Sermons, Sermon 8 – Title page 8
A SERMON PREACHED At the Solemnization of the Funerall of the Right Honorable ROBERT Earle of ESSEX, &c.
Right Honorable, &c.
AS that Lot ſent forth to attach a particular man, Joſh. 7. 16. did move gradatim, and by ſteps, taking firſt the Tribe, then the Family, then the Houſe, and at laſt the Man; atter which manner of progreſſion, though at fewer ſteps, Jonathan was alſo taken, 1 Sam 14. 42. So doe the trackes or veſtigia appearing to your eye, lead you at two or three removes to the moſt ſad occaſion of this extraordinary and magnificent ſolemnity. The Eſcocheons which are the Index of the Family do ſpeak firſt, and tell the name of that honourable Family which this Lot hath taken. And this ſable field of men, charged with a ſtately Herſe, honoured with ſo great a confluence of names and titles of honour granted either by the Sword or Gowne, whether Honourable, Worſhipfull, or Reverend; and that in this place, where the Dij majorum gentium have their Shrines, where the Lions of England have uſually put off their exuvias, and where Majeſtie and highneſſe have laid up what of Mortality they had, doth proclaime him to bee ſome Prince, or great name of that Family, whom the Lot hath taken.
But then the Military Equipage, the mourning Drumme, the broken Launce, the inſignia & Inſtruments of Warre reverſed, and in a mournful poſture; The Truncheon in a dead hand, doe ſpeake the very man. It is Jonathan that is taken. And ſhall Jonathan dye that hath wrought ſo great ſalvation in Iſrael? It is (alas) too late to ſay, ſhall Jonathan dye, This Jonathan cannot be reſcued by the love of Iſrael; therefore I muſt ſadly lay the Scene in one that is already1 Sam. 14. 45. fallen: for do not yee know that there is a Prince and a great man fallen this day in Iſrael?
2 SAM. 3. 38.
Know yee not that there is a Prince, and a great man fallen this day in Iſrael?
THIS Text preſents you with the Herſe of Abner; a Prince and a great man fallen in Iſrael: This day preſents you with a paralell Herſe of a Prince, and a great man fallen in England; both of them magnificently attended with the drooping ſtatelines of publike and univerſall lamentation.
That I may ſet up ſome lights about the Herſe of Abner, you may pleaſe to call to minde:
1. His Office.
2. His Project.
3. His Fall.
4. His Funerall.
1. His Office was Captaine of the Hoſt, or ſtylo novo, Lord Generall of the Forces of Iſrael; it was not ſo much becauſe he toucht King Saul in bloud, being Couſin-Germane, as in reſpect of this high command, that he is called, A Prince, and a great man.
2. His Project which he had upon the Anvile now at his death, was the reducement of all Iſrael unto the Scepter of David; herein his Project concurr'd with Gods; but took riſe in him, from an ill or ſuſpicious ground. Iſhboſheth doth but queſtion him for familiar uſage of a Concubine of Sauls (which if true, was in thoſe times accounted a kinde of Crimen Majeſtatis) and this heats his bloud, for great Inſtruments will not be are a checke) and thereupon his Stomack brings him off to David. God uſeth the ſins and great Spirits, or animoſities, of great men (though they be not carried by Conſcience) to bring to birth his owne purpoſes and promiſes made to his Davids.
3. His Fall; which was by the hand of pretended revenge, but reall emulation; the ſpirit of Caeſar and Pompey was in Joab, before it was in them: He could not abide a corrivall or equall. Let great Commanders looke to this; Ambition is a Planet that muſt have a whole Orbe to it ſelfe, and is impatient of Conſort.
4. His Funerall; and that was ſolemne and honorable in Hebron; now the royall City, and formerly the Sepulchrall of Abraham, Iſaac, &c. At which, David was chiefe mourner, for he followed the Bed or Herſe, verſe 31. and he was the Oratour that made the ſpeech of Lamentation; as he had before done for Saul and Jonathan, 2 Sam. 1. 19.
Now for the Herſebefore you, let us ſee how farre it paralells with this in the Text.
1. The Prince or great man fallen this day in England was Captaine Lord Generall of the Hoſt of England. There is agreement in the Office and Title; the Text could not be proper to any fallen under our Meridian unto this day: but unto this new ſtarre created by the Parliament, and ariſing in this Horizon, about July 1642. and now eclipſed or fallen.
2. His project is written in a copy fairer then the originall, and goes farre beyond that of Abner. The reducement of divided Iſrael into one hive is ſomewhat alike in both. But here is no effeminate ſpark that raiſeth the ſpirit of this great man into a flame; no ſuch cauſe of his engagement, but the defence of thoſe pupill twinnes, the two bleeding ſiſters ready to dye in each the others boſome, the liberty and property of the Subjects of England.
3. His fall is cleere of the diſaſter in Abners ſtory; he falls not by the hand of ſome unworthy and villanous deſertor of him, made bold by his vanquiſhment or flight, as Pompey did; nor by the juſt fury of an oppreſſed Senate as Caeſar did; nor by the arts and ſtratagems of a treacherous death as Abner did; The hand of Joab is not in all this; but by an Euthanaſy (which Auguſtus wiſht for) a faire death. Hee dyed in peace.
4. His Funerall for the ſtate of it certainly overmatches the patterne. Here are the two Houſes of Parliament, the map of all England in two globes, powring out their ſorrowes, and paying their kiſſes of Honourable farewell to his tutelar ſword.
The Princes of the Land that quarter with him in in honour and in bloud, doe quarter with his herſe this day in blacke and mourning.
The flowre of the renowned City of London (far ſurpaſſing the meanneſs of Abners Hebron) doe traile their teares after his Herſe, and are come to put upon him their civicam coronam, their civicall crown of Honour, propter ſervatos cives for their ſaved Citizens.
The reverend Judges and the Worthies of that gowne, doe preſent the mourning teares of the lawes that pay this tribute for their freedome from all Antinomian prerogative.
The honourable ſouldiery, thoſe great names which while they wore his Orenge in the field, could have daunted death it ſelfe, doe now in change of colour weepe over him (and what marble weepes not in ſuch change of weather?) David that could take a lion by the beard, yet weepes at the Herſe of Abner.
