Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	age_n	life_n	old_a	5,148	5	5.6715	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A09744	The vvhole sermons of that eloquent diuine, of famous memory; Thomas Playfere, Doctor in Diuinitie Gathered into one vollume, the titles thereof are named in the next page.; Sermons	Playfere, Thomas, 1561?-1609.; Playfere, Thomas, 1561?-1609. Path-way to perfection. aut; Playfere, Thomas, 1561?-1609. Heart's delight. aut; Playfere, Thomas, 1561?-1609. Power of praier. aut; Playfere, Thomas, 1561?-1609. Sick-man's couch. aut	1623 (1623)	STC 20003; ESTC S105046	300,452	702

it Therefore the soule of thy soule is faith So that if we would know what is a faithfull man we must define Him not by his naturall soule as he is resonable but by the soule of his soule which is his faith And when we easily answer the obiection that a flood may come neere a faithfull mans goods neere his bodie neere his reasonable soule but to his faith that is to Him it can neuer come neere For if you speake of the life and essence of him that it is faith the Prophet also witnesseth Abacuck The iust shall liue by faith Gal. 2.20 And the Apostle Now I liue not but Christ liueth in me but that I liue I liue by faith in the sonne of God who loued mee and gaue himselfe for me And he that was wiser then all the Philosophers determineth this point thus The summe of the matter when yee haue heard all is this Eccles. 12.23 Feare God and keepe his commandements for this is all of man All of man what 's that All of man which will hold out against all floods of many waters For the goods of man may be gotten away by forged cauillation the bodie of man may be weakened by sickenesse the soule of man and the faculties thereof as memorie witte and such like may be impaired by age but faith in Christ the feare of God a care to keepe his commaundements is all of man which no floods either in life or in death can ouer-whelme All of man wherein man ought to imploy himselfe while he is aliue and without which man is but vanitie when he is dead but with which man both in life and death is most blessed For if this be the summe of all then of any thing but this there is no reckoning at all to be made Matth. 16.18 I haue praied for thee saith our Sauiour that thy faith should not faile and the gates of hell shall not preuaile against thee For loue is strong as death Can. 8.7 iealousie is cruell as the graue the coales thereof are fierie coales and a vehement flame Much water cannot quench loue neither can the floods drowne it Euen as Paul also glorieth Rom. 8. that nothing can separate him from the loue of God which is in Christ Iesus Wherefore seeing the godly man is so inuincible that neither the gates of hell nor the flood-gates of many waters can preuaile against him Surely in the flood of many waters they shall not come neere him In the last place must be considered the asseueration Surely For if both liuing and dying my felicity be most certaine in Christ and yet I knowe not so much what comfort can I gather thereby Now in all aduersities this is my greatest ioy that the fauour of God which is most constant in it selfe is fully assured also to me For I know that my reedeemer liueth And if I be iudged I know I shall be found righteous And I know whome I haue beleeued and I am sure In one word I am Surely perswaded that neither life nor death nor any thing els can separate vs frō Christ. Nay in all the flood of waters wee shall be more then conquerours Rom. 8.37 They shall not come neere to conquer vs. But rather we shall conquer them Yea that which is strangest of all Surely we shall be more then conquerers ouer them Though an hoast of men were laid against me Psal. ●7 3 yet shall not my heart be afraid and though there rose vp warre against me yet will I put my trust in it Not in him as it is ill translated in the English but in it that is In the verie warre it selfe I will not feare Nay I will be of good hope Yea Surely in the very warre will I hope and trust For euen as a building made arch-wise the more waight is laide vpon it the more strong still it is so the more force and strength is brought against me the greater triumph victorie I shall haue Therefore I will not be afraid of tenne thousand of the people Psal. 3.7 that haue set themselues against me round about For a thousand of them shall fall at my side and ten thousand at my right hand but they shall not come neere mee The Arke in the flood was not drowned Gen. 7.18 as other things were but floated vpon the waters Yea the higher the waters encreased the higher Surely for that did the Arke still arise Likewise the redde sea did not hinder the Israelites passage Exod. 14.22 but opened an easie way to them Yea Surely it was moreouer as a wall to backe them against all their enemies The words of Saint Iames are verie plaine Iam. 1.2 My brethren count it exceeding