Six Sermons, Title page 1 – Dedication 2
SIX SERMONS:
1. Of CHRISTIAN CHARITY, Preached before the Judges of Aſſize at Bury S. Edmonds.
2. Of TRUE FELICITY, at S. Peters in the City of Norwich.
3. Of the VVorlds vanity, and Soules excellency, at S. Pauls, LONDON.
4. Of an humble Converſion, and an holy Converſation, at Great Bealings, Suff.
5. & 6. Of S. PAULS Concrucifixion, at Hoxne, Suff.
By Edw: Willan, M. A. C. C. C. in Camb. and Vicar of Hoxne.
Baſil. Mag. Enar. in Cap. 1. Iſaiae. Sunt Sermones iſti, quos Propheta vidit, ſpectabiles.
LONDON, Printed for R. Royſton, at the Angel in Ivie-lane. M DC LI.
May 8. 1651.
Imprimatur,
John Downame.
TO THE RIGHT HONORABLE, HENRY, Earle of MONMOƲTH, Lord CARY, Baron of Lepington, and Knight of the Honorable Order of the BATH.
My very good Lord,
IT is commonly charged upon theſe Times, that they are Times of many Evills; And it is a maine Evill wherewith the Times are charged, that the many Charges of the Times doe hinder Men from paying of Debts. I dare not call that Evill, that hath hindred mee from duplicate page duplicate page paying mine. But ſure I am, thatOccupationes quibus indies diſtincor maximae, aliquid Excuſationis ab aequis, ut spero, rerum aeſtimatoribus impetrabunt. Armacha. in Praef. ad Britan. Eccl. Antiquitat. the conſtant Charges, and frequent Diſcharges of many Dues unto the People from the Pulpit, have hindred mee from paying any Dues unto your Honour from the Preſſe; And forced mee, as you may ſee, to borrow backe thoſe driblet Debts, here tendred unto other Friends, for the making up of one ſmall Sum, for my chiefeſt Creditor.
There were many Marii in oneSueton. in vita Jul. Caeſ. Caeſar; And many VVorſhipfulls, and Right VVorſhipfulls may be in one Right Honorable: Yet many and many Reſpects are due from me unto thoſe worthy Names perfixed to theſe Sermons; But your Lordſhips due is all, yea more then all that I am, and more then all that I am able to doe. All this that I have done, is but the leaſt part of that all, which I ſhould have done. I cannot doe all that I would, but I will doe all that I can to atteſt my deſires to doe all; The very ſeemes of Negligence in other Pens are even ſhamed by ſeeing the Diligence of your Lorſhips.
I know not whether there be ſuch a thing as Scandalum Magnatum in theſe Times; But this I know, that ignobile vulgus hath commonly accuſed Nobility of Idleneſſe; And ſure I am, that the many Reames of Paper, which your happieſt Pen hath filled, and fitted for the Preſſe, are enough to ſtuffe their Throates, and to ſtop their Mouthes, that have been opened to ſpeake evill of ſuch Dignities. IJude 8. confeſſe, I ſhould have wondred at the Excellent and Abundant fruit of your Labours more then now I neede, (though ſtill I cannot but admire them) had I not known your conſtant courſe of watering them, by your kneeling down, and praying in yourBene precaſse eſt bene ſtuduiſſe. M. Luther. Cloſſet before your putting of Pen to Paper. The Power of Godlineſſe in that your Honours Example did even inforceAs there is Treaſon, and Petty-Treaſon; So there is Sacrilege and Petty-Sacrilege; and Petty Sacrilege is to rob Princes, and great Perſons of their due Praiſes. Dr. Donne Serm. 27. me to imitation in my adjacent Lodging at More-Park, and ever ſince hath engaged mee to pray dayly for your Honor, for my very good Lady, for all the younger Ladyes, and for all belonging to your Noble Family, as the bounden Duty of
My Lord The humbleſt of Your Chaplaines, VVILLAN.
TO THE CHRISTIAN READER.
READER,
THere are many in theſe Times that will needs be ſpreading of their Napkins before the People, and yet have never a Talent in them; And others there are, that have many Talents in their Napkins, yet will not ſpread them before the People of theſe Times: And for my part, I would have hid that peece of a Talent, entruſted to my ſelfe, ſtill from the Preſſe, as willingly as any, if I might; And from the Pulpit too, if I durst; But neceſsity is laid upon mee,1 Cor. 9. 16. and wo be to me, if I Preach not the Goſpell.
