swadling band Iob 26.11 breakes up for it his decreed place and sets barrs and gates and saies Hither to shalt thou come no farther and here shall thy proud waves bee stayed Iob 38.9 10. Shall we yet step a staire lower and opening the Jawes of the bottom lesse pit see how powerfully hee displayes his Eanners in the dreadfull dungeon below Behold Hell is naked before him Iob 26.6 and destruction hath no covering This made our Prophet sing more generally The Lord is above all Gods whatsoever pleased him that did He in Heaven and Earth and in the Sea and in all deepe places Psal 135.6 Psal 135.6 Thus you heare God is in the world as the Soule is in the body life and government And as the soule is in every part of the body so is God in every part of the world No Quarter-master nor Vice-gerent He but universall Monarch and Commander Totus in toto Totus in qualibet parte A God every where wholly a God and yet one God every where onely One whom the vaine conjectures of the Heathen dreaming to be moe gave in the Skie the name of Iupiter in the Ayre Iuno in the Water Neptune in the earth Vesta and sometimes Ceres the name of Apollo in the Sunne in the Moone Diana of Aeolus in the windes Ex D. August Hot kerus Eccles pol. l. b. 1. Sect. 3. of Pluto and Proserpine in Hell And in fine so many guides of Nature they imagin'd as they saw there were kinds of things naturall in the world whom they honour'd as having power to worke or cease according to the desires of those that homaged and obey them But unto us there is one onely Guide of all Agents naturall and he both the Creator and Worker of all in all alone to be bless'd honour'd and ador'd by all for evermore And is God the Lord indeed Is he chiefe Soveraigne of the whole world Hath his Power so large a Jurisdiction Doth it circuit and list in Water Earth Aire Fire nay the vaster Territories of Heaven and Hell too How then doth this fraile arme of Flesh dare list it selfe against Omnipotence Why doth it oppose or at least incite the dreadfull Armies of him who is the great Lord of Hosts Why doe we muster up our troupes of Sinnes as if we would set them in battel-aray against the Almighty Scarce a place where he displaies the Ensignes of his Power but man seemes to hang out his flag of Defiance or at least of Provocation and though he hath no strength to conquer yet he hath a will to affront If he cannot batter his Fort he will be playing on his Trenches anger his God though not wound him In the earth he meetes him by his groveling Sinnes of Avarice oppression violence rapine Sacriledge and others of that stye and dunghill In the Water by his flowing sinnes of Drunkennesse Riots Surfets Vomitings and what else of that frothy Tide and Inundation In the Aire by his windy sinnes of Ambition Arrogance Pride Vain-glory and what vapour and exhalation else his fancie relisheth In the Fire by his flaming sins of Lust Choller Revenge Bloud and what else sparkles from that raging furnace In Heaven by his lofty Sinnes of Prophanation Oathes Blasphemies Disputes against the Godhead and the like And lastly as if Hell were with man on earth or man which is but Earth were in Hell already by his damned sins of Imprecations Curses Bannings Execrations and others of that infernall stampe which seeme to breath no lesse than Fire and Sulphure and the very horrors of the burning Lake Thus like those Monsters of old wee lift our Pelion upon Ossa Tumble one mountaine of transgressions upon another no lesse high than fearefull as if they not onely cryed for thunder from above but also dar'd it But wretched man that thou art who shall deliver thee from the horrour of this death 2 Thes 1.8 When the Lord shall reveale himselfe from Heaven with his mighty Angels in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that feare him not what Cave shall hide 2 Sam. 22.9.16 or what Rocke cover them At his rebuke the foundations of the world are discovered even at the blast of the breath of his displeasure Out of his mouth commeth a devouring flame and if he do but touch these mountaines they shall smoake Psal 104.32 if he but once lift up his iron Rod he rends and shivers and breaketh in pieces like a Potters vessell he heweth asunder the snares of the ungodly and his enemies he shall consume like the fat of Lambes Psal 37.20 O then let all the earth feare the Lord let all the Inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him let Kings throw downe their Scepters at his feet and the people their knees and hearts at those Scepters from the Cedar of Libanus and the Oke of Basan to the shrub of the Valley and the humble Hysope on the wall let all bow and tremble Princes and all Iudges of the Earth both young men and Maidens old men and children let them all seare and in searing praise and in praising sing of the Name and Power of the Lord God for his