Twenty-Six Sermons, Sermon 15
A SERMON Preached at White-hall. Serm. 15.February 29. 1627. SERMON XV.
Acts 7.60.
And when he had ſaid this, he fell a ſleep.
HE that will dy with Chriſt upon Good-Friday, muſt hear his own bell toll all Lent; he that will be partaker of his paſſion at laſt, muſt conform himſelf to his diſcipline of prayer & faſting before. Is there any man, that in his chamber hears a bell toll for another man, and does not kneel down to pray for that dying man? and then when his charity breaths out upon another man, does he not alſo reflect upon himſelf, and diſpoſe himſelf as if he were in the ſtate of that dying man? We begin to hear Chriſts bell toll now, and is not our bell in the chime? We muſt be in his grave, before we come to his reſurrection, and we muſt be in his death-bed before we come to his grave: we muſt do as he did, faſt and pray, before we can ſay as he ſaid, that In manus tuas, Into thy hands O Lord I commend my Spirit. You would not go into a Medicinal Bath without ſome preparatives; preſume not upon that Bath, the blood of Chriſt Jeſus, in the Sacrament then, without preparatives neither. Neither ſay to your ſelves, we ſhall have preparatives enough, warnings enough, many more Sermons before it come to that, and ſo it is too ſoon yet; you are not ſure you ſhall have more; not ſure you ſhall have all this; not ſure you ſhall be affected with any. If you be, when you are, remember that as in that good Cuſtome in theſe Cities, you hear cheerful ſtreet muſick in the winter mornings, but yet there was a ſad and doleful bel-man, that wak'd you, and call'd upon you two or three hours before that muſick came; ſo for all that bleſſed muſick which the ſervants of God ſhall preſent to you in this place, it may be of uſe, that a poor bell-man wak'd you before, and though but by his noyſe, prepared you for their muſick. And for this early office I take Chriſts earlieſt witneſs, his Proto-Martyr, his firſt witneſs St. Stephen, and in him that which eſpecially made him his witneſs, and our example, his his death, and our preparation to death, what he ſuffered, what he did, what he ſaid, ſo far as is knit up in thoſe words, When he had ſaid this, he fell a ſleep.Diviſio.
From which example, I humbly offer to you theſe two general conſiderations; firſt, that every man is bound to do ſomething before he dye; and then to that man who hath done thoſe things which the duties of his calling bind him to, death is but a ſleep. In the firſt, we ſhall ſtop upon each of thoſe ſteps; firſt there is a ſis aliquid, every man is bound to be ſomething, to take ſome calling upon him. Secondly there is a hoc age; every man is bound to do ſeriouſly and ſcedulouſly, and ſincerely the duties of that calling. And Thirdly there is a ſis aliquis; the better to performe thoſe duties, every man ſhall do well to propoſe to himſelf ſome perſon, ſome pattern, ſome example whom he will follow and imitate in that calling. In which third branch of this firſt part we ſhall have juſt occaſion to conſider ſome particulars in him who is here propos'd for our Example, St. Stephen; and in theſe three, ſis aliquid, be ſomething, profeſs ſomething; and then hoc age, do truly the duties of that profeſſion; and laſtly, ſis aliquis, propoſe ſome good man, in that profeſſion to to follow, and in the things intended in this text, propoſe St. Stephen, we ſhall determine our firſt part. And in the other we ſhall ſee that to them that do not this, that do not ſettle their conſciences ſo, death is a bloody conflict, and no victory at laſt, a tempeſtuous ſea, and do harbor at laſt, a ſlippery heighth, and no footing, a deſperate fall and no bottom. But then to them that have done it, their pill is gilded, and the body of the pill hony too; mors lucrum, death is a gain, a treaſure, and this treaſure brought ſome in a calm too; they do not only go to heaven by death, but heaven comes to them in death; their very manner of dying is an inchoative act of their glorified ſtate: therefore it is not call'd a dying but aſſeeping; which one metaphor intimates two bleſſings, that becauſe it is a ſleep it gives a preſent reſt, and becauſe it is a ſleep, it promiſes a future waking in the reſurrection.
