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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A94766	Four sermons, preach'd by the right reverend father in God, John Towers, D.D. L. Bishop of Peterburgh. 1. At the funerall of the right honorable, William Earl of Northampton. 2. At the baptism of the right honorable, James Earl of Northampton. 3. Before K. Charles at White-Hall in time of Lent.	Towers, John, d. 1649.	1660 (1660)	Wing T1958; Thomason E1861_2; ESTC R210178	89,836	224

unto his servant John 'T is a slight cavil that some have made against it The place which it holds amongst the other Books of Canonical Scripture because forsooth it stands the last and was written some time after the other and therefore say they was added and foisted in after the whole body of the Canon was perfected Where there are many several Books must not some one be the last And if this had not been added added but not foisted for God and not Man put it in would they have made the same exception against the Epistle of S. Jude which was the last before this or against any other which instead of this Themselves call the last They cannot for they own it Or would they have God Date all his Letters Epistles Writings to Man at the same time what man does so But as for the Order of it that it stands last in place it is so far from diminishing the Authority of it that indeed it addes unto it and does exceedingly commend it to us for it is intruth as the Signet of God with which the Holy Spirit would seal up and conclude the whole Canon both Old and New of Divine Scripture in regard whereof we have it more extraordinarily approv'd unto us both in the begining of it with a Blessing upon him that readeth and upon them that hear the words of this Prophecy and keep those things that are written therein vers 3. And in the end of it with the same Blessing upon him that keeps the sayings of the Prophecy of this Book 22.7 and with a dreadfull curse upon him who shall either adde unto these things God shall adde unto him the Plagues that are written in this Book or shall take away from the words of the book of this Prophecy God shall take away his part out of the book of life c. 22. v. 18 19. he shall have no part nor lot in it Beloved What could be spoken more throughly to ratifie the authority of it If we may adde nothing to it 't is already every way absolute and perfect the word of God without question the onely word to which we may not adde our own inventions without great offence If we may take nothing from it again 't is a forcible Argument of the sacred in violablenesse of it for what bold foisting man would ever dare to speak so arrogantly of the most Holy his own Endeavours He that could write all the rest so holily could never be guilty of such a pride nor ever able to counterfeit so exact a Holinesse and that it is indeed the Holy Scripture for it is the Scripture of which Christ sayes John 10. that It cannot be broken v. 35. This is a main point observable in which this Book stands equall'd to the sacred unquestion'd Writings of Moses himselfe the first and chiefe of all the Prophets and Penmen of Gods Book For as those Books of his because they usher in and are as it were the Fore-door the entrance into the rest of the whole Scripture are therefore in several places strengthned and fenc'd with such a seal as this Deut. 4.2 Ye shall not add unto the Word which I command you neither shall ye diminish ought from it And again c. 12. v. 32. Thou shalt not add thereto nor diminish from it So this Book standing in the rear and as it were shutting up the back-Gate of the same Canonical Scripture is likewise furnisht and stampt with the same Authentick Seale of Gods Holy Spirit to signifie how perfect how inviolable it is that nothing must be put to no Postscript or taken from it no Deleatur no Index expurgatorius neither that as Moses was a main Coryphaeus to lead on the Van-guard in Gods Spiritual Warfare so was S. John another Coryphaeus of special Note to bring up the Rear in the same Battel Why it was order'd by the Church which took care to gather together the Writings of the Apostles Evangelists to be plac'd the last of all the Books there is a manifest reason not that it is behinde the rest in worth and excellence but in regard of the Time wherein it was written In vita Johannis S. Jerome reports that in the time of the second great Persecution of the Christians under Domitian the Roman Emperor the first Tyranny they tasted of was under Nero in the 14. year of his Reign did S. Lib. 3. cap. 25. Vid. Euseb Hist Ecclesias L. 3. c. 18. John write this Book in the Island Pathmos And Irenaeus a Father in the Church far more ancient than St. Jerome affirms as much that it was not then long since St. John wrote his Revelation Sed pene sub nostro saeculo sayes he almost about our time toward the end of Domitians Reign so that An. Dom. 96. it was written after all both Gospels and Epistles of the New Testament for he outliv'd all the Apostles even to the third year of Traian the 14th Roman Emperor sayes Sophronius and that was 102 after the birth of Christ and the 68. from his passion by St. Jerom's computation and 25 years after the Destruction of Jerusalem Therefore 't is plac'd last because written last not because least in Dignity and Divine Authority no 't is truth which Beza speaks of it in his Preface to it that the Holy Ghost did set down in this precious Book whatsoever Predictions of the former Prophets did remain to be fulfill'd after Christs comming and therefore Ocolampadius in his Preface to Daniel's Prophecy calls this Book the best Paraphrase upon all the other Prophets The Argument of this whole Book is Argum. Libri principally Propheticall though there be Doctrinal Exhortative and Instructive passages sprinkled here and there among the Prophecies but Propheticall for the most part it is whence St. John in the beginning calls it the words of this Prophecy a Prophecy of things that should come to passe even from the time that he wrote to the end of the world of some Occurrents that should befall the Church of God then presently in St. John's time and of other Trials that the Church should indure continually through the whole course of her warfare here on earth first from the Roman Tyrants afterward from divers Hereticks and lastly from Antichrist himselfe of their several oppositions and insultings against her wherewith they should grievously vex her seeming in a manner to be forsaken of Christ her Head and almost utterly oppresse her But withall of those sweet consolations which the Elect of God should have under their crosse and that those Tempests of Afflictions which they underwent were not carnal blown upon them with every winde or meerly from the rage and malice of their Enemies but that God that Winde Joh. 3.8 that Spirit which bloweth where it will had the chiefe hand in them and that by his providence things were so ordered for the exercise of the faithfull and that they should not alwayes continue no

