Selected quad for the lemma: death_n
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A95992
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Counsel for youth; delivered in two sermons upon Psalm 119. vers 9. Preached by H.V. Rector of Alhallows-Honie-lane.
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U. H.
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1650
(1650)
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Wing V6; Thomason E590_9; ESTC R206331
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29,168
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39
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saying Consuetudo est altera natura Custom is another nature and of nature it 's no less true that the Poët saies Naturam expellas furcâ licèt usque recurret Drive awaie nature with a pitch-fork yet it will return It must then bee necessarily granted that it 's an hard thing for young men to reform their waies 3. Remember the four provocations to sin which S t Ambrose observ's in the Prodigal which are oft in other young men 1. His portion which enable's him to the committing of sin which if hee hath in his possession now hee is enabled to lewd living if hee hath it but in hope even this doth embolden him to wicked courses 2. His fathers indulgence by means whereof that is withheld from him by which hee should bee curbed and kept in aw namely severitie of discipline 3. His companie lewd young men like himself from whom hee shall not hear anie thing but evil counsel and encouragement to and in evil and disheartnings from the waie of obedience nor see anie thing but evil example which hath a strong power to corrupt 4. His youth in which there is heedlesness and inexperience In all which respects it cannot but bee a difficult matter for young men to reform their waies 4. If wee compare child-hood and youth together wee shall finde that childe-hood is far more easily kept in order and restrained from sin for 1. The age it self is weak and less acquainted with vice 2. It is fearful and stand's in aw 3. Commonly it is spent under som Aristarchus som severe and rigid School-master But now when young men have the reines cast upon their own necks wee are far more prone to grow wors then better And therefore David considering the difficultie of the business cast's about which waie it may bee effected Vse The thought of this is profitable both for them that have young ones committed to their care and for young ones themselvs 1. For them that have the care of youth committed to them Parents Masters School-masters Guardians Let the thought of this move them in pitie and compassion towards the young persons with whom they are put in trust to bee so much the more helpful to them Consider I beseech you 1. How necessarie it is for young ones to reform their waie Death is an impartiall officer not sparing any for their youth How many young men see wee daily taken out of this world and it 's woful to them and of sad consequence if death shall make a divorce between soul and bodie before a divorce bee made between them and their sins Rom. 6.21 Jam. 1.15 The issue of sin repentance not coming between is death And sin beeing perfected bring 's forth death not onely the first death the perfection of which is the separation of the soul from the bodie but also the second death the perfection of which is the casting of the sinner both in soul and bodie from God the fountain of happiness and his exclusion from everlasting happiness then which there is no greater loss nay none equal to it and the casting of him into hell and the torments of it which are endless easless and remediless Mar. 9. Matth. 25. where the worm never die's and the fire never goe's out even utter darkness where is weeping and wailing gnashing of teeth and wringing of hands and all for ever 2. How difficult a task this Reformation of waies is for young men how many hinderances there are in the wale of it and how many allurements they have to go on in their sinful courses And in both these respects bee yee readie to give them an helping hand do what lie's in you to reclaim them from their sins and so to prevent their everlasting undoing yee would readily think it your dutie to prevent any temporarie mischief towards them in their bodies or estates Know that the soul is far more excellent then either estate or bodie and therefore as yee would shew any love unto them bee specially careful to prevent the ruine of their souls by helping them in this great and difficult business the cleansing of their waies 2. For young men themselvs let not this difficultie of cleansing your waies dis-hearten you from attempting this business let it rather caus you more diligently to set about it It 's a true saying 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the things are commonly more excellent in which there is greater difficultie the difficultie therefore of this work and the opposition that Satan make's against it argue's the excellencie and usefulness of it I remember a passage of our learned Whitaker that it was an evident argument of speciall worth and goodness in Luther that the Jesuits were such bitter enemies to him as it 's an argument of good fruit on the tree when yee see boies throwing sticks at it so doth it argue the Reformation of young mens waies to bee specially excellent and useful that Satan doth so much oppose it and cast so many rubs in the waie By how much therefore Satan seek's more to hinder you in the cleansing of your waies by so much more beeing young applie yee your selvs to the doing of it To do easie things is no great matter of prais but to effect things in which wee finde difficultie and meet with opposition this is prais-worthie yea hoc aliquid est voluisse it 's somthing that wee would do it Yee therefore that are young men bee yee persuaded the more difficultie there is in it so much the more sedulously to endeavour the cleansing of your waies Labor to see what is amiss in them and use your best endeavours for the amendment of them And for your encouragement in this kinde consider what follow 's Though it bee difficult yet Propos 6. It 's possible for young men to reform and amend their waies It 's plain in the text It 's possible I saie but not by your own abilities nor by the strength of your own free-will for it 's a business above us it 's true that the Apostle saie's 2 Cor. 3.5 Wee have no sufficiencie as of our selvs so much as to think a good thought all our sufficiencie is of God And for this particular business in hand wee hear what repenting Ephraim said Turn mee and I shall bee turned Jer. 31. Cant. 1.4 and the Church Draw us and wee will run after thee But yet it is possible by the help of God's grace which use's not to bee wanting to them that set themselvs conscionably to the businesses which God hath enjoined unto them And the feasibleness of it appear's in this that it hath been effected in others as David Timothie c. what others have don wee may do by the help of the same grace of God by which they have effected it Vse 1. Let us not presume of our own strength in a business of this nature nor set up the Reformation of our waies as if of our selvs wee were
