A Key Opening Mysterious Texts of Scripture, Collection of sermons 1 · Sermon 22
PHILIP HIS MEMENTO MORI: OR, The Paſsing Bell. A Sermon preached in Mercers Chappell at the Funerall of Maſter Benet, Merchant. THE XXII. SERMON.
DEUT. 32.29.
O that they were wiſe, then they would underſtand this, they would conſider their later end.
Right Worſhipfull, &c.
HEnoch lived by juſt computation ſo many yeeres as there are dayes in the yeere, viz. 365. and he was the ſeventh man from Adam, and dyed in anno aSethus Calviſ. in Chron.Sabbathico, the Sabbathick yeere, and thereby became a lively Embleme both of this life, and the life to come. For the labours of this life are governed by the courſe of the Sunne, which is finiſhed in that period of time; and the reſt of the life to come is evidently prefigured in the Sabbath. It is farther written of him in the holy Records of eternity, that he bHeb. 11.5. Gen. 5.24.walked with God, and was therefore tranſlated that hee ſhould not ſee death, to teach us, that they who walke with God all the dayes of their life as he did, ſhall come into no condemnation, but immediately paſſe from death to life, from death temporall to life eternall, which was not obſcurely diſciphered unto us in the narration of the ſeventh dayes creation. After the mention of every day in the weeke, and the worke thereof, wee reade, ſo the evening and the morning were the firſt day, and ſo thecGen. 1.5, 8, 13.19, 23, 31. ſecond, and the reſt: but after the relation of the ſeventh dayes creation, on which God reſted and bleſſed and ſanctified it, the former clauſe is quitedGen 2.1, 2, 3. omitted. It is not added as in the reſt, ſo the morning and the evening were the ſeventh day: becauſe in Heaven, whereof the Sabbath was a type, there is no morning and evening, much leſſe night; but as it were perpetuall high-noon. For theeApoc. 21.23. Lambe is the light thereof, and this Lambe is thefMal. 4.2. Sunne of righteouſneſſe, which never riſeth nor ſetteth, but keepeth ſtill in the midſt of the Empyreall Heaven and Throne of God: as on the contrary, in Hell there is nothing but continuall midnight and everlaſting darkneſſe. Thus the wiſedome of God juſtly, and the juſtice of God wiſely hath proportioned the rewards in the life to come to the workes of men in this life: they that caſt off the works of darkneſſe, and put on the armour of light, and walk in the light as children of the light here, ſhall hereafter poſſeſſe the inheritance of the gColoſ. 1.12.Saints in light; but they who love darknes more than light, and have fellowſhip with the unfruitfull workes of darkneſſe, and continually walke as in the darke, in groſſe and palpable ignorance, in gluttony and drunkenneſſe, in chambering and wantonneſſe, and the like ſinnes of darkneſſe here, ſhall hereafter inhabit the region of perpetuall darkneſſe, and never vaniſhing ſhadowes of death. O that we were wiſe, then we would underſtand theſe things, and in the beginning of our race in this world thinke of ourh…n. ep. 30. Ut mortem nunquam time…s, ſemper cogita. later end. For the beginning of wiſedome is the conſideration of our end; and a forcible meanes to bring us to everlaſting life, is to meditate continually upon our death. To thinke what wee ſhall be, ſtench and rottenneſſe, and worſe if we be not better, aſhes and cinders of hell, will through the power of Chriſts death make us what we ſhould be, that is, dead to ſinne, dead to the world, dead in our ſelves, but alive in God. How can hee live in ſinne, who perpetually apprehendeth that hee ſhall dye eternally for his ſinne? how can he make a trade of iniquity, and a ſport of religion, and a mock of God, and a god of his belly, who hath hell torments alwayes before the eyes of his minde?iLament. 1.9. Jeruſalem remembred not her laſt end; therefore ſhee came downe fearfully: and becauſe wee put from us the evill day, it commeth faſt upon us. It were unpoſſible to goe on forward as wee doe in the wayes of ſinne and pathes of death, if wee would dwell but a little while upon theſe or the like thoughts: After a few dayes, perhaps this very day, yea this houre, I ſhall be called to a ſtrict account of my whole life, charged with all the ſinnes open and ſecret that ever I have committed, accuſed by the Divell, convicted by mine owne conſcience, condemned by the dreadfull Judge of quicke and dead, to be caſt into utter darkneſſe in hell, there to endure ſuch torments for ever, as it would breake the ſtrongeſt heart, and conquer all humane patience to feele but for an houre. Haec cogitare eſt vitiis omnibus renunciare, to enter into a ſerious conſideration of theſe things, is to chaſe away all wanton and wicked thoughts and to ſend a bill of divorce to the world and all her minions, the miſtreſſes of our carnall affections: but this is the miſchiefe, as S.kCyp. de mortal. Aeterna tormenta nemo cogitat, quae metueret conſcientia ſi crederet, ſi metueret caveret, ſi caveret evaderet. Cyprian pricking the right veine telleth us, it is a thing to be bewailed with teares of bloud, that none almoſt mindeth everlaſting torments. For did they minde them and beleeve them, they could not but feare them, and if they feared them …y would beware of them; and if they would beware of them, they might eſcape them. O that men therefore were wiſe, to thinke upon hell before they ruſhed on the brinke of it, and enter into a ſerious conſideration of Gods fearfull judgements upon obſtinate and impenitent ſinners before they were overtaken by them. This is the ſcope and effect of theſe words, and I pray God they may worke this effect in us, that laying before our eyes the fearfull ends of the wicked, and their damnation, wee may learne from henceforth to be wiſe unto ſalvation.
