but labour and sorrow cut off and we soone gone Psal 90 10. And Hier. saith Sin amplius vixerimus If wee liue aboue 80. yeeres it is no life to be called but a death rather Now when we die the world is at an end with vs we goe to the house of our age and come forth no more to tell any tales Wherfore Iesus make vs ready against death comes and then Mercy will make vs happy when iudgemēt coms The very period of the Iudgement time some say shall be at midnight Quia illahora Angelus Egyptum deuastauit eademque hora electos suos de mundo liberabt Because in that houre say they the Angel did slay the First-borne in Egypt and that in that houre will hee deliuer his elect from Egypt of this world Some say Econtra The iudgement time shall be in the day either because the Prophets doe call it The day of the Lord Or else because that night if the time of night shall be as bright as the day Others say whose opinion Isodore citeth that The generall Resurrection shall be in the same night wherein our Sauiour made his Resurrection that is On Easer euen a the feast of the Pasouer and for that cause saith hee many in the Primitiue Church of the faithfull did watch that whole night as expecting the Iudges comming if we may beleene this Author But these men I answere first with that worthy father Haec est fidei regnla dixit Christus dixit Apostulus This is the rule of Faith to say Thus said Christ thus the Apostle Now this is more then Christ or his Apostles saide and so more then you or I must beleeue Next for that they speake of the Night time I answere either with Aug. It shal be Nocte rerum In the niht of the knowledge of actiōs Non temporum Not in the night seasn of time Or els I say with he meaning of the Text He shall come in the night that is Suddenly vnexpected when no man so much as dreameth on his then comming and as in the night things are done that men know nor so that time shall be when men thinke not This is sure whensoeuer it shall be A Trumpe shall blowe Inerrorem To terrifie As Theophilact in Mat. 24 ait And a shrill cry shall bee so lowde that All Soules in Heauen and Hell and bodies in the graue shal heare and at the hearing thereof appear before the Iudge Who as Beda in cap. 21. Lucae saith Ea forma electis apparebit qua in monte apparuit reprobis vero in ca forma qua in Cruce pependit Sall appeere to his chosen in that forme wherein hee appeared to Peter lames and Iohn on the mountaine that is gloriousl his face and clothes glistering Mat. 17.2 But to the reprobate hee shall appeare in that forme and shape which he had when hee hanged on the Crosse Let vs then who desire and hope for saluation worke it by faith and serue God here that that blessed day may be welcome to vs hereafter and how God will be serued Old Hier. tels you It will bee better by Aduerbs then by Verbs Videat quisque vt bonum opus bene bona intentione faciat quia non bonum facere sed bene facere laudabile est non enim in eo quod facimus sed quod bene facimus Let euery one saith he do good workes well and with a good minde for the praise is not in the doing good but in the doing well Example be the Pharisie he did good I fast twisea week I giue tythes of all I possesse I am no Extortioner vniust adulterer Lu. 18.2 But he did not well for he wanted a good intention which hee had not and waned not a proud heart which he had Wherefore he said Not like this Publican Ver. 2. And Christ saide Not iustified Vers 14. Thus all vnregenerate persons may doe Bonum Good but not Bne Well they cannot doe good well because they haue not in the sight of God a good will the person before God is not plausible because bee wants Faith nor the worke to GOD acceptable sith it wants not sinne What is not of Fath is sinne Romanes 14.23 3. The end to iudge the world is the third part of my text and this third part is taken in fiue sneses First for all creatures in the world Secondly for all mankinde Thirdly for the elect Fourthly for the reprobates Fifthly for the desires of the world as lusts of the yes desire of the heart pride of life and in the second senese for all mankinde is worlde in my text properly taken for God shall iudge all mankinde good and badde and bring them all to iudgement In the twentieth Chapter of the Reuelation and twelfth verse Saint Iohn saw the dead both great small stand before God for their iudgeent and the bookes were opened and euory one was iudged acording to the things written in those bookes and the Sea gaue vp her dead and death