or else out of the store thereof the lipps will vtter it and from the abundance of the heart speake abundantly To be short the spirituall good of those with whom the righteous man liueth and whom he loueth taketh vp a chiefe room in his affections hee seeketh their conversion and saluation this is an imployment worthy his loue his labour his prayers his paines Herein hee sheweth himselfe the childe of God and his wishes accord with Gods Oh saith the Lord Deut 5. that there were in Deut 5. 25. my people an heart to feare me Oh saith the righteous christian that there were in my frends kinsfolke neighbors and acquaintance an heart to feare the Lord and keepe his commandments that it might goe well with them Would to God saith Moses Numb 11 all Gods people were Prophets and Numb 11. 29. Paul Act 26. wisheth that not onely Acts 26. 29. Festus the President and Agrippa the King but all that heard him were as he was not in bands and captiuitie but in grace and christianitie Seldome shall you heare these or the like voyces amongst worldlings I wish others were as rich as I as learned as I and in as good credit as I am for these things make men earthly-minded base selfe-louers and priuately affected but grace and holinesse is of an excellent royall nature and enlargeth the heart wherein it is with such loue to other men that nothing more contents the righteous man then to make others as good as himselfe and to see them goe in his Masters heauenly liuery Hee taketh heede to himselfe hee taketh care of others tanquam sidus clarum beneficum as the Sunne in the firmament is beneficiall to all Vse 1 Wherefore to make some vse of this point Rouze vp your selues ô yee Christians which heare me this day vp and be doing and the Lord will be with you suffer not this doctrine to passe vnregarded vnpractised but as you would be accounted the holy and righteous seruants of the Lord quickned and enlived with the spirit of grace and power of godlinesse so shew your selues to bee such by communicating the good graces you haue receiued to the benefit of others lay aside all hypocrisie in seeming to be what you are not remoue all slothfulnes in not appearing to be what you are and as the elect of God put on the bowells of mercy and with cheerefulnes and alacritie spend those talents wherewith God hath enriched you and adventure them for your Masters best advantage and vse your gifts as Dauid Psalm fitted for the good of all which may be or desire to be benefited by them Bee not spare in spending what God hath been bountifull in bestowing make knowne your selues to be not onely like the good tree which bringeth forth its owne good fruit in due season but like the fire and Psal 1. 3. the fire non in silice sed in sinu not in the flint which will hardly bee beaten out but in the bosome which cannot be concealed but will soone shew it selfe and hauing matter to worke vpon will send out a flaming light to direct and comfort others O consider from what misery by nature you your selues are freed and to what an excellent estate by grace yee are translated and be not so thanklesse to the authour of your happinesse or hard hearted to the good of your brethren as to neglect to pay to either what you doe owe them You owe glory to God for his manifold mercies vouchsafed vnto you and the greatest thing wherein you can glorifie him is to be the meanes of drawing others to his kingdome you owe loue vnto your brethren and the greatest thing wherein you can shew this loue is to seeke their freedom out of the bands of sinne and Sathan and to bee instruments of sauing their soules O set then close to this worke vse all the good means of prayer counsell conference comfort and admonition and commit the successe vnto God Petitur avobis cura non curatio as Bernard speaketh God requireth Bern lib. 4. consider not at your hands that you should cure your brethren for that is his immediate worke Hebr 13. but that you should care for them and doe what in you lyeth to procure not only their temporall but especially their spirituall and eternall good Blessed and beloued Christians wee are all and ought to bee one anothers keepers and it was but Cain a murtherer which made question to the contrary Gen. 4. Gen 4. 9. Wherefore as brethren sonnes of the same Father seruant◠to the same Master heires of the same promise fellow-trauellers bound for the same countrey let vs make on an other partakers both of our temporall goods according to the rule of Salomon Prov 5. Let thy Prov 5. 16. fountaine flow forth and thy riuers in the streetes and especially of our spirituall graces instructing counselling comforting and aedifying one an other in an holy faith and godly life It is a true saying 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a good man is a common good Oh then let vs shew our selues to be such good men and louing Christians indeed leauing behind vs in all plaees where wee liue and haue to doe some tokens of our goodnesse some monuments of our godlines some sweet sauour of our virtues especially as occasion is now giuen let vs expresse our bounty for a common good namely in furthering by our willing contribution therevnto the honorable plantation of Virginia for the reducing Virginia of pagans vnto Christianitie and the praise-worthy erection of the Colledge of Controuersies Chelsey for the speedier refuting of the errors and repressing of the insolencies of malignant popish aduersaries Those worthies which are imployed in these famous workes cry vnto vs as the Angell of Macedonia did vnto Paul Come and helpe vs. Let vs then be helpfull Act 16. 9. vnto them and as profitable members in the Bee-hiue of christs Church let vs bring by our loue our largesse by our prayers paines or practise wax or hony therevnto for the benefit of many and not be like those haughty vngentle spirits in whom the grosse humours of pride and couetousnes haue bred such an obstruction of liberalitie and kindnes that neither good workes nor gracious words at all proceed from them Solon in Plutarch in moral Plutarch made a law that if any one had digged 20 foote deepe in his owne ground and found no water his neighbour should permit him to draw water out of his Well Doe then such and such men labour to liue and endeuour to learne and yet want some maintenance and learning which God in some greater measure hath afforded vs why then we are bound to giue vnto them of that little which we haue and to teach them of that little which we know and to doe them what good wee can if we doe God will reward vs if we doe not the heathen man will rise vp in iudgement against
most feruent and vnfained affection each to other not but that your enemies and strangers yea all men in whom nothing but nature doth appeare are also to bee beloued but the fellow members of the same misticall body yea brethren by grace and adoption by calling and profession Chtistians begotten by the same word and spirit redeemed by the same bloud Heires of the same promise kingdome are to haue the chiefe seate of loue in your soules and as it were the highest and fairest roome of true affection in the house of your hearts This is my commandement that yee so loue one another 3 As I haue loued you That which I haue commanded in word I haue for your instruction and imitation practised in deede I haue made my life the example of my law and therefore may iustly require that loue at your hands whereof I haue exhibited my selfe a continual patterne before your eyes I haue most authoritie to command and my example should bee of most force to induce you will readilie imitate him of whom you thinke well especially hauing receiued some great benefit from him now of whom should you thinke better then of mee and to whom are you more beholding then to mee who haue indured a miserable life and must suffer a contemptible death for your sakes wherefore my disciples my friends my followers Loue one another as I haue loued you And with cheerefulnesse and constancie follow my example in this principall and most necessarie Christian duty of mutuall charity each to other This beloued is the full sense and meaning the maine drift and substance of my text Which as a fountaine of liuing water diuideth it selfe into three streames and in