THE Beauty Vigour Strength OF YOUTH Bespoke for GOD IN A SERMON Lately Preached to YOUNG MEN. By THOMAS POWELL Minister of the Gospel LONDON Printed for Ben. Harris at the Stationers Arms in Sweetings Rents near the Royal Exchange in Cornhill 1676. TO THE READER Christian Reader THE greatest and highest Honour of the Reasonable Creature is to serve Him who is the best Good and the last End which is the design of this little Treatise The Excellency and Necessity of what is here treated justly merits a larger Volumn But I studied Brevity and that upon a two-fold account First Because I was desired that there might be little or no Variation from the Sermon as it was Preached either in Altering or Enlarging though something of each I have done yet so I hope as to please both thee the Reader and they who had the Opportunity of Hearing the same Secondly Because I was willing that more might have a share in it which possibly could not have been if I had not endeavoured to crowd my Meditations in a little room Birds when they come to a full heap of Corn chirp and call for their fellowes Goodness and Light are of a diffusive Nature And now since this is Midwifed into the World which was not intended by me such as it is I offer it to thee as the product of my sincere and cordial Love to the Souls of young Men. Let not the Plainness of the Matter and the Homeliness of the Style offend thee I designed it not for a curious Pallate being preached unto a plain Countrey-people I aymed at their Edification and not at any Popular Applause The Treatise is usefull for all that are enquiring after true Felicity especially the younger sort of People being such for the most part that were present when this Sermon was Preached What thou Reader apprehendest not Sound carry it to the Touch-stone of the Word and if but a Mite of saving Knowledge may be through Gods Blessing added to thy Understanding let God have the Glory and the Author hath his End who is Southwark Decemb. READER Thy Friend and Souls servant Thomas Powell ECCLES XII 1. Remember Now thy Creatour in the Dayes of thy Youth while the Evil Dayes come not nor the Years draw nigh when thou shalt say I have no pleasure in them GOD set up two great Lights in Solomons Heart one shewing the Excellency of Christ in the Canticles the other the Vanity of the Creature as in Ecclesiastes which is the second Book of Solomon and it is called Ecclesiastes because Solomon was so called And that either because he speaks unto a Multitude at once or else because of his Wisdom with which he was indeed after a copious manner endowed The whole Book is a declaration of Solomons repentance written in his old age as may be gather'd both out of the title of it and the closure of it in the six last verses and also out of the whole body of it being written upon a serious view of the passages and practices of his life past and the great and manifold experience he made and found therein He treats chiefly of the worlds vanity true felicity the maladies of old age the Advantage of being good betimes Hence it is that young men in the conclusion of all are call'd upon to mind their Creator and that whatsoever they are employed in besides is vanity of vanities and no wise yielding true satisfaction but anxiety and torment unto their souls Remember now thy Creator in the dayes of thy youth while the evil dayes come not nor the years draw nigh when thou shalt say I have no pleasure in them The words in general do press unto a duty of the greatest moment in the world wherein you may take notice of these several things 1. The Act Remember 2. The Object Creator 3. The adjunct of Time Now in the dayes of thy youth exegetically repeated while the evil dayes come not nor the years draw nigh when thou shalt say I have no pleasure in them The words will afford us many points of Doctrine I shall only observe two and so insist upon them Doct. 1. That above all things whatsoever we should not forget but Remember our Creator Doct. 2. That there is great reason why we should remember our Creatour in the dayes of our youth even while we are young and before old age over-takes us These in order and with the first I begin viz. That above all things whatsoever we should not forget but Remember our Creator The prosecution of this Point I purpose through Gods assistance in this wise 1. I shall set my self to amplifie it 2. To Apply it The amplification will consist of Explication and confirmation 1. Explication and so I shall shew you 1. What this Creator is 2. What it is to remember our Creator 3. What it is to remember our Creator above all things whatsoever First I am to shew you What this Creator is whom we are call'd upon in the text to mind Remember now thy Creator in the dayes of thy youth In the Hebrews it is Thy Creatours alluding to the Trinity so that by Creatour we are to understand God the Father God the Son and God the Holy Ghost for though the Creation of the world is peculiarly ascribed to God the Father and look't upon as his proper work in respect of order and relation as he is the first person of the Trinity yet not so as to exclude the rest for all the persons of the Trinity to speak after the manner of men had a hand in the Creation of the world Gen. 1. 