The Ambassador Between Heaven and Earth, Meditation 1

The Ambassador Between Heaven and Earth · Meditation 1

Of the vanity, imperfection, and ſuddaine decay of all earthly Pleaſures, and the Shortneſſe and Miſery of our life, ſuch as they are to inioy them.

VNTOUNTO all the ſinnefull and wayward generation of mankind, the eternall wiſedome of that great God of heauen and earth hath ſo decred it, that the life and period, and exiſtence of man, bee it lengthened as the daies of our fore-fathers the moſt fulleſt of yeares, or ſhortned as to theſe abridged times of ours, not a handfull in their compariſon, bee it more or leſſe at his pleaſure that giues it, for the vncertainety, folly, and dimneſſe thereof it is but compared to a ſhadow, and for the ſwiftneſſe and ſhortneſſe thereof reſembled to a ſpanne, and his few, not many daies, are not repleat with few, but many euils: And that if Ambition and Pride and the height of wordly happineſſe did not ſo dazle our eyes with looking vpwards thereunto, that wee runne our poore and vngouerned barke head-long vponupon ſands & ſhelues that lye vnderunder vsus, whilſt w…e ſailing vponupon this dangerous ſea, without our compaſſe, which ſo ouermaskt with vanity and deceit preſent a ſafenes that we cannot perceiue them, vntill we ſhipwracke thereon: we ſhould elſe diſcerne to inambuſh in multiplicity of pleaſures, but in numerability of deſires, in inlargement of poſſeſſions, but more copiouſneſſe of care, in diuturnity of daies, but aſſiduity of ſorrowes, Eccleſ. 2. 10. 23. and fixe wee our thoughts and deſires on our Tabernacles but Tents, or on what may more delight vsus, with the moſt aſſurance we can, we ſhall finde in them but a changeable and fleeting vncertainety of eſtate, being oftentimes ſnatched from the land of the liuing when our thoughts hauehave ſcarce trauelled to the habitations of the dead, let the earth bee ſummoned to councell, and all the generations both paſt and preſent examined, what true content euer ſet foote vponupon the face thereof, ſince there was a touchſtone of ſence to try it, and a wiſedome truely to ſuruay it? if our affections, might feed on the food of Angels, it would in time grow diſtaſtfull vntounto vsus, if our poſſeſſions ſtretched our themſelues, from the riuers vntounto the ends of the world, from one circle thereof vntounto the other, yet would wee ſtriue to enlarge them: if our eminency were aboue the ſtarres, yet would wee ſtriue to exalt our heads higher then their firmament, for the thoughts and deſires of man are endleſſe, aboue all things, and hee hath an vnfaithfull heart, as deepe as the ſea, and who can finde it out? The Ambitious hath his thoughts as large as hell, the voluptuous his thoughts more large then his belly, for when his ſtomacke was full, his deſire was vnſatisfied, come, let vsus eate and drinke, not becauſe wee are hungry, but becauſe to morrow wee ſhall die, and better is a liuing dogge, then a dead Lyon: The coueteous man his whole thoughts are, Soule t…ke thy reſt, to d…y, or to morrow wee will goe into ſuch a Citty, and there continue a yeare, and buy, and ſell, and gaine much: Hereditary miſery of mortall and wretched man, firſt begot in the thoughts of our firſt parents, and ſo deſcended linially downe, as by a veine or iſſue of bloud, to vsus, and the very laſt of their ſeede and propagation vponupon earth, who thought not Paradice circuit enough for their vnlimited habitation, nor all the luſhious delicates and vnſpekeable perfections of that ſelfe-planted Eden of God ſweete enough for their taſt, nor the fruition and fellowſhip of God himſelfe a ſociety good enough for their preſence, O ſoule where is thy reſt? O life where is thy louelove? And ò God how are they miſtaken then, that in this tranſitory and all changed world, ſeeke content, which vponupon earth, in Paradice it ſelfe, was not to bee found. As ſome doe in riches, ſome in honour, ſome in beauty, ſome in carnall louelove, poſſeſt with a madneſſe thereto, beyond immagination, and the more, although with the leſſe reaſon, in theſe lateſt, barren, and declining daies of ours, then euer heeretofore, where if deſire might at any time meete with content, it is ſo fading, brittle, tranſitory, and ſubiect to decay, that it dies before it liues, and withers in the bloſſome, before it ſpread the leaues, or bud out to any perfection, and if there might bee found a heauen vponupon earth, a pleaſure without any allay or limitation in it ſelfe, it were nothing, for yet it would bee thought a hell vponupon earth, to thinke of the ſuddaine diſſolution thereof, yet lamed and decrepid cripples, as they are, how many hauehave runne themſelues head-long to hell to for the momentary