with cumbersome thoughts against which he made resistance by priuat prayer and by conference with one of his seruants that attended him About two of the clocke in the morning I came to him and he told me what combats he had with his enemie and I giuing him such counsell against the same as God gaue me wisdom to do he receiued it so hungerly as I was much comforted with it Presently he desired we might pray together that said he I may haue a feeling comfort of that you haue spoken which we did and at the end of praier hee concluded with repeating this word thrice Amen Immediatly after he made an excellent confession of his faith and of the hope that was in him touching his saluation concluding that his confession with a praier that God would strengthen him in that faith vnto the end and in his end After the end of which prayer he lifted vp his eyes and hands to heauen and vttered these words Now is my comforter come and hell gates shall not preuaile against mee and by the power and comfort of thy spirit I know I shall finish my course with ioy and after receiue the crowne of life from the end of which prayer and confession hee was neuer troubled with any temptation Then he being quiet for some halfe houre I asked him whether hee could call to mind that euer hee dealt hardly with any man and if he had so done to make restitution he smilingly answered I thanke God I neuer tooke nor got any goods vnlawfully or vncharitably and I thanke you for putting me in mind of this point Once more he made a confession of his faith vttered his dislike of Popery professing that he had often studied to see if he could find any comfort out of the Popish doctrine and confessed he could not see any thing in the Popish Religion but ambition humane policie and Heathenish superstition He often made his prayers to God by himselfe and with others he gaue most heauenly counsaile to his friends and to his seruants and where he thought the loue of the world had taken too deepe hold in any he disswaded from the same verifying that truth That he that is conuerted himselfe will strengthen others The speeches that he vttered that day were many and most comfortable amongst which I noted these which follow O my soule trust still in God for he is thy rocke and defence I find it is good to hold me fast by my God O Lord I haue none in heauen nor earth besides thee and therefore onely into thy hands I commend my soule for thou art my God and my redeemer O God thou hast kept mee from the wombe vntill now forsake me not but let my soule my tongue and all that is within me praise thy holy name As the Hart breatheth after the water brookes so my soule thirsteth after thee O Lord in this barren and drie land and clapping his hands vpon his heart he spake further here where no water of comfort is but that thou hast powred into it onely through thy sonne Christ and therefore to thee be honour praise for euermore Thus he continued and spent his time to the great comfort of al beholders vntill his senses externall decayed which hee perceiued so sensibly that he did tell when the parts of his body did die as when his legge his right eye his right hand and other parts were dead hee would say now is such a part dead The vse of his tongue God gaue him till within half an houre before his last breath with which he vttered many holy speeches wherof these were the last Forsake me not O Lord Be not thou farre from me O my God Hast thee to help me O my Lord my saluation And now Lord what wait I for My hope is onely in thee and into thy hands I commend my spirit Lord Iesus receiue my soule and alwayes hee concluded his prayers which himselfe vttered or which were made by others with these words To whom be praise and glorie for euermore Yea when his speech failed wee might perceiue him to pray though he could not vtter perfect words and so to continue concluding his prayer with the same thankesgiuing till hee pronounced this word Amen in this sort A me me en as though his soule before it went out of his bodie had beene keeping a part in that heauenly Anthem with the foure and twentie Elders which sing to him that sitteth vpon the Throne and liueth for euermore And thus hee continued till with much comfort and peace his life ended and his soule entred into the Kingdome of glorie which now I assure my selfe he doth enioy and wherto the God of heauen bring all his Saints in his appointed time which was about foure of the clocke in the afternoone vpon the eight and twentieth of October when he had liued one and fiftie yeares seuen daies and some odde houres too short a time if it had pleased God otherwise What can the remouing of him out of the house of clay prophesie but that God threatneth some punishment vpon vs the suruiuors when so worthy so wise so vertuous so religious and noble a Gentleman in the strength of his manhood is taken away of whose life and death I haue spoken the more largely first to let the Papists see that we preach not nor our good hearers practise not fleshly libertie as they