led to their natiue countrie to the City that hath the sure foundations as they confessed themselues Then I say there is another lesson that we may reape of his similitude It teacheth vs that we haue no permanent being here and we ought not to settle our hearts nor cast our loue on any thing here but seeing we are subiect to flitting and remouing not knowing what houre we shall be warned to remoue there is nothing more sure then that we must remoue and nothing more vnknowne then the time Therefore it becometh vs now in time while we haue leasure to transport our goods and to send them before vs where we are to remaine to send our substance where we are to abide for euer For proofe hereof your owne experience teacheth you that there is none of you who haue warning and are certaine that ye are to remoue but ye wil transport your goods and send your substance where ye are to abide Therfore seeing that this is concluded principally in all your hearts that there is no remaining here but we must remoue and ye are vncertaine in what moment ye shal be warned to remoue it becometh vs to send our goods substance riches before vs. And if it be true that our Maister sayth that the heart followeth the treasure let both heart and treasure be sent thither surely this is a singular lesson if it were learned For he is a mad man more then mad that will place his felicity where he is not to remaine and where he knoweth not what houre he shall be warned to depart I am assured there is none here but they will say as I say Yet on the other side it is as true there is none here but he doth as pleaseth himselfe Therefore I will call onely one thing to your mindes I remember there is a parable set downe Luke 12.16 concerning a rich man who did cast downe his barns and inlarged them for his great abundance when all this was done he saith to his soule Take thy rest eate and drinke and take thy pleasure for I haue laid vp enough for thee This insatiable foole as our master calleth him there knew not that he was tenant at will and he knew not of the thing that was to come but as if he had had the times and seasons at his command he layeth this resolution with his soule But ye see in this parable how soone he is disappointed and his soule getteth not the vse of this conclusion for that same night it is taken from him Well I know there are none so grosse that in words will lay this conclusion with this rich man but I know againe there are none so wise but in effect they do it There are none but they say the same to their soule in deed Alwaies I say all these conclusions are false and proceed of a foolish braine and the wisdome that bringeth on this conclusion is plaine follie and their soules shall be disappointed There is no certaine conclusion but that which floweth from the truth This word is sure therefore thou must haue thy warrant out of the word of God this word saith thou hast no certainty no not an houre here Therefore this word admonisheth all to be readie And if ye would be rich seeing riches is the blessing of God be rich in good works and send your riches before you and be rich in God that ye and your riches may remaine together there for euer If I might obtaine of you this lesson and no more I would thinke this dayes exercise well employed Then let men take such a resolution with themselues that they may be so disposed that when the messenger of death cometh he cannot come amisse come when he will Thus far concerning the first similitude The other similitude is taken from a Weauer and his web And in the words he saith after this manner I haue saith he wrought my life or wouen the web of my life to the off-cutting As the Weauer weaueth his web so is my life wouen readie to be cut off as if he would say in effect I see I haue shortned my dayes there is no remaining for me I haue brought my life to the off-cutting I haue preuented the iust time by mine owne doing I haue procured my owne death In whiâ—h words he would teach vs that by his owne doings he hath procured hastened his owne death and by his euill life shortned his time It is true indeed that as by sinne death entred into the world so by the multiplying of sinne our death is hastened For that disease is not that striketh on bodie or soule but it floweth of sinne yea the death of soule and bodie floweth of sinne The thing that shorteneth our dayes is sinne the thing that maketh our daies euill and troublesome is sinne saith Iacob Sinne maketh our daies full of anguish and griefe full of trouble and sorrow Sinne wrappeth vs in a thousand cares and exceeding vanities whereby we are deceiued and sinne consumeth vs with vnprofitable labors and trauels which are not necessarie And what more Sinne weakneth this body of ours by deceiueable pleasures it vexeth our mind with such feare and terrors as I cannot expresse them Shortly all the euill that euer God inflicteth it floweth of sinne And if it be true that this good King had occasion to say that his sinne procured his death If so godly a King so good a youth had occasion to say this that sinne shortened his dayes what may the youth of this countrey say what may I pray you our yong Nobilitie say Surely if this King walked in such paths as made him to draw neare to his death it appeareth well that they haue taken post in this way euery one as appeareth contending who should runne the speediest course to an euill end except God preuent it The Psalmist saith that the bloudie man shall not liue halfe his dayes if this be true what shall become of the bloudie adulterer of the sacrilegious blasphemer much more the Papist and the Idolater In the which and infinite other vices they runne post If a man hauing this one vice shall not end the halfe of his dayes how much more shall his dayes be shortened in whom these vices concurre all in one this is sure it cannot faile I leaue the great men and come to the inferior sort Looke to the prophane multitude ye see in their behauiour how speedily they runne this post There are two sinnnes which are ioyned together in them to wit gluttonie and drunkennesse And there are none but they know that these two are the fountaines of all bodily diseases and of the chiefe diseases of the soule whereby they perish for euer Now what I pray you saith Salomon Prouer. 23. with whom saith he lodgeth feare sorow contention debate and strife with whom but with the drunken man and with him that loueth wine yet ye see how the greatest part in