Firſt part. Sis aliquid.Firſt, Then for our firſt branch of our firſt part, we begin with our beginning, our birth; man is born to trouble; ſo we read it, to trouble. The original is a little milder then ſo; yet there it is, Man is born unto labor, Job. 5 7.God never meant leſs then labor to any man. Put us upon that which we eſteem the honorableſt of labors, the duties of martial diſcipline, yet where it is ſaid, that man is appointed to a warfare upon earth, it is ſeconded with that, His dayes are like the dayes of an hireling. 7.1.How honorable ſoever his ſtation be, he muſt do his daies labor in the day, the duties of the place in the place. How far is he from doing ſo, that never ſo much as conſiders why he was ſent into this world; who is ſo ſar from having done his errand here, that he knows not, conſiders not what his errand was; nay knows not, conſiders not, whether he had any errand hither or no. But as though that God, who for infinite millions of millions of generations, before any creation, any world, contented himſelf with himſelf, ſatisfied, delighted himſelf with himſelf in heaven, without any creatures, yet at laſt did beſtow ſix daies labor upon the Creation & accommodation of man, as though that God who when man was ſour'd in the whole lump, poyſoned in the fountain, periſhed at the chore, withered in the root, in the fall of Adam, would them in that dejection; that exainantion, that evacuation of the dignity of man, and not in his ſormer better eſtate, engage his own Son, his only, his beloved Son, to become man by a temporary life, and then to become no man by a violent, and yet a voluntary death; as though that God who he was pleaſed to come to a creation, might yet have left thee where thou waſt before, amongſt privations, a nothing; or if he would have made thee ſomething, a creature, yet he might have ſhut thee up in the cloſs priſon of a bare being and no more, without life or ſenſe, as he hath done earth and ſtones; or if he would have given thee life and ſenſe, he might have left thee a toad, without the comelineſs of ſhape, without that reaſonable and immortal Soul, which makes thee a man; or if he had made thee a man, yet he might have loſt thee upon the common amongſt the Heathen, and not have taken thee into his incloſures, by giving the a particular form of religion; or if he would have given thee a religion, He might have left thee a Jew; or if he would have given thee Chriſtianity, He might have left thee a Papiſt, as though this God who had done ſo much more for thee, by breeding thee in a true Church, had done all this for nothing; thou puſſeſt through this world as a flaſh, as a lightning or which no man knows the beginning or the ending, as an ignis fatuus in the air, which does not only not give light for any uſe, but does not ſo much as portend or ſignifie any thing; and thou paſſeſt out of the world, as a hand paſſes out of a baſon, or a body out of a bath, where the water may be the fouler for thy having waſhed in it, elſe the water retains no impreſſion of thy hand or body, ſo the world may be the worſe for thy having liv'd in it, elſe the world retains no marks of thy having been there. When God plac'd Adam in the world, God enjoyned Adam to fill the world, to ſubdue the world, and to rule the world; when God plac'd him in … Paradiſe, He commanded him to dreſs Paradiſe, and to keep Paradiſe; when God plac'd him children in the land of promiſe, he enjoyned them to fight his battails againſt Idolatry, and to deſtroy Idolators; to every body ſome errand, ſome task for his glory; and thou commeſt from him into this world, as though he had ſaid nothing to thee at parting, but go and do as thou ſhalt ſee cauſe, go and do as thou ſeeſt other men do, and ſerve me ſo far, and ſave thine owne Soul ſo far, as the times, and the places, and the perſons, with whom thou doeſt converſe, will conveniently admit. Gods way is poſitive, and thine is privative: God made every thing ſomething, and thou mak'ſt the beſt of things, man, nothing; and becauſe thou canſt not annihilate the world altogether, as though thou hadſt God at an advantage, in having made an abridgment of the world in man, there in that abridgment thou wilt undermine him, and make man, man, as far as thou canſt, man in thy ſelf nothing. He that qualifies himſelf for nothing, does ſo; He whom we can call nothing, is nothing: this whole world is one intire creature, one body; and he that is nothing may be excremental nailes, to ſcratch and gripe others, he may be excremental hairs for ornament, or pleaſurableneſs of meeting; but he is no limb of this intire body, no part of Gods univerſal creature, the world. Gods own name is I am: Being, is Gods name, and nothing, is ſo contrary to God as to be nothing. Be ſomething, or elſe thou canſt do nothing; and till thou have ſaid this, ſaies our text, that is, done ſomething in a lawful calling, thou canſt not ſleep Stephens ſleep, not die in peace. Sis aliquid, propoſe ſomething, determine thy ſelf upon ſomehing, be, profeſs ſomething, that was our firſt; and then our ſecond conſideration is, hoc age, do ſeriouſly, do ſcedulouſly, do ſincerely the duties of that calling.
Hoc Age.He that ſtands in a place and does not the duty of that place, is but a ſtatue in that place; and but a ſtatue without an inſcription; Poſterity ſhall not know him, nor read who he was. In nature the body frames and forms the place; for the place of the natural body is that proxima arcis ſuperficies, that inward ſuperficies of the air, that inveſts and clothes, and apparals that body, and obeys, and follows, and ſucceeds to the dimenſions thereof. In naturet he body makes the place, but in grace the place makes the body: The perſon muſt actuate it ſelf, dilate, extend and propagate it ſelf according to the dimenſions of the place, by filling it in the execution of the duties of it. Plinie delivers us the hiſtory of al the great Maſters in the art of painting:L. 35. C. 3. He tels us who began with the extremities and the out lines at firſt, who induc'd colors after that, & who after ſuper-induc'd ſhadows; who brought in Argutias vultus as he cals them, not only the countenance, but the meaning of the countenance, & all that ſo exquiſitely, that (as he ſaies there) Divinantes diem mortis dixerunt, Phyſiognomers would tell a mans fortune as well by the picture as by the life; he tels us, quis pinxit quae pingi non poſſunt, who firſt adventured to expreſs inexpreſſible things; Tonitrua, perturbationes animas; they would paint thunder which was not to be ſeen, but heard: and affections, and the mind, the Soul which produc'd thoſe affections. But for the moſt part he tels us all the way, in what places there remained ſome of their pieces to be ſeen, and copied in his time. This is ſtill that that dignifies all their works, that they wrought ſo, as that poſterity was not only delighted, but improv'd and better'd in that art by their works: For truly thats one great benefit that ariſes out of our doing the duties of our own places, in our own time, that as a perfume intended only