Sermons in One Volume, Sermon 15
THE GODLIE MANS REQVEST.
PSALM. 90. 12.
Teach vsus, O Lord, to number our daies, that wee may applie our hearts to wiſedome.
THis Pſalme was compyled by Moſes, as ye may ſee by the title, at what time the Spies returned from the land of Canaan, and God for the murmuring of the people, pronounced, that al which were aboue twentie yeares old, ſhould die in the wildernes, except Caleb and Ioſua, that encouraged their brethren to goe to Canaan.Nu. 14. 29. Now when Moſes heard the ſentence of death pronounced againſt himſelfe, and all the Iewes which came out of Egypt, except only two Caleb and Ioſua, that all ſhould die before they came to the land which they ſought, he prayeth thus for himſelfe, and the reſt. Teach vsus, O Lord, to number our daies, that we may apply our hearts to wiſdome: that is, ſeeing we muſt needes die, teach vsus to thinke of our death, that wee may die in thy feare to liue againe: ſhewing vsus how the conſideration of our mortalitie will make vsus applie our hearts to godlines. He which is tottering himſelfe, had need to leane vntounto a ſtable thing; therefore a wauering man is commended here to conſtant wiſedome. Man is mortall, wiſdome is immortall, yet by wiſdome man becomes immortall too: therefore Moſes thinking of his death, runneth to wiſdome as a remedie againſt death. I hauehave choſen a text fit for the time,*For it was preached at the beginning of the yeere. which warneth vsus how our yeres paſſe that when we think of the old yere how ſoone it is gone, yee may ſee vponupon what a whirling wheele we are ſet: which putteth vsus in minde eueryevery day of that laſt day, which is comming for vsus, when we ſhall giuegive account how euerie day was ſpent before it. So many yeares as are paſt; ſo many yeares we are neerer to the laſt: and though the old yeare be gone, and a new yeare come; yet whether another ſhall come after this, as this came after the former, no man (I thinke) hath any promiſe of him …hat made time: for euen theſe two dayes ſince the old yeare went out, manie hauehave gon …he way which we all ſhall follow. Now why …re daies, or weeks, or yeeres, but for vsus? But for man there ſhould be no winter, noſummer, no ſpring, no autumne; that wee ſeeing how the ſeasons are renued, at laſt with them wee may learne to renue our ſelues: for to celebrate new yeares with old ſinnes, is to let eueryevery thing goe before our ſelues; and ſuffer the time to condemne vsus which was giuen to ſaue vsus, God hath ſhewed vsus new yeares, but he would hauehave vsus ſhew him new men. This is Gods new yeares gift,Heb. 10. 1. not ſheepe, nor doues, nor fruites which the Iewes offered; neither myrth, frankincenſe & gold, which the Gentiles offered, Mat. 2. but a new creature, Gal. 6. 15. Therefore wee muſt come to ſome ſchoolemaſter,Luk. 3. 10. which teacheth vsus like Iohn Baptiſt, what wee ſhould doo, that we may growe in knowledge, as we growe in yeares. Teach mee to number my dayes (ſaith Moſes) that I may apply my heart to wiſdome. Whereby Moſes telleth vsus, that this was one of his helps, which made him profite in the knowledge of God, to number his daies: as a man that hath a ſet time for his taske liſtens to the clock,Iohn, 9. 4. and countes his houres, ſo we hauehave a ſet time to ſerue God, Worke while it is daye, ſaith Chriſt. What hee dooth meane by this day, The Apoſtle ſheweth you, This is the daye of ſaluation; that is, this life is the daye wherein you ſhould worke. What worke hauehave you to doo? The Apoſtle tels you, Woorke out your ſaluation. This is a long taske, therefore we had neede to number our dayes, and not looſe a minute, leaſt wee be benighted before our worke be done. Teach mee, O Lord to number my daies. Hee which in the Lande of Midian learned to number ſheep, now he is come into the wildernes, lerneth to number his daies. Teach vsus, O Lord, to number our daies. Not teach vsus the number of our daies, for we ſhall forget it againe, and the knowledge of times, is Gods knowledge; but Teach vsus to number our daies; that is, that wee may bee ſtill numbring and counting our daies, & houres, and minuts, to ſee how faſt we die, that eueryevery day and houre we may learn ſome thing. As God hath numbred our daies, ſo we muſt learne to number our daies, or elſe it ſeemes that wee cannot apply our harts to wiſdome: that is, vnles we think vponupon death, we cannot faſhion our ſelues to a godly life, though we were as well inſtructed as Moſes. This we find daily in our ſelues, that the forgetfulnes of death, makes vsus to apply our harts vntounto folly, & pleaſure, & all voluptuouſnes; that contrarie to his aduice: Work your ſaluation, we work our damnation. We are ſo far from numbring our daies, that wee doe not number our weekes, nor our monethes, nor our yeares, but as the Apoſtle ſaith,2. Pet. 2. 