whole world he bringeth him into such dangers that whereas nature and naturall meanes could haue no place he deliuereth him so miraculously by such wonders to make all the world to stoupe Another end was this that this good King might be honored of all the world whom God so honored For good reason it is that those whom God so honoreth they should honour These haue bene the two ends why God hath wrought so many miracles in the person of this King For ye heard how wonderfully in the night by his Angell he destroyed a hundreth and fourescore thousands of persons this is a wonderfull thing and now when he had fallen in the hands of a terrible plague so that there is none able to helpe it yet the Lord healeth him extraordinarily and he confirmeth it by such a wonder that the like was neuer heard of or seene before In deede we reade in Iehoshuashs time that the Sunne was made to stand in the firmament but to go backe by so many houres and degrees it was neuer heard of nor seene before Looke then if these signes serued not to the honor of God and vnder God to the honor of his seruant The profite that is to be gathered of signes properly called signes instituted by God stands in the representation for there cannot be a signe properly except it represent in some measure the thing signified by it There must be some conformitie and proportion or else it is not a signe as Augustine saith But this signe whereof we speake is miraculous and supernaturall and therefore hath no such relation as Sacraments haue But yet there may be a proper and secret relation espied in it which is this for it appeareth well that God would let vs see and let the King see by the working of this signe that looke how easie it was to him to bring backe the Sunne which had but two houres to his going downe to that same place where he rose in the morning as easie it is to him and farre easier to bring backe the Kings life which had but two houres to the time of death to a fresh morning of youth againe and to a ioyfull age It is as easie to God to worke the one as the other And so we may take vp the end why these signes and such like wonders was wrought by Christ in establishing of the new couenant The end no doubt was to strengthen our faith which we haue alreadie receiued by the preaching of the Gospel for signes are not giuen to create in vs faith they are not giuen to begin our coniunction with Christ it is the preaching of the Gospell that beginneth this coniunction Signes are giuen as seales to enlarge and confirme this our coniunction And as the Apostle saith well Heb. 2. signes serue to two two ends first to beare witnesse to the truth secondly to confirme the faith of the beleeuer This ye see clearely in our Sacrament the Sacrament of the Supper This Sacrament was not appointed to make our coniunction first with Christ we haue not entry vnto Christ by this Sacrament but it maketh vs to possesse Christ whom we had alreadie in some measure It maketh vs to possesse him more fully and extendeth the bounds of our narrow heart that he may be the more largely receiued of vs so of this signe the King hath great comfort I grant there is greater comfort to be had in the word then of the signe and greater comfort to be had of the working of the Spirit within then of either of them yet it is as true that euery one of these bringeth their owne comfort There is greater comfort to be had of the word then of the signe and yet the signe hath the owne comfort There is greater comfort to be had of the Spirit then of the word and yet the word hath the owne comfort And there is no word able to vtter and far lesse any heart able to receiue that comfort yea not halfe the quarter of that comfort which is prepared for them that loue God So this signe suppose there be not so great comfort vttered by it as by the word yet it hath the owne comfort Thus farre concerning the signe it selfe As to the third thing the manifesting of this signe it is not by the vertue or power that flowed out of Isaiah suppose he was an instrument for the text resolueth this clearely where it is said This is the signe of the Lord besides this it is certaine that there is no force nor vertue in any creature yea not in the diuell himselfe to worke any true wonder but in God himselfe onely For why there is no signe or wonder which is a true wonder but it passeth the force bounds and compasse of nature Therefore there is no creature able to worke any wonder For why they are bounded within the compasse and bounds of their nature and therefore as to all these wonders and miracles which are wrought by the diuell and the Pope his vicar they are false and lying wonders I say it not but the Apostle saith it 2. Thess. 2. that the coming of Antichrist shall be in the mightie power of the diuell in the which he shall worke false wonders and lying signes And as all the rest are false and lyes so these legs and armes which ye see in the entries and porches of their Churches are manifest lies and deceits of Sathan Now as to the manner of the working of this miracle it it is said in the 2. Kings 20. that it was procured by the Prophets prayer It is â—aid there that the Prophet prayed that the Sunne should be brought backe So the prayer of the Prophet preuented before it came to passe Now that same very thing which the Lord was purposed to do and promised to do yet he wil do it in such sort that he wil haue the Prophet first to aske it Now this letteth vs see clearely that there is no merit in our prayers there is no such force or worthinesse in our prayers as to merit any thing but the Lord promiseth freely and as he promiseth freely so he performeth it as freely Then wherefore will he haue vs to pray Because prayer is a part of the worship of God he will haue vs to feele what the want of benefits is he will haue vs exercised in this part of duty that when we get them we may vse them so much the more to his glory What the prayers of this Country specially the prayers of the Church of this towne haue purchased in the withdrawing of the Lords threatning and chiefly of the last threatning I meane that huge Nauie of ships I think now the manifest effects declare But what honour God hath gotten for it our manners since that time clearely testifie For if yee looke to the growth of sinne more ougly sinnes were neuer committed then since that fame ceassed So I say he is mad and voide of all
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
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
