Vpon which place Bullinger giueth this comfortable Comment If the beginnings and progresse be good happy and blessed we may without wauering in absolute perseuerance build at last vpon a blessed end as namely that at the Day of Christ by which the Apostle meaneth the houre of death Christus fidelibus dexter propitius apparet saith learned Sarcerius in his Comment vpon the place that is Christ will then shew himselfe both mercifull and fauourable vnto his faithfull Ones and not onely so but by the Day of Christ is likewise vnderstood the generall Day of Iudgement vnto which Day also euen from the day of death the faithfull are in the power and gouernment of God Marl. in Phil. to whom hee vouchsafeth then also a progresse and increase vnto the Day of the resurrection of the flesh for though the faithfull Ones be by death deliuered from their bodies and warre not any more with the concupiscence of the flesh yet I hold it no absurdity to affirme that they yet increase and goe forward because they haue not yet attained to that height of felicity and excellency of glory to which they still hope to bee aduanced and therefore through hope doe stedfastly set their eyes toward the Day of the last Resurrection as to their onely marke wherein they shall receiue of God the fulnesse of their hoped glory and so raigne with him in blisse for euer And thus I say both in life and death the faithfull are alwayes in the power of God And what should the meditation and consideration of this great benefit and grace but moue vs all with one accord to cry with the Apostle Rom. 8. Who shall separate vs from the loue of Christ Shall tribulation distresse persecution and such like No but be perswaded that neither death nor life nor Angels nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come shall be able to separate vs from the loue of God which is in Christ Iesus our Lord. And thus be it spoken of the two generall poynts obserued in the Text first that none of the faithfull doth liue or dye vnto themselues but vnto God Secondly that all and euery one of them both in life and death are in the power of God Now let me passe to my application to shew according as I know it is expected at my hands of all you that are present how both the life and death of this my honored friend concerning whom I cannot but with griefe of heart confesse that I count it one of the greatest parts of my vnhappinesse to see the period and complement of his dayes expired to shew I say againe how both the life and death of this worshipfull worshipfully descended and religious Gentleman was still and alwayes not vnto himselfe but vnto God and how both in life and death he submitted himselfe vnto the power of God which may best be done by speaking somewhat vnto you concerning the sanctifyed life and blessed death of this worthy Saint whom because the world was vnworthy of God hath taken to his mercy and translated by death from a life of misery vnto a Kingdome as full of happinesse and glory as the Sunne is full of light and the Sea of waters where he is now sanctified in the presence of his God with the fulnesse of ioy and pleasures at his right hand for euermore O te felicem si tibi mortuo talis esset Praeco qualis Homerus Achilli O noble Wight happy should I deeme thee now to be if as Achilles had thou hast such a Trumpeter of thy praise as Homer was As for my selfe the meanest of ten thousand vpon whom this taske is layd at this time by thine owne command O how doe I desire that my sufficiency were answerable to my willingnes O how do I wish with the Prophet Dauid Psal 45 1. Psal 45.1 that I had a tongue as the penne of a ready writer that I might set out the prayses of thy vertues thy holy and thy honorable life that thy righteousnesse might be had in an euerlasting remembrance and so shine in the Church of God as a patterne to them that liue and an example for them to imitate But how insufficient doe I feele my selfe for this great businesse Vouchsafe therefore I beseech you all to accept and giue attention to this small ensuing testimony of my great desire And by Gods assistance I will proceed Happy life blessed death beginning with his happy birth and ending with his blessed death First concerning his Birth as I haue once already testified he was worshipfully borne the Son and heire of a right worthy and iudicious Counseller and the fruite of a vertuous Gentlewomans wombe who was as a fruitfull Vine vpon the walls of her husbands house by whom as blessings from God in token of his loue he hath had an houshold of many sweet and beautifull sons and daughters to fit round about his table amongst whom this right worthy Wight that now heere lyeth before our eyes ready to be interred was the first that God did send her as blessings of her wombe of full nineteene that were borne vnto her From his birth I will descend vnto his education he being a child indued by God with the best of natures gifts which are necessary to a progresse and proceeding on in vertue by instruction for as Plutarch testifieth without natures gifts vertue cannot but haue her manifold defects for doctrine and teaching without the gifts of nature is defectuous and nature without doctrine is altogether blind but this man indued as I sayd with the best of natures gifts as reason vnderstanding