Death Disarmed, Title page – Dedication
ΘΑΝΑΤΟΚΤΑΣΙΑ. OR, DEATH DIS ARMED: And the Grave ſwallowed up in Victory.
A Sermon preached at S. Maries in Cambridge, Decemb. 22. 1653. At the publick Funerals of Dr. Hill, Late Maſter of Trinity Colledge in that Univerſity. With a ſhort account of his Life and Death. To which are added two Sermons more upon the ſame Text, preached afterward in the ſame place.
By ANTHONY TUCKNEY, D. D. Maſter of S. Johns Colledge in Cambridge.
I will ranſome them from the power of the grave, I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plague; O grave, I will be thy deſtruction.
Hoſea 13. 14.
LONDON, Printed for J. Rothwel, at the Fountain and Bear in Goldſmiths-row in Cheapſide; And S. Gellibrand at the Ball in Pauls Church-yard, 1654.
TO THE RIGHT WORSHIPFULL my ever honoured Friend, Mr. FRANCIS ASH. Merchant, and Governor of the Muſcovia Company of the City of LONDON.
SIR,
THat I print this Sermon, is not out of any compliance with the ſcribling humour of theſe times, or from the leaſt thought, that by it I ſhall adde any thing to the Argument it treats of, which from other abler mens labours may not be had with better advantage: But only from the importunity of ſome friends, whom I could not well deny, and whoſe aim in it was the glory of God, and the keeping alive the memory of That his faithful ſervant at whoſe Funerals it was preach'd.
But ſeeing that, ſuch as it is, it muſt be Printed, That I dedicate it to your ſelf, I have many great cauſes, which although you be not, yet I am deſirous that others may take notice of: Amongſt them, I may not, without ingratitude, omit your undeſerved reſpects to my ſelf.
But I muſt eſpecially reckon your plain and ſingle-hearted Candor and Integrity, which the painted Pageants of many others now a dayes ſet off with a greater luſter.
Your cordial love of Gods truth, and of that good old Doctrine according unto godlineſs, which thoſe Worthies of God, under whom you and I have been trained up, preached, and lived, and died in the belief, practice, and comfort of, to which you do well firmly to adhere, whilſt too many in this giddy Age are turned aſide to vain janglings, and1 Tim. 1. 6 2 Pet. 2. …. pernicious errours;
Your fervent zeal for Chriſts Miniſtry and Miniſters, ſo that whom others deſpiſe, you honour; and whom the foot of pride, even of the baſeſt, is ready to tread down and trample upon, your humility and love endevour to uphold: Witneſſe that your great, and for many years rarely parallel'd bounty, in giving (and that in your life time) the large ſum of very nigh three hundred pounds per annum, to moſt pious uſes, viz. towards the maintenance
Of poor Miniſters Widdows.
Of a Lecture in London, the place of your longeſt abode.
Of two Schools, the one in the place of your Birth, and the other of yourDarby, aſ…by de l… Zouch. Education.
And eſpecially of that happy Society of Emmanuel Colledge in this Ʋniverſity, on which you have been pleaſed to confer the greateſt ſhare of it.
That this plentiful ſhowre of your bounty ſhould be directed to fall on that fruitful Field, which God all along hath ſo abundantly bleſſed, was his good hand guiding yours to lay it on the head of that fruitful Ephraim.
That your favour to my ſelf ſhould in any meaſure incline your heart to that Colledge of which I was then an unworthy Member, was your goodneſse ſo much to honour me. But that which rend…eth both your ſelf, and your gift more highly valued and honoured by All, is
1. The greatneſs of it making you a ſecond Founder, at leaſt (after their moſt pious Founder) the greateſt Benefactor that ever that Colledge had. Like Solomons Clouds, which when fullEccl. 1…. … of rain, empty themſelves abundantly upon the earth; herein you have obeyed Gods command, in opening your hand Deut. 1… 11. 1 Tim. 6 17. 1….wide. Followed his example, who giveth to all richly. Anſwered has expectation, who requireth much where he hath given much. Ten talents,Luk. 12. 48. Matth. 25. 20. Deut. 26. 10. & Prov. 3. 9, 10. Math. 25. 24, 25, 26, 27. &c. where he hath given five.