inioying of them for a ſeaſon, a little time, and a very little ſeaſon: But where the heart, and the rebellious thoughts of man are ſo ſubdued and brought vnderunder, that godlineſſe is accounted gaine, and the holines and goodneſſe of the Lord of life of moſt pretious eſteeme, there the luſt of the world, and the duſt of the world, the riches of the world, & the pleaſures thereof, ſhall be valued together as things of equal worth & continuance, that is of neither worth nor continuance at all. For what minion did ſhee euer produce as her greateſt fauourite vponupon the circle of the earth, amongſt the ſons of men, that either enioyed all pleaſures, or that had wiſedome, that found not vanity & vexation of mind to attend thē? Enioyeſt thou a faire houſe, a bountifull table, a comely wife, generous, affable, well-deſcended children, Like the Oliue branches round about thy t…ble, heritages to bequeath to thine heires after thee? Be thou thy ſelfe beautifull, valiant, ſtrong, healthfull, learned, excellent in arts, ſo that the world fauours thee, and al things ſucceed proſperouſly vntounto thee? if the wh…e…e of fortune lift thee to the ſtars, if thou reigne happy in all theſe a thouſand yeares? What then? they ſo ſuddenly paſſe and vaniſh away, as things that had neuer beene; and a man inſpired with true wiſedome from aboue, findes ſo much content left behinde after the vſe and poſſeſſion of them all, as a poore man that had dreamed hee was a King, and that hee had had all the pleaſures and contents the world could affoord him in his power and fruition; and being afterwards awaked, finds nothing ſo. What man that euer liued before, or after Salomon, that had a greater portion in this world of eminency and glory then hee? and yet this Salomon, King Salomon, King Salomon in all his royalty in ſome particulars inferiour to the Lillies of the field: let the power of the wicked bee neuer ſo potent, the heart of the moſt cruell tyrant that euer reigned, neuer ſo enuious, and though his pleaſure therein bee as great as his power; neither hee nor it can exceed Pharaohs: and yet was both hee and his exceeded, vanquiſhed, and brought to confuſion, and his whole Egyptian Hoaſt by the vnſenſible creatures of Gods moſt ſenſible power, the courſe of waters, or the waters of the red ſea, wherein they were ouer-whelmed, & put to confuſion. Let the power of his command be neuer ſo abſolute, neuer ſo vnqueſtionable, that it be of force throughout territories and dominions, to ſtifle and ſtrike dead that vapour and breath of life (that was firſt breathed by GOD in the face of man to make him a a liuing ſoule) that it keepe not his wonted progreſſe and paſſage throughout the gates of his body: let his voyce bee as terrible as the roaring of a Lyon, be it neuer ſo fearefull, bee it neuer ſo ample, more fearefull and ample then Nabuchaddonezers it cannot bee; yet was hee in the middeſt of his pride and iollity, compaſt and inuirond in for ſeauen yeares, within the walles of wilde Aſſes. Let his cloathing bee neuer ſo ſumptuous, the Throne where hee ſits neuer ſo Maieſticall, his ſpeech and eloquence neuer ſo plauſible, and his praiſes neuer ſo generall, yet in theſe was Herod his equall; and yet not defended by theſe from the wormes that gnawed out his bowels. Take a ſuruey in the preſent from the Monuments, Hiſtories, Traditions and Reliques of ancient ages, going vp from theſe low deſcended times of ours, to thoſe firſt that began the world, and long ſince expired, and imagine that if the beſt and moſt iuditious obſeruer that liued in eueryevery age (ſince that time that God ſayd: Let there bee Day and Night, and Times and Seaſons, or ſhall liue whileſt theſe creatures of his world that giuegive reſt and labour ſhall laſt & indure) ſhould ſtand vp to report, and poynt out, the chiefeſt men and vertues that in them euer liued and were; whether for wealth or wiſdome, fortitude or temperance, eloquence or learning. For continency or patience, beauty, magnanimity, or whatſoeuer elſe might bee numbred in the bead-roll of excellence that could ſay in the perfection and largeſt indowment hereof here is munition againſt the graue, and with this will I preſerue my body from corruption, they would all in their ſeuerall turnes confirme and teſtifie the graue hath cloſed them vp without reſiſtance of quality or vertue, and they ſleepe with their excellencies together raked in the earth. Is it then ſo, and are wee no more but thus? Is there not one man of former ages can ſtand forth to bee darted through with all eyes of wonder and admiration, as a monument neuer yet beheld, to ſay, I hauehave peruerted the ſentence, and the decree hath paſt by me, & I hauehave made a League