dutie of man the Epitome of all profitable learning Luk. 10.42 Col. 12.13 2. Tim. 3.15 which is only able to make us wise to salvation These are those bookes which thou shalt be put unto upon the greatest tryall that ever can befall thee even upon life and death not this temporall of the bodie but that eternall of soule and bodie before the Almightie Iudge of the world In the twentith of the Revelation and the 12th I saw the dead saith Iohn both great and small stand before God and the bookes were opened and another booke vvas opened which is the booke of life and the dead vvere iudged of those things vvhich were written in the bookes according to their vvorkes Well the seeond rule that I will propose to be practised for the right performance of this duetie to God is this If thou thy house wouldst serve God so as you ought to serve him then know that God hath set apart one day of the weeke for his service He allowes thee sixe dayes to spend upon thy selfe but requires that thou shouldest dedicate the seventh day unto him and lest thou mightst forget it he bids thee Remember to keep it holy Oh denie him not so small a request as one day that hath given thee all Nor hath he for himselfe anie need of this from thee but for thy sake requires it of thee with manifold blessings to returne it to thee This day then thou must exempt from the vaine things of this world and spend it wholly in pious duties in religious exercises in the Word in the Sacraments in the workes of mercie and charitie Now thou must rouze up thy soule and all that is within thee to sing prayses unto the Name of the Lord in the congregation of his Saints Now thinke upon the glorious workes of the Lord the sweet hope of thy redemption the manifold benefites and consolation that thou enjoyest in Christ and then let thy ravisht soule burst forth into those glorious exultations of David It is a good thing to give thankes unto the Lord and to sing prayses unto thy Name O most High to tell of thy loving kindnesse in the morning and of thy truth in the night season Psal 92.1 A third Rule I adde and that is this As the Sabbath is appointed of God to be wholly consecrate unto his service so thou must let no day passe without a speciall remembrance of God The Heathens in their counterfeit Religion yet retained this principle A love principâ—um to begin the day and whatsoever they undertooke by first calling upon their gods and shame it were for Christians to be more negligent in performing this service unto the God of heaven the true God than Heathens were in performing it unto their Idols which by nature were no gods Therefore if thou wouldest be the true servant of God thou must everie day call upon him every day pray unto him privately by thy selfe publikely with thy family joyning together with one heart and with one spirit with reverence with diligence with fervencie This Rule wee may learne from the Apostle Pray alwayes saith he with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit but how and watching thereunto with all perseverance Ephes 6.18 The common sort of Christians doe shew by their carelesse behavior that they are fouly mistaken what prayer is they thinke it enough to repeat the words and so the tongue be busie in speaking no matter what the heart is thinking thus they turn the chiefest means of grace into the foulest sin that is tempting the great majestie of God by their rash presumption But if we would pray as we ought we must come unto this dutie with a reverent preparation behaving our selves as in the sight of God For this is an high heavenly duty which makes us as it were familiar with God whereby wee come into the presence of God and are vouchsafed being but dust and ashes to conferre with that glorious majestie of God and therefore unlesse we meane to pull downe a curse upon our selves we must take heed how wee perform so weightie and divine a dutie carelesly formally and coldly I speake this with griefe of heart and to our shame no garish toy no companie so vile and hatefull in the sight of God but is able to cause us to omit this duetie and to break it off What my beloved doe we thinke that God stands in such need of our devotions that when wee have served the flesh and the world he will be contented with the refuse of our time and affections Oh no! we may learne farre better things of the Heathens Ignavis precibus fortuna repugnat Fortune say they resisteth cold and sluggish prayers And shall that service bee thought meet by Christians for the true and everliving God which Heathens thought unmeet for their blind their false their imaginarie goddesse Farre be this from us wee have not so learned Christ A fourth rule to be observed that wee may bee the true servants of God is to withdraw our affections from worldly vanities wee must take heed that these get not the possession of our hearts if they doe all that service which wee should performe unto God will soone vanish and come to nothing Love not the world saith S. Iohn neither the things that are in the world If anie man love the world the love of the Father is not him 1 Iohn 2.15 For