to be witnesses but we have many nearer home Begin with Knox and Buchanan who transplanted that Weed into their own unhappy Country And be pleased with an indifferent eye to look upon the Sequele ever since You shall see a Noble Queen deprived and banished by her own Subjects A Child crowned to dethrone the Mother A King persecuted hee 'l tell you so from his very Cradle And unless he could have made his part the better must have gone the way his Mother did The next in order is our First Charles whom Prodiderunt Abnegarunt Trucidarunt hunted him as a Partridge on the Mountains And at length by Traytors put to a Traytors death Tantum Religio potest suadere malorum And these are the Fruits of this pure refined Religion To which Kings must bow their Scepters A Religion which takes away the Kings Negative Voice And he must know he hath a Kirk above him which can both Excommunicate and dethrone him too There 's the Deed next see the Doers Vos fecistis You that first courted the Country to send up Factious Puritan Burgesses You that called in the Scot You that made the Apprentices come and welcome You that drave so many worthy Gentlemen from the House You that cryed down Bishops That took up Arms That contributed Weapons and Money You that fought against your Soveraign You that countenanced so many scurrilous and hellish Libels You that sold your King And you that cryed for Justice And who these are you know Prodiderunt Abnegarunt Trucidarunt Some body is loath to be thus far guilty they never intended thus far Nay they do acquit themselves The Independents are the only men cut off that Sacred Head But you have heard St. Augustines verdict of the Jewes An non interficiebant quem interficiendum offerebant They killed him who delivered him up to Pilate Or if St. Augustines Authority sway not St Peters must You killed him saith he as well as your Rulers And these are they who build their Piety on the ruins of Loyalty and hew out their Reformation by the Sword and would now make the Churches write after them in bloody Characters You know whose words these are And now how willingly would I go along with St. Peter and say to my bewitched Country-men what he did to his And now I know that through Ignorance ye did it I assure me There are thousands like those in Absoloms Rebellion who went in simplicity not knowing any thing Such Ignorance deserves both pity and pardon But what shall we say to those Princes the Rulers and Ringleaders in those grand Rebellions There are certain Ingenita Principia as they call them As twice two makes four Ab aequalibus aequalia si demas c. things undeniable by the Light of Nature And such are these God is to be worshipped The King is to be honoured Thou shalt not kill Suum Cuique Do as you would be done unto To go against these is to sin against Conscience Nature and the very Dictates of Reason And yet even here should we breath with the Spirit of Meekness And I would willingly say That even these men what they did They did through Ignorance Ignorance I say if not of the Premisses yet of the sad Conclusions And therefore wish I that they may repent and be converted that their sins might be blotted out when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. That they may Repent I say and that speedily or let them know that God is not mocked but he will surely wound the heads of such his Enemies and the hairy scalps of such as go on still in their wickedness A SERMON Preached before His MAJESTY King CHARLES the II. In the ISLE of JERSEY PSAL. XXXVII 37. Mark the perfect man and behold the upright For the end of that man is peace WE are all Pilgrims and Travellers and that not only Coram Deo Psal 39.12 in regard of God but Coram Mundo too The World sees it And we may well say with Jacob Few and evil have the dayes of the years of our life been We have no setled nor abiding place But with those Heb. 11.14 Patriam quaerimus We are the more the pity Seekers Not with these Upstarts of Religion I hope we shall preserve that Jewel intire But we are Travellers and seek a Country A lost and long'd for Country In the mean time let us do as Travellers use to do Qui si tardius fortè surrexerint cursu corrigunt tarditatem If they have overslept themselves they go the faster to recover what was lost before If we have let slip many a fair opportunity of honouring God of bettering our selves Arise arise Let us make haste to redeem the time for the dayes are evil A good Use There is yet another Travellers observe the Castles Forts Shipping the Manners of the Men the Commodities of the Country and their Laws their Liberties and suck like Nay he were not worthy as some think the Name of a Traveller that could not tell you of Hunniades-Zisca a Tamberlain or a Castriot Goliah or an Evans shall be looked upon for his Stature A Pigmy or Geffry for his Dwarfishness And the Italian when he came home could report much