A Century of Sermons, Sermon 10

A Century of Sermons · Sermon 10

p. 952A Commencement Sermon AT CAMBRIDGE.

ACTS xii. 23.

And immediately the Angel of the Lord ſmote him; becauſe he gave not God the glory, and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the Ghoſt.

IF the Caeſarea was ſo attentive to hear King Herods Eloquence, and how he did exalt himſelf above God: What is your alacrity, may I preſume (Dearly Beloved) to give ear to this ſtory and to Gods vengeance how he did exalt himſelf above Herod? It might be ſuſpected that Caeſarea the Region which was called by the name of Caeſar, would be chiefly for the honour of the King, but now we are in the houſe of the Lord, and in his Temple doth every man ſpeak of his honour, ſays the Prophet David. St. Luke hath occaſioned the mention of two Angels in this Chapter, and they are both ſtrikers. The firſt Angel is in the ſeventh verſe, that ſmote St. Peter on the ſide, and rouzed him up from ſleep; I wiſh that a good Spirit ſent from God may now ſtir up your attentions. The ſecond Angel is in my Text, that ſmote King Herod in the inward bowels: and believe it, ſuch as was the ſin of Herod, a preſumptuous ſpeaker, ſuch is the ſin of every carleſs and unprofitable hearer, that ſerves the vanity of his own imaginations in this holy place, and gives not God the glory. Is the Lord aſleep think you becauſe ye are drowzie? Are not his Angels heedful of their charge becauſe your thoughts are wandring? Are you ſure to come often to Church hereafter if you leave your affections at home to day? Nay, but though the preſent buſineſs be confined to an hour, ſo is not the vengeance of the Lord; for immediately the Angel ſmote him, becauſe he gave not God the glory.

Every religious exerciſe ſhould be too long by a Preface, I come therefore to ſet the Text in order, that I may proceed to the explication of the parts, and they are two: Firſt, That Herod would not glorifie God, indeed that is the bitter root out of which grew all theſe worms, he gave not God the glory. Secondly, That God was glorified in Herod, he was ſmitten of an Angel, eaten of Vermine, and gave up the Ghoſt.duplicate page in Acta. Herod, ſays St. Chryſoſtom, gave not God the glory two ways: 1. foreign. his mouth ſpake proud things before the people. 2. foreign, he ſuffered the people to ſpeak proud things as if he were equal with God, and did not rebuke them. Wherefore God was glorified in Herod four ways: 1. That tantus periit, the Ruler, the Prince of the people, he was ſmitten. 2. A tanto periit, no leſs than a mighty Angel ſmote him. 3. Tantus tam repentè, immediately he was ſmitten. 4. Tantus tam luctuoſè, he was eaten of worms, and gave up the Ghoſt. Did not the Lord ſhew great glory in plucking down the mighty? He was ſmitten. Is not his arm exalted, when the Angels are his Miniſters? An Angel ſmote him. Shall not his wrath be terrible when it conſumes in the twinkling of an eye? Immediately he was ſmitten. Laſtly, How weak is man in his ſight, even as a bulruſh in the field? All the beaſts are his Army, and the vileſt creatures, if he ſend them forth, are ſtrong p. 953as Lions; the Worms did eat up this Galilaean, and he gave up the Ghoſt. As the man ſaid in the Goſpel, Mat. xvii. That his child fell often into the water, and often into the fire, two mercileſs Elements, and very dangerous. So Herod in the firſt part of the Text fell in aquas tumoris, into the ſwelling waters of pride; and in the ſecond part in ignem terroris, into the fire of vengeance and caſtigation.

The offence is to be offered to the firſt conſideration, he gave not God the glory. There is a ſatiety of all things, and to exceed a juſt proportion, even in that which is good, it is blameful and vicious, too much juſtice is rigour, too much temperance is diſeaſeful, too much love is troubleſome: But to give God the glory, it is a duty unto which we are bound with an infinite devotion, if it were poſſible, even as He is infinite, ſo that we cannot fill up the meaſure, much leſs are we able to exceed it. Wherefore if God gave Children by ſeventies, as he did to Ahab, he asked but the firſt born, who was conſecrated to his ſervice: every hour of time that we live is his benevolence, yet the Law is our remembrancer only to keep the Sabbath day; the Earth is the Lords, and all that therein is, and yet his portion is but the tenth of the field: but of his glory he hath parted no ſtakes to the Sons of men; it is his own entirely, non dabo, never ask him for a ſhare, he will not part with it. As his Ark did never thrive at Aſhdod, nor at Ekron, 1 Sam. 5.1 Sam 5but only when it was returned to Iſrael; ſo let not the ſtrength of the mighty, nor the wiſdom of the prudent be magnified; glory will never thrive but when it is returned to the God of Iſrael, and Dagon ſhall fall down before the Ark of his Majeſty. Themiſtocles, Plut. in vitâ Them.demanding Tribute of the men of Andria, told them that he had brought two powerful Advocates to plead his cauſe, Suadam & Vim; Perſwaſion if they pleaſed, Violence if they refuſed. The ſelf-ſame two Apparitors go before the glory of the moſt high, Exhortation, and Confuſion. Doth it like you to bleſs his name?Iſa. 14.Isa 14 So God is glorified by the devotion of his Creature; Doth it like you to exalt your ſelf with Ero ſimilis altiſſimo? Then you ſhall be brought down, and he will be honoured in your confuſion. He that ſwells to the greateſt in this world ſhall be called the leaſt in the Kingdom of heaven, Et fortaſſe ideo non erit in regno coelorum ubi niſi magni eſſe non poſſunt, 1. Ser. Dom. in monte.ſays St, Auſtin. And to be threatned to be little in Gods Kingdom is to looſe it for ever, whereas every one muſt be great who ſhall be rewarded with that immortality.

When the Heathen traduced the Chriſtians, that they debaſed their Emperour, and made him leſs than the God of heaven. Know you not, ſays Tertullian, In Apolog. &c.that this is the eminency of your Emperour to be leſs than God? Imperator ideo magnus eſt, quia coelo minor eſt. And as the Orator perſwaded Caeſar, Dum Pompeii ſtatuas ornat, ſuas erigit; Plut. in vit. Caeſar.While he took care to adorn Pompeys Statues he did advance his own; ſo we build our ſelves a Throne by falling down low before the foor ſtool of the Lord, and the hands which are lifted up to praiſe him ſhall one day ſtand at the right hand of his Majeſtly. Somewhat was in it, but the Heathen knew not what it was, they called it abuſively, foreign, or foreign, that every thing which grew too tall was thunder-blaſted, and that great fortunes when they came to exceſs, did end in ſome ſhameful ruine. Wherefore the wiſe Hiſtorian ſaid of Poppaeus Sabinus, that when divers Senators were cut ſhort, he lived ſecure in the reign of three Tyrants,Tacitus. Quòd par negotiis neque ſupra habebatur, he was fit for the buſineſs he undertook, and not too great for it. St. Chryſoſtom obſerves it among St. Pauls Salutations to the Romans, Hom. penult. in Rom.that no man was ſaluted by the name of honour, as Lord and Maſter, and the like, but Andronicus his fellow-priſoner, Amplias his beloved, Epaenetus his well beloved, theſe were Titles in which the Saints delighted, expreſſing their glory to be the union of charity in the holy Spirit.