the diuision thereof commends to the duty of our obseruation these three distinct parts 3 parts 1. A commandement or law prefixed to win the Deuision greater reuerence and attention in these wordes this is my commandement 2. A duty of mutuall loue enioyned to worke in vs the deeper impression in these words That ye loue one another 3. A reason or motiue thereunto grounded on Christs example most worthy of imitation in these words As I haue loued you This is my commandement a commandement Illustratio â—â—â—tus of absolute soueraigntie and therefore to bee obeyed that ye loue one another a worke of excellent vse and commodity and therefore to bee performed As I haue loued you an example or president of singular sufficiencie and therefore to be followed This is my commandement Not an earthly Prince though his ordinance be as full of soueraignty as his seate of maiestie Neither heauenly Angells though in them all things make remonstrance of great power and glorious excellencie gaue this charge But the Lord Iesus the Lord of Angells the King of kings the Destroyer of Sathan the Sauiour of Saints the Conquerour of death the Giuer of life whose goodnesse is such as all are bound to loue him and greatnesse such as none may disdaine to obey him the Lord Iesus Excelsus in honore August enchyr suauis in amore diues in haereditate primus supremus liberrimus The first before all in eternity the highest aboue all in infinite maiestie most free and absolute at his owne libertie by nature essentiall and very God by distinction of â— Heb. 8. â— Ioh 1. â— Heb. persons the Sonne of God by office the word of God by holinesse the expresse Image of God the brightnesse of his glory the sweetnesse of his goodnesse the greatnesse of his power The Lord Iesus the Creatour of our persons out of nothing the Reformer of our natures out of sinne the Redeemer of our estates out of miserie the raiser of our soules from death to life and the exalter both of body and soule vnto glory Whose comming in the flesh the Patriarchs honored by their prefiguration Princes and potentates by their expectation Iohn Baptist by his preparation the three Wisemen by their offrings and oblation the Angells by their song the Sheepheards by their ioy Simeon and Anna by their praise euen the Lord Iesus whose comming into the world was thus honored going now out of the world he thus commanded This is my commandement 2. That ye loue one another That yee the naturall branches of Christ the true vine of whose fulnesse ye 1. Ioh. 16. haue all receiued from whom the soule-sauing-sappe of meekenesse mercy loue liberalitie temperancie and humilitie and all other spirituall graces are alone deriued that ye which are Christians not in name onely but in nature not in outward appearance but in reall existence not only by externall profession but by eternall election and internall regeneration that ye 1. Pet. 1. 21. loue one another Brotherly with a pure heart feruently being of one minde will and affection not hauing your wills diuided your iudgments distracted your affections alienated but supporting one another through loue and alwaies consorting as Brethren therein endeauouring to keepe the vnitie of the spirit in the bond of peace This is Christs commandement Ephes 4. 3. that we which professe Christianitie in sinceritie should loue one an other verè sine fictione purè sine corruptione Hug. Card. constanter sine defectione Truly without dissimulation purely without corruption constantly without flinching or defection 3 As he hath loued vs Who so loued vs that hee made a progresse from dignity to basenes in his incarnation from the ioyes of heauen to the paines of hell in his bitter passion to free vs from sinne and death and to purchase for vs euerlasting life and saluation Who so loued vs that hee turned the white robe of his innocency into the red robe of his martyrdome that the blacks raggs of our sins and sable weeds of sorrow might bee converted into triumphant robes of gladnes and ioy Who so loued vs qui tantus tales tantillos Bern. in lib. de dibde Rom. 5. 10. Ephes 2. 4. 1. Ioh. 4. 14. tantum prior gratis dilexit Who being so great and high in power and dignity loued vs so bad by nature so base in qualitie and that so much and that before wee loued him and that freely Who so loued vs as Bernard speaketh Bern. in Cant. Ser. 20. Suauiter quod carneÌ„ induit prudenter quod culpaÌ„ cauit fortiter quod mortem sustinuit so sweetly investing himselfe with our humanitie so wisely auoiding euery sinne and impiety so strongly in suffering death for vs and triumphing ouer the powers of darknesse victoriously that this his loue in respect of the admirable and vnmatchable perfection thereof may rightly be termed and entituled A None-such Wherevnto there hath not beene beene no nor shall be the like like no not the like in any degree O amor sine exemplo sine gratia sine merito charitas sine modo Ambr Bern O loue without it's like ô grace without merit charitie without measure yet in what manner or measure wee can let vs beloued imitate this his
hee is no way obliged though yet such a one is not to be vnkindly intreated Exodus Exod. 22. 21. 22. 21 We doe not so hardly censure him for it but to be vngentle froward and discourteous to those that are neere vnto vs and to whom wee are bound by many strong linkes of nature duty or desert wee commonly hold it for a sauage and vnnaturall part Now christians are all linked one to another in the strictest surest and most inseparable manner which can bee thought we are sonnes of the same Father espoused to the same Master we are heyres of the same promises wee are begotten with the same seed of immortality wee trauell 1 Pet. 1. 23. towards the same Country we are bound for the same hauen and in one word for all wee are members of the same body all flesh of Christs flesh and bone of his bone all fedde at one Gods table all eat 1 Cor. 12. 12. by Faith of one Christs flesh all drinke of one Sauiours bloud all baptised in one Baptisme all professing the same Faith all sanctified 4 Ephes 4. 5. by the same spirit When wee are knit together in so many bands of vnity shall we not consort together in the same Christian affection of loue and Charity If the Brother haue cause to loue the brother and be vnnaturall if he doe it not if the husband haue great reason to affect his wife and be barbarous if hee affect her not if the mother haue cause to tender her child and be accounted cruell if shee regard it not Then how worthily are wee Christians to bee esteemed cruell barbarous vnnaturall if we regard not affect not loue not one another seeing wee are neerer each to other then Parent to Child Husband to Wife Brother to Brother Arctius enim gratiae quam naturae vinculum Austin For the knot is straiter and the band stronger of Grace then of nature the loue of Parents to children is naturall of children to Parents loyall of husband to wife reciprocall of friend to friend mutuall but the loue of Christians is all these and more then these immortall for wee are members of the same body mysticall as neere as the hand to the shoulder the shoulder to the necke the necke to the head the very members of one another Where then are the mutuall 1 Cor. 12. 21. offices which as Pilgrims heere on earth though Citizens in Heauen we should performe one to another When Merchants or trauellers of the same countrey meet together in a strange land as Englishmen in Italy France Spaine or Turkey many of you do know the most of vs may easily cōceiue what a league of loue there is betwixt them what passages of kindnesse exchange of courtesie how forward they will bee to benefit and pleasure one another Syth then we are no other then strangers and Pilgrimes heere in this world all trauelling towards heauen the place of our habitation paulumque morati serius aut citius metam properamus ad vnaem should we not much more imbrace each others acquaintance and striue to expresse our bounden loue by the readyest performance of the best Christian duties wherin we might doe a fauour or bee a furtherance for the good and welfare one of another In a word wee are all tied together by many linkes therefore we should haue much loue Reason 3 Thirdly there is nothing which will make Christians seruiceable and ready to doe good but loue therfore nothing more to be required or desired among Christians than loue for this will make vs all in our seuerall callings whether we be Ministers or Magistrates or Trades-men of the towne or countrey Buyers or Sellers of what estate degree or quality soeuer we be This loue I say will make will make vs prone and willing to employ our wit our wealth our credit our knowledge our counsaile our commodities and all for the good of all All other things without this make vs worse riches will make vs wanton or wilfull to our selues or others iniurious Honour will make vs high minded and in contemning others whom we should countenance ouerhasty and presumptuous Witte will make vs selfe-conceited and either priuately slanderous or publikely schismaticall and seditious Knowledge will make vs swell to be ambitious curious censorious scientia immo omnia haec entia inflant charitas Bern. 1 Cor. 8. 