make him busy in the world 1 Pet. 5.8 his design this morning is mainly upon you My Lords as the Panther hates the Effigies and portraicture of a man so the Devil hates the very picture of a good Magistrate and of a good Minister hee will indeavour to dis-swade you from your duty distract and disturb you while you are doing your duty yea and hee will if hee can discourage you when you have done your duty As God standeth in the Congregation of the mighty Job 1.6 judging amongst the Gods So the Devil standeth in the Congregation of the mighty tempting and corrupting those mortal gods As God stands at the right hand of his servants Psal 110.5 so Satan also stands at the right hand of Gods servants Zech. 3.1 if God assist from Heaven the Devil will resist from Hell the left hand is the lazy hand there hee stands where hee can do most mischief Hee is an evil spirit Metaphysically good indeed but Morally and Theologically evil therefore called as Maldonate and our Anotators in the Lords Prayer Evil Deliver us from Evil Cum hostem cernimus aliquid agere quod plane videatur imprudenter actum abhorrere a ratione suspicari dolum aliquem subesse debemus Mach. Disput de Repub. lib. 3. cap. 48. from Satan If ever hee move to any thing that is good observe it and it is either from a bad principle in an evil manner or to a bad end at a wrong time to an improper work c. And therefore as Machiavel counsels in another case suspect him hee intends you no good Take heed then what you do There are special seasons in which Satans Temptations are most seen by discerning Christians a hint or two I shall but give or shoot an arrow or two friendly to admonish you when there is most danger and need to look about you 1 In times of great pressures and afflictions felt or feared when God is afflicting Satan is plotting to put the Saints on indirect waies and means to bee delivered or to repine against God 2 In times of spiritual desertion when the Lord hides his face Satan puts out his head and troubles greatly 3 In times of great discoveries of divine assistance and manifestations of his loving kindnesse which is better and sweeter than life unto a sincere convert after extraordinary inlargement of heart in duty c. 4 At the day of death and dissolution if hee cannot keep the soul from going to Heaven yet hee will indeavour to keep Heaven from comming into his soul I mean the joys and come forts of the Spirit hee is the Prince that hath power in the air the souls that go to Heaven passe through his territories by his very nose how doth hee snarle think you or hath hee done when the Saint is newly dead and his soul taken up to Heaven 5 At such times and upon such occasions as this when some great peece of work is upon the Loom some notable enterprize for Gods glory is upon the Anvile Satan chops in retards the work the instance is pregnant Zech. 3. begin you are now fore-warned take heed therefore what yee do Reason 9 Ninthly The eyes of many are upon you this day and therefore you are obliged to Take heed what you do Notable is that of Seneca Custos te tuus sequitur Senec. Fragm p. 1271. put as tibi contigisse ut oculos omnium effugias Demens quid tibi prodest non habere conscium habenti conscientiam what if thou vain man couldest escape the view of mortal men go further Suppose the holy Angels and the immortal God did not behold thee what if thou hadst no other conscious or privy to thy transactions when as thy conscience which is in stead of a thousand witnesses is guilty but wee have supposed what is not what ought not to be asserted Hear that Heathen again Magnum nescio quid majusque quam cogitati potest numen est cui vivende operam damus Huis nos approhemus nihil prodest inclusam esse conscientiam Deo patemus The eye of God is upon you apposite is that of Elihu in Job 36.7 He withdraweth not his eyes from the Righteous but with Kings are they on the Thrine Hee is totus oculus All eye to see you what ever you do All Ear to hear whatever you say Angels are knowing Creatures De scientia Angelorum plurima notavit Estius lib. 2. Distinct 7. Parag. 11 12 but they know not the thoughts and imaginations of our hearts si signo non prodantur externo as they speak they are not within the ken of men nor within the walk of humane Justice nor subject to the censures of terrene Courts or Consistories But God sets them in the light of his countenance Lips de Const lib. 2. cap. 13 15 Aug. Soliloq cap. 14 Nobis ergo as Lipsius speaks magna est indita necessitas juste agendi recteque vivendi qui cuncta facimus ante oculos Judicis cuncta cernentis The eyes of the glorious Angels are this day upon you as they inform you of Gods Will so they inform God of your wayes Zech. 1.11 and works they tell him what is done here amongst men The eyes of many honourable Gentlemen are upon you Aliquis vir bonus nobis eligendus est ac semper ante oculos habendus ut sic tanquam illo spectante vivamus omnia tanquam illo vidente faciamus c. Sen. Ep. 11. ad finem And it was Seneca's councel to his Lucilius ever to have in his eye either Cato or Laelius or some good man This hee thought would over-awe his Spirit Certainly whoever judgeth and pleadeth as in his eye who is to bee feared will in short time come himself to bee feared to say no more the eye of those trembling Prisoners at the Bar will bee upon you All which considered It will appear of great concernment that you Take heed what you do Once more Tenthly The lives liberties the rights and priviledges the estates and interests of persons are sacred choice and precious things therefore it concerns you My Lords to take heed what you do O let not the line of Justice bee made crooked let not the course of equity bee perverted Life is precious silver and gold are dull and dead commodities to THIS Job 2.4 How did that unparrellel'd Queen beg for her life Esther 7.3 like a Creeple on a bridge Let my life bee given mee at my petition not riches nor honours Stemmata quid prosunt Incomparable was the love which God manifested to the world in giving his Son Jesus Christ So So God loved the World That is such a Sic as never had a Sicut Iohn 3.16 Non unum e multis sed unigenitum Vnigenitum in quo omnem suum amorem collocaverat non quoquo modo dedit sed dedit ut tanquam serpens in deserto exaltaretur i.e.