As Virgil ſays of his Bees, that they are full of ſtomach and revenge,4 Libro Georg. and that one Hive will fight cruelly againſt another, Atque haec certamina tanta pulveris exigui jactu compreſſa quieſcunt; Caſt a little duſt into the air and the fray is parted: So when the pride of man hath ſet up ſails, and ſwells with vain opinion, Pulveris exigui jactu, methinks the caſting of a little duſt ſhould pluck down our ſtomach,Civ. Dei. l. 5. c. 16. the baſe mould of which our fleſh is made. Tolle jactantiam, & quid ſunt homines niſi homines? ſays St. Auſtin; Set aſide this corrupt leaven of oſtentation, and all men are but men, as naked in their pomp as when they were born, or when they ſhall be buried. It was pride that dethroned the bad Angels, and it is that makes man ſtubborn againſt the Law, and refractory againſt faith: hence it paſſeth currently to be the root of evil: Yet Covetouſneſs alſo, as if there were emulation among Vices, is taxed by St. Paul for the root of all evil, ſetting the ſoul to be a Vaſſal to p. 954the love of the world and deceitful riches. This Controverſie coming before the Schoolmen to be decided, this is the judgment of Aquinas. Theſe two parts are in the nature of ſin, Averſio à bono incommutabili, a departure from the love of the Creator, and Converſio ad bonum commutabile, an inclination to the love of the Creature. In the inclination to the tranſitory good, Covetouſneſs is the root of all evil, in the departure from the chief good, Pride is the root and matter of all evil; that as the Aegyptians at the burial of the dead were wont to tear out the dead mans belly, and to cry over it, Thou wert it that killedſt this man: ſo if we would diſſect out Pride from the reſt of our vices, we might more juſtly make that invective over it, Thou wert the fall of Man, and the ruin of evil Angels. The Devil would lead our Saviour into the Wilderneſs; little manners to go before his Maker. Sequitur ſuperbos ulton, Horat.ſays the Poet, but it is with puniſhment. The Adulterer is a ſinner in ſecret, the Covetous commits Idolatry iu his Cabinet, the Slanderer is like Peſtilence that flieth by night;Aleſ. p. 2. q. 136. in 5. alia vitia fugiunt à Deo, ſola ſuperbia ſe opponit, other vices are afraid and keep out of the way, only Pride ſpurs on like Balaam upon his Aſs when God and his angry Angel ſtand before him.

Now there are four ways, as the Schoolmen make the account, whereby this daring vice of Pride doth diminiſh from that which ſhould be given to Gods glory. 1. Cum homo exiſtimat à ſe habere bonum quod habet: A ſin no leſs ungrateful than preſumptuous,…iel. p. 2. q. 6. to enjoy wit, and art, and memory, and the bleſſings of the beſt Portion, but the founders name to he quite loſt, and God forgotten: when the Romans began to inſult over the world, well, ſays one, if every Country had their own, which they have ſeized upon by violence and robbery, ad caſas reducerentur, they would have nothing left them but their Shepherds Cottages. But ſhould God have all his own reſtored unto him which we have received, what ſhould I fay? Ad caſas reduceremur? our ſtrength, our honor, wiſdom and eloquence, all muſt be returned; nay, we ſhould not have ſo much left as the Cottage of our Body: for we had it from the Lord: every thing that renowns us, that feeds us, that preſerves us, is but mica ſub menſa, a crum that falls from our Maſters Table. Did not the Egyptians make themſelves fools in their Phitoſophy, that thought their Country was not the clearer for the Sun and Stars, but that the Sun and the Stars ſucked up ſweet vapours from their Rivers, and were the clearer for their Country; ſo abominable are they in the pride of their hearts, who think they did not receive the ſpirit of Prayer, and the gift of Faith, and the peace of a good conſcience from Heaven, but that they do pay Prayers, and Alms, and Charity to Heaven which they never received.

Secondly, Violence is done to Gods glory, cum deſuper datum credunt, ſed pro ſuis ſe accepiſſe meritis; when conſcience will acknowledg that God doth give all, but arrogancy will infer that man deſerves all. The grace of our Lord Jeſus Chriſt, the free Gift of God the Father, the Unction of the Holy Spirit are turned quite aſide like a river from his own true channel, when it falls into ſuch a Soil that thinks it deſerves it. As the Jews ſaid unto our Saviour on the other ſide of Gehezareth, Rabbi, quà huc veniſti? Maſter, how cameſt thou hither; ſo let us ſay Sanctification, quà huc veniſti? We did not ſhew the way with Palms, neither did we lift up the Gates, there was no entrance which our merits could prepare for ſactification, not by our ears which are profane, not by our mouths which are blaſphemous; and as our Saviour ſaid, If thy right eye offend thee pluck it out and caſt it from thee, ſo in another ſenſe I may ſay, if thy right eye do not offend thee, if any part of thy body uſurps that it is not ſinful, cut it off, and caſt it from thee. When good works ſue to be called merits, they are like the ambitious men of the World, that ſpend their whole Revenue to buy ſome gaudy Title of Honour, and when they have it, they want ſubſtance to maintain it.Ep. 56. Vitia Caetera in peccatis, ſuperbia etiam in rectè factis eſtimanda eſt, ſays St. Auſtin; Compute your vices amongſt ſins which do tranſgreſs the Law; compute Pride to be the miſchief which doth tranſgreſs againſt your vertue. As Eleazar in the Macchabees ſlew the Elephant, and was renowned for his valour; but the Carkaſs of the beaſt fell upon him, and oppreſt him to death; ſo the very vertues which proud men commit cruſh themſelves into ruine, like the corps of the Elephant: and be aſſured, that he who ſubſcribes merit to the Gifts of God, is not the man that gives God the glory.

The third Tranſgreſſion is, cum deſpectis caeteris ſingulariter appetunt videri quod habent, a lofty ſtomach that will ſeem to be no leſs than inter vtburna cupreſſus, to be conſpicuous and have no equals, and like Saul higher by the head than any other p. 955Iſraelite. Upon the Prayer of the Prophet David, Deliver me from the horns of the Ʋnicorns, in Ʋnicornibus ſuperbi intelliguntur, ſays St. Auſtin, qui ſoli cupiunt eminere. Ep. 200.The proud man is deciphered by that ſingle horn of the Ʋnicorn, who would be ſolitary in all Gods Graces, and without a Companion: Whereas the Congregation of the Militant Church is compared to a Field of Wheat, where all the ears of the Field are of an equal growth, and if any ſtalk over-top the reſt it is lank and without fructification. Brethren, they that are not contented to be foreign, equal with the common condition of men, ſhall never be foreign equal with the glorious condition of Angels, and he that deſpiſeth the Gifts of God in his fellow Servants, be aſſured he is not the man that gives God the glory.

