Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n
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A40662
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Good thoughts in bad times consisting of personall meditations, Scripture observations, historicall applications, mixt contemplations / by Thomas Fuller.
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Fuller, Thomas, 1608-1661.
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1645
(1645)
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Wing F2425; ESTC R7287
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30,660
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262
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plainly shewes who begat them not being of Mine Extraction but His Injection XVI MArcus Manlius deserved exceedingly well of the Roman State having valiantly defended their Capitol But afterward falling into disfavour with the People he was Condemned to death However the People would not be so unthankfull as to suâ—fer him to be executed in any place from whence the Capitoll might be beheld For the Prospect thereof prompted them with fresh Remembrance of his former merits At last they found a low Place in the * Petiline-Grove by the River-Gate where no Pinacle of the Capitoll could be perceived and there he was put to Death We may admire how men can find in their hearts to sinne against God For we can find no one place in the whole world which is not markt with a Signall Character of his mercy unto us It was said properly of the Jews but is not untrue of all Christians that they are Gods Vineyard And * God fenced it and gathered out the Stones thereof and planted it with the choisest Vine and built a Tower in the middest thereof and also digg'd a Wine-presse therein Which way can men look and not have their Eyes met with the Remembrance of Gods Favour unto them Look about the Vineyard it is fenced look without it the Stones are cast out look within it it is planted with the choisest Vine look above it a Tower is built in the midst thereof look beneath it a Wine-presse is digg'd It is impossible for one to look any way and to avoid the beholding of Gods Bounty Ungratefull man And as there is no place so there is no time for us to sin without being at that instant beholden to him We owe to him that We are even when we are Rebellious against him XVII A Duell was to be fought by consent of both * Kings betwixt an English and a French Lord The aforesaid Iohn Courcy Earl of Vlster was chosen Champion for the English A Man of great Stomack and Strength but lately much weak'ned by long Imprisonment Wherefore to prepare himself before hand the King allowed him what Plenty and Variety of Meat he was pleased to eat But the Monsieur who was to encounter him hearing what great Quantity of Victuals Courcy did daily devour and thence collecting his unusuall Strength out of fear refused to fight with him If by the Standard of their Cups and Measure of their drinking one might truly inferre Souldiers Strength by rules of Proportion most vast and valiant Atchievements may justly be expected from some Gallants of of these times XIII I Have heard that the Brook neer Lutterworth in Lestershire into which the Ashes of the burnt Bones of Wickliffe were cast never since doth drown the Meadow about it Papists expound this to be because God was well pleased with the Sacrifice of the Ashes of such a Heretick Protestants ascribe it rather to proceed from the vertue of the dust of such a Reverent Martyr I see t is a Case for Friend Such Accidents signifie nothing in themselves but according to the pleasure of Interpreters Give me such Solid reasons whereon I may rest and relye * Salomon saith The words of the wise are like nailes fastned by the Masters of the Assembly A Naile is firm and will hold driving in and will hold driven in Send me such Arguments As for these Waxen Topicall devises I shall never think worse or better of any Religion for their Sake XIX ALexander the * Great when a Child was check'd by his Governour Leonidas for being overprofuse in spending Perfumes Because on a day being to sacrifice to the Gods he took both his hands full of Frankinsence and cast it into the fire But afterwards being a man he conquered the Countrey of Iudaea the Fountaine whence such Spices did flow he sent Leonidas a Present of five hundred Talents weight of Frankincense to shew him how his former Prodigality made him thrive the better in Successe and to advise him to be no more niggardy in Divine Service Thus they that sow plentifully shall reap plentifully I see there is no such way to have a large heart as to have a large heart The free giving of the Branches of our present Estate to God is the readiest means to have the Root increased for the future XX THe Poets Fable that this was one of the Labours imposed on Hercules to make clean the Augeian Stable or Stall rather For therein they said were kept three thousand Kine and it had not been cleansed for thirty yeers together But Hercules by letting the River Alpheus into it did that with ease which before was conceived impossible This Stall is the pure Embleme of my impure Soul which hath been defiled with Millions of Sinnes for more then thirty yeers together Oh! that I might by a lively faith and unfeigned repentance let the Stream of that fountain into my soul which is opened for Iuda and Ierusalem It is impossible by all my pains to purge out my uncleannesse which is quickly done by the Rivolet of the Blood of my Saviour XXI THe Venetians shewed the Treasure of their State being in many great Coffers full of Gold and Silver to the Spanish Ambassadour But the Ambassadour peeping under the bottome of those Coffers demanded Whether that their Treasure did daily grow and had a Root for such saith he my Masters Treasure hath meaning both his Indies Many men have attained to a great height of Piety to be very abundant rich therein But all theirs is but a Cistern not Fountain-Grace onely Gods Goodnesse hath a Spring of it self in it self XXII THe * Sidonian Servants agreed amongst themselves to chuse him to be their King who that morning should first see the Sunne Whil'st all others were gazing on the East one alone lookt on the West Some admir'd more mock't him as if he look't on the Feet there to find the Eye of the Face But he first of all discovered the light of the Sunne Shining on the Tops of houses God is seen sooner easier clearer in his Operations then in his Essence Best beheld by Reflection in his Creatures For the invisible things of him from the Creation of the * World are cleerly seen being understood by the things that are made XXIII AN Italian Prince as much delighted with the Person as grieved with the Prodigality of his eldest Sonne commanded his Steward to deliver him no more Money but what the young Prince should tell his own self The young Gallant fretted at his heart that he must buy Money at so dear a Rate as to have it for telling it But because there was no Remedy he set himself to his Task and being greatly tired with telling a small Summe he brake off into this Consideration Money may speedily be spent but how tedious and troublesome is it to tell it And by Consequence how much more difficult to get it Men may Commit sinne presently pleasantly
