fear over-matched some of them in our sins and wickedness O therefore here make a stand yet now begin to provide Oil for your Lamps now learn of Joseph to lay up against those years of Famine now bethink of your wedding-Garment GOD is Just and will not be mocked LIFE is frail and will soon be ended The BODY is dust and must be dissolved The SOVL returns and must be judged O therefore make use of that little time is left you Defer not your Repentance from day to day Say not to morrow I will do thus and thus 'T is Vox corvinae as St. Augustine said 't is harsh 't is hellish to say thou wilt to Morrow and appoint a day to save thy Soul who art not sure thy Body hath one hour to reckon Of this thou art surr That many millions perish in their sins who had they known what now they feel they would have repented long agone in sackcloth and ashes Of this thou art sure The longer thou continuest in sin thy Case is the worse thy danger the greater and thy return will be more difficult Of this thou art sure That late Repentance is seldome true Repentance and as one saith Percutitur hâc animadversione peccator ut moriens obliviscetur sui qui vivens oblitus est Dei 'T is a just Judgment of the Almighty That he that would not remember God in his life should forget himself at his death The Stork the Turtle the Crane the Swallow these all observe their times Jerem. 8.7 and shall Man that was created Lord of all be more ignorant then them all shall he fore-slow the time given and reject the Grace profered Nay shall he make the times and observe the seasons in every thing but what concerns his Soul Sow in season and reap in season and plant in season and shall the hour for our Repentance allowed be unseasonable There is a time for all things saith Solomon and shall we never find time for this Thus thus it is and thus it followeth That many are Called and few are Chosen In the general Deluge Noah only and his Family escaped drowning At the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah Lot only and his Family escape the fire At the overthrow of Jericho Rahab only and her Family escape the Sword Here is Antefactorum narratio futurorum Prophetia as Irenaeus said in another Case Those fearful Examples those handfuls of People that were exempted from the common Calamity they tell us not only what befel them but what assuredly shall befal others when those that will not now and cannot then repent must look for nought but woe and misery a rejection a separation an Ite maledicti away for ever Leave we the Impenitent in his sins and leave we the impenitent to his sorrows for Tophet is prepared of old a place is made ready for them who will not make themselves ready for God And let us trace another while the steps of him who as Chrysostome said hath made that voluntary which he knew necessary who could welcome Death without fear and bid adieu to life without sorrow Yet by David's judgment he had not attained the half of Mans life and by our account had Youth and Strength two promising supporters in time of need O come hither and behold for here he lies here he lies whose hands were not hound nor his feet tied in fetters of Brass his grinders did not cease because they were few nor were they grown dark that did look out at the windows he arose not up at the voice of the bird the daughters of Musick were not brought low the Almond-tree had not yet budded c. And lo Earth is returned to the earth as it was and the Spirit is returned to God who gave it Well then what if he were prevented by Death What if his daies were not so many or life so long had he not the better gale of wind to bring him to his harbour Yes yes and was old enough Quicunque ad extremum fati sui pervenerit hic moritur senex the honourable Age is not that which is of long time neither that which is measured by the number of years but wisdom is the gray-hair c. therefore verse 13. though he were soon dead yet fulfilled he much time for his Soul pleased God therefore hasted he to take him away from wickedness De medio iniquitatis from Sin from Sinners O Noble Israel how are the mighty overthrown tell it not in Gath O yes tell it in Gath and publish it in the streets of Ashkelon Let the Philistians see and the uncircumcised hear Si sic in viridi quid fiet in arido If a young Plant in the prime of his years and the most flourishing time of his life be thus taken away why do we live as if we had made a Truce with Death or as if this World should last for ever We have a Consumption as well as He his was patens ours latens and the more dangerous his in Januis ours in Insidiis his was open ours in secret and yet not so secret but every man may run and read the Characters of DECLINING writ in our Fore-heads and every Limb can tell there 's something works within it to our end and every day can tell another we are worse then when he found us That Death then may not come suddenly let us amend speedily LOOSE NO TIME was Great Caesar's Motto Nought is more dangerous then Delaies Cur non hodiè cur non hâc horâ Why then this day why then this hour begin we to amend our lives Say we as sometime Balaam did but with a better resolution If Balack would give me his house-full of silver and gold I will not do thus and thus If I might win an house-full of silver and gold I will not do as I have done I will not grieve the holy Angels nor re-Crucifie my Saviour nor hazard my Soul nor offend my God I will not oppress where I am the stronger nor undermine where I am the subtiler I see Mans life is in his Nostrils and he is quickly gone I see the World is deceitful and can give no true content I see that blessedness is reserved till another World BEATI MORTVI QVI IN DOMINO Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord c. So let us die O Lord and so let us live that we may so die Sweet JESVS AMEN Reverendissimo In Christo Patri ac Domino DOMINO SETHO EPISCOPO SARISBVRIENSI Et Nobilissimi Ordinis Periscelidis Cancellario HAMNETTUS WARD Clericus Longaevitatem pancraticam dignitatis sastigium vitam aeternam ex animo optat DVO sunt Pater Praesul dignissime quae homini famam optimam apud posteros conciliare solènt debent benè facta scilicet benè dicta Vtcunque tamen benè dicta quaeque fuerint vel facta nisi etiam literis committantur plerumque incassum pereunt Nam quae per 〈◊〉 〈◊〉