and such like being by the carefull industry and painfull diligence of his learned Master yet liuing taught and instructed in the rules and rudiments of the Latine and Greeke tongues by his owne diligent exercise and practice a vertue worthy of high commendation especially in yong Gentlemen to the comfort of his parents to the good of himselfe and the admiration of others hee soone attained vnto a large measure of vnderstanding in those beginnings of Arts and learning And being by the care of his tender and louing parents translated at length from the Country vnto the most famous of Englands Vniuersities Broad-gates Hall in Oxford placed in that ancient of houses from which haue sprung most famous members both of the Church and Commonwealth in many places now liuing in our Kingdome being entered there by the carefull diligence of his parents in whom there was as there ought to be in all an especiall care vnder whom they set their children to be trayned vp he was committed vnto the charge and gouernment of a learned a discreet and religious Tutor a man wel giuen and of right good nature who was held amongst them of that society to be as a second Phoenix that had the breeding and education of Achilles vnder whose gouernment and by whose instruction in the space of little more
A SERMON PREACHED AT THE FVNERALL OF THE Worshipfull GILBERT DAVIES Esquire at Christow in Deuon By W. MILLER Minister and Preacher of Gods Word at Runington April 15. Anno Dom. 1620. Reu. 13.14 Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord c. SAPIENTIA PACEM PAX OPVLENTIAM F K AT LONDON Imprinted by Felix Kyngston 1621. TO THE RIGHT WORTHY VERTVOVS AND religious Gentlewoman Mistrisse GARTHRVDE DAVIES W. M. wisheth all terrestriall happinesse heere on earth and all celestiall blessednesse in Heauen WOrshipfull being fully assured of the sincere loue and affection which you bare vnto him whose memoriall these lines desire still to reuiue I am bold to present them though rude and vnpolished vnto your fauourable Patronage and protection First because of that singular loue and liking which you haue vnto Religion and religious men especially such as are faithfull Ministers and Preachers of Gods Word Secondly because I thought it would be vnto you no vnacceptable seruice if I endeuoured by dead letters to preserue his vertues and perfections in liuing name whom cruell death hath too soone taken from you and vs and vntimely laid in dust and lastly to manifest vnto you the thankfulnesse of my heart for those many good and vndeserued fauours and encouragements in my calling heretofore from himselfe and since his death receiued from you These are the reasons which haue induced me to publish this my simple Weakling vnto euery vulgar hand and eye vnder your Worships name nothing doubting but that your fauourable patronizing of it will bee a principall meanes to couer the many wants and innumerable weaknesses thereof which men of gifts will soone espy Now the God of heauen blesse you together with that hopefull Branch that God hath sent you from his loynes who is now with God as a token of Gods loue and fauour to you both with long life beere on earth and eternall in the heauens Your Worships in all good seruice to be commanded W. Miller A SERMON PREACHED AT THE FVNERALL OF THE Worshipfull GILBERT DAVIES Esquire Rom. 14.8 Whether we liue we liue vnto the Lord and whether we die we die vnto the Lord whether we liue therefore or dye we are the Lords THe wise King Salomon in the Booke of his sacred Retractations if I may so call them I meane his Booke of Ecclesiastes hauing once fully described the deceiueable vanities of this deceiuing and vnconstant world and plainly shewed that all worldly prosperity is but vanity and that all which the world promiseth are but a few flashes of deceiueable comforts begins at last to deride the profane sensuall and vnsanctified affections of those men that set their onely hopes in the things of this life as if there were not a God aboue that would one day call them to a strict account Wherfore considering that there are no contentments in this life though neuer so many in number though neuer so potent and neuer so much exempted from a mixture of discomforts in our owne perswasion that can bring vs any farther in the way to heauen then to our death-beds or our graues yea considering Luk. 16.15 as the Holy-Ghost teacheth vs Luk. 16.15 that Those things which are highly esteemed among men Esay 55.8 are abomination in the sight of God and that as the Prophet Esay witnesseth Esay 55.8 that His thoughts are not our thoughts neither are his wayes our wayes therefore forsaking renouncing disallowing and disclayming the ioyes of men and all trust in worldly comforts that haue their furthest expiration at our departure from this world let vs not suffer our selues to be flattered with security nor our eyes to be blinded with false delusions but let vs be carefull to regard haue respect aboue all things as true seruants of our Master Christ to liue in his feare that we may dye in his loue for as the Apostle saith in the verse going immediatly before the Text None of vs liueth to himselfe and no man dyeth to himselfe That is as much to say both in the life of nature and in the life of grace men liue not vnto themselues but vnto