The unum neceſſarium and chiefe point of all to be thought upon in this life is, what ſhall become of us after wee goe from hence: for here (God knowes) we have but a ſhort time to ſtay. We reade in KinglEccleſ. 3.1.2. Solomons diſtribution of time, according to the ſeverall occaſions of mans life, to every thing there is a ſeaſon, and a time to every purpoſe under the heaven, a time to be borne, and a time to dye: but wee reade of no time to live, as if our death bordered upon our birth, and our cradle ſtood in our grave; yet upon this moment rather than time of our life dependeth eternity.
Diviſion.The greateſt perfection attainable by man in this life is wiſedome, and the moſt proper act of wiſedome is conſideration, and the chiefeſt point of conſideration is our later end. Firſt therefore the Spirit of God in this Text commendeth wiſedome to their deſires. Secondly, conſideration to their wiſedome. Thirdly, their later end to their conſideration: and the more to ſtirre up their affections and expreſſe his, he delivereth this his advice in a wiſh, and accompanieth it with a deep ſigh, ſaying, O that they were wiſe, they would underſtand this, that it is not for their ſakes that they might bragge, but for their enemies ſake that they might not bragge, that I have thus long ſpared them. For I had long ere this ſcattered them abroad, and made their remembrance ceaſe from amongst men, but that I knew their adverſaries would take advantage thereat, and waxe proud upon it, Verſe 27.and ſay our high hand, and not the Lord hath done it. For they are a Nation void of councell, neither is there any underſtanding in them. Which words beare a light before the words of my Text,Coherence. and thus bring them in: O that they were wiſe, then they would underſtand this, viz. that nothing ſtandeth between them and my wrath, my wrath and their deſtruction, but the pride of their enemies: they are indebted to the fury, malice, and inſolency of the Heathen, who ſeeke utterly to deſtroy them, and by proudly treading upon their neckes, to trample true religion under feet, that hell raines not downe upon them from heaven, and they not burnt like Sodome, and conſumed like Gomorrah. Were they wiſe, they would underſtand it, and underſtanding conſider how neere they are to their end, and conſidering it meet the Lord upon their knees, to prevent their utter overthrow.