The gowne alſo hath its ranke with the ſword in this great Army of mourners. The Aſſembly of Divines whoſe prayers hee ſomtimes valued and requeſted, neede not be diſtreined for their contributions of teares & grief, they muſt wrap up in a cloth, and lay up behind the Ephod this Goliah'-conquering ſword in memory of a very cordiall and noble Patron.
Laſtly, what ſhould I ſay of thoſe ſtarres that come not into any conſtellation. I meane perſons of quality not within the rankes, yet within the line of this Lamentation, together with that infinite multitude of all ſorts, from Cedars to the hyſop, that doe not onelyonly come to fill their eyes, but to empty them? I muſt conclude, to ſay as the cryer of the Ludi ſaeculares at Rome, (which were but once in a hundred yeares.) Come and ſee that which ye never ſaw before, Plin. l. 7. c. 28.nor ſhall ever ſee againe.
If yet it be replyed that Abners Funerall hath one point or two of State above us, David a mourner, David an oratour. I ſay but this; The teares of David were at this time in great part Compurgators of that ſuſpicion which he might lye under; of having a finger in that wherein Joab had his hand, which kinde of teares we have not, nor could wiſh to have, though Davids; only in the orator, David, that made the ſpeech wee are exceeded; and I am glad that ſuch a State as this is inferiour and deficient in nothing, but that wherein my poore ſervice lies.
By this unparallelling parallell, you may eaſily ſee that my diſcourſe will be divided between two noble Generalls: and firſt let us come to the Text, wherein David ſpeakes ſomething of the dead, and ſome thing to the living.
Of the dead. That a Prince and great man is fallen this day in Iſrael.
To the living. Know yee not. It concernes you toVatablus in Annot. know, or I would have you take notice both of it, & that I am weake this day, though annointed King, and that the ſonnes of Zeruiah are too hard for me, ſo that I cannot execute juſtice at preſent upon the bloody hand that hath given us this ſtroke.
Concerning that which is ſpoken of the dead, therein you ſhall finde the reaſon or ſpring of the teares of this lamentation. A Prince and a great man fallen, and fallen, this day in Iſrael. This day in-Iſrael hath the Emphaſis in it. In this nick of time wherein Iſrael was upon the point of reducement by the agency and uſefull contributions of this great man, who ſeemed to be the onelyonly Pilot that could have put the ſhip into quiet harbour, or at leaſt a very great ſteerſ-man in the worke. This day is hee fallen, and ſo Iſrael, if not more alienated by his fall, yet remaineth in diſtraction and unſettlement: and this day wherein I cannot give them juſt reparation, if they ſhould demand it of mee; if any ſhall deny that there is any accent or emphaſis in the word this day in Iſrael, doe but borrow the reflexion of light from the ſtory, and that will cleare it.
I ſhall not crumble that I have to ſay into literall and ſyllabicall minuts, leaſt I be of their number: qui Gallius. Doct.verborum minutijs rerum frangunt pondera, but will draw up the matter into this theam or head;
The fall of a Prince and a great man in the time of his agency and uſefulneſſe for the ſettlement of the diſtractions of Iſrael, is juſt reaſon of a ſad and ſolemne lamentation.
This point I will open by parts, and thoſe words. Know yee not, ſhall bring up the uſes of it, in the rear.
1. The ſubject of this lamentation is a Prince and a great man.
Prince to our Engliſh eares, ſounds the firſt maſculine branch or ſurcle ſhooting from the ſtem of Majeſtie. But the Scripture which ſpeakes no Treaſon, gives this title to Captains in War, and generally to men foreign in headſhip or power, whether MilitaryJudg. 4. 2. 2 King. 9. 5. or Senatorian; yea, though a man bee but the fore-man of his ranke.
Great man is a note of ſome ſingular eminencie above the ordinary trees of the wood, and is a title given1 Sam. 25. 2. even to a Nabal that hath 3000. ſheep and 1000. goats, which is the meaneſt ranke of greatneſſe.
But where a great man is added to a Prince, it may well import as much as magnificent, a man of powerful intereſt, great valour, honourable atchievements, noble activity in his place. Magnus is an addition or hatchment by which Alexander, Pompey, Carolus, &c. have beene ſirnamed, for their great ſervices or exploits. So that a man by his orb or place he is ſet in, is Princeps: but by his influence and beams of worth, raying from him upon the ſublunary Commons, he is Magnus. It is an excellent conjunction, a Prince and great man. According to ſtyle of honour with us, a man may be noble by birth, diſcent, or blood. And though I be none of the new Switzers, that could wiſh Princes Canton'd into the common level; yet I may put you in mind that Antiquity of Race is but a Moſs of time growing upon the back of worth or vertue: And if a man carry not the primigeniall vertue with him, which firſt made his race noble, he is but a flower by change of ſoile degenerated into a weed, as having nothing in him but the wax or matter, without the form and ſtamp of Nobleneſſe. And you know alſo that Nobility is often times the creature of a Prince his fancy; which when there is no intrinſecall worth to be the ſupporter of it, is (asCap. de Nobilitate. Charron ſaith) but Nobility by parchment. It's a brave conſociation, when the goodneſſe and activity that makes you great, is as high as the place which makes you Princes: for if that crazy fancy take a man which poſſeſt ſome great ones; they would be called Gods, and perſonate an oſtentation of greatneſſe above men; it may bewray pride & madneſſe; but can never ſo far deceive the ſenſe of underlings, but that they will ſay as the Cobler did to Caligula, in that ſtate and humour, that he was foreign a great. I cannot teach you to be princes, Fortuitum eſt; but I can tell you how to be great men: not great in the glaſſe which Paraſiticall flattery holds before you, but indeed; and that is thus: Fill the ſphere of your activity, the Church and State, the Towne or Countrey, with the powerfull and benigne influences that flow from intrinſecall worth: make the times the better for you: Conſtraine by your example your inferiours to know God, and reform their Families. Let not Profaneſſe hide it ſelfe under the wing of your patronage, nor leſſen it ſelf by the greatneſſe of your examples. Impartial & ſpeedy Juſtice, with ſweet refreſhing Mercy, will make you great men in the Commonwealth; Zeal and Syncerity for God and his Houſe, will make you great men in the Church. He that will be a great man, muſt draw his lines to the center of publike good: private ends never make a great man.