As Soveraign Lord he will be acknowledged by all. Something he expecteth from them on whom he hath beſtowed leaſt; but much, on whom more. So that he who in this or the like kind doth nothing, is an evil ſervant, a practical Atheiſt, thereby in true interpretation ſaying, that he hath received nothing: and he who having received much, giveth but little, doth but tell over again Saphira's lye in ſaying, yea, ſo much, when it was much more, that Acts 5. 8, 9, 10.made her doom very heavy; whileſt you, whoſe pound hath gain'd ten pounds may comfortably expect to hear that bleſſed Euge, Well done good and L…k. 19. 16, 17.faithful ſervant. And whatever others may think and ſay, yet if Scripture may be Judge, you have herein done the part of a good husband: hereby making God your debtor, who being eternal, Prov. 19. 17.will have time enough to ſhew himſelf a true paymaſter, and a moſt plentiful rewarder of your bounty with his. The prudent husbandman, whatever elſe he is ſparing of, will not ſcant his ſeed-corn; it ſeemeth you intend2 Cor. 9. 6. Prov. 11. …7. by ſowing liberally to reap liberally; thus you have done good to your ſelf, whileſt you have withal honoured Prov. 3. 9.God, our Nation, and the whole Reformed Religion. Papiſts boaſt much of their great good works; but ſome of our Divines have trulyDr. Willet, made it out by Induction of particulars, that (for their time and ability) Proteſtants have equall'd and exceeded them; and let your happy name be added, and in fair letters written in that lovely Catalogue.
2. The pious and religious Grounds and ends of giving it; it was not in way of any Popiſh penance to expiate the guilt of ſome fouler crime, which in thoſe blind times built many of their Churches and Monaſteries, nor a Legacy bequeathed by the will of ſome cruel oppreſſor, who after that in his life time by his exactions he had made many poor, on his death-bed from ſting of conſcience is enforced to take care for the maintaining of ſome of them, this was no ſuch trucking either with God or man, with the Papiſt to merit at Gods hands, or with the vain-glorious Phariſee to blow a Trumpet to gainMath. 6. 2. Hoſ. 12. 7. Joh. 2. 14. applauſe with men, which is but to play the Merchant and money-changer in the Temple, and in making up their laſt accounts to cloſe up all former oppreſſions with a new kinde of uſury; your eye was more ſingle, did not look ſo aſquint, when it looked ſo favourably upon that Colledge, but as you were pleaſed to build upon their honourable Founders religious foundation, ſo you both had the very ſame pious intention. He expreſſeth his in the Preface to his ſtatutes in thoſe words, Pro mea facultate Religionis, & vitae puritatem ad poſteros noſtros propagare, that according to his ability he might propagate purity of life and doctrine to poſterity; from whence ſome great men, and their ſmall friends then at the very firſt thought they ſmelt a Puritan: you as clearly manifeſt yours in the words of your Donation to be, For and towards the furtherance of godlineſs and learning, that ſo the Church of God may be thereby the better provided of godly, learned, and Orthodox Miniſters. Bleſſed be God, that both of you ſo happily meet in the ſame work, with the ſame heart, and as He in the view of all, hath manifeſtly obtained his end, whileſt that little younger ſiſter hath been as fruitful as any; ſo may you alſo yours, in her continuance and encreaſe of yet more fruitfulneſſe anſwerable to Gods wider opening his hand to her, in his and your bounty.