Obſerv. 1.O that they were ſo wiſe. If thoſe words wherewith Moſes beginneth his Swan-like ſong immediately before his death,Verſe 2. My doctrine ſhall drop as the raine, and my ſpeech ſhall diſtill as the dew, as the ſmall raine upon the tender herbe, and as the ſhowers upon the graſſe, were verified of any of his words, they are certainly of theſe in my Text, which drop like raine, or rather like ho…y from his mouth: whereby wee may taſte how ſweet the Lord is in his ſpeeches, how milde in his proceedings, how paſſionate in his perſwaſions, what force of art & eloquence he uſeth to draw us unto him, without force & violence. Are not ſighes the very breath of love? are not ſobs the accents of grief? are not groanes fetched deep the long periods of ſorrowes raviſhing eloquence? which Almighty God breathes out of the boyling heat of his affection both here and elſewhere: OmHoſ. 6.4. Ephraim, what ſhall I do unto thee? O Judah, how ſhall I intreat thee? for your righteouſneſſe is as a morning cloud, & your goodnes as an earthly dew vaniſheth away. O that nPſal. 81.13, 14, 15, 16.my people had hearkened unto mee, and Iſrael had walked in my wayes. I ſhould ſoone have ſubdued their enemies, and turned my hand againſt their adverſaries. The haters of the Lord ſhould have ſubmitted themſelves unto him: but their time ſhould have endured for ever. Hee ſhould have fed them with the fineſt of the wheat, and with honey out of the rocke would I have ſatisfied thee. And, OoMat. 23.37. Jeruſalem, Jeruſalem, which killeſt the Prophets, and ſtoneſt thoſe that are ſent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together as a hen doth gather her chickens under her wings, but yee would not? How can the affection more outwardly enlarge, or the heart open it ſelfe, than by opening the boſome, and ſtretching out the armes to imbrace? Behold the pEſay 65.2.armes of Almighty God ſtretched all the day long to a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their owne thoughts. What truer Embaſſadours of a bleeding heart than weeping eyes? behold the teares of our Saviour over Jeruſalem, and reach your hand, and thruſt it into the hole of his ſide, and you ſhall feele drops from his heart bleeding afreſh for your ungratefull refuſall of his love, and deſpite of his grace. If drops of raine pierce the ſtones, and drops of warme Goats bloud crumble the Adamant into pieces; ſhall not Chriſts teares ſinke into our affections, and the drops of his heart bloud breake our hearts with godly ſorrow, and make them ſo thorougly contrite by unfained repentance, that they may be an acceptable ſacrifice unto him? according to the words of the Pſalmiſt,qPſal. 51.17. The ſacrifices of God are a broken ſpirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou ſhalt not deſpiſe. Were not that City very unwiſe, that would refuſe any tolerable conditions of peace offered by a potent enemy, againſt wh…m ſhee could not make her party good in warre? Beloved, are wee able to hold out warre with Almighty God? to maintaine a fight againſt his plagues and judgements? what are we but dead men, if hee lay hold on his glittering ſword? why then doe wee not come in whileſt hee holdeth out his golden Scepter of mercy? why ſue wee not to him for a treatie of peace? It can be no diſparagement to us to ſeeke to him firſt; yet we need not, he ſeeketh to us firſt, he maketh an overture of his deſire for peace, he draweth conditions with his owne hand, and offereth them to us, as wee heard before out of the 81. Pſalme, If Iſrael would have walked in my waies, &c. that is, if you will yeeld to mee, and acknowledge mee for your Lord, and accept of my lawes, I will take the protection of you againſt all your bodily and ghoſtly enemies, I will ſecure you from all danger, enrich you with grace, give you all the contentment you deſire upon earth, and preferre you to a crowne of glory in heaven. Can you deſire fairer conditions than theſe? know yee who it is that tendereth them? he is your Lord and Maker, who need not condition with you; that which hee meekly craves he could powerfully force you unto; hee ſueth for that by entreaty, which hee may challenge by right; all that hee requireth on our part is but our bounden duty, and his deſire is that we ſhould bind him to us for doing that ſervice which wee are bound to doe. Was there ever ſuch a creditour heard of, that would come in bonds for his owne debt, and become a debtour to his debtour? SaintrAug l 5. confeſ. c. 9. Dignaris quoniam in ſeculum miſericordia tua eſt iis quibus omnia debita dimittis promiſſionibus tuis debitor fieri. Auſtin could not hold when he fell upon this meditation, but breaketh out into a paſſion, Thou vouchſafeſt, O Lord, by thy promiſes to become debtour to them, to whom thou remittest all debts. What happineſſe! what honour is it to have Almighty God come in bonds to us? I beſeech you thinke what they deſerve who ſet light by ſo great a favour, and refuſe ſuch love.