2. The ſubject of this Lamentation is, one Prince, one great man. Yee are called (as ſome interpret the word,) the Corners of the people; the Shields, the Gods, the Saviours, the Shepheards of the people, the Miniſters of God for Good, Benefactors, &c. Now the fall of one great Tree makes a great gappe in the hedge; the Eclipſe of one of the greater ruling Luminaries benights the world. Our Lives, Liberties, &c. are all bound up in you: we poor men ſteal into our Graves, with no greater noyſe than can be made by a branch of Roſemary, or a blacke Riband: No body takes notice of the Gloeworme, that goes out in the hedge bottome: No Comet or Prodigie, or Earth-quake tolls us the knell of our departure; but one of you is carried forth by the teares all ISRAEL, provided that you be what your Names import, publick men, common Sanctuaries of the oppreſſed, Cities of Refuge, Altars of protection; for otherwiſe you may be ſuch as that your death would be more worth then your lives, and then, though you may be able to put men into black, you cannot put them into mourning: Your death cannot be worth a teare, when your lives are not worth a prayer.
3. The ſubject of this Lamentation is, a Prince & A great man fallen. Death is a fall from every thing but grace: ſome do fall from a higher Scaffold; great men fall divers ſtories, from Honour, Riches, Offices; others from the ſurface of a level ground, having nothing to fall from but naked life. Saints dye, the gods doe fall: I need not ſtand to prove it, there is not one of you great men, but ſhall be the proofe of this point ſhortly. The Law of Death runs thus: All Honours, Titles, &c. to the contrary, in any wiſe notwithſtanding: & there is no Prerogative to check this Law. I will not garniſh this Deaths-head with fine fragments of Poetry, and ſuch ſtuffe: nor would I at all ſet it before you as a ſtanding diſh, were I not ſurrounded with ſo great a Corona of Princes and great men: and haply ſome of you may be of Lewis the Eleventh his minde, that charged all about him that they ſhould not name the terrible word Death; which yet you muſt heare of; for it is the way of all the earth; the houſe of all the living; your long home, or houſe of perpetuity: of which its ſaid, Job. 3. 14.1 King. 2. 2. Kings, Counſellours, Princes, ſmall and great, areJob 30. 23 Lucian necy there; and there foreign are foreign: their bones and ſkeletons have no Inſcription or Titles of Honour remaining on them.
The way to this houſe of all the living, is (as one ſaith) ſanguinea, or lactea; the bloody or the milkie; that is, the common naturall, or uſuall way.
The former is troden by great men: the Prince in my Text was ſent home this way; and ſo was the firſt man in the world that dyed. The Sword hangs in a hair over the heads of great ones, who are often cut off by the hand of emulation and animoſity. ThatAdrian the fourth. Acts and Monum. ſlaughter-houſe of Rome (where it hath been practiſed by the Popes themſelves, who (as one of them ſaid) do rather ſucceed Romulus, making his way by blood, then Peter) hath ſent out cruell. Emiſſaries to cut off famous men by a meritorious knife. How happily may you the Worthies of our Iſrael call to mind the goodneſs of that great God, who hath bound the hands of ſuch aſſaſſinating blood-ſuckers from executing their fury upon you, all this while, that you by renowned induſtry and zeale, have given provocations to Rome and Hell.
The Common way is troden by you great ones too: for ye Gods do die, and ye Princes ſhall fall like other men. If you run your Genealogies high enough, you will finde your ſelves but as other men, in the fretum or narrowſea of Mankinde that divided the two Ocean worlds, the Arke of Noah: and thence if ye hold your way upward, you will be found the ſons of Adamah, common duſt: And you that are the higheſt duſt, raiſed up a puff of winde of Honour above other men, are laid, like the ſmall duſt, with one drop of rain. There is a great Arbiter of all things, that can thunder the proud Emperour under his bed, and write the great King at three or foure words into trembling: That can ſendAdrian the 4th. Acts & Monū. a Fly to fetch the Triple Crown before his Tribunal, and make a hair, or the kernel of a Raiſin, as mortall as Goliah his ſpear: That can unſpeake the whole world into nothing, and blowe down a great bubble with an eaſie breath: That by drawing one nail, can throw down the ſtatelieſt building, and undreſſe your ſouls by unpinning one pin. If he take the Bridle off the head of that fire that's in you, it preſently burns you up, By a Fever. If he looſe the water, it drownes you, by a Dropſie. If he lay his hand upon your mouth, he takes away the airy difference betweene ſleep and death. He ſaith to Moſes, Go up and die: and it follows after, Moſes my ſervant is dead. Every man hath a day1 Sam. 28. 10. which is called His day: and death never makes returne. Non eſt inventus in baliva noſtra.
4. The ſubject of this Lamentation is a Prince and a great man fallen in the time of his agency and uſefulneſſe for the ſettlement of the deſtractions of Iſrael. It was a time that the promiſe of God to David was at the birth, and the Midwifery of Abner was offered. Let Abner otherwiſe be what he will for a man. God may uſe an Egyptian midwife to bring forth the childe of an Iſraelite. But this great man falls in the very nicke of time, before the good iſſue of his deſignes. Let me point out this Obſervation to you:
Its not unuſuall, that great builders catch a fall when they are upon the ſcaffold aboute their worke.
Oh how it amazeth the faith of Gods people, when the ſtar that led them out of their own Countrey, goes out of ſight before it have brought them to their journeys end. That youngling world of Reformation in Luthers time, had a ſore temptation, when it muſt ſee the fall (as I may ſay) of the Electour of Saxony and others that were pillars of hope. Moſes muſt live no longer then to bring Iſrael into the plains of Moab: himſelfe is allowed but a proſpect of that he hoped to have enjoyed, and to have brought Iſrael into We are not without preſidents: our eyes have ſeen ſome of our greater lights eclipſed, pleno orbe, when they have been at their Full. The great God that hides his Counſels, knows his Works from the begining to the end, and he takes off ſuch Inſtruments that he may ſhew that he doth not need, is not tied to any tool: for he made the great world without any. When he ſaith Faciamus, he ſpeaks to himſelfe alone; not to himſelfe and man. Thus he makes way for ſome other Providence to come upon the Stage, and brings about his Worke by a more crooked Inſtrument, which wee imagined ſhould be done by a ſtrait one. So Iſrael is ſpeedily reduced to David, though Abner fall. Or he humbles his people juſt before his promiſes take effect; and firſt ſtrikes them dumb before he open their mouthes in a Benedicite; that the lowlineſſe of his handmaidens may break forth into a Magnificat: or the time is not yet come that Iſrael is to be brought out of Egypt: and therefore though Moſes begin to reſcue the Iſraelite, and ſlay the Egyptian, yet he muſt flee for it, and be hidden for Fourty years. Or elſe he pulls the ſtool of our confidence from under us, becauſe we ſit down upon it: or elſe pulls up the …luce of ſome judgements which have been hindr'd by ſome Lot or great man, or whatſoever it be. We ſee that God writes the Names of our beſt and greateſt men in the ſhell, and takes them away by a kind of Oſtraciſme. All the help, hope, and comfort is, that God hath all inſtruments eminently in himſelfe, and can raiſe up a Ioſhua in ſteed of Moſes. Wherefore if his Diſciples cannot caſt out the evill Spirit, let us come to himſelfe, and make our ſelves as ſure of his Word by faith, as he is ſure of his word by promiſe; for though Ioſeph die in Egypt, yet he layes his bones at ſtake, that God will ſurely viſit his Iſrael, Gen. vlt. ver. 25.
