WHen I last supplied this place in your honourable presence as now I doe, and preached vnto those poore delinquents then rea­die to die by the doome of iustice; I [Page 2] was sharpely censured of some, that I preached too much mercie, and too little Iudgement, and that like an vn­skilfull Samaritan, I powred into the sores of those wounded soules and broken hearts ouer much oyle, and too little vineger.

Which and if I did, I might well say with the Prophet Ieremiah, in a cause not much different; Ierem. 20.7.O my God, if I be deceiued, thou hast deceiued me, thou hast deceiued me with the extent of thy mercy, which reacheth farre, euen from the nethermost hell, to the highest heauens: Thou hast de­ceiued me with the height of thy mercie, which is aboue all thy workes, for thy mercie O Lord stretcheth it selfe vnto the heauens, and thy truth vnto the cloudes: thou hast deceiued me with the depth of thy mercie, for one depth calleth vpon an other, but that of mercie swalloweth vp all: Nay thou hast deceiued me with thine holy offerings of mercie vpon thine holy Altar, who hast said, I will haue mercie and not sacrifice; But oh [Page 3] my God, thou art not deceiued, nei­ther can thy mercies be limited in thy bountie, and why shall they be straitned in my bowels?

It may be Nature hath made me ouermilde, and the sinnes of the world require I should be seuere, yet this must I say withall, that neither my ouermilde disposition, nor yet the worlds transgression, shall euer make me cruell against the penitent.

And such you are, whose salt teares this day, doe well expresse your sor­rowfull hearts, who hauing beene humbled, at the barre of Gods Iustice, why should you not appeale to the barre of his mercie, to seeke and sue for grace to helpe in time of need.

For when is need if not now? when the feare of death is before your face, when the horrour of your sinnes cryeth vengeance against your soules, whē your best friends faile you, and this whole world forsaketh you, when Sathan winnoweth you like [Page 4] wheate, because he knoweth he hath but a short time, when is need, if not now? to pray that your faith faile you not, that the Lord would be propiti­ous, and that no temptation fall vpon you greater then you are able to beare, but that euen in the middest of the temptation, the Lord would giue you a gratious issue, and that so vpon your dissolution which is at hand, you might be translated out of this misera­ble world, to liue with God in the mer­cies of a better.

Pardon me then againe to passe by these turbulent waters of Iorden, I meane of Iudgement that runne roughly vpon the Rockes of your sinne, and giue me leaue yet still to bathe in the sweete running waters of Shilo, I meane mercie, that goe softly by Syon, and when Iordan is driuen backe with the Ocean of Gods mer­cies, you may more speedily make your passage into Canaan the land of your inheritance.

Now therefore to you, be it spoken [Page 5] poore suppliants, ouer whom we pray with teares, and preach with passion, lift vp your hearts aboue the height of all Sublimitie: Settle your affections on things that are aboue, and not on things that are belowe. For thoe yee be dead, what of that? yet your life is hid with Christ in God, and when Christ which is your life shall appeare, then shall yee appeare with him in glorie.

The Text is like the fierie Chariot that carried vp Eliah into heauen, 2. Kings. 2. v. 11. which thoe happily it might turne his bodie into Synders, yet it neuer left him, till it had brought his soule into solace.

And it runnes as you may heare see vpon three wheeles, the first is of death, the second of life, and the third, of glorie.

Death goeth before, Life follow­eth after, and glorie perfecteth all: and so as I may say, there is blessednes in death, there is blessednes in life, and there is blessednes in glorie, and with this three folde gable yee are halled [Page 6] vp to heauen.

Yee are dead, that is your blessed mortification;

Your life is hid with Christ in God, that is your blessed regeneration:

And when Christ which is your life shall appeare, then shall yee appeare with him in blessednes, that is your glo­rie: Or thus, yee are dead, that is your blessed crosse, but your life is hid in Christ, that is your blessed shade or co­uer, and when Christ shall appeare, then shall yee appeare with him in glorie, that is your blessed crowne and diadem of all heauenly delights.

Gen. 27. v. 26.27.It is said of aged Isaacke, that when his sonne Iacob had prepared for him such sauourie meate as his soule lo­ued, cooked and seasoned with the cunning hand of Rebeckah his mother, Isaack called vnto him, and said, Come hither my sonne, and let me kisse thee before I die, for me thinkes the smell of thy garments is like vnto the smell of a field which the Lord hath blessed.

Though most of you be young, yet are yee now aged & dead to this world, [Page 7] as Isaacke was, and I hope the meate pre­pared for you, is such sauorie meate as your soule loueth, Cooked with a more curious and cunning hand, then that of Rebeckah, for the spirit of God hath spoken it, by the mouth of Paul, and therefore come and kisse your Christ before yee die, sith the sweete smell and odour thereof, is like vnto the smell of a field which the Lord hath blessed; For now are yee blessed in death, bles­sed in life, and blessed in glorie.

First then my deare brethren, belo­ued and longed for, I say beloued in the best loue which is of Iesus Christ, and longed for, with a longing desire of your speedie saluation, euen at the in­stant of your desolution; let it not seeme strange vnto you, that there should be a blessednes in death. The truth hath spoken it, you may belieue it. Reuell. 14. v. 13. The dead that die in the Lord are ful­ly blessed, Amodo, euen now they rest from their labours, and their workes follow them. This voyce saith Iohn fell downe from heauen, that in the sweete ayre thereof, breathing life into our [Page 8] soules, our dead and dul, harts might be comforted, and euen here in the midst of death, neuer to despaire of life.

You haue heard belowe in this val­ley of teares many fearefull voyces, when sinne and shame runne after you as it were with Hue and Crye, and when yee weare taken in your transgressions against God and the King, it was a feare­full voyce, when putting your selues vpon God and your countrey, yee were found guiltie by the verdict of twelue iust men, yet more were yee daunted, when yee were sentensed to die with this irreuocable doome, from the mouth of Gods minister: yee shall goe to the prison, from whence yee came, thence to the place of execution, there shall you hang, vntill you be dead, and Christ haue mercie vpon your soules: your hearts were shaken to heare that voyce, and the mercifull Iudge tendering dropped downe teares to pronounce the Iudgement, the standers by were compassionate, and the whole Bench was moued with your miserie, yet what of all this? [Page 9] Sith all these voyces are beaten backe, with a voyce of greater Maiestie: Euen thus, The dead that die in the Lord are ful­ly blessed. Or as it is in my Text, Yee are dead, but your life is hid with Christ, in God, &c.

