unde descenderim semel haec mihividâ—nda sint an saepe nascendum quò hanc sturus sim quae sedes expectat animam folutam legibus servitutis humanae vetas me caelo interesse idest jubes me vivere capite demisso Sen. Ep. 65. Tunc natarae rerum gratias ago cum secreticra ejus intravit cùm disco quis universi auctor aut custos quid sit Deus Nisi ad haec admitterer non fuerat nasci Detrahe hoc inaestemabile bonum non est vit a tanti ut sudem ut aestuem O quà m contempta res est homo nisi supra humana surrexerit Sen. Praef. Nat. Quaest Our Time is given us to study to know and acquaint our selves with God and our selves To contemplate the Creator To rise and ascend from the Effects to the prime Cause and ultimate End To seek and embrace the first Truth and chief Good which only can satisfy Man's Mind desirous of more Truth and his Will capable of more Good than finite Beings can afford By diligent Searching to find out God to be our absolute Owner supream Governour and great Benefactor and to labour to be suitably affected towards him and every way answerably observant of him [b] Magnum majúsque quà m cogitari potest numen est cut vivendo operam dà mus Huic nos approbemus Sen. apud Lactant. de vero cultu l. 6. § 24. To own and acknowledg love fear and serve the Author of our Beings and Patron of our Lives to put our Trust and place our Confidence in him and to take care to promote and advance his Interest in the World To contemplate and reflect upon the [c] 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I hoc lid Poem Royal Pedigree the noblo and divine Extraction the high and heavenly Original the excellent Nature and large Capacity of our incorporeal and immortal Souls the Alliance of our Spirits to the Father of Spirits and to charge our selves to live and act worthy of so high and honourable a Descent so noble a Nature such excellent Endowments To confider and ponder the direct Respect and certain Referenoe that this Life has to another That the World we live in we must not live alwaies in That this is not the Place of our Happiness and Rest That we are but Pilgrims and Strangers here and Travellers toward * Heb. 11.16 [d] Sapiens patitur mortalia quamvis sciat ampliora superesse Sen. Ep. 65. a better Country That this World is but the Road and Way that surely leads to another That this World is but a Nursery for Eternity that we are planted in this in order to our Transplanting into the other World That the present Liâ—e is not a durable permanent Condition nor the final State of Mankind but is only intended as a certain [e] See Mr. Howe 's very rational Proemial Discourse to the Blessedness of the Righteous preliminary preparatory State [e] Per has mortalis aevi morns illi meliori vitae longto ique proluditur Quemadmoduns novem mensibiu nos tenet maternits uteries praeparat non sibi sed ili loco in quem videmur emitri jam idonei spiritum trahere in aperto durare Sic per hoc spatium quod ab infantia pates in senectutem in alium maturescimus partum Ala origo nos expectat alius rerum staius Nondum coelum nisi en intervallo pati possumus Seneca Epist 102. and fitly contrived and wisely designed by way of present previous Probation in order to future Happiness or Misery that God has placed us here for a Time that we may be [f] Aeternitatis candidati Tertull. Candidates for Eternity [g] Discitéque 8 miseri causas cognoscite rerum Quid sumus quidnam victuri gignimur Quem te Deus esse Jussie humanâ quâ parte locatus et in re Pers Sat. 3. Time is allowed us to consider and answer the Ends of our coming into this World to dispatch the Errand and finish the Business which our heavenly Father Lord and Master hath given us to do To find out and discover the ill Condition and unsound Constitution the Incurvation and Depression of our Souls the Vitiosity moral Deformity and wretched Degeneracy of our Nature the Sickness and Weakness Disorder and Distemper of all our Faculties the ill Bent and wrong Biass and perverse Inclination of our Minds and Wills Hearts and Affections To observe and bewail that lamentable [h] Plut. in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and unhappy 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the hanging and flagging of our Soul's Wings the drooping