XIII SERMONS Most of them Preached before His MAJESTY King CHARLES the II. IN HIS EXILE By the late Reverend HENRY BYAM D.D. Rector of Luckham Canon of Exeter and one of His Majesties Chaplains in Ordinary TOGETHER With the Testimony given of him at his Funeral by Hamnet Ward M. D. Vicar of Sturminster-Newton-Castle and one of the Prebendaries of the Cathedral Church at Wells LONDON Printed by T. R. for Robert Clavell at the Peacock in St. Pauls Churchyard 1675. TO THE Right Honourable HENEAGE Lord FINCH Baron of Daventry Lord Keeper of the Great SEAL of ENGLAND AND Of His Majesties most Honourable Privy Councel My Lord THese Sermons having been many of them preach'd before his Majesty in the Isles of Scilley and Jarsey and much approved and accepted of by him I cannot think to whom they may be more welcome under that qualification than to Your Lordship Your Goodness likewise giving me a confidence of Your Acceptance Your Greatness of their protection That is not only known but admired too by all that indeed know you This as I long since had the good fortune luckily to foretel so I do now most heartily congratulate Nor had I need to erect any other scheme for this prognostick than that of Your own Countenance vultus portendebat honores When You were yet young the traits of Honour were there fairly visible to any discerning Eye which now by the accession of His Majesties favour are grown so eminent that he that runs may read Your yet increasing Grandeur and Felicity May Heaven add its blessing to all your Enjoyments here and prepare for You hereafter such as Eye hath not seen nor Ear heard neither hath it entred into the Heart of Man to conceive These My Lord as they are my earnest wishes so they are my real hopes for the accomplishment whereof his Prayers shall uncessantly be poured forth who humbly begs leave to subscribe himself My Lord Your Lordships daily Votary and most obedient Servant Hamnet Ward TO THE READER I Shall not commend these Sermons to such as had the happiness to be acquainted with the Author 'T is sufficient I know to them to be assured that they are his And to such as were strangers to him I shall need say but little only what was once spoken to a Holy man in a Vision concerning the Scripture Tolle Lege Take up and read take up and read Whoever doth but diligently peruse them cannot but both like and admire them And sure if a work may receive a real addition to its worth from the reputation of its Author this may challenge as great an advantage as any since I can boldly say that for Learning Piety Charity and Loyalty the Age he lived in scarce afforded his equal He that desires to be yet farther acquainted with the transactions both of his Life and Death I refer him to what was delivered as a Testimony to him in a Sermon at his Funeral by him who highly honoured his person when living and doth now reverence his Memory being dead H. WARD A SERMON Preached before His MAJESTY King CHARLES the II. In the ISLE of JERSEY DEUT. XXXIII 7. Hear Lord the voyce of Judah and bring him unto his people let his hands be sufficient for him and be thou an help to him from his Enemies YOu expect a Sermon and I am come with a Prayer But so the fitter for the place Domus Orationis this is the House of Prayer And so the fitter for the Times Molesta tempora perilous times as the Apostle spake of them And so the fitter for the Persons Orate pro Regibus One of our chiefest Duties is to pray for Kings and all that are or should be in Authority Sermons offer themselves to the Ears and perchance find thence some further passage to the Heart But Prayers pierce the Heavens yea Coelos Aereos when they are Brass Oratio Justi a good mans prayer finds a good and speedy passage through those obstructed passages and walls of Brass James 5.16 Deut. 28.23 Now here you have not only a Prayer but a Good mans prayer the Meekest man upon the Earth Numb 12.3 and he a King too but two verses before the Text A King in Jesurun that is amongst all good and godly men a King and so esteemed or Rex apud Rectissimum as the Vulgar hath it God and all Good men acknowledge him for such And so you have the Prayer of a King for a King or rather for a Race of Kings Though a Benjamite the Son of Belial blow the Trumpet and say We have no part in David David of the Tribe of Judah yet Non non auferetur Sceptrum de Judah the Prayer is for the Sion of Judah and that Royal Race Again 'T is the Prayer of a Dying man which commonly doth most affect The lasâ— Words leave the deepest impression behind them Extremum morientis munus non extremum munus And we would willingly preserve a Legacy especially a rich one as this is and which like the River of Paradise doth part it â—f into four heads First Hear Lord the voyce of Judah Secondly Bring him back unto his people Thirdly Let his hands be sufficient for him Fourthly And be thou an help to him from his Enemies Every one of these doth properly subdivide it self into four parts also that so we may have 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 every way a Cube full of it self able to subsist upon his own Basis Audi Domine vocem Judae c. Or you have here First A Prayer in general a Two-mens-Prayer Moses and Judah which like the stem of a Tree breaks forth and parts it self into three Branches Secondly The Prayer speciallized or those special Branches First for Reduction Bring him back Secondly for Sufficiency Self-sufficiency Let his own hands do it Thirdly for Assistance Heavenly-assistance the prime Branch upon this Tree And be thou an help to him from his Enemies I shall handle the Words in their order and with what brevity I may Hear Lord the voyce of Judah O now for some Moses who might fully express the drift of Moses He would tell you We are not born for our selves alone King Country Friends every one requires some special duty at our hands He would tell you The Care of Governours doth extend it self in Nondum Natos 'T was a wretched wish of his who with himself would have the World dissolved that they might perish together But Moses knowing his day of Dissolution to approach prays for a perpetuity of happiness on his Country especially on Judah who was to sway the Scepter Hear Lord the voyce of Judah You may call it a Legacy a Prayer and a Prophecy for 't is all these and what is here given prayed for and foretold in Earth was all ratified and confirmed in Heaven And this Blessing is conveyed to Judah in a Prayer because Oratio is Clavis Gratiarum the Key which opens a door to all our happiness And