8. A thouſand yeares with God are as one day: ſo one day with vsus is a thouſand yeares: that is, our time ſeemes ſo long that we think we ſhall neuer die: but he which made this praier is now dead, & the number of his daies is ended, & nothing is left, but his holy books which bring this praier vntounto vsus, that we may learne to pray ſo too. Now I muſt pray, Teach me, O Lord to number my daies, and thou muſt pray: Teach me, O Lord, to number my daies, that we may apply our hearts to wiſdome: that is ſo to pray, & faſt, and watch, and heare, & do, as becommeth him which ſhall ſhortly giuegive account of his Stewardſhip. Luk. 16. 2.This is the fruite which comes to a man by nūbring his daies. God teacheth a man to applie his hart to wiſdom: and this is his leſſon which he giues for that purpoſe, number thy daies, that is, thinke that wiſdome is a long ſtudie, and that thou haſt but aſhort time to get it, & this wil make thee get ground of vertue: for there is no ſuch enemie to repentance, as to thinke that wee hauehave time inough to repent hereafter, which makes a man ſay, when any good motion cō meth, nay I may ſtay yet, yet I may ſtay, like the ſluggard,Pro. 6. 10. which turnes vponupon his bed like a doore vponupon the hinges, and ſaith, yet a little more, a little more ſleepe, a little more ſlumber, I may lie ſtil a while: this is not to number our daies, but to ſtretch our daies & make them ſeeme more then they are, and they that do ſo, neuer applie their harts vntounto Wiſdom: ſo you ſee what a preſeruatiue Moſes vſed againſt ſin and pleaſure, he kept a calendar as it were of his daies which called vponupon him, Be diligent, for thou haſt but a ſhort time. Fiue things I note in theſe words: firſt that death is the hauen of euerie man, whether hee ſit in the throne, or keepe in a cottage, at laſt he muſt knock at deaths doore, as all his fathers hauehave done before him. Secondly, that mans time is ſet, and his bounds appointed, which he cannot paſſe, no more then the Egyptians could paſſe the ſea: and therfore Moſes ſaith, Teach vsus to number our daies, as though there were a number of our daies. Thirdly, that our daies are few: as though we were ſent into this world but to ſee it, and therfore Moſes ſpeaking of our life, ſpeaks of daies, not of yeeres, nor of moneths, nor of weekes: but teach vsus to number our daies, ſhewing that it is an eaſie thing euer for a man to number his daies they be ſo few. Fourthly, the aptnes of man to forget death rather then any thing els, and therfore Moſes praieth the Lord to teach him to number his daies, as though they were ſtill ſlipping out of his minde. Laſtly, that to remember how ſhort a time we hauehave to liue, wil make vsus applie our harts to that which is good. The firſt point is, that as eueryevery one had a day to come into this world: ſo he ſhal hauehave a day to goe out of this world. When Moſes had ſpoken of ſome which liued 700. yeeres, and other which liued 800. yeeres, and other which liued 900. yeeres, ſhewing that ſome had a longer time, and ſome a ſhortet, yet he ſpeakes this of all, mortuus eſt, at laſt comes in mortuus eſt, that is, he died, which is the Epitaph of eueryevery man. We are not lodged in a caſtell, but in an Inne, where wee are but gueſts, and therefore Peter cals vsus ſtrangers. 1. Pet. 2. 11.We are not Citizens of the earth, but Citizens of Heauen, and therefore the Apoſtle ſaith,Heb. 13. 19. we hauehave here no abiding City, but we look for one to come. As Chriſt ſaith,Iohn 8. 36. my kingdom is not of this world: ſo we may ſay, My dwelling is not in this world, but the ſoule ſoareth vpward whence ſhe came, & the body ſtoopeth downward whence it came:Gen. 3. 19. as the tabernacles of the Iews were made to remoue,Exod 33. 7. ſo our tabernacles are made to remoue.Exod. 26. 1. EueryEvery man is a tenant at wil, & ther is nothing ſure in life, but deth: as he which wrote this is gone, ſo I which preach it, & you which heare it, one comming in, & one going out is to all. Although this is daily ſeene, yet it had need be prooued, nay eueryevery man had need to die, to make him beleeue that he ſhall die. When Adam & Eue became ſubiect to death becauſe of their ſin to teach them to think on death, ſo ſoon as they were thruſt out of paradiſe, God clothed them with the skins of dead beaſtes, which ſhewed them that now they were cloathed with death, and that as the beaſtes were dead whoſe skins they wore: ſo they ſhould die alſo: therefore Dauid ſaith, Man being in honour became like the beasts which periſh: when he ſaith, that hee did become like the beaſts which periſh, he implieth that man ſhould not periſh like the beaſts, but when he did like a beaſt, hee died like a beaſt. From that day eueryevery man might ſay with Iob,Iob. 17. 14. Corruption was my father, and the worme was my mother. Luk. 16. 22.For the rich glutton is lockt in his graue as faſt as poore Lazarus. Therfore God ſpeaking of kings,Pſal. 82. 