in the author of all things yet the true members of Christ haue receiued the first fruits of perfection and are said to bee perfect both in regard of their integrall parts of sanctitie and in respect of the truth of holinesse and lastly for that they enioy a measure of perfection in the kingdome of grace which shall be made compleat and absolute wanting nothing in the kingdome of glory For then our knowledge which was mixed with ignorance shall be so excellent that wee shall know as wee are knowne then we shall see him not in a glasse but cleerely and without all defect then our faith shall be turned into fruition hope into hauing loue shall abide without dissimulation and in a word wee shall be like him saith p Iohn 1.3.3 S. Iohn and see him as he is Now as this excellent knowledge is afforded vnto vs out of these wordes so the Pelagians haue gathered deadly poyson from the same to wit That man may come to such a height of perfection as to bee deuoid of all sinne in this world Against whom S. Hierome writeth The Valentinians as Irene reporteth haue taught the like and that they haue seede of election in them The Manichees thought that renati such as were regenerated came to that perfection in this life that they could not sinne any more si maxime velint howbeit they did much desire it Against all these doe but apply the distinction of perfection before handled and set downe and wee shall see how vaine and idle yea how blasphemous these opinions are But to leaue this to the wise discretion of the hearers let vs see what may be said against them First the Scripture telleth vs that we are all the seede of vncleanenesse Iob. 15.15 and in reason no cleane thing can come from that which is polluted Againe the holiest men that haue liued did complaine of their wants and haue beene subiect to * Rom. 6.21 death which is the wage of sinne as S. Paul speaketh And hath not our Sauiour taught all his Church continually to pray forgiue vs our debts 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which petition were needlesse in case we had alreadie attained perfection Adde to this that perfection consisteth in a certaine excesse from which the best is so farre in this life that as S. Bern. saith Nemo perfectus est qui perfectior esse non appetit And if he hunger and thirst after righteousnesse it is manifest he hath no superfluitie either to lay by or to afford others Now if it be obiected that our Sauiour saith whosoeuer drinketh of the water that he shall giue them shall neuer be more a q Which words are vnderstood of the estate of a true beleeuer in this world thirst the answere is readie that thirst is not opposed to further desire of the encrease of grace and of the blessed Image of God which is not fully restored till we possesse heauen 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but to a totall and finall falling from grace which the childe of God shall bee free from howbeit he finde many wants in himselfe and feele many oppositions against him whilest hee is clothed with the house of clay Not to proceed further in this point the saying of S. Augustine is good Si qua fidelium hic esse potest perfectio in eo consistit vt se imperfectos esse agnoscant If there be any perfection in this life it is to know our wants and to desire a supply out of the rich treasure of Gods goodnesse And where this is truly in any man it will be seene by the practise of righteousnesse which is the second propertie of a good man Behold the iust Where integritie and soundnesse of faith is in the heart it is like fire which yeeldeth either heat or flame or both Let Dauids heart be hot within him words of grace will issue from him For as the spirit of man is not idle so the spirit of grace in man is euer working the thing that is holy either by suppressing euill or acting good wherein is the life of true iustice and righteousnesse But to come more neerely to the point This iust man which Dauid would haue vs to behold must be considered in his foure dimensions The first whereof is his altitude and that is in his abilitie to know the rule of righteousnesse and to take the true height thereof For what likelihood is there for a man to doe iustice and to be ignorant of the boundaries that hee must vse in the practise thereof Whence is that saying of S. Ambrose Male se rectum putat qui regulam summae rectitudinis ignorat He that vnderstandeth not the rule of equitie is very like to bee defectiue in all duties of righteousnesse I grant that an ignorant man may doe right to another but it is as the blinde man hitteth the marke or at the least as he who saw men walking like trees and I am sure the former may as well misse as hit so the latter doth notoriously mistake the matter The second dimension is his latitude which extendeth to the profiting of others as well as himselfe Of this our Prophet speaketh in this Psalme when hee saith that a good man is mercifull and lendeth which act of charitie is for the good of borrowers more then of the lender who oftentimes loseth both his goods