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A62601
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A sermon preach'd before the King and Queen at Hampton-Court, April the 14th, 1689 by John Tillotson ...
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Tillotson, John, 1630-1694.
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1689
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Wing T1238; ESTC R9503
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13,346
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37
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thing so necessary so slight and careless in a matter of Life and Death and upon which all Eternity does depend Let us then shake off this sloth and security and resolve to make that the great business of Time which is our great concernment to all Eternity And when we are immers'd in the cares and business of this Life and troubled about many things let this thought often come into our minds That there is one thing needful and which therefore deserves above all other things to be regarded by us Secondly There are another sort of persons who are groslly careless of this one thing necessary and do not seem to mind it at all Who go on securely in an evil course as if either they had no Souls or no concernment for them I may say to these as the Master of the Ship did to Jonah when he was fast asleep in the Storm What meanest thou O sleeper Arise and call upon thy God. When our Souls are every moment in danger of sinking it is high time for us to awake out of sleep to ply every Oar and to use all possible care and industry to save a thing so precious from a danger so threatning and so terrible We are apt enough to be sensible of the force of this Argument of necessity in other cases and very carefully to provide against the pressing necessities of this life and how to avoid those great temporal evils of poverty and disgrace of pain and suffering But the great necessity of all and that which is mainly incumbent upon us is to provide for Eternity to secure the everlasting happiness and to prevent the endless and insupportable miseries of another World. This this is the one thing necessary and to this we ought to bend and apply all our care and endeavours If we would fairly compare the necessity of things and wisely weigh the concernments of this Life and the other in a just and equal ballance we should be ashamed to misplace our diligence and industry as we do to bestow our best thoughts and time about these vain and perishing things and to take no care about that better part which cannot be taken from us Fond and vain men that we are who are so solicitous how we shall pass a few days in this world but matter not what shall become of us for ever But as careless as we are now about these things time will come when we shall sadly lay them to heart and when they will touch us to the quick When we come to lie upon a Death-bed if God shall be pleas'd to grant us then so much time and use of our Reason as to be able to recollect our selves we shall then be convinc'd how great a necessity there was of minding our Souls and of the prodigious folly of neglecting them and of our not being sensible of the value of them till we are ready to dispair of saving them But blessed be God this is not yet our case though we know not how soon it may be Let us then be wise and consider these things in time least Death and Despair should overtake and oppress us at once You that are young be pleas'd to consider that this is the best opportunity of your Lives for the minding and doing of this work You are now most capable of the best impressions before the habits of Vice have taken deep root and your hearts be harden'd through the deceitfulness of sin This is the acceptable time this is the day of salvation And there is likewise a very weighty consideration to be urg'd upon those that are old if there be any that are willing to own themselves so that this is the last opportunity of their lives and therefore they should lay hold of it and improve it with all their might For it will soon be past and when it is nothing call it back It is but a very little while before we shall all certainly be of this mind that the best thing we could have done in this World was to prepare for the other Could I represent to you that invisible World which I am speaking of you would all readily assent to this counsel and would be glad to follow it and put it speedily in practice Do but then open your eyes and look a little before you to the things which are not far off from any of us and to many of us may perhaps be much nearer than we are aware Let us but judge of things now as we shall all shortly judge of them And let us live now as after a few days we shall every one of us wish with all our Souls that we had liv'd