with an In hoc signo vinces and to convince us of cowardise if wee shrinke or draw backe Our life is a Warfare and what should a coward doe in the warres that cannot endure the aking of a finger is hee fit to bee the souldier of that Captaine that entred not into life but by the gates of death Our Countrie is in heaven and the world is but our pilgrimage and therefore they are much deceived saith Saint Augustine Qui quaerunt vitam in regione mortis that seeke for life and pleasure in this region of miserie and death A heathen man could say Non est delicata res vincere Seneca heere is no Paradise noe heaven on earth but in the safety of a good conscience Our time of raigning and triumphing is reserved for us in heaven this is a time of duety and service and such service as must bee couragious and not shrinke at any thing but continue constant and faithfull unto death And here let us descend every man into his owne heart and try examine our selues how we stand affected to the performance of this duety whether we could bee content to bee Gods faithfull servants and sticke close to him though it were to the losse of goods or our reputation or our friends or our life it selfe and be faithfull unto death And I doubt not but that wee haue presumption enough to flatter our selues so farre as to beleeue and professe and perhaps to bragge and vaunt that wee are ready to follow our Captaine Christ Iesus whither soever hee goes though it were to the shedding of our bloods the spending of our liues even unto death I make no question but that wee beleeue this of our selues and wee would make the world beleeue so too But what saies Saint Iames shew me thy faith by thy workes let the world see our profession by our actions and let our vaunts bee made good by a reall and actuall performance Wheras if a man may be bold to iudge of the tree by the fruite and to guesse at the faithfulnesse of the heart by the action of the outward man and by those things which are daily presented to our eyes I thinke wee should haue much to doe to perswade any advised and considerate man that our faithfulnesse is such as would endure all extremities And that wee would faithfully follow our Captaine if â—â—ed were unto death Why the very censure of lewd and reprobate persons is enough to flout us out of our Christian profession and we would faine doe God that faithfull service which our owne conscience tels us we owe him but that wee are afraid we shall fall into disgrace with the world and that men will account us over precise and too religious This is but a slight paine and far enough from the heart a man would thinke and yet even this as slight as it is kils the faithfulnesse of many stout Christians by their owne report and makes them revolt from their captaine and turne renegadoes I will not say turne Turke but which is worse cary a Turkes heart under a Christians livery Neither hath this beene the cowardlinesse of the cursed multitude onely but even of professed leaders and eminent commanders even the Scribes and Pharisees we may see it in the twelfth of Iohn There their consciences were so plainely convinced by the power of Christs doctrine and miracles that their hearts could not chuse but tell them that he was the Messias yet saies the Text they could not beleeue in him nor make profession of him for their reputation sake because they loved the praise of men more then the praise of God verse 42.43 Nay a farre lesse matter then this scarres us from our faithfulnesse Let our Saviour come for faithfulnes and call us to his service not into the field to venter our liues but into the Church where is no danger of life or limme except we are afraid perhaps of breaking our knees but we will take order against that well enough and therefore wee will bee sure not to bow them Let him I say but call for our faithfulnesse and service at Church and wee haue our sports to follow our proiects to contriue our visits to make our Mistresses to court and they their dresses and faces to order and compose for all the day after any thing shall serue turne to divert us from his service and to deny him that faithfulnesse which wee are bound to performe unto him what ever came of it though it were to the loosing of our liues for the duety that is here inioyned is faithfulnesse unto death Bee thou faithfull unto death I haue done with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 unto death I come now unto 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 untill death And then it puts us in mind of the constancie of our dutie that it must last and continue as long as our life doth the Spirit of God hath ioyned them both together let none of us be so hardy as to venter and sunder them but let them run on both together in Gods name and as farre as our life goes so farre let our faithfulnesse even untill death comes In the affaires of this life it is a shame for a man to beginne an enterprise and not to goe thorow with it every man points at him with his finger derides and geeres him this man began to build and was not able to finish it In the workes of our Christian profession the shame is greater the danger infinite and therefore Saint Paul befooles his Galathians when they fell from their faithfulnesse which once they professed hee tells them they were bewitched or else such a thing could never have befallen them Gal. 3.1 O ye foolish Galathians who hath bewitched you are yee so foolish as having begunne in the Spirit to end in the flesh If a Man beginne a peece of worke and leave it off in the middle hee hath taken a good deale of paines to no other purpose but to leave a Monument of his folly and vanity to the world Hee that hath received the common graces of God and many good gifts of his Spirit which have enabled him to doe much good and faithfull service and then takes the grace of God and turnes it into wantonnesse and smothers and quencheth the Spirit comes neere unto dangerous symptomes of a more dangerous state When a man is in a faire way to heaven and hath some time walkt on religiouslly and faithfully till hee hath come within some sence of his reward within some view of his Crowne by common enlightnings then to turne out of the way and Apostate into the broade way what is it else but to tread in a path that without repentance will leade to destruction And therefore it is said in the 6. Chap. of the Epistle to the Hebrewes that it is impossible that they which were once enlightned and have tasted of the heavenly gift and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost if