and the loue of his borrowing friend Iustus magis alijs quà m sibi prodest saith S. Ambrose A iust man is more helpfull and gainfull to others then himselfe and heerein hee resembleth the eie in the body which seeth all but it selfe and the Lion-like Sunne in the firmament which sendeth out beames of glorious light to all but it selfe The third point in the iust man is his longitude and that is to bee contented onely with that is a mans owne and to stretch out the length of his desire and endeuour to nothing that belongeth to another man no not so much as in a wish For as an ancient Father saith Iustus nil alienum vendicat sed cuilibet dat quod suum est The iust man claimeth nothing but that is proper to himselfe and giueth to euery man that belongeth vnto him to God his due to Caesar his owne and that with a willing and a ready minde And saluation is then come to Zaccheus house Luke 19.8 when he carrieth this minde The fourth thing to bee considered in this iust man is his profunditie in the practise of righteousnesse which will not suffer him to damnifie his neighbour nor to vse any nimble shifts whereby to increase his estate but to build all his fortunes as men vsually speake vpon honest and plaine dealing And hence is that saying A good and iust man wil neither damno afficere quenquam nec aliquid dolo annectere rei suae tricks and shifts are odious to a righteous man yea though he might gaine Kingdoms therby Such a one was iust Iob whose
with cumbersome thoughts against which he made resistance by priuat prayer and by conference with one of his seruants that attended him About two of the clocke in the morning I came to him and he told me what combats he had with his enemie and I giuing him such counsell against the same as God gaue me wisdom to do he receiued it so hungerly as I was much comforted with it Presently he desired we might pray together that said he I may haue a feeling comfort of that you haue spoken which we did and at the end of praier hee concluded with repeating this word thrice Amen Immediatly after he made an excellent confession of his faith and of the hope that was in him touching his saluation concluding that his confession with a praier that God would strengthen him in that faith vnto the end and in his end After the end of which prayer he lifted vp his eyes and hands to heauen and vttered these words Now is my comforter come and hell gates shall not preuaile against mee and by the power and comfort of thy spirit I know I shall finish my course with ioy and after receiue the crowne of life from the end of which prayer and confession hee was neuer troubled with any temptation Then he being quiet for some halfe houre I asked him whether hee could call to mind that euer hee dealt hardly with any man and if he had so done to make restitution he smilingly answered I thanke God I neuer tooke nor got any goods vnlawfully or vncharitably and I thanke you for putting me in mind of this point Once more he made a confession of his faith vttered his dislike of Popery professing that he had often studied to see if he could find any comfort out of the Popish doctrine and confessed he could not see any thing in the Popish Religion but ambition humane policie and Heathenish superstition He often made his prayers to God by himselfe and with others he gaue most heauenly counsaile to his friends and to his seruants and where he thought the loue of the world had taken too deepe hold in any he disswaded from the same verifying that truth That he that is conuerted himselfe will strengthen others The speeches that he vttered that day were many and most comfortable amongst which I noted these which follow O my soule trust still in God for he is thy rocke and defence I find it is good to hold me fast by my God O Lord I haue none in heauen nor earth besides thee and therefore onely into thy hands I commend my soule for thou art my God and my redeemer O God thou hast kept mee from the wombe vntill now forsake me not but let my soule my tongue and all that is within me praise thy holy name As the Hart breatheth after the water brookes so my soule thirsteth after thee O Lord in this barren and drie land and clapping his hands vpon his heart he spake further here where no water of comfort is but that thou hast powred into it onely through thy sonne Christ and therefore to thee be honour praise for euermore Thus he continued and spent his time to the great comfort of al beholders vntill his senses externall decayed which hee perceiued so sensibly that he did tell when the parts of his body did die as when his legge his right eye his right hand and other parts were dead hee would say now is such a part dead The vse of his tongue God gaue him till within half an houre before his last breath with which he vttered many holy speeches wherof these were the last Forsake me not O Lord Be not thou farre from me O my God Hast thee to help me O my Lord my saluation And now Lord what wait I for My hope is onely in thee and into thy hands I commend my spirit Lord Iesus