laid to which if they shall adde but one scruple it shall be to mee sufficient ioy contentment recompence From your Hal-sted Decemb. 4. Your Worships humbly deuouted IOS HALL THE FIRST CENTVRIE OF MEDITATIONS AND VOWES DIVINE and MORALL 1 IN Meditation those which begin heauenly thoughts and prosecute them not are like those which kindle a fire vnder greene wood and leaue it so soone as it but begins to flame leesing the hope of a good beginning for want of seconding it with a sutable proceeding when I set my selfe to meditate I will not giue ouer till I come to an issue It hath beene said by some that the beginning is as much as the middest yea more than all but I say the ending is more than the beginning 2 There is nothing but Man that respecteth greatnesse Not God not death not Iudgement Not God he is no accepter of persons Not nature we see the sonnes of Princes borne as naked as the poorest and the poore childe as faire well-fauoured strong witty as the heire of Nobles Not disease death iudgement they sicken alike die alike fare alike after death There is nothing besides naturall men of whom goodnesse is not respected I will honour greatnesse in others but for my selfe I will esteeme a dram of goodnesse worth a whole world of greatnesse 3 As there is a foolish wisdome so there is a wise ignorance in not prying into Gods Arke not enquiring into things not reuealed I would faine know all that I need and all that I may I leaue Gods secrets to himselfe It is happy for me that God makes me of his Court though not of his Counsell 4 As there is no vacuity in nature no more is there spiritually Euery vessell is full if not of liquor yet of aire so is the heart of man though by nature it is empty of grace yet it is full of hypocrisie and iniquitie Now as it is filled with grace so it is empty of his euill qualities as in a vessell so much water as goes in so much ayre goes out but mans heart is a narrow-mouthed vessell and receiues grace but by drops and therefore takes a long time to empty and fill Now as there be differences in degrees and one heart is neerer to fulnesse than another so the best vessell is not quite full while it is in the body because there are still remainders of corruption I will neither be content with that measure of grace I haue nor impatient of Gods delay but euery day I will endeuour to haue one drop added to the rest so my last day shall fill vp my vessell to the brim 5 Satan would seeme to bee mannerly and reasonable making as if hee would bee content with one halfe of the heart whereas God challengeth all or none as indeed hee hath most reason to claime all that made all But this is nothing but a craftie fetch of Satan for he knowes that if hee haue any part God will haue none so the whole falleth to his share alone My heart when it is both whole and at the best is but a strait and vnworthy lodging for God if it were bigger and better I would reserue it all for him Satan may looke in at my doores by a tentation but hee shall not haue so much as one chamber-roome set a part for him to soiourne in 6 I see that in naturall motions the neerer any thing comes to his end the swifter it moueth I haue seene great riuers which at their first rising out of some hills side might bee couered with a bushell which after many miles fill a very broad channell and drawing neere to the Sea doe euen make a little Sea in their owne bankes So the winde at the first rising as a little vapour from the crannies of the earth and passing forward about the earth the further it goes the more blustering and violent it waxeth A Christians motion after hee is regenerate is made naturall to God-ward and therefore the neerer he comes to heauen the more zealous he is A good man must not bee like Ezekias Sunne that went backward nor like Ioshuahs Sunne that stood still but Dauids Sunne that like a Bridegroome comes out of his chamber and as a Champion reioiceth to runne his race onely herein is the difference that when hee comes to his high noone hee declineth not How euer therefore the minde in her naturall faculties followes the temperature of the body yet in these supernaturall things she quite crosses it For with the coldest complexion of age is ioined in those that are truly religious the feruentest zeale and affection to good things which is therefore the more reuerenced and better acknowledged because it cannot bee ascribed to the hot spirits of youth The Deuill himselfe deuised that old slander of early holinesse A young Saint an old Deuill Sometimes young Deuils haue proued old Saints neuer the contrarie but true Saints in youth doe alwaies proue Angels in their age I will striue to bee euer good but if I should not finde my selfe best at last I should feare I was neuer good at all 7 Consent harteneth sinne which a little dislike would haue daunted at first As wee say There would bee no theeues if no receiuers so would there not bee so many open mouthes to detract and slander if there were not so many open eares to entertaine them If I cannot stop another mans mouth from speaking ill I will either open my mouth to reproue it or else I will stop mine cares from hearing it and let him see in my face that he hath no roome in my heart 8 I haue oft wondered how fishes can retaine their fresh taste and yet liue in salt waters since I see that euery other thing participates of the nature of the place wherein it abides So the waters passing thorow the chanels of the earth varie their sauour with the veines of soile thorow which they slide So brute creatures transported from one region to another alter their former qualitie and degenerate by little and little The like danger I haue seene in the manners of men conuersing with euill companions in corrupt places For besides that it blemisheth our reputation and makes vs thought ill though wee bee good it breeds in vs an insensible declination to ill and workes in vs if not an approbation yet a lesse dislike of those sinnes to which our eares and eies are so continually inured I may haue a bad acquaintance I will neuer haue a wicked companion 9 Expectation in a weake minde makes an euill greater and a good lesse but in a resolued minde it digests an euill before it come and makes a future good long before present I will expect the worst because it may come the best because I know it will come 10 Some promise what they cannot doe as Satan to Christ some what they could but meane not to doe as the sons of Iacob to the Sechemites some what they meant for the
but stay not at it The franticke man cannot auoid the imputation of madnesse though he be sober for many Moones if he rage in one So then the calme minde must be setled in an habituall rest not then firme when there is nothing to shake it but then least shaken when it is most assayled SECT III. Insufficiency of humane precepts WHence easily appeares how vainely it hath beene sought either in such a constant estate of outward things as should giue no distaste to the minde whiles all earthly things varie with the weather and haue no stay but in vncertainty or in the naturall temper of the soule so ordered by humane wisdome as that it should not be affected with any casuall euents to either part since that cannot euer by naturall power be held like to it selfe but one while is cheerefull stirring and ready to vndertake another while drowsie dull comfortlesse prone to rest weary of it selfe loathing his owne purposes his owne resolutions In both which since the wisest Philosophers haue grounded all the rules of their Tranquillity it is plaine that they saw it afarre off as they did heauen it selfe with a desire and admiration but knew not the way to it whereupon alas how slight and impotent are the remedies they prescribe for vnquietnesse Senecaes rules of Tranquillity abridged For what is it that for the inconstancie and lazinesse of the minde still displeasing it selfe in what it doth and for that distemper thereof which ariseth from the fearefull vnthriuing and restlesse desires of it wee should euer bee imploying our selues in some publike affaires chusing our businesse according to our inclination and prosecuting what wee haue chosen wherewith being at last cloyed wee should retire our selues and weare the rest of our time in priuate studies that wee should make due comparatiue trials of our owne abilitie nature of our businesses disposition of our chosen friends that in respect of Patrimonie wee should bee but carelesly affected so drawing it in as it may be least for shew most for vse remouing all pompe bridling our hopes cutting off superfluities for crosses to consider that custome will abate and mitigate them that the best things are but chaines and burdens to those that haue them to those that vse them that the worst things haue some mixture of comfort to those that grone vnder them Or leauing these lower rudiments that are giuen to weake and simple nouices to examine those golden rules of Morality which are commended to the most wise and able practitioners what it is to account himselfe as a Tenant at will To fore-imagine the worst in all casuall matters To auoid all idle and impertinent businesses all pragmaticall medling with affaires of State not to fix our selues vpon any one estate as to bee impatient of a change to call backe the minde from outward things and draw it home into it selfe to laugh at and esteeme lightly of others mis-demeanours Not to depend vpon others opinions but to stand on our owne bottomes to carry our selues in an honest and simple truth free from a curious hypocrisie and affectation of seeming other than we are and yet as free from a base kinde of carelesnesse to intermeddle retirednesse wich societie so as one may giue sweetnesse to the other and both to vs So slackning the minde that we may not loosen it and so bending as we may nor breake it to make most of our selues chearing vp our spirits with varietie of recreations with satiety of