1. solum aedificat Knowledge yea wit honour wealth and all do but blow and puffe vs vp Charity only doth edifie and build vs vp and others and putteth it selfe forth to the vttermost to bee helpfull and beneficiall to all The Prouerbe is Epich ancient excellent 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Loue is all communicatiue of a diffusiue spreading nature not for it selfe alone but ready to impart wisdome wealth counsaile credit head tongue hand foote limbes life and all to the parties beloued It maketh the soule of him in whom it resideth to bee more Vbi mat quam vbi animat Bern. Where it loueth then where it liueth or quickneth Yea it is of so soueraigne vertue and power that it not only restraineth vs from rendring Matth 26. euill for good as Iudas did to Christ which was monstrous villany and curbeth vs from doing euill for euill as Ioab did to Abner which was a sinnefull infirmity or 2 Sam. 3. 27. vrgeth vs to doe good for good as Ahashuerus did to Mordecay which Esth 6. 10. was but naturall iustice and equity but it easily draweth vs to recompence euill with goodnesse as Dauid did to Saul and this is without 1 Sam. 24. exception compleat Christianitie Hee therefore that hath a louing heart and heartily affecteth the members of Christ be he what hee may bee for outward respects neuer so base and contemptible he is notwithstanding a profitable and behoouefull member in the Bee-hiue of Christs Church hee bringeth either wax or honny by his payne or his prayers thereunto for the benefit of many 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 such a good man is a common Epict. good But on the contrary he that hath an haughty vngentle spirit in whom the grosse humours of pride and couetousnesse haue bred a stoppage or obstruction of all liberality and kindnesse so that in all his connsails cogitations and actions he aymes at his owne proper gaine or glory not a whit regarding his Christian Brethrens good or relieuing them in their woes their wants their wrongs miseries such a one be he whatsoeuer hee be in the eye of the world neuer so great or glorious hee is yet in the vineyard of Christ but as a briar or thorne and in Christs Church but as a humming droan As the Church of Sardy had a name a liue but was dead so hath he And what the Apostle saith of the Reuel 3. 1 1 Tim. 5 6. voluptuous woman 1 Tim. 5. 6. that may truly be said of him that he is dead whiles hee liueth For
their delights their bowling dycing carding hawking hunting and not an hower in the weeke to bee spent for the good of poore Christians either in relieuing their wants or in redressing their wrongs When all their mony is little enough to make bargaines to purchase land to chest vp in their Treasurie or to set foorth to vsurie and not a shilling in the hundred imploied for the vse and benefit of their needy neighbours or distressed brethren Nay is it not almost euery where come so to passe that a wanton Gallant or rich Glutton though he be an open prophane man and a knowne Whore-master Drunkard or blaspheming Swaggerer shall yet haue more kinde entertainment at our house and better vsage at our hands than the best Christian being of meane estate and in some manner of want Are we not for the most part caried as the blinde world is with that squint-ey'd partialitie so much condemned by the Apostle Iam. 2. Iam. 2. 2. Let one come in with a gold ring on his finger in gorgious apparel we vse him with passing kindnesse a chaire and a cushion presently you are heartily welcome I am glad to see you well the best cheer the best lodging the best attendance all is too little much adoe and more then needeth But let a poore Christian come to craue helpe at neede either the fatherlesse for releife being distressed or the Widdow for iustice or right being oppressed a scornefull eye a short answere cold comfort a neere hand a needy reward all is too much little done for such and that as good as nothing Is not this the common fashion and the corrupt affection of the most of vs O my brethren beloued in Christ Iesus is this to loue one another with a true Christian loue as Christ hath commanded No No Christianitie Christianity godlinesse the Image of God in the poore members of Christ and true godlinesse it selfe is the proper obiect of this spirituall loue A man for his wisedome is much to be regarded for his religion more highly to bee esteemed but if eminent sanctitie beautifie his profession he is more entirely to bee embraced euery excellency in morall vertues carrieth with it a sweete grace and motiue to amability but such is the bright luster of Christianitie that it alone causeth a more sollide friendship loue and amitie whom we affect for this and that earnestly them wee loue indeed heere Christian loue will poure foorth it selfe here it thinketh all that is don too little no cost too much here it will spend and extend it selfe to the vttermost Hence it was that Saint Paul was so kinde to the Galathians of whom he was disgraced and so louingly deuoted to the vnkinde Corinthians who the lesse loued him by how much the more he loued them surely the loue of Christ and Christianitie as he confesseth moued yea constrained him hereunto That sweete influence 2. Cor. 5. 14. of kindnesse which the spirit of God infused into his soule testifying to his heart that Christ was his Redeemer and had done so much for him would not suffer him to be vnkinde but did euen offer an holy violence vnto him and compell him to loue all men in Christ and to seeke to gaine all men vnto Christ This was it which made the three thousand which were conuerted Acts 2. to be so aboundant in charity that they communicated each to other whatsoeuer hee had euery one esteeming his purse as it is indeed the common treasurie and his house a common Inne for all the members of Christ This caused Lydia and the Iay lour Acts 16. to Acts. 2. 44. be so kinde to the Apostles so full of loue in heart and outward behauiour to the rest of their fellow Christians they felt in themselues Acts 16. the life of Christianitie and the hope of the life to come through Christ and in consideration hereof were liberall and bountifull of whatsoeuer good things the liberality of Christ had made them partakers and Stewards of O that we did liue now in that louing and giuing age to Christians O that our fathers charitable deuotion sequestred from superstition were more abounding in vs. O that wee did not liue in the winter of the world wherein charity is growne chilling cold and the fire of true Christian loue is as it were put out and quite extinguished by the water and frost of selfe loue the loue of the world and worldly couetousnesse But alasse so it is that there is a generall defection in this duty of Christian loue and our eyes may with Dauid gush foorth Psal 119. 