good enough for him And see the vertue that is in Humilitie The eyes of the Lord passe by the Pharisee as neare as he stood as being unworthy to be taken notice of and immediately finde out the Publicane as farre off as he was The eyeâ— of the Lord are upon those who are meeke in the Land He resisteth the proud and gives grace to the humble The 2. step of his Humility was his defected countenance Hee would not lift so much as his Eyes to Heaven Even for very shame hee was afrayd to looke up towards that part of the Creation wherein Gods glory does most appeare This is the true humility of the heart indeed this is the true submission when a man out of the consideration of his Sinnes does rise into a consideration of the divine Majesty against whom those Sinnes were committed and so trembles and quakes at the thought of it Thus did Esdras when hee prayed for the people O my God sayes he I am confounded and ashamed to lift up my face unto thee because our iniquities are multiplyed over our head and our sinnes are gone up before thee into Heaven Thus did MARY MAGDALENE in the 7. of St. Luke Shee accounted her selfe unworthy to appeare before CHRIST to looke up to the Heaven of his Face and therefore she got behinde his backe kneeled downe at his feet wash'd them with her teares and dryed them with the hayres of her head Nor would she arise from thence as if her eyes had beene in love with the Earth till shee heard that comfortable word till the heavie burthen of her sinnes which press'd her down was remov'd from her shoulders by the voyce of CHRIST saying Thy sinnes be forgiven thee and then shee rose up and went away in peace of Conscience His third step was He smote his brest He was angry with the Inhabitant and because he could not come at him he takes his revenge upon the house he lives in he knocks at his doore Cor credo evocaturus forà s and that with a great deale of indignation It was his heart which had offended him it was that which was the first entertainer nay the first contriver of all his Sinnes As our Saviour sayes in the 15. of St. Mathew Out of the heart come evill thoughts Murders Adulteries Fornications Thefts False witnesses slanders It is therefore our owne heart and our owne perverse and froward wils which we ought to strike upon according to that in the Prophet Ioel. 2. cap. vers 13. Rent your hearts and not your garments and turne unto the Lord your God c. The fourth and last thing is his Prayer O God be mercifull to me a sinner It is a short Prayer this but it is full of life and efficacie And hâ—re be three things in this Prayer which ought to be in all our Prayers First he professeth both the Mercy the Power of God in acknowledging it to be he alone who both can and will forgive sinnes 'T is the Prerogative royall of God this as the Lord himselfe sayes by the mouth of the Prophet Isay 43.11 I even I am the Lord and beside mee there is no Saviour And at the 25. Verse I even I am hee who putteth away thine iniquities for mine owne sake and will not remember thy Sinnes For who can forgive Sinnes but onely he who is free from all Sinne. Secondly he confesses himselfe to be a Sinner with â—ce making mention of any good thing he had Not a word of his Fasting nor of his paying of â—es nor of any good worke that he had â—one All his hope all his confidence is placed in the Mercy of God And as he does first acknowledge God to be the Author of all forgivenesse and secondly confesse himselfe to be a Sinner So hee does in the third place acknowledge himselfe to be the onely Author of his owne Sinnes He does not accuse God as many doe who by countenancing that fatall Stoicall necessitie doe make even God the Author of their Sinnes he does not accuse the Divell he fals not out with the Starres about the matter nor does he post off his sinnes unto others as our first Parents did in Paradise ADAM he blames the Woman nay he is so bold as to lay the fault upon God himselfe for giving him such a troublesome woman The woman whom thou gavest me to be with me shee gave me of the Tree and I did eate The woman she posts it off againe to the Serpent No the Publicane goes no farther then to his owne breast He neyther strikes at God nor at the Divell nor at the Starres not at any of his companions who might entice him peradventure to wickednesse but he knew that his Enemies were onely those of his owne house and therefore he knocks onely at his owne doore he strikes upon his owne breast and sayes O G◠〈◊〉 mercifull to me a sinner I must leave CHRISTS censure of these two men untill another time but yet it is a verse of 〈◊〉 difficulty to be understood it desires rather a Pâ—raphrase then an expoâ—tion and surely the very â—ding of it to ye will give yee satisfaction enough The summe of all is this The Pharisee came into the Temple stiffely and proudly as if he meant to affront the Lord in his owne house