and moulting of our Souls their losing those noble Feathers by which they should nimbly raise themselves and fly and soar as high as God and mount up and aspire to heavenly Things To be truly sensible of and sadly affected with the Mutiny and Rebellion of the brutish and inferiour Faculties of our Souls against the higher Power and soveraign Faculty of our Reason And to endeavour what in us lies by all possible means to recover and rectify to purify and sublimate our heaven-born Souls and to use well and rightly our seeing and foreseeing our intellectual and elective Faculties and Powers To open and clear the Eye of our Souls to [i] Dociles natura nos edidit ratienim dedâ—t im â—rfectam sed quae perfici posset Sen. Ep. 49. improve and heighten our Reason to ripen and strengthen our Judgment to enlarge and widen our Understanding and to live and act suitably and agreeably to right Reason and the sober Dictates and most mature Judgment of a sound and solid Understanding To consult the divine Oracles and search the sacred Scriptures and thence more clearly to gather and fully to discover our sinful miserable State by Nature To learn plainly and certainly from divine Revelation the particular Manner of our Apostacy and Defection the Universality of our Depravation and Corruption our Obligation to Punishment for our Transgression and Rebellion and the ready Way and infallible Means of our happy Recovery and Restitution to the Image and Favour of God And out of a deep Sense and Feeling of all our Sin and Guilt and spiritual Impotency and Inability to seek God's Face and Favour in Christ to seek his Grace and Strength and with Faithfulness and Diligence to use his Grace and uct in his Strength And in the Vse or Reason which is Man's proper Vtensil and by the Help of divine Grace to govern our Senses to tame our wild and extravagant Fancies to curb our [k] Efficiendum est ut appetitus rationi obedtant cui sunt subjects lege naturae Cic. l. 1. de Offic. Appetite to moderate our Affections to bridle our violent and boisterous Passions and to [l] If we suppose this Life to be a State of Tryal in order to a better as in all reason we ought to do what can be imagined more proper to
Body 2. In making dainty Provision for the Belly 3. In Play and Sport and vain Recreations 1. How do the brave Gallants and gaudy People of the Times sordidly use their Souls as so many tailors setting them to mind every new Fashion and very unmanly spend their Time in over-nice and too curious decking and dressing of the Body and poudering of the Hair the [b] When th' Hair is sweet through pride or lust The Pouder doth forget the Dust Herbert's Poems Charms and Knots Pouder quite forgetting the Dust losing their Time inter pectinem speculumque occupati to use [c] De brevitate vitae c. 12. Quomodo trascuntur si tonsor paulo negligence or fuit tanquam virum tonderet Quomodo excandeseunt siquidextra ordinem jacuit nisi omnia in anulos suos recider unt quis est istorum qui non malit Rempub icam sâ—am turbart q an comam qui non solicitior sit de capitis sut d core quà m de salute qui non comptor esse malit quà m gnus ornatus Adhibendaest munditia non odiosa neque exquisita nimis â—an ù n quae sugiat agrestem inhumanam negâ—tgentiam Cicero l 1. de Offic. Seneca's Exprellion by being wholly taken up between the Comb and the Glass These are so exceedingly concern'd for their Heads of Hair or for the Periwigs they wear that to speak in the VVords of the forementioned Philosopher they had rather that a whole Common-wealth should be troubled and distrubed than that their well-set Hair should be disordered and discomposed and more affect to be neat and fine spruce and trim than to be truly good and honest And how do too many of the other Sex instead of early looking up to Heaven in Prayer and looking diligently into the perfect Law of Liberty list up their [d] Doctor Alleâ—â—ry's Sermons page 226. Morning-Eyes to nothing but a Looking-glass and there contemplate their Faces and garish wanton Dresses for several Hours together and even worship their own Image and fall in Love with their own Shadow and please themselves to think how the Eyes of others will be drawn to gaze and be pleased with looking upon them These gentile