indeed where the heart is taken up with vanitie what roome can there be for pietie There cannot bee two such different masters as are the God of heaven and the god of this world And our Saviour plainely tells us that no man can serve two masters without hating the one of them Yee cannot saith hee serve God and Mammon Wee must therefore according to that rule of the Apostle so use the world as if wee used it not so use it that we fall not in love with the vanities of it that we be not ensnared with the deceitfulnes of it A fift and last rule to be observed of us if wee would shew our selves zealous in the service of God is first that wee should love and affect good men cherish them and encourage them keepe them with us and converse with them A true friend saith the proverbe is a friend also to him that loves his friend I may extend the nature of this proverbe to the true servants of God they that serve God sincerely themselves will make much of the servants of God And David puts it for one of the characters and markes of him that shall rest upon the holy hill of God to make much of them that feare the Lord Psal 15.4 On the contrarie those that be ungodly and prophane that deride all pietie and religion such as those are thy soule must hate and abhorre David could tell no better way whereby to make proofe of his zeale unto God than by such an affection Doe not I hate them saith he that hate
A SERMON PREACHED IN OXFORD-SHIRE BY NICHOLAS CANTREL Master in Arts. Published at the request of Sir RICHARD BLVNT LONDON Printed by H. L. for MATTHEVV LOWNES 1624. IOSH. 24.15 But as for me and my house we will serve the Lord. THE best cognizance that saving grace hath is Perseverance and a continuall increase in grace according unto that of David Such as be planted in the house of God shall flourish in the Courts of the house of the Lord they also shall bring forth more fruit in their age Psal 92.12 Manie men indeed begin well but in continuance of time they are wearie of well-doing and their end is not answerable they begin in the spirit but they end in the flesh Oh it passeth in their yonger yeers how zealous they are for Gods cause how deare his testimonies are unto them but as if the heat of their devotion depended upon their youth it abates by degrees and the older they growe the colder they are to Godwards like the foolish Virgins in the Gospel towards the time that the Bridegrome is comming they are sleeping without oile in their lampes and so doe lose their reward We find by experience that that parable which our Saviour tells us of the Sower is too true and there be temporarie beleevers who at first receive the seed of the word with gladnesse but the cares of this world the deceitfulnes of riches choake the word and in the harvest-time of their life they are made unfruitfull Manie that like David have bin as starres in Israel to lead the people into the house of God have growne dimme at last and lost their glorie Now as if with Saul the good Spirit had forsaken them and the evill Spirit had taken possession of them they are not the same they were they are changed from their first love and by transgressing the commandements of God do lose that hold which they had of grace Their neglect of good duties their conversation with the wicked of this world their reposing themselves upon worldly vanities are signes whereby it is to be feared lest God doe glorifie himselfe upon them by his iudgements since they doe leave off to glorifie God by their godly life and example Therefore it is not enough for a man to begin well but he must proceed more and more in goodnesse and in grace and everie day take-out a new lesson in pietie and set forth unto the world a fairer copie of his life The unprofitable servant was not condemned for not keeping but for not encreasing his talent Even reprobates have gon very farre in grace and by their fearfull falling away have left us examples to take heed how wee stand secure of the judgements of God Hee was never truely good who had not alwaies a desire to proove better for if wee look into the examples of the Saints and servants of God this propertie wee may generallie observe in them and we shall find them ever to have bin best at the last To the end that I may shew that to bee true in part which I have spoken in generall I have brought before your eyes the example of zealous Ioshuah that renowned servant of God in whose mouth the praises of his God like a Swan-like song are now sweetest towards his latter end The flourishing yeares of his life he had spent in the service of Moses behaving himselfe valiantly in fighting against the enemies of the Lord and now that Moses was dead he was chosen by God to succeed in the same place and charge namely to be the Leader of the Israelites It is well worth your noting to behold how faithfully and carefully this good servant of God behaved himselfe in so weightie an office For when the Lord by his hand had brought his people into the land which he sware unto their fathers that hee would give them and had given rest unto Israel from all their enemies round about so