many euill men that haue sought death and it is as true that there haue bene many good men that haue sought death yet neuer one of these sought death for it selfe for it is not naturall to seeke the dissolution of our selues But these euill men that sought death and put hand on themselues in their appearance they sought it for a better to wit to eschue the present torment and vexation of hell in their conscience wherein they were thinking that their miserable soule being out of the body should be at greater libertie then if it were detained in this prison But they are all deceiued For suppose hell be begun here yet it is not in a full measure vntill this life be done and so the miserable caitife deceiueth himselfe On the other side there haue bene good men that haue sought death but not for it selfe but for a better If they knew not felt not that there were a better life to follow after death they would not seeke it but by reason they see there is a greater ioy to follow after it therefore they regard not to taste in some measure for the present of the bitternesse of death It it true againe I grant that death vnto thee who art a Christian is sanctified in the death of our maister and Sauiour Christ Iesus for blessed is the death of them that die in the Lord. But suppose the death be sanctified yet thou art not wholly sanctified for if thou were as sanctified as the death thou wouldst not haue such a thing as terror paine or griefe in thy death But seeing in the best of vs all there is a remnant of corruption would to God it were but a remnant so thicke and foule that it is shame to speake of it this corruption vrgeth the conscience so that where the conscience is vrged there must be a feare and the more the conscience be vrged the greater is the paine and terror It is true that this feare is tempered by faith that dwelleth in the soule and the hope of ioy that dwelleth in the faithfull soule holdeth this feare in awe that hope of heauenly ioy so swalloweth vp and deuoureth the feare and maketh it to appeare to the looker on that the soule hath no feare but no doubt there is a feare and it is sure there is some griefe It is onely as I haue said the hope of that heauenly ioy that holdeth this feare in awe where this hope is not terrible is that feare wonderfull are these terrours great is that anguish of soule that is there so that I cannot find names to expresse it Terrible it is to see the countenance of God in his iustice there is no creature that can abide it Terrible it is to see their owne sinnes present themselues the ouglinesse and guiltinesse of sinne And beside all these to be left destitute of hope it is not the least part of their grief and yet this is not regarded For men will not rise to get faith if it should cost them but an houre they will not come to heare the word This is a wonderfull and miserable madnesse that is in the soule of man that he will neuer prouide for hell vntill hell catch him Now to come to our purpose the lesse the corruptions be the lesse must be the feare Wherein then should your exercise stand should ye not studie to diminish this corruption For he that would be voide of feare must trauell to diminish this corruption that the conscience may be cleane and ye may haue a good testimonie which maketh men to be without terrour For as long as the loue of this world and of worldly things occupieth our soule it is not possible that it can be without feare For why there is no heart that can willingly part with the thing that it loueth without exceeding sorrow and griefe Then we should trauell to take order with these affections and loue to worldly things but so farre as they may serue to the loue of God and in God to loue our selues and our neighbour that when he calleth no strange loue may draw vs from him There is a common law in all cities concerning the forbidden goods which are discharged plainly to be carried out of the country where we are presently and suppose they were carried they can serue to no vse in the countrey whither we go To let you see the exposition of the Parable I say the loue of this world the cares thereof the loue of the flesh and the lusts thereof are these forbidden goods which serue to no vse in the countrey whither we go yea they are plainly forbidden by the King of the countrey For the heart which is replenished with these shall haue no entrie there There is a plaine discharge sounded concerning these goods that we cleanse our hearts of them and prepare our selues to bring those commodities with vs that agree with the nature of that countrie Let vs make vs for the loue of God and of our neighbour and let vs cast off all contrarie loue onely let vs loue God and in God let vs loue our neighbour Now if I might obtaine this one lesson for all the rest I would thinke my trauell verie well bestowed and therefore I insist so much the more in it that it may sinke into your hearts Now then this good King feareth which telleth me that in all Christians there is some feare I come to the next what saith he in his trouble and perturbation The effect of the thing he saith is this First he saith He saw his owne death prepared for him Next because he was troubled with it and cast in a great perturbation he subioyneth the reasons why he was so grieued And as I may gather them they are three in number But ere I come to the reasons I will tell you his owne words which he said in time of his trouble he said I shall go downe to the gates of the graue I am drawing neare to the gates of death For so soone as I heard the Prophet say that I should die so soone I began to prepare me for it for if all threatnings come to passe as the Prophet hath said if I find no outgate in the mercie of God I must die For this I know that I am a mortall man and suppose I be a King and a glorious King yet I am not exempted from death and therefore I will prepare me for it He knew wel that suppose he made himselfe readie he was not one haire nearer to death Now surely if ye would follow this King ye would be a thousand times readier and more able to liue then ye are in your diseases But ye are cast vp in such a daintie and delicate fashion that no man will suffer to heare of death saying It is a thing that will further man to die But I say the contrarie and the Spirit of God saith the contrarie I say the readier ye be
in his soule that in the 17. verse he calleth it bitter bitternesse he hath no words to expresse this bitternesse what euer it was Where the iudgements of God make such a print in the soule it is long ere sinne can blot it out and so long as the memory of the iudgement remaineth it is easie to be thankfull it is easie to go forward in doing some part of our duty it is easie to stand in aw that we fall not into the hands of God but when we blot out this memory we returne to that same puddle out of the which we were deliuered Therefore I commend to you to craue of God a sanctified memory that ye may kepe fresh the iudgements of God which either ye haue seene in others or felt in your owne bodies that the feeling of these iudgements may serue you to be thankfull to him and may make you to stand in aw and beware to fall into the hands of a consuming fire Now this King finding this benefite so sweete he is compelled to burst forth in the praise of the word of God which brought forth so good an effect And first he praiseth it generally from the good it doeth vnto all men Then he prayseth it in particular from his owne particular experience comfort which he receiued in his owne person This doctrine is necessary and notable for these times First then he praiseth the word from the good it worketh in all flesh By these things sayth he men liue that this by the force of these words it commeth to passe that we enioy the benefite of this naturall life wherby we liue in this body vpon earth For the Lords word calleth on things that are not as though they were and his word maketh them to be By his word he created heauen and earth by his word he gaue man life and breath and whatsoeuer is necessary to him By his word he assigned to him the earth the seasons and bounds of his habitation To this end that man being created according to the image of God he might seeke God and no doubt he is not farre from euery one of vs For as the Apostle sayth Act. 17. In him we liue moue and haue our being And as this is true in this naturall life so is it as true in the entertainment of this life for by the benefit of this word we are sustained For our life standeth not onely in meate and drinke but in euery word that proceedeth out of the Lords mouth Mat. 4. that is in euery thing wherunto the Lord giueth power to nourish For it is the Lords word that giueth power to nourish vs. And suppose meate and drinke were remoued the Lord is able to make stones to nourish vs. This good King acknowledged this good effect to come of the word and therefore he praiseth the word Now after he had praised it from the generall effect he goeth forward and praiseth it from his owne particular experience and he saith in the conclusion of these things The life of my soule standeth that is in thy saying and doing in thy truth and mercy in thy promising and keeping thereof standeth the life of my soule as if the King would say Not onelie haue I this naturall life which I liue in this miserable bodie by the benefite of the word but I haue a more precious life the life of my soule and spirit which discerneth me from the rest of mankind which putteth me in a better estate then the rest of the world which maketh mine heauen to begin here which neuer shall end For as there is a life and death of the body so there is a life and death of the soule The life of the body may be conioyned with the death of the soule and the death of the body may stand with the life of the soule The life of the body standeth in the presence of the soule the life of the soule standeth in the presence of the Spirit of life Except the soule be borne againe by the Spirit of life ye shall neuer see the face of God before the soule be quickned by the Spirit of life it remaineth a dead carion dead in sinne dead in the lusts of the flesh as the Apostle saith Ephes. 2. Colos. 