as Suctonius reporteth whom all others thought vnworthy of common buriall they sent yearely some with flowers and odours to adorne his sepulcher Thus as Saint Ierome saith there are men which admire none but the basest wits and obscurest Authours Neque est fere tam ineptus scriptor quin sui similem inueniet lectorem What stupidity to preferre Cartright Brightman such trash before all the Worthies both new and old What is this but in our iourny towards heauen to forsake the glorious Lampes which haue guided all our Ancestors and to follow euery Ignis fatâ—â—s euery new light These are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 senselesse appetites 1. Tim. 6.9 as Saint Paul cals them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is of meÌ„ whose iudgements are corrupted and out of taste Wherefore almighty God is not so much displeased with Israel for her spirituall fornications although hee was displeased as that shee doated vpon such beastly and clownish louers 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Asses and stallions Ezechiel 23.30 Septuag Like Pasiphae which doted on a Bull. The like infection is in all-those vnderstandings which relish nothing that is plaine and profitable ancient and honest but profane nouelties Euery worthy man hath his imperfections There is no fish without bones yet some embrace nothing but these Colligentes spinas librorum Gathering thornes out of bookes whence proceed all these bitter pamphlets and inuctiues All these are appetites of absurd Cainites whom Saint Iohn did in these wordes preuent And iointly all of that humour peruerse louers and peruerse imitators which thing also in his third Epistle and verse 11 hee generally forbiddeth Beloued be not imitators of that which is euill the Holy Ghost fore-saw that such besotted iniquities would arise that the examples of wickednesse would bee so abused therefore hee thought it not needlesse to set this marke vpon them Not as Cain enuious and murtherous and Heb. 12.16 not as Esau fornicators and prophane It is the crooked disposition of man to promote his sinfull actions by such examples as should restraine him So whereas amongst the Grecians some vsed to drinke out of a dead mans scull to moderate their pleasures by consideration of their mortality others applyed it to the prouocation of intemperance saying 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 let vs eate and drinke for to morrow wee shall dye Further if they doe not thus peruert examples yet how little are they moued by them wherefore doth the world still offend vpon the same and no sinne can be consumed by punishment although the monuments of precedent ages doe exclaime against vs and there is no offender which hath not seene others perish by the same sinne O seeke not your death in the error of your life looke vpon your predecessors Thou intendest murder behold Caine how he is stricken with the palsie of an affrighted conscience a quaking runnagate restlesse when he resteth tormented with repentlesse horrour and vnprofitable griefe And is not euery homicide signed in the forehead Now followeth the description of this wicked person first of his nature and badnesse of disposition he was of the Diuell Euery worker of imquity is the Diuels bastard and the Diuell is a father not by substantiall procreation but by originall cause and similitude of disposition For as there is semen Dei the incorruptible seed whereby the begotten of God are the sonnes of God so there is semen Diabolt and that is concupiscence which conceiueth and bringeth forth vnto the Diuell hence sloweth that similitude of nature which discouereth the true father of the children first in countenance none are like vnto him but they that paint saith Tertullian but in speech in gesture in action innumerable in speech all slaunderers and detracters 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he Diuels and she Diuels Tit us 2.3 In gesture hee that winketh with his eye treades with his foote signifieth with his fingers for to raise dissention he is a sonne of Beliall Pro. 6.13 as Salomon describeth and as for action when iniquity is growne to ripe age and maturitie of defection the children of Sathan doc so resemble their father that they bee often supposed fiends incarnate so S. Paul calleth Elimas the Magician son of the Diuell Acts 13.10 because he was replenished with all deceit Now Caine is not onely begotten but first begotten of this euill one the first branch of sinne the first propagated euill Marke how soone ill weeds shoote vp the mother is corrupted of the serpent and the first she beares is a serpent who no sooner growne able but declares his father the father the first murtherer of soules the sonne the first murtherer of bodies the father procures the first curse vpon the earth the sonne procures the second the father first brought in death the sonne vntimely death And sure if you obscrue the progeny of Satan let no discreet man bee offended you shall finde that it much tanne vpon the elder brothers First besides that Satan may bee called an elder brother being the chiefe of the wayes of God Iob. 34. Cain was the first eldest brother in the old world then cutsed Cham the eleldest of the new world and wild Ismael the eldest to the father of the faithfull and prophane Esau which sold his birth-right the father of all vnthrifty heires which sell their honour for their pleasure Lastly Ruben which desiled his fathers bed But we reade in the