of the French-Court the Dames in one place the Wives in another yea the very Funambuli were not forgotten But as for poor Bernard and his poor Abby of Clare vall 't was not worth the while to stop there This were too much beneath his proud thoughts Thus did the greatest Traveller in the world over-leap Job till God did wrest out mention of him much against his will Hast thou not considered my Servant Job A perfect and a just man But the Devil cares not for such an one He is not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not worth the writing down in his Table-book And this is the fashion of the World Mos Mundi sed non Coeli David gives you another Lesson Observa integrum considera rectum Mark the perfect man and behold the upright If you meet with such an One in your Travels pause a while he is worth the notice and therefore mark observe have such an one in estimation Be his Person never so contemptible and his Condition never so poor his Enemies mighty his Miserie 's many yet Finis hujus hominis pax His best is to come The end of that man is peace I did instance in Job I cannot in a better He was perfect and upright The middle part of his life troublesome and tragical A man of Sorrows But finis hujus hominis pax His end was peace Thrice in two Chapters he is said to be perfect and upright And yet this perfect and upright man suffers Afflictions No man more no man like In his Family in his Goods in his Body Wife Friends All serve to increase the heap of his Calamities But Novissima ejus pax The end of that man was peace Examples sway much Nay
Blessed be God we need not say so we amount to thousands and as Tertullian said of the Christians in his days Singuli magis noti quam omnes Could we take a view there thousands might amount to millions such as whatever their knees have done their hearts never bowed to God-Parliament But what are these to many millions So many so suddenly fallen off from Religion Loyalty Friends Faith and all that good is But the Devil is a cunning Fisher and hath baited his Hooks thorowly with the fat Lumps of Bishopricks and Cathedrals and least that should he too little for the Maws of those Cormorants there 's more bait Forrest-lands Ships Offices and I know not what And now have they verified that old Proverb No Bishop no King But God bless them both I hope he will suffer no man long to do them wrong There is one thing yet remains and that 's the Place whither our Pilgrims went But I remember that saying Vivorum difficilis censura 't is dangerous to censure living men much more whole Countreys specially where the Censor is nec beneficiis nec maleficiis cognitus But something doth misg ve where the sweet Innocent Dove finds no rest fo the sole of his foot I hope he shall ere long and an Olive-branch too But you Worthâ—es and the rest of my dear Country-men In Joshuah's dayes one Aâ—hâ—â— was the overthrow of an Army The Theft of Achan Afterward in Jeroboam's dayes the Son of Joash one Jonah w thout a special Providence had been the total ruin f a Ship and all the Passengers The Disobedience of Jonah In Christ's dayes one Judas dissolved the best Society that ever trod upon the Earth The Treason of Judas Is there no Achan Jonah Judas amongst us God grant it You have gone from one Nation to another from one Kingdom to another People and are you all sound at the heart none tainted with the Vices of those Countries you come from Let no Amasiah bite the lipp and tell me this is Bethel I know it well But where was God more dishonoured then at Bethel which became Bethaven And who hath more betrayed a glorious Cause for King Country and Religion then some which were the sometimes Grandees of the Court and the pretended Servants to the same And who hath more disgraced dishonoured blasphemed the Name of Christ and his Religion then those that do profess themselves the Reformers and Refiners of Christianity You know the Macedonians in Babylonia Carthaginians at Capua and the French at Naples what they found and what they learnt and what the end of it was If any one be tainted yet there is a Salve for that soar there is a Noli amplius O sin no more least a worse thing happen Give Glory to God with Achan Cry tollite me with Jonah Or if that be hard then say with David Tolle or Dele blot out my unrighteousness till thou find none I conclude with the words of St. Paul Rom. 10. My hearts dâ—sire and prayer to God is that they may be saved And that as Israel you may have power and prevail with God and Man Be of one heart and of one mind Pour out your souls in prayer for all men for Kings for our King O Lord deliver him not over unto the will of his enemies and let not those who câ—â—selesly and maliciously persecute him let them not longer triumph over him Cloth them all with shame but upon himself let the Crown flourish May we live to see the day when we shall sing with Moses Surge Domine Rise up