2. And consequently there remaineth but a carriō both in soule body the soule being as void of a spirituall and heauenly life as a carion is of a naturall life The words of the Apostle in that place in sundry places are Dead in sinne dead in trespasses and in the vncircumcised lusts of the flesh Where death hath place life must be wholly extinguished and where death hath place there can neither be halfe life quarter life nor a breath of life But so it is that death hath place in our soule by nature Therefore by nature there cannot be so much as a sparke of that heauenly life in it And if there be not so much as a sparke of life in it where is that halfe or quarter life whereof the Papists speake They will not haue it dead but lamed or crooked The Apostle saith in plaine tearmes that it is dead and therefore that spirituall life must be wholly put out and consequently all kind of will to good and all sight of God in Christ is banished away this death of the soule remaineth perpetually in vs vntill such time that the participation of the Spirit of life which is in the body of Christ Iesus free vs from the law of sinne and from the law of death which is in our owne nature Rom. 8. Now would ye know whether your soule liueth or not Would ye perceiue whether this Spirit of life be begun in you or not I will giue you certaine effects whereby ye may examine the life of the soule There are many effects giuen vs in the Scriptures as namely Gala. 6. But I leaue them choose three speciall effects whereby euery one may discerne of the life of the soule There is first that inward peace of conscience There is next that ioy and reioycing vnder trouble There is thirdly a loue of God a loue of vertue and an hatred of vice where euer any of these three hath place there the soule liueth where thou findest thy conscience refreshed and thy soule recreate from the great terrors manifold pangs of sinne no question the soule liueth for this is the effect of the right Spirit and this is the right peace whereof the world is ignorant that passeth all naturall vnderstanding The more thou makst this peace to grow the more thou liuest in thy soule The more this peace groweth the more sinne decayeth the more thou castest out all that baggage of sin that troubleth the quiet estate of the conscience In a word the onely thing that troubleth the soule that disquieteth the conscience and that we haue to cast out is sinne For sinne is the onely thing that seuereth vs from God in whom there
signified in both the Sacraments yet in diuerse respects he is the thing signified in Baptisme and he is the thing signified in the Lords Supper This Christ Iesus in his bloud chiefly is the thing signified in the Sacrament of Baptisme and why Because that by his bloud he washeth away the filth of our soules because that by the vertue of his bloud he quickneth vs in our soules with a heauenly life because that by the power of his bloud he ingrafteth and incorporateth vs in his owne body For that Sacrament is a testimonie of the remission of our sinnes that is of the cleanenesse of our consciences that our consciences by that bloud are washed inwardly It testifieth also our new birth that we are begotten spiritually to a heauenly life It testifieth also the ioyning of vs in the body of Christ. As it is a testimonie so it is a seale it not onely testifieth but sealeth it vp in our hearts and maketh vs in our hearts to feele the taste of that heauenly life begun in vs that we are translated from death in the which we were conceiued and ingrafted in the body of Christ. Marke then Christ in his bloud as he is the washing of our regeneration is the thing signified in Baptisme In this Sacrament of the Lords Supper againe this same Christ is the thing signified in another respect to wit in this respect that his body and bloud serue to nourish my soule to life euerlasting for this Sacrament is no other thing but the image of our spirituall nourishment God testifying how our soules are fed and nourished to that heauenly life by the image of a corporall nourishment So in diuerse respects the same thing that is Christ Iesus is signified in Baptisme and is signified in the Lords Supper In this Sacrament the fruites of Christs death whereof I spake the vertue of his sacrifice the vertue of his passion I call not these fruites and vertues onely the thing signified in the Sacrament of the Lords Supper but rather I call the thing signified that substance and that person out of the which substance this vertue and these fruites do flow and proceede I grant and it is most certaine that by the lawful vse participiation of the Sacrament thou art partaker of all these fruites yet these fruites are not the first and chiefe thing whereof thou art partaker in this Sacrament but of force thou must get another thing first It is true that no man can be partaker of the substance of Christ but the same soule must be also partaker of the fruites that flow from his substance yet notwithstanding thou must discerne betwixt the substance the fruits that flow from the substance and thou must be partaker of the substance in the first roome then in the next place thou must be partaker of the fruites that flow from his substance To make this cleere in Baptisme the fruites of Baptisme are remission of our sinnes mortification the killing of sinne and the sealing vp of our adoption to life euerlasting The substance out of the which these fruits do flow is the bloud of Christ. Ye must here of force discerne between the bloud which is the substance and betweene remission of sinnes washing and regeneration which are the fruites that flow from this bloud so in the Sacrament of the Lords Supper the fruits of that Sacrament are the growth of faith and the increase in holinesse The thing signified is the substance that is the body and bloud of Christ is the substance out of which this growth in faith and holinesse doth proceede Now see ye not this That you must discerne betwene â—he substance and the fruites and must place the substance in the first place So that the substance of Christ that is Christ himselfe is the thing signified in this Sacrament For your owne experience will make this plaine vnto you Before your stomacke be filled with any foode ye must eate the substance of the food first before you be filled with bread ye must eate the substance of the bread first before your drowth be quenched with any drinke ye must of necessity drinke the substance of the drinke first Euen so after this manner before the hunger of your soules be satisfied the thirst thereof quenched ye must eate the flesh of Christ and drinke his bloud first and that by faith So consider the one by the other looke to what vse bread and wine serue to thy body to the same vse the body and bloud of Christ serue to thy soule and he that appointed the one to serue for thy body the same God appointed the other to serue for thy soule So looke how impossible it is for thee to be fed with that food that neuer cometh into thy mouth or to recouer health by those drugs which neuer were applyed it is as impossible for thee to be fed by the body of Christ and to get thy health by the bloud of Christ except thou first eate his body and drinke his bloud Then ye see that the thing signified in the Lords Supper is not the fruites so much as the body and bloud and Christ Iesus which is the fountaine and substance from which all these fruites do flow and proceed Then I say suppose Christ who is the thing signified remaine alwaies one and the same in both the Sacraments yet the signes whereby this one Christ is signified in the Sacraments are not one nor of an equall number For in Baptisme the thing that representeth Christ is Water In the Lords Supper the things that represent Christ are Bread Wine Water is appointed to represent Christ in Baptisme because it is meetest to represent our washing with the bloud of Christ for what is fitter to wash with then water So there is nothing meeter to wash the soule then the bloud of Christ. In this Sacrament he hath appointed Bread and Wine why Because there is nothing more meete to nourish the body then bread and wine so the Lord hath not chosen these signes without a reason As the signes in the Sacrament are not alwayes one so the same in both are not of one number For in Baptisme we haue but one element in this Sacrament we haue two elements Now what is the reason of this diuersity that the Lord in the one Sacrament hath appointed two signes and in the other but one signe I will shew you the reason He hath appointed onely one signe in Baptisme to wit Water because Water is sufficient enough for the whole If water had not beene sufficient to represent the thing signified he would haue appointed another signe but in respect that Water doth the turne and representeth fully the washing of our soules by the bloud of Christ what need then haue we of any signe Now in this Sacrament one signe will not suffice but there must be two And why Wine cannot be sufficient alone neither can Bread be sufficient alone for he
to die ye are the readier to liue he that saith the contrarie I say he speaketh an vntruth if he were the best Doctor of Physicke Therefore when sicknesse which is the messenger of death beginneth to pull your eares the first thing that ought to be propounded to the patient is to bid him make him readie for death for the readier he is to die as I haue said he is the more able to liue Then ye see Hezekiah knew that suppose he was a King yet he was mortall As to his words he setteth downe three reasons wherefore his death grieueth him so much If ye looke to the reasons there appeareth at the first no weight in them yet being tried more narrowly ye shall finde in them a greater validitie The first reason is this I am depriued of the residue of my yeares He was a man at that time of 38. or 39. yeares and of such age as he might haue liued twise as long by the course of nature as Dauid saith O! but this appeareth to be a slight reason it is slight indeede if there be no more in it He is not so much grieued at the cutting off his yeares as at the cutting off the affaires which the shortning of his yeares brought with it So there were two respects wherefore this King was so grieued at the cutting off of his dayes The first because the worke of reformation in Church policy which he had begun would ceasse And out of question this hastie cutting off made him so well prepared in his heart to die as he would haue bene if he had had leysure So in respect he lacked time and yet he was not so voide of all preparation as commonly youth is that cast off all repentance to the last age thinking there is time enough before them In these respects that the worke of reformation by the cutting off of