Selected quad for the lemma: death_n
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B12473
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A sub-poena from the star-chamber of heauen A sermon preached at Pauls Crosse the 4. of August. 1622. With some particular enlargements which the limited time would not then allow. By Dan. Donne, Master of Arts, and minister of the Word.
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Donne, Daniel, d. 1646.
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1623
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STC 7021; ESTC S121163
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55,741
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137
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vomit and instead of bringing forth Vuas grapes wee haue brought Esay 5. 4. forth Labrucas wild grapes our grapes are grapes of gall our clusters be bitter our wine is poyson of dragons and the cruell Deut. 32. 32 33. gall of Aspes My beloued will God thinke we suffer himselfe to be thus deluded from time to time Are we sure he will alwayes looke vpon vs with a fauourable aspect and neuer shut vp his louing kindnesse in displeasure O let vs beware of carnall securitie it is as dangerous and fearfull an euill as the soule imbarqued in the body can meet with whilst sayling in the Sea of this world Certainly if his so many gentle and mercifull visitations will not reclaime vs from our dissolute courses but wee will stil frequent our old sinfull haunts drawing iniquitie with cartropes and sinne with â—he cords of vanity he will lay aside all lenitie deale with vs more roughly â—â—sa patientia 〈…〉 or and seuerely It is not a pruning-knife some fauourable affliction some fatherly correction shall serue the turne for behold hee hath put an axe into the hand of the destroying Angel not like Abimelech to cut downe some boughes Iudg. 43. from the trees no he hath giuen him a straight charge a strict commission if he find any tree any man that bringeth not forth good fruit to hew him down euen at the very root that is by death to root him out of the land of the liuing which is the first particular penaltie the Excision Euery tree not bringing forth The first penalty an Excision good fruit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is hewen downe Doe but consider I beseech you the fearefulnesse of this penaltie True Aequa lege necessitas Hâ—â— Carm. lib. 3 Ode 1. Sortitur insigneis imos Omne capax mouet vrna nomen What man liueth and shall not see death Psal 89. 47. Hebr. 9. 27. There is a Statute for it Statutum est omnibus semel mori It is appointed vnto all men once to die Death is Gods Sergeant â—uiâ—â—sâ—i contiâ—it 〈◊〉 â—estat Sâ—â— Ep. 1â—0 vnto whose arrest the whole suruiuing race of Adam is subiect as well the godly as the vngodly and therfore it is not here said that he which bringeth not forth good fruit shall dye but shall be hewen downe to signifie the fearefulnesse of that death which shall befall him The godly man hee that bringeth forth good fruit shal die but he is happy in his end for that he departeth this life in the sweet peace of conscience which he hath obtained through faith in Christs blood wherby he is reconciled vnto God sealed vp vnto the day of redemption so that the misery of death is vnto him the death of all misery and his last end the beginning Dies isle quem tanquam extremum reformidas aeterninatalis est Sen. Ep. 1â—2 the birth day of eternity And therefore laetus lethuÌ„ excipit come Death when it wil come it is truly heartily welcome finds him ready willing with much vnfained ioy to entertaine the stroke which shal separat his soule body that so being freed from the prison of his body he may enter into his masters ioy be Matth. 2â— 21. crownd with glory happinesse in the highest heauens In regard wherof wheÌ„ Jusius dum per mâ—ntem evita tollitur non exciditur sed ia vberius solum transfertur Fran. Luc. Brâ—giens in locum by Death he is taken out of this life he cannot be said to be hewen down but rather transplanted into a more fruitful soile On the other side the vngodly man that bringeth not forth good fruit but is barren in all goodnesse and only fruitfull in the daÌ„nable works of darknes he shal die but a death far different froÌ„ that of the righteous for being besotted with the pleasures of sinne and hauing his affections fast glewed to the things of this world when Death arresteth his Body his Soule wil depart out of it like sawdust grated out of the belly of an hard Oke with much labour and striuing so vnwilling and loth it will be to breake vp house and bid farewell vnto the world Yea for as much as he neuer endeuoured to keep a good Conscience toward God and man therefore his guiltie Conscience like the euill Spirit which vexed Saul shall most 1 Sam. 16. 