all have sinned A worthy Divine of our own doth solidly though briefly state that question viz. Whether man had not died if he had not sinned Or whether death be natural or accidental and doth evidently prove that mans life should have lasted as long as his obedience that man had never fallen into his grave if he had never fallen into transgression Hâ— died not because his nature was subject to corruption but because sin had corrupted his nature If he had not turned from God he had not returned to dust Man was wholly a stranger to death till acquainted with sin If he had continued in a state of innocency he had continued in a state of immortality Though Adam died not actually assoon as he fell yet he presently became mortal and liable to death for immediately upon his fall sentence was passed upon q Gen. 3.19 him Dust thou art and to dust thou shalt return according to that r Gen. 2.17 Some say the Pope hath a book called Taxa camerae Apostolicae shewing the rate of every sin At what rate one may be drunk or swear or keepe an Whore law In the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die As the Malefactour is a dead man in Law when the sentence is pronounced upon him though there be some time between his Condemnation and Execution so was man dead both in the decree and threatning of God when the sentence of death was denounced against him This word death alone implyeth at what rate man may sâ—n Death temporal which is the separation of body and soul death spirituall which is the separation of God and the soul in part and for a time eternal which is everlasting and total perdition from the presence of the Lord and the glory of his power are the rate of sin and the sad fruits that grow on this root of bitterness Sin is the father of death but death like Senacherib's issue will at last destroy its Parent Sin in the body is like the Leprosie in the house which will not out till it be pulled down but when the body of the Saint shall be dissolved that body of death shall be wholly destroyed though there was some respite between it and his actual dissolution Now Magistrates sin therefore must die If you perform but that duty of much difficulty yet of absolute necessity of communing with your own hearts looking somtimes back upon your lives without question you will find beside your original depravation a numberless number of actual provocations I believe the best of you are too like the Egyptian Temple without fair and beautiful but within full of Serpents and Crocodiles Your lives possibly may be unblameable as to the eye of man but are there not seven abominations in your hearts 2 Cause is Physical the corruptibility of mans body Contraria inter se pugnant mutuo se destruunt Gen. 3.19 The second Cause of death is the corruptibility of Magistrates bodies this is the natural cause your bodies are corruptible It s now common to all Creatures mixt of Elements to be resolved into that out of which they were made Contrary qualities will for a time contend and at last destroy each other In the third of Genesis we read mans exodus viz. that he was dust in regard of his original production and shall be dust in regard of his ultimate resolution As the finest garment breedeth a moth and that moth eateth up the garment Physitians have a rule Vltimus sanitatis gradus est morbo proximus As the strongest tree breedeth a Worm and that Worm devoureth the tree So the fairest and strongest bodies breed such diseases as will at last consume them Eliphaz speaking of the highest men assureth us that their foundation is in the dust Now the stability of a building dependeth on the strength of its foundation Job 4.19 The Church is therefore immoveable because Christ her foundation is invincible Matth. 16.18 but our natural foundation being in the dust we cannot hold out long The house of mans body is walled and roofed with Earth and founded upon no better then dust The bodies of Magistrates have the same foundation The Psalmist speaking of a Prince saith Psal 146.4 that he returneth to his Earth As if his body could challenge no alliance to or propriety in any thing but Earth L. Cur. and Plut. in vit It is His earth Alexander the Great being wounded at the siedge of an Indian City said I have been told I am the Son of God but I see now I am liable to wounds and death as well as others 3. The supernatural cause of death is the appointment of Heaven It is appointed for all men once to die Heb. 9 27. 3 The Metaphysical cause is God's decree Some men yea most in the World die twice the second death hath power over them but all must die once The exception of one or two that were translated and of them that shall be found alive at the comming of Christ The greatest Landlords are but Tenants at God's will in these houses of clay will not make void this general rule Magistrates that Execute the Statute-law of men die by a standing Law of God When God is pleased to give sickness a warrant under the great Seal of Heaven it quickly executeth its Office and turneth men into Earth It is thus ordered in God's high Court that Judges and Justices who now sit on the Bench shall die and appear at his Bar. The Turkish Historian observeth that when the great Bassaes are feasting oftentimes there commeth a Messenger by order from the great Sultan and casteth a black Mantle over them and they are presently forced to submit to strangling So the proudest Potentates in the midst of their mirth are often surprized by a sudden distemper commissionated by God and sent to their long homes Vse by way of Inference that nothing can free from death I shall now draw some Inferences from the Doctrine First If Magistrates are mortal observe hence deaths prevalency and power above all the Priviledges and Prerogatives of nature Lib. 5. in conclusion of cap. ult It is a memorable Speech of Sir Walter Rawleigh Though God who loveth men is not regarded yet death which hateth men is quickly obeyed O mighty death O eloquent death whom no man could advise or perswade thou canst prevail with Take notice from hence that nothing in this World can priviledge a man against the arrest of death 1. Strength cannot First strength cannot all the strength and power which the gods have cannot free them from death Magistrates have civil strength as they are Magistrates the Command of whole Counties Kingdoms yea Empires in this respect it is that Magistrates are called Å¿ Tiâ—us 3.1 Principalities and Powers yet death hath power over them that hath power over others Alexander and Cesar that Conquered Countries and Kingdomes were conquered by