meales and all other bodily indulgence sauing that drunkennesse mee thinkes can neither beseeme a wise Philosopher to prescribe nor a vertuous man to practise All these in their kindes please well Allowed yet by Seneâ—a in his last chapter of Tranquillitie Senecaes rules reiected as insufficient profit much and are as soueraigne for both these as they are vnable to effect that for which they are propounded Nature teacheth thee all these should be done shee cannot teach thee to doe them and yet doe all these and no more let mee neuer haue rest if thou haue it For neither are here the greatest enemies of our peace so much as descried afarre off nor those that are noted are hereby so preuented that vpon most diligent practice we can promise our selues any security wherewith who so instructed dare confidently giue challenge to all sinister euents is like to some skilfull Fencer who stands vpon his vsuall wards and plaies well but if there come a strange fetch of an vnwonted blow is put besides the rules of his Art and with much shame ouer-taken And for those that are knowne beleeue mee the minde of man is too weake to beare out it selfe hereby against all onsets There are light crosses that will take an easie repulse others yet stronger that shake the house side but breake not in vpon vs others vehement which by force make way to the heart where they finde none breaking open the doore of the soule that denies entrance Others violent that lift the minde off the hindges or rend the bars of it in peeces others furious that teare vp the very foundations from the bottome leauing no monument behinde them but ruine Antonius Pius The wisest and most resolute Moralist that euer was lookt pale when he should taste of his Hemlocke and by his timorousnesse made sport to those that enuied his speculations An Epistle to the Asians concerning the persecuted Christians The best of the Heathen Emperors that was honoured with the title of piety iustly magnified that courage of Christians which made them insult ouer their tormentors and by their fearelesnesse of earth-quakes and deaths argued the truth of their Religion It must be it can be none but a diuine power that can vphold the minde against the rage of maine afflictions and yet the greatest crosses are not the greatest enemies to inward peace Let vs therefore looke vp aboue our selues and from the rules of an higher Art supply the defects of naturall wisdome giuing such infallible directions for tranquillity that whosoeuer shall follow cannot but liue sweetly and with continuall delight applauding himselfe at home when all the world besides him shall be miserable Disposition of the worke To which purpose it shall be requisite first to remoue all causes of vnquietnesse and then to set downe the grounds of our happy rest SECT IV. I Finde on the hand two vniuersall enemies of Tranquillity Enemies of inward peace diuided into their rankes Conscience of euill done Sense or feare of euill sufferred The former in one word we call sinnes the latter Crosses The first of these must be quite taken away the second duely tempered ere the heart can be at rest For first how can that man be at peace that is at variance with God and himselfe How should peace be Gods gift if it could be without him if it could be against him It is the profession of sinne although faire-spoken at the first closing to be
himselfe and when he approcheth to the Throne of God he is so taken vp with the diuine greatnesse that in his owne eies he is either vile or nothing Places of publike charge are faine to sue to him and hale him out of his chosen obscuritie which he holds off not cunningly to cause importunitie but sincerely in the conscience of his defects He frequenteth not the stages of common resorts and then alone thinkes himselfe in his naturall element when hee is shrowded within his owne walls He is euer iealous ouer himselfe and still suspecteth that which others applaud There is no better obiect of beneficence for what he receiues he ascribes meerely to the bountie of the giuer nothing to merit He emulates no man in any thing but goodnesse and that with more desire than hope to ouertake No man is so contented with his little and so patient vnder miseries because he knowes the greatest euils are below his sinnes and the least fauours aboue his deseruings He walkes euer in awe and dare not but subiect euery word and action to an high and iust censure Hee is a lowly valley sweetly planted and well watered the proud mans earth whereon he trampleth but secretly full of wealthy Mines more worth than he that walkes ouer them a rich stone set in lead and lastly a true Temple of God built with a low roofe Of a Valiant man HE vndertakes without rashnesse and personnes without feare hee seekes not for dangers but when they finde him hee beares them ouer with courage with successe He hath oft-times lookt Death in the face and passed by it with a smile and when he sees he must yeeld doth at once welcome and contemne it Hee fore-casts the worst of all euents and encounters them before they come in a secret and mentall warre and if the suddennesse of an vnexpected euill haue surprized his thoughts and infected his cheekes with palenesse he hath no sooner digested it in his conceit than he gathers vp himselfe and insults ouer mischiefe Hee is the master of himselfe and subdues his passions to reason and by this inward victorie workes his owne peace He is afraid of nothing but the displeasure of the Highest and runnes away from nothing but sinne he lookes not on his hands but his cause not how strong he is but how innocent and where goodnesse is his warrant he may be ouer-mastered he cannot be foiled The sword is to him the last of all trials which he drawes forth still as Defendant not as Challenger with a willing kinde of vnwillingnesse no man can better manage it with more safetie with more fauour hee had rather haue his bloud seene than his backe and disdaines life vpon base conditions No man is more milde to a relenting or vanquisht aduersarie or more hates to set his foot on a carcase He had rather smother an iniurie than reuenge himselfe of the impotent and I know not whether more detests cowardlinesse or crueltie He talkes little and brags lesse and loues rather the silent language of the hand to be seene than heard He lies euer close within himselfe armed with wise resolution and will not be discouered but by death or danger He is neither prodigall of bloud to mis-spend it idlely nor niggardly to grudge it when either God calls for it or his Countrey neither is hee more liberall of his owne life than of others His power is limited by his will and he holds it the noblest reuenge that he might hurt and doth not He commands without tyrannie and imperiousnesse obeyes without seruilitie and changes not his minde with his estate The height of his spirits ouer-lookes all casualties and his boldnesse proceeds neither from ignorance nor senselesnesse but first he values euils and then despises them he is so ballaced with wisdome that he floats steddily in the midst of all tempests Deliberate in his purposes firme in resolution bold in enterprising vnwearied in atchieuing and howsoeuer happy in successe and if euer he be ouercome his heart yeelds last Of a Patient man THe patient man is made of a metall not so hard as flexible his shoulders are large fit for a load of iniuries which he beares not out of basenesse and cowardlinesse because he dare not reuenge but out of Christian fortitude because he may not he hath so conquered himselfe that wrongs cannot conquer him and herein alone findes that victory consists in yeelding He is aboue nature while he seemes below himselfe The vildest creature knowes how to turne againe but to command himselfe not to resist being vrged is more than heroicall His constructions are euer full of charity and fauour either this wrong was not done or not with intent of wrong or if that vpon mis-information or if none of these rashnesse though a fault shall serue for an excuse Himselfe craues the offenders pardon before his confession and a slight answer contents where the offended desires to forgiue He is Gods best witnesse when he stands before the barre for truth his tongue is calmely free his forehead firme and hee with erect and setled countenance heares his iust sentence and reioyces in it The Iaylors that attend him are to him his Pages of honour his dungeon the lower part of the vault of heauen his racke or wheele the staires of his ascent to glory he challengeth his executioners and encounters the fiercest paines with strength of resolution and while he suffers the beholders pity him the tormentors complaine of wearinesse and both of them wonder No anguish can master him whether by violence or by lingring He accounts expectation no punishment can abide to haue his hopes adiourned till a new day Good lawes serue for his protection not for his reuenge and his owne power to auoid indignities not to returne them His hopes are so strong that they can insult ouer the greatest discouragements and his apprehensions so deepe that when he hath once fastned he sooner leaueth his life than his hold Neither time nor peruersnesse can make him cast off his charitable endeuours and despaire of preuailing but in spight of all crosses and all denials he redoubleth his beneficiall offers of loue He trieth the sea after many ship-wracks beats still at that doore which he neuer saw opened Contrariety of euents doth but exercise not dismay him and when crosses afflict him he sees a diuine hand inuisibly striking with these sensible scourges against which hee dares not rebell nor murmure Hence all things befall him alike and he goes with the same minde to the shambles and to the fold His recreations are calme and gentle and not more full of relaxation than void of fury This man onely can turne necessity into vertue and put euill to good vse He is the surest friend the latest and easiest enemy the greatest conqueror and so much more happy than others by how much he could abide to be more miserable Of the true Friend HIs affections are both vnited and diuided