his time would be imperfect and in respect he should not haue bene so well prepared in his heart therefore he is grieued at his death and saith I am depriued of the residue of mine yeares Well to apply this vnto our cause I thinke there is none but they see clearely that if we come not with better speede to the worke of reformation then we are like to do I feare that we leaue not this worke onely vn-ended but vn-begun for if this confusion of Church and policie grow from day to day as it doth without interruption as if there were not a King in Israel I say if this confusion endure no question but the birth of iniquitie shall so ouerburthen the land that it shall make it to spue foorth the inhabitants I will not insist I am assured there is no magistrate of any degree but he is lawfully forewarned and made inexcusable before God The second reason wherefore his death grieued him is set down in the beginning of the 11. verse where he saith I shall not see the Lord in the land of the liuing Then this is it that grieued him because he should not see the Lord. How can this be I am assured he had that same eye in seeing of the Lord that Dauid had How is it that he sayth he shal not see the Lord What kinde of eye Dauid had is declared in the 16. Psal. Where he sayth that he set the Lord before him in all his works he reioyceth exceedingly in his heart and he sayth I am sure that my soule shall be gathered with the rest of the soules of my faithfull predecessors who are in the presence of God where there is fulnesse of pleasure and sweetnesse of life for euer I am assured this good man was not destitute of this eye but in some mâ—asuâ—e he saw with it as his father Dauid How is is then that he sayth He shall not see the Lord He expoundeâ—h himselfe a little after ye see a cleare commentary in the end of the verse he sayth He shall not see the Lord in the Land of the liuing As though he would say I shall noâ— see him as I was wont to see him before I shall not see him in his Church as the rest of his faithfull seruants see him How this was ye know the custome of the Scriptures in this matter God was said to be seene of old when the visible signes wherein he gaue his presence were seene For God being in himselfe inuisible when the visible signes of his presence were seene he himselfe was said to be seene As when they saw the Temple God came in their minde when they saw the Tabernacle God was said to be seene chiefly when they saw the Arke God was said to be seene because about it appeared the glory of God For in that same cloud which replenished the inward house his glory appeared Now by reason that these visible signes wherein he gaue his presence were seene God was said to be seene Then the reason is this I shall not see the Lord in the land of the liuing That is I shal be taken from his seruice I shall not see him in his Temple as I was wont to do Surely in this as in all the rest he followeth the footsteps of his good father Dauid As we may read in all the Psalmes made in time of his greatest persecution There was nothing grieued him so much as because he had not liberty to assemble with the rest of the faithfull as Psalm 84. and 112. he sayth My heart reioyced when they said to me Let vs go to the house of the Lord. This singular godly loue of the word of God among many vertues is extreme losse to this King And for this reason he is now grieued Now let vs compare our selues with this King and trie whether ye follow him in your hearts in this poynt or not that is whether ye haue such a desire to heare the word as he had But surely he shall condemmne all estates For if ye will looke to the prophane multitude of this country how well they like of the hearing of the word their maners declare For as to the multitude if they haue any businesse remaining it is cast off vntill the Lords day and if there be any markets meetings appointmentes and traffiques all is cast off till that day And the best of you hath taken such a loathing at the hearing of the word that ye are wearie to rise in the morning to heare it if it were but an houre sooner then your diet What must this contempt worke Of necessity it must bring exceeding famine of that same food which we loathed For the Lord will not suffer his word which of it selfe is so dainty and delicate to be contemned And it cannot be but that the same word which your fathers and some of your selues haue runne many miles to heare is as dainty now as it was then And therefore it cannot be that the Lord wil suffer this contempt but either there must be greater
Sunne whereof ye heard and heauen and earth shall perish ere a iot of his promise faile Yet notwithstanding this is true that there is such a constancie and fidelitie in him all these promises will not auaile vs except the Lord prepare our hearts yea except he sanctifie our hearts by meanes of faith that in our soules we may see this truth we shall neuer regard it and except he giue vs a heart to apply this truth all the promises which he hath made and is to make serue for no vse to vs. Therefore it is the dutie of all Christians to be instant in crauing that the Lord would prepare their hearts by faith that seeing him in their minds and feeling him in their hearts they may find his mercie and truth and repose in them for euer After this we entred into the recommendation of the word of God and generally we praysed the word from this that we haue the benefit of this temporall life by it as this is true in generall so he goeth forward and praiseth the word from his owne experience in particular and he granteth that not onely he hath the benefit of this temporall life by the word but of the spirituall also And as he hath the life whereby he liueth in his body by it so he hath by it the life whereby he liueth in the soule For as there is a life and death of the bodie so there is a life and death of the soule The life of the bodie may be conioyned well with the death of the soule for we may liue in the bodie and be dead in the soule at one time Also the death of the bodie may stand with the life of the soule for we may depart from this life and go to a better The life of the bodie standeth in the presence of the soule but the life of the soule standeth in the presence of the Spirit of life except our soules be borne anew againe by the vertue of that Spirit of life it is not possible that we can see God and taste of his ioy For by nature we are not onely hurt lame maimed but altogeâ—her dead in sinne so that looke how voide a corps is of a naturall life as voide are we of a heauenly and spirituall life The reason is this where death hath place there life must be wholly put out But by nature death hath place in vs therefore the spiâ—ituall life must be wholly put out If the Spiâ—it of life be wholly put out there remaineth not so much as a breath out of the which any good cogitations or actions may proceede If so be there is not so much as one breath where is all that free-will of the Papists where is that integritie which remaineth in the filthie nature Then I say we naturally remaine in the death of bodie and soule still vntill that by the paâ—ticipation of the Spirit of life which dwelleth in the bodie of Christ vntill I say that this Spirit free vs from sin and death And so vntill this time we shall neuer mount aboue the clouds nor see the face of God And therefore as I exhorted you the last day so I insist in the same exhortation now that euery one of you marke and perceiue your selues whether you haue such a life begun in you or not I gaue you three effects which will neuer deceiue you The first is if ye find your selues refreshed and recreate in your spirits from the terrours of your conscience and the feare of sinne which recreation and refreshment of the spirit is called that peace that passeth all vnderstanding whereof the world is ignorant he that findeth any of this if it were neuer so little within him no question he hath this life begun in him and the more this peace is augmented the more the life groweth But this peace groweth by remoouing of sinne Therefore our whole studie should be to remooue sinne for the onely thing that troubleth the conscience is sinne Take away sinne the conscience shall be at rest Wherefore this was the chiefe effect I willed you to take heede vnto The second effect is ioy and reioycing vnder trouble For we see trouble of the owne nature bringeth not foorth this effect but rather bringeth foorth sorrow heauinesse and lamentation Then when our spirit is so disposed that vnder trouble we reioyce and glorie in it this is the Spirit of life This ioy is not in all troubles it is not in the trouble which we procure but onely in the trouble which we sustaine for righteousnesse sake and which we sustaine for Christ his sake The third effect is if ye haue a loue of God and good men and a hatred of euill where these effects are in any measure no doubt but the Spirit of life is there As by the contrary where there is a loue of wicked and euill men no question let them speake of Christ as they will the spirit of the diuell hath full dominion This Spirit of life we shew was entertained by nourishing of the knowledge of God when we edifie our selues in our most holy faith when we nourish the exercise of prayer As by the contrary the Spirit is put out when by our euill doings we put out the knowledge of God when we diminish our perswasion of his mercie in Christ fall from the exercise of prayer Then ye that haue this life begunne nourish it by well doing for by well doing no question our faith is corroborate Delight therefore in well doing sow in the Spirit and not in the flesh run not with the thiefe nor consent not with the murtherer for so ye shall be participant of their punishment but sow in the Spirit and of this ye shall reape an euerlasting and comfortable life where otherwise of sinne ye shall reape nothing but shame and euerlasting condemnation I haue discoursed long on this head because it is very necessarie and I would wish you to consider of these things Thinke on the great benefits of God granted vnto this countrey Thinke againe vpon our ingratitude and vnnaturall behauiour There is no Christian that will weigh these two in one ballance but he shall conclude that it is wonderfull why the Lord suffereth iniquitie in this countrey so long to be vnpunished Formerly when there was but crums of the bread of life they ran to seeke it so that they compassed both sea and land and spared neither trauell nor cost to be ingrafted into the kingdome of Christ But now when there is plentie of it we haue taken such a lothsomnesse thereof that we abuse the liberalitie of God offered to vs and turne his grace and mercie into vengeance on our owne heads For as to the multitude ye see that they haue alreadie preferred the leauen of the Pharises and gone to mumchances mumries and vnknowne language wherein they pudled before As to the noble and gentlemen they are so drunken with sacriledge that rather then they will render these goods