136. riuers of teares yea our soules may droppe downe teares in secret for the same Vse 2 And to come a fresh vpon our soules with a new charge reprehension whose heart doth not in steed of loue giue often and long harbour vnto hatred whose lips are not polluted with breathing forth of mallice and malitious conceits whose hands are free from offence in this behalfe Doe not all of vs come within compasse of iust reprehension for that wee haue so much neglected and transgressed this commandement of loue so often proclaimed and earnestly pressed by our louing Sauior whence is it that the false surmise of a stale wrong doth leauen our hearts with malice and enuie and euill intentions for twice twelue monthes together so that we can neither thinke well or speake well of some of our neighbours much lesse do any good vnto them is it not because we haue not tasted one sponefull of the sacred liquor of Christian loue which is able to quench the fiery fury of any conceiued wrong whence is it that Christians meeting together in a seeming loue at Gods table do at their owne tables so seuerely censure vpbraide backbite and slander one another little regarding the Apostles admonition if ye backbite one another take Gal. 5. 15. heed least ye bee deuoured one of another When is it that they are so quick-sighted to see and open mouthed to speake of their neighbours imperfections not before God in praier for them or in their bosome with griefe in secret to reclaime them but in publicke amongst friends foes to disgrace them Is it not for want of the holy sparke of spirituall loue Whence is it that Nero-like we write our enemies in marble register their vnkindnesses with deepe Characters in the Tables of our minds memories and vpon euery light occasion vex them with sutes in law or lawlesse sutes And in briefe arme both our tongues and our hearts and our hands to doe mischiefe to the name goods and persons of those whom we should call Brethren Is it not because this christian loue the seasoner of our life which maketh vs full of good words and good works is banished from our society Oh where is that loue now wherof S. Paul maketh mention vnto the Corinthians and 1. Cor. 15. 5. 6. 7. setteth it out by 15. properties viz. That it
the Apostle exhorteth Ephes 4. and loue one another â—phes 4. 15. yea euen our enemies as our Sauiour in my Text commandeth and be no waies partakers of those fornamed grosse sinnes of craft and cruelty which proceede from hatred malice couetousnes and enuy but be euery way abundant in good workes which are the fruits of true Christian loue and liberalitie Vse 3 And now lastly for our instruction sith loue is not onely a necessary implement but also an excellent ornament for a Christian and therefore by our Sauiour so earnestly required at our hands let vs know that it is our duety by humble and hearty prayer to seeke it at his hand let vs therefore beseech him to grant by grace that true loue vnto vs which nature cannot giue let vs humbly intreat him so to shed his Spirit abroad in our hearts that wee may loue his seruants as wee ought that those which are neere and deere to him may be so to vs and where he loueth most wee may there be most inlarged in our loue and kindnesse also that our very soules may fully rest themselues in the liking and embracing of Christians not looking to their present wants and imperfections but to their future perfection and glory not considering what they be in themselues but rightly conceiuing what they be in Christ this prayer this meditation will be an effectuall meanes to make our loue abound wherevnto if we shall adioyne the commendable practise of other Christian duties and in our often meetings conferre and discourse charitably and conscionably of holy things and make one another partakers of the benefit of our reading and hearing especially on the Sabboth day surely this would be as fewell and towe and bellowes too to blow and stirre vp this grace of loue in our hearts and to make it flame in a great measure to our mutuall comfort and commodity 2. Tim 16. Wherefore as euer we would haue louing hearts and bee loued of him that alone knoweth our harts let vs alwaies striue to haue our companies and societies seasoned with holy and religious exercises and in steed of prophane talking ripping vp of other mens faults scoffing and iesting which are things vncomely Ephes 5. and Ephes 5. 4. faults too common in our priuat meetings and as it were the puddle water to quench loue and the incentiues to prouoke hatred Let vs on the contrary vse godly conference and delight in the practise of prayers and singing of Psalmes the like duties of Christianity as often as our company in any place is thereto required whereby occasions of hatred may be preuented whereby Christians perceiuing the spiritual excellency which is in ech other may be the faster glewed and linked and obliged in their iudgements wills and affections one to an other Finally to shut vp this point with the exhortation of the Apostle Ephes 5. 1 2. Beloued be ye followers of Eph. 5. 1 2. God as deare children and walke in loue as Christ hath loued vs. And Let euery man please his neighbour in that which is good to aedification Rom 15. 2. and the Ro 15. 2. God of peace and loue grant that in the eternall peace-maker Christ Iesus wee may loue each other aeternally And thus much of the first doctrine and of the seuerall vses and reasons thereof And so the time cutting off the intended handling of the two other points following in the feare of God I commend you all to the grace of his word which is able to build you Act. 20. 32. further and to giue you an inheritance with those which are sanctified and commit that which hath been spoken euen this little graine of loue to the ground of your hearts the blessing thereof to him who is able to make an handfull of corne to proue like the top of Lybanus Psal 72. 16. and the Psalm 72. least graine of mustard-seed to ouertop the trees of the forrest Matth 13. Math 13. though he which sowed the same depart Euen to God the Father the inexhaustible fountaine of goodnes the Sonne the incomprehensible wisdom of the Father and the Holy Ghost the indivisible power of them both To whom being three in persons one in essence the same onely wise immortall and invisible Diety we ascribe and desire to be ascribed all praise power might maiesty and dominion now and for euer Amen 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 TO THE RIGHT WORSHIPFVL AND worthilie regarded Sir ROBERT CHICHESTER Knight of the noble Order of the BATH c. increase of all grace and true happinesse heere and the blessednesse of immortality hereafter SIR Beeing often sollicited by the earnest entreaty of men of no meane quality to publish these slender fruits of some few daies labour and to let them passe to the eie of this censorious world as things in their iudgement worthy longer life then to fade with the houre or two to which they were destinated I haue at length after much reluctancie yeelded consent to satisfie their importunity addressing my selfe with the more alacritie to the businesse because I saw oportunity offered thereby to let the world see how I reuerence your person regard your place and vnfeignedly desire to make publike acknowledgement of my bounden seruice to you for all such beneficiall fauours as haue bin at any time vouchsafed vnto me in that place and calling wherein by Gods grace I stand Sentinell for the soule-sauing good of you and many others I hope whom the Lord of grace hath ordained to glory beeing in duty and conscience obliged so farre as the nature of my ministeriall functioÌ„ shall guide me and the power of my poore ability can reach to returne vnto you the interest of spiritual bles sings the comforts of a better life eternall in lieu of such corporall benefits as vnder Gods prouidence your patronage I do enioy for the maintenance of this fraile life temporall As a pledge of which duty I doe here humbly present vnto your eies that funerall sermon which lately you heard with your eares presuming that by your fauorable acceptance and benigne countenance you will giue vnto the same a kind of second life especially because it was penned preached vpon the occasion of your much esteemed friends death at the solemnising of his buriall In the which if there bee any sentence of instruction rule of direction example of religious resolution whereof your christian wisdom according to the pregnancy of your wit apprehension shall make a conscionable and comfortable vse to the furtherance of your saluation the matter occasioÌ„ of my thanksgiuing to God for his blessing on my poore labours shall hereby greatly be enlarged and my respectfull readines vpon your encouragement to vndergo the like employment shal be much augmented Thus humbly beseeching your Worship to rest assured that how weake and meane soeuer my counsels and endeauours bee my vowes and praiers for your truest happines and honour