I doubt whether that man can be saved by Christ Qui dicit hominem salvari posse sine Christo dubito an ille per Christum salvari potest Hee is all in all to them who see they are nothing can do nothing and have nothing at all without him but of this you have lately heard so much now therefore no more Sixthly Commune with your own hearts allow mee the least skill in divinity and I will say a great deal of true Christianity consists in this and our sincerity is much discovered by this In Psal 49. Revel 4.8 It is the holy Counsel of Augustine and the Saints daily practice Ascende tribunal mentis tuae esto tibi judex dic Deo tuo c. Vide Marlora tum in locum In the Apocalyps you read of four living creatures full of eyes before and behinde and within The first was like a Lion The second like a Calf The third had the face of a man The fourth like a flying Eagle Various are the glosses on that Text some understand and say they betoken Christ who was born of the Virgin as a man suffered death as a Calf rose again like a Lion mounted up as an Eagle Others thus the four Creatures hold forth the four sorts of Officers in the Church Mr. Cotton The Lion the ruling Elder the Oxe the Pastor the Man the Deacon and the Eagle the Teacher But they were Angels and are said to bee full of eyes because of the vastnesse and clearnesse of their knowledge Tom. ad Qu. 58. Artic. 6 7. p. 1. q. 106. Ar. 1. Vasquez speaks much of their Matutin and vespertin Knowledge and Aquinas of their light of Nature Grace and Glory of their concreated revealed and experimental knowledge Gregory compares holy men on earth to those blessed Angels in Heaven The Saints are now Evangelical anon they shall bee Angelical they are full of eyes within they look within and without above and about but they fix chiefly on Christ and their own consciences It is sad to see near and dear relations as Husband and Wife sit down together rise up together walk out together come in together and yet never change word with each other but O how sad to see a man and his heart such strangers one to another Hoc Hoc nos pessimos facit said Seneca Epist 83. this is it that makes us so vile and therefore prescribes in another Epistle Vide Senec. Ep. 28. 80. Quantum potes teipsum coargue inquire in te accusatoris primum partibus fungere deinde Judicis c. Franc. Suar. Nullum majus nullum melius negotium est quam ire in interiora mentis Secretaria cordis Aug. in Psal 33. Conc. 2. The little time which that acute and profound man spent every day in the search and examination of his own heart and conference with his own conscience was more dear to him as I have read of him and beleeve it would bee found most true would wee bee perswaded to try than all the rest of the day which hee spent in controversals It was Constantines constant practise as Eusebius reports of him to shut up himself in a secret place of his Palace where hee had his Soliloquies You are persons of quality look upon him and do likewise It was the practise of one better and greater than hee is that writes or reads this Psal 77.6 In the night I commune with mine own heart and my spirit makes diligent search how sutable savoury seasonable how sweet advantagious and profitable this may bee to you in your present condition I cannot tell you before but do it and you will tell mee hereafter On this day read and ponder Psal 143. ult Psal 36 7,8 87.2,5 133.3 â— Cor. 5.4 Ezek. 46.4 Sixthly Continue your constant attendance upon Gods Ordinances in our solemn Assemblies on the Lords dayes and exercise dayes whilst others of the Gentry as well as others like Owles not able to indure the light and power of Gospel Truths forsake the assembling of themselves together Offer you unto the Lord the Lambs and the Rams without blemish it is the Lords command Vide Calvinum in Psal 27.8 Seek yee my face i.e. seek yee God among his people in his Ordinances there is Gods face Whilst others prize one day elsewhere above a thousand in the Courts of God you give us demonstrations that you prize one day in his Courts above thousands elsewhere There hee shews himself most beautiful and most bountiful There hee puts that upon his people which makes them lovely and that into his people which makes them lively Never did General so much delight to see his souldiers together marching orderly or fighting valiantly as the Lord doth to see his servants together praying fervently and hearing attentively Psal 50.5 then his heart is inlarged and hand opened towards them yea ravished with them Cant. 4.9 when the dead and drie bones lay in the field dispersed they were not all that while enlivened Ezek. 37. when they were congregated breath and life came in when on other daies persons are scattered they are in great measure deaded but on the Lords day and in the Lords way assembled how are their drooping spirits revived their languishing souls refreshed Excellent is that passage of Chrysostome 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. If you step into Courts of Judicature as at the last Assizes what pleading pocketting swearing c. if into the Market-place nothing but buying selling lying couzening cheating plain dealing is a Jewel and they will tell us hee that useth it shall dye a Beggar but may not wee tell them they that do not use it live fools and dye knaves 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Step into private families nothing but cares as the Epigrammatist well expesseth it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 If into Princes Palaces the discourse runs smoothly of honour and majesty 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. and terrene glory 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not a word of God or Heaven Enter now saith the Father into the house of God and there you shall hear something of God of Heaven the bliss and felicity of separate souls of such things as eye hath not seen nor ear heard Here is the most comfortable meeting and cordial closing of Gods Spirit and our spirits In the Turkish History I read of Huniaâ—es a valiant Captain now a dying man who said It was fitter for the servant to go to the house of his Lord than for the Lord to come to the house of his servant How few persons of quality especially under such weaknesse and maladies are so observant of the Lords day a day separated from all other daies a day elevated above all other daies Oratio Dominica est omnibus aliis excellentior in 16. Vide Tostatum in Mat. 6. Q. 121. pag. 78. As there is no prayer like the Lords
in which they live and to the persons with whom they converse for whose sakes the Lord spares a Nation a City a Family nay one single person from desolating and ruinating judgements Excellent is that Jer. 5.1 If there bee any that executeth justice any that seeketh the truth is there none such finde but one such and I will pardon Jerusalem You see our iudgements My Lords as to zealous Magistrates wee do not in this Northern Clymate count you our Burdens but our blessings wee blesse God for you rejoyce in you and hope for much good from you or by you having had former experience of your Integrity Ability and Fidelity This is the fourth in order Hee set Judges in the Land Fifthly Jehosaephat is not only contented to bee good but hee is also inquisitive and studious how hee may do good Grace inlargeth the heart the hand Non solum nobis nati all the welfare of Church and state will bee much in their eyes who have most of God in their hearts The holy Ghost writ Jehoiada's Epitaph 2 Chron. 24.16 and it is true of Jehosaphat hee did good in Judah both towards God and towards his house 2 Chron. 