falsly accuse vs secondly to let you Gentlemen and Iustices know what an example of vertue and vprightnesse you haue lost For though I doubt not but there be many good ones left yet I am sure you will all confesse he was the Bell-Wether in the flocke thirdly I would haue him whom this worthy Knight hath appointed and adopted to succeede in his house and the greatest part of his estate to imitate him in the course of his life to whome hee is so much beholding for the loue of his name which hath caused him to cast such extraordinarie fortunes vpon him lest perhappes it be said O domus antiqua quam dispari iam dominaris domino or lest he heare Non domus Domino sed Dominus domo Fourthly let it not be wondred that seruants which haue lost so worthy a Master and Countrey which hast lost so good a Gouernour doe take vp a great lamentation And for his worthy Ladie who Rachel-like will not be comforted doe not condemne her for the consideration of the comfort shee is depriued of amongst the wise that did know her happinesse in the enioying of such a husband will in some sort make her excuse and worke pittie and compassion for her sorrow Howbeit withall I must confesse I know none that hath more cause of comfort in respect of that assurance she may haue of a husbands happinesse then shee Lastly for my selfe if mournfull teares or astonishing thoughts could recall him back againe from the graue I would thinke my selfe bound for the losse of so worthy a friend to wish that my head were a fountain of teares to lament day and night for the fall of so good a man in Israel But I haue not so learned Christ and therfore thus much onely will I say Remember his life as an example worth imitation Remember his death by the sight whereof I do confesse I was better instructed how to die then by all the precepts that euer I read of that argument And so marke his life for it was good and holy and his end for it was peace And so in peace I leaue him enioying an eternall surpassing weight of glory assuring my selfe withall that vpon earth semper honos nomenque suum laudesque manebunt FINIS
lineaments of a man howbeit he cannot shew any perfect action of a man euen so those that haue receiued the immortall seed of Gods truth p Pet. 1.2.1 hunger after the sincere milke of Gods word that they may grow thereby are perfect in him who is the q Col. 2.10 head of principalities and powers perfect I say in respect of all the parts of sanctitie and true holinesse though they want such excellent vse thereof as those haue which are of riper yeares And therefore the r Gal. 6. Apostle calleth all beleeuers new creatures both because they are the workmanship of God and secondly because they haue the stampe of perfection vpon them as the creatures which God did make of which it is said he saw that they were good And hence appeareth the loue of God toward the weake ones in faith that they are by him respected and accompted of as perfect in their weakest infancie much like a louing father who though his child can performe no dutie of a man yet doth he prouide meat to nourish him clothes wherwith to couer him means to preserue and keepe him yea a portion and an inheritance for him Secondly as Gods tender loue appeareth hereby so is mans happinesse seene herein Who though he be feeble and weake to any thing that is good either for the helping of himselfe or others yet is he cared for and esteemed of as though he were perfect in the performance of all duties of a sonne-like obedience and lacked nothing For which cause you shall finde it often in the Scriptures that when a good man considereth of his owne estate he wanteth neither matter to complaine of nor time of repentance Yet when God looketh vpon ſ Ioh. 1.47 Nathaniel vnder the Figge-tree vpon t Iob. 1.1 Iob in the East countrey vpon u Luke 1.6 Zacharie and Elizabeth he speaketh of them as though they were void of all defects and wants for so cleere is the crystall glasse of his loue through which he beholdeth his owne image in man that howbeit S. Paule crieth out against his owne x Rom. 7.24 wretchednesse yet God assureth him he being in Christ that nothing can y Rom. 8.1 condemne him nor separate him from eternall happinesse And thus much for perfection Quoad partes The second is perfection Quoad veritatem Whilest man doth dwell in the house of clay he hath faith but with some doubting hope but with distrust loue but with dislike Yet because his faith is true faith God accounteth of him as compleat for when the new man of righteousnesse and z Ephes 4.22 holinesse of truth is put on as S. Paule speaketh there is the perfect obiect of Gods loue And hence is that of S. Bern. Veritas liberat saluat lauat It freeth a man from the intanglements of sinne it saueth him from running with hypocrites into the pollutions of vniust and dissembling behauiours yea it will wash him from the swinish fashion of those who hold the veritie of God in vnrighteousnesse The Scribes and Pharisees made a glorious shew of vertue but because it wanted truth therefore all their pompe came to the ground and they had their a Matth. 