with Death, and a Couenant with the Graue, and I ſhall liue for euer, and my body ſhall not deſcend into that bed of darkneſſe? If not, what true content can bee taken in this life, in any thing wee enioy, which goes not warranted with an houres ſecurity, but in the peace of conſcience, wherein is true ioy, preſent, giuen as a taſte or earneſt of that reall eternall ioy and gladneſſe wee ſhall inherit in the kingdome of heauen to come. Vnmindful, wretched, miſerable man, ſhall the beſt finde no euaſion to eſcape, and doe the worſt thinke to bee freed from thence? Shall beauty deſcend into corruption, and yet will it idolize it ſelfe in conceit of immortality? will it plaiſter ouer that earth with colours like the morning-Sunne, which muſt bee ſuddenly transformed into earth, and true earth indeede, and make her bed in the darkneſſe, more obſcure then the clouds of the night. Will not wiſedome defend a man? What folly is it then not to hauehave ſo mu…h wiſedome as to make … ſerious preparation thereunto? can ſtrength, nor magnanimi… make no reſiſtance? how ſuddē ly then will weakneſſe and infirmity yeeld it ſelfe? Will not riches defend a man? the rich man in the Goſpell anſweares no, for they ſooner tranſport him thether, whether then we runne ouer the liues of the vertuous, and godly, ſuch as withſtood the temptations of Sathan and the illuſions of the world, with that moſt forcible preſidēt, the innumerabilitie of her followers, which without thought carries ſo many head-long to perdition. Or the ſtate and condition of the moſt deſſolute & vnrepentant ſinners, ſuch as run through the race of there liues, in a moſt careleſſe and deſſolute ſecuritie, not regarding there end, nor the cauſe of there being, we ſee an equall concluſion, and period, and end of there da…es, all bound vp and ſhackelled together in the ſame bundle of corruption, and there reſolution ſo, that the eye of man cannot diſtinguiſh in the graue betweene the bones and aſhes of the one and the other, betweene Ʋaſhti the moſt beutifull Queenes and the blackeſt Egyp…ian bond-womans that euer was: yet when the Lord both of life & death ſhall come to iudge both the quicke and the dead, he alone can diſtingu…ſh, which ſhall raiſe vp the one to euerlaſting life, and the other to an endleſſe death, euer dijng yet neuer ending, and herein let the godly take comfort, who hauehave not taken there por…ion and pleaſure in this world, that they ſhall be knowne, and rayſed vp, and diſtinguiſht from the wicked, and let them willingly and ioyfully therefore, without the leaſt feare inbrace this meſſinger of the Lord, which to their bodies brings but a quiet ſleepe, from the which they ſhall be awaked to ioy. And let the wicked, who hauehave cauſe feare him as their enemie, that is the ſubduer and danter of all fleſh & the finiſher of all wordly pleaſures, that takes the earth and aſhes of the moſt maieſticall compoſure, ſtuft with ambition and pride, with thoughts beyond bound, without warrant, from trampling and wounding the breſt & boſome of there mother, in ſcorne and contempt, into the darkeſome and ſolitarie chambers of her wombe, where that earth, taken out of that earth that thought it ſelfe more then earth and yet was but earth, becomes earth, & leſſe then earth, euen to moates and graines in confuſion. Let vsus caſt vp our dayes by Iacobs account, & valew… them not to be more, not to better then he did his few and euill as he that truly conſiders it, ſhall moſt rightly find it true, for the firſt that they are few, what age ſince there were creatures that liu'd and breathed & died in it, and howers & yeares to waſt and ſpend themſelues, to giuegive it a quantitie and quality thereof, that might ſpeake with more probabilitie and exemplarie experience hereof then ours, when our yong men in our ſtreetes, in our houſes, oftentimes part with there health, there life and all within an hower, and others fall downe dead as they trauaile vponupon the way, and the lateſt yeares of our ould men, accompliſh not the child-hood of our fore-fathers, with ſuch daily other preſidentes of death before our eyes both of vntimely youth, and ould age, that might moue vsus to looke into our ſelues, yet as if we tooke leaſes of our liues, as wee do of our houſes, we incroach and build, & ſet vp, & pull downe, & alter & repaire & like earth-deluing-moles, preſſe & cruſh our owne bowelles and conſciences, to heaue vp little piles of rubbiſh, and earth, toyle our bodies and beat our braines to ioyne our poſſeſſions together, diſpeopling whole villages that we may be Lordes alone, drawing the earth from the poore that they liue & tread vponupon, by exactions, plottes and tyrannies, pulling the bread from out there handes, and the food from out there mouthes, calling our habitations after our owne names, as if we ſhould for euer liue, or our poſterities after vsus ſucceed to the worldes end, or world without end; when he that ſits in heauen laugheth them to ſcorne, for he that thinkes to be rich or great without him, in the prophanenes of his heart, Eſay. 14. 