5. All this that hath been ſaid, a Prince, a great man fallen at ſuch a time, is juſt reaſon of ſad and ſolemne lamentation; and therefore David and Iſrael is in this mourning poſture: ſuch a man whoſe influence had a large circumference or ſphaere while he lived, is followed by an honour and ſorrow of the ſame compaſſe when he dyes: You Princes and great men, death will tell what the world thought of you; while you live (it may be) Sycophants & flatterers lay their egges in your eares, and hatch monſtrous opinions in you of your greatneſſe. Such Books uſually build in the higheſt Trees and on the other ſide, envy & detraction may breath upon the glaſſe of your reputation, that it ſhall not (while you live) report ſo cleare an Image of you, but death wil make thorow-lights in you; that you ſhall be ſeen on both ſides; ſorrows will not, cannot be tongue-tyed; you will then begin to reape your due. Then the world breaks out into theſe expreſſions; Hee was a brave man, He was a great Courtier, that could not be curbed with a white ſtaffe, to bee of counſell to ſubvert the freedomes of his Countrey; He was a Captain that could draw a line, but not to the ignoble center of his private ends; He was a Juſtice that would ſcatter the drunkards from their Ale-bench, and did not underſtand the language of a bottle or a basket; He was a Nehemiah, whoſe kindneſſes were great which he ſhewed to the houſe of God, and the Offices thereof; He was a Miniſter that could not only thunder in his Doctrine, but lighten in his Life; He was a Papinian (a great Lawyer) but hee would not defend Imperiall and arbitrary exorbitances, though he dyed for it; He was a man that appeared & ſtood for the truth, and for God in the worſt times, when the Summer birds were hidden in their hollow Trees; He was a man firm and fixed, and ſtudied not the neutral art of putting off the cap to one, and making a leg to another. And is not this a brave Eccho, are not ſuch men worthy of the Honourable tears of Iſrael? or elſe Iſrael hath reaſō to mourn for the ſenſeleſneſſe and ſtupidity of their own hearts. And for the State and honour of mourning, it is an ancient ſolemnity credited by time, and great examples, yea, and almoſt the common ſenſe of mankind. For both Egyptians and Iſraelites concurre in weeping for Jacob, whoſe Exequies were performed in great Equipage when he was cared out of Egypt; and not to inſtance in more examples, its ſaid of Hezehiah, that all Judah and inhabitants of Jeruſalem, did him honour2 Chron. 32, 33. at his death, and laid him up in the higheſt Cell of the Sepulchers of Davids ſons, ſuch is the convictive Majeſty of goodneſs, that this idolatroushearted people follow their great Reformer to his grave with honour.De purgat. lib. 1. c. 3.
In vaine doth Bellarmine goe about to prove out of theſe ſolemnities, that they are done ad juvandas animas. Wee find no Law of ſacrifices for the dead, theſe expreſſions are but civill indexes of honourable ſorrowes, a debt owing to Worthies while they liv'd, and the remainder paid at their death: Like the after-beames of the Sun, which follow him to his bed; and we were unworthy heires of their famous acts, if out of their owne goods we could not allow them anſwerable interrment; and if any Cynicke in his moroſity ſhall ſay, that it matters not, humine an in ſublimi putreſcat, Let him enjoy a Philoſophicall rotting in what ditch he pleaſe; we know, there is the buriall of an Aſſe; the graves of the common people, which is ſomething above that2 Chron. 21. 20. and higher yet, there is a buriall in the City of David, but not in the Sepulchers of the Kings, and amongſt the Sepulchers of the Kings, There are lower and higher Cells. Honour will follow after worth and merit even into its grave. We doe not lay up the carkaſſe of every Cole-ſhip with that reſpect as that of Drakes was; though confeſſedly the one muſt rot, as well as the other.
So much for the opening of the point; Now I come to the words, Doe you not know, by their hand to ſerve in the uſes of this point.
1. Know ye not, You Princes and great men that ye muſt fall.
2. Know ye not, You lower Shrubs, that theſe Cedars muſt fall.
For you that are Princes and great men, I may ſay of you as X…rxes weeping, ſaid of his vaſt Army, within theſe few luſters of yeares, there ſhall not be one of you ſtanding, but all fallen, and let me ſet this deathshead before you: For I have no other diſh, nor am I likely ever to entertaine ſuch a Table-full of ſo great gueſts while I live againe; let it therefore,
Firſt, Humble you, and give me leave to follow the chariot of your greatneſſe, with foreign, remember that you muſt fall. Greatneſſe hath need of ſome correctives. You are ſuch Pictures, that if one ſtand of the one ſide of you, You are Gods; but if he looke upon you on the other ſide, You are men, and muſt dye like men: this takes you one ſtep lower; nay, we may goe lower yet; For man being in honour without underſtanding, is like the beaſts that periſh. We are all proud; pride is the ſhirt of the ſoule, which it puts off laſt when it ſhifts: And every riſing ground of authority or power, makes us riſe in thoughts. The very bramble, if it get a ſnatch of authority, will be talking of his ſhadow. Oh that you had the meeknes of that Moſes, whoſe face did ſhine, but he knew not that (I ſpeake this by alluſion) the skin of his face did ſhine. I would that but every tenth thought of your riſing, was accompanied with one thought of your falling: And yet you have more reaſon to have death in your eyes then other men, becauſe the Venice Glaſſes, and China mettall of your fine and tender bodies, will not abide ſo great a ſtroak as other earthen pots of courſer mettall; I will not offer to you thoſe complements with death, whereof we read good ſtore, in uſe among great men; as the boy that cry'd, Memento te mortalem; or that, of preſenting ſeverall ſorts of Marble to the Emperor upon his Coronation day, that he might then chuſe which he would have for his Tombe, &c. But let me preſſe the ſenſe of your falling condition to humble you. I doe not meane by humilitie a morall familiarity or courteſie toward thoſe of lower ranke, which yet is a gracefull condeſcency of Greatneſſe: But I meane, a ſtooping to the reproofes of the Word of God, brought unto you by the Miniſters thereof, who are but earthen veſſels like your ſelves: Submit your cheek to reproofs, for your owne ſins, and of your Families. Let not your iniquities take ſanctuary in your greatneſſe; Frowne not your Chaplaines into a mealmouth'd baſeneſſe, ſo that they dare no more make a darke or oblique reflection upon your darling ſins, then take a Beare by the tooth. If you will bleed out your ill bloud, you muſt pull off your Velvet ſleeve, and let the arme be bare to the point of the knife: Keep no State againſt God, though he ſpeake thunder and lightning by the mouth of duſt like your ſelves. A man never makes worſe uſe of his greatneſſe, then by it to caſt a muzzle over the mouth of ſound and ſearching reproofes. And it is a juſt judgment of God upon ſuch men, that they ſhould have Prophets, that will ſay to Ahab, Goe up and proſper.