God that is as Dionysius Carth. comments vpon that place Non ad gloriam propriam sed ad gloriam laudem Dei tanquam ad vltimum finem that is Men liue both in nature and in grace not to or for their owne proper and peculiar glory but vnto the praise and glory of God as to the chiefest end of liuing And againe as touching death there he saith No man dyeth to himselfe that is to his owne praise but to the glory of God in as much as the soules of Gods seruants being once separated from the body doe praise and glorifie the name of God without ceasing in the heauenly Kingdome world without end The reason of this Assertion the Apostle addeth in the next verse which are the words of my Text saying For whether we liue we liue vnto the Lord and whether we dye we dye vnto the Lord whether wee liue therefore or dye we are the Lords Which words of the Apostle are as much to say Among the societies of men no seruant is so much his masters as we that are Christians are seruants vnto Christ who hath bought vs with a price neither of gold nor siluer but with the precious price of his owne blood Now therfore as a seruant if he liue he liueth not for his owne or other mens aduantage but for the profit of his Master Or if he dye the gaine or losse is not to himselfe or others but to his Master only So all we that are the seruants of our Lord and Master Christ if we liue we liue vnto his praise or if wee dye wee dye vnto his glory so that Christ onely and none but Christ hath power vpon vs while we liue and power ouer vs also when we are dead as one that hath not onely created vs out of nothing still gouerned by his prouidence but also for our saluation hath giuen both his life and death To proceed to some diuision of these words after that the Apostle in the beginning of this Chapter hauing first made a distribution of the Romane Church which in those dayes was not Antichristian as now it is into two sorts of men the one firme the other weake disputing of the nature of things indifferent he giueth commandement concerning such things how those that are stronger shal behaue themselues against the weaker brethren where by the stronger Christians he meaneth such as well vnderstanding the Christian liberty were firmely perswaded that in good conscience they might omit the ceremoniall obseruance of Moses Law By the weaker sort of brethren he vnderstandeth those that although they beleeued in Christ as their onely Sauiour yet were ignorant of this that by his comming all ceremonies were done away and that so themselues were freed from the obseruance any more of the ceremoniall law and therefore obserued still among them an obseruation
of the difference of dayes and meates or if at any time they neglected or omitted them they did it with a weake consent and a doubting conscience Hereupon those that well vnderstood the Christian liberty despised those others and vsed the liberty of certaine meates whereby they were an offence vnto those weaker ones And of the other side the weaker sort condemned the rest as profane men and contemners of the Law of God S. Paul therefore a seruant of Christ by his condition and an Apostle called of God by dignity as hee witnesseth of him Rom. 1.1 Rom. 1.1 se commendando saith one non ad ostensionem sed ad reprimendam Romanorum superbiam arrogantiam Commending himselfe thus not in vaunting or vaine bragging sort to shew thereby vaine glory but to represse the arrogancie and pride of the Romanes to whom he then wrote as contemning his office and Apostleship This Apostle I say to both these fore-named euils addeth wisely a sufficient remedy first by exhorting those that were stronger to intreat those with brotherly loue that were more weake lest they should by contemning them discomfort and discourage them in or withdraw and turne them from the profession of the Gospell Secondly he giueth commaundement vnto both how they should behaue themselues one towards another neither of them contemning or condemning the other but to vse a good conscience one towards another concerning the vse of those indifferent things as the difference of meates and obseruing of dayes In the next place he addeth a new reason drawne from the end which both of them proposed vnto themselues which was to the honour of Christ which appeareth as hee proueth by this that both of them the one in regarding the other in not regarding a day did it vnto the Lord and the one in eating the other in not eating did it likewise vnto the Lord that is as if it had beene said Vtrique Christo gratias agunt both of them giue thankes to God and therefore he concludeth that argument seeing the end of both is one therefore for these indifferent things neither of them should contemne or condemne the other Lastly to come home to our Text hee confirmeth that his reason thus drawne from the end of both their actions by another argument drawne from the common and generall end of the life of Christians which is wholly appointed and consecrated for the manifestation of Gods glory and this hee amplifies againe by an euen conferring or comparing of two contraries as when he saith None of vs liueth nor dieth to himselfe but liuing we liue and dying wee dye vnto the Lord. Last of all he amplifies againe that comparison of those contraries by an addition wherein hee concludeth