MARY SITTING AT CHRISTS FEET A Sermon preached at the Funerall of Mris Mary Swaine the wife of Mr William Swaine at Saint Buttolphs without Aldersgate Declaring her Christian life and comfortable death for the encouraging of all Christian Gentlewomen and others to walke in the steps of this religious gentlewoman already departed By Lancelot Langhorne Preacher of the word of God Vade sed incultus PROV 31.10 Who shall finde a vertuous woman For her price is farre aboue the pearles LONDON Printed for Arthur Iohnson 1611. TO THE RIGHT Worshipfull and vertuous Lady Christiana Leueson wife to the Right Worshipfull Sir Iohn Leueson Knight grace and peace in Christ Iesus MADAME COnsidering with my selfe that our nature is such as we cannot endure that these praises should be ascribed vnto others though they duly deserue them which we thinke our selues worthy of though indeed most vnworthy I resolued with my selfe to commit this Sermon to the patronage of some one who might bee able to defend the truth of it against the malicious traducing and repining of the enuious and amongst many I could find none more fit then your selfe partly because with MARY you haue chosen the better part and that according to your name your heart is the seat and temple of vertue partly by reason of that long continued loue familiarity which hath beene betweene you as also because of that full experience and true triall you had of her spotlesse conuersation therefore pardon my boldnesse and as you loue vertue and haue the praises of this rare Iewell inclosed in your breast so let them haue your louing protection and holy imitation to your vnspeakeable comfort in this life and the eternall saluation of your owne soule in the life to come Yours in the Lord Lancelot Langhorne To the Reader CONDEMNE not me gentle Reader for publishing this Sermon because I seeke not my selfe but the continual remembrance of this vertuous Gentlewoman vpon earth and was moued thereunto by perswasions of others who also procured it to bee licenced Accuse me not of flattery for my conscience beares me witnesse as thousands can also testifie that all I haue said is but a part of her praises Tax not my too much breuity that I haue not enlarged it as I might because I would haue no more printed then was first preached and this length best befits a Funerall which like life of man is but a spanne long Yours in the Lord L. L. MARY SITTING AT CHRISTS FEET LVKE 10.42 Mary hath chosen the better part which shall not be taken away from her IN this Story recorded by the Euangelist there is mentiō made of two Sisters two Actions a two-fold Censure vpon both by our Sauiour The Sisters Martha and Mary the Actions Martha troubled her selfe about many things Mary sate at Iesus feete and heard his preaching whereupon Martha was displeased that Mary did not helpe her But Christ answers that Martha was troubled about many things whereas one was needfull and that Mary had chosen the better part which should not bee taken away from her Christ loued them both and they both shew their loue to Christ Martha in entertaining him Mary in hearing him For as Caluin saith Laude digna Marthae hospitalitas Martha is praise-worthy for her hospitality but in that she busied herselfe aboue measure and did not with Mary choose the better part therefore Christ blames her Non Dominus opus reprehendit sed munus distinxit saith S. a Aug. Se◠27. de verbis Dom. Augustine The Lord doth not blame her worke but doth distinguish of both their offices Nec Martha in bono ministerio reprehenditur sed Maria quòd meliorem partem sibi elegerit antefertur saith S. b Ambros i◠Luc. Ambrose vpon this place Neither is Martha blamed in her good seruice but Mary is preferred because shee chose the better part Martha in domum suam recepit Saluatorem in terris Maria potiùs cogitat quemadmodùm suscipiatur ab eo in domo non manufacta sed aeterna in coelis saith S. c Bernard de assump Mariae Ser. 3. Bernard Martha receiues her Sauiour into her house vpon earth Mary rather thinkes how she may bee receiued by him in a house d 2 Co. 5.1 Not made with hands but eternall in the Heauens The one is busie in entertaining Christ into her house the other is carefull to receiue him into her heart And this Christ preferres before the other That Mary had chosen the better part which shall not be taken away from her Some by Martha and Mary vnderstand the Actiue and Contemplatiue life that they must be as sisters both dwelling in one house both lodging in one heart or that they are the two Wings of the Soule by which it soares vp from earth to Heauen And why may we not apply them to the Body and the Soule of euery faithfull Christian both beloued of Christ both entertaining him two sisters vnited in life and separated only by death The Body the elder sister is troubled about many things as delicate feeding warme