24.16 Jehosaphat was a man of another spirit of an excellent heroick publick spirit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not Codrus nor Curtius nor Decius nor Brutus loved their Countries as hee did Judah Hee was not to learn Kings were for Kingdomes not Kingdomes for Kings Non mihi sed populo was Adrians Motto I will seek thy good was Davids royal and religious resolution Psal 122.9 Hee set Judges in the Land of Judah Sixthly In Judah was God well known both by his Word and works Psal 147.19,20 by his ordinances and providences hee dealt not so with every Nation yet in Judah Judges are set whence note that there is no Nation so knowing no People so pious regular and religious but even amongst them sin is committed and punishment must bee inflicted It is the priviledge of the Kingdome of Heaven alone to bee without sin suffering sorrow Shew mee the State that is not pestered nor infested with litigious contentious maligning spirits without it nor with factious unruly exorbitant spirits within it Against invasions and incursions of forraign Nations garrisons are placed and Forces appointed for all the fenced Cities and in the Cities of Ephraim which Asa his Father had taken 2 Chron. 17.2 Against intestine broils commotions and injuries hee ordains Judges because sentence given by him who is not authorized and impowred to judge is of no validity in Law and because no man can bee Judge in his own cause Aqu. 2. 2. qu. 67 others therefore are constituted to give every man his right and due and that in Judah In Germany each Jurisdiction or Territory hath a Leens-man each Parish a Nembdemanus i.e. a Judge but here Judges are only set in the fenced or as the Seventy read it in the strongest Cities And said unto the Judges Seventhly Judges have need of sound and wholesome instructions It is fit for Princes and Judges to have some godly-learned 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Remembrancers or Monitours with them Themistocles had his Anaxagoras Alexander his Aristotle Scipio his Polybius c. The Angel in the form of a Macedonian had need of Pauls assistance Come and help us and might not you my Lords take with you some eminently learned and experienced Minister in all your circuits Jehosaphat here both gives the commissions and the instructions Bee instructed yee Judges of the earth there is a Judge that needs none the Judge of all the earth but you do It was royal Councel which our Henry the eighth gave to Sir Thomas Moore when hee made him Chancellour Look first at God then at mee It is your duty and discretion to look first and most at God and his Law for yee judge for him and hee is with you in the judgement if it bee just against you and your judgement if unjust I must confesse as Nazianzen said of great Basil 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Sea needs not nor doth it disdain the little Rivers that run into it nor do your Lordships need the Instruction of so raw and young a man a man unacquainted with matters of this Nature and your distinct duties Vel hic Collige quam difficile est Ecclesiastae munus qui Monarchis judicibus debet consillum doctrinam correptionem Erasm de Ratione concionandi offices c. nor very studious to learn yet remembring and therein incouraging my self that young Samuel spake boldly and plainly to old Eli a very grave and reverend Judge without the least check and being commanded to this service which I looked upon as pensum par animo Pauli I humbly crave your attention to what shall concern you Take heed what yee do Eighthly Observe Something is to bee done the Note is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ar. pol. lib. ◠cap. 2. The greatest persons are born for Action intelligere operari saith the Philosopher to Know and Do is the end of man as man is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a sociable creature and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a reasonable creature so hee is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an operative creature by how much the greater I am by so much the more I labour and by how much the more I labour by so much the greater I am was a notable saying of a gracious man Of all created Natures the most noble are the most nimble active agil The Seraphims are not for sight Vide Aquin. 1. 1. qu. 112. Art 2. Aq. in Heb. 1.14 A Lapide in locum but service I shall not trouble you with what the School-men tells us about the Ministration of Angels they say they are not all ministring spirits they build more on Dionisius and Gregory than on blessed Paul read that remarkable Scripture the Epistle to the Hebrews writ by Paul not Barnabas Camero in Heb. qu. 2. mihi pag. 368. as Camero chap. 1.14 Are they not All ministring spirits that interrogation is a positive assertion they are All Deus nunquam ullam creaturam ea lege condidit saith Camero excellently no creature was made by God but with this law or proviso that it should depend upon God Camer 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 mihi pag. 779. Jun. in Jud. ver 6 both in fieri in facto esse both in esse in operari and also do service for God Natura Angelica non potuit humana non debuit esse otiosa said Junius The Angels of all created beings are most serviceable though they have small benefit of their Ministration the Lord having the glory the Elect the comfort the profit David first served his Generations by the will of God then fell asleep Let not death surprize us before wee have served our Generations Blessed are the dead that dye in the Lord from henceforth they rest from their labours
revealed and at the last day come into the judgement of discovery or discussion Augustin and others of the Fathers Aquinas and others of the Schoolmen assert it Aq. Suppl qu. 87. Art 1. Est lib 4. Dist 47. Par. 2 Aug. C. D lib. 20 cap 14 Et Med. cap. 4 Vossius Disp Theol. Some of both deny it Rationabiliter hoc dici non potest said Lombard This is most certain When Christ shall come to judgement there will bee the greatest discovery of men that ever was in the world You shall then discern between the Righteous and the Wicked between the sealed ones and those that were not sealed between the Lambs and the Wolves Reve. 7 There shall bee the greatest alteration that ever was in the World there shall bee the greatest confusion to wicked wretches the greatest consolation to the ransomed ones that ever was in the world and there shall bee the greatest rewards dispensed that ever were in the world According to every mans works shall every soul bee rewarded If punishment bee not now inflicted on such who are appointed to inflict punishment but do it not or do it negligently Certainly they shall bee stript and whipt such Judges God will judge Hee will binde Kings in chains and Nobles in fetters of Iron Hell was ordained of old for wicked unjust Judges as well as for other men with what face can any expect mercy from God then who will not do justice for him now Cursed is hee that doth the work of the Lord negligently 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and cursed bee hee that keepeth back his sword from blood Execution of Justice you see my Lords is the work of The Lord and not only shall they bee cursed that do it not but they also that do it if it bee negligently deceitfully Jer. 48.10 carelesly done The Lord whose deputies you are doth mainly minde the Manner how this work is done The Adverb is in his Eye Not only do THIS but do it THUS considerately exactly it is of concernment then That you take heed what you do Seventhly And it is Jehosaphats Argument in the Text It is Argumentum palmarium God is with you in the Judgement therefore take heed what you do My Lords God is with you God is with you with you to counsel you what to do and how to do with you to comfort you in what you do with you to assist you in what you are to do what ever rubs remora's or obstructions bee cast in the way with you to observe you in all your expressions inquisitions determinations c. and will you not then Take heed what you do It was said of old that the King is Virtually in his ordinary Courts of Justice so long as they continue his Courts God is really present in these Courts of Justice precious is that promise Exod. 20.24 In all places where I record my Name I will come unto them and I will blesse them There is no work in which hee imploies his servants of the Magistracy or Ministry but if sought in a due order and in a right manner hee will bee present and assistant In Ecclesiastes chap. 8.10 the Seat of Judicature is called the place of the Holy 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I saw the wicked buried who had come and gone from the place