Claudian of Pomp. Mag. Cyrus therefore did fitly cause this Epitaph to be engraven on his tomb O man whosoever thou art that shalt come hither know that I am great Cyrus that first erected the Persian Monarchy therefore envy me not this little Earth that now covereth my body From it you may learn That your greatest care should be to fit your self for your last hour your main work is to doe your last act well The Roman Gladiators appointed to death were very solicitous how they should contrive their bodies so as that they might fall handsomely and die modestly Your business is so to furnish your soul that you may die piously Å¿ Hujusmodi comparandae sunt opes quae simul cum naufragio enatent to get such riches as will swim out with you in a shipwrack to be t Luke 22.21 rich towards God u Jam. 2.5 to be rich in faith to be rich * 1 Tim. 6.18 19. in good works Alas how poor is that 〈◊〉 who hath no other riches then what are at the courtesie of the thief moâ—â— and death hereby you will lay up a good foundation against the time to come and lay hold on eternal life It will shew you how absolutely necessary an experimental knowledge of a crucified Christ is to a dying Christian that no weapon is more requisite for us to have and use when we enter the lists and encounter with our last enemy then the shield of faith O how cheering and comforting to a dying body will the warm blood of the Lord Jesus be being applied by a true lively faith to the soul He and he only may look on the King of terrours without fear that hath first looked on the King of Saints with the eye of faith It will acquaint you that a saving work of grace must be wrought upon the heart before death can be a passage to the weight of glory A Painter may paint fire but he cannot paint heat A person civillized may attain to the outward actions but cannot to the inward affections of a sanctified Christian That all the godliness of an unregenerate man will die with him That the lamp of profession which shineth gloriously whilst a man liveth if it be not fed from oyl in the vessel true grace in the heart a renewed nature the image of God stamped on the soul it will go out in a stink when he dieth and not advantage him at all And therefore Christians should not like some Tradesmen live altogether upon their credit with others but labour to find some testimony within them that there is a real change wrought upon them It will tell you that it highly concerneth you to be laborious for your soul for your Saviour now you live because you must rest when you die That you should be much in thinking highly of God in speaking humbly to God in acting vigorously for God * 1 Cor. 15. ult That you should abound more and more in the work of the Lord. Saints must not * Josh 10.12 13. Falsi illi sunt qui diversissimas res expectant ignaviae voluptatem praemia virtutis Salust Non incepisse sed perfecisse virtutis est Aug. ad fratr in erem like Joshua's Moon stand still much less like Crabs goe backward no not like the Snail creep forward but like the Sun rejoyce to run his race The path of the just must be like the shining light that shineth brighter and brighter to perfect day Prov. 4.18 Truth of grace is ever followed with growth in grace though perfection be the honour and reward onely of the Saints in Heaven yet it is the desire and endeavour of the Saints on earth That you should persevere and encrease both by your pattern and precept in discouraging the bad and encouraging the good That you should improve all opportunities employ every talent your honour riches power life health strength relations interests all you have are or can be to the utmost in his service and for his for glory who I hope hath loved you and washed you in his blood Gen. 47.6 Pharaoh would have active men to be his servants the great King of heaven is a pure act and he loveth most and liketh best those servants that are most active for him Hereby you will please the most high God though hereby you will displease prophane men The world indeed whom the Spirit of God compareth to e 2 Pet. 2. ult His speech savoured more of wit then grace who counselled his friend not to come too nigh unto truth lest his teeth should be beaten out with its heeles dogs if a man go softly will be quiet but if he ride a pace in the way to heaven they will bark exceedingly yea and bite if they can do but hinder their progress in sin and like waters stopt at a bridge they will roar and make a noise to purpose But surely the favour of God will bear up the heart against all the anger of men Those persons which the wicked besmear with calumny and those actions which ungodly men speak of with scorn and contempt God will entertain with an Euge and reward with glory f Matth. 25.21 Well done good and Faithfull servant thou hast been faithful over a few things I will make thee ruler over many Cities enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. Sir My hearts desire and prayer to God for Rickmersworth is that it might be saved And I hope the Divine providence wil ere long put a greater price into your hands then ever yet you had wherein you may manifest your fear of his Majesty your zeal for his glory your hatred of iniquity and your real love to the place of your Nativity which that you may faithfully discharge at this day and comfortably account for at the last day and that you and yours 2 Cor. 5.1 when these earthly houses of your tabernacles shall be dissolved may have a building of God an house not made with hands but eternall in the Heavens shall be the prayer of him whose desire is to be Rickmersworth June 1. 1657. Your faithful servant in the work of your faith GEORGE SWINNOCK The GODS Die like MEN OR MAGISTRATES are Mortall Psal 82. v. 6 7. I have said Ye are gods and all of you are children of the most High But ye shall die like men and fall like one of the Princes ONe a Ambr. Offic. lib. 1. cap. 32. of the Fathers resembleth the whole Bible to the visible Heavens wherein saith he the Psalms are like the Sun whose beams shine brightly and rays warm comfortably An English Divine compareth all the Scriptures to the body of Man Luther calleth them parva biblia summarium utriusque testamenti and the Psalms to the heart the most Pathetick part the seat and center of sweet affections Nay as one observeth the very Turks that disclaim both Old and New Testament in general yet will swear
as solemnly by the Psalms of David as by the Alchoran of Mahomet But what need have we of the testimony of men when God is pleased to give such large witnesse in the Gospel to this book of Psalms In which the Psalms are quoted above sixty b Leighs hist p. 35. times The Apostle calleth them spirituall c Colos 3.16 songs both because they were inspired by the holy Spirit of God and because they are instrumental to spiritualize mens affections and also because they do sute with mens spirits they are so penned that every man may think they speak de se in re sua of himself and to his own condition * Quia reges quicunque potestate praediti sunt immensam sibi licentiam fastu excoecati ut plurimum indulgent denunciat Propheta reddendam esse rationem summo judici qui omnem mundi celsitudinem supereminet Calvin argu Psal 82. This 82 Psalm containeth a severe reprehension of superiours for their ungodly oppression of inferiours The Text presenteth you with their Majesty and with their Mortality In Verse 6. They are gods and children of the most High there is there Majesty In Verse 7. They die like men and fall like Princes there is their Mortality Plautus telleth us concerning Hercules that he was the son of uJpiter and so immortal and the son of Amphitrus and so mortal The former Verse speaketh that Ye are the sons of God thereby ye seem to be immortal but the latter pronounceth plainly that Ye shall die like men and therefore it is apparent ye are mortal In Verse 6. Ye are exalted as high as Heaven I have said Ye are gods In the 7. v. Ye are debased as low as Earth But ye shall die In ver 6. How beautiful are your features how Evangelical are your faces Nay how God-like are your looks I have said Ye are gods In the 7. when the other side of the Picture is turned what hoary heads what heavy hearts what quivering lips what trembling loyns what dying flesh what decaying spirts have ye ‖ Vt caeteri omnes natura sunt obnoxii morti quidem aeternae damnationi si in delictis adversus conscientiam ad extremum usque perseverent ita scitote vos quoque iisdem legibus subjectos esse Moller in loc Ea cogitatio de fragilitate vestra de poenis secuturis commone facere excitare vos debebat ut in procuratione muneris vestri majore diligentia studio versaremini Idem ibid. And it is not without cause that the Spirit of God subjoyneth your humanity to your Deity your Mortality to your Majesty as a means to prevent sin and as a curbe to restrain you from making your