for that room, where the entertainment is to be made breaths, upward and downward, and round about it; ſo the doing of the duties of the place, by men that move in middle Sphears, breath upwards and downwards, and about too, that is, caſt a little ſhame upon inferiors if they doe not ſo, and a little remembrance upon Superiors that they ſhould doe ſo, and a thankſgiving to Almighty God for them that doe ſo: And ſo it is an improvement of the preſent, and an Inſtruction and a Catechiſme to future times. The duty in this Text is expreſſed and limited in ſpeaking. Cum dixiſſet, When hee had ſaid this he fell a ſleepe, and truly ſo, literally ſo, in ſpeaking, and no more, it ſtretches far: Many duties, in many great places conſiſt in ſpeaking; Ours doe ſo: And therefore, when Vices abound in matter of Manners, and Schiſmes abound in matter of Opinions, Antequam dixerimus hoc, till wee have ſaid this, that is, that that belongeth to that duty, wee cannot ſleepe Stephen's ſleepe, wee cannot die in peace. The Judges duty lies much in this too, for hee is bound not only to give a hearing to a Cauſe, but to give an End, a Judgement in the Cauſe too: And ſo, for all them whoſe duty lies in ſpeaking, from him who is to counſell his friend, to him who is to counſell his Maſter in the family (for Job profeſſes that hee never refuſed the counſell of his Servant) Antequam dixerint, till they have ſaid this, that is ſtill, that that belongs to that duty, they cannot ſleep Stephen's ſleepe, they cannot die in peace: and when wee aſcend to the conſideration of higher Perſons, they and wee ſpeake not one language, for our ſpeaking is but ſpeaking but with great Perſons, Acta Apothegmata, their Apothegms are their Actions, and wee heare their words in their deeds. God, whoſe Image and Name they beare does ſo: If wee conſider God; as a ſecond Perſon in the Godhead, the Sonne of God, God of God, ſo God is Logos, Sermo, Verbum, Oratio; The Word, Saying, Speaking; But God conſidered primarily and in himſelf ſo, is Actus purus, all Action, all doing. In the Creation there is a Dixit in Gods mouth, ſtill God ſayes ſomething; but evermore the Dixit is accompanied with a Fiat, Somthing was to be done, as well as ſaid. The Apoſtles are Apoſtles in that capacity as they were ſent to preach that's Speaking; But, when wee come to ſee their proceeding, it is in Praxi, in the Acts of the Apoſtles. In thoſe Perſons whoſe duty lies in ſpeaking, there is an Antequam dixerint; in thoſe where it lies in Action, there is an Antequam fecerint; till that be ſaid, and done, which belongs to their particular callings, they cannot ſleepe Stephen's ſleepe, they cannot die in peace; and therefore, Non dicas de Deo tuo gravis mihi eſt, Ambro. Ep. 17.ſay not of thy God, that he lies heavy upon thee, if he exact the duties of thy plaat thy hands; Nec dicas de loco tuo, inutilis mihi eſt, ſay not of thy place, that it is good for nothing, if thou muſt be put to doe the duties of the place, in the place; for it is good for this, that when thou haſt done that thou mayſt ſleepe Stephen's ſleepe, die in Peace. Sis aliquid, Be ſomething, that was our firſt, and then hoc age, doe truly the duties of that place without pretermitting thine own, without intermedling with others, which was our ſecond; and then our third conſideration is, Sis aliquis, Be ſombody, be like ſombody, propoſe ſome good example in thy calling and profeſſion to imitate.
Sis aliquis.It was the counſell of that great little Philoſopher Epictetus, whenſoever thou undertakeſt any action, to conſider what a Socrates, or a Plato; what a good and a wiſe man would doe in that Caſe, and to doe conformably to that. One great Orator, Latinus Rufus, propoſed to himſelfe Cicero for his example, and Cicero propounded Demoſthenes, and hee Pericles, and Pericles Piſiſtratus; and ſo there was a concatenation, a genealogie, a pedegree of a good Orator;Hieron. Habet unumquodque propoſitum principes ſuos: In every Calling, in every Profeſſion, a man may finde ſome exemplar, ſome leading men to follow. The King hath a Joſias, and the beggar hath a Job, and every man hath ſome: But here wee muſt not purſue particulars, but propoſe to all, him whom our Text propoſes, Saint Stephen; Stephanus.and in him wee offer you firſt his name, Stephen. Stephen, Stephanos is a leading, an exemplar name, a Significative, a Propheticall, a Sacramentall, a Catechiſticall name; a Name that carries much inſtruction with it. Our Countryman Bede takes it to be an Hebrew name, and it ſignifies (ſaith hee) Normam veſtram, Your Rule, Your Law: To obey the Law, to follow, to embrace the Law is an acceptable ſervice to God, eſpecially the invariable Law, the Law of God himſelfe: But wee are ſure that this name Stephen, Stephanos ſignifies a Crowne; to obey the Crowne, to follow, to ſerve the Crowne, is an acceptable ſervice to God, eſpecially the immarceſſible Crown, the Crown of Glory. Nomen Omen; ſcarce any man hath a name, but that name is Legal and Hiſtoricall to him: His very name remembers him of ſome rules, and lawes of his actions; So his name is legall, and his name remembers him of ſome good men of the ſame name; and ſo his name is hiſtoricall. Nomina Debita: In the old formularies of the Civill Law, if a man left ſo many names to his Executors, they were ſo many ſpecialties for debts. Our Names are Debts, every man owes the world the ſignification of his name, and of all his names; every addition of honour, or of office, layes a new Debt, a new Obligation upon him; and his firſt name, his Chriſtian-Name above all. For, when new names are given to men in the Scriptures, that doth not aboliſh or extinguiſh the old: Jacob was called Jacob after God had called him Iſrael; & Gedeon Gedeon after he was called Jerubaal and Simon when he was Peter too, was called Simon. Changes of Office and additions of Honour muſt not extinguiſh our Chriſtian, Name; The duties of our Chriſtianity, and our Religion muſt preponderate and weigh down the duties of all other places, and for all together. Saint Gregory preſents us a good uſe of this diligence to anſwere our Names, Quo quis timet magis, ne quod dicitur non eſſet, eo plus quam dicitur erit; The more a man is afraid that hee is not worthy of the name hee beares, whether the name of office or his Chriſtian-Name, the better Officer and the better Chriſtian he will be for that feare, and that ſolicitude; and therefore it is an uſefull and an applyable Prayer for great Perſons, which that Father makes in their behalfe, Praeſta, quaeſumus Domine, ut quod in ore hominum ſumus, in conſpectu tuo eſſe valeamus: Grant, O Lord, that wee may alwayes be ſuch in thine eyes, as wee are in their tongues that depend upon us, and juſtifie their acclamations with thy approbations. And ſo far Stephens name, as his name ſignifies the Law, and as his name ſignifies the reward of fulfilling the Law; a Crown hath carried us to the conſideration of the duty of anſwering the ſignification of our names; But then there are other paſſages in his Hiſtory and Actions that carries us farther.