measureles loue and Loue one another as he hath loued vs. And thus much for the explication diuision illustration of my text Now in the feare of God let vs come to the handling of such plaine and profitable doctrines and obseruations as naturally arise out of the same First in that our Sauiour giueth so especiall strict a charge vnto vs of louing one an other in these words This is my cōmandmēt that ye loue one another c. Thereby to incite vs the rather to loue and to teach vs how to loue one another Doct. 1 The lesson hence to bee learned is that it is a thing which Christ most earnestly requireth all Christians ought most earnestly to labour for that they be tender hearted louingly affected each to other Secondly in that our Sauiour proposeth and setteth downe his example in these words As I haue loued you Hence two doctrines without wresting of the words from their proper scope are to be gathered Doct. 2 The one that the feeling apprehension and consideration of Christs tender loue towards vs is a most effectuall meanes to inlarge our hearts in true affection towards our Brethren Doct. 3 The other that Christians should not content themselues with any measure of loue or thinke they had gotten loue enough but contend rather and striue to come daily nearer to that perfection of loue whereof Christ gaue himselfe an example Of these three points of doctrine their reasons and vses in their order and first of the first namely Doct. 1 The thing which Christ doth chiefly require at our hands and we are especially to labour for is to haue a tender regard each of other to loue one another vnfainedly As if there were no other commandment nor any other duty so expresly doth hee prefix his owne authoritie to this precept saying This is my commandment there being nothing which our Sauiour doth vrge more and call for nothing which wee his seruants should more study and striue for then this vicissitude of loue and commerce of kindnesse and practise of mutuall charitie and good-will To haue our hearts enlarged to our Christian Brethren and the dores of our soules and kinde affections set wide open to the Saints is that wherein hee taketh most pleasure and contentment and wherein we must take most paines and vse our chiefest endeuour and employment And indeed if we may iudge either of the necessitie of a duty on our parts or the acceptablenesse of a duty on his part by the often and earnest repetition of a commandement then this wanteth not that proofe For besides that the whole life of Christ from the day of his conception to the day of his passion was nothing else but an actuall seruice and continuall preaching of loue and charitie euen now when hee was to take his last farewell of his disciples and to sing his dying song as he went along to the place of his apprehension where Iudas was to betray him most vnnaturally and that for thirty peeces of siluer most basely and that to the murdrous Iewes most cruelly and that without cause most vniustly euen now did he thrice repeat this precept and three seuerall times exact this duty In the 13. chapter of his gospell and 34 verse he doth as I may say for feare of failing twice repeat in one sentence the same precept A new commandment giue Ioh. 13. 34. I vnto you that yee loue one another As I haue loued you that yee also loue one another He calls it there a new commandment not because it was then first brought forth but because the most absolute and excellent patterne thereof was then seene in himselfe as also because he would haue it new and alwaies fresh in their remembrance as ◠charge newly giuen that they might not suffer it at any time to bee cancelld out of their mindes and memories and therefore not content to speake it once he doubleth it saying that ye loue one another that yee also loue one another As if he had said of all things forget no◠this loue this is an inexhaustible fountaine which cannot be drawne dry a precious mine wherein the more yee digge the more treasure yee shall finde this is so sweet a grace Mel in ore melos in aure iubilaeum in corde as Beruard speaketh and so full of profit and pleasure and so fully taught by my example that at any hand yee should not forget this To loue one another So likewise in this place which is my text you see how hee vrgeth it as a matter of great consequence and importance and as the famous Troiane Aeneas encouraged his sonne Ascanius Disce puer virtutem ex me verumque laborē So doth our Sauiour here from his Ioh 15. 17. owne example make way for the better entertainment of this commandment Loue one another as I haue loued you Againe in the 17th Ioh. 17. 21. verse of this chapter he in generall tearmes redoubleth the charge These things I command you that yee loue one another And yet not content to giue the same commandment with so many repetitions he commendeth this dutie also to his Fathers care chap. 17. begging of Ioh. 17. 21. him that hee would keepe all his in one meaning both that they might be kept one with him and not to be plucked from him by the violence of any temptation affliction or sinfull affection and also continue in vnitie and amitie amongst themselues not hauing their iudgements distracted or their affections estraunged from one another but bee vnited and knit each to other in an indissoluble band of loue and good-liking These proofes would suffice to make plaine the necessitie of this duty but because our Sauiour vrgeth it so much his best beloued disciple S. Iohn forgetteth not to presse it and that often and that hard and close vnto the soule I will not striue to shew this out of the Ecclesiasticall history Where it is recorded of him that hee Euseb Socrat. would shut vp many of his discourses and maine sentences of his Sermons with this sweet Epiphenema and exhortation My little children loue one another The euidence hereof is most pregnant in all his Canonicall Epistles in the third 1. Ioh. 3. 23. Chapter and 23 verse 1. Epist hee putteth vs in minde of Christs commandement in these expresse words That is his commandment 1. Ioh. 3. 11. that we beleeue in the name of Iesus Christ and loue one another as hee hath commanded and in the 11th verse of the same Chapter as also in the 5. verse of the second Epistle 2. Ioh. 5. v. he commends this from its antiquity for a good thing the more ancient the more excellent This is the message or commandment that yee had and heard from the beginning that yee loue one another It is a duty as old as Adam wherein wicked Cain failed in that hee slew his brother and thereby abideth in death but on the contrary
a man without loue is as a dead Carkasse without life or like to a swoln arme or legge that must be wrapped vp and couered and tenderly touched but when it commeth to the vse it will not it cannot sturre it doth vs no seruice Wherefore as any man desires to approoue himselfe a fruitfull branch of Christ the true Vine or would that his life should be officious or beneficiall for the vse commodity of Christians yea for the glory and seruice of God so let him striue to store vp in his soule this rich treasure of Christian loue which as an odoriferous perfume smelleth a far off and causeth a sweet sent where it is not seene or rather as the eye of the soule charitas enim oculus mentis Greg. in mor. is quickned in espying out all occasions and oportunities of doing good to others It is not like to fire in the flint which can hardly be stricken out but like fire in the Amor non est ignis in filice sed in sinu bosome which cannot be concealed This will make vs in all cases and in all places to open our selues to our friends and to deale friendly and faithfully in the affaires of them which we doe affect and to helpe them by counsell to comfort them in griefe to succor them what wee may in the sundry disasters of fortune which daily and casually occurre as Ionathan dealt 1 Sam. 19. and 20. chap. with Dauid And to shut vp this reason Loue it is alone which makes vs all one This makes vs vigilant to pry out euery occasion wise and prudent to see euery opportunity painefull and diligent to take any labour cheerefull to vndergoe any trauaile or trouble constant indefatigable in going through any businesse for the bettering and benefiting of each other If therefore we would not be which it is a shame any Christian should bee as stocks and Images which stand in a wall and do nothing let vs labour for loue which will both set vs a worke and get vs wages make vs seruiceable to each other on earth and aduance vs hereafter to be Saints in Heauen according to that Charit as est viaticum in mundo No Thesaurus in coelo and this is the third reason why Christians should be the more willingly obedient to Christ commandement of Louing one another Reason 4 The fourth and last reason is because Christian loue preuenteth many mischiefes and inconueniences and meeteth with many harmefull prankes to hinder them and cut them off whereunto wee would otherwise breake foorth to our after griefe and our brethrens hurt it whippeth anger malice enuie out of the heart as Christ did the prophane Marchandizers out of the Temple Iohn 2. It stoppeth â—oh 2. 