Lord and let thine Enemies be scattered Nay Return O Lord return to the ten thousands of Israel Numb 10. ult With David I began with David I must end Arise Lord into thy resting place thou and the Ark of thy strength Let him find a resting place Let his golden Pot of Manna be all glorious without and gracious within Let Aaron's Rod bud blossom and yield Almonds Let the Tables of the Covenant be preserved entire in despight of all cursed Covenanters And let him who is utriusque Tabulae Custos find favour in the eyes both of God and Man Amen A SERMON UPON 2 KINGS IV. 1 2. Now there cryed a certain woman of the wives of the Sons of the Prophets unto Elisha saying Thy servant mine husband is dead And thou knowest that thy servant did fear the Lord And the Creditor is come to take unto him my two Sons to be Bond-men And Elisha said unto her what shall I do for thee tell me What hast thou in thy House And she said Thine Hand-maid hath not any thing in the house save a pot of Oyl DEATH Sorrow Penury and Fears begin the Text Compassion Deliverance and Plenty end it Here 's a Story fraught with much variety Many are the Miseries and yet a Salve for every Sore After Poverty comes Plenty unexpected Mercy follows cut-throat Cruelty Fear and Danger find Deliverance You have here the brief Relation of a Man and his Wife of a Widow and her Children of a Creditor and his Debtor Of a Prophet and his Client or Petitioner The Woman acts the greatest part in whom you may observe three things Her Distress Her Address Her Redress 1. What she suffered 2. To whom she applyed her self 3. What the Issue was Her Distress is fully shewed in three respects 1. In the loss of a good Husband 2. Ecce Creditor she is like to loose her Children after 3. Her poverty and inability to relieve her self or them We shall begin with the Husband He is said to be Filius Prophetarum and a good man and therefore the loss the greater Where by the way those Prophets were not only such as did foretell things to come and are often called Seers in Scripture but also such as did interpret and expound the Law teach and instruct the People and pray for the Congregations Now Filii Prophetarum were such as were bred up in Learning and fitted to succeed the Prophets either at Jerusalem in the Temple or in the lesser Synagogues abroad in the Country And we shall note in them three things Cohabitation Subordination Preparation First their Cohabitation in the Schools and Nurseries of Learning Secondly their Subordination and rising by degrees Whence the younger are called Filii Prophetarum Thirdly their Preparation and fitting them to the work they were to be imployed in not leaping into the Ministry but acquiring some competent knowledge and measure of Learning before they presumed to offer themselves abroad unto the World First For their Cohabitation in certain Schools and Nurseries of Learning read but 2 Kings 2.3 at Bethel vers 5. at Jericho 2 Kings 4.38 at Gilgal Unto which add 2 Kings 6.1 Acts 22.3 Secondly For their Subordination and Degrees You have Aaron and his Sons Priests and Levites Principes Levitarum Principes Principâ—â—â— Numb 3.32 In the New Testament we have our Saviour the High-Priest twelve Apostles seventy Disciples Luke
10.1 After his Death Apostles Bishops Deacons After the Apostles dayes Bishops Priests Deacons I too well know Hesterni Illi as Tertullian called Praxeas Some later Writers have had their new-found and different thoughts touching those Church-Degrees and Hierarchy But the Consentient Judgment of Antiquity and universal continued practise of the Church shall ever be reputed by me The best Interpreter of Scripture The third thing is their Preparation The two first make good the last And we must be Discentes antequam Docentes as Bernard said Learners before we can be Teachers They tell us greater Gifts were reserved for these times and those dayes of Ignorance are past Amen say I. But what if our Gifts be less and our Presumption more They tell us of Jeremy and Daniel both Children of Amos an Herd-man of Elisha this Elisha taken from the Plough But sure Jeremy was Propheta Natus Jer. 1.5 yet was afraid to undertake the Calling till he had a command and a promise and a touch too v. 9. Daniel was bred up a Scholar Dan. 1.4 and at v. 17. God gave him knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdome And Amos had his special call from God Amos 7.15 c. I have read indeed of Learning gotten without Learning Archippus Ingenio pro Libris utebatur Anthony had the Heavens for his School-master Nepotianus his memory alone made him learned so that from a Souldier he became a Priest Johannes Trajectensis Episcopus à Plaustro ad Pulpita ascendit Divinitùs edoctus Nay I have read of one Qui omnium Linguarum notitiam ex morbo adeptus est An happy Sickness What shall I say of these but that Spiritus ubi vult spirat John 3.8 The Creator of