Secondly, Quicken you to activity in your places while you live, that you may ſerve your generation according to the will of God before you dye, and ſee corruption; otherwiſe, you are but blind lights in golden Candleſticks: You are in great debt, both to the Church and Common-wealth, they have truſted you with all they have, and your bond is good; but yet be not offended, if they call hard upon you to pay your debts, for you are mortall men, and we know not what Heires or Executors you may leave behind you. The Creditor is oftentimes broken in the Debtors death; Get death into your minds, and it will put life into your actions; what you found made of poore Bricke, leave in ſtately Marble, and be not like many, who while they are riſing, appeare very active and ſtirring men; but when they are up doe freeze into a benummed ſlowneſſe, like Bels that ſtrike thicke when they are riſing, and afterwards when they are at full pitch, are ſet; put your ſelves on with this ſpurre, I muſt ſhortly dye: How ſhould I live fruitfully? The night will come, how ſhould I labour while it is day? I wiſh well to things that are good: but (Bene cogitare eſt bene ſomniare) a good thinker is but a good dreamer; nothing more ſads and duls the heart when one comes to dye, than his neglect of ſuch opportunities which Gods providence, or his owne place have put into his hand of receiving & doing good. Nor is there a ſharper corroſive, than the reflection upon thoſe dayes and times that have paſſed over him, Male, aliud, nihil, agentem. The higheſt hils are the barrenneſt ground, and I would that ſaying did not ſo truly ſquare to great Ones (that is) that the goodlieſt Trees, as Cedars, &c. doe either beare none, or the worſt Fruit. Great parts and abilities without exerciſe and putting forth are but ſecret and unknowne Mines of Silver and Gold, which lye hid in an unfruitfull and unprofitable ſoyle. And therfore, you the great and Noble Worthies, in whoſe hands are the Publike Faith, the Publike Mercy, the Publike Juſtice, and the Publike Peace; be good, and (let your goodnes make you) quicke diſpenſers of what you have in Stewardſhip, becauſe the time is ſhort, and the word redde rationem may be given ſuddenly, look upon us as mortall men, who ſhall not live long to receive, and upon your ſelves, who ſhall not live long to give the fruits of your hands. And becauſe the Occaſion invites me, let me propound an object to your charitable juſtice, that is, the relief of thoſe great ſufferers who have bin great doers, I meane the firſt adventurers with this great Commander, when he firſt cut through the Alps. As for the great and doubtfull matters that are under your hand, I would not be thought ſo raſh, as to wiſh you to precipitate: A Pilot among ſhelves and rocks may be too quick; A Cunctator ſometime ſaved the Common-wealth; only thus I may pray, that when the Haven lyes faire before you, and is without barre, you may fortiter occupare, ſet in ſtifly, leſt new waves, raiſed by croſſe winds, carry you backe into the Main againe.
3. Arme you againſt your fall, that the day therof may be to you (as the Paſſion-day of the Martyrs was called) the birth-day of Eternity. Nequaquam morte mortemini, was the inlet of our ſin and miſery, & keeps the doore open to ſin ſtill; The Epicure hath his Armour againſt death: a ſenſeleſſe conſideration of it, as of a nothing, or a not being. The great Spirit hath his Armour too; A contempt of death out of principles of Valour and Honour; but neither of theſe Armours can keep the arrow from the quicke; There is a terrible clauſe in the Statute of dying, And after that the judgement. Nor yet will I goe about to arme you with this meditation, that we ſhall have a ſhorter journey from death to life again, than we had from not being, unto life, or that which is cited by Gerard out of Luther, that all the time that hath run, or ſhall run out from the beginning, to the end, ſhall ſeeme to Adam when he riſeth againe, but tanquam ſomnus unius horae, as the ſleep of the body for one houre; But if you will breake the fall, which elſe will breake you, then you Gods muſt become Saints (for all Gods are not Saints) the death of Saints is more precious then the death of Gods; Grace is ſpeciall baile againſt death, there is no gall and vinegar in it to be drunk by them, for whom Chriſt hath already drunke it: Death (ſaith the Apoſtle) is yours, becauſe contributory and ſubſervient to your happines; That life which is hid with Chriſt in God, is out of the reach of death, our Saviour proves Abraham to be living, becauſe God had long after his death, ſaid, I am the God of Abraham. Thoſe that are confederate with God in Covenant, muſt always live, that the Covenant may not be diſſolved by the death of the one party. There is a way then to break the teeth of death, and to be immortall: Have God for your God; labour to have ſomething in you that is immortall beſides your very ſouls; lay up for your ſelves a treaſure beyond the ſea of death, that when this membrana dignitatis (as Seneca cals it) a thin skin of honour breaks, you may not be quite bankrupts; enrich your ſouls with the power of godlines, which is profitable to all things. The place of Princes, the magnificence and great works of great men; The faith and godlines of poore men doe make a rare compoſition. Do not in ſtead of diſarming death, arme it rather againſt you, by putting a ſword into the hand of it. The more ſervice that you may doe by the advantage of ground you ſtand upon, the heavyer will your accounts be, if your greatnes be made a Stage and Theater for to act the parts of luxury, laſciviouſnes, oppreſſion upon. What difference is there between ſuch gods, and thoſe in Homer, of whoſe drunkenneſſe and adulteries there is frequent mention; let me ſpeake one word to you, young Noblemen, and Gentlemen, Learne you the way of godlineſſe, that may free you from the looſeneſſe and vanitie incident to greatneſſe; for when you have given florem Diabolo, the floure of your time to luſts of youth; your fall may come before you can ſo much as give faecem Deo, the dregs thereof to God.
