die he must Shut the doores of the wombe and then no entrance into this world but being here so many are the passages hence that they cannot bâ— stopped So that a liuing man is but an Embleme of that liuelesse Anatomy where the Ram pusheth at the head the Bull at the Necke the Lion at the Heart the Scorpion at the Priuy parts c. One dyes of an Apoplexie in the head another of a Struma in the necke a third of a Squinancie in the throate a fourth of the Cough and Consumption of the Lungs others of Obstructions Inflammations Pleurisies Gowts Dropsies c. And him that escapeth the sword of Hazael him doth Iebu slay and him that escapeth the sword of Iebu him doth Elisha slay Let God arme any of the least of all his creatures against the strongest man it is present death Our glasse is so britle that euery thing that can knocke it can cracke it nay what is more brittle than glasse yet it may be laid vp and preserued for many ages for though subiect to knocks which it may escape yet not to agues to diseases But with man-kind mortality dwelleth Intus est hoc malum in visceribus ipsis haeret where euer life is there is death it stickes in our very bowels The Comparison is Saint Augusâ—ines We walke among casualties saith he Si vitrei essemus If we were glasse c. Falls for these brittle vessels we feare but age or sickenesse we feare not in respect of them But man besides the many casualties that haue continuall intercourse with his life lyes open to the enfeerbling of age and sickenesse The holy Scriptures call our Tabernacles earthly houses and very rightly for either they fall by outward violence or moulder away of their owne accord Man dwelleth in houses of clay whose foundation is in the dust which are crushed before the moth Thus fraile are we and all the world cannot helpe it But God can helpe all If that were a good argument Could not he that opened the eyes of the blind haue caused that euen this man should not haue dyed Then this is good He that restored him to life being dead could much more haue kept him in life being yet aliue He can translate Enoch to depart without the sense of death or if He please that he shall not die at all He can if it seemed Him best graunt vnto all men their common desire not to vncloath them at all but cloath them vpon with theiâ— house which is from Heauen that mortality may be swallowed vp of life And he can for he will take order that all those that are aliue at the comming of the Lord shall not sleepe but be changed in a moment But where he decreeth the faithfull to death there also he can he will with the Vipers flesh cure the Vipers sting and out of darkenesse fetch light and out of death life filling the dying man with liuing comfort First through his future Hope that though the sap sinke into the roote yet it shall reuiue For Heauens dew is as the dew of hearbes and the earth shall giue vp her dead and he after he hath slept a while in his bed the graue shall arise refreshed euen when this corruptible shall put on incorruption and this mortall shall put on immortality Secondly Through his present expectation he shall defie death saying as great Saint Basil to the Tyrant Quomodo mortem formidabo quae me meo Creatori sit redditura How shal I feare death which will giue me backe vnto my Maker Nay with our Apostle Saint Paul like a prisoner that would be enlarged I desire to be dissolued and to be with Christ which is best of all And as thus the beleeuer comforts himselfe in the Power of God so likewise in the Wisedome of God who afflicts him onely when he needs affliction as Saint Peter hath it though now for a season if need be ye are in heauinesse c. These corroding medicines need be applyed to eate out proud flesh these bitter potions to purge out peccant humours these dusts to smoake vs out of the high-way of the world these vnpleasant things to acquaint vs with the bitter fruit of sinne and what that wrath-full cup was which Christ our Sauiour dranke of for our sins these to try our faith our patience and the naturalnesse of our loue whether it will beare the rod laid on not so much for the Fathers pleasure as for the childrens profit And in the Loue of God he can take comfort who when he giues a bitter potion stands by to see the working of his Physicke And when the Physicians of our bodies are not touched with the sicke fits of their patients God Almighty the Physician of Israel can condole with vs. To this purpose Isaiah In all their affliction he was afflicted and Ioel he is such a one as is sorry for our afflictions Finally he can comfort himselfe in the faithfulnesse of the Lord. For God is faithfull who will not suffer vs to be tempted aboue our strength but will giue the issue with the temptation saith our Apostle God will not suffer the smarting playster longer on than needs must but will be a refuge in due time as Dauid tells vs and speake comfortable things to our hearts euen in the wildernesse as he promiseth by another Prophet Thus he that hath faith in his heart cheareth vp himselfe in the midst of discomforts by the Power Wisedome Loue Faithfulnesse of his God which sets him downe with the Churches soliloquies in her Lamentations The Lord is my portion saith my soule therefore will I hope in him The Lord is good to them that wait for him to the soule â—hat seeketh him It is good that a man should hope and quietly wait for the saluation of the Lord. Foolish therefore and impious is the practice of those to make some vse of this matter who in times of feare of care of sorrow or of distresse of conscience seeke to allay or forget their heart-pangs by ioyning to merry riotous and profane company As if a man ranne from a Lion and a Beare met him or leaned his hand on a wall and a Serpent bit him this is to put more on the â—core where is too much already and to make two reall euils of one seeming one Forsaking the fountaine of liuing waters to dig to themselues pits broken pits that can hold no water Ionas the Prophet would be an example to such for euer who flying from the preâ—ence of the Lord toward Tarshish there to hide from God and to solace and forget himselfe if possible among the Learned of that Vniuersity was pursued by vengeance throwne into the bottome of the sea filled with feare lest the Whale should deuoure his body and hell his soule for as a man already in the state of the dead he
vnto Dauid a righteous Branch and a King shall raigne and prosper and in his dayes Iudah shall be saued and Israel shall dwell safely and this is the name whereby they shall call him The Lord of righteousnesse This is he that was promised Iacob The Scepter shall not depart from Iudah vntill Shiloh come And to Abraham and Adam before that The seed of the woman shall breake the Serpents head In thy seed shall all generations of the earth be blessed And to Dauid and Symeon afterward All Nations shall blesse my Sonne and bee blessed in him Thou shall not see death vntill thou hast seene the Lord Christ. Briefly this is He that being appointed for the fall and vprising of Israel for the gathering of the Gentiles for the ioy of the whole earth was when the fulnesse of time came made of a woman borne vnder the Law that he might deliuer vs from the curse of the Law that so we might receiue the adoption of sonnes Will you vnderstand a little more of his nature Being in the forme of God and thinking it no robbery to be equall with God he tooke vpon him the shape of a seruant the substantiall forme not the accidentall there be his two natures Diuine humane Will you heare of his Person whether it be two or one because of his natures The Word became flesh and dwelt among vs Here begin againe his â—â—o natures and we saw his glory as the glory of the only begotten Son of God Lo Son he calleth him not Sons for all that he was called Word flesh that is God and man Will you heare of his kindred of the time of his comming of his behauiour of his miracles of his Doctrine of his doings suffrings of the effects of his doings suffrings The time was prophesied of by the Prophets by the Euangelists he is set forth to haue beene of the Linage of Dauid in the Towne of Dauid vnder the gouernment of a stranger in great humility and meekenesse with powerfull Doctrine with great signes and wonders with great and wonderfull obedience euen vnto death Finally to haue triumphed ouer Principalities and Powers and led Captiuity captiue to haue deliuered man who for feare of death was all his life time subiect to bondage to set at peace by the blood of the Crosse both things in heauen and things in earth In a word He dyed for our sinnes and rose againe for our Iustification This is the blessed Babe of whom my Text occasioneth me to speake the memory of whose Natiuity we celebrate this day But how doe we celebrate it We put on our best apparell that we doe and that wee may doe but doe we decke our selues inwardly with lowlinesse of minde with purity and integrity c. that wee should doe Wee draw neere vnto God with our lippes that we doe and that we may doe but doe we draw as neere with our hearts with hearty thankesgiuings for Gods mercies in his Sonne with hearty acknowledgement and repentance for our sinnes and wickednesses that we should doe Wee stand here before the Preacher as they that would be edified in their holy faith and to learne their duty that we doe many of 〈◊〉 and that wee ought to doe all but doe wee care to carry any thing away and to lay it vp in our hearts and to ponder it in our minds and to expresse it in our liues and conuersations that we should doe that is the thing that is necessary So we will fare well as many as are able and we will lade our tables with dishes and haue plenty of wine and strong drinkes c. but will we remember withall the affliction of Ioseph as it is in Amos will we send vnto them for whom nothing was prepared as it is in Ester that is will we helpe and releeue them that haue need of our comfort then we shall doe well Lastly we will laugh and be merry and reioyce and shout as in the dayes of Haruest as it is in Esay wee will call for the Violl and the Pipe the merry Harpe and the Lute as it is in the Psalme we will sit vp long haue many conferences with our neighbours and many songs and this we will doe and this we may doe But shall our songs be of the praises of the Lord and our talking of the most Highest Shall our watchiâ—g be vnto prayer not vnto vnthriftinesse our ioy in the holy Ghost not in worldly vanities our pastime a sober recreation not wanton daliance c Then we shall doe well then we shall please God then the Lord will say