4. Convert or turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and of the children to their fathers left he come and smite our land with a curse 3. Then honour old men especially religious old men It was Idolatrie to fall down and worship the golden Image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up but 't is Religion to fall down and worship with Civil worship or reverence the religious old man whom God hath set up Goe forth O ye sons and daughters of Jerusalem and behold the good old man with the Crown wherewith his heavenly father hath crowned him in the day of his hoary head 4. Is a good old age to be found in the way of religion and righteousnesse Oh then let the young generation who desire to live long and to see good dayes let them hence be exhorted to pietie and holinesse Come ye children hearken unto me and I will teach you the way to live to be honoured old men live well if you would live long The more you live to God the longer you 'l live in the world the Papists have a saying that Nemo senescit dum interest Missae that is that no man is never the older for the time he spendes in hearing Masse Truly the time we spend in religion and religious exercises is time well saved is time redeemed They that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength their youth shall be renewed like the Eagles Ps 103. But as for evill doers the Lord shall wound the hairie scalp and the hoarie head too of him that goes on in his wickednesse if he live to age Well therefore doth the wise man advise Ecclesiastes 7.17 Be not overmuch wicked neither be thou foolish why shouldest thou dye before thy time Men naturally desire to prolong their dayes To this end what dyet will they not keep what exercises will they not use what Medicines will not they take skin for skin and all that a man hath will he give for his life The Princes and Potentates of the earth have their Physitians to counsell them alway what course to take that they may live long upon the earth But behold I shew unto you all this day a more exellent way and that is the way of the text the way of righteousnesse Get the Crown of religion if you would have that other crown of a hoarie head The same way that leads to Eternall life leads to a long life More particularly as ever you would live to a good old age Beware of those speciall sins which ordinarily cut the thred of mens lives before the time which either as thieves doe wast or as winds blow out the candle of life before it is burnt half to the socket 1. As first If thou desirest to live to be old take heed of Cains sin the sin of blood-guiltinesse he that is guilty of of blood may Justly fear least every one that meets him should slay him The Hue and Crie the blood-hound the Avenger of blood doth ordinarily overtake such before old age Justice saith Give him blood to drink for he is worthy 2. The sin of uncleanesse whether naturall or unnaturall For Onan's sin the Lord slew him God rained down fire from heaven upon the unclean Sodomites and destroyed them speedily the Lord made a short work with them and Prov 7.22 't is said He that followes an harlot goes as an Oxe to the slaughter Shechems sin of uncleannesse with Dinah cost him his father and the Shechemites their lives So Amnon's incest with his sister Tamar cost him his life 3. Disobedience to Parents When Hophni and Phinehas hearkned not to the voyce of their father it was a signe and presage that the Lord would slay them Absolom's rebellion against his father David caused his sun to set at noon When the children of Bethel mock'd the Prophet Elisha saying goe up thou bald head c that is why doest not thou goe up to heaven after thy master two shee Bears tore 42 of them 2 King 2.24 4. Covetousnesse especially if dyed in oppression and injustice Immoderate cares feares and excessive turmoyling the usuall concomitants of them that will be rich do naturally shorten the life of man but besides an untimely death seems to be the penalty denounced against this sinne according to the Statute Law of the great Lawgiver Jerem 17.11 As the Partridge sitteth on eggs and hatcheth them not so he that getteth goods and not by right shall leave them in the mid'st of his dayes and at his end shall be a foole As the Partridg gathereth eggs together to sit on and to hatch but hatcheth them not her eggs either proving windy and addle as they say it oft falleth out with those eggs which she hath produced as she doth frequently without the company of the male or otherwise miscarrying the male many times breaking them that he may have the company of his mate Or else as some others think the Partridge or Heb 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Kore having got together the eggs of other Fowles and sitting on them as her own untill they be hatched they then leave her and keep with and follow those of their own kind So Covetous men desirous to enrich themselves by oppression and taking from others that which is not their owne and sitting brooding upon the eggs or baggs which they have thus gathered together at last these their riches take themselves wings and fly away Prov 23.5 or they are taken from them Luk. 12.20 5. Is the hoarie head a crown of glory if it be found or when it is found in the way of righteousnesse then hence we learn that want of religon in an old man is a great abatement of honour in his Coat The best flower in his garland the choycest pearle of his crown is wanting The old sinner together with his crown hath a curse upon his head the sinner of a hundred years old is accursed As God and man love an old Friend so they hate and abhorre an old Enimie Old