6.2 reward For their actions wanting the aduerbe were to them like the Apples of Sodome nothing but dust and corruption That word which Vatablus translateth in my Text perfectum others haue conuerted veritatem and some simplicitatem and others integrum and all to teach vs that simplicitie and truth in the profession of holinesse giueth a man the name of perfection in Gods account For he onely is a b Homo quadratus tetragoule and a foure-squared Christian indeede who doth toto pectore Deum colere endeauor to honour and serue God with a sound heart voide of hypocrisie I know the best child of God findeth in himselfe the law in g Rom. 7.23 his members fighting against the law of his minde is he therfore destitute of the truth of Gods grace not so Is wine no wine because there be many Lees in the same Is water no water because it is cumbred troubled with mud it were an vnreasonable speech to say so And it is no lesse disagreeing from the truth to thinke and say that a man is no child of God because hee is troubled with the incombrances of sinne For the Lord beholding in whom there is true faith hope and brotherly charitie which is vinculum perfectionis as h Col. 3. S. Paul speaketh esteemeth them for perfect who are simply plaine and plainely simple without hypocrisie The third perfection which I named to you in the beginning is perfection quoad mensuram what to a measure without defect or want that is impossible to bee attained in this world The perfection then which we must looke for in the third place is to i Phil. 3.13 striue forwards to that which is set before and not to be wearie of well doing till we come to a full measure of sanctitie void of sinne which only is attained in the world to come The Apostle saith Quotquot perfecti sumus ita sentiamus S. Augustine vpon those wordes thus speaketh Quotquot perfectè currimus hoc sapimus quod nondum perfecti sumus illic perficiemur quò perfectè currimus So many as runne perfectly vnderstand thus much that as yet they haue not attained perfection but shall be made compleat there whereto they manfully run Be you k Math. 5.48 perfect like as your heauenly father is perfect saith Christ that is saith Augustine ad perfectionem contendite aime at perfection as the marke whereupon you set your eies in all your Christian attempts For as the heauens and the earth are said to be perfect because they moue and abide to that end whereunto God did appoint them as Moyses speaketh so hee that is borne not of the l Iohn 1.13 will of the flesh but of the will of God is said to be perfect because hee imploieth the parts of his bodie and the powers of his soule as m Rom. 6. weapons of righteousnesse till they come to the n Psal 16. fulnesse of ioy and neither standeth still nor turneth backe but goeth on vntill he haue finished his course and haue the end of his faith which is the o Pet. 1.1 saluation of his soule In this world we see in part wee know in part and the greatest measure to bee attained in comparison of that which by hope is expected is but like a drop of water to the Ocean or a sand by the sea-shore to a mightie mountaine But there will be a time when wee shall come vnto a perfect man Ephes 4.13 and vnto a measure of the fulnesse of the age of Christ Iesus and when that that is perfect is come 1. Cor. 13.10 then that which is imperfect shall be abolished The conclusion then of this point is this that howbeit absolute perfection is only
man is not to be condemned because a crue of sinfull wretches that looke through the mirrour of their mis-informed mindes crie out crucifige neither is any ill man good because the multitude of sinfull drunken wretches prefer him before Christ then obserua vide will bee a good ground whereon to build our determinations and then shall we iudge righteous iudgement and neyther suffer our selues to bee beguiled with supercillious lookes nor condemne the iust whose end is peace The last point I entreat you obserue in the obseruation of my Text is That a good life is graced and blessed with a happy death August de doctrina christiana non male moritur qui bene vixerit vix bene moritur qui male We haue only one example of a man that liued ill and died well and yet his repentance is set down with the fruits thereof as short time as he had but wee haue no example of any man that liued well and died ill which Balaam did vnderstand when hee wished to die the death of the righteous Of these Baalamites there be no few who dedicate their liues to vanity and yet forsooth if wishing would preuaile they would haue heauen for their inheritance But bee not deceiued my brethren for since they sow in the flesh they shall therof reape corruption and who so soweth in the spirit shall of the spirit reape life euerlasting Labour therefore my brethren to spend the short time of your life which remaineth in the truth of holinesse without hypocrisie in righteousnesse without sinfull vncleanenesse so shall your end be