But happily it may seeme a Paradox to your passionate hearts, that a man should wither, and yet flourish: that a man should be breathles, & yet breath: that a man should be senselesse, and yet feele: that a man should be dead, and yet aliue: Ye are dead, yet is your life hid in Christ, &c.

Surely, Nature can neuer sounde it, yet grace may apprehend it thus: It is possible to die to sinne, and yet liue to righteousnes. It is possible to die to this world, and yet liue to a better. It is pos­sible (like a Dead man) to walke vpon this Earth, and yet to haue his cōuersa­tion in Heauen. Nay, it is possible that heauen & earth should so blend in one, as that one, and the selfe same man, should be dead in himselfe, and yet liue to his God.

It was so with Saint Paule, when hee [Page 10] said, Whether in the bodie, or out of the bo­die, I cannot tell, God hee knoweth, but me thinkes I see things that are invtterable: It was so with Iohn, Reuel. 1. V. 10. & V. 17. when Rauished in spirit, he fell down dead vpon the sight, and at the feete of that heauenly vision. It was so with Daniel, when groueling vpon the ground, Daniell. 8. V. 16.17.18. hee lay as dead: yet heard a voyce betweene the Bankes of Hula (which said) Gabriell, make this dead man to vnderstand the Vision; It was so with Ezekiel, at the Riuer Kebar, when he was caried betweene heauen & earth by the haires of his head: And so both heard & saw the diuine vision. Ezekiel. 8. V. 3. All these were aliue, and yet dead, they were ra­uished in spirit, and therefore lauish of their bodies: their thoughts were not mortall, whether in their bodies, or out of their bodies, they could not tell: Nor did they care, either for the crosses or comfortes of this transitorie worlde, so they might solace their soules in the Ioyes of a better.

The vse is good, to make the bur­den of your death more tollerable, in the comforts of a better life. Oh beare [Page 11] it with patience: and let your Earthly passions be moulded with heauenly pa­tience: Patientia vera, ipsum amat, quem portat: True patience loues it burthen, and let the visions of God, & thoughts of immortalitie, Mortifie your mem­bers, with your mindes, let them kill your Earthly affections: So shall you passe without grieuances, and say, Multi vident Punctiones, sed non vident Vnctiones: Many see our Afflictions, what they are outward, but they do not feele our con­solations, what they are inward.

Wee are dead, and what of that, Sith our life is hid with CHRIST in GOD? who will Crowne vs euen vppon the Crosse, with glorie and Immortalitie: Neuer to die any more, neuer to sinne any more, neuer to sigh any more: For Teares shall bee taken from our Eyes, sorrow from our soules, and sinne from our Hands, wee shall now walke before the Lord in the land of the liuing.

Oh, but life is sweet, and death is fear­full, how may I be prepared against that houre, to vndergo it in a Christian pati­ence, without earthly passiōs? I answer.

[Page 12]There bee three things that make Death tollerable to each Christian, The first is, the necessity of dying: The se­cond is, the Fecilitie of dying: And the third is, the falicitie of dying. For the first, that which cannot be auoyded by any power, it must be endured with all patience: The first Age had it, it may pleade Antiquitie. The second Age felt it, it may pleade continuance. And this last Age hath it, it will pleade propertie in all flesh, till Sinne and Time shalbe no more; Call it then no newe thing, that is so antient: Call it no strange thing, that is so vsuall: and call it not an euill properly thine, which is so common with all the world.

Wilt thou feare that done, which is alwayes a dooing? (I meane thy dying) and fearest thou to die in thy last day, when by little and little thou dyest eue­ry day? Oh well said Saint Paule, by our reioycing, which I haue in Christ Iesus our Lord, 1. Cor. 15. Vers. 31. I die daylie: Why then I may well say, Yee are alwayes a dying, and death is still a doing.

Death is the Ladie and Empresse of [Page 13] all the world, it ceazeth vpon all Flesh, without surrender of anie, till the day of restauration: No place, no Time, no presence, can backe it. There is no priui­ledge against the graue, there is no pit­tie in the graue, there is no pleading with the graue: And therefore Antiqui­tie, neuer made Altar to Death, or did deuotion to it, because it was implaca­ble: Euer found to be cruell, and neuer felt to be kinde.

But it may bee you will say, I might yet liue longer, for I am young, and in my blood: I answere, there is no time now to consult with flesh and blood, but readily to obey the Heauenly call: and for your fewe yeares, Seneca saith well, He that dieth when hee is young, is like one that hath lost a Dye, wherewith hee might rather haue lost then wonne: Moe yeares might haue insnared you with moe sinnes, and haue hardned you in your impenitencie, to the hazarde of your liues in this world, and your soules in an other: And for the flower of your youth, if you compare it with Aeternity, whither now you goe, and long after, Ephes. 4. Vers. 15. all [Page 14] are equally young, and equally olde, for the most extended Age of a man in this worlde is but as a pointe, or a Minute, & the most contracted can be no lesse.

And here from the necessitie of dy­ing, come wee to the facilitie of dying, which maketh it lesse fearfull, and more tollerable: For that the Sense of Death is of no continuance, It is buryed in it birth, it vanisheth in it thought, and the paine is no sooner begunne, but it is ended. Though the Flesh bee fraile, yet the spirit is strong, to encounter the crueltie of death: and to make it rather a kinde kisse, then a cruell Crosse.

Christ said at his death, Father, Now the houre is come, Io 17. V. 1. glorifie thy Sonne. Is there glorie in Death? And is it but an houre? Non manet diu, quòd in horam tantum manet: It is of no long abode, that abides but an houre.

And little doe I doubt, but in that houre, the soule is more rauished with the sight of GOD, then the bodie is tor­mented with the sense of death. Nay, I am further perswaded, in the very soule of my soule, that in the houre of death, [Page 15] the passion of mortalitie is so beaten backe, with the Impression of Aeterni­tie, as the flesh feeleth nothing, but what the soule offereth, and that is God from whom it came, and whither it would: as Saint Augustine saith, Eadem facilitate, qua foelicitate; with as great haste, as hap­pines: And so I passe from the facilitie of dying, to the Felicitie and blessednes, that commeth thereby.

