A Fathers Testament, Chapter 20
CAP. XX.
Man, as man, is not man, but Vanitie.
THere is but one end to which all men aym all their thoughts, desires, and actions, even Blessedness; and but one way leading to this end, knowledg: but this way hath two periods, 1. The knowledg of our selves, 2. Of our God: a truth so palpable, that even heathens in their midnight (without eyes) could feel something of it: and not only find it themselves, but commend, and prove it to others. The whole scripture was penn'd by the Holy Ghost to this very end, to be our light, and guide in this way; yet as far as I conceive, no where so briefly, and cleerly doth this Guide point out this way unto us, as in that short, but full sentence, Eph. 2.5. Even when we were dead in sins, he hath quicken'd us together with Christ.
Look as it is with some double-faced pictures; if ye view them on the one …ide, you shall see a beautiful pourtrait of some lovely virgin, or such like; if ye change your place, and look on the other side, ye see an Owl, Ape, or some deformed creature; so hath Gods blessed Spirit (as in Tableture) drawn the picture of man. If you behold him in himself, in his own, and old nature, he is but a body o… death; if you look on him in his new nature, and in the second Adam, full of glorious life. One side no better than a Divel, if not worse; the other no worse than an Angel, if not better. In the first he is dead, dead in sin, the death of hell. In the second he is alive, quickned with Christ, in the life of God.
Let this piece therefore be the last Legacie, which (in the conclusion of this Testament) I bequeath to every one of you, that you may hang it up in the best room of your heart, where you may have it ever in your eye, and there behold your selves. 1. In your tombs, dead in sins, and buried in the graves of lust; 2. In your resurrection, quickned in, and with the Lord Iesus Christ. Death consists, 1. In the privation of life, when life is not, or is now nothing. 2. In the consequents of this privation, corruption, putrefaction, stench, loathsomness.
Consider then the picture of your old man, 1. In the rude draught (the foreign) 2. In the full pourtrait, when all the colours, and complements are added. In the former, Man (in the first Adam) howsoever magnified by himself, or others, considered not physically, or civilly, but spiritually, is a base, abject creature, hardly to be called a creature, a very privative, and therefore nothing: He is (as we say) a may be: possibly he may be some thing, but as yet (in this estate) a sheer vanitie, and a meer nothing. He is but (Somnium hominis) a dream, and so are all his actions. Though he mount up in ex…ellencie unto the Heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds, he shall fly away as a dream, and not be found, chased away as a vision in the night, Joh. 20.6, 8. As when an hungry man dreams, and behold he eats, but he awakes, and his soul is empty, and a thirsty man dreams, and behold he drinks, but he awakes, and behold he is faint, and his soul hath appe…ite, Isa. 29.7, 8. voluptuous men in their feasts, and riots, do but dream that they eat, drink, and are merry; worldlings do but dream that they find treasures, and very joyful they are in gathering, pocketing and chesting it; but they awake, and in their hand is nothing, Eccl. 5.14. As a dream when one awaketh, so (oh Lord) when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their glory, Psal. 73.20.
M…n is like to vanitie, Psal. 144.4. A very small, but very like and lively picture: so like that (as it is spoken of the blind man, Ioh. 9.) we may say, this is he; others, he is very like him, but himself (when he hath his eyes) will fully confess, I am he; I am a meer dream, and a sheer vanitie.
Attentively observe that fuller picture, Psal. 39.5. Mine age is as nothing before thee; and verily every man in his best estate is altogether vanitie. Where this emptiness of man is excellently set out in divers propositions. 1. Man is vanitie. You may say perhaps, some men, the poor, are despised: nay, 2. Every man. Indeed take him at his worst, in sickness, trouble, &c. nay, 3. In his best estate. In some respects it may be, as subject to losses, crosses, death, &c. nay, 4. In all respects; Altogether vanitie. But is not this an hyperbole? more spoken, than intended? No, it is an infallible truth, which the Spirit of truth hath bound with an asseveration, Verily: Verily every man in his best estate is altogether vanitie. Nay the Lord proceeds yet further, and to convince our self-conceit, and fond pride assures us, that as men of low degree are vanitie, so men of high degree are worse, a lie: so that high and low, weighed in a true ballance, are lighter than vanitie it self, Psal. 62.9. A lie? what? great men, glittering in their pomp, admired by some, feared by others; are these a lie? How can it be? The reason; because nothing more deceives. Greatness makes great promises, but performs nothing. Let the Apostle expound it. If any man seen to be some thing, (foreign) being indeed nothing, he deceives himself, (Gal. 6.3.) He is a lie to his own soul: hence that great Apostle confesses that himself is nothing, 2 Cor. 12.11.