that they be few seasonable what it profits argues wisdome giues safetie in actions contrarie to it Loquacitie Ill speech Immoderate mirth Pr. 17.27 Pr. 10.19 Pr. 17.27 Pr. 18.4 Pr. 10.31 Pr. 10.21 Pr. 12.14 Pr. 13.2 Pr. 18.20 Pr. 12.23 Pr. 11.12 Pr. 10.19 Pr. 17.28 Pr. 21.23 Pr. 13.3 Ec. 5.2 Pr. 15.2 Pr. 15.14 Pr. 18.2 Pr. 12.23 Ec. 10.14 Pr. 10.19 Pr. 11 2◠Pr. 15.32 Pr. 12.6 Pr. 14.3 Pr. 13.3 Pr. 27.20 Pr. 10.31 Pr. 15.4 Pr. 18.7 Pr. 11.16 Ec. 2.2 Ec. 7.5 Ec. 7.6 Ec. 11.9 THe modest for words is a man of a precious spirit that refraineth his lips and spareth his words The words of a modest man are like deepe waters and the well-spring of wisdome like a flowing Riuer but when hee doth speake it is to purpose for The mouth of the iust shall be fruitfull in wisdome and the lips of the righteous doe feed many yea himselfe A man shall be satiate with good things by the fruit of his mouth and with the fruit of a mans mouth his belly shall be satisfied but still he speaketh sparingly A wise man concealeth knowledge and a man of vnderstanding will keepe silence which as it argues him wise for euen a foole when hee holdeth his peace is counted wise and he that stoppeth his lips as prudent so it giues him much safetie Hee that keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soule from affliction yea he keepeth his life where contrarily The mouth of the foole is in the multitude of words it babbleth out foolishnesse as it is fed with it neither hath hee any delight in vnderstanding but that which his heart discouereth and while he bewraieth it The heart of fooles publisheth his foolishnesse And as he multiplieth words so in many words there cannot want iniquitie his mouth still babbleth euill things for either hee speaketh froward things or how to lie in wait for bloud or in the mouth of the foolish is the rod of pride and what is the issue of it Hee that openeth his mouth destruction shall be to him And he that hath a naughtie tongue shall fall into euill for both it shall be cut out and the frowardnesse of it is the breaking of the heart Lastly a fooles mouth is his owne destruction and his lips are a snare for his soule For actions The modest shall haue honour And though we need not say Of laughter thou art madde and of ioy what is this thou doest yet Anger is better than laughter for by a sad looke the heart is made better The heart of the wise therefore is in the house of mourning but the heart of fooles is in the house of mirth Reioice then O young man in thy youth and let thine heart cheere thee in the daies of thy youth and walke in the waies of thine heart and in the sight of thine eies but know that for all these things God will bring thee to Iudgement §. 3. Humilitie Pride Ouerweening Wherein it is How absurd How dangerous Scornfulnesse Pr. 29.23 Pr. 30.2 NExt to the modest is the humble in spirit He saith Surely I am more foolish than a man and haue not the vnderstanding of a man in me for I haue not learned wisdome and haue not attained to the knowledge of holy things Pr. 30.3 Pr. 11.2 Pr. 13.31 Pr. 16.19 Pr. 15.33 Pr. 18.12 Pr. 28.13 Pr. 29.23 Pr. 22.24 But doth hee want it ere the more No With the lowly is wisdome and The eare that harkneth to the corrections of life shall lodge among the wise Better it is therefore to be of an humble minde with the lowly than to diuide the spoiles with the proud for before honour goeth humilitie and hee that confesseth and forsaketh his sinnes shall haue mercie yea the humble of spirit shall enioy glory and the reward of humilitie and the feare of God is riches and glory and life Contrary whereto There is a generation whose eies are haughtie Pr. 30.13 Pr. 30.12 and their eye-lids are lift vp There is a generation that are pure in their owne conceit and yet are not washed from their filthinesse Yea All the waies of a man are cleane in his owne eies Pr. 16.2 Pr. 21.2 Pr. 20.6 Pr. 25.27 Pr. 27.2 but the Lord pondereth the spirits and not so onely but Many men will boast of their goodnesse but It is not good to eat much honey so to search their owne glory is not glory Let another man praise thee and not thine owne mouth a stranger and not thine owne lips This ouer-weening is commonly incident to great men Pr. 28.11 The rich man is wise in his owne conceit but the poore that hath vnderstanding can trie him Hence it is that hee affects singularitie According to his desire hee that separates himselfe Ec. 18.1 Pr. 16.12 Pr. 14.3 will seeke and occupie himselfe in all wisdome but seest thou a man thus wise in his owne conceit there is more hope of a foole than of him yea he is a foole in this In the mouth of the foolish is the rod of pride I thought I will be wise but it went farre from mee Ec. 7.25 it is farre off what may it be and that a wicked foole A haughtie looke Ec. 7.26 Pr. 21.4 Pr. 30.32 Pr. 6.17 Pr. 16.5 and a proud heart which is the light of the wicked is sinne If therefore thou hast beene foolish in lifting vp thy selfe and if thou hast thought wickedly lay thy hand vpon thy mouth for God hateth an haughtie eye yea he so hateth it that all that are proud in heart are an abomination to the Lord and though hand ioine in hand they shall not bee vnpunished and what punishment shall he haue Pr. 15.25 Pr. 18.22 The Lord will destroy the house of the proud man and his very pride is an argument of his ruine Before destruction the heart of a man is haughtie Pride goeth before destruction and an high minde before the fall Pr. 16.18 Before it yea with it when pride commeth then commeth shame Now the height of pride is scornefulnesse Hee that is proud and haughtie scornefull is his name Pr. 11.2 Pr. 21.24 who worketh in the pride of his wrath and this man despiseth his neighbour and therefore is destitute of vnderstanding when the wicked commeth then commeth contempt Pr. 11.12 Pr. 18.3 and with the vile man is reproch but of all him that reproues him Hee that reproueth a scorner purchaseth to himselfe shame and hee that rebuketh the wicked getteth himselfe a blot therefore Iudgements are prepared for the scorners Pr. 9.7 Pr. 19.29 Pr. 29.8 Pr. 21.11 and stripes for the backe of fooles so as others are hurt by his sinne for a scornefull man bringeth a whole Citie into a snare so they shall be likewise bettered by his iudgement when the scorner is punished the foolish is wise §. 4. Continencie of Lust of Anger with their Contraries OF the first kinde
what if heauen fall say you His Holinesse as you hope vvill take none such courses Woe vvere vs if our safety depended vpon your hopes or his mercies Blessed be that God which malgre hath made and kept vs happie and hath lift vs aboue our enemies But what hope is there that he who chargeth subiects not to sweare allegeance will neuer discharge them from allegeance that those who clamorously and shamelessely complaine to the world of our cruelty will forbeare to sollicit others cruelty to vs Your hopes to you to vs our securities Is this the Religion you father vpon those Christian Patriarkes of the Primitiue Age O blessed Ireney Clemens Cyprian Basil Chrysostome Augustine Ierome and thou the seuerest exactor of iust censures holy Ambrose how vvould you haue spâ—t at such a rebellious assertion What speake I of Fathers whose very mention in such a cause were iniury were impiety Which of those cursed heresies of ancient times for to them I hold it fitter to appeale haue euer bin so desperately shamelesse as to breed to maintaine a conceit so palpably vnnaturall vnlesse perhaps those old Antitactae may vpon generall termes be compelled to patronize it vvhile they held it pietie to breake the lawes of their Maker For you if you professe not to loue willing errors by this suspect and iudge the rest you see this defended with equall resolution and with no lesse cheerefull expence of blood In the body where you see one monstrous deformitie you cannot affect if you can doe so in your religion yet how dare you since the greater halfe of it stands on no other ground Onely God make you wise and honest you shall shake hands with this faction of Popery and I with you to giue you a cheerefull welcome into the bosome of the Church To my brother M. SA HALL EP. V. A discourse of the great charge of the ministeriall function together with particular directions for due preparation thereunto and cariage therein IT is a great and holy purpose deare Brother that you haue entertained of seruing God in his Church for what higher or more worthy imploiment can there be then to do these diuine duties to such a master and such a mother wherin yet I should little reioyce if any necessity had cast you vpon this refuge for I hate and grieue to thinke that any desperate mind should make Diuinity but a shift and dishonour this Mistresse by being forsaken of the world This hath been the drift of your education to this you were born dedicated in a direct course I doe willingly incourage you but not without many cautions Enter not into so great a seruice without much foresight When your hand is at the plow it is too late to looke backe Bethinke your selfe seriously of the weight of this charge and let your holy desire be allayed with some trembling It is a foolish rashnesse of yong heads when they are in Gods chaire to wonder how they came thither and to forget the awfulnesse of that place in the confidence of their owne strength which is euer so much lesse as it is more esteemed I commend not the waiward excuses of Moses nor the peremptory vnwillingnesse of Ammonius and Frier Thomas who maimed themselues that they might be wilfully vncapable Betwixt both these there is humble modesty and religious fearfulnesse easily to bee noted in those whom the Church honours with the name of her fathers vvorthy your imitation