Lust your law or your Will the rule of all your actions In the words we have the Mortality of the Magistrate namely from the seventh Verse First affirmed Ye shall die like men Secondly amplified and fall like the Princes Thirdly confirmed surely and certainly as surely as ye live like gods so surely ye shall die like men Certe sicut homo Calvin Moller Trem. legunt I have formerly in this place upon the like occasion from the 6. v. discovered the dignity of * At aâ— Assize holden at Hertford for that County upon the 2. day of August 1653. Magistracy I shall now proceed to the frailty of the Magistrate My work now will be like Philip's youth to mind you that ye are but men And I hope there is none here of the Persian Monarchs humour into whose presence none might come cloathed with d Est 4.2 sackcloth nor like Lewis the 11th of France who would not permit the word Death to be named in his Court For all the Dish I have to entertain you with at this time is a Deaths head Neither shall I garnish that with the flowers of humane eloquence as knowing there is no need of it The deformed Harlot wanteth colouring but the Virgin truth of God is most beautiful in her native dress And there is little good by it A painted window keepeth out the light a paintâ—d fire will not burn a painted sword will not cut and if ever the a Jer. 23.29 fire of Scripture warm b Luke 24.32 the heart or this c Ephes 6.17 sword of the spirit wound the Conscience to conviction and conversion it must be drawn out of the gawdy scabbard of mans wisedom I shall first speak to the Explication of the words and then draw the Obsâ—rvation from the words But i.e. For all the glorious titles wherewith ye are invested as gods amongst mens and the administration of justice wherewith ye are intrusted as my Lieutenants on Earth yet for all this Ye shall d Ac si diceret quum instructi sunt potestate ad regendum mundum non exuisse tamen naturam ut mortales esse desinerent Calv. in loc die though your names are Divine your natures are but Humane Surely i.e. Though ye should flatter your selves because ye are gods ye shall ever live yet know certainly that ye are but men and must die All God's words are true and sure but on some there is affixed a special note of certainty because of mans especially great persons extraordinary infidelity Though ye should neither regard it nor provide for it as if it were a thing of small consequence or little concernment Yet e Job 17.14 ye may say to corruption Thou art my father and to the worm Thou art my brother and sister Ye shall die like men Your souls and bodies that have been joyned together like husband and wife shall be parted asunder Death will loose all bands untie all knots even this conjugal one 'twixt soul and body which is the strongest of all e Sicut plebeius homo Tremel Like men i. e. Like ordinary men like Adam saith Ainsworth Though in your lives ye are like Saul higher by the head and shoulders then the people yet in your deaths they and you meet are equal Two things ye do as men 1. Ye sin as ye are f 1 Cor. 3.3 Errare humanum est men to walk as a man is to walk carnally to walk sinfully 2. Ye die as g Psal 9. ult quod sint homines i. e. quod sint miseri infirmi mortales Moll in loc men to know your selves to be men is to know your selves to be mortal And fall like one of the Princes These words have a double Lection and four-fold Construction We read them And fall like one of the h Et sicut quilibet principes cadetis Calv. Qui exquisitissimis tormentis cruciantur Potentes potenter torquebuntur Princes others read them And ye Princes shall fall like one For their four-fold Construction 1. Some understand them of a fall into Hell So several of the Ancients take them like the Prince of the Divels this is true of evil Magistrates death to them is but the trap-door to
Hell the higher their exalation is the greater and lower their damnation will be The words of the Prophet are Emphatical i Isa 30.33 Ingentia beneficia ingentia flagitia ingentia supplicia Kings saith one are fair marks for traytors to shoot at Tra. on Esth 2. Tophet is prepared of old yea for the King it is prepared The greater mens preferment is the greater their defilement and the greater their punishment 2. Others understand them of a fall by a violent death So many Princes fall In that bloody way Saul Abner Ahab and many other Princes mentioned in Scripture went to their long homes The Roman Historian observeth that the Cesars got little by their places nisi ut citius interficerentur Some mens honour hath been the Knife to cut their throats Horat. ad Licin Saepius ventis agitatur iugens Pinus celsae graviore casu Decidunt turres feriuntque summos Fulmina montes 3. A third sort Expound the words of falling as the Princes of other Nations Deodati in loc though ye are the Princes of God's people yet ye are not thereby priviledged from the arrest of death For as the sun of prosperity shineth as well on the briars in the Wildernesse as on the roses in the Garden so the frost of adversity falleth as well on the fruitfull corn as on the hurtful weeds The most notorious sinner liveth as well as the most gracious Saint and the most gracious Saint dyeth as well as the most notorious sinner Grace is an Antidote against the poyson of death but not a preservative from undergoing death 4. The words are construed thus Like the Princes that have been before you Ye know that your Ancestours who were as high in honour and as great in power as your selves yet submitted to death so must ye doe as they have done Etiam muta clamant cadavera Their graves amongst you do read a Lecture of mortality to you The term whereby the Spirit of God describeth death is considerable it s called a fall and fall like one of the Princes * Rom. 14.13 Sin is called a fall and so is death Death is the first-born of sin and therefore no wonder if the Child be called after the name of its Parent Death is to every man a fall from every thing but God and godliness Ye that are Magistrates fall more stairs yea more stories then others the higher your standing while ye live the lower your falling when ye die Death to some is a fall from Earth to Hell to all from the society of men to the company of worms To you that are great men it will be a fall from your richest treasures from your delightful pleasures from your stateliest possessions from your loveliest relations Job 7.7 from whatsoever is called the good of this world Your eyes shall no more see good Hor. ad Posth Linquenda tellus domus placens Vxor neque harum quas colis arborum Te praeter invisas cupressos Vlla brevem Dominum sequetur Death is called an uncloathing 2 Cor. 5.4 because it will strip you of all your places of honour of all the ornaments of nature As ye came naked into the World Job 1. ult so ye must go naked out of the World Nothing will follow you when ye die but your works Rev. 14.13 When the good Magistrate dyeth that hath been zealous for the Lord's honour and studious of his souls welfare his works follow him through free grace into an eternal weight of glory When the evil Magistrate dyeth who hath been careless of his Conscience and unfaithful in his calling his works follow him through divine severity into a boundless Ocean of endless misery Doctrine After this brief Explication of the words I proceed to the doctrinal Observation That Magistrates are mortal or they who live like gods must die like men the most potent Emperour must take his leave of this life as well as the poorest beggar Death is called * Josh 23.14 the way of all the Earth because all flesh on Earth go this way Is the greatest road in the World never without many travellers of all sorts ranks and degrees The grave is the Inn