Sinners ordinarily spend the most of their Time before Dinner in the Arts and [e] Tanquam famae diserimen agatur Aut animae Tantiest quaerendi cura decer is Juvenalis satyra 6. Labours of Attire in putting on their Bulls and Towers many in patching and too many in painting their Faces and giving themselves another Colour and Complexion than ever their Maker thought good to give them in making themselves a new Face instead of making themselves a new Heart VVhenas these idly busie Persons might spend their Hours a great deal better in the trimming of their Souls and * 1 Pet. 3.4 adorning their inner hidden Man and making themselves all glorious within in putting on the Lord Jesus Christ in putting on Christian Charity and clothing themselves with Gospel-Humility and with the Ornament of a meek and quiet Spirit and in beautifying themselves with all the Graces of the holy Spirit 2. How much Time do many spend in contriving how to furnish their Tables to [f] Cibus per artem voluptatémque corruptus Non ad tollendam sed ad irritandam fame in quaeritur inventae sunt mille conditurae quibus aviditas excitaretur Mâ—ltos morbos multa fercula secerunt Vide quantum rerum per unam gulam transiturarun ermisceat luxurta terrarum marisque vastatrix necesse est it aque inter se tam diversa dissideant hausta malè drger antur altis aliò nitentibus Dii boui quantum hominum unus venter exercet Coguntur in unum sapores In coena sit quod fiers debet saturo in ventre Non esset confusior vomentium cibus Seneca ep 95. mix their Meats to fill and garnish out variety of Dishes to prepare and order their several Sauces in the pleasing of their [g] Qutbus in solo vivendi causa palato est Juvenalis satyra 11. Palates the pampering of their Flesh and the strengthning of their Lusts in immoderate Eating riotous [h] Aspice quantum occupent conviva quae jam ipsa officia sunt Seneca de brevitate viâ—ae c. 6. Feasting frequen Junketing in excessive Drinking tarrying long at the VVine or sitting long Tipling at the Ale-house How many suffer Sensuality and Luxury to eat up their Time and make no greater Improvement of their Years than to become accomplished Epicures How do such voluptuaries make their Souls Cooks to look out Provisions for their Bodies imploying their Minds in studying and devising Meats for their Bellies How do these live [i] Quiderat cur in numero viventium me positum esse gauderem an ut cibos potiones percolarem ut hoc corpus causarium ac staidum perituâ—ú nque nisi subinde impleatur farcirem viverem aegri minister Idem praef nat quaest Fateer insit am esse nobis cor poris nostri caritatem fateor nos hisjus gerere tutelam non engo indulgendum illi sed serviendum nego Sie gerere nos debemus non tanquam propter corpus vivere debeamus sed tanquam non possimus siue corpore Honestum ei vile eit cui cor us nimis carum est Idem ep 14. as if the Business of their Lives were to please and serve to gratify and satisfy the Flesh as if they were made for no higher than the mere animal Life as if they received their rational Souls only to procure for and to animate the Organs of their Sensuality as if they were born for nothing else but to cloath and feed to purvey and provide to cark and care for this vile Body and were capable of enjoying no nobler Pleasures or higher Satisfaction than the Entertainment of their Senses Though the Truth of it is that [k] Quid mihi voluptatem nominas Hominis bonum quaero non ventris qui pecudibus ac belluis laxior est Sen. de vita beata c. 9. Hunc tu numeras inter homines cujus summum bonum saporibus ac coloribus ac sonis constat Idem ep 92. St quae mens est paulò ad voluptmates propensior modò ne sit ex pecudum genere sunt enim quidam homines non re sed nomine sed si quis est paulò erectior quamvis voluptate capiatur occultat dissimulat appetitum voluptatis propter verecundiam Ex quo intelligitur corporis voluptatem non satis esse dignam hominis prastantiâ eánque contemni rejict oportere Si considerare volumus quae sit naturae excellentia dignitas intelligemus quà n sit turpe difftuere luxuriâ delicaiè ac molliter vivere quâmque honestum parcè continenter severè sobriè Cicero l. 1. de Offic. sensual Pleasure as Seneca well discourses is but the Good of a Beast Canst thou reckon him I will not say among Men but