Of which I may say, as Sampson did of his riddle, Out of the eater came meate, and out of the strong came sweetnes: Iudg. 14. V. 14. Now the meate that cōmeth out of this eater, and sweetnes that proceedeth foorth of this strong one, is a Sessation of all euill, and an endowmēt of all good: all euill both poenae & culpae, are swallowed vp of death, and by that dore, we haue ready passage to all blessednes, wher all good & God is.

Man that is borne of a Woman, Iob. 7. V. 6.7. & 14. V. 1.2. hath but a short time to liue, and is full of miserie:

Oh sweete Death that turneth time in­to Aeternitie, and miserie into mercie. This made Saint Paul to say, I desire to be dissolued, and to bee with Christ. This made Dauid to daunce, in the middest [Page 16] of his Affliction, when he saide, I should verily haue fainted, but that I verily trust to see the goodnes of God, in the land of the liuing. This hath supported the soules of Gods Saints, in the Seas of their sor­rowes, when they thought vpon the day of their dissolution, wherin they should be made glorious by deliuerance.

And therefore whether you please to define or diuine of Death what it is, if it be rightly broken into it parts, and passages, the Elect of God shall finde it, A going out of prison, a shaking off of Gyues, an end of banishment, a burster of Bands, a destruction of toyle, an Arri­uing at the Hauen, a Iourney finished, the laying away of a heauy burthen, the lighting from a mad and furious horse, a deliuerance from a ruinous house, and house of claye: The end of all griefes, the escape of all dangers, the destroyer of all euils, Natures due, Countreys ioy, Heauens blisse: And all this, for that by Death the doore is open, and passage made to Blessednes, Rest, and Immor­talitie: Luk. 24. V. 26. According to that of him who died for all: Ought not Christ to haue suf­fered, [Page 17] and so to haue entered into his rest? You may not leape out of your mothers warme wombe, into your fa­thers hotte Ioy, but you must a while endure death, that yee may be digni­fied, I had almost said deified, Phil. 3. v 21. Reuell. 14. v. 4. and surely you shall be neare it, for yee are borne of God, and yee shall be fashioned like vnto Christ, and followe the lambe whither euer he goeth: And now tell me in lieue of all I haue said, if death doe thus diuide vs from all euill, and put vs into all good, if death be like the gathering Ost Dan, that commeth last to gather vp the lost and forlorne hope in this world, that they may be found in a better, whether is it better to liue in sorrowe, or die with solace?

Let Agamedes and Trophonius assoile the doubt, of whom it is written by Plato in his Axioco, that after they had built the Temple of Apollo Delphicke, they begged of God, he would grant them that which would be most bene­ficiall for them, whereupon they went to bed, and there tooke their last sleepe, and the day after, they were [Page 18] found both dead, in token, that the day of death is better, then the day of life, this beeing the enterance, that the end of all miserie.

The vse is good in preparing vs to affliction, a continual current euer run­ning ouer our backes, euen from our birth, vnto our buriall, with a continu­all Archers shot, piercing our vaines, and breaking our bones, & from which we are neuer deliuered, but in the day of our death, Gen. 35. v. 18. when Bonony the sonne of my sorrowe, is turned into Beniamin the sonne of my right hand, and Rahels Crosse, is crowned with Ia [...]s strength.

And heare seasonably may I descend to the next part of my Text, and turne the second wheele, carrying you from death to life, wherein you are hid, for your life is hid in Christ, that is your comfort. Nay that is your Tower, and though death like a dampe may seeme to put out all the delights of pleasure, yet when it hath brought vs to the doore of life, it is beaten backe with a more glorious light, for then is your life hid with Christ in God: there to be carefully kept in grace, that yee may be [Page 19] crowned with him in glorie, Soule now, and body then, in that blessed vni­on of faith, and day of restauration, when this mortalitie shall put one im­mortalitie.

I say carefully kept in the bosome of thy Christ, Psal. 16.7. Isai. 32.2. as in a retyring campe af­ter the day of battell, kept as in an hi­ding place from the winde, and as the shadowe of a great rocke in a wearie land, kept vs in a sanctuarie to shrowde in, and as in one of the Cities of refuge to flee vnto, when sinne, hell, and death followe after with hue and Cry: kept as Ioseph was in the drie pit at Dothan, frō the rage of his brethren; 1. Sam. 22.1. 1. King. 19.8.9. 1. King. 18.13. 2. King. 11.2. kept as Dauid was in the Caue of Adullam, from the rage of Saul; kept as Elijah was at Hebrō from the ire of Iesabell; kept as the hun­dreth Prophets were by Obedea frō the furie of Ahab; Nay kept as Ioas was in the louing lap of Ioram, from the bloo­die designes of Athalia.

And thus is your life hid in Christ, and so kept as no violence can reach it, no treason can intrap it, no tyrannie can betray it. No pollicie or pui­sance can fetch it out: My sheepe saith [Page 14] Christ, Ioh. 10. v. 28. heare my voyce and I knowe them, they followe me, and I giue them eternall life, they shall neuer perish, neither shall any plucke them out of my hands; where he doth not say any mā, but any; That is to say, any sinne, any death, or any diuell.

And therefore I may safely secure my soule in the sweete repose of my God and Christ, when all my friends flee from me, and all mine enemies fly vpon me, as they did vpon my Christ, when hanging vpon the tree in greatest torments, yet found out an issue, & said, Father into thy hands I commend my spirit. Luke. 23. v. 46.

Againe, if all this be not sufficient to secure thee, yet know further, that Christ is the storehouse and treasurie of all mercie, in whom are hid with thee as the Apostle saith, all the riches of wisedome and knowledge, of grace, mercie, and peace, of loue, life, and sal­uation, neuer exhausted, but euer full and flowing in all aboundance, yea, and farre aboue all earthly treasures, in these seuerall respects, Quia violentia non aufertur, Antiquitate non Corrumpi­tur, Communitate multiplicatur, pauper­tate [Page 21] acquiritur, iucunditate possidetur, ex spiritualibus Componitur.