of vs as he did of Ierusalem Hephzi-bah that is My delight in her Indeed as the Apostle Saint Paul calleth vs away from the Iewish obseruation of the Passe-ouer to a Christian and spirituall keeping thereof not for a day or a yeere onely but thorowout our whole life saying Christ our Passe-ouer is sacrificed for vs therefore let vs keepe the Feast not in old leauen neither in the leauen of maliciousnesse and wickednesse but with the sweet bread of sincerity and truth So are we to be called vpon Beloued and waightily charged in Gods name and so I doe charge you that in this Feast you beware of all heathenish profanity and all carnall loosenesse and intemperancie and as they that looke for the comming of the Bride-groome and are carefull to shew forth the vertues of him that vouchsafed to be borne and to become man for their sakes see that we walke in newnesse of life The Gentiles indeed at this time of the yeere celebrated diuers feasts in honour of their Idols as Saturnalia Vacunalia c. wherein they allowed themselues and their seruants too in one of them all kinds of loosenesse and knauery But the Apostle doth declare and testifie vnto vs that wee henceforth should not walke as other Gentiles in vanities of their mind and being strangers from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them For the grace of God which bringeth saluation to all men hath appeared and commandeth that we should deny vngodlinesse and worldly lusts and to walke iustly and soberly and godly in this present world They that sleepe saith Saint Paul elsewhere sleepe in the night and they that are drunke are drunke in the night but now we are the children of the light and of the day and God hath not called vs to vncleannesse but vnto hâ—linesse Therefore it becommeth vs to cast away the workes of darkenesse and to put on the armour of light and as he that hath called vs is holy so we to be holy in all maâ—ner of conuersation This know that meat and drinke apparell doth not commend vs to God much lesse doth sporting or reuâ—lling much lesse doth chambring or wantonnes gluttony or drunkennes strife or enuying or the like but if any will be in Christ he must be a newe creature and
Keyes of the Kingdome of heauen not of the earth not of any place vnder the earth They giue authority to their Pope to dispose of earthly Kingdomes at his pleasure and full Iurisdiction ouer Purgatory which they take to be vnder the earth Christ teacheth vs to pray vnto God for forgiuenesse of sinnes Forgiue vs our trespasses They fall downe before their ghostly Father and craue of him Absolution Against the iudgement of Cyprian Veniam peccatix quae iâ— Dâ—minum commissa sunt solus potest ille largiri qui peccata nostra portauit c. He onely can grant pardon to our sinnes which wee haue committed against the Lord who onely bare our sinnes Against the iudgement of Hierome who plainely teacheth in Math. 16. That as the Priest in the old Law did not make any cleane or vncleane but onely shewed in what case they were So in the New the Bishop or Priest doth not bind such as are guilty nor loose such as be faultlesse but according to his duty he heareth the varieties of offences or offenders Peccatorum hee knoweth who is to be bound to wit of God and who to be loosed Thus Hieronym Briefely Christ said to the Thiefe vpon the Crosse and in him to all that are truely penitent This day shalt thou be with me in Paradise Thou shalt be translated from death to life and forthwith too without suffering any thing any where after this life They teach that though the sinne be forgiuen in the Sacrament of Penance yet that the punishment must be indured in Purgatory if there be not satisfaction made either here by giuing of Almes gadding in Pilgrimage c. or hence by the Priests Masses or by the Popes Pardons prouided that both be well paid for What is to make merchandize of the Word of God what to make merchandize of the soules of men if this be not Neither is their doctrine sounder touching the exercise of the Church Prayer and Inuocation Saint Paul saith that hee had rather speake in the Church fiue words with his vnderstanding that he might instruct others then a thousand with a strange tongue Yea Lyra himselfe though he liued in a most darke time yet saw thus much Si populus intelligat orationem Sacerdotis melius reducitur in Deum deuotius respondet Amen c. If the people doe vnderstand the prayer of the Priest he is better reduced vnto God and doth more deuoutely answer Amen What doe our Aduersaries Doe they that which is better and more deuout No they serue the people with Latin Seruice which they doe no more vnderstand then they doe the Turkish language and so whether they blesse them or curse them speake to them or speake to God they cannot tell Were it not all one for vnderstanding and edifying to be in Cyclops Caue where 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as in such a Church This for the manner of their prayer So for the obiect Saint Paul would haue vs to lift vp pure hands to God 1. Tim. 2. And our Sauiour whatsoeuer yee aske the Father in my Name hee will giue it to you And Augustine Quis andiuit aliquando fidelium stantem Sacerdotem ad Altare c. Who hath heard at any time a Christian Priest standing at the Altar c. and say in his prayer O Peter O Paul O Cyprian I offer vnto thee a Sacrifice whereas in the Oratories dedicated to their memories the offering is made to God who made them both men and Martyrs If no Sacrifice be to be offered then not the Sacrifice of prayer if an outward or visible Sacrifice be not to be offered to them much lesse then an inuisible and spirituall But now how is it with our Aduersaries As the Prophet vpbrayded the Iewes According to the number of thy Cities be thy gods O Israel So may wee say to them According to the number of thy Prouinces nay of thy Townes nay of thy Churches nay of thy Trades nay of thy persons be thy gods thy Saints thy Tutelares dij God the Father was shunned and abhorred as one that dwelled in the light that no man can haue accesse vnto nay as one that had Foenum in Cornu and with whom there was no dealing God the Sonne was forgotten as one that was gone into a farre Countrey or that was asleepe and needed to be awaked like Baal or that was wearyed with hearing suites himselfe and therefore for his ease had appointed certaine Deputies vnder him as Darius did or certaine Masters of Requests to report vnto him the seuerall suites of his subiects as many Christian Princes haue whereas for power He is God and can perfectly saue them that come to him themselues and for will He became man and weake and was tempted that Hee might be touched with a feeling of our infirmity And for credit with his Father you know what is written Math. 3. This is my beloued Son in whom I am well pleased Therefore as Saint Peter saith Lord to whom shall wee goe thou hast the words of euerlasting life This for the matter of Doctrine and instruction so for the matter of prayer and supplication we may and ought to be of Augustines resolution Tutius incundius loquor ad meum lesum quà m ad aliquem Sanctorum Spirituum Dei I find it more safe and sweet to speake vnto my God then to any of the Saints of God Now for the causes of our saluation and the meanes thereof doth the Scripture set downe any other meritorious cause then the Death and Passion of our Sauiour Christ or any other meane or instrument to take hold of the same then Faith God hath giuen vs eternall life in his Son Iohn 5. The blood of Iesus Christ cleanseth vs from all sinne Vnto men there is no name giuen by which they may be saued but onely the Name of Iesus Christ. The Scripture hath concluded all vnder sinne that the promise by the faith of Iesus Christ should be giuen to them that beleeue Gal. 3. And to be short As many as receiued him to them he gaue power to be the sons of God euen them that beeleue in his Name Iohn 1. Thus Christ is made to be the meritorious cause to be the authour and finisher of our Iustification and Saluation and Faith is made the instrumentall Therefore if they like not of the Doctrine we may say to them as Constantine did to Acetius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That they were best to make a new Ladder to clime vpto heauen by since the Ladder of Iacob will not serue the turne Will you know how they shift off such a cloud of Testimonies and what is their doctrine When they are pressed with those places that doe plainely make Christ to be the Alpha and Omega the beginning and ending of our Saluation c. they grant he is so in this sense that he giueth grace to men to worke righteousnesse and to
or feare or hope or meane to haue one they are in plaine English Bribes But touching them that haue had their suites sped I thinke they may more honestly be offered of the party then honorably receiued of the Magistrate I am sure that Elisha would take no reward of Naaman the Syrian no not after he had healed him of his Leprosie nor allow his man to take any but punished him exemplarily for taking And Erasmus reporteth of Frederick Duke of Saxony that being offered a great masse of gold by the Agents of Archduke Charles euen after he had giuen him his voyce to be Emperour and indeed made him Emperour he would not so much as looke vpon it And when they were instant vpon him at the least to giue them leaue to bestow a largesâ—e vpon his Gentlemen and followers his answere was that they might take some thing if they would but I tell you and I tell them said he that not one of them that taketh a penny shall stay a day in my house This was a godly Heâ—oicall mind but sooner praised then followed It is well now a dayes if nothing be giuen or promised beforehand and when the cause is toward hearing but to barre men from taking indifferently hand ouer head without exception lest hap some of them might haue a suitâ— that may seeme rough-Stoicknesse and rude inciuility Let it be so let it be lawfull to take without scruple such things as the Law alloweth Esculenta Poculenta but yet that you be not too forward to enter further then will stand with conscionable discretion Let me tell you a Story out of Bernard In short thus it was Martin a Cardinall of that name returning from Denmarke where he had imployment all weary and spent at the length got to Florence and there he is honorably receiued and entertained by the Bishop who also at his departure bestoweth an horse vpon him to carry him to Pisa. But what followed The next day the very next day as I remember saith Bernard the Bishop followed after hauing a matter