hell gaue vp his dead A question is heere mooued how the damned soules in hell and the Diuels the fallen Angels shall be iudged at the last day that are iudged already at this day Solu I answere that in respect of condemnation they shal not at the last day be iudged seeing they before hand are condemned by Gods eternall decree by his word by their owne consciences but in regard of aggrauation they shal be iudged because their pains shall be increased themselues strictly lookt vnto for hurting the godly any more In this world Peter was sitted Iob was wounded in the next world they are and shall be blessed the blessed shal be crowned crowned with a crowne of immortality white array Apoc. 3.5 And thus much by the way let me tell you as I passe along this third part of my text that White shall be the last apparell that we shall lastly weare it shall be the last weare which we shall weare and it wil weare lastingly euen so long as this mortall shall weare immortality after this mortall hath put on immortality White is a colour betokening purite and so the fitter colour for Heauen where al 's is Puritie It is the colour which wee shall haue in Heaen where no impure nor vncleane thing is Ephe. 5.5 This white was the colour wherewith Christ was mocked and this where shall bee the colour wherewith wee shall be crowned White was a color wherewith Christ was clad when hee was in miserie Luk. 23.15 And white shall bee that colour wherewith wee shall be clothed when we are in maiestie In the 1. of Iohn chap. 3. ver 2. It is said Wee shall bee like vnto him that is as Caluin saith Corpus nosrum humile reddet conforme corpori suo glorioso Hee shall make our clay bodies like his gloriou body And in the 17. of Mat ver 2. the Text saith When he ea transfigured his face didshine like the Sonne and his
Angels and equall to them Luke 20.36 and the Angels in heauen doe assuredly know one another as appeares Dan 10.13 where the Angell that appeared to Daniel told him how he was withstood by the Prince of Persiae if hee had not knowne him how could he haue distinguished him to be that Prince â—â—â—…eside if we shall know God himselfe as I haue showed you â— much more shall wee know one another thus Adam beeing cast into a sleepe knew his Wife Euah and could say This is flesh of my flesh and bone of my bone When as yet hee neuer before had seene her But this hee did Spiritu sancti plenus et vera Dei cognitione praeditus Beeing full of the holy Spirite and indued with the true knowledge of God saith this Author And Greg. Dial lib. 4. saith Quia illic omnes communi claritate conspiciunt non est quod ibi nesciant vbi Scientem omnia sciunt Because that in Heauen with a common cleare brightnesse and bright clearenesse all there doe see it cannot be that they may bee nescient where they know him that knowes all 2. Amabimus wee shall loue God good things one another God that there hath crowned vs good things that there are with vs one another that there are all brethren among vs for manent haec tria now remaine these 3 Faith Hope and Loue But the chiefe of these is Loue 1. Cor. 13.13 because Faith and Hope are but in this world to crowne vs in the next and when they haue obtained their ende they leaue But Loue doth neuer leaue vs it goeth with vs to Heauen where whilest we liue wee shall loue there euer liue and there euer loue 3. Gaudebimus wee shall haue ioy without measure without compare without end without measure for it cannot bee equald without compare for it shall be infinite without ende for it shall be euerlasting 4. Laudebimus wee shall praise God without griefe without trouble without wearinesse without griefe for all reares shall bee wiped from our eyes without trouble nothing shall molest vs without wearines for no mortall accident shal comencere our bodies sith Aquinas saith They shall bee seuen times cleer er then the glorious Sunne O the glory of that happinesse thrice happy are they that are so happy that kingdome where youth shal flourish without age where life knowes none end where beauty neuer fadeth loue neuer cooleth sicknesse neuer pierceth ioy neuer ceaseth That kingdome where sorrow is neuer felt complaint neuer heard mourning neuer seene ill neuer feared That kingdome where our knowledge shall bee perfected our vnderstanding shall be polished our acquaintance increased That kingdome where our soules shall bee in felicity our bodies in eternity both soules and bodies in maiesty Oh thrise happy day when soule