that now they had a settled policie government both in Church and Common-wealth Ioshuah did not thus thinke with himselfe I have done enough for my time from henceforth I will disburthen my selfe of all cares and troubles the rest of my life I will spend with as much delight as I can and betake my selfe wholly unto my ease Such imaginations as these were farre from Ioshuah hee knew so high a Calling as his did require othergesse resolutions and therefore his thoughts were wholly taken up in well-mannaging the affaires of the Common-wealth in providing that the Commandements of his God might be put in execution that true Religion might everie where be established idolatrie banished and that God might be glorified all in all as you may perceive by the 22.23 and 24. chapters of this booke As for his own private house familie the well ordering guiding of it must needs challenge the highest praise and admiration of godlie and vertuous minds No loosenesse was suffered to raigne here no impietie to infect here no busie Sycophants were sufferd to nest themselves here being the onelie instruments which the unhappie world in these last and dangerous times cherisheth to its owne confusion None must live with Ioshuah but such as would live after Ioshuahs patterne and prescription None must serve Ioshuah but such as would serve Ioshuahs God in uprightnesse and sinceritie Such was his godlie resolution such his care such his zeale Nor was this affection in him by fitts bred of a sudden and vanishing humour but it was firme and fixed in his heart even to the last minute of his life yea and did then appeare in its greatest excellencie unto the world when as he himselfe was ready to leave the world For now his dying day drawing neere apace this good servant of God as if his soule had no other care to possesse it but the wellfare of the Church and the continuance of true Religion for this end and purpose assembles the Israelites to Sichem their Elders their Heads their Iudges and Officers who accordingly presented themselves before God Here Ioshuah begins with a Commemoration of the benefits which God had done for the people and puts them in mind of the manifold deliverances which hee wrought for them namely by delivering them from the furie of so manie fierce dreadfull nations that fought against them and by casting them out before them then by giving them a land wherein they did not labour and cities which they built not and vineyards and olive-trees which they planted not For such and so great benefits of Almightie God hee onelie requires that they for their parts would expresse their thankfulnesse by serving the Lord in sinceritie and uprightnesse and by having nothing to doe with those false gods which their fathers served beyond the floud and in Aegypt Oh how inflamed is that zeale how indefatigable is that diligence which neither the coldnesse of age can extinguish nor the feeblenesse of decayed nature can diminish Ioshuah like a good Steward being to
1. Cor. 5.6 To conclude this point they can never truly and sincerely serve God who doe not cause them that live in their houses to serve him in like manner The use of this serves in the first place for information to shew us what manner of proficients we are in the schoole of grace how stedfastly we cleave unto the covenant of God how perfectly we walke in his waies how neere wee have attained to that heavenly communion of Saints For if our conversation be in heaven all our delight will bee upon the Saints on earth Wee know saith S. 1. Ioh. 3.14 Iohn that we have passed from death unto life because wee love the bretheren Wee know by this that wee love God and that wee are beloved of God if we love his servants and make much of them that feare the Lord. Psal 101.3 And then with David wee walk in our houses with a perfect heart when with one spirit with one soule both our selves and those that be under us do serve the Lord then wee shall be sure of a blessing When the Lord did so familiarly converse with Abraham and create him the father of the faithfull it was with this proviso for saith hee I know him that hee will command his sonnes and his household after him that they keepe the way of the Lord to doe righteousnesse and iudgement Genes 18. When David was chosen of God and pronounced a man after Gods owne heart it was with respect unto the faithfulnesse and truth of his in ruling them that were committed to his charge prudently with all his power Psal 78.72 Wouldst thou find that favour in the eyes of the Lord that Abraham did then thou must follow the steppes of Abrahams faith Wouldst thou be as deare unto God as David was then with David thou must seeke to enlarge the glorie of God Thy eyes must look unto such as be faithfull in the land that they may dwell with thee hee and none but hee must be thy servant that leadeth a godly life In a word wouldst thou with Ioshuah enter into the promised Canaan then with Ioshuah thou must bee zealous for Gods cause Though all the world should stagger and revolt from God forsake his Covenant yet must thou maintain his worship thou must obey his Commandemēts thou must reverence his word bear this resolution I and my house will serve the Lord. The second use of this point serves to discover unto us the backward disposition of the Christians of this age in whom wee find no such zeale for Gods glory no such forwardnes in this service Alas alas where have wee one endewed with Abrahams faith to teach the commandements and ordinances of God unto his posteritie where is one inspired with this zeale of Ioshuah to protest sincerely I and my house will serve the Lord We may runne to and fro with Ieremie Ierem. 