Death There was a time when 't was otherwise Dixi in prosperitate mea c. Psal 30.6 I said in my prosperity I shall never be moved I made all cock-sure I thought the World had been mine eternally But now in his Affliction he is better informed and he that thought he should live for ever doth tell you of his going hence The Wise mans counsel is Memorare novissima the thinking upon Death is the ready way to Life And here 's one takes that course meditating on another World before he be compelled to leave this Many cast of these thoughts as too dull sad and melancholly None so old as the Oratour said but he thinks he may live one year longer And that 's the Millstone that hath sunk so many souls into the Abyss of Hell Senex volo intermortuus volo I may repent in mine old Age and on my Death-bed A late Repentance will serve that God who hath promised to accept of any At what time soever c. Sure we are afraid to be too good or to be too great Saints in Heaven And I may so often say I will and I will till God say I shall not I who have had so long a time and do neglect it may chance hear the Angel swearing That there shall be no longer time Solomon tells us of Evil daâ—es that ae to come Old Age are those and Sickness are those and Casualties are those The Scriptures tell us of an Hodie a time and an appointed time when we should repent and when God will surely hear But if we let slip that opportunity we may call and knock too with the Foolish Virgins and yet the Doors of Mercy be shut against us But what doth this concern the young man He hath many fair years to tell And those young Saints are never good Such indeed they may be But young Devils are alwayes naught And truly they set not the right foot before whose Rhetorick is Lyes and Oaths Their Musick a Baudy Song in their lips and a Prayer-book in their Pocket The greatest Discord in the World Their Devotion I am sure their Gesture yea and in Loco Sancto too is Antick Baptick any thing but what they should Their knees without joynts they cannot bow Their hands indeed sometimes lifted up but 't is to whiffle their locks or advance their Mustachio's Their eyes are rowling and adulterous eyes as St. Peter calls them and the whole model of their Carriage such as St. Paul said of some Jews They please not God and are contrary to all men 1 Thess 2.15 And do such Gallants think of going hence Do they dream of that Dance they must shortly dance That loath to depart Do they believe their own eyes Youth hath no priviledge As soon the young sheep comes to the Shambles as doth the old as soon indeed and oft-times sooner too Nay for one old man dye twenty young Ego ludebam foris in platea intus in Conclavi ferebatur super me judicium mortis Then wallowing in the sink of sin when the dismal Sentence of Death is pronouncing against them Well Youth gives these men no protection No nor Greatness neither And therefore David thinks of going hence Reads to himself and others that Lecture of Mortality Mors aequo pede pulsat pauperum Tabernas Regumque Turres Many are the priviledges of a King But none against Death And therefore the Heathen gave it and their supposed Fate the same Epithites Ineluctabilis Inevitabilis No wrestling against that Enemy Canutus may as well forbid the Sea to flow as any man can stop or turn back Death I must go hence And man is alwayes going A fasciis ad ferela linteum From the Womb to the Grave he is alwayes keeping on his progress St Gregory compares him to a Passenger or Merchant at Sea Stet sedeat c. Let him eat drink wake or sleep whatsoever he do the Ship keeps on his Course unto the Harbour Et nos impulsu navis ferimur The Gale is strong the Passage short and what our Merchandises will be God knows I fear many of us shall come short in our accompts and bring home stubble and straw Apes and Peacocks instead of Gold of Ophir 1 Kings 10.22 And what must our hope be What to make a better Voyage next No no our Ships will prove like Jehoshaphats Ships they 'l all break at Ezion-Gebeâ— No hope for a second Voyage or another Return If once we go hence we shall be no more And here make we our third Pause which hath brought us to the end of the race the visible race Now follows the last which brings us to the land of Forgetfulness as the Psalmist calls it If once we go hence we shall be no more There is hope of a Tree saith Job if it be cut down that it may sprout again and by the scent of Water it may bud and bring forth Boughs like a Plant But man dieth and is cut off he giveth up the Ghost and where is he Jobs first Quaere was Quid est What is man A poor silly Creature of few dayes and full of trouble A flower a shadow a nothing His next Quaere is Vbi est What becomes of him Where is he The Widow of Tekoa said much when she compared man to water spilt on the ground which cannot be gathered up again But Job likens him to a floud decayed and dryed up no moisture or vestigia left For man lieth down and riseth not till the Heavens be no more They shall not awake nor be raised out of their sleep Cap 14. v. 12. And this is Davids Be no more no more a Man of this world No more in esteem no more to repent and find Grace For as the Tree falleth there shall it be Eccles 11. And therefore lay no more upon me than I can bear For I am a man and man is nothing I must away and be no more I go from whence I shall never return again O would our sons of Anak think on this who have sold themselves to work wickedness and drink up iniquity as Beasts drink water Their eyes swell with fatness and they do even what they list or as our last Translation reads it they have more then heat can wish They murder the widow and the fatherless and put the innocent to death Those men have their Day but 't is a short one Adhuc pusillum and we shall see them no more No more till we see them dragged to a worse Judgment then they now hale others Well if they 'l not think on 't God grant we may Our Goods they were but lent us and the less we have the less we have to answer for we can but go out naked as we came in and so shall all Our Afflictions will not last for ever and be they never so many and sharp too yet are not our sufferings worthy that glory that shall be revealed And at most those Lions
