The Pathway to Prayer and Piety, Title page 1 – Dedication 1
THE PATHWAY TO PRAYER AND PIETIE.
CONTAINING,
1 An Expoſition of the Lords Prayer, with an Apologie for publicke, and priuate ſet Prayer.
2 A preparation to the Lords Supper, with Ma. ZANCHIVS Confeſſion, concerning that Sacrament.
3 A Direction to a Chriſtian life, both in our generall and particular callings.
4 An inſtruction to Die well, and a Conſolation againſt all Croſſes.
WITH DIVERS PRAYERS, And Thankeſgiuings fit for this TREATISE. By ROBERT HILL, Doctor in Diuinitie.
Pray to Receiue:
Receiue to Liue:
Liue to Die once,
Die to Liue euer.
This is the ſumme of this Booke.
LONDON Printed by W. S. for Edward Blunt, and William Barret. 1613.
TO THE RIGHT HONORABLE, THOMAS, LORD Elleſmere, Lord Chancellor of England, and one of his Maieſties moſt Honorable Priuie Counſell; Grace and Peace.
RIght Honourable; as it is the ſafetie of a Shippe to hauehave good Pilotes, the ſtrength of a palace to hauehave ſure Pillars, the ſecuritie of the body to hauehave cleare eyes, and the ſafeguard of ſheepe to hauehave vigilant ſhephards: So is it the ſafetie of a Countrie, and ſafegard of a Kingdome, to hauehave many wiſe and watchfull Counſellors. Is this ſhip toſſed? Theſe Pilots will guide it. Is this palace ſhaken? Theſe Pillars will vphold it. Is this body in perill? Theſe eyes will ouerſee it. Are theſe ſheepe in danger? Theſe ſhepheards will defend them. And as, where there is no viſion, the Church is naked: So, where no counſell is, there the State is naked.
Of all the miſeries which befell the Iſraelites, this is recorded to bee one of the greateſt, That either they had no King to rule them, or that their Kings were but children, who ruled them: yet as that ſhip is ſafer that hath but a bad Pilot, than no Pilot; that palace ſtronger that hath but woodden Pillars, than no pillars; that body ſecurer, that hath but a ſquint eye, than no eye; and thoſe ſheepe better, that hauehave any ſhepheard, than no ſhepheard: So is that nation in farre better caſe, which hath but bad gouernours, than none at all. Is it a bleſſing to bee commanded by the bad? what a bleſſing then is it to bee gouerned by the good? HaueHave we good Miniſters? they are the horſemen and chariots ofa2. King. 13.14. Iſrael. HaueHave we good Magiſtrates? they are the light of our eyes, the breath of our noſtrils, the anointed of the Lord; and vnderunder their ſhadow we are preſeruedbLam. 4.20. aliue.
Amongſt many Right Honourable and truely honoured Senators, both Church, and Commonwealth bleſſe God for your Honour. You are bleſſed of the Church as an vncorrupt Patron; you are bleſſed of the Common-wealth as an impartiall Iudge. In the one, you deſire to plant pietie, in the other, you are readie to ſupplant iniquitie. In the one you are carefull, that one hauehave not all; in the other, you are watchfull, that each may hauehave his owne. In the one you prouide for the preaching of veritie; in the other you pronounce the ſentence of equitie. Are you in the one to adminiſter Iuſtice? I may ſay with Baſil; Your arrow euer aimeth at the white: with Epictetus; Your hand euer holdeth an equall ballance: and with Eraſmus; Your ſunne ſhineth alike on the poore and rich. Are you to conferre Eccleſiaſticall preferments? You will not giuegive that Iaakob bleare-eyed Leah, who hath ſerued manie a yeare for faire Rachel. You wil not make him a ſhepheard of mens ſoules, who is rather to bee a ſhepheard of mens ſheepe. What good you hauehave done to this Church of ours, let Church-men iudge: you louelove our Nation: you hauehave prouided for vsus many decaied Synagogues, and put many poore Preachers into the poole of Beth…ſdah, who hauehave beene cured of their long diſeaſe of pouertie, without the deſcending of any one Angell.