employed by the great and mighty Monarch of the World To yield your Members as Instruments of Unrighteousness unto Sin instead of yielding your selves to God and your Members as Instruments of Righteousness unto God 2. To delay the Redemption of our Time is hazardous and dangerous as well as unworthy and disingenuous For 1. The Time of our Life is very uncertain Seriously consider that if thou dost not take the present Time Time with thee may quickly be no more [f] Subito tollitur qui diu toleratur Gregor Hom. 12. in Euang. He that is long forborn is often snatcht away of a sudden * Job 21.13 Thou maiest go down to the Grave in a Moment Thou maiest be dead and buried thy Body be rotten in the Grave and thy Soul grievously tormented in Hell long before the Time comes which thou didst fix and set for thy Repentance and the amendment of thy Life [g] Maxima vitae jactura dilatio est Illa primum quemque extrahit diem illa eripit praesentia dum ulteriora promittit Maximum vivendi impedimentum est expectatio quae pendat excrastino Quò spectas quò te extendis omnia quae ventura sunt in incerto jacent protinus vive Sen. de brev vit cap. 9. Delay saies Seneca is the greatest Loss of humane Life It deprives us of that which is present while it Promises that which is future The greatest hindrance of living well saies he is Hope of living to morrow But it is a noted Saying of St. Gregory [h] Qui poenitenti veniam spopondit peccanti diem crastinuninon promisit Greg. Hom. 12. in Euang. He that hath promised Pardon to him that repents he has not promised to morrow to repent in And if God has not promised it to us we have no reason to promise it to our selves for 't is a Rule in Civil Law [i] Nemo potest promittere alienum No Person can promise that which is anothers He spake prudently and piously who when he was invited to come to morrow to a Feast returned this Answer I have not had a morrow for these many Years It was good Counsel which a wise Rabbi gave his Scholar that he should be sure to repent one Day besore he died But if you delay to be penitent and pious holy and religious the present Day you may never have the Benefit and Advantage of another Young Men too commonly lavish out the present in hope of redeeming the future Time But they build their Hope upon the greatest Vncertainty in the World [k] Quis est tam stultus quamvis sit adolescens cui sit exploratum se ad vesperum esse victurum Quinetiam aetas illae muliò plures quà m nostra mortis casus habet Faciliùs in morbos incidunt adolescentes graviùe aegrotant tristiùs curantur Ità que paùci veniunt adsenectutem Cicero in Cat. Maj. sen de Senect Young Men as Tully brings in Cato discoursing in some respects are in greater danger of Death than Old Men They fall into Diseases more easily sicken more violently and are cured more hardly and therefore there are but very few that reach to an Old Age. The Jews tell of Ben Syra yet a Child as [l] Dr. Stoughton's Heavenly Conversation p. 81 82. Dr. Stoughton relates the Story that he begged of his Master to instruct him in the Law of God who defer'd it and put him off saying he was too young yet to be entred into Divine Mysteries then he replied But Master said he I have been in the Church-yard and perceive by the Graves which I have lain down by and measured and find shorter than my self that many have died younger than I am and what shall I do then and if I should die before I have learned the Law of God what would become of me then Master The consideration of our short Life saies that worthy Doctor should cause us to [m] Ad haec quaerenda natus aestima quà m non multum acceperit temporis etiamsi illud totum sibi vendicet cui licèt nihil facilitate eript nihil negligendo patiatur excidere licèt horus avarissimè servet usque in ultimae aetatis his manae terminos procedat nec quicquam illi ex eo quod natura constituit fortuna concutiat tamen homo ad immortalium cognitionem nimis mortalis est Sen. de Otio sap c. 32. make haste to learn to know and serve God and to think we cannot begin to study that Lesson too soon that can never be learned too well And withal to use all Speed and Diligence lest as Children have usually torn their Books so we have ended our Lives before