14. fearefully wracke and torture him and a wounded spirit who can beare saith the Prou. 18. 14. Prouerbialist and thus in the anguish and bitternesse of his Soule he shal be broken Iob 24. 20. like a tree the Axe of Death shall cleaue rent his soule and body asunder with all violence and terror he shall bee hewen downe saith my Text. But is this all shall this Tree thus fell'd there lie and rest and rot where it falleth I meane shall his soule and body thus parted so perish as that he shall cease euer to haue a being any more and consequently a feeling of any further misery Certainly though sinful man be likevnto the beasts that perish yet he doth not perish like the beasts whose bodies are turned into ashes and their spirits vanish as soft ayre and are no more No his soule is an immortall substance and his body though in the eye of a carnall Sadducee it seemeth so to perish as that it shall neuer haue a being any more yet it shall at the last day by the power of God be restored to its iust proportion for after Death there must come a Iudgment particular of the Soule when it departeth from the body generall of Soule and body at the generall resurrection So that this fearfull hewing downe is but as the Prologue to a more tragicall feareful Scene it is but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the beginning of sorrowes the forerunner of more fearefull torments For after the axe of Death hath with all violence cleft and rent his Soule and Body in sunder after that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hee is thus hewen downe it followeth in the next place 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hee is cast into the fire hee is throwen headlong into the flames of Hell And this second penaltie his exastion is The second pâ—naltie an Exustion indeed principally that which causeth his dissolution to be so comfortles full of terrour For when the hand of God lyeth heauy vpon him to hew him downe by death it is not the separation of his soule body that doth so much trouble him nor the leauing his beloued world that doth so much afflict him no nor the cruel gnawings of his guilty conscience that doe so wrack torture him otherwise then ioyned with the present apprehension of being cast into this fire which he then foreseeth will most certainly befal him after his dissolution And no maruell if the apprehension thereof strike such â— dread terror into his departing Ethic. 1 â—9 soule for what Aristotle
bee augmented through their presence hee hauing corrupted them by his bad example In a word Sicut nihil in Coelo desideratur Simon Pauli Sucrinensis quod non inuenitur it a nihil in inferno inuenitur quod desideratur as in Heauen there is nothing desired which is not found so in Hell there is nothing found which is desired He that Dabitur miseris vita mortalis moriâ—ntur semper erunt Cassiodorus Reuel 9. 6. is cast into Hell fire shall seeke Death but shall not finde it hee shall desire to dye but Death shall flee from him Hell shall desire ease but bee so farre from the least hope of obtaining it that whether the present paine hee sustaineth in such extremitie by vertue of this fire or the present thought of the perpetuitie thereof be his greatest affliction it is hard to determine I am not ignorant that this penaltie is Paradoxicall to naturall Reason for first it being a Position in Phylosophie That the Agent is more Noble then the Patient how can this Fire which is generally held Corporeall afflict the Soule which is Spirituall Againe this Fire being of a deuouring Esay 33. 〈◊〉 nature how can it burne the Body and not at length consume and reduce it to nothing the body being naturally as combustible as Chaffe Heere indeed is Saint Pauls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Simonides in another case so must I confesse in this Quò diutiùs mecum cogito â—òmiâ—ùs inuenâ—o The more I seeke into it the more I am to seeke in it It is a great Mysterie a Gordian Knot which naturall Reason cannot vntye What Saâ—nt Augustine for the former Quaere Fit miris sâ—d veris 〈…〉 Dâ—â— cap. 10. modis may also satisfie for the latter That this Corporeall Fire doeth afflict the Soule which is Spirituall that it continually burneth the Body but neuer consumeth it is not more strange then true The same Father for the setling Non 〈…〉 nibus vâ—uere â—â—â—st one sâ—â—e 〈…〉 ne pâ—◠〈…〉 um 〈…〉 Creatorâ—s ib. c. 9. of our Faith in this poynt instanceth in diuers Creatures and more particularly the Salamander that doth miraculously