26. And God said Let us make man ni our Image after our likeness who should the Father speak unto here Let us but unto the Son and the Holy Ghost Secondly What it is to Remember our Creator It is not onely a bare thinking on him and that now and then but to remember our Creator implyes these several things First To know him to know that he is and what he is That God is and that he is to be worshipped is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Law written in the heart of man and that which the book of the Creatures teacheth as well as the book of the Scriptures But now who This God is and the right mode of worshipping him many are at a loss and the candle-light of Nature without the help of the Holy Spirit in and by the Scriptures cannot direct us neither can our knowledge of God by them be a comprehensive knowledge what God is in his Essence in his Attributes in his persons in his works no man or Angel hath doth or ever shall know Though we must if we would remember our Creator aright know something of each yet he must have the wisdom of God and so be a God that comprehendeth God in his Essence Attributes Persons and works what say you now Sirs do you remember your Creator in this
he is best when he can serve God most according unto the Apostle I delight in the Law of God after the inward Man with my Mind I serve the Law of God though with my Flesh the Law of Sin Remember thy Creator that is Remember him so as to love serve and obey him And thus you have heard first and last the full Import of these words Remember thy Creator The third thing I am to speak unto by way of Explication is this What is it to remember our Creator above all-things whatsoever which may fall under these three heads 1. Loving God above all things whatsoever 2. Fearing God above all things whatsoever 3. Obeying God above all things whatsoever First Loving God above all things whatsoever Here is Love in its highest stature and such a kind of Love God requires nay no other Love will he acccept of either of that kind we must give him or none at all The prime of our Affections must God have and indeed who deserves them more than He who shall have them if not He Verily our selves have not so great a right unto our selves as He We and our selves and all that is ours are Gods yea we are more Gods than our own How is it then that God is no more lov'd than he is and that even some who profess Love unto him do not love him above all things whatsoever Surely here lies the Reason Ignorance Ignorance Ignorance Ignoti nulla cupido sayes the old Poet what we know not we love not Did persons but know God more they would love him more O who would not but love that infinite Love and Excellency though he had no Interest of his own in it God is Love it self and if we will not love Love it self surely we are distracted Doest thou therefore O my Soul Remember thy Creator and doest thou so Remember him as to Love him and doest thou so love him as to love him above all things whatsoever How many I fear if weighed in the Ballance would be found wanting as to this which is the summe and substance of Christianity And shall I here expostulate with the Young man What sayest thou Art thou willing to give Christ the First-born of every Affection in thy Soul Doest thou love God above all things whatsoever Doest thou love him above thy Relations Estate and very Life Canst thou preferre Gods Glory before all Secular Interest whatsoever and even deny thy very Life for him if called thereunto This indeed is Love like Gold tried in the Fire Verily when Carnal Relations come in competition with and stand in opposition unto Christ we must hate them when our Friends would prove Snares and hinder us from doing our Duty we must either leap over them or tread upon them like Galeacius Caracciolus that most famous Patron and Second Moses who though he was the Son of a Marquess the Pope's Nephew yet deserted Italy and with Moses Pharaoh's Court treading upon and leaping over his Wife and Children rather than he would worship Idols and so that he might be with Reverend Calvin under his Ministry in Geneva So that in this case Odium in suos is Pietas in Deum Ierome likewise hath an excellent passage If my Wife saith he should hang about my Neck my Mother shew me the Breasts that gave me suck perswading me to deny Christ I would not Peter though a Friend and Disciple of Christ yet when he prov'd a Tempter Christ saith unto him Get thee behind me Satan I cannot omit that excellent Passage of Mr. Swinnock that Laborious and Pious Divine concerning Love to God being as followeth I wish since Love is the greatest thing my Saviour can give for God is Love and the greatest which I can give my Saviour that his love to me may be reflected back again that my chiefest Love may be as a Fountain seal'd up to all others and broached onely for him who is altogether lovely that I may hate Father Mother Wife Child House and Land out of Love to him that many Waters of Affliction may not quench this Love but rather like snuffers make this Lamp to burn the brighter Again Doest thou love Christ O Young man above thy Estate or this present World Hast thou put thy Love to Christ in one Ballance and thy Love to the World in another and doth thy Love to Christ weigh down thy Love to the World or is not thy Case like the young Man in the Gospel who was Christs Hearer but not his Follower When Christ said unto him Sell all and give to the Poor it is said Abiit tristis he went away sorrowfull Mat. 19. 