must redound backe to him that gaue it Therefore the nearer the soule is conioyned with God it praiseth him so much the more Now after the death of the bodie the soules of the faithfull are more straightly coupled with God therefore after death they praise him the more Where Christ hath dwelt once in this life suppose the bodies die and be resolued in powder by reason of sinne yet the soule liueth by reason of righteousnesse Yea suppose the body be dissolued yet that Spirit of life that dwelt in the soule raiseth thy soule to heauen euen as the Spirit of life that dwelt in Christ Iesus raised his bodie from the graue And as the Spirit of life is the onely cause that made vs to praise him in our bodies so that same Spirit maketh vs to praise him out of these bodies by reason suppose we be absent in bodie yet are present in our soule with the Lord. For the words Rom. 8 are these If Christ dwell in you suppose the body be dead by reason of sinne yet the Spirit is aliue for righteousnesse sake The meaning of the words is suppose they that are departed leaue off to praise the Lord in their bodies and in the earth which he calleth the land of the liuing yet they leaue not off at all Now of this I shall marke one or two things Take vp the end wherefore the Lord deliuereth any person citie or country from any trouble within or without the chiefe end of his deliuerie is this That that person citie or countrey may serue as an instrument to preach his benefits to sound his praise and to render vnto him heartie thanks for it Are our sinnes forgiuen vs to this end is there any countrey or any citie set at libertie to this end that we should prouoke God to anger by heauier sinnes againe Is this the end wherefore he forgiueth sinnes Is this the end wherefore he bestoweth his benefits that we should vse them as weapons to fight against himselfe Is not this rather the high way to kindle him to greater seueritie and to sharpen his furie against our selues Yea and what exception I pray you can we vse in his greatest seueritie seeing we haue prouoked it our selues I speake it to this end there is not a person in particular nor any in generall but of naturall knowledge they will say There was neuer a greater benefit bestowed on a countrey then in releeuing vs of the feare of that barbarous Nation he must either confesse this or he is an asse This benefit if it were rightly measured and considered reade ouer the Scriptures conferre benefit with benefit miracle with miracle all circumstances being well considered ye shall finde that since the children of Israel came through the red Sea there hath not bene a greater To what end deliuered he vs is it that we should prouoke him with greater sinnes Looke since the feare of these strangers past what sinne is there but this countrey hath defiled her selfe with it See ye not slaughter in greater measure oppression murther without any mercie see ye not all law and equitie trampled vnder foote And briefly see ye not this confusion risen to such a height that euery Lord in his owne bounds is a King what sort of birth I pray you shall this confusion bring foorth At the last it must bring foorth one of these two of necessitie and take heeed ye may chance to see it except the Lord preuent it Either the supreme magistrate and inferiour magistrates must concurre in one voyce to put an end to this confusion or the confusion out of doubt shall put an end to him I am assured one of these two must follow for the weight of his wrath which hangeth ouer this land is insupportable the earth is not able to beare this birth of our iniquitie and if there were no other punishment as I haue often said the earth shall be compelled to spue foorth the inhabitants ere God want meanes to punish As this is true in the countrey in generall so it is as true in this Citie in particular for it neuer came yet for the most part in your hearts to thanke God aright for your deliuerie Therefore the Lord is beginning to let you see that he can raise strangers men who haue the hearts of strangers among our selues he hath meanes enough in the middest of our owne bowels to punish this countrey suppose he seeke not strangers But indeed in this late brag of our neighbour Lord he desireth you to go backe to the consideration of the greatnesse of the last benefit And if ye acknowledge it rightly and be thankfull for it there is no domesticke force ye neede to regard For as to the force that can proceede any way from that man ye know it And surely it would appeare to me that that man hath sold himselfe to iniquitie and the end will declare it except the Lord preuent him with his vndeserued grace which I desire most heartily Although in the meane time suppose there be peace promised yet stand ye on your guards and let it not come to passe by your misbehauiour and backwardnâ—sse that the glory of God and the libertie of this Citie be impaired in any wise but stand on your guardes that as this Citie hath bene a terrour to euill men before-time so it may terrifie him also For no question where God and a good quarrell concurre that side shall haue the vpper hand This onely by the way For it becometh me of my dutie to maintaine the good cause and to instruct you in this point of your dutie The second thing that I marke ye see the glorie of God is euer conioyned with the life of his owne so that we cannot aduance Gods gloâ—ie but we shall further our owne saluation and we cannot neglect the one but we shall neglect the other Seeing thâ—n that these two are necessarily conioyned for Gods sake let euery one remember to set forward the glorie of God in his life so farre as he may according to his estate and calling This life is so miserable in it selfe and there is none that seeth the confusion of this countrey to grow so fast that can looke for any redresse of these things in his own time So here beneath is no comfort all runneth on to such a desolation and miserable confusion that of all liues of the earth our liues were most miserable if we had not a sight of a better For all ioy to be looked for here beneath is taken away Well I leaue this second part and come to the last The third part of this song is in this 20. verse which is the conclusion of the whole song In this conclusion the King testifieth that he will not onely praise God for the present for the benefit which he hath receiued but he maketh a solemne promise that so long as he liueth he will neuer forget this benefit all the dayes of his life
is no blessednesse but all his life is more then terrible miserie For whatsoeuer it be that flatters and pleaseth thee now be it a thought or motion of the mind or an action of the bodie that pleaseth thee now without faith the same very motion cogitation or action shall torment thee hereafter So without faith it is not possible to please God and whatsoeuer pleaseth not God is done to torment thee Therefore craue mercie for whatsoeuer motion cogitation or action wherein thou hast offended God or for the same God shall offend and torment thee And to eschue the offence of God there is no meanes but by true faith therefore the studie of a Christian should be to grow in faith Now by hearing of the word thou gettest faith and by receiuing this Sacrament thou obtainest the increase of faith and hauing faith the receiuing of the Sacrament shall be fruitfull but without faith thou eatest thine owne condemnation Then the whole studie of a Christian is to get faith and this faith cannot be obtained with idlenesse but by earnest prayer therefore let euery one of vs fall downe and craue earnestly this faith and the increase of it whereby we may be worthie receiuers of this blessed Sacrament and that for the righteous merits of Christ Iesus To whom with the Father and the holy Spirit be all honour praise and glorie both now and euer Amen THE SIXTH SERMON VPON THE 38. CHAP. OF the Prophecie of ISAIAH preached in the presence of the Kings Maiestie ISAIAH 38. 1 About that time was Hezekiah sicke vnto the death and the Prophet Isaiah the sonne of Amos came vnto him and said vnto him Thus saith the Lord Put thine house in an order for thou shalt die and not liue 2 And Hezekiah turned his face vnto the wall and prayed to the Lord. 3 And said I beseech thee Lord remember now how I haue walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart and haue done that which is good in thy sight and Hezekiah wept sore IN these words which I haue presently read welbeloued in Christ Iesus the heauie disease whereinto this godly King fell is at length described and the manner of his behauiour vnder this disease is well set downe It pleased the Lord to exercise this godly King with this heauie tentation amongst many moe And suppose it be true that diseases are common to all flesh yet the manner how to behaue our selues vnder diseases is not common Therefore let all flesh take heede to the seuerall parts of this historie that they may learne so to behaue themselues in the day of their miserie that taking vp this Kings behauiour they may in the end obtaine his comfort In the beginning of this Chapter the King is brought in lying vnder an heauie disease the kinde and manner of this disease is concealed although it may be gathered from the 21 verse of the Chap. and therefore I note it here Secondly the time when he fell into this disease is also noted Thirdly the greatnesse and weight of this disease is likewise noted And last of all the manner of the Kings behauiour vnder so terrible a disease is at length set downe To returne to the first The kinde of the disease as may be gathered out of that verse was a pestilentious byle for the name which is giuen to the byle is the same name which is giuen to the botch of Egypt that same name which is expressed Exod. 9.9 a matterie kinde of byle breaking out into many heads for so the nature of the word signifieth The most dangerous and deadly kinde of plague that was in the daies of that