in the Court and the day of hearing being at hand he therefore seeketh voyces and at the length commeth to Martin and craueth his furtherance to whom he said Decepisti me nesciebam tibi imminere negotium Thou hast deceiued me I did not know that thou hadst a cause towards hearing take thy horse againe I will none of him and so presently restâ—red him vnto him Bernard euen so long agoe maruelleth at this example and saith it was alteâ—ius seculi fitter for a lesse corrupt age then that wherein he liued Yet I doubt not but the like is vsually practised by many Iudges of our time and namely by them that heare me this day for I heare well yea very well of them But as Physicions in their Doses doe not intend that the Physicke which they minister should worke an especiall effect in euery part of the Patients body but in that onely that is affected And as Captaines in the warres doe cause alarmes to be sounded not because they thinke all or the most part to be asleepe but lest any should be vnready So the Preachers duty is to lift vp his voyce like a Trumpet and to hold forth as it were the Word of medicinable exhortation if any haue need there it is ready if they haue no need the Preacher hath shewed his good will and the same shall returne as a blessing into his bosome Enough of Bribery whether in higher degrees or lower The fourth and last thing that I proposed for a câ—rrupter of Iustice is Precipitancie Qui non moderabitur irae infectum volet esse dolâ—r quod suaserit mens He that will not master his anger will many times doe that which he would eate his nailes were vndone Thus speaketh one of Anger which is a very bad Counsellour The like may be said of Haste thâ—t it causeth many ouer-sights and trippings Indeed Herodotus doth say so much in plaine words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 So we say Hast maketh waste And Kimhi vpon the first of Esay recordeth this for the Apophthegme of the ancient Hebrew Doctors Ashrei hadaijan sheme chammets dino Blessed is that Iudge doth Fermentare is well aduised of his Sentence If Dauid had not beene too hasty hee had not rewarded Ziba with halfe his Masters Estate who deserued an halter for his Sycophancie to the great hinderance of Mephibosheth and to the great distaining of his owne honour For was there not an extraordinary League of friendship betweene Dauid and Ionathan Mephibosheths father So before this if Putifer had not beene too hasty hee would not haue cast Ioseph into prison without due exâ—mining of the matter by which meanes he stripped himselfe of a faithfull seruant and fostered an Adulteresse in his bosome So long after this If Theodosius the great had not beene too hasty hee had not committed that horrible massacre in Thessalonica which afterwards he rued and repented almost in sacke-cloth and ashes Certainely for tryall of small matters such as are pecuniary and the like it is not amisse that there be an hastening to ripenesse which when it is attained vnto it is a wrong to deferre Iudgement any longer lest it befall the litigants as it did a certaine Great man in his exile that they had cause to say with him We had beene vndone if we had beene vndone I meane and they meant if the matter had gone against them they had beene quite vndone and yet though it goe with them they are more then halfe vndone they had spent so much in the suite But now for matters of life and death I am of his minde that thought and said Nulla vnquam de moâ—te hominis cunctatio longa A man cannot be too well aduised of that which he cannot mend or make amends for when once it is done Surely There is hope of a tree if it be cut downe that it will yet sprout againe and that the tender branch there of will not cease but man dyâ—th c. and where is he he lyeth downe and riseth not till the heauens be no more that is till there bee an end of this world What then Doe I speake against Iustice or expedition for or in Iustice No but against Precipitancy in doubfull cases and especially if they concerne life For if a man be a Murderer Burglarer or Robber to day he will be so to morrow and bee found so the third day or the third weeke or the third moneth c. and then when there is good certainty let him suffer a Gods-name How many haue taken it vpon their deaths that they were innocent touching the crime laid to their charge and after their deaths it was made manifest that they were innocent indeed but in vaine Their liues could not be giuen to them againe Now in such a case it is not enough for the Inquest to lay the fault vpon the witnesses
commendable duty and very necessary to stand in the wayes of godlinesse and truth and to hearken after the same yet to stand in the wayes of sinners of superstitious and seditious and Idolatrous persons which weaue Spiders webbes nay which sit vpon Cockatrice egges it is not safe Therefore our Prophet doth wisely and necessarily adde in the second place That wee See or looke about vs. For as the mother of the ouer-hardy doth neuer want woe no more doth the rash hasty The blind man swalloweth many a Fly taketh hold of a Scorpion in stead of a Fish yea falleth in the ditch groapeth and stumbleth at noone-day Our eyes are therefore compared to the Sentinell or Watch-men of a City or Campe that forewarneth the body of danger approaching and biddeth it beware Now the Eye is not more needfull to the body for the direction thereof against stumbling and falls then Prudence and circumspection is to the Soule against error in iudgement and crookednesse in will and affection 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the vnderstanding that is the eye and the eare too as Clemens Alexandrinus citeth out of an old writer And 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Vnderstanding and a good mind and much fore-cast is the high-way to happinesse said Demosthenes against Aristogiton Therefore Saint Paul chargeth vs to walke circumspectly not as vnwise but as wise And our Sauiour Be wise as Serpents The Serpent is very quicke-sighted tam cernis acutum quà m aut Aquila aut Serpens Epidaurius and therefore he is called Draco of seeing So we must beware that we be not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 such as cannot see a farre off as Saint Peter speaketh but must anoint our eyes with eye-salue as Saint Iohn biddeth that so we may discerne things that differ light from darkenesse truth from error the sweet bread of sincerity and truth from the leauen of the old and new Pharises yea that we may be able to ken a farre off the sleights of Satan and his cogging 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This is one property that we must learne if we will be wise as Serpents we must espy the frauds of deceiuers a farre off Praesens sit longè insidias praesaga mali mens Secondly the Serpent stoppeth his eare against the charmer and will not be gotten out of his hole And so if many among vs had turned the deafe eare vnto Inchanters who laboured first to withdraw them from loue to the truth and then from loyalty to the Prince many worshipfull houses had continued vntill this day which now wee see ouerthrowne Demosthenes would needs be gazing vpon Harpalus his plate was he not corrupted thereby The sonnes of God would needs be staring vpon the daughters of men did they not beget Gyants vpon them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by looking comes liking you know the Prouerb This I speake onely for the simpler sort that they cast not their eyes vpon euery pelting Pedlers ware lest they be coozened by them lest they lay out their money and not for meat and their siluer for that which will not profit as the Prophet Esay speakes They that haue knowne the Scriptures from their youth as Timothy did and are rooted and grounded in the truth there is no danger for them to conferre with deceiuers for greater is He that is in them then he that is in the world Therefore I speake not to such as haue their Antidot or preseruatiue in their bosome A third property of the Serpent is remembred by Augustine and Ambrose too and that is this That he is wont Totum corpus pâ—o capite fertentibus obijcere To seeke to saue his head whatsoeuer becommeth of the rest of his body so wee must be sure to hold the Head Christ his Gospell to be our Loadestone his merits to be the Anker of our hope his obedience to be our satisfaction his death to be our life howsoeuer for other matters they seeke to carry vs about with euery blast of vaine doctrine This is one thing that we are admonished of in that we are called vpon to See Another thing we are put in mind of and that is this namely that we stirre vp the holy Ghost that is in vs and that we doe not despaire by the helpe thereof to distinguish betweene a right course and a wrong For surely if there were not some thing in vs I doe not say of vs that are enlightned by Gods grace haue tasted of the good gifts of God some ability of discerning I say the Prophet would neuer haue commanded vs to lift vp our eyes or to cast our eyes about to See For is a blind man called to iudge of colours or a lame man to try masteries I know I know that without Christ we can doe nothing nâ— man can say that Iesus is the Lord but by the holy Ghost And We are not sufficient of our selues to thinke a good thought as of our selues but all our sufficiency is of God But these places are not against my purpose Bel. for I speake not a word for pride that any man should say as Nabuchadnezzar said Is not this great Babel that I haue built by the might of my power and for the honâ—ur of my Maiesty Are not we wise are not we intelligent are not we sharp-sighted No but against heedlesnes imprudence that we be not wanting to our selues that we quench not the Spirit Know ye not that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you except you be Reprobates Now where the Spirit of God is there is light there is the searching of Gods secrets there the secret of the Lord is made knowne to them that feare him Who euer was enlightned by him slept in death Who euer sought him in humility and faith and was denyed him He that commeth to be cleansed God will ioyne himselfe vnto him the Iewish Doctors haue such a speech When the Eunuch vsed his eyes in reading the Prophet Isaiah Philip was commanded by the Spirit of the Lord to ioyne himselfe vnto his Chariot For albeit God worketh in vs both the will and the deed of his good pleasure as Saint Paul saith yet he will not saue a man against his will 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by force as Nazianzen speakes And sure it is that hee that hath giuen vs reason and vnderstanding and the same 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hath not giuen vs these Talents in vaine but that we should labour by all meanes by ardent inuocating of the Name of God by crauing the assistance of his Spirit by Spirituall exercises and meditations to increase them to sharpen them to direct them For to him that hath shall be giuen and he shall haue aboundance and God will not be weary of giuing till thou be weary of asking A graine of mustard-seed at the first is the least of all seeds but what groweth it vnto afterwards Into so great branches that the fowles
