Selected quad for the lemma: earth_n
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A35030
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A sermon preached before the King at White-hal [sic] April the 12th, 1674 by the Right Reverend Father in God, Herbert, Lord Bishop of Hereford.
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Croft, Herbert, 1603-1691.
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1676
(1676)
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Wing C6975; ESTC R29286
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12,510
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34
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A SERMON Preached before the KING AT WHITE-HAL April the 12 th 1674. BY THE Right Reverend Father in GOD HERBERT Lord Bishop of Hereford LONDON Printed for Charles Harper at the Flower-de-Luce over against St. Dunstans Church in Fleetstreet 1676. PHIL. 1. 21. For to me to live is Christ and to dye is gain HE that ponders well this saying and the Author of it will stand amazed at the strange and miraculous Operation of the Grace of God To me to live is Christ c. I have no other thought no other delight but Christ. As the Hart desireth the Water-Brooks so longeth my Soul after Christ My life without him is worse than death and death with him is a gain beyond life A very passionate and wonderful Affection And who is this so passionately in love with Christ 'T is Paul the Apostle Where 's then the Wonder Who more full of fervent Expressions towards Christ Wherefore I tell you 't is Saul the Persecutor he that but even now breathed nothing but Wrath and Vengeance against the Servants of Christ now breathes nothing but the love of Christ. Is not this a wonderful change But the manner of this change is yet more wonderful For how was he reconcil'd and so firmly united to Christ Was it after the manner of men by Gifts Honours Advancements Possessions c. This is our way especially with men of Spirit and Resolution violent and compulsary ways do but exasperate and harden such and the Rule is general Oderunt quem timent Men hate whom they fear But let us see how Christ deals with Saul who was riding on as furiously as Iehu to Damascus to oppose Christ and destroy his Disciples Christ at first dash tumbles him down to the Earth strikes him blind And though afterwards he restored him his sight yet 't was as a Worldling would think on very hard Conditions to forsake all Wealth Honour Friends Country and go preach the Gospel to Infidels And what 's his Reward for his great Labour and Travel Reproaches Fetters Whips Stones And is this the way to beget Love or rather to convert great Love into great hatred Is it not then very true which the Lord said Isa. 55. 8. My thoughts are not your thoughts neither are your ways my ways Christ casts Saul's body to the Earth but elevates his Soul to Heaven covers his corporal eyes with blinding scales but takes the darkening veil from his spiritual eye discovers unto him the infinite Love and Goodness of his Saviour whom he so blindly persecuted and giving him a ravishing taste of his Divine Sweetness Saul is become Paul the Persecutor an Apostle and so zealous a Disciple as he knows no other delight no other joy but Christ for his sake he gladly quits all gladly suffers all And now to him to live was Christ and to die for Christ was a gain beyond all To me to live is Christ c. I have hitherto by way of Preface shewed you the wonderful love of St. Paul to Christ which was not a languishing idle Passion but Amor efficax An efficacious operating Love like active Fire which converts every thing into the same nature So this Divine Flame infused into the breast of Saul converted the whole man into a new Creature His earthly carnal Nature is now become spiritual and divine for so St. Peter expresses it That by Grace we are partakers of the Divine Nature 2 Pet. 1. 4. This seems to carnal men a thing wonderful and incredible and yet we have daily before our eyes effects in some measure as wonderful but the frequency of them takes away the wonder and instead of admirable renders them scarce considerable Do not we see the same earth converted into various substances by the diversity of Seed cast into it and from thence spring up Corn Tares Flowers Weeds Grass Thistles all out of the same Earth Such is the efficacious power of the little Seed as each one works such a total change in the Earth that our Brain would never conceive it possible were not our eyes daily convinc'd of this Truth Should any man come and tell us That in the Indies 't is common to file Iron into dust and to sow it and from thence in a short time to spring forth a plentiful Crop of Iron-bars should not we esteem him a large talking Traveller and let this pass for a mere Fable And I pray why Is it not more probable from Iron-dust to spring up Iron than from a little dry black Kernel to sprout forth a tall moist green Twig thence bud forth Leaves then curious Blossoms then lovely pleasant fruit Certainly this in appearance is a much more improbable change and would be less credible were it not daily visible So should I come to some carnal covetous Wretches or to some debaucht lustful Youths and tell them That would God be so gracious as to sow in their corrupted earthly hearts the Seeds of his Divine Grace there would spring forth from thence most vigorous Branches laden with rich and lovely Fruits of Temperance Chastity Meekness Mercy Charity the money they now hug so close they would then scatter abroad among the poor the Epicurean delights they now greedily hunt after then offer'd they would reject the painted Beauty they now adore they would then contemn and in fine it would work so strange a Transformation in them as to make them love Lowliness and Poverty Hunger and Thirst Cold and Nakedness Imprisonment and Stripes any thing for Christ's sake and to rejoyce more in these than in any carnal Pleasure they ever enjoy'd Think you would they not rank me with the large talking Travellers and think this the veriest Fable in the World No doubt on 't Yet blessed be God such is the powerful Operation of his heavenly Grace as it hath often wrought these wonderful Conversions in men of the foulest carnal temper Zacheus a Publican to give half his Goods to the poor Matthew the Publican to forsake all Mary Magdalen the Sinner of the City made the Saintly Penitent of the World the furious Persecutor Saul the most fervent Apostle Paul who did neither care to enjoy nor so much as know any thing saving Christ and him crucified 1 Cor. 2. 2 And to gain Christ how readily did he quit all even in the Infancy of his Conversion yea counted all but as dung so he might gain Christ As dung which with loathing a man hastily casts from him far from affectionately seeking them This was the first step of his Giant-pace wherewith he began his course towards Christ. At the next stride he passes over Kindred and Friends his Brethren according to the flesh they are all now become his Enemies they daily plot mischief and muster up all their Forces against him and though Death like a Cannon planted in the Rear stands ready with open mouth to devour him yet he is less terrified with that grim Visage than Sampson with the Lyon which he