Gospel that the elder liued soberly at home the running Prodigall was a yonger brother This I obserue first to note the despite of Satan because the first borne is Gods therefore he endeuoureth his vtmost for that secondly how the Almightie suffers him to carry it oftentimes perhaps to signifie that these first fruits of nature are not in such high request with God there is a new creature a second Adam which he esteemeth which therefore he causeth to spring often out of yonger inscrior Nature because the excellencies of nature were so vngratefull vnto him Againe to abate the admiration of prime Nature wherewith the most spirituall sonnes of God haue been taken O that Ismael might liue in thy sight saith Abraham And Isaac would gladly haue blessed Esau but God would not So Ioseph would gladly put the right hand of his father vpon Manasseth and in Iacob I heare the voyce of Nature Iamenting Ruben my eldest sonne my might and the beginning of my strength the excellency of dignitie and the excellency of power thou wast light as water thou canst not be excellent and thy dignitie is gone To conclude seeing in this corrupt masse of humanitie the first generation that was formed was euill it argues that no man is good which is not first regenerated out of euill Nemo bonus qui non ex malâ— bonus saith S. Augustine against the spirit of Pelagius Who knowes not the vanitie of the Manichies and the dotage of Illirieus who out of this and other places made sinne substantiall
the 104 Psalme The sunne riseth and man goeth forth vnto his labour vntill the euening Likewisese Ecclesiastes the King speaking of toyle and labour hee vsually stiles it Labour vnder the sun What profito hath a man of all his labour wherein hee labours vnder the sinne So that as the eye of the maister vrgeth the seruants worke so the eye of heauen exacts labour and vpbraids rest vnto miserable and mortall men And yet when the sunne is downe still light continues labour by artificiall lampes and candles holding them to their taske Whereupon from the name of light this labour is called Lucubration Therefore Iob lamenting the affliction of mankinde doth fitly vse this speech Wherefore is light giuen to them that labour the sweete sight whereof they cannot enioy Which haue no leasure to feed their eyes with pleafant colours or with sights and theaters Wherefore doe they see light light the measure of paines the renewer of wearinesse the enemy of rest the opener of the eyes which want sleepe Wherefore is light giuen to augment labour and pursue the poore seruants in the night The painfull housewise rises in the night and holds her maides to their taske Prou. 31. Noctem addens operi famulasque ad lumina longo exercet penso castum vt seruare cubile coniugis possit paruos educere natos So euery Carpenter and Workemaister that labours day and night and watches to finish a worke operi perficiendo inuigilat The Smith also by the Anuill early and late are not his eyes put out with too much light whiles the vapour of the fire wastes his flesh and the noyse of the hammer is euer beating in his earer ad poliendum opus aduigilat and he watcheth to polish his worke To conclude then seeing as light was first ordained for delight and pleasure and to direct and illustrate our actions So now since wee were condemned to labour and trauell it is become tedious and cruell let vs with Iob bewaile our finnes which haue so altered our condition and sigh to be deliuered from the house of bondage into that libertie where the wearied be at rest where the seruant is free from his maister and the voyce of the oppressour is not heard Now besides this sensible light there is also the light of knowledge and vnderstanding which in stead of ioy and delight how it addes affliction vnto those that labour doth more easily appeare For as it is Eccles 1. vlt. in multa sapientia multa indignatio qui addit sapientiam addit laborem The eye of the vnderstanding is so owlish that the light of knowledge doth offend it So that most men do either decline wisedome experience or else complaint of the labour wherewith it is accompanied It is true which Salomon saith Ecles 2. That wisedome excelles folly as much as light excelles darknesse and that the eyes of a a wise man are in his head but the foole walkes in darknesse Yet when the light that is within vs is darknesse saith our Sauiour how greatis that darkenesse For which cause wee may complaine with Iob Wherefore is knowledge giuen to them that labour Wherby they know this one thing that they know nothing whereby they know God but better what he is not then what he is Whereby they know themselues to be most misescrable and wretched Wherefore is knowledge giuen to those that labour whereby their labour is more increased by knowledge then their knowledge by labour Whereby they know what it is to labour For as children and fooles are most indefatigable in paines because they do not prize nor esteeme labour so wise men the more wisedome they haue the more sensible they are of pains and the cogitation and weighing of their labour makes it appeare more grieuous and more weightie vnto them Pueris continuus lusus totius dici discursus non nocet quia pondus illis abest nec se ipsi grauant Children saith Quintilian are not weary because they haue not weight of vnderstanding but in men consideration and iudgement makes their mindes more ponderous and so labour becomes more difficult and burdensome vnto them Lastly this modell of knowledge