cunota sumus umbra vanitas Et verbout absolvam nihil Vse 5. Let us all make that use of this doctrine which the Prophet David doth in this Psal v. 7. saying And now Lord what wait we for our hope is in thee Seeing Every man is so vain and seeing every thing is so unprofitable why should we in vain seek to be happy by any thing short of thee No no we do not that be for ever far from us so to do Our hearts were made by thee and they are never fully at rest till they come unto thee Thy favour and grace we prize above all earthly happiness Be thou our God let us be thy Sons and daughters and then we are sure thou hast begun already and wilt perfectly in thy own time redeem us from this bondage of corruption and vanity to which we are now subject As we are children of the first Adam so we are indeed bond-men to vanity but our hope is in the second Adam to be by him delivered into the glorious liberty of the sons of God Our present life is vanity but the gift of God is eternal life is immortallity All this world is a world of vanity but we look for the world to come wherein dwells blessedness and true felicity Vanity groweth up out of the earth we expect our happinesse to come from heaven We account all things here below but as dung and dross and vanity in comparison of Christ and the grace and glory of Christ those better things those things above all temporal good things are but as shadows but our substance is with thee substantia mea apud te est so some render the 7th verse All worldly hopes are but like the spiders web but our hope in God and Christ our Saviour is an Anchor firm and stedfast cast surely within the veyl so that we can never sink Our all is nothing compared to thee Lord thou art our all in all Whom have our souls in heaven but thee and whom have we on earth that we can desire in comparison of thee truly our lines are fallen in a pleasant place we have a goodly inheritance The Lord is our portion our exceeding great reward we will not be satisfied with any thing with all things besides thee not with things present nor things to come not with things in the height or depth visible or invisible temporal or eternal not with angels principalities or powers or earth or heaven we esteem all as shadows and vanities only this is our happinesse we are Christs and Christ is Gods We will no longer forsake our own mercies that is thee the God of our mercies to follow after lying vanities behold here is an answer to the last thing propounded in the begining viz. This is the way to be freed from vanity and we will walk in it Jesus Christ is our Captaine whom if we follow through the troublesome sea of this world as the Israelites did Moses through the Red-sea the waters shall stand as a wall on the right hand and on the left and the proud waters shall not overwhelm us shall not go over our souls Jesus Christ is our Ark into whom we will get by faith and by him be saved whilst the whole world that are out of Christ shall perish by this floud of vanity which comes upon all the earth Thus will we make sure of this one thing necessary that our faith and hope being in God shall not be in vain that we shall not live and dye in vain but that our Lord Jesus Christ may be to us both in life and death gain and advantage that when we shall part with our corporal lives which in times of sicknesse and war we carry dayly in our hands and are apt to lose and which in times of the greatest peace and prosperity we cannot long hold for at the best they are fleeting and fading and vanity we may be sure to lay fast hold on eternal life so that vanity may no more have dominion over us Amen An Epitaph on Sir Roger Townshend who dyed at Geneva in his travail towards Rome aged 19 years and a half in the year 1648. LOe here lyes dust and ashes Oar More prec'ous then the golden shoar One Jewel precious in this tomb Far more then all i' th Sea of Rome Geneva now a Saint may vye With Rome and with all Italy Loe there the Painters are divines In Colours and their Saints are shrines But here doth sleep are all Saint Here is no Sepulcher in paint Piemont to Townshend Pisgah was Nigh which to Canaan he doth passe And when men thought h 'had been at Rome To Heav'n the Traveller was come To England how should he return When all 's on fire and Seas do burn Had he seen Rome he knew 't would farn Then make a Saint him rather marr In peace had 's English home ' gain seen H 'had still a Ward and Pilgrim been Heav'n is a home which rest give can And under Twenty make him Man T. H. Another HEre aye Geneva Lake let weep Cause death a Gourt of Guard did keep Eccho ye Alps for aye alas ' Cause Travâ—llers have for death no pass Our tears let recompence the Lake And ever after full-sea make Let 's thus requite the hills let 's all Henceforth them Townshends Pyramids call On Occasion of the Narrative sent over by M. Diodati in which house he dyed ARe ye prevented Poets what too late His life and death to blazo'n Diodate Has don 't in Prose he that the Sacred Text First Commented upon his life is next And 't was a sacred story short it was Vpon the Bible cal 't a Paraplorase A Paraphrase Incarnate of the last And best edition much corrected was 't Reformed eve'ry way