Fourthly, There is one feather more in the tail of pride, and full as long as the reſt, cum jactant ſe habere quod non habent, when they arrogate to themſelves that which indeed they have not. Chriſt hath ſaid we cannot add one cubit to our ſtature, no nor make one hair of our head black or white: Why do ye practiſe it then, O ye gaudy Beauties, to bring that about which Chriſt told you was impoſſible? Why did God ſay we are but duſt, if we attempt to outface his judgment, and make our ſelves as beautiful as the Pearls of the Sea, or the Gold of the Mountains can ſet us out? Why did the Prophet ſay we do all ſpeak vanity to our neighbour, if it be death unto our neighbour to call us liers? I have ſeen books of Meditations whoſe ſubject was to let all men know that they are vain, and ſinful, and ignorant, and yet the very Title ſhould confute all the Doctrin of the Book, a flattering Preface to ſome great man of moſt vertuous, and moſt religious. Preſume not to take falſe Titles upon you, as Herod encroached upon the name of God himſelf, you are puffed up, you are canonized, yet we give not God the glory.

But that we may ſtrike upon him a little, whom the Angel hath ſmote before us, upon the pride of Herod, it is a Monſter that riſeth up into two heads by St. Chryſoſtom's obſervation; foreign, in the tongue actively, in the ear paſſively, 1. a tongue full of vain and inſolent ſpeach. 2. an ear obnoxious to the flattery of the people. Of both them in their order, and for your edification.

It was Epaminondas his praiſe, that he ſeldom met with a man that knew more than himſelf, or ſpake leſs: and ſo the leaſt doers inch out their poor works with much talk, and publication. We have ſtories, and we have conjectures, that Herods Oration did chiefly tend to put the terror of his Majeſty upon the popr fearful men of Caeſarea, and to amplifie his own clemency, when he had received them into favour. Did this deſerve to be blown with a trumpet in a publick Solemnity? As the artificial proſpective to the eye, ſo is the tongue unto the ear, an hollow inſtrument to make every thing ſeem bigger and fairer than it is. The Beaſts, the Birds, the Serpents may be ſooner tamed, ſays St. James, than the tongue of man. Some are ſaid in Scripture to whet their tongues like a ſword, Jam. 3.Jas 3they are the Apoſtles Beaſts: ſome have exalted their tongues above heaven, they are unclean birds: ſome have the poiſon of Aſps under their lips, and they are Serpents.Lirae gloſſa. Yea but worſe than theſe head-ſtrong creatures is the tongue of man; beſtiis ferocitate, volucribus levitate, ſerpentibus virulentiâ praecellit; fiercer than the Beaſts, more flitting than the Birds, more poiſonous than the Serpents: It is a member of the body that can taſte every thing but it ſelf, and knows how all things reliſh, but its own pride and bitterneſs. How often trips it in ſwearing? in boaſting above meaſure, in pride moſt lofty, in anger furious, in perjuries blaſphemous, in curſes bitter, in vain talking never quiet, as glib as honey in hypocriſie, ſuttle in lying, ſmooth in deceiving, impudent in flattery. How will you excuſe all this, Beloved, before the judgment of God? Can you ſay that theſe things come from the wickedneſs of your fleſh? Or from the Law of our Members that cannot be reſiſted? God will never be anſwered with this excuſe: Heaven knows that all theſe iniquities of a ſlippery tongue come from nothing but evil cuſtom. Nothing was ſo ſcorched in Hell as the proud tongue of Dives, which had inſulted over Lazarus, and like an uncharitable member it ſpake only for it ſelf to be cooled with water.

And as we are taught from hence to ſet a watch before our lips, not foreign,Homerus. the hedg of our teeth; but to empale it about with lowlineſs and humility: ſo in the ſecond place let us learn from Herods example to circumciſe our ears, to renounce the flatteries of evil men, for he ſuffered them to beatifie his eloquence, to cry out it was the voice of God, and he periſhed miſerably that gave not God the glory. The Tyrians and Sidonians had done a treſpaſs againſt Herod before, and all this Solemnity was kept that they might be reconciled to his mercy: but what offence p. 956could they commit before ſo great as this open flattery? And ſhall Herod be pacified with them for adding a greater evil to their former injury? It is a policy of evil Magiſtrates,Plinius in Paneg. ſays Pliny, that they take delight to make evil Subjects, patientiores ſervitutis arbitrantur, quos non deceret eſſe niſi ſervos, for ſuch men will ſubmit themſelves to all baſeneſs, who deſerve no better life by their condition than ſlavery: here were ſuch exclamations, ſuch outcries in the praiſe of Herod, that we had never known his inſolencies and his faults, unleſs St. Luke by the motion of the Holy Ghoſt, Chryſ. homil. in Acta.had made a true relation of the ſtory: foreign, but though all men diſſembled with their double tongue, here's one Michaiah left, one Evangeliſt that will defame him, and deal plainly, that he gave not God the glory.

The French Proverb ſays, that the boiling pot doth diſcover the little pea which is in the bottom of it, and the applauſe of a little vain glory doth diſcover the diſpoſition of the mind of man,Sen. Ep. 52. more than any other paſſion; tum qualis quiſque ſit ſcies ſi quemadmodum laudetur aſpexeris, the gravity or fickleneſs of mans ſpirit may eaſily be gueſt at, as you ſhall ſee him diſgeſt ſome publick praiſe and acclamation: as you may ſee in Herod, he came into Ceſarea with the Majeſty of a King, the People gave him the Divinity of a God, Ibid.but the foreign the itch of praiſe made him lower than a Servant: Nocet laus ſi non rerum cupiditatem facit ſed ſui, ſays Seneca, glory is the fire that kindles vertue, when it provokes vertue to good atchievments, but when glory begets nothing but the deſire of glory, it is but childiſh popularity: Therefore of tame Beaſts none rends ſo much, or makes ſuch a waſte in a well-affected mind as a Flatterer.Tertullian de ſpectac. Si gulam & ventrem ab inquinamentis liberamus quantò magis auguſtiora noſtra, oculos & aures, ſays Tertullian: a pretty abſurdity indeed, not to ſuffer a crum in our drink, or a mite in our meat to go down our throat, and ſo into the very droff, as Chriſt calls it: but if an immodeſt ſpectacle, if a dangerous flattery be preſented, our more curious ſenſes are never watched, but our eyes wink not, and our ears are opened.

