can master Passion so often to forgive Now mark what Christ Answers If ye had Faith as a grain of Mustard-seed ye might say unto this Sycamine Tree Be thou plucked up by the Roots and be thou planted in the Sea and it should obey you Though Christ might point to a Sycamine Tree there present yet doubtless that which he did chiefly aim at was this root of bitterness that corruption which is naturally in every one of our Hearts indisposing us to Reconciliation whereby the work is as hard to forgive offences as to root up spreading Trees Now if a grain of Mustard-seed will stock up this bitter Root and throw it into the Sea of forgetfulness where it may never grow nor appear more Oh where is your Faith then where is this grain of Mustard-seed to be found If ever the publick good did provoke us to exercise Faith in this Duty of forgiveness now even now it doth If the glory of one man of one Parish be great in passing by offences how eminent and exemplary will the glory of a City be To conclude Dear Friends keep your eyes your ends your aims Heaven-ward Christ-ward God-ward and whatsoever is against Heaven against Christ or against God be you against it And whatsoever is for Heaven for Christ for God be you for iâ— And if we walk according to this Rule peacâ— shall be upon us and upon the Israel of God But the Peace that is here spoken of and Brotherly Love being both now adays things scarce to be found I shall end this my Farewel Discourse with the following Poem out of the Ingenious Herbert Viz. Sweet Peace where dost thou dwell I humbly crave Let me once know I sought thee in a secret Cave And ask'd if Peace were there A hollow wind did seem to answer No Go seek elsewhere I did and going did a Rainbow note Surely thought I This is the Lace of Peaces Coat I will search out the matter But while I lookt the Clouds immediately Did break and scatter Then went I to a Garden and did spy A gallant Flower The Crown Imperial Sure said I Peace at the Root must dwell But when I digg'd I saw a Worm devour What shew'd so well At length I met a rev'rend good old man Whom when for Peace I did demand he thus began There was a Prince of old At Salem dwelt who liv'd with good increase Of flock and fold He sweetly liv'd yet sweetness did not save His Life from foes But after death out of his Grave There sprang twelve stalks of Wheat Which many wondring at got some of those To plant and set It prosper'd strangely and did soon disperse Through all the earth For they that taste it do rehearse That vertue lies therein A secret vertue bringing Peace and mirth By flight of sin Take of this grain which in my Garden grows And grows for you Make bread of it and that repose And Peace which every where With so much earnestness yo do pursue Is only there Closet Employment OR Several Vertues and Vices particularly Characterized with pertinent Applications under each Head fit for every Christian seriously to ponder upon all the days of his Life when he is by himself alone 1. Of Truth TRuth is like the seamless Coat of our Saviour without Rent or Division of Heresie or Error it is wove with the fingers of Love and put upon a gracious Soul by the hand of Faith which makes her a comely Bride in the Eye of the Bridegroom Lord if my mistaken Soul be misled through the dim spectacles of Opinion strip her of that dark Habit and vest her in the light of Truth as with a Garment 2. The Creator known by the Creature By the pourtraiture of Hercules Foot we find the Mathematical proportion of his body by the visible foot-steps of the Almighty in the tract of his Creatures we see in part the perfections of the Creator the Rays of the Sun directs my Eye to their glorious Orb the Rivals of the Earth to their Fountain-head the streams of the Sea to their immense Ocean that Flower of the Field which darkned the splendour of Solomon's Robe instructs me to contemplate the beauty of the maker Clear up O Lord the Eye of my dusky soul that what I cannot reach to by the sight of sense and reason my Vnderstanding may admire and see thee by faith in thy infinite perfections 3. Of Prayer Faithful Prayer is a winged Mercury which speeds our Necessities to God himself and pleads our Infirmities at the bar of Heaven and that with such winning Oratory as prevails with the Father of Mercies for a Blessing a promise apprehended by Faith not returning without the pardon of sin sealed by the Spirit of God as a Love-token to a Repenting sinner Gracious Father let not I pray the multitude of my sins or the greatness of my transgressions cloud my Prayers so as to turn them into Air but let them be as faithful Messengers of my Hearts desires to find Entertainment in the Court of Heaven and bring down the Pardon of my guiltiness with the Blessing of Grace to relieve my wants for my future comfort 4. Of Repentance The Soul of Man Naturally runs counter to the Commands of God like our Grandame Eve after forbidden Fruit till happily through the grace of God stopt in the career of her designs by Repentance as Balaam by an Angel which shews her Disease in the glass of the Law also her Remedy in the glass of the Gospel so that she becomes a gracious Convert Vomiting up those pleasurable baits of sin like an overcharg'd Stomack Luxurious Morsels that made her sick So Merciful art thou O Lord unto us which were such Enemies unto our selves that while we are posting in the high Road of Iniquity to our own Ruine thou turnest us back by the Angel of Repentance changing the complexion of our greedy Appetites from cursed Fruit to a Zealous hunger after the Bread of Life so good art thou to save us though against our wills 5. Of Humility Humility is rightly defined the Queen of Vertues the death of Vices the Looking-glass of Virgins and the Receptacle of the Blessed Trinity She is like the Vertuous Woman whose price is above Gold or Precious Stones her lowly Habitation is a gracious Heart where she sits Regent amongst other Vertues who as so many Daughters rise up and call her Blessed they are all exercised about strengthning the inward Man Humility levelleth Ambitious desires Patience teacheth to bear Afflictions Hope expects a deliverance from them Charity Relieves the Necessity of the Saints and covers a multitude of faults and Faith lays hold on Eternal Life Thus shall it be done to the Soul that the King will Honour Honour O Lord the Heart of thy Servant with these high-born Graces then enter thou King of Glory Humility's House thy own Fabrick that the Graces may bid thee welcome Let Humility Entertain thee as her gracious Guest