Name onely is excellent Psal 148.13 and his power and Glory above Heaven and Earth On the other side is the Lord Omnipotent indeed Hath his Power so wide a Province and extent Is the glory of his mighty Acts thus made knowne to the sounes of men Is his Kingdome not onely a great but an everlasting Kingdome His Dominion through and beyond all Generations Psal 145.13 Doth hee plant and root up prune and graft at his owne pleasure Psal 147.6 Doth hee raise the humble and meeke and bring the ungodly down to the ground Is he with his Ioseph in the prison with Eliah in the Cave with Shadrach in the Furnace with Daniel in the Den Doth hee deliver his anoynted from the persecution of Saul His Prophet from the fury of Iezcbel his Apostle from the bonds of Herod His Saint from the Sword and Fagot of the Insidell Psal 104.21 Doth hee cloath the Lillies of the field Have Lyons roaring after their prey their food from him Doth he give fodder unto the Cattell quench the wild Asses thirst feed the young Ravens that call upon him Doth he stop the mouthes of wilde beasts Quench the violence of fire Abate the edge of the Sword Shake the very powers of the Grave and all for the rescue and preservation of his servants his faithfull his beloved servants Why art thou then so sad O my soule why so sad and why so disquieted within thee Trust in God Psal 147.3 he healeth those that are broken in heart and giveth medicine to heale their sick enesse Though thy afflictions be many thy adversaries mighty thy temptations unresistable thy grievances unwieldie thy sinnes numberlesse their weight intollerable yet there is a God above in his provident watch-Tower a God
that can both protect and pardon infinite as well in Mercy as in Power Are thy wounds grievous there is balme in Gilead Thy ulcers in the eye of man incurable the Samaritan hath Oyle he searohes and poures in and bindes up and heales the maladies of those that seeke him with a true heart Psal 72.1 Ah quam bonus Israel Deus iis qui recto sunt corde saith the Psalmist Doubtlesse he that watcheth his Israel will neither slumber nor sleepe but preserveth his children as tenderly as the apple of that eye that watcheth them hee is their staffe and crutch and supportation in all their weakenesse he erects them if they fall directs them if they erre succours them if they want refresheth them in the heate of their persecutions mittigates the tempests of their sorrowes moderates the waves of their bitter passions smiteth their enemies upon the cheeke bone Psal 3.7 breakes the teeth of those that rage and grin so furiously upon them Insomuch that God hath sworne by his Prophet to have mercy upon the dwelling places of Iacob and all they that devoure her shall be devoured and they that spolle her shall bee made a spoile and all they that prey upon her shall be made a prey And he will restore health unto her and cure her of all her wounds Jer. 30.16 17. Jer. 30.16 17. This should arme us with resolution against that triple assault of the world flesh and divell and make us buckle on our harnesse as that good King of Israel did I will not be afraid saith hee for ten thousands which should compasse mee round about Afraid Psal 3.6 No for ten thousand of men and dangers If calamities hover over me God is my Tower if they would undermine me God is my Rocke if they come before me he is my Sanctuary if behind me he is my Castle if about me he is my Trench if on my right hand he is my Sword if on my left hand he is my Buckler if any way he is my shield and for tresse and mighty deliverer Then put not your trust in Princes nor in any child of man Psal 146.3 5 6. for there is no helpe in them Blessed is hee that hath the God of Iacob for his helpe and whose hope is in the Lord his God which made heaven and earth the Sea and all that therein is which keepeth his promise for ever This made our Prophet awake his Harpe and Lute and cheerefully sing that Magnificat of his Praise the Lord Psal 146.1 O my soule praise the Lord yea as long as I have any being I will sing praises unto my God I will bee like a greene Olive Tree in the house of my God my trust shall bee in the tender Mercie of God for ever and ever Psal 52.9 Once more and but once Is God thus indeed a God of power Questionlesse and only a God of power No the text tells us he is a God of mercy too his goodnes keepes pace with his greatnes his sanctity with his fortitude Luke 1.49 He that is mighty saith the blessed Virgin hath done great things for mee and holy is his Name Luk. 1.49 Vpon which place Stella hath an adverte lector A note it seemes worth observation Mary there to Gods name joyning both sanctity and power Quia imperiumet potestas fine sanctitate Tyrannis est Stella in 1. Lucae v. 49. saith he Commaund not season'd with holines is but Tyranny Let Nabuchedonozer and Pharoah stand for instance