Plutar. foreign.All flattery is the corruption of true glory, but to flatter any man in his vices is a ſacrilege againſt vertue. Plato ſpent but few words in the praiſe of any man while he was living; foreign for by nature we are prone to change from better to worſe; there was more reaſon in his Philoſophy than in their Chriſtianity that lick the deformities of other mens actions, and feature their unſhapen whelps as if they were beautiful. It is a note of a Reprobate, that he ſpeaketh good of the covetous whom God abhorreth. Plut. in vit. Lycur.How can this man be good, ſays Licurgus of Charilaus, foreign, who is not rough and ſharp with thoſe that are vitious? Such glozing tongues, ſays St. Auſtin, that commend other mens faults, are like the dogs that lapt in Lazarus his ſores.Qu. Evang. lib. 2. c. 38. But if flattery tickle the tongue of the Sycophant that it cannot keep in, have the young Courtiers none to infect but Rehoboam? If Ʋriah the Prieſt have a fancy to Idolatry, is there none to be corrupted but Ahaz the King of Judah? If men have ſuch levity that praiſe and glory will tranſport them, was there none to be abuſed but Herod? A Democrcay is not a greater enemy to the honour, nor a Jeſuit to the life of a King, than is a Flatterer to his proſperity; foreign ſays Plutarch, as we uſe to ſay, that the Gout is the rich mans diſeaſe, ſo Flattery is the corruption of the Great and Honorable. As by the Ordinance of our Church we give one day to the Honour of a Saints Name, and no more; ſo the Romans to claw their Governors, ſtiled a whole Month by the name of an Emperor, as if one proud Pagan had been worth thirty humble Chriſtians: 2 Sam. 2.20.2 Sam 2:20Like Aſahel, it purſues none but Abner the Captain of the Hoſt, Volſcentem petit, in ſolo Volſcente moratur, turn to the right hand, or to the left, ſays Abner, & apprehende unum de adoleſcentibus, faſten upon any of my Servants, and take his ſpoils.Plutar. de diſcrim. am. & adulat. But that would not ſerve, Abner is the mark he ſhot at. Qui fontem corrumpunt, non ab acervo ſed à ſemente furantur, ungracious practicers, while they corrupt the fountain, the Prince of the People, they do not filch from our Stack, or from our Barns, but from our Seed Corn it ſelf, which is double thievery.

Flattery, you ſee, is the adulterating of vertue it ſelf, to flatter vice is to promote Satans Kingdom, to flatter Princes is to deſtroy their Kingdoms, to flatter Princes, as the Sidonians did Herod, Voces Dei non hominis, the voice of God and not of man, is to pluck down Gods Kingdom: Pſa. 1…7.26.Ps 1:7Ps 1:26as David ſaid of the raging of the Sea, that it lifted up the Ship to heaven, to bring it down again unto the deep; ſo ſuch blaſphemous flattery lifts you up like the top of Corazin unto heaven, to caſt you headlong into hell. The Athenians who were but Gentiles at the wiſeſt, could not endure ſuch p. 957injury to be offered Deo ignoto, to the God whom they knew not, but put Timagoras their Ambaſſador to death, quod regem Perſarum tanquam Deum ſa…utaſſet, becauſe he adored the King of Perſia like a God. I pray you what mark of a God was in Herod, that he was thus exalted? He was nothing leſs than a God for ſpeaking eloquently; the holy Scripture is written ſtylo piſcatorio, in the humble ſtile of Fiſhermen: nothing leſs than a God for ſuffering Blaſtus of his Chamber, to be corrupted and bribed by the Sidonians to win his favour: nothing leſs than a God for being ſo gracious with the multitude: foreign, alas, put it to the hair-brain'd multitude to make a God, and the firſt that ever they made was a Calf in Horeb: and I cannot perceive that they made any better of Herod. Finally, nothing leſs than a God, that could not diſcern how unworthy they were to be reconciled to man, who were ſacrilegious againſt God.

Conſtantius the Emperor pretending that he would leſſen the Train that followed him, offered this condition; they that would ſtay with him ſhould forſake Chriſtianity, and worſhip Idols, and let the reſt depart. But upon the trial what did the Emperor? diſcard all thoſe that ſacrificed to Idols, and retained thoſe that did not ſhrink from the true Religion, ſuppoſing that they would prove moſt diſloyal to him, who had abandoned their faith to God. And as Conſtantius puniſhed his Servants, ſo Canutus, one of our own Princes, puniſhed himſelf, to expiate the flattery of his followers. Upon ſome good ſucceſs, no voice was heard among his People, but that he was a God; and that ſhall be tried preſently, ſays Canutus, and ſitting by the Sea-ſhore commanded that the waves ſhould not touch him; but the water coming to the ſoles of his feet, Fie, ſays the King, how you have abuſed me, the man whom yon call a God cannot keep his feet dry upon the Sea-ſhore: ſo turning to the Palace of Wincheſter, took off his Crown of Gold, and putting it upon our Saviours Image, never wore it more upon his own head. I have ſaid ye are Gods. Mark, Beloved, I have ſaid it to honour you,Pſal. 82.Ps 82 but you muſt not ſay ſo to honour your ſelves, no nor ſuffer your hangers-on to ſay ſo for you.

I will ſhut up this point with Rupertus his Meditation; what an eaſie thing it is to dazzle the eyes of men with outward appearances: If there were, ſays he, ſuch a ſhout given to Herod being clad in a Royal Robe, what applauſe will be given to Antichriſt being clad in Gold and Silver, and ſhining with Miracles? We know the applauſe too well: we hear what Titles the Romaniſts have given to their mighty Prelate, whoſe height is ſixty cubits above the Church, and his breadth ſix cubits broader than the Kings that are under him. Our ears tingle at the Acclamations. What is it to ſay the Pope cannot erre? Is not that the voice of God, and not of Man? What is it to ſay his power to forgive ſins is more than inſtrumental? Is not that the voice of God, and not of Man? What is it to ſay that his Excommunication can dethrone the Lords Anointed? Is not that the voice of God, and not of Man? who ſaid Eritis ſicut Dii, you ſhall be like unto Gods! the Devil do ye think? Gen. iii. Well gueſt, but it is a Canoniſt that ſaluteth John the XXII. as the Devil did Adam and Eve, Our Lord God the Pope, as you may find in the Extravagancies: I will not name him, the man is known, whoſe Eſſay in the Popes defence is very famous, that he deſired to be at Rome to ſee him, who is ſaid to exalt himſelf above God, caſt down in confeſſion at the feet of a poor Penitentiary: very good. I have ſeen Wreſtlers crouch to the ground, that they might throw their adverſaries beneath them, and get the glory; ſo this great Coloſſus coucheth himſelf at the feet of his Confeſſor, that he may trip up all the World, and make them Vaſſals to Confeſſion. So much may be ſaid of their Pride, which the whole World begins to hiſs at, that, without violence done to charity, we may rightly ſuſpect their humility. Awake for ſhame, and remember how lowly he was▪ that St. Peter, whom you glory to be the top of your Succeſſion. Brethren, he that will be more than a Man, may not we ſuſpect him to be St. Johns Beaſt? He that will be more than a ſinful Man, may we not juſtly tax him to be the Man of Sin? And ſo I paſs from the firſt general part, how Herod gave not God the glory, and come to ſhew you how God did get himſelf glory out of Herod. Immediately the Angel, &c.