any difference betwixt thee and a Reprobate God found it not in thee but did put it into thee thou art of the same nature with them thou hadst no more ability to work out thy own Salvation than they had Thou seest many commit lewd pranks some Murder others Whoredom c. Thou leavest yea hatest these things What is the cause surely Gods Grace and only Gods Grace Give Glory therefore unto God praise his name yea let all that is within thee praise him And ran Behold the readiness of this Father to receive this his penitent child the one is not so willing to return as the other is joyful to receive The Father seeing of him coming doth not stay until he cometh but ariseth to meet him yea and when he was a great way off so far as he could see him he goeth to meet him and stayeth not for his coming nigher Hence learn God is very ready to shew mercy to everytrie Penitent So saith the Prophet Esay He is very ready to forgive Those Titles given him for his name testifie as much The Lord the Lord Strong Merciful and Gracious c. The Reasons are these First because man is the Workmanship of Gods own hands and therefore he is the more ready and willing to save him A third Reason may be this because none might despair of his mercy he is ready to shew mercy that by the example of such as have found mercy others also might resort and repair unto him for mercy in the time of need Is this so that God is ready to forgive every true Penitent then let none lay the fault upon God if they perish in their sins for God is ready and desirous to forgive and doth often call upon us to turn from our evil ways that so we might not perish Secondly seeing this is so that God is ready to shew mercy to every one that seeks it let this be as a spur and goad in our sides to make us turn unto him and seek for Mercy at his hands He will not be wanting to thee if thou beest not wanting to thy self The last Use may serve for Imitation Let us be like to our Heavenly Father and be as ready to forgive others who have offended us as God is to forgive us who have and do daily offend him It may be fome have offered thee wrong yea great wrong yet must thou forgive and that readily Why is there then so much suing and intreating and begging for Reconciliation before Pardon be obtained Remember God is more gracious unto thee and oughtest not thou to be so unto thy Brother Further in that we here find the Son coming to confess and the Father running to forgive Hence learn we God is more ready to shew Mercy than Penitent Sinners are to sue for Mercy the one comes softly the other swiftly the Father was the forwarder of the two Vse Take notice then of Gods wonderful Love who albeit he be the Party that is offended yet is more ready to forgive than we to seek or to beg Pardon Secondly let this serve to increase our boldness in coming to the Lord thou canst not be so forward to come as God is to meet So ready to crave Pardon as he is to forgive He fell on his neck and kissed him Here is a joyful meeting betwixt so good a Father and so bad a Son Mercy and Truth are met and each of them kiss the other Here is Truth in the Prodigal for he dissembled not and Mercy in the Father He fell on his neck c. By these Circumstances the heat and fire of his Affections is declared and his entire Love unto his Son expressed for a kiss hath ever been as a pledge and pawn of kindness which is possessed by it By this Ceremony or Rite they did express their Love in the time of the Primitive Church one to another which Ceremony continued till the days of Justin Martyr in customary use before their approaching to the Lords Table thereby to testifie their hearty Reconcilement each to other this was called a Holy Kiss It is a Ceremony also of Civility and hath been and is still in use Thus Joseph Blessed his Brethren and fell upon their neeks and kissed them c. When Judas the Traitor studied with himself what course might be the best to bring Christ to his death he could devise not a more subtil shift than under a shift a pretence of kindness to cover his Villany When the Church in the Canticles sueth to her Spouse to shew his Love unto her she intreateth him to kiss her with the kisses of his mouth viz. that he would manifest his Love and Affection unto her by manifest and good tokens Thus the Father kisseth his Penitent Child thereby to seal and confirm his love and good will towards him that he might make no doubt thereof So then in that the Father doth thus manifest and declare his love and good will to his Son after his coming into his Presence hence let us learn this Lesson God will manifest and make known his love unto his Children by evident signs and tokens upon their Conversion and turning to him And were it not so how could we be affected with it What is it for a blind man to know that the Sun is a most glorious bright Greature when he himself doth not see it So what is it for a Man to know there is much love hid in God except he have some sense and feeling of it Now to the Vses And first is this so that God doth not only love and inwardly affect his Children but doth also manifest the same by signs and tokens that they may be out of doubt thereof Then this may serve to confute that Doctrine of the Church of Rome who hold that no man can be certainly assured of the love and favour of God he may hope well and so forth But no man can have any assured Confidence What is this but a Rack and Torment to weak Consciences What doth this but extinguish the truth and sincerity both of faith and love towards God What Fruit bringeth this but impatiency in time of trouble and Persecution and indeed maketh a way for desparation of Gods Mercy Secondly let this stir up every one of us to a diligent examination of our selves whether God hath as yet kissed us with the kisses of his mouth whether he hath as yet manifested his love unto us by signs and tokens For till we have assurance hereof what comfort can we have And in the last place this may serve for the great comfort of all such as have Gods love manifested unto them by the former signs For as the terrors are great which that Man hath in his Conscience who is in doubt of the love of the Almighty towards him so is the comfort as great which that Man hath who is hereof perswaded For come tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril
or sword or life or death yet the certainty of Gods love will support him And the Son said unto him Father I have sinned against Heaven and in thy sight and am no more worthy to be called thy Son Now we come more particularly unto the words which are a Confession of sins made by this Prodigal unto his Father Wherein observe First the Matter of his Confession I have sinned Secondly the Circumstances as First to whom viz. to his Father Secondly the manner how And that was with Exaggeration Against Heaven c. Humiliation And am no more worthy c. The Reasons of this point are these First God cannot in Justice forgive except we make our Confession unto him If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins saith St. John But if there be no Confession then there is no promise How can God then without violating his Truth shew Mercy unto such And therefore saith Solomon He that hideth his sins shall not prosper but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have Mercy Such a one then as doth thus confess may look for Mercy and none else A Second Reason is Because there is no sound Repentance for sin where there is no true Confession of sin For the inward sight of sin would open our mouths and cause us to confess it When the Heart is pricked words will break forth the Tongue cannot forbear As we see in David who so soon as his heart smote him for numbring of the People cryed out I have sinned exceedingly in that which I have done Thus out of the abundance of the heart will the tongue speak as Christ saith These may be the Reasons The Uses follow And First seeing this is so That whosoever would have Pardon of sin must confess the same This serveth to Reprove such as look for Pardon on Gods part but will bring no Confession for their part Is this so that there is no Remission where there is no Confession Then let this Admonish every one that desires to have their sins remitted to see that they be truly and unfainedly confessed Conceal them not hide them not excuse them not defend them not and above all take heed of glorying in them Seek not with Achan to hide that cursed thing it will prove thy overthrow Be not Secretary to the Devil it is no good Office conceal not that which God commands thee to make known Sins that are smoothered will in the end fester unto Death Remember Remission is promised but upon condition of Confession suffer then no sin to go unconfessed which thou wouldst not have to go unpardoned And so I pass from this to a third Use which is for our direction For must Confession go before Remission then let every one look that as they confess so they make an upright confession Many have confessed yet found small comfort as Pharaoh Saul and Judas with many more if therefore we would speed better than they did we must look that our confession be better than theirs was Father Here we see to whom he makes confession It is not to the Servants nor to his Brother but to his Father Hence learn Confession of sin must be made unto the Lord. I acknowledged saith David my sin unto the Lord. The Reasons are these First All sin is committed against God True it is we may hurt and wrong men by our sins and bring much damage both to the Body and Goods of others by the committing of them as David to Vriah but the chiefest dishonour is against God whose Law is broken and transgressed Secondly God only can forgive sins and none but he It pertaineth only unto God to say I have Pardoned I will not destroy And Lastly Confession of sin is a special part of Divine Worship Now God will not give his glory to another he will not have any part stakes with him Thou shalt Worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve Now for Uses And first for that Auricular Confession held and maintained by that man of sin which upon pain of Damnation must be made in the Ear of a Priest by every one immediately before the receiving of the Sacrament of the Lords Supper A cunning invention for the discovering of all states and for the upholding and enriching of that Covetous and Ambitious See Hereby they come to know the Hearts and Affections of Men and knowing them they can quickly tell what course to take for themselves either for bringing good or preventing mischief for the enriching themselves and impoverishing of others Is this so that confession of sin is to be made unto the Lord Then see thou fly unto him when thou hast offended and make known thy faults to him whom thou hast much dishonoured Against Heaven and in thy sight He doth not mince and extenuate the matter he saith not Father I have sinned but I had no bad meaning I knew not what I did Neither doth he plead the instability of his Youth to extenuate his fault but he aggravateth and enlargeth the grievousness of his sin and sets it out to the uttermost 1. I have sinned 2. Against Heaven 3. In thy sight All tend to the aggravation of his fault To break a Lawful command enjoyned by the Magistrate though of Ignorance is a fault wilfully to break it is a greater but to do it in his sight and presence argueth great Rebellion From the Prodigal his Practice let us learn Doct. That it is the property of a true Penitent not to mince or extenuate his sin but to aggravate and set it out in the worst and vilest manner that he can The Reason may be this Because the Eyes of a Penitent are in some measure opened so that he now seeth sin in its own colours and apprehendeth it as a deadly Enemy to Gods glory and his own Souls Health Now we know how ready we are to speak the worst we can of those who are Enemies unto us and to set forth their vile Practises to the uttermost Thus the hatred he beareth unto sin causeth him to think that he can never sufficiently display it and maketh him so disposed as that no malicious wicked man can so set forth the faults of his Enemy whom he deadly hates as he desires to set forth the loathsomness of his own sin Thus we have seen the Reason The Vses follow And is a Penitent thus qualified Is there such a disposition in him as that he will lay to his own charge as much as possibly he can Then what shall we say of such as study this Art of mincing and extenuating sin The sins of others they can enlarge they have both will and skill in setting open to the view of the whole World in every branch and circumstance the faults of others so that many times they appear to be greater than indeed they are But in confessing of their own sins they have no such gift nor faculty than they have not done