Translated so He now speaks seventy languages and moe H' Interprets Babel Pentecost and all And is translated to 's Original In this small work divinity is more Then in the great Tostatus half a score Yea now one Tome of this short volume man Contains more learning then the Vatican Set by Inspired Authors th' rest iâ—le call Compar'd to this one Ignoramus all Worms may devour th' book cover leaves may fade Though green and florid or with gold ore laid Worms can't corrupt the text and the Angel's blast Shall blow ' way worms and dust and death at last T. H. The Second Sermon Luke 16.30.31 And he said nay father Abraham but if one went unto them from the dead they will repent And he said unto them if they hear not Moses and the Prophets neither will they be perswaded though one rose from the dead THe Relation concerning Dives and Lazarus from the 19th verse to the end of this Chapter some will have to be an History others a Parable I concur with the latter for what tongue could Dives have in hell whose body was in the grave And what finger could Lazarus have whose soul only was now in Paradise or heaven In
although it might save your lives yea the life of your souls yet know there are three days wherein this truth will stare you in the face and will be like the hand-writing on the wall to Belshazzar the former two days are dark days days of darkness and gloominesse spoken of by Joel ch 2. and by Solomon Eccles. 12. the day of distresse and misery and the day of death and you 'l reade that in the dark probably which in the sun-shine of prosperity you could not or would not do and this is your vanity the third and last day is a day of thunder and lightning the great day of Judgement and then if you were blinde till then which yet you shall not be your eyes shall then be opened and you shall see the world your self your own Condition all in their proper colours of vanity and vexation of spirit Let this suffice to have been spoken of two of the main things propounded to be handled in the beginning III. 3. And now if any ask me if it be so why is it thus The great husbandman sowed good corn in his feild whence then hath it tares whence hath it vanity I answer man may be said to be vanity causally in regard of himself and also of the creature that is to be the Author of the vanity in the creatures and in himself I mean of the sinful vanity of man and of that vanity and deceitfulnesse which is in all the creatures their frustrating mans expectations of satisfaction and happiness in them and from them which indeed they never promised him I may say to allude to that other Scripture why seek ye the living among the dead why seek ye happinesse below It is not here it is risen come to the paradise and see the place where once it lay It was sin bred bitternesse in our greatest sweets and discontent in our greatest contentments We drew on vanity on ours and the creatures heads with cords of iniquity Man when he sin'd became vain in his imagination and it sufficeth the servant that he beâ—…s his master that that likewife be in its kinde subject unto vanity It is true there is a vanity which is not sinful which was not caused by sin and that is the vanity of the greater and lesser world in comparison to him that made them both they are so to him vanity and lighter then vanity IV. As for the fourth and last general proposed viz. How we may be freed out of this vanity I refer you to the close of the application and so I proceed directly to the Uses Vses Vse 1. I's every man at his best and most flourishing estate altogether vanity Then according as it is written Jerem. 9.23 Let not the wise man glory in his wisdome neither let the mighty man glory in his might Let not the rich man glory in his riches but rather as it is written and that again and again 1 Cor. 1.31 2 Cor. 10.27 Let him that glorieth glory in the Lord. Let the poor and mean Christian in respect of parts and place and of his portion in the things of this life let him glory in that by being a Christian he is spiritually exalted but the wise and noble and mighty and rich Christian glory in this that by this Scripture he is made low this day and set upon the same level and plain ground with his poor brother Let him consider the vanity and uncertainty of all worldly enjoyments and outward excellencies it is a text or theam the prophet is commanded to preach upon and that with a loud voice Esa 40 67. The spirit said cry and I sayd what shall I cry why all flesh is grass and the goodlinesse thereof as the flower of the grasse the grasse withereth and the flower fadeth because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it And the Apostle James gives this reason why rich men should have low thoughts in their high condition because as the flower of the grasse they and their riches shall passe away James 1.10 You wise men and noble men and rich men you seem gay and glorious flowers the eyes of men are delighted with such beautiful objects but alas at your best estate you are altogether vanity when you are flowring you may be neerest to withering you may die in your prime and flower like as herbs when they begin to spring and flourish presently wither and the flower thereof falleth