ioy when you fall into diuers temptations Tentation of it selfe doth vexe and disquiet a man But to the godly it is a ioy As we read els where That they which are iustified by faith haue peace nay haue easie accesse to God and great ioy in tribulations But the Apostle adding Rom. 5. that this ioy is not common or ordinarie but Surely exceeding ioy raiseth vp the amplification as high as may be Whereunto S. Paul also accordeth We are afflicted on euery side 2. Cor. 4 9. yet we are not in distresse in pouertie but not ouercome of pouertie wee are persecuted but not forsaken cast down but we perish not Here he prooueth directly that the flood commeth not neere the faithfull But where is the Surely It followeth in the same epistle As dying and behold we liue as chastened and yet not killed 2. Cor. 6.20 as sorrowing and yet alwaies reioycing as poore and yet making others rich as hauing nothing and yet possessing all things O the securitie and felicitie of the faithfull For his faith maketh life of death ioy of sorrowe riches of pouertie What shall I say more or what would you haue me say more then as the Apostle saies It makes all things of nothing As hauing nothing saies he and yet possessing all things But the special thing to be noted i● this sentence is As dying and behold we liue For they import that death is no death but As it were death an image or a shadowe of death beeing indeede life and Surely a better life and more immortall then we had here Therefore he saies Behold we liue to shewe that by death the faithfull liue a life wherein there is some great specialty and excellencie worthy indeed to be beholded regarded As if he should say Behold we liue Behold we liue a more happie life then euer we liued in our life Saint Augustin often commēdeth the saying of his master S. Ambrose when he was readie to die Speaking to Stilico and others about his bed I haue not liued so among you Non ita vixi inter vos ve me pudea● vinerenet mori time● quia bonum dominum●●o 〈◊〉 Pontius in fine vitae eius saith he

carrion of corruption Wherefore now saith Fulgentius e Mors Christum gusta●it sed non deglutiuit death did indeed taste of Christ but could not swallow him vp nor digest him Contrariwise Christ as soone as euer hee had but a little tasted of death f Heb. 2.9 est-soones hee did deuoure death hee did swallovv vp death in victory And so the death of Christ by reason of his righteousnesse is the death of Death It is also the death of the Diuell As the Apostle saith that by his death he did ouercome not onely death but him also which had the power of death the diuell It is reported that the Libard vseth a strange kinde of policie to kill the Ape Hee lieth downe vpon the ground as though he were starke dead which the Apes seeing come al together and in despite skip vp vpon him This the Libard beareth patiently till he thinks they haue wearied themselues with their sporting then suddenly he likewise leapes vp and catcheth one in his mouth and in each foote one which immediatly hee killeth and deuoureth g Conculcant insultantes ludibrij causa don ec perdalis sentiens illas iam saltando defagitates derepente reuiuiscens aliam dentib aliam vng●ab corripit Eras. Prou. Pardi morten ad simulat This was Christs policie He was laid in the dust for dead The diuell then insulted ouer him and trampled vpon him But hee like a liuely Libard starting vp on Easter day astonished the souldiers set to keepe him which were the diuels apes and made them lie like dead men h Math. cap. 28. verse 7. Euen as he told them before by his Prophet saying I will be to them as a very Lyon and as a Lybard in the way of Ashur i Osec 13.17 For as blind Sampson by his death killed the Philistims when they were playing the apes in mocking and mowing at him k Iude 16.25 so Christ by his death destroyed the Diuell Scalagor writeth that the Camelion when he espies a serpent taking shade vnder a tree climbes vp into that tree and le ts downe a threed breathed out of his mouth as small as a spiders threed at the end whereof there is a little drop as cleere as any pearle which falling vpon the serpents head kils him l Exore filum demittit araneorum more in cuius fili extremo guttula est margaritae splend●re ea tactus in vertice serpens morit●● ex 196. Christ is this Camelion he climbes vp into the tree of his crosse le ts downe a threed of bloud issuing out of his side like Rahabs red threed hanging out of her window m Signa fidei atque vexilla dominica passionis attollens cocc●● in ●enestra legaun Ambr. de fide lib. 5. c. 5. Paulinus Natili 8. Pu●i●to proprium signauit vellere tectum the least drop whereof being so precious and so peerlesse falling vpon the serpents head kils him The wild Bull of all things cannot abide any red colour Therefore the hunter for the nonce standing before a tree puts on a red garment whom when the Bull sees hee runnes at him as