done somewhat amisse When wee reade the severall Apologies of the Church of Rome except onely for the foule Sinne of his Denyall for all other infirmities of Peter Charge him with his imperious controlling of his Master opposing his own nay unto CHRISTS yea This shall not be unto thee so that our Saviour with indignation gives him this sharpe answer Get thee behind mee Satan yet Bellarmine will excuse him with an error in sensu non affectu though he might erre in his understanding not apprehending the just reasons of CHRISTS going to Suffer at Ierusalem yet there was no error sayth hee in the sincerity of his affection though in truth great was the error of his affection so to desire to shew his love to CHRIST as thereby to take a course to bereave himselfe of the benefit of CHRISTS love to him Charge him with his indiscreet Petition wherein the Text expresseth that hee knew not what hee said when he said Lord let us heere make three Tabernacles hoping as St. Chrysostome conceives Homil. 57 in Mat. that if hee could have perswaded his Master to dwell there he would never have remov'd to goe and suffer at Ierusalem yet Bellarmine will excuse him with a Potuit errare non potuit peccare Perhaps he might erre sayth hee but surely he could not Sinne for hee knew not what he said as if it were no sinne for a man to say he knowes not what Charge him with his over-confident Protestation as wee see afterward by the cowardly event Though I should dye with thee yet will I not deny thee and yet not long after denies him againe and againe and that before hee was in any danger of death yet Bellarmine will excuse him with an aut nullus hic lapsus aut amoris excessus either hee was not to blame at all or gently to be blam'd onely for an excessive expression of his love though we may easily conjecture at the greatnesse of his sinne by the greatnesse of his punishment for if PETER had not so boldly offer'd to dye with CHRIST CHRIST would never have suffer'd that he should so shamefully deny him Lastly charge him with this Presumptuous querulous curious question in the Text Lord what shall this man doe yet Bellarmine will excuse him and of all the Sinnes before mentioned finde him guilty onely of a little Curiositie and that with an If too Si curiositas dicenda venia dignissima If you will needs finde him guilty of a little sinne of curiositie surely it was but a veniall sinne So zealous in all things are they in the defence of St. PETER as if his credit were theyr own Now when wee reade and heare these things wonder at their boldness in making such strong Apologies in his behalfe as if indeed Peter had not beene so much to blame for any desert of his to be reprov'd as his Master for reproving him let us beware lest in the like kinde making the like weake excuses for our selves we make theyr Sins our owne Let us beware that we be not too forward to censure and controll to intermeddle with things in Church or State which are too high for us to speak evill of that we doe not understand and then think to excuse all with an error in sensu non affectu if our judgements may be mistaken yet our affections are well devoted For it is a great error in mens affections to be strong in the prosecution of such things wherein their judgements are but weake Let not the commonness of many sins cause us to give indulgence to our selues in the committing thereof because they are so common and then excuse all with a potui errare non peccare It was my errour and in many things we offend all but it was not so great a sin For surely there is no readier way to make sinnes great then thus to lessen them And indeed strange it is to consider how just and strickt wee are in point of Doctrine and will acknowledge no sinne to be veniall and yet how unjust and licentious wee are in point of Practise as if wee thought few sinnes to bee mortall Lastly when by the faithfull dispencers of GODS word we shall often heare our Sinnes anatomized multiplyed to more particulars then wee can sodainly discover while wee looke upon them only in the grosse Let us not breake out into tearmes of indignation and say Wee hate these men because they aggravate our sinnes and Prophesie unto us evill and not good No rather let us hate those Sinnes for which wee deserve these evils And when we know that the heart of man is deceitfull above all things and a hard matter it is for any man to know the worst of himself if wee shall sometime heare more then our self-indulgence will easily beleeve let us yet bee perswaded that wee deserve more then wee have heard of and humbly take up the Meditation and Prayer of the Psalmist Who knoweth how oft he offends O cleanse thou mee from my secret faults And thus much for a Second observation I come now unto a third and I have done And my last Observation omitting many others shall bee this That the great Mercies of GOD are commonly attended with great Iudgements For therefore doth our SAVIOUR here mention his comming in my Text because having come once already to offer great Mercy to the Iewes such as had never beene offered before to offer himselfe to as many as would beleeve in him that they might not perish but have everlasting life hee intended to come shortly againe to shew great judgements such as hee had never shewed before judgements so much the more severely to be executed by how much they had beene the more regardlesse of his Mercies Thus if you looke backe on the first judgements on the Angels Saint AVGVSTINE will tell you In Iohan. Tract 100 tantò execrabiliùs beneficii Dei ingrati quantò beneficentiùs sunt creati That the more excellent was the perfection of theyr Creation the more execrable was theyr Sinne