he any man but euery man is tempted when he is drawne away of his owne lust c. So it is Bap litmop pathechin lo that is When a man offers himselfe to be defiled they open vnto him that is the Diuill openeth vnto him a Prouerb among the Rabbins as is to be seene in Ab. Ezr. vpon Exod. 10. When the Oyster openeth himselfe to the Sun being tickled with the warmth thereof then his enemy the Crab-fish stealeth behind him and thrusteth in his claw will not suffer him to shut againe and so deuoureth him the resemblance is in Basil. The like is written of the Crocodile that being so strong a Serpent as he is and impregnable yet when he is gaping to haue his teeth picked by the little bird called Trochil his enemy the Ichneumon creepeth into his body and ceaseth not to gnaw vpon his intrails till he doth destroy him We need not goe farre for more examples to this purpose Think vpon the Vrchin and the Snaile while the Vrchin keeps himselfe close in the bottome of an hedge hee is either not espied or contemned but when he creepes forth to sucke the Cowe he is dogged and chopped in so the Snaile when he lies close with his house vpon his head is esteemed for a dead thing and not looked after but when in liquorishnesse to feed vpon the dew that lies vpon the herbes or vpon the sweetnesse of the Rose-bush he will be pearking and peeping abroad then the Gardiner findeth him and pasheth him The lesson is We must not yeeld to the sweet baites of the flesh but we must rather mortifie our members vpon the earth and euer beware that we seeke not our death in the error of our life otherwise if we wilfully offer our selues to be led as an Oxe to the slaughter and as a Sheepe to the shambles what maruell if we haue our throats cut or be led away captiue of Satan at his will Facile est vincere non repugnantem that is It is an easie matter to ouercome him that maketh no resistance But Resist the Deuill and he will flie from you I told you somewhat euen now of the Crocodyle and this I am to tell you farther and it is remarkable that though he be most terrible and fierce against one that shewes himselfe to be afraid of him yet if any dares looke vpon him and stand against him from him he will runne away most cowardly Therefore men and brethren Bee strong in the Lord and in the power of his might put on the whole Armour of God that ye may be able to stand in the euill day and specially against the strong wiles and wily strength of the Deuill For after concupiscence that raigneth in our members the same Crocodyle who haunteth both dry places and wet places he is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it is so written of him the old Serpent and Satanas is the greatest tempter the greatest enemy He was a tempter from the beginning as appeareth Gen. 3. A murtherer from the beginning Iohn 8. A lyer and the father of lyes in the same place the deceiuer of the whole world Reuelation the 12. The accuser of the Brethren which accuseth them before God day and night in the same place Briefely he is called the spirit that ruleth in the ayre Ephes. 2. And the god of this world 2 Cor. 4. The god of this world because he corrupteth it not because he made it Alas he cannot make one legge of a Pigge nor enter into the body of a Pigge before God giue him leaue Possem dicere porcorum setas c. I can be bold to say saith Tertullian that the very bristles of a Swine are numbred how much more then mans haire how much more then mans life Therefore the Manichees must looke for another Creator then Satan and they and all ought to be content with one and the true liuing God euen the Father of whom are all things and we of him and the Sonne in whom are all things and wee in him and the holy Ghost through whom are all things and we through him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is If any will say I am God let him maâ—e such a world as this and then bragge and say This is mine this is of my making A good speech for such a one as Pythagoras was an Heathen man and with that I end against the Manichees Now for the confirmation of our faith against the Mahometans limmes of Satan in the East and Traditioners Romanists limmes of Satan in the West me thinkes our Text doth minister vnto vs strong Arguments For if the Doctrine of Christ that is the Gospell be deliuered to vs by the Sonne of God who receiued the Spirit with out measure Iohn 3. Whom the Father sealed Iohn 6. Whom he commandeth vs to heare Math. 17. Then we are bound to hearken vnto it yea then we are bound to be content with it They will reuerence my Sonne said the House-holder in the Gospell The Father loueth the Sonne and sheweth him all things Iohn 5. Quiâ— impossibile erat sine Deo discere Deum per Verbum suum fecit homines scire Deum that is Because it was impossible without God to learne God therefore by his Word the Sonne of God is called the Word of God he made men to know God This was the Prophet which was to come into the world Iohn 6. The Messias touching whom the very woman of Samaria was resolued that when he should come he should teach vs all things Iohn 4. who not onely himselfe wrought great miracles in the dayes of his flesh by the testimony not onely of the Euangelists whom we ought not to iudge but by them iudge all other mens writings as Augustine wisely and soundly saith but also of Iosephus the Iew and many Gentiles whom I coulâ— produce if it were needfull but moreouer enabled his Disciples and Apostles to confirme the Word with miracles following see Marke 16. verse last and Hebr. 2. verse 4. to speake of no more places As for Mahomet though he were impudent and a blasphemer yet he was neuer so impudent in his blaspheming as to take vpon him to be the Sonne of God neither was he heard of nor borne in the world before it was almost sixe hundred yeeres after Christ neither could he say as Christ and the Apostles did that hee taught no other thing but that which is written in Moses in the Prophets and in the Psalmes but hee did plainely 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is broach another doctrine nay a contrary doctrine to that which holy men of God being moued by the holy Ghost as it is out of controuersie wrote and left vnto vs to be the ground and pillar of our faith as Irenaeus speaketh as might be shewed by an hundred particulars neither lastly did he once goe about to make
of darkenesse that they testified of the former darke times to wit That God left not himselfe without witnesse he writeth most soundly in this argument Et Pater natus sic Spiritus est Deus vnus Non plures tres sunt non tria tres idem that is Both the Father and the Sonne and the holy Ghost are one God not more Gods three Persons nor three things three and yet the same thing Thus they And as Saint Paul saith of Epimâ—nides This testimony is true so may we say of all these mens sayings I could produce an hundred such testimonies if it were needfull from the first vnto the last that they are faithfull and true But now if you aske with Nicodemus How may these things be Iohn 3. How can God haue a Sonne how can he that is a Sonne be God I answere that this is a secret that the very Angels if they did desire to behold cannot comprehend so saith Nazianzen 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Let the generating of God be honoured with silence It is a great matter for thee to know or learne 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that he was begotten 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but as for the maner how wee will not allow the Angels much lesse thee to conceit Will ye needs haue me tell you how The Father knoweth that did generate The Sonne knoweth who was generated that which is aboue this is hidden by clouds which it is a hard thing for thy dull sight to pierce thorow Thus Nazianzen godlily modestly wisely To the like purpose speaketh Hilary The mystery of this generation I doe not know nec requiro that is neither doe seeke after and yet I will comfort my selfe with this Archangeli nesciunt c. The Archangels doe not know it the Angels haue not heard it the worlds dâ—e not vnderstand it the Prophet hath not perceiued it the Sonne himselâ—e hath not vttered it cesset dolor querelarum that is Be not longer grieued nor complaine of the matter Thus much we are to beleeue and God forbid that we should liue longer than we doe beleeue it that our Lord and Sauiour Iesus Christ â—s the Sonne of God and therefore God For if he that is begâ—tten of man is man then he that is generated of God is God by the very light of reason euen very God as Saint Iohn calleth him 1 Iohn 5. Euen God blessed for euer as Saint Paul calleth him Rom. 9. This also you are to vnderstand that in this generation nothing corrupt oâ— carnall or after the maner oâ— this world or temporall is to be imagined God forbid God forbid but that the Father did beget or generate that is did truely communicate his substance vnto the â—onne that is that whereby the Sonne is a Sonne after an vnspeakeable maner nay after an incomprehensible maner I say aboue all conceit or reach of man or creature and before all time yea and before all eternity The same may be further considered of by the adiunct or property that followes namely that he is called the Character of his Person that is the stampe print and forme of him Would you see the forme or fashion of a mans seale the print in wax doth shew it that is his character Would you see the image of a mans minde his speech doth declare â—t that his character index est enim sermo saith one 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith another So would you see the Image of God the Father looke vpon the Sonne in him you may see him he is his Character you know what is written Iohn 14. when Philip had said to our Sauiour Lord shew vs the Father it sufficeth Iesus answered and said Philip he that hath seene me hath seene the Father c. Thus it is No man hath seene God at any