5.1 and search long enough before wee finde the man either amongst small or great Tell mee Is not the vigour and force of Christianitie strangely abated and decayed when most places in the world like Caiaphas hall are filled with a rabblement of Vice Hereticks Atheists Epicures pell-mell all of all sorts saving of good men We are falne upon those last and desperate times of the world which S. Paul foretold should come and hath lively set forth 2. Tim. 3.1 This know saith he that in the last dayes shall come perillous times for men shall be lovers of their owne selves covetous boasters proud blasphemers despisers of those that are good lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God having a forme of godlinesse but denying the power thereof The Divell hath gotten the start of the world and hath set up in the mindes of men his idols of worldly pompe and vanitie What is more neglected than the Commandements of God what is slighted so much as his service and who are so backward in it as they that should be most forward All the counsell that I can give in this case is that of David O consider this yee that forget God Psalm 50.22 lest he pluck you away and there be none to deliver you The third and last use of this point is for exhortation to stirre up those who have the charge and command of others unto the carefull and conscionable performance of this duety by all meanes to enlarge and advance the kingdome of Christ and where God hath established them that there they should establish godlinesse As this is the greatest and weightiest duetie that lyes upon men in this world so hath it the greatest arguments and the weightiest motives to enforce it First the benefit which the performance of our duety herein brings with it Secondly the danger that we runne into by the neglect hereof Godlinesse is the greatest gaine to a Christian that is it hath not onely the promises of this life but of the life to come for in serving the Lord saith David there is great reward Whereas on the contrarie an everlasting curse of miserie and contempt is laid upon those wretches that are negligent in his worke When the Lord sent his Prophet to reprove Eli and to threaten the taking away of the Priesthood from him and his posteritie because his sonnes ran into a slander and their father stayed them not this is the sentence that the Lord addes withall For them that honour mee saith God I will honour and they that despise me shal be despised 1. Sam. 2.30 Would you hear what gratious singular priviledges the true servants of God have listen then to that which David tells you The eyes of the Lord saith David are over the righteous and his eares are open unto their prayers Againe The righteous cry and the Lord heareth them and delivereth them out of all their troubles And once more hee addes this in the same Psalme The Lord delivereth the soules of his servants and all they that put their trust in him shall not be destitute Psal 34. Nay moreover whosoever hee is that is zealous for the Lord shall not only have the Lord for his protector and defender in all his afflictious but for his Counsellor and Director in all his affaires as the same Prophet doth notablly expresse it in another place What man is hee saith David that feareth the Lord him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose These benefits and testimonies of Gods fatherly affection and care towards them are ordinarie and dayly extended to them but what solace or delight is there that this world can afford to bee compared with the joy and comfort which the dying servant of God feeles when hee can truely say his conscience bearing him witnesse Lord I have brought up them in thy knowledge and feare whom thou gavest into my hands I have not hid thy commandements from my posteritie The talents which I received of thee loe here they are encreased I made it the scope of my life to set