the more severe and exemplary was theyr punishment or if ye looke on the first judgement upon man the same Augustine will tell you Hoc tam leve praeceptum ad observandum tantò majori injustitia violatum Civit. Dei lib. 14. cap 12. quantò facileori observantia poterat custodiri That Gods first command was with so much the greater injustice violated with so much the greater justice punisht by how much with the greater facilitie and the promise of the greater Happinesse it might have been observ'd Thus if we looke upon the Seaven Churches in St. IOHN as we read a declaration of great Mercy the Tabernacle of GOD came downe among Men with Starres and golden Candlestickes So wee heare a denunciation of great Iudgements too Repent or I will come and remove the Candlesticke to the Church of Ephesus Repent or I will come and fight against thee to the Church of Pergamos Repent or
of the Author De Vocatione Gentium Lib. 1. c. 2. Voluntas mutabilis quae non ab incommutabili voluntate regitur tanto citiùs propinquat iniquitati quantò acrius intenditur actioni the more earnestly the mutable will of man not guided by the incommutable wil of God is intent upon action the more prone it is to act amisse To teach us that the more zealous and active wee are the more carefull we ought to be in the moderation of our actions lest partaking of St. Peters forwardnesse wee partake of his sinne too though truly happier is that man who being zealous to doe well shall sometime doe amisse then hee who for feare of doing ill will doe nothing at all Now if we looke into the particulars of PETERS sinnes wee shall finde one great fault he had te be given to question and controll when it better behooved him to answer obey When our SAVIOVR in the 16. of St. Matthew had declar'd himselfe that hee must goe up to Ierusalem that hee must suffer many things of the Scribes and Elders that hee must bee killed and rise againe the third day and it had befitted St. PETERS piety to make answer with the like prayer which afterward his Master us'd O that this Cup might passe from thee yet not my will but thy will bee done you see how imperiously hee takes upon him to rebuke and to controll Farre bee it from thee this shall not bee unto thee When our SAVIOVR had now guirt himselfe and told PETER that he must wash his feet and it had befitted him in wisedome though bee knew not yet the reason of this Ceremonie to make answere Bee it unto mee as thou wilt you see how in a shew of humilitie hee sheweth indeed some pride and disobedience Thou shalt never wash my feet And heere in this story when our Saviour sayth unto him Follow thou me and it had befitted his devotion upon the remembrance how lately hee had played the run-away to make answer Lord I will follow thee wheresoever thou goest you see how presently he forgets himselfe and begins to question after Iohn Lord what shall this man doe Now because we know Peters infirmities were not his alone and though wee have warning from him yet dayly wee are prone to commit the like errors againe Let me commend unto you that sober exhortation of St. Iames Fratres mei ne sitis multi magistri My brethren be not many masters Be not too forward to question and controll what shall this man and this thing doe and this and this be farre from us it shall not be so For however the great Masters in Church and Commonwealth over our soules and bodies bee not like Peters Master have not an infallibility in all the directions they propose yet because such as they are we are commanded to obey them and it behoveth our Christian modesty to bee perswaded that they know better how to command us then we to advise them Let us be very wary upon what termes wee contradict or disobey Lest God in defence of those higher powers with whom wee are but too prone to contest may give us the like check which once he gave unto his people Israel They have not rejected you but they have rejected me Or if there may bee some things whereof the wisedomes of some men cannot bee so well perswaded as indeed while men are men it is not to bee expected in all things that great men should bee Gods let us not foolishly heape the coales of other mens fires upon our owne heads and with too much heare and violence make the sinne of our complaining greater than the matter whereof wee doe complain No rather when we know that there is no evill in the City which the Lord hath not done in all the evils which either we feele or feare let us lift up our eyes unto the Lord for a redresse for certainly with him our humble prayer is able to prevaile more then tenne thousand stomackfull complaints And thus much for my first observation I come now unto a second Where in the second place we may observe that however when we read the bare question of St. Peter our charity might easily be satisfied as some of the ancient have conceiv'd that St. IOHN having heeretofore askt at the request of St. PETER to put the rest of the Disciples out of feare Lord who is it that shall betray thee So Peter now by way of friendly requitall that Iohn also might know his end and by what death hee was to glorifie God maketh the like request for him Master what shall this man doe a request wherein admitting of this faire paraphrase we may finde matter rather to commend then censure him Yet when we read the answer of our Saviour that wee may know he seeth not as man seeth he judgeth not as man judgeth wheras our ignorance would have sayd We finde no fault in this man no sin in this question his knowledge finds as many sinnes as words But foure words did Peter utter Domine hic autem quid which wee more largely translate Lord what shall this man doe and yet in these foure words