of the Holy 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Pagnin renders it a loco sancto from the holy place Junius renders it E loco sancti out of the Place of the holy And why the Place of the holy 2 Sam. 23.3 because holinesse is required in them that sit there or because matters are to bee debated in a holy manner there I conceive this may bee said because hee who is Holinesse it self sits as chief Lord there the Rabbines as Buxtorf tells us put Makom which signifies place Apud Rabbinos deus dicitur Makom locus quia omnia in se comprehendit in nullo loco comprehenditur Bithner in Exod. 21.13 amongst the Names of God Bithner brings them expounding that Text in Esther 4.14 deliverance shall arise to the Jews from another place that is from God They called him place because hee is in every place in his solemn Assemblies more eminently and conspicuously When the Ethiopian Judges were set in their seats of Judicature certain empty chairs were placed about them into which they imagined the holy Angels came Angels are very frequent in and observant of such solemn conventions Hoc judicum animos ad vigilantiam reverentiam inflecteret saith Quintus Pius on my Text This they thought and so it ought would work an awe and fear in their Magistrates a resolution and care in them to Take heed what they did A greater than any of the Cherubims or Seraphims is this day with you attending on this Consistory hee whose center is every where and circumference no where Hee who fills the Empyreal Heaven with his glory the earth with his mercy and Hell with his fury hee is with you and this should quicken you to 1 A Lion-like courage as I was with Moses so will I bee with thee Be strong and of a good courage and to 2 Angel-like carriage Notable is that practise of the Egyptians Lib. 1. cap. 6. ni fallat mea me memoria Diadorus Siculus relates it When their Judges were set they caused the image of a divine Numen by them called Truth to be hung about his neck who sate next unto the Judges The God of Truth is now amongst you Take heed therefore what you do To proceed Reason 8 Eighthly Satan will certainly improve his power policy and his malice at this present opportunity for his advantage and your prejudice or dammage Therefore Take heed what you do Hee is a Spirit Vide Aug. in Psal 62.11 and therefore can act indiscernibly invisibly and imperceptibly hee is a Spirit and therefore can act very powerfully almost irresistibly It is true as Augustin speaks potestas est sed sub potestate Aug. in Psal 91 hee hath astutiam suadend non potentiam cogendi it is not in the power of his hand to force it is in the purpose of his heart A deo non potest cogi voluntas ergo non a daemone Vasquez Tom 1. qu. 8◠Art 3 and hee hath policy enough in his head to intice you to wrest Judgement Hee is a Spirit conclude thence the facility and easinesse of his approach and accesse to you Spirits fear no Penetration of Dimensions Omnis spiritus est alatus saith Tertullian Hee is a Spirit Non semper saeviunt Nerones sed nunquam cessat diabolu Cypr. Take notice then of his activity Eutia quo magis spiritualia eo magis activa beings the more spiritual the further remote from matter they bee the more dexterous and nimble they bee Hee hath no body naturally united to him Job 1.7 hee never tires his malice and nature
Casmannus Angelograph p. 2. cap. 10. Aq. p. 1. q. 113. Att. 4. Est lib. 2. dist 11 c. this conduceth very much to your present safety and security It is queried in the Schools whether every man hath his particular Tutelar Angel assigned him for his custody Most of them and many of the Fathers they tell you answer it positively Our Orthodox Divines conceive it a platonick conceit no Scripture Truth Camero sufficiently and solidly refutes it Camero prael in Mat. 18.10 This is a very certain Truth the Angels are appointed for the custody of men they have a special charge to safeguard such men as you And as they are invisible so they are invincible Nay the Lord himself is your pavilion he hath ingaged himself to be a Sanctuary an hiding place a shield and refuge To the Oppressed Psal 9.9 The Lord will bee a refuge for the oppressed a refuge in time of trouble To such as walk uprightly Psal 84.11 To such as are exiled and banished Ezek 11.16 Though I have scattered them among the Countries yet I will bee to them as a little Sanctuary or a Sanctuary for a little time To such as trust in him Prov. 30.5 To the meek ones of the earth Zeph. 2.3 To such as keep the word of his patience Rev. 3.10 To such as hide his people in a storm God will hide such people as Rahab c. To the humble person Job 22.29 To such as say not a confederacy with them that say a confederacy Isa 8 12.14 To such as are much in prayer he will not keep such from him in a storm as will not be kept from him in a calm Heaven ever stands open for such it fears no Devils the highest they can go is the air Psal 32.6,7 Ephes 2.2 To such as do Justice and Judgement Hee that walketh or worketh righteously and speaketh uprightly that despiseth the gain of oppression and shakes his hands from holding of bribes doth not this concern you See Isa 33.15,16 My Lords Now mark what follows Hee shall dwell on high he shall be as safe as castled or immured in some invincible Tower or impregnable City Walls and bulwarks shall not be His Salvation but Salvation shall bee for walls and bulwarks Chap. 50.7 Psal 90.1 In Jeremies Prophesy God himself is stiled the Habitation of Justice Justice dwells with him and just men too Such need not lye down nor rise up in fear If there bee one that executeth Justice and I will spare it Jer. 5.1 Will the Lord spare It and not Him will hee shew such favour to the City for the sake or such a man and will hee not be so favourable to one such man if found in the City Fifthly It is a conscience-quieting and soul-solacing act As there is joy in the presence of the Angels when a sinner repents unfainedly so when one by the sword of Justice dies deservedly And this will bee your rejoycing the testimony of your consciences that in simplicity and godly sincerity you have administred Justice exactly amongst us When with Hezekiah you turn your faces to the wall God will in mercy turn his face towards you if you walk before him in truth and with a perfect heart doing that which is Just in his sight Samuel was one of the last and one of the best Judges that ever Israel had hee purged the Church from Idolatry hee restored Religion to its purity hee executed Justice and Judgement impartially and herein hee comforts himself exceedingly I have walked saith hee before you from my child-hood unto this day 1 Sam. 12.2,3,4 In my minority when I was a Levite doing the service of the Sanctuary and since I came to more maturity administring Justice as a Judge Here I am and witnesse against mee who can before the Lord and his anointed your King Saul whose Oxe have I taken or whom have I defrauded or of whose hands have I received any bribe q. d. if any bribery or cruelty any injustice or partiality can be justly charged upon mee let them now speak Beati qui gaudent quando intrant ad cor suum nihil mali ibi inveniunt saith Augustin they are blessed who can come unto their houses Ener in Psal 33 and unto their hearts and finde no guilt there Thus it was with that good man Samuel Augustin pleaseth himself much with the comparison of an evil corroding conscience to a scoulding discontented wife hee hath it often I finde it in his Enarrations upon the 33. Psalm and upon the 35. Psalm c. Qui habent malas uxores quommodo exeunt ad forum gaudent caepit hora esse qua intraturi sunt in domum suam contristantur As they vex men infinitely so doth a guilty conscience but as a good wife so a good conscience is a continual feast Moses solaced himself in the integrity of his heart and Job also Numb 16.15 Job 29.14.15 When other covetous Caitiffs unjust wretches shall have fears falling upon them and anguish of spirit which makes their bones shake and tremble the hairs of their heads stand up their heart strings burst and break when the terrours of Hell shall take hold upon their filthy consciences Then you My Lords who discharge