The Gale of Opportunity, Authors note
To his highly HONORED, Mr. John Walcott, of WALCOT. Eſquire.
SIR, In publiſhing this Sermon (Preached at your Fathers Funerall) I could not but publiſh your Name to it, or it to your Name, you beeing ſo neer to him, for Every Child is the Father multiplied: He loved you dearly, for his (and your owne) ſake, I cannot but love and honour you highly.
This Sermon was Preached for him, but it was Preached to you; and therefore God looks that it ſhould worke upon you: For at that time you had two Preachers at once Preaching to you, the Preacher in the Coffin, and the Preacher in the Pulpit: He preacht to you that you muſt dye, This Sermon preach't to you how you muſt live: His Death preach't to you, that time will be gone; This Sermon Preacheth to you, how you ſhould improve your time: As Death is the way to eternall life, ſo an holy life is the way to an happy death: Your Good Father dyed old, and you may dye young: as God writes ſome mens life in words at length, ſo ſometimes God is pleaſed to write in ſhort-hand, and cut a long life into a ſmall Monoſyllable: and therefore turne and winde your preſent ſtock of time to the beſt, and grow rich in grace upon it. Remember
1 You cannot begin too ſoon to ſerve Jeſus Chriſt: One may begin too late, but he can never begin too ſoon to ſerve Chriſt: Where ſhould the Flower of your Age grow but in the Garden of his ſervice?Bp. Hall. It is the Policy of the Devill to diſcourage Early holineſſe: He that goes out betimes in the morning, is more like to diſpatch his Journey, than he that lingers till the day be ſpent.
2 You can never doe too much for Jeſus Chriſt: Religion know sno aReligio non poteſt habere exceſſum ſecundum quantitatem abſolu. am, poteſt tamen habere exceſſum ſecundum quantitatem proportionis, prout ſcilicet in cultu divino fit aliquid quod fieri non debet. Aqui. 22ae. q. 92. a 1. ad. 3.exceſſe: you cannot ſavour too much of holineſſe: as there be ſome perſons that cannot beare the ſmell of Muske and ſweet perfumes, it fils their brains and makes them ſick, ſo Hypocrites, (and they are Hypocrites that) cannot abide the ſmell of holy preciſeneſſe, and the ſent of ſtrictneſſe: Paul bids us be ſervent in ſpirit [foreign, that is, ſeething hot] ſerving the Lord: Quinon zelat, non amat, He that hath not zeale for Chriſt, hath not love to Chriſt: True zeale is a Seal of our Election: Strictneſſe and exactneſſe is the beauty and luſtre of Religion: I ſay, you cannot doe too much for Jeſus Chriſt, be hath done ſo much for us: And what doth Chriſt require of you, but he did the ſame for you? Is hee not upon equall termes with you? Nay before hand with you? If he cals you to bear the Croſſe for him, did he not bear a greater Croſſe for you? Grace puts no limits to Holineſſe:Sus non poteſt ferre roſas & amaracum. Franz. & Plin. Rom. 12. 11. Iracundi ſunt qui amant. Lucian. in dial. Merc. & Maij Finis appetitio non habet limites defini. o;. Ariſtot. Finis praeſcribit media, ſed ipſi fini non praeſcribitur. Eccl. 7. 29. Gen. 1. 26. He that makes God his End, thinks he can never have enough of God, or bee too holy for God: And though his actions of Holineſſe, and his forwardneſſe in them over-run his Credit, or over-throw his Eſtate, yet he cares not, repents not; for 'tis not his End to preſerve himſelfe, but to ſerve Jeſus Chriſt upon him ſelfe.
3 Holineſſe is no upſtart: Ʋunder which notion the world lookes upon it: as if preciſeneſſe in Religion were a new faſhion taken up, and put on by ſome but of late: No; Holineſſe was the firſt Suite that ever was put upon the back of mans nature: 'Tis elder then Sin: 'Tis the firſt borne: God made man Righteous: 'Tis more naturall to man to be righteous; Sin is againſt nature: Tis a defect of nature: It came (as I may ſay) of the wrong ſide of the Hedge, a meer Baſtard: God is not the Parent of it, it hath nothing of God in it, 'twas the Devil that begat it upon mans nature, and therefore 'tis of a later Edition then grace, Grace was, when ſin was not: Let us make man (ſaith God) in our Image, after our likeneſſe: You ſee Grace is of a moſt ancient houſe, of the higheſt antiquity, and therfore if any thing will, it will ennoble you.