we have learned our Lessons * Joh. 9 4. Work while it is Day the Night cometh when no Man can work †12.35 Yet a little while is the Light of this Life with you walk while ye have the Light lest Darkness come upon you Do not carry your selves like idle Boies who play away their Candle and then are forced to go to bed in the dark Thy Life is uncertain and therefore with Apelles that curious Painter let no Day go without some Stroke or Line drawn to the Life Let no Day pass without dispatching some lawful Business without performing some good Work and doing some laudable vertuous Action Do every Day the Work of that Day Make Religion thy business every day of thy Life 2. Delaies and Prorogations are very dangerous because many other things are exceeding uncertain as well as our Lives Thou dost not know but that by some Disease thou maiest quite lose the use of thy Reason and the natural right Exercise of thy Rational Faculties and so become in a manner dead even while thou livest Or if still thou retainest the free use of thy Reason yet thou maiest be deprived of the means of Grace and helps to Salvation * Isa 30.20 Thy Teachers may be removed into a Corner Thou maiest be pinch'd with a †Amos 8 11 12. Famine of hearing the Word of the Lord and be ready to ‖ Prov. 29.18 perish for want of Vision Or through Sickness or some sad Providence thou maiest be hindred and detain'd from making use of those common Means which others comfortably and profitably enjoy Or if thou hast Liberty to attend on the outward means of Grace thou maiest (*) 2 Cor. 6.1 receive the Grace of God in vain not (†) Luk. 19 42. know and understand in this thy Day the things that belong unto thy Peace Thou maiest have a (‖) Prov. 17.16 Price in thy hand to get Wisdom and be such a Fool as to have no heart to it Thy Mind may become more unprepared and thy Will more indisposed to receive the Truth and embrace the Goodness of the Word Thou maiest be ready to * Acts 7.51 resist the working of the Spirit in the great Ordinances of the Gospel and maiest
a kind and merciful Providence has restored them all that look'd so lively and lovely has quite vanish'd and come to nothing these fairly promising hopeful Penitents have afterward fallen to their old Biass prov'd as vile and vicious as bad and worse than ever they were before And it may be thou thy self hast been in the like case and done as much heretofore as now and hast reason to remember thy false deceitful treacherous dealing with God in former Instances on the like Occasions how many of thy own Purposes and Promises have fail'd and been quite lost and hast cause enough to suspect and question the Truth and Goodness of all the present fairest shews and goodliest Appearances of thy Repentance And here this great Difficulty will at last unavoidably lie before thee whether thou dost not seek return and enquire after God only because he now begins to * Ps 78.34 slay thee in good earnest Here will be the doubt and dispute How thou wilt be able to determine that the Confession of thy Sins and Condemnation of thy self thy Resolutions and Promises of better Obedience in case of longer Life are not all the meer effect of slavish Fear and only the product of trouble of Mind and terrour of Conscience rather than the genuin proper issue of a vehement hatred of Sin for the Turpitude and Unreasonableness of it of a strong Affection to God and his Laws and a hearty Love to Holiness when thou hast no time to make sufficient Proof and due Trial of the Truth and Sincerity of thy Faith and Repentance And what comfortable joyful security canst thou have that God will certainly and infallibly save thee by an act of extraordinary Grace and Favour in the want of the Actions of a vertuous and holy Life which he requires in the Gospel as ordinarily necessary to Salvation It is here but a may be a peradventure †Mat. 20.15 It is lawful indeed for God to do what he will with his own but the possibility of an extraordinary Grace is not likely then to bring thee that clear and full Light of sweet Peace and solid spiritual Comfort which an early diligent Improvement of the Grace of God ordinarily vouch-safed in the course of thy Life and time of thy Health and Strength would in all probability have