that it is not laid to their charge to condemn them No no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus Rom. 8.1 But yet the seeds of that concupiscence which does deprave our whole nature are not so done away but that we have still need to crucifie the Old man within us all the dayes of our life Mendaces sumus saies S. John 't is a bold lie to say we have no sin in us 1 John 1.8 Take heed of this Plea if we once plead it Vide Cassiani Collationem 22. c. 13. we shall set God on pleading too I will plead with thee saies God because thou sayest I have not sinned Jer. 2.35 Innocent we may be as Job was who maugre the Divels malice yet held fast his innocency Job 2.3 Such innocency we may attain to as David wash'd his hands in when he went up to the Altar of God Psal 26. we may and must strive to be like Zachary and Elizabeth his wife righteous before God i. e. without hypocrisie walking in the Commandments of God But that walking is an argument that we are not yet come to the mark I In all the Commandments and Ordinances of God without reproofe Luke 1.6 but how without reproofe S. Austin does interpret it to Innocentius sine querela non sine peccato not without sin but without grievance quarrel just complaint or exception to be made against them he does often distinguish betwixt peccatum and querela the one sin in general which no man is freed from for 't is an absolute Sentence and needeth no exposition Gal. 3.22 God hath concluded all under sin the other some great offence as David calleth it some malicious wickednesse some hainous notorious scandalous sin culpable in the eys of men and worthy of censure and crimination An Innocency we may and must aim at for the model and capacity of this life for the state of Passengers and Wayfaring men but to magnifie the arm of flesh and the nature of man more than reason admits as the Pelagians of our Time do and by a sophistical and deceitfull conclusion to seek to obscure the Truth and to over-reach the World in this point that because they finde in the Scripture often mention of the Innocency Justice Righteousnesse Perfection of the Children of God dissembling or not rightly weighing the drift of the place they should infer hereupon that a man may in this life attain to such a Saint-like Innocency as to be clear from all sin is a conceit which savours not of that Humility commended in these Children And therefore Humilitas if we mark it our Savour Christ where he expounds himself c. 18. insists more upon that other child-like quality and commends it unto us for the best way to Christ and to Heaven Humility Not whosoever shall be without sin as this little childe but Whosoever shall humble himselfe as this little Childe Vers 4. the same is greatest in the Kingdome of Heaven Now Humility may be and ought most to be in him who is subject to sin and 't is the want of it onely that puts that same Non sum sicut caeteri in the mouth of our Pharisee 'T was to the sinfull but humble Publican Luke 18. that Christ applies this very speech to in effect Matt. 18. not he that is without sin but he that humbleth himselfe shall be exalted there in S. Luke exalted indeed for he shall be the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven here in S. Matthew Of this in few words and I 'le tire your patience no longer Of such is the Kingdom of Heaven Of such little ones of such humble ones see the Pattern first and the humility that is in them What childe though never so Nobly born though the Son of a Prince takes advantage from the greatnesse of his birth to lessen his Humility Who ever saw spark of pride in Swathing-clouts or the least shew of disdain for any usage though he were laid in a Crib in a Manger as the best Childe was The Heir of the House as long as he is a Childe S. Paul tels us differs nothing from a Servant though he be Lord of all Gal. 4.1 The Heir of the Kingdom took upon him the form of a Servant Phil. 2.7 I as he would come to us by the name of a Childe Ecce Parvulus natus so he propounds himself the Pattern of nothing so expresly as of this vertue Discite ex me Matth. 11. Learn of me what I am meek and lowly in heart v. 29. Learn of him that and then we may learn any thing all that this Book of his can teach us we shall be nourish'd and grow strong by the sweetnesse in it if we come to it as S. Peter bids us and as new born Babes desire the sincere milk of the Word that we may grow thereby 1 Pet. 2.2 We see the Pattern consider what need there is that we imitate it that as our children are so so Gods Children must be so We must know therefore that the way to Heaven is directly contrary to the way of this world that as Seneca bids his Wise man go against the Croud march the contrary way to the multitude so in things appertaining to salvation we must omnino diversa via incedere sayes one For they proceed in such a course as in the eyes of worldly men seems most unlikely here If any seems to be wise let him become a fool that he may be wise 1 Cor. 3.18 Here He that findeth his life shall lose it and he that loseth his life for my sake shall finde it Matth. 10.39 Here Whosoever will be great let him be your Minister and whosoever will be chief let him be your servant Matth. 20.26 Here he that became obedient to death even the death of the Crosse God highly exalted him and gave him a Name above every Name Phil. 2.9 and even therefore saies S. Paul and here Whosoever shall humble himself as this little Childe the same is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven Matth. 18.4 so truly said the Lord by the Prophet Isaias My thoughts are not your thoughts neither are your wayes my wayes 55.8 From this consideration the devoutest Fathers of the Church of Christ have trod this uncouth path and because it is so hard to light on have chalk'd it out to us S. Gregory Ep. 39. Humiliemur in mente si ad solidam conamur pervenire celsitudinem Let 's be lowly in minde if we think of rising to the true height S. Austin Serm. 10. De Verbis Domini Magnus esse vis à minimo incipe Wilt thou be great begin to be so at being little No safe erecting a stately structure for magnificence without first digging deep to lay the foundation in Humility that thou mayest be great in Gods eyes sayes he in another place Serm. 11. De Temp. be small in thine own eyes just so said Samuel to Saul When thou wast little in thine own