I conclude this point with that which one obſerves upon Gods ſeeing all the works that he had made, that they were very good, for then immediately (ſaith he) followed the Sabbath, or reſt of God, which (though our ſalvation be not of workes) may ſignifie thus much to you, that when you ſhall come to a retroſpect upon your wayes and works, and find them ſo empty of, and contrary unto God, there can be no expectation of a Sabbath or reſt unto your ſoules; and therefore, waſh ye, make ye cleane, &c. Iſa. 1. 16, 17.
The ſecond, Know ye not, is ſpoken to you, the lower ſhrubs. You are to know that your great men may fall in the very time of their uſefulneſſe and ſervice for your good. In their loſſe, bewaile your ſins: for though you feele not the ſtroke while the wound is freſh and green, yet afterwards you will find the want of ſuch as are worthy inſtruments, when wee expect they ſhould doe great things; God by taking them away, interrupts the caſt. Put not therefore your truſt in Princes, nor in the ſon of man, in whom there is no ſalvation; for his breath goeth forth, and in that very day his thoughts periſh, Pſ. 146. 3, 4. even his projects and intentions for your good, dye in the wombe, and are abortive. If we leane hard upon the reed, it breaks the ſooner, and wee are laid flat on the ground. God will not let his people enjoy that long, which they prize too much, ſome worme ſhall ſmite that gourd, and it ſhall wither; and though many great men are not likely to be blaſted by the confidence of the people, yet our ſad experience teacheth us, that we ſmell too much to our ſweeteſt flowers, and ſo wither them.
I Shall now come to the paralell Herſe of that Prince and great man fallen this day in England, of whom, though modeſtie it ſelfe may without bluſhing ſpeak in a magnificent ſtile, yet have my thoughts waved me too and fro, it not being eaſie to be moderatour of the Arguments that are for ſpeech; or ſilence. Not becauſe the matter will ſurpaſſe the work-manſhip, and the copiouſneſſe of the ſubject ſhame, the penury of my expreſſion; but becauſe on the one hand it is argued, that Funerall Encomiaſtickes of the dead, are very often confections of poyſon to the living; for many, whoſe lives ſpeake nothing for them, will draw the example into conſequence, and be thereby led into hope, that they may preſſe a hackny Funerall Sermon to carry them to Heaven when they dye; eſpecially, if ſuch for whom no file could be rough enough while they lived, be ſmooth-filed when they are dead: on the other hand it may be ſaid, That though comon graves have no inſcription, yet Marble Tombes are nor without ſome Epitaph. Heroicall examples ſhould not go with a common paſſe, but with a Trompet. David afforded this Honorary to Saul and Abner, and (which is to be obſerved) he drew not any line in their pictures with a black coale, which yet he might have done, for both of them had too much ſhadow if he would have uſed it; but he dealt with them as the Painter did with Antigonus, who had but one eye, he drew his Picture, imagine luſca halfe-faced, and ſo buried the deformitie out of the beholders ſight.
Neither is this all, which makes me ſtand in a ſlippery place, but the various ſenſes and cenſures too, which are very likely to be found in this great multitude: Some that hated the ſound of his Drums and Trumpets, will not patiently endure the Eccho reſounding to their diſ-affected eares. And ſome againe are indifferently content to heare ſome good words of his Epitaph, becauſe it begins with Hîc jacet, here he lyes; as Caracalla ſaid to them that deſired, that ſome honours might be ſpent upon his Brother Geta, now dead out of his way: Sit divus (ſaith he) modo non ſit vivus, honour him as you will, ſo as he doth not live. The moſt voyces will doubtleſſe vote, that it is needleſſe to ſet up a Candle to the Sunne, for his ſtory is yet alive in all mens memories, and the ſtage whereon he acted it, is yet warme. The truth is, I had rather leave him to the hiſtory, which I hope the honourable Houſes have beſpoken, and to that Homer that ſhall be the praco of this Achilles. But becauſe his name would ſometime have paſſed me clear through all Guards, and probably hath not as yet loſt that vertue; and that this State and preſence ſpeakes him with more eloquence, then I, ſo that I can but run the hazard of being an imperfect interpreter by word, of that honour, which your ſelves doe ſpeak by ſignes. And ſince death hath put him beyond pride, all beyond envy, and my ſelfe beyond flattery, what if wee make a ſhort Index of his Story, and audit his d…bentur in the mean time, not drawing him in full proportion, but as Ezekiel pourtrayed the Citie of Ieruſalem upon a Tile, which wil indeed be more ſuitable to the poſture we are in; for deepe ſorrowes make no long orations, Leves loquuntur curae, ingentes ſtupent.
Since then it muſt be ſo, jacta eſt alea; I ſhall impoſe upon my ſelf this law, not to build his Monument of common ſtones, nor trouble my ſelf and you, to gather ſuch flowers to caſt upon his grave, as grow in common fields, nor deſcend or ſtoope to any thing which is beneath Heroicall.
His Nobilitie and his Nobleneſſe, though they might each of them adorne his Monument, yet the third, which is his Excellency, is the tranſcendent.
For his Nobilitie; He was ſprung of an exceeding faire, an ancient Stem, which doth branch forth into the great and Noble Families of the Princes and great men of England, and he was the third of this Title which was inoculate into that Stem, by Q. Elizabeth of famous memory, But Titles of Honour muſt dye as well as men; and becauſe this renowned ſtreame carries it's name no further, I ſhall omit all matter of Heraldry, as not becomming me at this time and place.