they fall away should bee renewed againe by repentance seeing they crucifie to themselues the Sonne of God afresh and put him to an open shame Heere I could give you many examples of revolters and backsliders and shew you to what a height of impiety they have growne when once they have forsaken God and that goodnesse they have begun to professe which for brevitie sake I will omit and conclude this poynt with the exhortation of the Apostle in the 3. to the Hebr. ver 12.13 Take heed brethren least at any time there be in any of you an evill heart and unfaithfull to depart away from the living God but exhort one an other daily whilest it is yet called to day least any of you be hardned through the deceitfulnesse of sinne for we are made partakers of Christ if wee hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end and my Text sayes If wee continue faithfull untill death the God of life and death will give us a Crowne of life And that 's my second generall part The Promise I will give thee a Crowne of Life Ego dabo tibi Coronam vitae And heere every word yeelds matter of observation I will begin with the first word Ego and that is either taken eminenter by way of eminencie And then t is I the God of heaven and earth that decke my selfe with light as with a garment that make the clouds my chariots and ride upon the wings of the winde I will give this Crowne Great persons give great gifts Alexander gave a talent to a begger not considering what was fit for the other to receive but for him to give Heere God sprinkles Crownes now and then one a few in an age all the world over but in the next life he makes them all Kings as it were showring and rayning Crownes from his glorious head upon his glorified members Secondly heere is Ego exclusivè I by way of exclusion And then it is I and none but I that give these Crownes This preferment these Crownes come neither from the East nor from the West nor from the South but from God alone T is not S. Peters keyes that can open the doore of that kingdome nor unlocke the treasury where these Crownes are layd up he keepes the key himselfe And if you will give me leave to slide from Spirituall to temporall Crownes then I shall tell you that God is the disposer of them also By me Kings reigne Prou. 8.15 As was sayd of him by a wiser man then any of those that ever usurped that power And t is but a ridiculous intrusion extrá jurisdictionem jus dicere To execute the power of a Iudge where a man hath no jurisdiction Or to give that which he hath not in his owne power to bestow which is none of his This is like the folly of the mad Athenian that tooke all the ships in the haven to be his owne and so gave them away where hee pleas'd as if he had beene the true and right Master of them Or like the divell that tooke the Sonne of God into an exceeding high mountaine and shewed him all the kingdomes of the world the glory of them proffering all unto him if he would fall downe and worship him When all those kingdomes and Crownes were his Lords inheritance and the donation of them his prerogative And they hold them but by a false tenure that receive them from any other Donor God is Iudge himselfe hee putteth downe one and setteth up an other himselfe the word is not idle hee doth it himselfe sayes the Psalmist And for this crowne it is not to bee bought as Iulianus the Emperour bought the Roman Empire nor to be sold as the Papall disposer of kingdomes doth bargaine for it But God himselfe bestowes it Hee needs no Vicar upon earth for that purpose His hands are long enough to set the Crowne upon that head that must weare it the words are plaine in my text Ego Dabo Dabo and that 's the next word which plainely shewes the manner how these Crownes are convey'd unto us we have them not by a bargaine or sale but by a deed of gift This Crowne is no purchase but a donation Wee may talke or we may dreame of meriting or earning this Crowne but we should bee but poorely rewarded if God should deale with us according to the proportion of our workes Our workes at the best are stained with the imperfections and blemishes of our corrupted nature so that the most that we could hope for was pardon for their defect And for a Delinquent that should sue for his pardon to claime to sit in the throne with his Soveraigne were a presumption so intollerable that if wee should be guilty of it heaven and earth would cry out shame upon us and condemne us for idiots Ther 's not a word in this part of my text but will serue for an exception against that absurd claime by merit Take Ego an offended God and what is he bound to doe in iustice take Dabo and what more free and non merited then gift wee must strike out that word if wee meane to make any claime by merit Take Tibi and what is man but a guilty malefactor There is such a gulfe of sinne betwixt Ego and Tibi that nothing can passe betweene them by way of Iustice but punishment and vengeance Or take man at the best he is but an offender reconciled to grace and favour and received to mercy so that every word cuts the throat of merit Or take the word Coronam and who that hath the disposing of it will set it upon the head of a Captaine Or put the other word to it and make it Coronam vitae and what an impudent demand were it for him to claime the Crowne of life who all the world knowes hath deserved the shakles of death They are bold attempters that dare adventure to breake downe all those barres there is not a word here but is a fense good enough to keepe out all that would take possession of this Crowne by way of merit For 't is Ego dabo tibi Tibi Tibi by way of Argument I haue handled already but yet I will not let it goe untill I haue observed it to our comfort Luther saies well that there is a great deale of divinity in pronouns giue me leaue to goe a little further and to tell you that there is a great deale of comfort in pronouns too Not onely strong divinitie to ground an argument but strong consolation to comfort a weake spirit Tibi is a word of singularity and will contract Gods generall promises to every man in particular if the fault bee not his owne God Almighties promises are like a well made picture though there bee an hundred in the roome in divers places and postures yet the picture seemes to looke upon every one of them in particular and wee cannot avoyd the aspect of it except wee
