavours flagge in the way and we faint in our iourney wee haue heavenly hopes but earthly affections wee all couet after happinesse but wee would take no paines for it wee would enioy Christ in his benefits but wee refuse to partake with him in his sufferings volumus assequi Christum sed non sequi wee would share willingly with our Saviour in his Crowne but not in his combat nay oftentimes wee instance God for such graces as we are loath to obtaine like Saint Augustine who prayed for continency with a proviso Lord giue me continency but not yet nay such is our intolerable sinfulnesse and pollution of heart that at the same instant when our hands are lift vp to God for the pardon of old sinnes our heads are working in the contriving of new as Salvian hath it dum verbis praeterita mala plangimus sensu futura meditamur Thus we draw nigh to God with our lipps when our hearts are farre from him our affections are buried in the things of this life Excellent is that saying of Isidorus Regnum hoc sempiternū ex omni parte beatum est omnibus promissum tamen de illo altum inter nos silentium quotus quisque enim est qui de hoc commemorat hoc vxori hoc liberis toti hoc familiae inculcat Isid Coelum negligimus terram non retiuemus Dei favorem non acquirimus mundi perdimus The kingdome of heauen saith hee is eternall blessed every way and promised to all men but who is there almost that spends one moment in the serious meditation of it What man is there that ever talkes to his wife to his children to his family of such a Kingdome Wee can riot in the praises of our natiue soile but wee blush to speake of and are ashamed to commend our true country our everlasting home In our dealings about the things of this life our vnderstandings are ready enough to apprehend them and our hearts to entertaine them and our tongues to discourse of them but in things that belong to the eternall salvation of our soules how deepe is our silence how slow our speech how vnskilfull our expressions Thus wee forsake heauen for these things which at last will forsake vs and trifle out our time in things that will not profit vs. How far are men now adaies from that sweete resolution of Saint Hierome Let others saith hee liue in their statues in their costly monuments I had rather haue St Pauls Coate with his heauenly graces then the purple of Kings with their Kingdomes O that wee would looke thus lowly vpon our selues wee are Christians in profession O let vs bee such in practice seeing that God hath made vs stewards of his treasures let vs improue them to the benefit of our brethren hath God giuen vs abundance of his blessings o let vs not hide our talents in a napkin let vs send our good workes before vs into Heaven pauca da maxima in coelo recepturus these slender guifts which thou doest chearefully distribute in