Spirits can inspire how and when and whom he please And these and the like Examples are not for Imitation but Admiration Solomon hath a good Rule Prov. 24.27 Prepare thy Materials and then build thine house First get Learning and then expect a Call 'T is St. Paul's Rule too 1 Tim. 4.13 Attende Lectioni and v. 15. Give thy self wholly to it v. 16. persist continue But beware of those Clouds without Rain that boast themselves of their false Gifts Prov. 25.14 Who instead of dividing the Word aright 2 Tim. 2.15 do slice and chop it out without Rules Method Matter any thing full of Battologies Tautologies vain Repetitions tumbling out Non-sense with incredible Confidence The second observable thing This Filius Prophetarum was Vxoratus a married Man We meet with three sorts of men The first are Enemies to Women The second to Marriages The third to Priests marriages As for Women-haters in general I could willingly let them pass by as unworthy to be thought upon but that some of them think it their greatest praise when they can wittily dispraise that Sex I can think them no better then Cowards that are sure to strike when they cannot be stricken again Doubtless there 's many a Jezebel Herodias Messalina and those Jones of Naples There are many such as Bernard stigmatizeth Mulier secularis Organum Satanae But 't is Secularis then 't is a bad woman must be so bad an Instrument Tertullian cryes out Tu es Diaboli Janua Tu es c. But I see no reason why one Eve should make us angry with the whole Sex more then one Adam who did personate and represent Mankind and by his Transgression conveyed sin to all his Posterity And though the Apostle some where layes the blame on Eve for the priority in the Transgression Adam was not deceived but the Woman 1 Tim. 2.14 Yet for Natures Gangreen and Sins Transmission the same Apostle sends us all to Adam Omnes in Adamo 1 Cor. 15.22 All died in Adam I might hear bring in Cyril speaking but untowardly of Women but he elsewhere gives them their Right again And the like doth Hieronimus Tertullian after so many shrewd speeches yet he allows them a place in Heaven though not as Women for he thinks they must change their Sex into that of men Idem Sexus qui est viris The Turk in his Alcoran shuts all women out of Heaven But let him go for a Turk Some may think better of him who gave the Gods thanks that he was not born a woman But I am sure he had never been born without one We must pass from Women-haters to Wedlock-haters Such as like the Sex but not the Knot They can love a Woman but not a Wife There are perchance too many Libertines of this Opinion in these dayes of old the Adamites and Albanenses of late the David-Georgians taught Matrimony to be evil in it self The Tatians nil differre à Scortatione Durand de Waldach Matrimonium nil aliud esse quam occultum Meretricium O Enemies of Mankind O Doctrine of Devils Foretold condemned by St. Paul 1 Tim. 4.3 Matrimony instituted in the time of Innocency and honoured by our Saviours presence in the Gospel 2 John Well if not all Marriages yet Priests-Marriages are cryed down hewed down by a stronger hand Indeed they be but yet with greater strength justice reasons powerfully maintained I shall but touch this string 'T is a common question between us and the Papists 'T is sufficient that amongst the Patriarchs Prophets Apostles and ancient Bishops and Fathers of the Church we still find married men who lived more chastly with their Wives without Concubines then these now with their Concubines without Wives But above all we have the Apostles warrant for it Marriage is honourable in all Heb. 13.4 And the Son of the Prophet here was a married man The third Observation He was a good man He did fear the Lord. Yea will some body say So did the Devils also Ja. 2.19 Nay not so 'T is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 there they do more than fear they tremble and alwayes tremble A word taken from the waves of the Sea that are never at rest No Lucida intervalla no hope no intermission Non est pax impiis Less Diabolo The usual distinction of Fear is into Filial and Servile Fear Fear to offend and Fear to suffer But Devils fear Timore Desperationis And good men fear Timore Venerationis So is Fear taken in this place for the Worship of God Veneration and Piety Moses will tell you that to fear God is To keep his Commandements Deut. 6.2 The Psalmist will tell you He that fears the Lord doth delight in his Commandements Psal 112.1 Solomon He that fears the Lord will depart from evil Prov. 3.7 and Chap. 14.2 He that walketh in Vprightness feareth the Lord. St. Paul sums it up in three words Titus 2.12 Sobrie juste pie Those three duties concern God our Neighbour and our Selves Piety is for God Justice for our Neigbours and Sobriety for our own selves And these make a man good indeed These are like Solomons three-twisted cords not quickly broken Eccl. 4.12 Religion consists not in Lip-labour nor in hanging down the heâ—d or