15. let him know, Gen. 11. 7. that the leaſt breath of his mouth ſhall ſo batter his ſeat that the place thereof ſhall be no more found, and ſcatter his riches as the duſt before the wind, or the chaffe that ſlies in the ayre, and all there thoughtes & intētions more vaine thē vanity it ſelfe; if we liued like Adam without any preſident of death before our eyes, and the length of our dayes in ſome meaſure ſtretched out like to his, it were ſome little ſecuritie for preſumption to build vponupon, but wee that hauehave ſene our thouſand, & three-thouſand, weekly, & ſuch a dearth of health that the ſicke hauehave bene more then the ſound, the dead more then the lyuing, and death hath ſo layd about in our ſtreetes, and in our houſes, that graſſe, hath growne in the one, and ſolitarineſſe ſo taken vp the other that the ſight of a man in either hath bene more pretious then the gold of Ophir, ſometimes come ſo neare vsus that it hath puld away the wife from our owne boſome, children from our owne loynes, reueld in the darke of the night, at the noone of the day, diſpoſeſt vsus of neighbour and frend, neare, and diſtant far of; ſpared none from the child, ſupported by the hand for weakeneſſe, to him that walkes with the ſtaffe for age; with ſuch an innumerable and daily witneſſe, in which number our owne bowelles ſometimes a part, the ſentence of God vponupon all fleſh, as a forerunner, and the accompliſhmēt thereof with ſuch a …erceneſſe ſucceeding, all crying with a loud voyce and proclaming this proclamation of God Statutum eſt omnibus ſemelmori, O but may the yong man, or ſome not aged ſay, although we muſt once die yet we may liue many yeares, and therefore we wil take our pleaſures whilſt we may, and when they hauehave forſaken vsus, when age ſhall ceaze vponupon vsus with her whiteneſſe & die our lockes into another coullor, then will we repent vsus and thinke of our end. O but who euer thou art that thinkes ſo deceiue not thy ſelfe with this vaine procraſtinating folly, but let Salomons experienced councell be the tutor to thy youth, forget not to remembe his Memēto: To remember thy creator in the dayes of thy youth before the euill dayes approach, and the times wherein thou ſhalt ſay, I hauehave no pleaſure in them, and beeing a reaſonable creature offer not God that indignity that hath made thee both body and ſoule, giuen thee both health and ſtrength, thy beeing, thy benefites, all that thou haſt, as to offer him the huskes and refuſe of Sathan. What earthly maiſter, that but for a few temporall benefits, as in ſuſtayning our yeares of infancye, although all that he could for vsus, were but as a grauell ſtone, in compariſon to the whole ſea ſhore of his goodneſſe, that would not expect in recompence hereof the abilitye of our beſt ſeruice to his imployment, which if wee ſhould neglect him in, and forſake him vnacknowledged ſo long vntill our youth and ſtrengthes were ſpent, and old age were crept vponupon vsus, and wee diſabled to helpe our ſelues, much leſſe to ſtand him in ſtead, or deſerue his former kindneſſe, yet then with bluſhleſſe faces ſhould offer to put our ſelues vponupon him for a ſecond ſuppertance, that with the acclamation and conſent of the earthly maiſters in the world, would not only turne his face away, but vtterly reiect, & foreuer caſt vsus off from his acknowledgement. Is it then iuſt with vsus, and is it not much more iuſt with God? We are all ſeruants to him in a thouſand duties, he faſhioned vsus in our mothers wombe, carefully tooke vsus out from thence, euer ſince protected and preſerued vsus, vponupon the finger of whoſe prouidence we ſticke as the ſun in the firmament, and ſhall wee from him that hath done ſo much for vsus, dedicate the ioy & marrow of our bones to the enemie of our God, our good, & the welfare of all mankind, to him that compaſſeth the earth ſeeking whom he may deuour? ſhal we I ſay in our ripeſt iudgement and abilitie of largeſt conſideration make no vſe hereof but run one with the ſpurre of the fleſh, and the pricke of the deuill all the ſun-ſhine of our dayes in obliuion and forgetfulneſſe of him we ſhould euer remember? If we doe the euening will bring heauineſſe vntounto vsus, which will not indure for a night, and ioy approach in the morning, but a night without end of ſorrow and lamentation, whom no day ſhall euer ariſe to cleare, and