with that Vetus parsimonia so much heretofore esteemed and still exercised by all wise and sober persons After he had taken enough for himself his Friends and his poor Neighbours he carefully laid up the remainder wherewith he hath made a competent provision for his Family which being so honestly gotten and so honourably saved will doubtless carry Gods blessing along with it as it had his Nor was his Religion towards God less than his Loyalty to his Prince or his Charity to his Neighbour it lay not so much in the tongue as in the heart He manifested his Faith the surest way by his Works He was no Pharisaical Christian he did not blow a Trumpet when he gave Alms not tell the People by his looks when he fasted nor call for a witness when he prayed He had got such an art in Giving that one hand know not what the other gave He had a way to conceal his Fasts by the chearfulness of his Countenance and he cared for no other eye to behold his Devotions but Gods and his holy Angels And as he had God for his Father so he had the Church for his Mother which next to God he still respected and reverenced sympathizing with her in what condition soever she was in If she wept then did his eyes gush out with water if she rejoyced then was his mouth filled with laughter and his tongue with joy How have I seen him droop at the news of Gods Ark being in danger to be shaken and how would his spirits revive again at any good tidings of its peace and settlement how did he hate all those that had evil will at Zion yea he hated them as David did with a perfect hatred And how did he delight in all such as did seek the peace of Jerusalem In a word they that were friends to the Church were his friends and he had no enemies but her Adversaries As to his dealings amongst men they were all square and above-board He was a perfect lover of Justice and hated falshood more than death His love where he profest it was without dissimulation He was a true Nathaniel in whom there was no guile And have you heard of the patience of Job why such was his I can compare it to no other As they were both upright men and such as feared God and eschewed evil so was God pleased to afflict them much alike Job was cast out of his own house and so was he Job was plunder'd of his Cattel by the Sabeans and so was he of all that he had by worse than the Sabeans if possible by the rebellious Sequestratours Job lost his Children so did he only in this his misery was not so great Jobs Children were taken away rioting in a Banquetting-house but his died honourably in the service of their Prince Job was afflicted in his Wife too and so was he but in a quite contrary manner Job in having the worst of Wives He in losing the best But the manner of his losing her could not but add much to his sorrow for she was snatcht out of the world in a tempest and swallowed up quick by the merciless waves having all the remainder of the treasure he had about her to a very considerable value and a far greater treasure in her arms then that even his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 his young and darling Daughter who chose rather to embrace Death than leave the embraces of her tender Mother and so both sunk together with a Maid-servant that attended her into the depth of the Sea There are some as I think at this time present who were then with her who remain the Monuments of Gods mercy in their deliverance and faithful Witnesses of the truth of what I speak Whose Courage whose Constancy but Jobs or His would not have stagger'd at such a shock whiles he like Job having the Anchor of his Hope both sure and stedfast stood like the Center unmoved And in the midst of all these Crosses and sad events that befel him he lookt upon the Divine hand invisibly striking with those sensible scourges against which he durst not either Rebel or Murmur All those extremities did but exercise his Faith not weaken it which like a well wrought Vault grew the stronger for the many pressures which were laid upon him In all this he did not sin against God by his Impatience nor charge God foolishly but with holy Job resigned himself wholly up to Gods will saying with him The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away blessed be the Name of the Lord. Nor were they more unlike in their Deaths than in their Lives The Lord blessed the latter end of them both more then their beginning Job died being Old and full of daies and so did he so full of Daies that he was satisfied if not weary with long life desiring rather to be dissolved and to be with Christ And so he died with Moses at the mouth of the Lord God gently drew out the breath which he had breathed into him quietly impinn'd his Tabernacle and so took him to himself in peace And now I find my self like to that bad Orator who could not desinere knew not how to make an end which I cannot but be the more unwilling to do because I know that as soon as I have finisht my discourse he will be carried from us into the silent retirement of the Grave and will be no more seen And methinks 't is some comfort to enjoy him even thus But we must part The Grave beckens him and methinks I see him beckning us to follow him O my Father my Father Nature would speak more but Religion commands me silence Could our Prayers have prevented his death we should have sighed out our Souls to God to have begg'd his life and could our tears yet restore him I see by those watery planets in your eyes we could command a deluge like to that in the floor of Atan or that of Hadadrimmon in the Valley of Megiddo But he cannot come to us and that 's his happiness but we shall go to him and that 's our comfort Let us not mourn for him therefore as men without hope 'T is but his Body that is dead his Soul is still alive as well as ours but far more happy being already free of the glorious Company of Saints and Angels And we shall meet again I trust in Glory both our Souls and our Bodies where all sorrow shall be wiped from our eyes where there shall be no more fear nor death nor sin but we shall be all as the Angels of God And so Lord thy Kingdom come so come O Lord Jesus come quickly In the hour of Death and in the day of Judgment good Lord deliver us Give us grace so to live in thy fear that we may die in thy favour that so after this mortal life ended we may be received by thee into those heavenly habitations where we trust the Soul of our Dear Father here departed together with the Souls of all them that sleep in the Lord JESVS enjoy perpetual rest and felicity Unto which GOD of his infinite mercy bring us all for Jesus Christ his sake Amen FINIS
