and presenteth their prayers and them and himselfe for them to his Father For that Thummim that is perfections is an empresse becomming none but our Saviours breast all Christians will easily grant and that Urim that is lights are an Embleme of the divine nature Plato professeth saying Lumen est umbra Dei Deus est lumen luminis Light is the shadow of God and God is the light of light it selfe For Christ his third office we need not goe farre to seeke it for the Bells of Aaron sound out the preaching of the word and the Pomegranates set before us the fruits thereof and both his entire Propheticke function If there lie any mysterie hid in the numbers we may conceive the foure rowes of shining stones answerable to the foure Beasts in the Revelation full of eyes either prefigured by foure Evangelists or the foure orders in the Church Hierarchy Apostles Evangelists Doctors and Pastors as for the twelve stones doubtlesse they had some reference to the twelve Apostles for in the 21. chapter of the h Apoc. 21.14 Revelation where these twelve precious stones are mentioned it is said expresly that in the wall there were twelve foundations garnished with all manner of precious stones and in them the names of the twelve Apostles of the Lambe You have heard the mysticall interpretation lend I beseech you an eare to the morall 1. First these glorious vestments and ornaments of Aaron set forth unto us the dignity of the Priests office i 2 Cor. 3.7 8. and if the ministration of the letter were glorious shall not the ministration of the Spirit be much more Yes how dark and vile soever our calling seemeth to the eyes of the world it shall one day appeare most glorious when they that turne many unto k Dan. 12.3 righteousnesse shall shine as starres in the firmament for evermore Here I cannot conceale from you that l In Exo. c. 28. Cappo one of the Popes Botchers taketh measure of Aarons garments to make massing vestments by as before him Durand hath done in his booke intituled rationale divinorum where he saith Noster Pontifex habet pro feminalibus sandalia pro lineâ albam pro balieo cingulum pro podere tunicam pro Ephod stolam pro rationali pallium pro cidari mitram pro lamina crucem just but where is the causible in Latine casula sic dicta quasi parva casa saith hee because it closeth the Priest round as it were with a wall having a hole for him to put out his head like a Lover to let out smoake signifying that the Priest ought to be like a little cottage with a chimney in it heated with the fire of zeale sending up hot fumes of devotion and letting them out with his breath at the LOVER of his mouth But I will not put them to so hard a taske as to parallel each of their vestments with Aarons all that I shall say to them for the present is this That the neerer they prove their vestments to come to Aarons ornaments the more ceremoniall and typicall they prove them and consequently more unfit to be retained now by Christians if the Apostles argument drawne from the m Heb. 10.1 vanishing of the shadow at the presence of the body be of any force therefore let the observation of Cappo passe with a note of plumbea falsitas not aurea veritas wherewith he graceth it 2. My second observation is that God both first beginneth with the breast and appointeth also the most glorious and precious ornaments for it n Exod. 28.4 The garments shall be these thou shalt make a breast-plate an Ephod c. after followeth the mitre to the making whereof blew silke onely and fine twined linnen is required with a plate of gold on it but for the breast-plate cloth of gold wrought about with divers colours plates of gold and foure rankes of the richest jewells in all the treasury of nature are appointed all this as we may piously conceive to signifie that God best esteemeth the breast and heart and not the head My o Pro. 23.26 sonne give mee thy heart Our heavenly Father preferreth enflamed affections above enlightened thoughts he cannot bee received or entertained in our narrow understanding yet will hee p Eph. 3.17 dwell in our hearts by faith if we enlarge them by love Cecidit Lucifer Seraphim stant aeternâ incommutabilitate incommutabili aeternitate the Angels which had their names from light fell like lightening from heaven but the ministring spirits which are by interpretation burning fire hold yet their place and ranke in the Court of God Let ambitious spirits seeke to shine in Aarons mitre or at least to be caracter'd in the Onyx stones on his shoulders my hearts desire was and ever shall be to be engraven in one of the jewells upon the breast-plate to hang with the beloved Disciple upon the bosome of my Saviour 3. Thirdly I observe yet again that the names of the twelve tribes which were before written in the Onyx stones upon the shoulders of Aaron are here engraven againe in the rowes of jewels hanging neere his heart which as it representeth Christ his both supporting and affecting his chosen supporting them on his shoulders affecting them in his heart so it teacheth all the Ministers of the Gospel to beare the names of Gods people committed to their charge not onely upon their shoulders by supporting their infirmity but also upon their hearts Ver. 29. by entirely affecting them above others and above all things Gods glory in the salvation of their soules If q John 21.15 thou love me saith Christ feed my sheep if you desire that Christ should beare you on his heart before his Father beare you the names of his Tribes his chosen on your hearts before him 4. Fourthly you may easily discerne that the stones as they are of sundry kindes and of different value so they are set in divers rowes 1. 