there are foure sinnes First a sin of presumption Lord what shall this man doe as if CHRIST would have forgotten St. Iohn unlesse Peter had remembred him Secondly a sinne of curiositie Lord what shall this man doe as if because Iohn knew what should become of Peter Peter must needs know what should become of Iohn Thirdly a sinne of repining Lord what shall this man doe as if Peter had no mind to follow Christ unles Iohn who had always heretofore beene his companion might goe along with him and lastly a sin of negligence Lord what shall this man doe as if it were fitting for him now to inquire after others when as the strictnesse of his Masters charge might have put him in minde rather to looke to himselfe All which sinnes seeme to bee exprest or intimated in the answer of our SAVIOVR If I will or it is my will that hee shall tarry till I come a check for his Presumption Hee shall tarry and you shall follow mee a check for his repining Whether he tarry or tarry not what is that to thee A check for his curiosity and lastly Follow thou me which being a repetition of the same charge immediatly given him before implyeth a check for his negligence So that when we see in this case of PETER here and every day in our owne questions our owne answers our owne actions the case may be the same how many Sinnes the knowledge of GOD takes notice of which otherwise our ignorance would never have observ'd He searcheth the heart and reynes and weighs each word we speake how ought this to perswade us carefully to take heed unto our wayes to worke out our Salvation with feare and trembling in such things wherein we think we have done well ever to bee jealous lest wee have
I will kill thy Children with death to the Church of Thyatira Now when we seriously consider what our SAVIOUR sayth Hee that reades these things let him understand and what St. IOHN hath added Hee that hath eares to heare let him heare what the Spirit saith to the seaven Churches for the case of these Churches is a leading case for all the Churches of the World Let us remember that all these things have been said and done to serve as ensamples unto us That since the reformation of our Church great have been the manifestations of Gods mercy great peace great plenty and that which is greater then all this great salvation in the free and sincere dispensation of the great mysteries of Godlinesse wee cannot but all thankfully acknowledge And if my observation as certaine it is be true that great judgments attend great mercies upon the neglect of so great Salvation that great Visitations will ensue wee cannot but be afraid But yet it is not for mee to tell you the times and seasons of those judgements which God hath reserved in his owne power For as the exhalations arising from the Earth and Seas wee all know to bee the cause of those clouds which produce raine and stormes yet no man dares take upon him to assure That this day or this houre it will raine or this moneth this yeare will bee a great flood So though wee know the exhalations of our sinnes rayse clouds of separation betweene GOD and us yet how long these clouds will be gathering together before they produce a generall storme it exceeds the apprehension of man to be able to determine And indeed hitherto whether in the course of our Religion in this last Age there have been ebbes or flowes whether wee have increast or diminisht the talents God hath given us though many men rashly take upon them to give judgement yet I think it is not so easie a matter to decide And because in this argument every man almost presumes to spend his conjecture I hope the commonnesse of the Presumption will excuse me if I shall discover mine And for my part I am perswaded that there is no such iniquity in Iacob no such transgression in our Israel no such transgression exceeding the transgressions of our Fathers even in the best times that can be nam'd that for this reason wee should have any more cause then they to feare that God who hath hitherto come graciously to us with his Love should now shortly bend his bow and whet his Sword and come upon us with the Rod. Necessary I confesse it is that with the declaring of GODS just judgements unto sinners wee should often threaten and humble the Soules of men but yet so farre to dishearten the Lords people with the feare of generall imminent visitations as to bring them into dislike of the Church and State wherein they live to occasion them to remove by hundreds and thousands into remote and desolate parts of the world as if they could any where bee more safe then where they are surely this is a point of zeale strain'd so farre beyond discretion that I am perswaded GOD himselfe doth not approve it 'T is possible I confesse on the one side to daube with untempered morter and say Peace peace when there is no peace but on the other side let mee tell you 'T is not impossible for men to make ZEDECHIAS hornes and say Thus and thus shall the Lord push when the Lord hath not sent them and thereby as the Prophet complaines make the heart of the righteous sad Ezech. 