that all both great and small both high and low both rich and poore both weake and strong both in our life and in our death are in the power of God and therefore saith Whether we liue or die we are the Lords And thus of the Analysis Now before I proceed to the deduction of Doctrines from these particulars giue me leaue I beseech you to stay a little in the explication of two things in this my Text most necessary to be known the one what it is to liue vnto the Lord the other what it is to die vnto the Lord and wherein both of these consist To liue vnto the Lord saith learned Aurelius is Non propter nosmetipsos nostráque commoda sed Christo viuere that is Not for our selues nor for our aduantage but to Christ and to liue thus vnto the Lord consisteth in foure things the first is to recognize and acknowledge this our Lord Christ in our life namely that wee are not at our owne liberty and freedome but seruants vnto Christ and in subiection vnto the Lord in so much that the end of our vocation and Redemption is to serue the liuing God as the Apostle witnesseth 1. Thes 1.9 1. Thes 1.9 where he saith vnto them Ye haue turned to God from Idols to serue the liuing and true God and in 1. Cor. 6.19 20. 1. Cor. 6.19 20. the same Apostle saith Yee are not your owne for yee are bought with a price therefore glorifie God in your body and in your spirit which are Gods Secondly to liue vnto the Lord is to order and submit all our life and actions vnto his onely becke For because hee onely out of the bottomlesse depth of his owne bounty reacheth vnto vs whatsoeuer gifts wee haue whether of the body or the mind whether of nature or of grace for all things as the Apostle witnesseth Rom. 11.36 are of God through God Rom. 11.36 and for God which place of the Apostle is worthy a little to be stood vpon because in these words is noted vnto vs the Trinity of persons and their distinctiue property of causing First he sheweth here that God is the cause of all things in a three-fold kind of causing Secondly hee sheweth how First that God is the efficient cause in respect of his power by which he created all things secondly that hee is the forming cause of all things in respect of his wisdome whereby he disposed and distinguished all things thirdly he is the finall cause of all things in respect of his goodnesse whereby hee reconciled all things vnto himselfe and doth still preserue and conserue them directing them vnto their proper ends therefore when hee saith All things are of God hee vnderstandeth the Father to whom power belongeth when he saith All things are through God he vnderstandeth the Sonne that is the wisedome of the Father when he saith All things are for God hee vnderstandeth the holy Ghost who in respect of clemency is said to be the conseruer preseruer and directer of all things to the best Thirdly to liue vnto the Lord is to referre the whole course of our life to the extolling of Gods glory as to the chiefest marke whereunto we aime hee therefore that is of God ought to walke as Christ walked 1. Ioh. 2.6 1. Ioh. 2.6 that is he must walke in the steps of Christ follow his vertues and obserue his Lawes for he that doth otherwise doth vainly take his name of Christ and is called a Christian to his greater condemnation Hence is that of Christ in the Gospell saying Why call ye me Master Master and doe not the things that I speake and in another place If I be a Father where is my honour if I be a Master where is my feare Fourthly and lastly to liue vnto the Lord is in all painfull labours and heauinesse of minde in our miseries and carefull infelicities to trust in the Lord as one that careth sufficiently for them that are his people as you may plainly see in Leuit. 26. from vers 3. to vers 13. Leu. 26.3 to 13. saying If ye trust in me and keepe my Commandements I will giue you raine in due season I will giue you peace I will chase your enemies
then three full yeers he was not onely excellently inriched with the singular pregnancy of all the faculties and wel stored with the variety of the choysest and profoundest learning such as Logick Rethorick Natural Philosophy Ethicks Oeconomicks Politicks Mathematicks Metaphisicks and Diuinity in all which to my knowledge he was singularly and admirably well grounded and that in a high degree of excellency and perfection But in his life also which he led in accompanying there yong Gentlemen now men of note and fame in England he expressed in his actions not onely an absolute pourtraiture of Aristotles morall vertues but also in his life did shine as a patterne to others of his society in the Diuine graces of faith loue zeale sincerity spirituall wisedome and all kind of duties making towards God and godlines the continuance whereof all the dayes of his life after first in his conuersation at the Court where he liued in loue and fauour with many of great dignity and honour in this Realme and afterwards here in the Countrey amongst vs haue fitted him for a blessed association with God with the holy Angels and the blessed Saints and haue now put him into the possession of euerlasting Happinesse And this of his education Now of his life of which I may truely say after these seuen yeeres inward familiarity with him which he vouchsafed vnto me aboue ordinary measure he was so louing so sweet so