my Saviour was pleased to shew himself a God in other mens matters and but a Man in such cases wherein he himself was concerned Being contented still to be tempted by Satan that his Suffering for us might cause our Conquering through him XXV IAnnes and * Iambres the Apes of Moses and Aaron immitated them in turning their Rods into Serpents Onely here was the difference Aarons * Rod devoured their Rods That which was Solid and Substantiall lasted when that which was slight and but seeming vanished away Thus an Active Fancie in all outward expressions may immitate a lively Faith For matter of Language there is nothing what Grace doth do but Wit can Act. Onely the difference appears in the Continuance Wit is but for fits and flashes Grace holds out and is lasting And Good Lord of thy Goodnesse give it to every one that truly desires it HISTORICALL Applications I THe English Embassadour some yeers since prevailed so farre with the Turkish Emperour as to perswade him to hear some of our English Musick from which as from all other liberal Sciences both He his Nation were naturally averse But it happned that the Musitians were so long in tuning their Instruments that the Great Turk distasting their Tediousnesse went away in discontent before their Musick began I am affraid that the differences and dissentions betwixt Christian Churches being so long in reconciling their discords will breed in Pagans such a disrelish of our Religion as they will not be invited to attend thereunto II. A Sibill came to Tarquinius superbus King of Rome and * offered to sell unto him three Tomes of her Oracles But He counting the price too high refused to buy them Away she went and burnt one Tome of them Returning she asketh him whether he would buy the two remaining at the same Rate He refuseth again counting her little better then frantick Thereupon She burns the second Tome And peremptorily asked him whether he would give the Summe demanded for the all three for the one Tome remaining Otherwise she would burn that also and He would dearly repent it Tarquin admiring at her constant Resolution and conceiving some extraordinary worth contained therein gave her Her Demand There are three Volumes of Mâ—ns Time Youth Mans Estate and Old Age and Ministers advise them * redeem this Time But men conceive the Rate they must give to be unreasonable because it will cost them the Renouncing of their Carnall Delights Hereupon one Third Part of their Life Youth is consumed in the fire of Wantonnesse Again Ministers Counsell men to redeem the remaining Volumes of their Life They are but derided at for their paâ—nes And Mans Estate is also cast away in the smoak of Vanity But Preachers ought to presse peremptorily on old People to redeem now or never the last Volume of their Life Here is the difference The Sibill still demanded but the same Rate for the remâ—ining Book But aged Folk because of their custom in sining will find it harder and dearer to redeem this the last Volume then if they had been Chapmen for all three at the first III. IN Merianith Shire in * Wales there be many Mountains whose hanging Top come so close together that shepheards sitting on severall Mountains may audibly discourse one with another And yet they must go many miles before their Bodies can meet together by the reason of the vast hollow Valleys which are betwixt them Our Soveraign and the Members of his Parliament at London seem very neer agreed in their Generall and Publike Professions Both are for the Protestant Religion Can they draw neerer Both are for the Priviledges of Parliament Can they come closer Both are for the Liberty of the Subject Can they meet Evener And yet alas there is a great Gulf and vast distance betwixt them which our sinnes have made and God grant that our Sorrow may seasonably make it up again IV. WHen Iohn King of France had Communicated the Order of the Knighthood of the Star to some of his Guard Men of mean Birth and Extraction the Nobility ever after disdained to be admitted into that degree and so that Order in France was extinguished Seeing that now adayes drinking and Sweaâ—ing and Wantonnesse are grown frequent even with base beggerly People It is high Time for men of Honour who Consult with their Credit to desist from such sinnes Not that I would have Noble Men invent New vices to be in Fashion with themselves alone But forsake Old Sinnes grown common with the meanest of People V. LOng was this Land wasted with Civill Warre betwixt the two Houses of York and Lancaster till the red Rose became white with the Blood it had lost and the white Rose Red with the Blood it had shed At last They were united in a happy Marriage and their joynt-Titles are â—wisted together in our Gracious Soveraign Thus there hath been a Great difference betwixt learned Men wherein the dominion over the Creature is founded Some putting it in Nature others placing it in Grace But the true Servants of God have an unquestioned Right thereunto Seeing both Nature and Grace the first and Second Adam Creation and Regeneration are contained in them Hence their Claime is so clear their Title is so true Ignorance cannot doubt it Impudence dare not deny it VI THe Roman Senators conspired against Iulius Caesar to kill him That very next morning Artemidoâ—us * Caesar's friend delivered him a Paper desiring him to peruse it wherein the whole plot was discovered But Caesar complemented his life away being so taken up to return the salutations of such People as met him in the way that he pocketed the Paper among other Petitions as unconcerned therein and so going to the Senate house was slain The World Flesh and Devill have a designe for the destruction of men We Ministers bring our People a Letter Gods Word wherein all the Conspiracy is revealed But who hath believed our Report Most men are so busie about worldly delights they are not at leisure to listen to us or read the Letter but thus alas runne headlong to their own Ruine and Destruction VII IT is reported of Philip the Second King of Spain That besieging the Town of St. Quintine and being to make a breach he was forced with his Cannon to batter down a small Chappell on the Wall dedicated to Saint Laurence In Reparation to which Saint he afterwards built and Consecrated unto him that famous Chappell in the Escariall in Spain for workmanship one of the wonders in the World How many Churches and Chappels of the God of Saint Laurence have been laid waste in England by this wofull Warre And which is more and more to be lamented how many living Temples of the Holy Ghost Christian People have therein been causelesly and cruelly destroyed How shall our Nation be ever able to make Recompence for it God of his Goodnesse forgive us that Dept which we of our selves