hard as he can driue But the Hunter slipping aside the Buls hornes sticke fast in the tree As when Dauid slipped aside Sauls speare stucke fast in the wall n 1 Sam. 19.10 Such a hunter is Christ. Christ standing before the tree of his crosse puts on a red garment dipt and died in his owne bloud as one that commeth with redde garments from Bozra o Esa. 63.1 Therefore the Diuell and his Angels like wilde Buls of Bazan p Psal. 22.12 run at him But hee shifting for himselfe their hornes sticke fast in his crosse As Abrahams Ram by his hornes stuck fast in the briers q Gen. 22.13 Thus is the Diuell caught and killed A dragon indeed kils an Elephant yet so as the Elephant falling down kils the dragon with him An Elephant kils Eleazar yet so as Eleazar falling down kils the Elephant with him r 1. Mach. 6.46 And accordingly to this the Diuell killing Christ was killed by Christ. Yea as an Elephant is stronger then the dragon and Eleazar is stronger then the Elephant so Christ is stronger then them both For the Elephant doth not liue after he hath killed the Dragon neither doth Eleazar liue after he hath killed the Elephant but Christ liueth after he hath destroyed the Diuell Leauing the Diuel dead hee is now risen himselfe from the dead Wherefore as a Lybard killeth the Ape and a Chamelion the serpent and a Hunter the Bull and an Elephant the dragon and Eleazar the Elephant himselfe so Christ the true Eleazar which signifies the helper of God hath by his death killed that mischieuous Ape the diuel that old Serpent the diuel that wild bull the diuell that great dragon the diuell that raging Elephant the Diuell When Mahomet the second of that name besieged Belgrade in Sernia one of his Captaines at length got vp vpon the wall of the Citie with banner displaied A noble Bohemian espying this ranne to the Captaine clapsing him fast about the middle asked one Capistranus standing beneath whether it would be any danger of damnation to his soule if he should cast himselfe downe headlong with that dogge so he termed the Turke to bee slaine with him Capistranus answering that is was no danger at all to his soule the Bohemian forthwith tumbled himselfe down with the Turke in his armes and so by his owne death only saued the life of all the Citie s Zieglerus l. de illustribus viris Germaniae cap. 98. Such an exploit was this of Christ. The Diuell like the great Turk besieged not onely one Citie but euen all mankind Christ alone like this noble Bohemian encountred with him And seeing the case was so that this dog the Diuel could not be killed stark dead except Christ died also therfore he made no reckoning of his life but gaue himselfe to death for vs that he onely dying for all the people by his death our deadly enemy might for euer bee destroyed For so Origen testifieth that there were 2. crucified vpō the crosse of Christ Christ himselfe visibly with his will and for a time The Diuell invisibly against his will and for euer t Homil. 8. in Iosua Therefore the crosse is that victorious Chariot in the vpper part whereof Christ sitteth as a triumphāt conquerour and in the lower part of it the diuell is drawne as a captiue and is made an open spectacle of ignomie and reproch D●uers ancient Fathers note the virgin Marie was married that the diuell might be deceiued For he knew well enough Christ should be borne of a virgin but hee neuer suspected blessed Mary was a virgin considering she was wedded to Ioseph Therefore he did not lie in wait to destroy the seed of the woman so circumspectly as otherwise hee would if he had beene aware or wist any

such things So that the birth of Christ did cosen the diuell but the death of Christ did conquer the Diuell And that much more gloriously when the temple of his body was vpon the pinacle of the crosse then vvhen the body of his crosse vvas vpon the pinacle of the Temple For when he was vpon the temple his breath spake better things then Sathan but when he was vpon the crosse his bloud spake better things then Abel and there his breath came from his lungs out of his mouth but here his bloud came from his heart out of his side and there hee fought standing stoutly to it and withstanding Sathan hee would not in any wise throw downe himselfe but here hee skirmished yeelding and humbling himselfe to the death of the Crosse and there the Diuell ascended vp to him vnto the toppe of an high mountain and so as I may say bad him base at his own goale but here he himselfe descended down to the diuell into the neathermost hell and so spoyled principalities and powers and slew the great Leuiathan in the very bottome of his owne bottomles pit For the Diuell like a greedy rauenous fish snatching at the bait of Christs body as Damascene speaketh was peirced through and twitcht vp with the hooke of his Deitie u 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Therefore both before Christs passion Peter tooke