thee and doe not I rise up against them that rise up against thee yea I hate them right sore as if they were mine enemies If thou lovest the Covenant of thy God thou must despise them that despise that Covenant If thou lovest the law of thy God thou must needs hate them that forsake that law such must not dwell with thee such must not tarrie in thy sight Dost thou think that he can prove faithfull to thee that prooves faithlesse to God or canst thou endure that he should be graced by thy countenance that laies a reproch upon thy religion T is more than Christian patience such was never in David such was never in Ioshuah Wee count him no loving subject that harbors those who despise resist the lawes of his Soveraigne Shall we be so zealous for the honour of a mortall Prince and shall wee be so carelesse of the majestie of the immortall God In the old law he that despised Moses law died without mercy under two or three witnesses Deu. 19.15 Marke now what the Apostle inferres upon this Of how much sorer punishment saith hee suppose yee shall he be worthie which treadeth under foot the Sonne of God and counteth the blood of the Testament as an unholy thing wherewith he was sanctified and doth despite the spirit of grace Hebr 10.29 You see it is no such light matter to fall from the knowne truth and to forsake the Gospel of Christ being so much more excellent than Moses law was Yet wee are dumbe and silent in Gods cause and passe over these things as if they were done in another world and did no whit concerne us whilst wee suffer that gangrene of heresie to invade our families Oh be not deceived Everie master must give an account for everie servant hee keeps And looke how manie such despisers of the word and truth of God are nourished by him so manie witnesses will stand up against him in the day of the Lord to convince him of coldnesse and want of zeale Here I have just occasion to take up that complaint reproofe which Eliah used towards the back-sliding Iews of his time How long halt ye between two opinions If the Lord be God follow him but if Baal be God then follow him 1. Kin. 18.21 So say I If this Gospel which we preach unto you which ye receive be the Gospel of Christ if it be sole sufficient meanes unto salvation why doe not yee receive it in uprightnesse and sincerity why stand ye not up for Christ and for the maintenance of his truth why doe ye not labour to beate downe errours and utterly suppresse the kingdome of Antichrist Take heed lest your indifferencie herein argue that yee belong not to Christ I will say no more but onely close up this point with that of Austin Non amat Christum qui amat aliquid plus quam Christum He loves not Christ that loves anie thing more than Christ or with that which Christ himselfe speakes He that prefers any thing above Christ is not worthy of him I will now draw towards an end yet before I conclude one speciall rubbe there is that I must remove out of the way principally of great men What is that say you I will tell you There is a generation of men than which never had the Church of God enemies more pernicious Saint Paul in the third to the Philippians hath set them forth in their lively character The good Apostle considering what mischiefe they would doe in the Church of Christ could not speake of them without manie a teare Many saith he walke of vvhom I have told you often and now tell you even vveeping that they are the enemies of the Crosse of Christ whose end is destruction vvhose god is their belly and whose glory is their shame who mind earthly things These walke from one house to another and Chameleon-like change their colour at everie change of ayre These are those ungodly men of whom S. Iude speakes that defile the flesh despise dominion and speake evill of dignities by reason of whom the way of truth is evill spoken of Not the Ministers of God not the Word of God no nor that drad and sacred Majestie of God himselfe can passe free from the poison of these mens lips These are they that buzze into your eares that cursed policie of wicked Ieroboam 1 King 12.31 to make Priests of the lowest of the people Hold them short say they and keepe them under lest they be too busie with you O full of all subtiltie and all mischiefe you children of the Divell Act. 15.10 you enemies of all righteousnesse will you not cease to pervert the right waies of the Lord Behold now whom doe you resist For what are Moses and Aaron but the ministers but the messengers of the Lord I say it is the Lord himselfe that you strive against your tongues are set against the most High and hee will not faile to recompence your deserts with eternall flames But as for you whom God advanceth in this world if wee be so vile so contemptible in your sight not to be thought worthie of accesse nor to have that freedome of speech which befits our place calling we must suppe-up our contempt in silence and thinke with David Psal 84. We had rather be doore-keepers in the house of our God Neverthelesse we beseech you that you would sometimes retire out of the vanity and deceitfulnesse of this world into your owne soules consider of your selves as you are men not great and mightie but fraile and mortal which must die like one of the people and give an account as well as the meanest of the multitude There comes another world after this where Herod and Iohn Baptist shall both meete again but upon othergesse tearmes than here in this world they did for then the Martyr shall be set upon the Throne whilst the cruell King shall bee sent unto the Prison What joy what comfort or courage can the Ministers of God have where the vilest wretches may insult over them where they are debarred that libertie which ever the Heathens had in their better times Vbi vix sentire que velis nedum quae sentias Tacit. lib. 1. histor dicere licet Where they scarce dare think what they list much lesse speake what they thinke Certainly such contempt of his messengers God useth to pay home with his severest judgements and to furnish them accordingly where they be so slightly regarded The Iewes did despise Ieremie and that word which hee spake unto them in the name of the Lord But what was the issue of this Namely that the Prophet should not so much as pray for them nor the name of the Lord be once mentioned amongst that ungratefull people Ier. 44. Ezechiel was restrained of his libertie and despitefully handled by the same stiffe-necked and rebellious nation What doth God doe upon this Hee makes the tongue of his prophet cleave