For the first, the treasure in this store­house is such, as no violence can fetch it thence, no Moth can eate it, no Can­ker can corode it, no theeues can break through or steale, no furie, no com­bustion, no winde from the wildernes, no violēce of the Sabeians, no Caldean bands can burst in where thy God and Christ haue treasured vp thy life, and thy saluation.

Nor is it euer altered with time, de­cayed, or exhausted.

The Persian store is now emptied, and deuouring time hath eaten out their rich treasure, the Assirian wealth is worne out, and Babels burse is bro­ken downe, the great Maguzin of the Medes is moulded to dust, and Romes reuenues are lestned since Cesars time, the mightie Monarches of the world are either worne out, or weakened, in their wealth; in their wit, in their power, and in their puisance. The imperiall ci­tie is shallow in store, because it is sunke in sinne, and become a cage for all fil­thie birds. Lastly, it pittieth me to think [Page 22] vpon Salomons store, when gold and siluer weare as stones in the streete, tract of time hath spent it, and now Ie­rusalems riches is in her ruines; All these are gone, and their pompe was in the pride of a daies continuance, but the Author of daies, our God and Christ, hath a treasure more permanent, and which abideth euer.

3 Yea, and aboue all the treasures in this world, in a third respect, and that is, Quia Communitate multiplicatur: all earthly treasures are spēt in bestowing, this heauenly wealth is multiplied in giuing; Pro. 11. v. 24. There is that scattereth saith Sa­lomon and is more increased, there is that spareth and commeth to pouertie; And here is the difference betwixt God and vs, the more he giueth, the more he hath; the more we scatter, the lesse we haue; The Fountaine of Gods grace is alwaies open, and the more that flow­eth from him, the fuller he is, one Depth calleth vpon an other, but the Depth of his mercie is bottomles.

Fourthly, this treasure excelleth o­thers, Quod paupertate acquiritur, Christ his coffers are filled with paine and po­uertie, [Page 23] according to that, Math. 19. v. 21. If thou wilt be perfect, goe sell that thou hast, and giue it to the poore, and thou shalt haue treasure in heauen, and come and followe me.

And againe, whosoeuer shall forsake hou­ses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mo­ther, wife or children, or lands, for my name sake, he shall receiue an hundreth fold, and shall inherit euerlasting life; Isay. 55.1. it is the call of thy God and Christ, yee that haue no money to buye, come buye without penney or penney­worth. Behold I set a kingdome on sale, euen that of heauen, where riches are bought with pouertie, peace with per­secution, glorie with shame, mirth with mone, Sollace with sorrow, & life with death, for yee must die once, that yee may liue alwaies, & alwaies there, where true Ioyes are to be found.

Fiftly, though this treasure be pur­chased with paine, yet it is kept with comfort: Earthly riches we so greedily catcht at, and gape after, they are sharpe as a thorne, & they pricke to the bone, for they pricke in getting, they pricke in keeping, and they pricke in parting from them; Nay, Acquirendo, Retinendo, Erogando, in getting, keeping, and be­stowing, [Page 24] there is nothing but much sinne, with little solace, and great daun­ger with small delight.

But the treasure wherein our life is hid, Ecclus. 15. v. 8. hath in it gladnes of heart (as Siraci­des saith) for men of truth haunt it, and shall prosper euen to the beholding of God. Waue therefore all wearines in the wealth of this wicked world, and as the prouerbe is, Ito sicut canis per Nilum, drink by cat­ches for feare of Crocadils: taste of it pleasures, but soake not into them, least in the sweetnes thereof, thou be sup­ped vp, Amatores suos nouit deuorare non portare, it knoweth better how to crosse, then crowne it riuals.

Lastly, ex spiritualibus Componitur: This treasurie stands vpon spiriturall store, no orient pearle of Peru or Mex­ico, no gold of Hauila, no Carbunkle, Topas or Chrisolit, w ^t are nothing else, but Terrae maculae & immunditiae; Nei­ther any of these, or all these, with an other world of greater wealth, can store the treasurie we ayme at, it is filled, it is filled, with the substance of a more hea­uenly beeing, spiritualibus, non mundanis gazis, not with transitorie, but with e­ternall store.

[Page 25]It is filled with righteousnes, peace and ioy of the holy Ghost, it is filled with mercie, grace, and glorie: It is filled with long life, length of dayes, and all Aeternitie: It is filled with Imperiall ma­iestie, brightnes, and immortalitie: It is filled with the presēce of God, with the sight of the Lambe, and with the sweete breath, and perfume of the holy Ghost, proceeding from both: It is filled with Songs of Sion, Melodious Musicke: and praises of all Saintes and Angells, swee­ter then the harmonie of the Heauens.

Finally, It is filled w ^t greater ioy thē man can thinke, or Angell can speake: & therfore I leaue it with a Selah, to my soule, till I finde in glorie, what I feele in grace. And the Lord increase your Faith, till you come to this perfection.

Pardon mee a while, to followe this current, till I hauee layde you a sleepe, in the sweete Repose and Bosome of your CHRIST; And therefore say yet further to the solace of your saued soules, Christ, in whom your life is se­cured, is that hidden Mannah, tendered to the Church at Pergamus, and in them to you, and so to the conquering Saints [Page 26] all the Worlde. To him that ouercom­meth, Reuel. 2. V. 17. I will giue to eate of the Mannah, that is hidde.

Prou. 25. V. 1. It stands with the glorie of God, to keepe a thing secret. So saith Salomon, But the Kings honour will finde it out: Christ is a secret, a mysterie, and a Myne, to be dig­ged into, our heauenly food, our meate and hidden Mannah, which we may not find in the barke and rinde, which often times seemeth faire to the sillie Eye of flesh and blood, but wee must search the Veynes, and digge downe to the Roote, where Christ his sappe and sweetnes is.

Reu. 10. V. 10. The little booke was sweete in the mouth, but bitter in the belly: The lower it went, the more passionate it was: It feeling was in it fall, and till it came to the en­trails, it entred not. So is this hidden Mannah, swimming in the eare, & moul­ded in the mouth, it relisheth not to thy saluation. But when it searcheth the veynes of thy heart and soule, then is thy life hidde in Christ, then is the very soule of thy Soule, incorporated into thy Sauiour, which made the Prophet crye out in Rauishment of spirit, Rasili, [Page 27] Rasili, My secret to my selfe, Isai. 24. V. 6. My secret to my selfe.