produced If therefore thou wouldst wisely provide for thy Peace take no encouragement to delay the Redemption of thy Time from the Instance and Example of the Thief upon the Cross who was sincerely converted to Christ and fully ascertain'd of Salvation by the infallible Oracle of the Mouth of his Saviour in the very close of his Life the final and ultimate Hour before his Departure Obj. But some or other may be ready and apt to say Alas I have deferr'd so long already that though I entertain some serious Thoughts of redeeming the Time and use my honest Endeavours yet I fear do what I can it is now too late for me to obtain Eternal Salvation Answ I answer Hast thou made very long Delaies spent and wasted a very considerable part of thy Life the most of thy precious Time in the Service of Sin and Satan Why truly thou hast reason to be so much the more humbled the more sorry for it the more ashamed of it the more penitent at present and the more obedient for the future great cause to purpose and intend to give unto God the whole remainder of thy Time And though thou hast but a small Time but a few Years more to live here in this World yet let this be the Frame and Temper the setled Disposition and invincible Resolution of thy Soul that if God should prolong thy Life beyond thy expectation that if thou hadst never so much Time to spend upon this Earth thou wouldst by the help of God compose and set thy self to the study of knowing and an endeavour of doing the Divine Will to a Renunciation of thy past Life and Actions and a Conformation of thy Affections and Manners to the Rule and Prescript of the Gospel of Christ that thou wouldst employ thy whole Time expend and lay out all thy Strength in the Service and to the Glory of God only And here consider for thy Comfort that there are to be found several sorts and degrees of late Penitents and there is so much the more Hope for thee that thou art not of the lowest rank and form of all Indeed if thou wert a death-bed Penitent though I will not say thy case would be absolutely hopeless utterly helpless and altogether desperate yet because it is so seldom and rare a thing that so late Repentance proves sound and serious thy Condition would be exceeding [l] Poenitentia quae ab infirmo petitur insirma est Paenitentia quae à moriente tantùm petitur timeo ne ipsa moriatur Aug. de Temp. serm 57. dubious and very dangerous and thy spiritual Comfort extreamly uncertain if not ordinarily impossible and supposing thou wert to begin thy Repentance upon a Death-bed I should .... 2 occurences found not much wonder if thou shouldst almost begin thy Hell there But as [m] Vis te de dubio liberare vis quod incertum est evadere age poenitentiam dum sanus et Si enim agis viram poenitentiam dum sanus es invenerit te novissimus dies fecurus es Ergo curre ut reconcilieris si sic agis securus es Quare securus es quia egisti poenitentiam eo tempore quo peccare potuisti Si antem vis agere poenitentiam ipsam tune quando peccare non potes peccati te dimiserunt non tu illa Aug. Tom. 10. de verè poenitentibus Hom. 41 ex 50. Amb. exhortat ad Poenitentiam St. Austin discourses wisely and judiciously if now thou for sakest thy Sins and turnest to God while thou dost enjoy some measure of Health and Strength and chusest to serve God when yet thou couldst serve Sin and Satan if thou couldst here is some room and place for strong Comfort such as may quiet the troubled Mind and satisfy the afflicted Conscience of a Sinner Though thou beast but a late Penitent yet if thou couldst be an older Sinner and wilt not if thou art willing to break off from Sin when thou hast yet some Time to sin and Strength to sin and Occasions of Sin offer'd thee and Temptations to Sin lying before thee and pressing upon thee When thou art invited and it may be provoked to it and thy Faculties are not yet so weaken'd and disabled but that thou mightest several waies with Pleasure sin if thou wouldst if now thou refusest and wilt not it is a sign thy Repentance though late Repentance yet is true Repentance for all that Thou who couldst go over thy old Sins again if thou dost heartily cast them off when thou couldst commit them afresh If thou deliberately leavest thy Sins before thy Sins leave thee If thou