time the onely begotten Sonne of God which is in the bosome of the Father hee hath declared him How by his words of doctrine reuealing Gods will by his works of wonder manifesting Gods power but specially by taking our nature vpon him in becomming man thereby he manifested himselfe and consequently his Father vnto vs by vniting his manhood vnto his God-head in identity of Person as from euerlasting his God-head was vnited to the Father in identity of nature By this meanes it is come to passe that he said well that said Irenaeus reporteth it to be the saying of some ancient Father Bene qui dixit ipsum immensum Patrem in filio mensuratum that is The Father which is immense or that cannot be measured is measured in his Sonne The Sâ—n as he is God is the Stampe of his Fathers Person and is the same in nature The Son as he is man is the Stampe of his Fathers power wisedome and will but different in nature For he is not man alone nor God alone but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Man-God God-man in whom are hid all the Treasures of wisedome and knowledge nay in whom dwelleth the fulnesse of the God-head bodily that is really truely substantially Scrutari hoc temeritas est credere pietas est nosse vita est vita aeterna that is To search this too curiously is rashnesse to beleeue it is godlinesse to know it is life and life euerlasting Christ then is the Image of God begotten of his Father that is hauing that whereby he is a Son communicated vnto him by the Father before all worlds as he is man made after the image of God as all men be but in a farre more excellent degree of perfection beyond all comparison And indeed if our Sauiour Christ had not bin both God and man he had not bin a fit Mediator I meane he had not beene a fit Person to reconcile man and God together for as Fulgentius well saith Deus verus viuus imò Deus veritas vita c. that is God being true and liuing or rather being truth and life eternall if he had not beene true man he could not haue tasted of death and if the same that tasted of death had not beene true God and life eternall he could not haue ouercome death Thus Fulgentius To which purpose I could produce many other Fathers of like note and worth as also I could reckon vp many other causes why it was necessary for our Mediator to be both God man but the time being past I cannot stay longer vpon that point and for that that remaineth of my Text I thinke it better to leaue it vnhandled than to handle it insufficiently Praestat de Carthagine tacere quà m pauca dicere To God the Father God the Sonne and God the holy Ghost be all honour and glory world without end Amen Amen A SERMON VPON THE TVVENTIETH OF THE PROVERBS THE TVVELFTH SERMON PROVERBS 20. verse 8. A King sitting in the Throne or Seate of Iudgement scattereth away or fanneth away all euill with his eyes Hebr. Melec iosheb
comfortable starre and will helpe such to right that suffer wrong What if they haue in one hand a cup of trembling the dregs wherof they cause the wicked of the Land to drinke off and sup vp yet in the other they haue Manna and a white stone and of the fruit of the Tree of life that is in the middest of the garden as it is in the Reue. and the same they reach forth vnto the innocent and will not suffer a haire of their head to perish And can such men be terrible vnto any they are not but onely to those whom their owne conscience doth first terrifie Prima est haec vltio quod se Iudice nemo nocens absoluitur that is This is the first torment that euill members doe suffer that their owne conscience doth first scarre them and set before them the things that they haue done and then you know what Saint Iohn saith If our heart or conscience condemne vs God is greater than our heart and knoweth all things and Saint Paul God bringeth to light the hidden things of darkenesse and maketh manifest the Counsels of the heart and then euery man hath praise of God 1 Cor. 4. It is meant euery man that doth well hath praise of God It is written of Alcibiades that hearing that a shrewd inditement was framed against him when he was abroad in the seruice of his Country he betooke himselfe to his heeles and being encountred and demanded by a friend of his What hee meant to shame himselfe and wrong his Country Will ye not said he commend your cause to your Country and trust it Indeed said Alcibiades I le trust it farre but when my life lies vpon the stake I will trust neither 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 nor 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 neither neither my natiue Country nor my naturall mother lest in stead of a white Counter she should cast a black-one into the bag and so helpe to cast me away Alcibiades though he had beene much honester than he was yet might misdoubt the sequell of a tryall in Athens where the state was popular and where matters were carried many times rather according vnto passion than according vnto merit Manus sustulerunt Psephisma natum est and then away with him away with him So the worthy Romane Orator that had made his Country as much bound vnto him for sauing it from destruction as himselfe was bound to his Country for his breeding and bringing vp might well be allowed to flee out of it when his capitall enemy ruled the rost and was Tribune the Tribunes of Rome being of that Soueraigne authority that agreeing together they might command the death of the greatest and most Peerelesse Peere as appeareth by Plinie lib. 7. cap. 45. where he speaketh of Metellus Macedonicus This was a pittifull Estate where they that were appointed for the safegard and protection of the vertuous proued many of them authors of their bane and ruine But yet it was not so bad as vnder Marius when he returned from banishment for being attended and accompanied by a company of Cut-throats he gaue them this watch-word that whomsoeuer he spake not vnto or nodded at least when he met him they should repute him for an enemy and kill him without mercy or iudgement Who would care to liue vnder such a gouernment where liuing neuer so well his life might so easily and so wrongfully be taken from him This may moue vs beloued to blesse God for our times for our godly Gouernours for our wise Gouernours vnder whom if they may haue their will nothing but a mans owne offence can condemne him If they may haue their will I say for sometimes there arise vp false witnesses which depose things they know not and which were nothing so and so bring a true man to his end Was not Naboth the Iezrelite ouerthrowne by such a practice 1 Reg. 21 Was not Stephen by the like Acts 6.7 I forbeare to recite Athanasius and Narcissus with many other out of the Ecclesiastike Story which were some of them brought vnto their death other-some endangered by false witnesses There is scarcely any that heares me this day so void of experience or so young but he hath heard of some that suffered for a supposed offence which not they but others had committed and confessed so much at their end else-where This is much to be lamented but cannot by any meanes be remedyed for that which is past nor preuented for the time to come except there were a Law made that whosoeuer either by forswearing himselfe or procuring others to doe the like shall be the cause of death to an innocent man shall suffer the punishmēt that he brought vpon the other This is that which is expressely commanded Deut. 19. Life shall goe for life eye for eye c. where he speaketh of the punishment due vnto false witnesses I read that in Tenedos a small Iland but there was sharpe Iustice it appeareth there was a Law or Custome as strong as Law that he that accused another of a capitall crime should haue a naked Axe holden ouer his head wherewith he was to be beheaded if he did not proue his accusation Now this was very hard that it should be death to accuse one wrongfully for it is necessary that there be accusers in a State that they which be perfect may be knowne and they that are faulty may be found out as it is very behoouefull that there be dogs about a house to giue warning of theeues or suspected persons yet as these if they catch a true man by the bosome deserue not onely to be rebuked but also to be banged yea and to haue their legs broken so it is not vniust that the very accusing of a righteous man if it be prosecuted with eagernesse and vpon no probable ground should be chastized and fined deepely but now when a man shall aduisedly and maliciously forsweare himselfe and procure periury from others to compasse and procure the death of the innocent whereby the said innocent perisheth then methinkes it were pity that he that was the author of death vnto another should himselfe suffer lesse than death for he commeth within the compasse of the eternall Law of God mentioned in Genesis Hee that sheadeth mans blood by man shall his blood be shed By man By what man A priuate man No but gnal meimar daijanaija that is By the word or commandment of the Iudges as the Chaldy Paraphrast doth rightly vnderstand it and it is the voyce of nature 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 If a man suffer according to that which he hath done much good may it doe him Thus much Adoni-bezeck a man out of the Church confessed Iudges 1. that is As I did to others so God hath requited me I cut from others their thumbes and great toes and therefore I am iustly serued to haue mine cut off And therefore no maruell if Samuel told Agag As thy