Application.Now God maketh as it were love to us, and in dolefull Sonnets complaines of our unkindneſſe, O that my people would have hearkened to my voice, &c. To which his amorous expoſtulations if wee now turne a deafe eare, the time will come when wee ſhall take up the words of God in our owne perſons, and with hearts griefe and ſorrow ſay, O that we had hearkened to the Lord, O that we had walked in his wayes; then ſhould we have ſeen the felicity of his choſen, and rejoyced with the joy of his people, and gloried with his inheritance: but now wee behold nothing but the miſery of his enemies, and are confounded with the ſhame of reprobates, and ſuffer the torments of the damned, and ſhall till wee have ſatisfied to the utmoſt farthing. Now God wooeth us with deepeſt proteſtations of love, and largeſt promiſes of celeſtiall graces, which if we make light of, it will one day fall heavie upon us. The ſweeteſt wine corrupteth into the ſharpeſt vinegar, and the moſt fragrant oyntments, if they putrefie, exhale moſt peſtilent ſavours; and greateſt love, if it be wronged, turneth into the greateſt hatred. Now God as a lover paſſionately wooeth us, but if wee ſleighten him, and deſpiſe his kinde offers, he will change his note, and turne his wooe into a woe, as we heare,ſHoſ. 7.13. Woe be unto them, for they have fled away from mee; deſtruction ſhall be unto them, becauſe they have rebelled againſt mee: though I have redeemed them, yet they have ſpoken lyes againſt mee. After the cleareſt flaſh of lightening followeth the terribleſt clap of thunder: in like maner after Gods mercy in Scripture hath for a long time lightened, & moſt clearly ſhewed it ſelfe to any people or nation, his juſtice thundereth out moſt dreadfull threats. For example: after Gods familiar diſputation with his Vineyard,tEſay 5.1, 2, 3, 4. My beloved had a vineyard in a very fruitfull hill, and hee fenced it, and gathered out the ſtones thereof, and planted it with the choiceſt vine, and built a tower in the midſt of it, and alſo made a wine-preſſe therein: and he looked that it ſhould bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wilde grapes. And now, O inhabitants of Jeruſalem, & men of Judah, judge I pray you between me & my Vineyard, what could I have done more to my Vineyard that I have not done? &c. mark the fearfull concluſion (Verſe 5.) I will tell you what I will do to my Vineyard, I will take away the hedge thereof, & it ſhall he eaten up, I will breake downe the wall thereof, and it ſhall be troden downe. And what enſued upon our Saviours teares over Jeruſalem, which would not ſinke into their ſtony hearts, but the bloudy tragedy which was acted upon them 40. yeeres after by the Romans? who ſpared neither the annointed head of the Prieſt, nor the hoary head of the aged, nor the weaker ſexe of women, nor the tender age of infants; but put all to the ſword, ſacked the walls, rifled the houſes, burned the Temple downe to the ground, and left not one ſtone upon another. O that wee were wiſe, then wee would underſtand, and obſerve the method of Gods proceedings, and in the ruine of Gods people, if wee repent not, conſider our later end. O that they were
Wiſe. The Philoſophers diſtinguiſh wiſedome into
Obſerv. 2 foreign, Sapience.
foreign, Prudence.
Sapience they define to be the knowledge of all divine & humane things, ſo farre as they fall within the ſcantling of mans reaſon.
Prudence they reſtraine to the ordering of humane affaires: and this they divide into
1. Private,
2. Publike: and this they ſubdivide into
1. Civill,
2. Military.
Military prudence maketh a wiſe ſouldier, civill a wiſe ſtateſman, domeſticke a wiſe houſholder, and ſapience a wiſe contemplative, and morall prudence in generall a wiſe practick man. The rules of this wiſedome are to be taken from the precepts of Philoſophy, diſcourſes of Policy, the apophthegmes & ſtratagems, ſentences and examples of thoſe whom the world hath cryed up for Sages; but this is not the wiſedome which Moſes here requireth in Gods people, and paſſionately complaineth of the want of it: but a wiſedome of a higher nature, or, to ſpeake more properly, a wiſedome above nature, a wiſedome which deſcendeth from the Father of lights, which directeth us ſo to order and governe our ſhort life here, that thereby we may gaine eternity hereafter: ſo to worſhip and ſerve God in Chriſt in this world, that we may reigne with him in the world to come. The infallible rules of this wiſedome are to be fetched onelyonly from the inſpired Oracles of God extant in the Old and New Teſtament: the chiefe whereof are theſe;
1. To receive and entertaine the doctrine of ſalvation, Rules of ſpirituall wiſedome.which is the wiſedome of God in a myſtery, confuting the errours, and convincing the folly of all worldly wiſe men.