he that hath loſt Chriſt, in a large youth, and run from him many yeares muſt not thinke that few wil vntread that path againe and recouer him, but rather that a yeare may ſo loſe him, that many ſhall not find him againe, though with Ioſeph and Mary he be ſought in ſorrowing, Preſume not vponupon that text of mercy to much: At what time ſoeuer a ſinner, although it be an Oracle of truth & truth it ſelfe, for if thou refuſe the time of grace that is offered thou knoweſt not whether it wil be offered thee againe, whether thou ſhalt euer after hauehave a time to repent thee of thy ſins from the bottome of thy h…rt that thine owne conſcience ſhal not diſquiet, and the deuill driue thee to deſpaire in; ſo that thou canſt not truly repent, and late repentance is ſeldome true repentance: and beſides it ſtands not with the Lords honour to be ſo often ſhaken off when he would lodge with vsus: and how many in theſe thoughtes hauehave periſhed ſuddainly, preuented by death of their expectation & preparation propoſed, & if notwithſtāding all this, that neither conſideration, nor perſwaſion can moue vsus to be early wiſe for our owne good, & the good of our ſoules let vsus know if we deferre our repentance to the laſt, iudgement ſhall but iuſtly requite vsus, if eyther death do ſtrangle vsus before we ſpeake, or the wrath of God rebound vponupon vsus when we hauehave gone out and wept betterly, wept our fill, therfore I ſay againe, preuent it, leſt thou be preuented by it, and fruſtrated of they expectation caſt from the fauour of God, thou be condemned for euer to that lake that burnes with fire & brimſtone, the terror and torture thereof as inexplicable as vnſufferable, which cannot be indured, and yet muſt be indu…ed without ceaſing or determinatiō. By this we are now reſolued we muſt die, either in youth or in age, at one ſeaſō or at another the cannō & decree ſo direct to all, that no one ſhall euer find an euaſion, the ſonne of God himſelfe hauing taken our nature vponupon him was not exempted, but died & was layed in the bowels of the earth to ſweeten it to all mankind, we know in regard of our time we hauehave but a ſhort time to liue, and that ſhort, not ſweet but full of myſery; we know that as we liue ſo we ſhal die, according to that ancient & true ſentence Qualis vita finis ita, vt cecideris it… eris, and as we die ſo ſhall we riſe to iudgement: we know that our ſins of Omiſſion and Commiſſion, of deſire & conſent, our thoughtes and our deedes, ſhall be brought vntounto iudgement with vsus, & we muſt render an account of our idle wordes, if ſo, no maruell that the ſcripture telleth vsus (when theſe all in vsus, and all in all of vsus are let looſe at liberty, without any reſtaint or reckoning) That many are called, but few are choſen. And wee know that wee hauehave broken all thy Commandements, and the breach of the leaſt is eternall damnation. Theſe things conſidered, and daily and ſeriouſly layd to heart, which concernes the well-fare of eueryevery Chriſtian, what cauſe hauehave wee but to mourne and ſorrow? For what will it profite a man to winne all the world, to enioy all the riches and pleaſures thereof, and to looſe his owne Soule? And if wee ſtand vponupon pleaſure, what pleaſure is like vntounto this: To lay vp Treaſure in Heauen, which the moath ſhall not corrupt, nor theeues breake through and ſteale, to walke in the paths of the Lord all the dayes of our life, to liue in his feare, that we may dye in his fauour, that at the laſt day wee may ſtand with confidence vnſhaken, when the wicked ſhall tremble at his preſence, like Popler in the Forreſt. What are all the pleaſures of this world but Ʋanity, but vanity, and vexation of the minde, and there is no true content vnderunder the Sunne: And in their paſſage, (which is very ſudden) they leaue a kinde of ſting behinde them: and there beſides is more griefe in a little ſorrow, then content in a great deale of pleaſure. And this is the ſowre reckoning that euer killes the ſweete welcome of all earthly pleaſure. And therfore once againe, if wee ſtand vponupon pleaſure, what pleaſure is like vntounto this (and the more pleaſant becauſe the more ſecure) to thinke how ſweete that breath that flowes from the lippes of our Sauiour, ſhall bee vntounto vsus aboue: Myrrh and Caſſia: Come you bleſſed, I was hungry, and you fed mee, I was naked and you c…oathed mee, inher…te the Kingdome of my Father, prepared for you from the beginning. On the other ſide, the thought of that heauy Sentence, the thought & imagination whereof, like the vpper and the neather Mill-ſtone, is able to c…uſh and grinde in peeces all the pleaſures of the world, and the ſenſuall appetites thereof, and to throw them