to die ye are the readier to liue he that saith the contrarie I say he speaketh an vntruth if he were the best Doctor of Physicke Therefore when sicknesse which is the messenger of death beginneth to pull your eares the first thing that ought to be propounded to the patient is to bid him make him readie for death for the readier he is to die as I haue said he is the more able to liue Then ye see Hezekiah knew that suppose he was a King yet he was mortall As to his words he setteth downe three reasons wherefore his death grieueth him so much If ye looke to the reasons there appeareth at the first no weight in them yet being tried more narrowly ye shall finde in them a greater validitie The first reason is this I am depriued of the residue of my yeares He was a man at that time of 38. or 39. yeares and of such age as he might haue liued twise as long by the course of nature as Dauid saith O! but this appeareth to be a slight reason it is slight indeede if there be no more in it He is not so much grieued at the cutting off his yeares as at the cutting off the affaires which the shortning of his yeares brought with it So there were two respects wherefore this King was so grieued at the cutting off of his dayes The first because the worke of reformation in Church policy which he had begun would ceasse And out of question this hastie cutting off made him so well prepared in his heart to die as he would haue bene if he had had leysure So in respect he lacked time and yet he was not so voide of all preparation as commonly youth is that cast off all repentance to the last age thinking there is time enough before them In these respects that the worke of reformation by the cutting off of his time would be imperfect and in respect he should not haue bene so well prepared in his heart therefore he is grieued at his death and saith I am depriued of the residue of mine yeares Well to apply this vnto our cause I thinke there is none but they see clearely that if we come not with better speede to the worke of reformation then we are like to do I feare that we leaue not this worke onely vn-ended but vn-begun for if this confusion of Church and policie grow from day to day as it doth without interruption as if there were not a King in Israel I say if this confusion endure no question but the birth of iniquitie shall so ouerburthen the land that it shall make it to spue foorth the inhabitants I will not insist I am assured there is no magistrate of any degree but he is lawfully forewarned and made inexcusable before God The second reason wherefore his death grieued him is set down in the beginning of the 11. verse where he saith I shall not see the Lord in the land of the liuing Then this is it that grieued him because he should not see the Lord. How can this be I am assured he had that same eye in seeing of the Lord that Dauid had How is it that he sayth he shal not see the Lord What kinde of eye Dauid had is declared in the 16. Psal. Where he sayth that he set the Lord before him in all his works he reioyceth exceedingly in his heart and he sayth I am sure that my soule shall be gathered with the rest of the soules of my faithfull predecessors who are in the presence of God where there is fulnesse of pleasure and sweetnesse of life for euer I am assured this good man was not destitute of this eye but in some mâ—asuâ—e he saw with it as his father Dauid How is is then that he sayth He shall not see the Lord He expoundeâ—h himselfe a little after ye see a cleare commentary in the end of the verse he sayth He shall not see the Lord in the Land of the liuing As though he would say I shall noâ— see him as I was wont to see him before I shall not see him in his Church as the rest of his faithfull seruants see him How this was ye know the custome of the Scriptures in this matter God was said to be seene of old when the visible signes wherein he gaue his presence were seene For God being in himselfe inuisible when the visible signes of his presence were seene he himselfe was said to be seene As when they saw the Temple God came in their minde when they saw the Tabernacle God was said to be seene chiefly when they saw the Arke God was said to be seene because about it appeared the glory of God For in that same cloud which replenished the inward house his glory appeared Now by reason that these visible signes wherein he gaue his presence were seene God was said to be seene Then the reason is this I shall not see the Lord in the land of the liuing That is I shal be taken from his seruice I shall not see him in his Temple as I was wont to do Surely in this as in all the rest he followeth the footsteps of his good father Dauid As we may read in all the Psalmes made in time of his greatest persecution There was nothing grieued him so much as because he had not liberty to assemble with the rest of the faithfull as Psalm 84. and 112. he sayth My heart reioyced when they said to me Let vs go to the house of the Lord. This singular godly loue of the word of God among many vertues is extreme losse to this King And for this reason he is now grieued Now let vs compare our selues with this King and trie whether ye follow him in your hearts in this poynt or not that is whether ye haue such a desire to heare the word as he had But surely he shall condemmne all estates For if ye will looke to the prophane multitude of this country how well they like of the hearing of the word their maners declare For as to the multitude if they haue any businesse remaining it is cast off vntill the Lords day and if there be any markets meetings appointmentes and traffiques all is cast off till that day And the best of you hath taken such a loathing at the hearing of the word that ye are wearie to rise in the morning to heare it if it were but an houre sooner then your diet What must this contempt worke Of necessity it must bring exceeding famine of that same food which we loathed For the Lord will not suffer his word which of it selfe is so dainty and delicate to be contemned And it cannot be but that the same word which your fathers and some of your selues haue runne many miles to heare is as dainty now as it was then And therefore it cannot be that the Lord wil suffer this contempt but either there must be greater