king In deed since as the world hath growne in wickednesse so it hath brought foorth more dangerous kinds of botches then before the experience whereof this Towne hath had For as man is ingenious to inuent new sinnes to prouoke God to wrath the Lord being both iust and prudent on the other part deuiseth new plagues to punish these new sinnes of men for the store-house of the Lords iudgements can neuer be emptied But surely it is a wonderfull matter that he should haue visited so godly a King with so terrible a both in respect that this plague proceedeth commonly from his hote rage and wrath For from his wrath it takes these names ofttimes as when it is called the finger of the Lord his feare by night his flying arrow by day and the deuouring plague Now I say the matter is wonderfull that he louing this King so well should so extremely haue plagued him in the sight of the whole world What should this teach vs This visitation of the King teacheth vs two necessarie lessons First it teacheth vs not to measure the fauor and hatred of God by any externall thing on the earth For if we looke to the visitation of God vpon his children if we looke to the nature of the plague and affliction either in quantitie or qualitie if we looke to the long continuance diuturnity of the plague in the iudgement of man and in the iudgement of him that is afflicted sometime it shall come to passe that he shall thinke himselfe in a worse case then any of the reprobate But howsoeuer it be so esteemed in the heart and iudgement of man yet it is farre otherwise in the iudgement of God For there lieth hid one thing in the heart of God concerning vs that are his children and an other thing concerning the Reprobate in such sort that suppose affliction be common to vs and them yet the cause from whence the affliction proceedeth is not common not the end whereunto it tendeth For as to vs our affliction sloweth from the fauour loue and mercy of God in Christ Iesus and tendeth to our great profite and commodity to wit that we being corrected here should not perish hereafter with the wicked world But as for the affliction of the reprobate it floweth from the hote wrath and indignation of God vpon them he as a righteous iudge beginning their punishment here which shall last for euer So affliction that is vnto them a part of his iustice vnto vs is a mercifull correction The Prophet Isaiah in his 27. chap. expresseth this matter so liuely that I thinke there is no part of Scripture in the which there is greater comfort In the 4. and 7. verses of that chapter he saith to the Church I am not saith he in furie I am not in rage suppose I strike thee yea suppose I beate thee saith he I strike not thee as I strike them that strike thee I slay not thee as I them that slay thee for in correcting thee I purge thee from thine iniquity in striking thee I remoue thy sins from thee but I do not so with the rest Then the first lesson that ye haue to learne here is this Measure not the fauour of God by any externall thing in the earth whether it be prosperity or aduersitie The
second thing that ye haue to learne here is this ye see Kings may haue the Plague There is no Prince in the earth exempted from the iudgement of God when he pleaseth to apply them Thus farre for the name of the disease The second thing that is noted here is the time when the King fell into this disease there is no certaine time set downe here but the time specified is relatiue to the last history It is relatiue to that time when the King of Ashur took armes against him which was the 13. yere of his reigne So it was the 14. yeare of his reigne that he fell into thâ—s disease for this godly King reigned 29. yeares 15. of them were giuen him after his disease In the 14. yeare of his reigne the warres beganne and this time is relatiue to that history so it must be in the 14. of his reigne that he fell into that disease whether the disease was after the siege or during the same the iudgement of the learned differs although in 2. Chron. 32. chap. it appeareth that he fell into this disease after the siege and time of his deliuery For we reade in that history that the King in the meane time of this siege was building vp the ruinous walles was stopping the conduites of the waters was sending messengers to Isaiah and was resorting to the Temple These were all arguments of a wholesome and well disposed King and there is no argument of infirmity here So it appeareth that it was after the siege that he fell into this disease Now take heede where my note riseth he is scarsly freed from the fearefull warres when he falleth into a terrible plague We see then that the estate of the godliest and best Princes is to be subiect to continuall tentation griefe and vexation so that the issue of one trouble is the beginning of another So it pleaseth the Lord to exercise them And to what end I pray you To the end that this life with the pleasures and glorie of it may become bitter to their taste and so they may be moued to seeke for a better And this lesson appertaineth to all Christians for if thou be a Christian thou must looke for trouble of necessity thou must take vp thy daily crosse and follow Christ. As for the fed carcasses of this world the Lord in his righteous iudgement hath appointed them for slaughter But if thou be one of them whom he hath not appointed for slaughter thou must be subiect to a continuall exercise either in soule or in body in familie or fame one way or other thou must be subiect to a continuall exercise For there is no way to pierce the clouds but by a continuall tribulation And seeing it is so it becommeth vs not to haue our hearts here gruntling vpon this earth but it becometh vs to haue our hearts hoissed and our minds lifted vp to the heauens where our Maister reigneth in glorie and to vse the things of this world as they may best further vs to the next world or otherwise terrible is the iudgement and incommoditie that the things of this world shall bring vpon vs. Thus farre concerning the time As to the greatnesse of the disease I find it noted in the verses which I haue read by sundrie things First the Prophet sheweth the greatnesse of the disease whereas he saith he was sicke euen to the death Secondly the greatnes of his disease is aggrauated while as the Prophet getteth command in the name of the Lord to assure him of death And thirdly the byle it selfe which broke out was deadly and sheweth also the weight of the disease Now in this extremitie the Prophet visiteth him and in the name of the Lord enioyneth him two things first to take order with his house next to prepare him for death and to pull his heart the more from all present things and all earthly comfort assureth him of death shortly and for his further assurance he doubleth the word saying Thou shalt die and not liue It is so hard a thing to haue the hearts of Kings pulled from their wealth and from their glorie The Prophet in visiting of the King learneth vs a point of dutie towards our diseased brethren a point wherunto we are bound by nature by charitie and by all sorts of lawes but chiefly we who haue the care of soules and represent Esay in our office at this time chiefly we are bound to visite our brethren for at such times the Diuell is most busie the bodies of men are abstracted from the hearing of the preached word and old sinnes begin to reuiue and returne to their memories and therefore at that time there is great need of comfort We are also informed here by the Prophet how to propound our comfort lest we spend our time in idle and vnprofitable talke as worldly men do To wit first of all that we bid the patient take order with his house that is make his testament and lay aside the worldly part that so his heart may be readie to go when the Lord calleth on his soule The most part of the world are so negligent in this point of dutie that there are very few that haue their heart free when the Lord knocketh but they are compelled to leaue their heart behind them where their treasure is or where they loue best and that because they set themselues here as in a permanent Citie And in their life time they will not so much as once thinke of death but dreame to themselues length of dayes and which I wonder most of there is not a man about them that will do so much as once to put them in mind of death yea not when the Lord beginneth to strike but some say it will trouble him and make him heauie others come in and say they would do it but they cannot for teares and sorrow The Doctor saith Nature is strong enough be of good comfort So that if the Pastor leaue this point of dutie there is not a friend almost that beginneth to admonish a man vntill his outward senses begin to leaue him Now as it becometh the Pastor to propound this so it becometh the Patient to obey it for this command is not giuen by man but by God For Esay giueth it in the Name of God and it is not onely giuen to Kings but it reacheth to all masters of families whosoeuer for the Lord hath willed them to haue a care of their families not onely in their life time but in their death also that by this meanes all occasion of quarrels and debates might be cut off after their death The Patriarches the godly Kings they haue left their example registred concerning this point so that I will not insist at this present further in it Now the worldly part being set aside and the conscience put at rest the soule is prepared to heare of death and so the Prophet cometh in the