comfortable so peaceable a natured man so sound so zealous and so religious a Professor of Christianity and withall so sure and faithfull a friend vnto his louers and followers to speake but of my selfe for all That among many thousands I am assured I shall neuer finde the like But in speaking of his life more particularly I will first begin with his loue to God and so descend to his loue of men Touching his loue to God he was a faithfull and sincere louer of God and his Christ as appeareth by these markes symptomes following first he esteemed the world and all the lusts and pleasures thereof as vanities and base for as the Apostle saith 1. Iohn 2.15 He that loueth the World the loue of the Father is not in him Secondly he was so inwardly inflamed with a high affection and estimation of God aboue all things that he accounted Gods louing kindnesse vnto him better then his life and when any token or signe of Gods loue and fauour was shewne towards him hee alwaies esteemed it as his greatest ioy and was alwaies ready to magnifie the merits of God in remembrance of his benefits towards him Thirdly there was in his heart such a detestation of sinne and wickednesse that he hated sinne because God hated it and he hated sinners because they hated God and was alwaies carefull to do the will of God and to please him in a willingnesse of heart to doe or suffer any thing for his sake Fourthly hee in all his crosses troubles and discontentments which were many and often sweetly comforting himselfe in God onely ranne vnto him making him his defence his rocke his refuge in all his troubles often repeating which I haue heard that comfortable place of the Prophet in distresse Many are the troubles of the righteous but the Lord deliuereth them out of all And are not these with many such that I could recite most euident tokens of his loue to God in the course of his life while he liued among vs Touching the second part which is his loue to men I must first begin with his owne and that also first in his single life A blessed Sonne was he vnto his parents happy in this that they had in him a Sonne that most dutifully did honour them in all obedience reuerence and loue Secondly in the state of Wedlock being after many yeers of affection loue and liking betweene both parties matched at last to their ioyes and comforts vnto a right worthy vertuous and religious Gentlewoman a branch descended from a right Worshipfull and ancient Family Such was the simpathy of their affections that their hearts were so truely and fixedly set in loue one toward the other that still and all this while they both liued the sight of the one was the chiefest pleasure of the others eye both their thoughts feasting themselues with dearest apprehension each on other such was his loue to her and hers to him in the state of Wedlock in which estate soone after twelue moneths comfortable comfort God blessed them with the blessing of a fruitfull wombe for to them was borne a sweet and louely daughter to whom as to a branch proceeding from his loynes and as a member of himselfe his loue was most tender and his affection deare and her admired inclination of loue towards her parents being but an Infant such that they still esteemed her as a speciall blessing and a precious Iewell sent of God this my selfe besides many others that were eye-witnesses of what I speake to your eares can iustly testifie As for his tender and louely loue and his naturall and Christian-like affection to his brethren sisters and kinsfolkes I need say nothing the world of this is a sufficient temony and themselues if they will confesse the truth will be sufficient witnesses Thus much for his owne his loue to them As touching his loue to others I will first begin with the House of God though he haue not for these latter times by reason of his lingering infirmities and dangerous deseases whereof I haue beene too often too true a testimony so diligently frequented the publike exercises of Religion as he desired and that with extraordinary zeale yet that his loue was to Religion and religious men appeareth by his extraordinary fauour and affection to the Ministers of the Gospell not to speake of all that haue had a full experience of this in themselues let my peculiar testimony be as a witnesse of the rest who being but the meanest of Gods messengers haue receiued from him many great and speciall encouragments in the course of my studies First by his countenance as many witnesses can testifie if I should be silent and secondly by his liberality in that to his great cost of his own accord moued questionlesse thereunto by the Spirit of God for the aduancement of his glory hee vouchsafed to procure vnto me the proper vse and benefit of that well-furnished and costly Library of the Reuerend and famous Doctor late deceased who by a happy match was ioyned in wedlock vnto the worthiest of his worthy sisters who is as I may say A Mary by name and a Mary by condition for that the Lord hath dealt so bitterly with her in depriuing her within the space of two yeeres of a louely father a faithfull husband and a friendly brother Secondly as for his loue to other persons of other callings his Tenants and others among whom he liued and to whom he was well knowne how he liued among them in loue in peace in meeknesse I