his behaviour â—s stout his Language peremptory and daring he boast of his owne good workes he scornes and condemnes his brother The Publicane on the other side enters reverently humbly defectedly dares not so much as cast his eyes up to heaven the Throne of his offended God but as angry with himselfe for sinning against so gracious a Father he beates his breast as if hee meant to be reveng'd on his heart which was the first contriver of all his Transgressions he confesses his Sinnes and desires Gods mercy And now heare CHRISTS judgement of these two and that shall close up our discourse Vers 14. I tell yee this man departed to his house justified rather then the other For eveâ—ry man that exalteth himselfe shall be brought low and hee that humbleth himselfe shall be exalted FINIS A SERMON PREACHED At the Assizes at Huntington in the Shrievalty of Sir Capell Beedles Exod. 34. last verse And the Children of Israel saw the face of MOSES that the skin of MOSES face did shine and MOSES put the veyle upon his face againe untill he went in to speake with God THe Lord by the mouth of his Prophet DAVID in the 82 Psalme vers 2. speaking of Magistrates sayes I have sayd yee are Gods He who is the beginning of all things begins that verse nay he begins it after the same manner as hee began all things as he did when he drew the first draught of this faire Picture of the World Gen. 1.3 And God sayd let there be light and there was light And he begins the verse thus not onely to teach as how we should begin all our actions A love principâ— in all
Christ He was not that light saith St. Iohn in his 1. Chap. but was sent to beare witnesse of that light that was the true light which lighteth every man who commeth into the world Iohn was but as a Torch-bearer before that Bridegroome who came out of his Chamber rejoycing like a mighty man to runne his race But to leave this sacred mysterie with admiration being a Theame fitter for the pen or tongue of an Angel then of a weake man let us come unto our selves And what shall wee render to the Lord againe for all this now I will tell yee Since it hath so pleased God so to love the world as to give his only begotten Sonne to us let us thinke nothing too good nothing too deare for him let us so love him againe as to dedicate our selves unto him Since Christ hath vouchsafed to take such a leape for us to come from heaven to earth let us in all thankfulnesse leape from earth into heaven to him But ye will aske me how Hic labor hoc opus est This is a thing indeed desired of all for who would not be in heaven but it is full of difficulties I answer therfore the more noble the more to be desired The way to honour is up hill the passage craggy and thorny but bee not dismayed for this journey which I speake of is not a corporall but a spirituall journey Take thou no care how thy body which must bee laid downe in the dust nor how thy soule when it is separated from thy body shall bee carried into those heavenly habitations trust thy Saviour with this who will take custody of thy soule when thou layest downe thy Tabernacle and in his good time raise up thy body too to immortalitie If thou whilest thou art herein the body canst take thy thoughts from the earth and send them on a holy Ambassage to heaven if thou canst raise up thy thankfull heart to a blessed acknowledgement of the mercy of God in thy Saviour Iesus Christ who came downe thus to thee I dare say in this thou hast leapt from earth to heaven which moving and stirring of thy soule like a troubled boxe of pretious Oyntment whose vertuous odours slept till they were awaked by stirring shall make thee smell sweet in the nostrills of God Thy lips O my spouse saith Christ in the 4. Chapter of this Song drops as honey combes honey and milke are under thy tongue the savour of thy garments is as the savour of Lebanon Camphyre and Spikenard and Saffron and Calamus and Cinamon with all the Trees of incense Which is nothing else but to shew us by the similitude of these earthly things these odoriferous delicacies which are most acceptable to our sense how pleasing and gratefull are the lips i. the confessions the prayers the thankesgivings of his whole Church in generall or of every faithfull soule in particular unto God Wee have a saying amongst us and it is a true one Ingratum si dixeris omnia dixeris Name but the ingratefull person and thou namest every thing that is bad But alas how truely may wee quite invert this saying and inverted apply it our selves Omnia si dixeris ingratum dixeris Name all things name all the benefits all the bounties all the mercies which God with a liberall hand hath heaped upon mankinde without weight without measure without number Nay name this mercy of all mercies So God loved the world that hee gave us his onely begotten Sonne Yet for all this thou mayest call man ingratefull For where is our wedding