unappalled deaths did strengthen some and raise up others and draw thousands from the very sink of Atheism and Infidelity to know and acknowledge their most gracious Redeemer And therefore remember from whence thou art fallen thou couldst never leave a better Example to others Fourthly and last of all We can never bring greater comfort to our Friends The Heathen when his Child was dead comforted himself with that inexorable unavoidâ—ble law of Mortality scio me genuisse mortalem but what unspeakable comfort would it be to say I know I have begot one who is now a Saint in Heaven 3. Convers of England part 3. Chrysolog serm 134 c. This made those three Mothers Felicitas Simphorosa and that other in the Maccabees to encourage each of them their seven Children in their torments and the comfort they received in their Childrens Constancy was much more than the pains they endured through the Tyrants fury This made the Mother of Simphorianus run after him when he went to hâ—â— Martyrdom still crying out Son Son be mindful of everlasting life Histor. Eccl. lib. 4. c 16. look up to Heaven c. And this made that Woman in Theodoret renowned for her care as well as constancy When Valens the Emperour had threatned death to all un-Arrianized Christians at Edessa and Modestus the Governour with his Souldiers stood ready in the Market-place to execute the Decree a Woman leading her little Child by the arm broke through the press and laboured to get in among her fellows The Governour demanded her whither she went she tells him She would drink of the same Cup the rest did And being further demanded what her Child made there and why she had brought it Her answer was That he also might die that blessed death Indeed great was the joy of the whole Church Erasmus vâ—rginum Martyr Comparat Cyprianus de lapsis tom 2. Vbi Martyr constanter exhalasset animam pro Christo Great was their joy if any died couragiously and great their sorrow their grief if any fainted cowardly wretchedly wickedly Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen Thou couldst bring no greater comfort to thy Friends Tertullian writing to the imprisoned Christians whom he calls Martyrs Cap. 4. exhorts them to endure constantly by the Example of Lucretia Mutius Empedocles and such others who suffered much to little purpose onely to get a terrene fading faine among men Tanti vitrum Ibid. quanti verum margaritum If they did so much for glass what should we do for gold If honour were bought at so dear a rate why should we grudge upon the same terms to get Heaven Cygneorum Carm lib. pag. 1051. a. Nazianzene s mâ—where tells us that the Heathen were onely valiant when the danger could not be shunned it was much if it were so But what bad Scaevola burn his right hand for missing in the murther of Porsenna Cic orat de Provinc Consul or if he stood in danger what is that to Lucretia or to those Noble Virgins who threw themselves headlong into Wells to save their Virginity Who made Brutus and Torquatus kill their Sons Who compelled Regulus to return ad crudelissimum hostem Cic. 3. officiorum ad exquisita supplicia to those mercisess Enemies to that strange death of his at Carthage And what made the Stoicks so prodigal of their lives B King on Joâ—as Lect. 27. that they little regarded the very extremity of Tortures and when they were upon the Rack they would cry out O quà m suave as if it were sport Surely nothing but a thing of nothing Honour and a Name amongst men while the noble Martyr shall have the acclamation of the Angels and an Euge of his Saviour Heaven is his 2 Sam. 12.8 and as Nathan told David if that be too little he shall have more his Name shall never perish from the Earth As Cicero said of Metellus Pro domo sua ad pontifices Calamity hath made them immortal even here also Their Prisons were visited as places made holy by the Inhabitants Men Women young old did kiss the Chains in which they had been fettered preserve the swords for Relicks by which any had been deprived of their life their Ashes sacred their memories blessed their Anniversaries kept the day of their Death being their Natalitiae the first of time in which they began truly to live And what could be wanting where Miracles were plentiful God even at those very places where the Martyrs lay witnessing their blessed state by many Miracles but I forbear As St. Ambrose said of one of them De virginibus lib. 1. Appellabo Martyrem praedicavi satis The Name of a Martyr is a whole world of Commendations Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen and repent and do thy first works But this is not all here is a Quo vadis here is a whither we fall as well as whence we fall and a Terminus ad quem As God said by Jeremy Cap. 2. v. 13. The people have committed two Evils They have forsaken me the fountain of living waters and have