or resting place whither this way tendeth and Job telleth k Job 3.19 us that The small and the great are there The mortal sythe of death is Master of the royal Scepter and moweth down as well the Lillies of the Crown as the grasse of l Isa 40.6 7. the Field At one end of the Library in Dublin was a Globe at the other end a Skeliton to shew that though man were Lord of all the World yet he must die All flesh is grasse and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field The grasse withereth the flower fadeth As Athanasius speaketh of Julian so I may say of the greatest King in the World Nubecula est quae citò transibit Do we not find by experience that the greater Candles consume and burn out as well as the lesser And that the boysterous wind of sickness bloweth down and rooteth up as well the tall Cedars of Lebanon and the strong Oaks of Bashan as the lower shrubs and weaker trees of the Vallies We Ministers that preach the Word of life must ere long submit to m 2 Cor. 4.7 death ye have the Heavenly treasure in earthen vessels And you Magistrates that are the Bulwarks of the Countrey under God to preserve us from the shot of a violent death must necessarily your selves undergoe a natural death Ye are called n Psal 47.9 Scuta terrae sunt terrea scuta the shields of the Earth yet ye are but Earthen shields Ye are called the o Isa 44.18 As at a game at chess when done not only pawns but Kings Queens and Knights are tumbled into the bag so when the race of life is finished noble as well as ignoble are tumbled into their graves shepherds of the people but this Wolf of death will seise as well on the shepherd as on the sheep I shall not stand to prove it any further at this present there is not one of you either Judge or Justicâ—s that hear me this day but within a few days shall be the proof of the text I shall only give you the causes of the Doctrine and then make some Use of it But why do the gods die like men There are three Causes of it as they are men * Grounds of Doctrine 1 Ethicall cause of death is sin Rom. 5.12 Rom. 6. ult Stipendium peccati mors First the moral or meritorious cause of death is sin Sin and death like Jacob and Esau were brought forth at one birth they were twins and came into the World together As the thread followeth the Needle so death followeth sin Wherefore as p by one man sin entred into the World and death by sin and so death passed upon all men for that
death Magistrates have natural strength as they are men but death trippeth up the heels and layeth on their backs the most strong and valiant t Job 21.23 24. Plato saith that Marrow is not only the sourse of generation but the seat of life One dyeth in his full strength being wholly at ease and quiet His breasts are full of milk and his bones are moistned with marrow Put the case that a man be in the zâ—nith and height of his estate when his health is most pure and his strength is most perfect when he hath the choicest complexion in his face and soundest constitution in his body when there is most agility in his joynts and most appetite in his stomach yet even then sickness arresteth him at the suit of death haleth his body to the prison of the grave and sendeth his soul to his own place Man at his best estate yea u Psal 39.5 surely every man at his best estate is altogether vanity 2. Riches cannot Luke 16.22 Secondly as the strength so the wealth of Magistrates is insufficient The holy Ghost telleth us that the â—iâ—h man also dyed Men may put riches into the grave with them The Irish have a Proverb What aileth a rich man to die but they will not keep them one moment out of the grave Death like jealousie will not regard any ransome not be content though men would give many gifts Job speaketh supposing that he had dyed Then I had been at rest with Princes that had Gold and filled their houses with Silver It s reported of Cardinal Beauford that when on his death-bed he should say Fie will not death be hired will Money doe nothing if the whole Realm would save my life I am able either by wealth to buy it or by wit to procure it but it could not help him die he did Money is the Monarch of this World but not of the next it can neither stave off sickness nor buy out death 3. Honours cannot Thirdly as neither strength nor wealth so neither can the honours of men help them against this last enemy How have the highest men on Earth been laid as low as the Earth by it Man in honour doth not abide Psal 49.12 His duration is sometimes the lesse because his reputation is so great Job speaketh excellently Where is the dwelling place of Princes who shall declare his way to his face Job 21.28.31 This person is so high that none dareth tell him of his wicked practices Luther complaâ—neth that in his time Magistraâ—es Elati superbia volebant esse ipso verbo superiores Kings saith one have Clouds in their brows as well as Crowns on their heads they would be adored like gods and not reproved like men Yet these men which are so high that none must speak to them death will be sure to speak with them Yet he shall be brought to the grave and remain among the Tombes Job 21.32 There is much weight in that word Yet i. e. though he be a Prince so proud that he scorneth to hear mens reproofs yet he shall be forced to listen to death's language though his dwelling place was stately amongst men yet he shall be brought to an homely one amongst Worms Yet he shall be brought to his grave and remain amongst the Tombes When Michael Paleologus Emperour of Constantinople sent for a present to Nugas the Scythian Prince certain royal Robes and rich Ornaments he set light by them saying Nunquid calamitates morbos aut mortem depellere possent It was a notable speech of the King of Persia who visiting Constantine at Rome was shewn the rare Edifices rich Coffers and great Honours of the Emperour Mira quidem haec sed video ut in Persia sic Romae hommes moriuntur If Magistrates are mortal 2. Vse by way of Inference of the Magistrates folly how much folly is in him that laboureth most for his body The truth is there is a secret conceit in the hearts of great persons who have the World at will that they shall not die it is not vox oris but it is vox cordis they still think of a longer life though they have lived never so long they can see death in other mens brows but not in their own bosomes w Psal 49.11 How many be too like that Duke d'Alva who bâ—ing asked whether he had observed a late eclipse of the sun answered That he had so much business to doe on earth that he he had no time to look up to Heaven so they spend so much time on their dyiâ—g bodies that they can spare none for their never dying souls Their inward thought is that their houses shall continue for ever and their dwelling places to all generations Hence it commeth to passe that they work altogether for this world so they have Earth in their hands they care not though they have nothing of Heaven in their hearts Their endeavour is to live in the favour of great men and not to die in the feare of the great God How many great Persons spend their time as Seneca speaketh inter pectinem speculum occupati between the Comb and the Glasse and not between Scripture and Prayer their labour is to go finely to fare deliciously to live honourably to prosper outwardly but not to honour God fruitfully to discharge that trust which is committed to them faithfully or to work out their own Salvation diligently There is a story of a fat man riding through Rome on a lean horse it was demanded how it came to passe that he being so exceeding fat his horse was so lean he answereth Ego meipsum stabularius equum curat I mind my self but my Groom looketh after my Horse Too many God knoweth have fat bodies and lean souls their outward man is flourishing their inward man is perishing and the reason is they themselves regard their bodies but they say they trust God or more truly the Divel with their souls Prince Absalon is a fit resemblance of such persons whilst he lived he provided somewhat against the time he must die But what doth he provide only a place for his body to rest in The Spirit of God takes special notice how provident this ambitious youngster was for his body 2 Sam. 18.18 Now Absalon in his life time had reared up for himself a Pillar But he never thinketh of his precious soul where that might rest when it left his body How foolish and faulty are many Magistrates in this particular whilst they live they take special care that when they die their bodies be in such a vault interred with such a company of mourners attended that such a Monument be eâ—ected but take no care that when their bodies go to the house appointed for all the living their souls might go to that house which is not made with hands but eternal in the Heavens They little consider that when their Friends are weeping over