apparell at the Celebration of these Nuptialls Where is our faith where is our charity where is our newnesse of life in these dayes of preparation where are our praises our Songs of deliverance Vox quoque Maerim Iam fugit ipsa lupi Maerim videre priores Wee are Pythagoreans now Harpocrates or the Woolfe hath seene us such a heavie silence is fallen upon us If yee aske mee how yee shall honour this time truly Saint Augustine shall tell yee Cogita Deum Patrem mittentem cogita Deum Filium venientem cogita teipsum immerentem Thinke upon God the Father in mercy sending his Sonne thinke upon God the Sonne in mercy come being sent of the Father and when thou hast done this thinke upon thine owne unworthinesse and doe this seriously and it cannot choose but worke in thee a love towards God a hating of thy selfe and thy sinnes a charity to thy poore brethren and once adorne thee with all the graces fitting the celebration of so blessed a time Our third leape was de Praesepe ad Crucem from the Manger to the Crosse from Beast to the curse due to sinne Cursed is every one who hangs upon a tree But doth Christ leave us here No. Hee leapes after us hither too No sooner are the two theeves upon the Crosse but lift up thine eyes and thou shalt finde him in the midst of them crying to the penitent This day thou shalt be with mee in Paradise And doe but reade that speech of Christ to Iudas in the 13. of Saint Iohns Gospell And then tell me whether we may not truly call this a leape of his or no a leape of joy a leape of an earnest desire The consideration of which me thinks cannot choose but make our hearts leape within us too at the 27. verse And after the sop Sathan entred into him That which thou doest doe quickly What should this bee which Iudas was about that we find our Saviour wooing him to such a speed in the execution of it That which thou doest doe quickly Why if yee will needs know it was to betray him to the death of the Crosse This was the action to the performance of which our blessed Saviour courts his betrayer Of such a love as this can no Stories make mention Had it beene to receive a Kingdome to have had his browes begirt with some imperiall Diadem to have mounted a triumphant Chariot and from thence to have beheld all his enemies dragd in fetters after him wee should not then have wondered that hee had leaped towards it and murmured at the heavie paces of time but when we consider that that which he made love to was death more an ignomâ—nious death the death of the Crosse the company be so longed to be with no better then Theeves Hee was numbred with the transgressours when we consider that the best welcome he could expect besides the pangs of death would be the bitter taunts of his enemies the banquet they entertained him with composed by those two harsh and unequall-handed Confectionaries Cruelty and Scorne no better then gall and vineger that he should leape towards this and be so desirous to have this done quickly here is the wonder I should here describe unto yee those thornie mountaines and craggy passages which Christ overcame in this leape of his from the Manger to the Crosse but this is an Antheme fitter for Good Friday
Praeludium or Preface to it besides the acknowledging of the ground to be holy and dedicated to God and besides the stirring up of mine owne devotions thed evotions of others by beholding that humble and reverend gesture thou shalt finde to be done not without a great deale of caution not without a great deale or reason and mysterie Yee will not be discontented I hope if I make it plaine to you that our Saviour CHRIST himselfe has taught us this very same Method of Adoration Looke but into the Lords Prayer Our Father which art in Heaven c. Hee first layes downe the Foundation of our Religion of our Devotion a Father we have a God there is a great God a God which is in Heaven This being done before we are taught eyther to pray for our owne Salvation in saying thy Kingdome come to us before wâ— are taught to pray for our Dayly bread for the forgivenesse of our Sinnes or for any thing which concernes our selves we are tâ—ght to say hallowed be thy Name VVâ— must first seeke and desire the glory of God and then â—uâ— owne Salvation and not onely so but we are to desire Gods glory first in the abstracted notion onely for and in regard of himselfe Sanctificetur it is St. Chrysostomes Note CHRIST does not teach us sayes he to say sanctificemus let us sanctifie thy Name but sanctificetur impersonally sanctified or hallowed bee thy Name without the joyning of any person to it to show us that we ought to desire Gods honour principally and in the first place without any respect unto our selves as He is the chiefe good and the chiefe happinesse which is a great deale more thanke-worthy then to doe it with relation to our owne happinesse as we are partakers of that chiefe good and