receiue my soule and alwayes hee concluded his prayers which himselfe vttered or which were made by others with these words To whom be praise and glorie for euermore Yea when his speech failed wee might perceiue him to pray though he could not vtter perfect words and so to continue concluding his prayer with the same thankesgiuing till hee pronounced this word Amen in this sort A me me en as though his soule before it went out of his bodie had beene keeping a part in that heauenly Anthem with the foure and twentie Elders which sing to him that sitteth vpon the Throne and liueth for euermore And thus hee continued till with much comfort and peace his life ended and his soule entred into the Kingdome of glorie which now I assure my selfe he doth enioy and wherto the God of heauen bring all his Saints in his appointed time which was about foure of the clocke in the afternoone vpon the eight and twentieth of October when he had liued one and fiftie yeares seuen daies and some odde houres too short a time if it had pleased God otherwise What can the remouing of him out of the house of clay prophesie but that God threatneth some punishment vpon vs the suruiuors when so worthy so wise so vertuous so religious and noble a Gentleman in the strength of his manhood is taken away of whose life and death I haue spoken the more largely first to let the Papists see that we preach not nor our good hearers practise not fleshly libertie as they falsly accuse vs secondly to let you Gentlemen and Iustices know what an example of vertue and vprightnesse you haue lost For though I doubt not but there be many good ones left yet I am sure you will all confesse he was the Bell-Wether in the flocke thirdly I would haue him whom this worthy Knight hath appointed and adopted to succeede in his house and the greatest part of his estate to imitate him in the course of his life to whome hee is so much beholding for the loue of his name which hath caused him to cast such extraordinarie fortunes vpon him lest perhappes it be said O domus antiqua quam dispari iam dominaris domino or lest he heare Non domus Domino sed Dominus domo Fourthly let it not be wondred that seruants which haue lost so worthy a Master and Countrey which hast lost so good a Gouernour doe take vp a great lamentation And for his worthy Ladie who Rachel-like will not be comforted doe not condemne her for the consideration of the comfort shee is depriued of amongst the wise that did know her happinesse in the enioying of such a husband will in some sort make her excuse and worke pittie and compassion for her sorrow Howbeit withall I must confesse I know none that hath more cause of comfort in respect of that assurance she may haue of a husbands happinesse then shee Lastly for my selfe if mournfull teares or astonishing thoughts could recall him back againe from the graue I would thinke my selfe bound for the losse of so worthy a friend to wish that my head were a fountain of teares to lament day and night for the fall of so good a man in Israel But I haue not so learned Christ and therfore thus much onely will I say Remember his life as an example worth imitation Remember his death by the sight whereof I do confesse I was better instructed how to die then by all the precepts that euer I read of that argument And so marke his life for it was good and holy and his end for it was peace And so in peace I leaue him enioying an eternall surpassing weight of glory assuring my selfe withall that vpon earth semper honos nomenque suum laudesque manebunt FINIS
man is not to be condemned because a crue of sinfull wretches that looke through the mirrour of their mis-informed mindes crie out crucifige neither is any ill man good because the multitude of sinfull drunken wretches prefer him before Christ then obserua vide will bee a good ground whereon to build our determinations and then shall we iudge righteous iudgement and neyther suffer our selues to bee beguiled with supercillious lookes nor condemne the iust whose end is peace The last point I entreat you obserue in the obseruation of my Text is That a good life is graced and blessed with a happy death August de doctrina christiana non male moritur qui bene vixerit vix bene moritur qui male We haue only one example of a man that liued ill and died well and yet his repentance is set down with the fruits thereof as short time as he had but wee haue no example of any man that liued well and died ill which Balaam did vnderstand when hee wished to die the death of the righteous Of these Baalamites there be no few who dedicate their liues to vanity and yet forsooth if wishing would preuaile they would haue heauen for their inheritance But bee not deceiued my brethren for since they sow in the flesh they shall therof reape corruption and who so soweth in the spirit shall of the spirit reape life euerlasting Labour therefore my brethren to spend the short time of your life which remaineth in the truth of holinesse without hypocrisie in righteousnesse without sinfull vncleanenesse so