which this world affords vs is so small that as the Oratour sayes of the poore pittance of a paisoner 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it neither can strenthen the body nor will suffer it to die So this knowledge neither can make a man happy nor will suffer some men to seeke for that knowledge which would make them happy But this is true of intellectuall light it is not so of spirituall Yet surely euen this light also hath his spots of darkenesse For the beames of spirituall graces which are extraordinarily infused by the holy Ghost being 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 illuminations or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sanctifications they are mixed with the imperfections and frailties of these corrupt soules and bodies of ours We here see in part and we know in part and the beautie of our puritie consisteth more in the loue of God then in the louelinesse of man Now followes the last part of Iobs complaint And life to them that are bitter of soule Where he laments two things The misery of life and the life of miserie Bitternesse of soule there is the miserie of life And life to them that are bitter in soule that is the life of miserie When the childe is borne into the world he weepes prophesying saith S. Austen of his miserie to come His cradle is his graue hee suckes errour with his milke and when his vnderstanding first appeares the weedes of bad affections spring vp with it Before hee knowes what vice is hee becomes vicious Further how many cruelties do they suffer whilst some are snatcht from their mothers breasts and either exposed with Moses or dasht against the stones as the children of Babylon Whilst some are the death of those that beare them and loose their mothers before they can smile vpon them Whilst some doe but once by breath take in the aire and then breathe out their soules into the aire Whom God onely shewes vnto the world and takes them away as soone as he hath giuen them And if they liue till youth what saith the wise man of youth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Youth is vanitie it selfe ruled by fancie and affection adoring pleasure and treasuring vp matter of repentance for age full of hopes and crednlity ouer-growne with vice by waste and prodigalitie making warre against himselfe as disobedient to reason as to his parents Lastly what is youth but the boyling of outragious bloud which when it is decocted and somthing more moderate by age although it bee lesse boasting yet is it more pernicious and hurtfull For most men when they grow to experience and yeares they striue to put off simplicitie and to put on craft And then they haue well profited when they can deceiue and not bee deceiued Their knowledge is now to vnlearne that they learned
selfe-loue or indolence hasting to heale their hearts before they are wounded and to comfort their consciences before they be afflicted Heerevpon they condemne all deep sorrow and lamentation as soft and effeminate or want of faith and patience all funerall rites and ceremonies as Heathenish and Vnchristian all solemne afflicting of the soule himnes supplications fasting and almes deeds which notwithstanding hath beene practised of holiest men and women in all ages In the eighth of the Actes the second verse deuote men beare out the body of the blessed Martyr Saint Stephen 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and made great lamentation The word signifies extremity of griefe with beating and knocking of the breast With what extraordinary sorrow did Saint Austine mourne for the death of his mother Et libuit flere in conspectu tuo de Illa pro illa de me pro me dimisi lachrimas vt effluerint quantum vellent Lastly which is the greatest commendations of this goodnesse and softnesse of nature wee reade that our Sauiour Christ was deeply moued and did weep at the departure of his friend wherevpon the Iewes obserued how greatly hee loued him God hath created in our hearts Dulce nomen 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 this sweete name of naturall affection Which is as a sparke of that eternall loue wherewith the indiuided Trinity is enslamed Which is so spirituall and actiue that being moued it doth presently heat and dissolue the heart into passion The second extreme to be auoided is immoderation of griefe which proceeds from impatience and vnbeleefe For when men beleeue not that God is the God of the dead as well as of the liuing and of the sicke as of the whole that all things worke vnto the good of the godly then loue sayling them and their hope they sorrow like them which haue no hope And how can they haue any hope when they want the Comforter who is so called saith Saint Austiue that they which suffer losse of things temporall might bee comforted with hope of things eternall Therefore when any crosse befals them through immoderate loue of these transitory things they are infinitely deiected full of bitter thoughts of cursing and howling Desperate mourners not capable of consolation accusers of God reuolters from Religion One example for all take the King of Israell in that miserable siege and famine of Samaria how he railes first against the Prophet of God secondly against God himselfe for that is the methode and these are his blasphemous words Behold what euill commeth from the Lord why should I wait longer vpon the Lord Ecce tantum malia Domino quid amplius expectabo à Domino A true example of impatience and insidelity