a mound of Earth The consideration that ye shall be turned into Earth should dead the Cannons of temptation which Satan shoots against yoir souls 1 Pet. 2.11 Plut. As pilgrims and strangers abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul Lycurgus made the first law that the dead should be buried about the temples intimating thereby that they which are dying should be very religious Nihil facit mortem malam nisi malum quod praecedit vel sequitur Nothing maketh death evil but the evil that goeth before it for without that no evil could follow after it I have read of one that gave a Ring with a deaths head to a young Ruffan upon this condition that he should meditate on it one hour every day for seven days together which he did and through the help of God it wrought a blessed change in him Take a turn or two daily in Golgotha walk often among the Tombs ponder frequently your own frailty it may much quicken you to walk exemplarily Your high places call for holy practices It s esteemed one of King Alphonsus his sayings That a great man cannot commit a little sin I must tell you As Cesar said That Cesar's wife should be without all suspition of fault ye have many following you either to Heaven or Hell in the narrow or broad way ye had need to choose a right path Great mens vices are as seldom unaccompanied as their persons Dives was a great man and a bad pattern and he had many brethren following him to the place of torment Vivitur exemplis potius quà m legibus Mâ—n are led more by the eye then by the ear and follow rather the doings of Magistrates then the sayings of Ministers * Claudian Componitur orbis Regis ad exemplum nec sit inflectere sensus Humanos edicta valent quà m vita regeniûm Sin indeed commeth in at first by propagation Many say to such as Tiberius to Justinus Si tu volueris ego sum Si tu non vis ego non sum but is much encreased by imitation Ye are the heads of the people Numb 7.2 Mich. 3.11 If the head be giddy the body must needs reel Ill humours from the head destroy and consume the vitals in the body Isa 49.23 Ye are the Nurses of the people and our Naturalists observe that what disease Nursts have the Children will partake of Josh 24.15 It is a great praise that Melancthon ascribeth to George Prince of Anhalt His Bed-chamber saith he was Academia curia tenplum And Xenophon of Cyrus that a man might winke and choose among his Courtiers he could not misse of a good man 3. Walk humbly with God Now how will it gall your consciences when ye come to die if ye have been ringleaders in iniquity and not patterns of piety believe it ringleaders in a rebellion will be most severely punished and with those whom ye have made wicked without repentance ye will be made eternally woful Take up the practice of dying Joshua who was going the way of all the Earth I and my house will serve the Lord. Theodosius the Emperour being asked how a Prince might promote good abroad answered By ordering all well at home If ye cannot rule your family well ye are unfit to rule Cities and Counties Let me request you to follow David's pattern I will walk in the midst of my house with a perfect heart until thou come unto me Psal 101.2 or O when wilt thou come unto me lest when ye come to die ye have cause to cry out as she did They made me keeper of others vineyards but mine own vineyard have I not kept Cant. 1.6 Thirdly As your frailty calleth upon you to be faithful in your places holy in your practices so likewise in the third place to walk humbly with God I would have others to have high thoughts of you because Ye are gods but I desire you to have low thoughts of your selves because ye must die like men A Magistrate should be like a star or spire-steeple the higher he is the lesser he should seem to be Pride as one observeth is the shirt of the soul put on first and put off last it is a weed that will grow in the best soil but men that are highest in place are usually highest in spirit It s rare to see a man great in others eyes and little in his own Honour is often the stinking breath of the vulgar which being blown into the bladder of a graceless heart causeth it to swell But here is a Pin in the Text to prick this bladder and take down its swelling Did you but spiritually consider the brittlenesse of your bodies it would abate the swelling of your spirits I should think the evil disposition of your souls and the frail condition of your bodies should keep you low while ye live Alas notwithstanding all your powers places or preferm nts what are ye but clods of clay a little refined earth moving slime enlivened dust breathing ashes Some Naturalists observe of Bees that when they rise and buz on high if you throw dust upon them they will house and be quiet When your thoughts are lifted up on high because of those places in which God hath set you I pray cast some dust on those thoughts rememember ye shall be laid as low as the worms are Abraham was a Prince a great man but how much did this thought humble him Gen. 18.27 Lo I have undertaken to speak unto the Lord who am but dust and ashes I have read of Agathecles King of Sicily that being a potters son he would be always served in earthen vessels to mind him of his original There was one Willigis Bâ—shop of Ments who being son to a Wheelwright caused wheels to be hanged on the walls up and down his Pallace with these words written over them Willigis Willigis Recole unde veneris 4. Act zealously for God Some write of a Bird so light and feathery that it is forced to flie with a stone in its mouth lest the wind should carry it away The truth is men that are high in place are apt to be carried away with the wind of high mindednesse they had need therefore to have earth in their minds I mean their frailty and it may prove through the blessing of Heaven a singular preservative O that you who are Judges and Justices would but take the length of your bodies in the dust where ye must ere long lie and believe that a little dstemper will kill you a little sheet will wind you a little grave hold you little worms feed on you and a little time quite consume you could ye then be great in your own eyes Remember that your remembrance is like unto dust and your bodies are bodies of clay Job 13.12 Fourthly Must ye die and would ye prepare for it then be active for God whilst ye live the serious thoughts of death