And as man himself, so all that belongs to him is meer vanitie, made for him, and suited to him. For when man had transformed himself into vanitie, the Lord fitts the creatures to him, which were made for him, and subjects them unto vanitie, Rom. 8.20. His life vain, (Eccl. 6.12.) His age nothing, (Psal. 39.5.) His beautie vanitie, (Prov. 31.30.) His riches, (Prov. 23.6.) His mirth, (Eccl. 2.2.) All his works, all his delights meer vanitie, Eccl. 2.11.
Object. But men do not think so. Answ. So much the more are they so: For while they think better of themselves than they are, they do but deceive themselves, and are a lie. 2. Though in their words they deny it, yet in their works they loudly speak it, and evidently discover, that they do thus think: For we will sell nothing under the price we value it, but men sell themselves for vanitie, for very nothing: They sell themselves fo… trash, they lay out their mony for that which is not bread, and their labour for that which satisfies not, Isa. 55.2.
Object. But yet they are men, and therefore something. Answ. We speak not of man in natural respects, as he consists of soul, and body, or in Civil, as he is a Father, Go…ernour, &c. but in spiritual, in which regard he rather seems than is man: rather a worm, (Psal. 22.6.) as other Brutes, flesh also, (Gen. 6.3.) and that flesh but grass, (Isa. 40.6.) the very spirit fleshly. (foreign,) Iude 9. animals, not having a spirit: when in Ierusalem there was none that sought the truth, there was no man among them, Ier. 5.1. Observe how evidently, and fully Gods Spirit concludes this argument, I beheld, and …here was no man, even among them; no Counsellor, that when I asked, could answer a word; They are all vanitie, and their works nothing, …sa. 41.28, 29. He is dead, and therefore not …ruly, but falsly, and in appearance called … man. Man if we look upon him in his Creati…n, is a creature not only composed of soul and body, which (both) are but the matter of which he is framed, but made after Gods im…ge, which is his form, and differs him from other creatures. Now as it ceaseth to be an …ouse, when the materials (stone, tim…er, &c.) are all safe, but the form destroy…d; so though body and soul in the matter …f them remain intire, yet when that speci…cal difference, and form of man (Gods image) … defaced, he ceases to be what first he was; now not man, but the ruines, and carkass of man.
In a word, look as it is with childrens Babies, they have a gorgeous appearance in their eyes, but all is copper, cast clouts, torn raggs, and a painted rotten stick; so is it with us. Our bodies, and souls have some raggs, and old clouts of our creation, and drest with beautie, learning, &c. are no small babes in a simple mans eye, but all this shew is nothing what it shews, but a very mock-man, a meer vanitie, and sheer nothing.
2. Secondly seeing man is not only dead, but dead in sin, as a dead man, shut up, and closed in a loathsome grave, we are plainly taught by God, that man is not only nothing, but a miserable, abominable nothing. He is miserable, wretched, poor, blind, and naked, Rev. 3.17. supposing himself full but only swell'd with wind, and indeed wholly empty; conceiting himself well adorned, and set out with goodly endowments, but shameful in nakedness; dreaming of an Eagle sight, and sharpness of wit, but not a blink of an eye in him; a meer flash; and in, and with all these wants, when he is most bladder'd up with a dream of happiness, extremely miserable, and wretched. In all his pomp an… glory, he is but as his own dung, (Iob 20.6, 7.) stinking, (Psal. 14.3.) not the baseness, bu… excellence, not of heathens, but of Iacob, not despised only, but abhorred, Amos 6.8. And lest we might think it an hyperbolical speech, the Lord takes a solemn oath, and swears by himself, that he abhors the excellencie of Iacob.
Hence is it that God culls out the most loathsome creatures to be as parallels to us, that in them (as in a glass) we might see our filth, and abhor our selves: we are resembled to hoggs, doggs, serpents, to dead carkasses, to s…pulchres full of rotten carkasses, Matth. 23.27. so abominable that we infect all the creatures with which we deal, all the actions that proceed from us. The creature is not only subject to vanitie, but to a curse for our sakes, Gen. 3.17. our very blessings cursed, Mal. 2.2. not our want, but store, not our barreness, but fruit accursed, Deut. 28. vers. 17, 18. Our days not only few but evil, Gen. 47.9. our very life not only grievous, but hateful, (Eccl. 2.17.) nay our prayers, our service abomination, Prov. 15.8. & 28.9.