Foolishness the more Arguments he will find to shew me Mercy at least I will make tryal of his Clemency I will humbly prostrate my self before him I 'le embrace those Knees that Educated me I 'le lick the dust of that Threshold which I contemptuously forsook I 'le own my fault and take shame to my self and so both magnifie his Mercy if he receive me and justifie his proceedings if he reject me I know my Father is subject or obnoxious to no body who shall blame him for Pardoning or set limits to his Mercy nay who can tell the measure of a Fathers Bowels It may be too there is irresistible Eloquence in Misery and the spectacle of a Sons Adversity may have Rhetorick enough in it to carry the cause where a Father is Judge Or if he provoked by my Folly at first and Extravagancies since will no more own me as a Son perhaps he may receive me as a Servant for if my Rebellion hath extinguished in him the peculiar Affections of a Father yet it hath not destroyed the common Passions of Humanity Mercy and Pity if he will receive me in that lower quality I am now broken to the condition of a Servant and shall think his Yoke easie hereafter having been inured to so sharp and heavy an one I will chearfully submit my Ear to be boared to his Door-post and be his Servant for ever Or Lastly if he will not trust a Runnagate nor believe that he will ever prove a constant and perpetual Servant that hath once deserted his station let him be pleased to take me as an Hired Servant whom he may turn off at pleasure make tryal of me and admit me only upon good Behaviour But if all fail and he should utterly cast me off which yet I hope he will not I can but perish and that I do however Well this being resolved he casts a longing look towards his Fathers House and puts himself on his way thither But no sooner was he on his way though yet a great way off but his Father spies him Those lean and wan Cheeks and the hollow sunken Eyes his Extremity had reduced him to had not so disfigured him nor those Rags unable to cover his Nakedness so disguised him but his Father knew him and the memory of his former Disobedience had not so Cancelled the Interests of a Son or shut up the Bowels of a Father but that the sight of his present Misery kindled his Compassion And whilst the Son partly through that weakness which his Vices and his Sufferings had conspired to bring upon him and partly through a combination of shame and just fear of his Fathers Indignation with difficulty makes towards him the Father prompted by Paternal Affection and transported between Joy and Pity runs to meet him falls on his Neck and kisses him And now see what Entertainment his Father gives him being come into his Presence He calls for a Robe yea the best Robe and so Cloaths him for a Ring to adorn and beautifie him for Shoes for his Feet that stones might not annoy nor hurt them for the fat Calf to feed and refresh him and whatsoever is wanting he bestows upon him Now had the Father fit time and his Sons sins deserved it that he should rip up unto him his former faults and call to remembrance the Offences of his Youth and welcom him home after this manner Ah Sirra are you now come is all spent amongst your Whores and Harlots Return unto them let them provide for you come you no more within my Doors But behold the love of this his Father he useth no such thundring speeches he threatneth not to cast him off nor yet doth he cast him in the teeth with his former Courses he remembreth not any old Reckonings the Offences of his Youth are not spoken of But he seeing this his Riotous and unthrifty Son return home with an humble Heart presently offers himself to his Child and before he had made an end of his Confession or could beg a supply of things needful his Father intercepts him by his hasty calling to his Servants Bring hither the best Robe the Shoes the Ring let the fat Calf be killed make a Feast send for Musick let all be forgotten that is past let my Sons old Courses no more be remembred And here further we may fancy the Joyful Father thus bespeaking his returning Child Viz. Welcom my Son thrice welcom is' t not meet Thou shouldst be welcom'd with embraces sweet Thou who wert lost and now art found again Thou who wert dead dost now alive remain Long have I long'd for this thy safe return Whereat my bowels of Compassion yearn Why shak'st thou then why blushest being poor Thy fear is past thou shalt have Rags no more Revive my Son be chearful then my Child And cease thy sorrows I am Reconcil'd Oh! let those Tears be taken from thine Eyes They stir the Fountain where Compassion lies Come taste my Dainties I have choicest Fare And sweetest Musick to delight thy Ear This is my Pleasure I will have it done In spight of Envy for thou art my SON The Son though astonished at this condescention and surprized with the unexpected benignity of such a Reception yet could not but remember what his Fathers Joy made him forget namely his former Dis-ingenuity and Rebellion And therefore humbly falls on his knees again and with shame and remorse makes his contrite acknowledgment after this manner Father for so this admirable goodness of yours gives me encouragement to call you more than the Blood and Life which I derived from you I have I confess forfeited all the Interest the Priviledges of my Birth might have afforded me in your Affection having become a Rebel both towards God and you had I not first neglected him I am sure I had never grieved you and having forsaken you I have not only violated the greatest Obligation I had upon me save that to his Divine Majesty but also despised and affronted a goodness like to his whatsoever therefore I have suffered was but the just demerit of my folly and contumacy and whatsoever Sentence you shall pass upon me further I will willingly submit to and here expect my doom from you I condemn my self as no more worthy to be called your Son be pleased to admit me but into the condition of your meanest Servant and I have more than my miscarriages give me reason to hope for Whilst the Son was going on at this rate the Fathers Bowels yearned too earnestly to admit of the delay of long Apologies and therefore chuses rather to interrupt him in his Discourse than to adjourn his own Joys or the others comfort And because he thought words not sufficient in this case he makes deeds the Interpreters of his mind commanding his Servants forthwith to bring out the best Robe and to put it upon his Son together with a Ring on his Hand and Shoes on his Feet i.e. in all points to