and body shall there meere and welcome be that appointed day which brings with it this blessed day The meditation of this day these things will teach vs many things and as Ionas gourd did comfort him chap. 4.7 so this may instruct vs. Mark. 13.37 that kept him from heat and this may shelter vs from danger It may teach vs to watch and pray sith wee know not the time of our dissolution whether our special iudgement shall be in the morning of our youth the noone-tide of our strength or the euening of our age Whether we shall be Praemoniti forewarned that we may be Praemuniti forearmd or whether we shall haue a Scarbrough warning suddenly be gone We read of a certaine watery serpent called Ephemeron that Simul oritur moritur no sooner bred but dead And Aristotle writes of certaine flies by the riuer Hippanis that they are bredde in the morning strong at noone and dead ere night These are the Emblemes of man as in a map describing our mortality Let vs then be warned for Qui non cauet pauet He feareth that takes no heed Nemo cauenda timet quimetuenda cauet whoso feareth what is to be preuented needeth not preuent what is to be feared Gregory saith Nemo in huius vitae itinere torpeat ne in Patria locum perdat quiae enim adhuc bene licet agere scimus an cras liceat ignoramus Let none goe dully in the iourney of this life least he loose his place in the heauenly country for though we know wee haue time to do well to day we know not whether we shall liue to morrow yea or nay Let vs therfore confes our sins not to man as the Papists bid vs who are Curiosum genus hominum ad cognoscendam vitanialienam desidiosum ad corrigendam suam A certain curious company of Shauelings to correct other mens liues and stothfull in mending their owne but to God Is enim nunc vidit quae fiunt postea punit eos qui paenitentiam non agunt For hee seeth what we doe now and punishes them that repent not heereafter If wee acknowledge our sinnes hee is faithful and iust to forgiue vs our sins 1. Iohn 1 9.2 It may teach vs to set a guard about our actions a watch about our lips with good Dauid least we offend with our tongue 3. It may teach vs to season all our actions with discretion least at any time wee deale rashly as Saint Peter did when he did cut off Malcus eare 4. It may teach vs obedience with Noah to prouide the Arke while the weather is calm with Ioseph it may make vs prouident in time of plenty to lay vp against a day of scarcity in the Summer of our youth against the winter of our age If Lot had aboade in Sodome in the time of burning how could hee haue scaped If we loue the world in this time of sinning how shal we be saued We see in the example of Sodome that what is offended at midnight is punished at noone day for the sunne did rise vpon Sodome that day and yet soone after came Sodomes destruction now Sodemes iudgement hath a reference to the last iudgement thus The light or Sun-rise is Gods iudgement the night or Sodomes fall is the committing of wickednesse the parallel is this whatsoeuer it committed in the night of the Sodome of this world shall be made manifest in the Sun-rise of the world to come Lastly it may comfort vs who are Gods chosen whose names are written in the booke of life to thinke that the will of our maker hath giuen all iudgement to our redeemer if our friend be our Iudge we will hope to escape the vigour of iudgement if sentence come from our Sauiour we may be assured of saluation This made Hillarion so often call to his soule Exi anima mea exi Goe out my soule goe out willingly from the prison of my bodie thou hast serued God these 70. yeares neuer feare now nor be loath to be going whose life and death when good Saint Hierome read he clapt vp his booke saying Hillarion shall be the champion whom I will follow This made Policarpus that hee would neuer by flattering nor threatning be drawne from the feruice of his Sauiour liuing he neuer did him hurt and dying he beleeued glory This made that holy man on his death-bed say Neu vitam sperno nec mortem timeo quia dominum bonum babeo I neither loath my life nor dread my death because I haue so good a maisten This made Paul desire to be dissolued and to bee with Christ which is best of all This makes the godly in the booke of the Reuelation crie so earnestly Veni domine Iesu venicito Come Lord Iesu come quickly Euen so Amen and let Amen say Amen Come Lord Iesu to make an end of a wicked miserable vnconscionable vncharitable word Come Lord Iesu to seale vp the kingdome of grace which maketh thy Saints stay so long and with long weary waiting crie Qamdiu domine How long Lord iust and true Come Lord Iesu to hasten thy Kingdome of glory that we may the sooner meet the King of glory and be carried among the Angels into the place of glory there to enioy the crowne of glory with all the companie of heauen to sing glory to God on high Al which he that made vs for his Sonnes sake grant vs euen Christ the righteous to whom with the Father the Son and the holy Ghost be ascribed all praise power maiestie and dominion throughout all ages now and euermore Amen FINIS