Firſt then we receive Saint Stephen to have been Saint Paul's kinſman in the fleſh, and to have been his fellow pupill under Gamaliel, Diſcipulus.and to have been equall to him, at leaſt in the foundations, in natural faculties, and in the ſuper-edifications too, in learnings of acquiſition and ſtudy; And then to have had this great advantage above him, That hee applied himſelfe as a Diſciple to Chriſt before Saint Paul did; and in that profeſſion became ſo eminent (for all the Sects, the Libertines themſelves taking the liberty to diſpute againſt him,Act. 6.9. they were not able to reſiſt the wiſedome and the Spirit by which hee ſpake) as that his Coſin Paul, then but Saul, envied him moſt, and promov'd and aſſiſted at his execution: For upon thoſe words but two verſes before our Text, That they that ſtoned Stephen, laid down their clothes at Saul's feet, Saint Auguſtine ſayes,7.58. In manu omnium eum lapidavit, That it was Saul that ſtoned Stephen, though by the hands of other executioners. Men of the beſt extraction and families, Men of the beſt parts and faculties, Men of the beſt education and proficiencies, owe themſelves to God by moſt obligations. Him that dyes to day, God ſhall not only aske, where is that Soule? Is it as cleane as I made it at firſt? No ſtayn of Sin? or is it as clean as I waſh'd it in Baptiſme? No ſting? No venome of original ſinne in it? Or is it as clean as I left it when wee met laſt at the Sacrament? No guiltineſſe of actuall ſinne in it? God ſhall not only aske this, Where is that Soul? Nor only aske where is that Body? Is it come back in that Virginal integrity in which I made it? Or is it no farther departed from that then Marriage, which I made for it, hath made it? Are thoſe Maritales ineptiae (that we may put Luther's words into God's mouth) the worſt that is faln upon that body? God ſhall not only ask for that Soul and that Body but aske alſo, Where is that Wit, that Learning, thoſe Arts, thoſe languages which by ſo good education I afforded thee? Truly when a weake and ignorant man departs into any vicious way, though in that caſe he doe adhere to the Enemy, and doe ſerve the Devill againſt God, yet he carries away but a ſingle Man, and ſerves but as a common Souldier: But he that hath good parts, and good education, carries a Regiment in his perſon, and Armies and munition for a thouſand in himſelf. Though then thy kinſmen in the fleſh, and thy fellow pupils under Gamaliel, men whom thou haſt accompanied heretofore in other waies, think thy preſent fear of God, but a childiſhneſs and puſilanimity, and thy preſent zeal to his ſervice but an infatuation, and a melancholy and thy preſent application of thy ſelf to God in prayer, but an argument of thy Court-diſpaire, and of thy falling from former hopes there; yet come thou early, if it be early yet; and if it be not early, come apace to Chriſt Jeſus: how learned ſoever thou art, thou art yet to learn thy firſt letters, if thou know not that Chriſt Jeſus is Alpha and Omega, he in whom thou muſt begin and determine every purpoſe: Thou haſt ſtudied thy ſelf but into a dark and damnable ignorance, if thou have labored for much learning only to prove that thou canſt not be ſav'd, only to diſpute againſt the perſon and the Goſpel of Chriſt Jeſus. But propoſe to thine imitation Stephen, who though enriched with great parts, and formerly accuſtomed to the converſation of others of a different perſwaſion, applied himſelf early to Chriſt as a Diſciple,v. 5. & more then in that general application, in a particular function and office as a Deacon, as is expreſſed in the former Chapter.