naturall light much more supernaturall who thinketh that the Lord hath taken away his hand suppose he striketh not Indeede he hath withdrawne his hand to let vs see the force of our prayers and to try vs how we would vse this benefite but seeing it is so highly abused if there were no other thing but the birth of iniquity wherewith the land is ouerburthened ere the Lord want any meanes to punish the committers and ouerseers of these iniquities he will rather punish the land from heauen immediatly or else make it to spue out the inhabitants For suppose the Lord spare yet he will not forgiue this contempt But this sparing is of the Lords benignity he letteth them hoord vp sinne against the day of wrath I insist no further in it Now followeth in order the Kings thankefulnesse vnto the Lord for the benefite which he hath receiued And forsooth this King is greatly thankefull and he hath set downe and left in register his song of thankefulnesse to testifie that he is not like to vs he hath set downe a notable song of lamentation and thanksegiuing that we reade of none better in any King except that which is in the 51. Psal. He hath set downe a song of lamentation to testifie his infirmitie and disease and he hath set downe a song of praise to testifie his thankefulnes toward God This song standeth of three parts In the first part he letteth vs see the great trouble and perplexity whereinto he was fallen what he said and what he did in his trouble In the second part he maketh a rehearsall of the greatnesse of â—he benefites that he hath receiued and promiseth to put his trust in him to make his dependance on God and on no other In the third part he letteth vs see that he is mindefull to be thankfull as long as he liueth and all his dayes to praise him and not to be forgetfull of him I thinke these be the three parts of the song Now ere we enter into the first part it is necessary that ye vnderstand the course of this Kings life and the manner of his behauiour in his whole life that marking the course of his life at least if ye will not follow the course of other common Christians ye may learne to follow a King Take heede then vnto the course of his life In the 14 yeare of his reigne he was threatned by the King of Ashur he was threatned by two sundrie Ambassadours and God his Master and he himselfe was in their face blasphemed After this in his great extremity what doth he He and the Prophet go to the Church and addresse them to prayer this is one part of his exercise And vpon his instant prayer what commeth to passe He purchaseth a wonderfull deliuerance and vpon this deliuerance what doth he He and the Prophet praiseth God So here ye see prayer and prayse are his chiefe exercises Now he is not so soone deliuered but he falleth in the hands of a terrible plague and death is so present sent to him that he seeth no outgate Now what doth he He and the Prophet both pray I doubt not What followeth vpon this He is deliuered What followeth of the deliuerance He and the Prophet thanke God So here also ye see prayer and prayse What further Vpon this deliuerance he falleth into pride ambition he braggeth of all his iewels and treasures as if he had conquered them by his owne industry What followeth vpon this The Prophet threatneth him Vpon this threatning he is humbled After humiliation the Prophet comforteth him and vpon his comfort he thanketh God and saith The word of the Lord is good but yet let there be peace and rest in my dayes Now take heede to the whole course of this Kings life and ye shall see his whole life to be nothing els but a falling and rising a praying and praysing of God continually For as long as we cary about with vs these decaying houses of clay as Iob saith are clogged with them yea as long as the dregs of iniquity remaine in our soules we shall be subiect to a continuall falling and rising by the grace of God and not of our selues Of the which this his continuall praying and praysing of God springeth He prayeth for strength in his battels and he prayseth God for his victory and deliuerance Now take vp the lesson and learne of a King what should be a Christians excercise that seeing this mortality wherein we dwell the corruption wherewith we are beset for our sanctification is but begun and very imperfect in this life maketh vs to slide and seeing we are subiect to daily trouble and our life is but a continuall fighting should not this be our exercise continuall praying and praysing of God praying God for strength in the time of our falles and troubles and praysing him for our victories He that shall follow the life of this King shall obtaine the like end And suppose his life be a continuall fighting yet the Lord shall euer raise him and comfort him with his Spirit He that omitteth this exercise of prayer is most vnhappy for if he craueth not strength he is vnworthy of rising There is none of vs but we are all subiect to this estate And therefore if we would rise we must pray yea pray instantly and