your duties and high trust reposed in you shall have the Honour of it in life and the comfort of it in death Sixthly Not to do Justice and Judgement is a sin most hainous and abominable it is malum complexum it is peccatum complicatum a big-belly'd Evil a land desolating sin that God will bee avenged on It is a sad charge Jer. 5.28 Among my people are found wicked men they over-pass the deeds of the wicked i.e. they are worse than Turks and Pagans they judge not the cause of the Fatherlesse Such as are least able to right themselves should have most help from others but the right of the needy they do not judge Shall not my soul be avenged on such a Nation as this To think any sin little is no little sin yet some are greater than others and this is one of the greatest saith the Lord yea hee will surely visit for these things Amos 5.12 I know saith God your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins peccata vestra valida fortia as Drusius Gravia copiosa saith Vatablus magnopere me irritantia Ribera obstinata enormia scelera vestra vidi saith Lambertus on the Text words are wanting to expresse the sinfulnesse of their sins the Original is more full and emphatical your boney sins but what were they They afflict the just they take a bribe they turn aside the poor in the gate from the right therefore saith the Lord I hate and despise your Feast-daies I will not smell in your solemn assemblies let judgement run down as waters and righteousness as a mighty stream vers 21. to the 25. There hath been much wrestling with God in prayer and soul-afflicting yet prayers are
politick if you know not the diseases how can you remove them Picus Mirandula reports that among the Jews none came into the number of the Raebbins till they could speak seven languages None are fit for Magistrates who are not furnished with Wisdome to sift and search into the causes c. Tenthly Be men of courage A Judge that is timerous will soon bee treacherous if hee be fearful hee cannot be faithful Quis metuit offendere cum Judex metuit abscindere you have need of an Eagles Eye Act. 17.22 Deut. 1.17 Rom. 13.4.6 and a Lions Heart In Athens there was an Hill called Mars-Hill there Paul stood when hee rebuked the Athenians for their superstition and a street called Mars-street where their Judges sate to intimate that Magistrates and Ministers should have Martial and high-High-Spirits It is said of Aristides for his constancy and magnanimity You may as soon stay the Sun in the Heavens as put Aristides out of his way If courage be without knowledge the eye of Justice is blinde if Knowledge be without courage the sword of Justice is blunt It is Augustins observation God would have Moses to be a Magistrate Peter and Paul to be Apostles had Moses lived in our age he should have been no Magistrate hee killed the Egyptian Paul and Peter no Apostles the one had been a Persecutor the other had denyed Christ to be his Master himself to be a Christian had cut off Malchus his ear c. but saith Augustin such would God have imployed in Church and state affairs as will smite home resolute men of invincible undaunted courage The Lions on each side of Salomons glorious Throne and at each end of the steps signified his vigilancy and magnanimity 1 King 10. It is a joyful sight when they on the Bench be like the men Nahum speaks of the valiant men are in Scarlet Nahum 2.3 A Judge should neither be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 nor 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 without head nor without heart Judex cordatus quasi lapis quadratus a stout Judge like a four corned stone no winde no weather stirrs it you should be Luminosi Animosi But I proceed Eleventhly If possible Hear all causes put a period to those which have long depended It is not safe to ride Poste over matters it is confessed yet demurres are dangerous and disadvantagious as in matters which concern the soul so in those which concern your civil interests Say not of this or the other as Archias did in Plutarch 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Let these alone till to morrow referre them not as Foelix did Paul to a more convenient opportunity it may prove a more convenient inconveniency Hippocrates would permit none of his Scholars to practise till they had taken an oath before the Altar of Apollo to abbreviate diseases to the utmost of their power and skill A long Sute in a Court like a long sore under a Chirurgion may increase coyn but decreaseth credit Long delayed Justice may as much prejudice both parties as injustice either I remember no other fault mentioned in that Judge who neither feared God nor regarded man from whom the Widdow wrested Judgement by her importunity but Delay But once more Twelfthly Engage God by prayer to go with you to the Judgement seat Hee is the God of Judgement and will help in the execution and administration of Judgement but hee looks to be called in Ut recte judicent Principes Judices Muscul in Psal 72.1 ◠justitiam exerceant dei donum est c. It is the work of the Lord which you are now about It is only the help of the Lord can carry you on and out when men and means fail there is help to be had from God by prayer Notable is that in Exodus 3.6 The Lord proclaims himself to be The God of Abraham the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob The God of Abraham Abraham was a man strong in Faith Isaac a holy man a man that meditated much of God Jacob a man of prayer be you such and hee will be your God as hee was their God and if hee be your God hee will if cal'd in ingage with you in this great work Weak men with assistance of a mighty God can do mighty things O pray pray and Brethren improve all the interest you have in the God of Heaven in the behalf of these reverend Judges Orate ut hos hic judicaturos dii sentiant Exhortation both to the Judges and Justices To You Right Worshipful and worthy Gentlemen you are met by the good hand of Providence this morning together give mee leave to exhort you together You are the Representatives the shields of our Country Help O help to defend it you are the Physitians O help to heal the breaches Our Fathers patres patriae do your indeavour to protect us and provide for us you are our Gods the immortal God so stiles you you bear the Name of Gods your persons are in the place and room of Gods your powers derived from God and the account you give must be to God Therefore in the fear of God appear for God in your several Orbs and Sphears as you have occasion and opportunity Appear for that God who hath so frequently and wonderfully appeared for you and with you and in you As in times of war with Zebulun and Naphtali you offered your selves willingly and hazarded your lifes unto the death in the high places of the field So now in times of peace stand up for Truth and Holinesse Let it appear what love you bear to the way the day the worship the word of Christ by your discountenancing such as contemn prophane pollute and undermine them As hee in the Gospel looked up to Christ with tears in his eyes and a prayer in his mouth Lord if thou canst do any thing have compassion on us and help us Even so I beseech you My Lords and Gentlemen if you can do any thing wee know you can and hope you will and pray you may have compassion on us and help us First Against the Impostors the Seducers I mean the Quakers now swarming amongst us and within the view of us with holy Polycarp may wee say Good God! 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. unto what times hast thou reserved us that we should live to see such separations divisions such cursed Heresies and horrid blasphemies Take heed what you do Do not countenance them Those false Prophets and dreamers of Dreams which indeavoured to turn away the Israelites from the Lord Deut. 13. per totum were to be put to death though they should plead to the civil Magistrate it is our conscience and therefore ought not to suffer There are many unruly and vain-talkers among you saith Paul to Titus and too many such loud and proud boasters with us their mouthes must be stopped muzled It is almost all one to deny the Truth the Faith Vide Luth.