2. 3. 4. which illustrateth unto us the divers measures of grace given to beleevers in this life and their different degrees of glory in the life to come All the stones that were placed on Aarons breast-plate were Urim and Thummim that is resplendent and perfect jewells yet all were not equall some were richer and above others in value as those in the second row even so all the elect are deare to our Saviour yet some are dearer than others he entirely affected all the Apostles yet Saint John who r John 21.20 leaned upon his breast was neerer to him than any of the other all the Jewels were set in gold in their embossements yet one was set above another in like maner all the faithfull shall shine as starres in the firmament yet some shall be set in a higher sphere than others for as the Apostle teacheth us there is ſ 1 Cor. 15.41 one glory of the Sunne and another of the Moone and another of the Starres
Sen. de clem l. 1. c. 9. Severitate nihil profecisti Salvid enum Lepidus secutus est Lepidum Muraena Muraenam Caepio Caepionem Egnatius ut alios taccam quos tantum ausos pudet Augustus before him the mirrour of mildnesse Quo nihil immensus mitius orbis habet And David before them both a man after Gods owne heart Quo nihil majus meliusve terris Fata dona vere bonique diu Nec dabunt quamvis redeant in aurum Saecula priscum Moses the meekest Magistrate that ever drew the sword of Justice had a murmuring Core and his Majestie a mutinous Gowrie Num. 16.32 and a brother in iniquity Ruthwen both bearing as the hearts so the names of two ancient most infamous Rebels and Traytors the one of Core whom the earth swallowed up the other of c Sueton. in vita Tib. Ruthenius a desperate caitife that attempted a like villanie upon the person of Tiberius to that which Ruthwen would have acted upon the person of King James Nomen Omen Core Gowry Ruthenius Ruthwen conveniunt rebus nomina saepe suis As their names were ominous so their facts were abominable It is pitie it should be so yet it is certaine that it is so A Prince d Plin. in panegir Potest iniqui Princeps potest tamen odio esse nonnullis etiamsi ipse non oderit may be hated by some wrongfully I grant yet hated he may be though he hate no man and that which is to be bewailed with bloudy teares he may have bloody treasons plotted against him though his innocencie be e Sen de clem l. 1. c 11. Nullam te toto orbe stillam cruoris humani mifisse untainted with the effusion of the least drop of bloud for ambition is a sworne enemy to soveraignty envie to eminencie libertie to law disorder to justice faction to peace schisme to unity heresie to true religion whereby it comes to passe that Princes who are to right all men are themselves most wronged of all men by mis-information of their subjects demeanours towards them and mis-construction of their actions and proceedings and affections also towards their subjects You will yet say be it that the actions of Princes are subject to censure and their persons though sacred yet sometimes lie open to violence howsoever if they establish their throne with judgement and support their scepter with equity their innocencie shal be a perpetuall guard unto them and the arme of the Almighty shall be a buckler of steele over them and the love of subjects shall be a wall of brasse about them so that the enemie shall not be able to hurt them the sonnes of wickednesse shall not come neere them Notwithstanding all this it pleaseth him by whom Kings reigne either to make Princes to walk more humbly before him and more warily before their subjects or for the greater triall of their faith in greatest distresses or cleerer manifestation of his power in their delivery to expose their persons to imminent dangers and suffer them to be led to the brinke of destruction and to be entangled in the snares of death How did he suffer e Camerarius meditat histor c. 27.30 Charles the fifth to ascend to the top of the Pantheon in Rome and there to looke out of a great gallery window where there was a desperate villaine set to take him up by the heeles and throw him downe headlong How did hee suffer that staine of the French Nobility to approach neare Augustus in the dangerous passage of the Alpes with a purpose to justle him out of the narrow path into the steepe of the hill where it was imposble to stay himselfe Was not Titus past all mans helpe and given over for dead a thousand times when scouting out with a few to spie the enemies campe at the siege of Jerusalem he fell unawares into an ambush and was constrained to passe through a volly of darts and arrowes cast and shot at him whereof some fell before him some behind him many on each side of him yet by Gods marvellous protection not one fastened on him Was not Fredericke