com unto mee And the forementioned advice of S. Paul to his Scholar Timothie flie the lusts of Youth 2 Tim. 2.22 Solomon in that place of Ecclesiastes useth a reason to persuade young men to this care God is thy Creätor Pro. 16.4 and therefore thou art made for his glorie for hee made all things for himself But in a different manner all other things immediately for man and mediately for himself but hee made man for himself and his service immediately And now what thinkest thou that thou maiest serv thy self and thy lusts and the divel and the world in the flowr of thy Youth and with thy strength and put off the service of God till old age when thou art weak and way-ward and hast enough to do to struggle with the infirmities of age Oh no! Hee will have thee to serv him all the daies of thy life from thy cradle to thy grave all is due to him by the right of creätion and think how unseemlie it is as S. Basil uses the comparison to another purpose excipere Regem reliquijs mensae to entertein a King with other men's leavings how much more unseemlie is it to give the divel 's leavings to God To serv the divel with the first and best of thy strength and to think of serving the God that made thee when thou art fit for nothing Object A young Saint and an old Divel Ans Hee was no man but a divel incarnate that devised that saying It 's true som that have begun betimes do not persist and persevere but begining in the Spirit Gal. 3. are perfected in the flesh the more is the pitie But yet this should not dishearten us from earlie begining but should make us more watchful over our selvs that wee may persevere and hold it out and grace our beginings with a comfortable and pious conclusion Object Manie a ragged colt make's a good hors And manie an unhappie youth make's a good man How manie are there that have spent the time of their youth prophanely som Tumblers som Players som Poëts som swaggering Souldiers who yet have at last proved honest men and good Preachers Ans I grant that som wicked young men have proved good in their age It 's true God's mercie is not tied to times Luke 23. hee can convert the theef at the gallowes as hee did that theef on the cross But shall this animate us to spend the flowr of our youth leudely in hope of God's mercie This were too high and desperate presumtion and the argument exceeding foolish For it is a sure rule Aposse ad esse non valet argumentum God can therefore hee will is a fond kinde of arguing I would bee loath to hazzard my salvation upon so nice a point This procrastination of repentance and amendment when wee are stirred up thereto is a shrewd signe that wee are in a damnable condition and hardly ever like to mend Here it hold's true Qui non est hodie cras minùs aptus erit Hee that is indisposed to the work of repentance to daie will likely bee more indisposed to morrow And whereas you allege som Tumblers som Poëts som Players som swaggering Souldiers have proved honest men and good Preachers bee not too hastie Preachers perhaps they have proved but not manie good Preachers and you must com back with honest men too for a Preacher and an honest man are not all one but grant this also one swallow make 's not a summer from one or two particulars to infer a general conclusion is absur'd since such innumerable companies run the contrarie waie But if any that have spent their younger time wickedly and leudely have proved true converts and good Preachers they wish that they had never lived so wickedly It had been much better for themselvs and for the Church 1. They for the most part smel still of the liquor with which they were first seasoned Examin your converts 2. They cannot reprove sin so strongly and so fervently as others who have not been so wicked in former times their own former wickednes coming to their remembrance stop 's their mouths 3. Nor can they so severely punish the sins of those youths that are too openly seen to offend in the same kindes as they have don rather they are friends to them Vse Let this exhort young men to set themselvs to the reformation of their lives in the time of their youth and defer it not to another time I saie to you young men in the words of the Psalmist To daie if yee will hear God's voice Psal 95.78 harden not your hearts I beseech you to imitate David Psal 119.60 who said of himself I made haste and delaied not to keep thy righteous judgments 1. Consider that the service of youth is specially pleasing to God Aaron's rod was of an Almond tree Num. 17.8 which is the first that blossom's God will have his to bee branches of trees of the first blossoms God will have the first fruits and the first-born offered unto him 2. Consider examples Timothie David Samuel Josiah entred God's service young But it 's a lamentable thing to see that for the most part wee begin to blossom in Autumn when the fruit should bee ripe wee are fain to send for the Minister to teach us knowledg faith and repentance upon our death-beds when wee are readie to go to another world It 's true Nunquam sera est ad bonos more 's via sound repentance is never late but it 's as true that late repentance is seldom true bee yee therefore persuaded to repent and amend your lives betimes 3. There is nothing more odious then fruitless old age and how is it likely that the tree should bear in Autumn that blossom's not in the Spring That old age should bee other then fruitless except repentance hath been wrought in youth For youth is as the Spring therefore bee careful to amend your lives and repent betimes Object I will rejoice now while I am young I shall live manie years Ans Amend now while yee are young els yee will bee in danger to offer Cain's sacrifice a sacrifice without acceptation and haply yee shall not have time to repent afterwards what if God shall answer thee as hee did that rich fool in the Gospel This night shall thy soul bee taken away Luk. 12.20 It 's a true saying Sperant se juvenes diu victuros sed insipienter sperant Young men hope that they shall live long but they are fools in so hoping Yee may live to old age for som do so but yee neither are nor can bee sure of it for they are but few that attein to it look in your weeklie bills and see how few die of age Manie are taken away by death in the flowr of youth and thousands do not live so long 4. Consider that when young men are dissolute in their lives it 's a fearful argument of God's wrath readie