power of godliness A man may live by a form but he cannot die by a form An heart not ballanced with grace may hold out in the calm of life but when the boisterous winds of sicknesse blow and the storm of death cometh it will suffer shipwrack When death cometh when that damp ariseth the Candle of Profession separated from the Power of Religion will first burn blew and then go out The bellows of death will blow the spark of sincerity into a flame and the blaze of hypocrisie into nothing O therefore get that saying of our Saviour written on your hearts Verily John 3.3 verily I say unto you except a man be born again he can never see the Kingdom of God Pious Mr. Strong on Heb. 12.14 p. 39. vid. A worthy Divine now in Heaven observeth four things from this verse 1 The manner of the assertion Verily verily 2. The matter asserted except a man be born again Non unius partis correctionem sed totius naturae renovationem designat Calvin He that is born but once dieth twice He that is born twice dieth but once 3. The universality of the assertion it is equivalent to an universal proposition though he be a man civil in his conversation a Saint in his generation yet he must be born again 4. The necessity of it without regeneration no salvation he cannot see the Kingdom of God You know what the Pharisees were how strict in their lives a Phil 3.6 according to the Law blamelesse how abundant in b Matth. 23.14 duty they made long c Matth 6. prayers gave much d Luke 18.12 alms fasted twice a e Matth. 23.15 week compast Sea and Land to make Proselytes Nay they were so holy that the Jews would speak commonly That if but two in the world went to Heaven the one should be a Scribe and the other a Pharisee Yet our Saviour speaketh expresly Matth. 5.20 Except your righteousness exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees ye shall in no case enter into the Kingdom of God Pharisaical holinesse will never evidence your right to eternal happinesse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Duo negativae apud Graecos vehementius negant He that considereth how great their priveledges how seemingly gracious their practices were will at first wonder why Christ should set a double bolt on Heavens gate to keep them out But their chief falling was in this which I am exhorting you to namely in the want of the power of godlinesse their actions to the eye of man good but their affections were bad their practices did not proceed from renewed and gracious principles Whatsoever civility was without in the life there was no real sanctity within in the heart You that are Magistrates may probably be free from scandalous enormities none can taxe you it may be with swearing drunkennesse whoredome or the like nay I hope you go farther that ye perform duty in secret by your selves in private with your wives and children in publike with the Congregation that ye instruct your families in the things of God and be earnest with all under your power to mind their eternall good these things are commendable and the Lord increase the number of such Magistrates but I must tell you that though this reformation in your lives be good yet without an alteration and change in your hearts it is not sufficient I may say to you as Christ to the young One thing lackest thou yet As the rude Satyre in Plutarch who strove to make a dead man stand upright had so much wit as to say Deest aliquid intus There wants something within So I say to you if ye go no further there is spiritual life the seed of God the divine nature the new creation the power of godlinesse wanting within without this all other things will come to nothing Alchimy Gold may shine brighter then true Gold but as some observe it will neither cheer the heart as a Cordial nor passe the seventh five A dram of true grace will be of more worth to you when ye come to die then a Sea of gifts Heaven is the Father's house and none can come thither but his own children such as are born of God 6. Apply the death of the Saviour to your own souls Lastly If ye must die to prepare your selves for death make sure of an interest in Christ in the death of the Lord Jesus There is no shroud to this namely to be wrapt in the winding sheet of Christ's righteousnesse I would request â—ou to discharge your trusts so faithfully to work for Heaven so industriously to walk with God so humbly to live among men so exactly and exemplarily to mind the renovation of your natures so carefully out of thankfulness to God for his Son out of affection to him that hath loved you and washed you in his blood out of a desire to cleer up your title to the Covenant of grace as if ye were to be justified by your works to purchase Heaven by your holiness Isa 64.6 but when ye have done all throw them away as filthy rags as a menstruous cloth as dung and drosse in comparison of the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ Phil. 3.8 9. He that is to incounter with this grand enemy death had need to have Armour of proof Joh. 11.25 26. And as David said of Goliah's sword so I of this death of Christ There is no weapon like it That which makes a man die with true courage and step with an holy boldnesse unto the grave is to remember that Christ died not only before him but for him and hath conquered and vanquished the King of terrors upon his own dunghil I desire saith the Apostle to know nothing but Christ and him crucified All the mercies that believers enjoy come streaming to them in the blood of Christ though there be much attribued to his intercession * Calvin observeth on 1 Joh. 2.1 that Christs intercession is nothing else but a perpetual application of his death Christ intercedeth by shewing to his Father his wounds in his hands and side quot vulnera tot ora to plead for sinners yet that like the King's stamp on silver addeth no real value to it only maketh it currant By his death a Eph. 1.7 sin is pardoned God's justice satisfied his wrath c Col. 2.14 15. Heb 2.14 appeased Satan vanquished d Gal. 3.13 the curse of the Law endured e Tit. 2.14 Heb. 9.14 grace purchased for the Saints here f John 14.2 1 Cor. 15.55 56. and an eternal weight of glory hereafter b Eph. 1.6 5 2. The whole Ring of Christ's Mediatorship surely takes its value not only from the Diamond of his Divinity but also from the Passion of his Humanity It s out of the carkasse of this Lion of the Tribe of Judah that the true Sampsons get so much honey of comfort Thence it
is that the Apostle rings such a challenge in the ears of death O death where is thy sting O grave where is thy victory Vide Mr. Herberts temple-dialogue between the Christian and death p. 164. Lenietur mortis damnum non enim est invicta ut antea cum Christus illam superavit ac in suo certamine crucis faelicissime vicit Pet. Martyr loc comm de Luct pro mort Gen. 46.30 The sting of death is sin But thanks be to God which hath given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ The Apostle speaketh as alluding to a souldier that having fought with and disarmed his adversary triumpheth O Sir where is your sword wherewith you threatned so bitterly where is your pistol with which you would wound me mortally O death where is thy sting with which thou threatnedst to make me smart eternally O grave where is that victory of which thou boastest so exceedingly Thanks be to God that hath given us the victory through Christ Christ died not only in bonum fidelium sed in loco eorum not only for their good but in their stead now death like a Bee left its sting and lost its sting in Christ that now it may make a noise but cannot sting the believer Surely If Jacob could say when he had seen Joseph Now let me die since I have seen thy face The soul that with the eye of faith hath seen this son of Joseph may with greater boldness dare death and encounter the grave How sweetly doth old Simeon sing out his souls requiem having saith one laid in his heart that holy Child Jesus Luke 2.29 30. The soules solace whom he lapt in his armes sings his