Several Sermons, Title page 1 – Scripture index
SEVERALL SERMONS OF ROBERT HARRIS once of HANWELL, Now Preſident of Trinity College in Oxon, and Doctor of DIVINITY. BEING A ſupplement to his works formerly Printed in Folio; intended for their ſupply, who have the other already.
CONTAINING
I A brief Treatiſe of the threefold ſtate of man never before extant.
II A Sermon preached to the Honorable Houſe of Commons.
III A Sermon touching prayer and mercy; preached at the Spittle.
IV Abners Funerall, preached at the Funerall of Sir Thomas Lucie Knight.
V Concio ad Clerum. Preached to the Univerſity of Oxford.
Which were not in the former Edition in Folio.
BY ROBERT HARRIS, D.D. Oxon.
LONDON, Printed by James Fleſher, for John Bartlet the elder, and Jonh Bartlet the younger, and are to be ſold at the Gilt Cup, on the South ſide of Pauls neer Auſtins Gate in the new Buildings. 1654.
TO Sir ANTHONY COPE Knight and Baroner.
SIR,
YOu are called to a place which I cannot but love, Hanwell, you are yet but young, and youth (God ſaith) is vanity, and vanity feeds upon it ſelf,Eccleſ. 11.1 Job 11.12. being empty and impatient of Counſell; we were wont to ſay of you in your Childhood, that you were a man, we now upon better grounds expect it from you; and do pray you ſeriouſly to minde your ſelf: Firſt, whither you are called: Secondly, and by whom. 'Tis true, you are called to a great eſtate, but that is made up of ſuch materials as do ſtand upon two lame feet: the firſt is Uncertainty; firſt outward things are uncertain; 1. to us, they have wings,1 Time. 6.17. Prov. 23.5. and are now upon the wing, flying from houſe to houſe, and (as I may ſay to my coſt) from nation to nation; on the other ſide, 2. we are uncertain to them, ſometimes we play with them as children with birds and ſend them flying by unthrifty and ungodly meanes, at other times death ſeiſes us and ſequeſters them on the ſudden. You need not go from home to learn this, my dayes are not many, yet in them, I have buried three of your Fathers, with their reſpective wives, beſides branches, more then I can name; you are (within few years) the fourth heir of that ancient houſe; ſuch is our life, and ſo uncertain the ſupports thereof. But admit a certainty, yet halt theſe outwards, on another lame legge, and that's Unſufficiency, they will not ſecure us from any evill, they will not procure us any good, at leaſt they will not give us any full ſatisfaction: we read of ſome who had more Kingdomes then you have Mannors; who enlarged their deſires like hell, and yet were as unſatisfied as bell it ſelf: ſo true is Solomon (to ſaynothing of heathens) the eye is not ſatisfied with ſeeing,page missingcleſ. 5.page missing, &c. &c. and when all is done, all is but vanity, and the vanity of vanities: this (I confeſſe) is not eaſily beleived, till experience hath confuted us. I remember what your Father told me, upon his death bed, "I have often heard you (ſaid he; ſpeak) of creatures "vanity, but I could never beleeve it till I had tryed, upon triall, be found me true. O that Sir Anthony in his youth, would appeal to Sir Anthony in his age, "beleeve "it (ſaid be to his heir, your Grand-father) all is vanity, meer vanity, ſo have I, ſo will you in time find it; but ſo much of that. In the next place, be pleaſed to conſider, 2. who hath brought you hither; ſurely preferment comes not by chance, it is the Lord that ſets up,Pf. 75.6, 7. and puls down, now in mercy, now in wrath; the world may ſeem to run on wheeles, but thoſe wheeles are full of eyes,Ezck. 1. and an eye of providence is moſt viſible in theſe revolutions which relate to you. When I firſt knew Hanwell, I ſound Sir Anthony Cope there, and there I leave him again, whileſt I leave the world, the wheel with eyes is come about, and ends where it began for my time; and truly it will be no ſmalk comfort to me dying, may I leave the ſame Sir Anthony in the ſame place; the Sir Anthony that I found there, was not onelyonly morally good, temperate, ſober, continent, &c. but ſpiritually good, a man truly zealous for God in his day, worſhips, truths, a man who did much countenance all honeſt Preachers, and (which is not ordinary) his own moſt, a man terrible to the wicked, comfortable to the Godly, a lover of his Country, and with Uzziah a lover of husbandry in that his Town, who made it his ſtudy (as he would ſay) to imploy the poor there, and to keep thence, ſuch as would either burden or blemiſh the place; This was the Sir Anthony that I found there, and my prayer unto heaven is, that the ſame name and man, may ſtill and ſtill there live, and be ever like ſelf, that his houſe may be farre from the curſe, Nah. 1.14. and be filled with the preſence of the God, who is both his own, and our bleſſedneſſe; and here I muſt now end, having exceeded my purpoſe, I ſay but thus much more, and I have done. The longer I lived in thoſe parts, the more need I found of laying principles well, theſe few are ſome of thoſe many delivered in a ſhorter and plainer way, theſe thus preſerv'd and enlarged, I tender to you as an expreſſion of my true obſervance of that Honourable houſe, and honeſt Town, where I ſpent moſt of my ſtrength, and which I commend to the word of grace to be further built up in the faith of Chriſt, in whom I would be whileſt I am, Sir,
Your ready ſervant and faithfull remembrancer, Robert Harris. Trinity College Oxf. Octob. 13. 1653.