13.22 whom the LORD hath not made sad For mine own part as long as wee are not able and blessed be GOD that wee are not able to demonstrate the like sinnes of Idolatry cruelty injustice and oppression wherwith God by all the Prophets chargeth his people Israel before ever hee threatens to come and visit them I cannot be perswaded that any man hath just warrant to denounce the like judgements against us And thus farre have I declar'd my selfe not that I would flatter the Times or footh men up in theyr transgressions for wee know that every day God for single sinners hath single visitations though the great and terrible day of his Wrath be never so farre off What because wee feare not any judgement on the whole Land shall any Sinner therefore not be afraid of judgement on himself This is as if a Soldier in the warres thinking himselfe safe from the Cannon should therefore desperatly runne upon a volly of small shot when as we know a little Pistoll will kill a man as well as a great Ordnance But thus much have I spoken for three causes First that I might advise men to bee more wary in theyr comparative invectives against Sinne. For cry aloud and spare not tell Iudah of his sinnes and Israel of his transgressions but shall wee therefore to the heavie prejudice of the government of the State and if the imputation were true to the inexcusable dishonour of our owe profession to whose charge the Soules of men are committed if we that are appointed to build up shall suffer them to fall downe shall wee therefore say never more sinne never more transgression never more feare of CHRISTS comming unto Iudgement For who hath kept a booke of remembrance who knowes how oft wee have offended or who knowes how oft out Fathers have offended Nay who knowes but that GOD may bee offended for want of our thankfulnesse for the increase of his grace and favor toward us which we will not be perswaded to acknowledge Secondly that I might a little moderate the zeale and passions of men For as wee are equally beholding to the motion and influence of the Moone if that bee the second cause sometime for withdrawing the waters to an ebbe as well as sometime for raising them up unto a flood so surely it is as commendable an act though not so popular sometime to allay the affections of men when they begin to overflow as well as sometime to raise and stirre them up when they are at a low ebbe And indeed if the minds of men bee once strongly perswaded that daylie the World growes worse and worse every man will take upon him to finde out the cause and cōmendable it were would they only conceive in generall that the Imaginations of the heart of Man were continually proner and proner unto evill but when they presume to goe on unto particulars and one pointeth at the Doctrine another at the discipline of the Church one at the government another at the Governours both in Church and Common-wealth this is that which in time may bring all unto confusion and with their owne hands help to pluck downe those Iudgments which they pretend to be most carefull to keepe off when as if the minds of men were perswaded better things and such as accompany salvation would they beleeve that it is with our Religion as with our wealth though many
l. 8. Epist 22. qui caeteris ita ignoscit tanquam ipse quotidie peccet ita peccatis abstinet tanquam nemini ignoscat Hee indeed is a right good man who in all things is so favourable to the sinnes of others as if himselfe were the greatest sinner and yet so severe and strict unto himselfe as if hee would favour no man And thus much for the first exposition of my Text I come now unto the second And of his fulnesse have wee all received 2 Exposition and grace for grace that is grace upon grace grace after grace first one grace then another For GOD who gave not the Spirit by measure to his Sonne gives it by measure and portions to his Saints which like good seed sowne into good ground brings foorth first the blade then the eare then the full corne in the eare first the will and then the deed first begins the deed and then perfects it And therefore give diligence saith St. PETER and adde to your faith vertue to vertue knowledge to knowledge temperance to temperance patience to patience godlinesse and that wee may know there are many and high degrees to bee ascended before we come unto the height of grace to that full assurance whereof fondly oftimes we secure ourselves even at the first step you see againe he doubles the same caution Give diligence to make your calling and Election sure And St. PAVL often Let the word dwell richly in you in all wisedome Let your love abound more and more That you may bee rooted and built up and stablished in the faith That you may be holy and unreproovable in the sight of God That hee may present unto himselfe a glorious Church not having spot or wrinkle Indeed it is the desire of most men to be partakers of Gods grace so much at least as may enlighten them a little give them a taste of the heavenly guift and keepe them from despaire and then are they ready to say unto theyr soule Soule take thy ease for thou hast now enough grace enough layd up in store But the earnest and constant desire of grace for grace and grace upon grace to follow our Petitions as St. HIEROM did with a peto ut accipiam cum accepere rursus peto dayly doe I aske the grace of God Avarus sum ad accipienda beneficia dei Nec ille deficit in dando nec ego satior in accipiendo Ad Ctesiphor adv Pelag. and when I have obtain'd what I aske for dayly doe I aske the same againe and as long as hee is well pleased to grant never will I give over my desire this a rare zeale though yet in truth better have no talent then wrap it in a Napkin For GOD will not bee content with his owne hee must have interest where hee soweth grace he expects to reape grace for grace and therefore having once tasted of the heavenly guift let us dayly so hunger and thirst after Righteousnesse as that wee may bee filled with the Spirit For wee are to observe that as in GOD there is a fulnesse if I may so speak of capacitie fulnesse of justice fulnesse of mercy fulnesse of wisedome fulnesse of power all fulnesse at the full because hee is infinitely full as in CHRIST there is a fulnesse of satietie such a fulnesse as was fitted and proportioned by the will of his Deitie such a fulnesse as did abundantly satiate the will and desire of his humanitie a fulnesse without measure if compar'd to that small portion vouchsafed to the greatest of the Saints and yet a fulnesse which had measure and proportion if compar'd unto the infinite fulnes of the Deity Deus quamvis omnipotens non potuit vel inaequalem sibi gignere filiis Bernard Homil. 