Selected quad for the lemma: death_n
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A67574
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Seven sermons preached by the Right Reverend Father in God, Seth Lord Bishop of Sarum.
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Ward, Seth, 1617-1689.
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1674
(1674)
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Wing W830; ESTC R38484
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145,660
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578
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with our Redeemer and not let him go until he bless us Until he open our eyes to see the dangers we are in and through his mercy shew us a way to escape them Till he quicken us up to resolutions of amendment and carry us strongly through these resolutions Until he heal our backslidings and make up our breaches Until he save our souls from death and our Nation from destruction To work our selves to these Resolutions and to fix us in them to make them abide upon us all our days let us remember what hath been spoken and let us frequently meditate upon that Sarcastical Concession of the Text Rejoyce O young man in thy youth and let thy heart chear thee in the days of thy youth walk in the ways of thy heart and the sight of thy eyes But know that for all these things God will bring thee to Judgment FINIS A SERMON CONCERNING The Strangeness Frequency and Desperate Consequence OF Impenitency Preached at WHITE HALL April 1. 1666. Soon after the great Plague BY SETH then Lord Bishop of EXON LONDON Printed by E. T. and R. H. for James Collins at the Kings-Arms within Ludgate near St. Pauls 1672. A SERMON Containing The Strangeness Frequency and Desperate Consequence OF IMPENITENCY Revel 9. 20. And the rest of the men which were not killed by the plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands ALthough I am not without apprehension that the frequencie of penitential discourses and the seeming easiness of repentance may indispose some persons for such an attention as is necessary both to speaker and hearers for a due performance of the Offices which we are about yet I shall not spend time in making Apologies for the Argument which I have chosen Among all the aggravations of our sins there is none more heinous than the frequent hearing of our duty Among all the errors of our lives there is none more fatal than that concerning the easiness of the duty of Repentance To discover the fallacy and to prevent the dangerous consequences of this imagination I have chosen at this time to treat of this instructive instance of the Text. If Repentance were so easie as is imagined why did not these men repent that are mentioned in the words which I have read They had not only the Dictates of Nature and the advantage of the Scriptures to move them to it they had the Ministry of Angels to perswade them they had Thunders and Trumpets to awaken them and rouze them up they had signs and wonders in the heaven above and in the earth below they had providential instances of prodigious judgements and wonderful mercies They were spectators of grievous Plagues brought upon their neighbours they were Monuments of singular mercies and deliverances a long time continued to themselves When thousands fell beside them they were a remnant kept alive when others were destroyed they were preserved for experiment to try whether yet they would repent I say the persons in the Text were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the rest of the men that were not killed by those Plagues And the rest of the men that were not killed yet repented not of the works of their hands My endeavours at this time will be by shewing the danger and fatal consequences of impenitence to move my self and others to repent And to determine precisely who these persons were of what Nation of what Church of what condition in what time they lived what were the Plagues brought upon them when and how they were executed and such other particulars I am no way obliged by the design which I have propounded About these particulars Expositors extremely differ in this they all agree that they had the advantage of the Scriptures to bring them to repentance Whatever is the exact either liberal or mystical meaning of this vision of the seven Angels and the seven Trumpets and of that losty tragical Scheme wherein it is represented thus much is evident that notwithstanding all Gods dealings with men to bring them to repentance they will sometimes continue in impenitence and that this is an horrible provocation The words which I have chosen contain the sad result of the labours of six Angels the warning of six Trumpets the operation of six Plagues and six Deliverances And they are the common node or term connecting the Antecedent parts of the vision beginning at the 8th Chapter with the Catastrophe thereof delivered in the 10th They are to be considered two ways 1 Absolutely where we have I Matter containing the character of their persons described by 1 Gods dealing with them not killed remnant of others killed killed by grievous plagues 2 Their dealings with God repented not not of the works of their hands worship of Devils Idols first Table Sorceries Murthers Fornications Thefts second Table 2 Form and manner in the form of an Epiphonema express'd by the particle yet repetible upon every part of their character not killed yet repented not yet repented not of the works of their hands Yet is vox Admirantis Accingentis advindictam It first implies the strangeness of the case and secondly the desperateness of the provocation for the words are to be considered not only absolutely but also 2 Relatively as they look backward and forward and are the connexion of the Antecedent parts of the Vision with the Catastrophe Six Angels sounded six Trumpets and executed six Judgements yet they repented not They repented not and the seventh Angel sounded and swore that time ie Time of repentance respite of vengeance should be no longer The words thus resolved would afford many considerable observations I shall take up three that lye uppermost 1. From the form and manner of the words as they are an Epiphonema expressing a kind of wonder and admiration I shall observe the strangeness of the impenitency of such men as these considered in common reason 2. From the matter of them I shall observe the frequencie of such impenitencie in common experience 3. From the relative consideration of the words as they connect the Catastrophe of the Vision with the Antecedent parts of it I shall observe the lamentable consequence of this impenitency And 4. Conclude with a few words of Application I. First then to bring to our apprehension the strangeness of impenitencie of such men as these considered in Thesi and in Theory it will be needful only to reflect upon the causes of admiration and to lay before you some of their advantages and Motives to Repentance Things wonderful in their nature are those whose causes are unsearchable things strange and admirable to common reason are such as happen contrary to the Laws of Nature and of Reason From the former cause the motion of the heavens is wonderful from the latter it was prodigious and admirable that the sun stood still in Gibeon and the moon in the valley of Ajalon That God should take advantage upon the lapsed Angels that upon their offence he should bind them