As if hee should say, If none will feele, yet am I filled with the abundance of this Angells foode: yea, and though all the world lye in darknes, yet Christ my Loue, my Life, my Light, and my Saluation, shineth vnto my selfe, and I shall walke in the brightnes thereof: euen from grace to grace, till I come to glorie.

Yea, and in the meane time be fedde and filled with that Heauenly Mannah, which in these respects, I may paralell with my CHRIST, and apply as a com­fortiue to your pensiue soules, who are to dye, and now hunger and thirst after righteousnes, grace, and glorie.

1. First, as Mannah fell from Hea­uen, So did Christ, when hee bowed the Heauens, and came downe and said, I am the bread of life that came downe from Heauen, whereof who Eateth, shall neuer hunger any more!

Now your Eating of CHRIST, Io. 6. V. 35. is but your (stedfast Faith) & beleuing in CHRIST: For so saith Saint Augustine, [Page 28] Edere, est Credere: And therefore saith Christ, Io. 6. V. 40. He that belieueth in mee hath euer­lasting life, and I will raise him vp at the last day. Whervpon I may conclude, Quid paras dentem, & ventrem, Crede & man­ducasti: Why doest thou bring mee thy tooth and thy belly? belieue in me, and thou hast eaten me.

Secondly, when the Mannah was fal­len, some gathered more, and some ga­thered lesse, and yet so, As he that gathe­red little, Exod. 16. V. 18. had no lacke, and he that gathered much, had nothing ouer: So is CHRIST the foode of our soules, hee filleth all that gather, though not in like measure: And therefore let none iudge of the quantitie of Faith and Sanctitie, how much or how little will saue a soule: Si­thence we are heere taught, that if it be any, it is enough. For he that gathered little had no lacke, and he that gathered much had nothing ouer. None may presume, haue he neuer so much, None may despaire, haue hee neuer so little: But he that hath none at all, is remediles of all mercie. You are here deiected at Christ his feet, your teares, prayers, and [Page 29] kisses, expresse your Faith and Feeling, both of Christ his mercies, and your owne miseries. It may be you thinke, you are feeble in Faith, and wanting in workes, and what of that? Tantum velis, & Deus praeoccurrit: Onely bee thou willing, and God will supplie thy wants: hee will meete thee in the way, Luk. 15. Vers. 17. as the lo­uing Fatheer did his lost Childe, and say, This my Sonne was dead, and is aliue againe: and he was lost, but is found.

Thirdly, Mannah fell from Heauen, Exod. 15. Vers. 15. when they thought not on it, nor knew it not: and therefore vpon the sight, they said, Manhu, quid hoc: what is this? Christ fell downe from heauen, like a shower of Raine, vpon a fleece of wooll: in softnes and in silence: his owne knew him not, but said: Is not this the Carpen­ters Sonne? Who is this, that both winde and Seas obey? Suddenly hath the Sonne of God rushed vpon you, and hath vio­lently taken you out of your sinnes, and it cannot be, but vpon the sight and re­lish of his sweete mercies: Yee say to the astonishment of your saued soules, Manhu; who is this, that thus fills and [Page 30] feedes our soules, with vnspeakable ioy and dulcet loue.

Fourthly, Mannah fell from heauen, when Israel was furthest fallen from God, murmuring in the wildernes a­gainst Moses their gouernour, Exit. 16. v. 2.3. and Aa­ron their priest, and wishing they had died in Egipt, and had neuer heard of Canaan: Christ came into this world a Sauiour from sinne, when all the world was dead in sinne, when the Scepter was gone from Iudah, and there was ne­uer a Prophet left, when the sacrifices were ceased, and the holy lampes were put out, when the house of God was made a denne of theeues, and the world was tyred with traditions, I say he came when the Lawe was perished from the Priests, and the kingdome was in an Ataxie. Then, euē then came Christ to repaire our ruines, to re­deeme vs from sinne, death, and dam­nation, feeding vs with heauenly foode to life and immortalitie.

And now tell me you that are to die, were yee not violently taken to grace, when yee were furthest fallen from [Page 31] God, when running on in sinne, did he not repaire your ruines? and did he not thinke vpon you ere yee thought vpon him? are not these his mercies pressing out your teares of repentance, are they not mercifull preuentions, meeting with your miseries? doth he not euen now by this temporall death, deliuer you from eternall destruction both of body and soule for euer? Sure­ly the Lord hath found you out in an acceptable time, when you may re­deeme a bad life, with a blessed death, and in the waste and roaring wildernes of this world, wherein yee haue wan­dered tedious waies, he hath filled you with Mannah, and brought you to Canaan, I meane to heauen the land of your inheritance.

But me thinkes I see you sigh in the silence of your soules, and say with griefe of heart, notwithstanding all I haue said of Christ in whom yee are hidde and secured, alas and woe is me therefore, though I be hidde in my Christ, yet I die in my sinne, and then am I gone with those reprobate Iewes, [Page 32] Of whom Christ saide, Yee shall seeke me, and shall dye in your sinnes, & whither I goe, can yee not come.

Io. 8. V. 21.Wherevnto I answere, to breake off sinne by repentance, is a blessed thing: but to liue in the solace of sinning, and so to die, is most woefull and miserable: And therefore I say;

• 1. That it if one thing to dye in sinne.
• 2. An other thing to dye with sinne.
• 3. And a third thing to die for sinne.

The Reprobate from God, they die in their sinne, whiles they perseuere in sinne to the ende, hauing neither sense nor feeling of their wickednes: but make shipwracke of a good conscience, without care to cure the malady of their soules, either by Faith in Christ, or Re­pentance towards God: And so one li­ueth in his Idolatrie, and dyeth in his Idolatrie: another liueth in his Adulte­rie, and dyeth in his Adulterie: a third liueth in his oppression, ad dyeth in his oppression: a fourth liueth in his ma­lice, and dyeth in his malice: a fift li­ueth [Page 33] in his stealth, and dieth in his stealth. All in their impenitence against the Lord, and neuer breaking off their sinne, till sinne haue lodged them in their graues, and buried them in their impietie.