therefore Christ proposeth a Parable that we should always pray Luke 18. Prayers are Arma Christianorum as Tertullian And I fear those weapons have been too often wanting in our Armies I am sure they were the weapons the best weapons in Moses days And you may see what made Joshua conquer Amalek and what put life into the Camp whiles Moses Cruce and Prece prevails with God Exod. 17.11 12. And the Apostle doth perchance allude to this 1 Tim. 2. when he requires men to pray Lifting up pure hands every where much more when we expose our lives to the Casualties of War When the Hoste goeth forth against thine Enemies then keep thee from every wicked thing Deut. 23.9 then especially then or never When Judah is in Captivity or danger then pour out thy soul in Prayer to God and then especially then or never Audi Domine the second thing observable To whom Moses doth direct his Prayer Hear Lord not hear Abraham hear Isaak or if those Patriarchs were then in Limbo as our Neighbours tell us yet methinks they should have another conceit of Enoch whom God took away Gen. 5. nay translated him that he should not see death Heb. 11.5 And yet 't is not Hear Enoch but Hear Lord. Vnto thee will I direct my prayer Psal 5. Whom have I in Heaven but thee Psal 73.25 To him therefore to him let us make our Addresses in all our Troubles for He calls He commands Venite ad me And doubtless that of Isai Chap. 63. is sound Divinity in the New Testament also Abraham is ignorant of us and Israel knows us not And those Saint-Servants may remember what Tertullian upbraided the Heathen withal in his days Vos Irreligiosi qui eam that is health and help Quaeritis ubi non est petitis à quibus dari non potest praeterito eo in cujus potestate est God is a Jealous God and will not have his Honour given to another Now as 't is Hear Lord so 't is Hear Lord the voyce of Judah Moses the Magistrate or if you will Moses the Priest For Moses and Aaron among his Priests Psal 99.6 Moses prayeth for Judah that 's not enough Judah must pray for himself also whether it be Judah the Warriour or Judah the Law-giver Psal 60. In War in Peace Judahs Prayer must be heard Hear Lord the voyce of Judah St. Peter bid Simon Magus repent and pray to God Acts 8. But what saith Simon pray ye to the Lord for me 'T is true Abrahams Prayer is heard for Abimeleck Moses is heard for Pharaâ—h Micha is perswaded of Gods favour for getting a Priest into his house Obed-Edom thrives for giving harbour to the Ark And the Shunamites Cost bestowed upon Elisha was not in vain 'T is true Oratio Justi oratio efficax multum valet as St. James said The fervent Prayer of a righteous man availeth much But Pray ye to the Lord for me is not enough Your own Repentance must make way for the Priests Prayers and your Prayers must go along with Theirs Judah's voyce must be heard as well as Moses's Prayer His heart is not enough God requires his voyce also I hate those Pharisaical Long-prayers and those cryed-up Bablers of the times so much say I of our Hypocritical Zealots whose House-reading is Roaring and their loud Prayers give Alarums to their sleeping Neighbours and what they do is to be known of men Intra in Conclave saith our Saviour Matth. 6. When thou prayest retire thee to thy Closet and shut the Door c. That 's for thy private Prayers but in the Church do the Works of the Church If thou be of the Congregation bear a part with the Congregation Let thy tongue tell me thy hearts awake I know Hannah prayed with the heart her lips only moved her voyce was not heard Her Sex perchance required that Modesty And she well knew the place she prayed in But surely the Godly cannot always contain themselves They will they must break out Tears and Desires will seek for vent Concalvit cor meum intra me saith David Psal 39. Mine heart was hoâ— within me the fire kindled and at the last I spake with my tongue And in this posture shall you most while find the Saints in their Prayers Moses cries to the Lord Exod. 8. Samuel crieâ— to the Lord 1 Sam. 7. Thus the Israelites thus David almost every where Clamavi ad Dominum In the 142 Psalm 2. v. I poured out my Complaints before him so we read The Tremelâ—ian reads it I poured out my Meditations before him not Quicquid in Buccam venerit not those sudden Raptures and ex tempore-long-winded-prayers of our New-gifted Pharisees But I poured out my Meditations I durst not offer any indigested unpremeditate-Prayers I Conclude this part Non vox sed votum The Heart as 't is the principal part of the body and seat of life so is it the principal part and life of our Prayers wherefore the heart must in no case be away But as our Saviour said upon another occasion These things ought ye to have done and not to leave the other undone Heart and Tongue let both in Gods name go together Give him both that made both So will God hear the voyce of Judah The Second part followeth And bring him unto his people or as the Tremellian reads it Reduce bring him back Bring him home again unto his People Who hath not read the misery of Kings and Princes in all Ages Their Captivities Banishments and unthought-of Deaths How many have attended the triumphant Chariots at Rome Or who hath not heard of Bajazets Cage or Sapor's Foot-stool Many have gone forth but vestigia nulla retrorsum They wanted this Blessing of Judah God brought them not back unto their People But I shall keep my self to Israel and Judah those great Examples of Gods Justice and Mercy The Rebellious Israelites did a long time prosper at length losing their Religion they lost withal Gods Favour and their dearest Country They were totally Conquered made Captives and A never to Return did seal up their sorrows They left the Commandments of their God and their God left them He was angry very angry with Israel so that the Lord removed them out of his sight 2 Kings 17.18 They lost not only their Power and their Country but their Name also None left but the Tribe of Judah only in the same place And Moses's Blessing did not depart from Judah Still a Duc and a Reduc followed him God brings out David from the Philistins and Joash out of the Temple Manasseh is carried into Babylon yet God brought him back again 2 Chron. 33. And Jehoiachin after 37 years Captivity comes out of Prison to a Throne Still God rememembred Judah Afterwards follow those Indulgencies of Cyrus and Darius Judahs full Restorement They to their Country and one of their own to govern them Moses's Prayer still takes place Judah was brought back unto his People We have