peace in your selues peace with men and peace with God which passeth all vnderstanding And thus you see the whole of a Christian man both in the premisses and conclusion the premisses two perfection and iustice the conclusion well suting both Maior Minor finis illius pax A Demonstration of which truth giue me leaue to set before you in the life and death of that honorable Knight and Baronet for the solemnizing of whose direfull obsequies we are at this time met together of whose life and death if I should say nothing I might iustly bee accused of vnthankfulnesse to God for passing by such excellent vertues as I know the Diuine Maiestie had bewtified him withall And if I shall say much I feare the ordinary aspersion of flattery which blacke-mouthed enuie spitteth out to disgrace vertue withall may perhaps be cast vpon mee and therefore to auoide Silla on the one hand and Caribdis on the other I will speake nothing but that I dare auouch for truth before the Angels in heauen and which many in this place can witnesse of their owne knowledge before men vpon earth My regard of this honourable Knight while he liued was not mercinarie and my report of him at this time is not in hope of reward and therefore without any further Preface thus much in the Front of my speech I may say That he was a Gentleman of as ancient and honourable continuance as any in this Kingdome and therfore not to be blamed that he was desirous being resolued that in law and conscience it was equall as himselfe confessed he was to vphold the honour of his house in his name which for nine descents hath continued at this his house at Snarford This truely-honoured Knight and Baronet if you please may be remembred in the gifts of nature of art of grace or in the practise of them all In the first he was for person and naturall endowments very complete and by the second the former were so well disposed that in his behauiour Adamant-like he drew the hearts of many people to affect and to speake plainly the eyes of the inhabitants in this Countrey was set vpon him as vpon a worthy obiect in his place and calling In the gifts of grace this may I report that he knew the truth We were euer graced by him and in whose company hee tooke great content so doe many wicked men He loued the truth and the instruments that published the same so doe none but the good He was couragious for the truth and so are none but Gods secret ones and from his knowledge the ground of his faith and from his loue the fruit of his beleefe and from his courage the pledge of his sanctitie he had the ground of S. Pauls reioicing which is a good conscience For the practise of all these graces let mee intreat you consider him as a husband to a wife a Master of a family a friend to his acquaintance a Magistrate in his country and a Christian in all For the first hee dwelled with his wife as a man of knowledge free from inhumane austeritie on the one side and voyde of fond and idle complementing indulgence on the other which wise and Christian behauiour was answered by his vertuous Ladie For the second as he was a Master of a Family whilest he was a father though God knoweth that was but for a short time he vsed that blessing as though hee had not possessed it And as he was a Master ouer seruants this was his care that all vnder his charge were bountifully rewarded for their seruice and wanted no means though to his great charge to know God Such as were vertuous wanted no encouragement such as were lesse tractable to goodnesse in the spirit of mildensse he vsed all good means to reclaime them In briefe he was to his seruants a fatherly Master in authoritie in care in counsell in countenance in loue and in bountie I say in bounty to them whilst he liued and in his large portions he hath cut out of his estate for them after his death so that if any that followed him be irregular like Gehesie annointing his fingers with bribes or ryoting with the euill seruant in the Gospel I say no more but this They haue not so learned Christ neither by precept nor by their Masters practise For the third point as he was a friend let enquirie be made when euer he failed any that had occasion to vse his helpe and for true affection hee was as often he said of a friend alter idem or as Salomon speaketh one that loueth at all times rather with Mordach enquiring how his friends did and in what case they stood then staying till hee was sought vnto for his helpe and more reioycing to do good to those he loued in case they wanted his help then fawning vpon such as were happed with the thicke clay of worldly prosperitie He was a right and true-hearted Ionathan and such a friend may I say he was as I feare I shall neuer finde till my soule rest with his For the fourth point which concerneth him as he was a Magistrate If Iethro were liuing hee would haue called for him as one fit to assist Moses Hee wanted no courage for a good cause and to out-face and resist the wicked attempts and practises of vniust and vnlawfull disorders his feare of God