Selected quad for the lemma: death_n
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A35074
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A sermon preached at Holy-Rood House, January 30. 1681/2. before Her Highness the Lady Anne. Tho. Cartwright ...
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Cartwright, Thomas, 1634-1689.
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1682
(1682)
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Wing C704; Wing C704A; ESTC R170908
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23,302
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36
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A SERMON Preached at HOLY-ROOD-HOUSE January 30. 1681 2. Before Her Highness the Lady ANNE By THO. CARTWRIGHT D.D. Dean of Ripon and Chaplain in Ordinary to His Majesty EDINBVRGH Printed by David Lindsay and reprinted at London and sold by Walter Davis 1682. TO HER HIGHNESS THE LADY ANNE Madam HAving had the Honour to be serviceable to your Devotions by Preaching in your Royal Chappel on the Anniversary Remembrance of your Royal Grand-father of blessed Memory and received your gracious Approbation of my Sermon then and your Commands since to publish it for the benefit of them who could not croud in to hear it It would be a Protestation against that Obedience which I press'd upon others as their Duty if I should not readily give up it and my self in all Humility to your Service As many as shall think fit to peruse it will here find recommended two of the greatest Examples of Zeal and Piety of Patience and Constancy the first Christian Martyr St. Stephen and the first Christian Prince who ever sealed his Religion with his Blood concerning whom I hope I have said enough to convince the Reader that Death and the Grave have no power over his immortal Name that the sharpest Sword of his most malicious Enemies cannot wound it nor the venom of Adders poyson it His Body lyes buried in a peaceable obscurity but His Fame is Immortal like his Soul and his righteousness shall be had in everlasting remembrance and that his Enemies are now as ridiculous and vile as they would have rendred the Christian Religion God hath shewed them to the World to be the very Persons they were and the subtile Artifices of their wicked Contrivances upon which they wrote his Name to be the Suggestions of their Father the Devil he hath rescued his and the King's Glory out of their Hands nor shall they be able again to invest Impiety and Injustice with the Titles of his Providence and Spirit I hope we shall never live to see the Defender of the Faith any more destroyed for Conscience-sake as we did that Glorious Martyr of whom the World was not worthy His Blood does still run in your Royal Veines and you have prov'd your self to have such an eminent share of his Piety hitherto that we have no reason to question but you will continue a Glorious Pattern of the same to your Lives end and remain constant in that truly Catholick Religion for which he dyed for your adherence to which your Fame is already so deservedly Great in these Kingdoms in which Faith that you may stedfastly continue until your Graces be Crown'd with Eternal Glory you have the dayly Prayers of MADAM Your most obedient and dutiful Servant Tho. Cartwright A SERMON Preached at HOLY-ROOD-HOVSE 30. January 1681 2. 7 Acts. Verse 60. And he kneeled down and cryed with a loud voyce Lord lay not this sin to their charge and when he had said this he fell asleep IF when Anthony brought Caesars bloody Robe into the Market-place the People were observed by the Orator to be in a tumult and so passionately affected ut non occisus esse Caesar sed tune maxime occidi videretur that they looked not upon his murder as a thing already done and pass'd but as if he were now bleeding under the Parricid's hands then sure if we are not that Durum genus which Ovid fancies nor those Children which were raiss'd up to Abraham of Stones it will not be possible for me to mention without horror nor yet for you to remember without astonishment that execrable thing which was as on this day done among us That which we are now met to commemorate is the greatest victime which was ever sacrificed to divine Vengeance since Christ himself in so ignoble a way for the most Glorious Sun that ever shon in the Firmament of the Brittish Throne was this day turn'd to blood the mortality of our most Gracious Soveraign Lord CHARLES the First Crown'd with Martyrdome the relation whereof if I could suppose it were not still fresh in your memories though but weakly perform'd would certainly be a very forcible argument to engage you to that humiliation which is justly to be expected from you But alas I may easily be confident that you have all sadly felt the incomparable smart of that fatal blow it being the heaviest stroak that ever did light upon a distracted Kingdom and of such pernicious consequences that the Children that are yet unborn may have abundant reason to curse those unparrallel'd villanies that gave it The Noble Army of Martyrs is the supreme of all Orders in the Church both Militant and Triumphant and he who was lately Ours is now a Prince of them whose passion we are now met on this fatal day to celebrate as that which deserves to have the greatest price set upon it next to that of our Saviour for as no vollyes of persecutions though discharg'd so thick as God knows they were against him could drive him from the maintenance of his Subjects Rights and Liberties so was he a Defender of the true Catholick and Apostolick Faith indeed for he went with it to the Staffold and took his death upon it and I perswade my self I am now speaking to those some of whose pensive Souls have not yet left off their Close mourning for it He humbled himself to death even to the death upon the Block for the joy that was set before him he endured the bloody stroak of the Axe and despised the shame in the hope and comfort of a blessed resurrection he layd down his head and dyed in the Lord and for him 14 Rev. 13. 2 Heb. 10. the Royal Martyr followed the Captain of our Salvation that he might be made perfect through sufferings and as Christ though he could with less than a word have dispatched his Offenders quick into Hell yet never so much as open'd his mouth save only to pray that they might be forgiven and that the extreme act of their malice might be the only means of their Salvation so though the King had a Spirit not to be outbrav'd with the Terror of an Execution yet did not their cruelty exceed the measures of his charity who call'd for no fire from Heaven but that of Divine love to burn up his unnatural Subjects hatred and animosities to each other this great and Christian Antidote he had against their malice and what a Royal revenge his charity gave him upon and victory over his enemies let some of his last words convince you I bless God I pray not so much that this bitter cup of a violent death may pass from me as that that of his wrath may pass from all those whose hands by deserting me are sprinkled or by acting and consenting to my death are imbrued in my blood Whilst therefore I am to discourse of these last words of the first Christian Martyr St. Stephen who was one of the 70 Disciples chosen by Christ to be a Coadjutor