into the ayre, like Chaffe againſt the winde, that indanger or bring vsus within the compaſſe thereof. The tenor whereof ſhall be more grieuous, againſt whom it is pronounced that day, then all the pleaſures of the world, in the fulleſt ſayle, were euer contentiue: Ite Maledicti, Goe you curſed, deſcend to the lake of perdition, you that hauehave had your portion in this world, Purple and fine Linnen, and fared dilitiouſoy eueryevery day, that hauehave neglected me in my members, in charity and pitty, and in deedes of mercy, that beeing hungry, gaue mee no foode, and beeing naked, gaue mee no rayment. Will this bee the anſwere of Chriſt at that day, to thoſe that to him in his perſecuted and afflicted members, denyed their releefe, when they therewith plainly euicted excuſes, ſhall craue mercy at his handes, and ſhall not obtaine it. Si in igne ardebit, qui non dedit propria ſua, vbi ardebit qui ſurripiat aliena. Si ſterilitas in ignem mittitur, rapacitas quid merebitur. All the ſonnes and daughters of men in the world, from Adam the firſt man of the race, to the laſt that ſhall ſtand vponupon the earth, ſhall to their ioy or griefe receiue one of theſe two ſentences,

Then

If

Let vsus all therfore labour to be partakers of the beſt of the bleſt, and that wee may, let vsus ſerue him in louelove: For Seruire eo regnare eſt, his ſeruice is perfect freedome. Let vsus obey him in feare: for The feare of the Lord is the beginning of wiſedome. Let vsus be acquainted with him in this world, that wee may not bee as ſtrangers and aliants to him in the world to come: Let vsus heare him when hee ſpeakes vntounto vsus, and not with our eares ſtopped paſſe by him, like the deafe Adder, not regarding the Ʋoyce of the Charmer, charme hee neuer ſo wiſely, leſt the Prophets and Preachers of the Word, the Law and the Goſpell, our Parents and Tutors, our owne Conſciences conſenting and witneſſing thereunto, ſend vsus vntounto the Iudgement ſeat of GOD, with this Inſcription written on our Fore-heads: No…erunt i…cantari, they would not be charmed, they would not bee acquainted. Let vsus not waſte our time, and weigh …t not; heape vp ſinne, and feare it not; awake GODS wrath, and ſorrow not; lye fettered in death, and ſtruggle not; ſlippe into the Graue, and ſee it not; leaſt wee periſh, and preuent it not. And let vsus not hauehave leſſe regard of our time, then wee hauehave of our treaſure, which we ſomtimes reckon by graine and weight, that wee reſerue with heede and care, imploy with diligence and fore-caſt, and let that paſſe a thouſand times more pretious without duplicate page duplicate page Arithmetike and Ballance, thought or regard. Let not the ſlaſhes of vaine-glory, that flye through the world like lightening, and the ſubtile plots and policies of our fleſh, grounded vponupon ſuch weake and tottering foundations of duſt and ſand, ſhaken with eueryevery little blaſte of aduerſity, and the foundation of our hopes here on earth vnderunder-propped with ſuch ſlender baſſes, ſo quickely weakened and throwne downe, that we leaue the rocke Chriſt Ieſus that wee ſhould build vponupon. Let not Honour, Ambition, Preheminence, Titles, and ſuch like, occupy our thoughts, and poſſeſſe our bodyes and minds with a wearineſſe in longing and purſuing after them, which being attained bring not content, but lie leuell to a thouſand diſcontentes, enuy euer lying at the roote as a canker, to blaſt what euer good wee expect from thence. Bee wee in authority or ſubiection, be we rich or poore, bee wee yong or old, of what eſtate or degree ſoeuer we bee off, were wee as we could wiſh, had we all that this earth could yeeld, yet our eſtates and our deſires would neuer keepe a concordant Harmony, For the Sunne as yet, neuer lookt vponupon that ſonne of man that found not a defect, a ſaciety, or loathing, in what eſtate ſoeuer hee poſſeſt, and deſired to ſee a change. In our yong youth, wee wiſh for grauity, and age, becauſe wee want the reſpect and reuerence that it goes accompanied with, and being attained and cloathed therewith, wee wiſh that the heat & iollity of youth might againe bee renued in vsus, euer peruerting the times, and preuenting the meanes that God hath prefixed, and wearing and waſting our ſelues ſooneſt▪ in poſſeſſing that wee would inioy longeſt. In want wee deſire riches, perſwaded if we inioyed them wee ſhould be contented, theſe attained, deceiue vsus, then wee ſeeke for honour, and from one ſteppe thus wee would clime vntounto another, to ſeeke that which is not heere to bee found.

For who did euer yet in honour, wealth,

Or pleaſures of the ſence contentment find?

Who euer ceas't to wiſh, when he had helth

Or hauing wiſdome was not vextin mind?