digged them pits even broken pits that can hold no water and as elsewhere They have forsaken me 1 Sam. 8.8 and worshipped other gods no Gods They have gone from Christ to Antichrist from God to Mahomet that same inimicus home that hath done so much mischief to Gods Vineyard Wherefore as Pilate sometime said of him in whom he confessed John 19. that he could find no fault at all Ecce homo I shall say to you of this cursed Caitiff and scourge of Christendom in whom I can find nothing but faults and those monstrous ones Ecce homo Prateolus en Rinoldo Haeres lib. 2. in Bayras Polidor Virgil. de invent lib. 7. cap. 8. take a view of him And though I cannot affirm whether he were genere admodum vilis as some or nobili genere natus as others Whether he were descended of Noble or obscure Ancestors nor whether his Parents were Jewish or Pagan or both or neither nor whether he were an Arabian or a Persian or neither nor whether he was buried at Mecha or Medina or at neither but devoured of Doggs the hellish history of his Life and Death being as obscure as Hell Purchas lib cap 3. In Verrem 3. yet all accord that he was what Tully said of one Immensa aliqua vorago aut gurges vitiorum turpituâ—inumque omnium the very puddle and sink of sin and wickedness A Thief a Murtherer an Adulterer and a Wittal And from such a dissolute life proceeded those licentious Laws of his That his followers may avenge themselves as much as they list Ph. Morney de veritate Christian. relig c. 33. That he that kills most Infidels shall have the best room in Paradise and he that fighteth not lustily shall be damned in Hell That they may take as many Wives as they be able
can do no worse by us than did that Lion by the man of God 1 Kings 13. kill the body and gaze upon the Carcass But Animae non habet quod faciat as Bernard said the best part of us is without the reach of the Lion and Dragon too You know that story of Anaxarchus when the Cyprian Tyrant caused him to be pounded with brazen Pestles in a Mortar Tunde saith he Tunde sacculum Anaxarchi Pound pound the bag the Case of Anaxarchus himself you cannot hurt They may have that power upon us as the Devil had upon Job we may suffer in Children Goods Body There 's one part of us they cannot hurt Keep we our Conscience sound and God will preserve our soul intire In the mean time their day is coming when they must hence and shall be no more Yea happy they if they might be no more indeed if soul and body might perish everlastingly But they must know a Day of Retribution is at hand when God shall render unto every man according to his works Return they shall but not to life Not to those Monuments of Bloud Avarice and Ambition which by their Cut-throat cruelty they shall leave behind Those places from which they must shall see them no more Psal 103. What say we then to Apparitions To the raising up of Samuel at the instance of Saul c. 2 Kings 4. A Child 2 Kings 13. A man restored to life again A thing frequent in the New Testament and afterward One in the Bed another in the Bier Lazarus from out his Tomb And after the Passion of our Saviour the Graves were opened and many Bodies of Saints which slept arose and came out of the Graves after his Resurrection and went into the holy City and appeared unto many Matth. 27.52.53 Some body tells us of one Curma sent b ck again from the Judgment-Barr because Death or the Angel of Death had mistaken him for another of the same Name And a Jesuite tell us of one who a good whâ—le dead and buried by prayers and permission came back again enjoyed his wife and kept his former habitation To these two last my Answer is No Scripture no Belief I may call these mens return from Hell or wheresoever 't was a Fable more safely than doth Beza call the Descent of our Saviour thither Fabulam Fabulam a Fable and againe saith he a Fable I do not bely St. Beza you shall find it in his greater Notes upon the Twenty seventh Chapter of St. Matthew Verse 53. As for those frequent Apparitions there may be such Sed non ego credulus illis But these are most while pretended for the Soul alone Though I deny not some such power to the Devil as to put on what shape he please For he that can transform himself into an Angel of Light 2 Cor. 11 14. may easily make or take some body at his pleasure Though most times I conceive such things to be Illusions And some such thing was that of Samuel God forbid we should once imagine any such skill or prevalency in Witches or their great Master either by whom they work that they should have any power upon the Souls of the Godly that are departed out of this Life No no The Scriptures tell us They are in the hand of God and no evil can touch them As for those others restored to life by Elisha in the Old or our Saviour in the New Testament Quod lego credo And God forbid any man should stagger at such plain Evidences Christ hath the Keys of Hell and Death Rev. 