continually So I recommend prayer praysing vnto you all Thus farre concerning the course of the Kings life Now to come to the first part of the song In the first part he letteth vs see the great trouble perplexity and perturbation of minde wherein he was he letteth vs see what he said in this trouble Ere he enter to the words in the beginning of the 9. verse he noteth the circumstance of time when he was cast into this trouble and perturbation of mind and forsooth the circumstance is worthy of noting In the circumstance of time it is said In the cutting off of my dayes when was that to wit at what time the Pâ—ophet told him that it behooued him to die Then this trouble and perturbatioÌ„ came on me From the time he had once said it behooued him to die he fell into this feare suppose a godly King and as well reported of as any other King in the Scriptures yet as soone as he heareth the sentence of death pronounced he trembleth and feareth exceedingly And surely it cannot be otherwise for death is a violent separation and tearing asunder of that which the Lord hath appoynted to be conioyned to wit the soule and the body If the body had remained in the first estate and continued vnder obedience these two had neuer bene separated but by reason of disobedience and breakeng of the law of God in came sinne in cometh the violent separation in cometh death which is the reward of sinne as the Apostle speaketh Rom. 6. It is true indeede for this is necessary to be knowne that there haue bene
many euill men that haue sought death and it is as true that there haue bene many good men that haue sought death yet neuer one of these sought death for it selfe for it is not naturall to seeke the dissolution of our selues But these euill men that sought death and put hand on themselues in their appearance they sought it for a better to wit to eschue the present torment and vexation of hell in their conscience wherein they were thinking that their miserable soule being out of the body should be at greater libertie then if it were detained in this prison But they are all deceiued For suppose hell be begun here yet it is not in a full measure vntill this life be done and so the miserable caitife deceiueth himselfe On the other side there haue bene good men that haue sought death but not for it selfe but for a better If they knew not felt not that there were a better life to follow after death they would not seeke it but by reason they see there is a greater ioy to follow after it therefore they regard not to taste in some measure for the present of the bitternesse of death It it true againe I grant that death vnto thee who art a Christian is sanctified in the death of our maister and Sauiour Christ Iesus for blessed is the death of them that die in the Lord. But suppose the death be sanctified yet thou art not wholly sanctified for if thou were as sanctified as the death thou wouldst not haue such a thing as terror paine or griefe in thy death But seeing in the best of vs all there is a remnant of corruption would to God it were but a remnant so thicke and foule that it is shame to speake of it this corruption vrgeth the conscience so that where the conscience is vrged there must be a feare and the more the conscience be vrged the greater is the paine and terror It is true that this feare is tempered by faith that dwelleth in the soule and the hope of ioy that dwelleth in the faithfull soule holdeth this feare in awe that hope of heauenly ioy so swalloweth vp and deuoureth the feare and maketh it to appeare to the looker on that the soule hath no feare but no doubt there is a feare and it is sure there is some griefe It is onely as I haue said the hope of that heauenly ioy that holdeth this feare in awe where this hope is not terrible is that feare wonderfull are these terrours great is that anguish of soule that is there so that I cannot find names to expresse it Terrible it is to see the countenance of God in his iustice there is no creature that can abide it Terrible it is to see their owne sinnes present themselues the ouglinesse and guiltinesse of sinne And beside all these to be left destitute of hope it is not the least part of their grief and yet this is not regarded For men will not rise to get faith if it should cost them but an houre they will not come to heare the word This is a wonderfull and miserable madnesse that is in the soule of man that he will neuer prouide for hell vntill hell catch him Now to come to our purpose the lesse the corruptions be the lesse must be the feare Wherein then should your exercise stand should ye not studie to diminish this corruption For he that would be voide of feare must trauell to diminish this corruption that the conscience may be cleane and ye may haue a good testimonie which maketh men to be without terrour For as long as the loue of this world and of worldly things occupieth our soule it is not possible that it can be without feare For why there is no heart that can willingly part with the thing that it loueth without exceeding sorrow and griefe Then we should trauell to take order with these affections and loue to worldly things but so farre as they may serue to the loue of God and in God to loue our selues and our neighbour that when he calleth no strange loue may draw vs from him There is a common law in all cities concerning the forbidden goods which are discharged plainly to be carried out of the country where we are presently and suppose they were carried they can serue to no vse in the countrey whither we go To let you see the exposition of the Parable I say the loue of this world the cares thereof the