his Conversion for it was this look that brought home this Prodigal He saw him and looked on him with the eyes of pity and by looking upon him infused into him the secret efficacy of his spirit and pierced his heart with the beams of his grace which so prevailed with him that it brought him to repentance as it did with Peter which made him to go out and weep bitterly for his sins after he had thrice denied his Master Thus they make it as a cause of his Conversion And taking it thus this point will follow The Conversion of a sinner is from Gods free Grace Gods Grace is the cause of it Many pregnant Examples might be brought both of the unregenerate before their Conversion as also of the Regenerate in their falls after their Conversion for the further confirming this point in hand What disposition was there in the Apostle Paul to further his Conversion was he not breathing out threatnings and slaughters against the Disciples of Christ Jesus and had he not procured a Commission from the High-Priests to bind all that were of that way Did not God behold him a far off Did he not look upon him from the habitation of his dwelling And did he not thus behold Matthew the Customer Zacheus the Usurer Mary the sinner and us Gentiles When we were as the Apostle saith without hope and God in the World being strangers from the Covenant of promise and aliens from the Common-wealth of Israel I could bring variety of Examples that would serve to strengthen the point but I will remember you but of one more and so hasten to the Uses and that is of Peter was not God fain to look on him afar off before he repented He had denied his Master once and wept not yea twice yet shed not a tear though the Cock had crowed And the third time he denies him yet weeps not until Christ beholds him and then as the Text saith he wept bitterly Assuredly if Christ had not cast an eye on him and beheld him with a gracious aspect had a thousand several persons questioned with him about his Master he would have denied him a thousand times Thus a sinner is like an Eccho he cannot speak first to God but must answer a voice from God The Reasons And needs must this be so because we are dead in trespasses and sins as the Apostle saith and as the Father of this Prodigal avoucheth of him dead not in a swoon but dead stone-dead as we say and therefore have no more power to stir hand or foot for the furthering of our own Conversion then Lazarus had power to come out of the grave before Christ called him A second Reason why Gods Grace is all in all in the work of our Conversion may be this That all matter of boasting might be taken away for we are very ready to ascribe unto our selves that which of Right belongs unto the Lord. Thus have we seen the Reasons now let us hear the Uses And in the first place this may serve for Confutation first of the Pellagians who affirm that our good Actions and Cogitations proceed only from from free-will and not from Gods special Grace The second Use is for our Humiliation There is no goodness nor aptness in thee to that which is good why then shouldest thou be lift up with any conceit of thy self Oh beware of this boasting for whereof hast thou to boast Surely of nothing but sin and misery Thirdly Let it be for Exhortation to all such as have any tokens and signs of their Conversion to ascribe all the Praise and glory thereof unto the Lord. Say with David Not unto us O Lord not unto us but to thy name be the glory For it is of his mercy not of thy deserving Is there any difference betwixt thee and a Reprobate God found it not in thee but did put it into thee thou art of the same nature with them thou hadst no more ability to work out thy own Salvation than they had Thou seest many commit lewd pranks some Murder others Whoredom c. Thou leavest yea hatest these things What is the cause surely Gods Grace and only Gods Grace Give Glory therefore unto God praise his name yea let all that is within thee praise him And ran Behold the readiness of this Father to receive this his penitent child the one is not so willing to return as the other is joyful to receive The Father seeing of him coming doth not stay until he cometh but ariseth to meet him yea and when he was a great way off so far as he could see him he goeth to meet him and stayeth not for his coming nigher Hence learn God is very ready to shew mercy to every trâ—e Penitent So saith the Prophet Esay He is very ready to forgive Those Titles given him for his name testifie as much The Lord the Lord Strong Merciful and Gracious c. The Reasons are these First because man is the Workmanship of Gods own hands and therefore he is the more ready and willing to save him A third Reason may be this because none might despair of his mercy he is ready to shew mercy that by the example of such as have found mercy others also might resort and repair unto him for mercy in the time of need Is this so that God is ready to forgive every true Penitent then let none lay the fault upon God if they perish in their sins for God is ready and desirous to forgive and doth often call upon us to turn from hour we are here but Tenants at will and know not how soon our great Landlord will turn us out of this earthly Tabernacle We may be cropt off like an ear of Corn for what is this life but as a nest of straw and clay soon shaken a pieces Many have seen a fair bright morning who never behold the evening as the Sodomites And upon many the Sun hath set in the evening to whom it never appeared rising in the morning So was it with the rich Glutton in the Gospel Seeing this is so we have great cause speedily to repent Fourthly because for the present thy estate is fearful the wrath of God hangs over thy head by a twined thred if thou hadst Eyes to see it thou eatest in danger of thy life thou drinkest in danger walkest in danger sleepest in danger lying between death and the Devil as Peter did between the two Soldiers bound with two Chains Now who would be in such a danger one hour for the gaining of a World But we hasten to the Uses And first This reproveth that wonderful madness and exceeding great folly of such as procrastinate and defer their Conversion to the Lord and put off their Repentnace though the Lord call them thereunto and offer them never so fit an opportunity But I have time enough to repent in say some what tell you me of Repentance as yet Is not God merciful Did he not shew