and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways saith the Scripture ver 11. of that 1. of Janes Couldst thou by power or policy get into a throne and exalt thy throne above the thrones of all the Kings upon the face of the whole earth couldst thou proclaim thy self univerfal Lord and Monarch and send yokes by thine Embassadours to all the Princes and States of the world shouldest thou say in thy heart I will ascend into heaven I will exalt my throne above the stars of God I will ascend above the heights of the clouds I will be like the most high yet the time will come and it will not be long when this text shall be like Belshazzars hand-writing upon the wall behold thou art weighed and art found too light thou art light upon the ballance altogether vanity and this kingdom is departed from thee The Kings and great ones who have gone down into the grave before thee may take up this proverb against thee may speak and say unto thee art thou also become weak as we art thou also become vanity like unto us thy pomp is brought down to the grave and the noyse of thy viols Instead of thy golden and glorious carpets and coverings behold now the worme is spread under thee and the worms cover thee How art thou fallen from heaven O Lucifer son of the morning O therefore when thou art in prosperity in thy best estate say not I shall never be moved Do not sing a requiem to thy Soul with the rich fool saying soul take thine ease thou hast goods layd up for many years lest it be said to thee Thou fool this night shall thy soul be taken from thee Say not with Nebuchadnezzar when thou lookest upon thy goodly buildings Is not this great Babylon that I have built by the might of my power and for the honour of my Majestie lest whilst the word be yet in thy mouth there fall a voice from heaven saying To thee it is spoken thy kingdom is departed from thee thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the feild and the day cometh when there shall not be left one stone upon another which shall not be thrown down Say not with Eastern Babylon Esa 47.7 8. I shall be a Lady for ever I am and none else besides me I shall not sit as a widow neither shall I know the losse of children lest these two things come to thee in a moment in one day the losse of children and
matter speaks aloud to us not to make enquiry of the dead either what we are to do in this or to expect in the other world I shall adde one testimony more in this matter and that is of St Paul Galath 1.8 9. where he saith that if we or any Angel from heaven preach any other Gospel unto you then that which we have preached unto you let him be accursed where he prefers the Doctrine of the Gospel of Christ preached by him and which was taken out of and proved by Moses and the prophets before the testimony of an Angel from heaven And if so then surely the Testimony of Moses and the Prophets is more to be attended unto then that of one that should rise from the dead And here we may appeal to our own reason and to the reason of other men and say Whether it be more reasonable to believe God or man judge ye God The living God speaking to us in his holy word by Moses and the prophets or to a man suppose it was Lazarus from the dead Before God gave his people his minde and will in writing he taught them by dreams and visions of the night by the ministry of Angels by signes and wonders but now he hath revealed his whole counsel necessary to our salvation and committed it to writing now that he hath sealed up the Canon of the Old Testarnent by Ezra and of the New by St John's Revelation and now that he hath ratifyed the truth of both by his broad seal of miracles let not the Church nor any particular person look after one from the dead or for signes wonders and miracles His holy word teacheth us that now God commandeth every man every where to repent because he hath appointed a day to judge the world in righteousnesse by Jesus Christ whom he hath ordained whereof he hath given sufficient proof or evidence to all men in that he raised him from the dead Acts. 17.30 31. I confesse it hath been the guise and fashion of the world to look after and long for Miracles Show us a signe and what signe shewest thou said the Jews to Christ notwithstanding all the wonders and miracles that he had wrought amongst them yea the devil himself tempted our blessed Saviour in the wildernesse to shew a signe to work a miracle if thou be the Son of God command that these stones be made bread But our Lord and Saviour would not gratifie the devils curiosity nor work a wonder at his beck or desire he would not cast such a pearl before such a swine besides had our Saviour wrought that miracle in that place and at that time the devil might have denyed it or if not our Saviours enemies possibly might have been tempted by the devil to blaspheme as some times they did afterwards and to say he had done it by the power of the devil We are apt to think that if one came from the dead or that we saw signes and wonders then we should believe then we should repent but alas alas how often hath God shewed signes and wrought wonders for nations and persons and yet they have remained impenitent and disobedient Pharaoh and the