warning and know not what houre the Lord wil call on vs. There is none that is sure that he must change habitation and is out of doubt in his conscience that he is to remoue that will settle his heart in that place which he is not able to keepe but being assured that he shall remoue he will send his houshold stuffe and substance before him If this be true in earthly things how much more ought we seeing the Lord giueth vs leasure to send our substance before vs And as it is true that the heart followeth the substance let both hart and substance be sent to heauen where they may both meete vs to our comfort Be rich in God be rich in good workes and that kind of substance shall be able to convoy thee and shall serue stand in stead to thee both in heauen and earth The second comparison was taken from the Weauer and his web and the effect of it is this as the Weauer bringeth his web to the off cutting so would the King say I see I haue brought this miserable life of mine to the off-cutting I haue procured my suddaine and vntimely death by mine euil life I haue hasted this messenger It is true that all the diseases of the body and the chiefe diseases of the soule flow from sinne And as death entred by sinne so by multiplication of sinne deaâ—h is hastened sinne shorteneth our life sinne maketh our dayes euill sinne maketh them full of griefe and sorrow sinne inuolueth vs in a thousand cares sinne wrappeth vs in infinite vnprofitable labours Sinne weakneth our body by deceiueable pleasures sinne vexeth our minde with such terrors as cannot be expressed Abeit if this good King had occasion to say that his euill spent life spurred him to his death what may our yong nobility say if it be true that one sinne blood cutteth the halfe of the dayes as the Psalmist sayth how much more shall an heape of sinnes concurring in one pâ—rson shorten the dayes The sacrilegious blasphemer and the bloudy adulterer and infinite more other sinnes concurring in one person shall not these shorten this miserable life The thing which they feare most would willingliest eschue that same thing such is their iudgement they runne headlong on As to the prophane multitude ye see these two vices gluttony and drunkennesse whereby they dâ—aw on themselues sudden death and there is neuer a man but he is subiect vnto one sinne or other which shorteneth the threed of his life and draweth on that which he would eschue Well I will not insist in these occasions of death take heede whether ye walke in mercy or in your owne sinnes If ye walke in your owne sinnes of all iudgements it is the most terrible to be left to your selfe now mercie is offered and therefore ye that would be translated from death to life vse this time diligently In the second part of that exercise I shewed you the rage and fury of his sicknesse we did let you see the weight of his feuer was so great that it made him thinke that God was a deuouring Lion readie to bruise all his bones to powder It made him to looke that both soule and bodie should be taken from him that day ere night We shewed that these voyces could not flow froÌ„ a temporall paine only but there behoued to be a fire in the soule a further paine then could come of any bodily disease in the earth Of all troubles that come vnto man the trouble of conscience is the greatest of all other troubles this is the chiefest when besides a sight of sinne there is a touch of â—he insupportable anger indignation of the liuing God It appeareth by these voyces that the King felt a touch of this wrath whereby God appeareth to be a consuming fire It is the custome of God to bring his children into these extremities that feeling the pangs of hell they may see how precious the death of Christ ought to be vnto them How farre they are bound vnto him what is the dutie they owe vnto him that went betwixt them and so bitter a punishment This kind of extremitie teacheth vs how easie it is for the Lord to represse the pride of the flesh and to beate downe this wantonnesse of our filthie nature This glorious King in the space of 12. houres is brought to the ports of the graue and of desperation in a manner So ye see how easie it is for the Lord to bring the proudest flesh low and to do this he needeth not fire nor sword nor any other instrument but such as we haue within our selues he is able to make our owne darlings to be our greatest tortures For we carrie within vs either one viper or other which shall destroy the soule except the Lord preuent in mercie Last of all we shew how this King in his greatest extremitie behaued himselfe notwithstanding God appeareth to be a fire to his soule yet he retireth to the same God and where he might not by words vtter the griefe and trouble of his heart when the benefite of his speech was taken from him yet he ceasseth not but he sigheth and maketh his moane counterfeiting the Doue the Swallow and the Crane he chattereth and lifteth vp his eyes vsing all such gestures so long as he had his tongue he prayeth and the words are few which he speaketh but they are sententious It hath oppressed refresh me or weaue me out As if he would say The force of this disease and furie of this feuer is so great that it ouercometh all force of nature Therefore seeing nature will auaile nothing I flie to the God of nature to whom it is easie to support nature and of this God I craue health and continuance of my daies I craue that as he hath begun so he would weaue out this web to the glorie of his name and comfort of his Church FroÌ„ this last part we shewed you two things we marked first these contrarie voyces into which the seruants of God burst foorth in their greatest troubles vttering sometimes words full of doubting and sometimes full of confidence In the 15. verse God appeareth to haue bene a consuming fire and a raging Lion to him In the 14. verse he maketh his recourse to the same God and suppose he threatned him yet he reposeth vpon him Vpon this we did let you see first that doubting and confidence may haue place both in one and the selfesame soule There was neuer a seruant of God but had experience of this yea it is proper to the children of God to be subiect to this doubting suppose in mercie they be kept from desperation For seeing this faith of ours as long as we are here is imperfect how is it possible that anie faithfull soule weighing their faith with that perfection which is in God to whom nothing is pleasant but that which is perfect how is it possible I say but that soule must doubt
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