wherein yet you shall need no presidents if you well consider vvhat worth of parts what strictnesse of cariage what weight of offices God expects in this vocation Know first that in this place there wil be more holinesse required of you then in the ordinary station of a Christian for whereas before you were but as a common line now God sets you for a copy of sanctification vnto others vvherein euery fault is both notable and dangerous Here is looked for a setled acquaintance with God and experience both of the proceedings of grace and of the offers and repulses of tentations which in vaine we shall hope to menage in other hearts if we haue not found in our owne To speake by aime or rote of repentance of contrition of the degrees of regeneration and faith is both harsh and seldom when not vnprofitable We trust those Physicians best vvhich haue tryed the vertue of their drugs esteeming not of those which haue onely borrowed of their bookes Here will bee expected a free and absolute gouernment of affections that you can so â—â—ere your own vessell as not to be transported with fury with selfe-loue with immoderation of pleasures of cares of desires with excesse of passions in all which so must you demeane your selfe as one that thinkes hee is no man of the vvorld but of God as one too good by his double calling for that which is either the felicitie or impotency of beasts Here must be continuall and inward exercise of mortification and seuere Christianitie whereby the heart is held in due awe and the vveake flames of the spirit quickned the ashes of our dulnesse blowne off a practice necessary in him whose deuotion must set many hearts on fire Heere must be wisedome and inoffensiuenesse of cariage as of one that goes euer vnder monitors and that knowes other mens indifferencies are his euils No man had such need to keep a strict meane Setting aside contempt euen in obseruation behold wee are made a gazing stocke to the world to Angels to men The very sayle of your estate must be moderated which if it beare too high as seldome it incurres the censure of profusion and Epicurisme if too low of a base and vnbeseeming earthlinesse your hand may not be too close for others need nor too open for your owne your conuersation may not be rough and sullen nor ouer-familiar and fawning whereof the one breeds a conceit of pride and strangenesse the other contempt not loosely mery nor Cynically vnsociable not contentious in small iniuries in great not hurtfully patient to the Church your attire for whither doe not censures reach not youthfully wanton not in these yeares affectedly ancient but graue and comely like the minde like the behauiour of the vvearer your gesture like your habit neither sauouring of giddy lightnesse nor ouerly insolence nor wantonesse nor dull neglect of your selfe but such as may beseeme a mortified minde full of worthy spirits your speech like your gesture not scurrilous not detracting not idle not boasting not rotten not peremptotorie but honest milde fruitfull sauourie and such as may both argue and worke grace your deliberations mature your resolutions well grounded your deuices sage and holy Wherein let me aduise you to vvalke euer in the beaten rode of the Church not to runne out into single paradoxes And if you meet at any time with priuate conceits that seeme more probable suspect them and your selfe and if they can win you to assent yet smother them in your brest and doe
pay vs what we haue lent and giue vs because we haue giuen That is his bounty this his iustice O happy is that man that may be a creditor to his Maker Heauen and earth shall be empty before he shall want a royall payment If we dare not trust God whiles we liue how dare we trust men when we are dead men that are still deceitfull light vpon the balance light of truth heauy of selfe-loue How many Executors haue proued the executioners of honest Wils how many haue our eyes seene that after most carefull choice of trusty guardians haue had their children and goods so disposed as if the Parents soule could returne to see it I doubt whether it could bee happy How rare is that man that prefers not himselfe to his dead friend profit to truth that will take no vantage of the impossibility of account What-euer therefore men either shew or promise happy is that man that may be his own auditor superuisor executor As you loue God and your selfe be not afraid of being happy too soone I am not worthy to giue so bold aduice let the wise man of Syrach speak for me Doe good before thou die and according to thine ability stretch out thine hands and giue Defraud not thy selfe of thy good day and let not the portion of thy good desires ouer-passe thee Shalt thou not leaue thy trauels to another and thy labours to them that will diuide thine heritage Or let a wiser then he Salomon Say not to morrow I will giue if now thou haue it for thou knowest not what a day will bring forth It hath beene an old rule of liberality He giues twice that giues quickly whereas slow benefits argue vncheerfulnesse and lose their worth Who lingers his receits is condemned as vnthrifty he that knoweth both saith It is better to giue then to receiue If we be of the same spirit why are wee hasty in the worse and slacke in the better Suffer not your selfe therefore good Sir for Gods sake for the Gospels sake for the Churches sake for your soules sake to be stirred vp by these poore lines to a resolute and speedy performing of your worthy intentions and take this as a louing inuitation sent from heauen by an vnworthy messenger You cannot deliberate long of fit obiects for your beneficence except it be more for multitude then want the streets yea the world is full How doth Lazarus lye at euery doore how many sonnes of the Prophets in their meanly-prouided Colledges may say not Mors in olla but fames how many Churches may iustly plead that which our Sauiour bad his Disciples The Lord hath need And if this infinite store hath made your choice doubtfull how easie were it to shew you wherein you might oblige the whole Church of God to you and make your memoriall both eternall and blessed or if you had rather the whole Common-wealth But now I finde my selfe too bold and too busie in thus looking to particularities God shall direct you and if you follow him shall crowne you howsoeuer if good bee done and that betimes he hath what he desired and your soule shall haue more then you can desire The successe of my weak yet hearty counsell shall make me as rich as God hath made you with all your abundance That God blesse it to you and make both our recknings cheerfull in the day of our common Audit To E.B. Dedicated to Sir George Goring EP. VIII Remedies against dulnesse and heartlesnesse in our callings and incouragements to cheerfulnesse in labour IT falls out not seldome if wee may measure all by one that the minde ouer-layed with worke growes dull and heauy and now doth nothing because it hath done too much ouer-lauish expence of spirits hath left it heartlesse as the best vessell with much motion and vent becomes flat and dreggish And not fewer of more weake temper discourage themselues with the difficulty of what they must doe some Trauellers haue more shrunke at the Mappe then at the way Betwixt both how many sit still with their hands folded and wish they knew how to be rid of time If this euill be not cured we become miserable losers both of good houres and of good parts In these mentall diseases Empiricks are the best Physicians I prescribe you nothing but out of feeling If you will auoid the first moderate your owne vehemency suffer not your selfe to doe all you could doe Rise euer from your deske not without an appetite The best horse will tyre soonest if the reines lye euer loose in his necke Restraints in these cases are encouragements obtaine therefore of your selfe to defer and take new dayes How much better is it to refesh your selfe with many competent meales then to buy one dayes gluttony with the fast of many And if it bee hard to call off the mind in the midst of a faire and likely flight know that all our ease and safety begins at the command of our selues he can neuer taske himselfe well that cannot fauour himselfe Perswade your heart that perfection comes by leisure and no excellent thing is done at once the rising and setting of many Sunnes which you thinke slackens your worke in truth ripens it That gourd which came vp in a night withered in a day whereas those plants which abide age rise slowly Indeed where the heart is vnwilling prorogation hinders what I list not to doe this day I loathe the next but where is no want of desire delay doth but sharpen the stomack That which we doe vnwillingly leaue we long to vndertake and the more our affection is the greater our intention and the better our performance To take occasion by the fore-top is no small point of wisedome but to make time which is wyld and fugitiue tame and pliable to our purposes is the greatest improuement of a man All times serue him which hath the rule of himselfe If the second thinke seriously of the condition of your being It is that we were made for the Bird to flye and Man to labour What doe we here if we repine at our worke We had not beene but that we might be still busie if not in this taske we dislike yet in some other of no lesse toyle there is no act that hath not his labour which varies in measure according to the will of the doer This which you complaine of hath beene vndertaken by others not with facility onely but with pleasure and what you chuse for ease hath beene abhorred of others as tedious All difficulty is not so much in the worke as in the Agent To set the mind on the racke of a long meditation you say is a torment to follow the swift foot of your hound all day long hath no wearinesse what would you say of him that finds better game in his study then you in the field and would account your disport his punishment Such there are though you doubt and wonder Neuer thinke to detract from