loue of the flesh and the lusts thereof are these forbidden goods which serue to no vse in the countrey whither we go yea they are plainly forbidden by the King of the countrey For the heart which is replenished with these shall haue no entrie there There is a plaine discharge sounded concerning these goods that we cleanse our hearts of them and prepare our selues to bring those commodities with vs that agree with the nature of that countrie Let vs make vs for the loue of God and of our neighbour and let vs cast off all contrarie loue onely let vs loue God and in God let vs loue our neighbour Now if I might obtaine this one lesson for all the rest I would thinke my trauell verie well bestowed and therefore I insist so much the more in it that it may sinke into your hearts Now then this good King feareth which telleth me that in all Christians there is some feare I come to the next what saith he in his trouble and perturbation The effect of the thing he saith is this First he saith He saw his owne death prepared for him Next because he was troubled with it and cast in a great perturbation he subioyneth the reasons why he was so grieued And as I may gather them they are three in number But ere I come to the reasons I will tell you his owne words which he said in time of his trouble he said I shall go downe to the gates of the graue I am drawing neare to the gates of death For so soone as I heard the Prophet say that I should die so soone I began to prepare me for it for if all threatnings come to passe as the Prophet hath said if I find no outgate in the mercie of God I must die For this I know that I am a mortall man and suppose I be a King and a glorious King yet I am not exempted from death and therefore I will prepare me for it He knew wel that suppose he made himselfe readie he was not one haire nearer to death Now surely if ye would follow this King ye would be a thousand times readier and more able to liue then ye are in your diseases But ye are cast vp in such a daintie and delicate fashion that no man will suffer to heare of death saying It is a thing that will further man to die But I say the contrarie and the Spirit of God saith the contrarie I say the readier ye be
his beliefe whereby he might know the truth of the last promise This signe was giuen him as ye heard and looke after what manner he craued it after that same manner it is granted according to his desire The Sunne is bâ—ought backe as also the shadow of it in his Fathers diall by ten degrees and the day which otherwise should haue lasted but twelue houres by this wonder it is made to endure for the space of 22 houres The signe was wrought partly in the diall partly in the body of the Sunne It was wrought in the bodie of the diall because it was a publike worke see vp in a publike place at the head of the palace ouer against the Temple to the end the miracle wrought in it which was in such an open and common place might be knowne to all the Citie and consequently to all that were in Iudea It was wrought in the bodie of the Sunne that the knowledge of that worke might come to the whole world that the whole world who saw that light might see in that worke a God whom they saw not so before This signe was exceeding fit and proper for the purpose for by this signe the King saw euidently that it was as easie to God to bring backe his life to a flourishing youth which was hastening to decay as it was to bring backe the Sunne which was very neare to his going down This signe is wrought onely by the vertue of God For that generall is true There is no creature yea not the diuell himselfe that hath power to shew any true miracle Then all those miracles that are in the popish Churches as the images of legs and armes waxe clothes and all the rest of that sort are deceiuing lies of the diuell The King purchaseth this signe by his owne prayer to learne vs this lesson That suppose the Lord be of minde and purpose to giue vs benefits and suppose he hath promised to grant benefits vnto vs yet he will not giue them but to the seekers he will haue vs first seeking them before we obtaine them And so he would learne vs this exercise to stand constant in honouring and worshipping of him who hath these benefits to giue vs. Before we entred into the song we declared vnto you the whole course of this Kings life from the 14. yeare of his reigne and in his whole course ye saw that his whole life was a continuall falling and rising a continuall praying and praising of God Praying in the time of his falles and of his trouble that the Lord would strengthen him by his Spirit And praysing God for his victories that he had so mightily deliuered him In this we see an image of a Christian life and of a Christian exercise to assure euery one of you that while ye are here your life shall be but a continuall falling and rising rising by the speciall grace and mercie of God in Christ Iesus And therefore it becometh you to be occupied in the same exercises wherein this King was imployed In the time of your falles and troubles to be diligent in prayer seeking strength of the Lord to endure and praysing him in your victories He that forgetteth to pray forgetteth to rise and therefore take heed that in all your troubles ye haue euer recourse to God by prayer We tooke the song to stand of these three parts In the first part is set downe the great trouble perplexitie and perturbation wherein the King was what he said during this trouble and what he did In the second part there is a rehearsall made of the great benefit that he obtained how singular and how excellent it was In the third part he maketh a faithfull