S. I. D.

The way then to ballance our ſelues and our deſires is, to fix our whole hope, confidence, and deſire in him, who is the fountaine of all happineſſe and content, within the compaſſe of whoſe protection, and their fruition wee are no longer then we walke within the boundes of his direction, and miſerable are thoſe that wander out of the armes thereof, & his ſafeguard, yet if the Lord ſhould forget vsus, as wee forget him, nay if hee ſhould not remember vsus a thouſand times, ere wee remember him once, and keepe vsus in▪ wee ſhould daily and hourely wander out and periſh, but his merciemercy is aboue all his workes, and his benefites ſo generally extended, that the wicked hauehave their portion therein, as well as the godly, his enemies as well as his friendes, if the Lord ſhould reuenge our iniuries and ingratitude againſt him▪ and contempt of his will and commandements, and deale with vsus, as wee deale amongſt our ſelues, what would become of vsus, but woe and confuſion? Let vsus therefore learne from him, the patterne of all goodneſſe, in ſome poore meaſure to bee like vntounto our Lord and Maiſter Chriſt Ieſus▪ from whence wee deriue our name, and are called Chriſtians, let vsus, whoſe image wee carry ſtamped by the fingers of his owne hands, bee not onelyonly ſhadowes but bodies mouing after his ſteppes that is our Head, let vsus walke heere, as Embaſſadours ſent from heauen on the Lords meſſage, to giuegive the ſonnes of men a patterne of good life, and imitation, in ſuch humility and ſobriety, as our Lord, the true patterne of all goodneſſe and piety, hath walked before vsus, the printe of whoſe bleſſed feete wee daily▪ looke on with our eyes, and conſider in our heartes with ioy and comfort, for if wee will be his Diſciples, Wee muſt take vp his croſſe and follow him, making it our glory, that wee are the people of his Paſture and the ſheepe of his hands, who although in ſimplicity graſing on the mountaines, are either fleeced of the Shearer, growne into wooll, or ſnatched vp by the Butcher, growne into fleſh, and the water of affliction be wrung vntounto vsus out of a full cup, and we bee expoſed to the ſhame of the world, and the windes ſtill beat on our ſailes, & our liues bound vp in vexation and ſorrow, whilſt the Wicked, like the bramble, in confidence of their ſhadow, dare challenge to bee Kings ouer the trees of the forreſt, Iudg. 9. 15. and though they ſaile calmely, as in the hauen, and their breaſts are full of milke, as Iob ſpeaketh, Iob. 21. 24 and their bones of marrow, and though with Dauid in the 73. Pſalme, wherein the property of the wicked is liuely ſet forth, How they come not to misfortune like other folke, neither are they plagued like other men, their eyes ſwell with fa…neſſe, and they do euen what they liſt: yet let vsus take comfort to our ſelues and ſtay our ſoules on the anker of his prouidence, as the ſame Prophet did, although in the conſideration of his chaſticement, all the Day long, and eueryevery morning, and the proſperity of the wicked, he himſelfe confeſt and ſaid, Pene moti ſunt pedes, my feete had almoſt ſlipt, Yea and I had almoſt ſaid as they, vntill I went into the Sanctuary of God, then vnderſtood I the end of theſe men: Namely, how thou ſetteſt them in ſlippery places, and caſteſt them downe and deſtroyeſt them, how ſuddenly they come to a fearefull end: ſo when death ſhall make vsus both euen with the earth (here is our comfort) the graue ſhall bee to vsus as a fould till our Sheepheard come, and to them a ſhambles, till the deſtroyer of their ſoules ſhall hauehave receiued an endleſſe commiſſion to torment them: Therefore they are not the pleaſures of this life, neither health, nor wealth, nor liberty: which at the beſt are but candied wormewood, that delight the taſt, but deſtroy the ſtomacke, without a true and ſanctified vſe therein, that makes thoſe happy and bleſſed that hauehave them, for if with all the goodly branches of delectation and pleaſure they caſt, their tree anſwere not with fruite, theſe leaues will not protect her from the fire, And curſed is hee that is bleſſed in this world to bee curſed in the world to come, yet heere wee hauehave the eloquence of the fleſh to perſwade vsus, the inticementes of the Diuill to allure vsus, the company of the wicked to aſſociate vsus, all theſe to diuert our courſe from whither wee are bound, and the world with her inticements to traine vsus furtheſt from what wee ſeeke, and the pride of our life to perſwade vsus for trifles to forgoe the intereſt wee hauehave in heauen, and our branched corruption, eueryevery way ready to ſet vsus foreward, being Ambitious like Adam, Gen. 3. 