Diaconus.The Roman Church that delights in irreſolutions and gains, and makes profit in holding things in ſuſpence, holds up this queſtion undetermind, whether that office and function which Stephen too of Deacon, be ſo è ſacris, a part of holy Orders, as that it is a Sacrament, or any part of the Sacrament of Orders. Durand. a man great in matter of Ceremony, Cajetan, a man great in matter of ſubſtance, do both deny it; and divers, many, very many beſides them; and they are let alone, and their Church ſaies nothing againſt them, or in determination of the opinion. But yet howſoever the ſtronger opinion even in that Church lead the other way, and the form of giving that office by impoſition of hands, and the many and great capacities that they receive, that they receive it, carry it to a great heighth, yet the uſe that we make of it here ſhall be but this, that even Stephen, who might have been inter Doctores, Doctor, (as Chryſologus ſaies of him) a Doctor to teach Doctors; and inter Apoſtolos Apoſtolus, an Apoſtole to lead Apoſtles, contented himſelf with a lower degree in the ſervice of Chriſt in his Church, the ſervice of a Deacon, which very name ſignifies ſervice, and miniſtation. It is a diminution of regal dignity, that the Roman Church accounts the greateſt Kings, but as Deacons, and aſſigns them that rank and place in all their Eccleſiaſtical Solemnities, in their Ceremonials. But Conſtantine knew his own place without their marſhalling: In the midſt of Biſhops, and Biſhops met in Council, he cals himſelf Biſhop, and Biſhop of Biſhops: and the greateſt Biſhop of this land,St. Dunſt…n. in his time, profeſſed his Maſter the King, to be Paſtor Paſtorum, a Shepheard of Shepheards. It is a name due to the King, for it ſignifies inſpection and ſuperintendency; as the name of Prieſt is alſo given to ſecular Magiſtrates that had no part in Eccleſiaſtical function in the Scriptures; particularly, in Putipher, Gen. 41.45.and to divers others in divers other places. But yet though that name of ſuper-intendancy be due unto him, let him who is crown'd in his office as Stephen was in his name, accept this name and office of miniſtration of Deacon, ſince the holy Ghoſt himſelf hath given him that name, The Miniſter of God for good, Rom. 13.4(ther's the word of miniſtration, the name Diaconos imprinted upon the King) and ſince our Super-Supream Ordinary, our Super-Soveraign head of the Church, Chriſt Jeſus himſelf cals himſelf, by that name, The Son of man came not to be miniſtred unto, but to miniſter; Mar. 10.45.ther's this word of miniſtration, the office, the name of Deacon imprinted upon Chriſt himſelf. And though in our intereſt, in him who is alſo a King and a Prieſt; we are all regale Sacerdotium, 1 Pet. 2.9.Kings and Prieſts too, yet let us accept the name, and execute the office of Deacon, of miniſtration, eſpecially upon our ſelves: for as every man is a world in himſelf, ſo every man is a Church in himſelf too: and in the ancient Church, it was a part of the Deacons office, to call out to the Church, to the Congregation, Nequis contra aliquem, nequis in Hipocriſi; let no man come hither to Church, (indeed no whether, for every place, becauſe God is preſent in every place, is a Church,) either in uncharitableneſs towards others, or in Hypocriſie & in diſſimulation in himſelf: Bring alwaies a charitable opinion towards other men, and ſincere affections in thy ſelf, and thou haſt done the right office of a Deacon, upon the right ſubject thou hadſt miniſtred to thine own Soul. But then the height of Stephens exemplarineſs, (which is the conſideration that we purſue in this branch of this firſt part) is not ſo much in his active as in his paſſive part; not ſo much in that he did, as in that he ſuffered; not as he anſwered & diſcharged the duties of his name; ſo we have propoſed him to you; nor as he was an early Diſciple, and came to Chriſt betimes, we have propoſed him ſo too; nor as he made his ambition only to ſerve Chriſt, and not to ſerve him in a high place, but only as a Deacon; for in that line alſo we have propoſed him to you; But as he was a conſtant and chearful Martyr, and laid down his life for Chriſt, and in that qualification propoſe him to your ſelves, and follow him as a Martyr.
Euſebius the Biſhop of Caeſarea, Martyr.was ſo in love with Pamphilus the Martyr, as a Martyr, that he would needs take his name, before he could get his addition; and though he could not be call'd Martyr then, yet he would be called Pamphilus and not Euſebius. The name of Stephen hath enough in it to ſerve not only the vehementeſt affection, but the higheſt ambition; for there is a Coronation in the Name as we told you before. And therefore in the Eccleſiaſtical ſtory and Martyrologes of the Church, there are (I think) more Martyrs of this name, Stephen, then of any other Name; indeed they have all that Name, for the Name is a Coronation. And therefore the Kingdome of heaven, which is expreſſ'd by many precious Metaphors in the Goſpel, is never call'd a Crown, till after Stephens death, till our Coronation was begun in his Martyrdome, but after in the Epiſtles often, and in the Revelation very often. For to ſuffer for God, man to ſuffer for God, I to ſuffer for my Maker, for my Redeemer is ſuch a thing, as no ſuch thing, excepting only Gods ſufferings for man can fall into the conſideration of man. Gods ſuffering for man was the Nadir the loweſt point of Gods humiliation, mans ſuffering for God is the Zenith, the higheſt point of mans exaltation: That as man needed God, and God would ſuffer for man, ſo God ſhould need man, and man ſhould ſuffer for God; that after Gods general Commiſſion, fac hoc & vives, do this and thou ſhalt live, I ſhould receive and execute a new Commiſſion, Patere hoc & vives abundantius, ſuffer this and you ſhall have life, and life more abundantly;Joh. 10.10. as our Saviour ſpeaks in the Goſpel, that when I ſhall ask my ſoul Davids queſtion,Pſal. 116.12. Quid retribuam, what ſhall I render to the Lord, I ſhall not reſt in Davids anſwer, Accipiam Calicem, I will take the cup of ſalvation, in applying his blood to my ſoul, but proceed to an Effundam Calicem, I will give God a Cup, a cup of my blood, that whereas to me the meaneſt of Gods ſervants it is honor enough to be believed for Gods ſake: God ſhould be believed for my ſake, and his Goſpel the better accepted, becauſe the feal of my blood is ſet to it; that that dew which ſhould water his plants, the plants of his Paradiſe, his Church, ſhould drop from my veines, and that ſea that red ſea, which ſhould carry up his bark, his Ark, to the heavenly Jeruſalem, ſhould flow from me: This is that that poures joy even into my gladneſs, and glory even into mine honor, and peace even into my ſecurity; that exaltes and improves every good thing,Coloſ. 