happinesse And this very method doe we observe at our entrance into Gods House we doe not immediately fall downe to our Prayers for that were to worship God in respect of our selves but first of all before we come to lay any claime unto him by our Prayers we humbly prostrate our selves before the Altar as acknowledging him to be the great God in the abstracted notion without any respects unto us as if by that gesture we should repeate that first Petition of the Lords Prayer and say Hallowed bee thy name impersonally So that if there should be a Heathen amongst us in the Congregation and should but behold that reverent behaviour hee could not chuse but breake out and say Certainely there is a God in this place and I knew not of it When we bow then at our first Entrance into the Church we doe as it were acknowledge Gods Image and Superscription to be upon that House and in so doing we worship God as he is the great God but afterwards when wee Kneele downe and pray to him then we worship him as he is the Good the Gracious and the Mercifull God in relations to us Our first bowing without Prayer acknowledges his Omnipotencie and Independencie Our second bowing accompanyed with Prayers does confesse his Mercy and the Communication of his Goodnesse If thou wilt then fall directly upon thy Knees to thy Prayers is soone as thou enterest the Church and â—o worship God onely as a good and a gracious God to thee I blâ—e thee not for it enjoy thy Liberty Onely take heed thou beâ—st not too lavish in thy Censures against them who doâ— the other too and are able to show better reasons for the doing of it then thou for leaving it undone But all that I can doe will not bring the Pharisee I see to stoope we must be forc'd to leave him as we found him standing Let us heare what hee does more 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Pharisee stood and pray'd thus with himselfe We have too many such Pharisees now adayes who pray with themselves by their good wils they would never joyne with the Congregationâ— But I have touch'd upon that already The thing which I 〈◊〉 from these words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hâ— pâ—y'd with himselfe is this See what the effect of his standing of his Pride is The Prayers of the Iust and Humble doe use to pierce the Clouds and knocke at the Cares of Heaven for entrance and are admitted but this vaine glorious and proud man by boasting of his owne merits and standing with a stiffe Knee before the Lord has even clipâ— the wings of his Prayers so that instead of ascending unto God they remaine heavy things at home with him all that hee can doe cannot perswade them to take wing he pray'd with himselfe they went no farther God heard him not The Lord heareth not sinners hee esteemes 〈◊〉 of the Prayers of the proud and disobedient For although the reverent gesture of Kneeling or Prayers and at the blessed Eucharist and other â—re Câ—emonies of the Church be not absolutely and primarily of the Essence of Religion â—though secondarily they are for obedience is of the Essence of Religion and to doe those things the Church commands is Obedience yet it showes forth a great pride and a spirit of contradiction in them who refuse them It is acknowledg'd that the chiefest Sacrifice and which is most acceptable to the Lord is a Contrite heart yet I say againe that where the Heart is contrite there the Body will expresse Humilitie The Knee of that man cannot be stiffe whose heart is broken 't is both against Philosophie and Divinitie the heart is like the great wheele in a Clocke it sets all the other members a working Hee stood and prayed thus with himselfe Let us now heare what it is that he prayes O God I thanke thee that I am not as other men Extortioners vnjust Adulterers or even as this Publicane I fast twice in the Weeke I give Tithes of all that ever I possesse 'T is well the Holy Scripture tells us that this is a Prayer certainely we should hardly have believ'd it else It has a strange beginning nay the whole ayre of it is something harsh to be called a Prayer Iustus in principio accusator est sui The just and godly man he commonly begins his Prayer with an accusation of himselfe so ABRAHAM in the 18. of Genesis 27. praying for the Sodomites Ge. 18.27 Behold now I have begun to speake unto my Lord who am but dust and Ashes As if Abraham had sayd let not my Lord be angry although I who am a Sinner my selfe doe entreat for other Sinners So IACOB Gen. 32. O God of my Father ABRAHAM I am lesse then all thy Mercies So DAVID in the 2. of Sam. 18. Who am I O Lord God and what is my House that thou hast brought me hitherto So DANIEL chap. 9. O Lord Righteousnesse belongeth unto thee but unto us confusion of Face And thus doe all Godly men begin their Supplications but the Pharisee he expresseth in other kinde of language God I thanke thee I am not as other men c. It