6. ſaith, I ſaid ye are Gods, but ye ſhal die like men. If kings muſt die like men, then the expectation of men is death: therefore when this king was readie to die, he ſaid to Salomon,1. Reg. 2 2. that he ſhould go the way of all the earth, calling death the way of all the earth: to which Eſay be ares witneſſe,Eſa. 40. 6. crying, all fleſh is graſſe, that is, it falleth, and is cut downe like graſſe.Gen. 1. 27. In paradiſe we might liue or die: in the world we liue & muſt die:Gen. 3. 21. in heauen ſhe ſhall liue and not die. Before ſinne nothing could change vsus: now eueryevery thing doth change vsus. For when winter comes wee are cold, when age comes wee are withered, when ſickneſſe comes we are weak, to ſhew that when death comes we ſhal die. The clothes which were vponupon our backs, the ſun which ſets ouer our heads, the graues which lie vnderunder our feete, the meate which goes into our mouthes, c…ie vntounto vsus that we ſhall we are, and ſade, and die, like the fiſhes, and foules, and beaſts which euen now were liuing in their elements, and now are dead in our diſhes. EueryEvery thing euerie day ſuffers ſome eclipſe, and nothing ſtands at a ſtay, but one creature calles to another, let vsus leaue this world. Our fathers ſummoned vsus, and we ſhall ſummon our children to the graue: firſt wee wax olde, then wee wax drie, then wee wax weake, then wee wax ſicke, ſo wee melt away by drops; at laſt as we caried other: ſo other cary vsus vntounto the graue: this is the laſt bed which eueryevery man ſhal ſleep in: we muſt returne to our mothers wombe.Gen. 47. 9. Therefore Iacob called his life but a pilgrimage,2. Tim. 4. 7. therfore Paul called his life but a race; therfore Dauid calleth him ſelfe but a worme;Pſal 22. 6. a pilgrimage hath an end, a race hath a ſtop, a worme is but troden vnderunder foote and dead ſtraight: ſo in a houre we are, and are not: heere we are now, and anon we are ſeparated, & to morrow one ſickneth, and the next day another ſickneth, and all that be here neuer meet againe,2. Cor. 4. 7. we may well be called earthen veſſels, for we are ſoone broken, a ſpider is able to choake vsus, a pin is able to kill vsus: all of vsus are borne one way, and die a hundred waies.1. Kin. 19. 9 As Eliah ſtood in the doore of the ca…e when God paſſed by, ſo wee ſtand in the paſſages of this world readie to go out whenſoeuer God ſhall cal. We looſe firſt our infancie. & then our childhood, & then our youth, at laſt as we came in the roomes of other, ſo other come into our roomes. If all our daies were as long as the day of Ioſua,Ioſh. 10. 12. when the ſun ſtood ſtill in the midſt of heauen, yet it will be night at laſt, & our ſun ſhal ſet like other. It is not long that we grow, but when we begin to fall, we are like the ice which thaweth ſooner then it froze: ſo theſe little worlds are deſtroied firſt, and at laſt the great world ſhal be deſtroied too, for all which was made for vsus, ſhall periſh with vsus. What do you learne when you thinke of this, but that which Moſes ſaith, to applie your hearts to wiſdome? death commeth after life, and yet it guides the whole life like the ſterne of a ſhip: but for death there would be no rule, but eueryevery mans luſt ſhould be his law: he is like a King which frighteth a far oft, though he defer his ſeſſions, and ſtay the execution, yet the verie feare that he will come, makes the proudeſt peacock lay downe his feathers, and is like a dampe which puts out all the lights of pleaſure. The ſecond note is, that the time of man is ſet & his bounds appointed, which he cannot paſſe, & therfore Moſes praieth the Lord that he would teach him to number his daies, as though there were a number of our daies: Therefore God is called Palmoni, which ſignifieth a ſecret number, becauſe he knoweth the number of our daies, which is ſecret to vsus. As it was ſaid to Balthaſar, God hath numbred thy kingdome, ſo it may be ſaid to all, God hath numbred thy life. To this Job beareth witnes, ſaying,Iob. 14. 5. Are not his daies determined? thou haſt appoynted his bounds, which he cannot paſſe. Again Ieremie ſaith,Ier. 46. 21. they could not ſtand becauſe the day of their destruction was come. As there is a day of deſtruction, and a day of death, ſo there is a day of birth, a day of marriage, a day of honour, a day of deliuerance, according to that,Dan. 11. 36 the determinatiō is made, that is, God hath determined all things. As God appointed a time when his Sonne ſhould come into the world,Dan. 9. 26. & he came at the ſame time,Gal. 4. 4. as the Prophets and the Euangeliſts accord: ſo he hath appointed a time when all his bleſſings ſhall come vntounto vsus, & they come at the ſame time. As we reade of Ioſeph, when his appointed time came, ſhewing that God appointed a time when to exalt him,Pſa. 105. 19 and before that time came, hee could not bee exalted: therefore Chriſt ſaith ſo often,Iohn. 7. 