22. Doth the World lye nearer thy heart than Christ How then dost thou love Christ above all things whatsoever Again Is Christ O young Man of more esteem unto thee than thy Life canst thou lay it down for his sake His Love to thee was stronger than Death is thy Love to him stronger than Life Can wicked Men be content to suffer for their Lusts and will not ye suffer for Christ Heroick Luther hath an Expression and indeed it is like himself I would rather saith he be a Martyr than a Monarch And the same said again Disce mori ut vivat Christi Gloria Learn to die that the Glory of Christ may live Such who do preferre Christ think not much to die for him and that it is so see it confirm'd in this Cloud of Witnesses The Prophet Isaiah was kill'd with a Saw Ieremiah with Stones Amos with an Iron-barre and St. Luke was hanged on an Olive-tree So that this is clear he who preferres his Life before Christ is not worthy of him He that with Iudas and Spira will rather sin than suffer must with them suffer a Hell on this side of Hell Secondly Fearing God above all things whatsoever Thou fearest thy Father and Mother thy Master and such who have the Rule over thee but doest thou fear thy Maker How many I fear especially Young men may I find tardy in this Why now to remember thy Creator above all things whatsoever is to fear him and to fear him above all things whatsoever is to fear him in an otherguise manner than one Mortal fears another Civil or Natural Difference among us here below commandeth proportionable Reverence and if such Reverence be due from one Creature to another when they are all made of the same coarse earthly Mould and must all be buried in the bowels of their common Mother the Earth when there is no Essential but onely an Extrinsecal difference between them What Fear and Reverence then is due from us poor dust and ashes to the God of the Spirits of all Flesh the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords between whom and his Creatures there is an infinite distance O be perswaded above all things to fear that glorious and fearfull Name The Lord thy God That Name which is the greatest prop
shall bend under us And the Grinders cease because they are few Dentes molares Teeth cease And those that look out of the Windowes be darkened The Eyes darkened and dimm'd with Blindness And the Doors shall be shut in the streets Their Maladies so noysome that none can come to visit them And he shall rise up at the voyce of the Bird That is take little rest the chirping of a Bird or any little thing shall awake and disturb him And all the daughters of Musick shall be brought low This may be interpreted by comparing it with 2 Sam. 19. 35. Man goeth to his long home Comp. Iob 30. 23. and Isa. 26. 4. Or ever the silver Cord be loosed Some interpret it of the Marrow others of the Sinews Or the golden Bowl be broken or the Pitcher be broken at the Fountain The Liver is the Fountain of Blood the Heart of Spirits these lose their drawing and distributing Power These things considered viz. the Inconveniencies of Old Age and the Fitness of Youth for the Service of his Creator should methinks prevail with young men to live henceforth not unto themselves but unto their Creator and Redeemer The time of Youth is Seed-time The Proverb is Youth layes in and Age lives upon it The one sowes the other reaps Now is your Market-time in which if ye be wise ye may make a happy Exchange of Earth for Heaven of a Valley of Tears for a Paradise of Delights Young Men consider you are now Flowers in the bloom your Friends Delight your Countreys Hope It lyeth very much in your Sphere to be either a Crown of Rejoyceing to them or to bring down their Gray hairs with sorrow to the Grave But I dare not enlarge Fourthly Remember your Creator in the dayes of your Youth because if thou thinkest of deferring till Old Age it is a question whether thou mayst live so long besides the Inconveniences of Old Age which I have told you as above written The Best of us cannot promise our selves a day The present Time is onely ours the Morrow we are not sure of Take Time therefore by the Forelock and cry not Cras Cras to Morrow to Morrow Manna must be gathered in the Morning the Orient Pearl is generated by the Morning Dew Egregious folly it is to procrastinate and put off to the last At tu dum primi floret tibi temporis aetas Vtere Tib. Improve your Time while you are Young Fifthly Remember your Creator in the dayes of your Youth because the Day of Grace may have its Sun-set on a sudden Thou mayst live perhaps to an Old Age but the Day of Grace may not last so long Now the Gospel is preached Christ crucified set forth the assistance of the Spirit offered and the Gates of Heaven opened to entertain you O therefore Now To day if ye will hear his voyce Heb. 3. 