1.18 And he can open and shut at his pleasure But this takes not off that General Rule Hebr. 9.27 It 's appointed unto men once to dye where 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 must be understood 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 once and once for all One Death one Judgment for all men Yet Enoch and Elias were excepted as also these others in the Gospel A few Priviledges or Exceptions break not the General Law But what is this to David and to us We must go hence and shall be no more No second Return And therefore as our Saviour said we must agree with our adversary quickly and while we are in the way We have Adversaries enough and too many God knows and some of them will not agree with us But do we our best for Reconcilement especially at such a time as this and such Adversaries as by our doing injuries we have made such There are some Adversaries we may not agree withal No casting in our Lots amongst the Wicked no shaking hands with those whose Religion is Rebellion And therefore no peace with such unless we will be at Enmity with God and there were an Adversary indeed 'T is good agreeing with him and that quickly too no delay and while we are in the way For once gone and no returning back again Si Deus nobiscum If we can get him our Friend no matter if all the World be our Enemies O Lord do thou pardon and forgive Do thou return and refresh us O Lord spare us that we may recover our strength before we go hence and be no more Deo Patri c. A SERMON Preached before His MAJESTY King CHARLES the II. In the ISLE of JERSEY 2 TIM IV. 10. Demas hath forsaken me I Shall rather be perswaded esse Lunares Homines quà m Joculares Daemones To be for Signs and Seasons Gen. 1. doth not exclude those capacious Bodies from other purposes And I know what Heraclides Cardan and others have said touching those 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Creatures of a middle condition between Men and Angels As also what Hermes Apollonius and Plotinus have said for the Genii These may be the fancies of men But sure wherever Cornelius à Lapide found his Merry Devils I am confident he could never find any well-affected to Mankind The malicious and wrathful Dragon is ever at war with the seed of the Woman and that same Ponam inimicitias is almost as old as Adam If once the Woman the Church or any Child of hers do parere masculum any vertuous and masculine work that old Serpent is ready with his floud of poyson to destroy both Root and Branch His first attempt is to stifle it in the birth if he fail there then by allurements to make it Deviare in its calling and subjection If he prevail not here then una eurúsque notúsque ruunt Earth Water and all must conspire its utter ruin and destruction Take for this St. Pauls example and where should a man find a better First he is armed with Authority and Commission against the Church A shrewd Temptation which once over-blown and the sometime Persecutor become a Preacher Next there 's a plot to kill him in Damascus at Lystra he is lapidatus scourged and imprisoned at Philippi His death sworn at Hierusalem suffers shipwrack at Malta at length post varios casus he comes to Rome lives in an hired house
and hath his Friends about him Afterwards he comes to his Answer and now is the time to know his Friends In prima mea defensione nemo mihi adfuit every one fled to corners and shifted for their own safety Only Luke is with me and therefore have a care to come to me speedily For Demas hath forsaken me Simplex miseria non sufficit One Calamity follows close upon another Squama squamae fluctus fluctui The wages of well-doing is Injury And all that will live godly shall suffer persecution But 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 what must Brutus make one amongst the rest to stab his Caesar Thou my familiar Friend and Companion saith David Psal 55. What none but Judas the oeconomus Christi none but the Purse-bearer to betray his Master And will Demas shew his heels fly and forsake that heavenly Mercury and Truths Trumpetor who took him taught him and instructed him the way to Heaven This Demas did and did it in the worst of times a time of need When his Friend was in misery and a little Comfort might have been worth a World to persecuted and distressed Paul Yet Dominus mihi adfuit saith the Martyr when all the World forsook him God did not But corroboravit me 'T is a Meditation for men in distress Aderit Dominus corroborabit But my undertaken Task calls me back to Demas Demas hath forsaken me Thus take the words and it a Complaint Take in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 't is a Reason Have a care to come quickly unto me for Demas hath forsaken me And thus you have three things First The best men are driven to their Streights Secondly the ungodly fly and forsake their best Friends in their greatest need Thirdly the Godly must