8. My time is not yet come, ſhewing that he knew the time of his baptizing, the time of his preaching, the time of his working, the time of his riſing, and the time of his aſcending.2 King. 20. 1 As for that which is obiected of Ezechias, becauſe Eſaie ſhewed him that hee ſhould die, and after tolde him that fifteene yeres were added to his life: it is like the preaching of Ionas to the Niniuits,Ionath. 3. 3. Fortie daies and Niniue ſhall be destroyed, and yet Niniuie was not deſtroied, becauſe they repented: ſo Ezechias was not abridged, becauſe he repented. Therefore you muſt vnderſtand the phraſe of God, as when we ſay that wee will iourney to morrow, we vnderſtand If God will: ſo when God ſaith, I will destroie, he vnderſtands, if we perſiſt. As al the promiſes of God are cōditional to take place if we repent, ſo all the threatnings of God are conditionall to take place if we repent not: and therefore ſome time this woord if, is put in, as where there is no bleſſing nor curſing without an if. Den. 28.I may anſwere againe, that God is a iudge, and ſpake like a iudge to Ezechias: a iudge dooth not condemne all whom he ſaith he will condemne, nor a Schoolemaſter beate euerie one whom he ſaith he will beat, to make him learne, yet the iudge and ſchoolemaſter doe not diſſemble but menace: this is not lying but threatning. But you will ſay, if any time be ſet, thus long I ſhal liue, and I cannot paſ…e, then I will take no phiſicke. You may as well ſay, I will take no meat. God hath not ordained the end without meanes, but the meanes as well as the end. If he hauehave appointed one to die in his youth, he hath appointed ſome meanes to ſhorten his life,2 Sa. 18. 6. as he did Abſolons: if he hauehave appointed one to liue long, he hath appointed alſo ſome meanes to preſerue his life, as Ioſeph cheriſhed Iacob in his age. Therefore though God had promiſed Paul that his company ſhould not be drowned,Acts 27. 21. yet he told the marriners, that vnleſſe they kept in the ſhip they ſhould bee drowned: as if their ſafety ſhould not bee without meanes: but a good minde dooth neuer quarrell about theſe things.
The third point is, that our life is but a ſhort life: as many little skuls are in Golga…ha, as great skuls: for one apple that falleth from the tree, ten are pulled before they bee ripe, and the parents mourne for the death of their children, as often as the children for the deceaſe of their parents. This is our Aprill and May wherein we floriſh, our Iune and Iuly are next when wee ſhall bee cut downe. What a change is this, that within foureſcore yeares not one of this aſſemblie ſhall bee left aliue: but another preacher, and other hearers ſhall fill theſe roomes, and tread vponupon vsus where our feete tread now?
The Rauen and the Phoenix, and the Elephant, and the Lyon, and the Hart fulfill their hundreds, but man dieth when he thinks yet his ſunne riſeth, before his eye bee ſatisfied with ſeeing, or his eare with hearing or his heart with luſting, death knockes at his doore, and will not giuegive him leaue to meditate an excuſe before hee come to iudgement. To ſhew the ſhortneſſe of mans life, Moſes vſed the ſhorteſt diuiſion in nature to expreſſe it by, he might hauehave ſaid, Teach me, O Lord, to number my moneths, or my yeares, but he ſpeakes of dayes: ſo the Scripture is woont to number our life by dayes, and houres, and minutes, to ſhewe vsus that wee ſhall giuegive account for houres, as well as for daies, for daies as well as for weekes, for weekes as well as for moneths, for moneths as well as for yeares, which warneth vsus to make vſe of all our time, and euerie daie to thinke vponupon the laſt.
This was the Arithmeticke of holie men in former times to reckon their dayes, ſo that their time might ſeeme ſhort, to make them applie their hearts to wiſdome: The Hebrewes did number their dayes thus: firſt they did deduct the time of ſleepe, ſo that if our yeeres bee threeſcore and tenne,Pſal. 90. 10 as the Prophet ſaith, fiue and thirtie of theſe yeares are ſtriken off at one blow, becauſe wee ſpend halfe our time in ſleepe: then they did deduct the time of youth,Eccle. 11. 10 which Salomon calleth vanity, as though it were not worthy to be called life but vanitie: Then they did deduct the daies of ſorrow, becauſe in ſorrow a man had rather dye then liue: ſo when the houres of ſleepe, & the houres of youth, and the houres of ſorrowe are taken away, what an Epitomie is mans life come to? The Fathers vſed an other account: Firſt they did deduct all the time which is paſt, for the time which is paſt is nothing: then they did deduct the time to come, becauſe the time to come is vncertain, and no man can ſay that he ſhall liue. Now, when the time paſt, and the time to come is ſet aſide, there is nothing left but the time preſent, that is, a moment, which is not ſo much in reſpect of eternitie, as a little mote to the whole earth.