1 24. Phil 2.17. every bleſſing that was in me before, and makes even my creation glorious, and my redemption precious; and puts a farther value upon things ineſtimable before, that I ſhall fulfil the ſufferings of Chriſt in my fleſh, and that I ſhall be offerd up for his Church,1 Pet. 2.21 though not for the purchaſing of it, yet for the fencing of it, though not by way of ſatisfaction as he was, but by way of example and imitation as he was too. Whether that be abſolutely true or no, which an Author of much curioſity in the Roman Church ſaies,P…rrecta in legem. Not itio ultima. that Inter tot millia millium, amongſt ſo many thouſand thouſands of Martyrs in the Primitive Church, it cannot be ſaid that ever one lack'd burial, (I know not whence he raiſes that) certainly no Martyr ever lack'd a grave in the wounds of his Saviour, no nor a tomb, a monument, a memorial in this life, in that ſenſe wherein our Saviour ſpeaks in the Goſpel, That no man ſhall leave houſe,Mar. 10.30 or Brother, or wife for him, but he ſhall receive an hundred fold in this life; Chriſt does not mean he ſhall have a hundred houſes, or a hundred wives, or a hundred Brethren; but that that comfort which he loſt in loſing thoſe things ſhall be multiplied to him in that proportion even in this life. In which words of our Saviour, as we ſee the dignity and reward of Martyrdome, ſo we ſee the extent and latitude, and compaſs of Martyrdome too; that not only loſs of life, but loſs of that which we love in this life; not only the ſuffering of death, but the ſuffering of Croſſes in our life, contracts the Name, and entitles us to the reward of Martyrdome. All Martyrdome is not a Smithfeild Martyrdome, to burn for religion. To ſuffer injuries, and upon advantages offerd, not to revenge thoſe injuries is a Court Martyrdome. To reſiſt outward tentations from power, and inward tentations from affections; in matter of Judicature, between party and party, is a Weſtminſter Martyrdome. To ſeem no richer then they are, not to make their ſtates better, when they make their private bargains with one another, and to ſeem ſo rich, as they are, and not to make their ſtates worſe, when they are call'd upon to contribute to publick ſervices, this is an Exchange-Martyrdome. And there is a Chamber-Martyrdome, a Boſome-Martyrdome too; Habet pudicitia ſervata Martyrium ſuum, Hierome.Chaſtity is a dayly Martyrdome; and ſo all fighting of the Lords battails, all victory over the Lords Enemies, in our own bowels, all chearful bearing of Gods Croſſes, and all watchful croſſing of our own immoderate deſires is a Martyrdome acceptable to God, and a true copy of our pattern Stephen, ſo it be inanimated with that which was even the life and ſoul and price of all Stephens actions and paſſions, that is, fervent charity, which is the laſt contemplation; in which we propoſe him for your Example; that as he, you alſo may be juſt paymaſters in diſcharging the debt, which you owe the world in the ſignification of your Names; and early Diſciples and appliers of your ſelves to Chriſt Jeſus, and humble ſervants of his, without inordinate ambition of high places; and conſtant Martyrs,1 Cor. 15.31 in dying every day as the Apoſtles ſpeaks, and charitable interceſſors, and Advocates and Mediators to God, even for your heavieſt Enemies.
We have a ſtory in the Eccleſiaſtical ſtory of Nicephorus and Sapricius, formerly great friends, and after as great Enemies:Charitas Nicephorus relented firſt, and ſued often for reconciliation to Sapricius, but was ſtill refuſed: he was refuſed even upon that day, when Sapricius being led out to execution, as a Martyr for the Chriſtian religion, Nicephorus upon the way, put himſelf in his way, and upon his knees beg'd a reconciliation, and obtained it not. The effect of his uncharitableneſs was this Sapricius, when he came to the ſtake recanted, and renounced the chriſtian religion, and loſt the crown of Martyrdome, and Nicephorus who came forth upon another ocaſion profeſſed Chriſt, and was receiv'd to the Coronation of Martyrdome. Though I give my body to be burned and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing ſaies the Apoſtle; but if I have not charity I ſhall not be admitted to that Sacrifice, to give my body to be burnt. St. Auguſtine ſeems to have delighted himſelf with that ſaying (for he ſaies it more then once) Si Stephanus non oraſſet, if St. Stephen had not praid for Saul, the Church had had no Paul: and may we not juſtly add to that, If Stephen had not praid for Saul, Heaven had had no Stephen, or Stephen had had no Heaven: ſuffering it ſelf is but a ſtubborneſs, and a rigid and ſtupid ſtanding under an affliction; it is not a humiliation, a bending under Gods hand, if it be not done in charity. Stephen had a pattern, and he is a pattern; Chriſt was his, and he is our Example; ut hoc dicam tibi, at te primo audivi, ſaies St. Auguſtine in Stephen's perſon to Chriſt, Lord thou taughteſt me this prayer upon the croſs; receive it now from me, as the Father receiv'd it from thee then. He prayed for his enemies as for himſelf; and thus much more earneſtly for them then for himſelf, that he prayed for himſelf ſtanding, and kneeling for them. Stephen was the Plantiff, and when he comes to his Nolo proſequi, and to releaſe, what hath the Judg to ſay to the Defendant. If a potent adverſary oppreſs thee to ruine, to death, if thou paſs away uncharitably towards him, thou raiſeſt an everlaſting Trophee for thine enemy, and prepar'ſt him a greater triumph then he propoſed to himſelf; he meant to triumph over thy body, and thy fortune, and thou haſt provided him a triumph over thy Soul too by thy uncharitableneſs; and he may ſurvive to repent, and to be pardoned at Gods hands and thou who art departed in uncharitableneſs canſt not; he ſhall be ſaved that ruind thee unjuſtly, and thou who waſt unjuſtly ruind by him, ſhalt periſh irrecoverably. And ſo we have done with all thoſe peeces which conſtitute our firſt part, Sis aliquid, profeſs ſomething, Hoc age, do ſeriouſly the duties of that profeſſion, and then Sis aliquis, propoſe ſome good man in that profeſſion for thine immitation; as we have propoſed Stephen for general duties, falling upon all profeſſions. And we ſhall paſs now to our other part, which we muſt all play, and play in earneſt, that concluſion in which we ſhall but begin our everlaſting ſtate, our death, When he had ſaid this he fell aſleep.