Nunc dimittas I fear no sin I dread no death I have lived enough I have my life I have longed enough I have my love I have seen enough I have my light I have served enough I have my saint I have sorrowed enough I have my joy Sweet babe let this Psalm serve for a lullaby to thee and for a Funeral to me Oh do thou sleep in my armes and let me sleep in thy peace Valde protest atus sum me nolle sic a Deo satiari Luther Melch. Adam in vit Luth. Be not contented with any gift from God beneath his son Say as Abraham Lord what wilt thou give me if I go Christlesse Lord thou hast given a plentiful estate comfortable kinred a goodly dwelling lovely children much honour from men many lawful pleasures and delights But Ah Lord what are these to a Christ Give me Christ or I die yea Lord give me Christ or I die eternally View thy Saviour on the Crosse fighting with this last enemy for thy sins for thy soul See his arms stretched out to embrace thee his head hanging down to kisse thee his feet nailed that he cannot run from thee his side opened to shew thee how nigh thou liest to his heart and take him down with the arms of faith and lay him in the sepulchre of thy soul O be not faithlesse but believing Cry out My Lord and my God I tell thee couldst thou heap up mountains of prayers couldst thou pray so frequently that thy heart even bled within thee and so frequently that thy knees were as hard as Camels knees as is reported of James the brother of our Lord couldst thou weep as some speak of Mary Magdalen in Balba thirty years together couldst thou fast as many Millions of years as there have been moments since the Creation yet without an interest in this death of Christ it would all be of no worth of no value to no purpose at all Motives I shall in the next place annex some motives that the former particulars may have the deeper impression on your affections 1. Other things are unprofitable Honour is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 An opinion Matth. 4.8 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A fancy 1. Consider how vain and unprofitable all other things wil be to you when ye fall Do but ponder that word fall when ye die 1. Ye fall from the highest pinacle of honour and reputation The place of Magistracy which knoweth you now will know you no more One of the Ancients standing by Cesar's tomb cryeth out Vbi nunc pulchritudo Cesars quo abiit magnificentia ejus Where is now the beauty Acts 25.23 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A mathematical figure a meer notion 1 Cor. 7.31 One was appointed at the Popes inthronization to burn a wad of Straw and running before the Pope to cry out Sic transit gloria mundi Gen. 25.32 what is become of the magnificence where are the Armies now where the Honours the Triumphs the Trophies of Cesar All was gone when Cesar was gone Your honours and your worships your power and your places all die with you if not before you Titles of honour glister like Glow-worms in the dark night of this life but in the day of death they all vanish and disappear It s probable some of you may be nobly born finely bred highly advanced but when ye come to die ye may say of all these as Esau of his birthright Behold I am at the point to die and what profit shall this birthright do to me What good will my honour my credit do me Christ will do me good when I come to die so will the power of godliness but none of my places or preferments will 2. Ye fall from your greatest treasures and possessions 1 Tim. 6.7 All the Cains of Adam are Abel's all the possessions of man are vanity Mr. Broughton As ye brought nothing into the world so it 's certain ye shall carry nothing out of the world Saladin the mighty Monarch of the East is gone and hath carried no more along with him then ye see i. e. a shirt hung up for that purpose said the Priest that went before the Bier The holy Ghost observeth well that rich men are by their wealth a 1 Tim. 6.17 rich only in this world and they are b 1 John 3.17 this worlds goods For as the Martyr said I am going to the place where money beareth no mastery In another world Gold and Silver are not currant coyn Holy Mr. Burroughs A Divine now with Christ giveth me two stories of dying rich men The one is of a Miser that being to die called for his bags and hugging them crieth out Must I leave you Must I leave you The other is of one that being on his death-bed called for some pieces of Gold and layed them to his heart but presently said I find them cold Take them away They will not do They will not do The unsearchable riches that are in Christ will do His warm blood applied by faith will not be cold to thy heart 3. Ye fall from all your friends and relations when ye die they that were neer and dear to you will leave you Ye may when ye lie on your death beds
look on your left hands and there is none to help you on your right hands and there is none to pity you on the one side of the bed thy neighbours may be sighing and sobbing on the other side thy wife and children may be wringing their hands and renting their hearts c Psal 142.4 5. but if thou canst not then with David look up and say Lord thou art my refuge O what a sighing sobbing weeping condition art thou in indeed O what a comforting cordial will it be to a dying person to be able in uprightnesse of heart to say with d Psal 73.26 It was an excellent saying of a worthy person to a great Peer of this Realm that shewed him his houses goods lands honours pleasures and the like My Lord you had need to make sure of Heaven otherwise your Lordship will be a very great loser when you die Asaph My flesh and my heart fail me but God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever When news cometh that ye must die can the ablest Physitian in the world prescribe or provide such a cordial as good Hezekiah had He turned to the wall and weepeth saying Lord thou knowest I have walked before thee with a perfect heart Believe me Sirs your honours treasures and relations will shake hands with you at death like leaves in Autumn fall from you like Absalom's Mule fail you even in your greatest extremity Then Dives and his dishes Herod and his Harlot e Isa 38.2 3. Baltasar and his bowls Achan and his wedges Balaam and his wages the ambitious man and his honours voluptuous man and his pleasures covetous man and treasures must part and that for ever ever Doth it not concern you then to choose that part that shall never be parted with 2. Hereby your names will be highly honorable Prov. 3.13 15. Salvian complained that in his time men thought Religion made Noble men vile when indeed saith he it maketh vile men Noble Job 1.8 Car. in loc which shall never be taken from you 2. By this means you names may be highly honoured true glory is entailed on piety The Heathen would go through the Temple of Vertue to the Temple of Honour Happy is the man that findeth wisedom length of dayes is in her right hand and in her left hand riches and honour I do not say that wicked men shall commend you for godlinesse no their good word were a blot to your names What evill have I done said the Philosopher that this vicious wretch speaketh well of me Yet godlinesse will make you like statues of Gold which the polluted breath of ungodly ones cannot stain the more the dirty feet of men rub on a figure graven in brasse the more lustre they give it But God and godly men will honour you for holinesse What doth God say of a living Saint Hast thou not considered my servant Job i. e. I am sure in thy travels and wandrings about the world thou couldst not choose but take notice of Job he is my jewel my darling Job was a godly magistrate Godlinesse doth truly ennoble a person the four Monarchs without it are resembled