3. vel aequalem condere creaturam It was impossible that even the omnipotencie of GOD should eyther beget the divine person of his Sonne unequall or create his humane nature equall to himselfe so in tne Saints of God there must bee a fulnesse too a fulnesse of competency fulnesse of Faith and fulnesse of workes also that while we beleeve in him who justifieth a sinner wee may daily labour the reformation of our sinnes Behold saith CHRIST I stand at the doore and knocke and if any man heare my voyce and open the doore I will come in and sup with him and hee with me Here then you see there must bee a mutuall entertainment of supper for supper fulnesse for fulnesse for indeed then onely is this Feast rightly prepared when as well CHRIST suppes with us as we with him he on the delight of our obedience we on the confidence of his True indeed it is that if wee looke into the empty world a little goodnesse may soone raise us unto a Pharisaicall ostentation and serve to justifie our selves by negatives Lord I thanke thee that I am not thus nor thus nor like unto this Publicane and thinke that wee have grace enough if wee can poynt out any man more gracelesse then our selves when as yet St. AVGVSTINE will tell us Civit. dei l. 14. c. 3. Ipse diabolus non est fornicator neque ebriosus the Divell himselfe might thus commend himselfe for he was never drunke nor ever committed Fornication and the Publicane might make reply LORD I thanke thee that I am no Pharisee when as perhaps his whole life hath beene so farre from expressing the truth of godlinesse as that hee was never yet so well devoted to make shew of it Infaelicissimum genus consolationis est Salvian ad Eccles Cathol lib. 2. de miseriis hominum peccatorum capere solatia It is a most unhappy kinde of comfort for a man to solace himselfe in his owne sinne upon the view of greater sinnes in others No rather letting passe these deceivable discourses let us strive to fashion our selves according to the infallible rules of holy Scripture and when wee know they are no common graces of the Spirit whereby wee are seal'd unto the day of redemption let us dayly implore grace for grace that wee may approve the things that are excellent and bee filled with the fruits of righteousnesse Nativitas salutaris non accepta sed custodita vivificat Cyprean Epist 7. It is not a single grace but grace upon grace must save us and however the goodnesse and mercy of God might bee content with lesse then our owne care and zeale will bee content for our owne selves however our selves in humility might be content with the lowest roome even to bee doore-keepers in the house of God yet how unspeakable would bee our joy if it might please him to grant more then wee dare presume to ask and according to our increase in grace for grace multiply unto us glory for glory too and entertaine us in his Kingdome with an Amice ascende superiùs Friend sit up higher As then IACOB returning into his owne Countrey and afrayd of his brother ESAV sends before
for the sinne of man yet like the Sheepe before the Shearer hee opened not his month and how then dwels the patience of CHRIST in us Lastly if wee put off the chiefe care of our Soule till the last houre our prayer our repentance and strict examination of our wayes and thinke in the meane while that a Lord Lord a formall devotion will suffice we know that CHRIST spent whole nights in prayer and in the anguish of his soule and that for the sense of our sinnes sweat even drops of blood and how then dwelleth the devotion of CHRIST in us Those are quaeres able to startle a good soule and surely would we let passe those deceivable examples which from the frailties of men too indulgently oft-times we propose unto our selves this man will doe thus and that man thus and strive more nearly to square our actions according to this infallible patterne in my Text a world of sinnes there are wherewith the World through custome is now almost uncontroullably full fraught which we should then be as farre from any desire to commit as now I feare we are from any intent to amend and having receiv'd at first though but a sparke of grace wee should in time so kindle and inflame it as that like IOHN Baptist it might prove a burning and a shining light by which light we might then easily discover our owne happinesse and say with IOB Now I know that my Redeemer liveth But some men perhaps will heere reply as the Patient once did to the Physitian prescribing him to keepe a good dyet if I had meant saith hee to keepe a good dyet I should never have need to come to you for Physicke pray tell me how I may keepe an ill dyet and not bee sicke so you will say perhaps wee al know already what good wee must doe and what grace we must have that we may be saved but pray tell us what evils we may doe and what grace wee may want and yet bee saved May we not sweare a little ryot a little and if our beloved sinne bee but little one may not our soule flye thither and yet live But first I pray tell mee what sinne is there which any man dareth cal little which without repentāce is great heavie and enough to weigh him down to Hell Indeed so great is the mercy of God as that we finde a pardon oft times given to great sinnes but where ever doe wee finde before-hand a dispensation given