3. The time and ſeaſon in which it was given. This, as it rendreth every thing beautiful, ſo it preſentsEccl. 3. 11 Prov. 2. 5. 11. your rich gift, as apples of Gold in pictures of Silver: as a ſmile from heaven, when earth frowned; a Cordial in a fainting fit. When our Almanack Diviners could read in the Heavens our Miniſtry and Ʋniverſities to be falling Stars; and our ABC Divines, pretending to more divine inſpirations both in Pulpit and Pamphlet, could foretell the ſudden ruine of both, and then like a Jonah return to their boo… to ſee what would become of Jonah 4. 5.them; When Ignorance driveled, and madneſse foam'd and rav'd with diſtracted non-ſenſe, and malice plotted our overthrow, and all (Edom-like) cryed Raſe it, raſe it to the foundation, then foreign, or rather inPſal. 137. 7. Pſal. 46. 1. Scripture-expreſſion foreign Then our God from on high looked through the pillar of fire upon the hoſt of thoſe Egyptians, Exod. 14. 24, 25.and took off their Chariot-wheels when they drave ſo furiouſly. And then alſo it was that you in your place and rank reached out your able and friendly band to hold and lift us up, when others would have caſt us down; and if he who helpeth to uphold the weak man at any time doth a friendly office, he who beareth him up when he is now ſtumbling and ready toJob 12. 5. ſlip, and ſo is as a deſpiſed lamp, ſubject to be trod out as a ſnuffe, doth him a double courteſie: by this God himſelf commendeth his love to his people, in that he is a Strength, but that to the poor and needy, and that in his diſtreſs, Iſa. 25. 4.a refuge from the Tempeſt, when the blaſt of the terrible ones is as a ſtorm againſt the wall: ſuch blaſts we have felt; but bleſſed be God, and thoſe his ſervants, who have been asIſa. 32. 2. an hiding place from the winde, and a covert from ſuch Tempeſts; and bleſſed be you alſo who durſt ſet your ſhoulder to uphold a falling wall, and then to appear for us, when ſo many ſo violently oppoſed us; and others who wiſhed us well, could better pitty then help us: a piece not ſo much of Roman gallantry, which adventured upon theFlorus l. 2 purchaſe of that field in which Annibal had pitched his camp, as of true Chriſtian magnanimity, like Joſeph of Arimathea, who in that houre and power of darkneſs in extrema deſperatione intrepidè in lucem prodiit, andCalvin in Joh. 19. 38. Mark. 15. 43. boldly appeared for a crucified Saviour. Let others admire the gay Tulip, which will cloſe up when night or a cold blaſt comes; in my eye that is a pleaſant plant that will bloom and bloſſome in an hard Froſt; and that a ſtately bird which will ſwim up againſt the ſtream, while light ſtraws and ſuch traſh are carried down with it.
In this you have proved your ſelf a true friend, to love thus at all times, Prov. 17. … 17.and more then a brother that is born for adverſity. Conſtancy in ſuch times when the generality of the world ran a contrary courſe, made Athanaſius in Ornt. 21. in Laudem Athanaſii.Nazianzens eſteem both Adamas and Magnes; and you in this have proved both; the Adamant in your invincible reſolution, notwithſtanding all diſcouragements; and thereby muſt needs prove the Loadſtone to draw both ours and all good mens hearts to you. Although therefore they were too bold to tell our Saviour that the Centurion was worthy to be gratified by him, becauſe he loved their Nation, and built them a Luk. 7. 4.Synagogue; Yet you who plead no merit with God, are deſervedly worthy to be honoured by men, and ſhall ever be by me, for the like love and bounty. This hath begot you the trouble of this Dedication; and may your peruſal of the book conduce any thing to the guidance of your life, or the comfort of your death, I ſhall account my ſelf to have received a rich reward of this poor labour.
You read of Iſaac's going out into the field to meditate in the evening; Gen. 24. 63.Sir, it is about that time of the day with you; ſhall you therefore pleaſe in this your evening-walk and meditation, that it may ſometimes bear you company, I hope you and I ſhall have the more cauſe to rejoyce at our laſt moſt comfortable meeting. Now that God and Father who hath bin the guide of your youth, be the ſtaffe of your age, that you may be ſo planted in his houſe, and flouriſh Pſal. 92. 13, 14.in his Courts, that you may ſtill bring forth more fruit in your old age, and your fruit may remain and perpetuateJoh. 15. 16. Iſa. 56. 5. you a name better then of ſons and daughters, which (God enabling me) ſhall be the conſtant and inſtant prayer of
SIR, Your affectionate friend, very much obliged to love and honour you, ANTHONY TVCKNEY. Cambridge, March 27 1654