Second part. Mors impti.Here I ſhall only preſent to you two Pictures, two pictures in little: two pictures of dying men; and every man is like one of theſe, and may know himſelf by it; he that dies in the Bath of a peaceable, & he that dies upon the wrack of a diſtracted conſcience. When the devil imprints in a man, a mortuum me eſſe non curo, I care not though I were dead, it were but a candle blown out, and there were an end of all, where the Devil imprints that imagination: God will imprint an Emori nolo, a loathneſs to die, and fearful apprehenſion at his tranſmigration: As God expreſſes the bitterneſs of death, in an ingemination, morte morietur, in a conduplication of deaths, he ſhall die, and die, die twice over; So aegrotando aegrotabit, in ſickneſſe he ſhall be ſick, twice ſick, body-ſick and ſoul-ſick too, ſenſe-ſick and conſcience-ſick together; when, as the ſinnes of his body have caſt ſickneſſes and death upon his Soule, ſo the inordinate ſadneſſe of his Soule, ſhall aggravate and actuate the ſickneſſe of his body. His Phyſitian miniſters, and wonders it works not; He imputes that to flegme, and miniſters againſt that, and wonders again that it works not: He goes over all the humors, and all his Medicines, and nothing works, for there lies at his Patients heart a dampe that hinders the concurrence of all his faculties, to the intention of the Phyſitian, or the virtue of the Phyſick. Looſe not, O bleſſed Apoſtle, thy queſtion upon this Man.1 Cor. 15.55 O Death where is thy ſting? O Grave where is thy victory? for the ſting of Death is in every limb of his body, and his very body, is a victorious grave upon his Soule: And as his Carcas and his Coffin ſhall lie equally inſenſible in his grave, ſo his Soule, which is but a Carcas, and his body, which is but a Coffin of that Carcas, ſhall be equally miſerable upon his Death-bed; And Satan's Commiſſions upon him ſhall not be ſigned by Succeſſion, as upon Job, firſt againſt his goods, and then his Servants, and then his children, and then himſelfe; but not at all upon his life; but he ſhall apprehend all at once, Ruine upon himſelfe and all his, ruine upon himſelfe and all him, even upon his life; both his lives, the life of this, and the life of the next world too. Yet a drop would redeeme a ſhoure, and a Sigh now a Storme then: Yet a teare from the eye, would ſave the bleeding of the heart, and a word from the mouth now, a roaring, or (which may be worſe) a ſilence of conſternation, of ſtupefaction, of obduration at that laſt houre. Truly, if the death of the wicked ended in Death, yet to ſcape that manner of death were worthy a Religious life. To ſee the houſe fall, and yet be afraid to goe out of it; To leave an injur'd world, and meet an incenſed God; To ſee oppreſſion and wrong in all thy profeſſions, and to foreſee ruine and waſtefulneſſe in all thy Poſterity; and Lands gotten by one ſin in the Father, molder away by another in the Sonne; To ſee true figures of horror, and ly, and fancy worſe; To begin to ſee thy ſins but then, and finde every ſin (at firſt ſight) in the proportion of a Gyant, able to cruſh thee into deſpair; To ſee the Blood of Chriſt, imputed, not to thee, but to thy Sinnes; To ſee Chriſt crucified, and not crucifyed for thee, but crucified by thee; To heare this blood ſpeake, not better things, then the blood of Abel, but lowder for vengeance then the blood of Abel did; This is his picture that hath been Nothing, that hath done nothing, that hath propoſed no Stephen, No Law to regulate, No example to certifie his Conſcience: But to him that hath done this, Death is but a Sleepe.
Many have wondred at that note of Saint Chryſoſtom's,Mors Piorum. That till Chriſt's time death was called death, plainly, literally death, but after Chriſt, death was called but ſleepe; for, indeede, in the old-Teſtament before Chriſt, I thinke there is no one metaphor ſo often uſed, as Sleepe for Death, and that the Dead are ſaid to Sleepe: Therefore wee wonder ſometimes, that Saint Chryſoſtome ſhould ſay ſo: But this may be that which that holy Father intended in that Note, that they in the old-Teſtament, who are ſaid to have ſlept in Death, are ſuch as then, by Faith, did apprehend, and were fixed upon Chriſt; ſuch as were all the good men of the old-Teſtament, and ſo there will not bee many inſtances againſt Saint Chryſoſtome's note, That to thoſe that die in Chriſt, Death is but a Sleepe; to all others, Death is Death, literally Death. Now of this dying Man, that dies in Chriſt, that dies the Death of the Righteous, that embraces Death as a Sleepe, muſt wee give you a Picture too.