to the least God sometime upon the fore-sight of our repentance antedates his pardon Thy sinne is forgiven thee saith Nathan unto DAVID though it is thought the solemne repentance for this sinne was afterwards perform'd but shall we therefore upon the fore-intendment of our repentance antedate our sin Surely if you would give me a house full of gold I dare not tell you so For this quaere is as if a man should aske how high may I fall downe headlong before I breake nay necke or how often may I stabbe my self before I be wounded unto death Surely because a little wound oftimes proveth dangerous or at leastwise full of paine a wise man will not rashly cut his skin and if skin for skin and all that a man hath hee will give for his life how diligent and tender ought to bee every mans care for his owne soule Quae insania est Salvian ad Eccles Cathol lib. 2. ut non quanta potes omnino facias cum ignores penitus quid tibi competat ad salutem What madnesse is it for a man not to take the best care he can for his soule when as he knowes that after all the care which he can take even the Righteous shall scarce bee saved Let us not then presume to inquire how farre we may suffer sin to abound Be we never so carefull to suppresse it sinne will abound too farre but aske rather how farre must grace more abound to obteyne the forgivenesse of our sinne and when we see what high patternes of obedience are every where in holy Scripture propos'd unto our imitation the perfection of the Father the grace of the Sonne the fellowship of the Holy Ghost the Communion of Saints and Angels may these great examples dayly inlarge our indeavours and as long as wee can never hope to doe what wee ought let us never cease to doe what we may Now then to draw all to a conclusion We reade in this Chapter of a two fold fulnesse in CHRIST there is a fulnesse of truth and a fulnesse of grace fulnesse of truth wee have reveal'd in holy Scripture and from hence truth for truth wee are able to communicate each to others but fulnesse of grace this is Gods praerogative which he reserves onely to himselfe and grace for grace what man ever durst take upon him to bestow Fulnesse of truth is the religion of the soule furnisheth the eye the eare the tongue the head but fulnesse of grace this is the soule of our religion and drawes all unto the heart fulnesse of truth it is a diligent MARTHA and provideth many commendable things but fulnesse of grace this is the devout MARY and bringeth the maine necessary part this is the pearle which though wee should sell all that we have to buy will buy a thousand times more then wee can sell this is the oyle which cheereth the countenance the wine which makes glad the heart of man and with a good conscience keepeth a continuall feast This is comes in via pro vehiculo the most gentile and faithfull companion in the world which whē wealth when honor whē strength when wit when speech when sense when life it selfe shall faile will yet never leave us nor forsake us I beseech you then as wee cannot but all thankfully acknowledge that we have already receiv'd the religion of the soule truth for truth let us dayly implore from Heaven the soule of our Religion grace for grace grace upon grace even the grace of our Lord IESVS CHRIST that having given us an understanding head hee would bee pleas'd to create in us a new heart and renew a right spirit within us that when with the sighes and groanes of this spirit from the bottome of this heart we shall call and cry unto him Abba Father hee may graciously make answer from Heaven I will be unto thee a Father and thou shalt bee to me a Sonne Amen Serm. IV THE FOVRTH SERMON ECCLES 12.1 Remember now thy Creator in the dayes of thy youth WHen I read the saying of St. IOHN My little Children this is the last time the time saith St. PAVL even of the end of the world consider withal that it is now neare 1600 yeares ago since this caveat was first given surely me thinks wee that live at the end of this end at the last period of this last time have now great cause together with the end of the world evē daily to bethink our selves of our own end and
commeth a malefactor to the Crosse and goeth a Saint to Paradise but pray tell mee for this one this single one who had so good successe how many thousands doe you thinke have gone from the Crosse to Hell Were it not madness in us then to venture on that disease whereof thousands have been cast away upon this cold Presumptiō that some odde man or two have been recovered We are all too prone to looke on the Thiefe that hung on the right hand but wee might doe well sometime to think upon him who hung upon the left For is there great Mercy with GOD and is there not great Iustice too Do but looke into the same Booke and you shall see that the same hand hath purposely registred many fearefull Examples in all kinds of men sodainly surprised by his justice even presently upon the committing of their sinne that so the memory of theyr ends may fright us from the imitation of theyr actions as knowing that what hath befallen one may be common unto all and that in such sinnes wherein some men have dyed so desperately no man can live secure And surely as Sinnes doe propose themselves to us would we but seriously oppose these Examples unto them and as our SAVIOUR hath already made the application to our hand Remember LOTS wife when having put the hand unto the plough wee are ready to looke backe againe Remember ACHAN in our Covetousnesse ABSOLON in our Disobedience ZIMRI and COSBI in our Lust HEROD in our Pride ANANIAS in our Hypocrisie and the like surely I say would we but seriously lay these precedents to heart the feare of the punishment