promise to be thankfull to God for this benefit to praise him all the dayes of his life that so long as he liued he would neuer forget him In the first part we marked the circumstance of time when this trouble of mind ouertooke the King to wit at what time the seruant of God came to him told him it behooued him to die from the time he heard death denounced incontinently the mention of death striketh a feare and a trembling in him It casteth him in a great perturbation of mind Suppose he was a godly King and indeed such a King of whom there is as good mention made as of any other King in the Scriptures of God yet notwithstanding at the hearing of death he feareth and trembleth This death is indeed a renting asunder of those two parts which were appointed to haue remained together and therefore it is no maruell suppose the mention of it strike a feare in the heart Our owne sinne hath procured it and in some measure it is good that we taste what sin hath brought with it It is true indeed our death that are Christians is fully sanctified in the death of Christ Iesus But it is as true on the other side that suppose our death be fully sanctified yet so long as we remaine in this earth we are not fully sanctified And in respect there remaineth in vs yea in the best of vs all a remanent of corruption yea would God it were but a remanent of this floweth this feare trouble perturbation of mind It is true that this faith and the constant hope of a better life that dwelleth in the other part of the soule do temper the feare mitigate the trouble and swallow vp the paine of death yet in respect of the corruption that remaineth some feare must be and the greater the corruption is the greater feare falleth vpon the conscience The chiefe corruption that grieueth vs in the time of death is the loue of the world the cares of the world the inordinate loue of flesh and bloud So that he that would make himselfe voide of feare must prouide to rid his hands and his heart of these inordinate affections for experience although vnhappie teacheth vs that there is no man that can part with that he loueth without exceeding griefe And therefore in the point of death experience teacheth what it is to cast our affection on friuolous things that suddainly vanish So I say now it is time to rid your hands and purge your hearts of such preposterous affections that death which vnto others is so terrible when it cometh it may be a blessing vnto you I shew vnto you that all those care were forbidden goods expresly inhibited by the King of heauen which are neither profiâ—able for you nor to the countrey whither ye go And therefore I desired you to carrie with you the loue of God and the loue of your neighbour in God And these kind of commodities shall both profit you and be welcome to the countrey whither ye go In this trouble the first thing that he vttereth he sayth with himselfe I see I must die I am drawing neere to the ports of the graue Suppose he was very loath to die as his words do testifie yet he maketh
He changeth the affections and inclinations of my soule he changeth the faculties and qualities of my soule And though our hearts and minds be made new yet the substance of them is not changed but onely the faculties and qualities are changed in respect of the which change we are called new creatures and except you be found new creatures ye are not in Christ. Now to come to the point This secret coniunction is brought to passe by faith and by the holy Spirit by faith we lay hold on the bodie and bloud of Christ And though we be as farre distant as heauen and earth are the Spirit serueth vs as a ladder to conioyne vs with Christ As the ladder of Iacob which reached from the ground to the heauen to the selfe same vse serueth the Spirit of God to conioyne the bodie of Christ with my soule Then obserue the whole in a word What maketh you to haue any right or title to Christ Nothing but the Spirit nothing but faith What should be your studie then Seeke by all meanes possible to get faith that as Peter Acts 15.9 saith your hearts and consciences may be sanctified by faith And if you endeuour not as well to get faith in your hearts as in your minds your faith auaileth not What auaileth the faith that fleeteth in the fantasie and bringeth a naked knowledge without the opening of the heart and consent of the will So there must be an opening of thy heart and consent of thy will to do that thing that God commandeth or else thy faith auaileth not Then striue to get faith in your hearts and minds and doing so ye do the duties of Christians This is not done without the diligent hearing of the word and diligent receiuing of the Sacrament Then be diligent in these exercises and be diligent in prayer Praying in the holy Ghost that he would nourish your soules inwardly with the bodie and bloud of Christ That he would increase faith in your hearts and minds and make it to grow vp more and more daily vntill you come to the full fruition of that blessed immortalitie Vnto the which the Lord of his mercie bring vs and that for the righteous merits of Christ Iesus To whom with the Father and the holy Ghost be all honour praise and glorie both now and euer Amen THE FIFTH SERMON VPON THE LORDS SVPPER 1. COR. 11.23 For I haue receiued of the Lord that which I also haue deliuered vnto you to wit that the Lord Iesus in the night that he was betrayed tooke Bread c. WE haue heard wel-beloued in Christ Iesus in our last exercise what names were giuen to the Sacrament of the Lords Supper as well in the Scriptures as by the Ancients of the Latine and East Churches we heard the chiefe ends wherefore