Bored Servants for the time to come Exod. 21. Nor was there any hope of Freedom afterward No marvel then if the poor Woman cryed Clamavit mulier There is a saying Curae Leves loquuntur ingentes stupent Light Sorrows speak when greater silent are And it might seem then somewhat to lessen her Sorrow that she could and did Cry 'T is true In some sudden and unexpected Misery Vox faucibus haeret the unexpectedness and greatness of Sorrow doth stop the Floud-gates and there are found those who could neither weep nor speak for a while But violent Motions are not lasting and the thickest Cloud will be broken and the Rain will fall Tears and Words will find vent Tell me ye Mothers tell me what you would do if you should see the merciless Officer or Souldier seizing on your Child for his prey if but one Child But Vtrumque Filium Both All and All without hope of Redemption Not one left to comfort the poor Mother in her Calamity Me thinks I see Rebecka's swoln heart ready to break Gen. 27. when she counsels Jacob to fly from the fury of his Brother Esau who had sworn his Death O why should I be deprived of both of you in one day And that witty Complaint of the Woman of Tekoa did pierce Davids heart Thy Hand-maid had two Sons they strove they fought and one is slain The Kinred call for Justice and lo they 'l quench my Coal which is left O King without thy help and pardon I shall be deprived of them both Here 's a widow a poor widow deprived of her best Comfort and now like to be robbed of her Children also Well might she have borrowed Jerusalem's mournful Complaint out of Jeremy O ye that pass by behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow Let Fathers speak who exeunt hominem leave off to be men if they leave off natural affection Let Mothers speak if Schools distinguish right their Love is more fervent though the Fathers love be more constant Let all those speak who are so much troubled at every common Cross Loss or Affliction What would they say if Mephibosheth must loose all If they must go hand in hand with Job If with this poor widow Goods and Children and All must be lost and for ought they know without the hope of any Jubile or Restitution Here we may see the affection of Parents towards their Children How many years doth Jacob lament the supposed death of his beloved Joseph How bitterly doth David bewail the untimely death of his ungracious Absolon Anna calls young Toby sorrowing for his Departure the Staff of her old Age the Staff in her hand that she went by Stories will tell you of some Fathers that have given their own eyes to save their Sons of those who have resigned their Crowns their Loves their Lives and all to do their Children good I will add but one Example more though of many in that one in the third Punick War when the choicest young Noble-men were sent away Hostages into Sicily The Mothers accompany them to the Ship with all expressions of sorrow Thence they get up the top of the Rocks and at their going out of sight the Mothers many of them cast themselves head-long into the Sea A sad farewel Yet were their Sons sent away for Hostages and not taken away for Slaves And thus doth Love descend in a full carrier from the Parents to the Children But I fear the Motion is very slow in rising upward from the Children to the Parents Sure this Motion is against the Hill we pause too often The Poet said true Filius ante diem And many say in their hearts what Esau did Gen. 27.41 The dayes of mourning for my Father are at hand He cannot live long And then a sad Suit and a merry heart But beware of that Lex talionis As sure as a day they are paid again in their own Coyn Besides the sting of a guilty Conscience is sure to follow them as long as they live O that Children would but think upon the many Cares and Fears and Cost that Parents are put to for their Children and with what neglect contempt and disobedience 't is oft-times repayed But take heed remember that of the Apostle Eph. 6.1.2 Filii obedite c. Honour thy Father and Mother which is the first Commandement with promise The Promise is long life which all desire And our undutifulness to our Parents cuts of the thread of life and sends men headlong to the grave c. Now come we to those Horse-Leeches whose Teeth are spears as Solomon sayes And they devour the poor of the earth Prov. 30.14 Ecce Creditor The Father is dead The Mother almost distracted The Children in despair The whose little House nought but Tears and Terrour And in comes this Moth-of-men this Canker that hath eaten up many good Houses and their Masters to boot In comes the Vsurer one qui laetatur de lachrymis proximorum when all weep he laughs He hopes to gain wherever the loss fall and he riseth most while by the ruins of the poor Of all Vertues Mercy is the best It conforms us to our Maker and hath the promise of a reward both in this life and in the life to come Matth. 5.7 Blessed are the merciful for they shall be sure of mercy The object of Mercy is Misery To him that is afflicted pity should be shewed Job 6.14 So David Psal 41. Blessed is he that considereth the poor and needy And Solomon He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord and look what he giveth God will pay him again Prov. 19.17 Now of all People in misery God regardeth none so much as the Widow and the Fatherless And therefore one special Branch in Moses's Law was a Proviso for them Exod. 22.22 Ye shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child And when ye make a Feast call the fatherless and the widow Deut. 16. Nay thrice in that Chapter you are bid to rejoyce in your Feasts but call the fatherless and the widow No good feasting without them So likewise at Harvest-time at Olive gathering and Grape gathering still Remember the widow and fatherless Deut. 24. And one of the Charges which Asaph gave the Judges was to help the poor and fatherless Psal 82.3 4. When Eliphaz thought to load Job with Reproaches he tells him he had sent away the widows empty and he had not relieved the fatherless Chap. 9 And in Psal 94. one of their crying sins was They slay the widow and the stranger and put the fatherless to death Well then see here one that regardeth nor God nor Man nor Widow nor Fatherless All 's fish that comes to his Net Hee 'l have away the Children And let the Mother break her heart All 's one to him The Debt could not be great But the Forfeit was too great The Debtor was a good man and therefore would not borrow what in