goodnesse it selfe and no good thing will hee keepe from them that feare him and serue him in holinesse and righteousnesse of life This Iudgement day then is good in respect of God and man In God to shew his great mercy iust iudgemēt to the godly the wicked In man that a crowne immortal might be absolute that the fulnes of perfectiō might make a perfect fulnes 2 The resolution he not only in a kind of intentionall determination verbally said it that which had bin sufficient too for Psal 33.9 Dixit factum est He spake the word and it came to passe But more he hath with mature deliberation resolued vpon it for my Text saith Hee hath appointed a day that is Flatly agreed vpon As if the blessed Trinity had held a Councel about it as about the making of man Let vs make man So Gen. 1.26 Let vs apoint a day for Iudgement And then after that secret heauenly Parliamēt hold the Act was published as a reuealed thing which belongs to vs our children for euer That there is an appointed day of Iudgement Deut. 29.29 Agreeing to this is that of the He. c. 9.27 Statutum est hominibus vt semel moriantur pastea vero iudicium It is apointed for all men once to die and after that coms the Iudgement It is appointed therfore needs must be nay both apointed therfore shal be Death Iudgement too With god is no chāge no alteration no shadow of either for Ego dominus non mutor I am the Lord and I chāge not Mal. 3 6. Solus deus recipit immortalitatem quia non capit mutalit atem Only god is imortal because only God is imutable The heauens change look old as doth a garment but thouart the same thy years fail not Psa 102.27 Why doth the sun guid the day the moon the stars gouern the night Because god hath apointed it why doth not the sea ouerflow the earth it being so many degrees higher thē the earth but keep it selfe in it bounds which it passeth not Because God appointed it Why haue we a winter a Summer and not al one season of the yere Because God hath appointed it Why doe al the godly look for a iudgemēt day Because god hath appointed it So we haue light and darknes day a night a spring a fal Al because god apointed all If your aske me why Iacob was predestinat before al worlds to saluation Esaw hated to damnation I answer Statuitdeus because god apointed If you aske me why Saul was casheird of his Kingdome and Dauid inthrōned I answere Statuit Deus God hath appointed it If you aske me why Absolon did hang betweene heauen and earth by the ruffinly hair of his head A destruction to giue our now such people instruction I answere Statuit Deus God had appointed it If you aske me why I doe and you must looke for a Iudgement day I answere with my Text. Quia statuit Deus Because God hath appointed it The Rainbow hath many colours two Dominant Fiery and Watry the watry colour remembreth vs of the Deluge past and bids vs feare it no more the Fiery aduertiseth vs of the Iudgement to come and bids vs daily looke for it If you aske me why I haue retained my Text and what that speakes is law Statuit Deus Because God hath appointed it 2 The second part of my Text is the vncertaintie of the day of Iudgement for Quinatus ante tempus Hee that was borne before time And Qui dedit esse tempori Who gaue a beeing to all time will come In tempore In a fit time to iudge vs. Pro tempore For lost time we who are Heires of time when as Non erit amplius tempus There shal be no more time Time it selfe shal be no more as wee read Apock 10.6 that is No more time of persecution of murther of Sinne whereof the sixt Angel spake Apoc. 9.13 The time of persecution at that time shall cease and yet time it selfe shall not haue cessation Antechrist with all Complices of his shal be destroyed so there shall bee no time for hurt nor destruction sith the destroyer himselfe shall bee destroyed but Ipsum Tempus in quantum tempus Time in that it is time shall suffer no destruction