whose wickednesse got them the nick-name of Tyrants which by their power otherwise had the title of Gods Empire there fore must acknowledge it selfe indebted to religion godlines being the chiefest top and welspring of all true vertues even as God is of all good things So naturall is the union of true religion with power that wee may holdly deeme there is neither truely where both are not Insomuch that where there is commaund without holines there is not power properly but cruelty and therefore God is not only stiled powerfull but holy also Sanctum et terribile nomen ejus and Consiteantur nomini tuo magno quoniam sanctum et terribile est in the 98. and 110. Psalmes And 't is this mixture of Sanctus and Potens that divides betweene the God of Heaven and those others of Earth Power and sanctity conjoyn'd proclaime a God Power without sanctity sometimes a Divell Mistake mee not I come not here to schoole the gray haire to cast dirt in the face of the Magistrate no I remember well what Elibu said unto Iob Is it fit to say to Princes yee are ungodly Job 34.18 By nomeanes I leave such reproofes to those saucie and pragmaticke spirits which will undertake to catechize a God teach Divinity what it hath to doe for whom the reply of Iob to Zophar shall passe for a counter checke O that you would altogether hold your peace and it should bee counted your greater wisedome Job 13.5 My drift and purpose in this point is onely to shew you how prone and head-long those dispositions are to all manner of depravednes which project rather to bee great then Good and this an instance or two from antiquitie shall cleere in which the relation onely shall be mine the application as you bring it home to your owne brests yours It was but an itch of Ambition and a thirst of Greatnesse not rectified as it ought that was the ground worke and first staire of Iulians Apostacie his fiercest enemies did acknowledge that hee was once a man of rare dexterity and forwardnesse both in Wit Vertue and these not without their salt and seasoning of true Religion D. Aug. lib. 5. de C. D. cap. 21. Sed illam egregiem indolem 't is both Saint Augustines phrase and testimony Amore dominandi decepit Sacrilega detestanda curiositas his love of Empire and a little curiosity to boot blew off his devotions from Christianity to Paganisme So that the Altars and Oracles of the true God are now left for those doubtfull and false ones of the Heathens where instead of Prophets inspir'd from Heaven hee now consults with the very factors and promoters for the Divell Wizards and Necromancers incited principally thereunto by the suggestions of Libanius the Sophister So fatall sometimes it proves to unstable greatnesse that where men more subtle than sound hang at the eares of it there 's commonly a trench dig'd no lesse for ruine than innovation Who knowes not that Nero the meteor and comet of the times he mov'd in had at first his faire promises of youth the glowings as it were and sparks of future Clemency and Goodnesse For when he was to signe the death of a Malefactor which was a solemne custome among the Romanes his unwillingnesse to doe with an Vtinam literas nescirem was if hee dissembled not a great argument of his mercie But when his Power once began to mount his Cruelty tooke wing
Cron. 3.4 1 Chro 29.4 Silver and Gold in no small proportion ten thousand talents at least to overlay the walls of it besides the very beames and posts and doores o'respread with Gold Gold of Parvaim no other would serve the turne garnisht within with pretious stones and graved Cherubins 2 Chron 3. Cherubins of Gold too â—â—â—e Gold so sayes the Text vail'd over with blue and purple and crimson and fine Linnen nothing wanting for lustre or riches for beautie and magnificence for the house of a God the King would have it so Salomon the wise King and he would have it so for Ornament and not for Worship except for the worship of his God and that his God approves of with a fire from heaven 2 Chron. 7.1 And now my Brother what capitall offence in the Image of a Saint or Martyr historically or ornamentally done in the house of the Lord It invites not our knee but our eye not our Observance but our Observation or if perchance our Observance not our Devotion Though we honour Saints we doe them no worship and though sometimes wee sing of we sing not unto them wee sing of their Sufferings not of their Power and in so singing we sing unto God Sing first of his Power that he hath made them such Champions for Him and then Sing aloud of his Mercy that they were such Lights unto us And here what danger of Idolatry what colour for Offence what ground for Cavill or exception Our dayes of Ignorance and blind zeale are long since past by but it seemes not of Peevishnesse or Contradiction And certainely if Fancie or Spleene had not more to doe here than