death Aquin 2.7 q 124. art 3. Ex zelo fidei charitate fraterna c. saith Aquinas Out of the fervency of their faith and to hearten and encourage their Brethren The Martyrs have often come forth and offered themselves to the fire or other fury of their enemies Apolog. cap. 1. This made Tertullian cry out Christianis quid simile c. What may be compared to the Christian question him and he is glad accuse him and he saith guilty adjudge him to death and he will give thee thanks This made Antonius Pius give a liberal testimony of them in his time Euseb Eccl. Hist. lib. 4. c. 13. It is their desire in Gods quarrel rather to die than to live Not to speak of Isaiah cut in twain Sixt. Senens lib. Sanct. l. 1. Jeremy stoned Ezekiel beheaded Daniel in the Den and his three companions in the Oven and indeed which of the Prophets have not been persecuted and slain Act 7.52 nor of Eleazar beaten to death being fourscore years old and ten 2 Machab. 6. ibid. c 7. nor of that honourable Woman and her seven Sons enduring to the amâ—zement of the Tormentors And though it be most true as one saith Erasmus virginum Martyr comparat Parentes atrocius torquentur in liberis quà m in seipsis The poor Mother suffered more Martyrdoms than she had Children and every stripe their backs felt went to her heart yet she exhorted every one of them with a mâ—nly stomack and prayed them all to die couragiously never deploriâ—g that she had brought them forth to such misery but overjoyed that she should be the Mother of so many Saints And though I know it to be true what the Orator hath Cic. 3. in Verrem Vetera exempla pro fictis fabulis jam audiri Yet will I touch at a few of those holy Saints and blessed Souls in Heaven who willingly joyfully constantly yielded up their spirits in his quarrel who first trod out the way and shed his blood for them Policarpe when many urged him to deny his Saviour and sâ—ve himself answered resolutely fourscore and six years have I served Him neither hath he ever offended me in any thing and how can I revile my King who hath thus long preserved me And when the Proconsul threatned to burn him his answer was Thou threatnest fire for an hour which lasteth a while and is quickly quenched but thou art ignorant of the everlasting fire of the day of Judgment and of the endless torments which are preparâ—d for the wicked And being now come to his last he turneth from 〈◊〉 Persecutor to his Maker O God saith he I thank thee that thou hast g aciously vouchsafed this day and this hâ—ur to aâ—lot me a portion among the number of Martyrs and Servants of Christ Ignatius â—hen he was sent from Syria to Rome to be meat for wild Beasts Idem lib 3. c. 32. Gr. â—5 Now saith he do I begin to be a Disciple I weigh neither visible noâ— invisible things Let Fire Gallows Violence of Beasts bruising of Bones racking of the Members stamping of my whole Bodâ— and all the plagues Satan can invent light upon me so I may win my Saviour Christ Fox in tertia persecutionâ— Simeon Bishop of Hierusalem being an hundred and twenty years old was scourged many daies together and at last Crucified Peter a Noble man of Nicomeâ—ia Euseb Eccl. Hist lib 8. cap 6. had his body rent in pieces with the Lash afterward Vinegar mixt with Salt was poured into his wounds and last of all he was fryed to death upon a Gridiron Sanctus Idem l 5. c 1. one that would neither confess his Name Kinred or Country but only that he was a Christian had his body fired feared scorched with hot plates of brass Forty Martyrs young Gentlemen Fox in decima persecat ex Basil for professing themselves Christians were in the depth of Winter compelled to stand in a Pond all the night and in the morning taken out and burned Take one Wom n among the rest Blanaina Euseb lib 5. a 1. who was tormented from morning till night the Executioners tormenting her by turns and after a world of Cruelties she was wrapped in a Net and tumbled before a wild Bull which tossed her too and fro upon his horns and for a fare-well she had her Head divided from her Body I have read of some Jaques de Lavardin Hist. of Scanderbeg lib. 11. and those some of the valiantest the World did see within their Age who after all kind of Ignominy and Turkish cruelty practised upon them were flead alive by little and little for fifteen daies together Heb. 11.32 Euseb lib. 6. c 40. Gr 41. Ibid cap. 41. Gr. 42. Ibid. cap 40. Idem l. 5 c. 1. And to borrow the Apostles words what shall I more say for the time would be too short for me to tell how some had their eyes pricked out with sharp quills as Metras some were beaten to death with Cudgels as Ischyrion some had all their teeth beaten out of their head as Apollonia And what should I speak of the setting them in the Stocks Fox decima persecut and stretching their leggs unto the fifth-hole or of the Iron Chair wherein they sate broyling to death of holes made in their necks and their Tongues drawn out backward their Eyes pulled out and the hollow places seared with hot Irons (a) D King on â—onas Lect. 24. pownding in Mortars rowling in Barrels armed with pikes of Iron (b) D Benefiâ—ld on Amos Lect 7. Womens breasts seared (c) Sab. Prateolus lib 7. §. 7. Virgins faces whipped their whole body abused prostituted and tormented I am faint in telling and you be weary in hearing but they unterrified undaunted endured all couragiously * Erasmus viâ—ginum Martyr compâ—rat Tertul Apol. cap 50. Hemming in Pâ—â—l â—4 7. Naâ—anz Oat 〈◊〉 de Machabaeis Hosius Confess fidei cap. 6 8. Nasianz Cygneorum Carm. lib. Orat 3â— de Machabeis Heb. 2 Moses and Maximus c. 26 Ep. inter opera Cyprianâ— Tyrannorum ingeniosa crudelitas saith one The bloudy Tyrants set their wits on work to invent torment but nihil proficit exquisitior quaeque saith another the more the Torments the more the Martyrs Their bloud was like corn sown one brought forth many Yea the Persecutors themselves were astonished to see their constancy and how they went to their Martyrdom tanquam ad epulas tanquam ad de licias tanquam ad nuptialem thalamum they went to the fire as to a feast as to a dainty feast as to their bridal bed Wherefore let us also seeing that we are compassed with so great a cloud of Witnesses cast away every thing that presseth down and the sin that hangeth so fast on Let us remember from whence we are fallen that so we may repent and do the first works We