to four beasts King Herod to a fox Nero to a lyon the Princes of Israel to the kine of Bashan Nam genus proavos quae non fecimus ipsi Vix ea nostra vocâ— Ovid. a special man among all the sons of men He is such a spectacle as may justly draw all eyes and hearts after him When thou walkedst to and fro didst thou not make a stand at Job's door I cannot but look upon him my self and consider him therefore surely thou hast considered him And how honourably doth God speak not only of a godly Magistrate living but when he is dead also f Josh 1.2 Moses my servant is dead g Isa 41.8 The seed of Abraham my friend So godly men will honour you if ye fear God When your eyes are shut mens mouthes will be open And what will good men say of a pious judge There was a Judge that would not swerve a tittle from the Law but executed it couragiously without fear impartially without favour who made the Malefactor to tremble with his frowns and cheered the innocent with his smiles He was one that did justly loved mercy and walked humbly with his God of whom the world was not worthy for he is now enjoying a weight of glory And of a good Justice when dead what a character will good men living give There was a Justice that would secure his conscience whatever became of his credit that would please God how much soever he displeased men that was not only strict to punish but active to find out swearers drunkards and Sabbath breakers Pious Master Vines at Essex Fu. p. 15. He was one that ever counted the toleration of men in such sins an intolerable sin Or if you will have it in the language of a learned Divine now in Heaven He was a Justice that would scatter drunkards from their Ale-bench and never understood the language of a Bottle or a Basket O how gallantly if ye act nobly for God will these trumpets sound your praises when ye are in the place of silence When of a wicked Magistrate they will speak when he is dead as Nazianzen of Julian Caligula could say of his father in law Marcus Silanus that he was but a golden brute when he was smitten and wounded It was to him indeed vulnus lethale but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The sickness whereby he died was possibly damnation to him but it was salvation to us we are thereby freed from his wicked pattern and ungodly practises Or as the Romans of Pompey by a witty sollecisme Misera nostra magnus est The more he was advanced the more our misery encreased The very * Heathen can tell us of a long lived vicious man Diu fuit non diu vixit Multum jactatu est Senec. ad Paulin. cap. 8. non multum navigavit Believe me the highest ungodly Magistrate when he dyeth goeth out like a Candle that leaves a stinking sent a noysome smell behind him 3. If ye mind godliness your deaths will be truly peaceable 3. Hereby your deaths will be truly peaceable An ungodly man can never die with true peace though he may die in much security He may die by his own hands and yet not with his own will h Luke 12.20 Job 27.8 Such a mans soul is taken from him and snatch'd away by foâ—ce Were I not by experience too too much acquainted how hard and desperately wicked the heart of man is I should much wonder how any man should die in his wits that dyeth not in the faith of Christ that their souls go not out of their bodies as the Divels out of them that were possessed renting raging foaming and teaâ—ing I am confident were the conscience awakened no graceless wretch alive can look death in
is that which causeth the Saint to be so busie about the Scriptures but because they are they that testifie of Christ they prize the Cabinet for the Jewels sake what maketh the godly man so frequent at prayer surely because therein he enjoyeth Communion with his Saviour with Jesus Christ his voice to every Ordidance is Saw ye him whom my soul loveth Now this is the felicity of the Magistrate that is godly he shall be with Christ when he dieth There will be a perfect freedome from all evill when the Sun is at the highest there shall be no shadow When the Christian hath passed this red Sea he shall see all his enemies both bodily and spiritual dead on the shore There will be a full fruition of all good Psal 16. ult In his presence will be fulnesse of joy and at his right hand pleasures for evermore The presence of this King will make a Court indeed There will be all that thine eye ever saw or thine heart ever desired or thy tongue ever asked or thy mind ever conceived yea ten thousand times more then thou canst either ask or think There will be all beams of light in this Sun all streams of water in this Ocean out of whom as out of a christal Fountain thou shalt drink down all the refined sweetnesse of all Creatures in Heaven and Earth for ever And this Condition will be eternally thus comfortable 1 Thes 4.17 We shall ever be with the Lord. O how sweet is that word Ever Ever to be happy and ever happy to enjoy Christ fully immediately and ever to enjoy him Certainly as the Word ever is the Hell of Hell * Baxter's Rest excellently so it is the Heaven of Heaven Frailty is a flaw in the best diamond of nature which abateth its price Eternity is one of the most precious jewels in the Crown of glory which encreaseth its value exceedingly What an Argument is here to incite you to live to Christ Cyprus famosa divitiis paupertatem populi Rom. ut occuparetur solicitavit Sextus Rufus why when ye die ye shall eternally live with Christ When the Gauls had once tasted the wine made of the grapes in Italy they marched eagerly desiring to conquer it I have given you a taste of Canaans grapes O use violence for the inheritance above Be constant immoveable always abounding in the work of the Lord for your labour shall not be in vain in the Lord 1 Cor. 15. ult Plutarch Pericles that famous Oratour before ever he pleaded would intreat his God that not a word might fall from him besides his cause Plut. in vit To conclude all It s reported that Scipio African when he had any weighty work in hand would go before day into the Capital in Coelum Jovis quasi consultans de Republica cum Jove d And also that Moses in four causes which came before him two whereof were not weighty and two were more material Caeterum tam de his quam de illis dicebat Non Audivi Of both the lighter and weightier Moses said I have not heard To wit from the Lord to shew that a deliberation and consultation as it were with God Jewish Antiq. lib. 5. cap. 6. Plato in his 6 lib. de legibus would have the Palaces of Princes joyned unto temples ought to be in all judgement before sentence be pronounced Your custome Sirs is commendable to make your supplication to God before the administration of justice to men I beseech you again and again in the bowels of Christ As ye would have your Saviour to stand by you when all your friends estates honours will fail you as ye would have your names to smell a sweet savour in the Churches of God when your bodies shall be rotten as ye would die the deaths of the righteous and have your latter end like theirs as ye would render up your accounts with joy when ye must appear at the Judgement seat of Christ Now execute justice impartially Live among your inferiours exemplarily Walk with God humbly Work for God zealously Mind the power of sanctity and know a crucified Saviour In a word let true righteousness towards men and reall holiness towards God be your work while ye live that perfect holiness among men that are good and eternal happiness in the fruition of God may be your reward when ye die For though he hath said Ye are gods and all of you are children of the most High Yet ye must die like men and fall like one of the Princes FINIS ERATA Page 2. line 13. for uJpiter read Jupiter line 21. for Evangelical read Angelical