Experience I hauehave had of your fauour to poore Miniſters, in my firſt certaine maintenance that euer I had in our Church. For though I was afraide euen to looke vponupon you, yet you were not forgetfull to prouide for mee; and without any either ſuing or ſeeking of mine, it pleaſed you to annex vntounto my Lecture at S. Martins, S. Margarets in Friday ſtreet.that ſmall Benefice, which I now hauehave in London, and where I am carefull to Preach eueryevery Sabbath, though I cannot liue there for want of an houſe.
In a thankfull remembrance of your louelove to our Calling, and an hopefull acceptation of this enterpriſed ſeruice, I am bold to preſent againe this booke to your Honor. It was penned at the firſt for the benefit of this Pariſh: and publiſhed by authoritie, for the good of the Church. This Pariſh of S. Martin mooued mee to penne it:Doctor Vaughan. and that late Reuerend Biſhop of London allowed me to Print it.
In regard of both theſe, I doubt not but your Honor will afford it your patronage. You are to the one a moſt honorable benefactor, prouiding for the liuing, by your charitable almes; and for the dead, by procuring a new, and moſt needfull Church-yard. You were to the other a moſt honorable friend: you loued him in his life, and did vnfainedly mourne for him at his death.
Of whome, I may ſay (conſidering the encouragements I had from him in my miniſterie) as El…ſha ſaid, when his maſter Eliah was taken from his head,2. King. 2.12. My Father, my Father, the Horſemen of Iſrael, and the Chariots thereof.
S. Johns in CambridgHe was an honor to our Colledge, in which hee once liued a painefull ſtudent: and an ornament to our Church, in which he was (as we hauehave many Reuerend Fathers now he is gone) a preaching Biſhop. For his admirable learning in our Vniuerſity of Cambridge, he was long ſince created a Doctor in Diuinitie: and for his abilitie to rule, hee was after Conſecrated Biſhop of Bangor, and immediatly tranſlated to the Dioceſſe of Cheſter, and after a while from thence to London. In theſe aduancements of his, how much hee was beholding to your Honour, I had rather be ſilent, then ſay little: but ſurely hee was worthie you ſhould doe for him.
For the gifts of his Ministerie, he was a powerfull and skilfull Preacher: for the vſe of his authoritie, he was a moſt watchfull and temperate Gouernour. Was hee to ſpeake? his wordes were ſententious: was hee to aduiſe? His counſell was religious: was hee to admoniſh? his exhortations were gratious: and was hee to cenſure? his ſentence was iudicious. Did hee obſerue any Miniſter painefull in his calling? hee euer did encourage him to go on: did hee ſee any either negligent, or turbulent? the one hee would aduiſe to greater labour; the other bring on, to greater peace.
For his iudgement in Diuinitie, what it was, the Church can iudge: hee was a profound Preacher of the truth, a zealous enemie to all ſuperſtition, and a great exhorter to all pietie & godlineſſe. He halted not betwixt two opinions: hee ſpake not with thoſe Iewes, Nehe. 13.24. partly the language of Aſhdod, and partly the language of Canaan, but eueryevery way ſhewed himſelfe a Proteſtant indeed.
His learning was good, his life better; and his death, for himſelfe, best of all. His learning was without compariſon, his life without exception, his death without ſuſpition. By his learning hee inſtructed, by his life hee ſhined, and by his death hee yet ſmelleth as a ſweet perfume. What his learning was, this Land knoweth; what his life was, London knoweth; and what his death was, thoſe learned men knowe, who were about him in the time of his ſickneſſe.