2. To deny our ſelves, and our carnall wiſedome and reaſon, and bring every thought in obedience to the Goſpel.
3. To account our ſelves ſtrangers and pilgrimes here upon earth, and ſo to uſe this world as though wee uſed it not.
4. To know, that we are not Lords of our lands, wealth and goods, but only Stewards, to account for them: and therefore ſo to diſpenſe and diſtribute them, that we make friends of unrighteous Mammon, that when it faileth us, they may receive us into everlaſting habitations.
5. To ſeeke the Lord whilest hee may bee found, and not to deferre our repentance from day to day.
6. To be ſure to provide for our eternall ſtate, whatſoever becommeth of our temporall; and to preferre the ſalvation of our ſoule before the gaining of the whole world.
7. To examine daily our ſpirituall eſtate, and to informe our ſelves truly how we ſtand in the Court of Heaven, in Gods favour, or out of it.
8. To obſerve to what ſinnes wee are moſt ſubject; and where wee are weakeſt, there continually to fortifie againſt Sathans batteries.
9. In all weighty occaſions, eſpecially ſuch as concerne our ſpirituall eſtate, to aske counſell of God, and take direction from his Word.
10. To conſider the ſpeciall workes of Gods providence in the carriage of the affaires of this world, and make uſe thereof to our ſelves.
11. Laſtly, to meditate upon the Law of God all the dayes of our life, and conſider their bleſſed end that keep it with their whole heart; and their accurſed death that tranſgreſſe it. And ſo I fall upon the ſecond branch of my Text:
Obſerv. 3 They would conſider. I have already propoſed wiſedome to your deſires: now I am to commend conſideration to your wiſedome. The Schoole Divines make this the ſpeciall difference between the knowledge of men and Angels, that the knowledge of Angels is intuitive, but of men diſcurſive: they ſee all things to which the beame of their ſight extendeth, as it were on the ſudden with one caſt of the eye; but we by degrees ſee one thing after another, and inferre effects from cauſes, and concluſions from principles, and particulars from generalls: they have the treaſures of wiſedome and knowledge ready alwayes at hand; we by reading, hearing, conference, but eſpecially by meditation muſt digge it out of the precious mynes where it lyeth. In which regard Barradius, alluding to the ſound of the word though not to the Grammaticall originall, ſaith, meditatio eſt quaſi mentis ditatio, meditation is the enriching of the ſoule, becauſe it delves into the rich mynes of wiſedome, and maketh uſe of all that wee heare or reade, and layeth it up in our memories. Seneca fitly termeth it rumination, or chewing of the cud, which maketh the food of the ſoule taſte ſweeter in the mouth, and digeſt better in the ſtomacke. By the Law of God theuLevit. 11.3, 7. beaſts that chewed not the cud were reckoned among the unclean, of which the people of God might not eate: ſuch are they in the Church, that never ruminate, or meditate upon thoſe things they take in at the eare, which is the ſoules mouth. I know no difference more apparent between a wiſe man and a foole than this, that the one is prometheus, hee adviſeth before; the other is epimetheus, he acteth firſt, and deliberateth afterwards, and*Heſiod. foreign. wardeth after hee hath received the wound: the one doth all things headily and raſhly; the other maturely and adviſedly. A man that hath an underſtanding ſpirit, calleth all his thoughts together, and holdeth a cabinet councell in the cloſet of his heart, and there propoundeth, debateth, deliberateth and reſolveth what hee hath to doe, and how, before hee imbarke himſelfe into any great deſigne, or weighty affaire. For want of this preconſideration moſt men commit many errours, and fall into great inconveniences, troubles and miſchiefes, and are often caught unawares in the Divels ſnare; which they might eaſily have ſhunned, if they had looked before they leaped, and fore-caſted their courſe before they entred into it. It is a lamentable thing to ſee how many men, partly through careleſneſſe and incogitancie, partly through a deſire to enjoy their ſenſuall pleaſures without any interruption, ſuffer Sathan like a cunning Faulkner to put a hood upon their ſoules, and therewith blind the eyes of the underſtanding; and never offer to plucke it off, or ſtirre it, before hee hath brought them to utter darkneſſe.
