Selected quad for the lemma: death_n
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A80830
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A sermon preached before the Right Honourable the Lords assembled in Parliament, upon the fast-day appointed, February 4. 1673/4 By Herbert Lord Bishop of Hereford.
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Croft, Herbert, 1603-1691.
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1674
(1674)
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Wing C6974; ESTC R225556
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12,618
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34
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Die Jovis 5 o. Februarii 1673. ORdered by the Lords Spiritual and Temporal in Parliament assembled That the Thanks of this House be and are hereby given to the Lord Bishop of Hereford for his pains in Preaching before the Lords in the Abby Church at Westminster on Wednesday the Fourth day of this instant February being a Fast-day and that he be desired to Print and Publish his Sermon John Browne Cler. Parliam A SERMON Preached before the RIGHT HONOURABLE THE LORDS Assembled in PARLIAMENT Upon the Fast-day Appointed February 4. 1673 4. BY HERBERT Lord Bishop of Hereford LONDON Printed by Andrew Clark for Charles Harper at the Flower-de-luce over against St. Dunstan's Church in Fleetstreet 1674. A Fast-Sermon ISA. 27. last Verse There is no Peace saith my God to the wicked THAT the Gospel is the Rule by which all Christians ought to frame their Lives and Conversations there can be no doubt and this being so there is as little doubt but that all Christians ought most earnestly to labour for Peace it being the principal part of the Gospel and that which gives the denomination to it for 't is called the Gospel of Peace Rom. 10.10 And with great reason for at the first entrance of our Saviour into the world who came to preach the Gospel to us he being then an Infant and according to common course of nature not of ability to speak himself the Angels declared for him the thing he came to preach singing to the happy Shepherds Glory to God in the highest and on earth Peace This was the blessed beginning of the Gospel at our Saviour's coming into the world Peace on earth and when our Saviour was going out of the world Peace was the blessed Legacy he bequeathed to his beloved Disciples Peace I give unto you my Peace I leave with you John 14.27 Well then may it be called the Gospel of Peace this being the Alpha and Omega the beginning and end of it And well doth it become all Christians to do their utmost endeavour for the prefervation of Peace it being so earnestly recommended to us by our dying Lord. Our Peace was purchased by his Death and therefore ought to be dearer to us than our own life But how doth all this agree with that saying of our Saviours Matth. 10.34 That he câ—me not to bring Peace c. This was caused by the corruptness of our perverse sinful nature which like a stomack filled with the overflowing of the gall turns the sweetest things it receives into the same bitter humour and so the Gospel of Peace was turned into a cause of contention When all mankind was banded together to work wickedness when all had sworn obedience to the Prince of darkness the Light came into the world To give light to all that sate in darkness and in the shadow of death and to guide their feet into the way of Peace But men loved darkness rather then light because their deeds were evil for the light discovering the evil of their deeds they hated the light and persecuted the children of light though their nearest relations and before dear unto them Our Evangelical Prophet foreseeing this though he set forth the peace and glory of the Gospel in most ample manner yet he plainly declares the wicked were not to partake of it For in the last Chapter ver 10. speaking of Jerusalem where the Gospel was to begin he saith Rejoyce ye with Jerusalem and be glad with her all ye that love her Ver. 12. For thus saith the Lord Behold I will extend Peace to her like a river and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream I beseech you mark what follows Ver. 14. And the hand of the Lord shall be known towards his servants and his indignation towards his enemies So then they were the servants of God that were to enjoy this great blessing of Peace by the Gospel but the wicked the enemies of God should have no share of it their portion was Ver. 15.16 Fire and sword war and slaughter Our Saviour came not to bring peace unto them but a sword There is no peace c. That you may the better understand this matter I shall divide Peace into three parts Peace with God Peace with our own hearts and Peace with others and shew that the wicked can have no share in any of them First it is apparent the wicked can have no Peace with God who is all holiness righteousness goodness Surely then unholiness unrighteousness wickedness can have no union with these no more then light and darkness can consist together the one must needs destroy the other Wherefore in Scripture the wicked are called Enemies unto God Fighters against God Haters of God But no man ever so wicked will confess this of himself that he is an enemy and an hater of God and you will hardly find a man that believes this of himself so inconsiderate are men and ignorant of their own hearts Jer. 17.9 The heart of man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked who can know it Men are as blind and stupid as stocks in discovering their own hearts and their own wickedness and will not believe they are so desperately wicked as to be enemies and haters of God but 't is most evident by their deeds daily and hourly doing things as hateful unto God as possible can be If they say they do not the things out of any hatred to God but only to please themselves so may any one say that murthers another he may say he hath great pleasure in revenge and that he murthered the man only to please himself not out of any hatred to him But this is a clear case should any one daily do unto us things so spiteful and hateful as we do unto God we should without all doubt conclude he hated us and we should not admit of any excuse for his doing them How then can the wicked who are haters of God be at peace with God No There is no peace c. But it is the less to be wondered that men are so great enemies unto God seeing they are as great enemies unto themselves I mean not one man an enemy unto another whereof I shall treat by and by but each man an enemy unto himself the greatest and most dangerous enemy unto himself of all other for no man can do him half the mischief he doth himself and to say truth no other can do him any mischief at all without his own concurrence in it as Seneca proves by philosophical and rational principles in a Tract which he wrote to this purpose And this is much more true and evident by Christian Principles which teach us That all things work together for good to them that love God And therefore when other men contend with us revile us persecute us take away our estates any thing we should greatly rejoyce as our Saviour bids us and gives a very good reason for it For great is our