and will assist one another Take it as a Complaint and so 't is too and you have three things also First the Inconstancy of Friends Secondly the bewitching Pleasures of the World Thirdly the Miseries of Persecution But with Demas must we begin He parts first and he parts from Rome from Paul from God First from Rome nay that may be well done Exeat Aula Qui vult esse pius No man could deem it a fault to fly from Nero's Court. And this is that so much commends Moses That he forsook the pleasure of sin Pharaoh's Court and chose rather to suffer Affliction with the Children of God But secondly Demas forsakes Paul too And that might be excuseable in some Case also For Barnabas and Paul exacerbati not without some bitterness depart one from another Or last of all He might secedere ad tempus leave St. Paul for a time and upon better thoughts return again as did Onesimus to his Master Philemon And Beza is of that Opinion Videtur ille postea resipiscens ad Paulum revertisse But his Opinion stands upon two but too weak Grounds The first that Timothy was never at Rome but once which were much for such Friends and in so long a time The second Probabile est That the Epistle to Philemon was written after this Second Epistle to Timothy All is but videtur and probabile and under correction I shall say Videtur quod non For first for Pauls going from Barnabas as also of Onesimus from Philemon 't was but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a parting or separation Here is a plain Dereliction And secondly read but this Chapter and you shall see 't was written very little before his Death Ego jam libor vers 6. I am ready to be offered up and the time of my Dissolution is at hand But in the Epistle to Philemon Para mihi hospitium vers 22. He was in hope to scape and come amongst them And so 't is here spoken of Demas his Dereliction when Paul was ready to suffer but no where is mention of Demas's Return And therefore I add in the third place That he forsook God too Rome Paul and God too For in this verse three things are witnessed against him First Demas hath forsaken me Secondly hath embraced the present World Thirdly He is gone to Thessalonica He had made merchandize of his Soul before and is now gone about his other Merchandize or he goes far enough from Rome lest some good Friend or other should labour to reclaim him And now because order carries some help to memory though in the weakest Endeavours Out of all this Chaos I shall select some few Particulars to be insisted on in this order First You shall see an Inconstant Friend Secondly A Faithless Steward or Minister Thirdly The Motives which induce him to forsake his Friend his Office his God Demas hath forsaken me Demas my supposed Friend For a prosessed one till now he did appear But what saith Beâ—-Sâ—iâ—ach A Friend cannot be known in Prosperity When Paul had entertainment as an Angel from Heaven multitudes weeping for his departure Men Women and Children accompanying him to the Ship The Galatians ready to pull out their eyes to do Paul good The Priest of Jupiter bringing out 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Bulls in their Garlands ready for Sacrifice to do him honour When a word from his mouth or a Napkin from his hand could cure the sick and revive the dead when a Lycaonian cry was heard Gods are come down among us 't was a brave World and who would not strive to make one in such a gallant glorious Company But the Case is altered now with Paul His power is it seems eclipsed He that could cure others cannot now free himself Sistitur ad Tribunal Caesaris and he must answer for his new Profession He shall find his Sect every where spoken against That Si Tibris ascendit in Moenia si Nilus non descendit in Arva Si Fames si Lues Statim Christianus ad Leones No Calamity in East or West but 't was all imputed to their toleration of this new Religion And therefore no favour is to be expected now for Paul or Pauls Profession No wonder then if Demas hath given the slip and left this miserable Prisoner to shift for himself Friendship is like Corn in stony ground ten to one if it gather root Friends for the most part are like Swallows they love our Houses all the Summer time and seem a part of our Family But when once Winter comes farewell Swallows These are the Rats and Mice who love to repose them and take up their rest in the fattest Barns and best inhabited Mansions But if the Edifice begin to totter and the Buildings shake farewel Rats And this is that made Solomon say Prov. 17. A Friend loveth at all times and a Brother is born for adversity Then were the Nunc or Nunquam to do good But then indeed the Vizard is plucked off from most mens faces and false friendship shews it self in its own Colours And that you see by Demas who will be sure to look to the time and provide for a sore finger in season There is a place in Scripture which amongst some