money out of a fishes mouth to pay his tribute and also after Christs passion the Disciples broiled a fish for him to feede vpon Whereby we see that Christ who made a fish pay tribute to Caesar for him made the Diuell also pay tribute to Death for him and on the other side that the Diuel while hee went about to catch this good fish which is Iesus Christ Gods sonne the Sauiour as Methodius and Sibylla proue the letters of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 x 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 seuerally signifie was himselfe caught yea also killed by Christ. So that all the while Christ was buried in the graue the diuell was broyled in hell Wherefore a● it was bootlesse for Goliah to brandish his speare against Dauid so it little auailed the Diuell to shake his speare likewise in the hand of the souldier against the heart of Christ. For as Dauid hauing heard Goliah prate and talke his pleasure when they came to the point at the first stroke ouerthrew him so Christ with that very selfe-same speare which gaue him a little venny in comparison or if it be lawfull for me so to speake but a phillip on the side which was soone after recured gaue the diuel a deadly wound in the forehead which with all his pawes hee shall neuer be able to claw off And againe as Dauid onely with his sling wrought this feate so Christ onely by his death and by the power of his crosse which is the sling of Dauid y Sene crux ipsa funda est qua Dauid Goliath borrenoum armis formidabile visu prostrauit humi Cyr. Ioh. l. 8.17 did conquer and subdue the diuel And so the death of Christ by reason of his righteousnes is the death of the Diuel It is on the other side the life of himselfe That which was prophesied in the Psalm is here fulfilled in Christ. z Psa. 92.12 The iust shal flourish as the Palm-tree In the Hebrew it is Tamar which signifies onely a palm-tree But in the Greeke it is Phoinix which signifies not only a palme-tree but also a Phoenix Which translation proueth two things First that Iesus the iust one did most flourish when he was most afflicted For the iust shall flourish as the palm-tree a Chattamar Now the palm-tree though it haue many weights at the top and many snakes at the roote yet still it sayes I am neither oppressed with the weights nor distressed with the snakes b Nec premor nec perimor And so Christ the true palm-tree though all the iudgements of God and all the sinnes of the world like vnsupportable weights were laid vpon him yea though the cursed Iewes stood beneath like venemous snakes hissing and biting at him yet hee was neither so oppressed with them nor so distressed with these but that euen vpon his crosse he did most flourish when he was most afflicted As peny-royal being hung vp in the larder-house yet buds his yellow flower and Noahs oliue tree being drowned vnder the water yet keepes his greene branch and Aarons rod being clung and dry yet brings forth ripe almonds and Moses bramble-bush being set on fire yet shines and is not consumed Secondly that Iesus the iust one did most liue when he seemed most to be dead For the iust shall flourish as the Phoenix 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Now the Phoenix though sitting in his nest among the hot spices of Arabia he be burnt to ashes yet still he sayes I die not but old age dieth in mee c Moritur me non moriente sen●ctus And so Christ the true Phoenix though lying in his graue among the hot spices wherewith Nichodemus emblame him hee was neuer like to rise from death to life againe yet he died not but mortality died in him and immortalitie so liued in him that euen in his sepulcher hee did most liue when hee seemed most to be dead As the Laurell is greenest in the foulest Winter and the lime is hottest in the coldest water and the glow-worme shineth brightest when the night is darkest and the swan singeth sweetest when his death is neerest d Cantator cygnus funeris ipse sui Martialis lib. 13. Epigr. Epaminondas being sore wounded in fight demanded of his souldiers standing by whether his enemies were ouerthrowne or no They answered yea Then whether his bucklet were whole or no They answrered also I. Nay then sayes hee all is well This is not the end of my life but the beginning of my glory For now your deare Epaminondas dying thus gloriously shall rather bee borne againe then buried e Nunc enim vester Epaminondas nascitur quia sic moritur Christ likewise was sore wounded but his enemies Death and the Diuell were ouerthrowne and spoyled His buckler which was his God-head was whole and vntouched therefore there was no harm done His death was no death but an exaltation vnto greater glory f Ego si exaltatus fuero Iohn 12.32 That noble Eunuch riding in his coach read in Esay that Christ was silent before his death as a lambe before his shearer He saith not before the Butcher but before the shearer Insinuating that death did not kill Christ but onely sheare him a little Neither yet had death Christs fleece when he was shorne For Christ taking to himselfe aspunge full of vineger g Ioh. 19.29 that is full of our sharpe and sowre sinnes did giue vs for it purple wooll full of bloud h Heb. 9.19 that is ful of his pure and perfect iustice And indeed the onely liuery which Christ