4 And that you may be beated into zeale for Jeſus Chriſt, Live in the Scripture fire: as the Salamander (they ſay) lives in the fire, ſo doo you live in the Scripture, as your Element: It will ſcorch you into en holy love to Jeſus Chriſt: No book becomes your hand like the Bible: It made David wiſer then his Teachers: 'Tis this Book that makes Preachers, and this Booke is the beſt Preacher: This Booke will preach to you in your Chamber: By this Booke all Preachers and Hearers muſt be judged at the laſt day: This Booke will expound to you that hidden Booke that is within you, your Conſcience-: The Booke of Conſcience is a ſecret and intricate piece, very few are well read in it, moſt deceived by it; but this Booke of Scripture I ſay, this Booke will diſcover it, and ſhew you all the Errata in it; it will ſearch your very heart, and tell all its ſecrets to you, nay this Book will tell out Gods heart to you, and his minde concerning you,ccEgo odi libros meos, & ſaepe opto eos interire, quod metuo ne morentur lectores, & abducant a lectione ipſius Scripturae, quae ſola omnis ſapientiae fons eſt, &c. Luther hated his owne Bookes, and (ſaith hee) I often wiſh they were all loſt, fearing leaſt they ſhould hold Readers in delay, and take them off from reading Scripture.
Ierome gives a ſtrange narrative of himſelfe, how he was dragged to the Tribunall, becauſe he had read Cicero more greedily then he did the Scripture; Being asked of my condition, (ſaith he) I anſwered, I was a Chriſtian: Thou lyeſt (ſaith the Judge) Ciceronianus es, non Chriſtianus: Thou art a Ciceronian, not a Chriſtian; for where thy Treaſure is, ther's thy heart alſo. Preſently (ſaith he) I was put to ſilence, and had not a word to ſay: and among the ſtripes (for he had commanded me to be beaten) I was ſcorched more with the fire of Conſcience conſidering with my ſelf that Verſe, In the Grave who will give thee thanks? Then I began to cr…, Have Pſalm. 6.mercy upon me, O Lord, have mercy upon me: This voice ſounded loud amidſt the ſcourgings: At laſt, they that ſtood by, caſting themſelves downe at the Preſidents knees, prayed him, that he would pardon my youth, and give place of Repentance to my Errour: Then he requiring puniſhment, if at any time I read heathen Books, I, who in ſuch a caſe would have promiſed greater matters, began to ſweare deeply, ſaying, Lord, If at any time I ſhould read thoſe ſecular Books I have denyed thee: And ſo upon this Oath he was diſmiſſed: And he addes moreover, Neither was this a ſleep or a vaine dreame, with which we are often deluded, Witneſſe that Tribunall before which I lay; witneſſe that ſevere judgement which I trembled at, that I pray God I never fall again into ſuch examination by torment: I confeſſe I had my ſhoulders black and blew, and felt the blowes after my ſleep, and have ſince read Gods word with ſuch endeavour, as I never read before any humane writings: Thus far Saint Jerome: Now let this paſſage awake you, and all of us: Let us lay aſide the ſublimeſt curioſities of mans witt, all Volumnes for Scripture, And all imployment for Heaven.
Wing your haſte, you have the flouriſhing plumes of Age upon you, How farre might you fly and ſoar up quite to an heaven of experience, and communion with Jeſus Chriſt, if you would looſe no time: I ſay, if you would looſe no time: I hope you will not, I pray you may not: For you may ſee in this Sermon, That opportunity is an unvaluable Treaſure, and yet a tranſient Treaſure; it carrieth laſting things along with it, and yet it ſelfe laſts not, ſtayes not with us: You may ſee in this Sermon, what great things you may looſe, if you looſe your opprotunity; you may looſe your ſelfe if you looſe your opportunitie.
God hath ſet you upon the higher ground, above many in the world, Act highly for him: Lay up a Rich ſtock of Grace within you, that you may have an heart to act for him in publick: I wiſh you proſperity here, felicity hereafter: Accept t his Dedication from him, who doth, and ſhall ever reſt,
Your real Servant in CHRIST JESƲS. THO. FROYSEL. CLUN. Octob. 8. 1651.