and be as serious as if we were ready to step into the other World and to enter upon that change which Death will quickly make in every one of us Strange stupidity of Men That a change so near so great so certain should affect us so coldly and be so little consider'd and provided for by us That the things of Time should move us so much and the things of Eternity so little What will we do when this change comes if we have made no preparation for it If we be Christians and do verily believe the things which I am speaking of and that after a few days more are pass'd Death will come and draw aside that thick Veil of sense and security which now hides these things from us and shew us that fearful and amazing sight which we are now so loth to think upon I say if we believe this it is time for us to be wise and serious And happy that man who in the days of his health hath retir'd himself from the noise and tumult of this world and made that careful preparation for Death and a better Life as may give him that constancy and firmness of Spirit as to be able to bear the thoughts and approaches of his great Change without amazement and to have a mind almost equally poiz'd between that strong inclination of Nature which makes us desirous to live and that wiser dictate of Reason and Religion which should make us willing and contented to die whenever God thinks fit Many of us do not now so clearly discern these things because our eyes are dazzel'd with the false light and splendour of earthly felicity But this assuredly is more worth than all the Kingdoms of the World and the Glory of them to be able to possess our Souls at such a time and to be at perfect Peace with our own minds having our hearts fixed trusting in God To have our Accounts made up and Estate of our immortal Souls as well setled and secur'd as by the assistance of God's Grace humane care and endeavour though mix'd with much humane frailty is able to do And if we be convinc'd of these things we are utterly inexcusable if we do not make this our first and great care and prefer it to all other interests whatsoever And to this end we should resolutely disentangle our selves from worldly cares and incumbrances at least so far that we may have competent liberty and leisure to attend this great concernment and to put our Souls into a fit posture and preparation for another World That when Sickness and Death shall come we may not act our last part indecently and confusedly and have a great deal of work to do when we shall want both time and all other advantages to do it in Whereby our Souls when they will stand most in need of comfort and support will unavoidably be left in a trembling and disconsolate condition and in an anxious doubtfulness of mind what will become of them for ever To conclude This care of Religion and our Souls is a thing so necessary that in comparison of it we are to neglect the very necessaries of Life So our Lord teacheth us Take no thought saying what shall we eat or what shall we drink or wherewithal shall we be cloathed But seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness The Calls of God and Religion are so very pressing and importunate that they admit of no delay or excuse whatsoever This our Saviour signifies to us by denying the Disciple whom he had call'd to follow him leave to go and bury his Father Let the dead says he bury their dead but do thou follow me There is one thing needful and that is the business of Religion and the care of our immortal Souls which whatever else we neglect should be carefully minded and regarded by every one of us O that there were such a heart in us O that we were wise that we understood this that we would consider our latter end Which God grant we may all do in this our day for his mercies sake in Jesus Christ to whom with the Father and the Holy Ghost be all Honour and Glory now and ever Amen FINIS Books Publish'd by the Reverend Dr. Tillotson THirty Sermons and Discourses upon several Occasions In Three Volumes In Octavo The Rule of Faith Or an Answer to the Treatise of Mr. J. Sarjant By Dr. Tillotson To which is adjoyned A Reply to Mr. J. S. his Third Appendix c. By Edward Stillingfleet D. D. Dean of St. Paul's In Octavo A Discourse against Transubstantiation In Octavo Price 3 d. alone A Perswasive to Frequent Communion in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper In Octavo Price 3 d. alone A Thanksgiving Sermon Preach'd at Lincolns-Inn-Chappel on the Thirty-First of January 1688. A Sermon Preach'd before the Queen at White-Hall on Matth. 5. 44. A Sermon Preach'd before the King and Queen at Hampton-Court Heb. 11. 6. Joh. 17. 3. Matth. 5. 3 4 c. Matth. 7. 21. V. 24. V. 26 27. Joh. 13. 17. Luk. 6. 46. 1 Joh. 5. 3. 1 Joh. 2. 4. Joh. 14. 15. V. 21. 1 Joh. 3. 7. V. 10. Gen. 3. 7. Isai. 3. 10 11. Matth. 19. 17. Matth. 6. 31 33.