feare and anxiety and all to be brought to a combustion But what was the issue of all this The Emperour had successe in most battels and he fought 52. more than euer did any before or since and saw the end and confusion of all his foes saue of his sonne whom God suffered to suruiue to make him a subiect and spectacle of his wrath After the dayes of Henry the fourth the succeeding Emperours had much adoe with their disloyall subiects being set on by them of Rome who would be counted Fathers and yet incense their children one against the other that themselues might deuoure them being weakened with open mouth How did they deale with Fredericke the second to remember him onely They worke a conscience in him to make warre vpon the Infidels as though Christ would haue his Kingdome aduanced by the materiall sword But that was euen their houre and the power of darkenesse and while he is beyond the Seas they inueigle his subiects at home to rebell against him yea to shew that they hated the Christian Emperour more than the Mahometan they send vnto the Souldan the Emperours picture that he might the more easily destroy him But the Souldan dealt generously with him and acquaints him with the plot and aduiseth him to looke to himselfe To make the matter short he maketh peace in the East to the aduantage of the Christians there and hasteth home with all speed and by his valour and prudence soone recouereth what was lost in his absence Thus in Italy But was he suffered to be quiet in the Empire in Germany No there the Popes set vp against him Anti-Emperours two or three one after another presuming that if one did misse the other would hit But the deceitfull man rosteth not that that he taketh in hunting Prouerb 12. And this gift is giuen to such persons of the Lord that they lie downe in sorrow all of them that admitted of their election and tooke vpon them the name of Emperour the true Emperour being aliue did in a manner suddenly perish and come to a fearefull end one of them was slaine with an arrow another in the marishes of Frizeland the third otherwise all by a violent and vntimely death If I had not promised the contrary I might tell you of Henâ—y the seuenth poysoned by a Monke in the Sacrament Of Lodowicke of Bauaria vexed with all the stormes that perfidious malice could bring vpon a Prince both of these Emperours So of our King Iohn deuested of his Regalitie and bereaued of his life by vnpriestly practices So of Philip surnamed the Faire the French King brought in danger to haue suffered as much And truly by the hands or heads of such as Aeneas Syluius that was afterwards Pope speaketh of in his Story of Austrich Non fuit vllum insigniter grande malum in Ecclesia quod non exeat originem sumat à Presbyteris that is Whatsoeuer great mischiefe hath befallen the Church the same was caused or occasioned by some Shauelings But as all misery hath its determined period and as the Psalmist saith The rod of the wicked shall not lie vpon the lot of the righteous for euer So when the fulnesse of time came that the mysterie of iniquity should be reuealed it pleased our good God that stirred vp the spirit of Cyrus to send them that were in captiuity vnder old Babylon vnto their owne Country Land of promise to stirre vp the spirits also of many Kings in our later times to slip out their neckes and the neckes of their subiects I say to quit themselues and their subiects from the yoke of new Babylon that is Rome These hauing the Booke of God layd open which had beene for a long time hid like as the Booke of the Law had beene vnder Iosiah more plainely and explicatly than for many hundred yeeres before did easily by the light thereof discerne vsurpation from right and superstition from true worship They dared also to examine the validity and authority of the Bulls that came from Rome and were ashamed that they were so long gulled and affrighted by Scarre-crowes Hereupon it came to passe that our King Henry the eighth a magnanimous Prince pluckt his necke out of the collar and feared not to put in the Letany from the Bishop of Rome and his detestable enormities Good Lord deliuer vs. By his example or not long before Gustauus King of Swethland a Prince likewise of great valour and wisedome he banished the Pope and his authority out of his Kingdomes So did also Christian King of Denmarke a Prince not much inferiour to either of the former in vertue that I speake nothing of the Princes and Free Estates of Germany which fell from the Pope by heapes yea and Henry the second King of France yea and Charles the fifth Emperour though both of them most superstitious protested against the Councell of Trent summoned by the Pope thereby not a little questioning and shaking his absolute authority neither had this declining and sinking stayed here but as it is written in the Reuelation Babylon is fallen it is fallen So surely it had beene vtterly ruined if it had not beene strengthened or vnderlayed by new props or Buttraces They fable of Innocent the third that he forsooth should haue a vision or dreame that Saint Peters Church in Rome tottered and had fallen if those worthy Fryers Dominicke and Francis had not offered their shoulders And surely it had gone hard with the Romish cause ere this if the Iesuits the last vomit of Satan and the last hope of Antichrist had not stayed it from ouerthrow These are they that comming out of the smoke of the bottomelesse pit Reuelation 9. haue power giuen them as the Scorpions of the earth haue power and though their faces be like the faces of men and their haire like the haire of women that is though they vse great Hypocrisie and Flattery and insinuation as great as Harlots doe to entertaine and retaine their Louers yet their teeth are as the teeth of Lions and will deuoure their soules that doe beleeue them and their bodies that doe oppose them nay that doe trust them too farre They write of Paris the Troian that what time his mother went with him she dreamed she was with childe of a fire-brand and so he proued to his Country being the authour of the vtter desolation thereof They write also of Dominicke the Fryer of whom I spake euen now that his mother being with child of him she dreamed she had a whelpe in her wombe that had a fire-brand in his mouth and so he proued barking against the truth reuealed in Gods word being the cause of the burning and butchering of those good and faithfull men the Albigenses by hundreds and by thousands Briefely it is written of Caligula that Tiberius presaged of him that he would proue a very poysonous Serpent to the people of Rome and a
beware of it euery one specially young men and that you may escape Drunkennesse take heed of drinking much wine and strong drinke otherwise you will fall into the extremity which is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which without serious repentance without the greater repentance will bring a man to destruction both of body and soule The Lord saue that which he hath bought Amen Amen FINIS A SERMON AT THE FVNERALL OF THE RIGHT REVEREND FATHER IN GOD MILES LATE LORD BISHOP OF GLOVCESTER PREACHED IN THE CATHEDRALL CHVRCH of GLOVCESTER vpon the ninth of Nouember 1624. by THOMAS PRIOR Master of Arts and one of the Prebendaries there PSALME 16. My flesh shall rest in hope LONDON Printed by Elizabeth Allde for Robert Allot dwelling at the Blacke Beare in Pauls Church-yard 1632. A FVNERALL SERMON VPON THE DEATH OF MILES SMITH LATE LORD BISHOP OF GLOCESTER 2 TIMOTHIE 1.12 For I know whom I haue beleeued and I am perswaded that he is able to keepe that which I haue committed vnto him against that Day BLackenesse and sadnesse haue clouded this day for a principall Pastor a great Prelat is now fallen in our Israel Himselfe occasioned the choise of this Text and the scope of it is this Paul appointed a Preacher of the Gospell laboureth therein much but men worldly-wise accounting his preaching foolishnesse and babbling doe scoffe reproche and persecute to dash and to discourage him yet cannot he through cowardice be diuerted from his way nor through selfe-guiltinesse be ashamed of his worke For when else-where he looketh on the Gospell it selfe he is bold and saith I am not ashamed of the Gospell of Christ for it is the power of God vnto saluation And here looking on the future reward of his now paines and patience with like confidence hee saith againe I suffer these things neuerthelesse I am not ashamed for I know whom I haue beleeued c. They obserue a difference vsuall betweene credere Deum Deo in Deum to beleeue a God to beleeue God and to beleeue in God But here the holy Ghost obserueth not this difference for though 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 be rightly englished whom I haue beleeued yet it imports no lesse than if it had beene 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in whom I haue beleeued For by it he giues firme assent to the premises with application to himselfe and relyance on God that they shall be performed to him accordingly which is to beleeue in God And for proofe of this our Apostle telleth vs that he hath committed to Gods custody as he calleth it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Pawne a Pledge or that which he intrusted him withall And what that is take from Interpreters ancient and moderne One saith his soule another which is all one himselfe his workes saith a third a fourth addeth his sufferings a fifth his Saluation And from all you haue the whole truth and nothing else For thus it standeth God hath deposited with Paul the gifts of his Grace these he vseth to his masters best aduantage and suffers much for it but that blankes him not that puts not him out of heart for his depositum is with God to whom he hath committed his soule himselfe his doings his sufferings to be rewarded with life and saluation Of this to be sure he supporteth his confidence with two props One the Alsufficient power of God who is able 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or of power to keepe all for him Now this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 this Power of God is either Immanent working in himselfe or Transient towards the creatures And this Absolute by which he can doe more than he will or Actuall by which he doeth what he will And that this actuall power which the Almighty pleased to determine by his Will is here meant is plaine by the Other prop of his confidence to wit His experience of the effects of the other diuine Attributs implyed in I know whom I haue beleeued q. d. A God of Wisedome Truth Righteousnesse Goodnesse Loue and whatsoeuer may assure me But when is the time of his expectation At the Day that shall set an end to all dayes to all times called by an eminency in the Text that Day id est that great and fearefull day of Christ in which the Lord Iesus shall come to iudge the world In summe thus our Apostle He who knowes that he whom he hath intrusted can will keepe for him against the appointed day that which he hath committed to his trust needeth not to be ashamed of his sufferings for it But such an one I know my God to be c. Thus he reasons And by this time you know his meaning and whereat he aymes scil To speake his knowledge of God In a two-fold Proposition 1 Generall that he knowes who he is saying I know whom I haue beleeued 2 Particular that he knowes what a one specially in one of his Attributes viz. of Power Which Power is Inuincible able to keepe that which is committed vnto him Which Power is Vnchangeable vntill or against that day According to this the first Meditation we shall fall on will runne thus That God and none but God is the comfort of the faithfull in his troubles The beleeuer in