14. v. the course of ill violent passions it maketh them to turne saile or come vnder the Lee It causeth the proudest man to stoupe the chollericke man to bee calme the niggerdest man to be liberall so far forth as it possesseth them or it is possessed by them in any degree This stinteth strifes and contentions musleth vp censurings and backbitings blotteth out murrings and repinings and keepeth the heart from thinking the mind from conceiuing the tongue from speaking the hand from acting any thing which is euill and therefore is rightly compared to the herbe panacaea or to the generall medicines of the Phisitians called panchresta which are good for all assaies accomodable to euery disease Pliny Saint Austin of purpose speaking August de laud char hereof saith thus Charitas est mors criminum vita virtutum gluten animarum quae diuisa vnit confusa ordinat inequalia sociat imperfecta consummat i. Charitie and loue is the very death and queller of vice the life and cherisher of vertue the glue and as it were the sodder of the soules and affections of Christians It vniteth things diuided putteth in order things confused matcheth and consorteth things vnequall and consummateth things vnperfected In a word loue is the fulfilling of the Law the complement of Christianitie Rom. 13. 18. Coloss 3. 14. and the band of perfection the friend of a good conscience the companion of a liuely faith the prouoker of good words the promoter of good workes the throne of God in earth the delight of God in heauen Loue speaketh with the tongue of euery vertue 1. Ioh. 4. 16. Pitty biddeth thee to succour the penurious and indigent Iustice biddeth thee to giue euerie man his owne and not to wrong the impotent Patience biddeth thee to suffer Mercy biddeth thee to forgiue to helpe and relieue others But the voice of Christian loue commandeth all these A coward inflamed with this holy spark of heauenly fire banisheth feare becommeth valiant and manfull The couetous oppressour commanded by the imperious resolution of loue becommeth liberall and bountifull The ambitious Tyrant mollified hereby becommeth humble meeke and mercifull so true is that saying Amor Aug. de ciâ—â—â— Dei l. 〈…〉 meus pondus meum illo ferer quocunque feror My loue is my loadstone where it setteth mee there am I fixed whither it leadeth me thither am I carried so that to close vp this point Hee that hath much loue doth least harme and most good he that hath little loue doth more harme and lesse good and where no loue is this is nothing but harme and no good at all Whereof I may say as Abraham Gen. 20. 11. did of Abimelechs house Lo Iereah Eclohim baernacon the feare of God is not in this place But on the contrarie where loue dwelleth I may conclude thereof as Ezekiell doth Ezek. 47. 35. his prophesie Iehouah Shammah God is there Not to stand longer on the point you may see now by these proofes and reasons it is most plaine that spirituall Christian loue is a duty most requisite and necessarie to be exercised amongst Christians if euer wee will be like God our Father who is the God of loue or like vnto our profession which is the communion of Saints and the profession of loue or decline from euill and doe good 1. Cor. 13. which are the properties of loue Now very briefly before wee discend to the vse of this doctrine Definition of loue and come to the application let vs consider what this loue is which will worke such wonders bring men to such perfection Loue in briefe is an affection of the soule by which it doth settle it selfe in the liking of a good thing according to the kind and degree thereof or loue is that power of the heart whereby it doth rest it selfe in the approbation and liking of that which is good in its kind and according to the degree of goodnesse therein Hence 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to loue is by the Greekes deriued 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from resting it selfe quieted and contented with the thing beloued So then spirituall loue is an holy affection of the Spirituall loue soule whereby
the soule in a spirituall manner doth rest and settle it selfe in the liking and approbation of a Christian man as he is a Christian and according to the excellency of a Christian When therefore in our hearts and soules wee are quietly and fully possessed with the liking and embracing of any of our fellow members and brethren in Christ according to their worth and dignity as they are Christians then doe wee loue them indeed spiritually and as Christians ought to loue one another I say not when we loue and like them as they are men thus and thus be friended thus enriched thus enobled thus outwardly beautified or accomplish'd for this is carnall and partiall loue But when wee louingly regard them as they are Christians considering the spirituall excellency of them in Christ and knowing that diuine perfection which is in Christ for them and in them in some measure as the Apostle speaketh and 2. Pet. 1. 4. accordingly fixing our affections on them and highly esteeming and heartily louing them as God doth both vs and them for Christs sake This this is true Christian spirituall loue that loue which our Sauiour here requireth the which as a golden chaine consisteth of these three linkes the good-will of Threefold cord of charity Bernard the heart the good word of the mouth and the good worke of the hand Triplex enim funiculus charitatis beneuolentia in corde benedictio in ore beneficentia in mann As Bernard well obserueth Wherfore he which in this manner tenderly affecteth his Christian Brethren whatsoeuer they be for outward respects that hee can vnfainedly wish well vnto them in his heart as Moses did vnto the Israelites Exod. Exod. 32. 32 1. Sam. 19. 4. 32. blesse them with his mouth and speake good of them as Ionathan did of Dauid 1. Sam. 19. and can bee willing according to his abilitie to helpe and relieue them in their necessitie as Nehemiah did Nehem. 5. 8. 9. 10. the Iewes by lending to them both corne and money freely in the time of extremitie Nehemiah 5. 10. and all this for Christianities sake he doth rightly and in truth loue them as Christ hath prescribed and in what measure any of vs shall so doe in the same degree we haue obtained that spiritual amity and are possessed of that Christian charity which Christ Iesus doth by so many Commandements as it were extort and with an holy kind of violence wring from vs. Vse 1 Now to make some vse and application of that which hath beene taught First mee thinketh this should strike a terror into vs and make vs all both to blush forshame and sigh for sorrow sith wee haue been so cold and frozen as it were in the performance of this duty of mutuall loue which Christ with such vrgent vehemency doth so often require at our hands Did hee he I say the totall of our loue the hight of our hope the vtmost of our feare the way neuer erring the truth neuer fayling the life neuer ending so precisely prescribe vnto vs the way to loue in truth that we might attaine to life and haue we as the wise man speaketh Ioh. 14. 