and whereunto this holy Sacrament was at first instituted we heard the things that were contained in this Sacrament what they were how they are coupled how they are deliuered and how they are receiued we heard also some obiections that might be obiected to the contrarie of this doctrine we heard them propounded and as God gaue the grace refuted we heard how the faithfull soule is said to eate Christs body and drinke Christs bloud We heard the manner how Christ is or can be receiued of vs. And we concluded in this poynt That Christ Iesus the Sauiour of mankinde our Sauiour cannot be perceiued nor yet receiued but by a spirituall way and apprehension Neither the flesh of Christ nor the bloud of Christ nor Christ himselfe can be perceiued but by the eye of faith can be receiued but by the mouth of faith nor can be layd hold on but by the hand of faith Now faith is a spirituall thing for faith is the gift of God powred downe into the hearts and minds of men and women wrought in the soule of euery one and that by the mighty working and operation of the holy Spirit So the onely way to lay hold on Christ being by faith and faith of it owne nature being spirituall it followeth therefore that there is no way to lay hold on Christ but a spirituall way there is not a hand to fasten on Christ but a spirituall hand there is not a mouth to digest Christ but a spirituall mouth The Scriptures familiarly by all these termes describe the nature and efficacy of faith We are said to eate the flesh of Christ by faith and to drinke his bloud by faith in this Sacrament chiefly in doing of two things First in calling to our remembrance the bitter death and passion of Christ the bloud that he shed vpon the crosse the Supper which he instituted in remembrance of him before he went to the Crosse the commandement which he gaue Do this in remembrance of me I say we eate his flesh and drinke his bloud spiritually First in this point in recording and remembring faithfully how he died for vs how his bloud was shed vpon the crosse This is the first point a point that cannot be remembred truly except it be wrought by the mighty power of the holy Spirit The second poynt of the spirituall eating standeth in this That I and euery one of you beleeue firmely that he died for me in particular That his bloud was shed on the crosse for a ful remission and redemption of me and my sins The chiefe and principall point of the eating of Christ his flesh drinking of his bloud standeth in beleeuing firmly that that flesh was deliuered to death for my sinnes that that bloud of his was shed for the remission of my sinnes and except euery soule come neere to himselfe and firmely consent and agree and be perswaded that Christ died for him that soule can not be saued that soule can not eate the flesh nor drinke the bloud of Christ. Then the eating of the flesh and drinking of the bloud of Christ standeth in a faithfull memorie in a firme belief and in a true applying of the merits of the death and passion of Christ to my owne conscience in particular There were sundry things obiected against this kind of receiuing I will not insist to repeate them But beside all the obiections which ye heard obiected against this kinde of spirituall receiuing by faith they say If Christ his flesh nor his bloud be not perceiued nor receiued but by the Spirit by faith in the Spirit then say they ye receiue him but by an imagination if he be not receiued carnally nor corporally but onely by the Spirit and by faith then is he not receiued but by way of imagination conceite and fantasie So they account faith an imagination of the minde a fantasie and opinion fleeting in the hearts of men I cannot blame them to thinke so of faith For as none can iudge of the sweetenesse of hony but they that haue tasted of it so there is none can discerne nor iudge of the nature of faith but they that haue felt it
second place with the denunciation of death Indeed Esay in his denunciation appeareth to be very strict but how strict soeuer he was he hath his warrant We haue not the like warrant therefore we ought not to vse the like strictnesse toward the Patient Alwaies generally we ought to exhort him to vnbuâ—den his conscience to disburden his soule and to make 〈…〉 whensoeuer it shall please the Lord to call 〈…〉 the chiefe points of our visitation standeâ—h 〈…〉 two first to bid the Patient lay aside the 〈…〉 and next to prepare for the heauenly part Yet ere I leaue the denunciation theâ—e â—ppeareth in the denunciation three faults to concuâ—â—â— First it seemeth that the Prophet in his denunciation 〈◊〉 ouer rigorous against so godly a King and handlâ—â—â—he King ouer extremely in this heauie disease for he cuâ—â— from him at the first all hope of this present life He doth farre otherwise then our Doctors of medicine for if they see any certaine signe of death they will not shew it to the Patient himselfe but to some of his friends he on the contrarie denounceth death to himselfe constantly affirming that he shall die Now this appeareth to be very hard But I answer if this denunciation had bene vsed against an Ethnick or a licentious liuer indeed it had bene an hard denunciation For as to an Ethnick who hath his hope onely in the earth it is not possible that he can make his hope to mount aboue the earth so that he thinketh when he is gone all is gone to him Secondly this denunciation would appeare hard and extreame to them that liue according to the flesh for ô how bitter is death saith Salomon to them that liue according to the flesh And I pray you what is the cause that death is so bitter vnto them Because in the agonie of