He was ſmitten, I told you that was the firſt Emphaſis of the four.Auguſt de Agone Chriſtiano. For ſince Herod would be as great as God, I will give him precedency ſo far that his Deſtruction ſhall be handled firſt, and then the Vengeance of the Angel. He was ſmitten. Aliud eſt facere quod lex jubet, aliud pati quod lex jubet, ſays St. Auſtin: The obedience of the Law was violated, but the caſtigation of the Law cannot be avoided. Matchiavel among his irreligious Principles, ſays that all the credit of great Enterpriſes p. 958depends upon ſucceſs, for if Caeſar had miſcarried in his Civil Wars, his infamy had been more odious than Catalines: Potentes potenter cadunt, mighty ſinners run into mighty deſtructions: and ſuch conſpicuous offenders as Herod was, leave themſelves as an Enſign on a Hill, and as a Beacon upon the top of a Mountain, ſays the Prophet Iſaiah. Where is his Eloquence now? Where is his coſtly Garment to make him gorgeous to be gazed upon in his publick Oration? Where is the outcry of the Sidonians that Canonized his Tongue for the Voice of a God? The Jealouſie of the Lord was kindled like a pile of Brimſtone which would not ſuffer a petty God to ſtand before him.Lib. de Spectac. As Tertullian ſaid of the Idolatrous Tragaedians in his time who dedicated their ſports to the Gods of the Heathen, Do not now flock unto them, Chriſtian Brethren, ſays the Father, you ſhall hear them hereafter tear their voice in Hell, when you ſhall ſit in the joyes of Paradiſe. Tunc magis tragaedi audiendi, magis ſcilicet vocales in ſuâ propriâ calamitate. So we ſhall hear this rare ſpeaker hereafter, whether he can perſwade Father Abraham to give him a drop of water to cool hid tongue.

One thought he had given good counſel to the Athenians when Alexander the Great, ſtomach'd at ther City for denying him the title of a God, Cavete ne dum coelos cuſtodiatis terram amittatis; Take heed leaſt you forfeit your own poſſeſſion of the earth for denying him the poſſeſſion of heaven. But the Sidonians gave Herod ſo much of heaven, that they loſt him all the earth, but a Grave, little more than a ſpan long,Joſeph. l. 19. Euſeb lib. 2. c. 10. Eccleſ. hiſtor. for his burial. St. Chryſoſtome his queſtion is very material upon this place, why the people giving the firſt offence, yet Herod is puniſhed, and the principal Malefactors, to ſee to, acquitted. The reaſons are ſo many, that I muſt lay them down without much enlargement.

Firſt, foreign. Joſephus gives the reaſon, He ſhould have reproved and abhorred, he ſhould have ſtopt his ears at their flatteries. He ſhould have thrown off his Crown, and caſt duſt upon his head; he ſhould have rent his ſpangled Garment, as St. Paul did at Lyſtra, when they provided Garlands, and Sacrifices, and God-like entertainment. Woe will be to thouſands in our Church, eſpecially to Magiſtrates and Prelates, that ſuffer ſo many unſavoury words to fly about their ears and not reprove them. Why ſhould your ſilken perfumed ſinner talk ribauldry fit for brothels and I forbear to chide him? Why ſhould I ſuffer peſtilent men to profane the Scripture, and I a Miniſter of Chriſt ſtand by as if I were chop-faln? A Swearer, if his greatneſs be not in the reach of my tongue, ſhall ſee in my face that he hath no place in my heart. Be wiſe then O ye Rulers of the earth. You muſt either be nurſing Fathers to Gods Church, or elſe Enemies, there is no mean. Out of the ſtrong came ſweetneſs, as it is in Samſons Riddle, Honey out of the belly of the Lion; that is, the happineſs of the Church iſſued from the protection of godly Princes. The Jeſuits that ſay their charge is only to look to the Second Table, and not to exceed negotiation of temporal affairs, wiſh them no better death than Herod had, who reproved not the People, and immediately the Angel, &c.

Secondly, God will take a more exact account of great mens actions than of the Vulgar multitude, becauſe their lives are conſpicuous and exemplary, and as it was ſaid of his Anointed Chriſt, So we may ſay of his Anointed Kings, He that is lifted up draws all men after him. Woe be to the Governours who miſlead the people that are under them. As the Floud of waters in the time of Noah was fifteen Cubits higher than the talleſt Mountains, ſo the wrath of the Lord doth eſpecially overtop the Mountains,In Sympoſ. and his voice delighteth to ſhake the Cedars of Libanus. foreign, &c. ſays Plutarch. Among Mariners not one that dies a quiet death among ten, but among evil Kings not one among ten thouſand. As their life is infectious unto many, ſo is their doom dreadful unto many, and that is the ſecond reaſon why he was ſmitten.

Thirdly, The people were not altogether free from chaſtiſement, I am ſure not free from terrour in Herods caſtigation. Look now upon him that was your Idol, look ye Sidonians upon the empty cloud which you did blow into the air, nay, above the heavens with the breath of your mouth. How is it vaniſhed, and come to nothing? Imagine Beloved with what aſtoniſhment the whole Aſſembly was diſſolved, if their Conſciences were not as full of Worms as Herod's body.

Fourthly, Says St. Chryſoſtom, foreign. To enlarge the Fathers meaning, Clemency and Juſtice when they meet together attend how they may puniſh few, and ſave many, Ʋt poena ad paucos, metus ad omnes perveniret. Wherefore p. 959judge in your own reaſon, if Herod had been ſpared, and a great Aſſembly puniſhed, they all were ſure to periſh, he perchance might be amended; but if Herod ſuffer the Malediction, one man feels the ſmart, and the whole Aſſembly may repent and be ſaved.

Fifthly and laſtly, foreign ▪ ſays the ſame Father. Let the Rabble go home in peace for this time, they were not all white for harveſt upon that day, but behold the end. Where is Caeſarea now? Or who almoſt knows the Sidonian? They have learnt to know by dear experience that Thunder and Judgment is the Voice of God, and not an Eloquent Oration.