n Iob 40.10 Whereupon Gregory noteth that a sheepe or any such other beast will eate any manner of grasse though it be trampled and stained neuer so much but an oxe will eate no kind of grasse but that which is greene and fresh And so the Diuell will be sure to haue his feede of the very finest and best o Esca eius electa Abacuc 1.16 For the Angell of the Lord reioyceth most when one that is a sinner conuerteth He eateth grasse as a sheepe But the Angell of Sathan reioiceth most when one that is a conuert sinneth Hee eateth grasse as an Oxe If the Diuell cannot keepe a man from liuing long then hee will hinder him from liuing well p Aut Imperat mortes aut impetit mores Leo. If hee cannot kill him then hee will corrupt him And indeede hee takes greater pleasure in corrupting one godly man that in killing a hundred wicked He was more delighted when Dauid slew but Vrias then when Saul slew himselfe when Peter did but denie Christ then when Iudas betraied him So that the life of man by reason of his sinne is the delight yea it is the very life of the Diuell It is on the other side the death of himselfe O miserable wretch that I am saith one who shall deliuer me from this body of death The life of the godly is a very body of death But their death is onely a shadow of death Thales a Philosopher being demaunded what difference there is betweene life and death answered They are all one Then being asked againe if he had not rather liue then die No saith he as before for they are al one But Ierome saith farre more excellently They are not all one That is not true For it is one thing to liue in continuall danger of death another thing to die in continuall assurance of life q Aliud viuere moriturum aliud mori victurum Therefore Ecclesiastes saith That the day of our death is better then the day of our birth For when we are borne we are mortall but when we are dead we are immortall And we are aliue in the wombe to die in the world but wee are dead in the graue to liue in heauen Hence it is that the wicked are merry at their birth-day as Pharaoh made a feast at his birth-day when his chiefe Baker was hanged r Gen. 40.20 and Herod likewise made a feast at his birth-day when Iohn Baptist was beheaded but they are sorry at their dying day as Iudas was sorry when hee went about to hang himselfe and Caine was afraid euery one would kill him that met him Contrariwise the godly are sorry at their birth-day as Iob Let the day perish wherein I was borne and Ieremie Let not the day wherein my mother bare mee be blessed s Ier. 20.14 But they are merry at their dying day as Simeon Lord now lettest thou thy seruant depart in peace and Paul I desire to be dissolued and to be with Christ. Therefore we also keepe holy dayes and celebrate the memory of the Saints not vpon their birth-daies but vpon their death-dayes to shew that these two are not all one but that the day of our death is better then the day of our birth For whereas there are 2. waies the one hauing in it first a transitory life and then an eternall death the other hauing in it first a transitory death and then an eternall life the wicked chuse to liue here for a time though they die for it hereafter eternally but the godly chuse to haue their life hid with Christ here that they may liue with Christ eternally hereafter Therefore the wicked neuer thinke of death but the godly thinke of nothing else As Alexander the Monarch of the world had all other things saue only a sepulchre to bury him in whē he was dead he neuer thought of that But Abraham the heire of the world had no other possession of his own but only a field which he bought to bury his dead in he thought of nothing els We read that Daniel strowed ashes in the tēple to descry the footsteps of Bels Priests which did eat vp the meat So did Abraham strow ashes in his memory saying I will speake vnto my Lord though I be but dust and ashes So doe all the faithfull remembring they shall one day be turned to dust and ashes That so seeing and marking the foot-steps of death how it continually commeth and steales away their strength as Bels priests did the meat how it daily eateth vp and wasteth and consumeth their life they may be alwayes prepared for it Our first parents made them garments of figge-leaues But God misliking that gaue them garments of skins Therefore Christ in the Gospell cursed the fig-tree which did beare onely figge leaues to couer our sinne but commended the Baptist which did weare skins to discouer our mortalitie For not onely as Austin saith Our