them on earth to whom perhaps the fiends light firebrands below As Caesarius the Monke brings in Petrus Cantor and Roger the Norman disputing the case of Becket so wee haue many titular Saints few reall many which are written in red Letters in the Calendar of the world Holy to the Lord whom God neuer canonizes in heauen and shall once entertaine with a Nescio I know you not These men yet haue Holinesse written vpon them and are like as Lucian compares his Grecians to a faire gilt bossed booke looke within there is the Tragedie of Thyestes or perhaps Arrius his Thalia the name of a Muse the matter heresie or Conradus Vorstius his late monster that hath De Dev in the front and Atheisme and Blasphemie in the text As S. Paul saies to his Corinths Would God yee could suffer me a little Yee cannot want praisers yee may want reprouers and yet you haue not so much need of Panegyricks as of reprehensions These by how much more rare they are by so much more necessarie Nec-censura deest quae increpet nec medicina quae saâ—et saith Cyprian A false praise grieues and a true praise shames saith Anastasius As Kings are by God himselfe called Gods for there are Dij nuncupatiuè and not essentialiter as Gregorie distinguishes because of their resemblance of God so their Courts should be like to heauen and their attendants like Saints and Angels Decet domum tuam sanctitudo agrees to both Thus you should be But alas I see some care to be gallant others care to be great few care to be holy Yea I know not what Deuill hath possessed the hearts of many great ones of our time in both sexes with this conceit that they cannot be gallant enough vnlesse they be godlesse Holinesse is for Diuines or men of meane spirits for graue subdued mortified retired mindes not for them that stand vpon the tearmes of honour height of place and spirit noble humours hence are our oaths duels profanesses Alas that wee should be so besotted as to thinke that our shame which is our onely glory It is reason that makes vs men but it is holinesse that makes vs Christians And woe to vs that wee are men if wee be not Christians Thinke as basely of it as yee will you shall one day finde that one dram of holinesse is worth a whole world of greatnesse yea that there is no greatnesse but in holinesse For Gods sake therefore doe not send holinesse to Colledges or Hospitals for her lodging but entertaine her willingly into the Court as a most happy guest Thinke it a shame and danger to goe in fine clothes while you haue foule hearts and know that in vaine shall you bee honour'd of men if you bee not holy to the Lord. Your goodly outsides may admit you into the Courts on earth but you shall neuer looke within the gates of the Court of heauen without holinesse Without holinesse no man shall see God O God without holinesse we shall neuer see thee and without thee we shall neuer see holinesse write thou vpon these flinty hearts of ours Holinesse to thy selfe Make vs holy to thee that wee may bee glorious with thee and all thy Saints and Angels All this onely for thy Christs sake and to whom c. THE IMPRESE OF GOD. THE SECOND PART By IOS HALL SIC ELEVABITVR FILIVS HOMINIS Io 3. ANCHORA FIDEI LONDON Printed for THOMAS PAVIER MILES FLESHER and John Haviland 1624. THE IMPRESE OF GOD. THE SECOND PART ZACH. vlt. 20. IT is well-neere a yeere agoe since in this Gracious Presence we entred vpon this mysticall yet pertinent Text. You then heard what This day is what these Bells or Bridles what this inscription what these Pots and Bowles And out of That day you heard the proficiencie of the Church out of Holinesse written on the Bells the sanctification of the Church You shall now heare out of these bells or bridles of warlike horses thus inscribed the change of the holy warre and peace of the Church out of these pots aduanced to the likenesse of the bowles of the Altar the degrees of the Churches perfection and acceptation All which craue your gratious and honourable attention That conceit which yet is graced with the name of some Fathers that takes this in the literall sense of Constantines bridle wee passe as more worthy of smiles than confutation Questionlesse the sense is spirituall and it is a sure rule that as the historicall sense is fetcht from signification of words so the spirituall from the signification of those things which are signified by the words For this inscription then it shall not be vpon the bells for their owne sakes but for the horses not as bells but as bells of the horses And on the horses not for their owne sakes but as they serue for their Riders The horse a military creature there is no other mention of him in Scripture no other vse of him of old when the eyes of Elishaes seruant were open he saw the hill full of horses 2. King 6. Euen the celestiall warfare is not expressed without them Hence you shall euer finde them matcht with Chariots in the Scripture And the Poet Nunc tempus equos nunc poscere currus hee rusheth into the battell saith Ieremy and he is made for it for he hath both strength and nimblenesse He is strong there is fortitudo equi Psalm 47. and God himselfe acknowledges it Hast thou giuen the horse his strength Iob 39. He is swift saith Ieremy 4.13 yea as Eagles or Leopards saith Abacuc We must take these horses then either as continuing themselues or as altered If the first The very warres vnder the Gospell shall be holy and God shall much glorifie himselfe by them He saith not There shall be no horses or those horses shall haue no bells or those bells no inscription but those horses and their vse which is warre and their ornaments which are bells shall haue a title of Holinesse While Cornelius Agryppa writes of the vanity of Sciences wee may well wonder at the vanity of his opinion that all warre was forbidden vnder the Gopell But let Agrippa bee vaine in this as a meere Humanist and the Anabaptists grosly false as being franticke heretiques it is maruell how Erasmus so great a Scholler and Ferus so great a Text-man could miscarry in this Manichean conceit Alphonsus a Castro would faine haue our Oecolompadius to keepe them company but Bellarmine himselfe can hardly beleeue him No maruell when he sees Zuinglius die in the field tho as a Pastor not as a Souldier and when our swords haue so well taught them besides our tongues that the hereticks are as good friends to warre as enemies to them It is Gods euerlasting title Dominus exercituum To speake nothing of the old Testament What can Cornelius Agrippa say to Cornelius the Centurion I feare no man would giue that title to him that opposed warre which Gods spirit
lies not in the place yet choyce must be made of those places which may be most helpe to our deuotion Perhaps that he might be in the eye of Israel The presence and sight of the Leader giues heart to the people neither doth any thing more moue the multitude then example A publike person cannot hide himselfe in the Valley but yet it becomes him best to shew himselfe vpon the Hill The hand of Moses must be raised but not emptie neither is it his owne Rod that he holds but Gods In the first meeting of God with Moses the Rod was Moseses it is like for the vse of his trade now the proprietie is altered God hath so wrought by it that now he challenges it and Moses dare not call it his owne Those things which it pleases God to vse for his owne seruice are now changed in their condition The bread of the Sacrament was once the Bakers now it is Gods the water was once euery mans now it is the Lauer of Regeneration It is both vniust and vnsafe to hold those things common wherein God hath a peculiaritie At other times vpon occasion of the plagues and of the Quailes and of the Rocke he was commanded to take the Rod in his hand now he doth it vnbidden He doth it not now for miraculous operation but for incouragement For when the Israelites should cast vp their eyes to the Hill and see Moses and his Rod the man and the meanes that had wrought so powerfully for them they could not but take heart to themselues and thinke There is the man that deliuered vs from the Aegyptian Why not now from the Amalekite There is the Rod which turned waters to blood and brought varieties of plagues on Aegypt Why not now on Amalek Nothing can more hearten our faith then the view of the monuments of Gods fauour if euer we haue found any word or act of God cordiall to vs it is good to fetch it forth oft to the eye The renewing of our sense and remembrance makes euery gift of God perpetually beneficiall If Moses had receiued a command that Rod which fetcht water from the Rocke could as well haue fetcht the blood of the Amalekites out of their bodies God will not worke miracles alwayes neither must we expect them vnbidden Not as a Standard-bearer so much as a suppliant doth Moses lift vp his hand The gesture of the body should both expresse and further the piety of the soule This flesh of ours is not a good seruant vnlesse it helpe vs in the best offices The God of Spirits doth most respect the soule of our deuotion yet it is both vnmannerly and irreligious to be misgestured in our Prayers The carelesse and vncomely cariage of the body helpes both to signifie and make a prophane soule The hand and the Rod of Moses neuer moued in vaine Though the Rod did not strike Amalek as it had done the Rocke yet it smote Heauen and fetcht downe victorie And that the Israelites might see the hand of Moses had a greater stroke in the fight then all theirs The successe must rise and fall with it Amalek rose and Israel fell with his hand falling Amalek fell and Israel rises with his hand raised Oh the wondrous power of the prayers of faith All heauenly fauours are deriued to vs from this channell of grace To these are wee beholden for our peace preseruations and all the rich mercies of God which we enioy We could not want if we could aske Euery mans hand would not haue done this but the