7. If to day thou sayst thou wilt not pray to morrow thou mayst say thou canst not pray Now therefore now as you would tender the good of your own Souls work apace you have the Sun-shine of the Gospel but a Cloud will come While the Sun therefore doth shine cock your Hay shock your Corn wanton not away your Summer lest you begge in Winter The Night indeed is for sleeping but the Day especially a Sun-shine Day a clear Day is for working One being in a fit of Anger a person said unto him Domine Sol ad Occasum The Sun is going down If the Sun must not go down upon our Wrath let it not go down upon our Loytering Sixthly If you have your Life prolonged and the Means of Grace continued yet if no more gales of the Spirit be afforded what art thou the nearer When Gods Spirit blows upon us we shall go full Sail to Heaven It is good striking therefore while the Iron is hot and lanching out while Wind and Tide serve open all thy Sails to every breath and gale of Gods Spirit Welcome every Suggestion reverence every Dictate cherish every Illapse of this blessed Monitor Let every Inspiration find thee as the Seal doth the Wax or the Spark the Tinder Seventhly and lastly Remember your Creator in the dayes of your Youth because the Promise is made unto Early Seekers Prov. 8. 17. They that seek me Early shall find me Application Is there good Reason why we should Remember our Creator in the dayes of our Youth Then let my Message to you O Young Men this day be accepted The Reasonableness of my Message I have shewed in several Respects Did I press you to things that might tend to your hurt it were something but I am onely intreating you this day to be kind unto your Souls and make your peace with God While the dayes come not nor the years draw nigh when ye shall say I have no pleasure in them The Result of all therefore is Young men Remember your Creator by whom it is that you live move and have your Being Forget him not lest he forget you but seek him Early and ye shall find him Motives hereunto I think very convenient As First If Honour will sway you know that it is the Honourablest thing in the world to Remember your Creator in the dayes of your Youth Is it commendable for a Child to obey his Earthly Father how much more commendable is it then for us to Obey our Heavenly Father Shun O Young Men the Worlds Ambition and make this your Ambition with good Iosiah to set out betimes with spiritual Isaac to give your selves to Meditation while ye are young with heavenly Iacob to prize and seek the Blessing while others in the use of their vain Sports lose it with King Solomon to know the God of your Fathers with righteous Obadiah to fear the Lord from your Youth and with Ingenious Timothy to know the Scriptures from a Child And what a Cloud of young Worthies are here and are they not Honoured Renowned and made Famous and that for their soon beginning The like will be with you Young men Remember your Creator in the dayes of your Youth and he will Honour you But alas how few are the number of these young Branches How few are there of the Sons of Wisdom that being enticed by Men consent not But how Honourable is it I say for young Men like Samuel to minister and serve before the Lord while he was but a Child and how comely was the Carriage of those Children that sang Hosanna's unto Christ Contemplate often Young men these Looking-glasses imitate and copy out these patterns and Presidents Besides King Edward the Sixth that Phoenix of his time that truely Noble Prince Henry and the young Lord Harrington with many others who blossomed as the Almond-tree betimes Secondly The longer you neglect the more difficult will the setting upon your Duty be Much Sloath and Procrastination will at last take away the very Heart and
Desire of seeking God but now Youth improved will make the Performance of the Duty more facile Opportunity improv'd sayes one facilitates every Action and Employment making a work come off sweetly smoothly and with facility It is as the laying of the Knife upon the Joynt when we would divide the Bone It is Wind and Tide to the Oars of Industry Thirdly The more Wrath you will treasure up unto your selves by having more sins to answer for The sooner we begin the less we shall have to answer for but the longer we deferre the more we shall have to answer for Fourthly Young Men shall come to Iudgement as well as those of riper years You think that you have a Priviledge by your Age Youth must have its course say some they must sow their wild Oats But now the Counsel of the Spirit is otherwise In the Morning sow thy Seed and in the Evening withhold not thy hand for thou knowest not whether shall prosper And David doth tie up your untamed Age to the horns of the Altar saying That even You must cleanse your wayes by taking heed thereto according to Gods Word Think not I say because you are Young you shall be excused For the dead small and great shall stand before the Lord and you that now take your pleasures