Judgement this Quarrell might be ended without Bloud We are so curious in Tything of Mynt and Cummin that we let goe the waightier matters of the Law and whilst we dispute the indifferencies of a painted roofe or window we sometimes let downe the very walls of a Church And I dare say if a Consistory did not more scarre some than a Conscience Temples would stand like those Aegyptian Monuments I know not whether a Modell of Antiquity or Desolation 'T is a misery when the life of Religion shall lye in the Tongues of men and not in their Hands or if in their Hands sometimes not in their Hearts The times are so loud for Faith Faith that the noyse thereof drownes sometimes the very Motion of good Workes and even there too where Faith is either begotten or at least strengthened in the House of the Lord That stands Naked and sometimes Bare-headed as if it begged for an Almes when our Mansions swell in pride of their Battlements the beauty of their Turrets and yet their Inhabitants still cry as the mad people did after the Floud Come Gen. 11.4 let us make Bricke let us Build But all this while No noise of an Axe or a Hammer about the House of the Lord Their project is to lift their Earth unto Heaven and it matters not though the Heaven here below lay levell with the Earth they sing of a City and a Tower to get them a Name They care not for a Temple to sing aloud in to the Name of their God And hence it is that this God makes that sometimes a way to their confusion which they intended a meanes to their Glory I have observ'd three speciall sorts of Builders in our Age and three sorts of singing by them Some build up Babel with the stones of Jerusalem Adorne their owne Mansions by demolishing of Churches and such sing onely Requiems to their owne name and are so farre from singing unto Gods that he cries out against them by his Prophet Though you build aloft Obad. 4. and nestle among the Cloudes yet I will bring you downe into the dust of the Earth Others build up Ierusalem with the stones of Ierusalem repaire one Church with the ruines of another Take from that Saint and Give unto this And in this they thinke they sing aloud unto God but hee heares not their voice or if hee heare he rebukes it Away with your sacrifices I will none of your burnt offerings Isa 1.13 they are abomination unto me saith the Lord God Others build up Ierusalem with the stones of their Babel Repaire the ruines of Gods house with their owne costs and materialls and not onely repaire but beautifie it as you see And such not onely sing unto God but sing Psalmes unto him Talke and doe to the Glory of his Name And blessed is the man that doth it doth it as it should be done without froth of ostentation or wind of Applause or pride of Singularity But from the uprightnesse and integrity of a sound heart Psa 69.9 can Sing aloud to his God 'T is my zeale to thy house that hath thus eaten me up And doubtlesse he that is so zealous for the house of the Lord the Lord also will be mercifull unto His and hee that so provides for the worship of Gods name God also will provide for the preservation of His Deut. 28. Blessed shall he be in the City and Blessed in the field Blessed in his comming in and Blessed in his going out Blessed in his basket and in his store Blessed in the fruit of his cattell and the fruit of his ground Gods speciall Providence shall pitch his Tents about him the dew of Heaven from above and the flowers of the Earth from below Before him his Enemies flying behind him Honours attending about him Angels intrenching on his right hand his fruitfull Vine on his left his Olive-branches without Health of body within Peace of Conscience and thus Psal 25.12 His Soule shall dwell at Ease and his Seed shall inherit the Land And whilst he sings unto Heaven Blessed be the Name of the Lord for his mercy endureth for ever Heaven shall rebound to the Earth and the Earth sing aloud unto him Blessed is he that putteth his trust in the Lord for Mercy shall incompasse him on every side And now O Lord it is thy Blessings which we want and thy Mercies which we beg Let thy Blessings and thy Mercies so fall upon us as we doe put our trust in Thee Lord in Thee have we trusted let us never be confounded Amen Gloria in excelsis Deo Amen FINIS The Christian Duell IN TWO SERMONS Ad Magistratum Preached at two severall ASSIZES held at TAUNTON in Sommerset Anno Domini 1634. 1635. By Humphrey Sydenham ROM 8.5 Qui secundum Carnem sunt quae Carnis sunt sapiunt Qui verò secundum Spiritum quae Spiritus sunt Vellem quidem et carnem meam esse in vita sed quia non potest sit vel Spiritus meus sit vel Anima mea D. Aug. Serm. 6. de Verbis Domini LONDON Printed by IOHN BEALE for Humphrey Robinson at the Signe of the Three Pigeons in PAULS Church-yard 1637. TO THE TRVLY NOBLE BOTH BY BLOVD and VERTVE Sir IOHN POULETT KNIGHT Sonne and Heire