my soul a zealous Holocaust to the flame of thy Altar 11. Of Chastity This single Grace of Chastity will admit of no Cor-rival but God himself in her Virgin-heart in which she erects a Temple of Love for the Lords delight scourging out all uncleanness with the rod of Sorrow dedicating it wholly to the Service and Honour of the Lord where Love and Beauty God and the Soul are espoused together in holy affection and sweet communion Give me O Lord what wilt thou give a clean heart truly devoted to thy service Though the stains of impure Cogitations and verbal Transgressions may unwillingly and unwarily break in to defile thy Temple O may the rod of Repentance drive them out but shield it I pray thee from that great abomination of desolation those deathful wounds of actual pollution to make it a stink of all iniquity but deck and adorn it with the graces of thy spirit that it may be made a beautiful habitation for thy honours reception 12. Temperance Temperance is as a comly Matron which walks soberly and warily in the wholesom path of Mediocrity between excess and defect her actings are to the health both of Body and Soul avoiding in order to Food and Raiment Superfluity and Sordidness being fed with Frugality and clothed with Decency as to the Soul her Religion very Orthodox running a most even course between blind Zeal and open Profaneness like the Sun in its Aequinox between the Winter and the Summer Solstice hating Enthusiasm Papism and Atheism with other giddy opinions coyned out of the Mint of inconsiderate Brains which begetteth nothing but Division Contention and Disaffection Most holy Lord who art holiness it self and delightest in the beauty of holiness pious hearts as mansions where thy honour will please to dwell square my Religion to the straight rule of thy word and so fashion my Devotion as may be most agreeable to thy own mind neither ceremoniously superstitious or irreverently rude but zealously affected in a decent and orderly manner as may be most sutable to piety and the honour of thy Majesty 13. Of Obedience and Disobedience A good natured Child will grieve that he hath offended his indulgent Father whereas a more rugged disposition will not come into the School of Obedience without much swinging Make me O Lord a child of Obedience by the smiles of thy mercy rather than by the frowns of thy Justice draw me by the silken twines of thy Affections and not by the ruff Cords of thy Corrections but if I be so ill-natured that the rays of thy love will not mollifie my hard heart let the awful stripes of thy fear make it tender so shall thy rod and thy staff comfort me 14. Of Gratitude and Ingratitude Thankfulness is the tribute of our Affections which we pay as a Rent-charge to the great Lord of Heaven and Earth by which we acknowledge his property in us and our Loyalty to him for all his blessings both for Soul and Body and nothing can out us of Possession discard us of our freedom or cancel the obligation of his love to us but Ingratitude that monster in nature which was one of the grand sins which ejected Adam out of his Garden of Paradice into a wilderness of Sin transformed Nebuchadnezar from a man to a Beast till he returned better manner'd and smote Herod in his Judgment-seat because he gave not God the glory Great God! in whose hands are all the Corners of the earth and the fulness thereof in whatsoever possession of thy blessings thy goodness please to place me as Tenant for life O may I esteem it far beyond my deservings that I may learn to be thankful And suffer not I pray thee my nature so ill to degenerate into Ingratitude as to alienate thy affections from me to out me of the Eden of thy favour and let me not be so blockishly dull as not to acknowledge thy property or so arrogantly peccant to rob thee of thy honour lest deservedly I incur thy righteous displeasure but ingratiate my heart I beseech thee with so good a nature as I may render my self a more perfect Creature to give thee thy dues belonging to thy honour and my self the comfort of thy gracious dispensations towards me 15. Of Mercy and Justice Mercy and Justice are the righteous Ballances of Heaven poized by the Hand of Truth which weighs to every one the Rewards of Life and death Mercy is filled with promises of life Justice with wages of death Faith lays hold on the Scale of Mercy through the merits of a Saviour Infidelity draws down Justice as a Recompence for Iniquity So righteous art thou O Lord in thy ways and just in thy Judgments who dispensest to every one after their deservings Merciful Father though the magnitude and multitude of my Transgressions be so heavy to draw down the Ballance of thy Indignation upon me yet being Counterpoized with thy Sons merits in the Ballance of Mercy they shall be found too light to condemn me and my Faith of sufficient weight to save me 16. Of Faith Faith is the Souls Optick which discovereth things afar off as if near at hand though darkly as in a Glass yet far surpassing all the Opticks of Astrology which takes the dimensions of the Orbs according to the sense whereas Faith maketh search into Heaven seeth God Almighty with all his Attributes in the beauty of Holiness Jesus Christ his Son sitting at his right hand interceeding for us the Holy Ghost proceeding coming down like fire to baptize the Saints with all the Heavenly Quires of Saints and Angels singing Allelujah to the King of Glory yea it discovereth Hell afar off with all its monstrosity the reward of our Iniquity seeth Satan compassing the Earth in persuite of the Mother and her Child to devour them but overcome by the blood of the Lamb. Thus O my Soul with this Optick of Faith thou mayest survey all the wonders of God making things invisible to the eye of sense visible to the eye of Reason Thus beholding thee O my God in thy glorious perfections in thy marvelous works in thy gracious Attributes let me experiment thy spirit of grace quickning thy wisdom teaching thy power supporting thy love comforting thy Justice tenderly chastising and thy mercy saving me let the light of thy countenance the splendor of thy Majesty so dart upon my soul through this Glass of Faith that thou mayest be in love with thy own beauty Faith again may be said to be the compass of the Soul which centers one part upon God the other upon the heart of man rounding a Sphear of a new Creation with circles of love through which she draws a Diameter by the Rule of the word which is as a Jacobs Ladder by the hand of an Angel to convey the Graces of God to man and the Prayers of man unto God Scale O my soul by this Ladder of Faith the Battlements of Heaven contend with thy Maker and