Hee was Biſhop of this Dioceſſe, not much aboue two yeares: in which time this Citie much reioyced in him; and ſurely no maruaile. For hee was a Clemens to this Rome: a Polycarpus to this Smyrna: a Iuſtine to this Naples: a Dionyſius to this Alexandria: a Cyprian to this Carthage: an Euſebius to this Caeſarea. a Gregorie to this Nyſſa: an Ambroſe to this Mill…yne: a Chryſoſtome to this Conſtantinople: an Auguſtine to this Hippo: and a Ridley to this Dioceſſe.
And as Ambroſe was wont to ſay of his people, ſo queſtionleſſe he ſaid often of his; Non minùs vos diligo quos genui ex euangelio, quàm ſi ſuſcepiſſem ex contugio: gratia quippe vehementior eſt ad diligendum quàm natura: I louelove you no leſſe, whom I hauehave begotten by the Goſpell, then my owne children: For grace procures greater louelove then nature. Nay it ſeemeth he loued them more: for hee impoueriſhed the one, to enrich the other. But bleſſed bee that moſt reuerend Dauid, that will hauehave care of Ionathans children, now he is dead.
Dead hee is indeede, in regard of his preſence; but aliue for euer, in regard of his remembrance: for, the righteous ſhalbe had in an euerlaſting remembrance, when the name of the wicked ſhall rot. He died not rich in goods; it was an argument of his goodneſſe: he died rich in grace; it was an argument of his godlineſſe. With Bernard he did liue in terra auri, ſine auro: In a Kingdome of gold, without gold: and ſeemed to thinke, as Lactantius did write, that Qui apud Deum diues eſt, pauper eſſe non poteſt: Hee that is rich in God, cannot be accounted a poore man.
Did Abner, ſaith Dauid, die as a foole dieth? And did this Biſhop of London die, as that Biſhop of Rome, who ſaid, Vixi dubius, anxius morior, neſcio quò vado: I hauehave liued doubtfull, I die doubtting, I know not whither I ſhall goe? no hee did not. But with Ambroſe hee ſaid, I hauehave not ſo lead my life, that I was aſhamed to liue: neither feare I death, becauſe I know I hauehave a good Lord. Hee ſaid not with Nero, Me mortuo ruat mundus: I care not what befalle… after I am dead; but,Theſe were almoſt his laſt words. modo me moriente viuat & floreat eccleſia, fiat voluntas Domini: So that after my death the Church may flouriſh, the will of God be done.
Thus, a good life hath the yeares numbred, but a good name endureth for euer.
Not to be troubleſome to your Honor: by his departure, his wife hath loſt a louing husband, his children an indulgent father, the Church a worthie Prelate, and I (a poore Preacher) one of the moſt honourable friends that euer I had, hauing deſerued ſo little of him.
Iſa. 57.11.Doe the righteous periſh? wee muſt regard it. Are mercifull men taken away? we muſt conſider it in our hearts. After Ambroſe was dead, Italy was troubled: after Auguſtine was dead, Afrike was ſpoiled: After Luther was dead, Germanie was diſtracted. After Bucer was dead, heere religion was altered. And after the death of ſo many worthie men, as wee hauehave loſt within theſe few yeeres, the Lord graunt that we be not plagued.
I am no Homer to commend this Achilles: no Chryſoſtome to commend this Babylas: no Auguſtine to commend this Cyprian: no Melancthon to commend this Luther: no Parker to commend this Bucer: onelyonly in honor to him who honoured God in his life, I preſume thus to write of him being dead. Your Honor well knoweth that I hauehave written the trueth: and the Lord knoweth I deſire to write nothing but the truth.
Thus crauing pardon for my boldneſſe, and once againe moſt humbly entreating your Honorable entertainment of theſe few ſheetes of Paper, as they are now the fifth time enlarged, I humbly take my leaue; beſeeching God to continue you long a truſtie Counſellor to our Gracious King, an vpright Iudge to our Chriſtian people, and a good Patron to the deſpiſed Clergie. From your Pariſh of Saint Martin in (or rather now by reaſon of many new buildings neere) the Fields. Iune the 16. 1613.
At your Honours ſeruice, ROBERT HILL.