5. who if hee may bee as God, there is no command can reſtraine him, vaine-glorious like Eſau, Gen. 33. 1. who if hee may hauehave a traine of men at his heeles will ſoone digeſt the loſſe of his birth-right, and ſo by vſury if our bagges may thereby bee made fuller, the word of God ſhall not reſtraine vsus from it, if the ſonnes of men ſhall take the deuill at his word, as the Son of God did not, and for the glory of the world, which hee ſhall ſhew, and cannot giuegive, ſhall fall downe and worſhip him, if hee ſhew honour, preferment, pleaſure, riches, ſaying, all theſe will I giuegive thee, though the Minions and Louers of the world, that ſeeke for their heauen vponupon earth, ſhall be ready to betray their ſoules, as Iudas betrayed Chriſt, with their hayle Maiſter, ſhall bee ready to embrace him, to ſerue him, to ſerue themſelues, yet with the Sonne of God Math. 16. 20. after his faſting, bee thou ſo ſtrong in thy ſtrength as hee was in his weakneſſe, to bid him depart and to ſay him nay: For it is but a bitter recompence to buy the pleaſures at ſo deere a rate, as at the priſe of thy ſoule, in thy euerlaſting confuſion, for a ſhort and fading life, and but the length of a ſpanne: if thou thinke it more, take the counters into thy hand, and ſee what reckoning thou canſt make of it, what is paſt grieueth thee with the remembrance thereof becauſe ſo much of thy time is ſpent, what is preſent burtheneth thee with the waight therof, becauſe in ſweate and ſorrow, ſtudy, and trauel, thou doſt waſt thy time; what is to come troubleth thee with the vncertainety of it, leaſt the graue do ſwallow thee before thou ſee it: yea make thy account as as thou oughteſt, and thou ſhalt finde it ſwifter then the Weauers ſhuttle, Iob. 7. 6. and speedier then a post on the wings of the winde: Iob. 9. 25. Then in conſideration of this, and whatſoeuer hath bene ſpoken to the vncloathing of our nakednes, and humbling vsus before God, to the pulling off of our roabes of leuity and lightneſſe, and the preparing our bodies to the graue, and our ſoules to this inſuing exerciſe, whether (to the daunting of all fleſh) all muſt come; and the houre may bee neere but it cannot bee farre off, and howſoeuer wee forget it, it will bee ſure to remember vsus, and therefore let vsus know that here as Pilgrimes and ſtrangers wee wander, hauing no abiding Citty, but wee ſeeke for one to come, but wee muſt not ſeek to find it here, nor ſuffer the vaine applauſe of the world, and the vainer conceit of our ſelues, to make vsus forget where we liue, what we are of our ſelues being but as a tree turned vpwards, hauing no ſap from the earth, but refreſhed and moiſtened with the dew of heauen, let vsus ſo husband our iourney that wee miſſe not the Citty we ſeek for, let vsus ſo runne our race that we obtaine the victory and reward we runne for, and therefore if thou expect in thy labour bleſſing, in thy peace continuance, in affliction comfort, in thy death triumph, in thy iudgement ioy, reſpect in thy life ſobriety, in thy calling honeſty, in thy pleaſures iudgement, in thy ſorrowes mercy, in thy life religion: For if God bee not with thee to direct thee, that thou ſtray not, to correct thee that thou preſume not, to ſuſtaine thee that thou famiſh not, to pardon thee that thou deſpaire not, to ſupport thee that thou ſtumble not, to ſtrengthen thee that thou fall not, and to ſanctifie thee that thou ſinne not, and to glorifie thee that thou periſh not. If the Lord throughout the whole courſe of thy life, and in thy death, bee not preſent and powerfull to thee, thou fainteſt in the one, and faileſt in the other, and deſperation inuironeth thee on eueryevery ſide, for where the Lord keepeth not watch, or turneth away his face, all the miſeries in the world lay their ſiedge, therefore to him let vsus day and night ſend vp our ſupplications and prayers, without ceaſing, like incenſe into the aire, to continue what we hauehave, and giuegive vsus what wee want, to ſupport vsus by his grace, to direct vsus by his Spirit, and ſo lead vsus through this exemplary world of ſinne and wickednes, with our eys ſo looking forward fixed on him that wee let not temptations in at their windowes, ſo captiuating our deſires vntounto his will, that with Lot wee may bee righteous, in a Citty, in a world of vncleaneſſe, that ſo wee may ſaue our ſoules at the laſt (though wee looſe all the pleaſures in the world beſides) the loſſe whereof would more reioyce Sathan, then hee ſorroweth for the damnation of his owne, which grant Lord for thy mercies ſake, Amen.