the first at the brinke of destruction by the river side when a souldier tooke hold on him and clasped about him to draw him with himselfe into the deep and drown him Had not f Cambd. in vit Reg. Eliz. Parry the meanes and opportunity to parley with Queene Elizabeth of famous memory in her garden privately with a dagger in his hand and a dag charged These and many other presidents of the like nature make me the lesse marvaile that God should suffer Ruthwen with a golden hooke a pot full of g Vid l. Angl. scrip de conjura Gowr outlandish coyne to draw his Majestie through divers chambers which hee still locked after them into that dismall study which was more fearefull than any Jesuits chamber of meditation in which they shut up their desperate instruments to cracke their braines and fit them for horrid designes For there are but pictures onely of Divels and Images of severall kindes of death but here were very Divels incarnate and death it selfe Bookes he saw none in this study but those two mentioned by h Sutton in vita Calig Suetonius in which Caligula wrote the names of those men whose heads he meant to take off calling the one of them which was longer gladium the sword the other which was shorter pugionem the dagger The subject he was now to meditate upon was a bloudie assacinate and the points he was to handle no other than the sharpe ends of swords and rapiers Made then he was to beleeve that he should there take an outlandish man with great store of treasure but he found an armed man ready to take away that from him which was more precious unto him than all the jewels in the world Here wee see what a soveraigne care the Highest hath over soveraigne Princes his vicegerents on earth and what a terrour sacred Majestie striketh into the hearts of barbarous and bloudie traitors The Italian varlet had not the power to lift at Charles the fifth with a lift onely he had throwne him out of the window The French miscreant had not the power to push at Augustus with a push only he had broken his neck downe the steepe Alpes Parry had not the power to draw the pin of his fire-lock upon the moving but of a pinne the dag had gone off in his hand and the Queene had beene shot through the heart Parry's dag fell out of his hand and Hendersons dagger stucke in his hand he could no more stirre it than the souldier at Minternum who drew upon Caius Marius but was not able to strike a stroke nor make a thrust at him i Lucan de bell Phaâ—sal primo nam caedis in ictu Diriguit ferrumque manu torpente remisit Howbeit though Hendersons faint heart and benummed hand would not serve him to act his bloudie
And the Musicians will tell us that some discords in a lesson binding wise as they speake and falling into a concord much grace the musicke 2. Secondly wee wish that all Magistrates Ecclesiasticall and Civill would first make proofe of gentler remedies and seeke rather to winne men by perswasions than draw them to Church by compulsion Monendo potiùs quà m minando verbis magis quà m verberibus to use rather commonitions than comminations words than blowes discourses than legall courses arguments than torments 3. Thirdly in making and executing penall Statutes against Heretickes and Idolaters all Christian Princes and States must wash their hands from bloud and free themselves from all aspersion of cruelty For no fish will come into the net which they see all bloudy and they who are too quick in plucking at those that differ from them in Religion root up those oft-times for tares which if they had been permitted longer to grow might have proved good corne 4. Fourthly they must put a great difference between those that are infected with Hereticall opinions whereof some are ring-leaders some are followers some are obstinate others flexible some are turbulent others peaceable on some they ought to have g Jude 22 23. compassion making a difference and others save with feare pulling them out of the fire 5. Lastly nothing must be done herein by the intemperate zeale of the heady multitude or any private motion but after mature advice and deliberation be appointed by lawfull authority To the particular instances brought from our neighbour Nations that are repugnant to this rule wee answer with Saint h Serm. 66. in Cant. Approbamus zelum factum non laudamus Bernard Wee approve their zeale yet wee allow not of their proceedings These cautions observed that religions differing in fundamentall grounds are not to be tolerated in the same Kingdome we prove 1. First by the Law of i Deut. 22.10 11. Moses which forbiddeth plowing with an Oxe and an Asse together or to weare a garment of divers sorts as of woollen and linnen together The morall of which Law according to the interpretation of the best Expositors hath a reference to diversities in Religions and making a kinde of medley of divers worships of God 2. Secondly by the grievous punishment of Idolaters appointed by God himself k Deut. 13.6 8 9. If thy brother or son of thy mother or thine own son or thy daughter or the wife that lieth in thy bosome or thy friend which is as thine own soule entice thee secretly saying Let us goe and serve other gods thine eye shall not pity him neither shalt thou keep him secret but thine hand shall be upon him and then the hand of all the people to stone him to death Solùm pietatis genus est hic esse crudelem It is piety in this kinde to shew no pity It is not in the power of Kings and Princes to reverse the decrees of Almighty God or falsifie his Oracles who saith No l Matth. 