O that men were wiſe to underſtand this cunning of the Divell,Application. and conſider alwayes what they doe before they doe it: and be they never ſo reſolutely bent, and hot ſet upon any buſineſſe, yet according to the advice of thexCic. Orat. pro Pub. Quint. Si haec duo ſolùm verba tecum habuiſſes, Quid ago? reſpiraſſet credo cupiditas, &c. Orator, to give their deſires ſo long a breathing time, till they have ſpoken theſe two words to themſelves, Quid agimus? what doe we? what are we about? is it a commendable worke? is it agreeable to the Word of God? and ſutable to our calling? is it of good report? and all circumſtances conſidered expedient? if ſo, goe on in Gods name, and the Lord proſper your handy-workes: but if otherwiſe, meddle not with it, and put off all that the Divell or carnall wiſedome can alledge to induce you unto it, with theſe checkes of your own conſciences, ſaying to your ſelves, Shall we offend God? ſhall we charge our conſciences? ſhall we ſtaine our reputation? ſhall we ſcandalize our profeſſion? ſhall we deſpite the Spirit of grace? ſhall we forfeit our eſtate in Gods promiſes, and foregoe a title to a Kingdome? ſhall wee pull downe all Gods plagues and judgements upon us in this life, and hazzard the damnation of body and ſoule in hell; and all this for an earthly vanity, a fading commodity, a momentary pleaſure, an opinion of honour, a thought of contentment, a dreame of happineſſe? Shall we bett with the Divell, and ſtake our ſoules againſt a trifle? ſhall we venture our life, and put all the treaſures of Gods grace, and our crowne of glory in the Divels bottome, for ſuch light and vile merchandize as this world affordeth? Is it not folly, nay madneſſe to lay out all upon one great feaſt, knowing that we ſhould faſt all the yeere after? to venture the boiling in the river of brimſtone for ever, for bathing our ſelves in the pleaſures of ſinne for an houre?
We forbid our children to eate fruit, becauſe we ſay it breedeth wormes in their bellies: and if wee had the like care of the health of our ſoules, as of their bodies, wee would for the ſame reaſon abſtaine from the forbidden fruit of ſinne, becauſe it breedeth in the conſcience a never dying worme. O that we were wiſe to underſtand this, and to
Conſider our later end. I have propoſed wiſedome to your deſires in the firſt place; and in the ſecond referred conſideration to your wiſedome: now in the laſt place I am to recommend your later end to your conſideration. A wiſe man beginneth with the end, which is firſt in the intention, but laſt in the execution: and as we judge of ſtuffes by their laſt, ſo of all courſes by their end to which they tend. It is not the firſt or middle, but the laſt ſcene that denominateth the play a tragedy or a comedy: and it is the ſtate of a man at his death and after, upon which wee are to paſſe judgement, whether he be happy or miſerable. No man knoweth who hath gotten honour or infamy, till the race is runne; but after the courſe is finiſhed, when the rewards are diſtributed to every man according to his worke, when they that have kept within the wayes of God, and held on ſtraight to the price of their high calling, receive an incorruptible crowne of glory: but they who have turned out of the right way to purſue earthly vanities, receive their wages, eternall death; then all men ſhall ſee who was the wiſer of the two, and tooke the better courſe: then the wicked themſelves ſhall confeſſe their beaſtly folly, thus rubbing upon their owne ſores, and fretting their owne wounds, as we reade in the booke of Wiſedome; And they repenting and groaning for anguiſh of ſpirit ſhall ſay within themſelves,yWiſd. 5.3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. This was he whom we had ſometimes in deriſion, and a Proverbe of reproach. We fooles accounted his life madneſſe, and his end to bee without honour. How is he numbred among the children of God, and his lot is among the Saints? Therefore have we erred from the way of truth, and the light of righteouſneſſe hath not ſhined unto us, and the ſun of righteouſneſſe roſe not upon us. We wearied our ſelves in the way of wickedneſſe and deſtruction: yea, we have gone through deſarts, where there lay no way; but as for the way of the Lord, we have not knowne it. What hath pride profited us? or what good hath riches with our vaunting brought us? All thoſe things are paſſed away like a ſhadow, and as a Poſte that haſted by. And as a ſhip that paſſeth over the waves of the water, which when it is gone by, the trace thereof cannot bee found: neither the path-way of the keele in the waves. Where is now our gay and gorgeous apparrell? where are our ſumptuous hangings? our rich cubboard of plate? our gold and ſilver? where are our orient pearles? our bluſhing rubies? our glowing carbuncles? our ſparkling diamonds? our beautifull damſels? our pompous ſhewes? our various delights and paſtimes? our riotous banquets? our effeminate ſongs? our melodious muſicke? our laſcivious dancing? our amorous imbracings? All theſe things are vaniſhed like ſhadowes; but our ſorrowes come upon us thicke and threefold: all our joyes, delights and comforts are withered at the root; but our terrours, hearts griefe and torments grow on us more and more, and ſhall till time ſhall be no more. Application.If theſe piteous complaints and hideous ſhrikes of the damned in hell move us not, I tremble to ſpeake it, they ſhall be one day ours: then with anguiſh of heart and bitterneſſe of ſoule we ſhall ſigh and ſay, O that wee had been wiſe, then wee would have underſtood theſe things, and in time conſidered of our later end.