His Nobleneſſe was of a high and honourable elevation; He was a man of fixed principles, and of a maſculine reſolution, of an inviting familiarity in a ſtately preſence; too generous to be cruell, too great a Patriot to be Courted; his compaſſe without trepidation or variation, had conſtantly ſtood right to that Pole; the good of his Country, which he kept in his eye, both when he wore the Gowne, and Sword: He was fidè Romana & Anti-Romana, of Roman faithfulneſſe, and of Anti-Roman faith: A Senatour that honoured his Robes. The teares of England, of his ſervants, of his tenants, do ſpeake him in a better language then the moſt eloquent Marble is able: Though tenants teares be no commendation to a living landlord, yet are they credit to the dead.
The Character of his Excellency, may be that which David ſometime gave to Abner, the great man in my Text; Art not thou a valiant man, and who is like thee in all Iſrael? When the time was come that Ianus Temple muſt be open'd here in England, by the Porter that onelyonly hath the key of it, Neceſſitie, and thoſe orphane ſiſters (before ſpoken of) Libertie and Propertie were to chuſe their Guardian, Champion and Vindex; you the Honourable Truſtees, looked out for a Dictator, in whoſe hands you might depoſite, the very being, ſafety, freedom, lives, Senatus populique Romani, of the Parliament and people of England, and happily pitcht your eye and choyce upon this man, who was ſtirpe & ingenio bellicoſus, One that had honour to give credit to the Cauſe he undertooke, reputation to vindicate his undertaking from contempt of enemies, Intereſt, whoſe Drum could preſſe an Army; dexteritie to manage the Sword, Counſell to direct it, Valour to uſe it, & faithfulneſſe to diſcharge it. And he was the man you then reſolv'd to live and dye with. It was the greateſt honour in the world, to be credited with the infinite depoſitum of the life and being of the Parliament of England. And at this time, when you had aſſigned this Theater to act his part upon, it was the higheſt honour to him, that he would undertake to Pilot a Ship ſo laden with ſo great a fraught, through the tempeſtuous and angry Seas which then began to ſwell and be intractable, when this poore Kingdome, knew not for the moſt part, how to weare Buffe and Steele, untill taught by him; in whom that ancient Chivalry and Valour of England (which had left it's Monuments in France and other parts of the world, but of later times almoſt emaſculate and grown obſolet) was concenter'd, and by tranſmigration had layd it ſelfe up in him: He was the man that was to breake the yce, and ſet his firſt footing in the Red Sea; a Hercules, but not in bivio; a man reſolved, when others hung in ſuſpence; fixt, when ſome ſtarres of greateſt magnitude were moved with trepidation, or erratick. That filled the breach, when many lay poſt principa, & behind the hedge. No Proclamation of Treaſon could cry him down, nor threatning Standard daunt him: That in that miſty morning, when men knew not each the other, whether friend or foe, by his ariſing diſpel'd the fogge, and by his very name, commanded thouſands into your ſervice. Such as were for Reformation, and groaned under preſſures in Religion, he tooke by the hand, and they him: Such as were Patriots, and would ſtand up for common Liberties, he tooke by the hand, and they him, and ſo became the bond or knot of both, as the Axletree of the world upon which both the Poles doe move: And this muſt be his honour alone for ever; for though Ioſhua alſo doe admirably when he comes to it, yet it is Moſes that firſt leads forth Iſrael by their Armies.
Thus he enter'd, and for his deportment upon the Stage, and the experience he gave of himſelfe, who knowes not it? Such was his perſonall valour, as if nothing but ſteele had gone to his compoſition. The inſtances are famous; In that great battell at Edge-hill, where this Kingdome had her firſt Criſis upon a Sabbath day, (our wars have now fulfilled above halfe a weeke of yeares) when he had loſt a wing yet he flew about, Et nullo diſcrimine, notam, dux an miles erat; He ſhewed his Army there what a man they had adventured with, in their firſt Voyage; No, I prae ſequar, Captaine, but one whoſe Valour gave the word ſequimini me, with whoſe ſteele (its no diſparagement to ſay, that) his for ever famous Chieftaines ſharpned their edge, and ſo that hill was made a ſtanding Trophee, your enemies (Right Honourable) from that day begun to take you for a Parliament.
I muſt leave to the large Map of his Story, thoſe many memorables & victories, which bear his name; for even great places doe not always find any room in a little Map, and ſhall inſtance him but in one other particular, that famous expedition to Glouceſter, when we were at a very low water, and this Eagle had then alſo moulted his feathers, and having imped themwith renowned Londoners, did fight the greateſt part of that long march thither, where the then Governour whom I may (borrowing Cicero his word) call hujus Regni Stator, the Stator of the Kingdome of England, (becauſe he tooke the enemy his horſe by the bridle in his full career, and ſtopt him, and being reſolved to ſell that City to them by the candle) was reſcued before the candle dropt, by this noble Champion, who retreating from that Tropick, fought his way backe againe through hunger and hardſhip and becauſe this Retreat ſhould not be like an empty field without ſome charge, He ſcattered that great Army near Newbery, and to you this renowned City, reddidit Legiones, reſtored your valiant Legions, and reſtored England to it ſelfe; An unparalell'd Expedition.
His Faithfulnes was like Touch or Marble without any ſtreaming flaw, no Honours, Offices, or whatſoever beares the name of greatneſſe could bribe it. The two Indies would have bin as dirt: He knew the Pole he muſt ſaile by, and ſteered not by a mercenary Compaſſe. He had eſpouſed the Senate and Liberties of England, and was reſolved, aut liberare fidem, aut ſolvere animam.
His ends, ſo far as one may learne the marke by the Archers eye, were not private intereſts, reſpects, or parties, to be ſerved upon the aſhes of publike ruins. Talk of gold to ſouldiers of fortune, He was Themiſtocles. A right line drawne from the Center you ſet him, would have cut the center of his aimes and ends. Had you falne upon ſuch a Merchant as would have been eccentricke to you, and have cauponated the war to raiſe his private intereſt, or have put in the great fraught he was truſted with, and conſigned the Cargazone, to ſome Royall Port, oh, what a Ferall Table of Proſcriptions, (like that of Syllae's) might have bin ſet up amongſt us; and your lives have bin bargain'd for, and ſold as that Triumvirate did the lives of the Senatours of Rome.
His Counſell and wiſedome was ſuch as argued him to be a man that knew conduct, He had a fine finger to find out, and skilfull to untie or cut the knot, In foreſight of danger his eyes were open; but when he came to execute his Councels, his eyes were ſhut againſt all impreſſions of feare and terrour.