Egyptians had many signes and wonders wrought before their eyes and yet their foolish hearts were hardened yea such madnesse was in their hearts that they pursued Israel into the Red sea and were drowned in the sea The Israelites for whose sake God wrought such wonders in Egypt and in the Red-sea and whom God led and fed by a Miracle in the Wildernesse with Angels food bread from heaven and with water out of the rock fourty years yet they murmured and tempted God and many a time rebelled they against his word so that six hundred thousand of them their carcases fell in the wildernesse and they could not enter into the Land of Canaan because of unbelief Well come we to their children whom God Miraculously preserved brought into and settled in the good land of Canaan and we shall finde that they or their children soon forget God their Saviour whereas God the Lord of hosts did several times fight for Israel with his hosts his Angels his stars his clouds against their enemies yet ever and anon we finde them even fighting against God when our Saviour Christ came into the world entred upon his publique Ministry and office of Mediatour he manifested forth his glory many ways in sundry miracles wrought by him in the sight of the Jews and were they kindly and savingly wrought upon were they warned were they perswaded did they the body of them all repent do we not rather finde that when our Saviour raised Lazarus from the dead and by reason thereof many believed on him that therefore their chief priests an Rulers the pharisees sought to kill Christ and Lazarus both yea when they had crucified the Lord of glory and he arose from the dead the third day the greatest Miracle that ever the sun saw did they thereupon believe and repent no no they seek to hide this miracle and they give money to the souldiers to say his disciples came by night and stole him away Of old Balaam was stopped by an Angel from heaven and God opened the mouth of his Ass so that he spake with mans voyce and reproved the madnesse of the prophet yet Balaam was not converted King Jeroboams hand was withered and restored by a miracle and yet he continued his false worship at Dan and Bethel and would not suffer the people to worship at Jerusalem King Ahab saw that great wonder fire came from heaven to consume the sacrifice at the prayers of Elijah and yet for ought we know was never savingly wrought upon Yea that which is a wonder to think of it good men who have seen wonders and miracles have not been so good as they should be but after those things have for a time turned afide like a broken bow Good King Hezekiah that was cured of the plague by direction of the Prophet after he had received the sentence of death in himself yet his heart was lifted up and he did not render unto the Lord answerable to what he had received Ionah the prophet was miraculously preserved in the belly of the whale three days and three nights and yet afterwards was so peevish and passionate as to tell God to his face that he did well to be angry even unto death Go we higher Noah was saved by Miracle in an Ark without sayls Rudders Anchors or Pilot when the world was drowned and yet was overtaken soon after with drunkennesse Lut was saved miraculously from fire when Sodons and Gomorrah and the other Cities were burned and yet it was not long before he became guilty of drunkennesse and incest By these instances national and personal we may conclude that signes wonders and miracles are not always such certain powerful and effectual means to bring sinners to repentance or to make bad men good or good men better as men
his brethrens souls and now many do what they can in a manner to damn their own and their brethrens fouls also 9. That there are rewards and punishments after this life there 's a future Estate of happiness or misery for rich and poor there 's an Abrahams bosome for some and hell-torments for others those that have done good and suffered evil things here shall be comforted and those who have done evil things and enjoyed good things here they shall be tormented 10. That some of the Children of Abraham finde no place in the bosome of Abraham Dives cal'd Abraham father and Abraham cal'd Dives son but yet Dives had his place and portion in hell 11. That rich men must expect mercy in the other world according as they have shewed mercy to the poor in this he that giveth to the poor lendeth unto the Lord and the Lord will repay him his own again with usury Giving to the poor is but sowing of feed and in due time they that sow plentifully shall reap plentifully shall I say thirty or sixty yea I dare say an hundred-fold even in the world to come life everlasting 12. That the way to escape hell and attain heaven is to hearken to to obey the holy Scriptures these are they that shew unto us the way of salvation the only way of peace and reconciliation with God and remission of sins namely repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ These these are they that are as a voice behinde us or within us saying this is the way walk in it when that which is holy just and good is proposed to us But when we are tempted unto evil these are unto us as the Angel to St. John saying see thou do it not