Selected quad for the lemma: woman_n
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A85870
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XI choice sermons preached upon severall occasions. With a catechisme expounding the grounds and principles of Christian religion. By William Gay B.D. rector of Buckland.
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Gay, William, Rector of Buckland.
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1655
(1655)
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Wing G397; Thomason E1458_1; ESTC R209594
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189,068
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322
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other faculties and acted other exercises yet in the Psalmes we find him very frequent in the meditation and contemplation and examination of mans estate and condition which indeed was the knowledge of himselfe And it seemes he had studied this point so far that he was gone beyond himself in it and had learn'd more then he was able to utter But hee doth set it forth as far as possibly he can and as far as words may significantly expresse it For in the 144th Ps ver 4. he saith Man is like unto Vanity And in the 39th Psa ver 5. he goes farther and saith Every man at his best state is altogether vanity And yet farther in the 62. Psa ver 9. he goes farther and spares neither high nor low but saith Surely men of low degree are vanity and men of high degree are a lie to be laid on the ballance they are altogether lighter then vanity Like vanity At the best altogether vanity Altogether lighter then vanity And yet farther and beyond all in this Psalme and in this verse of the Psalm hee goes farther for he doth not here say what man is but hee makes a question of it he brings it to a question As if he could not tell what to say of it as if it were a thing not possible to be told What is man that thou art mindfull of him This passionate exclamation of the Prophet concerning man groweth and ariseth from his considering the Heavens the Moon and the starrs as appeareth in the verse next foregoing And it so ariseth necessarily and by good consequence For in those admirable and excellent creatures whether he considered their place and situation or their influence and operation or their uncessant and untired motion or their long undecaying durance and continuaation very just cause had he to say What is man And on the other side whether hee considered that they are all made for mans use and service the Sun to rule the day the moon and the Starres to govern the night Psa 136. or whether he considered that man shall one day be placed higher then they and be advanced in glory above them all very just cause had he then to adde the other words also and say that thou art mindfull of him Here therefore I take it we have three things offered to our consideration 1. The vilenesse or baseness of man 2. The unworthinesse of man 3. The providence of God For in that out of the consideration of the heavens the moon and starres he raiseth the question What is man we may gather that he intimateth mans vilenesse in respect of their excellencie And in that he makes the question with mention of Gods providence wee may gather that he aimeth at mans unworthinesse in reference to Gods goodnesse and mercie And in that hee makes mention of Gods mindfulnesse we may plainly see he sets forth Gods good providence to man notwithstanding his vilenesse in himself and his unworthinesse towards God To begin with the first mans vilenesse or baseness This will be discovered in a twofold consideration namely of what we are or belongs unto us in our corporall and what in our temporall state and condition each of them again have a double reference or respect First for our corporal state and condition our vilenesse therein will appear in respect both of our beginning and of our ending First for our beginning If I should speak of our next and nearest natural beginning I mean our conception and birth I fear I should then make it too plain and more offend your eares then edifie your soules I should scarce I doubt find words modest and civill enough to bring me off with good manners It is a subject so unseemly for discourse that it may be enough if not too much for my present purpose onely to have named it Passing therefore that let us look I pray you on our first and primary beginning namely in Adam or rather on Adams beginning For though he was the beginning of all us yet he was not the beginning of himself No he had his beginning as well as other men And whence was it yee may see Gen. 2.7 The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground Loe then here is our noble parentage our high descent of dignity our honorable house Yea this is the very foundation of the house we dwell in houses of clay whose foundation is in the dust Job 4.19 And what can be more vile and contemptible then the dust of the earth which is troden under foot of all creatures which is scattered abroad of every blast of wind which beareth no herb nor fruit which serveth for no use to any creature unlesse for meat to the most cursed creature that is the serpent Thou art cursed above all cattell upon thy belly shalt thou go and dust shalt thou eat saith God to the serpent Gen. 3.19 But if any man or woman in the pride of their beauty or other excellencie will not apprehend their vilenesse by considering from whence they came yet let them apprehend and own and acknowledge it by considering whereto they shall shortly return What can be more odious to a living man then the carcasse of a dead man what can be more loathsome to his slight more noisome to his smell more infectious to his body And yet such we all are I may say we are For indeed we are so by natures judgement disposition and inclination I may say such we are for certainly such we shall be and onely God knowes how soon such must every man and womans body be be it never so strong and able never so sound and healthful never so fair and beautifull And as the generation of man originally was from the dust which is serpents meat so for farther expresse of our vilenesse as some naturalists note the corruption of a man is the seed or generation of a serpent For so they write Ex spina humana corrupta out of the corrupted Carcas of a man is ingendred a serpent And Aug. de morib Manic ca. 17 saith Scarabaeus ex fimo aper ex bove anguis vel scorpio ex homine other things and other corruptions but of mans corruption comes a snake or scorpion I may therefore well cry out with the Son of Sirach Why is Earth and ashes proud For when a man is dead he shall inherit creeping things beasts and worms Why doth not this teach us rather to be humble and lowly and not to have so proud a conceit of our bodies as too commonly we have nor to be so excessively curious in the delicate feeding and pampering of them in the soft and tender lodging of them in the superfluous trimming and adorning of them For it is but dust for the feeding whereof so many creatures suffer death It is but dust for the lodging whereof wee spend so much time in building tabernacles It is but dust for the clothing whereof we teare both surface and bowels of the Earth