to the roofe of his mouth strikes his messenger dumbe and all to heape vengeance upon them that he might set the dumbenesse of his prophet upon the score of the peoples sinnes Eze. 3.25 Micah thinks it enough to keepe a Levite in his house to be his Priest for ten shekells of silver and a suit of apparell by the yeare he thinkes the Lord will be well-pleased with him for this But what was the Lord ever a whit the better pleased with him for this No Micah had a house of gods and therefore the Lord sends him a wandering Levite fit for a wicked Idolater Iudg. 17.10 Well then to returne and make an end of all Whosoever he is that would be the true servant of God must thus thinke of himselfe that hee is a member of that holy and invisible Church w th hath none in it but good men none but gratious and godly men therefore such as these hee must embrace with a loving entire affection to these he must joine unite himselfe yea he must not contemne the faithfull messengers of the Lord but have them in singular regard for their workes sake As for wicked men that make but a mock of grace these he must fly from as from serpents they are onely set as snares in his way to keep him from the service of God and from the performance of religious dueties Thus right Honorable and Beloved you have heard the summe and substance of those points delivered and handled which are included in this pithie and godly protestation of Ioshuah First from the connexion of my text what constancie resolution there is should be in those that are the true servants of God Though all the world revolt yet they must cleave unto God Secondly from the high estate of him that protesteth here you have been taught from hence that God requires of them for whom he hath done most in this world that they should bee most zealous for him And lastly from the extent of it you have heard that the true servants of God will keepe none in their houses but such as joine with them in the true worshiping of God You have heard these points handled and prosecuted at large I must not dwell upon particulars Onely give mee leave to end with a word or two of exhortation As Ioshuah in the beginning of his speach sought to stirre up the Israelites unto the feare and obedience of the Lord by rehearsing what God had done for them So may I with as good reason lay the same ground of exhortation in the closing up of mine Now then by the tender mercies of our God by all the benefits which we have received of him which are infinite in number inestimable in value by our great and manifold deliverances not as the Israelites from the downe-right violence of Perizzites Iebusites but from the furious and treacherous conspiracies of more subtile more cruell more politicke more malicious more inhumane enemies By the sweet peace and quiet prosperitie of our countrie By this blessed and free passage of the Gospell of peace which doth everie where display its pure and celestial beames being hid in none but in them that perish By those better things which God hath prepared for his servants in the life to come even the joyes of heaven such as no eye hath seene no tongue can relate nor ever have entered into the heart of man O let this stirre up in us a readinesse a resolution a zeale to this dutie To feare God to love God with all our heart with all our strength with all our might To referre our actions wholly unto the glorie of our God To serve him in holinesse and righteousnesse all the dayes of our life But if such unspeakeable bountie such heavenly goodnesse cannot winne our earthly and wretched soules yet know this there is a Hell and there be damned and torments in verie deed such as no patience is able to beare no date of time weare out If yee care not for his mercies yet feare his judgements Neverthelesse why will wee tempt and provoke his justice who is so rich in mercie O rather since there is mercie with God therefore let him be feared This it is which should make us cheerful in the service of our God which should make us performe willing obedience to our Lord Knowing that if we serve him here wee shall raigne with him hereafter if wee set our delight upon him here wee shall be satisfied with his presence hereafter if wee give glory unto him whilst we live here hereafter wee shall triumph with him and be received into glorie Now the God of heaven c. Soli Deo sapienti gloria FINIS