Clothing dayly Sustentation e Mat. 6.23 Continuall recreation whereas the Soule Mary thinkes one thing necessary To sit at Christs feet and to heare his preaching Martha the Body is here presented to our eies Mary her blessed Soule rests at the feet of Iesus Christ which sits at the right hand of God in heauen But leauing Allegories let vs fall vpon the literal sence which is Christs approbation of Maries choice and leauing to compare Martha with Mary let vs compare Mary with Mary this Mary before our eies with Mary in the text one commended by God the other no lesse cōmendable before God as Christ vouch safeth with his owne mouth to cōmend the one so the tongue of an Angell were but sufficient to praise the other For as the Philosophers say Excellens obiectum corr umpit sensum The brightnesse of the obiect doth weaken the sense So my mouth is too rude to speake the praises of so excellent a creature when I haue said all I can I shall say too little Momus may well accuse me of speaking too rudely or too sparingly but not of flattery I feare nothing but sinking while I wade into the depth of her vertues Therefore with f Math. 14.30.31 Peter vpon the water I will take Christ by the hand and from Christs mouth speake Maries commendation I come not to extoll flesh and bloud but to describe those graces God had endowed her withall and not onely from report for I haue conuersed with her almost these foure yeares and was present with her the most part of her sicknesse and sure I am out of mine owne experience that Mary with Mary hath chosen the better part which shall not be taken away from her In the words obserue in generall two things 1. The person approued 2. Her wisedome for which Christ approues her The person commended Mary her wisedome for which
she is commended That shee did choose the better part which shall not be taken from her In her wisedome two things 1. The Action 2. The Obiect The action That shee did choose the obiect the better part which should not be taken from her In the Obiect two things 1. The Excellency 2. The Perpetuity The excellency that it was Better The perpetuity It should neuer be taken from her In each of these three things shall be handled 1. Maries Commendation 2. Maries Imitation 3. Our Application Maries Commendation laid downe in the Text That shee did choose the better part which shall not be taken c. Maries Imitation the same with the Text That shee likewise hath chosen the better part which shall not c Our Application taught from the Text That wee also make choice of the better part which shall not c. That so wee may make these two Maries our examples to follow in the way to Heauen that thereby wee may find fauour with God and men That with Mary we may liue in Gods feare and with Mary die in Gods fauour of these in their order and first of the person approued The person approued is named by Christ Mary we finde but three Maries spoken of in the Gospell and all for good Mary the mother of Iesus Mary Magdalene which as most affirme is this Mary in my Text and Mary the mother of Iames and Ioses One beares Christ in her wombe the other washes his feete with her teares and wipes them with the haire of her head Her Commendation and here sits at Christs feete the third with the two other stand by his crosse when he is crucified and seeke him in his graue after hee was buried Wee finde not so many vertuous woemen of any other name in Scripture not that the name makes them the holier but that their vertues make the remembrance of their names blessed I could stand vpon the letters of the name if it were so profitable Maria. M standing vpon three bases or feete M to signifie their stedfast faith in the blessed Trinity one God and three persons A a an interiection of sorrowing their repentance R r with two branches like a tree the sweete fruite of their vertue and holinesse I i the least of the letters Their great humility A a the first letter in the Alphabet and the last in the name Their charity the cheifest of all vertues because it g 1. Cor. 13 13. 2 Maries imitation Luk. 11.27.28 continues last This Mary paralels the other Maries She bore Christ though not in her wombe yet which is more in her heart often shee washed his feete with the teares of repentance stood at his Crosse to the washing away of her sinnes in his bloud often she sought him in his graue to the mortifying of her sinnes and daily sought him at the right hand of God in Heauen for the pardon of her sinnes we shall finde more vertues in her life then letters in her name Mary by interpretation is as much as Stella maris the Starre of the Sea which standing immoueable in the midst of heauen doth direct the Mariners As the Starres are fixed in the volume of the heauens so Mary in my Text is a fixed Starre in the volume of Gods written booke A direction for all Christians to the Hauen of