hand of a Moses A faithlesse man may as well hold his hand and tongue still hee may babble but prayes not hee prayes ineffectually and receiues not Onely the prayer of the Righteous auayleth much and onely the beleeuer is Righteous There can be no merit no recompence answerable to a good mans prayer for Heauen and the eare of God is open to him but the formall deuotions of an ignorant and faithlesse man are not worth that crust of bread which hee askes Yea it is presumption in himselfe how should it be beneficiall to others it prophanes the name of God in stead of adoring it But how iustly is the feruencie of the prayer added to the righteousnesse of the person When Moses hand slackned Amalek preuailed No Moses can haue his hand euer vp It is a title proper to God that his hands are stretched out still whether to mercy or vengeance Our infirmitie will not suffer any long intention either of bodie or minde Long prayers can hardly maintaine their vigour as in tall bodies the spirits are diffused The strongest hand will languish with long entending And when our deuotion tyres it is seene in the successe then straight our Amalek preuailes Spirituall wickednesses are mastered by vehement prayer and by heartlesnesse in prayer ouercome vs. Moses had two helpes A stone to sit on and an hand to raise his And his sitting and holpen hand is no whit lesse effectuall Euen in our prayers will God allow vs to respect our owne infirmities In cases of our necessity hee regards not the posture of body but the affections of the soule Doubtlesse Aaron and Hur did not onely raise their hands but their minds with his The more cords the easier draught Aaron was brother to Moses There cannot be a more brotherly office then to helpe one another in our prayers and to excite our mutuall deuotions No Christian may thinke it enough to pray alone Hee is no true Israelite that will not be ready to lift vp the weary hands of Gods Saints All Israel saw this or if they were so intent vpon the slaughter and spoyle that they obserued it not they might heare it after from Aaron and Hur yet this contents not God It must be written Many other miracles had God done before not one directly commanded to bee recorded The other were onely for the wonder this for the imitation of Gods people In things that must liue by report euerie tongue addes or detracts something The word once written is both inalterable and permanent As God is carefull to maintaine the glory of his miraculous victory so is Moses desirous to second him God by a booke and Moses by an Altar and a name God commands to enroule it in parchment Moses registers it in the stones of his Altar which he raises not onely for future memory but for present vse That hand which was weary of lifting vp straight offers a sacrifice of praise to God How well it becomes the iust to be thankfull Euen very nature teacheth vs men to abhorre ingratitude in small fauors How much lesse can that Fountaine of goodnesse abide to be laded at with vnthankfull hands O God we cannot but confesse our deliuerances where are our Altars where are our Sacrifices where is our Iehouanissi I doe not more wonder at thy power in preseruing vs then at thy mercy which is not weary of casting away fauours vpon the ingratefull
This one art-lesse perswasion hath preuailed more with the world then all the places of reason How many millions miscarry vpon this ground Thus did my fore-fathers Thus doe the most I am neither the first nor the last Doe any of the rulers Wee straight thinke that either safe or pardonable for which we can pleade a precedent This good woman hath more warrant for her resolution then anothers practice The mind can neuer be steady whiles it stands vpon others feete and till it be setled vpon such grounds of assurance that it will rather lead then follow and can say with Ioshua whatsoeuer become of the world I and my house will serue the Lord. If Naomi had not beene a person of eminent note no knowledge had beene taken at Bethleem of her returne Pouerty is euer obscure and those that haue little may goe and come without noise If the streetes of Bethleem had not before vsed to say There goes Noami they had not now asked Is not this Noami Shee that had lost all things but her name is willing to part with that also Call mee not Noami but call mee Marah Her humility cares little for a glorious name in a deiected estate Many a one would haue set faces vpon their want an in the bitternesse of their condition haue affected the name of beauty In all formes of good there are more that care to seeme then to be Naomi hates this hypocrisie since God hath humbled her desires not to be respected of men Those which are truely brought down make it not dainty that the world should thinke them so but are ready to be the first proclaimers of their owne vilenesse Naomi went full out of Bethleem to preuent want and now shee brings that want home with her which shee desired to auoid Our blindnesse oft-times carries vs into the perils we seeke to eschew God findes it best many times to crosse the likely proiects of his dearest children and to multiply those afflictions which thy feared fingle Ten yeeres haue turned Naomi into Marah What assurance is there of these earthly things whereof one houre may strip vs What man can say of the yeeres to come Thus I will be How iustly doe we contemne this vncertainty and looke vp to those riches that cannot but endure when heauen and earth are dissolued BOAZ and RVTH WHiles Elimelech shifted to Moab to auoid the famine Boaz abode still at Bethleem and continued rich and powerfull He staid at home and found that which Elimelech went to seek and missed The iudgement of famine doth not lightly extend it selfe to all Pestilence and the sword spare none but dearth commonly plagueth the meaner sort and balketh the mighty When BoaZ his store-house was empty his fields were full and maintained the name of Bethleem I do not heare Ruth stand vpō the termes of her better education or wealthy Parentage but now that God hath called her to want she scorns not to lay her hand vnto all homely seruices and thinks it no disparagement to finde her bread in other mens fields There is no harder lesson to a generous minde nor that more beseemes it then either to beare want or to preuent it Base spirits giue themselues ouer to idlenesse and misery and because they are crossed will sullenly perish That good woman hath not bin for nothing in the schoole of patience she hath learned obedience to a poore stepmother she was now a widdo past reach of any danger of correction besides that penury might seem to dispense with awe Euen children do easily learne to contemne the pouerty of their own Parents Yet hath she inured her selfe to obedience that she will not so much as go forth into the field to gleane without the leaue of her mother in law is no lesse obsequious to Marah then she was to Naomi What shall she say to those children that in the maine actions of their life forget they haue naturall Parents It is a shame to see that in meane families want of substance causeth want of duty and that children should thinke themselues priuiledged for vnreuerence because the Parent is poore Little do we know when we goe forth in the morning what God meanes to do with vs ere night There is a prouidence that attends on vs in all our waies guides vs insensibly to his owne ends That diuine hand leades Ruth blindfolded to the field of BoaZ That she meetes with his reapers fals vpon his land amongst al the fields of Bethleem it was no praise to her election but the gracious disposition of him in whom we moue His thoughts are aboue ours and doe so order our actions as we if we had known should haue wished No sooner is she come into the field but the reapers are friendly to her no sooner is Boaz come into his field but he inuites her to more bounty then she could haue desired now God begins to repay into her bosome her loue and duty to her mother in law Reuerence and louing respects to parents neuer yet went away vnrecompenced God will surely raise vp friends amongst strangers to those that haue been officious at home It was worth Ruthe's iourney from Moab to meet with such a man as BoaZ whom we find thrifty religious charitable Though he were rich yet he was not carelesse he comes into the field to ouersee his reapers Euen the best estate requires carefull managing of the owner He wanted not officers to take charge of his husbandry yet he had rather be his own witnesse After all the trust of others the Masters eye feeds the horse The Master of this great Houshold of the world giues vs an example of this care whose eye is in euery corner of this his large possessiō Not ciuility only but religion binds vs to good husbandry We are all stewards and what account can we giue to our Master if we neuer looke after our estate I doubt whether Boaz had bin so rich if he had not bin so frugall Yet was he not more thrifty then religious He comes not to his reapers but with a blessing in his mouth the Lord be with you as one that knew if he were with them and not the Lord his presence could auaile nothing All the businesse of the family speeds the better for the Masters benediction Those affaires are likely to succeed that take their beginning at God Charity was well matched with his religion without which good words are but hypocrites no sooner doth he heare the name of the Moabitesse but he secōds the kindnesse of his reapers and still he rises in his fauours First she may gleane in his field then shee may drinke of his vessels then she shall take her meale with his reapers and part of it from his own hand lastly his work-men must let fall sheaues for her gathering A Small thing helpes the needy an handfull of gleanings a lap-full of parched corne a draught of the seruants bottles a loose sheafe was