would soon fright us from the love of the sinne Let us not then presuming on GODS patience provoke his anger Let us not fondly perswade our selves because no time is too late for him to forgive that therefore any time is soone enough for us to repent no if wee will be sure to sing a requiem at our going out of the world let us begin our miserere at our coming in Ambros de Paenit lib. 2. cap. 9. Infir maspes quae committitur tempori cum omne tempus incertum sit neque omni spes tempori superstes for weak is our present trust or time to come when as we know that all time to come is uncertaine Nor can we certainly trust all time that cōmeth because that goodnes of GOD which hath promised pardon wherever we shall repent hath no where promised repentance when ever our selves please Lastly Remember now thy Creator in the dayes of thy youth because in the dayes of thy youth thy Creator hath remembred thee who is it from whom thou hast receiv'd thy being Are not children the fruit of the womb a guift that commeth of the Lord who is it by whom thou livest and movest and enjoyest the blessings of this life doe not the eyes of all things waite upon thee O Lord and thou fillest every living thing with Plenteousnesse Who is it that amidst all the casualties of the world preserveth thee in thy going out and in thy comming in Hath not he given his Angels charge ever thee that thou shalt not so much as dash thy foot against a stone So that from thy first conception to this houre one day telling another what great things he that is mighty hath done for thee what canst thou doe lesse in testimonie of thy thankfulnesse then to serve him without feare in holinesse and righteousnesse all the dayes of thy life GODS remembrance of thee it is voluntary but thine of him is of necessity Hee can say of the best of men I have no need of you but can the best man say to him I have no need of thee If then his goodlesse freely moove him to be mindfull of thee let thy duty constraine thee to remember him And that not without just cause for unlesse thou shalt put him in mind to perfect the worke of his owne hands and to his creation of Nature adde the creation of Grace also a thousand times better had it beene that thou hadst been quite forgotten and not Created at all For however of all the Creatures of the earth man be the most noble and divine yet simply to be a man is but a doubtfull blessing thou knowest not yet whether thou shalt be lov'd or hated That which puts all out of doubt must be a new creation and therefore if thou desire to take up the language of the Pharisee but with a better minde Lord I thanke thee that I am not as other men are now no more an olde but a new creature remember thy Creator with the prayer of the Psalmist Create in me O Lord a cleane heart and renew a right spirit within me a spirit wherby our hearts may be enlarged with obedience and thankfulnesse and dayly remembrance of our duties unto him according to the largenesse of his goodnesse and mercy and continuall mindfulnesse of us and then Quà m beati essemus si quà m promptam erga nos Dei audientiam legimus Salvian de Gubernat Dei lib. 2. taem prompto ipsum audire velimus O how happy should wee be were we but halfe so ready to heare and fulfill the commands of GOD as we are to overheare and challenge his promises And thus much for the reasons and motives to perswade the young man to remember his Creator I come now in the second place to answer his objections First then it may bee urg'd must the young man so early begin to remember his Creator Must the tender neck presently become subject to this heavie yoake no sooner have we with-drawne our hand from the ferula and come newly but to feele and know our selves but presently must wee be bound in a perpetuall apprentiship and that to a harder Master then before This is a hard saying and who is able to endure it willingly would wee take up our crosse and follow CHRIST but gladly would wee have a little respite first to go and bid the world farewell Indeed were Religion an easie profession it might more easily bee deferr'd Things wherein there is lesse difficulty require lesse industry But because all the World will grant that it is very hard to bee good surely wee had need to begin betimes Difficultie then you see which is urg'd as an objection to put off Religion till olde age proves a strong argument to perswade us to be religious in our youth yet notwithstanding could it but well appeare that the same yoake which punisheth us in our youth would prove more easie to old age the excuse might bee more pardonable But for my part when I consider that all Trades all Arts all Sciences are in their first rudiments best learnt in our minority I cannot be perswaded but that religion also which with pretence of difficulty because wee are unwilling to make triall of our owne strength wee are all too ready to put off till wee are old will yet prove most