Likewise the Gentiles when the hand of God was vpon them they vsed to breake out into exclamations and accusations against God as in that Atque Deos atque astra vocat crudelia mater As Quiutilian quis mihi alius vsus vocis quā vt incusem Deos And Iure per mala mea per infelicem conscientiam Hence rise their funerall pompes and superstitious exequies for the dead Sacrificing of men and women in honour of the defunct ertificiall howling and cutting of their flesh ambitious Sepulchers and excessiue feasts of many daies continuance In which kind euery Nation had some peculiar vanity and superstition aboue the rest Lastly in all their troubles and calamities they captiuate their vnderstandings to their affections wayling without restraint raging against God and his creatures But Iobs lamenting was not of this kinde neither are his words otherwaies to bee interpreted then as signes of extraordinary griefe easing his oppressed heart although not without some perturbation Hitherto of the griefe and passion of Iobs minde expressed by this interrogation Quare wherefore Which is a word of sorrow not of indignation Now to the matter and cause of his griefe namely that such benefites of God as light and life should bee so blotted with miseries and vexation of spirit Although according to the vsuall interpretation these words haue one and the same sence light and life and labour and bitternesse of soule yet their proper acception and signification will affoord vs this difference of discourse All the misery of man is either labour or bitternesse of soule By labour vnderstand all that wee do with difficulty and impediment whether they be actions and operations of the mind or body By bitternesse of soule is ment all that wee suffer in our soules either immediately or from the body or any outward affliction These two diuers kinds of misery do planely and distinctly appeare in that sentence of woe which God pronounceth against Adam In dolore comedes heere is the misery of suffering In sudore comedes there is the misery of working In like manner the good things which we enioy they bee either such as guide and ease our actions which Iob comprehends vnder the name of light or those which sustaine and benefite our passions which are contained in the word Life For the first Light is of three sorts sensible intellectuall and spirituall Sensible light is either artificiall or naturall Concerning naturall light as of it selfe nothing is more sweet and cheerefull so to the spirit which is in wearinesse and toyle nothing is more tedious In the 10 of Eccle. the 7 verse Lighe is sweete And in the Creation light is the first creature that is made and first hallowed Hence is it adorned with so many Epithits in Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Therefore as poore labourers by singing do sweeten their paines for which cause S. Basil cals their singing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the sauce of their toyle So the light of the Sunne doth lighten their labour and makes them more cheerefull in their worke Yet how much pleasanter is light to them that are at liberty and rest which haue leasure to contemplate the beauty of the heauens or to discourse of the benefites of light But if they bee bound to some grieuous taxe and incessant labour as the Israelites then light is but an eye-sore Whilst they see their owne vexation and how much worke they haue to doe whilst they see others sporting and themselues toyling Lastly whilst they see their misery to bee exposed to the sight of all They see youth dancing and age wooing women walking to theaters to see and to be seene Lastly they see the day distribrute beauty and cheerofulnesse to all creatures but vnto themselues vnto birdes vnto buildings to the clouds to the aire to the earth to the waters And therefore vnto them which in time of old tyranny were condemned ad lapicidiuas yet this was some comfort that they neither so much saw their own miserie nor the happinesse of others The Sunne in the creation was ordained for signes and seasons to rule the day and to shine vpon the earth but after sinne had brought in labour the sun became a taske-maister to call men forth vnto their worke as it is in
before Their bodies how much the stronger so much the longerenduring of sicknesse of consumption of death Vaine-glorious cruell dissembling rising by the ruines of others Lastly what is man-age but the Giantnesse of sinne and the power of miserie But when these ages of childe-hood youth and man-hood are worne into old age then you haue the recapitulation of humane miserie the infirmitie of childe-age the incorrigibilitie of Boy-age the subtiltie of Man-age and all these greater here then in the former Ages Here the prodigalitie of youth is dried vp into auarice pride and lust bee sinnes here out of fashion but not out of vse vndecent and vnbeseeming vices Here wisedome doateth and of power to sinne is left a will to sinne the greater torment Lastly what is old age but the store-house of repentance and obliuion the ragges of life the ashes of a lustfull body and wearinesse of a wandring minde Atque hi sunt manes quos patimur these are the miseries which we suffer in all ages sin and sorrow and folly vexation and bitternesse of spirit Hence spring complaints and discontent either for want or disease or the frustration of our hopes or some other euill No prosperitie without change and in the midst of laughter the heart is heauie What way and course of life