Ep. ad Spulat Melch. Adam in vita Luth. p. 130 and not to defend it against Impostors It is peccatum irremissibile c. a sin bordering upon that sin of sins for Magistrates to lye dormant and Ministers to be silent at such a time and in such a Town as this Pace nihil est optabilius silere autem perpetuo non est integrum c. Excellent is that passage of Luther to Staupicius a German Divine whom hee dearly loved Vide Melch. Adam in vita Staup. pag. 20 calling him HIS Staupicius Non hic tempus tacendi nec timendi sed clamandi ubi Christus damnatur blasphematur Inveniar sane superbus avarus adulter immo omnium vitiorum reus c. Let mee rather be called a mad man a proud man and guilty of the greatest vices than guilty of cursed silence when Christ and his Truth are suffering It is damnable silence to see and say nothing To hear and do nothing against damnable Heresies Maledicta sit illa charitas quae servatur cum jactura doctrinae fidei Luth. in Gal. They are the basest cowards breathing who will not maintain the Truth and contend for the Faith once delivered to the Saints Doth it not grieve your spirits to see and hear them thus grieving the Spirit of God Res delicata est Sp. Dei His Spirit is grieved When the Motives of the Spirit are resisted When the Gifts of the Spirit are perverted When the Warnings of the Spirit are neglected When the Precepts of the Spirit are dis-obeyed When the Promises of the Spirit are distrusted When the Testimonies and comforts of the Spirit are undervalued when hee is dishonoured how is hee grieved how is an honest man grieved when his reputation is stained and bastards father'd on him which are none of his The Spirit of God is a Spirit of Truth a Spirit of Light a Spirit of Love a Spirit of Liberty not freeing men from the conduct or command of the Law but from the curse of the Law not from duty but for duty and in duty a Spirit of power and peace a Spirit of supplication and sanctification but they bring their brats to his door Father their errours and heresies on this blessed Spirit they have much of the Spirit in their words but little of the Spirit of God in their works They 'l tell you of a Light within and a Spirit within but if the dictates of the Spirit within accord not with the directions of the Spirit without If the spirits in their breasts speak not the same things which the Spirit of God speaks in his book it is a lying seducing spirit The Apostle tells us that notwithstanding the glorious light of the Gospel shine bright in our eyes and the sound thereof be loud in our ears Ephes 2.2 yet there is a spirit working efficaciously very strongly and very strangely in the children of disobedience This is the spirit which rules in these unruly persons The Spirit of God puts men upon nothing that 's against the Principles of Nature sound reason and the Word of God The Spirit of God is no Sacrilegious blasphemous Antichristian Antiministerial Anti-scriptural Spirit Plato would not permit in his Republick any such persons as asserted and maintained that God was the author and actor of all their impieties of all the evils which they committed Such miscreants there are amongst us Aug. Ep. 61. ad Dulcit Augustin would have such executed in his Epistle to Dulcitius Though Saul after hee was anointed King had the supream power in his hand yet Samuel as long as hee lived exercised the power of a Judge he went from year to year in circuit to Bethel from Bethel to Gilgal and thence to Mizpeh from Mizpeh to Ramathaim some of the learned give this reason why hee went this circuit from year to year To see if hee could finde any Idols of the Gentiles graven images carved works any Idolaters c. I humbly crave leave to tell you My Lords if there bee any Idolaters or seducers in your circuit it is your duty to take special cognizance of them and according to Law to proceed against them Pereant impii magistratus pereant impiorum dogmatum patroni pereat totus mundus said Luther ut servetur Deo sua gloria suum verbum cultus Weak consciences are to bee tendred errours of weakness with much gentlenesse and meeknesse to be handled yet Divines say there are four kindes of errours which are not to be suffered Such whereby the peace of the Common-wealth is evidently disturbed such whereby Faith and Godlinesse are perverted such whereby Civil Government is destroyed Vide Synops pur Th. dispur 50. fig. 60. 61 such opinions as are destructive to the state may be destroyed by the State and such whereby God blessed for ever is highly dishonoured as Blasphemies Idolatrie c. Are there none such Peace-disturbing Faith-subverting State-desolating and God-dishonouring opinions amongst us with what faces can men in power punish such as abuse their names disobey their commands and suffer Gods name to bee blasphemed his day prophaned c. Arise Arise Stand up for the Truth whilst others bend their Tongues like bows for lyes bee you valiant for the Truth of God upon the earth as the least filings of gold and shreads of Scarlet Vide Melancthonis Epist ad Picum Mirand so the least Truth is very precious Do what you can to stop the mouthes and stay the pens of such as are seduced and do indeavour to seduce others P. Martyr in 1 Sam. 23 Non semper infirmis cedendum est si enim abutantur patientia Dei aut si fides infirmetur aut dogmata laxentur fortiter agendum est The three things which God mindes most and loves best below Heaven are his Truth his Worship and his People The Heathens animated their Martial Spirits with an Estote viri libertas agitur May not I excite and quicken you with an Estote viri Veritas agitur Absit ut excisa Farre bee it from mee said Anchises that I should think to out-live Troy or Truth For the Lords sake for the Lands sake for your own and others souls sake that are this day in danger to be corrupted For the Truths sake which is strong and shall prevail maugre the malice of men and rage of Devils be more active It is said of Scanderbeg who was Turcarum Clades Othomanni Nominis horror Epiri tutela that hee was somesomes so earnest in the cause of Christ Melch. Adam in vita Zwingl p. 37 that his very blood would spin out of his lips O that you and I had the noble Spirits of Castriot Luther Zwinglius who dyed in the open field fighting valiantly bee valiant for the Truth of God of you may miserably fall under the wrath of God I shall crave your honourable attention to that of the Leyden Divines speaking to the
out of which wound it is said his guts came as Julians did Sine caede vulnere pauci Descendunt Reges Fourthly What was the cause or what might bee the occasion of this Prince or great mans Fall in Israel It was Jobs suspition may it admit so faire a construction that Abner would prove an Ambodexter Abner had revolted from Ishbosheth because hee had questioned him for the familiar usage of one of Sauls Concubines wee may not conceal the truth Abner was deeply guilty if of no more of a treacherous inconstancy If Ishbosheth had no true title to the Crown Abner sinned in maintaining it if hee had Abner sinned in forsaking it Tostatus saith that hee knew the Kingdome did not de jure belong to Ishbosheth but to David Suppose his former undertaking was evil yet to desert him eo modo hoc ex injusto furore as Tostatus to withdraw his professed allegiance upon a private revenge was to take a lewd leave of an evil action In a word Joab thinks it is no trusting a Turn-coat Or it was pretended revenge for the blood of his Brother Asahel verse 27. Joab was Ish dammim a man of bloods Tostatus disputes the question whether Joab sinned in slaying Abner Vide Tostaâ— in loc hee concludes positively Hee killed the man without a just cause hee killed the man without a just call hee had no authority to do it non erat Judex ad infligendum illi mortem hee slew him modo in honesto and hee broke the peace granted him by the King The pride of Joabs heart put him upon this horrid and hellish fact Mallem hic primus esse quam Romae secundus Caesar de oppidulo quodam dum Alpes transiret Hee was afraid least Abner by this important service should grow too great in the Kings favour It was cursed pride that put Zimri on to murther Elah his Lord and Master It was pride that made Athaliah to destroy all the seed Royal of the house of Judah It was pride that put Herod on to seek the blood of Jesus and it was pride in which Joab dipt his dagger wherewith Abner is slain Nebuchadnezzars pride ushered in the destruction of the Assyrian Monarchy Cyrus his pride made way for the overthrow of the Babylonian Monarchy Alexanders pride