arise unto him out of every action Wee are not our owne saith the Apostle wee are bought with a price 1. Cor. 6.20 therefore glorifie God in your bodies and in your soules The whole man must bee faithfull in giving God his glory the thoughts that we thinke they must bee religiously and faithfully conceived to the honour of God I will giue thankes unto God secretly amongst the faithfull saith the Psalmist Psal 111.1 And yet not onely in our thoughts secretly but in our words openly in the congregation as it followeth in the end of the same verse And as we must bee faithfull in glorifying him in our thoughts and words so likewise in our deeds the light whereof must so shine before men that they seeing our good works may glorifie God our Father which is in Heaven And note what a strict course the Lord hath taken for the gathering up of this tribute of his glory out of every thing He will call us to a reckoning for our secretest cogitations Inquisition shall bee made into our very thoughts If you speake but a word that doth not some way or other tend to his glory t is an idle word and we must account for idle words in the day of iudgement if then wee doe a deed that aimes not at this end shall we thinke not to bee questioned for it Wee must all appeare before the iudgement seate of the Lord to giue an account of those things that we haue done in the body Therefore our body and our soule our thoughts words and deeds must all bee ordered and husbanded so faithfully and iustly that God may haue his due his Honour and his Glory by it And if wee haue beene faithfull in a little hee will make us Rulers over much Math. 25.23 And by way of commendation tell us It is well done good and faithfull servants and then bid us enter into our Masters ioy where wee shall haue a Crowne of life if wee haue discharged our duety as much as in us lyes and beene obedient and faithfull unto Death And that is my second part the continuance extent or measure of our thankfulnes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which hath a twofold meaning and may yeeld us matter of instruction both wayes For first 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is unto death and then it signifies such a service and such faithfulnesse as will not shrinke at any affliction or prosecution whatsoever but goes on couragiously and resolutely if need be to the laying downe of our life and continues faithfull even unto death Secondly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies untill death and then it betookens such a service and such an obedience as continues all our life long never failes of the discharge of ' its duty as long as we haue a day to liue but continues and goes on from day to day from yeare to yeare as long as we haue any being even untill death First then our duty must be strong substantiall well wrought and close woven and such as will not shrinke neither with the water of affliction nor with the fire of persecution nor be shaken with the winde of temptation but indure all extremities even death it selfe We must be faithfull unto death And then it must hang upon the same threed that our life doth and both must runne on together and as long as the one lasteth so long must the other and our service must be faithfull untill death First then of the couragiousnesse of our service that it must not shrinke at any thing no not at death it selfe Omne majus continet in se minus that every lesser thing is conteyned in the greater is a ground and principle in nature which every man knowes If then our service must be faithfull unto death which is extremum malorum the greatest of evills then it must bee faithfull unto persecution imprisonment losse of goods disgraces and reproches which are but lesser evills even petty and slight afflictions as the Apostle calleth them My sonne sayth Solomon when thou entrest into the house of the Lord prepare thy Soule for temptations and our Saviour in the 10. of Matthew sayes if any man will follow me and be my Disciple let him take up his Crosse and follow me let him deny himselfe not make dainty of any thing he hath no not of his life He that will save his life shall lose it and hee that desires to have a Crowne of life must bee faithfull unto death The way to Heaven is not paved with the pleasures of this world nor strow'd with the flowers of humane delights but through many tribulations wee must enter into the kingdome of Heaven sayth Saint Paul in the 14. Acts 22. And our Saviour which is our head he hath led the way and trod the path before us and first wore the crowne of Thornes before he put on his Crowne of glory hee first served his Father faithfully unto death and then was rewarded with a Crowne of life No sooner doe we enter our selves into the service of God and put on us the livery of him that is the Father of lights but presently the whole kingdome of darkenesse is up in armes against us the Prince whereof leads the battaile and he warrs against us with all the temptations that his malice can suggest And not content with his owne strength hee stirs up the world against us â—â—â—ur Saviour tels his Disciples because you are not of the world therefore the world will hate you and this hatred it will shew by defaming our Credit spoyling us of our goods persecuting of our bodies yea sometimes by taking away our liues too Nay further this subtill adversarie of ours like a politicke Statist will not onely warre against us with open hostilitie but he will stirr up enemies within our owne gates and kindle a fire in our owne house and raise up this traiterous and rebellious flesh of ours which we nourish in our owne bosomes like a false brother to seduce and entrap us this flesh perplexeth us with feares enveigles us with hopes allures us with baites distracts us with cares and torments us with paines and vseth a thousand sleights and fetches to make us betray our Christian profession and revolt from that God to whom in our baptisme we swore our alleageance to be his constant souldiers to fight under his banner and to doe him faithfull service in spight of the world the flesh and the Devill or all extremities that can betide us whether they are the miseries of nature the frownes of fortune yea or the losse of life even unto death it selfe This is the vow this is the profession and this is the promise that wee haue made in baptisme And wee haue it sealed and confirmed with the signe of the Crosse the sacred signiture and character whereof stands imprinted in our foreheads to testifie to the world that we haue made such a vow to heaven and to encourage us to confront any enemy being armed