In three things appeares the vncertainety of the day of Iudgement 1 The place where 2 The manner how 3 The time when It is vncertaine in what place wee shall bee iudged It is vncertaine in what manner wee shall bee Iudged and it is vncertaine what time the Iudge will come to Iudgement 1 The place any particular place of Iudgement or where the Iudge will appeare to Iudge is to vs vtterly vnknowne more then that Paul speaks of 1. Thes 4.17 Then wee who liue and remaine shall bee caught vp in the clouds to meet the Lord in the Aire and so shall bee with him for euer So that the generall place is the Aire In the 6. of Mat. 64. In the 13. of Marke 26. In the 21. of Luke 27. The Iudge there speaking of himselfe at his comming saith That it shall bee in the Clouldes of Heauen That is both as the Marginall hath it and as the most vnderstand it Sitting vpon the Clouds as he was taken vp which opinion is the common receiued opinion of the learned There were of the Friers and are at this day of opinion that the valley Iehosaphat which is situate towards the Eeast betweene Ierusalem and the Mount of Oliuet shall bee the place where say they the throne shall bee set and where wee shall all be Iudged the proofe of which opinion they cite out of Ioel. 2. chap. 3. verse 2. where the text saith I will gather all nations and will bring them downe into the valey Iehosaphat The reasons mouing them to this opinion are two 1 Because they hold Ierusalem and the places about it adiacent to bee neere the middle of the earth and therfore being a place so copious so famous most fit for the place of Iudgement 2 Because Iohosaphat in the Original doth singnifie the Iudgement of the Lord. The which opinion of theirs thus I answere That for the places cituation to be about the middest of the earth or world that I leaue to the Cosmographers to be decided according to their iudgement in that Arte and facultie Also the wordes signisication shall cause none alteration sith they who are learned in the Hebrewe tongue will acknowledge no lesse But for the places quotation they must obserue that the Text is to bee vnderstoode either by way of allusion alluding to the valley where God did by a great and vnsupposed vnexpected mean at the humble paier of Iehosaphat ouercome that good Kings enemies for the enemies fell to Ciuill war among themselues and one slew another Moab and Amon fell vpon Mount Seir and they euery one vpon the other as wee
clothes were as white as the light So hee is white and wee shall be white Now to this great Iudgement to which wee must come when our corruptible shall haue on this incoruptible white there are three Apparators that doe summon the World as my text hath it Vs I say Mankind who liue in the world 1. Infirmitas paenalis Infirmitie penall 2 Senectus temporalis Age temporarie 3 Mors ineuitabilis Death ineuitable And these three sammon all to Iudgement because all are sublunary and subiect to corruption all had a beginning ad must haue an ending euen ended by him by whom they were begunne him I say That hath appointed a day in which hee will Iudge the World The first of these Apparators doth threaten the second doth prosecute the third doth produce Infirmitie threatneth misery Age doth prosecute calamitie and Death doth bring vs with him into the High Commission Court of Iudicium speciale Our particuler Iudgement before the Iudge of the World to answere for iniquitie where if our Lawyers bee not good the Cause will goe against vs. We see in these daies that booke-cases alter and what is Law before one Iudge is ouerruled by another but sure I am that what is Law in this world shall not bee Law in the world to come Else would I deeme no people sooner saued then Lawyers because they who are good and conscionable Lawyers as we haue diuers such as will talke for their Clyents now I suppose they would plead harder for themselues then 1. Infirmitie doth summon vs for that is a punishment for the first sinne which whether it was Lust as many of the old writers held it out of Gen. 6.2 or whether it was ignorance as sme say or whether Pride to haue an equalizing of themselues with God as Hierome Gregory Nazianzene prooue and Augustine Tract in Iob. 49. affirmeth that I leaue because my text doth not find it And this infirmity is partly in the soule which delighteth not in heauenly things as it should but in earthly things as it should not partly in the body subiect to hunger cld nakednesse and as Iob saith Man borne of a woman