Dauid numbered his daies by a meaſure, My life (ſaith he) is like a ſpan long, Pſal. 39. 5. when he meaſured his life, he took not a pole, nor an ell, nor a yard to meaſure it by, but a ſhort meaſure, his ſhort ſpan, My life is like a ſpan long. Thus you hauehave learned to number your daies, or rather the houres of your daies: as ſome came into the Vineyard in the morning, and ſome at noone, and ſome at night: ſo ſome goe out of this Vineyard in the morning, ſome at noone, & ſome at night: ſome mans life hath nothing but a morning, ſome hauehave a morning and noone, he which liueth longeſt, liueth all the day; and therefore the yongeſt of all pray, but for this day: & if he liue till to morrow, then he prayeth for that day, ſaying ſtill, GiueGive vsus this day our daylie bread: So that a pleaſant life may bee compared but to a glorious day, and a ſorrowfull life to a clowdie day, and a long life to a ſummers day, and a ſhort life to a winters day. How comes it to paſſe, that when a man dies, all his yeares ſeeme but ſo many dayes, and before hee dyes, all his daies ſeeme ſo many yeares?Iob. 14. 1. Iob ſpeaketh of all a like, Man which is borne of a womā hath but a ſhort time to liue, Iacob was 130. yeares old, and yet when hee came before Pharaoh, he ſayd, Fewe and euill hauehave my daies been. Though Pharaoh did not ſpeake of daies, but asked him how old he was, yet he anſwered of daies, to ſhew that not only his yeares but his daies were fewe. Our fathers marueiling to ſee how ſodainlie men are, and are not, compared life to a dreame in the night, to a bubble in the water, to a ſhip in the ſea, to an arrow which neuer reſteth till it fall, to a player which ſpeaketh his part vponupon the ſtage, and ſtraight he giueth place to another, to a man which commeth to the market to buy one thing, and ſell another, and then is gone home againe: ſo the figure of this world paſſeth away. This is our life, while we enioy it we looſe it:Gen. 47 9. as Iacob ſayd, that his daies had been fewe: ſo wee may ſay, that our daies ſhall be few.
Now, why hath GOD appoynted ſuch a ſhort time to man in this world? Surely, leaſt he ſhould deferre to doe good, as his manner is: for though his life is ſo ſhort, yet he thinks it too long to repent.Pſal. 90. 10. The Prophet ſaith, that our yeares are but threeſcore and ten, as though this were but a little time to liue. But why ſhould we liue ſo long? for if our life were but a yeare, yet a yeare is more then we vſe, al the reſt is loſt: for wee deferre till that weeke which we thinke will be laſt. It is ſayd of the diuell,Reu. 12. 12. that he is buſie becauſe his time is ſhort: but the time of man is ſhorter: and therefore Chriſt ſaith,Luk. 19. 42. In this thy day: as though no day could bee called thy daye, but this daye: and therefore all that thou haſt to doe, thou muſt doe this day. Conſider this, all which trauell toward heauen: had wee not neede to make haſt, which muſt goe ſuch a long iourney in ſuch a ſhort time? How can he chooſe but run, which remembreth that eueryevery day runneth away with his life?
The fourth poynt is our aptneſſe to forget death rather then any thing els, and therefore Moſes praieth the Lord to teach him to number his daies, as though they were ſtill ſlipping out of his minde. He which hath numbred our daies, muſt teach vsus to number our daies: for when Moſes prayeth the Lorde to teach him to number his daies, he ſignifieth that he would very faine remember them, but ſtill his minde did turne from them, and that he could not thinke vponupon them longer then he thought on the Lord, which taught him to number them: ſuch is the rebellion of our nature, wee cannot remember that which wee ſhould, becauſe we remēber ſo many things which we ſhould forget. How often doth the Scripture cal death to our minds? Yet we read how they put the day of death from them,Amos. 6. 3. & would not remember it. Salomon bids vsus remember that we ſhal come to iudgement, & yet we reade how they pleade againſt the day of iudgement, and ſyllogize to their ſinnes, That all things ſhall continue as they be, Eccle. 11. 9.becauſe there hath been no chaunge yet: 2. Pet. 3. 4.euen ſo it is with vsus,Pſal. 14. 1. as the foole ſaith in his hart, there is no God: ſo we ſay in our hearts there is no death, or at leaſt death will not come before we bee old. Of al numbers we cannot skill to number our daies: we can number our ſheepe & our oxen, & our coyn: but we think that our daies are infinite, & therfore we neuer go about to number thē. We can number other mēs daies and yeres, & think they wil die ere it be long, if we ſee them ſick, or ſore, or old, but we can not nūber our own. When two ſhips meet on the ſea, they which are in one ſhip thinke that the other ſhip doth ſaile exceeding faſt: but that their ſhip goeth faire and ſoftly, or rather ſtādeth ſtil, although in truth one ſhip ſaileth as faſt as the other: ſo eueryevery man thinkes that other poſt, and run, and flye to the graue, but that himſelfe ſtandeth ſtocke ſtill, although indeede a yeare with him is no longer then it is with other: beſide that, we are giuen to forget death, wee ſtriue to forget it, like them which ſay, we may not remember. Teach me to number my daies: Amos. 6. 