was the cause of the Annihilation of the Persian Monarchy The Roman Commanders by their pride occasioned the subversion of the Grecian Monarchy as it is by some observed It was pride that put the Pharisees on to persecute Christ and it was pride in Joab that curtaild Abners daies Joab would have none so deep in the Kings books as himself no corrivall with him in honours and preferments Joab suspected his reputation would bee blasted his fame eclipsed his service lesse regarded If Abners design bee now accomplished This Magnum Nihil of Honour hee is so tender and jealous of that hee is resolved Abner shall die Nec quemquam jam ferre potest Caesarve priorem Pompeiusve parem Fifthly What was the fruit or the sequel of this Prince and Great mans Fall I shall hint briefly 1 Davids vindication of his own innocency vers 28. I and my Kingdome are guiltless before the Lord q. d. I am not to bee accused of nor charged with this bloody fact It is lawful for the most humble man to vindicate and plead his own innocency when hee sees others may suspect him It is lawful for a man to do himself open right when others do him open wrong David might say as once Augustin did Mihi sufficit conscientia mea bona vobis vero necessaria est fama mea Sometimes the subjects go mad and Kings are sent to Bedlam Though that bee mostly true Delirant reges c. David will have the fault laid at Joabs door and therefore Apologizeth for himself as well hee might 2 Davids fearful Imprecation verse 28. Let there not fail from the house of Joab one that hath an issue or that is a Leper c. All sore and heavy Judgements the Issue makes the body to pine away the Leprosy makes the body loathsome both make it unclean so that it must not come into the Congregation the Gout or Palsey make a living man as if hee were dead To Fall by the sword of an enemy a sad Judgement 2 Sam. 24. and so to bee starved to death for want of bread Tostatus disputes the question An peccavit David maledicendo Joab hee answers negatively and saith licet maledicere quando ille qui maledicit est Judex imponit maledictionem in partem paenae The Rabbines are too rash who say that David was too much carried on with violent passions in this direful dreadful imprecation upon Joab and all his Fathers house and therefore say all these evils fell upon some of his own posterity and race Rehoboam had an issue Uzziah was a Leper Asa was pained in his feet Josiah fell by the sword c. It is granted cursing men are commonly cursed men but David was not here moved by humane passion but by a Prophetick spirit 3 The Declaration of Joabs cowardice and Abners valour Died Abner as a fool died hee died not as a fool nor as a felon nor as a fugitive No hee was suddenly and treacherously surprized Had Joab and Abner tryed it out in open field and fight Abner no doubt had given evident discoveries of his dexterity and activity of the couragiousnesse of his heart and noblenesse of his spirit 4 Abners honourable Interment or Incineration vers 32. They buried Abner in Hebron loco revera honorifico saith P. Martyr R. Solomon thinks Adam and Eve Abraham and Sarah Vide Cartwright electa Targumico Rabbinica in Gen. 23.2 Peâ—er in Gen. 23. p. 663. Isaac and Rebecca Jacob and Lea were buried there Adricomius Pererius Borcardus and others write much of it It was the principal royal City belonging to Judah hereabouts was that great entertainment made the covert of a Tree was the dining room the ground the Table Abraham the Caterer Sarah the Cook Veal and welcome the cheer Angels in the shape of men Christ in the notion of an Angel the guests Adrichom â— Theatrum Terrae Sanctae p. 49. fig. 145 Aug. de Cur. ger pro mortuis A comely burial is an office of humanity a duty of charity a great blessing it is so promised and prized in sacred writ the want thereof as a curse is threatned Jer. 22.19 Tully calls Clodius his body infoelix cadaver because it was cast out unburied Abners was not so Never man was killed more cowardly and interred more honourably 5 King Davids and all Israels bitter lamentation vers 31. They lift up their voices and wept The sweet singer in Israel is now chief mourner in Israel To honour Prince Abner forgetting his royal soveraignty and Kingly dignity David himself doth follow the Beere it is disputed by Interpreters whether Davids tears were real or hypocritical faigned and
of Sicely as hee lay upon his death bed Alas your lives like shuttle-cocks are kept up a while twixt two Battle-doors at last they fall to the earth for all your skill Let not this dis-dis-spirit or dis-animate you but excite and quicken you to fall on with double diligence to dispatch the work cut out for you by your Lord and Master It is a great truth which Seneca writing to Paulinus hints at It is the complaint of all mortals saith hee and that because of natures malignity that gives to man so short a life but the truth is satis longa est vita in maximarum rerum consummationem large data est De brevitate vitae cap. 2 si tota bene collocaretur and vita si scias uti longa est non accepimus brevem vitam sed fecimus O squander not away your Haleyon seasons your golden opportunities as if you were not to bee responsible for time what rich and rare opportunities have you of doing good if the Lord gave you inlarged hearts The Persian King had one about him whose office it was to minde him every morning of his charge Arise O King and have an eye to those affairs for which the great God hath made you King and dispatch them Work O work out your salvation with fear and trembling with much accuratenesse and carefulness 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrysost Hom. 8. in cap. 2. ad Phil. Seek yee the Lord while hee may bee found Now you have tenders and offers of Christ and grace If you neglect the day of grace Know it may expire before your lives expire it cannot possibly last longer then you may weep with Esau and not bee pittied and pray with Dives and not bee heard It was Chrysostomes wish Tom 3. de praem Sanctorum mihi p. 830. that while men are supping and dyning eating and drinking washing and playing mention were made of Hell and Death and Judgement this would awaken idle wretches this would rouse and raise them Let no day pass without a line Know God will bring you to death and to the house appointed for all the living thence you cannot return to dispatch undone work to amend or reform your selves nor to advise and councel others Fourthly Learn hence to put your hearts and houses too in order Though Princes and Great men yet you must fall Distraction and confusion follows when persons die and have not put their houses and estates in order but infinite and unspeakable is the Terrour confusion and horrour which seizeth upon the soul at death which was not prepared for Heaven and glory Logicians that regard not their premises infer wild conclusions so Christians too Lord teach mee to know mine end and the measure of my dayes what it is was the Prayer of a Prince and great man exactly calculated for our Meridian The measure of my Daies not the measure of my months or years No No The life of man is not measured by the Yard of years nor by the Ell of Months but by the Inch of dayes This is a main end of your lives to make a good end of your lives which can never bee without preparation for it Unhappy man whose life is like the lake of which Plutarch speaks which runs pure in the morning but muddy in the evening sweet at first bitter at last If we prepare to dye before wee come to dye then when wee come to dye surely wee shall not dye Let not that deceiving and soul-destroying hope of living long make you secure and carelesse of living well I have read of one who deferring repentance till his old age and then going about it heard a voice from Heaven saying Des illi furfurem cui dedisti farinam It is your wisdome now to learn this Art of dying well this saith Bellarmin truly is the Art of Arts Ep. 82. in it all are comprized Mors interea est quae facile negligi non possunt said Seneca I shall close this with that of Augustin Quid in hac terra certum est nisi mors Considerate omnia omnino quid hic certum est nisi mors Speras pecuniam incertum est an proveniat Speras uxorem incertum est an accipias vel qualem accipias Ena◠ration in Psal 39. pauper es incertum est an ditescas imbecilis es incertum est an convalescas Natus es Certum est morieris or that of Bartholdus Omnes res hominis in dubium vocantur Barthold lib. 2. de morte p. 201 concipitur homo an nasciturus oportet ut responde as forte sic Forte non is a child conceived shall it bee born into the world it is answered perhaps it may Now it is born shall it come to manhood or dye in infancy perhaps it may Shall hee be famous in his Country a grave Senatour a great Scholar perhaps hee may But shall hee dye sic sic sic morietur nullum hic forte nullum hic dubium reperitur There is no peradventure to bee used here It is certain hee shall dye O then prepare for it Never did any repent themselves when they came to dye that they began so early to seek God to serve fear or love God or to prepare for death thousands have repented that they began no sooner Augustin did so sero te cognovi lumen verum sero te cognovi Solileq cap. 33 Job never cursed the day of his new birth that proverb was hatched in Hell a young Saint an old Devil if thou beest a young Devil thou wilt in time become an old Beelzebub O remember your Creatour in the dayes of your youth I speak chiefly unto the young gallants In diebus electionum tuarum Pagnin renders it so In the day of your chusings your younger daies are your golden daies your choice and chusing daies Quo semel 〈◊〉 c. You read of a young man Matth. 