6.24 man can serve two masters For what fellowship hath righteousnesse with unrighteousnesse and what m 2 Cor. 6.14 15 16. communion hath light with darknesse or what concord hath Christ with Belial and what agreement hath the Temple of God with Idols 3. Thirdly if these testimonies of everlasting truth perswade us not that God who is truth must be worshipped in truth and not with lyes and in a false manner yet Christ his inditing the Angel of Thyatira for suffering Jezebel and the Angel of Pergamus for not silencing false Teachers I have a few things against thee saith the Spirit that thou hast there them that maintaine the doctrine of Baalam The Spirit chargeth not the Angel with allowing or countenancing but tolerating only false doctrine Therefore the toleration of Heresie and Idolatry is a sinne which God will not tolerate in a Magistrate which I further thus demonstrate 4. Fourthly God will not hold any Prince or State guiltlesse which permitteth a pollution of his name but the worship of a false god or the false worship of the true God is a pollution of his name as himselfe declareth n Ezek. 20.39 Pollute my name no more with your gifts and your Idols God is a jealous God and will endure no corrivall if wee divide our heart between him and any other hee will cut us off from the land of the living as hee threatneth I o Zeph. 1.5 will cut off the remnant of Baal and them that worship the host of Heaven upon the house tops and them that worship and sweare by the Lord and by Malcham 5. Fifthly what shall I adde hereunto save this that the bare permission of Idolatry was such a blurre to Solomon and most of the succeeding Kings of Juda that it obscured the lustre and marred the glosse of all their other Princely endowments For after the description of their vertues this blot is cast upon their reputation But the high p 1 Kin. 15.14 places were not taken away But thrice happy q 2 Kin. 18.4 Hezekiah who by demolishing the brasen Serpent which Moses had made because the children of Israel burned incense to it erected to himselfe an everlasting monument of praise And yet more happy r 2 Kin. 23.25 Josiah after whom the Holy Ghost sendeth this testimony Like unto him there was no King before him that turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soule and with all his might according to all the Law of Moses neither after him arose there any like unto him Why what eminent vertues had Josiah above others what noble acts did he which the Spirit values at so high a rate no other than those which we find recounted in the books of Kings and Chronicles Hee brake downe the Altars of Baalim and cut downe the Images that were on high upon them hee brake also the groves and the carved Images and the molten ſ 2 Chron. 34.4 5. Images and stamped them to powder and strewed it upon the graves of them that sacrificed to them and hee burned the bones of the Priests upon the Altar He defiled Topheth which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom that no man might make t 2 Kin. 23.10 11 12 13. his sonne or his daughter passe through the fire to Moloch and he took away the horses that the Kings of Judah had given to the Sun and the Altars that were on the top of the upper chambers of Ahaz the Altars which Manasseh had made in the two Courts of the house of the Lord and the high places that were before Jerusalem which Solomon had builded and so he tooke away all the abominations out of all the countries that pertained to the children of Israel and u 2 Chro. 34.33 compelled all that were found in Israel to serve the Lord their God 6. Sixthly farther to teach Magistrates that they ought sometimes to use violent and
for one Starre differeth from another in glory and so shall be the resurrection of the dead 5. Fifthly looke yee yet neerer upon these shining stones and yee shall finde that they will not onely delight and lighten the eyes of your understanding but also heate and enflame your devout affections They are as twelve precious bookes wherein you may reade many excellent lessons printed with indeleble characters You see cleerly here the names of each of the Tribes in severall engraven let your marginall note be God hath from all eternity decreed a certaine number of Elect to bee saved and hee hath written their names in severall in the booke of life 6. Sixthly observe that the names of the Tribes are not written in paper nor carved in wood but engraven in solid and precious stones with the point of a Diamond never to be razed out let your interlineary glosse be None of those whose names are written in the book of life can be stricken out For there is no blotting interlining nor variae lectiones in that booke stars there are but no obeliskes the Elect therefore though they may fall grievously and dangerously yet not totally nor finally Stella cadens non est stella cometa fuit Were you beloved