Solomon a foolish Nabal a holy Isaac a prophane Esau of what sort soever he must be Deaths Prisoner Nay let there be a concurrance of all in one let Samuel be both a good Man and a good Minister c. and have as many Priviledges as are incident to a man yet can he not procure a Protection against this Officer his Mother may beg his Life but none can compound for his Death Speak we this according to men saith not the Scripture as much Wise men die saith David and Fools die Rich men die and poor too and therefore he calls both upon the Sons of Nobles and of the Earth to mind the Lesson indeed the Heathens could compare the Sons of Adam to Counters Chess Stage-plaies in reckoning Counters have their several Place and use for a time but in the end they are all jumbled on a heap in a Game at Chess some are Kings some Bishops c. but after a while they go all into the same Bag on the Stage one is in his rags another in his Robes one is the Master another the Man and very busie they be but in the end the Play ends the bravery ends and each returns to his place such and no other is the state of man We wear death in our faces and bear it in our bones we put it upon our backs and into our mouths and cannot be ignorant of it Yea the dead proclaim this Lesson go to the Earth and they that make their Beds in darkness and sleep in the dust will tell you that it s neither wisdom nor power nor strength nor friends nor place nor grace nor any thing else that can exempt from this Tribute of Nature Our deceased Brother here before us speaks this to all this vast Assembly If greatness of Spirit feature of Body gifts of mind chastness of life soberness in diet diligence in a calling Prayers of the Church would have given any advantage against death darkness and blackness had not at this time covered us That there is no Prescription against Death appears by these Reasons The first of which is taken from the Decree of God it s a Statute enacted in that highest Court the voice of Heaven that man should once die No man as yet hath breathed but he hath had his death or translation no man is yet to come but he must either see death or an alteration so hath Heaven concluded it and who can possibly reverse it The second is taken from the matter whereof all men are made the Scripture compares man to a house whose foundation is laid in the dust whose walls are made of Clay the whole is but a Tabernacle and that of Earth and that of mans building as Paul after Job tells us this is the estate of man of all men some are more painted than some but all earthen Vessels some more clear than some but all Glasses all built of earth all born of Women and therefore all short of continuance as Job infers The third is taken from the proper cause of Death Sin Sin is Poyson to the Spirits Rottenness to the Bones where it comes and where doth it not come And therefore now what 's to be done Vse 1. Surely as men that must travel stand not to dispute but Arm themselves for all Weather So must we die we must that 's already concluded young and old good and bad c. Whatsoever we be now we must be dead anon You will think strange perhaps of my pains in this kind whilst I perswade a Mortality For howsoever we can all say in the general we are Mortal nothing so sure as Death yet when it comes to our own particular we dream of an Immortality in Nature we never set any bounds to Life we do not resolutely conclude I must die shortly I may instantly this day may be the last that I shall see this hour the last that I shall spend this word the last that I shall speak this deed the last that I shall perform this place the last that I shall breath in and so live by the day by the hour But it is our duty daily to consider what it is to die what goes before it what comes with it what follows upon it For first before we come to the very Gate of Death we are to pass through a very strait long heavy Lane Sickness first tameth us which many times is worse than Death it self that renders us unfit for all Religious Services Prayer Repentance c. as being a time not of getting but of spending that cleaves the Head and pains the Heart and wounds the Spirits and leaves us so distressed that Meat is no Meat the Bed no Bed Light no Light to us that makes us catch at Death for help But alas what help in Death if not fore-thought of Oh the Misery of a poor Creature that is so pained that he cannot live so unprepared that he dares not die he goes to Bed but cannot sleep he tastes his Meat but it will not down he shifts his Room but not his pain Death saith the Conscience would end and amend all wert thou prepared for Death but to die before were to lose those Comforts one hath and to fall under those Curses that are unsufferable Ah beloved we may intimate somewhat of his Misery but it falls not within our thoughts to conceive what his fears be who hangs between Life and Death Earth and Hell thus forthwith ready to drop into flames at every stroke of Death and to sink down down down till he be gone for ever And yet this is not all When I am dead saith the Carnal wretch all the World have done with me He saith truth all the World and all the comforts of the World have done with him indeed he shall-never laugh more he shall never have a moments ease more But though the World hath done with him yet God hath not done with him he sends for his Soul having first taken order that the Body be forth coming convents that and dooms that and casts that from him with greatest indignation into such a place such a company such a condition as would make the Heavens sweat and the Earth shrink to hear it Ah beloved therefore without all delays as a man that is now dying as well as he for whom the Bell tolls though not haply so near to Death set upon two things First set your House in order next your Souls For the first you have your persons and things to look unto To begin with Persons so live with your Wives being Husbands with your Servants being Masters with your Children being Fathers as becomes dying Men exercise such wisdom kindness faithfulness mercy every day as thou wouldest do if thou knowest it to be the last day And for things mark me well hearken not to Satan who disswades all seasonable wills because he would administer the Goods by being timely in this Errand thou shalt not shorten thy days but