death they feele another thing then this violent separation of the soule from the bodie for beside this they feele a conscience of iniquitie gnawing them they feele also the heauie wrath of God kindled against their sinne and iniquitie and the sense of this wrath striketh such a horrour in their soules that at the very memorie of death they tremble Therefore I say to such kind of persons as those this would haue bene a hard kind of threatning But vnto Christians and namely to such a godly King as this was it was no hard language For as to vs that we Christians we must not looke on death as she is in her owne nature But we must looke vpon her as she is made to vs by the benefite and mercie in Christ Iesus And looking on death this way is not death spoiled of her sting is she not sanctified to vs in the death of Christ and is she not made to vs an entrie to euerlasting felicitie is she not a returning from our banishment and passing to our euerlasting heauen So looking on death not in the owne nature but as she is made to vs in Christ at the voice of death we ought to lift vp our eyes and be glad that the redemption of our soule is so neare when the separation shal be made the Lord shall call on vs we ought to reioyce seeing he hath made death to vs a further step to ioy and a meanes of a stricter coniunction But it is not possible that words can make men prepare them for death The readiest way to eschue the horror of death is to thinke vpon death and yet notwithstanding of all the great spectacles that we see dayly we are neuer an haire moued Alwaies the readiest way as I haue said is to take vp such a life presently as may best agree with that life which we aspire vnto Thou must take vp a new course thou must conforme thy life here with the life to come that an harmonie being betwixt the two liues death may be to thee an entry to that euerlasting ioy Thou must bid all thy foule affections good night for thou and they cannot come both to heauen Thou must bid sinne whereunto thou art a slaue and an ordinarie seruant farewell for except thou be this way altered thou must not thinke that death shall be to thee a passage to heauen Then learne ye that would haue death pleasant so to rule and square this life that it may agree in some measure with the life to come The second omission that appeareth in this denunciation is this â—t seemeth to be superfluous for why the kind of plague assured him of his death the Physicions assured him the weakenesse of his owne nature assured him that he should die So the denunciation seemeth to be superfluous but it is not superfluous in deed if we shal examine our owne nature how loath all men are to die for we know by experience that there are some who wil scarcely take death to them euen at the last gaspe and what loue we haue to this life it is knowne to all men Therefore the Prophet so strictly denounced death that by this strict denunciation the King may be moued to lift his hope aboue nature and all naturall meanes and of God onely to seeke support where nature had denyed him And so the denunciation is not superfluous it is the ready way to make him runne vnto the right way Now the last omission that appeareth in this denunciation is this The Lord seemeth by his Prophet to dissemble for is not this an high dissimulation to say that he shall die and yet notwithstanding to meane the contrary So there appeareth a great dissimulation on Gods part denounced by his Prophet that he should die instantly and yet he was of minde that he should liue fifteene yeares after this To answer vnto this this generall must be layed downe for a ground that Vnto all the threatnings and promises of God there is a condition annexed which condition is either secretly inclosed in the promise or threatning or else it is openly expressed That this is true see Ezechiel the 18.1 and Dan 4.27 this condition hath place Then this being the nature of the threatnings of God this terrible denunciation how terrible soeuer it appeare yet it hath a condition in it to wit Except he repent except he seeke me and make his recourse to me by prayer For out of question the Lord was of minde to punish Niniâ—e except they had preuented him by repentance So I say all the promises and threatnings of God haue a condition annexed which is either openly expressed or couertly to be vnderstood And therefore the denunciation hath a secret condition and this condition made the King to liue for suppose it be simply propounded yet it is not to bring him to despaire but onely to make him the more instant to sâ—eke grace health at the hands of the liuing God Now haue I touched the greatnesse the time and the kind of the disease Let vs make our profite thereof for it is necessary that this doctrine
him ready It is foolish false to thinke that preparation to death is a furtherance to death No the contrary is true The readier ye are to die the more able ye are to liue the lesse shall be your anguish when the Lord calleth As to the reasons I will not insist in them onely the last reason that maketh death to be so fearefull to this good King was the great loue which he had to the Church that was in his country the great care which he had of his faithfull subiects who should lacke by his death his mercifull protection And in this I did let you see that the country had an exceeding blessing where the Prince is so carefull for the Church in his country and of his faithfull subiects that in his death he hath mind of them and is grieued to depart from them As on the other side the Church must be as heauily cursed where the Prince hath no regard of the Church in his