whole life is a disease t Vita morbus but also as Bernard saith our whole life is a death u Vita mors The life of man by reason of his sin is a continuall disease yea it is the very death of himselfe It is lastly the death of Christ. The Prophet Esay calleth Christ a sinne or a sacrifice for sinne x Asham Esay 53.10 prefigured by all those sin-offerings of the old law Because indeed when Christ was crucified at the first he was broken for our sins According to that of Tert●llian y Propter pec●atum mori ●ecesse habuit Filius Dei. V●de etiam Aug. Medita ca. 7. vbi doce● h●minem esse causam passionis Sinne it was which brought the sonne of God to his death The Iewes were onely instruments and accessaries to it sinne was the setter and the principall They cried Crucifie him in the court of Pilate but our sinnes cried Crucifie him in the court of heauen Now as the death of Christ was not efficient to saue the wicked so the sinne of the wicked was not sufficient to condemne Christ. But the Scripture saith of them which either are or at leastwise seeme to be godly They say they know God but by their workes they deny him and Saul Saul why dost thou persecute me And They crucifie again vnto themselues the sonne of God Zachary prophesieth of Christ * Zacha. 13.6 That when one shall say vnto him What are these wounds in thy hands Then he shall answere Thus was I wounded in the house of my friends that is in the house of them which ought to haue bin my friends So that our sins did wound Christs hand● at the first And now also not the wicked which are no part of his body but wee which are misticall members of his body and therefore should by good reason be his friends we I say doe yet oftentimes by our sinnes deny Christ with Peter nay we persecute Christ with Paul nay we crucifie Christ with the Iewes Yea

Neponthes and faith s Reu. 21.4 Bee of good cheere there shall bee no more sorrow neither crying neither death neither paine for the first things are past And the water of the word of God is that fountain Lethe which when wee come to drinke of it speakes to vs as it were in this sort t Esay 43.18 Remember not the former things neither regard the things of old For as they which die cloth doe not immediately change one contrary into another but first turne a white into an azure and then make a puke of it So we can neuer hold coulour as a good puke except first our white be turned into an azure that is as Lyrinensis saith u Donec dediscimus bene quod didicimus non bene c. 15. except first we do well to Forget that which wee did ill to get except first we do happily vnlearne that which wee did vnhappily learne And like as they which worke in wax cannot frame any new impression in it till the old be defaced x 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Bas. E. 1. p. 208. so the image of Caesar the Prince of this world the diuell must first bee defaced before the image of Christ can bee formed in vs. For this image of Christ as Clemens testifieth y 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Prot. p. 5. is seene onely in them which Forget the hill of Helicon and dwell in mount Syon Wherefore though thou haue had a bloudy issue twelue yeares yet thine issue being now stopt Forget all bloudinesse z Marke 5.25 though thou haue had a crooked body eighteene yeares yet thy body being now straightned forget all crookednesse a Luk. 13.11 though thou haue had blind eyes yet thine eyes being now cleered forget all blindnesse in seeing the truth b Marke 10.5 though thou haue had deafe eares yet thine cares being now opened forget all deafenesse in hearing the word c Mark 7.34 though thou haue had a dry hand yet thy hand being now restored forget all drinesse and niggardlinesse with men d Mat. 12.10 though thou haue had a lame foote yet thy foote being now recured forget all limping and haulting with GOD e Act. 14.8 though thou haue beene dead and buried in the graue foure daies as Lazarus was yet being now receiued forget all deadnesse in sin f Iohn 11.39 though thou haue been possessed and tormented with seuen diuels as Mary Magdalen was yet being now deliuered renounce the deuill and all his workes g Luke 8.2 and forget all thy wicked workes which are behind thee h 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vide Nas. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Yea and all thy good workes also For if thee forget them then will God remember them The Patriark Abraham was content for Gods pleasure to sacrifice his sonne Isaac i Gen. 22.16 But as soone as hee had done hee forgets it Therefore God remembers it and sets downe euery seuerall circumstance of it By mine owne selfe haue I sworn saith the Lord because thou hast don this thing There is the general But what thing The particular followes And hast not spared yea not thy seruant but thy sonne nay not onely thy sonne but thine onely sonne and hast not spared thine onely sonne therefore I will surely blesse thee That good woman k Luk. 7.42 gaue Christ louing and friendly entertainement But as soone as she had done she forgets it Therefore Christ remembers it and amplifies it from point to point He turned to the woman and said to Simon Seest thou this woman when I came to thy house thou gauest mee no water for my feet but shee hath washed my feet with the teares of her eies and wiped them with the haires of her head Thou gauest mee no kisse but she since the time I came in hath not ceased to kisse my feete My head with oile thou didst not annoint but shee hath annointed my feet with ointment Lo yee how true it is which I said before that if wee remember our good workes then God will forget them but if we forget them then God will remember them yea and he will reward them when we haue forgotten them If wee wage warre with God l Luke 14.31 and thinke to ouercome him with ten thousand of our good deeds then wil he like a puissant Prince bring forth into the field a huge Army of our sinnes twenty thousand of our sins against vs with twenty thousand of our sins will easily ouerthrow ten thousand of our good deeds and so finally confound vs. But if on the other side wee can bee content to forget all our good workes and to strow our best garments and our most flourishing branches at Christs feete m Math. 21.8 and to cast downe our very crownes before the throne of the Lambe n Reu. 4.10 then he will be a right Lambe indeed he will not fight with vs but he wil crowne vs with honour glory Almighty God appointed his people not to sheare the first borne of the sheep o Deut. 15.19 The first born of the sheep are the best of our good workes These we must not sheare nor lay naked and open to the view and knowledge of all men but forget them and hide them vnder the fleece of silence and keepe them secret to our selues So Ioseph whom God did leade as a sheepe p Psal. 80.2 hauing a first borne did not sheare this first borne of the sheepe but called him Manasses that is forgetfulnesse of those things which were behinde when God had now answered the desires of his heart q Eccles. 5.19 The faithfull speaking to Christ say thus wee will make for thee borders of gold guilt with siluer r Musenulas aureas vermiculatas argento Can. 1.10 This is quite contrary to the fashion of the world The fashion of the world is to guild siluer with gold and to put the best side outward But the faithfull guild gold with siluer and put the best side inward So Moses hauing a glorious countenance did not set it out to the shew but did forget it and couered it with a vaile s Exod. 34.33 Now a glorious countenance couered with a vaile what is it else but a border of gold guilt with siluer but we we alas for the most part haue such base minds that we are scarce worth the ground wee goe vpon Wee doe not guild our borders of gold with siluer but wee sheare the first borne of our sheepe We do not cast downe our garments and our branches and our crownes before the throne of the Lambe but wee warre against God with ten thousand of our good workes Or rather indeed which of vs all can muster together so many good workes to fight for him Nay if we haue done one thing well or one time well we think all is well we 〈◊〉 do no more wee haue done good enough and

deuotion of al o●ther christian vertues which were but be●gun vnperfect in this life putting away of all corruption mortality putting on the royall robe of immortality and blisse For that which hapned to Christ shall happen to thee also because by faith thou art not only in soule but euē in body vnseparably vnited and ioyned vnto him being by vertue of this misticall vnion made bone of his bone flesh of his flesh Therefore as he from that agonie wherin he praied with strong crying and teares from that crosse wherein hee commended his spirit into his fathers handes from that graue wherin death for a time seemed to insult to trample vpon him rose vp againe ascended farre aboue all heauens and now sitteth at the right hād of glory so thy soule shall certainely be in the hand of God thy very body also after it hath a while rested from watering thy couch with thy teares from all other labors of this life shal be raised vp againe caught vp in the clouds shal togither with thy soule for euer raign with Christ in the life to come Which God grant to vs al for the same our blessed Sauiour Iesus Christs sake to whom with the Father and the Holy Ghost be all honour and glory power and praise dignitie and dominion now and euermore Amen FINIS NINE SERMONS PREACHED By that eloquent Diuine of famous memorie TH. PLAYFERE Doctor in DIVINITIE PROV 10.7 The memoriall of the iust shall be blessed but the name of the wicked shall rotte Printed by CANTRELL LEGGE Printer to the Vniuersitie of CAMBRIDGE 1621. To Sir REYNALD ARGAL Knight RIGHT Worshipfull and my especiall good friend How desirous