to his Apostles in the work of the Ministry a Person every way qualified with Zeal and Piety for the service of the Church whose Crown of Glory is platted in his name I am sure I shall not be to seek for a Parallel His case was this his enraged Enemies not only sought his blood but with an impatient and misguided Zeal they shed it and yet he not only pardon'd them himself but with bended knees and ane loud voyce arguing the intention of his Spirit he prays to God to pardon them which speaks him full of Faith and the Holy Ghost Our Saviour did the same before him our Soveraign of blessed Memory since him And he kneel'd down and cryed with a loud voyce Lord lay not this sin to their charge and when he had said this he fell asleep I have a large Field to lead you over and that an Aceldama a Field of blood a Tragical Theme to discourse of in which I shall make no longer stay then only to shew you these following particulars reducible to 3 general heads the Preface the Prayer and the Date of it 1. In the Preface there are 3 things observable 1. The Petitioner to whom the Pronoun He refers us St. Stephen whose honour I have not now leisure to blazon nor yet to make that just report which another time might challenge me to do of him who first pass'd through the red Sea of Martyrdome and suffered for our Saviour 3 years after him the most glorious performance of which a creature is capable and the most advantagious too For if he who gives a Cup of cold Water shall not lose his reward no doubt but he shall find it who gives a draught of warm blood and that his heart-blood too and therefore the Primitive Martyrs counted it as their highest preferment 2. The Humility of his posture Vs 59. when he pray'd for himself he stood but as if his Enemies Souls were dearer to him than his own our humble supplicant falls on his knees for them and he kneeld down 3. The fervency of his Spirit argued from his hearty and zealous outcry His voyce was not so low before for himself but that 't is now as high for them he had need cry aloud indeed who intercedes for the Pardon of such a crying sin as theirs for he who bottles up his Servants tears will undoubtedly make an account of their blood the Tongue whereof is always hoarse Abels cryes still so I fear does the Kings nor will St. Stephens easily be silenced at his greatest instance And therefore when he kneel'd and pray'd for his murderers it was said in the Text with a loud voyce 2. In the Prayer we must also observe 3 things 1. Subjectum cui the party to whom it is directed to him who had so lately suffered for and before him to his and our Lord the Lord Jesus 2. Subjectum de quo the persons for whom he intercedes when he could scarce gain time to think of his friends he is praying for his Enemies Lyramus saith that in some copies 't is added for they know not what they do but for the most part they were mov'd like the Kings Enemies more by passion than ignorance and even that ignorance of many was pravae dispositionis caused by a preceding malice For they were cutt to the heart they gnash'd on him with their teeth and they stop'd their ears and so they also did to the gracious Messages of the martyr'd King and ran upon him with one accord and ston'd him and yet he knew not how to be angry with them for taking away his Temporal because they hastned his Eternal happiness Eternal Life was the Crown of such a suffering but Eternal death the wages of such a sin which that it might not be the portion of their cup to drink he prayes 11 Psal 6. nor was his prayer lost For Saul who was a principal person in it had not this sin layd to his charge as himself witnesseth 1 Tim. 1. 13. but was gaind to the Church by St. Stephen's prayer says St. Augustin Si Stephanus non sic orasset Ecclesia Paulum non haberet Aug. Serm. 1. de S. Steph. So many no doubt were to their Loyalty by those of our Martyr'd Soveraign 3. Subjectum circa quod the subject matter of his request or that which he craves in their behalf is Pardon Lay not this sin to their charge He does not pray to God not to repute it a sin it were impossible for the just Judge to justifie such an unjust action but that he would not impute it to them God is not like men apt to forget sins as soon as they are committed he beholdeth mischief and wrong and he writes bitter things against them 10 Psal 14. 13 Job 20. nor will he quickly blot them out of the Book of his remembrance And though he do not always let loose his Thunder to strike those men of blood to whom his severest Vengeance is due yet we know not upon what Strapado their souls are sometimes tost in what a continual Allarum that fury keeps their Consciences and what an Hell they have within them nor will God who now walks upon the face of the waters that his footsteps are not seen suffer this his forbearance to pass for a payment for when he makes inquisition for blood 9 Psal 12. he will remember it St. Stephen knew that whilst his Enemies continued in their wickedness without repentance it would be in vain to dream of any device to tye the hand of an Almighty Vengeance from seizing on them Christ hath not born the sins of the impenitent they themselves must he therefore prays for their faith and repentance that so they may be restored to Gods favour who were under his wrath that the hand-writing which was issued out against them might be canceld and that God in Christ would in mercy reconcile them to himself this in Heaven is call'd a not imputing of sin and in the Souls of sinful men 't is a reconciliation of their rebellious natures to truth and goodness 3. Lastly we are to observe the Date and timing of his Petition 't was in the extremity of his Passion for when he had said this he fell asleep Obdormivit in Domino hominem exuit he willingly puts off the Flesh as a weary man does his Cloaths and composes himself to rest The hard Stones are a soft Pillow to his innocent Head Death is but the bodies Bed-Chamber in which it sleeps till the Soul return to awaken it at the Resurrection These and more incidental Circumstances are full of such variety with which I might pardonably entertain you at any time but this to wear out any part whereof in such unnecessary diversions as might call me off from this melancholly solemnity would I am sure be too gross an abuse of your patience and of this solemn day of Humiliation in which if I shall chance to