afliction drawes not comfort out of the standing Pooles of outward sufficiencies but out of the liuing Fountaines of the Alsufficiency of the Lord Almighty He romes not vp and downe this Sublunary world to releeue himselfe being hard bestaed No that were with that vncleane spirit in the Gospell to walke through dry places seeking rest and finding none but when he with Dauid is greatly distressed his house rifled his goods spoiled his wiues captiuated his Ziglag fired his associates mutinous meditating death and stoning him then fetcheth he his comfort from Heauen so Dauid comforted himselfe in the Lord his God 1 Sam. 30.6 And truely to enlarge our selues a little here whither should a man in such a case flie but hither For nothing can afford solide comfort that it selfe cannot at least take away the cause of discomfort That Romans griefe prompt so much to him who to his friends that would comfort him about the losse of the Consulship saith Omnes consulere scitis Consulem facere nescitis All can giue me counsell yee cannot make me Consull Could outward things rid vs from the troubles of this life from death the end of this life from damnation after death then said they something worth the harkening to but this they cannot doe for breuities sakes insist on one Not from Death for as the Candle failes before it is well lighted or is choaked with much moisture or is puffed out with the wind or is extinguished by the hand of man or goeth out of its owne accord So man if not intombed in his mothers bell◠dyeth not in the cradle withereth not growing vp be not conquered when ablest to conquer but doth hold out till old age then
a place of celestiall pleasure and celestiall plenty plenty that neuer faileth and pleasures for euer-more And thus haue you our Meditations on the Text. A word more of this present occasion we haue done When I was appointed by this right Reuerend and Honorable Prelate to this seruice I found him declining any Encomium of his pr aises for well knew he what Austin hath and what hath Augustine or any of the Fathers that he knew not That the soule receiued among the blessed regardeth not the commendations of men Imitationem tantùm quaerit it liketh their imitation better But as the Elders of the Iewes to Christ in another case on the Centurions behalfe He is worthy thou shouldest doe this for him for he hath loued our Nation and built vs a Synagogue he is worthy to be remembred of vs for he loued our Nation id est vs Ministers and he furnished your Synagogues your Churches with the plentifull preaching of the Gospell The same which moued Israel so honourably to interre that good high Priest Iehoiada is our cause this day For he did good in Israel both towards God and towards his house Ye daughters of Israel weepe ouer him who clothed you in scarlet with other delights and put on ornaments of gold vpon your apparell Two singular ornaments crowned him which seldome meete in one man Learning and Humility Learning the ornament of his mind and humility the ornament of his learning Iulius secundus studying long for an Exordium to his matter was asked by Iulius Florus Nunquid tu melius dicere vis quà m potes I haue matter if I must fit it with speech I must speake better than in this cantle of time I can speake Therefore lest I should Frigidè laudare which Fauorinus liketh not I le giue it you in grosse considering his much reading with the happinesse of his memory how well acquainted with Histories Ecclesiasticall and profane with the Iewish Rabbins and the Christian Doctors with Diuines ancient and moderne with Fathers Greeke and Latin how perfect in the Greeke the Hebrew the Chaldee the Syriacke and the Arabicke tongues I am bold to affirme that there are few so learned men vnder heauen One monument of his learning haue we for which the age now doth and the children vnborne shall blesse his memory That he began with others but finished alone with one of the greatest and most learned Bishops of the Church of England set forth the new and most exact translation of the Bible wherein as it was said of Ierome for translating the Septuagint into the Dalmatian tongue he deliuered the Scriptures suae linguae hominibus to Englishmen in English The sole merit of which worke preferred him to this place of gouernment in the Church For with Basilius Magnus Non ex maioribus sed ex propria virtute Nobilitatem duxit He eennobled himselfe with his owne worth and vertue And touching his Humility as it was said of Piso so more truely of him Nemo fuit qui magis quae agenda erant curaret sine vlla ostentatione agendi No man did more good than he with lesser shew of ostentation How he decked himselfe inwardly with lowlinesse of minde and did put himselfe vnderneath himselfe euery one that knew him knew On a time and many such I could tell you a poore Minister sending in to speake with him abruptly he brake off a most serious discourse saying But the Minister must not stay lest we should seeme to take state vpon vs. Therein imitating that great and inuincible Supporter of the Faith of one Substance Athanasius of whom Nazianzene writeth that being 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 growne to a super excellent height of vertue yet was he 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 easie of accesse and facile to entertaine the poore mans suit When in his sickenesse one hoped for his recouery he gaue the answer that Saint Ambrose gaue to the Nobles of Millaine that desired him to pray for life Non ita inter vos vixi vt pudeat me viuere nec timeo mori quoniam Dominum bonum habemus I haue not so liued among you that I am ashamed to liue neither am I afraid to dye because our Lord is good How he perseuered in the truth you shall heare Some few dayes before his death in the presence of a worthy and truely Noble Knight I heard him discourse sweetly of the Certainty of Saluation and of Perseuerance in Grace comfortable truths so much opposed by Papists Arminians and carnall Gospellers And in conclusion he did affirme That he which holds the Protestants doctrine and faith herein hath built his house vpon the Rocke and the gates of Hell shall not preuaile against him Not many houres before his departure for as Ambrose of Acholius non obijt sed abijt I found him as mee seemed victorious vpon some conflict and Quis Sanctorum sine certamine coronatur What Saint was euer crowned but vpon a combat saith Saint Ierome I drew neere his bed he reached for my hand and greezed it and now you see the cause of my choise saying I know whom I haue beleeued and I am perswaded that he is able to keepe that which I haue committed vnto him against that Day This occasioned some thing concerning relyance vpon God by Faith yea said he I had fainted vnlesse I had beleeued to see the goodnesse of the Lord in the Land of the liuing Mention being further made of Faith and Hope and of their obiect But saith he againe in Dauids words The mercies of the Lord are from generation to generation on them that feare him Mercy brought in thoughts of Christ oh saith he in the words of that holy Martyr None but Christ None but Christ. Being told how preciously the Lord esteemeth the death of such he replyed Right deare Right deare in the sight of the Lord is the death of his Saints Some prayers made for him vpon his desire at conclusion he said Amen I thanke God Amen enough enough Amen I thanke God They write of Lanfrancus sometime Archbishop of Canturbury that he often prayed and obtained to dye such a death that neither hindered speech nor memory this blessing God afforded our Reuerend Bishop for as I am certified by one most deare to him and worthy to be beleeued when he was leauing this life he looked on her and on the rest of his children in the chamber present and said Christ blesse you all And like that old Patriarke Iacob he moued himselfe vpon the bed and cryed Christ Iesus helpe and so Christ tooke him and conclamatum est His soule is now at rest his name is among the Worthies of the Church his estate is with his children and now are we to returne his body to the dust from whence it was taken The best fruits shew their goodnesse when they haue lyen let him lie a while and mellow let
heauenly matters you leese not the earth in the meane time and your earthly possessions So some seeme to make no reckoning at all of their heauenly inheritance so that they may vphold or better their state vpon earth Call you this wisedome or policy or prouidence or the like Then Achitophel was a wise man to preferre the expectancy of honour at the traytor Absaloms hands before the present enioying of fauour and good countenance from King Dauid his anointed Soueraigne Then Esau was politike to esteeme more of a messe of potage then of the blessing which afterward he could not recouer though he sought it with teares Yea briefely then that Emperour was prouident were it Nero or whosoeuer else that fished for Menise and Gudgeons with nets of silke and hookes of gold What is the chaffe to the wheate saith the Lord by the Prophet What is the shadow to the body the body to the soule frailty to eternity What shall it aduantage a man to winne the whole world if he leese his sâ—ule or can any man saue his soule that hath God his enemy or can any man haue God to be his friend that doth double with him Be not deceiued as God is called Amen or True in the Reuelation and calleth himselfe Truth in the 14. of Iohn so he loues truth or sincerity in the inwards parts Psalme 51. and without truth he loueth nothing that he doth loue A doubling man or a man with a double heart 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith Saint Iames is vnstable in all his wayes and can such a one looke for any thing at Gods hands Let them looke to it whosoeuer among vs play fast and loose and blow hot and cold with the Lord making bridges in the ayre as the Comicall Poet saith and making flesh their arme but in their heart depart from the Lord which the Prophet doth so much cry out against Surely such wisedome is not from aboue but is earthly sensuall and deuelish and as truely as the reproch deliuered by the Prophet Esay chapter 44. in respect of their corrupt iudgement is verified in them Hee feedeth on ashes a seduced heart hath deceiued him so that hee cannot deliuer his soule and say May not I erre So the Iudgement denounced by the same Prophet in another place in respect of their worldly policy shall take hold of them Behold saith he you all kindle a fire and are compassed about with sparkes walke in the light of your fire and in the sparkes that yee