know that for all that ye shall come to Judgement and your Pleasures shall have an End Methinks that Scripture in the 11 of Eccles. v. 9. should cool the Courage of such Young men who go on in their Career to Hell in the midst of their Pleasures Rejoyce O young Man in thy youth and let thy Heart cheer thee in the dayes of thy youth and walk in the wayes of thy heart and in the sight of thine eyes but know thou that for all these things God will bring thee into Iudgement Fifthly You will not Repent that you have call'd God to mind so soon But thou shalt esteem Gods Grace the more for it rejoyce in the sense of it and in Comfort conclude thy Life whensoever God shall call thee hence I would fain lay down some Cautions and Exhortations unto the Young Men of this Age which if observed by them I am confident would help them much in remembring of their great Creator But should I doe this it would make this little Book swell too much which for the Poor's sake I would prevent and yet a little too I will venture First more generally have a care Young Men of laying a stress on Parentage Birth Education Civility and your Natural Endowments They are all but painted shews of Righteousness and crack'd Titles to Heaven Faith comes not by Birth Generation or Education and he who is Gifted is not alwayes Believing But Secondly more particularly I would caution you from these Vices which tend much to the Corruption of Youth First I would caution you from Love of the World If any man love the World the love of the Father is not in him 1 Joh. 2. 15. O let not the World lye so neer your Hearts as it did to the Young Man 's in the Gospel You can never Love your Creator so as to die for him if the World get root in your Heart Have a care I beseech you of preferring the Gifts of God before God himself All Creatures that the Lord made he made for Man and Man for himself But this is a fearfull Contempt of God and disestimation of his Majesty when the Creature is better lov'd than God as Evah for the love of an Apple lost the love of the Lord and Esau for a Mess of Pottage sold his Birthright and the Gadarens counted their Swine more precious than the Son of God Christ Iesus He that loveth these bodily worldly and perishing Riches cannot love the spiritual heavenly and eternal Riches Love not this World because the Devil is the God of it love not this World because it cools thy Affections to God and the things of God Love not this World because it is the Bird-lime of spiritual Punishments Love not this World because the Love of the World is Enmity towards God The Riches in this World are call'd Thick Clay Hab. 2. 6. which will sooner break the Back than lighten the Heart O that I could but disswade Young men from this peccatum peccatorum sin of Earthly-mindedness Consider O young Men what Solomon sayes of this World who knew as much as ever any did as to the sweetness of sensual pleasures Three Advantages Solomon had above others to know the Vanity of the Creature 1 In regard of his Wisdome 1 Kings 4. 29 30. 2 Riches 1 King 10. 23. 3 In that he gave himself to make trial and Experience of the Creature Yet Vanity of Vanities saith the Preacher Vanity of Vanities all is Vanity Five times Vanity 1. Vanity not vain onely but Vanity it self in the Abstract 2. Excessive Vanity Vanity of Vanities Hebraism superlative by doubling he signifies most vain imperfect uncertain transitory void of Content full of Grief 3. An heap of Vanities Vanity of Vanities an Hebraism and imports most great Vanity 4. An universal Proposition all is Vanity Fugiamus hinc ubi nihil est ubi inane est omne quod magnificum putatur Let us flye from this World wherein is nothing but Vanity Nihil siquidem a somni Vanitate differt rerum praesentium figura sive illae tristes sint sive prosperae The most excellent Shews of this Life are but Dreams which may affect for a time but do vanish so soon as the man awaketh And this is the first Caution Love not the World The Love of the World is an Obstacle that must be removed where Love to Christ and to thy Soul Young man is to be shewn Secondly I would caution you from Evil Company I know very well that we are mighty apt to follow a Multitude to do Evil I know that Youth above all is apt to keep Company especially had Company And how many have been brought to Ruine thereby Have not many at the Gallowes laid their sins at the Door of bad Company forewarning all to shun the same and take Example by them Every man is as his Company The Heathen could say Noscitur ex comite qui non cognoscitur ex se He is known by his Company that cannot be known by himself A Mans Company is as it were a Commentary on his Life A Company or Multitude and I pray Young Men do you especially take notice of it is not the Rule you should walk by as for doing Evil so for doing Good He that doth Good because a Multitude doth it will also do Evil because a Multitude doth it We must not saith Austin do a good thing because Many do it but because it is Good If others doe that which is Good saith he I will rejoyce because they doe it but I will not do it because they do it c. Keep good Company we