I haue been to answer some part of your worthie curtesies at least by laying them open to the world this small remembrance may testifie for me and how vnable I am to equall deseruings the same remembrance testifieth against mee whether I will or no beeing borrowed from the monuments of a dead man the onely glorie of his times while he liued But it was fit that a farre greater gift then mine owne should aspire to bee the instrument of your honour and the testimonie of the dead I tooke to be meeter euen in this regard because that is as vnsuspected a● your kindnesse toward my 〈◊〉 beene 〈…〉 no further disturbing the harmonie of your best thoughts as you are wont to account it diminishing the reward which is laid vp for you in heauen by vntimely blazing merits vpon earth I commit this depositum to your sauour and Patronage my selfe also and my endeavours resting alwaies at Your Worships disposition D. C. To the Reader WHAT a losse the Church of God had by the death of D. Playfere I had rather the opinion of the world should determine then my slender pen attempt to expresse If euer those combinations of Vertue and Learning of Knowledge and Vtterance of Wit and Memorie of Reading and Vse of Holesome and delightfull of Schoole and Pulpit of Olde and New or in one word to say of Nature and Industry of humane felicitie and heauenly grace concurred to make a Scribe perfect and absolute to the kingdome of God we may not be so much our owne back-friends though wee detract not from the fortune of places further off nay we may not so impeach the honour of the giuer nor disparage the worth of our friend departed as to doubt but this was principally manifested in M. Playfere Who because he was but lent the world for a time nay because he was redemanded sooner then his time if it were lawfull to controll the heauenly wisedome with that word Sooner Phil. 1. ●4 but I mean in regard of the Churches vse and that same propter vo● which made the Apostle to demurre I say since he was to be returned backe againe to his Maker and ouer-ripe perfection not to conti●●● ouerlong it had bin to be wished he had left behinde him some more monuments of his trauailes as wel comfortable to the suruiuers as honourable to himselfe Which whether he in his discretion and because he had so resolued was nice to doe after the example of them that would write nothing though very able or was then a doing most wh●● God cal'd him I cannot say This which the good Reader will be loath perhaps to heare I may not conceale that these are the lost of all his labours which are like to be divulged Into so small a compasse is that spirit 〈◊〉 ranged Cornel. apud Propet l. 4. ●leg 12. as to be as she sayes En sum quod digit is quinque leuatur 〈◊〉 or indeede not so much as a iust handfull which lately was not confinable within bounds too great for me to speake of But the summe is this For I lift not to defend his method of preaching against the Methods masters of our age who me thinks should knowe either that of the Apostle Diuersitas donorum est sed vnus spiritus or that of the Prophet Laudate eum in ●uba laudate in cithara or if nothing will please them but what they do themselues we must be faine to say as Crassus did to Scevola Omnium igitur conciones tu conficies vnus omnes ad te sub tempus veniemus c. I say the summe is this that is the Sunne-light is pleasantest toward the set and the skilfull eare finds most store of musicke in the close so this Sun this Swan this sweet singer of Israel for what lesser tearmes can our loue affoard him if any bring were we will not refuse them his last monuments and his last labours that the world may euer hope for shall finde we trust the dearer intertainement A SERMON PREACHED at Winsor before the Kings Maiestie the 11. day of Septem 1604. MATTH 4.4 Man liueth not by bread onely but by euery word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God CHRIST our SAVIOVR came into the world to dissolue the workes of the Deuill Now how throughly hee would afterward destroy the deuill and all his workes he gaue a cast as it were in this his first encounter Wherein we may note what great difference there is betweene the first Adam and the second The first Adam was in Paradise a place of all abundance and pleasure the second Adam in the desart a place of all scarcitie and want The first was full and so the lesse needed to eate the forbidden fruit the second fasting and so the easilier drawne to make himselfe meate Yet the first though he were in Paradise and full when his wife intised him to eate the apple tooke it and ate it but the second though he were in the desart and fasting a long time when the deuill enticed him to turne stones into bread would not yeeld to him but said Man liueth not by bread onely but by euery word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God Howbeit as Christ herein was contrary to Adam so he