A Table of the ſeverall Sermons, Texts of Scripture, and points of Doctrine, contained in the following work.
A brief diſcourſe of the threefold ſtate of man. Page 1.
Eccleſ. 7.29.
Loe this onelyonly have I found, that God hath made man upright: but they have ſought out many inventions.
Doct. 1. MAn at firſt was a very excellent and deſirable creature. p. 2.
2 Man is not what he was, hee was not what he is, but now there is a vaſt diſtance between himſelf and himſelf, betwixt this and that eſtate. p. 13.
3 Mans ſin is from mans ſelf. p. 26.
4 Mans undoing, is from his non-dependence on God. p. 39.
5 When a man is once looſe from God, and left to himſelf, he becomes reſtleſſe and endleſſe in his wayes. p. 49.
Rom. 8.1. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Chriſt leſus, &c. p. 58.
Doct. Saints in Chriſt, are in a very happy eſtate and condition. p. 118.
A Sermon preached to the Honorable houſe of Commons. p.
Luk. 18.6, 7, 8.
And the Lord ſaid, Hear what the unjuſt Judge ſaith, And ſhall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?
I tell you that he will avenge them ſpeedily; Nevertheleſſe when the Son of man cometh ſhall he find faith on the earth?
Doct. 1. In point of prayer we muſt gather all Arguments of encouragement, and never yeeld till we have the day. page.
2. The Lord will certainly avenge his own. p.
3 God beares long with adverſaries; with worſt men. p.
4 God is ſwift in his help as well as ſure. p.
A Sermon touching prayer and mercy. p. 1.
Act. 10.31.
And he ſaid, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thine Alms are had in remembrance before God.
Doct. 1. God is unſpeakably good and gracious toward poor ſuppliants in point of prayer. p. 4.
2 God does obſerve and book every act and work of mercy, that is done by his Servants. p. 19.
3 No outward diſadvantage can excuſe us from Gods ſervice, or exempt us from his acceptance. p. 33.
Abners Funerall. p. 1.
2 Sam. 3.38, 39. And the King ſaid unto his ſervants, Know you not that there is a Prince, and a great man fallen this day in Iſrael?
39 And I am this day weak though anointed King; And theſe men the ſons of Zerviah be to hard for me. The Lord ſhall reward the doer of evill according to his wickedneſſe.
Doct. 1. No greatneſſe will keep from any death. p. 3.
2 When great men are taken from us, we muſt be affected with it. p. 18.
3 The higheſt eſtate may be overtopt. p. 30.
Concio ad Clerum.
Johan. 21. v. 17.18.—Paſce oves meas. Amen Amen dico tibi, cùm eſſes junior cingebas te, & ibas quò volebas; quum autem ſenueris, extendes manus tuas, & alius te cinget, & transferet quò noles.
—Paſce oves meas.
Docum. Omnium eſt ea eniti, quae communis ſalutis maximè interſint, Spartámque quam nacti ſunt adornare. p. 8.
A Table of ſuch Scriptures, as are cleered in the enſuing work.
Gen 1.26. LEt us make man in our image. page.
3.5. You ſhall be like God. p.
Job. 9.16. Yet would I not beleeve, that he had hearkned unto my voice. p.
Job. 21.23, 24. One dieth in his full ſtrength. p.
Job. 35.10. Where is God my maker. p.
Prov. 19.17. He that hath pity upon the poor, lendeth to the Lord.
Prov. 27.8. As a Bird that wandreth from her neſt, ſo is a man that wandreth from his place.
Eccleſ. 1. Caſt thy bread upon the waters, for thou ſhalt finde it after many dayes. p.
Eſa. 30.18. The Lord waits that he may be gracious. pag.
58.6.7. Is not this the faſt that I have choſen, &c. p.
Jer. 22.14. And cutteth him out windows. p.
Dan. 9.20. Whiles I was ſpeaking and praying, &c. p.
Job. 7.17. If any man will do his will, he ſhall know of the doctrine. p.
16.24. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name. p.
Rom. 7.20. It is no more I that do it. but ſin. p.
2 Tim. 4.2. Praedica ſermonem, inſta, tempeſtivè, imtempeſtivè. p.
Jam. 4.9. Be afflicted. p.
1 Joh. 3.9. He that is born of God doth not commit ſin. p.