Dr. TILLOTSON's SERMON Preached before the KING and QUEEN AT HAMPTON-COURT A SERMON Preach'd before the KING and QUEEN AT Hampton-Court APRIL the 14th 1689. By JOHN TILLOTSON D. D. Dean of Canterbury Published by his Majesty's Special Command LONDON Printed for B. Aylmer at the Three Pigeons against the Royal Exchange in Cornhill And W. Rogers at the Sun over against S. Dunstan's Church in Fleet-street MDCLXXXIX A SERMON Preach'd before the King and Queen AT HAMPTON-COURT April the 14th 1689. LUKE X. 42. But one thing is needfull IN the accounts of Wise men one of the first Rules and Measures of human actions is this To regard every thing more or less according to the degree of its consequence and importance to our happiness That which is most necessary to that End ought in all reason to be minded by us in the first place and other things onely so far as they are consistent with that great End and subservient to it Our B. Saviour here tells us that there is one thing needfull that is one thing which ought first and principally to be regarded by us And what that is it is of great concernment to us all to know that we may mind and pursue it as it deserves And we may easily understand what it is by considering the Context and the occasion of these Words which was briefly this Our Saviour as He went about preaching the Kingdom of God came into a certain Village where He was entertain'd at the house of two devout Sisters The elder who had the care and management of the Family and the affairs of it was imployed in making entertainment for such a Guest The other sate at our Saviour's feet attending to the Doctrine of Salvation which he preach'd The elder finding her self not able to do all the business alone desires of our Saviour that he would command her Sister to come and help her Upon this our Saviour gives her this gentle reprehension Martha Martha Thou art carefull and troubled about many things but one thing is needfull And what that is he declares in the next words And Mary hath chosen that good part which shall not be taken away from her that is she hath chosen to take care of her Salvation which is infinitely more considerable than any thing else Our Saviour doth not altogether blame Martha for her respectfull care of Him but commends her Sister for her greater care of her Soul which made her either wholly to forget or unwilling to mind other things at that time So that upon the whole matter He highly approves her wise choice in preferring an attentive regard to His Doctrine even before that which might be thought a necessary civility to His Person From the Words thus explain'd the Observation which I shall make is this That the care of Religion and of our Souls is the one thing necessary and that which every man is concern'd in the first place and above all other things to mind and regard This Observation seems to be plainly contain'd in the Text. I shall handle it as briefly as I can and then by way of Application shall endeavour to persuade You and my self to mind this one thing necessary And in speaking to this serious and weighty Argument I shall do these two things First I shall endeavour to shew wherein this care of Religion and of our Souls does consist Secondly to convince men of the necessity of taking this care I. I shall shew wherein this care of Religion and of our Souls doth consist And this I shall endeavour to do with all the plainness I can and so as every one that hears me may understand and be sufficiently directed what is necessary for him to do in order to his eternal Salvation And of this I shall give an account in the five following Particulars in which I think the main business of Religion and the due care of our Souls does consist First in the distinct knowledge and in the firm belief and persuasion of those things which are necessary to be known and believed by us in order to our eternal Salvation Secondly in the frequent Examination of our lives and actions and in a sincere Repentance for all the errours and miscarriages of them Thirdly in the constant and daily exercise of Piety and Devotion Fourthly in avoiding those things which are pernicious to our Salvation and whereby men do often hazard their Souls Fifthly in the even and constant practice of the several Graces and Vertues of a good Life I. The due care of Religion and our Souls does consist in the distinct knowledge and in the firm belief and persuasion of those things which are necessary to be known and believ'd by us in order to our eternal Salvation For this knowledge of the necessary Principles and Duties of Religion is the foundation of all good Practice wherein the life of Religion doth consist And without this no man can be truly Religious Without faith saith the Apostle to the Hebrews it is impossible to please God For he that cometh to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. Now these two expressions of pleasing God and seeking Him are plainly of the same importance and do both of them signifie Religion or the Worship and Service of God which doth antecedently suppose our firm belief and persuasion of these two fundamental Principles of all Religion That there is a God and That He will reward those that serve Him Because unless a man do first believe these there would neither be ground nor encouragement for any such thing as Religion And this knowledge of the necessary Principles of Religion our B. Saviour calls eternal Life because it is so fundamentally necessary in order to our attaining of it This is life eternal says He to know thee the onely true God and Him whom thou hast sent Jesus Christ that is to be rightly instructed in the knowledge of the onely true God and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord Under which two general Heads are comprehended all the necessary Principles both of the Natural and of the Christian Religion And to the attaining of this knowledge which is absolutely necessary to Salvation no such extraordinary pains and study is requir'd but onely a teachable disposition and a due application of mind For whatever in Religion is necessary to be known by all must in all reason be plain and easie and lye level to all capacities otherwise we must say that God who would have all men to be saved hath not provided for the Salvation of all men And therefore now that the knowledge of the true God and the light of Christianity are shed abroad in the world all that enjoy the Gospel are or may be sufficiently instructed in all things necessary to their happiness unless such care be used as is in the Church of Rome to take away the key of knowledge and to lock up the Scriptures