happinesse Though this Mary presented to our eies be not in Gods written booke yet in the Lambs booke of life her name is written in Heauen A Star for purity of heart A Starre for the shining light of life and conuersation A fixed Starre for her heart was fixed vpon the Lord yet neuer moued backward nor neuer stood still but as The Sunne in the firmament reioyced to runne her course 3 Our Application For our Application Let vs become shining Starres grace our names with vertues that with Mary the memoriall of our names may bee blessed Wisedome as Augustine saith consisteth cheifly in Choosing and Refusing In choosing the Good and Refusing the Euill The first thing in her wisedome is Elegit The Action Shee hath chosen But how was it in Maries power to choose the better part Howsoeuer in ciuill actions we haue Free-will to choose or refuse yet as the same actions are good we haue no ability at all in our selues Of our selues wee are not able to thinke one good thought saith the Apostle ◠Her commendation Power we haue to thinke but no power to thinke that which is good To come to Church to heare the word is a Ciuill Action we haue power to come or not to come but to come with a desire and loue to the word to glorifie God for the sauing of our soules by Nature we haue no power at all Therefore in that Mary chooseth it is Actus Naturae an act of Nature but in that shee chooseth the better part it is Actus Gratiae an act of Grace He that commends her for her choice gaue her power to choose the beter part Elegit as one saith id est Deus volentem trahit coronat sua dona in nobis vt dicamur fecisse elegisse nos quae ipse in nobis est operatus She hath chosen that is God drew her being made willing and he doth crowne his giftes in vs that we may be said to haue done and to haue chosen those things which he himselfe hath wrought in vs. Vnlesse God did first choose vs we should neuer choose him Yee haue not chosen mee but I haue chosen you saith Christ 1. Ioh. 4.19 We loue him because he loued vs first saith his Apostle For euen as the heat of the Sunne falling vpon our body encreaseth our heat so the feeling of Gods loue towards vs makes vs loue God againe His election of vs makes vs elect and choose him The word in the Originall is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hath chosen that she did not embrace the pleasures of this world all her life and made choice of the better part at her death they that do deferre it so long it is to be feared it will be too late for Sera poenitentia nòn est vera poenitentia Late repentance is seldome true repentance but Elegit Shee hath chosen So this Mary being a chosen and elect vessell of God 2 Maries imitation sanctified from the Wombe by Gods grace did choose the better part not at her Death but all the time of her pilgrimage shee led an Angelicall and holy life This Good part was her Treasure all her Life and at her Death as you shall heare shee had the comfort of it For our application 3 Our application let vs not wallow in the pleasure of sinne all our life and thinke it shall bee in our power at our Death to choose the better part but with this Mary let euery one of vs prepare prouide for the time to come be sure that we can say euery one
to his owne soule Elegi I haue chosen the better part which shal not be taken away from mee And now I come to the Obiect the Center and heart of the body of my Text The better part That as Martha was troubled about many things she had chosen the better part c. Christ here vseth a metaphor taken from heires that diuide their inheritance for amongst the Romans and other Nations as Seneca saith there was a custome that the eldest child must diuide the inheritance into as equall parts as he could and then the yongest did first choose So Martha and Mary being sisters they diuide Christ as an inheritance betweene them Martha diuiding as being the eldest 1 Her commendation and Mary did choose as beeing the yongest And she chose the better part c. Now the part that she did choose is that shee sate at Christs feet and heard his preaching sought her saluation neglected all in regard of this esteeming it no profit to gaine the whole world and to loose her soule It is said by some that she neuer looked man in the face after her conuersion but Christ And this we may note that she neuer came vnto Christ but she fell downe at his feet When she annointed him Luk. 7.38 Iohn 11.32 Iohn 12.3 Mat. 28.9 When she besought him for her brother Lazarus At the supper in Bethania After his Resurrection And now when she heard him preach And herein appeared her great humility 2 Maries imitation But this Mary hath not fallen at Christs feet fiue times but all the daies of her life how she loued the Temple of God the House of Praier She considered that one thing was needfull though she had but a weake body yet shee respected neither