liue in the fire without being consumed Mans weakenesse is vnable to determine the power of God it exceeding all that wee can possibly apprehend These therefore being ineffable Mysteries are not to be measured by the scantling of naturall Reason Our best course is to beleeue it here lest for our vnbeliefe wee be made to feele it hereafter But it may bee replyed That to punish Man eternally who sinned but temporally may argue God of Injustice and Crueltie Saint Gregory doth excellently well demonstrate the Equitie of this Penaltie * Iniqui cum fiâ—â— deâ—quâ—â—â—â— quia cum fine vixeâ—unâ—â— nam voluiâ—senâ— vâ—que si poâ—u â—â—nt â—â—e 〈◊〉 viueâ— vt pâ—ssent sin◠〈◊〉 pâ—â—â—â—â—â— Ostendunt enim quodm pâ—ccaâ—o sâ—mpâ—â—â—â—â—â—e câ—p unt qui nurquaÌ„ de inunt pecâ—are dâ—m vâ—num Greg. â— Dialog Ad â—â—â—â—â—icti iâ—diâ—â—â— sâ—ntentiam perâ—â—â—â— vt â—â—â—quam â—â— cant sâ—â—pâ—â—â—â— quâ— iâ— men in â—â—c vâ—â—â— nuâ—quâ—m vâ—luit â—â—â—â—e pâ—ccato nullus deturn â—â—qâ—â—terminuâ— vâ—tâ—â—â—â— â—ui quam dâ—vi 〈…〉 uit 〈…〉 Greg. 3. lib. Moral The wicked saith hee sinne but for a time because they liue but for a time By their good willes they would neuer dye that they might euer sinne For they shewe they would euer liue in Sinne because they neuer leaue sinning so long as they liue And therefore as hee elsewhere speaketh * It standeth with the Iustice of God to visite man with a perpetuall Penaltie who if hee might would liue perpetually in Iniquitie Besides Man in sinning offendeth an Infinite Maiestie and therefore in all equitie deserueth an infinite misery to bee afflicted with endlesse torments But why doeâ— stand disputing vpon the equity of this penalty as if it were a fit thing to cal God to an account for his Iudgements Certainly though they be secret yet they can neuer be vniust for as Abraham Gen. 18. 25. vnto God Shall not the Iudge of all the world doe right We see then the fearefulnesse of that Penalty which God will after this life inflict vpon sinnefull man he shall be cast into Hell fire there to be tormented extremly to be extremely tormented totally to be extremely and totally tormented eternally O what an eating torment is but the aking of a Tooth What a sharpe and piercing paine to hold but a finger in the fire but to be all on fire of Hell to haue no part free for the whole man to be nothing else but a torment in extremitie and so to continue without the least hope of ease world without end We cannot but apprehend and confesse an intollerable an vnexpressible penaltie But to what purpose doe I labour to set forth the fearfulnesse of this penalty When we speake of these things doe we not participate of Cassandraes blessing Though wee speake the truth and nothing but the truth yet as the Prophet complaineth Who will beleeue our report Esay 53. 2. Or at least who will be reformed by it If we consult with the extraordinary sinnefulnesse of this age wherein we liue the horrible securitie of many and those outragious and vnheard of villanies euery where practised and perpetrated euen in the eye of the Sunn it will plainely appeare that the greatest part of mankind take Hell fire to be but Inane terriculamentum a silly Scar-crow to keepe man in awe and order an Old wiues fable a meere Poeticall fiction so little doth it preuaile with them for their reformation Certainly My beloued were our beliefe in this point as sound and our Meditation thereon as Serious as our liuing is sinnefull O what a holy and blessed change would it work both in our consciences and conuersation Tully writeth of one Damocles a Parasiticall Tuscul lib 5. Courtier that though placed in the Seat-royall of Dionysius his Soueraigne and presented with a banquet of the choycest rarities and to wrap vp the whole History in a word liberally furnished with whatsoeuer his heart could desire for the accomplishment of his conceited happinesse yet when bestowing his eyes about him he espied a glittering Sword hanging ouer his head in a Horse haire ready to cleaue spilt him in twaine euery moment Which as the former was done at the commaÌ„d of Dionysius to let him see his eâ—rour that he behold his happinesse in a false Glasse The â—ust feare of his imminent danger did so captiuate his freer iollitie that hee then began extremely to loath what before he did so entirely loue his delicate iuncates were vnto him but as vnsauory viands and his delâ—ghtfull obiects but as musick in a time of mourning he then had rather part with his happinesse vpon euen termes then purchase it at so deare a price In like manner though naturally we are iâ—finitly delighted in following the lusts of our owne hearts and repute it the onely happines