10.nay, teach me to multiplie my daies, teach me to remember death, nay, teach me to prolong death: or if I cannot prolong death, teach me to forget death, that I may ſinne without feare: for the remembrāce of death maketh a man to ſinne fearefully, & takes away the pleaſure of ſinne. Therefore if ye mark, there is a kind of men which cannot abide to heare of death, they are ſick with the name of it: the reaſon is, Achab cannot abide Michaiah,1. King. 22. becauſe hee neuer prophecied good vntounto him but euill: ſo death neuer prophecied good to the wicked but euill, for which they cannot abide it. Therefore as Pharaoh bad Moſes goe out of his ſight: ſo they bid death goe out of their ſight, and ſay when he comes as Achab ſaid to Eliah, Art thou here my enemie, whē they ſhould ſay, welcome my frend? For as the diuels thought Chriſt was come to tormēt them: ſo the vngodly think that death comes to tormēt them. Is it peace, when they ſee death, they doubt it is not peace, becauſe they neuer loued the God of peace. O that I could bring you into their hearts, that yee might ſee more then tongue can expreſſe: for I doe not thinke that any Epicure, or worldling, or Nonreſident, hauehave any ioy to thinke of death, or deſire to be diſſolued, but rather that hee might neuer bee diſſolued, becauſe death coms to the wicked like a iayler, which comes alwaies to hale vntounto priſon: therefore their care is not to remember death, that they might apply their hearts to wiſedome: but to forget death, leſt they ſhould apply their harts to wiſedome, and looſe their pleaſures before the time: for he which is not purpoſed yet to leaue his ſinnes, would not be troubled with any thought that might make him take his pleaſure fearefully, leaſt he ſhould leaue ſinne before ſinne leaue him. Therefore the diuell doth neuer teach a man to number his daies, becauſe he gains by the forgetfulnes of death: but the Lord which would hauehave a man to applie his heart to wiſedome, it is he which teacheth vsus to number our daies: and therfore Moſes praieth vntounto him, & becauſe we pray not vntounto him as he did, to teach vsus to number our daies, therefore we die like wormes before we be aware. So farre we are from that which he ſhooteth at, to apply his heart to wiſedome, that we are not in the way vntounto it, that is, to remē ber that wee ſhall die. The laſt poynt is the cauſe why Moſes would learne to number his daies, that he might apply his heart to wiſedome as if he ſhould ſay, vntill men think vponupon death, they neuer applie their hearts to wiſedom, but buſie themſelues with worldly matters, as though they were fethering a neſt that ſhould neuer be pulled down. Wiſedom hath alwaies carried that ſhew of excellencie, that the very wicked hauehave laboured to put on this vizard: as we reade of Pharao, who to couer his fooliſhnes,Exod. 1. 10. ſaith, Come let vsus do wiſely. And again, it is ſaid, that the Grecians ſought after wiſedom,1. Cor. 1. 22. euē the Nation which God cals the fooliſh nation,Deu. …2. 21. did ſeek after wiſedom: that is, they would hauehave the name of wiſedome: but this wiſedome which Moſes cals wiſdome, is coūted fooliſhnes,1. Cor. 1. 21 the fooliſhnes of preaching, ſaith Paul, meaning how the fooliſh count preaching fooliſhnes.…. Againe, fooliſhnes to the Gentiles, meaning that the word of God ſeemeth like a fooliſh thing vntounto many. For that which Chriſt ſaid vntounto Peter, he may ſay almoſt to al,Mat. 16. 23 They do not ſauor the things of God. As Anah deuiſed a new creature:Gen 36 24. ſo they hauehave found out another wiſedome which is called the wiſdom of the fleſh. Rom. 8. 7They remember, Be wiſe as ſerpents: Mat. 10. 1…but they forget, Be ſimple as doues. He which is like Achitophel is coūted a deep counſ…ler,2. Sam. 17. 7 he which is like Machiuel, is counted a wiſe fellow. Alas, how eaſie a matter is it to deceiue & counterfeit, and play the ſubtile ſerpent, if a man would ſet his head vntounto it? Could not Dauid goe as farre as Achitophel? Could not Paul ſhew as much cūning as Tertullus?Acts. 24 2. Yes, yes, if they were not taught to be ſimple as doues.Matt. 10. 6. But this wiſdome comes not by the remembrance of death, but by the forgetfulnes of death. Men do not vſe to think of death when they goe about ſuch matters, but ſay like the ſerpēt,Gen 3. 