sinners are like old toads and old serpents the fullest of poyson and therefore most abominable He is an old Thiefe saith the Judge away with him Away with him 't is not fit such an one should live So saith God he is an old Idolater drunkard unclean person swearer c I have borne with him these forty fifty or sixty years and upwards I crowned every one of those years with my goodnesse but ungratefull unworthy wretch he hath gone on to rebell against me and goes on to this day and will not turne Now therefore oh ye evill angels this night or this week or this yeare see ye that yee require his soule of him or els oh death let not his hoarie head goe down to the grave in peace as David charged Solomon concerning Joab 1 King 2.6 or oh thou sword of the Lord his hoar head bring thou down to the grave with blood as David charg'd Solomon concerning Shimei 1 King 2.9 Oh consider this ye
into the world to save sinners of which I am Chiefe and again How shall I escape If I neglect such great salvation God forbid but that this goodnesse of God should lead me to repentance Thus reason or commune with thy own soul before it be too late Loe I have given the devill God's and my soul's enemie the most generous refined wine my young and sprightly dayes and will God now accept can God find in his heart to accept of dregs of my old age The devill has had the the finest flower and will God be contented with the bran the devill and my sins have had a full harvest and will God to whom first fruits and all is due be satisfied with gleanings the devill has had the first-lings the best and fattest of the flock and will God accept of the halt the lame and the blind in sacrifice Oh the height and depth and bredth of the mercy of God! Oh my soul my soul thou Shulamite return return I beseech thee by these mercies of God that henceforth thou give up thy self a holy and living sacrifice unto God which is but reasonable service that thou redeem the time and doe much for God in a little time And now oh that my age might he renewed like the Eagles that God would add unto my dayes many years that the Sunne of my life might stand still and not hast to goe down for many years till I might be avenged on my lusts the Enimies of my God and of my soul till I that have done God a great deale of disservice and dishonour might doe him a great deale of service and honour Till I have been as Eminent for holynesse as ever I have been notorious for Prophanesse And now oh all ye that passe by tell me tell me what such an old sinner as I should doe to be saved To this question I answer that old men must be saved the same way that young men are saved and that is by beleeving on the Lord Jesus Christ the Lord our righteousnesse Whosoever beleeves on the Lord Jesus Christ although he be never so old a sinner shall certainly be saved shall in no wise perish but have everlasting life Doest thou see thy self lost in old Adam doest see thy self as thou art growing up out of that old stock out of that root of bitternesse fit fewell for Hell-fire doest see a necessity of being born again now thou art old or else thou must dye eternally Art weary of the body of sinne and death that old man of originall sinne which thou carriest about with thee Wouldest with all thy heart have this old man with his deeds crucified together with Christ doth it repent thee withall thy heart that thou hast lived so long to so little purpose that thou art ready to goe out of the world before thou hast done almost any thing of the work for which thou camest hither Can'st find in thy heart to come to Christ for salvation from the hell that is in sin as well as from the hell that sin deserves before thou goest out of the world Darest venture thy soule upon this crucified Jesus and know it is no venture Is there none in heaven or earth no other Saviour none that thy soul desires in comparison of him Art resolved in the strength of Christ to live in him whil'st thou livest and to dye in Christ or for Christ when thou dyest Doest desire in the matter of Justification to be found not having on thy own righteousnesse but the righteousnesse of Christ and thereby to appear righteous before God and for the glory of God and to the Justification of thy Faith before men doest resolve to endeavour that thy hoary head may be found in the way of holynesse and righteousnesse If these things and such holy motions resolutions and qualifications as these be in thee and abound Blessed art thou that ever thou wa'st borne thou shalt not dye but live this day I assure thee salvation is come unto thy soul Jesus Christ hath given thee life a new life in thy old age Men it may be think it almost impossible that a valley of dry bones should live and say as 't is Ezek 37. can these dry bones live who would ever have said that such an old sinner should ever have proved a young convert But God that quickneth the dead he saith to his Prophets Prophesie upon these bones and say unto them oh ye dry bones hear the word of the Lord and who knows but that some of these dry bones may live Truely my prayer for these old men shall be to the God of my life and theirs that they might all live in his sight that they might all live for ever And for you all that hear me this day oh that God would bind up all your souls in the bundle of life oh that ye might have part in the first resurrection that on you the second death might have no power oh that ye might be changed from nature to grace before your change by death come that your change may be for the better and not for the worse But least any from the possibility of the salvation of the oldest and chiefest sinners take