Obſerv. 5 Our later end ſetteth before us quatuor noviſsima, the foure laſt things:
1. Death, moſt certaine.
2. Judgement, moſt ſtrict.
3. Hell, moſt dreadfull.
4. Paradiſe, moſt delightfull.
O Death, how bitter is thy remembrance to him that is in the prime of his pleaſures, and pride of his fortune? yet the remembrance of judgement is more bitter than of death, of hell than of judgement: death in compariſon were no death, if judgement followed not after; and judgement were no judgement, or nothing ſo dreadfull, if immediately upon it hell were not opened; and hell were not hell, if it deprived us not of the pleaſures of Paradiſe for ever. O that men were wiſe to conſider in the beginning, or at leaſt before it bee too late, what their later end ſhall bee; firſt to dye, then to bee brought to judgement, and after ſentence,Application. either to be led to the rivers of pleaſure ſpringing at the right hand of God for evermore, or to be caſt into the lake of fire and brimſtone with the Divell and his angels, and all the reprobate and damned, the zApoc. 14.11.ſmoake of whoſe torment aſcendeth up for ever and ever, and they have no reſt day nor night.
Aſhes keepe fire alive, and the conſideration of our end and diſſolution, which ſhall be into duſt and aſhes, not onelyonly keepeth alive, but alſo ſtirreth up the ſparkes of Gods grace in us after this manner: Why doe I thus torment my ſelfe with projects, cares, and deſignes? I ſhall ſhortly (I know not how ſoon) returne to my earth, and then all my *Pſal. 146.1.thoughts ſhall periſh. Why doe I beare my head ſo high now? it ſhall lye low enough one day. Why doe I lay on ſo much coſt on gorgeous apparrell, which covereth nothing but duſt and dung? Why doe I prodigally laviſh out my patrimony in exquiſite dainties, and all kindes of delicious meates, which feed nothing but wormes? Why dote I upon the faireſt beauty fleſh and bloud can preſent to a laſcivious eye? if it be artificiall, it is nothing but paint and powder; if naturall, nothing but duſt and aſhes. Why doe I ſend to the uttermoſt parts of the earth for the rareſt ſtuffes, the fineſt linnen and napery? I ſhall carry nothing of it all away with mee but my winding ſheet. Laſtly, why doe I make ſo great purchaſes of lands and poſſeſſions? I ſhall keep the poſſeſſion of nothing but the meaſure of my grave, and perhaps bee diſturbed in it too, as two of the greateſt purchaſers of land in the world were. William the Norman, who conquered a great part of this Iſland, and Alexander the great, who conquered the greateſt part of the knowne world, both lay a long time above ground unburied, being denied that which the pooreſt beggar that never had foot of land in all his life hath freely given unto him, a hole to lay his head in under ground. Verily, as nothing can quench the burning ſlime of Samoſaris calledaPlin. nat. hiſt. l. 2. c. 104. Limum flagrantem (quam Maltham vocant…) tetra tantum extingui docuêre experimenta. Flagrat mons Chimaera immortali flammâ, extinguitur tamen terrâ & fimo. Maltha, nor the flame of the hill Chimaera, but onelyonly earth; ſo nothing can extinguiſh the ever burning deſires of the ambitious for honour, of the voluptuous for pleaſure, of the covetous for gaine, but onelyonly mold and earth, the complements of our grave, and remaines of our later end.