19.16.20 It is said Christ began to love him why or for what hee was but a young man and a great man Vide Herodian lib. 1. p. 5 hee was now in his youth inquisitive after the salvation of his precious soul and eternal life O it is a lovely thing in young gentlemen in any to minde the one thing necessary in their juvenility The Devil is very hardly cast out of such whom hee hath possessed in their youth Mark 9.20 But I proceed Fifthly Bee much in the praemeditation of your frailty mortality and dissolution It was Seneca's complaint of some in his time tanquam semper victuri vivitis De brev vitae cap. 4 nunquam vobis fragilitas vestra succurrit c. Moses is to ascend then hee should die would you so die that your souls may ascend then meditate much on death It is a strange saying in Lipsius Lips de Constantia lib. 2. cap. 25 the names of all good Princes may easily bee ingraven or written in a small ring A serious meditation of Death
them Ubi supra like a Tennis-ball tossed hither and thither from hazard to hazard and anon out of the Court Notable is that of Plutarch 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Let not your power your policy your command or magnanimity puffe you up Insitum est humanis ingeniis imperio insolenter uti De Const lib. 2. c. 25 said Lipsius as great men have been carried about in an Iron cage The blood which now is warm shall freeze anon in your veins the marrow shall drie up in your bones your sinewes shall shrink and eye-strings crack within a short space you shall not bee able to help your selves Let not your beauty or bravery make you ambitious supercilious or haughty Your bodies are vile bodies not God but sin hath made them so 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Elut ubi supra beauty is a thing desirable but it is not durable it is but skin deep a raise with a pin or a daies sicknesse may spoil you of it Let not your Rings your Ornaments raise your spirits they are but badges of your sin and shame It argues a vain frothy heart to bee so proud of such petty things a naughty heart to bee proud of any thing If thy out-side be thy best side thou art poor miserable wretched Worthy Gentlemen when God lifts up your heads let it be your care to keep down your hearts all the world cannot keep that man up that doth not keep down his spirit Remember the doleful Catastrophe of Herod the great of Agrippa the great of Alexander the great you are all in his hand who touches the mountains they smoak who bindes Kings in chains and Nobles in fetters of Iron you are in his hand who will bring you to death and to the house appointed for all the living I shall close up this with that of Bernard Quid prosunt Divitiae quid Honores Divitiae non liberant a morte nec delitiae a verme nec honores a faetore nam qui modo sedebat dives gloriosus in throno modo jacit pauper in tumulo qui prius delitiis oblectabatur modo a vermiculo consumitur qui paulo ante in aula principium honorandus efferebatur modo in sepulchro ignominiosus jacet Eighthly Labour to get sin pardoned No sooner did iniquity enter into your souls but mortality seized on your bodies The parcels of dust which were bound together in Adam by a bond of Innocency were shaken loose upon the commission of his first sin and are not you of his posterity Death like an Archer sometimes shoots over the mark and takes one away that was above you sometimes short of the mark and takes one away that was below you sometimes on the right hand there falls a friend anon on the left then dies a foe but the game is never done till you fall and therefore it concerns you to importune the sin-forgiving God to wash your souls in the blood of Jesus to free you from the guilt and filth of sin Notable is that of Job c. 7. ult And why dost thou not pardon my transgression and take away mine iniquity Observe the importunity of this holy man what 's the matter that Job so expostulates with God for the remission of his sin Bern. Peccare humanum est perseverare in peccato est diabolicum what need of so much speed and expedition hee gives you the ground and reason For now shall I sleep in the dust 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I shall go into the earth I shall die thou shalt seek mee in the morning but I shall not bee It was Chrysostomes complaint 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hom. in Mat. 22. c. it is in that excellent peece of his which Aquinas professed hee had rather have than to bee chief Lord of Paris Every mans care is and labour is about this present life but about pardon of sin Mallem habere opus imperfectum J. Chrys super Matthaeum quam esse dominus Civitatis Parisiensis Carthus de 4 Nov. p. 48 assurance of Gods love and things to come Death and Judgement Not a word is spoken O that the Lord would make his own discoveries unto you of the excellency and necessity of pardoning mercy without pardon of sin you can neither live well nor die well It is a mercy which God ever gives in mercy it is a mercy which makes way for the obtaining of eternal mercies it is a mercy which makes all other mercies to look like mercies taste like mercies and work like mercy it gives liberty to the soul in prison ease in bonds life in death sense of pardon takes away the sense of pain It is bonum comprehensivum in the bossome of it Jer. 33.24 all the riches of Heaven and Earth too are treasured up It is the souls Sanctuary as Augustin speaks The one thing necessary in the day of adversity then there is plus periculi and then it is suavius beneficium How few Princes and great men have you heard upon their knees confessing and praying with that man after Gods own heart For thy Name sake O Lord pardon our iniquities In hoc nomine vincam Luth. for they are great Most miserabley on will bee though now honourable wretched you will bee though now rich if you go out of the world as you come into the world with the guilt of sin upon your consciences Nulla satis magna securitas dum pericliâ—atur aeternitas It is not imaginable that your resurrections shall bee to glory if you die in your iniquity your graves shall bee but the suburbs of Hell You shall bee digged out of those burrows and dragged out of those nasty dens to answer for all your wicked pranks and practises done in your mortal bodies Petitions for pardon speak the Petitioners dependence on another great men will not close with this they would bee thought to have all others to depend on them themselves on none petitions for pardon suppose guilt and guilt the breach of a divine Law Princes and great men would bee reputed guiltlesse lawlesse Petitions for pardon intimate a power in God to punish delinquents penes quem facultas remittendi penes â—um potestas puniendi this is not much regarded The God who multiplies pardons as wee multiply provocations open our eyes to see the sinfulnesse of our sins and the dolefulnesse of our state Anon there will bee no place left for repentance nor remission neither in Christs heart nor ours Anon wee shall have no more comfort from that promise of pardon Prov. 28.13 if now wee neglect it then now the Devils have the gates of mercy shall bee shut eternally and neither Christ in a capacity to give nor your selves in a capacity to receive a pardon Remember O remember this lay not the greatest burden upon the weakest beast leave not the greatest work for your sick-bed It is no beginning to caulk the Ship when in a storm it is