health nor life so she might sit at Christs feet heare his word How oftē did she fall at Christs feet to pray vnto him Shee praied not three times a day with Daniel but Continually I haue often obserued her that all the time she was not imployed in houshold businesse she spent it in meditation and praier and if at any time she vsed ordinary recreation to beare her Husband and his freinds company her affections were so wholly set vpon heauenly things as she often vsed this gracious and sanctified speech This is a passing away of the time but no redeeming of the time And such a care she had to prepare her selfe for an other world to haue oyle in her lampe when the Bridegrome came as she was still afraid lest God should take her away when she was so imployed Her whole care and desire was with Mary to sit at Christs feet to heare God speaking vnto her or else to speake vnto God by praier And the oftner she fell downe and kist her Sauiours feet the more desirous she was The oftner she heard the word the oftner she praied the more ardent and strong her desires were the more Gods graces were encreased in her And as it is said that when Anthaeus wrestled with Hercules the oftner hee fell to the ground receiuing strength thereby hee became more valiant in fight So the oftner she fell downe at the feet of her Sauiour and wrestled with God the more strength she receiued against the assaults of sin and Sathan and rose vp more rich in grace then before 3 Our application For our application Let vs learne to humble our selues at the feet of Iesus Christ and then we shall profit by his word to the sauing of our soules and our praiers shall be heard as the Apostle saith Cast downe your selues before God and he will lift you vp The higher men intend to build the lower they lay the Foundation So God will neuer exalt thee except thou beest first humbled and fall downe at his feet Christ himselfe was not exalted Phil. 2. but by Humiliation the lowest Vallies are most fruitfull God resisteth the proud and giueth grace to the Humble yet few imitate Mary herein they will set Christ at their feet Treade the bloud of the Lambe vnder their feet But they will not fall downe at the feet of Christ and with Mary choose the better part c. Now let vs come to the Excellency of this Obiect in that he calles it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The good part Augustine he turnes it meliorem partem the better part The word in the originall is the Positiue but I vnderstand the wordes to bee spoken Comparatiuely that Christ compares Maries part with Martha's and that the Positiue is either put for the Comparatiue as some translate it meliorem the better part or else for the Superlatiue as others translate it Optimam the best part as Mat. 18.8 where the word is in the originall 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 It is good for thee and yet the Positiue is there put for the Comparatiue It is better for thee c. as we translate it So here it is called the good part which is better then Martha's and also the best for they haue the best part that haue the Lord for their portion 1 Maries commendation This good part is that Summum bonum the cheife good euen Christ Iesus and his merites in comparison of which Phil. 3.8 all things else are but Dongue for hauing Christ she had all things no graces which did belong to the comfort or sauing of her soule could bee wanting vnto her for She did choose to heare the word which is the power of God to saluation to euery one that beleeueth which wrought grace in her heart which is crowned with glory in heauen 2 Maries imitation But let vs leaue Mary in our Text and behold what rich graces this good part wrought in the breast of this our Mary which appeared both in her life and at her death First for her piety towards God She was truly religious her Profession was not Hypocriticall nor Verball but she feared God with her heart For her conuersation in the world it was Pure and vnspotted so as Enuy might carpe but malice could not condemne she was of wonderfull meeke and quiet spirit which afore God is a thing much set by and as they that knew her had experience of it so especially her Husband with whom shee liued for the space of 33 yeares and I haue heard him often say That in all that time he neuer receiued an vnkinde word frō her mouth or cause of discontent where also wee may behold Her great wisedome in Houshold gouernment And moreouer so great was her loue vnto her Husband as she expressed it in her exceeding great loue and care of his owne kindred for shee loued him in them as appeared both in her life and at her death Her greatest and last care vpon earth was that seeing God had giuen him no children by her he would be a father in prouiding for them which were left vnto her as to a mother Againe for her modesty and grauity shee was matchlesse In