Absolon liued in sinne, and died in sinne: he liued in sinne, when he lay with his fathers concubines in the sight of the sonne: Absolon died in sinne, when in the height of his ambition, pride, and rebellion, his owne lockes hanged him, and Ioabs speare pearced him, quaelis vita, finis ita, such a life, such a death: he sinned with sollace, but he died with sorrowe: So I may say, of Saul, Iudas, Pharaoh, Iulian, and of al the dam­ned crue of desperate Epicures, who dare say in despight of God and Christ, of death, and doome, let vs eate and drinke, to morrowe we shall die, and so an end. Nay then is no end, but a be­ginning of sorrow neuer to end.

But to die with sinne, is so to kill sinne in this mortall body, as not to suffer it to rise, rule, and rebell like a tyrant, but to suppresse it, with a conti­nuall [Page 34] fight and mortification, and though happily wee cannot beate backe the fume but it will smoake in vs, yet must wee striue to quench the flame, that it burne vs not to sinders.

And thus haue the godly of all ages died with their sinne, and so fought against sinne, as they neuer died in their sinne, alwaies crying with the blessed Apostle, Miserable man that I am, who shall deliuer me from this body of sinne. And with holy Iob, If I wash my selfe with Snowe water, Iob. 9. v. 30.31. and purge mine hands most cleane, yet shall thou plunge me in the pitte, and mine owne cloathes shall make me filthie.

These feele their sinnes, but withall they finde a sauiour: these sorrow for their sinnes, and yet reioyce in their Infirmities. They feare a daunger, but they finde a deliuerance: yea, they knowe and are well assured, that though sinne doe abound, yet grace doth superabound, they wash their stoles in the blood of the lambe, and their red bloodie sinnes, are made [Page 35] shim white in the tincture of his blood, euery drop whereof is sufficient to re­deeme a thousand worlds.

In a word, 2. Cor. 12. v. 9. these are they who reioyce in weakenes, and take pleasure in their in­firmities, that the power of God may dwell in them: these are they whom Sathan often buffeteth, least they should be exalted out of measure, with the aboun­dance of reuelations: these pray to be deliuered, and though they pre­uaile not, yet doe they heare to the solace of their saued soules, euen from him whose lippes are powdered with much grace, My grace is sufficient for thee, for my power is made perfect through weakenes, my grace hath pre­uented thee, my grace doth assist thee, my grace shall perfect thee, these are they who mince with no merit, but relie vpon the meere mercie of their Christ, euer liuing in sinne, and yet dying to sinne, with an assured hope that their sinnes are purged, pardoned, forgotten, and not impu­ted, as and if their soules should thus solace themselues in the free remission [Page 36] of their sinnes, those sinnes which thou hast not purged ô my Christ, those hast thou pardoned.

3 Lastly, to die for sinne is so sole and proper to Christ, as it can be said of none to haue done it but himselfe, For he trode the winepresse alone, and of all the world there was none to helpe him, he a­lone was the lambe of God that tooke away the sinnes of the world, and the glorious voyce that came downe from heauen, fell vpon him and none other, This is my welbeloued sonne, in whom I am well pleased, heare him. What should I say more? he died, he died, the Iust for the vniust, the innocent for the delin­quent, and he that knew no sinne, died for all sinne, all curse and exe­cration lay vpon him, who deserued none, that it might be laide off vs, he matched all miserie, that he might merit all mercy: Nay, he died for our sinnes a dolorous death, that he might gaine for vs an eternall and glorious life.

Good Lord how much are we obliged to thee and to thy death, we sinned [Page 37] and thou smarted for vs, we were in debt, and thou dischargedst it, we were euen dropping downe to hell, and in suffering thou hast made vs soue­raignes in heauen. No sacrifice, no salue, no electuarie could cure the ma­ladie of our sinnes, but the death of the Phisitian must be the life of the Patient, and therefore in this I may say in some sense (as Tulli did to his wife Terentia in that his wofull exile) In hoc miserior sum quam tu quae es mi­serima, quod calamitas communis est v­tris (que) nostrum culpa mea propria: herein might it well beseeme me ô my Christ to be more afflicted then thou whose afflictions are aboue all afflictions, that the fall is common to vs both, but the fault is properly mine, for I haue sinned, and thou hast smarted, the Iust for the vniust.

And here the rather to breake your hearts with the balme of Christ, his loue, who died for your sinnes, let me assure you in the faith, how diuersly this his vnspeakable loue is confir­med and sealed vnto you, both by [Page 38] bond, and baile, for he hath sworne to your saluation, and he hath put in himselfe body for body. Nay, soule for soule, to answere the rigour of his father, that you his children might be free.

Psal. 9.10.For the first, true it is the Lord hath sworne, and it hath not repented him, thou art a Priest for euer after the order of Melchizadecke: A Priest to pray, a Priest to bleede, a Priest to pleade, neuer wanting to stand vp in the gap for vs most miserable sinners; Had it not beene enough to haue prayed for vs vpon Mount Oliuet, but he must bleede for vs vpon Mount Caluerie? And had it not beene sufficient there to haue bled for vs, but yet in the heauen of heauens to stand for vs an aduocate, euen there to pleade our cause? according to that of Saint Iohn, If any man sinne we haue an aduocate with the father, 1. Ioh. 2. euen Iesus Christ the righteous, &c.

Now in this oath and couenant he hath made with vs and for vs, I ob­serue, 1. Stabilitie, In that it is from [Page 39] God, for so it is said, the Lord hath sworne, he hath sworne that it is much, and he hath sworne neuer to repent him of that he hath done: that is more, it repented God that he had made man, but it neuer repented him that he had redeemed man: so much more excellent then is the worke of our Redemption, aboue that of our Creation: this of Creation greeued for, but that of Redemption, neuer repen­ted of: and no maruell, sith the sinnes of the olde water, were once washed away with olde water, but these with new blood, strained out of the vaines of Christ, euery droppe whereof was sufficient to redeeme a thousand worlds: and therefore I may well say of this gift, aboue all that euer God gaue to man, that these gifts of God are Ametamellonta without repen­tance.