shall your end be peace in your selues peace with men and peace with God which passeth all vnderstanding And thus you see the whole of a Christian man both in the premisses and conclusion the premisses two perfection and iustice the conclusion well suting both Maior Minor finis illius pax A Demonstration of which truth giue me leaue to set before you in the life and death of that honorable Knight and Baronet for the solemnizing of whose direfull obsequies we are at this time met together of whose life and death if I should say nothing I might iustly bee accused of vnthankfulnesse to God for passing by such excellent vertues as I know the Diuine Maiestie had bewtified him withall And if I shall say much I feare the ordinary aspersion of flattery which blacke-mouthed enuie spitteth out to disgrace vertue withall may perhaps be cast vpon mee and therefore to auoide Silla on the one hand and Caribdis on the other I will speake nothing but that I dare auouch for truth before the Angels in heauen and which many in this place can witnesse of their owne knowledge before men vpon earth My regard of this honourable Knight while he liued was not mercinarie and my report of him at this time is not in hope of reward and therefore without any further Preface thus much in the Front of my speech I may say That he was a Gentleman of as ancient and honourable continuance as any in this Kingdome and therfore not to be blamed that he was desirous being resolued that in law and conscience it was equall as himselfe confessed he was to vphold the honour of his house in his name which for nine descents hath continued at this his house at Snarford This truely-honoured Knight and Baronet if you please may be remembred in the gifts of nature of art of grace or in the practise of them all In the first he was for person and naturall endowments very complete and by the second the former were so well disposed that in his behauiour Adamant-like he drew the hearts of many people to affect and to speake plainly the eyes of the inhabitants in this Countrey was set vpon him as vpon a worthy obiect in his place and calling In the gifts of grace this may I report that he knew the truth We were euer graced by him and in whose company hee tooke great content so doe many wicked men He loued the truth and the instruments that published the same so doe none but the good He was couragious for the truth and so are none but Gods secret ones and from his knowledge the ground of his faith and from his loue the fruit of his beleefe and from his courage the pledge of his sanctitie he had the ground of S. Pauls reioicing which is a good conscience For the practise of all these graces let mee intreat you consider him as a husband to a wife a Master of a family a friend to his acquaintance a Magistrate in his country and a Christian in all For the first hee dwelled with his wife as a man of knowledge free from inhumane austeritie on the one side and voyde of fond and idle complementing indulgence on the other which wise and Christian behauiour was answered by his vertuous Ladie For the second as he was a Master of a Family whilest he was a father though God knoweth that was but for a short time he vsed that blessing as though hee had not possessed it And as he was a Master ouer seruants this was his care that all vnder his charge were bountifully rewarded for their seruice and wanted no means though to his great charge to know God Such as were vertuous wanted no encouragement such as were lesse tractable to goodnesse in the spirit of mildensse he vsed all good means to reclaime them In briefe he was to his seruants a fatherly Master in authoritie in care in counsell in countenance in loue and in bountie I say in bounty to them whilst he liued and in his large portions he hath cut out of his estate for them after his death so that if any that followed him be irregular like Gehesie annointing his fingers with bribes or ryoting with the euill seruant in the Gospel I say no more but this They haue not so learned Christ neither by precept nor by their Masters practise For the third point as he was a friend let enquirie be made when euer he failed any that had occasion to vse his helpe and for true affection hee was as often he said of a friend alter idem or as Salomon speaketh one that loueth at all times rather with Mordach enquiring how his friends did and in what case they stood then staying till hee was sought vnto for his helpe and more reioycing to do good to those he loued in case they wanted his help then fawning vpon such as were happed with the thicke clay of worldly prosperitie He was a right and true-hearted Ionathan and such a friend may I say he was as I feare I shall neuer finde till my soule rest with his For the fourth point which concerneth him as he was a Magistrate If Iethro were liuing hee would haue called for him as one fit to assist Moses Hee wanted no courage for a good cause and to out-face and resist the wicked attempts and practises of vniust and vnlawfull disorders his feare of God