These is not a minute left to do it; not a minutes ſand; Is there a minutes patience? Bee pleaſed to remember that thoſe Pictures which are deliver'd in a minute, from a print upon a paper, had many dayes, weeks, Moneths time for the graving of thoſe Pictures in the Copper; So this Picture of that dying Man, that dies in Chriſt, that dies the death of the Righteous, that embraces Death as a Sleepe, was graving all his life; All his publique actions were the lights, and all his private the ſhadowes of this Picture. And when this Picture comes to the Preſſe, this Man to the ſtreights and agonies of Death, thus he lies, thus he looks, this he is. His underſtanding and his will is all one faculty; He underſtands Gods purpoſe upon him, and he would not have God's purpoſe turned any other way; hee ſees God will diſſolve him, and he would faine be diſſolved, to be with Chriſt; His underſtanding and his will is all one faculty; His memory and his fore-ſight ate fixt, and concentred upon one object, upon goodneſſe; Hee remembers that hee hath proceeded in the ſinceritie of a good Conſcience in all the wayes of his calling, and he foreſees that his good name ſhall have the Teſtimony, and his Poſterity the ſupport of the good men of this world; His ſickneſſe ſhall be but a fomentation to ſupple and open his Body for the iſſuing of his Soule; and his Soule ſhall goe forth, not as one that gave over his houſe, but as one that travelled to ſee and learne better Architecture, and meant to returne and re-edifie that houſe, according to thoſe better Rules: And as thoſe thoughts which poſſeſſe us moſt awake, meete us againe when we are aſleepe; So his holy-thoughts, having been alwaies converſant upon the directing of his family, the education of his Children, the diſcharge of his place, the ſafety of the State, the happineſſe of the King all his life; when he is faln a ſleepe in Death, all his Dreames in that bleſſed Sleepe, all his devotions in heaven ſhall be upon the ſame Subjects, and he ſhal ſolicite him that ſits upon the Throne, & the Lamb, God for Chriſt Jeſus ſake, to bleſſe all theſe with his particular bleſſings: for, ſo God giveth his beloved ſleep, ſo as that they enjoy the next world and aſſiſt this.
So then, the Death of the Righteous is a ſleepe; firſt,Pſ. 127.2. Somnus. as it delivers them to a preſent reſt. Now men ſleepe not well faſting; Nor does a faſting Conſcience, a Conſcience that is not nouriſh'd with a Teſtimony of having done well, come to this Sleepe;Eccleſ. 5.11. but dulcis ſomnus operanti, The ſleepe of a labouring man is ſweete. To him that laboureth in his calling, even this ſleepe of Death is welcome. When thou lyeſt downe thou ſhalt not be afraid, ſaith Salomon; Pro. 3.24.when thy Phyſician ſayes, Sir, you muſt keepe your bed, thou ſhalt not be afraid of that ſick-bed; And then it followes, And thy ſleepe ſhall be ſweet unto thee; Thy ſickneſſe welcome, and thy death too; for, in thoſe two David ſeems to involve all,Pſ. 4.8. I will both lay me downe in Peace, and ſleep; imbrace patiently my death-bed and Death it ſelfe.
So then this death is a ſleepe, as it delivers us to a preſent Reſt;Expergeſacti…. And then, laſtly, it is ſo alſo as it promiſes a future waiting in a glorious Reſurrection. To the wicked it is far from both: Of them God ſayes, I will make them drunke, Jer. 51.39.and they ſhall ſleepe a perpetuall ſleepe and not awake; They ſhall have no part in the Second Reſurrection. But for them rhat have ſlept in Chriſt, as Chriſt ſayd of Lazarus, Lazarus Sleepeth, but I goe that I may wake him out of ſleep, Jo. 11.11.he ſhall ſay to his father; Let me goe that I may wake them who have ſlept ſo long in expectation of my coming:1 Theſ. 4.14. And Thoſe that ſleep in Jeſus Chriſt (ſaith the Apoſtle) will God bring with him; not only fetch them out of the duſt when he comes, but bring them with him, that is, declare that they have beene in his hands ever ſince they departed out of this world. They ſhall awake as Jacob did, and ſay as Jacob ſaid, Surely the Lord is in this place, and this is no other but the houſe of God, and the gate of heaven, And into that gate they ſhall enter, and in that houſe they ſhall dwell, where there ſhall be no Cloud nor Sun, no darkeneſſe nor dazling, but one equall light, no noyſe nor ſilence, but one equall muſick, no fears nor hopes, but one equal poſſeſſion, no foes nor friends, but and equall communion and Identity, no ends nor beginnings; but one equall eternity. Keepe us Lord ſo awake in the duties of our Callings, that we may thus ſleepe in thy Peace, and wake in thy glory, and change that infallibility which thou affordeſt us here, to an Actuall and undeterminable poſſeſſion of that Kingdome which thy Sonne our Saviour Chriſt Jeſus hath purchaſed for us, with the in-eſtimable price of his incorruptible Blood.
Amen.