heart to put off their repentance to old age least any suck poyson from so sweet a flower take by way of Caution or Antidote these two or three Observations 1. That old sinners who have all their time enjoyed the means of grace have rarely been known to return and repent in their age when there is but a step betwixt them and death so betwixt them and hell 2. That those labourers in the Parable who came into the vineyard to work at the eleventh hour were not cald untill the eleventh hour Math 20. The Question was put by an old Indian Sagamore or governour in New England to one of the English Ministers Whether our God and Saviour would receive an old sinner such as he was The Minister answered doubtlesse he would considering this old man had never heard of Christ ' til his old age and came in when called 3. That there was a time when wisedome stop'd her eares at their crie who refufed to hear when she called Prov 1.24 Let not young sinners goe on in their sins thinking to return when they are old for that is the way never to live to be old or if they doe they rarely repent in age Yet let not old sinners despaire whoever comes unto Christ he will in no wise cast out And as for you old men whose hoarie heads are found in the way of righteousnesse Goe on and prosper and the Lord be with you Be as Noah was Preachers of righteousnesse in your generation See that ye shine as lights in the midst of a crooked generation Be examples of holinesse to younger ones call upon them to remember their Creatour betimes in the dayes of their youth teach them the way they should goe that they may not forsake it when they are old And especially ye who are fathers and mothers let the soules of your children be precious in your eyes doe not offer your sons and daughters unto devills and bring them forth and up to the great Abaddon or murtherer of soules for want of religious education Be earnest with God night and day with teares and Prayers and with your children by instruction reprehension correction exhortation that so your children may rise up and call you blessed may blesse God for you and with you Oh what a joy and rejoycing ye pious fathers and mothers will it be to you to meet Jesus Christ at the great day with such like words as he used to his father Loe here are we and the children thou hast given us of all thou hast given us have we lost none there 's never a son or daughter of perdition amongst them thine they were thou gavest them us and they have kept thy word To conclude all men brethren and fathers I beseech you to suffer the word of exhortation I speak unto you Young men and exhort saying Be ye righteous that ye may be old this will be your crown and the length of your dayes I speak unto you old men and exhort saying Oh be ye righteous and religious this will be your crown and glory better then that of a hoarie head be holy and ye shall be happy live well and live for ever And ye that have been young and religious and old religious too young Saints old Saints Oh be not weary faint not hold out ye are not far from the kingdome of heaven you are near the Goal your labour and travaile is almost at an end you shall have crown for crown for this corruptible crown of glory of old age you shall have a crown of glory which is reserved in heaven for you which is incorruptible your old bodyes shall be new cast in the grave as in a new mould and all the wrinkles cracks and flawes shall be mended and whereas you have now a crown of glory upon your head in your old age you shall then have a body all glorified and all glorious you shall be made like unto the glorious body of Christ that is you shall shine as the Sunne in the kingdome of your Father Instead of long life on earth you shall have eternall life in heaven You shall sit down with the holy Patriarcks Abraham Isaack and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven Yea thus blessed and glorious shall ye all be both young and old who are found living and dying in the way of righteousnesse FINIS
THE HOARY HEAD CROWNED A Sermon Preached at BRACKLEY at the Funerall of FRAN WALBANK A Very Aged and Religious MATRON BY Thomas Hodges B. D. Rector of Souldern and lately one of the Sen Fellows of St Johns Coll. Cambridge OXFORD Printed by LEON LICHFIELD Printer to the Vniversity for THO. ROBINSON Anno Dom. 1652. TO HIS VERY AGED AND MUCH HONOVRED Grand-father JOHN MORLEY Sir GOD having multiplied your dayes to Fourescore yeares and upwards and your Seed to above an hundred and in both respects honored you Give me leave I pray you who under God had my being from you at first and many blessings since according to my bounden duty to Endeavour so far as I am able to honour You before the people The truth is this Text I designed to have preached upon to your ears but that purpose miscarrying I am bold to present it here into your hands And because through distance of place and other Impediments I cannot hope to Preach often to you or speak with you face to face I shall not content my selfe with the bare tender of one single Sermon to your eyes But shall take upon me with your favour to direct you how to Preach to your selfe dayly when other preachers are absent or silent or cannot through your age be heard And how to Commune with your own heart and speak to your self when you have none else with whom you may converse or when your self may be speechlesse To this purpose that the Preacher in your bosome your own conscience may never want a seasonable Text and matter for a soul-saving Sermon let me Commend to your most serious study and dayly meditation especially three Scripture-Dialogues or Conferences two precious