And this is the holy couenant the Lord made with vs before the world was, for the safe keeping whereof he hath put in his Christ, to enter both bond and baile, Life for life, body for [Page 40] body, soule for soule, as the blessed Apostle saith, A Suretie of a better Coue­nant, the worthines whereof as I haue said is, 1. In firmitudine, as confirmed by oath, for the Lord hath sworne: 2. in perpetuitate as abiding euer, for of his kingdome there is no end: 3. in pacti­onis modo ratified with blood, neither of Buls nor Calues, but with the preti­ous blood of Iesus Christ: 4. In fine & virtute as purging our sinnes, pur­chasing our place, and pleading our cause, whereas Moses testament was established vpon no such sauing grounds, for it was confirmed with­out oath, and but for a time, with the blood of Buls and Goates, with the ashes of an Heyfer scattered in the ayre, nor with any promise of eter­nall saluation, but of a temporall rest and Canaan. And thus of the aboundance of Christ his grace, we haue all receiued grace for grace: A grace preuenting, when hee thought vpon vs, ere we thought vpon him, and met our miserie with his mercie: A grace assisting, supporting our frailtie, [Page 41] and fashioning our faith and obedience to his holy will: and a grace perfecting, Neuer leauing vs, till hee haue made vs to appeare before his Father in perfect beautie, thus saying,

Oh Father here am I, and the Chil­dren which thou hast giuen mee, and nowe pardon them because thou hast plagued mee; Me me adsum qui feci in me, conuertite ferrum ô Rutuli nihil iste nec ausus nec potuit. It is I, that haue beene made sinne for them, and paide the raunsome for their deathes, thou (ô my GOD) hast turned thy furie vpon mee, I haue selte it: ô turne it from them, that they fall not, who nei­ther durst (nor could) endure my dan­ger, or drinke of my Cuppe: Shall not the Iudge of all the worlde doe accor­ding to right? That which thou hast pu­nished in mee, thou mayest not pu­nish in them againe. Oh my GOD (heare my prayer,) forgiue them, for they knew not what they did, and for­giue them their sinnes, with the punish­ment of their sinnes, for me thy sonne, and their Sauiours sake.

[Page 42]And heere seasonable to you be it spoken, who are but lookers on and beholders of these wofull tragedies, these are now readie to be sacrificed, and to act the last and best part of their life, vpon the Altar of their Crosse, you stay behinde, how long God hee knoweth, and must endure the warres and woes of this wicked world, take heede you trample not vnder your feete the blood of that couenant which these penitent sinners haue laide to their hearts, and treasu­red vp in their dearest thoughts: Nor doe you thinke that onely they are sinners vpon whom this Tower of Si­loah is fallen, for and if yee doe not repent, yee shall likewise perish: I dare not for my life secure you in your sinnes, there be different deaths for different sinnes, which must be repented for, otherwise yee shall die in your sinnes penitentiam dare possum securitatem non possum, vpon your re­pentance I dare pronounce remission, but vpon your rebellions, I dare giue no securitie: Nusquam est securitas [Page 43] there is no safetie where sinne seazeth, if Angels sinne in heauen out they must, if Adam sinne in Paradice a­way he must, and if Iudas shrinke at the side of Christ he must be gon, Malorum eiecto bonorum glorificatio, then are the good and godly glorified, when the wicked and wayward are mor­tified.

There be two sinnes sensible in this dissolute age wherein we liue, and they are written in so great and ca­pitall letters, that a man may reade them running, the first is the fawning sinne of presumption, the other is, the fearefull sinne of desperation: In our presumption we soare too high, and the fire vpon the mount doth scorch vs: In our despaire, wee houer too lowe, and the furies of hell doe haunt vs: In our presumption weare too much exaulted, and we dare to sinne, notwithstanding Gods iudgements: In our despaire, we are too much deiected, and we doe not repent, notwithstanding his mercies: Medio Tutissimus ibis; A [Page 44] meane is best, and that is, to goe by Christ, in whome mercie and Trueth meete together, righteousnes and peace, kisse each other.

Surely wee can goe to no Pulpit, but Paules passion dooth pearce our hearts, to prouoke our speech against the out­rage of both, Many walke (of whom I haue tolde you often) and now tell you weeping, they are enemies to the crosse of Christ, their bellie is their God, their glorie is their shame, and they doe but minde Earthly things. Nay, you are well worse in your vnrepentant liues, then these poore sinners are in their pe­nitent deaths: For they haue their con­uersation in Heauen; From whence they looke for the Sauiour: Euen the Lorde Iesus Christ, who shall change these our vile bodies, that they may be fashioned like vnto his glorious bodie, according to the working, whereby he is able euen to subdue all things vnto himselfe: Yea, that I may cōclude with my Text, These haue their liues so hid­den in Christ, as they are well assured, that when Christ which is their life, shal [Page 45] appeare, then shall they appeare with him in glorie.

And so I passe to the last Wheele, tur­ning and tending to that glorie, which shall be euen vpon your dissolution in soule, and vpon the restauration of your bodies, in the day of your Redempti­on, when Christ who is your life shall appeare.

Now in this Apparition what, shall I see? I shall see the second comming of my CHRIST attended vpon, Not with twelue poore Fishermen, but with all the Powers of heauen. I shall see him come Ad Sententiandum, & ad Seperandum: when those that haue done good, shall goe into euerlasting life, whither God bring you, and those that haue done e­uill, into euerlasting Condemnation, from which the Lord deliuer you.

But what shall ye see vpon Christ his Apparition? Nay, rather what shall yee not see vpon your dissolution? Words spoken in season as Salomon saith, are like apples of siluer in pictures of gold, therefore flye out my voyce, and be strong my spirit, euermore to expresse [Page 46] the glorie of those vnspeakable Ioyes yee shall both see and feele within these fewe houres, when dead in body, but rauished in soule, yee shall see the heauens open to giue you readie pas­sage to eternall blessednes.

1 Where yee shall see God as he is face to face, I say God of so great Ma­iestie, might, bountie, beautie, and loue, as if a man were filled with all other blessings both temporall and eternall, and yet without that, as Plotinus saith, all were but miserie and accursed­nes.

2 Yee shall see the comfortable face and countenance of Iesus Christ, fai­rer then the sonnes of men, and whom the very Angels desire to behold.