hath but a short time to liue and is full of miseries Iob. 14.1 For befides miseries naturall of which as Gallen saith there are three hundred as yes sbiect to blindnesse bleerednesse thicknesse Eares to deafenesse impostumes foulenesse Mouth and tongue to cankers toothache dumbnesse Head to rewmes megrims giddines Throat to stuffings stranglings hoarcenes hands and legs to palsies gowtes feeblenes there are also miseries accidentall imprisonings venummings peril 's by fire waters cattell men These all are miseries and all these miseries are all messengers euen Remembrancers to put vs in mind of the iudgement day at hand for mans miseries are like Iobs bad tidings chap. 1.23 the end of ne euill message was the beginning of another 2. Age doth cite vs that when we see our hairs gray our bodies bend our eies dimme all decline wee cannot choose but thinke of our ende at hand vnlesse Nolumus agnoscere quod igno norare uon possumus Wee will not know what wee cannot but know The very passing by graues the vewing of Monuments fading memories for monuments and all must dye the sleeping of Nature the impayring of strength these things me thinks being cnsidered should teach vs to remember that which will close vp our eyes stoppe vp our breath lay vs in a companilesse bed a darke narrowe six foote grae 3 Death this Vltimum terribilium Last of all terrible things as Aristotle cals it doth serue a certaine vncertaine Summon vpon vs for Iudgement sith after the one instantly comes the other and there is no purging third place as the Papists vainely vilely salsely hold Diues dyed and was in Hell in torments Lazarus dyed an was carried into Abrahams bosome Duo sunt habitacula in igne aeterno in regno aeterno non est quis medins Locus vt possit nemo esse nisi cum Diabalo qui non est cum Christo Ther 's but two places saith Augustine in the euerlasting kingdome in eternall fire and there is no third place that he who is not with God must needes be with the diuell Many things there are that put vs in minde of death death puts in minde of iudgement and when Mors fecit quod potuit death hath done what must be Indicium faciet quod erit Iudgement will performe what shall be One faith God will one day aske vs all at the last day three questions 1. Qui. 2. Qnales 3. Quanti What we are by creation what by continuation how we haue profited Suppose the Almighty examine any of vs here vpon these interrogatories we cannot but answer Ad idem directly to the quesion for it is follie to lie to him who knowes better then we 1. Well then for our creation we will confesse that wee are Ad imaginem dei facti Vessels take heeue we make not our selues vassels made after his owne image 2. If we be asked what we are by continuation why that the Diuell without who fees our actions harts our counsels knows our very thoughts Quatenus animus externis se prodit sigus As our minde bewraies it selfe by outward signes as P. Mat. in 1. Sam. saith who shall Astare iudicio be by the Lord at iudgement as one saith and whom Augu. brings in pleading his inditement against vs thus These sinners O iust iudge are thine Per gratiam through grace in which they were made but mine Per culpam through sinne by which they are marde thine as they were framed mine as they are fowled thine in mercie mine in iustice thine by thy death mine by their life c. can tell and our conscience within which is as a thousand witnesses can testifie 3. But when he comes to Quantum profecimus How much wee haue profited though with that idle seruant Luk. 19.22 Ex ore nostro Out of our owne mouth he might iudge vs ye out of his mercie fraught with iustice he goes to his owne bookes searcheth the records there hee waies our sinnes and Christs merits together in a ballance to see how our faith can cacth holde to turne the scales I pray God therefore we may liue in this world like iust men for they liue like Paul and Paul liued by the Faith of the Sonne of God Gal. 2.20 So if wee liue like iust men wee shall haue the rewards of iust men euen the kingdome of heauen where God and his Sonne is and whethe God and his Sonne Iesus send vs all A question more curious then needfull is moued by some about this day of iudgement to wit whether the definitiue sentence shall goe and pasle on vs Mentally or Vocaly that is whether it shall bee onely in mens mindes hearts and consciences or whether wee shall all be called name by name It should seeme Augustine thought it to bee Vocall for De ciuit liber 20.