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A85870
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XI choice sermons preached upon severall occasions. With a catechisme expounding the grounds and principles of Christian religion. By William Gay B.D. rector of Buckland.
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Gay, William, Rector of Buckland.
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1655
(1655)
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Wing G397; Thomason E1458_1; ESTC R209594
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189,068
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322
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blessed Mat. 5. Blessed are ye for your knowing because ye do what ye know and blessed are ye for your doing because ye know what ye do blessed are ye internally for the peace of your consciences is unto you a continual feast blessed are ye externally for your light shineth before men that they may see your good works and glorifie your Father which is in heaven Blessed are ye supernally for God is not ashamed of you to be called your God for he hath prepared for you a Citty Blessed are ye in things temporal in things spiritual in things eternall In things temporall read the 28. of Deut. Blessed shalt thou be in the City and blessed also in the field blessed shall be the fruit of thy body and the fruit of thy ground and the fruit of thy cattle blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in and blessed when thou goest out In things spirituall for your understandings shall be illuminated your wills rectified your affections sanctified your old man mortified your new man quickned and ye wholly made accepted in the beloved In things eternall for there is an inheritance immortall undefiled and that fadeth not away reserved for you in heaven where ye shall have joy without sorrow health without infirmity pleasure without satiety life without death and indeed I cannot tell you what but this I may warrant all that ye would and nothing that ye would not as appeareth Psal 16.11 In thy presence is the fulness of joy and Psal 17.15 When I awake up after thy likeness I shall be satisfied with it Blessed are ye in the present Tense which I adde as a vantage to the former Notes as being indeed the speciall of all even now already ye have obtained it Now whiles ye dwel with Mesech and have your habitation among the tents of Kedar now whiles ye live in this vale of tears in this sea of glasse in this dungeon of the flesh now even now blessed are ye Blessed are ye in the unchangable decree of God the Father who hath elected you in the Incarnation of God the Son who hath redeemed you in the effectual operation of God the holy Ghost who hath sealed you Blessed are ye in the knowledge of God who hath called and justified you in the knowledge of the Church who hath received and acknowledged you in the knowledge of your selves your own consciences testifying together with Gods Spirit bearing witness with your spirits that yee are the children of God Blessed are yee for though yee shall not take possession of it till your soules be parted from your bodies Eccl. 12.7 and though ye shall not have the compleat perfection of it till your bodies be raised again and reunited to your soules Heb. 11. yet even in this life ye have the pawn and pledge of it 2 Cor. 1.22 Arrham spiritus the earnest of the Spirit a pure heart and good conscience and faith unfeigned 1 Tim. 1.5 And now concerning the present business Of the Visitation which is the occasion of our meeting and of my present speaking I need say nothing of it for my Text hath said all already If ye know these things blessed are ye if ye doe them To or for our quickning to this or any other duty what need more be sayd then this that our professed burthen of blessednesse our hoped weight of glory dependeth equally on our knowing and doing our duty Neither can I judge any of you my hearers to have need of more application of this unto you This assembly consisteth especially of three sorts Churchwardens Ministers Visiters And each of these concerning the businesse in hand I hope I need question no otherwise then Saint Paul questioned Agrippa Beleevest thou the Prophets I know thou beleevest So I now to you Are yee prepared and ready to doe your duties I know yee are prepared To the Churchwardens why should I make other question seeing the businesse is not new but very antient and of frequent use and seeing they are taught their lesson not by rote but by book having Articles to direct them whereof to consider and whereto to answer To the Ministers why should I make other question seeing their lips are to be the preservers of knowledge Mal. 2.7 and their foreheads the stamps of holiness Exod. 28.38 I may say therefore for them as the parents of the born blind man answered for their sonne concerning his blindnesse and recovery Hee is old enough ask him he shall answer for himself Joh. 9.20 To the Visitors what need I make other question seeing they cannot bee ignorant that hee who saith to them I have said ye are Gods addeth also immediately but ye shall die like men yea and in another place professeth himself to be the Visiter of Visiters Namely that in case of forsaking his Law and not walking in his Judgements he will visit such offences with the rod and such sinne with scourges Psal 89.31 What need I then say any more of this businesse yet I remember a passage of Mr. Latimer that man of the worn-out-age being challenged and taxed for somewhat spoken by him before and concerning the King he answered Would ye have me preach before a King and say nothing of a Kings duty This made mee to think it unfit for me to preach at a Visitation and say nothing thereto properly belonging To avoid this therefore I offer to your consideration and reformation two abuses which I take to be no small ones for they touch our coppyhold as I may say or rather our Freehold the honour and dignity of our Sacraments The first concerneth the former Sacrament Baptism and namely in this that it is grown a common custom to keep children from Baptism till the moneth be up for the Mothers churching sake some for state some to save charges But if the childe bee dead bom the parents grieve to look upon it and speedily commit it to the earth and shall not the apprehension of spiritual death be also grievous and make us speedily seek the remedy to bury that death in Christs death Circumcision was a bloody and cruell a tedious and grievous Sacrament as may appear by that forty years forbearing of it for journeying sake Josh 5.6 and by the prevailing of Simeon and Levi two men for there be no more mentioned to the Massacre of all the Males in a whole City being newly circumcised Gen. 34.25 Yet that Sacrament might not be omitted past the eighth day But our Sacraments as St. Augustine observeth Aug. Ep. 118. are numero pancissima observatione facilima few and easie and shall wee presume then to delay Baptism which is to us in stead of Circumcision till the moneth bee up The Minister is required to bee speedy in ministring it in case of danger And doth not this also binde the people to shun delay and to prevent danger Yea the Common Prayer book in the beginning of private Baptism injoyneth that Baptism be not delayed past the first