haue kindled This shall yee haue of mine hand yee shall lye downe in sorrow As if he said Your turning of deuices shall it not be as the Potters clay shall it not breake and crimble betweene your fingers Take counsell as long as you will it shall not stand make a decree it shall not prosper saith the Lord Almighty 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith the heathen man He that soweth the wind shall reape the whirle-wind let him be sure of it And let so much be spoken against glorying in wisedome either rightly so called or falsely so termed Let vs consider now of the second thing that we are forbidden to boast of to wit strength Nor the strong man glory in his strength There haue beene many strong men in all ages strong of arme as that Polydamas that caught a wild Bull by one of his hinder legges and held him by the force of his arme for all that the Bull could doe and that Pulio mentioned by Dio that threw stone at a Towne-wall besieged by Germanicus with such might that the battlement which he hit and he which was vpon it came tumbling downe which made them that held the Towne through wonderment at his strength to yeeld it vp strong of hand as that Marius one of the thirtie Tyrants that would turne aside a Wayne with one of his fingers and that Polonian of late in the dayes of Stephen Buthor that would knap a horse-shoo asunder were it neuer so hard betweene his hands strong of arme and hand and body and heart and all as that Aristomenes mentioned by Pliny who slew three hundred Lacedemonians in fight in one day and that Aurelian then or shortly after Emperour of whom they made this song Mille mille mille viuat qui mille mille occidit Let him liue thousands of yeeres or moneths who slew thousands of enemies These were famous men in their generations and no doubt but they were miraculously admired at by them that liued in their times yet for all that neither were others to haue gloryed in them nor they in themselues Not others to glory in them because Saint Paul saith Let no man reioyce or glory in men 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1. Cor. 3. And againe Let him that glorieth glory in the Lord 1. Cor. 10. Not themselues to glory in themselues because strength is not to be compared to wisedome and therefore wisedome being debarred from boasting as you heard already strength ought much more That strength commeth short of wisedome Salomon sheweth both by plaine words by an example by plaine words as when he saith Ecclesiast 9. verse 16. Then said I Better is wisedome then strength By an example as in the same Chapter verse 14. A little City and few men in it and a great King came against it and compassed it about and built Forts against it and there was found therein a poore and wise man and he deliuered the City by his wisedome c. Thus Salomon Nature also hath taught as much both in plaine words and by examples In plaine words as Musaeus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Wisdome or sleight is alwayes better then strength By an example as Sertorius for example he caused a couple of horses to bee brought before him the one fat and fleshy the other a leane carrion Iade also a couple of Soldiers the one lusty and strong the other a silly sickly fellow to the leane horse he put the strong man and he going roughly to worke and thinking to doe the deed with dead strength haled and pulled and tired himselfe and was a laughing-stocke to the beholders but the weake fellow vsing some cunning for all his weakenesse did the feate and went away with the applause Wisedome therefore is better then strength and therefore this is one strong reason why strength should not be boasted of since wisedome is denyed Another reason may be this Strength of force bee it equall to the strength of a Lyon or Elephant yet it is but the stren gth of flesh neuerthelesse and all flesh is fraile and subiect to foyle whom one cannot ouercome many may whom sword cannot pierce shot will whom shot doth not hit sickenesse may arrest time surely and death will be sure to make an end of Now should a man be proud of frailty as of grasse of vapor of smoake of a shadow of a tale that is told c.
whereto the whole life of man and his glory and consequently his strength and vigor are compared An horse is but a race they say and so the strongest man vpon earth is but the push of a Pike and the clap of a Pistoll Were not Abimelech and Pyrrhus those most valiant Princes each of them killed by the hand of a woman Was not Totilas that noble Conquerour that had vanquished Rome which vanquished the whole world was not he I say ouercome and slaine by Narses an Eunuch a semiuir What should I stand any longer vpon this God hath chosen as the foolish things of the world to confound the wise So the weake things of the world many times to confound the strong And this may be a third reason against glorying in strength because God himselfe doth many times set himselfe against the mighty Xenophon himselfe saw so much and saith thus God as it would seeme taketh a pleasure 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is To exalt the base and to pull downe the mighty And why so Truly not of enuy to their greatnesse as it is written of Tiberius or Caligula that he caused a goodly tall man called Colossus for his stature and strength of meere enuy to his personage to fight after he had done his Law till he was tyred and slaine and as it is likewise recorded of Soliman in our fathers memory that hauing a great German brought prisoner to him of very enuy and both to the German nation he caused his Dwarfe a very Pigmey to take this German in hand being a Gyant to looke to and to hacke him and hew him being bound to his hand to haue many courses at him as if a child were set to thwite a tree asunder and at length with much adoe to get him downe so to poach him in and kill him O no! God is of no such nature as he saith himselfe in Esay Anger is not in me So it may be said most truely of him Enuy is not in him No he enuieth no good quality that is in man which is His owne gift neither doth he hate any that he hath made and redeemed but loueth all and would haue vs to loue one another Neither are the great and mighty ones confounded and brought downe by reason of their folly or for want of iudgement whereby they giue aduantage oftentimes to their enemies albeit I am not ignorant that Synesius that ancient and learned Bishop saith that strength and prudence seldome whiles concurre but hee vnderstandeth I thinke enormous strength in a huge vast body otherwise his speech is not iustifiable for many strong haue beene exceeding crafty withall as Aristomenes of old of whom I spake ere while and George Castriot of late in comparison of whom it is written that they had the strength of a Lyon and the wilinesse of a Fox But here is the quarrell and this maketh God an enemy very oft to the strong and mighty becâ—use by their strength and power they thinke to beare out and maintaine whatsoeuer bad person and whatsoeuer bad cause and beare down and to crush and to tread vnder foot the most righteous of the Land that stand in their way This doth nettle God and prouoke him to displeasure Id in summâ fortunâ aequius quod validius Let me haue might and I haue right enough Sua retinere priuatae domus saith Tiridates in the same place of Tacitus De alienis certare regialaus You would haue me to be content with mine owne Why it is for base-spirited men for Peasants for Boores to seeke but their owne Gentlemen and mighty men they will law and fight for that which is another mans O demens ita seruus homâ— est saith one in Iuuenal You would haue me to vse my seruant well Ah foole is my man a man is my Tenant my neighbour is my neighbour my brother Doth Naboth refuse to sell his Vineyard to Achab to King Achab I will helpe thee to it for nothing saith Iezabel Doth the Senate deny my Master the Consulship Hic ensis dabit This sword shall helpe him to it said aesars Souldier These bee the same 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the Poet calleth them which will haue the Law in their owne hands they leane vpon their swords and their right hand must right them whether it bee right or no. Nec Leges metuunt fed cedit viribus aequum Moestaque victrici iura sub ense iacent Thus they couet fields and take them by violence and houses and take them away so they oppresse a man and his house euen a man and his heritage Mich. 2. And thus as the Wilde-Asse is the Lyons prey in the wildernesse Sirach 13. And as Basil saith vpon Hexameron 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Most fishes doe eate one another and the lesse is the foode of the greater so it is too true that in too many places the weaker and the simpler sort of men are a prey vnto the great and mighty ones and these eate vp Gods people as a man would eate breâ—d as it is in the Psalme But what saith Basil in the same place Take heed saith he thou oppressor of the poore thou cruell hard-hearted man lest the same end betide thee that doth bef all those great deuouring fishes namely to be caught thy selfe by the hooke or in the net c. Indeed as for the comfort of the needy and the deepe-sighing of the poore the Lord saith That he will vp himselfe and set at liberty him whom the wicked hath â—nared So for the confusion of the vnmercifull Cormorant he threatneth thus by Iob Hee hath deuoured substance and he shall vomit it for God shall draw it out of his belly And by the Prophet Esay Woe vnto thee that spoylest and wast not spoyled c. When thou ceasest to spoyle thou shalt be spoyled There is no Prince that can bee saued by the multitude of an Host neither any mighty man deliuered by much strength Bee you neuer so strong O yee mighty yet He that dwelleth in the Heauens is stronger then you bee you neuer so well lined or backed or guarded yet He that sitteth betweene the Cherubins is better appointed Therefore trust not in your owne strength much lesse in wrong and robbery make not your selues hornes by your owne power there is no power there is no force there is no puissance that can deliuer from wrath in the day of wrath the children of wrath that is to say them that hale downe Gods vengeance vpon them by their vnmercifulnesse This might bee easily vouched by sundry examples but the time being so far spent it is time to come to the third speciall thing that we are forbidden to glory in to wit Riches Nor the rich man glory in his riches As I gaue this for one reason why strength should not be gloried in because it is not to be compared to wisedome