The Sum and Doctrine of this Point is thus much. Firſt, It is dangerous for a Magiſtrate; it is certain Judgment for men whom God hath bleſſed with honourable and plentiful fortunes to defile themſelves with ſcandalous vices. You have Plenty in your Houſes: What need you to be unjuſt? Your State is able to ſubſiſt by it ſelf: What need you to flatter? You may have Families, and Wives, and Children: Why ſhould you be Adulterers? Your Proviſion is not ſcanty: Why do you eat and drink in exceſs, as if they were things which you had not daily? It is not for Princes to drink Wine, that is, not unto Drunkenneſs, ſays the Propheſie of Lemuel which his Mother taught him.Plin. Paneg. A nullo periculo fortuna principum longiùs abeſt quàm ab humilitate. The worſt thing which happens to a magnificent life is that it is not obnoxious unto humility. Secondly, It is no leſs dangerous when a whole Kingdom, and City, or any collected multitude ſet their face againſt heaven; Judgment may ſeem to have forgot them, as theſe Sidonians departed ſafely in my Text, but in time the Lord will root out ſuch a Nation. Well then, when the flattering Aſſembly had deſerved a vengeance, Herod only carries it to his grave. What ſhall I ſay? As the Child that threw a ſtick at the dog, which barked at him, and hit his Mother-in-law who had long afflicted him, foreign, I meant the Dog, but it is well as it is, ſays the Child; ſo that Princes may ſee they have no priviledge to be flattered, whatſoever the People deſerved, Gods judgment fell not amiſs upon Herod, and he was ſmitten, Tantus periit, the ſecond thing follows, Tantus à tanto, he was ſmitten by an Angel of the Lord.

If theſe men ſays Moſes concerning Core, Dathan, and Abiram, If theſe men die the common death of all men, if they be viſited after the viſitation of all men, then the Lord hath not ſent me. Strange Wickedneſſes procure ſtrange kinds of Death. If the Earth will not avenge them, the Angel of the Lord will come down and fight. Do the Trees of Paradiſe deſerve to have a Cherubin ſet before them with a flaming Sword? And ſhall not all the Hoſt of heaven ſtand about the Majeſty of the Moſt High, and ſee the honour of his name preſerved? But there is a controverſie, whether this Angel were not one of the evil Spirits now commanded to inflict a diſeaſe upon Herods bowels: For ſay they, it were as great a torture for the Devil to puniſh Herod for Pride, as for Herod to ſuffer it, becauſe it calls their own ſin to remembrance, for which they are fettered in chains of darkneſs▪ And Joſephus gave the occaſion to this opinion, augmenting the ſtory of Herods death with this circumſtance, that an Owl at this very moment perched upon the ſilken ſtrings of his Canopy, which the King took to be a Preſage of his death, and was no doubt a tenour ſubſtituted by Satan. foreign, As Homer ſays,Iliad. foreign. a Bird of fatal Praediction; and ſuch a one is ſaid to have affronted Innocent the Third as he was declaring his own Title in the Council of Lateran. For my part I am not averſe to believe Joſephus in this part of the Story, becauſe in all other points he doth follow the Evangeliſt. And the ſight of ſome uncouth Creature is able to put an evil Conſcience into a perplexity worſe than death. Every thing is diſmal to a guilty mind, like Archimedes his Engines, dreadful to the Romans, if a Timber-log,Plut. in vit. Marcel. or Cable-rope did but ſhew it ſelf upon the Walls of Syracuſa. But though the relation of the Owl be true, the Spirit of God would not mention it in holy Scripture, leſt it ſhould encreaſe our ignorance, who are ſuperſtitions, to be afraid of the croſſings and apparitions of beaſts, and ſuch other caſualties.

Let it be then that this evil Viſion affrighted Herod, yet it is more likely that the Angel was one of the bleſſed which ſmote him that he died. For although the good Angels are ſometimes called evil ones ab effectu, as the Pſalmiſt ſays of the Iſraelites, that God ſent evil Angels among them, yet the unclean Spirits are never ſtiled by this honourable compellation, to be called the Angels of the Lord. And give me leave to pleaſe my ſelf a little in this conjecture, God would not permit vengeance of death to be executed againſt a King by any power inferiour to an Angel of light. p. 960It is the priviledge of their Unction, their immediate ſubjection to God alone, which exempts them from the hand of all other authority, yea, from the fury of infernal Spirits. Wherefore the Jeſuits own tender conſcience, which is as ſoft as Flint, dare not ſay that a King is obnoxious to death, till ſome unnatural Sentence of depoſition go before. Which reſembles methinks the very firſt paſſage in Ariſtophanes, You dare not ſtrike me, ſays Charion the Servant, having a Crown upon my head; foreign, ſays his Maſter, I will firſt take your Crown from you; ſo firſt the Jeſuits lay down rules of Arts to depoſe Princes, and then their Devil ſhips ſay that you may uſe them as you will. Well, though Herod deſerved the worſt of all the Royal Order, yet neither the hand of man, nor the fury of Satan could do him hurt, but immediatly the Angel, &c.

Brethren, you ſee my Text ſpeaks of a ſmiting Angel. An Angel ſmote the firſt-born of Pharaoh; an Angel made an exceeding ſlaughter in the Hoſt of Sennacharib. An Angel brandiſhed a Sword before David when ſeventy thouſand died of the Peſtilence. Conceive not of theſe things as if an Angel had a Sword of Steel, or offered any viſible violence per contactum, Com in 2. lib. Sam. cap. ultbut as Abulenſis ſays, the Angel did apply ſome peſtilent noiſomneſs to the air, which in a moment entred into their bowels, and deſtroyed their Vitals. Beloved, the holy Angels ſeem as it were deſirous, and ambitious to avenge Gods glory againſt the pride of Herod. Indeed, there is ſo little zeal in his cauſe now adays, ſo few do ſtir in it, as if to this hour we left all to them, and expected Angels. Nay, rather as if we thought of neither God nor Angel. Where is the Courage of Phinehas? Where is the Zeal of Elias? Where is the Voice of John the Baptiſt? Where is the Sword that is not lent in vain unto the Magiſtrate? The lean Cattel it may be ſhall go to the Shambles, but Amalek and the fat ones are your prey, and your Sacrifice. Ecquid tinnit Dolobella? Then no man cuts him off though he give not God the glory. The world is grown as unconſcionable as that heathen man, who ſaid, He had rather heaven ſhould loſe a Star from the Firmament than himſelf to loſe an heifer from his flocks of Cattel: So we are more tender of our own reputation, than to maintain his glory by whom Kings reign, and by whom we hope to reign as Kings in glory. The Noble Deſcent of our Anceſtors, the Antiquity of our Houſe, the Dignity of our Place, the Gravity of our Years, Praecedere quatuor annis, theſe are things that our bloud will riſe at if they be called in queſtion; but the profanation of the name of Jeſus, the alienation of holy things, the demoliſhment of Churches, irreverent carriage at Divine Prayers, and the holy Communions, are as little our care as matters of Religion did pertain to Gallio.

I muſt again recall you to the practice of the Angels. For when the Sadducees did ſo much diſhonour them, that they ſaid there were no Angels at all, yet we do not read in all the Scripture that theſe Angels did avenge themſelves of the Sadducees in their own behalf; but in another quarrel, in Gods cauſe they are as quick and hot as a flaming fire. Nay, for fear leſt ſome body ſhould ſtep in before them to do the deed, as ſoon as ever the word was out of Herods mouth, that he was magnified as a God, immediatly he is apprehended. And that is the third part, Tantus tam repentè, without pauſe, without time of revocation, immediately, &c.