His love and reſpect to the Souldiery, ſuch as became a brave Chriſtian. He would not Turkiſhly fill ditches, or ſtop Canon with them. His hand of reliefe was not ſhut or ſhort to reſcued priſoners. He affourded honourable reſpect to naked and wounded valour. His countenance paid and arm'd his ſouldiers, when ſometimes they wanted both: and no wonder if his Schoole bred ſuch a gallant Infantry which had ſuch a Maſter, and ſuch an Uſher.
In ſumme. This Camillus was a ſecond Romulus. His Monument needs no inſcription, for his Epitaph is written in the hearts of men. Nothing but ESSEX, the Great, the Valiant, the Faithfull, the Parliaments Eſſex; the Eſſex of England, and the Tutelar thereof: who added to his Noble Coronet all the Militarie Crownes, ſaving that which is called Navall, or the Sea-Crowne, which is due to another moſt Noble Worthy, more faithfull than the Element he was then the Maſter of.
For his death, the Forlorne hope it ſent out before it, was but ſleightly, the Phyſicians thought him bailable, but death lay in ambuſcado in a full body, & ſuddenly ſurprized him with a dying ſleep, and now we are erecting of his Monument, one of the ſeven wonders of the World was a Tombe. And if the Noble and Famous men who fought under his Banner, ſhall pleaſe to be ſet in for his ſupporters, it will be ſuch a Squadron-Monument as will have no Brother in England, untill the time doe come (and I wiſh it may be long firſt) that the moſt renowned and excellent Champion that now governes the ſword of England, muſt now lay his bones by him, and then there will be the Alpha and Omega of ſuch a Story as ſhall render God fearfull in prayſes, doing wonders by the firſt hand of him that led us through the untrodden paths of the wilderneſſe, and by the ſecond hand of him that hath made Victory (which Homer calls foreign, a Jack on both ſides) to change its name; who if he ſhall have but one ſtone out of each City or ſtrong Hold taken by his Armes, to make his Tombe, it will be ſuch a Monument that every ſtone of it will ſpeak a Hiſtory, and ſome a Miracle: Or if that cannot be, it will be enough that he lay his head upon an immortall Turff taken out of Naſeby field: God thought Moſes, or rather made him the fitteſt man to begin, & lead Iſrael forth, and he honored Ioſhua with the compleating of the worke, neither doth Ioſhua eclipſe the worth of Moſes, nor he the worth of Ioſhua; and ſo craving pardon of my boldneſſe with your patience, I have endeavoured to ſpeak wthout reflections upon any, nor did I mean to tread on the foot or toe of any man, thereby to raiſe my ſpeech the higher, as knowing that this Prince and great man needed not to pull downe the ſtones of any other mans Monument to build his, who had enow in his owne Quarry, as being (nex… …he Honourable Parliament) that firſt man from whom we paſſe to our poſterity the conveyancies of our liberty and ſafety. Et nati natorum, & qui naſcentur ab illis. I have no more but this; He lived a good Generall, He dyed a Generall good; and therefore a lamentation to all Iſrael, and ſo I leave him in his Bed of Honour, and draw the Curtains, and put out the lights.
Only a word at parting, and firſt my Lords to you, we may know how great the Tree that's fallen, was, by the vacuity or void place it leaves behind it. We look upon you as them that will endeavour to prevent the vacuum by acting from that noble principle which moves to the univerſall and common good; the loſſe we have ſuſtained is great, though he never had wore Buff but only Parliament Robes, and they ſay that when a limbe or part of a man is cut off, anima retrahitur, the ſoule is retracted. I wiſh the Philoſophy may be verefied in the retraction of his reality and faithfulneſſe unto you; that ſo he may remaine among you in quinteſſence and vertue, being as it were divided among you, as they ſay of Romulus, that he was diſcerpt by the Senate, when he dyed, and every Senatour got a piece of him. Let nothing that was exemplary in him be put in his grave, that neither we nor our poſterity may have cauſe to write upon his Statue, as they did upon that of Brutus, utinam viveres.
As for his Military worth; If any ſhall apply themſelves to copy it out, or ſome young Noble Spark ſhall pleaſe to goe to Schoole to his Monument, their leſſon is, Diſce Miles militare, Galbaeſt. Here they ſhal be taught how to excell, ſide & armis, How to have mettell in their Coat, as well as Colour; How to carry themſelves ſo, as they may legere exercitum, non emere, win an Army and not preſſe, ſilence mutinies, or perſwade the ſouldiery with one …ord Quirites, and in a word how to be an Eſſex, not a Caeſar, who converted his Arms againſt the Senate, and therefore hath a blot in his Copy to this day.
I muſt conclude with you the moſt Honourable Senate of England; It would be too much preſumption in me to thanke you for this Honour of your preſence and ſorrowes; Its a great thing to be made immortall by an immortall Parliament: All the Honour which belongs to your ſervants and inſtruments, redounds to you; what they get or receive is but handed by them to you the owners; ſhould we write downe but fifty to them, when there is a hundred due, the loſſe would be yours. It was a ſtately deportment to entertaine the newes of this great Champion and Senatour his death, as the old Romans uſed to entertaine ſad tydings, mutatis veſtibus, and to honour your ſorrow with an adjournment: This is the way to breed more Eſſex's: Its Honour that breeds a ſouldier; Take honour out of his eye, and you cut off the ſpurres from his heeles. My wiſhes are, firſt, that you may never have occaſion to create any moe then you have done by the name of Excellency: ſecondly, that if you muſt, there may be ſuch men, with whom in ſafety you may lay up your lives, and thirdly, that you may have the happines to pitch upon them.
Amen.
FINIS.
THE Authours, Nature, and Danger OF HAERESIE.
Laid open in a Sermon Preached before the Honorable Houſe of Commons at Margarets Weſtminſter, upon Wedneſday the Tenth of March 1646. being ſet apart as a ſolemne day of Publike Humiliation to ſeeke Gods aſſiſtance for the ſuppreſſing and preventing of the growth and ſpreading of Errours, Hereſies, and Blaſphemies.
By RICHARD VINES.
foreign Heſych.
There muſt alſo be Haereſies.1 Cor. 11. 19.
Ʋt fides habendo tentationem, haberet probationem. Tertull. de praeſcript.
Printed by Order of the Houſe of Commons.
LONDON, Printed by W. Wilſon for Abel Roper, and are to be ſold at his ſhop at the Sun over againſt Dunſtans Church in Fleetſtreet. 1647.