second place with the denunciation of death Indeed Esay in his denunciation appeareth to be very strict but how strict soeuer he was he hath his warrant We haue not the like warrant therefore we ought not to vse the like strictnesse toward the Patient Alwaies generally we ought to exhort him to vnbuâ—den his conscience to disburden his soule and to make 〈…〉 whensoeuer it shall please the Lord to call 〈…〉 the chiefe points of our visitation standeâ—h 〈…〉 two first to bid the Patient lay aside the 〈…〉 and next to prepare for the heauenly part Yet ere I leaue the denunciation theâ—e â—ppeareth in the denunciation three faults to concuâ—â—â— First it seemeth that the Prophet in his denunciation 〈◊〉 ouer rigorous against so godly a King and handlâ—â—â—he King ouer extremely in this heauie disease for he cuâ—â— from him at the first all hope of this present life He doth farre otherwise then our Doctors of medicine for if they see any certaine signe of death they will not shew it to the Patient himselfe but to some of his friends he on the contrarie denounceth death to himselfe constantly affirming that he shall die Now this appeareth to be very hard But I answer if this denunciation had bene vsed against an Ethnick or a licentious liuer indeed it had bene an hard denunciation For as to an Ethnick who hath his hope onely in the earth it is not possible that he can make his hope to mount aboue the earth so that he thinketh when he is gone all is gone to him Secondly this denunciation would appeare hard and extreame to them that liue according to the flesh for ô how bitter is death saith Salomon to them that liue according to the flesh And I pray you what is the cause that death is so bitter vnto them Because in the agonie of death they feele another thing then this violent separation of the soule from the bodie for beside this they feele a conscience of iniquitie gnawing them they feele also the heauie wrath of God kindled against their sinne and iniquitie and the sense of this wrath striketh such a horrour in their soules that at the very memorie of death they tremble Therefore I say to such kind of persons as those this would haue bene a hard kind of threatning But vnto Christians and namely to such a godly King as this was it was no hard language For as to vs that we Christians we must not looke on death as she is in her owne nature But we must looke vpon her as she is made to vs by the benefite and mercie in Christ Iesus And looking on death this way is not death spoiled of her sting is she not sanctified to vs in the death of Christ and is she not made to vs an entrie to euerlasting felicitie is she not a returning from our banishment and passing to our euerlasting heauen So looking on death not in the owne nature but as she is made to vs in Christ at the voice of death we ought to lift vp our eyes and be glad that the redemption of our soule is so neare when the separation shal be made the Lord shall call on vs we ought to reioyce seeing he hath made death to vs a further step to ioy and a meanes of a stricter coniunction But it is not possible that words can make men prepare them for death The readiest way to eschue the horror of death is to thinke vpon death and yet notwithstanding of all the great spectacles that we see dayly we are neuer an haire moued Alwaies the readiest way as I haue said is to take vp such a life presently as may best agree with that life which we aspire vnto Thou must take vp a new course thou must conforme thy life here with the life to come that an harmonie being betwixt the two liues death may be to thee an entry to that euerlasting ioy Thou must bid all thy foule affections good night for thou and they cannot come both to heauen Thou must bid sinne whereunto thou art a slaue and an ordinarie seruant farewell for except thou be this way altered thou must not thinke that death shall be to thee a passage to heauen Then learne ye that would haue death pleasant so to rule and square this life that it may agree in some measure with the life to come The second omission that appeareth in this denunciation is this â—t seemeth to be superfluous for why the kind of plague assured him of his death the Physicions assured him the weakenesse of his owne nature assured him that he should die So the denunciation seemeth to be superfluous but it is not superfluous in deed if we shal examine our owne nature how loath all men are to die for we know by experience that there are some who wil scarcely take death to them euen at the last gaspe and what loue we haue to this life it is knowne to all men Therefore the Prophet so strictly denounced death that by this strict denunciation the King may be moued to lift his hope aboue nature and all naturall meanes and of God onely to seeke support where nature had denyed him And so the denunciation is not superfluous it is the ready way to make him runne vnto the right way Now the last omission that appeareth in this denunciation is this The Lord seemeth by his Prophet to dissemble for is not this an high dissimulation to say that he shall die and yet notwithstanding to meane the contrary So there appeareth a great dissimulation on Gods part denounced by his Prophet that he should die instantly and yet he was of minde that he should liue fifteene yeares after this To answer vnto this this generall must be layed downe for a ground that Vnto all the threatnings and promises of God there is a condition annexed which condition is either secretly inclosed in the promise or threatning or else it is openly expressed That this is true see Ezechiel the 18.1 and Dan 4.27 this condition hath place Then this being the nature of the threatnings of God this terrible denunciation how terrible soeuer it appeare yet it hath a condition in it to wit Except he repent except he seeke me and make his recourse to me by prayer For out of question the Lord was of minde to punish Niniâ—e except they had preuented him by repentance So I say all the promises and threatnings of God haue a condition annexed which is either openly expressed or couertly to be vnderstood And therefore the denunciation hath a secret condition and this condition made the King to liue for suppose it be simply propounded yet it is not to bring him to despaire but onely to make him the more instant to sâ—eke grace health at the hands of the liuing God Now haue I touched the greatnesse the time and the kind of the disease Let vs make our profite thereof for it is necessary that this doctrine
question the Lord approueth Then the the lesson we gathered was this All office-bearers ought so to behaue thēselues in this life that in their death they may haue the testimony of a good conscience for it is not possible that the conscience can testifie well except in time he take vp a new trade of liuing except you keepe your hands free of other mens sinnes And therefore I exhorted all inferiour magistrates superiour and in speciall the supreme that the Lord by his spirit would so rule your conscience Sir that ye may keepe your selfe free from other mens iniquities Thus farre we proceeded in our last exercise Now followeth the comfort that the King being placed in this extremity did finde the Lord sendeth him comfort from heauen The forme and manner of the comfort is set downe in there verses which I haue read but the circumstances are more particularly set downe in the 2. King 20. chap. Alwayes this order is kept in these verses First in the 4. verse is set downe the circumstance of time when this comfort was offered and vpon the circumstance of time the circumstance of place where he was when he receiued this comfort may easilie be gatherd Besides this the persons the Author the giuer of this commission the Minister and bearer are noted Vnto this verse before that he come to the comfort he vseth a preface in the end of this preface there is a narration that the Lord had heard the kings prayer had seene his teares In the third place he propoundeth the comfort And last of all we haue the confirmation of this proposition by a wonderfull signe and miracle from heauen Then to come backe to the 4. verse he touched the circumstance of time very obscurely when the King receiued this comfort for it is said Then came the word of the Lord. This particle Then is relatiue to that time which is more chearely set downe in 2. King 20. This then is to be vnderstod when the Prophet was in the middle court when the word of the Lord came vnto him and commanded him to stay look how much space there was betwixt the Kings bed where he lay and the second hall as great space is there betwixt the denunciation the recalling thereof He was not as yet passed the second hall when the word of the Lord came vnto him and commanded him to go backe and to recall that same sentence in a moment with one mouth which before he pronounced now he commandeth him to pronounce the contrary This is a wonderfull change in such a suddainnes and vpon this suddainnes there are many notable things that offer themselues worthy of consideration First of this suddainnes marke this lesson we see how pithie and effectuall the prayer of the King hath bene this prayer is so effectuall that in a moment it moueth the great God to reuerse that same sentence which he had pronounced that which heauen nor earth nor any other creature was able to alter he maketh the prayer of his owne seruant to call backe Beside this his prayer purchased health of bodie length of dayes a sure and prosperous estate and afterward all this is confirmed by such a wonderfull miracle the like whereof was neuer seene nor heard of before Looke then if the prayers of the faithfull be not wondrous effectuall It is not possible that all these effects can flow of the pithinesse of prayer seeing there is nothing so weake in it selfe but it cometh of the free nature of God whose nature is to be mercifull and it is the nature of mercie to haue pitie vpon miserie This is the reason why our prayers are in an instant of time heard And here also we may learne how well God answers to the names that are giuen him Exod. 34.6 where he is called exceeding mercifull slow to anger readie to forgiue he vttereth himselfe to be a God of great compassion and exceeding in mercie toward vs in such sort that in an instant sometimes he granteth our requests The last thing that I marke vpon the suddainnes is the strict and entire coniunction that is betwixt the faithfull soule in earth on the one part and God in heauen on the other part This coniunction is so entire and strict that it maketh God as present to our prayers as if heauen and earth were ioyned together This coniunction maketh his Sonne Christ to be as neare in time of neede as if he had placed his throne of grace in the bed where we lie To prooue this ye see how speedily his prayer mounteth ye see how swiftly the answer returneth and with such celeritie all this matter is done as if there were no distance betwixt heauen and earth So the lesson is this The faithfull soule hath God as present as if heauen and earth were ioyned together There is no distance of place no distance of roome that can make God to consume time in doing of his will but where faith is it maketh him so present that incontinently we get our dispatch Craue not therefore ô Papist any other presence then this and examine not this presence by naturall reason for where faith hath place naturall reason must ceasse Examine not these things by reason of nature which are aboue nature Thus far concerning the circumstance of time Now of the circumstance of time I gather the circumstance of place where the King was when he receiued this comfort For if the Prophet was commanded to turne backe when he was in the second hall it behooueth the King to be at home lying on his owne bed And this by the way is a great signe of the fauour of God toward him that his sicknesse taketh him at home where he might be best eased without the trouble of others This is by the way Now as to the third circumstance The Author of the comfort no doubt was God for there is no good gift but it floweth from him The minister that he vsed is his owne Prophet He vseth the ministerie of his Prophet in applying of the comfort not that he was forced to vse the ministerie of man in doing of this thing but so it pleaseth the Lord to ingage and binde himselfe to his instruments that he will not worke beside them so it pleased him to binde him to his preached word that beside his word he will not worke And therefore he calleth his word a Sword a fire an hammer and an arrow and that from the diuerse effects that he worketh by his word As he bindeth him to his word so he willingly bindeth him to his seruants who are the Ministers of his word to worke by their ministerie In such sort that he will not be bound to the word pronounced by euery man and woman but by them whom he sendeth And therefore they are in an error who thinke that by their owne reading of the Scriptures in their priuate houses they are able to get as