The Judgments of the Lord are ſo ſudden, ſo accuſtomed to tread upon the heels of ſin, that all the compariſons of nimble motion are borrowed to expreſs it. The Flying Arrow, Pſal. xci. The noyſom Peſtilence that cleaves to the fleſh in a moment, in the ſame place. The coming of a Bridegroom whoſe longing deſires uſe not to be tardy, Mat. xxv. The Thief in the night that gives no warning; The gliding of the Lightning from the Eaſt unto the Weſt; The blaſt of a Trumpet; The crowing of a Cock that breaks our ſleep; What can be ſaid more, that Gods Angel doth immediately ſtrike the inſolent? Nazianzen, ſpeaking of thoſe Scoffers that abuſed S. Baſil, foreign, It is marvel that Thunderbolts are not ſtirring upon ſuch a treſpaſs. St. Hierom, in his Commentary upon the Prophet Habakkuk, relates, That Julian the Apoſtate, reading this ſtory of Herods downfall, cavilled againſt the Chriſtians for ſaying their God was patient and of long ſuffering, Nihil iracundius, nihil hoc furore praeſentius, ſays he, ne modico ſpatio indignationem diſtulit; Nothing more angry, nothing more ſudden, he did not defer his indignation no not for an hour. It is true indeed, ſin and death are Acus & filum; iniquity draws on judgment, as the Needle draws the thread, immediately after it: For ſuch as are veſſels of diſhonour, when they firſt juſſel againſt Gods Commandments they begin to crack in the very moment, although they break not in pieces till the p. 961fulneſs of time, when the Milſtone ſhall fall upon them and grind them to powder. In the day that thou eateſt thou ſhalt die, ſays God to Adam, that is, thou ſhalt grow mortal, and decline every minute more and more to the grave.

But there is a choſen Generation (yet let them not preſume upon grace) that ſhall be pardoned ſeventy ſeven times. Whereupon, ſays St. Auſtin, De Agon. Chriſt.Commemoratione hujus numeri omnia peccata ſunt dimiſſa, quando ipſe per quem omnia peccata remiſſa ſunt, ſeptuageſſimâ ſeptimâ generatione ſecundum Lucam natus eſt; That is, if ſins be remitted ſeventy ſeven times to the Elect, then all their ſins ſhall be remitted; for he, in whom all ſins are remitted, Chriſt Jeſus, was born by a myſtery in the ſeventy ſeventh Generation from God the Eternal Father according to St. Luke. Immediately he was ſmitten, in ſuch Splendour of Attire, in ſuch Celebrity of Attendants, before the face of Strangers, among thoſe who in their hearts were no better than his enemies; never did he come out of that Chair of the Scorner, from that Throne wherein he was Canonized, till he was ſtript of all Dignity, and deprived of that Title by the Angel of the Lord. Had he been ſtruck with ſickneſs in any other place, I know how it would have been excuſed, the fault would have been laid upon his long journey from Galilee to Ceſarea, perchance the Sidonians had been charged to poyſon him, ſuch ſuſpicions are very rife, as if it were impoſſible for Princes to come to their end by natural infirmities; but now no ſuch rumour could be broached, Immediately, &c.

Beloved, It is the moſt dreadful thing upon earth to be ſuddenly apprehended by judgment. What will not our ſtrict Reformers cavil at, who demand to have the Prayer againſt ſudden death to be put out of the Litany? It is well if they themſelves be ſo well prepared for the hour of Judgment, come it never ſo unexpected. Indeed, it ſhould be ſo. But let the Chriſtian, whom I would inſtruct, pray every Morning as if he ſhould ſee the Sun riſe no more: Pray every Evening as if he ſhould ſee the Sun ſet no more; be ready to meet the Bridegroom at Midnight, and yet deſpiſe not that Supplication, From ſudden death good Lord deliver us. He that promiſeth God repentance hereafter, pays him in the mean time with iniquity. Ab hôc loco, hoc ipſo tempore Deo ſervire ſtatui, it is St. Auſtins Meditation. If your heart be touched at any Sermon, do not conſult with your Almanack what day will be moſt convenient to begin your Reformation: from the moment wherein you heard the Word taught, in that place that then you ſtand, ſlip off the old Serpents skin and renew your youth, become a new Creature. No man would ſin ſo faſt, but he that thinks his Age runs away but ſlowly; no man would be an unrepentant ſinner to day, but that he hopes for to morrow. And why to morrow?Seneca. Nemo non ſuo die moritur; My day to die was every day ſince I had an hour to live. And I was a ſinner before the firſt minute of that hour expired, therefore why ſhould not my heart ſmite me, and contrition humble me, leſt Judgment ſhould begin as ſoon as this word is ſpoken. It is the Devils muttering, and not a Chriſtians, to ſay, Art thou come to torment us before thy time?Plut in vit. Cato. Of three things Cato did repent of more than the reſt this is one, Quod unum diem manſiſſet inteſtatus; A day paſt over his head wherein his Will was not made, he might have died inteſtate. If a Heathen were ſo ſollicitous that upon every day the things of this life might be duly ordered, what care ought to be taken, that we ſuffer not our eyes to flumber untill all things be accorded for the peace of our conſcience, for our reconciliation in Chriſt Jeſus againſt the world to come? Sickneſs, and Death, and Judgment, who knows whether they be not as near to us as the avenging Angel was unto Herod, who did immediately ſmite him, that he was eaten, &c.

Now I am faln in the laſt place upon the true caſtigation of Herods pride, Tantus tam luctuosè, that ſuch a Potentate ſhould die ſo miſerably, eaten up of Worms for five days, ſays Joſephus, after he was ſmitten, and then gave up the Ghoſt. Leſt he ſhould glory that he was ſmitten by no leſs than an Angel, Aeneae magni dextrâ, behold the meaneſt of all Creatures, the Worms are made his Executioners. And leſt he ſhould domineer, as Euſebius ſaid he did, that he died not ſordidly, in the rank of a mean man, foreign, with the dignity of a King, which is the much admired happineſs, therefore the loathſomneſs of his Diſeaſe, the ignobleneſs of the Scourge, the irrecoverableneſs of the Miſchief, all are conjoyn'd to debaſe his Spirit. O torture little dreamt of at this time! Had he not the Phyſicians of Arabia about him? How could he feel mortality? Was he not in perfect ſtrength to make Orations to the People? What could be doubted of his health? Was not his body kept ſweet and clean like the p. 962body of a King? Who would have ſuſpected the putrefaction of Worms?