6. in the error or forwardnesse of life sought death haue wee so much forgotten and neglected or most sparingly practised that lesson of loue which he so abundantly commended vnto vs by precept and the example of his whole life Here then is matter of bewailing and lamenting for the best of vs to consider how we haue beene failing or fainting in this duty and how wee haue come farre short of discharging that charge which Christ hath laid on vs. We cannot deny but Christians are most deare vnto the Lord yet who of vs made them so deare vnto himselfe wee cannot but confesse that wee are tied vnto them many waies and that most strongly but yet whose heart doth so fully embrace them whose hart doth so rest it felfe in the liking of them as they are Christians may not the best say that his affections are strongly setled on such such rather as they bee his friends or kinsfolke his Creditors or Benefactors then as they are good men good Christians and the friends of Christ Iesus If any bee so farre gone that they dare deny this for you shall haue those which neuer had any loue or came neere the dwelling place thereof most ful of boasting that they loue their neighbours as themselues spectemur agendo Let vs come to the trial and make enquiry of our loue by the effects and our common dealing and daily practise will soone conuince vs of the contrary My little children saith Saint Ioh. 1. Ioh. 3. 18. Let vs not loue in word or tongue only for this lip-labour wordy loue is not worthy the name of loue but in deede and truth Well then in Greg. in mor. Neâ—â—â— aliquem amat quâ—m non vult esse meliorem truth and by our deedes let vs in particular by our selues examine our owne soules how wee haue loued our Christian brethren and what seruice wee haue done vnto them for Christs sake What haue wee been desirous that our neighbours amongst whom we dwell or others with whom wee haue conuersed and had comerce and acquaintance should bee the better for vs haue wee left among them some tokens of our goodnes some monuments of our godlinesse haue wee refreshed them in their neede with the sweete sauour of our kindnesse gentlenesse mercifulnesse haue wee beene content that some portion of their sorrowes and disastrous fortunes should be laide on the shoulders of our friendshippe that thereby wee might alleuiate and lesson their weight least they should otherwise sinke vnder the burthen of their wants and woes haue wee in causes of extremitie holpen them by our counsell sustained them by our comfort supplied their necessities by the superfluity of our wealth supported their decaying estate by our credit and countenance haue wee endured much trouble and trauell for their sakes and yet thinke no labor too much to do them good because they are the members of Christ these are buddes blossomes and fruites of Christian loue indeede for true loue as it maketh vs to grieue when the person beloued is decaied in estate or despised so it maketh vs to vse all good meanes for his vpbearing and to reioyce when we see him benefited or aduanced But where is this loue become now when as a number of those that bee accounted and wee must hope are indeed Christians thogh very weake ones doe make their owne profit pleasure and preferment the end of all their doings dealings and endeauours yea â— Phil. 21. when as the most of those which professe Christianity thinke all their riches little enough to feede their fancie to satisfie their pleasure to maintaine their pride and not a penny in a pound bestowed on the poore members of Christ Iesus when by experience we find all their time to be little enough to follow
comfortable hold-fast of all but good christians must not misse of any but must be forward in the course of godlines a holy conuersatioÌ„ as not running at vncertainty or fighting as beating the aire but following hard toward the 1. Cor. 9 26. marke knowing that they are begotten by the immortall seede of the word in the bosome of the Church militant to a liuely hope of an inheritance for body and soule together immortall and vndefiled in the Church triumphant 1. Pet. 1. 4. This hope as it giueth vs an edge that we should earnestly affect spirituall things so doth it giue vs a backe also to indure all things For why doe the seruants of God indure crosses so patiently absteine from euill so carefully pursue the things that are good so cheerefully constantly but because they looke for a glorious resurrection Reasons ratifying the Doctrin of the Resurrection which is the full end of all Gods promises when the wicked shall haue their full iudgement and the godly their full payment when the wicked shall both in body and soule be made sensible of all maner of misery and intollerable wretchednesse and the godly which haue but breathings here shal be bath'd in a whole Sea of comforts and in body as well as in soule haue the complete inioyment of vnconceiuable happinesse And as God hath promised it and will accomplish it how incredible soeuer it seeme to reason and impossible to nature so secondly the equity of Gods iustice requires it for heere oftentimes as 2. Cor. 4. 10. Aristot in Eth. the Philosopher speaketh Bonis fit male malis benè therefore it stands with Gods iustice else-where to recompence euery man according to that hee hath done in his body 2. Cor. 5. 10. either good or bad and in that great day of resurrection to make both bodies soules of penitent beleeuers or vnrepentant sinners ioint partakers of eternall weale 2. Thes 1. 6. 7. or woe And thirdly as Gods word promiseth and iustice requireth it so his power with whom nothing Luk. 1. 37. is vnpossible is able to effect it For to examine what he can do by what he hath done could he create all things of nothing and can hee not worke his owne will in his owne creatures and restore our bodies out of the 4. Elements to their former estate againe could he quicken vs in the wombe of our mother and can hee not reuiue vs out of the wombe of our mother the earth can he with the dew of the morning and euening giue life to the seed that is vnder the earth and shall he not with the sound of the trumpet and with all his power giue life to vs can we of a little sparkle kindle great flames and cannot he of our ashes though neuer so small raise our bodies or can we fetch fire out of the flint caÌ„not he fetch vs out of the earth Could Eliah and Elisha raise the widow of Sarepta and the Shunamites 1. King 17 23. 2. Kin. 4 32. Act 9. 40. Act. 20. 10. children could Peter raise Tabitha and Paul Eutichus and cannot God their Lord and ours raise both them and vs Yes he can and will and that in a moment in the twinkling of an eie Qui fecit idoneus est reficere 1. Cor. 15. 52. Tertul. l. de res car saith Tertullian Considera Authorem tolle dubitationem saith St. Austin Consider the Author of this admirable worke and leaue August Greg â—om 20. in Ezâ—k doubting or reasoning Nam in rebus mirabiliter factis ratio facti est potentia facientis But yet if any naturalists will farther reason against the resurrection of the body let theÌ„ for their satisfaction attend what strong reasons euen from their rules of Philosophy and the immortality of the soule by themselues granted may bee drawne to confirme the same Posita facultate saith The Soule was not made to liue by it selfe but in the body and resteth not fully contented so long as it wanteth her organ and companion Aristotle ponatur organum necesse est i. Admit then the soule as most Philosophers hold to bee immortall and then it must needs follow that the body as the organon or instrument thereof should bee revnited thereunto Againe Nulla res imperfecta est capax perfectae foelicitatis i. No imperfect thing is capable of perfect felicity but the soule separated from the body is an imperfect thing therefore it ought to bee ioyned to the body againe for the attaining of this perfection Againe Non est perpetuum quod est contra naturam i. Nothing is perpetuall which is contrary to nature but it is contrary to the nature of mans soule to be separate from the body seing it is the * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 perfecting act thereof Wherefore the soule cannot continually be separate therefrom but must necessarily resume the body againe But leauing all other reasons that which our blessed Sauiour hath in loue done and suffered for vs in body and soule manifestly euinceth that our bodies shall bee raised glorified with our soules by vertue of Christs resurrection Christ our head suffered in body and soule for the redemption of Mat. 27. Act. 1. both parts he ascended in both is glorified in both and so shall we his members be For though the vnion betwixt him and vs be spirituall yet our bodies are called the members of Christ 1. Cor. 6. yea the temples of the holy Ghost that 1. Cor. 6. 