Let us not in the least question the divine authority of the holy Scriptures either of the Old or New testament both are confirmed by the exerting of supernatural power in miracles and of supernatural wisdom and knowledge in fulfilling of prophesies and forasmuch as Abraham in heaven sends us to Moses and the Prophets and even Christ himself a greater then Abraham appeals to Scripture proves by Scripture though he received the spirit without measure and resolves as it were his own authority into the divine authority of the Old Testament 13. And again that if one of the Testaments be true neither of them can be false let 's know and believe all that is written in the Law of Moses and in the Prophets and in the Psalms concerning Christ and all that is written in the Gospel in the Acts in the Epistles and the Revelation concerning Christ and Christians our Saviour or our selves and let 's not only hear the Scriptures but do them so that we may be blessed in the deed And when we hear any new or strange doctrines let 's be noble like the Bereans and search the Scriptures to see whether things be so or no as these men teach Let 's try opinions doctrines and actions our own and others by this touchstone Let 's weigh them in this ballance of the sanctuary and accordingly judge them And that I may speak a word in season both as to the text and the occasion and that some good account may be given of this days concourse let 's all of us labour to shew forth our faith by our works and as we hold that our faith justifies our persons before God so let our good works justifie our faith before men They are like the hand on the dial of a Clock which shews how it goes although it doth not cause it to move Le ts feed the Hungry Clothe the Naked make our selves friends of the mammon of unrighteousnesse that when we fail we may be received into everlasting habitations Let 's be confident that our cruise of Oyl shall never fail so long as we pour it out in these empty vessels and that one penny laid out upon Gods poor upon Christs brethren will redound more to our account at the great day then many thousands laid up in our Coffers or laid out upon our vain delights and pleasures and should the Lady of this Manour arise from the dead this day I dare say she could testifie that the widows mite so as I take it she called the donation and benefaction we now commemorate was of more avail and advantage to her then the thousands she laid up in her treasury therefore whilst we have opportunity let us do good unto all men especially to them who are of the houshold of Faith to the bretheren of Christ and what soever good we finde in our hearts to do let 's do it with all our might for there is no wisedome nor counsel in the grave whither we are going Let 's beg of God that we may not have our good things in this life and our evil in the other that we may not be like Dives of the number of those worldlings who have their portion in this life as the Psalmist speaks Or as those fools who lay up for themselves treasures on earth and are not rich towards God And let 's manifest that our treasures are in heaven because there are our hearts also let 's set our affections on things above and not on things on the earth considering God has made the earth to set our feet upon not to set our hearts upon let us not be like blinde Moles ever rooting digging in the Earth living here as in our proper Element for when a few years perhaps weeks or days are gone and death comes our eyes shall be opened as the Naturalists say the eyes of the Moles are when they come to die and then we shall see clearly that we have laboured in vain in vain have we risen early gone to bed late eaten the bread of care fulnesse for Riches Miser-like hoarded up or Epicure-like laid out upon our selves profit not in the day of death To conclude all let 's not suffer any poor Lazarus to starve at our gates for want of crumbs and let none of us that are ministers suffer any poor soul for whom Christ died to starve at the gates of the Temple for want of our breaking to them the bread of life we are all by our profession children of Abraham now then let us do the work of Abraham let 's walk in the steps of Abraham let 's be rich in faith full of self-denyal full of good works chariry Hospitality let 's go out and invite strangers on occasion as he did and then he will not be ashamed to be called our father nor unwilling to take our soul into his bosome yea let 's imitate Lazarus let 's make God our help our trust so he did and so his name as the name Eleazar imports And let 's patiently bear all the evils that God lays on us himself or suffers man to lay on us in this world and then when we die God will send his Angels to do the like office for us which they did for Lazarus even to carry our souls into Abrahams bosome Errata PAge 3. line 12. for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 reade 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 8. l. 1. for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 20. l. 6. for sumus r. fumus p. 25. l. 2. for which r. who p. 15. l. 8. for powrs r. pours p. 27. l. 3. for them r. him p. 3◠l. 32. for any r. an p. 37. l. 22. for an r. and. FINIS