But remember that Manna bred Worms and ſtank though it came from heaven, when it was too long preſerved againſt Gods Commandment. So though the Soveraignty of a King do come from heaven, yet if it offend the Lord it will conſume and putrifie. He that humbled himſelf to be vermis non homo, a worm and no man, he is exalted above men to the right hand of God: He that would have been Deus non homo, a God and not a man, is dejected below a man, and made a worm. See what contrariety of Inſtruments God did uſe to make his death the ſtranger, an Angel, and a Worm. An Angel, that he might ſay, with the Philiſtines, Who is able to endure theſe mighty Gods? A Worm, that he might ſay, Et tu Brute, the meaneſt of Creatures can conquer a King by Gods ordination. An Angel, for his ſake who was the Judge, to ſhew his mightineſs: A Worm, for his ſake that was judged, to ſhew his baſeneſs. An Angel, to ſhew how a ſinner cannot look upon heaven, for it is full of wrath: A Worm, to ſhew he cannot tread ſafely upon the earth, for it is full of vengeance. An Angel is an immortal Creature, to threaten ſuch pain unto the ſoul: A Worm is a moſt corruptible creature, to ſhew the fading of the body.

As St. Paul ſaid of his Widows which were buſie-bodies, foreign She that is wanton is dead while ſhe is alive, becauſe ſhe is dead to Faith and good Works: So I may ſay of Herod, that he died while he was alive, for Worms which feed ſweetly upon the dead, as Job ſays, fed upon him in his life-time, as if he had been buried,Job 24.20.Job 24:20 after he had ſolemnly made his own Funeral Oration. As the Poet ſpake of a poyſonous death, which waſted the body firſt, and ſeparated the ſoul afterward, Eripiunt omnes animam, tu ſola cadaver: So I may ſay of this Phthiriaſis, Firſt,Lucan. l 9. it did eat up the body, and ſo left no room for the ſoul to inhabite in the members.Lucret. l. 5. Expertes opes ignaros quid vulnera vellent, ſays Lucretius; When anguiſh doth tear their heart, skill cannot afford recovery, when their whole body is but one ſore, they know not where they are wounded.

This diſeaſe is more obſerved in Hiſtories to be the Arrow of the Lord againſt ſinners of high preſumption than any other. Thus Sylla died; thus Antiochus Epiphanes; thus Herod the Great; Plut. in vit. Syllae. 1. lib. Mac. Euſeb. l 8. c. 18.thus Arnulphus, that ſpoiled the Churches of the Chriſtians; thus Phericides, that gloried he never offered Sacrifice, and yet lived as proſperouſly, Quàm qui heccatombas immolant. What do we talk of Blazing-ſtars, that they are only fatal and ominous to the life of Noble Perſonages, a few Worms have often bereaved them of their ſoul as eaſily as the little Worm ſmote the Gourd of Jonas. But will ſome man ſay, Do you make this diſeaſe an infallible ſign of Gods eſpecial indignation? Brethren, God forbid. For Judgments fall promiſcuouſly in this life upon the good and bad: Seeſt thou a man rent with as many torments of infirmities, as there be members in his body, to receive them, let your firſt Meditation be, Acerrimum eſt praelium in viâ, magnus erit triumphus in patriâ; He ſuffers much in this life, his triumph will be the greater in the world to come. And let your ſecond conſideration be the dreadfulneſs of Gods anger.Tertul. de Patien. Says Tertullian to the Roman Lords, the tortures of your Bondſlaves are Fetters, your reward is a Cap of Liberty; but we are ſervants of the moſt high, Cujus judicium in ſuos, non in compede aut pileo vertitur, ſed in aeternitate poenae aut ſalutis. Whoſe judgment gives ſentence either of Hell, or Everlaſting ſalvation.

To anſwer you more copiouſly. One circumſtance alone had bred no ill opinion of Herods death: Many circumſtances raiſe a ſuſpicion that his Life was Criminal, and his Death Exemplary. 1. To be ſmitten in a ſin immediately upon the fact, to be ſmitten by an Angel, to be gnawn to death with Worms, the divine hand was over this Sentence, and no natural cauſe. Unleſs, as Tertullian ſaid of their laſcivious Theaters,Lib. de ſpect. that reſounded with ſcurrility, Ipſe aer qui deſuper incubat ſceleſtis vocibus conſtupratur; So, that Sacrilegious ſhout which the people gave againſt the honour of God did infect the air, and provoke this immediate putrefaction in Herods bowels.

Beloved, We do all hold up our hands, and bleſs our ſelves from ſuch a vengeance as fell upon him, that the very fleſh ſhould putrefie in his body, and breed ſtink and loathſomneſs, yet our luſtful Gallants will take no warning, but incur a more odious diſeaſe, a more putrefying corruption of the body by their uncleanneſs and fornication than ever Herod had. It is very ſtrange to ſee how one Country will ſhift off the name of that diſeaſe to another (which for reverence to your ears I will not mention.) The Indian will not own it: The Naopolitan ſhuns the p. 963diſgrace to have it pinn'd upon him; the French tranſlates it upon another People, whole Kingdoms were ever aſhamed of the infamy, and yet this man, and that man, and the other that haunts Stews, incurs it, knows of it, profeſſeth it. Beloved, is ſuch a putrefied Carkaſs fit to make a Temple for the Holy Ghoſt to dwell in, or rather fit to make a Hog for Satan to enter in, and run him headlong to his ruine. O you are ſure all ſhall be cured by Baths, and Chirurgeons, when the Angel of the Lord may ſtrike you immediately that you give up the Ghoſt.

So indeed our Saviour himſelf is ſaid to give up the Ghoſt, but with much difference from Herod in the very original phraſe. foreign, ſays St. John. Joh. 19. Luk. 23.46. Mar. 15.39. Mat. 27.50.John 19Luke 23:46Mark 15:39Matt 27:50foreign, ſays St. Luke and St. Mark. foreign, ſays St. Matthew, ſtill there is mention of the Spirit in all the four Evangeliſts, becauſe Chriſt was full of the Holy Ghoſt. But foreign, ſays my Text of Herod, he breathed out his ſoul, no mention of the Spirit, for he was homo foreign. as St. Paul ſays, Efflavit animam, he diſguſted out his ſoul, which no doubt did loath the body.

To conclude all: If you ask me what became of Herod after theſe words, He gave up the Ghoſt, I have no Commiſſion from the Scripture to ſearch into it, he had much cauſe to give God thanks if he were ſaved, who gave him five days repentance, after he was ſtruck, to be ſorry for his ſin. If he were condemned, we have cauſe to give God thanks, who hath made Herod an example unto us, and might have made us, had we been created ſooner, an example unto Herod. Like Davids Arrows about Jonathan, ſo are Gods Judgments about us, on this ſide, and beyond, round about our eyes, his name be bleſſed for evermore that we are not the mark of his indignation. Which mercy that he may continue towards us, we beg for the merits of Jeſus Chriſt, To whom, with the Father, and the Holy Spirit, &c.