Companions methinks I hear him speak to his own Heart after this manner following viz. Oh! sweet what rare Felicity is here Where nought offends where all things sit appear Where Natures shop full furnish'd with supply Stands always open to the Passers-by My thoughts what think you of these Streams so clear My Senses can you not suck Honey here Affections can you here not feed desire And with contentment to the Heart retire Here are the Beds where sweetest Roses grow Here are the Banks where purest streams do flow Here are the only Instruments of Mirth Here are the only Jewels upon Earth My stragling thoughts then here set up your stay My striving Senses seek no Richer Prey Affect'ons here your Fancies may be quieted My pleased Heart then rest thou here delighted But to proceed This Prodigal being now out of his Fathers Eye Reach and Controul he indulges himself in the highest surfeit of Licentiousness by which means in a short time whilst he enjoying the present took no care for the suture the stock his Father allotted him was utterly exhausted and with that his pleasures also fail the Roots that ministred to them being thus dryed up and where his Pleasures end his Cares begin For now he hath leisure to look a little about him and finds himself in a bad case having no course left but either to return to his Father and confessing his Folly implore his Compassion or to put himself a Servant to a Stranger thereby to get a mean lively-hood the former of these he was yet loath to come to having not as he thought tryed sufficiently the folly of his own counsel and to take to himself the shame of his own ill conduct by so plain a retreat was thought a sharper calamity than any he yet felt therefore he resolves upon the latter as if the severities of a stranger were more tolerable than the Reproaches of a Father For he concluded a man was not perfectly Miserable that had no body to upbraid his Folly And now being in a strange Countrey he comforted himself with this that if he should find none to pity him he was sure there would be none could torture him with the grating remembrance of what he was and might have been Well he becomes a Servant and he that could not brook the grave restraint of paternal Authority now feels the heavy yoke of servile obedience for he is put to the base drudgery of feeding Swine and hath the coursest fare for his maintenance the Swine and the Servant feed alike upon Husks only with this difference some body cares for the Hogs but no body for the Slave and the former have enough of that which agrees with them but the latter is pinched with hunger having not allowance of that sordid diet answerable to the importunity of his needs Being sorely afflicted with this he that formerly dreamed of nothing but the sweets of liberty and the surfeits of voluptuousness and never once thought of those hungry Wolves Want and Necessity which now stand at his door after many a sad sigh discourses thus with himself Ah fool that I was who knew not when I was well that understood not contentment without satisfaction nor could take up with the substance but must grasp at shadows till I lost both that knew not what it was to be happy but by the sad experiment of becoming miserable that could not distinguish between the chastisements of a Father and the wounds of an enemy nor believe but all yokes were equal until I was convinced by tryal that could not brook the Government and restraints of my Fathers Family though indeared by the reverence of my relation and sweetned by the benignity of his countenance and liberal provision for all necessity and delight nor be satisfied of my Fathers wisdom but by the effects of my own rashness and folly Time was when I had the respect and dignity of a Son at home who now find the contempt of a Servant abroad I was then put to no drudgery nor had other task than to serve the honour and interest of my Father and in so doing I consulted also my own for my duty and my happiness were then united but I am now put to the basest office to the vilest employment as if my drudgery were not so much imposed in order to my Master's profit as to my own contumely But that which comes nearer to me yet and pinches me very sore is that whereas in my Fathers House I could neither feel nor fear want I can now hope for nothing else there the meanest servant had bread not only to the full but to superfluity much less was any thing wanting to me then a Son now the case is sadly altered I that seldom had so much hunger as might serve for sauce to the plenty of my Fathers Table feel now the difference between the liberal hand of a Father and the evil and nigardly eye of a hard Master Oh the difference between the sweet fumes of Plenty and the gnawing pains of Wind and Emptiness And here methinks I hear him speaking to Extravigant and head-strong Youth in the following manner viz. Ah! wanton Youth take warning by my woes And see in me the summ of vain repose Which like a Bud Frost-bitten e're it bloomes Appears but unto no perfection comes All Earthly pleasures are but like a bubble Straight turn to nothing which were rais'd with trouble The fairest faces soonest change their dye The sweetest Charmers are most apt to lye Thus mov'd with sorrows I may tell the same And make the World take notice of my shame But till I had experience of this woe No means could make me think it would be so But now I think upon my Father here Whose Fore-sight now I find exceeding clear He often told me and with many a Tear What would befal but then I would not hear Ah fellow Companions what would I give now for what I have formerly wasted or despised then I loathed wholsom food and now feed upon Husks how do I now envy the meanest servant in my Father's House they have enough of all things and I the want of all things they surfeit I starve But alas it is to no purpose to complain here the Swine I feed cannot pity me and the Master I serve will not There is no other choice left me now but I must return to my Father or perish little did I think what would come of it when I forsook him and perhaps little does he think what I have suffered since If my sufferings have brought down my proud Heart and taught me submission it may be my deplorable condition may move his Bowels it is true he cast me not out but I forsook and abandoned him My Youthful heat and folly precipitated me upon my own Ruine but as he hath more Wisdom than I so perhaps the Affections of a Father are more strong than those of a Child and the more he sees my