I was even inforced to ſend three of theſe Sermons to the Preſſe; And for their ſakes, I forced the other three to goe along for company; And had ſent as many more made ready with them, could I have met with Tutelar Names, like Tobies Guardian Angel, Tobit. 5. 6.to goe before them. I muſt confeſſe, that ſix are enough, and more then enough for ſuch a Meane Beginner to adventure in one Bottome; Yet ſo many I have adventured; And if this firſt Adventure prove ſucceſſefull, I ſhall ſoon double the Number in another fleete, and advance it after them.
I have put theſe Sermons together, as Plinius Secundus Plin. Secun. Epiſt. 1. ad Septit.did his Epiſtles, non ſervato temporis ordine, ſed ut in manus venerant; As he told his friend Septitius. And I was the rather perſwaded to print them, for that I knew, it would be but little profit to me, to keepe them by mee as a Private ſtock for the Pulpit; But I made conjecture, that it might be more benefit to others, to have them put into their hands, as a Publick ſtock from the Preſse. They were never likely againe to have anyPlus homines oculis quam auribus credunt. Seneca. Epiſt 70. Hearers; But it may be thus they may gaine ſome Readers; And if any Readers gaine by them, it ſhall be reckoned as the greateſt gaines that may be to
Thine EDVV. WILLAN.
Errata.
PAge 22. l. 32. r. Aegeria. p. 39. l. 19. r. foreign. p. 52. l. 6. r. called. p. 59 l. 1. r. foreign. p. 63. l. 24. r. if we may preach it. p. 79. l. 1. r. be univerſall. p. 111. in marg. r. Vedelius. p. 133. l. 3. r. be leſſe. p. 138. l. ult. r. foreign. p. 156. l. 5. r. foreign. p. 162. l. 1. r. of Sympathy. p. 164. l. 9. r. foreign. p. 165. l. 29. r. he ye…lds. Reader there are ſome miſplaced Annotations, whoſe reducements I muſt leave to thy diſcretio… as thou readeſt, Vale.
Ipſe Bernardus non videt omnia.
A SERMON OF CHRISTIAN CHARITY, PREACHED AT BURY St. EDMONDS, Before the JUDGES, MARCH, 18. 1649.
It is the Worke of Charity to build up Chriſtians. And it ſhould not be the Worke of Chriſtians to beate down Charity.
LONDON, Printed for R. Royſton, at the Angell in Ivie-Lane, 1651.
TO THE VVORSHIPFULL, Wiſeman Bokenham, Eſq.
SIR,
THeſe N…tes belong unto your Worſhip by a manifold right. Indeed they can of right belong ſo properly to none as to your Worſhip. For Firſt it was by your command that this Sermon was compoſed of them, for the Pulpit. And then by your command it was, that this Sermon of them was thus diſpoſed into a Pamphlet. It troubled me very much to heare my ſelfe ſo entreated as I was, to Pen this Sermon for your peruſall; But it troubled me farre more to ſee my ſelfe enforced as I have beene, to requeſt it back againe to ſend it to the Preſse. You cannot but remember, that when you did ſo heartily deſire my Notes, I did as humbly as I could deſire that they might never be made publick. I onelyonly thought upon the Pulpit in my ſtudying for them; And I thought but onelyonly of your private peruſall in tranſcribing of them. I would they might have reſted in your hands perpetually. But they are even enforced thus to come abroad, and appeare in publick, and your Worſhip knows from whence the violence was offered to them.
I muſt follow after the Sermon, as the Sermon doesQui non diligit fratrem, manet in morte. 1 Johan. 2. Nemo adultus poteſt ſalvari, fine Charitate in Deum, & proximum. Zanch. Miſcellaneorum lib. 2. follow after the Text; And ſo muſt follow after Charity to ſuch as have enforced me to doe what I had no minde to. I know it was the love of Charity in your Worſhip, that cauſed you to like the Matter of this Sermon, when it was preached; And that it was the Charity of your love unto the Preacher, that perſwaded you to accept the Manner of it, as it was penned. And I hope that Charity will never faile you towards,Charitas nunquam excidit. 1 Cor. 13. 8.
Sir, Your poore Servant EDVV. WILLAN.