promises The Conferences are these 1. That which you read in the 2. of Samuel 19 34 35 36. which was betwixt King David and Barzillai wherein you may see the vanity of all earthly delights especially in old age 2. That of Christ Nicodemus a master in Israel Iohn 3.4 5 6 7. vers Wherein is taught the necessity of regeneration to all old and young before they can enter into the Kingdome of heaven and where is made good that other saying which is written 2. Corinth 5.17 If any man whether young or old be in Christ he is a new creature 3. That betwixt our Saviour and Martha concerning her brother Lazarus Iohn 11 21 22 23 24 25 26 27. where we find that beleeving in the Lord Iesus which in Ioh 7 37 38. is expounded to be a coming unto him is the only way to attain to life in and after death even to attain to the resurrection of the dead The Promises are First that which is recorded Esaiah 46 4 5. which although it be propounded to the house of Iacob in generall yet it truly and particularly belongs to every one that is an Israelite indeed Hearken unto me O house of Iacob and all the remnant of the house of Israel which are born by me from the belly which are carried from the womb and even to your old age I am he and even to hoarie haires will I carry you I have made and I will bear even I will carrie and I will deliver you The other is written Hos 13.14 I will ransome them from the power of the grave I will redeem them from death O death I will be thy plagues O grave I will be thy destruction I know 't is true that it is appointed to men once to dye Heb. 9.27 Notwithstanding this promise Yet the blessed Apostle Paul assures us that at last This corruptible must put on incorruption and this mortall must put on immortality and that the time will come whē shal be brought to passe the saying that is written death is swallowed up in victory 1 Cor. 15.53 54. These two promises laid hold on by faith may serve as two staves and both of them staves of beauty wherewith to support your old age and to stay you when you walk through the valley of the shaddow of death and near the mouth of the pit that you fall not I shall no further preach to you but leave the application to the Preacher within you above mentioned Yet I shall not let you goe till I pray for you and blesse you 'T is more usuall for Parents to lay up prayers and blessings for their Children then Children for their Parents Yet I remember that Melchizedech the Preist of the High-God blessed Abraham the father of the faithfull And consider that it is one part of the Preists office to blesse the people And therefore I hope that being a preacher descended from your own loynes and having in this Epistle and Sermon thus taken upon me to preach to you I shall not be offensive if herein I come unto you too as a minister in the fulnesse of the blessings of the Gospel of Christ if I blesse you also O my father The Lord convince you more and more of the need of a Saviour of the worth of Jesus The Lord help you to roll your self living and dying upon the mercies of God the merits of Christ You have a double Crown already that of a hoary head and that of a Grand-father for Childrens Children are the Crown of old men Prov 17 6. But both these are Corruptible Oh that you may have a Crown of righteousnesse that Crown of Glory which fadeth not away reserved in heaven for you May your Gray haires never come with sorrow to the grave but that after God hath added to your dayes if it be his will many more years your good old age in which Solomon saith we shall say we have no pleasure may be swallowed up in a happy and blessed Eternity And that you may for ever there in joy God our and your first and last father and live with him In whose presence is fulnesse of Ioy and at whose right hand are pleasures for evermore So prayeth Your most Dutifull and Affectionate Sonne Thomas Hodges Novemb. 23 1652. Prov. 16.31 The Hoary Head is a crowne of Glory if it be found in the way of Righteousnesse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 THE Text is the old mans Patent of Honour The hoary head that is old age or the old man is a crowne of glory that is is honourable and glorious is to be reverenced and honoured by us As we reverence those upon whose heads men set crownes and Diadems of silver and gold so especially ought we to honour those men whom the God of heaven the first fountaine of all Honour doth crown with a Hoary head or white haires by reason of age The latter part of the verse is diversly translated some have it thus it is found or shall be found in the way of righteousnesse and then the sense is this honorable old age is to be attained in the way of righteousnesse or to live well is the way to live long Our last translators have put in the word if which is not in
old men that have forgotten God dayes without number even to this day and hour consider this your cursed latter end if you will not turn your feet into the way of righteousnesse least God tear you in peeces and there be none to deliver you For know it for a truth that the wicked and unrighteous be they old or young shall be turned into hell and all the people that forget God Againe Is old age then honourable when found in the way of righteousnesse Then hence young men may learn how farre they may honour their Fathers and Elders with the honour of imitation how farre they may follow their steps viz no farther then they walk in the way of righteousnesse then they follow Christ The old Prophet at Bethel deceived the young Prophet the Devill in the habit of an old man in Samuel's mantle deceived Saul the Gibeonites deceived Josuah and the Princes