Object. If the estate of men were so loathsome, it is strange that they should not see, nor feel it. Answ. They who have sense know, and acknowledg it. They loath themselves, (Ezech. 20.43.) they abhor themselves, (Job 42.6.) they lament themselves, (Rom. 7.24.) But such as are blind and sensless, how should they discern it? And this the depth of their miserie, which makes it incurable: yet some glimps they have of this truth; for in that they sell themselves to work wickedness, and abomination, (1 King. 21.25. Rom. 7.14.) sell themselves for oaths, (so vain a filthiness) for drunkenness (so filthy vanitie) they openly testifie at what rate they prize themselves.
This our dead, vain, loathsome condition will more cleerly be manifested unto us, if 1. We consider our contrarietie to God, who is both the supreme Being, the most pure Essence, and the only Life. So adverse is the corrupt nature of man to God, that he hates him, all that belongs to him, all that he loves, and all that love him. Hence called enemies, (Rom. 5.10.) haters of God, Rom. 1.30. they hate his wisdom, and counsel, (Prov. 1.29.) his power, (Rev. 16.9.) his truth, (Isa. 30.11.) his word, (Jer. 6.10.) his light, (Joh. 3.19.)
And as the holiness of God is his pureness, glory, beautie, excellencie, which passeth through all, and (to us) is above all his Attributes, so above all they hate this his holiness, wheresoever they see any stamp or print of it; His holy word, his holy days, his holy children. As the Panther so hates man, that wheresoever he sees his picture, he flies upon it, and with his teeth, and nayls, rents, and tears it, so these wild creatures wheresoever they see any spark of Gods image shine in man, tear, and devour, Psal. 7.2. & 35.15. That Eternal wisdom, Power, Love, Life, (their Saviour) after they have seen, they hate, (Ioh. 15.24.) and all that he loves, or love him; all his members, (Mar. 13.13.) though they be their own flesh, and that even to death, Luk… 21.16, 17. Excellently is this condition expressed in that metaphor, wherein carnal men are called spots, and blemishes, 2 Pet. 2.13. A wicked Father, or Childe, a wicked Husband, or wife, a wicked Master, or Servant is a spot in a familie; a wicked Governour, or Subject a spot in the Common wealth; a wicked Minister, or Professour a spot, and blemish in the Church. And as a spot, or blemish is nothing but filthiness, or a filthy nothing, so is every man in his corrupted nature.
2. Man in the first Adam is a child of the Divel, (Ioh. 8.44.) and a very Divel in flesh, (Ioh. 6.70.) Satan a filthy spirit, but he filthy in flesh, and spirit, 2 Cor. 7.1. he a captive of the Divel, 2 Tim. 2.26. a servant to sin, (which is the very dung of Satan,) Rom. 6.17. fetter'd in the very bond of it, (Act. 8.23.) servant to corruption, (2 Pet. 2.19.) and to divers lusts, (Tit. 3.3.) the hand serves one, the eye another, the ear a third, the heart a thousand. He is even cut out, and mangled into a base, and cursed slaverie. Now the servant is more base than the Master; Take good notice therefore of this estate of man. Lust is the servant of Satan, man the servant of lust: the Divels servants servant. Sin the corruption, and dung of Satan, man the servant of sin, and corruption.
In a word a carnal man is the prey of Satan, devoured by that roaring Lion, who hath digested him into filthiness of flesh, and spirit, and hell the draught into which he is purged. Thus then think in your hearts.
I.
Aye… o… her sel… is dark, and hath no light
But what Heaven lends her, and when angry skies
Call in their debt, she sinks in dungeon night.
Nay while she borrowes light, o…t fogg… arise,
Or storms, and filch by stealth, or rob by might
Her lone: her day in youth, or childhood dies.
But while the present Suns with conquering ray
Dispel the shades, and their strong beams display,
She sparkles all with light, and broider'd gold-array.
II.
Such now is Man: inform, void, empty, dark,
A Chaos, dungeon, grave, a starless night:
Rake all his ashes up, ther's not a spark
To tine quencht life, or kindle buried light:
And what he steals from others, (empty shark!)
Hell with his mists depraves: so robbs him quite.
But when his Life, and Light shines in his eyes,
In him he lives as he, and never dies;
Glittring in light divine, he heaven, stars, Sun out-vies.
III.
For as in earthly sight the bodies eye
(To the object bent) is like the object …orm'd;
So when the soul turn'd to the Deiti…
Receives hi… lik…ness, it is soon tran…form'd
To what it sees: death, hell, and darkness …y,
And all the spirit to Light, and Li… conform'd.
Soul of my soul! draw my souls eyes to thee;
Set them upon thy face; make me to be
By seeing Life, and Light, the Light, and Li…e I see.
You have seen what you are in the first Adam, look now on the other side of this picture, and see what you may be in the second.