15. 19. since they are members of Christ they might be restored vnto their head and since in their corruption they are vouchsafed to be the temples of the holy Ghost they might put on incorruption and as they be graced in this life so be glorified in the life to come What though in the meane while our bodies be scourged tortured tormented as Christs was what though we be bought and sold cruelly entreated as Ioseph was what though death swallow vs vp as the Whale did Ionah and bind Ioh. 1. 17. vs hand and foot as the Philistines Iudg. 16. did Sampson and seale vp the Sepulcher vpon vs as the Iewes did Mat 27. vpon Christ what though in death the spirit be loosed from the flesh the flesh separated from the bones bones flesh conuerted into rottennes rottennes into dust dust resolued into the Elements as Dr. Gregory in his Morals reasoneth and the scornefull Atheist oftentimes Greg. in 19. Iob. Ezek. 37. obiecteth yet as the Prophet Ezekiell in a vision prophesied ouer dry bones and they came together and the flesh and sinewes grew vpon them and life entred into them and they became faire and strong bodies So and more then so shall it bee at the last day for the trumpet shall blow and the graues shall giue vp their dead our bones shal be conioyned our parts composed our bodies reedified wee presented face to
Is not this the bloud of these men which went in ieopardy of their liues for it are not these vain pleasures the very price of our foules far be it therefore from vs to touch them or taste them or to be caried away with the alluremēts of thē least at length we bee fully fearefully and finally tormented for them Remember saith Abraham to Luk. 16. 25. the rich Glutton thou in thy life time receiuedst thy pleasures but now thou art tormented Remember that thou didst disport thy time in wanton daliance solace thy selfe in fond pastimes fare deliciouslie euery day defending pride to be a point of gentry drunkennes good fellowship wantonnes a tricke of youth At nunc cruciaris But now thou which inclosedst all pleasures to thy selfe in earth takest vp thy rents and hast thy full payment of paines in hell So true it is that intollerable torments there are ordained as the wages of fleshly pleasures here yea the more the pleasures the greater the torments for the Lord doth proportion his iudgements according to the measure of mens vanities So much as shee liued in pleasure so much giue ye to her torment Reu. 18. 7. and sorrow O that those which are led with sensuality would consider of this wages of vnrighteousnesse 2. Pet. 2. 13. which they are to receiue O that all which follow wantonnes euen with greedines would remember that whilst they liue they are dead 1. Tim. 5. 6. and though they think themselues in Dothan yet if they had grace to lift vp their eies they should perceiue themselues to bee in the midst of sinfull Samaria though 1. King 6. in the worlds iudgement they seeme with Capernaum to be lifted vp to heauen yet behold they are in the very confines of Hell O turne you turne you for why Ezek. 33. 11. Rom. 6. 12. will you die saith the Prophet Let not sin raigne any more in your mortall bodies but if you haue stricken handes with it heeretofore shake handes with it now for a farewell Moriantur ante te vitia saith Seneca Sen. Epist 12 Bernar. in Sen◠Morere saith Bernard antequam moreris sic quando moreris non morieris Die vnto sinne before thou diest so shalt thou liue when thou art dead As God said to Moses Ascende vt moriaris so say I to thee ô man morere vt Deut. 32. 49. ascendas Die to thy earthly desires mortifie thy fleshly lusts that thou maiest ascend and mount towards heauen in an holy life As Lot forsooke Sodom looking Gen. 19. to Zoar his sanctuary so let vs all flie from this world in affection meditate on our heauenly beeing and striue for perfection forgetting Phil. 3. 13. 14. what is behind and following hard towards the mark for the price of the high calling of God in Christ Iesus Amarescat mundus dulcescat Berit Christus Let the world bee bitter that Christ may bee sweet vnto vs let no gaude of earthly glory or blaze of worldly beuty withdraw our loue from him who when wee were his enemies so loued vs that Rom. 5. 10. he voluntarily indured vnconceiuable torments in body and soule vnto death to procure for our bodies and soules the inheritance of eternall life Arise and depart for here is not your rest Mich. 2. This is the Prophets watch-word to the Iewes Mich. 2. 10. and it will stand vs in good steade if wee marke it well and that wee may marke it well once I will rehearse it often Arise and depart c. Arise sleepe not in security depart abide not in iniquity for here is not your rest in heauen alone is true tranquility For as the Doue sent out of the Arke found no rest for her feete Gen. 8. 9. whilst she flickered on the flouds but was restles vntill she returned to the Arke againe So our soules sent from heauen finde no restfull footing on the glassie Sea of this Reu. 15. 2. world vntill they returne to the true Noah our sauing rest Christ Iesus againe Arise then and flie from the world that Christ may come to liue in thy heart by grace depart prepare to die and goe out of the world that thou maist come to liue in heauen with Christ in glory As Iacob said to Laban this long haue I serued thee and looked to thine affaires and now it is time to looke to my selfe and to trauell for Gen. 30. 30. mine owne house So say thou to this Laban-like world this many yeeres haue I serued thee seeking the profits and pleasures of a transitory life Now now it is high time to make prouision for my soules health and to labour that mine infinite debts towards God in regard of mine innumerable sinnes may by repentance bee discharged and my Title to an heauenly inheritance by faith in Christs merits and newnes of life be maintained and iustified Arise stand vp from the dead and Christ shall giue thee life Some lie in their sinnes as children in their Ephes 5. 14. swathling cloathes and so sinne of infirmity some as sicke men in their beds and sinne of obstinacy some as dead men in their graues and sinne desperately to all these in the name of Christ who raised three from the dead Iairus daughter Mat. 9. Luk. 7. Ioh. 11. the widow of Naims sonne and Lazarus to shew that no degree of death in sinne is incurable when he comes to heale is my commission directed Arise cast off the workes of darkenes put on the armour of light depart not without some fruit of this Doctrine of the resurrection Euen at this instant couenant with thine owne soule to rise from dead workes to serue hence-forward the liuing God not God and Mammon too not God and thy belly too but the liuing God alone walking before him in sincerity and truth with an vpright hart as good old Ezekiah 2. Kin. 20. 2. Chro. 34. and godly yong Iosiah did To this purpose first rowse thy selfe ô yongue man whatsoeuer thou art shake off the fetters of folly suffer not the bud of thy youth to bee blasted in the very sprouting the Sunne to be darkened in the very rising giue not thy wine to the world keeping the lees for the Lord giue not thy prime daies to the Diuell reseruing the dog-daies for God Let not Lady Dalila dandle thee on her Iudg. 16. knee till shee haue shaued all thy strength and goodnes from thee giue thy youthfull pleasures a bill of diuorce for their baggage dealing neuer to haue more familiarity with them discharge thy sinne betime least in thine age thou beare the reproach of thy youth and be forced to cry without comfort or remedy O vtinam Remember that of Ambrose Momentaneum Ambrose est quod delectat aeternum quod cruciat a Sea of torture for a drop of pleasure And thou ô man of age and grauity of what calling and degree