fragrant field unto the Lord. I speak not this to perswade any man wilfully to make himself miserable for our Saviour himself hath pronounced it to be A more blessed thing to give then to receive Neither doe I speak to commend or justifie the counterfeit zeal of those that mock the world with a false shew of wilfull poverty whiles shutting themselves up in a Cloister that they may seem to forsake the world they do indeed enjoy it in all superfluity Or at the least the worst of their misery is no more then that which that holy man prayeth for Pro. 30.8 Give me neither poverty nor riches feed me with food convenient for me If they have no excesse they are sure to feel no want but to be sufficiently provided for both for back and belly so long as they live there and are they not then very zealous think you in binding themselves to such a misery But my speech is to hearten all those with comfort on whom God hath layd affliction that they may bee so far from impatience as rather to rejoyce in tribulation Rom. 5.3 because it was their Masters common lot and portion for the Disciple is not above his Master nor the servant above his Lord it is enough for the Disciple to be as his Master and the servant as his Lord. Yea not onely the afflictions of life but death it self and the grave should be welcom and acceptable to us for Christ also hath passed them and by suffering hath sanctified them unto us so that the curse of death is turned into a blessing and the grave is become a bed of rest Rev. 14.13 and that Prophecie Is 11.8 is fulfilled The sucking child shall play upon the holt of the Asp and the weaned child shall put his hand upon the Cockatrice hole There is now no danger to Gods children in the hole of death that is the Grave for death hath lost his sting and cannot hurt us so that we may triumph and say O death where is thy sting O Grave where is thy victory The sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the Law but thanks be to God which hath given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ 1 Cor. 15. In the last place let us learn not onely to admire Christs love to us nor onely to love him again nor only to love those that are like to him in suffering nor onely to love his sufferings themselves but withall to hate sin which was the occasion of his sufferings Sin was the occasion of Christs sufferings for had not Adam sinned Christ had had no cause or need to suffer If therefore wee love him wee cannot chuse but hate that which was to him the occasion of such a miserable life and such a shamefull painfull and cruell death David 2 Sam. 23. being an high Captaine though he longed for the water of Bethleem yet would not tast it when hee had it because it cost his three souldiers the hazard of their lives thathe might have it Much more we being servile souldiers though our soules long for the sweet waters of sin yet should we forbear to tast it because it cost our high Captaine Christ not the hazard but the very loss of his life that we might not have it God shewed Moses a tree wherewith he might make the bitter waters sweet Exo. 15.25 but behold I shew you a tree wherewith ye may make the sweet waters of sin to become bitter Look upon the tree of Christ remember his Cross and the pains he suffered thereon and the false sweetnesse of sin will quickly vanish and ye shall rightly rellish the bitterness of it If the delight of any sinne offer it self unto you cast Christ his Cross into it do but remember his sufferings for sin and all sin will presently grow distastfull For how can it choose but be hatefull to us if we consider how hurtfull it was to him The Jews would not put those thirty peeces into their Treasury because they thought them to bee the price of blood Mat. 27.6 but therein I must say they were deceived for Judas for that money did rather sell himself and his own soul then Christ or Christs blood For Christ was sold before even God had sold him before to death for the sin of man For when in the fall of man the devil offered sin unto God then did God threaten Christ unto him namely That the seed the woman should break the serpents head Gen. 3. And had not Christ been so sold before to death for sin not all the treasure in Jerusalem nor in all the world could have bought him Seeing then that Sin was the true and proper price for which Christ was sold how unworthy are wee the name of Christians yea how much worse are we then Jews if we suffer this price of blood to come into the treasury of our hearts If therefore any motion of pride arise in thy mind answer and tell it thou art the price of blood If any temptation of lust be offered to thine eyes answer and tell it thou art the price of blood If any provocation of anger or revenge be urged to thy hands answer and tell it thou art the price of blood If any greedinesse of gain move thee to wrong or oppression answer and tell it thou art the price of blood And whatsoever sin thou art tempted to answer and tell it thou art the occasion of my Saviours death thou art the price of Christs blood thou mayst not therefore come into the treasury of my heart O blessed Lord and sweet Saviour we do even with astonishment admire thy passing great love towards us we pray thee also by the fervent fire of thy great love that is upon us to kindle in us true love to thee again yea to all that are like thee in thy sufferings yea to thy sufferings themselves that we may patiently bear them whensoever they befall us But make us truly to hate sinne that was the occasion of thy sufferings We beleeve O Lord that by thy blood thou hast washt us from the guilt of sin wee beseech thee also make us more and more effectually find and feele that by thy spirit thou doest purge us from the love of sin that so our consciences may be comforted in all our life and especially in our death and our soules and bodies eternally saved in the life to come by and thorough thy all-sufficient sufferings and satisfactions For which unto thee with the Father and the Holy Ghost three persons one eternall God wee render all possible praise and thanksgiving and desire all honour and glory might and majesty may be ascribed for ever and ever Amen Finis Serm. 2. Trino-uni gloria Per me Gulielmum Gaium Martial At male si recites incipit esse tuus A SERMON preached at the Visitation held at Campden May 4. 1636. Text. JOH 13.17 If ye know these things blessed or happy are ye if ye doe them