thousands hundred thousands Who can express the horror of his execution the terrors and consternations of them that did escape the various complications of anguish and misery torments and deaths of them that fell in the execution How did the city become solitary that was full of people she sate as a widow her children forsook her her friends fled away from her her streets were desolate her houses were full of the noisome carcases of the slain O that my head were waters and mine eyes a fountain of tears that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people And now again behold another interchange the goodness as well as the severity of God towards them that fell severity towards us goodness if we continue in his goodness He hath mingled mercy with his judgements he puts the experiment to the utmost to try if yet we will repent He hath not suffer'd us to fall into the hands of man not given us over into the hands of our insolent and barbarous enemies He hath given victory to the King he hath wonderfully preserved the person of his Royal Highness he hath kept our Ships and Navies from destruction In a marvailous way of mercy he hath sheltered our most gracious Soveraign and his Royal Relations and his whole Train and Family Those noble and eminent persons both of Church and State who to make themselves a stay and comfort to the poor and infected of the City cheerfully and constantly exposed themselves to danger he hath deliver'd from the snare of the hunter and from the noisome pestilence He hath given plenty And lastly he hath caused the destroying Angel to sheath his sword and stay his hand And we are met together a preserved remnant of men that have not been killed by these plagues What shall we render O that men would therefore praise the Lord for his goodness and declare the wonders that he doth for the children of men Let 〈◊〉 repent therefore and turn from our evil ways let us do no more foolishly lest a worse thing come unto us We have seen the danger of Impenitency after so many Motives to Repentance Behold now wisdom cryes unto us and utters her voice in this great and noble Congregation How long ye simple ones will ye love simplicity and ye scorners delight in scorning Turn ye turn ye at my reproof for why will ye dye ye house of Israel Never let it be said of us which is here spoken of the persons of the Text that the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands FINIS A SERMON AGAINST Ingratitude Preached at WHITE-HALL Soon after the great Plague By SETH then Lord Bishop of EXON LONDON Printed by E. T. and R. H. for James Collins at the Kings-arms within Ludgate near S. Pauls 1672. Note that the Sermon against Ingratitude ought to have been placed before that of Repentance A SERMON AGAINST Ingratitude DEUT. 32. 6. Do ye thus requite the Lord O foolish people and unwise THese words are part of a Song made by Moses and both the song it self and these particular words are so very considerable that I should think it a disrespect put upon the judgments of a venerable intelligent auditory to be very laborious in gathering arguments to perswade your attention to them the matter the antiquity the penman do all render it considerable For as for the subject matter of the song it contain in it as the Hebrew writers have observed a summary of the law or pentateuch of Moses Consider it as a piece of Antiquity there is hardly any poem so venerable it was written before Homer or Hesiod Orphens or Linus David's or Asaph's poems and except a piece of the same hand it is the most antient song that is extant in the world It was penn'd by one of the most considerable persons look upon him humanely and he was very remarkable for his abstruse learning He was learned in all the learning of the Egyptians for his military conduct for his policy in administration of Government for his felicity in giving a law so suitable to the genius of the people that after so many thousand years it alone of all antient laws continues in veneration to this day But if we look upon him in reference to God there was none like unto him he conversed with God face to face he was admitted to his secrets he was entrusted with the administration of his powers in signs and wonders in the sight of Egypt and of Israel It was inspired and dictated not by the Muses or Apollo but by God himself Write thee this song and he wrote this song the same day whilest he was yet Deo plenus before the divine afflatus before his transport and rage had left him and therefore although he was the meekest and most modest man upon the earth although he resolutely declined his Embassy till God was angry because he was not eloquent but of a stammering speech yet now being conscious of that Spirit which moved within him he commends and justifies this song he undertakes for the fluency and smoothness and the exuberance of it he summons the tribes to record the expressions of his rage he calls upon heaven and earth to hear the verses made by indignation by indignation kindled and conceived by the contemplation of the greatness and excellency of God and his goodness in his dealings with this people of Israel and of the unworthiness of their return Give ear O Heavens saith he and I will speak and hearken O earth to the words of my mouth my doctrine shall drop as the rain c. The song indeed it self is large and very satyrical but the great argument or burthen of it is in the words of my text Do ye thus requite the Lord O foolish people and unwise The words are as I said the burthen or argument of the song applicable to every part of it repetible at the end of every stanza and indeed of every period God is a rock his work is perfect his ways are judgment They have corrupted themselves they are spotted perverse and crooked Do ye thus requite the Lord But more particularly God hath been good to Israel he raised him from nothing he redeemed him from bondage he was his Protector his Guide his Proveditore his food was of the most delicious his drink was generous of the pure blood of the grape and he grew fat upon it But Jeshurun waxed fat and kicked Do ye thus requite O popule ingrate 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Again well but will God endure this base ingratitude doth he not see it or not resent it doth it not move him can he not will he not revenge himself upon them Yes the Lord saw it and was moved to Jealousie a fire was kindled in his anger Do ye thus requite the Lord O foolish people and unwise