can a man cut out wherein there is not trouble and vexation of spirit Theologie neuer so full of questions the law as full of difficulties as men of quarrels Physicke as manifold in cures as the appetite in absurd desires In Courts few prosper and those that prosper perish The Countrey makes beasts and the Citie Diuels Single life is solitarie and marriage ill company This is the miserie of life Now followes the life of Miserie Who knowes not that life and all the comforts of life they bee but increase of afffliction to those that are plunged in griefe What pleasure is there in melodie to a man that mournes And to him that is in an ague how vnseasonable is the discourse of loue and iollitie Eternitie of torment is the hell of hell so continuance or life in miserie there is the misery of misery Space of time diminishes sorrow that is past but increaseth that which is present because it weakens patience and prolongs the hope of deliuerance Therefore the Patriarch complaines that his dayes were few and euill Not euill and few For to haue a short time allotted him and yet euill dayes intermixed is more euill But being afflicted with euill yeares to haue them shortened is lesse euill 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 O daies few and euill briefe and tedious How it lies vpon vs beloued to lengthen them by good deeds And so much the more because the shortest of the yeare is certaine but the shortest of our life is vncertaine Let vs frustate the tenure of iniquitie and in euery age doe the vertue of the age not the sinne of the age that so not liuing after custome but after truth nor making profusion of the bloud of CHRIST that it may not faile vs at our greatest neede wee may preserue the seale of our redemption inuiolate and bee bold euery one of vs to pray O my GOD let not the end of my deuotion bee suddaine but after much mortification of heart and long consumption of languishing desires to see thee make a ripe dissolution of my flesh and spirit close vp my wearied thoughts and receiue mee to thy mercie Amen Liue sweete IESV and reigne with the Father and Holy Ghost one God c. The end of the second Sermon THE THIRD SERMON Of the loue of Christ 1. PET. 1.8 Whom you loue though yee haue not seene THAT which blessed Saint Peter commends in the dispersed Iewes of Asia Pontus Cappadocia that they loued Iesus whom they had not seene The same is the praise of all deuout Catholickes who haue liued these many yeares that being scattered from sea to sea vnder euery starre and throughout all lands yet they loue their one Head vnseene as they loue their many fellow-members vnseene Which is a singular commendation in the Daughter of Christ dispersed His espoused Church so deerely to affect Him whom Shee neuer saw Whereas the daughters of men make sight a necessary antecedent of affection and will esteeme highly of no obiect vntill the eye haue set a price of it This word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 though contained in the aduerbe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or else vnderstood not expressed in the originall implies another loue of Christ namely as hee was visible in the state of Mortality making that to be the greater but this the harder As if hee should say You loue Christ whom you haue not seene How much more vehement would your loue haue beene if you had seene him These then be the two parts of my Text First the loue of Christ being seene Secondly the loue of Christ being not seene If any man loue not our Lord Iesus Christ let him be Anathema Maranatha Of all the senses there is none so proper a mediator of loue as is the sight It is the beginning of loue according to the Prouerb exaspectu nascitur amor and it is the perfection thereof whilst we desire to see that whereof we haue much read or heard Therefore we loue our eves aboue all parts of our body giuing them the names of the most louely creatures in the world as the Sunne and Moone O oculi gemiua sydeva And that which wee loue deerest wee compare it to the eye as Ocule ocelle ni and Psal 7.8 Keepe mee as the apple of an eye Now the causes why sight so much procureth loue First it is the most spirituall sense and may bee called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a corporall minde whereby we vnderstand things sensible By reason of which affinity videre is put for intelligere For this cause the mind best liketh that obiect which is commended to her by the eye Secondly it is the quickest sense and therefore doth soonest fire the affections According to that Segnius irritant animos immissa per aures quam quae sunt oculis subiecta sidelibus Thirdly it is the surest euidence and most certaine demonstration Whence by metaphor the word demonstration is drawne And therefore the fruition of eternall happinesse is called Vision Lastly it is the most vnwearied and vnsatiable sense the eye being neuer satisfied with seeing Which makes for the continuance of loue For loue hateth nothing more then mutability and fastidious inconstancie For these causes I say sight is the most peculiar Factor for Loue. Now that wee may the better vnderstand this loue of Christ which they had that saw him in the flesh let vs consider a little of the diuers kindes of loue There is a sensuall loue or rather lust which the base Iewes nor other Infidels euer suspected in Christ Iesus although hee loued the two sacred sisters of Bothania and though Saint Iohn leaned in his bosome and many woemen vsed to