of Israel with their old mouldy bread old shooes old garments And alas how many thousands amongst us have been seduced even to oppose and fight against reformation upō no other account but this these men will change our old customes our old conversations or manner of conversation received by tradition from our Fathers And here let me freely speak unto you old men of this generation God would have had off your bark of unprofitable Ceremonies and have made you white and straight staves even staves of beauty in his hand and this would not be done without putting you in the flames of a Civill Warr a while And now be wise ye old men and as you love your selves see that you oppose not reformation if you stand in Gods way now that he comes as a Refiners fire to purify his Churches from all their tin and all their drosse he 'l burn up the old oakes of Bashan as very briers and thornes 6. And therefore let me in the next place entreat all you old men to suffer a word or two of exhortation from this Text. Be hence perswaded oh all ye Elders of the congregation to be righteous to be holy Take unto you the Crown of Religion better then a crown of starrs all you that have the crown of a hoarie head To perswade you hereunto let me commend to you these ensuing Considerations 1. That the case of a wicked old man is very dangerous and dreadfull if he dye in his sinnes he shall receive greater damnation the Furnace of Hell shall be seven times hotter for these then for young sinners Oh these bundles of Tares fully ripe these old rotten Faggots of Bryers and Thornes so wicked men are called how suddainly how terribly will they burne Certainly it shall be more tolerable for Er and Onan who were cutt off betimes in their sinnes in the day of Judgment then for the sinners of a hundred yeares old 2. The case of a wicked old man although it be very dangerous yet it is not desperate Some old festered soares have been healed some old Chronick diseases have been cured 't is not impossible to bow an old oake yea to bend the very heart of oake art can doe that God is a Chirurgeon can heale old soares a Physitian can cure old Diseases he hath an Arme can bow the heart of Oake he that can of stones raise Children to Abraham can if he please and when he please of old sonnes of Belial make Children of God He that raised up Lazarus after he had been dead foure dayes can raise up sinners who have been dead in sinnes and trespasses to the life of grace to the life of faith after they have been spiritually dead fourescore years The houre cometh and now is saith Christ Joh 5.25 When the dead shall heare the voyce of the Sonne of God and they that heare shall live Note 't is said the dead without any limitation or restriction to any number of dayes moneths or years how long they have been dead The dead shall heare the voyce of the Sonne of God and live Again the possibility of the conversion of an old man seems to be granted or supposed by our Saviour in his conference with Nicodemus Joh 3.4 5 6 7. where our Saviour denyes not the Regeneration of an old man but taxeth Nicodemus his grosse ignorance in thinking an old man if he be borne againe must needs enter into his mothers Wombe when he is old 3. Although the conversion of an old sinner is not absolutely impossible yet 't is a hard work 't is a rare and marvellous work If a Bone be many years out of joynt it is exceeding difficult to set again now sinners are Members out of joynt as is intimated Galath 6.1 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 set such an one in joynt again When our Saviour Christ raised Lazarus Joh 11. we find that it cost him more then to raise Jairus Daughter newly dead or the Widdow of Naims son carried forth towards buriall he wept he groaned in spirit he prayed he called upon Lazarus with a loud voyce Lazarus come forth and he troubled himself 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to teach us how hard a matter it is to raise an old sinner from the death of sinne to the life of grace I have read that about three hundred and sixty years after Christ there was an old man who had been a Pagan all his dayes before who in his old age hearkened after Christ and said he would be a Christian Simplicianus hearing him say so would not believe him but when the Church saw him a Christian indeed there was shouting for gladnesse and singing in every Church Caius Marius Victorinus is become a Christian An old sinner to become a young Saint is a great wonder But yet because the Conversion and Salvation of old sinners is not impossible let me perswade and direct the oldest sinners of all that hear me this day to turn their feet into the way of righteousnesse to accept of Salvation inter pontem fontem betwixt the bridge and the water as we say to accept of a pardon when thay are just turning off the ladder to accept of life now they are at the point of death hear all ye old men and your souls shall live Our Lord Jesus Christ is able and willing and ready to save old sinners if you will accept of him for your Saviour upon his own that is upon very honourable termes Beloved there is yet hope concerning your soules God is willing to pluck you yet as fire-brands out of the burning to rescue you out of the mouth of the Lyon the roaring lyon to save you out of the belly of hell that is out of the belly of that great Leviathan who in his thoughts hath already swallowed you up Oh therefore now God calls to you saying How long How long When will it once be Return return why will you dye Let every soul of you Eccho back again surely this is a faithfull saying worthy of all acceptation that Jesus Christ came