3 Yee shall see the holy Ghost, proceeding from both, and breathing vpon your saued soules, like a softe ayre vpon a garden, and more sweete then all the trees of incense.

4 Yee shall see the bright court of Angels, Cherubines, and Zeraphines, at­tending the Deitie, and euer pressing to doe his will, faithfully, speedily, [Page 47] willingly, and neuer wearie of watch­ing, because they are neuer wearie of well doing.

5 Yee shall see the faire assemblie of the Saints of God, Patriarkes, Pro­phets and Apostles, with Abraham Isaac and Iacob, in that his glorious kingdome, yee shall be tyed with them in the bundle of the liuing, neuer to be loosed any more, yee shall returne as they haue done into your rest, as into a retyring campe after the day of bat­tell, there shall yee followe the lambe whither soeuer he goeth, and there shall yee walke before the Lord in the land of the liuing for euermore.

6 Yee shall see new Ierusalem come downe from heauē, as a Bride prepared for her husband, a Citie of solace whose portes are euer patent, whose streetes are paued with gold, & garnished with all manner of pretious stones, the Ias­per, the Saphir, the Chalcedonie, & the Emarod, the Sardonix, the Sardius, the Crisolite, and the Berill, the Topas, the Crisoparus, the Iacinth, and the Ama­thist: euer splendent shall this Citie be, [Page 48] it shall neede no Sunne, for the Lambe is the light of the place, the people that are saued, shall walke in the Light of it, and the Kings of the Earth shall bring their glorie and honour vnto it: The Gates of it shall not be shut by day, August. in Epistol. Ioh. Tract. 4. for there shall be no night there: and the glorie both of Iewe and Gentill shall be brought vnto it. What should I say more? Quomodo potuit, Lingua sonuit, Caetera corde cogitentur. As I could, so haue I tolde, let the heart conceiue the rest: and yet so, as Amoenissima Ciuitas: Amantissima Societas: Iucundissima Foe­licitas: A most pleasant place, A most ioyfull presence: And a most happie estate of blessednes, shall be your porti­on, in an endles glorie.

7 I cannot speake as I would, and yet my heart is full, breake it will, if it may not vent it, Pardon mee therefore a while to beate backe these fearefull passions, of your mortalitie, with fur­ther impressions of your aeternitie: yee shall haue Eyes without teares, hearts without sorrowe, soules without sinne, greene youth without greeuance of [Page 49] olde age, health without sicknes, ful­nes without sacietie, freedome without bondage, beautie without blemish, glorie without shame, and life without death, your knowledge shall be with­out either doubting, or discourse, for ye shall see God and all goodnes, all at once, your loue shall leuell at the high­est, nor shall it faile to fall vpon the lowest of his Saints.

8 Yee shall haue what yee can de­sire, and yee shall desire nothing but what is good: Aug. lib. 13. de tri­niti. cap. 5. For as one hath truely said, Beatus non est nisi qui & habet omnia que vult & nihil vult male: He is not blessed who enioyeth not all he will, and yet willeth nothing but what is good.

9 Yee shall heare Melodious Songes, euen songes of Sion, Psalmes, Hymmes and praises, more sweete then the har­monie of the heauens, when all that Celestiall hoste, shall fill that holy vault with an Halaluiah to the Almigh­tie, and say, Honour, Glorie, Maiestie, Power, dominion and might, be ascribed vnto him that sitteth vpon the throne [Page 50] both now and euer. Thus shall all Angels cry aloude, the heauens and all the powers therein, Cherubin and Sera­phin continually shall crye, Holie, holie, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth: Beati ergo qui habitant in domo tua, Blessed are they that dwell in thy house, they shall al­waies praise thee, and the praises of God shall be their daily practise.

10 Lastly, and to your endles com­forts, all this, and all former ioyes shall be for euer, and without interruption, for of this kingdome shall be no end: Nec quoad Regem, nec quoad Legem, nec quoad Subditos, nec quoad fines Imperij: The King is Christ, the lawe is loue, the subiects are Saints, and the bondaries of this empire are endles, all tyed to no returne, either of tearme or time, for time shall be no more.

And for your speedie passage out of this world, into that endles glorie, yee shall goe, Nay yee shall flie, Eadem faci­litate qua faelicitate: as S. Augustine saith, with as great hast as happines. This day saith Christ, Amodo saith Iohn: Euen now, [Page 51] and in Ictu oculi, in the twinkling of an eye, saith blessed Paul, all shall be chaunged at the day of doome. And why not in this day of death? For if Corpus erit vbi volet animus, If the body shall be where the minde will when it is glorified, why shall not the soule be where and when God will, when it is deliuered? I say deliuered out of the bondage wherein it is, to the glorious libertie of the sonnes of God.

The sillie eye of flesh and blood may happily demurre vpon the di­stance, and thinke how it is possible the soule should passe with such speede from this earthly house, and house of clay, to that high and heauenly habi­tation, the eight sphere as some write, being distant from the earth euery where, 20000. Semidiamiters, which calculated a right, and numbred with our miles, maketh a million of German miles, which is one thousand thou­sand. Surely I dare determine of no par­ticular, but in the general say as Balaam did of Israel, Who can number the dust of [Page 52] Israel? So who can tell the distance of the heauens? Pro. 25.3. The heauens in height, and the earth in deepenes, and the Kings heart can no man search: Howbeit, be the di­stance neuer so great, yet speedie may be the soules passage, when it is done by the power of God, which passeth all possibilitie of man, to conceiue how.

And so to conclude and close with your saued soules, who are now by death to make a speedie passage into all these ioyes, and so for a while to preuent vs of that glorie, Lift vp your herts aboue the height of all Sublimitie, where true ioyes are to be found, Hea­uines may endure for a night, but ioy com­meth in the morning, Ioy, Ioy, Ioy, such as neither eye hath seene, nor tongue can tell, Angels feele it, they cannot speake it, and therefore I leaue it as a Selah to my soule, till I see in glorie, what I feele in grace. And when euen in an instant, and lesse then a thought, I shall passe from the bowels of this earth, to the bosome of my Christ; Whither God [Page 53] bring both you and vs, for his sonnes sake. To whom be glorie, power, and praises, both now and euer. Amen, Amen.