head on which I must spend this holy Oile This is the man which hath both the priuiledge of nature in his primogeniture and of outward goodlinesse in proportion Surely the Lords Anointed is before him Euen the holiest Prophet when he goes without God runnes into errour The best iudgement is subiect to deceit It is no trusting to any mortall man when he speakes of himselfe Our eyes can be led by nothing but signes and appearances and those haue commonly in them either a true falshood or vncertaine truth That which should haue forewarned Samuel deceiued him he had seene the proofe of a goodly stature vnanswerable to their hopes and yet his eye erres in the shape He that iudges by the inside both of our hearts and actions checks Samuel in this misconceit Looke not on his countenance nor on the height of his stature because I haue refused him for God seeth not as man seeth The King with whom God meant to satisfie the vntimely desires of Israel was chosen by his stature but the King with whom God meant to please himselfe is chosen by the heart All the seuen sonnes of Ishai are presented to the Prophet no one is omitted whom their father thought capable of any respect If either Samuel or Ishai should haue chosen Dauid should neuer haue bin King His father thought him fit to keepe sheepe his brethren fit to rule men yet euen Dauid the yongest sonne is fetcht from the fold and by the choice of God destined to the Throne Nature which is commonly partiall to her owne could not suggest ought to Ishai to make him thinke Dauid worthy to bee remembred in any competition of honour yet him hath God singled out to the rule God will haue his Wisdome magnified in the vnlikelihoods of his election Dauids countenance was ingenuous and beautifull but if it had promised so much as Eliabs or Abinadabs he had not bin in the fields whiles his brethren were at the Sacrifice If we doe altogether follow our eye and suffer our selues to be guided by outward respects in our choice for God or our selues we cannot but goe amisse What doe wee thinke the brethren of Dauid thought when they saw the Oile powred vpon his head Surely as they were enuious enough they had too much repined if they had either fully apprehended the purpose of the Prophet or else had not thought of some improbility in the successe Either they vnderstood not or beleeued not what God would doe with their brother They saw him graced with Gods Spirit aboue his wont but perhaps foresaw not whither it tended Dauid as no whit changed in his condition returnes to his sheepe with an humble admiration of Gods gracious respect to him casts himselfe vpon the wise and holy Decree of the Almightie resigning himselfe to the disposition of those hands which had chosen him when suddenly a Messenger is sent from Saul to call him in all haste to that Court whereof hee shall once be Master The occasion is no lesse from God then the euent DAVID called to the Court. THat the Kingdome is in the appointment of God departed from Saul it is his least losse Now the Spirit of God is also departed from him One spirit is no sooner gone but another is come both are from God Euen the worst spirits haue not onely permission but commission from Heauen for the infliction of iudgement He that at first could hide himselfe among the stuffe that he might not be King is now so transported with this glory that he growes passionate with the thought of forgoing it Satan takes vantage of his melancholicke deiection and turnes this passion into frenzy God will haue euen euill spirits worke by meanes A distempered body and an vnquiet mind are fit grounds for Satans vexation Sauls Courtiers as men that were more witty then religious aduise him to Musicke They knew the strength of that skill in allaying the fury of passions in cheering vp the deiected spirits of their Master This was done like some fond Chirurgian that when the bone is out of ioynt layes some soupling Pultesses to the part for the asswaging of the ach in the meane time not caring to remedie the luxation If they had said Sir you know this euill comes from that God whom you haue offended there can be no helpe but in reconcilement how easie is it for the God of Spirits to take off Satan labour your peace with him by a serious humiliation make meanes to Samuel to further the atonement they had beene wise Counsellors diuine Physitians whereas now they doe but skin ouer the sore and leaue it rankled at the bottome The cure must euer proceed in the same steps with the disease else in vaine shal we seem to heale There is no safety in the redresse of euills but to strike at the root Yet since it is no better with Saul and his Courtier it is well it is no worse I doe not heare either the Master or seruants say This is an ill spirit send for some Magitian that may countermand him There are forcible Enchantments for these spirituall vexations If Samuel will not there are Witches that may giue ease But as one that would rather be ill then doe worse he contents himselfe to doe that which was lawfull if vnsufficient It is a shame to say that hee whom God had reiected for his sin was yet a Saint to some that should bee Christians who care not how much they are beholden to the Deuill in their distresses affecting to cast out Deuils by BeelZebub In cases of losse or sicknesse they make Hell their refuge and seeke for patronage but of an enemy Here is a fearefull agreement Satan seekes to them in his temptations they in their consultations seeke to him and now they haue mutually found each other if they euer part it is a miracle Dauid had liued obsurely in his fathers house his onely care and ambition was the welfare of the flocke he tended and now whiles his father and his brothers neglected him as fit for nothing but the fied hee is talked of at Court Some of Sauls followers had beene at Ishai's house and taken notice of Dauids skill and now that harpe which he practised for his priuate recreation shall make him of a Shepherd a Courtier The Musick that he meant onely to himselfe and his sheepe brings him before Kings The Wisdome of God thought fit to take this occasion of acquainting Dauid with that Court which he shall once gouerne It is good that our education should perfect our children in all those commendable qualities whereto they are disposed Little doe we know what vse God meanes to make of those faculties which we know not how to imploy Where the Almighty purposes an aduancement obscuritie can be no preiudice small meanes shall set forward that which God hath decreed Doubtlesse old Ishai noted not without admiration the wonderfull accordance of Gods proceedings that hee which was sent for out of
now all hearts are cold all faces pale and euery man hath but life enough to runne away How suddenly is this brauing troupe dispersed Adonijah their new Prince flies to the hornes of the Altar as distrusting all hopes of life saue the Sanctity of the place and the mercy of his riuall So doth the wise and iust God befoole proud and insolent sinners in those secret plots wherein they hope to vndermine the true sonne of Dauid the Prince of Peace he suffers them to lay their heads together and to feast themselues in a iocund securitie and promise of successe at last when they are at the height of their ioyes and hopes he confounds all their deuices and layes them open to the scorne of the world and to the anguish of their owne guilty hearts DAVIDS end and SALOMONS beginning IT well became Salomon to begin his Raigne in peace Adonijah receiues pardon vpon his good behauiour and findes the Throne of Salomon as safe as the Altar Dauid liues to see a wise sonne warme in his seat and now hee that had yeelded to succession yeelds to nature Many good counsels had Dauid giuen his Heire now hee summes them vp in his end Dying words are wont to bee weightiest The Soule when it is entring into glory breathes nothing but diuine I goe the way of all the earth How well is that Princely heart content to subscribe to the conditions of humane mortality as one that knew Soueraigntie doth not reach to the affaires of nature Though a King he neither expects nor desires an immunity from dissolution making not account to goe in any other then the common track to the vniuersall home of mankind the house of age Whither should earth but to earth and why should we grugde to doe that which all doe Be thou strong therefore and shew thy selfe a man Euen when his spirit was going out he puts spirit into his Sonne Age puts life into youth and the dying animates the vigorous He had well found that strength was requisit to gouernment that he had need to be no lesse then a man that should rule ouer men If greatnesse should neuer receiue any opposition yet those worlds powers A weake man may obey none but the strong can gouerne Gracelesse courage were but the whetstone of tyranny Take heed therefore to the charge of the Lord thy God to walke in his wayes and to keepe his Statutes The best legacy that Dauid bequeathes to his heire is the care of piety himselfe had found the sweetnesse of a good conscience and now he commends it to his successor If there be any thing that in our desires of the prosperous condition of our children takes place of goodnesse our hearts are not vpright Here was the father a King charging the King his sonne to keepe the Statutes of the King of Kings as one that knew greatnesse could neither exempt from obedience nor priuiledge sinne as one that knew the least deuiation in the greatest and highest Orbe is both most sensible and most dangerous Neither would he haue his sonne to looke for any prosperity saue onely from well-doing That happinesse is built vpon sands or Ice which is raised vpon any foundation besides vertue If Salomon were wise Dauid was good and if old Salomon had well remembred the counsell of old Dauid he had not so foulely mis-caried After the precepts of pietie follow those of iustice distributing in a due recompence as reuenge to Ioab and Shimei so fauour to the house of Barzillai The bloodinesse of Ioab had lien long vpon