3. We ſhall not die. Two things I note in theſe words: Firſt, that if we will find wiſedome, we muſt applie our hearts to ſeeke her: thē, that the remēbrance of death makes vsus applie our harts vntounto it. Touching the firſt, Moſes found ſome fault with himſelfe, that for al he had heard & ſeene, and obſerued, and was counted wiſe: yet he was new to begin, and had not applied his heart to learne wiſedom,Pro. 30. 2. like the wiſe man which ſaith, I am more fooliſh then any man, I hauehave not the wiſedome of a man in me. So vnſatiable and couetous (as I may ſay) are the ſeruants of GOD, the more wiſedome, and faith, and zeale they hauehave, the more they deſire. Moſes ſpeaketh of wiſedome, as if it were Phiſicke, which doth no good before it be applied, and the part to applie it too is the heart, where all mans affections are to louelove it and cheriſh it like a kind hoſteſſe: when the heart ſeeketh, it findethas though it were brought vntounto her like Abrahams Ramme. Therefore GOD ſaith, duplicate page duplicate page They ſhall ſeeke me, Ier. 20. 13.& find me, becauſe they ſhal … me with their … as though they ſhuld not find him with all their ſeeking, vnles they did ſeeke him with their heart. Therefore the way to get wiſedome, is to applie our hearts vntounto it, as if it were your calling and liuing to which you are bound prentiſes. A man may applie his eares, & his eyes, as many trewants doe to their bookes, & yet neuer proue ſchollers: but from that day which a man begins to applie his heart vntounto wiſedom, he learneth more in a monethmonth after, then he did in a yeare before, nay, then euer he did in his life. Euen as you ſee the wicked, becauſe they applie their hearts to wickednes, how faſt they proceede, how eaſily and how quickly they become perfect ſwearers, expert drunkards, cunning deceiuers: ſo if ye could applie your hearts as throughly to knowledge and goodneſſe, you might become like the Apoſtle which teacheth you. Therefore when Salomon ſheweth men the way how to come by wiſedome, he ſpeakes often of the heart, as GiueGive thine heart to wiſedome, Pro. 22. 10.Let wiſedome enter into thine heart, Get wiſedome, Keepe wiſedome, Pro. 45. 13. 8.Embrace wiſedome: as though a man went a wooing for wiſedome. Wiſedome is like Gods daughter, that he giueth to the mā that loueth her, and ſueth for her, and meaneth to ſet her at his heart.
Thus we hauehave learned how to apply knowledge, that it may do vsus good, not to our eares like them which heare Sermons onelyonly; nor to our tongues, like them which make table talke of religion; but to our hearts, that wee may ſay like the virgin,Luk. 1. My heart doth magnifie the Lord: and the heart will applie it to the eare,Mar. 12. 14 and to the tongue, as Chriſt ſaith, Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth ſpeaketh. The laſt poynt is, that the remembrance of death makes vsus to applie our hearts to wiſedome. Moſes commended not many bookes to make a wiſe man learned, but as Dauid commends one booke in ſtead of many:Pſalm. 1. 2. Meditate in the Law of God day and night: for, the reading of many bookes (ſayth Salomon) is but wearineſſe to the fleſh. Eccl. 12. 12.Therefore as though Moſes had marked what did moue him moſt to ſeeke after GOD, hee prayeth that that thought may run in his mind ſtill, the remembrance of death. As many benefits come vntounto vsus by death: ſo many benefites come vntounto vsus by the remembrance of death, and this is one, It maketh a man to applie his heart to wiſedome: For when he conſidereth that he hath but a ſhort time to liue, he is carefull to ſpend it wel,Heb. 12. 26. like Moſes, of whom it is ſaid, that whē he cōſidered how he had but a ſeaſon to liue, he choſe rather to ſuffer afflictions with the ſeruants of God, than to enioy the pleaſures of ſinne for a ſeaſon. This is that which makes the olde men faſt, and watch, and prepare themſelues more than young, becauſe they thinke themſelues neerer the doore, like olde Iſaac, which when he was blinde for age, ſaid vntounto Eſau,Gen. 27. 2. Behold, I am now old, and know not the day of my death; that is, becauſe I am old, I looke to die ſhortly. And therfore as Eſay taught Ezechias,2. Kin. 20. 1 to ſet all things in order before he died: ſo he called his eldeſt ſonne, to whom hee thought that the inheritance belonged, that he might bleſſe him before he died. This wiſdome the Fathers called, the wiſdome of the croſſe, which wee call the beſt, becauſe it was deereſt bought. It is hard for a man to think of a ſhort life, and think euil; or to think of a long life, and thinke wel. Therefore whē Ieremie had numbred al the calamities & ſins of the Iewes; at laſt he imputed all to this,Lam. 1▪ 9. She remembred not her end: ſo if I may iudge why natural men care for nothing but their pomp, why great men care for nothing but their honour and dignitie, why couetous worldlings care for nothing but their gaine, why voluptuous Epicures care for nothing but their pleaſure? I may ſay with Ieremie, They rememember not their end. We neuer couet the ſame things liuing and dying: therefore when Salomon had ſpokē of all the vanities of men, at laſt he oppoſeth this Memorā dum, as a counterpoyſe againſt them all;Eccl. 11. 