In my diſcourſe of our later end, to draw towards an end, before the deſtruction of the holy City and Temple, Joſephus writeth of a man afflicted in minde, that ran about the City crying, Wo to the City, wo to the Temple, wo to the Prieſts, wo to the people, and laſt of all wo to my ſelfe; at which words he was ſlaine on the walls by a ſtone out of a ſling. Let us take away but one letter, turning wo in O, and his propheſie for the future may be our admonition, and the application of this obſervation for the preſent. O that the world, O that this Kingdome in the world, O that this City in this Kingdome, O that we in this City here preſent were wiſe, then would wee underſtand this: this ſpectacle of our nature, this embleme of our frailty, this mirrour of our mortality,Applicat. ad defunct. and in it conſider our later end, which cannot bee farre off. For our deceaſed brother is here arreſted before our eyes for a debt of nature, in which wee are as deeply ingaged as hee; and if either the wealth of the world, or gifts of nature, or jewels of grace might have redeemed him; if either skill of Phyſicians, or love and care of his friends, or prayers and teares of his kindred, and his deareſt ſecond ſelfe could have bayled him, hee had not been laid up as now you ſee him. But let no man ſell you ſmoake to daz… your eyes in ſuch ſort, but that you may all ſee your owne faces in thi… broken glaſſe. There is no protection to bee got from King or Nobles i… this caſe: no reſcuing any by force from this Sergeant of God, death: a… baile or mainpriſe from this common priſon of all mankinde, the grave: all our comfort is, that we may hereafter ſue out an habeas corpus, which the Judge of all fleſh will not deny us at the generall Aſſizes, that we may make our corporall appearance at his barre in the clouds, and there have our cauſe tryed. Doe you deſire to know how this debt with infinite arrerages groweth upon us and all mankinde? Saint Auſtin giveth you a good account, the woman tooke up ſinne from the Serpent, as it were by loane, conſenſu Adam fecit cautionem, uſura crevit poſteritati, Adam by conſenting ſealed the band, the intereſt hath runne upon all his poſterity, and the intereſt that death had in him by ſinne, and upon us by him, and the intereſt upon intereſt by numberleſſe actuall ſinnes eateth us out one by one, till death that ſwalloweth us up all in the end be ſwallowed up into b1 Cor. 15.15.victory: and then ſhall be fulfilled that propheſie, O death, where is thy ſting? O grave, where is thy victory? At which Goale-delivery of all deaths priſoners, wee that are living ſhall not prevent our brother that lyeth aſleep before us in his winding ſheet: upon whoſe hearſe after I have ſtrowed a few flowers, I will commit him to the earth, and you to God.
1. The firſt flower is a Roſe, the embleme of charity. For a Roſe is hot in nature, it ſpreadeth it ſelfe abroad, and after it is full blowne ſhattereth both leaves and ſeeds; ſo charity is hot in the affection, ſpreadeth it ſelfe abroad by compaſſion, and ſcattereth ſeeds by almeſ-deeds. Our deceaſed brother, like a provence or double Roſe (for God doubled the bleſſings of this life upon him) ſpread himſelfe abroad every way by largeſſe, and ſhed ſeeds plentifully, but withall ſo ſecretly, that his left hand knew not what his right hand did: his Legacies by his death were not great, becauſe his will was in this kind to be his owne executor by his life time.
2. The ſecond flower is the Lilly, the embleme of purity and chaſtity. For the Lilly is perfect white in colour, and cold in operation, and thereby repreſenteth pure chaſtity, which cooleth the heat of luſt: this flower he kept unblaſted in the time and place of moſt danger, in the prime of his youth, and in his travels beyond the ſea, where hee choſe his conſort out of pure love; and ever loved his choice with a conſtant and loyall affection unto death.
3. The third flower is the Violet, the embleme of humility. For the Violet is little, as the humble is in his owne eyes, and groweth neere the ground, from whence the humble taketh his name, humilis ab humo, and of all other flowers it yeeldeth the ſweeteſt ſavour, as humility doth in the noſtrils of God and man. Of his humility hee gave good proofe in his lovely and lowly carriage towards all, in his refuſing places of eminency, in renouncing all confidence in his owne merits at his death, and forbidding that a Trumpet ſhould bee blowne before his workes of piety or charity. Wherefore I muſt be ſilent of the dead by the command of the dead, with whoſe Chriſtian and happy end I will conclude. I was the happineſſe of Homer to bee borne in Rhodes,foreign, roſa. foreign, viola. a place ta…g the name from Roſes, and to bee buried in Chios taking the name …m Violets: this was the happineſſe of our brother, who was borne and buried in the garden of Chriſts Spouſe, where he drew in his firſt, and let out his laſt breath in the ſincere profeſſion of the Goſpel, which is the ſavour of life unto life: which happineſſe God grant unto us all for his Son Jeſus Chriſt his ſake. To whom, &c.