country nor of his faithfull subiects As to the reasons I will not stand precisely in iustifying of them all I thinke as the word soundeth that there is some thing worthy of praise and commendation in them and some thing worthy of dispraise and reproofe For so farre as they flow of faith and of the good spirit of God no question they are worthy of praise and so farre as they flow from the Kings vnruly affections they are worthy of dispraise And surely it appeareth by the words that his affections had bene somewhat vnruly Well the lesson that I gathered was This is the profite that we reape of these preposterous affections they draw our loue from God to the creatures And ere these affections can be drawne from the creature they bring such a griefe vnto them as it were another death Therefore the thing that we craued was that ye should set your affection vpon God The truth of loue is in God and therefore it becometh you to bring your hearts from the creature vnto God and imploy your affection vpon him in whom onely is solid ioy Thus farre we proceeded in our last exercise Now in the words which I haue read he returneth to his complaint and he taketh vp his lamentation againe in the first part of the 12. verse he vttereth his trouble wherein he was In the end of that verse and in the verse following he vttereth the great rage furie of his sicknes And in the 14. verse he letteth vs see what he did in this great rage and extremity of his disease Then to returne to the 12. verse I say in the beginning of it he returneth to his lamentation and he vttereth his complaint as he had wont to do bursting out after this manner Mine habitation saith he is departed and transported from me As if he would say my life is to depart and the Lord is to transport it to another part I see death is instant and the Lord is cutting off this present life of mine He letteth vs see the maner how his life is to be transported by two similitudes The first similitude he taketh from a shepheards tent The second similitude he taketh from a Weauer and his web As to the first similitude he sayth his life is to be transported from him like a shepheards tent Looke how the tents of shepheards are remoued transported and remoued so saith the King he saw his life to be subiect to the same transportation It is knowne to you all that reade histories that in the East hote countries as namely among the Tartars and Arabians where the shepheards in the sommer seasons remaine vnder tents so often as they remoue their flocks they remoue their tents And in our owne countrie here when our shepheards remoue their flockes they remoue their other necessaries alluding to that same custome so would the King say look how these tents are remoued in the sommer season transported my life is subiect to the same condition Of this similitude we haue matter full of good doctrine For this similitude doth first teach vs that there is nothing more instable vncertaine then is the life of man here beneath There is nothing more subiect to instability then this life which we liue in this body For as to the nature of tents ye see whether ye call them tents pauillions or tabernacles all is one by experience there is nothing more vnstable nor vncertaine to dwell in then is a tent For why it lacketh a ground it lacketh a foundation and stability and in stead of a ground it leaneth onely to certaine pinnes which enter not deepely into the earth and consequently by the lightest blast of euery wind they are blowne vp and when the pinnes faile the tent falleth So the King would teach vs by this similitude that this life of ours lacketh a ground lacketh a foundation and lacketh a stabilitie And therefore the King in this comparison would send vs to the life which hath the sure ground foundation and stability he sendeth vs to that kingdome which as the Apostle Heb. 12. saith cannot be shaken by no kind of stormy blasts And as I remember Heb. 11 9.10 there in these verses the Apostle maketh a flat opposition betwixt these tents that lacke a ground and the City of God saying that as tents and tabernables lacke a foundation and ground so the City of God on the contrary hath a ground and a foundation and in steede of one he calleth them in the plurall number foundations Looke saith he to the City that hath the foundations whose craftsman and builder is the God of heauen He expoundeth himselfe what he meaneth by the foundations in the last verse where he saith Such a kingdome as cannot be shaken that is whose ground is so sure that it cannot be shaken nor totter by no processe of time nor stormy blasts Then the first lesson that ye haue from this part of the comparison is this Learne to seeke for the City that hath sure foundations seek for the City that can not be shaken The Lord giue you grace so to do In the other part of the comparison he letteth vs see that so long as we are in this life we haue no pernament abode nor certaine remaining whereunto we may leane For as ye may perceiue by the historie of Genesis the Patriarkes dwelled in tens to testifie vnto vs two things First to testifie that they were no countreymen there nor natiue borne men of that country but strangers and pilgrimes in that country and as they professed themselues that they were not onely strangers of that countrey but counted themselus strangers so long as they remained on the face of this earth The second thing that they testified by dwelling in tents is that they were minded not to remaine there it was not their purpose to fixe their staffe as we speake there But they were vpon their iourney and seeking the way that leadeth homeward the way that