but embossed or enammeled in the ring upon our Saviours finger you were safe enough for no man can plucke any thing out of our Saviours hand but now that you are engraven as signets on our Saviours heart what can be your feare what may be your joy Is it so doth our high Priest set us on his heart and shall not wee set our heart on him shall we esteem any thing too deare for him who esteemeth us so deare unto him Hee who once upon the Crosse shed his heart bloud for us still beareth us upon his heart and esteemeth of us as Cornelia did of her Gracchi and presenteth us as it were in her words to his Father Haec sunt ornamenta mea these be my jewels Doth he make such reckoning of us and is it our desire he should doe so then for the love of our Redeemer let us not so dishonour him as to fill the rowes of his breast-plate with glasse in stead of jewels let us not make him present to his Father either counterfeit stones through our hypocrisie or dusky through earthlinesse and worldly corruption let us rub scowre and brighten the good graces of God in us that they may shine in us we may be such as our Saviour esteemeth us to be that is orient and glorious jewels The summe of all is this Yee have heard of foure rowes of precious stones set in bosses of gold upon Aarons breast-plate and by the foure rowes you understand the foure well ordered methodicall Sermons by me rehearsed by the jewels either the eminent parts of the Preachers or their precious doctrines by the embossments of gold in which these precious gems of divine doctrine were set their texts nothing remaineth but that the breast-plate being made you put it on and as Aaron did beare it on your hearts By wearing bearing it there you shall receive vertue from it and in some sort participate of the nature of these jewels in modesty of the Ruby in chastity of the Emrald in purity of the Onyx in temperance of the Amethyst in ardent love of the Carbuncle in invincible constancy of the Adamant in sacrificing your dearest hearts bloud and affections to Christ in passion for him if you be called thereunto of the Hematite You shall gloriously beautifie the brest-plate of our Aaron who hath put on his glorious apparrell and sacred robes and is entred into the Sanctum Sanctorum in heaven and at this time beareth our names on his breast for a remembrance before God his father and long it shall not be ere he come from thence and all eyes shall t Apoc. 1.7 see him and all kindreds of the earth shall mourne before him then shall he say to us Lift up your heads looke upon my breast reade every one your name engraven in a rich jewell You were faithfull unto death therefore see here now I give you a crowne of life behold in it for every Christian vertue a jewel for every penitent teare Chrystall Pearle for every green blew wound or stripe endured for me an Emrald and a Saphir for every drop of bloud shed for the Gospel a Ruby and an Hematite weare this for my sake and reigne with mee for evermore Cui c. THE DEVOUT SOULES MOTTO A Sermon preached in Saint Peters Church in Lent Anno 1613. THE XXXVI SERMON PSAL. 73.25 Whom have I in heaven but thee O Lord and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee Right Worshipfull c. THe words which our a Luke 12.49 Saviour spake concerning the issue and successe of his preaching may serve fitly for a preface to my intended discourse upon this Text Ignem veni missurus inter vos quid volo nisi ut accendatur I come to put fire among you or rather in you and what is my desire but that by the blasts and motions of Gods Spirit and the breath of my mouth it may presently bee kindled and burne in your hearts Burne it will not without fuell take heed therefore saith b In opusc Cave ne injicias quod fumum aut foetorem ministret Bonaventure what you cast into this fire to feed the flame for if it be grosse impure and earthy matter the flame will be obscure and the fume unsavoury but if it be refined pure and celestiall the flame will be cleare and the fume a sweet perfume in the nostrils of Almighty God Nadab and c Levit. 10.1 Abihu smoaked themselves for offering strange fire upon Gods Altar but wee are like to burne in unquenchable fire if wee offer not continually the fire I am now to treat of upon the Altar of our hearts and yet it is a strange fire too for it giveth light yet burneth not or rather it burnes yet consumeth not or rather it consumes yet impaires not but dilateth and enlargeth the heart Other fire burnes blacke and marreth the beauty of the body but this contrariwise giveth beauty to the soule for as Saint d Mor. in Job l. 18. Non clarescit anima fulgore aeternae pulchritudinis nisi hic arserit in officinâ charitatis Gregory rightly observeth the soule shineth not with the brightnesse of everlasting beauty that burneth not in the forge of charity With this beauty God is so enamoured that Saint e De dilig Deo Major est in amore Dei qui plures traxerit ad amorem Dei Bernards observation is true that he is greatest in favour and in the love of God who draweth most to the love of God If we desire to know saith Saint f Aug. Enchirid ad Laurent c. 117. Austine what a man is wee enquire not what he beleeveth or what he hopeth