utter destruction and condemnation as it followeth in the exposition And shall cast them into a furnace of fire Briefly the sum is that here are two several ends proposed and answerable to the twofold condition of the subjects the one of safety and gathered the good into vessels that is into everlasting habitations as Christ speaketh Luk. 16.9 the other of destruction but cast the bad away that is into everlasting condemnation into the furnace of fire as the exposition sheweth Of which two estates or ends how shall I speak seeing I cannot understand how shall I utter that I cannot comprehend for the eye hath not seen nor the ear heard neither hath it entred into the heart of man that which God hath prepared for them that love him and consequently neither that which he hath prepared for them that hate him For which may somewhat save my labour the greatness of th' one sets forth the greatness of th' other the one is the fulness of joy therefore the other must needs be the fulness of wo the one is the enjoying of all things in the enjoying God the other is the losing of all things in the losing God the one is everlasting life that 's perfection of excellencie the other is everlasting death that 's perfection of misery yea the happiness is double considering the escape of misery and the punishment is double considering the loss of felicity And what then is there any need of use or application of this to be made unto you will ye look for my sparing it hath it not life enough to speak it self will ye expect my pressing it is not the weight of it sufficient to press and oppress your consciences When Paul disputed of judgement to come it made Felix an Infidel to tremble so that he could not endure the hearing of it and shall not all Christian hearts shake and tremble and be astonished at the very thought of it If you will have any use or instruction of it take it of St. Peter The day of the Lord shall come as a thief in the night in which the heavens shall pass away with a noise and the elements shall melt with heat and the earth with the works that are therein shall be burnt up Seeing therefore that all these things must be dissolved what manner of persons ought ye to be in holy conversation and godliness looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God by the which the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved and the elements shall melt with heat Wherefore beloved seeing that ye look for such things be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace without spot and blameless 2 Pet. 3.10 He speaketh by way of exhortation but the wise man speaketh by way of threatning Rejoice O young man in thy youth and let thy heart chear thee in the dayes of thy youth and walk in the waies of thy heart and in the sight of thine eyes but know that for all these things God will bring thee to judgement Eccl. 11.9 As if he would as it were dare any man to fin having but the remembrance of this judgement before him Wherefore let us not dare to heap up wrath against the day of wrath but walk circumspectly not as unwise men but as wise redeeming the time because these daies are evill especially because that day is so evill And so abide in him here by true faith and the fruits thereof love and fear that when he shall appear we may be bold and not be ashamed before him at his coming which the Lord grant to us all c. Finis Serm. sive tract 4. Trino-uni gloria TWO SERMONS preached at the Feast of the Nativitie of CHRIST and here set forth in one continued tract Text. JOH 1.16 And of his fulnesse have all we received grace for grace THis time is a speciall time of Grace both exhibited and returned Of Grace exhibited from God to man in and through Christ Of Grace returned from man to God in piety from man to man in charity from man to God in piety sanctifying dayes to Gods publick service in hearing praying communicating from man to man in charitie almes to the poor inviting neighbours visiting friends hospitality to all And well do we apply our selves to the practise and exercise of these two speciall duties for this speciall time and business sake this solemnizing and celebrating of the coming of Christ For these Piety and Charity are twins of the Holy Ghost never begotten one without th' other for true faith worketh by love Gal. 5.6 And true love must be with faith unfeigned 1 Tim. 1.5 What then It is right and fit that we present him with this joynt issue of the spirit from whom joyntly with the Father the spirit proceedeth and upon us descended that he should be honoured by th' effects and works of the spirit by and from whom we receive the gift of the spirit When the comforter is come whom I will send unto you from the Father even the spirit of truth Joh. 15.26 Again Piety and Charity are the two feet of the soul whereon it standeth wherewith it walketh though feet of different nature and divers qualitie even like those feet of Nebuchadnezars Image Dan. 2.33 part of iron part of clay part of iron strong to God-ward in the duties of the first Table so is Piety part of clay plyable to man in the duties of the second Table so is Charity What then we can doe no lesse then extend these footsteps in both kinds whiles we intend the meeting or entertaining of him that comes in both kinds We necessarily express our right respect at once to both natures for the honour of him who comes at once in both natures in one person to visit us for in him God was manifested in the flesh 1 Tim. 3.16 Again Piety and Charity are the two hands of the soul by the hands the body holdeth by these the soul holdeth For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing nor uncircumcision but faith that worketh by love Gal. 5.6 And these are well like the Spiders hands mentioned Prov. 30.28 For though they work weakly yet are they so ambitious as to take hold in the Kings Palace yea even in the Palace of the King of Kings What then Now especially is it convenient for us to stretch forth these hands and to exercise this hold in the heavenly palace because the heavenly King to fetch us thither vouchsafeth to descend not to a palace but to a vile place his humiliation opportuneth importuneth our exaltation our exultation For Behold saith the Angels to the shepheards Luk. 2. I bring you glad tidings of great joy which shall be to all people that is that unto you is born this day in the City of David a Saviour which is Christ the Lord. Again Piety and Charity are the two wings of the soul whereon it mounteth even as high as heaven For though worldly