him ready It is foolish false to thinke that preparation to death is a furtherance to death No the contrary is true The readier ye are to die the more able ye are to liue the lesse shall be your anguish when the Lord calleth As to the reasons I will not insist in them onely the last reason that maketh death to be so fearefull to this good King was the great loue which he had to the Church that was in his country the great care which he had of his faithfull subiects who should lacke by his death his mercifull protection And in this I did let you see that the country had an exceeding blessing where the Prince is so carefull for the Church in his country and of his faithfull subiects that in his death he hath mind of them and is grieued to depart from them As on the other side the Church must be as heauily cursed where the Prince hath no regard of the Church in his country nor of his faithfull subiects As to the reasons I will not stand precisely in iustifying of them all I thinke as the word soundeth that there is some thing worthy of praise and commendation in them and some thing worthy of dispraise and reproofe For so farre as they flow of faith and of the good spirit of God no question they are worthy of praise and so farre as they flow from the Kings vnruly affections they are worthy of dispraise And surely it appeareth by the words that his affections had bene somewhat vnruly Well the lesson that I gathered was This is the profite that we reape of these preposterous affections they draw our loue from God to the creatures And ere these affections can be drawne from the creature they bring such a griefe vnto them as it were another death Therefore the thing that we craued was that ye should set your affection vpon God The truth of loue is in God and therefore it becometh you to bring your hearts from the creature vnto God and imploy your affection vpon him in whom onely is solid ioy Thus farre we proceeded in our last exercise Now in the words which I haue read he returneth to his complaint and he taketh vp his lamentation againe in the first part of the 12. verse he vttereth his trouble wherein he was In the end of that verse and in the verse following he vttereth the great rage furie of his sicknes And in the 14. verse he letteth vs see what he did in this great rage and extremity of his disease Then to returne to the 12. verse I say in the beginning of it he returneth to his lamentation and he vttereth his complaint as he had wont to do bursting out after this manner Mine habitation saith he is departed and transported from me As if he would say my life is to depart and the Lord is to transport it to another part I see death is instant and the Lord is cutting off this present life of mine He letteth vs see the maner how his life is to be transported by two similitudes The first similitude he taketh from a shepheards tent The second similitude he taketh from a Weauer and his web As to the first similitude he sayth his life is to be transported from him like a shepheards tent Looke how the tents of shepheards are remoued transported and remoued so saith the King he saw his life to be subiect to the same transportation It is knowne to you all that reade histories that in the East hote countries as namely among the Tartars and Arabians where the shepheards in the sommer seasons remaine vnder tents so often as they remoue their flocks they remoue their tents And in our owne countrie here when our shepheards remoue their flockes they remoue their other necessaries alluding to that same custome so would the King say look how these tents are remoued in the sommer season transported my life is subiect to the same condition Of this similitude we haue matter full of good doctrine For this similitude doth first teach vs that there is nothing more instable vncertaine then is the life of man here beneath There is nothing more subiect to instability then this life which we liue in this body For as to the nature of tents ye see whether ye call them tents pauillions or tabernacles all is one by experience there is nothing more vnstable nor vncertaine to dwell in then is a tent For why it lacketh a ground it lacketh a foundation and stability and in stead of a ground it leaneth onely to certaine pinnes which enter not deepely into the earth and consequently by the lightest blast of euery wind they are blowne vp and when the pinnes faile the tent falleth So the King would teach vs by this similitude that this life of ours lacketh a ground lacketh a foundation and lacketh a stabilitie And therefore the King in this comparison would send vs to the life which hath the sure ground foundation and stability he sendeth vs to that kingdome which as the Apostle Heb. 12. saith cannot be shaken by no kind of stormy blasts And as I remember Heb. 11 9.10 there in these verses the Apostle maketh a flat opposition betwixt these tents that lacke a ground and the City of God saying that as tents and tabernables lacke a foundation and ground so the City of God on the contrary hath a ground and a foundation and in steede of one he calleth them in the plurall number foundations Looke saith he to the City that hath the foundations whose craftsman and builder is the God of heauen He expoundeth himselfe what he meaneth by the foundations in the last verse where he saith Such a kingdome as cannot be shaken that is whose ground is so sure that it cannot be shaken nor totter by no processe of time nor stormy blasts Then the first lesson that ye haue from this part of the comparison is this Learne to seeke for the City that hath sure foundations seek for the City that can not be shaken The Lord giue you grace so to do In the other part of the comparison he letteth vs see that so long as we are in this life we haue no pernament abode nor certaine remaining whereunto we may leane For as ye may perceiue by the historie of Genesis the Patriarkes dwelled in tens to testifie vnto vs two things First to testifie that they were no countreymen there nor natiue borne men of that country but strangers and pilgrimes in that country and as they professed themselues that they were not onely strangers of that countrey but counted themselus strangers so long as they remained on the face of this earth The second thing that they testified by dwelling in tents is that they were minded not to remaine there it was not their purpose to fixe their staffe as we speake there But they were vpon their iourney and seeking the way that leadeth homeward the way that
led to their natiue countrie to the City that hath the sure foundations as they confessed themselues Then I say there is another lesson that we may reape of his similitude It teacheth vs that we haue no permanent being here and we ought not to settle our hearts nor cast our loue on any thing here but seeing we are subiect to flitting and remouing not knowing what houre we shall be warned to remoue there is nothing more sure then that we must remoue and nothing more vnknowne then the time Therefore it becometh vs now in time while we haue leasure to transport our goods and to send them before vs where we are to remaine to send our substance where we are to abide for euer For proofe hereof your owne experience teacheth you that there is none of you who haue warning and are certaine that ye are to remoue but ye wil transport your goods and send your substance where ye are to abide Therfore seeing that this is concluded principally in all your hearts that there is no remaining here but we must remoue and ye are vncertaine in what moment ye shal be warned to remoue it becometh vs to send our goods substance riches before vs. And if it be true that our Maister sayth that the heart followeth the treasure let both heart and treasure be sent thither surely this is a singular lesson if it were learned For he is a mad man more then mad that will place his felicity where he is not to remaine and where he knoweth not what houre he shall be warned to depart I am assured there is none here but they will say as I say Yet on the other side it is as true there is none here but he doth as pleaseth himselfe Therefore I will call onely one thing to your mindes I remember there is a parable set downe Luke 12.16 concerning a rich man who did cast downe his barns and inlarged them for his great abundance when all this was done he saith to his soule Take thy rest eate and drinke and take thy pleasure for I haue laid vp enough for thee This insatiable foole as our master calleth him there knew not that he was tenant at will and he knew not of the thing that was to come but as if he had had the times and seasons at his command he layeth this resolution with his soule But ye see in this parable how soone he is disappointed and his soule getteth not the vse of this conclusion for that same night it is taken from him Well I know there are none so grosse that in words will lay this conclusion with this rich man but I know againe there are