quasi materia Either as something of or something belonging to Repentance either as parts of Penitency or * Ibid. Concil Fâ—orent acts of the Penitent necessary either ut praecepta or media †Concil Trident in â—atechist ad parochos in sacrament poenitent as things of nature or conducing to the perfection of Repentance Many of them have said no more and for ought I see we may as much for when no stone is lest unmoved and sick man-like we have tossed us from side to side we are still in the same place We admit them all in some cases As for Confession to the Priest our Church approves and presseth it * Book of Common Prayer indeed as †B Vsher in answer to the Jesuit challenge p 92. Medicinal not Sacramental and though the Keys be grown rustie yet are they rich But we have not now to do with any secret sin Canus parte quinta de relict poenitent but with a known Capital offence And though with the Greek Church we content our selves oft-times with confession to God alone yet here together with them we do admit approve urge a publick Exhomolegesis open Confession and Church discipline S. Thom. ex Anselmo Satisfactio est compensatio Offensae prae teritae ad aequalitatem justitiae As for Satisfaction our intent is not to make level with the Almighty for our sins We know the disproportion between Mans weakness and Gods justice * Dr. Fulke ad 2 Cor. 2. S. 6. in Rhem. Test and against Stapleton Fortress 10. difference But publick offences may not be smothered privately and he that hath given scandal and offended the Church must to the Church give Satisfaction Said I that he must nay he will he will willingly He will cry ignosce pater for his Sin and ignosce frater for his Example All his grief is that he did sin and not that he doth suffer and freely and ingeniously he will confess That whatsoever is laid upon him whatsoever his pennance be either for the humbling of himself or for a terrour unto others 't is all too little Lib. 1 c 9. Irenaeus will tell you of a Woman seduced by Mark the Heretick which did spend her whole time in bewailing her offence and of others which did Ibid. in manifesto exhomoligesâ—n facere publickly acknowledge and lament their sins and wickedness Lib. 5 c 26. Eusebius will tell you of an Heretical Bishop Natalis who clad himself in sackcloth and ashes falls down to the feet of the Bishop and with a world of sighs and tears craves pardon Socrates will tell you how Ecebolius for renouncing his Faith Lib. 3. c. 11. lay along in the Church-porch and cryed to such as came in Tread me Tread me under your feet for I am the unsavoury Salt Lib 1. de poenitent c. 16. And Ambrose will tell you of many who did even plow-up their face with tears wither their cheeks with weeping prostrate themselves to the feet of the passengers and with their continual abstinence and much fasting they made their living bodies the very Image of Death I might add unto all these old Origen In Suida inter sua opera post libros 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that Library of Learning and Ocean of woe But we will pass from voluntary submission to Canonical satisfaction And here give me leave to say somewhat of the Laws Ecclesiastical and punishment inflicted by the Church that which many ignorantly condemn and many most maliciously hew at Lib de poenitent Tertullian will tell you that such like Offenders as these must pastum potum pura nosse Bread and Water must be their diet as the Prophet David said My tears have been my meat day and night That they must pray and sigh and weep pray to God humble themselves to the Priest St. Augustine will tell you De mirabil Sacrae script that they must never think their pennance enough they must alwaies sorrow alwaies cry peccavi life and lamentation must end together St. Ambrose De poeniten lib. 2. cap. 1. The more a man throws himself down by sorrow and submission the more abject he is in his own sight the more accepted shall he be in the sight of God But this is general The Church did appoint certain forms of pennance according to the quality of the offences and for denying the Faith Grandem redeundi difficultatem sanxit antiquitas Apud Carranz cap. â—7 ejusdem Contil 't is a Canon in the Agathon Council about a thousand years agon Our Fore-fathers say they did command and enjoyn a bitter pennance to all such as had denied the Faith Indeed some as 't was said of Novatus would admit no reconciliation some would receive onely once all such as fell after Baptism The usual practice was to enjoyn a three years pennance at the least to such as did in time of Persecution and against their will deny some had their punishment prolonged even unto eight or nine years or more Carranz in Conc. Ancryan Can. 6. Ibid. Can. 1. and some were put off ad magnum diem even till the hour of Death or day of Judgment And if he were a Priest tkat fell he lost his Orders nor might he ever recover his former state but by enduring the brunt of a second Persecution Lib. Eccles Hist. 7 cap. 2. tom 1. ep 10. Pysh Alloy in Miscellan names four sorts ex Conc Nicen. Moses Maximus c. inter opera Cyprian tomo 1. epist. 26. And last of all If any were restored either of the Laiety or otherwise it must be done by laying on of Hands and Confirmation of the Bishop And this Eusebius calls the ancient Custome and Cyprian that to do otherwise were to ruinate and not restore Now during the time of these long appointed Pennance some were Audientes and might only stay the Sermon other were Orantes and might be present at Prayers but must depart when the Eucharist was to be administred To admit them to the Communion was to give that which is holy to Dogs some some and to press to the Altar was Domini corpus invadere De Lapsis Exam. Concil Trident. parte ult de Indulgentiis So Cyprian yet all this while there were Relaxations Moderations Mitigations or as the new word after Chemnitius hath it Indulgences from that rigour and severity and there was a peculiar reserved power in the R. R. Bishop †Concil Ancyran Cau. 2. 5. F Th Gavius de contrit he might either lengthen or shorten the time as he saw cause For as one saith out of Hierom. Apud Deum non tantum valet mensura tempoporis quà m doloris God regardeth not the length of the Pennance but the Contrition of the party not how long but how heartily we humble our selves This was the Discipline of the Primitive Church this was the remedy they did provide against