case for thou hast now enough layd up in store when as wee know there is no evill more common under the Sun then goods thus purchased to prove the undoing of the purchaser the stone will cry out of the wall and the beame out of the timber will make answer Woe to the man that thus addes house to house and land to land For what shal it profit thee for a time to have gain'd the whole world Salvian ad Eccles Cathol l. 3 in the end to loose thine owne soule for ever Et infaelicissime omniuÌ„ cogitas quam bene alii post te vivant non cogitas quam male ipse moriaris and unhappy wretch thou art to please thy selfe to think how happily thy posterity rais'd by thy art and industry shall live and never once think'st how miserably thy selfe must dye And indeed strange and wonderful it is to see the impotent desire of the world to purchase good house good laÌ„d good drink good aire yet how slender is their care to bee good themselves Aug. Civ Dei lib. 3. c. 1. quasi hoc sit homini maximum bonum habere bona omnia praeter seipsum as if this were the chief good of man to have all things good about him but himself Deut. 3. As then wee read that when Moses made that passionate petitioÌ„ unto God O Lord thou hast begun to shew thy servant thy greatnes and thy mighty hand let me I pray thee go over and see that good land beyond Iordan God with a short answer stops his mouth let it suffice thee speak no more of this matter for thou shalt not goe so if sometime our earthly desires shall make the like petitions unto God may we prevent his answer by replying to our selves Let it suffice thee to have spoke once or twice and if he wil not heare thee speake no more And indeed what madnes is it for a man to be importunatly solicitous for such things which he knoweth not whether they will prove unto him good or il For notwithstanding that great licentiousnes which coÌ„monly wealth honor usurpe unto themselves so strict an imposition doe we finde layd upon all things under the Sunne that hee that shall seriously bethink himself of his account and that of him who receiveth much much shall bee requir'd shal find perhaps the ods to be but very litle not to have the world to use or as St. PAVL requires to use the world as if we us'd it not unlesse in truth the taske may prove more easie with patieÌ„ce to want the world then with moderation to injoy it Quotus enim quisque sapientum est cui non crescat cum prosperitate vitiositas Salvian de Guber Dei lib. 7. For it is a great hazard to the vertue of a wise man but that if riches increase sin wil increase too Labour not then for the meat that perisheth nor take much thought for the blessings of this life For al these things touch not trouble not the Master with an honest and faire endeavor of our own dayly to aske our dayly bread it will suffice if we wil importune him let us make choyse of blessings worth our importunity not for religion onely but for shame lest it should bee said that we are more careful of our bodies then our soules let us first seeke the Kingdome of God and his righteousnesse and then though in a low condition it will be no hard matter to attaine unto that height of happines which St. Hierom commends in one of his devout women quae unius cellula clausa angustiis latitudine paradisi frucbatur De laudiâ—â— Asellae Ep. â—5 though cloistered within the compasse of a narrow Cell by divine contemplation to expatiate throughout the whole latitude of Heaven So shall we put more gladnes in our heart then if our corne and wine were never so plentifully increast and alwaies such blessings God is best pleas'd to grant which are most profitable for us to receive Secondly wee may observe that as Christ frustrats the expectation of Mary in denying the worldly blessings she desireth so to coÌ„fort her againe he exceeds her expectation in proposing the hope of heavenly blessings more theÌ„ she now thought on No sooner did Mary rapt with a sodaine joy cry out Rabboni have I found thee O thou whom my soule loveth no sooner could she fall downe and worship him as for joy that he was risen so in hope that she should bee rais'd too rais'd to honour in in that new Kingdome which shee perswaded her selfe would now shortly be restored but presently all this conceited happines is blasted with a Noli me tangere Touch mee not Doe not therefore honour me as if I were now risen to raise you to honour here on earth for though I be risen I am not yet ascended and till I be ascended you must waite yet with the same breath wherwith shee is disheartned she is comforted again for as the Yet in my text plainly intimateth and the end of the verse expresseth it he was shortly to ascend to his Father and their Father to his God and their God then and there would hee build up the houses set up the thrones and make them all Kings and Priests Thus is it usuall with GOD to with hold lesser blessings where hee intendeth to bestow greater for the earth whereon MARY had now seated the throne of her desires shall not be worthy to bee the footstoole of that happines which he inteÌ„ded to prepare Indeed if in this life only wee had hope of all men good men were most miserable But blessed be God saith St. PAVL who hath blessed us with all spirituall blessings in coelestibus in things heavenly in places heavenly and againe Blessed be God saith St. PETER who hath begotten us unto a lively hope to an inheritance incorruptible reserved for us in the Heavens and therefore oft times withdrawes his favors from us in the depth below that wee may the more earnestly seeke after theÌ„ in the height above For as God made some creatures meerly heavenly without any dependance for their preservation upon things below others meerly earthly without any hope or expectation of any happinesse above so hee made man in a condition betweene both his body from the earth earthly but his soule a sparke froÌ„ Heaven according to the two different parts whereof he doth consist he hath provided him two different mansions first the earth and then the Heaven Now however betweene these two mansions there be no compare for the earth which we see is temporall but the Heaven which wee see not is eternall yet because as in the absence of MOSES the people come flocking unto AARON and Make thou Gods say they to goe before us for as for this MOSES we know not what is become of him so in the absence of Heaven wee are too prone to lay hold upon the earth and set our affections upon