none so wise but in effect they do it There are none but they say the same to their soule in deed Alwaies I say all these conclusions are false and proceed of a foolish braine and the wisdome that bringeth on this conclusion is plaine follie and their soules shall be disappointed There is no certaine conclusion but that which floweth from the truth This word is sure therefore thou must haue thy warrant out of the word of God this word saith thou hast no certainty no not an houre here Therefore this word admonisheth all to be readie And if ye would be rich seeing riches is the blessing of God be rich in good works and send your riches before you and be rich in God that ye and your riches may remaine together there for euer If I might obtaine of you this lesson and no more I would thinke this dayes exercise well employed Then let men take such a resolution with themselues that they may be so disposed that when the messenger of death cometh he cannot come amisse come when he will Thus far concerning the first similitude The other similitude is taken from a Weauer and his web And in the words he saith after this manner I haue saith he wrought my life or wouen the web of my life to the off-cutting As the Weauer weaueth his web so is my life wouen readie to be cut off as if he would say in effect I see I haue shortned my dayes there is no remaining for me I haue brought my life to the off-cutting I haue preuented the iust time by mine owne doing I haue procured my owne death In whiâ—h words he would teach vs that by his owne doings he hath procured hastened his owne death and by his euill life shortned his time It is true indeed that as by sinne death entred into the world so by the multiplying of sinne our death is hastened For that disease is not that striketh on bodie or soule but it floweth of sinne yea the death of soule and bodie floweth of sinne The thing that shorteneth our dayes is sinne the thing that maketh our daies euill and troublesome is sinne saith Iacob Sinne maketh our daies full of anguish and griefe full of trouble and sorrow Sinne wrappeth vs in a thousand cares and exceeding vanities whereby we are deceiued and sinne consumeth vs with vnprofitable labors and trauels which are not necessarie And what more Sinne weakneth this body of ours by deceiueable pleasures it vexeth our mind with such feare and terrors as I cannot expresse them Shortly all the euill that euer God inflicteth it floweth of sinne And if it be true that this good King had occasion to say that his sinne procured his death If so godly a King so good a youth had occasion to say this that sinne shortened his dayes what may the youth of this countrey say what may I pray you our yong Nobilitie say Surely if this King walked in such paths as made him to draw neare to his death it appeareth well that they haue taken post in this way euery one as appeareth contending who should runne the speediest course to an euill end except God preuent it The Psalmist saith that the bloudie man shall not liue halfe his dayes if this be true what shall become of the bloudie adulterer of the sacrilegious blasphemer much more the Papist and the Idolater In the which and infinite other vices they runne post If a man hauing this one vice shall not end the halfe of his dayes how much more shall his dayes be shortened in whom these vices concurre all in one this is sure it cannot faile I leaue the great men and come to the inferior sort Looke to the prophane multitude ye see in their behauiour how speedily they runne this post There are two sinnnes which are ioyned together in them to wit gluttonie and drunkennesse And there are none but they know that these two are the fountaines of all bodily diseases and of the chiefe diseases of the soule whereby they perish for euer Now what I pray you saith Salomon Prouer. 23. with whom saith he lodgeth feare sorow contention debate and strife with whom but with the drunken man and with him that loueth wine yet ye see how the greatest part in
it is that Dauid in his 51 Psalme cryeth out and sayth Against thee against thee onely I haue sinned Now seeing it is he onely that forgiueth sinnes let vs seeke remission at God and no other The last thing that I marke is the cause that moued God to forgiue him his sinnes he saith because he loueth his person and for this loue that he did beare vnto him he neither suffered the bitternesse to remaine in his soule nor his body to see the graue It is confessed by the King that there was nothing in himselfe worthy of this loue Therefore he is not loued for his owne cause of necessity then he must be loued for that mans cause that took away his sinne Now reade ouer the Scriptures what man is that who hath taken away our sinnes taken on him our debt discharged him honestly and honourably of it euen he that is God and man also Christ Iesus and therefore in these same words quietly he acknowledgeth his sins to be remoued for the loue which God did beare to him in Christ Iesus who was in his loynes as yet according to the flesh I say there was no man able to beare and discharge this burden saue this man which is God also able because he was God and as he was able so he discharged this burden in his owne time And Christ is iustly the onely Mediator betwixt God and Man And therefore whom the Lord loueth he loueth in him and to whom the Lord sheweth mercie it is for his cause onelie For why he perfectly satisfied for the whole businesse which may be easily seene in these three points For fiâ—st he deliuered vs from these sinnes which we call actuall sinnes And how by his perfect satisfaction whereby he satisfied fully in suffering hell in his soule and death in his body and that on the crosse And so freed vs from these actuall sinnes and the punishment thereof So that in this point he is a perfect Mediatour Secondly he deliuered vs from the puddle and rotten roote from the which they proccede For ye see Christ Iesus was conceiued in the wombe of the Virgin and that by the mighty power of his holy Spirit So that our nature in him was fully sanctified by that same power And this perfect purity of our nature in his person couereth our impurity for he was not conceiued in sin and corruption as we are but by the power of the holy Spirit who perfectlie sanctified our nature in him euen in the moment of his conception So he being throughly purged his purity couereth our impurity Now in the third point also he is a perfect Mediatour for he not onely satisfied for our sinnes but he accomplished the whole law for vs yea and more then the law required for the second Table requireth onely that we should loue our neighbour as our selfe But Christ did more then this for none loueth his neighbour so that willingly he will die for him So Christ in dying for vs sheweth that he loueth vs more then the law required And so he not onely accomplished the law for vs but did more then the law required Now this perfect righteousnesse of his cometh in betweene vs and his Father and couereth our rebellion and disobedience or else we could not be free from condemnation in this point also All these to wit perfect puritie perfect satisfaction and perfect righteousnesse are to be found in Christ perfectly And therefore onely mercie and remission of sinne is to be sought for in him and he that hath not Christ to be his intercessor that man shall neuer taste of mercie Now let vs go to the application what manner of intercession can Christ make for that man that blasphemeth his Father It is not possible that the Son can interceede where the Father is blasphemed wilfully and willingly Yea of all iudgements this is a most terrible iudgment where the spirit of blasphemie hath such power that he maketh a man to vtter such voyces against his maker Thus farre concerning these words Now in the next two verses he giueth two reasons wherfore the Lord forgaue him his sins and deliuered him from the death of his bodie and he sheweth in that 18 and 19 verses that the Lord in this worke had his owne entrie and speciall respect to his owne glorie which glorie he saw would be aduanced more by the lengthening of his dayes then otherise by the shortning thereof Secondly that the benefit of his deliuerie would be a matter of praise to al generations to the end of the world For it is said The fathers shal instruct their children and so fathers and children in their extremities they shall runne to God for the like mercie Now for these two ends that God might be praysed of the King in his owne person and of his posteritie and of all the posterities thereafter the Lord bestoweth this benefit vpon the King and giueth him health I take vp the reasons in these two verses the 18. and 19. And the first reason is taken vp in the 18 and beginning of the 19. for there he saith The graue cannot confesse thee death cannot praise thee As if he would say dead men and buried cannot praise thee as we do in these bodies of ours in the land of the liuing liuing in thy Church here Dead men that rest in their graues cannot looke for the accomplishment of thy promises And if I were dead and my bodie in the graue I could not looke for the accomplishment of thy promise in giuing me a sonne It is onely the liuing the liuing that is able to praise thee There he doubleth the word to let you see that they must be endued with a double life that praise the Lord aright They must not onely be endued with the life of the bodie but also they must liue in their soule Now the King saith I being restored to this double life both in body and soule I shall praise thee For none can praise thee worthily as I do this day but they that are aliue as I am This is the first reason Now to examine the words he meaneth not that they who are dead and buried leaue off this exercise onely he meaneth that they who are dead and buried will not praise God in their bodies will not praise him as we do here on earth And therefore we must not thinke that they leaue off this exercise Yea by the contrarie we must beleeue that the soules of the Saints departed are more busie in this exercise then when they were aliue and how prooue I this The nearer the soule is vnto God the greater plâ—asure and delight it taketh in him but after it is departed out of this life it is so much the nearer coupled with God Therefore it taketh the greater pleasure and delight in him Now the greater pleasure it taketh in God the greater praise it must giue to him for pleasure cannot come into the heart but it