9. Remember, that for al thoſe things thou ſhalt come to iudgement: as if he ſhould ſay, Men would neuer ſpeake as they ſpeake, nor doe as they doe, if they did but thinke that theſe ſpeeches and deeds ſhould come to iudgement. As the bird guideth her flight with her traine: ſo the life of man is beſt directed by a continuall recourſe vntounto his end. The thoght of death hath made many ſinnes auoid like the diuel, when Chriſt alleaged Scripture:Math. 4. it is like a ſtrainer, all the thoughts, and ſpeeches, and actions which come through it are clenſed and purified like a cloth, which commeth out of the water. Seeing then that ſo much fruit growes of one ſtalk, which is the numbring of our daies, let vsus conſider what an harueſt we hauehave loſt, which happily before this day neuer prayed with Moſes, that the Lord wold teach vsus to number our dayes. What if we had died in the dayes of our ignoraunce, like Iudas which hanged himſelfe before he could ſee the Paſſion or Reſurrection,Mat 27. 5. or aſcenſion of Chriſt? But God hath cared for vsus more then we hauehave cared for our ſelues. We ſhould hauehave numbred our dayes and ſinnes too, but alas, howe many dayes hauehave wee ſpent, and yet neuer thought why any day was giuen vsus? But as the olde yeere went, and a newe yeere came, ſo we thought that a new would follow that, and ſo we think that another will come after this, and ſo they thought, which are dead already. This is not to number our dayes, but to prouoke GOD to ſhorten our daies: there are few here which hauehave not ſeen twentie years; now if we had but eueryevery yeare learned one vertue ſince we were borne, we might by this time hauehave been like Saints among men: but the time is yet to come when we muſt applie our hearts to wiſdome. To riches & pleaſures we hauehave applyed our harts, and our eyes, and our eares, and our handes too, but to wiſdome we hauehave not applyed our hearts.
There may be many cauſes, but there ſhuld be no cauſe if wee had numbred our dayes. For ſurely if a man could perſwade himſelfe that this is his laſt day, as it may be, he would not deferre his repentance vntill to morrow. If he could think that this is his laſt meale that euer he ſhall eate, hee would not ſurfet: if he could beleeue that the words which he doth ſpeake to day, ſhould be the laſt that euer he ſhould ſpeake, he would not offend with his tongue: if hee could be perſwaded that this ſermon ſhould be the laſt ſermon that euer he ſhould heare, he would heare it better then euer he heard any yet. Yet breath is in the bodie and the heart may applie it ſelfe, and the eye may applie it ſelfe, and the eare may applie it ſelfe, and the hand may applie it ſelfe. Worke while it is light. I can but teach you with words, as Iohn Baptized with water. As Moſes prayed the Lord to teach him to number his dayes: ſo you muſt pray the Lord to teach you to number your dayes. And now I lead you to number your dayes. It may bee that thou haſt but twenty years to ſerue God, wilt thou not liue twenty yeares like a Chriſtian, that thou maieſt liue a thouſand yeares like an Angel? It may bee that thou haſt but tenne yeeres to ſerue him, wilt thou not ſerue tenne yeares for heauen, which wouldſt ſerue twenty yeares for a farme?
It may be, that thou haſt but fiue yeares to ſerue God, wilt thou ſpend fiue yeares wel to redeeme all thy yeares for fiue? Yet GOD doth knowe whether many here hauehave ſo long to repent for all the yeares which they hauehave ſpent in ſinne? If thou were borne but to day, thy iourney is not an hundred yeares? If thou be a man, halfe thy time is ſpent already: if thou be an olde man, then thou art drawing to thy Inne, and thy race is but a breath: therfore as Chriſt ſaid vntounto his Diſciples when he found them ſleeping,Mat. 26. 40 Could ye not watch one houre? So I ſay to my ſelfe, and to you, can we not pray? can we not ſuffer a little while? He which is tyred can crawle a little way, a little farther, one ſteppe more for a kingdome. For this cauſe God wold not hauehave men know whē they ſhall die, becauſe they ſhould make readie at all times, hauing no more certaintie of one houre than another. Therefore our Sauiour ſaith, watch becauſe you know not when the Lord will come to take you, or to iudge you, Happy are they which hear the word and keepe it. Thus you ſee that death is the laſt vponupon earth, that the time of man is ſet, that his race is ſhort, that he thinkes not of it, that if he did remember it, it would make him applie his minde to good, as he doth to euill: and nowe I ende as I began. The Lord teach vsus to number our dayes, that wee may applie our hearts to wiſedome, Amen.
FINIS.