Dauids heart the hideous noyse of those treacherous murders as it had pierced heauen so it still filled the eares of Dauid He could abhorre that villanie though he could not reuenge it What he cannnot pay hee will owe and approue himselfe at last a faithfull debtor Now hee will defray it by the hand of Salomon The slaughter was of Abner and Amasa Dauid appropriates it Thou knowest what Ioab did to me The Soueraigne is smitten in the Subiect Neither is it other then iust that the arraignment of meane malefactors runnes in the stile of wrong to the Kings Crowne and dignity How much more 〈◊〉 thou O Sonne of Dauid take to thy selfe those insolencies which are done to thy poorest subiects seruants sonnes members here vpon earth No Saul can touch a Christian here below but thou feelest it in heauen and complainest But what shall we thinke of this Dauid was a man of Warre Salomon a King of Peace yet Dauid referres this reuenge to Salomon How iust it was that he who shed the blood of warre in peace and put the blood of war vpon his girdle that was about his loynes should haue his blood shed in peace by a Prince of peace Peace is fittest to rectifie the out-rages of Warre Or whether is not this done in type of that diuine administration wherein thou O father of heauen hast committed all iudgement vnto thine eternall Sonne Thou who couldst immediately either plague or absolue sinners wilt doe neither but by the hand of a Mediator Salomon learned betimes what his ripenesse taught afterwards Take away the wicked from the King and his Throne shall be established in righteousnesse Cruell Ioab and malicious Shimei must be therfore vpon the first opportunity remoued The one lay open to present iustice for abetting the conspiracy of Adonijah neither needes the helpe of time for a new aduantage The other went vnder the protection of an oath from Dauid and therefore must be fetcht in vpon a new challenge The hoare head of both must bee brought to the graue with blood else Dauids head could not bee brought to his graue in peace Due punishment of malefactors is the debt of authority If that holy King haue runne into arerages yet as one that hates and feares to breake the banke he giues order to his pay-master It shall bee defraid if not by him yet for him Generous natures cannot be vnthankfull Barzillai had shewed Dauid some kindnesse in his extremity and now the good man will haue posterity to inherite the thankes How much more bountifull is the Father of mercies in the remuneration of our poore vnworthy seruices Euen successions of generations shall fare the better for one good parent The dying words and thoughts of the man after Gods owne heart did not confine themselues to the straites of these particular charges but inlarged themselues to the care of Gods publike seruice As good men are best at last Dauid did neuer so busily and carefully marshall the affaires of God as when he was fixed to the bed of his age and death Then did he lode his sonne Salomon with the charge of building the house of God then did hee lay before the eyes of his sonne the modell and patterne of that whole sacred worke whereof if Salomon beare the name yet Dauid no lesse merits it He now giues the platforme of the Courts and buildings Hee giues the gold and siluer for
willing their torment they may be made most sensible of paine and by the obedible submission of their created nature wrought vpon immediately by their appointed tortures Besides the very horrour which ariseth from the place whereto they are euerlastingly confined For if the incorporeall spirits of liuing men may bee held in a loathed or painfull body and conceiue sorrow to bee so imprisoned Why may wee not as easily yeeld that the euill spirits of Angels or men may be held in those direfull flames and much more abhorre therein to continue for euer Tremble rather O my soule at the thought of this wofull condition of the euill Angels who for one onely act of Apostasie from God are thus perpetually tormented whereas we sinfull wretches multiply many and presumptuous offences against the Maiestie of our God And withall admire and magnifie that infinite mercy to the miserable generation of man which after this holy seueritie of iustice to the reuolted Angels so graciously forbeares our hainous iniquities and both suffers vs to be free for the time from these hellish torments and giues vs opportunitie of a perfect freedome from them for euer Praise the Lord O my soule and all that is within me praise his holy Name who for giueth all thy sinnes and healeth all thine infirmities Who redeemeth thy life from destruction and crowneth thee with mercy and compassions There is no time wherein the euill spirits are not tormented there is a time wherein they expect to be tormented yet more Art thou come to torment vs before our time They knew that the last Assises are the prefixed terme of their full execution which they also vnderstood to be not yet come For though they knew not when the Day of Iudgement should be a point concealed from the glorious Angels of heauen yet they knew when it should not be and therefore they say Before the time Euen the very euill spirits confesse and fearfully attend a set day of vniuersall Sessions They beleeue lesse then Deuils that either doubt of or deny that day of finall retribution Oh the wonderfull mercy of our God that both to wicked men and spirits respites the vtmost of their torment He might vpon the first instant of the fall of Angels haue inflicted on them the highest extremitie of his vengeance Hee might vpon the first sinnes of our youth yea of our nature haue swept vs away and giuen vs our portion in that fierie lake he stayes a time for both Though with this difference of mercy to vs men that here not onely is a delay but may be an vtter preuention of punishment which to the euill spirits is altogether impossible They doe suffer they must suffer and though they haue now deserued to suffer all they must yet they must once suffer more then they doe Yet so doth this euill spirit expostulate that he sues I beseech thee torment mee not The world is well changed since Satans first onset vpon Christ Then hee could say If thou be the Sonne of God now Iesus the Sonne of the most high God then All these will I giue thee if thou wilt fall downe and worship me now I beseech thee torment mee not The same power when hee lists can change the note of the Tempter to vs How happy are wee that haue such a Redeemer as can command the Deuils to their chaines Oh consider this ye lawlesse sinners that haue said Let vs breake his bonds and cast his cords from vs How euer the Almighty suffers you for a iudgement to haue free scope to euill and ye can now impotently resist the reuealed will of your Creator yet the time shall come when yee shall see the very masters whom ye haue serued the powers of darknesse vnable to auoid the reuenges of God How much lesse shall man striue with his Maker man whose breath is in his nostrils whose house is clay whose foundation is the dust Nature teaches euery creature to wish a freedome from paine the foulest spirits cannot but loue themselues and this loue must needs produce a deprecation of euill Yet what a thing is this to heare the deuill at his prayers I beseech thee torment me not Deuotion is not guilty of this but feare There is no grace in the suit of Deuils but nature no respect of glory to their Creator but their owne ease They cannot pray against sinne but against torment for sinne What newes is it now to heare the profanest mouth in extremitie imploring the Sacred Name of God when the Deuils doe so The worst of all creatures hates punishment and can say Lead me not into paine onely the good heart can say Leade mee not into temptation If wee can as heartily pray against sinne for the auoiding of displeasure as against punishment when wee haue displeased there is true grace in the soule Indeed if wee could feruently pray against sinne we should not need to pray against punishment which is no other then the inseparable shadow of that bodie but if we haue not laboured against our sins in vaine doe wee pray against punishment God must be iust and the wages of sinne is death It pleased our holy Sauiour not onely to let fall words of command vpon this spirit but to interchange some speeches with him All Christs actions are not for example It was the errour of our Grand-mother to hold chat with Satan That God who knowes the craft of that old Serpent and our weake simplicitie hath charged vs not to enquire of an euill spirit surely if the Disciples returning to Iacobs Well wondred to see Christ talke with a woman well may wee wonder to see him talking with an vncleane Spirit Let it be no presumption O Sauiour to aske vpon what grounds thou didst this wherein wee may not follow thee Wee know that sinne was excepted in thy conformitie of thy selfe to vs wee know there was no guile found in thy mouth no possibilitie of taint in thy nature in thine actions Neither is it hard to conceiue how the same thing may bee done by thee without sinne which wee cannot but sinne in doing There is a vast difference in the intention in the Agent For on the one side thou didst not aske the name of the spirit as one that knew not and would learne by inquiring but that by the confession of that mischiefe which thou pleasedst to suffer the grace of the cure might bee the more conspicuous the more glorious so on the other God and man might doe that safely which meere man cannot doe without danger thou mightest touch the leprosie and not be legally vncleane because thou touchedst it to heale it didst not touch it with possibility of infection So mightest thou who by reason of the perfection of thy diuine nature wert vncapable of any staine by the interlocution with Satan safely conferre with him whom corrupt man pre-disposed to the danger of such a parle may not meddle with without sinne because not without perill It is